Predicting total weight of retail-ready lamb cuts from bioelectrical impedance measurements taken at the processing plant.

PubMed

Slanger, W D; Marchello, M J; Busboom, J R; Meyer, H H; Mitchell, L A; Hendrix, W F; Mills, R R; Warnock, W D

1994-06-01

Data of sixty finished, crossbred lambs were used to develop prediction equations of total weight of retail-ready cuts (SUM). These cuts were the leg, sirloin, loin, rack, shoulder, neck, riblets, shank, and lean trim (85/15). Measurements were taken on live lambs and on both hot and cold carcasses. A four-terminal bioelectrical impedance analyzer (BIA) was used to measure resistance (Rs, ohms) and reactance (Xc, ohms). Distances between detector terminals (L, centimeters) were recorded. Carcass temperatures (T, degrees C) at time of BIA readings were also recorded. The equation predicting SUM from cold carcass measurements (n = 53, R2 = .97) was .093 + .621 x weight-.0219 x Rs + .0248 x Xc + .182 x L-.338 x T. Resistance accounted for variability in SUM over and above weight and L (P = .0016). The above equation was used to rank cold carcasses in descending order of predicted SUM. An analogous ranking was obtained from a prediction equation that used weight only (R2 = .88). These rankings were divided into five categories: top 25%, middle 50%, bottom 25%, top 50%, and bottom 50%. Within-category differences in average fat cover, yield grade, and SUM as a percentage of cold carcass weight of carcasses not placed in the same category by both prediction equations were quantified with independent t-tests. These differences were statistically significant for all categories except middle 50%. This shows that BIA located those lambs that could more efficiently contribute to SUM because a higher portion of their weight was lean.

Robust Sensitivity Analysis for Multi-Attribute Deterministic Hierarchical Value Models

DTIC Science & Technology

2002-03-01

such as weighted sum method, weighted 5 product method, and the Analytic Hierarchy Process ( AHP ). This research focuses on only weighted sum...different groups. They can be termed as deterministic, stochastic, or fuzzy multi-objective decision methods if they are classified according to the...weighted product model (WPM), and analytic hierarchy process ( AHP ). His method attempts to identify the most important criteria weight and the most

A Groupwise Association Test for Rare Mutations Using a Weighted Sum Statistic

PubMed Central

Madsen, Bo Eskerod; Browning, Sharon R.

2009-01-01

Resequencing is an emerging tool for identification of rare disease-associated mutations. Rare mutations are difficult to tag with SNP genotyping, as genotyping studies are designed to detect common variants. However, studies have shown that genetic heterogeneity is a probable scenario for common diseases, in which multiple rare mutations together explain a large proportion of the genetic basis for the disease. Thus, we propose a weighted-sum method to jointly analyse a group of mutations in order to test for groupwise association with disease status. For example, such a group of mutations may result from resequencing a gene. We compare the proposed weighted-sum method to alternative methods and show that it is powerful for identifying disease-associated genes, both on simulated and Encode data. Using the weighted-sum method, a resequencing study can identify a disease-associated gene with an overall population attributable risk (PAR) of 2%, even when each individual mutation has much lower PAR, using 1,000 to 7,000 affected and unaffected individuals, depending on the underlying genetic model. This study thus demonstrates that resequencing studies can identify important genetic associations, provided that specialised analysis methods, such as the weighted-sum method, are used. PMID:19214210

Two Different Approaches to Nonzero-Sum Stochastic Differential Games

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

Rainer, Catherine

2007-06-15

We make the link between two approaches to Nash equilibria for nonzero-sum stochastic differential games: the first one using backward stochastic differential equations and the second one using strategies with delay. We prove that, when both exist, the two notions of Nash equilibria coincide.

Summed and Weighted Summary Scores for the Medsger Disease Severity Scale Compared with the Physician's Global Assessment of Disease Severity in Systemic Sclerosis.

PubMed

Harel, Daphna; Hudson, Marie; Iliescu, Alexandra; Baron, Murray; Steele, Russell

2016-08-01

To develop a weighted summary score for the Medsger Disease Severity Scale (DSS) and to compare its measurement properties with those of a summed DSS score and a physician's global assessment (PGA) of severity score in systemic sclerosis (SSc). Data from 875 patients with SSc enrolled in a multisite observational research cohort were extracted from a central database. Item response theory was used to estimate weights for the DSS weighted score. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) and convergent, discriminative, and predictive validity of the 3 summary measures in relation to patient-reported outcomes (PRO) and mortality were compared. Mean PGA was 2.69 (SD 2.16, range 0-10), mean DSS summed score was 8.60 (SD 4.02, range 0-36), and mean DSS weighted score was 8.11 (SD 4.05, range 0-36). ICC were similar for all 3 measures [PGA 6.9%, 95% credible intervals (CrI) 2.1-16.2; DSS summed score 2.5%, 95% CrI 0.4-6.7; DSS weighted score 2.0%, 95% CrI 0.1-5.6]. Convergent and discriminative validity of the 3 measures for PRO were largely similar. In Cox proportional hazards models adjusting for age and sex, the 3 measures had similar predictive ability for mortality (adjusted R(2) 13.9% for PGA, 12.3% for DSS summed score, and 10.7% DSS weighted score). The 3 summary scores appear valid and perform similarly. However, there were some concerns with the weights computed for individual DSS scales, with unexpected low weights attributed to lung, heart, and kidney, leading the PGA to be the preferred measure at this time. Further work refining the DSS could improve the measurement properties of the DSS summary scores.

Problems of Indicator Weights and Multicolinearity in World University Rankings: Comparisons of Three Systems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soh, Kaycheng

2014-01-01

World university rankings (WUR) use the weight-and-sum approach to arrive at an overall measure which is then used to rank the participating universities of the world. Although the weight-and-sum procedure seems straightforward and accords with common sense, it has hidden methodological or statistical problems which render the meaning of the…

49 CFR 393.42 - Brakes required on all wheels.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... subject to this part is not required to be equipped with brakes if the axle weight of the towed vehicle does not exceed 40 percent of the sum of the axle weights of the towing vehicle. (4) Any full trailer... of the towed vehicle does not exceed 40 percent of the sum of the axle weights of the towing vehicle...

Robust optimization for nonlinear time-delay dynamical system of dha regulon with cost sensitivity constraint in batch culture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Jinlong; Zhang, Xu; Liu, Chongyang; Chang, Liang; Xie, Jun; Feng, Enmin; Yin, Hongchao; Xiu, Zhilong

2016-09-01

Time-delay dynamical systems, which depend on both the current state of the system and the state at delayed times, have been an active area of research in many real-world applications. In this paper, we consider a nonlinear time-delay dynamical system of dha-regulonwith unknown time-delays in batch culture of glycerol bioconversion to 1,3-propanediol induced by Klebsiella pneumonia. Some important properties and strong positive invariance are discussed. Because of the difficulty in accurately measuring the concentrations of intracellular substances and the absence of equilibrium points for the time-delay system, a quantitative biological robustness for the concentrations of intracellular substances is defined by penalizing a weighted sum of the expectation and variance of the relative deviation between system outputs before and after the time-delays are perturbed. Our goal is to determine optimal values of the time-delays. To this end, we formulate an optimization problem in which the time delays are decision variables and the cost function is to minimize the biological robustness. This optimization problem is subject to the time-delay system, parameter constraints, continuous state inequality constraints for ensuring that the concentrations of extracellular and intracellular substances lie within specified limits, a quality constraint to reflect operational requirements and a cost sensitivity constraint for ensuring that an acceptable level of the system performance is achieved. It is approximated as a sequence of nonlinear programming sub-problems through the application of constraint transcription and local smoothing approximation techniques. Due to the highly complex nature of this optimization problem, the computational cost is high. Thus, a parallel algorithm is proposed to solve these nonlinear programming sub-problems based on the filled function method. Finally, it is observed that the obtained optimal estimates for the time-delays are highly satisfactory via numerical simulations.

Coherence analysis of a class of weighted networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dai, Meifeng; He, Jiaojiao; Zong, Yue; Ju, Tingting; Sun, Yu; Su, Weiyi

2018-04-01

This paper investigates consensus dynamics in a dynamical system with additive stochastic disturbances that is characterized as network coherence by using the Laplacian spectrum. We introduce a class of weighted networks based on a complete graph and investigate the first- and second-order network coherence quantifying as the sum and square sum of reciprocals of all nonzero Laplacian eigenvalues. First, the recursive relationship of its eigenvalues at two successive generations of Laplacian matrix is deduced. Then, we compute the sum and square sum of reciprocal of all nonzero Laplacian eigenvalues. The obtained results show that the scalings of first- and second-order coherence with network size obey four and five laws, respectively, along with the range of the weight factor. Finally, it indicates that the scalings of our studied networks are smaller than other studied networks when 1/√{d }

Global Hopf bifurcation analysis on a BAM neural network with delays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Chengjun; Han, Maoan; Pang, Xiaoming

2007-01-01

A delayed differential equation that models a bidirectional associative memory (BAM) neural network with four neurons is considered. By using a global Hopf bifurcation theorem for FDE and a Bendixon's criterion for high-dimensional ODE, a group of sufficient conditions for the system to have multiple periodic solutions are obtained when the sum of delays is sufficiently large.

Sector-Based Detection for Hands-Free Speech Enhancement in Cars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lathoud, Guillaume; Bourgeois, Julien; Freudenberger, Jürgen

2006-12-01

Adaptation control of beamforming interference cancellation techniques is investigated for in-car speech acquisition. Two efficient adaptation control methods are proposed that avoid target cancellation. The "implicit" method varies the step-size continuously, based on the filtered output signal. The "explicit" method decides in a binary manner whether to adapt or not, based on a novel estimate of target and interference energies. It estimates the average delay-sum power within a volume of space, for the same cost as the classical delay-sum. Experiments on real in-car data validate both methods, including a case with[InlineEquation not available: see fulltext.] km/h background road noise.

Improved Plane-Wave Ultrasound Beamforming by Incorporating Angular Weighting and Coherent Compounding in Fourier Domain.

PubMed

Chen, Chuan; Hendriks, Gijs A G M; van Sloun, Ruud J G; Hansen, Hendrik H G; de Korte, Chris L

2018-05-01

In this paper, a novel processing framework is introduced for Fourier-domain beamforming of plane-wave ultrasound data, which incorporates coherent compounding and angular weighting in the Fourier domain. Angular weighting implies spectral weighting by a 2-D steering-angle-dependent filtering template. The design of this filter is also optimized as part of this paper. Two widely used Fourier-domain plane-wave ultrasound beamforming methods, i.e., Lu's f-k and Stolt's f-k methods, were integrated in the framework. To enable coherent compounding in Fourier domain for the Stolt's f-k method, the original Stolt's f-k method was modified to achieve alignment of the spectra for different steering angles in k-space. The performance of the framework was compared for both methods with and without angular weighting using experimentally obtained data sets (phantom and in vivo), and data sets (phantom) provided by the IEEE IUS 2016 plane-wave beamforming challenge. The addition of angular weighting enhanced the image contrast while preserving image resolution. This resulted in images of equal quality as those obtained by conventionally used delay-and-sum (DAS) beamforming with apodization and coherent compounding. Given the lower computational load of the proposed framework compared to DAS, to our knowledge it can, therefore, be concluded that it outperforms commonly used beamforming methods such as Stolt's f-k, Lu's f-k, and DAS.

Silicon nanodisk array with a fin field-effect transistor for time-domain weighted sum calculation toward massively parallel spiking neural networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tohara, Takashi; Liang, Haichao; Tanaka, Hirofumi; Igarashi, Makoto; Samukawa, Seiji; Endo, Kazuhiko; Takahashi, Yasuo; Morie, Takashi

2016-03-01

A nanodisk array connected with a fin field-effect transistor is fabricated and analyzed for spiking neural network applications. This nanodevice performs weighted sums in the time domain using rising slopes of responses triggered by input spike pulses. The nanodisk arrays, which act as a resistance of several giga-ohms, are fabricated using a self-assembly bio-nano-template technique. Weighted sums are achieved with an energy dissipation on the order of 1 fJ, where the number of inputs can be more than one hundred. This amount of energy is several orders of magnitude lower than that of conventional digital processors.

Robust Frequency Invariant Beamforming with Low Sidelobe for Speech Enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Yiting; Pan, Xiang

2018-01-01

Frequency invariant beamformers (FIBs) are widely used in speech enhancement and source localization. There are two traditional optimization methods for FIB design. The first one is convex optimization, which is simple but the frequency invariant characteristic of the beam pattern is poor with respect to frequency band of five octaves. The least squares (LS) approach using spatial response variation (SRV) constraint is another optimization method. Although, it can provide good frequency invariant property, it usually couldn’t be used in speech enhancement for its lack of weight norm constraint which is related to the robustness of a beamformer. In this paper, a robust wideband beamforming method with a constant beamwidth is proposed. The frequency invariant beam pattern is achieved by resolving an optimization problem of the SRV constraint to cover speech frequency band. With the control of sidelobe level, it is available for the frequency invariant beamformer (FIB) to prevent distortion of interference from the undesirable direction. The approach is completed in time-domain by placing tapped delay lines(TDL) and finite impulse response (FIR) filter at the output of each sensor which is more convenient than the Frost processor. By invoking the weight norm constraint, the robustness of the beamformer is further improved against random errors. Experiment results show that the proposed method has a constant beamwidth and almost the same white noise gain as traditional delay-and-sum (DAS) beamformer.

Diagrams for the Free Energy and Density Weight Factors of the Ising Models.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-01-01

sum to zero . The associated R. A. Farrell, T. Morita, and P. H. E. Meijer, "Cluster Expan- also, "_ ratum: New Generating Functions and Results for the...given for the cubic lattices. We employ a theorem that states that a certain sum of diagrams is zero in order to obtain the density-dependent weight...these diagrams are given for the cubic lattices. We employ a theorem that states that a certain sum of diagrams is zero in order to obtain the density

Iterative Minimum Variance Beamformer with Low Complexity for Medical Ultrasound Imaging.

PubMed

Deylami, Ali Mohades; Asl, Babak Mohammadzadeh

2018-06-04

Minimum variance beamformer (MVB) improves the resolution and contrast of medical ultrasound images compared with delay and sum (DAS) beamformer. The weight vector of this beamformer should be calculated for each imaging point independently, with a cost of increasing computational complexity. The large number of necessary calculations limits this beamformer to application in real-time systems. A beamformer is proposed based on the MVB with lower computational complexity while preserving its advantages. This beamformer avoids matrix inversion, which is the most complex part of the MVB, by solving the optimization problem iteratively. The received signals from two imaging points close together do not vary much in medical ultrasound imaging. Therefore, using the previously optimized weight vector for one point as initial weight vector for the new neighboring point can improve the convergence speed and decrease the computational complexity. The proposed method was applied on several data sets, and it has been shown that the method can regenerate the results obtained by the MVB while the order of complexity is decreased from O(L 3 ) to O(L 2 ). Copyright © 2018 World Federation for Ultrasound in Medicine and Biology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Linear-array photoacoustic imaging using minimum variance-based delay multiply and sum adaptive beamforming algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mozaffarzadeh, Moein; Mahloojifar, Ali; Orooji, Mahdi; Kratkiewicz, Karl; Adabi, Saba; Nasiriavanaki, Mohammadreza

2018-02-01

In photoacoustic imaging, delay-and-sum (DAS) beamformer is a common beamforming algorithm having a simple implementation. However, it results in a poor resolution and high sidelobes. To address these challenges, a new algorithm namely delay-multiply-and-sum (DMAS) was introduced having lower sidelobes compared to DAS. To improve the resolution of DMAS, a beamformer is introduced using minimum variance (MV) adaptive beamforming combined with DMAS, so-called minimum variance-based DMAS (MVB-DMAS). It is shown that expanding the DMAS equation results in multiple terms representing a DAS algebra. It is proposed to use the MV adaptive beamformer instead of the existing DAS. MVB-DMAS is evaluated numerically and experimentally. In particular, at the depth of 45 mm MVB-DMAS results in about 31, 18, and 8 dB sidelobes reduction compared to DAS, MV, and DMAS, respectively. The quantitative results of the simulations show that MVB-DMAS leads to improvement in full-width-half-maximum about 96%, 94%, and 45% and signal-to-noise ratio about 89%, 15%, and 35% compared to DAS, DMAS, MV, respectively. In particular, at the depth of 33 mm of the experimental images, MVB-DMAS results in about 20 dB sidelobes reduction in comparison with other beamformers.

Sum Rule for a Schiff-Like Dipole Moment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raduta, A. A.; Budaca, R.

The energy-weighted sum rule for an electric dipole transition operator of a Schiff type differs from the Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn (TRK) sum rule by several corrective terms which depend on the number of system components, N. For illustration the formalism was applied to the case of Na clusters. One concludes that the random phase approximation (RPA) results for Na clusters obey the modified TRK sum rule.

How Does Sequence Structure Affect the Judgment of Time? Exploring a Weighted Sum of Segments Model

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Matthews, William J.

2013-01-01

This paper examines the judgment of segmented temporal intervals, using short tone sequences as a convenient test case. In four experiments, we investigate how the relative lengths, arrangement, and pitches of the tones in a sequence affect judgments of sequence duration, and ask whether the data can be described by a simple weighted sum of…

A Solution to Weighted Sums of Squares as a Square

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Withers, Christopher S.; Nadarajah, Saralees

2012-01-01

For n = 1, 2, ... , we give a solution (x[subscript 1], ... , x[subscript n], N) to the Diophantine integer equation [image omitted]. Our solution has N of the form n!, in contrast to other solutions in the literature that are extensions of Euler's solution for N, a sum of squares. More generally, for given n and given integer weights m[subscript…

SUMS preliminary design and data analysis development. [shuttle upper atmosphere mass spectrometer experiment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hinson, E. W.

1981-01-01

The preliminary analysis and data analysis system development for the shuttle upper atmosphere mass spectrometer (SUMS) experiment are discussed. The SUMS experiment is designed to provide free stream atmospheric density, pressure, temperature, and mean molecular weight for the high altitude, high Mach number region.

Polynomial-Time Approximation Algorithm for the Problem of Cardinality-Weighted Variance-Based 2-Clustering with a Given Center

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kel'manov, A. V.; Motkova, A. V.

2018-01-01

A strongly NP-hard problem of partitioning a finite set of points of Euclidean space into two clusters is considered. The solution criterion is the minimum of the sum (over both clusters) of weighted sums of squared distances from the elements of each cluster to its geometric center. The weights of the sums are equal to the cardinalities of the desired clusters. The center of one cluster is given as input, while the center of the other is unknown and is determined as the point of space equal to the mean of the cluster elements. A version of the problem is analyzed in which the cardinalities of the clusters are given as input. A polynomial-time 2-approximation algorithm for solving the problem is constructed.

Transition sum rules in the shell model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lu, Yi; Johnson, Calvin W.

2018-03-01

An important characterization of electromagnetic and weak transitions in atomic nuclei are sum rules. We focus on the non-energy-weighted sum rule (NEWSR), or total strength, and the energy-weighted sum rule (EWSR); the ratio of the EWSR to the NEWSR is the centroid or average energy of transition strengths from an nuclear initial state to all allowed final states. These sum rules can be expressed as expectation values of operators, which in the case of the EWSR is a double commutator. While most prior applications of the double commutator have been to special cases, we derive general formulas for matrix elements of both operators in a shell model framework (occupation space), given the input matrix elements for the nuclear Hamiltonian and for the transition operator. With these new formulas, we easily evaluate centroids of transition strength functions, with no need to calculate daughter states. We apply this simple tool to a number of nuclides and demonstrate the sum rules follow smooth secular behavior as a function of initial energy, as well as compare the electric dipole (E 1 ) sum rule against the famous Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn version. We also find surprising systematic behaviors for ground-state electric quadrupole (E 2 ) centroids in the s d shell.

Delay discounting and utility for money or weight loss.

PubMed

Sze, Y Y; Slaven, E M; Bickel, W K; Epstein, L H

2017-03-01

Obesity is related to a bias towards smaller immediate over larger delayed rewards. This bias is typically examined by studying single commodity discounting. However, weight loss often involves choices among multiple commodities. To our knowledge, no research has examined delay discounting of delayed weight loss compared with other commodities. We examined single commodity discounting of money and cross commodity discounting of money and weight loss in a sample of 84 adults with obesity or overweight statuses interested in weight loss. The exchange rate between money and weight loss was calculated, and participants completed two delay discounting tasks: money now versus money later and money now versus weight loss later. Participants discounted weight loss more than money ( p  < 0.001). When participants were divided into those who preferred weight loss ( n  = 61) versus money ( n  = 23), those who preferred money over weight loss discounted weight loss even more than individuals that preferred weight loss ( p  = 0.003). Greater discounting of weight loss for those who preferred money suggest that idiosyncratic preferences are related to multiple commodity discounting, and greater discounting of weight loss across all participants provide insight on important challenges for weight control.

20 CFR 404.780 - Evidence of “good cause” for exceeding time limits on accepting proof of support or application...

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... accepting proof of support or application for a lump-sum death payment. (a) When evidence of good cause is... death payment. You may be asked for evidence of good cause for these delays if— (1) You are the insured... limits on accepting proof of support or application for a lump-sum death payment. 404.780 Section 404.780...

Pathogenesis of growth failure and partial reversal with gene therapy in murine and canine Glycogen Storage Disease type Ia.

PubMed

Brooks, Elizabeth Drake; Little, Dianne; Arumugam, Ramamani; Sun, Baodong; Curtis, Sarah; Demaster, Amanda; Maranzano, Michael; Jackson, Mark W; Kishnani, Priya; Freemark, Michael S; Koeberl, Dwight D

2013-06-01

Glycogen Storage Disease type Ia (GSD-Ia) in humans frequently causes delayed bone maturation, decrease in final adult height, and decreased growth velocity. This study evaluates the pathogenesis of growth failure and the effect of gene therapy on growth in GSD-Ia affected dogs and mice. Here we found that homozygous G6pase (-/-) mice with GSD-Ia have normal growth hormone (GH) levels in response to hypoglycemia, decreased insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1 levels, and attenuated weight gain following administration of GH. Expression of hepatic GH receptor and IGF 1 mRNAs and hepatic STAT5 (phospho Y694) protein levels are reduced prior to and after GH administration, indicating GH resistance. However, restoration of G6Pase expression in the liver by treatment with adeno-associated virus 8 pseudotyped vector expressing G6Pase (AAV2/8-G6Pase) corrected body weight, but failed to normalize plasma IGF 1 in G6pase (-/-) mice. Untreated G6pase (-/-) mice also demonstrated severe delay of growth plate ossification at 12 days of age; those treated with AAV2/8-G6Pase at 14 days of age demonstrated skeletal dysplasia and limb shortening when analyzed radiographically at 6 months of age, in spite of apparent metabolic correction. Moreover, gene therapy with AAV2/9-G6Pase only partially corrected growth in GSD-Ia affected dogs as detected by weight and bone measurements and serum IGF 1 concentrations were persistently low in treated dogs. We also found that heterozygous GSD-Ia carrier dogs had decreased serum IGF 1, adult body weights and bone dimensions compared to wild-type littermates. In sum, these findings suggest that growth failure in GSD-Ia results, at least in part, from hepatic GH resistance. In addition, gene therapy improved growth in addition to promoting long-term survival in dogs and mice with GSD-Ia. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pathogenesis of growth failure and partial reversal with gene therapy in murine and canine Glycogen Storage Disease type Ia

PubMed Central

Brooks, Elizabeth Drake; Little, Dianne; Arumugam, Ramamani; Sun, Baodong; Curtis, Sarah; DeMaster, Amanda; Maranzano, Michael; Jackson, Mark W.; Kishnani, Priya; Freemark, Michael S.; Koeberl, Dwight D.

2013-01-01

Glycogen Storage Disease type Ia (GSD-Ia) in humans frequently causes delayed bone maturation, decrease in final adult height, and decreased growth velocity. This study evaluates the pathogenesis of growth failure and the effect of gene therapy on growth in GSD-Ia affected dogs and mice. Here we found that homozygous G6pase (−/−) mice with GSD-Ia have normal growth hormone (GH) levels in response to hypoglycemia, decreased insulin-like growth factor (IGF) 1 levels, and attenuated weight gain following administration of GH. Expression of hepatic GH receptor and IGF 1 mRNAs and hepatic STAT5 (phospho Y694) protein levels are reduced prior to and after GH administration, indicating GH resistance. However, restoration of G6Pase expression in the liver by treatment with adeno-associated virus 8 pseudotyped vector expressing G6Pase (AAV2/8-G6Pase) corrected body weight, but failed to normalize plasma IGF 1 in G6pase (−/−) mice. Untreated G6pase (−/−) mice also demonstrated severe delay of growth plate ossification at 12 days of age; those treated with AAV2/8-G6Pase at 14 days of age demonstrated skeletal dysplasia and limb shortening when analyzed radiographically at 6 months of age, in spite of apparent metabolic correction. Moreover, gene therapy with AAV2/9-G6Pase only partially corrected growth in GSD-Ia affected dogs as detected by weight and bone measurements and serum IGF 1 concentrations were persistently low in treated dogs. We also found that heterozygous GSD-Ia carrier dogs had decreased serum IGF 1, adult body weights and bone dimensions compared to wild-type littermates. In sum, these findings suggest that growth failure in GSD-Ia results, at least in part, from hepatic GH resistance. In addition, gene therapy improved growth in addition to promoting long-term survival in dogs and mice with GSD-Ia. PMID:23623482

Wigner time-delay distribution in chaotic cavities and freezing transition.

PubMed

Texier, Christophe; Majumdar, Satya N

2013-06-21

Using the joint distribution for proper time delays of a chaotic cavity derived by Brouwer, Frahm, and Beenakker [Phys. Rev. Lett. 78, 4737 (1997)], we obtain, in the limit of the large number of channels N, the large deviation function for the distribution of the Wigner time delay (the sum of proper times) by a Coulomb gas method. We show that the existence of a power law tail originates from narrow resonance contributions, related to a (second order) freezing transition in the Coulomb gas.

Graph Theoretical Representation of Atomic Asymmetry and Molecular Chirality of Benzenoids in Two-Dimensional Space

PubMed Central

Zhao, Tanfeng; Zhang, Qingyou; Long, Hailin; Xu, Lu

2014-01-01

In order to explore atomic asymmetry and molecular chirality in 2D space, benzenoids composed of 3 to 11 hexagons in 2D space were enumerated in our laboratory. These benzenoids are regarded as planar connected polyhexes and have no internal holes; that is, their internal regions are filled with hexagons. The produced dataset was composed of 357,968 benzenoids, including more than 14 million atoms. Rather than simply labeling the huge number of atoms as being either symmetric or asymmetric, this investigation aims at exploring a quantitative graph theoretical descriptor of atomic asymmetry. Based on the particular characteristics in the 2D plane, we suggested the weighted atomic sum as the descriptor of atomic asymmetry. This descriptor is measured by circulating around the molecule going in opposite directions. The investigation demonstrates that the weighted atomic sums are superior to the previously reported quantitative descriptor, atomic sums. The investigation of quantitative descriptors also reveals that the most asymmetric atom is in a structure with a spiral ring with the convex shape going in clockwise direction and concave shape going in anticlockwise direction from the atom. Based on weighted atomic sums, a weighted F index is introduced to quantitatively represent molecular chirality in the plane, rather than merely regarding benzenoids as being either chiral or achiral. By validating with enumerated benzenoids, the results indicate that the weighted F indexes were in accordance with their chiral classification (achiral or chiral) over the whole benzenoids dataset. Furthermore, weighted F indexes were superior to previously available descriptors. Benzenoids possess a variety of shapes and can be extended to practically represent any shape in 2D space—our proposed descriptor has thus the potential to be a general method to represent 2D molecular chirality based on the difference between clockwise and anticlockwise sums around a molecule. PMID:25032832

Linear-array photoacoustic imaging using minimum variance-based delay multiply and sum adaptive beamforming algorithm.

PubMed

Mozaffarzadeh, Moein; Mahloojifar, Ali; Orooji, Mahdi; Kratkiewicz, Karl; Adabi, Saba; Nasiriavanaki, Mohammadreza

2018-02-01

In photoacoustic imaging, delay-and-sum (DAS) beamformer is a common beamforming algorithm having a simple implementation. However, it results in a poor resolution and high sidelobes. To address these challenges, a new algorithm namely delay-multiply-and-sum (DMAS) was introduced having lower sidelobes compared to DAS. To improve the resolution of DMAS, a beamformer is introduced using minimum variance (MV) adaptive beamforming combined with DMAS, so-called minimum variance-based DMAS (MVB-DMAS). It is shown that expanding the DMAS equation results in multiple terms representing a DAS algebra. It is proposed to use the MV adaptive beamformer instead of the existing DAS. MVB-DMAS is evaluated numerically and experimentally. In particular, at the depth of 45 mm MVB-DMAS results in about 31, 18, and 8 dB sidelobes reduction compared to DAS, MV, and DMAS, respectively. The quantitative results of the simulations show that MVB-DMAS leads to improvement in full-width-half-maximum about 96%, 94%, and 45% and signal-to-noise ratio about 89%, 15%, and 35% compared to DAS, DMAS, MV, respectively. In particular, at the depth of 33 mm of the experimental images, MVB-DMAS results in about 20 dB sidelobes reduction in comparison with other beamformers. (2018) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE).

Recirculating cross-correlation detector

DOEpatents

Andrews, W.H. Jr.; Roberts, M.J.

1985-01-18

A digital cross-correlation detector is provided in which two time-varying signals are correlated by repetitively comparing data samples stored in digital form to detect correlation between the two signals. The signals are sampled at a selected rate converted to digital form, and stored in separate locations in separate memories. When the memories are filled, the data samples from each memory are first fed word-by-word through a multiplier and summing circuit and each result is compared to the last in a peak memory circuit and if larger than the last is retained in the peak memory. Then the address line to leading signal memory is offset by one byte to affect one sample period delay of a known amount in that memory and the data in the two memories are then multiplied word-by-word once again and summed. If a new result is larger than a former sum, it is saved in the peak memory together with the time delay. The recirculating process continues with the address of the one memory being offset one additional byte each cycle until the address is shifted through the length of the memory. The correlation between the two signals is indicated by the peak signal stored in the peak memory together with the delay time at which the peak occurred. The circuit is faster and considerably less expensive than comparable accuracy correlation detectors.

Hopf Bifurcation Analysis of a Gene Regulatory Network Mediated by Small Noncoding RNA with Time Delays and Diffusion

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Chengxian; Liu, Haihong; Zhang, Tonghua; Yan, Fang

2017-12-01

In this paper, a gene regulatory network mediated by small noncoding RNA involving two time delays and diffusion under the Neumann boundary conditions is studied. Choosing the sum of delays as the bifurcation parameter, the stability of the positive equilibrium and the existence of spatially homogeneous and spatially inhomogeneous periodic solutions are investigated by analyzing the corresponding characteristic equation. It is shown that the sum of delays can induce Hopf bifurcation and the diffusion incorporated into the system can effect the amplitude of periodic solutions. Furthermore, the spatially homogeneous periodic solution always exists and the spatially inhomogeneous periodic solution will arise when the diffusion coefficients of protein and mRNA are suitably small. Particularly, the small RNA diffusion coefficient is more robust and its effect on model is much less than protein and mRNA. Finally, the explicit formulae for determining the direction of Hopf bifurcation and the stability of the bifurcating periodic solutions are derived by employing the normal form theory and center manifold theorem for partial functional differential equations. Finally, numerical simulations are carried out to illustrate our theoretical analysis.

Transition sum rules in the shell model

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

Lu, Yi; Johnson, Calvin W.

An important characterization of electromagnetic and weak transitions in atomic nuclei are sum rules. We focus on the non-energy-weighted sum rule (NEWSR), or total strength, and the energy- weighted sum rule (EWSR); the ratio of the EWSR to the NEWSR is the centroid or average energy of transition strengths from an nuclear initial state to all allowed final states. These sum rules can be expressed as expectation values of operators, in the case of the EWSR a double commutator. While most prior applications of the double-commutator have been to special cases, we derive general formulas for matrix elements of bothmore » operators in a shell model framework (occupation space), given the input matrix elements for the nuclear Hamiltonian and for the transition operator. With these new formulas, we easily evaluate centroids of transition strength functions, with no need to calculate daughter states. We then apply this simple tool to a number of nuclides, and demonstrate the sum rules follow smooth secular behavior as a function of initial energy, as well as compare the electric dipole (E1) sum rule against the famous Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn version. We also find surprising systematic behaviors for ground state electric quadrupole (E2) centroids in the $sd$-shell.« less

Transition sum rules in the shell model

DOE PAGES

Lu, Yi; Johnson, Calvin W.

2018-03-29

An important characterization of electromagnetic and weak transitions in atomic nuclei are sum rules. We focus on the non-energy-weighted sum rule (NEWSR), or total strength, and the energy- weighted sum rule (EWSR); the ratio of the EWSR to the NEWSR is the centroid or average energy of transition strengths from an nuclear initial state to all allowed final states. These sum rules can be expressed as expectation values of operators, in the case of the EWSR a double commutator. While most prior applications of the double-commutator have been to special cases, we derive general formulas for matrix elements of bothmore » operators in a shell model framework (occupation space), given the input matrix elements for the nuclear Hamiltonian and for the transition operator. With these new formulas, we easily evaluate centroids of transition strength functions, with no need to calculate daughter states. We then apply this simple tool to a number of nuclides, and demonstrate the sum rules follow smooth secular behavior as a function of initial energy, as well as compare the electric dipole (E1) sum rule against the famous Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn version. We also find surprising systematic behaviors for ground state electric quadrupole (E2) centroids in the $sd$-shell.« less

Quantifying the signals contained in heterogeneous neural responses and determining their relationships with task performance

PubMed Central

Pagan, Marino

2014-01-01

The responses of high-level neurons tend to be mixtures of many different types of signals. While this diversity is thought to allow for flexible neural processing, it presents a challenge for understanding how neural responses relate to task performance and to neural computation. To address these challenges, we have developed a new method to parse the responses of individual neurons into weighted sums of intuitive signal components. Our method computes the weights by projecting a neuron's responses onto a predefined orthonormal basis. Once determined, these weights can be combined into measures of signal modulation; however, in their raw form these signal modulation measures are biased by noise. Here we introduce and evaluate two methods for correcting this bias, and we report that an analytically derived approach produces performance that is robust and superior to a bootstrap procedure. Using neural data recorded from inferotemporal cortex and perirhinal cortex as monkeys performed a delayed-match-to-sample target search task, we demonstrate how the method can be used to quantify the amounts of task-relevant signals in heterogeneous neural populations. We also demonstrate how these intuitive quantifications of signal modulation can be related to single-neuron measures of task performance (d′). PMID:24920017

Scattering and; Delay, Scale, and Sum Migration

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

Lehman, S K

How do we see? What is the mechanism? Consider standing in an open field on a clear sunny day. In the field are a yellow dog and a blue ball. From a wave-based remote sensing point of view the sun is a source of radiation. It is a broadband electromagnetic source which, for the purposes of this introduction, only the visible spectrum is considered (approximately 390 to 750 nanometers or 400 to 769 TeraHertz). The source emits an incident field into the known background environment which, for this example, is free space. The incident field propagates until it strikes anmore » object or target, either the yellow dog or the blue ball. The interaction of the incident field with an object results in a scattered field. The scattered field arises from a mis-match between the background refractive index, considered to be unity, and the scattering object refractive index ('yellow' for the case of the dog, and 'blue' for the ball). This is also known as an impedance mis-match. The scattering objects are referred to as secondary sources of radiation, that radiation being the scattered field which propagates until it is measured by the two receivers known as 'eyes'. The eyes focus the measured scattered field to form images which are processed by the 'wetware' of the brain for detection, identification, and localization. When time series representations of the measured scattered field are available, the image forming focusing process can be mathematically modeled by delayed, scaled, and summed migration. This concept of optical propagation, scattering, and focusing have one-to-one equivalents in the acoustic realm. This document is intended to present the basic concepts of scalar scattering and migration used in wide band wave-based remote sensing and imaging. The terms beamforming and (delayed, scaled, and summed) migration are used interchangeably but are to be distinguished from the narrow band (frequency domain) beamforming to determine the direction of arrival of a signal, and seismic migration in which wide band time series are shifted but not to form images per se. Section 3 presents a mostly graphically-based motivation and summary of delay, scale, and sum beamforming. The model for incident field propagation in free space is derived in Section 4 under specific assumptions. General object scattering is derived in Section 5 and simplified under the Born approximation in Section 6. The model of this section serves as the basis in the derivation of time-domain migration. The Foldy-Lax, full point scatterer scattering, method is derived in Section 7. With the previous forward models in hand, delay, scale, and sum beamforming is derived in Section 8. Finally, proof-of-principle experiments are present in Section 9.« less

Effect of intermittent kangaroo mother care on weight gain of low birth weight neonates with delayed weight gain.

PubMed

Samra, Nashwa M; Taweel, Amal El; Cadwell, Karin

2013-01-01

To evaluate intermittent Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) with additional opportunities to breastfeed on weight gain of low birth weight (LBW) neonates with delayed weight gain. 40 LBW neonates were followed to see whether KMC with additional opportunities to breastfeed improved weight gain. In the KMC group, the mean age of regaining birth weight was significantly less (15.68 vs. 24.56 days) and the average daily weight gain was significantly higher (22.09 vs. 10.39 g, p < .001) than controls. KMC with additional opportunities to breastfeed was found to be an effective intervention for LBWs with delayed weight gain and should be considered to be an effective strategy.

Generation of multicolor vacuum ultraviolet pulses through four-wave sum-frequency mixing in argon

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Liping; Li, Wenxue; Zhou, Hui; Wang, Di; Ding, Liang'en; Zeng, Heping

2013-11-01

We demonstrate efficient generation of multicolor vacuum ultraviolet pulses with excellent mode quality through χ(3)-based four-wave sum-frequency mixing and third-order harmonic generation of 400- and 267-nm femtosecond laser pulses in argon gas. The χ(3)-based nonlinear optical processes were optimized with appropriate control of gas pressure and group velocity delay between the driving pulses. Furthermore, the pulse breakup effects were observed for tightly focused ultraviolet pulses.

A New Parameterization of the Shapiro delay and improved tests of general relativity in binary pulsars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freire, Paulo; Wex, Norbert

In this talk, we present a re-parameterization of the Shapiro delay as observed in the timing of radio pulses of binary pulsars. We express the Shapiro delay as a sum of harmonics of the orbital period of the system, and use the harmonic coefficients as the main parameters of a much improved description of the effect. This includes a superior description of the constraints on the masses and orbital inclination introduced by a measurement of the Shapiro delay. In some cases (which we discuss) this leads to dramatically improved parametric tests of general relativity with binary pulsars.

Compound cuing in free recall.

PubMed

Lohnas, Lynn J; Kahana, Michael J

2014-01-01

According to the retrieved context theory of episodic memory, the cue for recall of an item is a weighted sum of recently activated cognitive states, including previously recalled and studied items as well as their associations. We show that this theory predicts there should be compound cuing in free recall. Specifically, the temporal contiguity effect should be greater when the 2 most recently recalled items were studied in contiguous list positions. A meta-analysis of published free recall experiments demonstrates evidence for compound cuing in both conditional response probabilities and interresponse times. To help rule out a rehearsal-based account of these compound cuing effects, we conducted an experiment with immediate, delayed, and continual-distractor free recall conditions. Consistent with retrieved context theory but not with a rehearsal-based account, compound cuing was present in all conditions, and was not significantly influenced by the presence of interitem distractors.

Compound cueing in free recall

PubMed Central

Lohnas, Lynn J.; Kahana, Michael J.

2013-01-01

According to the retrieved context theory of episodic memory, the cue for recall of an item is a weighted sum of recently activated cognitive states, including previously recalled and studied items as well as their associations. We show that this theory predicts there should be compound cueing in free recall. Specifically, the temporal contiguity effect should be greater when the two most recently recalled items were studied in contiguous list positions. A meta-analysis of published free recall experiments demonstrates evidence for compound cueing in both conditional response probabilities and inter-response times. To help rule out a rehearsal-based account of these compound cueing effects, we conducted an experiment with immediate, delayed and continual-distractor free recall conditions. Consistent with retrieved context theory but not with a rehearsal-based account, compound cueing was present in all conditions, and was not significantly influenced by the presence of interitem distractors. PMID:23957364

Modeling the directivity of parametric loudspeaker

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shi, Chuang; Gan, Woon-Seng

2012-09-01

The emerging applications of the parametric loudspeaker, such as 3D audio, demands accurate directivity control at the audible frequency (i.e. the difference frequency). Though the delay-and-sum beamforming has been proven adequate to adjust the steering angles of the parametric loudspeaker, accurate prediction of the mainlobe and sidelobes remains a challenging problem. It is mainly because of the approximations that are used to derive the directivity of the difference frequency from the directivity of the primary frequency, and the mismatches between the theoretical directivity and the measured directivity caused by system errors incurred at different stages of the implementation. In this paper, we propose a directivity model of the parametric loudspeaker. The directivity model consists of two tuning vectors corresponding to the spacing error and the weight error for the primary frequency. The directivity model adopts a modified form of the product directivity principle for the difference frequency to further improve the modeling accuracy.

Echo state networks with filter neurons and a delay&sum readout.

PubMed

Holzmann, Georg; Hauser, Helmut

2010-03-01

Echo state networks (ESNs) are a novel approach to recurrent neural network training with the advantage of a very simple and linear learning algorithm. It has been demonstrated that ESNs outperform other methods on a number of benchmark tasks. Although the approach is appealing, there are still some inherent limitations in the original formulation. Here we suggest two enhancements of this network model. First, the previously proposed idea of filters in neurons is extended to arbitrary infinite impulse response (IIR) filter neurons. This enables such networks to learn multiple attractors and signals at different timescales, which is especially important for modeling real-world time series. Second, a delay&sum readout is introduced, which adds trainable delays in the synaptic connections of output neurons and therefore vastly improves the memory capacity of echo state networks. It is shown in commonly used benchmark tasks and real-world examples, that this new structure is able to significantly outperform standard ESNs and other state-of-the-art models for nonlinear dynamical system modeling. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Drude Weight, Meissner Weight, Rotational Inertia of Bosonic Superfluids: How Are They Distinguished?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hetényi, Balázs

2014-03-01

The Drude weight, the quantity which distinguishes metals from insulators, is proportional to the second derivative of the ground state energy with respect to a flux at zero flux. The same expression also appears in the definition of the Meissner weight, the quantity which indicates superconductivity, as well as in the definition of non-classical rotational inertia of bosonic superfluids. It is shown that the difference between these quantities depends on the interpretation of the average momentum term, which can be understood as the expectation value of the total momentum (Drude weight), the sum of the expectation values of single momenta (rotational inertia of a superfluid), or the sum over expectation values of momentum pairs (Meissner weight). This distinction appears naturally when the current from which the particular transport quantity is derived is cast in terms of shift operators.

Effect of Intermittent Kangaroo Mother Care on Weight Gain of Low Birth Weight Neonates With Delayed Weight Gain

PubMed Central

Samra, Nashwa M.; Taweel, Amal El; Cadwell, Karin

2013-01-01

Objective: To evaluate intermittent Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) with additional opportunities to breastfeed on weight gain of low birth weight (LBW) neonates with delayed weight gain. Methods: 40 LBW neonates were followed to see whether KMC with additional opportunities to breastfeed improved weight gain. Results: In the KMC group, the mean age of regaining birth weight was significantly less (15.68 vs. 24.56 days) and the average daily weight gain was significantly higher (22.09 vs. 10.39 g, p < .001) than controls. Conclusion: KMC with additional opportunities to breastfeed was found to be an effective intervention for LBWs with delayed weight gain and should be considered to be an effective strategy. PMID:24868132

The Worst-Case Weighted Multi-Objective Game with an Application to Supply Chain Competitions.

PubMed

Qu, Shaojian; Ji, Ying

2016-01-01

In this paper, we propose a worst-case weighted approach to the multi-objective n-person non-zero sum game model where each player has more than one competing objective. Our "worst-case weighted multi-objective game" model supposes that each player has a set of weights to its objectives and wishes to minimize its maximum weighted sum objectives where the maximization is with respect to the set of weights. This new model gives rise to a new Pareto Nash equilibrium concept, which we call "robust-weighted Nash equilibrium". We prove that the robust-weighted Nash equilibria are guaranteed to exist even when the weight sets are unbounded. For the worst-case weighted multi-objective game with the weight sets of players all given as polytope, we show that a robust-weighted Nash equilibrium can be obtained by solving a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC). For an application, we illustrate the usefulness of the worst-case weighted multi-objective game to a supply chain risk management problem under demand uncertainty. By the comparison with the existed weighted approach, we show that our method is more robust and can be more efficiently used for the real-world applications.

Improvement of gross theory of beta-decay for application to nuclear data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koura, Hiroyuki; Yoshida, Tadashi; Tachibana, Takahiro; Chiba, Satoshi

2017-09-01

A theoretical study of β decay and delayed neutron has been carried out with a global β-decay model, the gross theory. The gross theory is based on a consideration of the sum rule of the β-strength function, and gives reasonable results of β-decay rates and delayed neutron in the entire nuclear mass region. In a fissioning nucleus, neutrons are produced by β decay of neutron-rich fission fragments from actinides known as delayed neutrons. The average number of delayed neutrons is estimated based on the sum of the β-delayed neutron-emission probabilities multiplied by the cumulative fission yield for each nucleus. Such a behavior is important to manipulate nuclear reactors, and when we adopt some new high-burn-up reactors, properties of minor actinides will play an important roll in the system, but these data have not been sufficient. We re-analyze and improve the gross theory. For example, we considered the parity of neutrons and protons at the Fermi surface, and treat a suppression for the allowed transitions in the framework of the gross theory. By using the improved gross theory, underestimated half-lives in the neutron-rich indium isotopes and neighboring region increase, and consequently follow experimental trend. The ability of reproduction (and also prediction) of the β-decay rates, delayed-neutron emission probabilities is discussed. With this work, we have described the development of a programming code of the gross theory of β-decay including the improved parts. After preparation finished, this code can be released for the nuclear data community.

Auditory alert systems with enhanced detectability

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Begault, Durand R. (Inventor)

2008-01-01

Methods and systems for distinguishing an auditory alert signal from a background of one or more non-alert signals. In a first embodiment, a prefix signal, associated with an existing alert signal, is provided that has a signal component in each of three or more selected frequency ranges, with each signal component in each of three or more selected level at least 3-10 dB above an estimated background (non-alert) level in that frequency range. The alert signal may be chirped within one or more frequency bands. In another embodiment, an alert signal moves, continuously or discontinuously, from one location to another over a short time interval, introducing a perceived spatial modulation or jitter. In another embodiment, a weighted sum of background signals adjacent to each ear is formed, and the weighted sum is delivered to each ear as a uniform background; a distinguishable alert signal is presented on top of this weighted sum signal at one ear, or distinguishable first and second alert signals are presented at two ears of a subject.

Two-Level Scheduling for Video Transmission over Downlink OFDMA Networks

PubMed Central

Tham, Mau-Luen

2016-01-01

This paper presents a two-level scheduling scheme for video transmission over downlink orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) networks. It aims to maximize the aggregate quality of the video users subject to the playback delay and resource constraints, by exploiting the multiuser diversity and the video characteristics. The upper level schedules the transmission of video packets among multiple users based on an overall target bit-error-rate (BER), the importance level of packet and resource consumption efficiency factor. Instead, the lower level renders unequal error protection (UEP) in terms of target BER among the scheduled packets by solving a weighted sum distortion minimization problem, where each user weight reflects the total importance level of the packets that has been scheduled for that user. Frequency-selective power is then water-filled over all the assigned subcarriers in order to leverage the potential channel coding gain. Realistic simulation results demonstrate that the proposed scheme significantly outperforms the state-of-the-art scheduling scheme by up to 6.8 dB in terms of peak-signal-to-noise-ratio (PSNR). Further test evaluates the suitability of equal power allocation which is the common assumption in the literature. PMID:26906398

Multiple Interactive Pollutants in Water Quality Trading

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sarang, Amin; Lence, Barbara J.; Shamsai, Abolfazl

2008-10-01

Efficient environmental management calls for the consideration of multiple pollutants, for which two main types of transferable discharge permit (TDP) program have been described: separate permits that manage each pollutant individually in separate markets, with each permit based on the quantity of the pollutant or its environmental effects, and weighted-sum permits that aggregate several pollutants as a single commodity to be traded in a single market. In this paper, we perform a mathematical analysis of TDP programs for multiple pollutants that jointly affect the environment (i.e., interactive pollutants) and demonstrate the practicality of this approach for cost-efficient maintenance of river water quality. For interactive pollutants, the relative weighting factors are functions of the water quality impacts, marginal damage function, and marginal treatment costs at optimality. We derive the optimal set of weighting factors required by this approach for important scenarios for multiple interactive pollutants and propose using an analytical elasticity of substitution function to estimate damage functions for these scenarios. We evaluate the applicability of this approach using a hypothetical example that considers two interactive pollutants. We compare the weighted-sum permit approach for interactive pollutants with individual permit systems and TDP programs for multiple additive pollutants. We conclude by discussing practical considerations and implementation issues that result from the application of weighted-sum permit programs.

Seasonal Variation in Pigeon Body Weight and Delayed Matching-to-sample Performance

PubMed Central

Sargisson, Rebecca J; McLean, Ian G; Brown, Glenn S; White, K Geoffrey

2007-01-01

The weights of 5 pigeons with free access to food, monitored over 3 calendar years in the laboratory, were found to fluctuate with season. All pigeons were at their heaviest in the winter and were lightest in the summer. Five different pigeons performed a standard delayed matching-to-sample task for 44 weeks from January to November. Their weights were held at 85% of their summer free-feeding weights, making their predicted deprivation level higher in the winter relative to predicted winter free-feeding weights. Slopes of forgetting functions fit to weekly response totals for each pigeon were shallower in winter, showing an improvement in accuracy with longer delays. Thus, delayed matching-to-sample performance may have been affected by the practice of maintaining the pigeons at a constant body weight throughout the calendar year. PMID:18047229

Anorexic response to rapamycin does not appear to involve a central mechanism.

PubMed

Toklu, Hale Z; Bruce, Erin B; Sakarya, Yasemin; Carter, Christy S; Morgan, Drake; Matheny, Michael K; Kirichenko, Nataliya; Scarpace, Philip J; Tümer, Nihal

2016-09-01

The authors have previously demonstrated that a low and intermittent peripheral dose of rapamycin (1 mg/kg three times/week) to rats inhibited mTORC1 signalling, but avoided the hyperlipidemia and diabetes-like syndrome associated with higher doses of rapamycin. The dosing regimen reduced food intake, body weight, adiposity, serum leptin and triglycerides. mTORC1 signalling was inhibited in both liver and hypothalamus, suggesting some of the actions, in particular the decrease in food intake, may be the results of a central mechanism. To test this hypothesis, rapamycin (30 μg/day for 4 weeks) was infused into 23-25-month-old F344xBN rats by intracerebroventricular (icv) mini pumps. Our results demonstrated that central infusion did not alter food intake or body weight, although there was a tendency for a decrease in body weight towards the end of the study. mTORC1 signalling, evidenced by decreased phosphorylation of S6 protein at end of 4 weeks, was not activated in liver, hypothalamus or hindbrain. Fat and lean mass, sum of white adipose tissues, brown adipose tissue, serum glucose, insulin and leptin levels remained unchanged. Thus, these data suggest that the anorexic and body weight responses evident with peripheral rapamycin are not the result of direct central action. The tendency for decreased body weight towards the end of study, suggests that there is either a slow transport of centrally administered rapamycin into the periphery, or that there is delayed action of rapamycin at sites in the brain. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

Minimizing the Sum of Completion Times with Resource Dependant Times

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yedidsion, Liron; Shabtay, Dvir; Kaspi, Moshe

2008-10-01

We extend the classical minimization sum of completion times problem to the case where the processing times are controllable by allocating a nonrenewable resource. The quality of a solution is measured by two different criteria. The first criterion is the sum of completion times and the second is the total weighted resource consumption. We consider four different problem variations for treating the two criteria. We prove that this problem is NP-hard for three of the four variations even if all resource consumption weights are equal. However, somewhat surprisingly, the variation of minimizing the integrated objective function is solvable in polynomial time. Although the sum of completion times is arguably the most important scheduling criteria, the complexity of this problem, up to this paper, was an open question for three of the four variations. The results of this research have various implementations, including efficient battery usage on mobile devices such as mobile computer, phones and GPS devices in order to prolong their battery duration.

On the Hardness of Subset Sum Problem from Different Intervals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kogure, Jun; Kunihiro, Noboru; Yamamoto, Hirosuke

The subset sum problem, which is often called as the knapsack problem, is known as an NP-hard problem, and there are several cryptosystems based on the problem. Assuming an oracle for shortest vector problem of lattice, the low-density attack algorithm by Lagarias and Odlyzko and its variants solve the subset sum problem efficiently, when the “density” of the given problem is smaller than some threshold. When we define the density in the context of knapsack-type cryptosystems, weights are usually assumed to be chosen uniformly at random from the same interval. In this paper, we focus on general subset sum problems, where this assumption may not hold. We assume that weights are chosen from different intervals, and make analysis of the effect on the success probability of above algorithms both theoretically and experimentally. Possible application of our result in the context of knapsack cryptosystems is the security analysis when we reduce the data size of public keys.

A Critique of the DoD Materiel Distribution Study,

DTIC Science & Technology

1979-03-01

are generated on order cycle times by their components: communication times, depot order processing times, depot capacity delay times, and transit...exceeded, the order was placed in one of three priority queues. The order processing time was determined by priority group by depot. A 20-point probability...time was defined to be the sum of communication, depot order processing , depot capacity delay, and transit times. As has been argued, the first three of

Design of polynomial fuzzy observer-controller for nonlinear systems with state delay: sum of squares approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gassara, H.; El Hajjaji, A.; Chaabane, M.

2017-07-01

This paper investigates the problem of observer-based control for two classes of polynomial fuzzy systems with time-varying delay. The first class concerns a special case where the polynomial matrices do not depend on the estimated state variables. The second one is the general case where the polynomial matrices could depend on unmeasurable system states that will be estimated. For the last case, two design procedures are proposed. The first one gives the polynomial fuzzy controller and observer gains in two steps. In the second procedure, the designed gains are obtained using a single-step approach to overcome the drawback of a two-step procedure. The obtained conditions are presented in terms of sum of squares (SOS) which can be solved via the SOSTOOLS and a semi-definite program solver. Illustrative examples show the validity and applicability of the proposed results.

An alternative approach to calculating Area-Under-the-Curve (AUC) in delay discounting research.

PubMed

Borges, Allison M; Kuang, Jinyi; Milhorn, Hannah; Yi, Richard

2016-09-01

Applied to delay discounting data, Area-Under-the-Curve (AUC) provides an atheoretical index of the rate of delay discounting. The conventional method of calculating AUC, by summing the areas of the trapezoids formed by successive delay-indifference point pairings, does not account for the fact that most delay discounting tasks scale delay pseudoexponentially, that is, time intervals between delays typically get larger as delays get longer. This results in a disproportionate contribution of indifference points at long delays to the total AUC, with minimal contribution from indifference points at short delays. We propose two modifications that correct for this imbalance via a base-10 logarithmic transformation and an ordinal scaling transformation of delays. These newly proposed indices of discounting, AUClog d and AUCor d, address the limitation of AUC while preserving a primary strength (remaining atheoretical). Re-examination of previously published data provides empirical support for both AUClog d and AUCor d . Thus, we believe theoretical and empirical arguments favor these methods as the preferred atheoretical indices of delay discounting. © 2016 Society for the Experimental Analysis of Behavior.

[Determinants of tuberculosis diagnosis delay in limited resources countries].

PubMed

Ndeikoundam Ngangro, N; Chauvin, P; Halley des Fontaines, V

2012-02-01

Delayed diagnoses of pulmonary tuberculosis contribute to the spread of the epidemic. This study aims to identify risk factors associated with patient delay (from symptoms onset to the first visit), health system delay (from the first visit to the tuberculosis treatment initiation) and total delay (sum of the patient and the health system delay) in low income and high tuberculosis burden countries. A systematic literature review has been performed using the keywords: "tuberculosis"; "delay", care seeking"; "health care seeking behavior"; "diagnosis" and "treatment". Only quantitative studies showing delays for pulmonary tuberculosis adult cases were included in this review. Low income, gender, rural life, unemployment, ageing and misunderstanding the microbial cause of tuberculosis are associated with delayed diagnoses. Systemic factors including low health care coverage, patient expenditures and entry into the health system by consulting a traditional healer or a non-skilled professional delay the beginning of tuberculosis treatment. Delays can be used as indicators to evaluate tuberculosis control programs. Active case finding in the households of contagious patients can help to diminish diagnostic delays in low-income countries with high endemicity. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.

An adaptive beamforming method for ultrasound imaging based on the mean-to-standard-deviation factor.

PubMed

Wang, Yuanguo; Zheng, Chichao; Peng, Hu; Chen, Qiang

2018-06-12

The beamforming performance has a large impact on image quality in ultrasound imaging. Previously, several adaptive weighting factors including coherence factor (CF) and generalized coherence factor (GCF) have been proposed to improved image resolution and contrast. In this paper, we propose a new adaptive weighting factor for ultrasound imaging, which is called signal mean-to-standard-deviation factor (SMSF). SMSF is defined as the mean-to-standard-deviation of the aperture data and is used to weight the output of delay-and-sum (DAS) beamformer before image formation. Moreover, we develop a robust SMSF (RSMSF) by extending the SMSF to the spatial frequency domain using an altered spectrum of the aperture data. In addition, a square neighborhood average is applied on the RSMSF to offer a more smoothed square neighborhood RSMSF (SN-RSMSF) value. We compared our methods with DAS, CF, and GCF using simulated and experimental synthetic aperture data sets. The quantitative results show that SMSF results in an 82% lower full width at half-maximum (FWHM) but a 12% lower contrast ratio (CR) compared with CF. Moreover, the SN-RSMSF leads to 15% and 10% improvement, on average, in FWHM and CR compared with GCF while maintaining the speckle quality. This demonstrates that the proposed methods can effectively improve the image resolution and contrast. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Double-Stage Delay Multiply and Sum Beamforming Algorithm: Application to Linear-Array Photoacoustic Imaging.

PubMed

Mozaffarzadeh, Moein; Mahloojifar, Ali; Orooji, Mahdi; Adabi, Saba; Nasiriavanaki, Mohammadreza

2018-01-01

Photoacoustic imaging (PAI) is an emerging medical imaging modality capable of providing high spatial resolution of Ultrasound (US) imaging and high contrast of optical imaging. Delay-and-Sum (DAS) is the most common beamforming algorithm in PAI. However, using DAS beamformer leads to low resolution images and considerable contribution of off-axis signals. A new paradigm namely delay-multiply-and-sum (DMAS), which was originally used as a reconstruction algorithm in confocal microwave imaging, was introduced to overcome the challenges in DAS. DMAS was used in PAI systems and it was shown that this algorithm results in resolution improvement and sidelobe degrading. However, DMAS is still sensitive to high levels of noise, and resolution improvement is not satisfying. Here, we propose a novel algorithm based on DAS algebra inside DMAS formula expansion, double stage DMAS (DS-DMAS), which improves the image resolution and levels of sidelobe, and is much less sensitive to high level of noise compared to DMAS. The performance of DS-DMAS algorithm is evaluated numerically and experimentally. The resulted images are evaluated qualitatively and quantitatively using established quality metrics including signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), full-width-half-maximum (FWHM) and contrast ratio (CR). It is shown that DS-DMAS outperforms DAS and DMAS at the expense of higher computational load. DS-DMAS reduces the lateral valley for about 15 dB and improves the SNR and FWHM better than 13% and 30%, respectively. Moreover, the levels of sidelobe are reduced for about 10 dB in comparison with those in DMAS.

Scalable analysis of nonlinear systems using convex optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papachristodoulou, Antonis

In this thesis, we investigate how convex optimization can be used to analyze different classes of nonlinear systems at various scales algorithmically. The methodology is based on the construction of appropriate Lyapunov-type certificates using sum of squares techniques. After a brief introduction on the mathematical tools that we will be using, we turn our attention to robust stability and performance analysis of systems described by Ordinary Differential Equations. A general framework for constrained systems analysis is developed, under which stability of systems with polynomial, non-polynomial vector fields and switching systems, as well estimating the region of attraction and the L2 gain can be treated in a unified manner. We apply our results to examples from biology and aerospace. We then consider systems described by Functional Differential Equations (FDEs), i.e., time-delay systems. Their main characteristic is that they are infinite dimensional, which complicates their analysis. We first show how the complete Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional can be constructed algorithmically for linear time-delay systems. Then, we concentrate on delay-independent and delay-dependent stability analysis of nonlinear FDEs using sum of squares techniques. An example from ecology is given. The scalable stability analysis of congestion control algorithms for the Internet is investigated next. The models we use result in an arbitrary interconnection of FDE subsystems, for which we require that stability holds for arbitrary delays, network topologies and link capacities. Through a constructive proof, we develop a Lyapunov functional for FAST---a recently developed network congestion control scheme---so that the Lyapunov stability properties scale with the system size. We also show how other network congestion control schemes can be analyzed in the same way. Finally, we concentrate on systems described by Partial Differential Equations. We show that axially constant perturbations of the Navier-Stokes equations for Hagen-Poiseuille flow are globally stable, even though the background noise is amplified as R3 where R is the Reynolds number, giving a 'robust yet fragile' interpretation. We also propose a sum of squares methodology for the analysis of systems described by parabolic PDEs. We conclude this work with an account for future research.

Guided filter-based fusion method for multiexposure images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Xinglin; Luo, Haibo; Qi, Feng; Zhou, Peipei

2016-11-01

It is challenging to capture a high-dynamic range (HDR) scene using a low-dynamic range camera. A weighted sum-based image fusion (IF) algorithm is proposed so as to express an HDR scene with a high-quality image. This method mainly includes three parts. First, two image features, i.e., gradients and well-exposedness are measured to estimate the initial weight maps. Second, the initial weight maps are refined by a guided filter, in which the source image is considered as the guidance image. This process could reduce the noise in initial weight maps and preserve more texture consistent with the original images. Finally, the fused image is constructed by a weighted sum of source images in the spatial domain. The main contributions of this method are the estimation of the initial weight maps and the appropriate use of the guided filter-based weight maps refinement. It provides accurate weight maps for IF. Compared to traditional IF methods, this algorithm avoids image segmentation, combination, and the camera response curve calibration. Furthermore, experimental results demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method in both subjective and objective evaluations.

Real time pipelined system for forming the sum of products in the processing of video data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wilcox, Brian (Inventor)

1988-01-01

A 3-by-3 convolver utilizes 9 binary arithmetic units connected in cascade for multiplying 12-bit binary pixel values P sub i which are positive or two's complement binary numbers by 5-bit magnitide (plus sign) weights W sub i which may be positive or negative. The weights are stored in registers including the sign bits. For a negative weight, the one's complement of the pixel value to be multiplied is formed at each unit by a bank of 17 exclusive or gates G sub i under control of the sign of the corresponding weight W sub i, and a correction is made by adding the sum of the absolute values of all the negative weights for each 3-by-3 kernel. Since this correction value remains constant as long as the weights are constant, it can be precomputed and stored in a register as a value to be added to the product PW of the first arithmetic unit.

The Worst-Case Weighted Multi-Objective Game with an Application to Supply Chain Competitions

PubMed Central

Qu, Shaojian; Ji, Ying

2016-01-01

In this paper, we propose a worst-case weighted approach to the multi-objective n-person non-zero sum game model where each player has more than one competing objective. Our “worst-case weighted multi-objective game” model supposes that each player has a set of weights to its objectives and wishes to minimize its maximum weighted sum objectives where the maximization is with respect to the set of weights. This new model gives rise to a new Pareto Nash equilibrium concept, which we call “robust-weighted Nash equilibrium”. We prove that the robust-weighted Nash equilibria are guaranteed to exist even when the weight sets are unbounded. For the worst-case weighted multi-objective game with the weight sets of players all given as polytope, we show that a robust-weighted Nash equilibrium can be obtained by solving a mathematical program with equilibrium constraints (MPEC). For an application, we illustrate the usefulness of the worst-case weighted multi-objective game to a supply chain risk management problem under demand uncertainty. By the comparison with the existed weighted approach, we show that our method is more robust and can be more efficiently used for the real-world applications. PMID:26820512

Optical resonators for true-time-delay beam steering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gesell, Leslie H.; Evanko, Stephen M.

1996-06-01

Conventional true time delay beamforming and steering devices rely on switching between various lengths of delay line. Therefore only discrete delays are possible. Proposed is a new photonics concept for true time delay beamforming which provides a finely controlled continuum of delays with switching speeds on the order of 10's of nanoseconds or faster. The architecture uses an array of waveguide cavities with different resonate frequencies to channelize the signal. Each spectral component of the signal is phase shifted by an amount proportional to the frequency of that component and the desired time delay. These phase shifted spectral components are then summed to obtain the delayed signal. This paper provides an overview of the results of a Phase I SBIR contract where this concept has been refined and analyzed. The parameters for an operational system are determined and indication of the feasibility of this approach is given. Among the issues addressed are the requirements of the resonators and the methods necessary to implement fiber optic Bragg gratings as these resonators.

Method and system of doppler correction for mobile communications systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Georghiades, Costas N. (Inventor); Spasojevic, Predrag (Inventor)

1999-01-01

Doppler correction system and method comprising receiving a Doppler effected signal comprising a preamble signal (32). A delayed preamble signal (48) may be generated based on the preamble signal (32). The preamble signal (32) may be multiplied by the delayed preamble signal (48) to generate an in-phase preamble signal (60). The in-phase preamble signal (60) may be filtered to generate a substantially constant in-phase preamble signal (62). A plurality of samples of the substantially constant in-phase preamble signal (62) may be accumulated. A phase-shifted signal (76) may also be generated based on the preamble signal (32). The phase-shifted signal (76) may be multiplied by the delayed preamble signal (48) to generate an out-of-phase preamble signal (80). The out-of-phase preamble signal (80) may be filtered to generate a substantially constant out-of-phase preamble signal (82). A plurality of samples of the substantially constant out-of-phase signal (82) may be accumulated. A sum of the in-phase preamble samples and a sum of the out-of-phase preamble samples may be normalized relative to each other to generate an in-phase Doppler estimator (92) and an out-of-phase Doppler estimator (94).

Rail Transit Winterization Technology and Systems Operations Study

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1980-09-01

The severe winters of 1977-1978 and 1978-1979 caused all snowbelt transit systems to experience a variety of problems which resulted in impaired service ranging from systems delays to complete system shutdowns. The scope of this report includes a sum...

Interpretation of body residues for natural resources damage assessment

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

Kubitz, J.A.; Markarian, R.K.; Lauren, D.J.

1995-12-31

A 28-day caged mussel study using Corbicula sp. was conducted on Sugarland Run and the Potomac River following a spill of No. 2 fuel oil. In addition, resident Corbicula sp. from the Potomac River were sampled at the beginning and end of the study. The summed body residues of 39 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) ranged from 0.56 to 41 mg/kg dry weight within the study area. The summed body residues of the 18 PAHs that are routinely measured in the national oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Status and Trends Program (NST) ranged from 0.5 to 20 mg/kg dry weight for musselsmore » in this study. These data were similar to summed PAH concentrations reported in the NST for mussels from a variety of US coastal waters, which ranged from 0.4 to 24.5 mg/kg dry weight. This paper will discuss interpretation of PAH residues in Corbicula sp. to determine the spatial extent of the area affected by the oil spill. The toxicological significance of the PAH residues in both resident and caged mussels will also be presented.« less

Adopting epidemic model to optimize medication and surgical intervention of excess weight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Ruoyan

2017-01-01

We combined an epidemic model with an objective function to minimize the weighted sum of people with excess weight and the cost of a medication and surgical intervention in the population. The epidemic model is consisted of ordinary differential equations to describe three subpopulation groups based on weight. We introduced an intervention using medication and surgery to deal with excess weight. An objective function is constructed taking into consideration the cost of the intervention as well as the weight distribution of the population. Using empirical data, we show that fixed participation rate reduces the size of obese population but increases the size for overweight. An optimal participation rate exists and decreases with respect to time. Both theoretical analysis and empirical example confirm the existence of an optimal participation rate, u*. Under u*, the weighted sum of overweight (S) and obese (O) population as well as the cost of the program is minimized. This article highlights the existence of an optimal participation rate that minimizes the number of people with excess weight and the cost of the intervention. The time-varying optimal participation rate could contribute to designing future public health interventions of excess weight.

Dietary exposure to brominated flame retardants correlates with male blood levels in a selected group of Norwegians with a wide range of seafood consumption.

PubMed

Knutsen, Helle K; Kvalem, Helen E; Thomsen, Cathrine; Frøshaug, May; Haugen, Margaretha; Becher, Georg; Alexander, Jan; Meltzer, Helle M

2008-02-01

This study investigates dietary exposure and serum levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) and hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) in a group of Norwegians (n = 184) with a wide range of seafood consumption (4-455 g/day). Mean dietary exposure to Sum 5 PBDEs (1.5 ng/kg body weight/day) is among the highest reported. Since concentrations in foods were similar to those found elsewhere in Europe, this may be explained by high seafood consumption among Norwegians. Oily fish was the main dietary contributor both to Sum PBDEs and to the considerably lower HBCD intake (0.3 ng/kg body weight/day). Milk products appeared to contribute most to the BDE-209 intake (1.4 ng/kg body weight/day). BDE-209 and HBCD exposures are based on few food samples and need to be confirmed. Serum levels (mean Sum 7 PBDEs = 5.2 ng/g lipid) and congener patterns (BDE-47 > BDE-153 > BDE-99) were comparable with other European reports. Correlations between individual congeners were higher for the calculated dietary exposure than for serum levels. Further, significant but weak correlations were found between dietary exposure and serum levels for Sum PBDEs, BDE-47, and BDE-28 in males. This indicates that other sources in addition to diet need to be addressed.

Exploring the association between body weight, stigma of obesity, and health care avoidance.

PubMed

Drury, Christine Aramburu Alegria; Louis, Margaret

2002-12-01

To explore the stigma of obesity and its effect on health care utilization, associations between self-esteem, attribution for weight, body mass index (BMI), satisfaction with medical care and the behavior of delaying/avoiding health care were examined. A convenience sample of 216 women recruited from church sites in Las Vegas completed self-administered questionnaires. The findings show an increase in BMI is associated with an increase in the delay/avoidance of health care. Weight-related reasons for delaying/avoiding health care included having "gained weight since last health care visit," not wanting to "get weighted on the provider's scale," and knowing they would be told to "lose weight." The obese are a stigmatized and vulnerable population. Nurse practitioners are challenged to be aware of attitudes towards obesity and to identify ways to promote continuity of care and regular health maintenance. The goals of Healthy People 2010 to reduce obesity-related morbidity cannot be met if health care is delayed/avoided.

Delivering both sum and difference beam distributions to a planar monopulse antenna array

DOEpatents

Strassner, II, Bernd H.

2015-12-22

A planar monopulse radar apparatus includes a planar distribution matrix coupled to a planar antenna array having a linear configuration of antenna elements. The planar distribution matrix is responsive to first and second pluralities of weights applied thereto for providing both sum and difference beam distributions across the antenna array.

A 2-categorical state sum model

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

Baratin, Aristide, E-mail: abaratin@uwaterloo.ca; Freidel, Laurent, E-mail: lfreidel@perimeterinstitute.ca

It has long been argued that higher categories provide the proper algebraic structure underlying state sum invariants of 4-manifolds. This idea has been refined recently, by proposing to use 2-groups and their representations as specific examples of 2-categories. The challenge has been to make these proposals fully explicit. Here, we give a concrete realization of this program. Building upon our earlier work with Baez and Wise on the representation theory of 2-groups, we construct a four-dimensional state sum model based on a categorified version of the Euclidean group. We define and explicitly compute the simplex weights, which may be viewedmore » a categorified analogue of Racah-Wigner 6j-symbols. These weights solve a hexagon equation that encodes the formal invariance of the state sum under the Pachner moves of the triangulation. This result unravels the combinatorial formulation of the Feynman amplitudes of quantum field theory on flat spacetime proposed in A. Baratin and L. Freidel [Classical Quantum Gravity 24, 2027–2060 (2007)] which was shown to lead after gauge-fixing to Korepanov’s invariant of 4-manifolds.« less

Comparative study of multimodal biometric recognition by fusion of iris and fingerprint.

PubMed

Benaliouche, Houda; Touahria, Mohamed

2014-01-01

This research investigates the comparative performance from three different approaches for multimodal recognition of combined iris and fingerprints: classical sum rule, weighted sum rule, and fuzzy logic method. The scores from the different biometric traits of iris and fingerprint are fused at the matching score and the decision levels. The scores combination approach is used after normalization of both scores using the min-max rule. Our experimental results suggest that the fuzzy logic method for the matching scores combinations at the decision level is the best followed by the classical weighted sum rule and the classical sum rule in order. The performance evaluation of each method is reported in terms of matching time, error rates, and accuracy after doing exhaustive tests on the public CASIA-Iris databases V1 and V2 and the FVC 2004 fingerprint database. Experimental results prior to fusion and after fusion are presented followed by their comparison with related works in the current literature. The fusion by fuzzy logic decision mimics the human reasoning in a soft and simple way and gives enhanced results.

Comparative Study of Multimodal Biometric Recognition by Fusion of Iris and Fingerprint

PubMed Central

Benaliouche, Houda; Touahria, Mohamed

2014-01-01

This research investigates the comparative performance from three different approaches for multimodal recognition of combined iris and fingerprints: classical sum rule, weighted sum rule, and fuzzy logic method. The scores from the different biometric traits of iris and fingerprint are fused at the matching score and the decision levels. The scores combination approach is used after normalization of both scores using the min-max rule. Our experimental results suggest that the fuzzy logic method for the matching scores combinations at the decision level is the best followed by the classical weighted sum rule and the classical sum rule in order. The performance evaluation of each method is reported in terms of matching time, error rates, and accuracy after doing exhaustive tests on the public CASIA-Iris databases V1 and V2 and the FVC 2004 fingerprint database. Experimental results prior to fusion and after fusion are presented followed by their comparison with related works in the current literature. The fusion by fuzzy logic decision mimics the human reasoning in a soft and simple way and gives enhanced results. PMID:24605065

Neyman-Pearson biometric score fusion as an extension of the sum rule

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hube, Jens Peter

2007-04-01

We define the biometric performance invariance under strictly monotonic functions on match scores as normalization symmetry. We use this symmetry to clarify the essential difference between the standard score-level fusion approaches of sum rule and Neyman-Pearson. We then express Neyman-Pearson fusion assuming match scores defined using false acceptance rates on a logarithmic scale. We show that by stating Neyman-Pearson in this form, it reduces to sum rule fusion for ROC curves with logarithmic slope. We also introduce a one parameter model of biometric performance and use it to express Neyman-Pearson fusion as a weighted sum rule.

Examining weight concern and delay discounting in adolescent females.

PubMed

Thamotharan, Sneha; Lange, Krista; Ramos, Ashley; Fields, Sherecce

2016-04-01

Pediatric obesity is a growing public health concern that contributes to high rates of negative long-term physical and mental health outcomes. Research focused on identifying risk for pediatric obesity has linked delay discounting, or an inclination for immediate rewards, as well as weight concern to individuals with greater Body Mass Index (BMI). The current study seeks to fill a void in the literature by examining how these two variables interact to promote higher BMI in female adolescents. Adolescent (n=60) females between the ages of 13-19years (mage=17.45, SD=1.74) of age completed the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (EDE-Q) and the Delay Discounting Questionnaire. A mediation model examined whether delay discounting accounted for the relationship between weight concern and BMI. Results indicate that in the current study weight concern was negatively related to delay discounting and delay discounting was negatively related to BMI. The overall model revealed that a partial mediation occurred [b=1.28, t(60)=4.92, p<0.01]. These results suggest that while impulsivity is an important factor to consider, other constructs may also be influential in how weight concerns contribute to greater BMI. Nevertheless, the results indicate that prevention and interventions should identify females with high levels of both weight concern and impulsivity as an increased risk for experiencing pediatric obesity and long-term negative health outcomes. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Complex-energy approach to sum rules within nuclear density functional theory

DOE PAGES

Hinohara, Nobuo; Kortelainen, Markus; Nazarewicz, Witold; ...

2015-04-27

The linear response of the nucleus to an external field contains unique information about the effective interaction, correlations governing the behavior of the many-body system, and properties of its excited states. To characterize the response, it is useful to use its energy-weighted moments, or sum rules. By comparing computed sum rules with experimental values, the information content of the response can be utilized in the optimization process of the nuclear Hamiltonian or nuclear energy density functional (EDF). But the additional information comes at a price: compared to the ground state, computation of excited states is more demanding. To establish anmore » efficient framework to compute energy-weighted sum rules of the response that is adaptable to the optimization of the nuclear EDF and large-scale surveys of collective strength, we have developed a new technique within the complex-energy finite-amplitude method (FAM) based on the quasiparticle random- phase approximation. The proposed sum-rule technique based on the complex-energy FAM is a tool of choice when optimizing effective interactions or energy functionals. The method is very efficient and well-adaptable to parallel computing. As a result, the FAM formulation is especially useful when standard theorems based on commutation relations involving the nuclear Hamiltonian and external field cannot be used.« less

The Performance of A Sampled Data Delay Lock Loop Implemented with a Kalman Loop Filter.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-01-01

que for analysis is computer simulation. Other techniques include state variable techniques and z-transform methods. Since the Kalman filter is linear...LOGIC NOT SHOWN Figure 2. Block diagram of the sampled data delay lock loop (SDDLL) Es A/ A 3/A/ Figure 3. Sampled error voltage ( Es ) as a function of...from a sum of two components. The first component is the previous filtered es - timate advanced one step forward by the state transition matrix. The 8

Measures with locally finite support and spectrum.

PubMed

Meyer, Yves F

2016-03-22

The goal of this paper is the construction of measures μ on R(n)enjoying three conflicting but fortunately compatible properties: (i) μ is a sum of weighted Dirac masses on a locally finite set, (ii) the Fourier transform μ f μ is also a sum of weighted Dirac masses on a locally finite set, and (iii) μ is not a generalized Dirac comb. We give surprisingly simple examples of such measures. These unexpected patterns strongly differ from quasicrystals, they provide us with unusual Poisson's formulas, and they might give us an unconventional insight into aperiodic order.

Measures with locally finite support and spectrum

PubMed Central

Meyer, Yves F.

2016-01-01

The goal of this paper is the construction of measures μ on Rn enjoying three conflicting but fortunately compatible properties: (i) μ is a sum of weighted Dirac masses on a locally finite set, (ii) the Fourier transform μ^ of μ is also a sum of weighted Dirac masses on a locally finite set, and (iii) μ is not a generalized Dirac comb. We give surprisingly simple examples of such measures. These unexpected patterns strongly differ from quasicrystals, they provide us with unusual Poisson's formulas, and they might give us an unconventional insight into aperiodic order. PMID:26929358

Describing-function analysis of a ripple regulator with slew-rate limits and time delays

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wester, Gene W.

1990-01-01

The effects of time delays and slew-rate limits on the steady-state operating points and performance of a free-running ripple regulator are evaluated using describing-function analysis. The describing function of an ideal comparator (no time delays or slew rate limits) has no phase shift and is independent of frequency. It is found that turn-on delay and turn-off delay have different effects on gain and phase and cannot be combined. Comparator hysteresis affects both gain and phase; likewise, time delays generally affect both gain and phase. It is found that the effective time delay around the feedback loop is one half the sum of turn-on and turn-off delays, regardless of whether the delays are caused by storage time or slew rate limits. Expressions are formulated for the switching frequency, switch duty ratio, dc output, and output ripple. For the case of no hysteresis, a simple, graphical solution for the switching frequency is possible, and the resulting switching frequency is independent of first-order variations of input or load.

76 FR 25240 - Clothianidin; Pesticide Tolerances

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-04

... neurotoxicity were exhibited in both rats (decreased arousal, motor activity and locomotor activity) and mice... (decreased body weight gains and absolute thymus weights in pups, delayed sexual maturation and an increase.../day FQPA SF = 1x day.. based on decreased body weight gains and delayed sexual maturation, decreased...

Promoting Healthy Weight among Children with Developmental Delays

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Natale, Ruby R.; Camejo, Stephanie T.; Asfour, Lila; Uhlhorn, Susan B.; Delamater, Alan; Messiah, Sarah E.

2017-01-01

An extensive body of research demonstrates a higher prevalence of obesity among children with developmental delays (DD) versus children without delays. This analysis examined the effectiveness of a randomized controlled trial to promote healthy weight in a subsample of preschool-age children with DD (n = 71) on the adoption of quality nutrition…

Audiovisual Delay as a Novel Cue to Visual Distance.

PubMed

Jaekl, Philip; Seidlitz, Jakob; Harris, Laurence R; Tadin, Duje

2015-01-01

For audiovisual sensory events, sound arrives with a delay relative to light that increases with event distance. It is unknown, however, whether humans can use these ubiquitous sound delays as an information source for distance computation. Here, we tested the hypothesis that audiovisual delays can both bias and improve human perceptual distance discrimination, such that visual stimuli paired with auditory delays are perceived as more distant and are thereby an ordinal distance cue. In two experiments, participants judged the relative distance of two repetitively displayed three-dimensional dot clusters, both presented with sounds of varying delays. In the first experiment, dot clusters presented with a sound delay were judged to be more distant than dot clusters paired with equivalent sound leads. In the second experiment, we confirmed that the presence of a sound delay was sufficient to cause stimuli to appear as more distant. Additionally, we found that ecologically congruent pairing of more distant events with a sound delay resulted in an increase in the precision of distance judgments. A control experiment determined that the sound delay duration influencing these distance judgments was not detectable, thereby eliminating decision-level influence. In sum, we present evidence that audiovisual delays can be an ordinal cue to visual distance.

Statistical lamb wave localization based on extreme value theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harley, Joel B.

2018-04-01

Guided wave localization methods based on delay-and-sum imaging, matched field processing, and other techniques have been designed and researched to create images that locate and describe structural damage. The maximum value of these images typically represent an estimated damage location. Yet, it is often unclear if this maximum value, or any other value in the image, is a statistically significant indicator of damage. Furthermore, there are currently few, if any, approaches to assess the statistical significance of guided wave localization images. As a result, we present statistical delay-and-sum and statistical matched field processing localization methods to create statistically significant images of damage. Our framework uses constant rate of false alarm statistics and extreme value theory to detect damage with little prior information. We demonstrate our methods with in situ guided wave data from an aluminum plate to detect two 0.75 cm diameter holes. Our results show an expected improvement in statistical significance as the number of sensors increase. With seventeen sensors, both methods successfully detect damage with statistical significance.

Image transmission system using adaptive joint source and channel decoding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Weiliang; Daut, David G.

2005-03-01

In this paper, an adaptive joint source and channel decoding method is designed to accelerate the convergence of the iterative log-dimain sum-product decoding procedure of LDPC codes as well as to improve the reconstructed image quality. Error resilience modes are used in the JPEG2000 source codec, which makes it possible to provide useful source decoded information to the channel decoder. After each iteration, a tentative decoding is made and the channel decoded bits are then sent to the JPEG2000 decoder. Due to the error resilience modes, some bits are known to be either correct or in error. The positions of these bits are then fed back to the channel decoder. The log-likelihood ratios (LLR) of these bits are then modified by a weighting factor for the next iteration. By observing the statistics of the decoding procedure, the weighting factor is designed as a function of the channel condition. That is, for lower channel SNR, a larger factor is assigned, and vice versa. Results show that the proposed joint decoding methods can greatly reduce the number of iterations, and thereby reduce the decoding delay considerably. At the same time, this method always outperforms the non-source controlled decoding method up to 5dB in terms of PSNR for various reconstructed images.

Growth during infancy and early childhood in relation to blood pressure and body fat measures at age 8-18 years of IVF children and spontaneously conceived controls born to subfertile parents.

PubMed

Ceelen, Manon; van Weissenbruch, Mirjam M; Prein, Janneke; Smit, Judith J; Vermeiden, Jan P W; Spreeuwenberg, Marieke; van Leeuwen, Flora E; Delemarre-van de Waal, Henriette A

2009-11-01

Little is known about post-natal growth in IVF offspring and the effects of rates of early post-natal growth on blood pressure and body fat composition during childhood and adolescence. The follow-up study comprised 233 IVF children aged 8-18 years and 233 spontaneously conceived controls born to subfertile parents. Growth data from birth to 4 years of age, available for 392 children (n = 193 IVF, n = 199 control), were used to study early post-natal growth. Furthermore, early post-natal growth velocity (weight gain) was related to blood pressure and skinfold measurements at follow-up. We found significantly lower weight, height and BMI standard deviation scores (SDSs) at 3 months, and weight SDS at 6 months of age in IVF children compared with controls. Likewise, IVF children demonstrated a greater gain in weight SDS (P < 0.001), height SDS (P = 0.013) and BMI SDS (P = 0.029) during late infancy (3 months to 1 year) versus controls. Weight gain during early childhood (1-3 years) was related to blood pressure in IVF children (P = 0.014 systolic, 0.04 diastolic) but not in controls. Growth during late infancy was not related to skinfold thickness in IVF children, unlike controls (P = 0.002 peripheral sum, 0.003 total sum). Growth during early childhood was related to skinfold thickness in both IVF and controls (P = 0.005 and 0.01 peripheral sum and P = 0.003 and 0.005 total sum, respectively). Late infancy growth velocity of IVF children was significantly higher compared with controls. Nevertheless, early childhood growth instead of infancy growth seemed to predict cardiovascular risk factors in IVF children. Further research is needed to confirm these findings and to follow-up growth and development of IVF children into adulthood.

An analog integrated circuit beamformer for high-frequency medical ultrasound imaging.

PubMed

Gurun, Gokce; Zahorian, Jaime S; Sisman, Alper; Karaman, Mustafa; Hasler, Paul E; Degertekin, F Levent

2012-10-01

We designed and fabricated a dynamic receive beamformer integrated circuit (IC) in 0.35-μm CMOS technology. This beamformer IC is suitable for integration with an annular array transducer for high-frequency (30-50 MHz) intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) imaging. The beamformer IC consists of receive preamplifiers, an analog dynamic delay-and-sum beamformer, and buffers for 8 receive channels. To form an analog dynamic delay line we designed an analog delay cell based on the current-mode first-order all-pass filter topology, as the basic building block. To increase the bandwidth of the delay cell, we explored an enhancement technique on the current mirrors. This technique improved the overall bandwidth of the delay line by a factor of 6. Each delay cell consumes 2.1-mW of power and is capable of generating a tunable time delay between 1.75 ns to 2.5 ns. We successfully integrated the fabricated beamformer IC with an 8-element annular array. Experimental test results demonstrated the desired buffering, preamplification and delaying capabilities of the beamformer.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in a small, herbivorous, arctic marine zooplankton (Calanus hyperboreus): trends from April to July and the influence of lipids and trophic transfer.

PubMed

Fisk, A T; Stern, G A; Hobson, K A; Strachan, W J; Loewen, M D; Norstrom, R J

2001-01-01

Samples of Calanus hyperboreus, a herbivorous copepod, were collected (n = 20) between April and July 1998, and water samples (n = 6) were collected in May 1998, in the Northwater Polynya (NOW) to examine persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in a high Arctic marine zooplankton. Lipid content (dry weight) doubled, water content (r2 = 0.88) and delta15N (r2 = 0.54) significantly decreased, and delta13C significantly increased (r2 = 0.30) in the C. hyperboreus over the collection period allowing an examination of the role of these variables in POP dynamics in this small pelagic zooplankton. The rank and concentrations of POP groups in C. hyperboreus over the entire sampling was sum of PCB (30.1 +/- 4.03 ng/g, dry weight) > sum of HCH (11.8 +/- 3.23) > sum of DDT (4.74 +/- 0.74), sum of CHLOR (4.44 +/- 1.0) > sum of CIBz (2.42 +/- 0.18), although these rankings varied considerably over the summer. The alpha- and gamma-HCH and lower chlorinated PCB congeners were the most common POPs in C. hyperboreus. The relationship between bioconcentration factor (BCF) and octanol-water partition coefficient (Kow) observed for the C. hyperboreus was linear and near 1:1 (slope = 0.72) for POPs with a log Kow between 3 and 6 but curvilinear when hydrophobic POPs (log Kow > 6) were included. Concentrations of sum of HCH. Sum of CHLOR and sum of CIBz increased over the sampling period, but no change in sum of PCB or sum of DDT was observed. After removing the effects of time, the variables lipid content, water content, delta15N and delta13C did not describe POP concentrations in C. hyperboreus. These results suggest that hydrophobic POP (log Kow = 3.86.0) concentrations in zooplankton are likely to reflect water concentrations and that POPs do not biomagnify in C. hyperboreus or likely in other small, herbivorous zooplankton.

National Airspace System Delay Estimation Using Weather Weighted Traffic Counts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chatterji, Gano B.; Sridhar, Banavar

2004-01-01

Assessment of National Airspace System performance, which is usually measured in terms of delays resulting from the application of traffic flow management initiatives in response to weather conditions, volume, equipment outages and runway conditions, is needed both for guiding flow control decisions during the day of operations and for post operations analysis. Comparison of the actual delay, resulting from the traffic flow management initiatives, with the expected delay, based on traffic demand and other conditions, provides the assessment of the National Airspace System performance. This paper provides a method for estimating delay using the expected traffic demand and weather. In order to identify the cause of delays, 517 days of National Airspace System delay data reported by the Federal Aviation Administration s Operations Network were analyzed. This analysis shows that weather is the most important causal factor for delays followed by equipment and runway delays. Guided by these results, the concept of weather weighted traffic counts as a measure of system delay is described. Examples are given to show the variation of these counts as a function of time of the day. The various datasets, consisting of aircraft position data, enroute severe weather data, surface wind speed and visibility data, reported delay data and number of aircraft handled by the Centers data, and their sources are described. The procedure for selecting reference days on which traffic was minimally impacted by weather is described. Different traffic demand on each reference day of the week, determined by analysis of 42 days of traffic and delay data, was used as the expected traffic demand for each day of the week. Next, the method for computing the weather weighted traffic counts using the expected traffic demand, derived from reference days, and the expanded regions around severe weather cells is discussed. It is shown via a numerical example that this approach improves the dynamic range of the weather weighted traffic counts considerably. Time histories of these new weather weighted traffic counts are used for synthesizing two statistical features, six histogram features and six time domain features. In addition to these enroute weather features, two surface weather features of number of major airports in the United States with high mean winds and low mean visibility are also described. A least squares procedure for establishing a functional relation between the features, using combinations of these features, and system delays is explored using 36 days of data. Best correlations between the estimated delays using the functional relation and the actual delays provided by the Operations Network are obtained with two different combinations of features: 1) six time domain features of weather weighted traffic counts plus two surface weather features, and 2) six histogram features and mean of weather weighted traffic counts along with the two surface weather features. Correlation coefficient values of 0.73 and 0.83 were found in these two instances.

Beampattern control of a microphone array to minimize secondary source contamination.

PubMed

Jordan, Peter; Fitzpatrick, John A; Meskell, Craig

2003-10-01

A null-steering technique is adapted and applied to a linear delay-and-sum beamformer in order to measure the noise generated by one of the propellers of a 1/8 scale twin propeller aircraft model. The technique involves shading the linear array using a set of weights, which are calculated according to the locations onto which the nulls need to be steered (in this case onto the second propeller). The technique is based on an established microwave antenna theory, and uses a plane-wave, or far field formulation in order to represent the response of the array by an nth-order polynomial, where n is the number of array elements. The roots of this polynomial correspond to the minima of the array response, and so by an appropriate choice of roots, a polynomial can be generated, the coefficients of which are the weights needed to achieve the prespecified set of null positions. It is shown that, for the technique to work with actual data, the cross-spectral matrix must be conditioned before array shading is implemented. This ensures that the shading function is not distorted by the intrinsic element weighting which can occur as a result of the directional nature of aeroacoustic systems. A difference of 6 dB between measurements before and after null steering shows the technique to have been effective in eliminating the contribution from one of the propellers, thus providing a quantitative measure of the acoustic energy from the other.

Giant quadrupole and monopole resonances in /sup 28/Si

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

Lui, Y.; Bronson, J.D.; Youngblood, D.H.

1985-05-01

Inelastic alpha scattering measurements have been performed for /sup 28/Si at small angles including zero degrees. A total of 66% of the E0 energy-weighted sum rule was identified (using a Satchler version 2 form factor) centered at E/sub x/ = 17.9 MeV having a width of 4.8 MeV and 34% of the E2 energy-weighted sum rule was identified above E/sub x/ = 15.3 MeV centered at 19.0 MeV with a width of 4.4 MeV. The dependence of the extracted E0 strength on form factor and optical potential was explored.

Robust Weighted Sum Harvested Energy Maximization for SWIPT Cognitive Radio Networks Based on Particle Swarm Optimization.

PubMed

Tuan, Pham Viet; Koo, Insoo

2017-10-06

In this paper, we consider multiuser simultaneous wireless information and power transfer (SWIPT) for cognitive radio systems where a secondary transmitter (ST) with an antenna array provides information and energy to multiple single-antenna secondary receivers (SRs) equipped with a power splitting (PS) receiving scheme when multiple primary users (PUs) exist. The main objective of the paper is to maximize weighted sum harvested energy for SRs while satisfying their minimum required signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR), the limited transmission power at the ST, and the interference threshold of each PU. For the perfect channel state information (CSI), the optimal beamforming vectors and PS ratios are achieved by the proposed PSO-SDR in which semidefinite relaxation (SDR) and particle swarm optimization (PSO) methods are jointly combined. We prove that SDR always has a rank-1 solution, and is indeed tight. For the imperfect CSI with bounded channel vector errors, the upper bound of weighted sum harvested energy (WSHE) is also obtained through the S-Procedure. Finally, simulation results demonstrate that the proposed PSO-SDR has fast convergence and better performance as compared to the other baseline schemes.

A new enhanced index tracking model in portfolio optimization with sum weighted approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Siew, Lam Weng; Jaaman, Saiful Hafizah; Hoe, Lam Weng

2017-04-01

Index tracking is a portfolio management which aims to construct the optimal portfolio to achieve similar return with the benchmark index return at minimum tracking error without purchasing all the stocks that make up the index. Enhanced index tracking is an improved portfolio management which aims to generate higher portfolio return than the benchmark index return besides minimizing the tracking error. The objective of this paper is to propose a new enhanced index tracking model with sum weighted approach to improve the existing index tracking model for tracking the benchmark Technology Index in Malaysia. The optimal portfolio composition and performance of both models are determined and compared in terms of portfolio mean return, tracking error and information ratio. The results of this study show that the optimal portfolio of the proposed model is able to generate higher mean return than the benchmark index at minimum tracking error. Besides that, the proposed model is able to outperform the existing model in tracking the benchmark index. The significance of this study is to propose a new enhanced index tracking model with sum weighted apporach which contributes 67% improvement on the portfolio mean return as compared to the existing model.

A Biologically-Inspired Neural Network Architecture for Image Processing

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

was organized into twelve groups of 8-by-8 node arrays. Weights were con- strained for each group of nodes, with each node "viewing" a 5-by-5 pixel...single wIndow * smk 0; for(J-0; j< 6 4 ; J++)( sum -sum +t %borfi][J]*rfarray[j]; ) /* Finished calculating ore block, one j:,,sition (first layer

40 CFR 86.094-2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... methane. Non-Methane Hydrocarbon Equivalent means the sum of the carbon mass emissions of non-oxygenated... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CONTROL OF... Loaded Vehicle Weight means the numerical average of vehicle curb weight and GVWR. Bi-directional control...

40 CFR 86.094-2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... methane. Non-Methane Hydrocarbon Equivalent means the sum of the carbon mass emissions of non-oxygenated... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CONTROL OF... Loaded Vehicle Weight means the numerical average of vehicle curb weight and GVWR. Bi-directional control...

40 CFR 86.094-2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... methane. Non-Methane Hydrocarbon Equivalent means the sum of the carbon mass emissions of non-oxygenated... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CONTROL OF... Loaded Vehicle Weight means the numerical average of vehicle curb weight and GVWR. Bi-directional control...

40 CFR 86.094-2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... methane. Non-Methane Hydrocarbon Equivalent means the sum of the carbon mass emissions of non-oxygenated... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CONTROL OF... Loaded Vehicle Weight means the numerical average of vehicle curb weight and GVWR. Bi-directional control...

40 CFR 86.094-2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... methane. Non-Methane Hydrocarbon Equivalent means the sum of the carbon mass emissions of non-oxygenated... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR PROGRAMS (CONTINUED) CONTROL OF... Loaded Vehicle Weight means the numerical average of vehicle curb weight and GVWR. Bi-directional control...

Effects of Weighted Vests on the Engagement of Children with Developmental Delays and Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Reichow, Brian; Barton, Erin E.; Sewell, Joanna Neely; Good, Leslie; Wolery, Mark

2010-01-01

The use of weighted vests for children with autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities is a common practice as part of sensory integration therapy programs. The purpose of the current investigation was to extend the research on the use of weighted vests for children with autism and developmental delays in a methodologically rigorous…

[Hydrostatic weighing, skinfold thickness, body mass index relationships in high school girls].

PubMed

Tahara, Y; Yukawa, K; Tsunawake, N; Saeki, S; Nishiyama, K; Urata, H; Katsuno, K; Fukuyama, Y; Michimukou, R; Uekata, M

1995-12-01

A study was conducted to evaluate body composition by hydrostatic weighing, skinfold thickness, and body mass index (BMI) in 102 senior high school girls, aged 15 to 18 in Nagasaki City. Body density measured by the underwater weighing method, was used to determine the fat weight (Fat) and lean body mass (LBM. or fat free weight: FFW) utilizing the formulas by Brozek et al. The results were as follows; 1. Mean values of body density were 1.04428 in the first grade girls, 1.04182 in the second grade, and 1.04185 in the third grade. 2. Mean values of percentage body fat (%Fat) were 23.5% in the first grade, 24.5% in the second and 24.5% in the third. 3. Percentage body fat (%Fat), lean body mass (LBM) and LBM/Height were not significantly with different advance of grade from the first to the third. 4. The correlation coefficients between percent body fat and the sum of two skinfold thicknesses, the sum of three skinfold thicknesses and the sum of seven skinfold thicknesses was 0.78, 0.79, and 0.80 respectively and were all statistically significant (p < 0.001). 5. The correlation coefficients between BMI and the sum of two skinfold thicknesses, the sum of three skinfold thicknesses and the sum of seven skinfold thicknesses was 0.74, 0.74, and 0.74 respectively and were all statistically significant (p < 0.001). 6. Mean values of BMI, Rohrer index and waist-hip ratio (WHR) in all subjects (n = 102) were 20.3, 128.2 and 0.72 respectively.

Rao-Blackwellization for Adaptive Gaussian Sum Nonlinear Model Propagation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Semper, Sean R.; Crassidis, John L.; George, Jemin; Mukherjee, Siddharth; Singla, Puneet

2015-01-01

When dealing with imperfect data and general models of dynamic systems, the best estimate is always sought in the presence of uncertainty or unknown parameters. In many cases, as the first attempt, the Extended Kalman filter (EKF) provides sufficient solutions to handling issues arising from nonlinear and non-Gaussian estimation problems. But these issues may lead unacceptable performance and even divergence. In order to accurately capture the nonlinearities of most real-world dynamic systems, advanced filtering methods have been created to reduce filter divergence while enhancing performance. Approaches, such as Gaussian sum filtering, grid based Bayesian methods and particle filters are well-known examples of advanced methods used to represent and recursively reproduce an approximation to the state probability density function (pdf). Some of these filtering methods were conceptually developed years before their widespread uses were realized. Advanced nonlinear filtering methods currently benefit from the computing advancements in computational speeds, memory, and parallel processing. Grid based methods, multiple-model approaches and Gaussian sum filtering are numerical solutions that take advantage of different state coordinates or multiple-model methods that reduced the amount of approximations used. Choosing an efficient grid is very difficult for multi-dimensional state spaces, and oftentimes expensive computations must be done at each point. For the original Gaussian sum filter, a weighted sum of Gaussian density functions approximates the pdf but suffers at the update step for the individual component weight selections. In order to improve upon the original Gaussian sum filter, Ref. [2] introduces a weight update approach at the filter propagation stage instead of the measurement update stage. This weight update is performed by minimizing the integral square difference between the true forecast pdf and its Gaussian sum approximation. By adaptively updating each component weight during the nonlinear propagation stage an approximation of the true pdf can be successfully reconstructed. Particle filtering (PF) methods have gained popularity recently for solving nonlinear estimation problems due to their straightforward approach and the processing capabilities mentioned above. The basic concept behind PF is to represent any pdf as a set of random samples. As the number of samples increases, they will theoretically converge to the exact, equivalent representation of the desired pdf. When the estimated qth moment is needed, the samples are used for its construction allowing further analysis of the pdf characteristics. However, filter performance deteriorates as the dimension of the state vector increases. To overcome this problem Ref. [5] applies a marginalization technique for PF methods, decreasing complexity of the system to one linear and another nonlinear state estimation problem. The marginalization theory was originally developed by Rao and Blackwell independently. According to Ref. [6] it improves any given estimator under every convex loss function. The improvement comes from calculating a conditional expected value, often involving integrating out a supportive statistic. In other words, Rao-Blackwellization allows for smaller but separate computations to be carried out while reaching the main objective of the estimator. In the case of improving an estimator's variance, any supporting statistic can be removed and its variance determined. Next, any other information that dependents on the supporting statistic is found along with its respective variance. A new approach is developed here by utilizing the strengths of the adaptive Gaussian sum propagation in Ref. [2] and a marginalization approach used for PF methods found in Ref. [7]. In the following sections a modified filtering approach is presented based on a special state-space model within nonlinear systems to reduce the dimensionality of the optimization problem in Ref. [2]. First, the adaptive Gaussian sum propagation is explained and then the new marginalized adaptive Gaussian sum propagation is derived. Finally, an example simulation is presented.

Quantum Hurwitz numbers and Macdonald polynomials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Harnad, J.

2016-11-01

Parametric families in the center Z(C[Sn]) of the group algebra of the symmetric group are obtained by identifying the indeterminates in the generating function for Macdonald polynomials as commuting Jucys-Murphy elements. Their eigenvalues provide coefficients in the double Schur function expansion of 2D Toda τ-functions of hypergeometric type. Expressing these in the basis of products of power sum symmetric functions, the coefficients may be interpreted geometrically as parametric families of quantum Hurwitz numbers, enumerating weighted branched coverings of the Riemann sphere. Combinatorially, they give quantum weighted sums over paths in the Cayley graph of Sn generated by transpositions. Dual pairs of bases for the algebra of symmetric functions with respect to the scalar product in which the Macdonald polynomials are orthogonal provide both the geometrical and combinatorial significance of these quantum weighted enumerative invariants.

Pipeline active filter utilizing a booth type multiplier

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Nathan, Robert (Inventor)

1987-01-01

Multiplier units of the modified Booth decoder and carry-save adder/full adder combination are used to implement a pipeline active filter wherein pixel data is processed sequentially, and each pixel need only be accessed once and multiplied by a predetermined number of weights simultaneously, one multiplier unit for each weight. Each multiplier unit uses only one row of carry-save adders, and the results are shifted to less significant multiplier positions and one row of full adders to add the carry to the sum in order to provide the correct binary number for the product Wp. The full adder is also used to add this product Wp to the sum of products .SIGMA.Wp from preceding multiply units. If m.times.m multiplier units are pipelined, the system would be capable of processing a kernel array of m.times.m weighting factors.

Programmable Logic Application Notes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Katz, Richard; Day, John H. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

This report will be provided each quarter as a source for reliability, radiation results, NASA capabilities, and other information on programmable logic devices and related applications. This quarter will continue a series of notes concentrating on analysis techniques with this issue's section discussing the use of Root-Sum-Square calculations for digital delays.

Radar Imaging of Asteroids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ostro, S. J.

1996-09-01

Measurements of the distribution of echo power in time delay (range) and Doppler frequency (line-of-sight velocity) can synthesize images of near-Earth and main-belt asteroids (NEAs and MBAs) that traverse the detectability windows of groundbased radar telescopes. Under ideal circumstances, current radar waveforms can achieve decameter surface resolution. The number of useful pixels obtainable in an imaging data set is of the same order as the signal-to-noise ratio, SNR, of an optimally filtered, weighted sum of all the data. (SNR increases as the square root of the integration time.) The upgraded Arecibo telescope which is about to become operational, should be able to achieve single-date SNRs {\\underline>} (20,100) for an average of (35,5) MBAs per year and single-date SNRs {\\underline>} (20,100,1000) for an average of (10,6,2) of the currently catalogued NEAs per year; optical surveying of the NEA population could increase the frequency of opportunities by an order of magnitude. The strongest imaging opportunities predicted for Arecibo between now and the end of 1997 include (the peak SNR/date is in parentheses): 9 Metis (110), 27 Euterpe (170), 80 Sappho (100), 139 Juewa (140), 144 Vibilia (140), 253 Mathilde (100), 2102 Tantalus (570), 3671 Dionysus (170), 3908 1980PA (4400), 4179 Toutatis (16000), 4197 1982TA (1200), 1991VK (700), and 1994PC1 (7400). A delay-Doppler image projects the echo power distribution onto the target's apparent equatorial plane. One cannot know a priori whether one or two (or more) points on the asteroid contributed power to a given pixel, so accurate interpretation of delay-Doppler images requires modeling (Hudson, 1993, Remote Sensing Rev. 8, 195-203). Inversion of an imaging sequence with enough orientational coverage can remove "north/south" ambiguities and can provide estimates of the target's three-dimensional shape, spin state, radar scattering properties, and delay-Doppler trajectory (e.g., Ostro et al. 1995, Science 270, 80-83; Hudson and Ostro 1995, Science 270, 84-86).

A novel beamformer design method for medical ultrasound. Part I: Theory.

PubMed

Ranganathan, Karthik; Walker, William F

2003-01-01

The design of transmit and receive aperture weightings is a critical step in the development of ultrasound imaging systems. Current design methods are generally iterative, and consequently time consuming and inexact. We describe a new and general ultrasound beamformer design method, the minimum sum squared error (MSSE) technique. The MSSE technique enables aperture design for arbitrary beam patterns (within fundamental limitations imposed by diffraction). It uses a linear algebra formulation to describe the system point spread function (psf) as a function of the aperture weightings. The sum squared error (SSE) between the system psf and the desired or goal psf is minimized, yielding the optimal aperture weightings. We present detailed analysis for continuous wave (CW) and broadband systems. We also discuss several possible applications of the technique, such as the design of aperture weightings that improve the system depth of field, generate limited diffraction transmit beams, and improve the correlation depth of field in translated aperture system geometries. Simulation results are presented in an accompanying paper.

Design of an automatic weight scale for an isolette

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Peterka, R. J.; Griffin, W.

1974-01-01

The design of an infant weight scale is reported that fits into an isolette without disturbing its controlled atmosphere. The scale platform uses strain gages to measure electronically deflections of cantilever beams positioned at its four corners. The weight of the infant is proportional to the sum of the output voltages produced by the gauges on each beam of the scale.

The relationship between skinfold thickness and body mass index in North European Caucasian and East Asian women with anorexia nervosa: implications for diagnosis and management.

PubMed

Soh, Nerissa L; Touyz, Stephen; Dobbins, Timothy A; Clarke, Simon; Kohn, Michael R; Lee, Ee Lian; Leow, Vincent; Ung, Ken E K; Walter, Garry

2009-01-01

To investigate the relationship between skinfold thickness and body mass index (BMI) in North European Caucasian and East Asian young women with and without anorexia nervosa (AN) in two countries. Height, weight and skinfold thicknesses were assessed in 137 young women with and without AN, in Australia and Singapore. The relationship between BMI and the sum of triceps, biceps, subscapular and iliac crest skinfolds was analysed with clinical status, ethnicity, age and country of residence as covariates. For the same BMI, women with AN had significantly smaller sums of skinfolds than women without AN. East Asian women both with and without AN had significantly greater skinfold sums than their North European Caucasian counterparts after adjusting for BMI. Lower BMI goals may be appropriate when managing AN patients of East Asian ancestry and the weight for height diagnostic criterion should be reconsidered for this group.

An efficient sampling technique for sums of bandpass functions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lawton, W. M.

1982-01-01

A well known sampling theorem states that a bandlimited function can be completely determined by its values at a uniformly placed set of points whose density is at least twice the highest frequency component of the function (Nyquist rate). A less familiar but important sampling theorem states that a bandlimited narrowband function can be completely determined by its values at a properly chosen, nonuniformly placed set of points whose density is at least twice the passband width. This allows for efficient digital demodulation of narrowband signals, which are common in sonar, radar and radio interferometry, without the side effect of signal group delay from an analog demodulator. This theorem was extended by developing a technique which allows a finite sum of bandlimited narrowband functions to be determined by its values at a properly chosen, nonuniformly placed set of points whose density can be made arbitrarily close to the sum of the passband widths.

Association between Blood Pressure and Birth Weight among Rural South African Children: Ellisras Longitudinal Study.

PubMed

Monyeki, Kotsedi; Kemper, Han; Mogale, Alfred; Hay, Leon; Sekgala, Machoene; Mashiane, Tshephang; Monyeki, Suzan; Sebati, Betty

2017-08-29

The aim of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the association between birth weight, underweight, and blood pressure (BP) among Ellisras rural children aged between 5 and 15 years. Data were collected from 528 respondents who participated in the Ellisras Longitudinal Study (ELS) and had their birth weight recorded on their health clinic card. Standard procedure was used to measure the anthropometric measurements and BP. Linear regression was used to assess BP, underweight variables, and birth weight. Logistic regression was used to assess the association of hypertension risks, low birth weight, and underweight. The association between birth weight and BP was not statistically significant. There was a significant ( p < 0.05) association between mean BP and the sum of four skinfolds (β = 0.26, 95% CI 0.15-0.23) even after adjusting for age (β = 0.18, 95% CI 0.01-0.22). Hypertension was significantly associated with weight for age z-scores (OR = 5.13, 95% CI 1.89-13.92) even after adjusting for age and sex (OR = 5.26, 95% CI 1.93-14.34). BP was significantly associated with the sum of four skinfolds, but not birth weight. Hypertension was significantly associated with underweight. Longitudinal studies should confirm whether the changes in body weight we found can influence the risk of cardiovascular diseases.

77 FR 52246 - Clothianidin; Pesticide Tolerances

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-08-29

... concern. Clinical signs of neurotoxicity were exhibited in both rats (decreased arousal, motor activity..., delayed sexual maturation and an increase in stillbirths) was observed in the absence of maternal effects... weight gains and FQPA SF = 1X........ day. delayed sexual maturation, decreased absolute thymus weights...

Comparison of two weighted integration models for the cueing task: linear and likelihood

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Shimozaki, Steven S.; Eckstein, Miguel P.; Abbey, Craig K.

2003-01-01

In a task in which the observer must detect a signal at two locations, presenting a precue that predicts the location of a signal leads to improved performance with a valid cue (signal location matches the cue), compared to an invalid cue (signal location does not match the cue). The cue validity effect has often been explained with a limited capacity attentional mechanism improving the perceptual quality at the cued location. Alternatively, the cueing effect can also be explained by unlimited capacity models that assume a weighted combination of noisy responses across the two locations. We compare two weighted integration models, a linear model and a sum of weighted likelihoods model based on a Bayesian observer. While qualitatively these models are similar, quantitatively they predict different cue validity effects as the signal-to-noise ratios (SNR) increase. To test these models, 3 observers performed in a cued discrimination task of Gaussian targets with an 80% valid precue across a broad range of SNR's. Analysis of a limited capacity attentional switching model was also included and rejected. The sum of weighted likelihoods model best described the psychophysical results, suggesting that human observers approximate a weighted combination of likelihoods, and not a weighted linear combination.

Real-time estimation of ionospheric delay using GPS measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lin, Lao-Sheng

1997-12-01

When radio waves such as the GPS signals propagate through the ionosphere, they experience an extra time delay. The ionospheric delay can be eliminated (to the first order) through a linear combination of L1 and L2 observations from dual-frequency GPS receivers. Taking advantage of this dispersive principle, one or more dual- frequency GPS receivers can be used to determine a model of the ionospheric delay across a region of interest and, if implemented in real-time, can support single-frequency GPS positioning and navigation applications. The research objectives of this thesis were: (1) to develop algorithms to obtain accurate absolute Total Electron Content (TEC) estimates from dual-frequency GPS observables, and (2) to develop an algorithm to improve the accuracy of real-time ionosphere modelling. In order to fulfil these objectives, four algorithms have been proposed in this thesis. A 'multi-day multipath template technique' is proposed to mitigate the pseudo-range multipath effects at static GPS reference stations. This technique is based on the assumption that the multipath disturbance at a static station will be constant if the physical environment remains unchanged from day to day. The multipath template, either single-day or multi-day, can be generated from the previous days' GPS data. A 'real-time failure detection and repair algorithm' is proposed to detect and repair the GPS carrier phase 'failures', such as the occurrence of cycle slips. The proposed algorithm uses two procedures: (1) application of a statistical test on the state difference estimated from robust and conventional Kalman filters in order to detect and identify the carrier phase failure, and (2) application of a Kalman filter algorithm to repair the 'identified carrier phase failure'. A 'L1/L2 differential delay estimation algorithm' is proposed to estimate GPS satellite transmitter and receiver L1/L2 differential delays. This algorithm, based on the single-site modelling technique, is able to estimate the sum of the satellite and receiver L1/L2 differential delay for each tracked GPS satellite. A 'UNSW grid-based algorithm' is proposed to improve the accuracy of real-time ionosphere modelling. The proposed algorithm is similar to the conventional grid-based algorithm. However, two modifications were made to the algorithm: (1) an 'exponential function' is adopted as the weighting function, and (2) the 'grid-based ionosphere model' estimated from the previous day is used to predict the ionospheric delay ratios between the grid point and reference points. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Effects of overweight and obesity on motor and mental development in infants and toddlers.

PubMed

Cataldo, R; Huang, J; Calixte, R; Wong, A T; Bianchi-Hayes, J; Pati, S

2016-10-01

A consequence of childhood obesity may be poor developmental outcomes. This study aimed to examine the relationship between weight and developmental delays in young children. We conducted a secondary analysis of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Birth Cohort data. Logistic regression models quantified the association between different weight statuses (normal weight <85th, overweight ≥90th, obese ≥95th percentile for weight) and delays in motor and mental development. Children classified as overweight in both waves had higher percentages of delays in wave 2 (motor [7.5 vs. 6.2-6.4%], mental [8.6 vs. 5.9-6.7%]), as well as wave 1 and/or wave 2 (motor [14.8 vs. 10.9-13.0%], mental [11.9 vs. 9.0-10.1%]), compared with other children. This association was also found in children who were obese at both time points in wave 2 (motor delay [8.9 vs. 4.9-7.3%], mental delay [10.3 vs. 6.0-7.2%]), as well as wave 1 and/or wave 2 (motor delay [14.5 vs. 10.9-12.9%], mental delay [14.1 vs. 9.4-10.1%]). In the adjusted models, children classified as always obese were more likely to have a mental delay in wave 2 (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 1.89, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.21-2.95) as well as wave 1 and/or wave 2 (aOR 1.56, 95% CI: 1.08-2.26). These children were also more likely to have motor delay (aOR 1.47, 95% CI: 1.02-2.13) in wave 1 and/or wave 2. Overweight children are more likely than their normal-weight peers to have motor and mental developmental delays. Preventing obesity during infancy may facilitate reducing developmental delays in young children. © 2015 World Obesity.

P-code enhanced method for processing encrypted GPS signals without knowledge of the encryption code

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Young, Lawrence E. (Inventor); Meehan, Thomas K. (Inventor); Thomas, Jr., Jess Brooks (Inventor)

2000-01-01

In the preferred embodiment, an encrypted GPS signal is down-converted from RF to baseband to generate two quadrature components for each RF signal (L1 and L2). Separately and independently for each RF signal and each quadrature component, the four down-converted signals are counter-rotated with a respective model phase, correlated with a respective model P code, and then successively summed and dumped over presum intervals substantially coincident with chips of the respective encryption code. Without knowledge of the encryption-code signs, the effect of encryption-code sign flips is then substantially reduced by selected combinations of the resulting presums between associated quadrature components for each RF signal, separately and independently for the L1 and L2 signals. The resulting combined presums are then summed and dumped over longer intervals and further processed to extract amplitude, phase and delay for each RF signal. Precision of the resulting phase and delay values is approximately four times better than that obtained from straight cross-correlation of L1 and L2. This improved method provides the following options: separate and independent tracking of the L1-Y and L2-Y channels; separate and independent measurement of amplitude, phase and delay L1-Y channel; and removal of the half-cycle ambiguity in L1-Y and L2-Y carrier phase.

Fast time-correlated multi-element photon detector and method

DOEpatents

Hayden, Carl C.; Chandler, David W.; Luong, A. Khai

2007-12-18

Photons emitted from a sample responsive to being excited by laser pulses are directed through a prism onto a photomultiplier tube having several spaced-apart anodes. The prism alters the path of each photon as a function of its wavelength so that the wavelength determines the anode to which the photon is directed. Taps of first and second delay lines that are coupled to respective alternating anodes. When an anode receives the photon, it generates a pulse that propagates through the delay line in opposite directions from its associated tap. A timer determines first and second times from the laser pulse to the pulse reaching the first and second ends of the delay line. The difference between the first and second times corresponds to the wavelength of the emitted photon and the sum of the first and second times corresponds to the emission delay of the emitted photon.

Microwave and hard X-ray emissions during the impulsive phase of solar flares: Nonthermal electron spectrum and time delay

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gu, Ye-Ming; Li, Chung-Sheng

1986-01-01

On the basis of the summing-up and analysis of the observations and theories about the impulsive microwave and hard X-ray bursts, the correlations between these two kinds of emissions were investigated. It is shown that it is only possible to explain the optically-thin microwave spectrum and its relations with the hard X-ray spectrum by means of the nonthermal source model. A simple nonthermal trap model in the mildly-relativistic case can consistently explain the main characteristics of the spectrum and the relative time delays.

A merged pipe organ binary-analog correlator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miller, R. S.; Berry, M. B.

1982-02-01

The design of a 96-stage, programmable binary-analog correlator is described. An array of charge coupled device (CCD) delay lines of differing lengths perform the delay and sum functions. Merging of several CCD channels is employed to reduce the active area. This device architecture allows simplified output detection while maintaining good device performance at higher speeds (5-10 MHz). Experimental results indicate a 50 dB broadband dynamic range and excellent agreement with the theoretical processing gain (19.8 dB) when operated at a 6 MHz sampling frequency as a p-n sequence matched filter.

DL-ReSuMe: A Delay Learning-Based Remote Supervised Method for Spiking Neurons.

PubMed

Taherkhani, Aboozar; Belatreche, Ammar; Li, Yuhua; Maguire, Liam P

2015-12-01

Recent research has shown the potential capability of spiking neural networks (SNNs) to model complex information processing in the brain. There is biological evidence to prove the use of the precise timing of spikes for information coding. However, the exact learning mechanism in which the neuron is trained to fire at precise times remains an open problem. The majority of the existing learning methods for SNNs are based on weight adjustment. However, there is also biological evidence that the synaptic delay is not constant. In this paper, a learning method for spiking neurons, called delay learning remote supervised method (DL-ReSuMe), is proposed to merge the delay shift approach and ReSuMe-based weight adjustment to enhance the learning performance. DL-ReSuMe uses more biologically plausible properties, such as delay learning, and needs less weight adjustment than ReSuMe. Simulation results have shown that the proposed DL-ReSuMe approach achieves learning accuracy and learning speed improvements compared with ReSuMe.

Extending the Distributed Lag Model framework to handle chemical mixtures.

PubMed

Bello, Ghalib A; Arora, Manish; Austin, Christine; Horton, Megan K; Wright, Robert O; Gennings, Chris

2017-07-01

Distributed Lag Models (DLMs) are used in environmental health studies to analyze the time-delayed effect of an exposure on an outcome of interest. Given the increasing need for analytical tools for evaluation of the effects of exposure to multi-pollutant mixtures, this study attempts to extend the classical DLM framework to accommodate and evaluate multiple longitudinally observed exposures. We introduce 2 techniques for quantifying the time-varying mixture effect of multiple exposures on an outcome of interest. Lagged WQS, the first technique, is based on Weighted Quantile Sum (WQS) regression, a penalized regression method that estimates mixture effects using a weighted index. We also introduce Tree-based DLMs, a nonparametric alternative for assessment of lagged mixture effects. This technique is based on the Random Forest (RF) algorithm, a nonparametric, tree-based estimation technique that has shown excellent performance in a wide variety of domains. In a simulation study, we tested the feasibility of these techniques and evaluated their performance in comparison to standard methodology. Both methods exhibited relatively robust performance, accurately capturing pre-defined non-linear functional relationships in different simulation settings. Further, we applied these techniques to data on perinatal exposure to environmental metal toxicants, with the goal of evaluating the effects of exposure on neurodevelopment. Our methods identified critical neurodevelopmental windows showing significant sensitivity to metal mixtures. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Heterogeneity of residuals from comparison of GNSS and raytracing based troposphere slant total delays, as an indicator of hydrometeors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hordyniec, Paweł; Rohm, Witold; Kapłon, Jan

2017-04-01

Post-fit residuals from Precise Point Positioning (PPP) carry the troposphere information except of multipath and residual antenna Phase Centre Variations (PCVs), when precise satellite orbits and clocks were introduced. Slant total delay (STD) of GNSS signal is a sum of a priori slant hydrostatic delay, estimated wet delay, asymetry introduced by the estimated zenith total delay (ZTD) horizontal gradients and a post-fit residual reduced by the systematic (site-dependant) effect. It was revealed, that application of reduced post-fit residuls to the slant total delays obtained from GNSS data processing increases the discrepancy with slant delays from raytracing (RT) through the Numerical Weather Model (NWM). One of the possible sources of that effect is neglected influence of hydrometeors in raytracing procedures. If the assumption of hydrometeor information existence in the PPP post-fit residuals is correct, we expect the diversity of slant delay discrepancies for satellite-receiver rays pointing or not the hydrometeors. Paper presents the spatial and temporal correlation analysis of the slant delay residuals (GNSS - RT) with hydrometeor phenomena recorded during the COST ES1206 GNSS4SWEC benchmark period (May 5th - June 29th, 2013). It presents the discussion of the results from different GNSS PPP slant delay estimation approaches including coordinates unconstraining or heavy constraining, and the calculation of slant delays with and without ZTD horizontal gradients estimation.

Construction of an Exome-Wide Risk Score for Schizophrenia Based on a Weighted Burden Test.

PubMed

Curtis, David

2018-01-01

Polygenic risk scores obtained as a weighted sum of associated variants can be used to explore association in additional data sets and to assign risk scores to individuals. The methods used to derive polygenic risk scores from common SNPs are not suitable for variants detected in whole exome sequencing studies. Rare variants, which may have major effects, are seen too infrequently to judge whether they are associated and may not be shared between training and test subjects. A method is proposed whereby variants are weighted according to their frequency, their annotations and the genes they affect. A weighted sum across all variants provides an individual risk score. Scores constructed in this way are used in a weighted burden test and are shown to be significantly different between schizophrenia cases and controls using a five-way cross-validation procedure. This approach represents a first attempt to summarise exome sequence variation into a summary risk score, which could be combined with risk scores from common variants and from environmental factors. It is hoped that the method could be developed further. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/University College London.

Pentachlorophenol and hydroxylated polychlorinated biphenyl metabolites in umbilical cord plasma of neonates from coastal populations in Québec.

PubMed Central

Sandau, Courtney D; Ayotte, Pierre; Dewailly, Eric; Duffe, Jason; Norstrom, Ross J

2002-01-01

Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), hydroxylated metabolites of PCBs (HO-PCBs) and octachlorostyrene (4-HO-HpCS), and pentachlorophenol (PCP) were determined in umbilical cord plasma samples from three different regions of Québec. The regions studied included two coastal areas where exposure to PCBs is high because of marine-food-based diets--Nunavik (Inuit people) and the Lower North Shore of the Gulf of St. Lawrence (subsistence fishermen)--and a southern Québec urban center where PCB exposure is at background levels (Québec City). The main chlorinated phenolic compound in all regions was PCP. Concentrations of PCP were not significantly different among regions (geometric mean concentration 1,670 pg/g, range 628-7,680 pg/g wet weight in plasma). The ratio of PCP to polychlorinated biphenyl congener number 153 (CB153) concentration ranged from 0.72 to 42.3. Sum HO-PCB (sigma HO-PCBs) concentrations were different among regions, with geometric mean concentrations of 553 (range 238-1,750), 286 (103-788), and 234 (147-464) pg/g wet weight plasma for the Lower North Shore, Nunavik, and the southern Québec groups, respectively. Lower North Shore samples also had the highest geometric mean concentration of sum PCBs (sum of 49 congeners; sigma PCBs), 2,710 (525-7,720) pg/g wet weight plasma. sigma PCB concentrations for Nunavik samples and southern samples were 1,510 (309-6,230) and 843 (290-1,650) pg/g wet weight plasma. Concentrations (log transformed) of sigma HO-PCBs and sigma PCBs were significantly correlated (r = 0.62, p < 0.001), as were concentrations of all major individual HO-PCB congeners and individual PCB congeners. In Nunavik and Lower North Shore samples, free thyroxine (T4) concentrations (log transformed) were negatively correlated with the sum of quantitated chlorinated phenolic compounds (sum PCP and sigma HO-PCBs; r = -0.47, p = 0.01, n = 20) and were not correlated with any PCB congeners or sigma PCBs. This suggests that PCP and HO-PCBs are possibly altering thyroid hormone status in newborns, which could lead to neurodevelopmental effects in infants. Further studies are needed to examine the effects of chlorinated phenolic compounds on thyroid hormone status in newborns. PMID:11940460

Cord IGF-I concentrations in Indian newborns: associations with neonatal body composition and maternal determinants.

PubMed

Wiley, A S; Lubree, H G; Joshi, S M; Bhat, D S; Ramdas, L V; Rao, A S; Thuse, N V; Deshpande, V U; Yajnik, C S

2016-04-01

Indian newborns have been described as 'thin-fat' compared with European babies, but little is known about how this phenotype relates to the foetal growth factor IGF-I (insulin-like growth factor I) or its binding protein IGFBP-3. To assess cord IGF-I and IGFBP-3 concentrations in a sample of Indian newborns and evaluate their associations with neonatal adiposity and maternal factors. A prospective cohort study of 146 pregnant mothers with dietary, anthropometric and biochemical measurements at 28 and 34 weeks gestation. Neonatal weight, length, skin-folds, circumferences, and cord blood IGF-I and IGFBP-3 concentrations were measured at birth. Average cord IGF-I and IGFBP-3 concentrations were 46.6 (2.2) and 1269.4 (41) ng mL(-1) , respectively. Girls had higher mean IGF-I than boys (51.4 ng mL(-1) vs. 42.9 ng mL(-1) ; P < 0.03), but IGFBP-3 did not differ. Cord IGF-I was positively correlated with all birth size measures except length, and most strongly with neonatal sum-of-skin-folds (r = 0.50, P < 0.001). IGFBP-3 was positively correlated with ponderal index, sum-of-skin-folds and placenta weight (r = 0.21, 0.19, 0.16, respectively; P < 0.05). Of maternal demographic and anthropometric characteristics, only parity was correlated with cord IGF-I (r = 0.27, P < 0.001). Among dietary behaviours, maternal daily milk intake at 34 weeks gestation predicted higher cord IGF-I compared to no-milk intake (51.8 ng mL(-1) vs. 36.5 ng mL(-1) , P < 0.01) after controlling for maternal characteristics, placental weight, and newborn gestational age, sex, weight and sum-of-skin-folds. Sum-of-skin-folds were positively associated with cord IGF-I in this multivariate model (57.3 ng mL(-1) vs. 35.1 ng mL(-1) for highest and lowest sum-of skin-fold quartile, P < 0.001). IGFBP-3 did not show significant relationships with these covariates. In this Indian study, cord IGF-I concentration was associated with greater adiposity among newborns. Maternal milk intake may play a role in this relationship. © 2015 World Obesity.

Determination of total dissolved solids in water analysis

USGS Publications Warehouse

Howard, C.S.

1933-01-01

The figure for total dissolved solids, based on the weight of the residue on evaporation after heating for 1 hour at 180??C., is reasonably close to the sum of the determined constituents for most natural waters. Waters of the carbonate type that are high in magnesium may give residues that weigh less than the sum. Natural waters of the sulfate type usually give residues that are too high on account of incomplete drying.

The utility of monetary contingency contracts for weight loss: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Sykes-Muskett, Bianca J; Prestwich, Andrew; Lawton, Rebecca J; Armitage, Christopher J

2015-01-01

Financial incentives to improve health have received increasing attention, but are subject to ethical concerns. Monetary Contingency Contracts (MCCs), which require individuals to deposit money that is refunded contingent on reaching a goal, are a potential alternative strategy. This review evaluates systematically the evidence for weight loss-related MCCs. Randomised controlled trials testing the effect of weight loss-related MCCs were identified in online databases. Random-effects meta-analyses were used to calculate overall effect sizes for weight loss and participant retention. The association between MCC characteristics and weight loss/participant retention effects was calculated using meta-regression. There was a significant small-to-medium effect of MCCs on weight loss during treatment when one outlier study was removed. Group refunds, deposit not paid as lump sum, participants setting their own deposit size and additional behaviour change techniques were associated with greater weight loss during treatment. Post-treatment, there was no significant effect of MCCs on weight loss. There was a significant small-to-medium effect of MCCs on participant retention during treatment. Researcher-set deposits paid as one lump sum, refunds delivered on an all-or-nothing basis and refunds contingent on attendance at classes were associated with greater retention during treatment. Post-treatment, there was no significant effect of MCCs on participant retention. The results support the use of MCCs to promote weight loss and participant retention up to the point that the incentive is removed and identifies the conditions under which MCCs work best.

40 CFR 60.562-1 - Standards: Process emissions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... methane and ethane) (TOC) by 98 weight percent, or to a concentration of 20 parts per million by volume (ppmv) on a dry basis, whichever is less stringent. The TOC is expressed as the sum of the actual... Polypropylene and Polyethylene Affected Facilities Procedure /a/ Applicable TOC weight percent range Control/no...

Algebraic grid adaptation method using non-uniform rational B-spline surface modeling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yang, Jiann-Cherng; Soni, B. K.

1992-01-01

An algebraic adaptive grid system based on equidistribution law and utilized by the Non-Uniform Rational B-Spline (NURBS) surface for redistribution is presented. A weight function, utilizing a properly weighted boolean sum of various flow field characteristics is developed. Computational examples are presented to demonstrate the success of this technique.

A Decision Support System for Solving Multiple Criteria Optimization Problems

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Filatovas, Ernestas; Kurasova, Olga

2011-01-01

In this paper, multiple criteria optimization has been investigated. A new decision support system (DSS) has been developed for interactive solving of multiple criteria optimization problems (MOPs). The weighted-sum (WS) approach is implemented to solve the MOPs. The MOPs are solved by selecting different weight coefficient values for the criteria…

The Seven Deadly Sins of World University Ranking: A Summary from Several Papers

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soh, Kaycheng

2017-01-01

World university rankings use the weight-and-sum approach to process data. Although this seems to pass the common sense test, it has statistical problems. In recent years, seven such problems have been uncovered: spurious precision, weight discrepancies, assumed mutual compensation, indictor redundancy, inter-system discrepancy, negligence of…

Economics of replacing young-growth ponderosa pine stands . . . a case study

Treesearch

Dennis E. Teeguarden

1968-01-01

Compares the expected capital value growth of five ponderosa pine stands (70 to 80 years old) on the Challenge Experimental Forest, Yuba County, Calif., with the cost of delaying harvest (defined as sum of stock-holding and land-holding costs). Suggests that replacement of all five stands would be financially desirable under constant stumpage prices. Recommends...

Retention of primitive reflexes and delayed motor development in very low birth weight infants.

PubMed

Marquis, P J; Ruiz, N A; Lundy, M S; Dillard, R G

1984-06-01

Primitive reflexes and motor development were evaluated in 127 very low birth weight (VLBW) infants (birth weight less than 1501 grams) at four months corrected age. The asymmetrical tonic neck reflex, tonic labyrinth reflex, and Moro reflex were assessed for each child. The ability of each child to reach (obtain a red ring) and roll were observed. The child's performance on the gross motor scale of the Denver Development Screening Test was recorded. Thirty-seven term infants were administered identical evaluations at four months of age. The VLBW infants retained stronger primitive reflexes and exhibited a significantly higher incidence of motor delays than term infants. Significant correlations existed between the strength of the primitive reflexes and early motor development for VLBW infants. This study confirms a high incidence of motor delays among VLBW infants and demonstrates a clear association between retained primitive reflexes and delayed motor development in VLBW infants.

The Subset Sum game.

PubMed

Darmann, Andreas; Nicosia, Gaia; Pferschy, Ulrich; Schauer, Joachim

2014-03-16

In this work we address a game theoretic variant of the Subset Sum problem, in which two decision makers (agents/players) compete for the usage of a common resource represented by a knapsack capacity. Each agent owns a set of integer weighted items and wants to maximize the total weight of its own items included in the knapsack. The solution is built as follows: Each agent, in turn, selects one of its items (not previously selected) and includes it in the knapsack if there is enough capacity. The process ends when the remaining capacity is too small for including any item left. We look at the problem from a single agent point of view and show that finding an optimal sequence of items to select is an [Formula: see text]-hard problem. Therefore we propose two natural heuristic strategies and analyze their worst-case performance when (1) the opponent is able to play optimally and (2) the opponent adopts a greedy strategy. From a centralized perspective we observe that some known results on the approximation of the classical Subset Sum can be effectively adapted to the multi-agent version of the problem.

The Subset Sum game☆

PubMed Central

Darmann, Andreas; Nicosia, Gaia; Pferschy, Ulrich; Schauer, Joachim

2014-01-01

In this work we address a game theoretic variant of the Subset Sum problem, in which two decision makers (agents/players) compete for the usage of a common resource represented by a knapsack capacity. Each agent owns a set of integer weighted items and wants to maximize the total weight of its own items included in the knapsack. The solution is built as follows: Each agent, in turn, selects one of its items (not previously selected) and includes it in the knapsack if there is enough capacity. The process ends when the remaining capacity is too small for including any item left. We look at the problem from a single agent point of view and show that finding an optimal sequence of items to select is an NP-hard problem. Therefore we propose two natural heuristic strategies and analyze their worst-case performance when (1) the opponent is able to play optimally and (2) the opponent adopts a greedy strategy. From a centralized perspective we observe that some known results on the approximation of the classical Subset Sum can be effectively adapted to the multi-agent version of the problem. PMID:25844012

Empirical models for fitting of oral concentration time curves with and without an intravenous reference.

PubMed

Weiss, Michael

2017-06-01

Appropriate model selection is important in fitting oral concentration-time data due to the complex character of the absorption process. When IV reference data are available, the problem is the selection of an empirical input function (absorption model). In the present examples a weighted sum of inverse Gaussian density functions (IG) was found most useful. It is shown that alternative models (gamma and Weibull density) are only valid if the input function is log-concave. Furthermore, it is demonstrated for the first time that the sum of IGs model can be also applied to fit oral data directly (without IV data). In the present examples, a weighted sum of two or three IGs was sufficient. From the parameters of this function, the model-independent measures AUC and mean residence time can be calculated. It turned out that a good fit of the data in the terminal phase is essential to avoid parameter biased estimates. The time course of fractional elimination rate and the concept of log-concavity have proved as useful tools in model selection.

[Levels and distribution of short chain chlorinated paraffins in seafood from Dalian, China].

PubMed

Yu, Jun-Chao; Wang, Thanh; Wang, Ya-Wei; Meng, Mei; Chen, Ru; Jiang, Gui-Bin

2014-05-01

Seafood samples were collected from Dalian, China to study the accumulation and distribution characteristics of short chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) by GC/ECNI-LRMS. Sum of SCCPs (dry weight) were in the range of 77-8 250 ng.g-1, with the lowest value in Scapharca subcrenata and highest concentration in Neptunea cumingi. The concentrations of sum of SCCPs (dry weight) in fish, shrimp/crab and shellfish were in the ranges of 100-3 510, 394-5 440, and 77-8 250 ng.g-1 , respectively. Overall, the C10 and C11 homologues were the most predominant carbon groups of SCCPs in seafood from this area,and a relatively higher proportion of C12-13 was observed in seafood with higher concentrations of sum of SCCPs . With regard to chlorine content, Cl1,, CI8 and CI6 were the major groups. Significant correlations were found among concentrations of different SCCP homologues (except C1, vs. Cl10 ) , which indicated that they might share the same sources and/or have similar accumulation, migration and transformation processes.

Truncated Linear Statistics Associated with the Eigenvalues of Random Matrices II. Partial Sums over Proper Time Delays for Chaotic Quantum Dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grabsch, Aurélien; Majumdar, Satya N.; Texier, Christophe

2017-06-01

Invariant ensembles of random matrices are characterized by the distribution of their eigenvalues \\{λ _1,\\ldots ,λ _N\\}. We study the distribution of truncated linear statistics of the form \\tilde{L}=\\sum _{i=1}^p f(λ _i) with p

[Characteristics of growth and development in children from families at social risk].

PubMed

Stojadinović, A

2001-01-01

Body height and weight are important indicators of children's health status. There are many evidences that children from disadvantaged families have lower height and weight than children of the same age from families without social risk. The aim of this study was to investigate characteristics of growth and development of children from economically disadvantaged families. The study was partly retrospective and partly prospective. The retrospective study included 509 children from disadvantaged families hospitalized at the Institute of Child and Adolescent Health Care in Novi Sad, during a five-year period. The prospective study included 90 children from disadvantaged families (experimental group) and 132 children from families without social risk (control group) hospitalized at the Institute during a six month period. Height/length, weight, head circumference, and psychomotor/intellectual development have been examined. In the retrospective study results were compared with theoretically expected values, whereas the prospective study results of experimental and control group were compared. In the retrospective study that included only children from disadvantaged families, 136 (26.7%) children had height/length, 173 (34%) had weight, and 86 (16.9%) children had head circumference below 10th percentile. Delay in psychomotor/intellectual development was established in 177 (34.8%) children. Children from families with social risk have significantly more often height/length, weight, head circumference and developmental delay than theoretically expected. In the prospective study 40 (44.4%) children from experimental group had height/length, 29 (32.2%) had weight, 20 (22.2%) children had head circumference below 10th percentile, and 17 (26.2%) had delay in psychomotor/intellectual development. Children from disadvantaged families (experimental group) significantly more often had delay in growth and development comparing with children from families without social risk (control group). Children from disadvantaged families significantly more often exhibit delay in growth and development, comparing with children of the same age from families without social risk. Therefore, pediatricians should consider social risk factors whenever treating children with growth or developmental delay.

A monitoring tool for performance improvement in plastic surgery at the individual level.

PubMed

Maruthappu, Mahiben; Duclos, Antoine; Orgill, Dennis; Carty, Matthew J

2013-05-01

The assessment of performance in surgery is expanding significantly. Application of relevant frameworks to plastic surgery, however, has been limited. In this article, the authors present two robust graphic tools commonly used in other industries that may serve to monitor individual surgeon operative time while factoring in patient- and surgeon-specific elements. The authors reviewed performance data from all bilateral reduction mammaplasties performed at their institution by eight surgeons between 1995 and 2010. Operative time was used as a proxy for performance. Cumulative sum charts and exponentially weighted moving average charts were generated using a train-test analytic approach, and used to monitor surgical performance. Charts mapped crude, patient case-mix-adjusted, and case-mix and surgical-experience-adjusted performance. Operative time was found to decline from 182 minutes to 118 minutes with surgical experience (p < 0.001). Cumulative sum and exponentially weighted moving average charts were generated using 1995 to 2007 data (1053 procedures) and tested on 2008 to 2010 data (246 procedures). The sensitivity and accuracy of these charts were significantly improved by adjustment for case mix and surgeon experience. The consideration of patient- and surgeon-specific factors is essential for correct interpretation of performance in plastic surgery at the individual surgeon level. Cumulative sum and exponentially weighted moving average charts represent accurate methods of monitoring operative time to control and potentially improve surgeon performance over the course of a career.

Improving detection of dementia in Asian patients with low education: combining the Mini-Mental State Examination and the Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly.

PubMed

Narasimhalu, Kaavya; Lee, June; Auchus, Alexander P; Chen, Christopher P L H

2008-01-01

Previous work combining the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Informant Questionnaire on Cognitive Decline in the Elderly (IQCODE) has been conducted in western populations. We ascertained, in an Asian population, (1) the best method of combining the tests, (2) the effects of educational level, and (3) the effect of different dementia etiologies. Data from 576 patients were analyzed (407 nondemented controls, 87 Alzheimer's disease and 82 vascular dementia patients). Sensitivity, specificity and AUC values were obtained using three methods, the 'And' rule, the 'Or' rule, and the 'weighted sum' method. The 'weighted sum' rule had statistically superior AUC and specificity results, while the 'Or' rule had the best sensitivity results. The IQCODE outperformed the MMSE in all analyses. Patients with no education benefited more from combined tests. There was no difference between Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia populations in the predictive value of any of the combined methods. We recommend that the IQCODE be used to supplement the MMSE whenever available and that the 'weighted sum' method be used to combine the MMSE and the IQCODE, particularly in populations with low education. As the study population selected may not be representative of the general population, further studies are required before generalization to nonclinical samples. (c) 2007 S. Karger AG, Basel.

Promoting weight control at the worksite: a pilot program of self-motivation using payroll-based incentives.

PubMed

Jeffery, R W; Forster, J L; Snell, M K

1985-03-01

Thirty-six individuals participated in a worksite weight-loss program in which the central component was a self-motivation program of biweekly payroll deductions refunded contingent on meeting self-selected weight-loss goals. Half were assigned to early treatment and the remainder to a delayed treatment control group. Nine additional individuals also enrolled at the time of delayed treatment and were included in descriptive analyses of factors associated with weight loss. Results showed low program attrition over 6 months (6%) and mean weight losses (12.3 lb) that are competitive with those obtained in clinical settings. Although not different at baseline, participants in the delayed treatment group lost more than twice as much weight as those in the early treatment condition. This difference was interpreted as either a strong seasonal effect or a critical mass effect related to the proportion of employees at the worksite participating in the program. We conclude that self-motivation programs for health behavior change using the payroll system as an organization framework offer a promising new methodology for promoting healthful behaviors in work settings.

Effects of Preseason Training on the Sleep Characteristics of Professional Rugby League Players.

PubMed

Thornton, Heidi R; Delaney, Jace A; Duthie, Grant M; Dascombe, Ben J

2018-02-01

To investigate the influence of daily and exponentially weighted moving training loads on subsequent nighttime sleep. Sleep of 14 professional rugby league athletes competing in the National Rugby League was recorded using wristwatch actigraphy. Physical demands were quantified using GPS technology, including total distance, high-speed distance, acceleration/deceleration load (SumAccDec; AU), and session rating of perceived exertion (AU). Linear mixed models determined effects of acute (daily) and subacute (3- and 7-d) exponentially weighted moving averages (EWMA) on sleep. Higher daily SumAccDec was associated with increased sleep efficiency (effect-size correlation; ES = 0.15; ±0.09) and sleep duration (ES = 0.12; ±0.09). Greater 3-d EWMA SumAccDec was associated with increased sleep efficiency (ES = 0.14; ±0.09) and an earlier bedtime (ES = 0.14; ±0.09). An increase in 7-d EWMA SumAccDec was associated with heightened sleep efficiency (ES = 0.15; ±0.09) and earlier bedtimes (ES = 0.15; ±0.09). The direction of the associations between training loads and sleep varied, but the strongest relationships showed that higher training loads increased various measures of sleep. Practitioners should be aware of the increased requirement for sleep during intensified training periods, using this information in the planning and implementation of training and individualized recovery modalities.

Photonuclear sum rules and the tetrahedral configuration of He4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gazit, Doron; Barnea, Nir; Bacca, Sonia; Leidemann, Winfried; Orlandini, Giuseppina

2006-12-01

Three well-known photonuclear sum rules (SR), i.e., the Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn, the bremsstrahlungs and the polarizability SR are calculated for He4 with the realistic nucleon-nucleon potential Argonne V18 and the three-nucleon force Urbana IX. The relation between these sum rules and the corresponding energy weighted integrals of the cross section is discussed. Two additional equivalences for the bremsstrahlungs SR are given, which connect it to the proton-neutron and neutron-neutron distances. Using them, together with our result for the bremsstrahlungs SR, we find a deviation from the tetrahedral symmetry of the spatial configuration of He4. The possibility to access this deviation experimentally is discussed.

29 CFR 1917.71 - Terminals handling intermodal containers or roll-on roll-off operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... pounds; (2) The maximum cargo weight the container is designed to carry, in pounds; and (3) The sum of the weight of the container and the cargo, in pounds. (b) No container shall be hoisted by any crane... any, that such container is empty. Methods of identification may include cargo plans, manifests or...

29 CFR 1917.71 - Terminals handling intermodal containers or roll-on roll-off operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-07-01

... pounds; (2) The maximum cargo weight the container is designed to carry, in pounds; and (3) The sum of the weight of the container and the cargo, in pounds. (b) No container shall be hoisted by any crane... any, that such container is empty. Methods of identification may include cargo plans, manifests or...

29 CFR 1917.71 - Terminals handling intermodal containers or roll-on roll-off operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... pounds; (2) The maximum cargo weight the container is designed to carry, in pounds; and (3) The sum of the weight of the container and the cargo, in pounds. (b) No container shall be hoisted by any crane... any, that such container is empty. Methods of identification may include cargo plans, manifests or...

29 CFR 1917.71 - Terminals handling intermodal containers or roll-on roll-off operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... pounds; (2) The maximum cargo weight the container is designed to carry, in pounds; and (3) The sum of the weight of the container and the cargo, in pounds. (b) No container shall be hoisted by any crane... any, that such container is empty. Methods of identification may include cargo plans, manifests or...

29 CFR 1917.71 - Terminals handling intermodal containers or roll-on roll-off operations.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... pounds; (2) The maximum cargo weight the container is designed to carry, in pounds; and (3) The sum of the weight of the container and the cargo, in pounds. (b) No container shall be hoisted by any crane... any, that such container is empty. Methods of identification may include cargo plans, manifests or...

Optical implementation of inner product neural associative memory

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Liu, Hua-Kuang (Inventor)

1995-01-01

An optical implementation of an inner-product neural associative memory is realized with a first spatial light modulator for entering an initial two-dimensional N-tuple vector and for entering a thresholded output vector image after each iteration until convergence is reached, and a second spatial light modulator for entering M weighted vectors of inner-product scalars multiplied with each of the M stored vectors, where the inner-product scalars are produced by multiplication of the initial input vector in the first iterative cycle (and thresholded vectors in subsequent iterative cycles) with each of the M stored vectors, and the weighted vectors are produced by multiplication of the scalars with corresponding ones of the stored vectors. A Hughes liquid crystal light valve is used for the dual function of summing the weighted vectors and thresholding the sum vector. The thresholded vector is then entered through the first spatial light modulator for reiteration of the process cycle until convergence is reached.

Weighted sum of gray gases model optimization for numerical investigations of processes inside pulverized coal-fired furnaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Crnomarkovic, Nenad; Belosevic, Srdjan; Tomanovic, Ivan; Milicevic, Aleksandar

2017-12-01

The effects of the number of significant figures (NSF) in the interpolation polynomial coefficients (IPCs) of the weighted sum of gray gases model (WSGM) on results of numerical investigations and WSGM optimization were investigated. The investigation was conducted using numerical simulations of the processes inside a pulverized coal-fired furnace. The radiative properties of the gas phase were determined using the simple gray gas model (SG), two-term WSGM (W2), and three-term WSGM (W3). Ten sets of the IPCs with the same NSF were formed for every weighting coefficient in both W2 and W3. The average and maximal relative difference values of the flame temperatures, wall temperatures, and wall heat fluxes were determined. The investigation showed that the results of numerical investigations were affected by the NSF unless it exceeded certain value. The increase in the NSF did not necessarily lead to WSGM optimization. The combination of the NSF (CNSF) was the necessary requirement for WSGM optimization.

Evolving cell models for systems and synthetic biology.

PubMed

Cao, Hongqing; Romero-Campero, Francisco J; Heeb, Stephan; Cámara, Miguel; Krasnogor, Natalio

2010-03-01

This paper proposes a new methodology for the automated design of cell models for systems and synthetic biology. Our modelling framework is based on P systems, a discrete, stochastic and modular formal modelling language. The automated design of biological models comprising the optimization of the model structure and its stochastic kinetic constants is performed using an evolutionary algorithm. The evolutionary algorithm evolves model structures by combining different modules taken from a predefined module library and then it fine-tunes the associated stochastic kinetic constants. We investigate four alternative objective functions for the fitness calculation within the evolutionary algorithm: (1) equally weighted sum method, (2) normalization method, (3) randomly weighted sum method, and (4) equally weighted product method. The effectiveness of the methodology is tested on four case studies of increasing complexity including negative and positive autoregulation as well as two gene networks implementing a pulse generator and a bandwidth detector. We provide a systematic analysis of the evolutionary algorithm's results as well as of the resulting evolved cell models.

Puberty is delayed in male mice with dextran sodium sulfate colitis out of proportion to changes in food intake, body weight, and serum levels of leptin.

PubMed

Deboer, Mark D; Li, Yongli

2011-01-01

In boys, inflammatory bowel disease often results in delayed puberty associated with decreased bone mineral density and decreased linear growth. Our goal was to investigate whether pubertal timing and levels of leptin differed between prepubertal male mice with colitis and food-restricted (FR) mice maintained at a similar weight. We induced colitis in 32-d-old male mice using dextran sodium sulfate (DSS), resulting in 10 d of worsening colitis. We followed up these mice for separation of the prepuce from the glans penis as a marker of pubertal progression. Compared with free-feeding control mice, DSS and FR mice had significantly lower weight on d 7-10 of treatment. DSS mice had later puberty than control and FR mice. DSS mice also had smaller testes, lower FSH levels, increased systemic cytokines, and increased colonic inflammation by histology. Leptin levels were similar between DSS and FR mice, whereas both had decreases in leptin compared with controls. We conclude that DSS colitis causes delayed puberty in sexually immature male mice beyond what is seen among FR mice of similar weight, food intake, and leptin levels. These experiments provide support for the hypothesis that pubertal delay in colitis is influenced by factors beyond poor weight gain alone.

RF beam transmission of x-band PAA system utilizing large-area, polymer-based true-time-delay module developed using imprinting and inkjet printing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Zeyu; Subbaraman, Harish; Zhang, Cheng; Li, Qiaochu; Xu, Xiaochuan; Chen, Xiangning; Zhang, Xingyu; Zou, Yi; Panday, Ashwin; Guo, L. Jay; Chen, Ray T.

2016-02-01

Phased-array antenna (PAA) technology plays a significant role in modern day radar and communication networks. Truetime- delay (TTD) enabled beam steering networks provide several advantages over their electronic counterparts, including squint-free beam steering, low RF loss, immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI), and large bandwidth control of PAAs. Chip-scale and integrated TTD modules promise a miniaturized, light-weight system; however, the modules are still rigid and they require complex packaging solutions. Moreover, the total achievable time delay is still restricted by the wafer size. In this work, we propose a light-weight and large-area, true-time-delay beamforming network that can be fabricated on light-weight and flexible/rigid surfaces utilizing low-cost "printing" techniques. In order to prove the feasibility of the approach, a 2-bit thermo-optic polymer TTD network is developed using a combination of imprinting and ink-jet printing. RF beam steering of a 1×4 X-band PAA up to 60° is demonstrated. The development of such active components on large area, light-weight, and low-cost substrates promises significant improvement in size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements over the state-of-the-art.

Minimizing Input-to-Output Latency in Virtual Environment

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adelstein, Bernard D.; Ellis, Stephen R.; Hill, Michael I.

2009-01-01

A method and apparatus were developed to minimize latency (time delay ) in virtual environment (VE) and other discrete- time computer-base d systems that require real-time display in response to sensor input s. Latency in such systems is due to the sum of the finite time requi red for information processing and communication within and between sensors, software, and displays.

Rapid Acquisition of Choice and Timing and the Provenance of the Terminal-Link Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kyonka, Elizabeth G. E.; Grace, Randolph C.

2010-01-01

Eight pigeons responded in a concurrent-chains procedure in which terminal-link schedules changed pseudorandomly across sessions. Pairs of terminal-link delays either summed to 15 s or to 45 s. Across sessions, the location of the shorter terminal link changed according to a pseudorandom binary sequence. On some terminal links, food was withheld…

Initiation of nutritional support is delayed in critically ill obese patients: a multicenter cohort study.

PubMed

Borel, Anne-Laure; Schwebel, Carole; Planquette, Benjamin; Vésin, Aurélien; Garrouste-Orgeas, Maité; Adrie, Christophe; Clec'h, Christophe; Azoulay, Elie; Souweine, Bertrand; Allaouchiche, Bernard; Goldgran-Toledano, Dany; Jamali, Samir; Darmon, Michael; Timsit, Jean-François

2014-09-01

A high catabolic rate characterizes the acute phase of critical illness. Guidelines recommend an early nutritional support, regardless of the previous nutritional status. We aimed to assess whether the nutritional status of patients, which was defined by the body mass index (BMI) at admission in an intensive care unit (ICU), affected the time of nutritional support initiation. We conducted a cohort study that reported a retrospective analysis of a multicenter ICU database (OUTCOMEREA) by using data prospectively entered from January 1997 to October 2012. Patients who needed orotracheal intubation within the first 72 h and >3 d were included. Data from 3257 ICU stays were analyzed. The delay before feeding was different according to BMI groups (P = 0.035). The delay was longer in obese patients [BMI (in kg/m²) ≥30; n = 663] than in other patients with either low weight (BMI <20; n = 501), normal weight (BMI ≥20 and <25; n = 1135), or overweight (BMI ≥25 and <30; n = 958). The association between nutritional status and a delay in nutrition initiation was independent of potential confounding factors such as age, sex, and diabetes or other chronic diseases. In comparison with normal weight, the adjusted RR (95% CI) associated with a delayed nutrition initiation was 0.92 (0.86, 0.98) for patients with low weight, 1.00 (0.94, 1.05) for overweight patients, and 1.06 (1.00, 1.12) for obese patients (P = 0.004). The initiation of nutritional support was delayed in obese ICU patients. Randomized controlled trials that address consequences of early compared with delayed beginnings of nutritional support in critically ill obese patients are needed. © 2014 American Society for Nutrition.

Stability and global Hopf bifurcation in a delayed food web consisting of a prey and two predators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Xin-You; Huo, Hai-Feng; Zhang, Xiao-Bing

2011-11-01

This paper is concerned with a predator-prey system with Holling II functional response and hunting delay and gestation. By regarding the sum of delays as the bifurcation parameter, the local stability of the positive equilibrium and the existence of Hopf bifurcation are investigated. We obtained explicit formulas to determine the properties of Hopf bifurcation by using the normal form method and center manifold theorem. Special attention is paid to the global continuation of local Hopf bifurcation. Using a global Hopf bifurcation result of Wu [Wu JH. Symmetric functional differential equations and neural networks with memory, Trans Amer Math Soc 1998;350:4799-4838] for functional differential equations, we may show the global existence of the periodic solutions. Finally, several numerical simulations illustrating the theoretical analysis are also given.

An Examination of the Ethnicity-Specific Prevalence of and Factors Associated with Substance Use and Misuse: Cross-Sectional Analysis of Croatian and Bosniak Adolescents in Bosnia and Herzegovina

PubMed Central

Bjelica, Dusko; Idrizovic, Kemal; Popovic, Stevo; Sisic, Nedim; Sekulic, Damir; Ostojic, Ljerka; Spasic, Miodrag; Zenic, Natasa

2016-01-01

Substance use and misuse (SUM) in adolescence is a significant public health problem and the extent to which adolescents exhibit SUM behaviors differs across ethnicity. This study aimed to explore the ethnicity-specific and gender-specific associations among sports factors, familial factors, and personal satisfaction with physical appearance (i.e., covariates) and SUM in a sample of adolescents from Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In this cross-sectional study the participants were 1742 adolescents (17–18 years of age) from Bosnia and Herzegovina who were in their last year of high school education (high school seniors). The sample comprised 772 Croatian (558 females) and 970 Bosniak (485 females) adolescents. Variables were collected using a previously developed and validated questionnaire that included questions on SUM (alcohol drinking, cigarette smoking, and consumption of other drugs), sport factors, parental education, socioeconomic status, and satisfaction with physical appearance and body weight. The consumption of cigarettes remains high (37% of adolescents smoke cigarettes), with a higher prevalence among Croatians. Harmful drinking is also alarming (evidenced in 28.4% of adolescents). The consumption of illicit drugs remains low with 5.7% of adolescents who consume drugs, with a higher prevalence among Bosniaks. A higher likelihood of engaging in SUM is found among children who quit sports (for smoking and drinking), boys who perceive themselves to be good looking (for smoking), and girls who are not satisfied with their body weight (for smoking). Higher maternal education is systematically found to be associated with greater SUM in Bosniak girls. Information on the associations presented herein could be discretely disseminated as a part of regular school administrative functions. The results warrant future prospective studies that more precisely identify the causality among certain variables. PMID:27690078

Competitive two-agent scheduling problems to minimize the weighted combination of makespans in a two-machine open shop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Fuhong; Zhang, Xingong; Bai, Danyu; Wu, Chin-Chia

2018-04-01

In this article, a competitive two-agent scheduling problem in a two-machine open shop is studied. The objective is to minimize the weighted sum of the makespans of two competitive agents. A complexity proof is presented for minimizing the weighted combination of the makespan of each agent if the weight α belonging to agent B is arbitrary. Furthermore, two pseudo-polynomial-time algorithms using the largest alternate processing time (LAPT) rule are presented. Finally, two approximation algorithms are presented if the weight is equal to one. Additionally, another approximation algorithm is presented if the weight is larger than one.

Mean convergence theorems and weak laws of large numbers for weighted sums of random variables under a condition of weighted integrability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ordóñez Cabrera, Manuel; Volodin, Andrei I.

2005-05-01

From the classical notion of uniform integrability of a sequence of random variables, a new concept of integrability (called h-integrability) is introduced for an array of random variables, concerning an array of constantsE We prove that this concept is weaker than other previous related notions of integrability, such as Cesàro uniform integrability [Chandra, Sankhya Ser. A 51 (1989) 309-317], uniform integrability concerning the weights [Ordóñez Cabrera, Collect. Math. 45 (1994) 121-132] and Cesàro [alpha]-integrability [Chandra and Goswami, J. Theoret. ProbabE 16 (2003) 655-669]. Under this condition of integrability and appropriate conditions on the array of weights, mean convergence theorems and weak laws of large numbers for weighted sums of an array of random variables are obtained when the random variables are subject to some special kinds of dependence: (a) rowwise pairwise negative dependence, (b) rowwise pairwise non-positive correlation, (c) when the sequence of random variables in every row is [phi]-mixing. Finally, we consider the general weak law of large numbers in the sense of Gut [Statist. Probab. Lett. 14 (1992) 49-52] under this new condition of integrability for a Banach space setting.

EM Transition Sum Rules Within the Framework of sdg Proton-Neutron Interacting Boson Model, Nuclear Pair Shell Model and Fermion Dynamical Symmetry Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Yumin

1997-07-01

By the techniques of the Wick theorem for coupled clusters, the no-energy-weighted electromagnetic sum-rule calculations are presented in the sdg neutron-proton interacting boson model, the nuclear pair shell model and the fermion-dynamical symmetry model. The project supported by Development Project Foundation of China, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Doctoral Education Fund of National Education Committee, Fundamental Research Fund of Southeast University

Technical Note: Using k-means clustering to determine the number and position of isocenters in MLC-based multiple target intracranial radiosurgery.

PubMed

Yock, Adam D; Kim, Gwe-Ya

2017-09-01

To present the k-means clustering algorithm as a tool to address treatment planning considerations characteristic of stereotactic radiosurgery using a single isocenter for multiple targets. For 30 patients treated with stereotactic radiosurgery for multiple brain metastases, the geometric centroids and radii of each met were determined from the treatment planning system. In-house software used this as well as weighted and unweighted versions of the k-means clustering algorithm to group the targets to be treated with a single isocenter, and to position each isocenter. The algorithm results were evaluated using within-cluster sum of squares as well as a minimum target coverage metric that considered the effect of target size. Both versions of the algorithm were applied to an example patient to demonstrate the prospective determination of the appropriate number and location of isocenters. Both weighted and unweighted versions of the k-means algorithm were applied successfully to determine the number and position of isocenters. Comparing the two, both the within-cluster sum of squares metric and the minimum target coverage metric resulting from the unweighted version were less than those from the weighted version. The average magnitudes of the differences were small (-0.2 cm 2 and 0.1% for the within cluster sum of squares and minimum target coverage, respectively) but statistically significant (Wilcoxon signed-rank test, P < 0.01). The differences between the versions of the k-means clustering algorithm represented an advantage of the unweighted version for the within-cluster sum of squares metric, and an advantage of the weighted version for the minimum target coverage metric. While additional treatment planning considerations have a large influence on the final treatment plan quality, both versions of the k-means algorithm provide automatic, consistent, quantitative, and objective solutions to the tasks associated with SRS treatment planning using a single isocenter for multiple targets. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Association of Physicists in Medicine.

Robust Short-Lag Spatial Coherence Imaging.

PubMed

Nair, Arun Asokan; Tran, Trac Duy; Bell, Muyinatu A Lediju

2018-03-01

Short-lag spatial coherence (SLSC) imaging displays the spatial coherence between backscattered ultrasound echoes instead of their signal amplitudes and is more robust to noise and clutter artifacts when compared with traditional delay-and-sum (DAS) B-mode imaging. However, SLSC imaging does not consider the content of images formed with different lags, and thus does not exploit the differences in tissue texture at each short-lag value. Our proposed method improves SLSC imaging by weighting the addition of lag values (i.e., M-weighting) and by applying robust principal component analysis (RPCA) to search for a low-dimensional subspace for projecting coherence images created with different lag values. The RPCA-based projections are considered to be denoised versions of the originals that are then weighted and added across lags to yield a final robust SLSC (R-SLSC) image. Our approach was tested on simulation, phantom, and in vivo liver data. Relative to DAS B-mode images, the mean contrast, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) improvements with R-SLSC images are 21.22 dB, 2.54, and 2.36, respectively, when averaged over simulated, phantom, and in vivo data and over all lags considered, which corresponds to mean improvements of 96.4%, 121.2%, and 120.5%, respectively. When compared with SLSC images, the corresponding mean improvements with R-SLSC images were 7.38 dB, 1.52, and 1.30, respectively (i.e., mean improvements of 14.5%, 50.5%, and 43.2%, respectively). Results show great promise for smoothing out the tissue texture of SLSC images and enhancing anechoic or hypoechoic target visibility at higher lag values, which could be useful in clinical tasks such as breast cyst visualization, liver vessel tracking, and obese patient imaging.

Complete convergence of randomly weighted END sequences and its application.

PubMed

Li, Penghua; Li, Xiaoqin; Wu, Kehan

2017-01-01

We investigate the complete convergence of partial sums of randomly weighted extended negatively dependent (END) random variables. Some results of complete moment convergence, complete convergence and the strong law of large numbers for this dependent structure are obtained. As an application, we study the convergence of the state observers of linear-time-invariant systems. Our results extend the corresponding earlier ones.

Analog hardware for delta-backpropagation neural networks

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eberhardt, Silvio P. (Inventor)

1992-01-01

This is a fully parallel analog backpropagation learning processor which comprises a plurality of programmable resistive memory elements serving as synapse connections whose values can be weighted during learning with buffer amplifiers, summing circuits, and sample-and-hold circuits arranged in a plurality of neuron layers in accordance with delta-backpropagation algorithms modified so as to control weight changes due to circuit drift.

Least-Squares Analysis of Data with Uncertainty in "y" and "x": Algorithms in Excel and KaleidaGraph

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tellinghuisen, Joel

2018-01-01

For the least-squares analysis of data having multiple uncertain variables, the generally accepted best solution comes from minimizing the sum of weighted squared residuals over all uncertain variables, with, for example, weights in x[subscript i] taken as inversely proportional to the variance [delta][subscript xi][superscript 2]. A complication…

One Dimensional Turing-Like Handshake Test for Motor Intelligence

PubMed Central

Karniel, Amir; Avraham, Guy; Peles, Bat-Chen; Levy-Tzedek, Shelly; Nisky, Ilana

2010-01-01

In the Turing test, a computer model is deemed to "think intelligently" if it can generate answers that are not distinguishable from those of a human. However, this test is limited to the linguistic aspects of machine intelligence. A salient function of the brain is the control of movement, and the movement of the human hand is a sophisticated demonstration of this function. Therefore, we propose a Turing-like handshake test, for machine motor intelligence. We administer the test through a telerobotic system in which the interrogator is engaged in a task of holding a robotic stylus and interacting with another party (human or artificial). Instead of asking the interrogator whether the other party is a person or a computer program, we employ a two-alternative forced choice method and ask which of two systems is more human-like. We extract a quantitative grade for each model according to its resemblance to the human handshake motion and name it "Model Human-Likeness Grade" (MHLG). We present three methods to estimate the MHLG. (i) By calculating the proportion of subjects' answers that the model is more human-like than the human; (ii) By comparing two weighted sums of human and model handshakes we fit a psychometric curve and extract the point of subjective equality (PSE); (iii) By comparing a given model with a weighted sum of human and random signal, we fit a psychometric curve to the answers of the interrogator and extract the PSE for the weight of the human in the weighted sum. Altogether, we provide a protocol to test computational models of the human handshake. We believe that building a model is a necessary step in understanding any phenomenon and, in this case, in understanding the neural mechanisms responsible for the generation of the human handshake. PMID:21206462

Fusion of classifiers for REIS-based detection of suspicious breast lesions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lederman, Dror; Wang, Xingwei; Zheng, Bin; Sumkin, Jules H.; Tublin, Mitchell; Gur, David

2011-03-01

After developing a multi-probe resonance-frequency electrical impedance spectroscopy (REIS) system aimed at detecting women with breast abnormalities that may indicate a developing breast cancer, we have been conducting a prospective clinical study to explore the feasibility of applying this REIS system to classify younger women (< 50 years old) into two groups of "higher-than-average risk" and "average risk" of having or developing breast cancer. The system comprises one central probe placed in contact with the nipple, and six additional probes uniformly distributed along an outside circle to be placed in contact with six points on the outer breast skin surface. In this preliminary study, we selected an initial set of 174 examinations on participants that have completed REIS examinations and have clinical status verification. Among these, 66 examinations were recommended for biopsy due to findings of a highly suspicious breast lesion ("positives"), and 108 were determined as negative during imaging based procedures ("negatives"). A set of REIS-based features, extracted using a mirror-matched approach, was computed and fed into five machine learning classifiers. A genetic algorithm was used to select an optimal subset of features for each of the five classifiers. Three fusion rules, namely sum rule, weighted sum rule and weighted median rule, were used to combine the results of the classifiers. Performance evaluation was performed using a leave-one-case-out cross-validation method. The results indicated that REIS may provide a new technology to identify younger women with higher than average risk of having or developing breast cancer. Furthermore, it was shown that fusion rule, such as a weighted median fusion rule and a weighted sum fusion rule may improve performance as compared with the highest performing single classifier.

For whom the bell tolls: experimentally-manipulated disgust and embarrassment may cause anticipated sexual healthcare avoidance among some people.

PubMed

McCambridge, Sarah A; Consedine, Nathan S

2014-04-01

This study was designed to experimentally determine whether disgust and embarrassment predict anticipated delay and avoidance in sexual healthcare decision-making and for whom. In the study, 90 participants, aged 18-30, completed web-based questionnaires assessing demographics, current health, and past health behaviors before being gender block randomized to conditions in which disgust, embarrassment, or control (no emotion) were induced. Participants completed health decision-making vignettes covering the disgusting and embarrassing aspects of sexual healthcare. Factorial ANOVAs showed that although there were some complexities in the manipulation, disgust and embarrassment predicted greater anticipated delay and avoidance of elicitors, but only among specific groups. Embarrassment predicted anticipated help-seeking delays for embarrassment elicitors (i.e. sexual history assessment and physical examination), while disgust predicted anticipated help-seeking delays involving disgust elicitors (i.e. collecting genital discharge). However, these effects were moderated, with embarrassment only predicting anticipated delays among individuals reporting multiple sexual partners and disgust predicting anticipated delays and avoidance among persons reporting poorer subjective health. In sum, the current report provides among the first empirical demonstrations that emotions such as embarrassment and disgust may be causally implicated in anticipated delays and avoidance in sexual healthcare. Emotion frameworks may be usefully incorporated into clinical and public health efforts to reduce sexual healthcare delays and avoidance.

Calculating three loop ladder and V-topologies for massive operator matrix elements by computer algebra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ablinger, J.; Behring, A.; Blümlein, J.; De Freitas, A.; von Manteuffel, A.; Schneider, C.

2016-05-01

Three loop ladder and V-topology diagrams contributing to the massive operator matrix element AQg are calculated. The corresponding objects can all be expressed in terms of nested sums and recurrences depending on the Mellin variable N and the dimensional parameter ε. Given these representations, the desired Laurent series expansions in ε can be obtained with the help of our computer algebra toolbox. Here we rely on generalized hypergeometric functions and Mellin-Barnes representations, on difference ring algorithms for symbolic summation, on an optimized version of the multivariate Almkvist-Zeilberger algorithm for symbolic integration, and on new methods to calculate Laurent series solutions of coupled systems of differential equations. The solutions can be computed for general coefficient matrices directly for any basis also performing the expansion in the dimensional parameter in case it is expressible in terms of indefinite nested product-sum expressions. This structural result is based on new results of our difference ring theory. In the cases discussed we deal with iterative sum- and integral-solutions over general alphabets. The final results are expressed in terms of special sums, forming quasi-shuffle algebras, such as nested harmonic sums, generalized harmonic sums, and nested binomially weighted (cyclotomic) sums. Analytic continuations to complex values of N are possible through the recursion relations obeyed by these quantities and their analytic asymptotic expansions. The latter lead to a host of new constants beyond the multiple zeta values, the infinite generalized harmonic and cyclotomic sums in the case of V-topologies.

Asteroid orbit fitting with radar and angular observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baturin, A. P.

2013-12-01

The asteroid orbit fitting problem using their radar and angular observations has been considered. The problem was solved in a standanrd way by means of minimization of weighted sum of squares of residuals. In the orbit fitting both kinds of radar observa-tions have been used: the observations of time delays and of Doppler frequency shifts. The weight for angular observations has been set the same for all of them and has been determined as inverse mean-square residual obtained in the orbit fitting using just angular observations. The weights of radar observations have been set as inverse squared errors of these observations published together with them in the Minor Planet Center electronical circulars (MPECs). For the orbit fitting some five asteroids have been taken from these circulars. The asteroids have been chosen fulfilling the requirement of more than six radar observations of them to be available. The asteroids are 1950 DA, 1999 RQ36, 2002 NY40, 2004 DC and 2005 EU2. Several orbit fittings for these aster-oids have been done: with just angular observations; with just radar observations; with both angular and radar observations. The obtained results are quite acceptable because in the last case the mean-square angular residuals are approximately equal to the same ones obtained in the fitting with just angular observations. As to radar observations mean-square residuals, the time delay residuals for three asteroids do not exceed 1 μs, for two others ˜ 10 μs and the Doppler shift residuals for three asteroids do not exceed 1 Hz, for two others ˜ 10 Hz. The motion equations included perturbations from 9 planets and the Moon using their ephemerides DE422. The numerical integration has been performed with Everhart 27-order method with variable step. All calculations have been exe-cuted to a 34-digit decimal precision (i.e. using 128-bit floating-point numbers). Further, the sizes of confidence ellipsoids of im-proved orbit parameters have been compared. It has been accepted that an indicator of ellipsoid size is a geometric mean of its six semi-axes. A comparison of sizes has shown that confidence ellipsoids obtained in orbit fitting with both angular and radar obser-vations are several times less than ellipsoids obtained with just angular observations.

Nodal weighting factor method for ex-core fast neutron fluence evaluation

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

Chiang, R. T.

The nodal weighting factor method is developed for evaluating ex-core fast neutron flux in a nuclear reactor by utilizing adjoint neutron flux, a fictitious unit detector cross section for neutron energy above 1 or 0.1 MeV, the unit fission source, and relative assembly nodal powers. The method determines each nodal weighting factor for ex-core neutron fast flux evaluation by solving the steady-state adjoint neutron transport equation with a fictitious unit detector cross section for neutron energy above 1 or 0.1 MeV as the adjoint source, by integrating the unit fission source with a typical fission spectrum to the solved adjointmore » flux over all energies, all angles and given nodal volume, and by dividing it with the sum of all nodal weighting factors, which is a normalization factor. Then, the fast neutron flux can be obtained by summing the various relative nodal powers times the corresponding nodal weighting factors of the adjacent significantly contributed peripheral assembly nodes and times a proper fast neutron attenuation coefficient over an operating period. A generic set of nodal weighting factors can be used to evaluate neutron fluence at the same location for similar core design and fuel cycles, but the set of nodal weighting factors needs to be re-calibrated for a transition-fuel-cycle. This newly developed nodal weighting factor method should be a useful and simplified tool for evaluating fast neutron fluence at selected locations of interest in ex-core components of contemporary nuclear power reactors. (authors)« less

H∞ control problem of linear periodic piecewise time-delay systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xie, Xiaochen; Lam, James; Li, Panshuo

2018-04-01

This paper investigates the H∞ control problem based on exponential stability and weighted L2-gain analyses for a class of continuous-time linear periodic piecewise systems with time delay. A periodic piecewise Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional is developed by integrating a discontinuous time-varying matrix function with two global terms. By applying the improved constraints to the stability and L2-gain analyses, sufficient delay-dependent exponential stability and weighted L2-gain criteria are proposed for the periodic piecewise time-delay system. Based on these analyses, an H∞ control scheme is designed under the considerations of periodic state feedback control input and iterative optimisation. Finally, numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of our proposed conditions.

Complex networks in the Euclidean space of communicability distances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Estrada, Ernesto

2012-06-01

We study the properties of complex networks embedded in a Euclidean space of communicability distances. The communicability distance between two nodes is defined as the difference between the weighted sum of walks self-returning to the nodes and the weighted sum of walks going from one node to the other. We give some indications that the communicability distance identifies the least crowded routes in networks where simultaneous submission of packages is taking place. We define an index Q based on communicability and shortest path distances, which allows reinterpreting the “small-world” phenomenon as the region of minimum Q in the Watts-Strogatz model. It also allows the classification and analysis of networks with different efficiency of spatial uses. Consequently, the communicability distance displays unique features for the analysis of complex networks in different scenarios.

An assessment of some non-gray global radiation models in enclosures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meulemans, J.

2016-01-01

The accuracy of several non-gray global gas/soot radiation models, namely the Wide-Band Correlated-K (WBCK) model, the Spectral Line Weighted-sum-of-gray-gases model with one optimized gray gas (SLW-1), the (non-gray) Weighted-Sum-of-Gray-Gases (WSGG) model with different sets of coefficients (Smith et al., Soufiani and Djavdan, Taylor and Foster) was assessed on several test cases from the literature. Non-isothermal (or isothermal) participating media containing non-homogeneous (or homogeneous) mixtures of water vapor, carbon dioxide and soot in one-dimensional planar enclosures and multi-dimensional rectangular enclosures were investigated. For all the considered test cases, a benchmark solution (LBL or SNB) was used in order to compute the relative error of each model on the predicted radiative source term and the wall net radiative heat flux.

Method and apparatus for pulse stacking

DOEpatents

Harney, Robert C.

1977-01-01

An active pulse stacking system including an etalon and an electro-optical modulator apparatus combined with a pulse-forming network capable of forming and summing a sequence of time-delayed optical waveforms arising from, for example, a single laser pulse. The Pockels cell pulse stacker may attain an efficiency of about 2.6% while providing a controllable faster-than-exponential time rise in transmitted pulse intensity.

An evaluation of ozone exposure metrics for a seasonally drought-stressed ponderosa pine ecosystem.

PubMed

Panek, Jeanne A; Kurpius, Meredith R; Goldstein, Allen H

2002-01-01

Ozone stress has become an increasingly significant factor in cases of forest decline reported throughout the world. Current metrics to estimate ozone exposure for forest trees are derived from atmospheric concentrations and assume that the forest is physiologically active at all times of the growing season. This may be inaccurate in regions with a Mediterranean climate, such as California and the Pacific Northwest, where peak physiological activity occurs early in the season to take advantage of high soil moisture and does not correspond to peak ozone concentrations. It may also misrepresent ecosystems experiencing non-average climate conditions such as drought years. We compared direct measurements of ozone flux into a ponderosa pine canopy with a suite of the most common ozone exposure metrics to determine which best correlated with actual ozone uptake by the forest. Of the metrics we assessed, SUM0 (the sum of all daytime ozone concentrations > 0) best corresponded to ozone uptake by ponderosa pine, however the correlation was only strong at times when the stomata were unconstrained by site moisture conditions. In the early growing season (May and June). SUM0 was an adequate metric for forest ozone exposure. Later in the season, when stomatal conductance was limited by drought. SUM0 overestimated ozone uptake. A better metric for seasonally drought-stressed forests would be one that incorporates forest physiological activity, either through mechanistic modeling, by weighting ozone concentrations by stomatal conductance, or by weighting concentrations by site moisture conditions.

Skeletal muscle characterization of Japanese quail line selectively bred for lower body weight as an avian model of delayed muscle growth with hypoplasia.

PubMed

Choi, Young Min; Suh, Yeunsu; Shin, Sangsu; Lee, Kichoon

2014-01-01

This study was designed to extensively characterize the skeletal muscle development in the low weight (LW) quail selected from random bred control (RBC) Japanese quail in order to provide a new avian model of impaired and delayed growth in physically normal animals. The LW line had smaller embryo and body weights than the RBC line in all age groups (P<0.05). During 3 to 42 d post-hatch, the LW line exhibited approximately 60% smaller weight of pectoralis major muscle (PM), mainly resulting from lower fiber numbers compared to the RBC line (P<0.05). During early post-hatch period when myotubes are still actively forming, the LW line showed impaired PM growth with prolonged expression of Pax7 and lower expression levels of MyoD, Myf-5, and myogenin (P<0.05), likely leading to impairment of myogenic differentiation and consequently, reduced muscle fiber formation. Additionally, the LW line had delayed transition of neonatal to adult myosin heavy chain isoform, suggesting delayed muscle maturation. This is further supported by the finding that the LW line continued to grow unlike the RBC line; difference in the percentages of PMW to body weights between both quail lines diminished with increasing age from 42 to 75 d post-hatch. This delayed muscle growth in the LW line is accompanied by higher levels of myogenin expression at 42 d (P<0.05), higher percentage of centered nuclei at 42 d (P<0.01), and greater rate of increase in fiber size between 42 and 75 d post-hatch (P<0.001) compared to the RBC line. Analysis of physiological, morphological, and developmental parameters during muscle development of the LW quail line provided a well-characterized avian model for future identification of the responsible genes and for studying mechanisms of hypoplasia and delayed muscle growth.

Minimization of Delay Costs in the Realization of Production Orders in Two-Machine System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dylewski, Robert; Jardzioch, Andrzej; Dworak, Oliver

2018-03-01

The article presents a new algorithm that enables the allocation of the optimal scheduling of the production orders in the two-machine system based on the minimum cost of order delays. The formulated algorithm uses the method of branch and bounds and it is a particular generalisation of the algorithm enabling for the determination of the sequence of the production orders with the minimal sum of the delays. In order to illustrate the proposed algorithm in the best way, the article contains examples accompanied by the graphical trees of solutions. The research analysing the utility of the said algorithm was conducted. The achieved results proved the usefulness of the proposed algorithm when applied to scheduling of orders. The formulated algorithm was implemented in the Matlab programme. In addition, the studies for different sets of production orders were conducted.

Error estimates of Lagrange interpolation and orthonormal expansions for Freud weights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, K. H.; Lee, D. W.

2001-08-01

Let Sn[f] be the nth partial sum of the orthonormal polynomials expansion with respect to a Freud weight. Then we obtain sufficient conditions for the boundedness of Sn[f] and discuss the speed of the convergence of Sn[f] in weighted Lp space. We also find sufficient conditions for the boundedness of the Lagrange interpolation polynomial Ln[f], whose nodal points are the zeros of orthonormal polynomials with respect to a Freud weight. In particular, if W(x)=e-(1/2)x2 is the Hermite weight function, then we obtain sufficient conditions for the inequalities to hold:andwhere and k=0,1,2...,r.

Conduction velocity of the uterine contraction in serial magnetomyogram (MMG) data: event based simulation and validation.

PubMed

Furdea, Adrian; Preissl, Hubert; Lowery, Curtis L; Eswaran, Hari; Govindan, Rathinaswamy B

2011-01-01

We propose a novel approach to calculate the conduction velocity (CV) of the uterine contraction bursts in magnetomyogram (MMG) signals measured using a multichannel SQUID array. For this purpose, we partition the sensor coordinates into four different quadrants and identify the contractile bursts using a previously proposed Hilbert-wavelet transform approach. If contractile burst is identified in more than one quadrant, we calculate the center of gravity (CoG) in each quadrant for each time point as the sum of the product of the sensor coordinates with the Hilbert amplitude of the MMG signals normalized by the sum of the Hilbert amplitude of the signals over all sensors. Following this we compute the delay between the CoGs of all (six) possible quadrant pairs combinations. As a first step, we validate this approach by simulating a stochastic model based on independent second-order autoregressive processes (AR2) and we divide them into 30 second disjoint windows and insert burst activity at specific time instances in preselected sensors. Also we introduce a lag of 5 ± 1 seconds between different quadrants. Using our approach we calculate the CoG of the signals in a quadrant. To this end, we compute the delay between CoGs obtained from different quadrants and show that our approach is able to reliably capture the delay incorporated in the model. We apply the proposed approach to 19 serial MMG data obtained from two subjects and show an increase in the CV as the subjects approached labor.

The Obesogenic Quality of the Home Environment: Associations with Diet, Physical Activity, TV Viewing, and BMI in Preschool Children.

PubMed

Schrempft, Stephanie; van Jaarsveld, Cornelia H M; Fisher, Abigail; Wardle, Jane

2015-01-01

The home environment is thought to play a key role in early weight trajectories, although direct evidence is limited. There is general agreement that multiple factors exert small individual effects on weight-related outcomes, so use of composite measures could demonstrate stronger effects. This study therefore examined whether composite measures reflecting the 'obesogenic' home environment are associated with diet, physical activity, TV viewing, and BMI in preschool children. Families from the Gemini cohort (n = 1096) completed a telephone interview (Home Environment Interview; HEI) when their children were 4 years old. Diet, physical activity, and TV viewing were reported at interview. Child height and weight measurements were taken by the parents (using standard scales and height charts) and reported at interview. Responses to the HEI were standardized and summed to create four composite scores representing the food (sum of 21 variables), activity (sum of 6 variables), media (sum of 5 variables), and overall (food composite/21 + activity composite/6 + media composite/5) home environments. These were categorized into 'obesogenic risk' tertiles. Children in 'higher-risk' food environments consumed less fruit (OR; 95% CI = 0.39; 0.27-0.57) and vegetables (0.47; 0.34-0.64), and more energy-dense snacks (3.48; 2.16-5.62) and sweetened drinks (3.49; 2.10-5.81) than children in 'lower-risk' food environments. Children in 'higher-risk' activity environments were less physically active (0.43; 0.32-0.59) than children in 'lower-risk' activity environments. Children in 'higher-risk' media environments watched more TV (3.51; 2.48-4.96) than children in 'lower-risk' media environments. Neither the individual nor the overall composite measures were associated with BMI. Composite measures of the obesogenic home environment were associated as expected with diet, physical activity, and TV viewing. Associations with BMI were not apparent at this age.

Thyroidectomy as primary treatment optimizes body mass index in patients with hyperthyroidism.

PubMed

Schneider, David F; Nookala, Ratnam; Jaraczewski, Taylor J; Chen, Herbert; Solorzano, Carmen C; Sippel, Rebecca S

2014-07-01

The purpose of this study was to determine how the timing of thyroidectomy influenced postoperative weight change. We conducted a two-institution study, identifying patients treated with total thyroidectomy for hyperthyroidism. Patients were classified as 'early' if they were referred for surgery as the first treatment option, or 'delayed' if they were previously treated with radioactive iodine (RAI). Groups were compared with the Student's t-test or χ (2) test where appropriate. There were 204 patients undergoing thyroidectomy for hyperthyroidism. Of these, 171 patients were classified as early and 33 were classified as delayed. Overall, patients gained 6.0 % ± 0.8 of their preoperative body weight at last follow-up. Preoperative body mass indexes (BMIs) were similar between groups (p = 0.98), and the median follow-up time was 388 days (range 15-1,584 days). Both groups gained weight until they achieved a normal thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) postoperatively. After achieving a normal TSH, the early group stabilized or lost weight (-0.2 lbs/day), while the delayed group continued to gain weight (0.02 lbs/day; p = 0.61). At last follow-up, there were significantly more patients in the delayed group who increased their BMI category compared with the early group (42.4 vs. 21.6 %; p = 0.01). Twice as many patients in the delayed group moved up or into an unhealthy BMI category (overweight or obese) compared with the early group (39.4 vs. 19.3 %; p = 0.01). Compared with patients initially treated with RAI, patients with hyperthyroidism who underwent surgery as the first treatment were less likely to become overweight or obese postoperatively.

Optical Oversampled Analog-to-Digital Conversion

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-06-29

hologram weights and interconnects in the digital image halftoning configuration. First, no temporal error diffusion occurs in the digital image... halftoning error diffusion ar- chitecture as demonstrated by Equation (6.1). Equation (6.2) ensures that the hologram weights sum to one so that the exact...optimum halftone image should be faster. Similarly, decreased convergence time suggests that an error diffusion filter with larger spatial dimensions

Chaotic simulated annealing by a neural network with a variable delay: design and application.

PubMed

Chen, Shyan-Shiou

2011-10-01

In this paper, we have three goals: the first is to delineate the advantages of a variably delayed system, the second is to find a more intuitive Lyapunov function for a delayed neural network, and the third is to design a delayed neural network for a quadratic cost function. For delayed neural networks, most researchers construct a Lyapunov function based on the linear matrix inequality (LMI) approach. However, that approach is not intuitive. We provide a alternative candidate Lyapunov function for a delayed neural network. On the other hand, if we are first given a quadratic cost function, we can construct a delayed neural network by suitably dividing the second-order term into two parts: a self-feedback connection weight and a delayed connection weight. To demonstrate the advantage of a variably delayed neural network, we propose a transiently chaotic neural network with variable delay and show numerically that the model should possess a better searching ability than Chen-Aihara's model, Wang's model, and Zhao's model. We discuss both the chaotic and the convergent phases. During the chaotic phase, we simply present bifurcation diagrams for a single neuron with a constant delay and with a variable delay. We show that the variably delayed model possesses the stochastic property and chaotic wandering. During the convergent phase, we not only provide a novel Lyapunov function for neural networks with a delay (the Lyapunov function is independent of the LMI approach) but also establish a correlation between the Lyapunov function for a delayed neural network and an objective function for the traveling salesman problem. © 2011 IEEE

The usefulness of the sum of relative enhancement ratio in making a differential diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma from cirrhosis-related nodules.

PubMed

Yoon, Ki Woong; Song, Ji Soo; Han, Young Min

2014-01-01

To estimate the diagnostic accuracy of the sum of relative enhancement ratio (sRER) in making a differential diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) from benign cirrhosis-related nodules. Eighteen benign cirrhosis-related nodules and 18 HCCs were evaluated. Three radiologists independently reviewed computed tomography images using visual assessment and sRER. sRER was estimated by adding region-of-interest measurement in the arterial phase and the delayed phase. Diagnostic performance and accuracy were evaluated. The mean values of sRER were significantly higher in HCCs than in benign cirrhosis-related nodules. The sRER method improved diagnostic accuracy of differentiating HCCs from benign cirrhosis-related nodules. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimal trajectories for hypersonic launch vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ardema, Mark D.; Bowles, Jeffrey V.; Whittaker, Thomas

1994-01-01

In this paper, we derive a near-optimal guidance law for the ascent trajectory from earth surface to earth orbit of a hypersonic, dual-mode propulsion, lifting vehicle. Of interest are both the optical flight path and the optimal operation of the propulsion system. The guidance law is developed from the energy-state approximation of the equations of motion. Because liquid hydrogen fueled hypersonic aircraft are volume sensitive, as well as weight sensitive, the cost functional is a weighted sum of fuel mass and volume; the weighting factor is chosen to minimize gross take-off weight for a given payload mass and volume in orbit.

Stochastic summation of empirical Green's functions

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wennerberg, Leif

1990-01-01

Two simple strategies are presented that use random delay times for repeatedly summing the record of a relatively small earthquake to simulate the effects of a larger earthquake. The simulations do not assume any fault plane geometry or rupture dynamics, but realy only on the ω−2 spectral model of an earthquake source and elementary notions of source complexity. The strategies simulate ground motions for all frequencies within the bandwidth of the record of the event used as a summand. The first strategy, which introduces the basic ideas, is a single-stage procedure that consists of simply adding many small events with random time delays. The probability distribution for delays has the property that its amplitude spectrum is determined by the ratio of ω−2 spectra, and its phase spectrum is identically zero. A simple expression is given for the computation of this zero-phase scaling distribution. The moment rate function resulting from the single-stage simulation is quite simple and hence is probably not realistic for high-frequency (>1 Hz) ground motion of events larger than ML∼ 4.5 to 5. The second strategy is a two-stage summation that simulates source complexity with a few random subevent delays determined using the zero-phase scaling distribution, and then clusters energy around these delays to get an ω−2 spectrum for the sum. Thus, the two-stage strategy allows simulations of complex events of any size for which the ω−2 spectral model applies. Interestingly, a single-stage simulation with too few ω−2records to get a good fit to an ω−2 large-event target spectrum yields a record whose spectral asymptotes are consistent with the ω−2 model, but that includes a region in its spectrum between the corner frequencies of the larger and smaller events reasonably approximated by a power law trend. This spectral feature has also been discussed as reflecting the process of partial stress release (Brune, 1970), an asperity failure (Boatwright, 1984), or the breakdown of ω−2 scaling due to rupture significantly longer than the width of the seismogenic zone (Joyner, 1984).

Communication Limits Due to Photon-Detector Jitter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Moision, Bruce E.; Farr, William H.

2008-01-01

A theoretical and experimental study was conducted of the limit imposed by photon-detector jitter on the capacity of a pulse-position-modulated optical communication system in which the receiver operates in a photon-counting (weak-signal) regime. Photon-detector jitter is a random delay between impingement of a photon and generation of an electrical pulse by the detector. In the study, jitter statistics were computed from jitter measurements made on several photon detectors. The probability density of jitter was mathematically modeled by use of a weighted sum of Gaussian functions. Parameters of the model were adjusted to fit histograms representing the measured-jitter statistics. Likelihoods of assigning detector-output pulses to correct pulse time slots in the presence of jitter were derived and used to compute channel capacities and corresponding losses due to jitter. It was found that the loss, expressed as the ratio between the signal power needed to achieve a specified capacity in the presence of jitter and that needed to obtain the same capacity in the absence of jitter, is well approximated as a quadratic function of the standard deviation of the jitter in units of pulse-time-slot duration.

3D acoustic atmospheric tomography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rogers, Kevin; Finn, Anthony

2014-10-01

This paper presents a method for tomographically reconstructing spatially varying 3D atmospheric temperature profiles and wind velocity fields based. Measurements of the acoustic signature measured onboard a small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) are compared to ground-based observations of the same signals. The frequency-shifted signal variations are then used to estimate the acoustic propagation delay between the UAV and the ground microphones, which are also affected by atmospheric temperature and wind speed vectors along each sound ray path. The wind and temperature profiles are modelled as the weighted sum of Radial Basis Functions (RBFs), which also allow local meteorological measurements made at the UAV and ground receivers to supplement any acoustic observations. Tomography is used to provide a full 3D reconstruction/visualisation of the observed atmosphere. The technique offers observational mobility under direct user control and the capacity to monitor hazardous atmospheric environments, otherwise not justifiable on the basis of cost or risk. This paper summarises the tomographic technique and reports on the results of simulations and initial field trials. The technique has practical applications for atmospheric research, sound propagation studies, boundary layer meteorology, air pollution measurements, analysis of wind shear, and wind farm surveys.

Computationally Efficient Adaptive Beamformer for Ultrasound Imaging Based on QR Decomposition.

PubMed

Park, Jongin; Wi, Seok-Min; Lee, Jin S

2016-02-01

Adaptive beamforming methods for ultrasound imaging have been studied to improve image resolution and contrast. The most common approach is the minimum variance (MV) beamformer which minimizes the power of the beamformed output while maintaining the response from the direction of interest constant. The method achieves higher resolution and better contrast than the delay-and-sum (DAS) beamformer, but it suffers from high computational cost. This cost is mainly due to the computation of the spatial covariance matrix and its inverse, which requires O(L(3)) computations, where L denotes the subarray size. In this study, we propose a computationally efficient MV beamformer based on QR decomposition. The idea behind our approach is to transform the spatial covariance matrix to be a scalar matrix σI and we subsequently obtain the apodization weights and the beamformed output without computing the matrix inverse. To do that, QR decomposition algorithm is used and also can be executed at low cost, and therefore, the computational complexity is reduced to O(L(2)). In addition, our approach is mathematically equivalent to the conventional MV beamformer, thereby showing the equivalent performances. The simulation and experimental results support the validity of our approach.

Meta-analyses of workplace physical activity and dietary behaviour interventions on weight outcomes.

PubMed

Verweij, L M; Coffeng, J; van Mechelen, W; Proper, K I

2011-06-01

This meta-analytic review critically examines the effectiveness of workplace interventions targeting physical activity, dietary behaviour or both on weight outcomes. Data could be extracted from 22 studies published between 1980 and November 2009 for meta-analyses. The GRADE approach was used to determine the level of evidence for each pooled outcome measure. Results show moderate quality of evidence that workplace physical activity and dietary behaviour interventions significantly reduce body weight (nine studies; mean difference [MD]-1.19 kg [95% CI -1.64 to -0.74]), body mass index (BMI) (11 studies; MD -0.34 kg m⁻² [95% CI -0.46 to -0.22]) and body fat percentage calculated from sum of skin-folds (three studies; MD -1.12% [95% CI -1.86 to -0.38]). There is low quality of evidence that workplace physical activity interventions significantly reduce body weight and BMI. Effects on percentage body fat calculated from bioelectrical impedance or hydrostatic weighing, waist circumference, sum of skin-folds and waist-hip ratio could not be investigated properly because of a lack of studies. Subgroup analyses showed a greater reduction in body weight of physical activity and diet interventions containing an environmental component. As the clinical relevance of the pooled effects may be substantial on a population level, we recommend workplace physical activity and dietary behaviour interventions, including an environment component, in order to prevent weight gain. © 2010 The Authors. obesity reviews © 2010 International Association for the Study of Obesity.

A simple low-computation-intensity model for approximating the distribution function of a sum of non-identical lognormals for financial applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Messica, A.

2016-10-01

The probability distribution function of a weighted sum of non-identical lognormal random variables is required in various fields of science and engineering and specifically in finance for portfolio management as well as exotic options valuation. Unfortunately, it has no known closed form and therefore has to be approximated. Most of the approximations presented to date are complex as well as complicated for implementation. This paper presents a simple, and easy to implement, approximation method via modified moments matching and a polynomial asymptotic series expansion correction for a central limit theorem of a finite sum. The method results in an intuitively-appealing and computation-efficient approximation for a finite sum of lognormals of at least ten summands and naturally improves as the number of summands increases. The accuracy of the method is tested against the results of Monte Carlo simulationsand also compared against the standard central limit theorem andthe commonly practiced Markowitz' portfolio equations.

Delay-and-sum beamforming for direction of arrival estimation applied to gunshot acoustics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ramos, António L. L.; Holm, Sverre; Gudvangen, Sigmund; Otterlei, Ragnvald

2011-06-01

Sniper positioning systems described in the literature use a two-step algorithm to estimate the sniper's location. First, the shockwave and the muzzle blast acoustic signatures must be detected and recognized, followed by an estimation of their respective direction-of-arrival (DOA). Second, the actual sniper's position is calculated based on the estimated DOA via an iterative algorithm that varies from system to system. The overall performance of such a system, however, is highly compromised when the first step is not carried out successfully. Currently available systems rely on a simple calculation of differences of time-of-arrival to estimate angles-of-arrival. This approach, however, lacks robustness by not taking full advantage of the array of sensors. This paper shows how the delay-and-sum beamforming technique can be applied to estimate the DOA for both the shockwave and the muzzle blast. The method has the twofold advantage of 1) adding an array gain of 10 logM, i.e., an increased SNR of 6 dB for a 4-microphone array, which is equivalent to doubling the detection range assuming free-field propagation; and 2) offering improved robustness in handling single- and multi-shots events as well as reflections by taking advantage of the spatial filtering capability.

A counting-weighted calibration method for a field-programmable-gate-array-based time-to-digital converter

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Yuan-Ho

2017-05-01

In this work, we propose a counting-weighted calibration method for field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA)-based time-to-digital converter (TDC) to provide non-linearity calibration for use in positron emission tomography (PET) scanners. To deal with the non-linearity in FPGA, we developed a counting-weighted delay line (CWD) to count the delay time of the delay cells in the TDC in order to reduce the differential non-linearity (DNL) values based on code density counts. The performance of the proposed CWD-TDC with regard to linearity far exceeds that of TDC with a traditional tapped delay line (TDL) architecture, without the need for nonlinearity calibration. When implemented in a Xilinx Vertix-5 FPGA device, the proposed CWD-TDC achieved time resolution of 60 ps with integral non-linearity (INL) and DNL of [-0.54, 0.24] and [-0.66, 0.65] least-significant-bit (LSB), respectively. This is a clear indication of the suitability of the proposed FPGA-based CWD-TDC for use in PET scanners.

Residues, Sources and Potential Biological Risk of Organochlorine Pesticides in Surface Sediments of Qiandao Lake, China.

PubMed

Yang, Huayun; Zhou, Shanshan; Li, Weidong; Liu, Qi; Tu, Yunjie

2015-10-01

Sediment samples were analyzed to comprehensively characterize the concentrations, distribution, possible sources and potential biological risk of organochlorine pesticides in Qiandao Lake, China. Concentrations of sumHCH and sumDDT in sediments ranged from 0.03 to 5.75 ng/g dry weight and not detected to 14.39 ng/g dry weight. The predominant β-HCH and the α-HCH/γ-HCH ratios indicated that the residues of HCHs were derived not only from historical technical HCH use but also from additional usage of lindane. Ratios of o,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDT and DDD/DDE suggested that both dicofol-type DDT and technical DDT applications may be present in most study areas. Additionally, based on two sediment quality guidelines, γ-HCH, o,p'-DDT and p,p'-DDT could be the main organochlorine pesticides species of ecotoxicological concern in Qiandao Lake.

Multistructural microiteration technique for geometry optimization and reaction path calculation in large systems.

PubMed

Suzuki, Kimichi; Morokuma, Keiji; Maeda, Satoshi

2017-10-05

We propose a multistructural microiteration (MSM) method for geometry optimization and reaction path calculation in large systems. MSM is a simple extension of the geometrical microiteration technique. In conventional microiteration, the structure of the non-reaction-center (surrounding) part is optimized by fixing atoms in the reaction-center part before displacements of the reaction-center atoms. In this method, the surrounding part is described as the weighted sum of multiple surrounding structures that are independently optimized. Then, geometric displacements of the reaction-center atoms are performed in the mean field generated by the weighted sum of the surrounding parts. MSM was combined with the QM/MM-ONIOM method and applied to chemical reactions in aqueous solution or enzyme. In all three cases, MSM gave lower reaction energy profiles than the QM/MM-ONIOM-microiteration method over the entire reaction paths with comparable computational costs. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Image contrast enhancement with brightness preservation using an optimal gamma correction and weighted sum approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, G.; Wong, C. Y.; Lin, S. C. F.; Rahman, M. A.; Ren, T. R.; Kwok, Ngaiming; Shi, Haiyan; Yu, Ying-Hao; Wu, Tonghai

2015-04-01

The enhancement of image contrast and preservation of image brightness are two important but conflicting objectives in image restoration. Previous attempts based on linear histogram equalization had achieved contrast enhancement, but exact preservation of brightness was not accomplished. A new perspective is taken here to provide balanced performance of contrast enhancement and brightness preservation simultaneously by casting the quest of such solution to an optimization problem. Specifically, the non-linear gamma correction method is adopted to enhance the contrast, while a weighted sum approach is employed for brightness preservation. In addition, the efficient golden search algorithm is exploited to determine the required optimal parameters to produce the enhanced images. Experiments are conducted on natural colour images captured under various indoor, outdoor and illumination conditions. Results have shown that the proposed method outperforms currently available methods in contrast to enhancement and brightness preservation.

Off-Policy Integral Reinforcement Learning Method to Solve Nonlinear Continuous-Time Multiplayer Nonzero-Sum Games.

PubMed

Song, Ruizhuo; Lewis, Frank L; Wei, Qinglai

2017-03-01

This paper establishes an off-policy integral reinforcement learning (IRL) method to solve nonlinear continuous-time (CT) nonzero-sum (NZS) games with unknown system dynamics. The IRL algorithm is presented to obtain the iterative control and off-policy learning is used to allow the dynamics to be completely unknown. Off-policy IRL is designed to do policy evaluation and policy improvement in the policy iteration algorithm. Critic and action networks are used to obtain the performance index and control for each player. The gradient descent algorithm makes the update of critic and action weights simultaneously. The convergence analysis of the weights is given. The asymptotic stability of the closed-loop system and the existence of Nash equilibrium are proved. The simulation study demonstrates the effectiveness of the developed method for nonlinear CT NZS games with unknown system dynamics.

Probabilistic model of bridge vehicle loads in port area based on in-situ load testing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Ming; Wang, Lei; Zhang, Jianren; Wang, Rei; Yan, Yanhong

2017-11-01

Vehicle load is an important factor affecting the safety and usability of bridges. An statistical analysis is carried out in this paper to investigate the vehicle load data of Tianjin Haibin highway in Tianjin port of China, which are collected by the Weigh-in- Motion (WIM) system. Following this, the effect of the vehicle load on test bridge is calculated, and then compared with the calculation result according to HL-93(AASHTO LRFD). Results show that the overall vehicle load follows a distribution with a weighted sum of four normal distributions. The maximum vehicle load during the design reference period follows a type I extremum distribution. The vehicle load effect also follows a weighted sum of four normal distributions, and the standard value of the vehicle load is recommended as 1.8 times that of the calculated value according to HL-93.

Dynamical Behaviors in Complex-Valued Love Model With or Without Time Delays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Deng, Wei; Liao, Xiaofeng; Dong, Tao

2017-12-01

In this paper, a novel version of nonlinear model, i.e. a complex-valued love model with two time delays between two individuals in a love affair, has been proposed. A notable feature in this model is that we separate the emotion of one individual into real and imaginary parts to represent the variation and complexity of psychophysiological emotion in romantic relationship instead of just real domain, and make our model much closer to reality. This is because love is a complicated cognitive and social phenomenon, full of complexity, diversity and unpredictability, which refers to the coexistence of different aspects of feelings, states and attitudes ranging from joy and trust to sadness and disgust. By analyzing associated characteristic equation of linearized equations for our model, it is found that the Hopf bifurcation occurs when the sum of time delays passes through a sequence of critical value. Stability of bifurcating cyclic love dynamics is also derived by applying the normal form theory and the center manifold theorem. In addition, it is also shown that, for some appropriate chosen parameters, chaotic behaviors can appear even without time delay.

Transition to Ada

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-02-01

the relative cost effectiveness of Ada and C++ [10]. (An overview of the Air Force report is given in Appendix D.) Surprisingly, the study deter- mined ...support; 5 = excellent support), followed by a total score, a weighted sum of the rankings based on weights deter- mined by an expert panel: Category...International Conference Location: Britannia International Hotel, London Sponsor. Ada Language UK, Ltd. POC: Helen Byard, Administrator, Ada UK, P.O. 322, York

Optimal trajectories for hypersonic launch vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ardema, Mark D.; Bowles, Jeffrey V.; Whittaker, Thomas

1992-01-01

In this paper, we derive a near-optimal guidance law for the ascent trajectory from Earth surface to Earth orbit of a hypersonic, dual-mode propulsion, lifting vehicle. Of interest are both the optimal flight path and the optimal operation of the propulsion system. The guidance law is developed from the energy-state approximation of the equations of motion. The performance objective is a weighted sum of fuel mass and volume, with the weighting factor selected to give minimum gross take-off weight for a specific payload mass and volume.

Early weight bearing versus delayed weight bearing in medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Lansdaal, Joris Radboud; Mouton, Tanguy; Wascher, Daniel Charles; Demey, Guillaume; Lustig, Sebastien; Neyret, Philippe; Servien, Elvire

2017-12-01

The need for a period of non-weight bearing after medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy remains controversial. It is hypothesized that immediate weight bearing after medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy would have no difference in functional scores at one year compared to delayed weight bearing. Fifty patients, median age 54 years (range 40-65), with medial compartment osteoarthritis, underwent a medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy utilizing a locking plate without bone grafting. Patients were randomized into an Immediate or a Delayed (2 months) weight bearing group. All patients were assessed at one-year follow-up and the two groups compared. The primary outcome measure was the IKS score. Secondary outcome measures included the IKDC score, the VAS pain score and rate of complications. The functional scores significantly improved in both groups. The IKS score increased from 142 ± 31 to 171 ± 26 in the Immediate group (p < 0.001) and from 148 ± 22 to 178 ± 23 in the Delayed group (p < 0.001). The IKDC score increased from 49 ± 17 pre-operatively to 68 ± 14 one-year post-operatively in the Immediate group (p < 0.0001) and from 44 ± 16 to 69 ± 19 in the Delayed group (p < 0.001). The average VAS for pain 2 months after surgery was 3 ± 3 in the Immediate group and 3 ± 2 in the Delayed (n.s.). There was no significant difference between the two groups in any of the outcome measures. The mean mechanical femorotibial angle changed from 6° of varus (0°-15° of varus, SD = 3°) to 4° of valgus (5°-11° of valgus, SD = 3°) in the Immediate group and from 5° of varus (0°-10° of varus, SD = 3°) to 3° of valgus (2° of varus to 8° of valgus, SD = 3°) in the Delayed group. No difference was seen between groups, and no loss of correction was observed in any patient. Two cases of non-union occurred, one in each group. One infection and one deep vein thrombosis occurred in the Immediate group. Immediate weight bearing after medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy had no effect on functional scores at 1 year follow-up and did not significantly increase the complication rate. Immediate weight bearing after medial opening wedge high tibial osteotomy appears to be safe and can allow some patients a quicker return to activities of daily living and a decreased convalescence period. II.

Existence and Stability of Traveling Waves for Degenerate Reaction-Diffusion Equation with Time Delay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Rui; Jin, Chunhua; Mei, Ming; Yin, Jingxue

2018-01-01

This paper deals with the existence and stability of traveling wave solutions for a degenerate reaction-diffusion equation with time delay. The degeneracy of spatial diffusion together with the effect of time delay causes us the essential difficulty for the existence of the traveling waves and their stabilities. In order to treat this case, we first show the existence of smooth- and sharp-type traveling wave solutions in the case of c≥c^* for the degenerate reaction-diffusion equation without delay, where c^*>0 is the critical wave speed of smooth traveling waves. Then, as a small perturbation, we obtain the existence of the smooth non-critical traveling waves for the degenerate diffusion equation with small time delay τ >0 . Furthermore, we prove the global existence and uniqueness of C^{α ,β } -solution to the time-delayed degenerate reaction-diffusion equation via compactness analysis. Finally, by the weighted energy method, we prove that the smooth non-critical traveling wave is globally stable in the weighted L^1 -space. The exponential convergence rate is also derived.

Existence and Stability of Traveling Waves for Degenerate Reaction-Diffusion Equation with Time Delay

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Huang, Rui; Jin, Chunhua; Mei, Ming; Yin, Jingxue

2018-06-01

This paper deals with the existence and stability of traveling wave solutions for a degenerate reaction-diffusion equation with time delay. The degeneracy of spatial diffusion together with the effect of time delay causes us the essential difficulty for the existence of the traveling waves and their stabilities. In order to treat this case, we first show the existence of smooth- and sharp-type traveling wave solutions in the case of c≥c^* for the degenerate reaction-diffusion equation without delay, where c^*>0 is the critical wave speed of smooth traveling waves. Then, as a small perturbation, we obtain the existence of the smooth non-critical traveling waves for the degenerate diffusion equation with small time delay τ >0. Furthermore, we prove the global existence and uniqueness of C^{α ,β }-solution to the time-delayed degenerate reaction-diffusion equation via compactness analysis. Finally, by the weighted energy method, we prove that the smooth non-critical traveling wave is globally stable in the weighted L^1-space. The exponential convergence rate is also derived.

Global exponential stability of octonion-valued neural networks with leakage delay and mixed delays.

PubMed

Popa, Călin-Adrian

2018-06-08

This paper discusses octonion-valued neural networks (OVNNs) with leakage delay, time-varying delays, and distributed delays, for which the states, weights, and activation functions belong to the normed division algebra of octonions. The octonion algebra is a nonassociative and noncommutative generalization of the complex and quaternion algebras, but does not belong to the category of Clifford algebras, which are associative. In order to avoid the nonassociativity of the octonion algebra and also the noncommutativity of the quaternion algebra, the Cayley-Dickson construction is used to decompose the OVNNs into 4 complex-valued systems. By using appropriate Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals, with double and triple integral terms, the free weighting matrix method, and simple and double integral Jensen inequalities, delay-dependent criteria are established for the exponential stability of the considered OVNNs. The criteria are given in terms of complex-valued linear matrix inequalities, for two types of Lipschitz conditions which are assumed to be satisfied by the octonion-valued activation functions. Finally, two numerical examples illustrate the feasibility, effectiveness, and correctness of the theoretical results. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Power of the Virtual Ideal Self in Weight Control: Weight-Reduced Avatars Can Enhance the Tendency to Delay Gratification and Regulate Dietary Practices.

PubMed

Kuo, Hsu-Chan; Lee, Chun-Chia; Chiou, Wen-Bin

2016-02-01

The tendency to discount larger future benefits in favor of smaller immediate gains (i.e., temporal discounting) is relevant to the issue of obesity. Successful weight loss requires individuals to sacrifice immediate culinary pleasures in favor of future health gains. Based on the notion that increasing the vividness of one's future self may mitigate temporal discounting and promote the ability to delay gratification, we examined whether viewing one's weight-reduced self (i.e., the ideal self) in a virtual environment can decrease temporal discounting and lead to better regulation of dietary practices. Seventy-six undergraduates who had reported an intention to lose weight were recruited to participate in a laboratory experiment and were randomly assigned to interact with either the weight-reduced self (experimental condition) or the present self (control condition) by looking into a dressing mirror in a virtual fitting room. A temporal-discounting task and a taste test were subsequently administered. Results showed that, compared with control participants, participants who viewed their weight-reduced avatars ate less ice cream in a taste test and were more likely to choose a sugar-free drink as a reward. The discounting rate mediated the association between the avatar manipulation and the amount of ice cream eaten in the subsequent taste test. Overall, our findings suggest that a computer-generated image of one's weight-reduced self may assist in resisting impulses that promote immediate gratification over delayed benefits. This research provides a new approach for controlling impulsive behavior such as dietary regulation and weight control.

An epidemiological study of urban and rural children in Pakistan: examining the relationship between delayed psychomotor development, low birth weight and postnatal growth failure.

PubMed

Avan, Bilal I; Raza, Syed A; Kirkwood, Betty R

2015-03-01

Low birth weight is known to be associated with postnatal growth failure. It is not yet established that both conditions are determinants of psychomotor development. The study investigated whether or not low birth weight leads to delayed psychomotor development of a child, and whether it can be mitigated by adequate postnatal growth. A cross-sectional study was conducted in 2002 in 15 rural and 11 urban communities of Sindh province, Pakistan. Assessment of 1234 children less than 3 years of age included Bayley's Scale of Infant Development II, socioeconomic questionnaire and anthropometry; WHO standards were used to calculate z-scores of height-for-age, weight-for-height and weight-for-age. The underlying study hypotheses were tested through multiple regression modelling. Out of 1219 children, 283 (23.2%) had delayed psychomotor development and 639 (52.4%) were undernourished according to the composite index of anthropometric failure. Strong negative associations with the psychomotor development index were detected between stunting and being underweight, with a larger magnitude of effect for stunting (p<0.001). The strong relationship persisted even when the analysis was restricted to non-malnourished children. The psychomotor index increased by 2.07 points with every unit increase in height-for-age z-score. The relationship between low birth weight and psychomotor development appears to be mediated largely by postnatal growth and nutritional status. This association suggests that among undernourished children there is significant likelihood of a group that is developmentally delayed. It is important to emphasize developmental needs in programmes that target underprivileged children. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Simple Learned Weighted Sums of Inferior Temporal Neuronal Firing Rates Accurately Predict Human Core Object Recognition Performance

PubMed Central

Hong, Ha; Solomon, Ethan A.; DiCarlo, James J.

2015-01-01

To go beyond qualitative models of the biological substrate of object recognition, we ask: can a single ventral stream neuronal linking hypothesis quantitatively account for core object recognition performance over a broad range of tasks? We measured human performance in 64 object recognition tests using thousands of challenging images that explore shape similarity and identity preserving object variation. We then used multielectrode arrays to measure neuronal population responses to those same images in visual areas V4 and inferior temporal (IT) cortex of monkeys and simulated V1 population responses. We tested leading candidate linking hypotheses and control hypotheses, each postulating how ventral stream neuronal responses underlie object recognition behavior. Specifically, for each hypothesis, we computed the predicted performance on the 64 tests and compared it with the measured pattern of human performance. All tested hypotheses based on low- and mid-level visually evoked activity (pixels, V1, and V4) were very poor predictors of the human behavioral pattern. However, simple learned weighted sums of distributed average IT firing rates exactly predicted the behavioral pattern. More elaborate linking hypotheses relying on IT trial-by-trial correlational structure, finer IT temporal codes, or ones that strictly respect the known spatial substructures of IT (“face patches”) did not improve predictive power. Although these results do not reject those more elaborate hypotheses, they suggest a simple, sufficient quantitative model: each object recognition task is learned from the spatially distributed mean firing rates (100 ms) of ∼60,000 IT neurons and is executed as a simple weighted sum of those firing rates. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT We sought to go beyond qualitative models of visual object recognition and determine whether a single neuronal linking hypothesis can quantitatively account for core object recognition behavior. To achieve this, we designed a database of images for evaluating object recognition performance. We used multielectrode arrays to characterize hundreds of neurons in the visual ventral stream of nonhuman primates and measured the object recognition performance of >100 human observers. Remarkably, we found that simple learned weighted sums of firing rates of neurons in monkey inferior temporal (IT) cortex accurately predicted human performance. Although previous work led us to expect that IT would outperform V4, we were surprised by the quantitative precision with which simple IT-based linking hypotheses accounted for human behavior. PMID:26424887

Effect and safety of early weight-bearing on the outcome after open-wedge high tibial osteotomy: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Lee, O-Sung; Ahn, Soyeon; Lee, Yong Seuk

2017-07-01

The purpose of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to evaluate the effectiveness and safety of early weight-bearing by comparing clinical and radiological outcomes between early and traditional delayed weight-bearing after OWHTO. A rigorous and systematic approach was used. The methodological quality was also assessed. Results that are possible to be compared in two or more than two articles were presented as forest plots. A 95% confidence interval was calculated for each effect size, and we calculated the I 2 statistic, which presents the percentage of total variation attributable to the heterogeneity among studies. The random-effects model was used to calculate the effect size. Six articles were included in the final analysis. All case groups were composed of early full weight-bearing within 2 weeks. All control groups were composed of late full weight-bearing between 6 weeks and 2 months. Pooled analysis was possible for the improvement in Lysholm score, but there was no statistically significant difference shown between groups. Other clinical results were also similar between groups. Four studies reported mechanical femorotibial angle (mFTA) and this result showed no statistically significant difference between groups in the pooled analysis. Furthermore, early weight-bearing showed more favorable results in some radiologic results (osseointegration and patellar height) and complications (thrombophlebitis and recurrence). Our analysis supports that early full weight-bearing after OWHTO using a locking plate leads to improvement in outcomes and was comparable to the delayed weight-bearing in terms of clinical and radiological outcomes. On the contrary, early weight-bearing was more favorable with respect to some radiologic parameters and complications compared with delayed weight-bearing.

High performance pipelined multiplier with fast carry-save adder

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wu, Angus

1990-01-01

A high-performance pipelined multiplier is described. Its high performance results from the fast carry-save adder basic cell which has a simple structure and is suitable for the Gate Forest semi-custom environment. The carry-save adder computes the sum and carry within two gate delay. Results show that the proposed adder can operate at 200 MHz for a 2-micron CMOS process; better performance is expected in a Gate Forest realization.

Analog Delta-Back-Propagation Neural-Network Circuitry

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Eberhart, Silvio

1990-01-01

Changes in synapse weights due to circuit drifts suppressed. Proposed fully parallel analog version of electronic neural-network processor based on delta-back-propagation algorithm. Processor able to "learn" when provided with suitable combinations of inputs and enforced outputs. Includes programmable resistive memory elements (corresponding to synapses), conductances (synapse weights) adjusted during learning. Buffer amplifiers, summing circuits, and sample-and-hold circuits arranged in layers of electronic neurons in accordance with delta-back-propagation algorithm.

21 CFR 556.720 - Tetracycline.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-04-01

... Drugs FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES (CONTINUED) ANIMAL DRUGS... body weight per day. (b) Tolerances. Tolerances are established for the sum of tetracycline residues in... liver, and 12 ppm in fat and kidney. [63 FR 57246, Oct. 27, 1998] ...

Weight and cost forecasting for advanced manned space vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Williams, Raymond

1989-01-01

A mass and cost estimating computerized methology for predicting advanced manned space vehicle weights and costs was developed. The user friendly methology designated MERCER (Mass Estimating Relationship/Cost Estimating Relationship) organizes the predictive process according to major vehicle subsystem levels. Design, development, test, evaluation, and flight hardware cost forecasting is treated by the study. This methodology consists of a complete set of mass estimating relationships (MERs) which serve as the control components for the model and cost estimating relationships (CERs) which use MER output as input. To develop this model, numerous MER and CER studies were surveyed and modified where required. Additionally, relationships were regressed from raw data to accommodate the methology. The models and formulations which estimated the cost of historical vehicles to within 20 percent of the actual cost were selected. The result of the research, along with components of the MERCER Program, are reported. On the basis of the analysis, the following conclusions were established: (1) The cost of a spacecraft is best estimated by summing the cost of individual subsystems; (2) No one cost equation can be used for forecasting the cost of all spacecraft; (3) Spacecraft cost is highly correlated with its mass; (4) No study surveyed contained sufficient formulations to autonomously forecast the cost and weight of the entire advanced manned vehicle spacecraft program; (5) No user friendly program was found that linked MERs with CERs to produce spacecraft cost; and (6) The group accumulation weight estimation method (summing the estimated weights of the various subsystems) proved to be a useful method for finding total weight and cost of a spacecraft.

A study of T2-weighted MR image texture features and diffusion-weighted MR image features for computer-aided diagnosis of prostate cancer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Yahui; Jiang, Yulei; Antic, Tatjana; Giger, Maryellen L.; Eggener, Scott; Oto, Aytekin

2013-02-01

The purpose of this study was to study T2-weighted magnetic resonance (MR) image texture features and diffusionweighted (DW) MR image features in distinguishing prostate cancer (PCa) from normal tissue. We collected two image datasets: 23 PCa patients (25 PCa and 23 normal tissue regions of interest [ROIs]) imaged with Philips MR scanners, and 30 PCa patients (41 PCa and 26 normal tissue ROIs) imaged with GE MR scanners. A radiologist drew ROIs manually via consensus histology-MR correlation conference with a pathologist. A number of T2-weighted texture features and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) features were investigated, and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) was used to combine select strong image features. Area under the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve (AUC) was used to characterize feature effectiveness in distinguishing PCa from normal tissue ROIs. Of the features studied, ADC 10th percentile, ADC average, and T2-weighted sum average yielded AUC values (+/-standard error) of 0.95+/-0.03, 0.94+/-0.03, and 0.85+/-0.05 on the Phillips images, and 0.91+/-0.04, 0.89+/-0.04, and 0.70+/-0.06 on the GE images, respectively. The three-feature combination yielded AUC values of 0.94+/-0.03 and 0.89+/-0.04 on the Phillips and GE images, respectively. ADC 10th percentile, ADC average, and T2-weighted sum average, are effective in distinguishing PCa from normal tissue, and appear robust in images acquired from Phillips and GE MR scanners.

Algorithm for Aligning an Array of Receiving Radio Antennas

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogstad, David

2006-01-01

A digital-signal-processing algorithm (somewhat arbitrarily) called SUMPLE has been devised as a means of aligning the outputs of multiple receiving radio antennas in a large array for the purpose of receiving a weak signal transmitted by a single distant source. As used here, aligning signifies adjusting the delays and phases of the outputs from the various antennas so that their relatively weak replicas of the desired signal can be added coherently to increase the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for improved reception, as though one had a single larger antenna. The method was devised to enhance spacecraft-tracking and telemetry operations in NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN); the method could also be useful in such other applications as both satellite and terrestrial radio communications and radio astronomy. Heretofore, most commonly, alignment has been effected by a process that involves correlation of signals in pairs. This approach necessitates the use of a large amount of hardware most notably, the N(N - 1)/2 correlators needed to process signals from all possible pairs of N antennas. Moreover, because the incoming signals typically have low SNRs, the delay and phase adjustments are poorly determined from the pairwise correlations. SUMPLE also involves correlations, but the correlations are not performed in pairs. Instead, in a partly iterative process, each signal is appropriately weighted and then correlated with a composite signal equal to the sum of the other signals (see Figure 1). One benefit of this approach is that only N correlators are needed; in an array of N much greater than 1 antennas, this results in a significant reduction of the amount of hardware. Another benefit is that once the array achieves coherence, the correlation SNR is N - 1 times that of a pair of antennas.

THE INFLUENCE OF GESTATIONAL AGE AND BIRTH WEIGHT OF THE NEWBORN ON TOOTH ERUPTION

PubMed Central

Ramos, Sandra Regina Piovezani; Gugisch, Renato Cordeiro; Fraiz, Fabian Calixto

2006-01-01

Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare the beginning of eruption of the first deciduous tooth in preterm infants (<38 weeks) with full-term infants (38 and 42 weeks) of normal birth weight (32.500g), low birth weight (< 2.500g) and very low birth weight (<1.500g), in order to evaluate if premature birth and low birth weight would affect tooth eruption. Methods: The neonatal records and the moment of eruption of the first deciduous tooth of 146 infants - 77 preterm infants and 69 full-term infants, ranging from 5 to 36 months old, of both genders – were recorded. All of them were under care at the Pediatric Ambulatory of Hospital Universitário Evangélico at Curitiba – Parana. Data were analyzed considering biological age and post-conception, or corrected, age – which is the gestational age plus the infant's chronological age at the month of eruption of the first deciduous tooth. Results: Results showed that when chronological age is considered, tooth eruption in preterm and very low birth weight infants is importantly delayed. However, when corrected age is considered, no statistically significant differences were found among groups. Conclusion: The delayed eruption may be related to the premature birth and not to a delay in dental development. PMID:19089267

Extracellular Matrix-Blood Composite Injection Reduces Post-Traumatic Osteoarthritis After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injury In the Rat

PubMed Central

Proffen, B.L.; Sieker, J.T.; Murray, M.M.; Akelman, M.R.; Chin, K.E.; Perrone, G.S.; Patel, T.K.; Fleming, B.C.

2015-01-01

Purpose The objective of this study was to determine if an injection of a novel extracellular matrix scaffold and blood composite (EMBC) after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury would have a mitigating effect on post-traumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) development in rat knees. Methods Lewis rats underwent unilateral ACL transection and were divided into three groups: 1) no further treatment (ACLT; n = 10), 2) an intraarticular injection of EMBC on day 0 (INJ0; n = 11), and 3) an intra-articular injection of EMBC on day 14 (INJ14; n = 11). Ten animals received capsulotomy only (n = 10, SHAM group). The OARSI histology scoring of the tibial cartilage and micro-CT of the tibial epiphysis were performed after 35 days. The ratio of intact/treated hind limb forces during gait was determined using a variable resistor walkway. Results The OARSI cartilage degradation sum score and total degeneration width were significantly greater in the ACLT group when compared to the INJ0 (P = 0.031, and P = 0.005) and INJ14 (P =0.022 and P =0.04) group. Weight bearing on the operated limb only decreased significantly in the ACLT group (P = 0.048). Conclusion In the rat ACL transection model, early or delayed injection of EMBC ameliorated the significant decrease in weight bearing and cartilage degradation seen in knees subjected to ACL transection without injection. The results indicate that the injection of EMBC may slow the process of PTOA following ACL injury and may provide a promising treatment for PTOA. PMID:26629963

CO-occurring exposure to perchlorate, nitrate and thiocyanate alters thyroid function in healthy pregnant women

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

Horton, Megan K., E-mail: megan.horton@mssm.edu; Blount, Benjamin C.; Valentin-Blasini, Liza

Background: Adequate maternal thyroid function during pregnancy is necessary for normal fetal brain development, making pregnancy a critical window of vulnerability to thyroid disrupting insults. Sodium/iodide symporter (NIS) inhibitors, namely perchlorate, nitrate, and thiocyanate, have been shown individually to competitively inhibit uptake of iodine by the thyroid. Several epidemiologic studies examined the association between these individual exposures and thyroid function. Few studies have examined the effect of this chemical mixture on thyroid function during pregnancy Objectives: We examined the cross sectional association between urinary perchlorate, thiocyanate and nitrate concentrations and thyroid function among healthy pregnant women living in New Yorkmore » City using weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression. Methods: We measured thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and free thyroxine (FreeT4) in blood samples; perchlorate, thiocyanate, nitrate and iodide in urine samples collected from 284 pregnant women at 12 (±2.8) weeks gestation. We examined associations between urinary analyte concentrations and TSH or FreeT4 using linear regression or WQS adjusting for gestational age, urinary iodide and creatinine. Results: Individual analyte concentrations in urine were significantly correlated (Spearman's r 0.4–0.5, p<0.001). Linear regression analyses did not suggest associations between individual concentrations and thyroid function. The WQS revealed a significant positive association between the weighted sum of urinary concentrations of the three analytes and increased TSH. Perchlorate had the largest weight in the index, indicating the largest contribution to the WQS. Conclusions: Co-exposure to perchlorate, nitrate and thiocyanate may alter maternal thyroid function, specifically TSH, during pregnancy. - Highlights: • Perchlorate, nitrate, thiocyanate and iodide measured in maternal urine. • Thyroid function (TSH and Free T4) measured in maternal blood. • Weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression examined complex mixture effect. • WQS identified an inverse association between the exposure mixture and maternal TSH. • Perchlorate indicated as the ‘bad actor’ of the mixture.« less

Association Between Dietary Intake and Function in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

PubMed

Nieves, Jeri W; Gennings, Chris; Factor-Litvak, Pam; Hupf, Jonathan; Singleton, Jessica; Sharf, Valerie; Oskarsson, Björn; Fernandes Filho, J Americo M; Sorenson, Eric J; D'Amico, Emanuele; Goetz, Ray; Mitsumoto, Hiroshi

2016-12-01

There is growing interest in the role of nutrition in the pathogenesis and progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). To evaluate the associations between nutrients, individually and in groups, and ALS function and respiratory function at diagnosis. A cross-sectional baseline analysis of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Multicenter Cohort Study of Oxidative Stress study was conducted from March 14, 2008, to February 27, 2013, at 16 ALS clinics throughout the United States among 302 patients with ALS symptom duration of 18 months or less. Nutrient intake, measured using a modified Block Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis function, measured using the ALS Functional Rating Scale-Revised (ALSFRS-R), and respiratory function, measured using percentage of predicted forced vital capacity (FVC). Baseline data were available on 302 patients with ALS (median age, 63.2 years [interquartile range, 55.5-68.0 years]; 178 men and 124 women). Regression analysis of nutrients found that higher intakes of antioxidants and carotenes from vegetables were associated with higher ALSFRS-R scores or percentage FVC. Empirically weighted indices using the weighted quantile sum regression method of "good" micronutrients and "good" food groups were positively associated with ALSFRS-R scores (β [SE], 2.7 [0.69] and 2.9 [0.9], respectively) and percentage FVC (β [SE], 12.1 [2.8] and 11.5 [3.4], respectively) (all P < .001). Positive and significant associations with ALSFRS-R scores (β [SE], 1.5 [0.61]; P = .02) and percentage FVC (β [SE], 5.2 [2.2]; P = .02) for selected vitamins were found in exploratory analyses. Antioxidants, carotenes, fruits, and vegetables were associated with higher ALS function at baseline by regression of nutrient indices and weighted quantile sum regression analysis. We also demonstrated the usefulness of the weighted quantile sum regression method in the evaluation of diet. Those responsible for nutritional care of the patient with ALS should consider promoting fruit and vegetable intake since they are high in antioxidants and carotenes.

Parameter Set Cloning Based on Catchment Similarity for Large-scale Hydrologic Modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Z.; Kaheil, Y.; McCollum, J.

2016-12-01

Parameter calibration is a crucial step to ensure the accuracy of hydrological models. However, streamflow gauges are not available everywhere for calibrating a large-scale hydrologic model globally. Thus, assigning parameters appropriately for regions where the calibration cannot be performed directly has been a challenge for large-scale hydrologic modeling. Here we propose a method to estimate the model parameters in ungauged regions based on the values obtained through calibration in areas where gauge observations are available. This parameter set cloning is performed according to a catchment similarity index, a weighted sum index based on four catchment characteristic attributes. These attributes are IPCC Climate Zone, Soil Texture, Land Cover, and Topographic Index. The catchments with calibrated parameter values are donors, while the uncalibrated catchments are candidates. Catchment characteristic analyses are first conducted for both donors and candidates. For each attribute, we compute a characteristic distance between donors and candidates. Next, for each candidate, weights are assigned to the four attributes such that higher weights are given to properties that are more directly linked to the hydrologic dominant processes. This will ensure that the parameter set cloning emphasizes the dominant hydrologic process in the region where the candidate is located. The catchment similarity index for each donor - candidate couple is then created as the sum of the weighted distance of the four properties. Finally, parameters are assigned to each candidate from the donor that is "most similar" (i.e. with the shortest weighted distance sum). For validation, we applied the proposed method to catchments where gauge observations are available, and compared simulated streamflows using the parameters cloned by other catchments to the results obtained by calibrating the hydrologic model directly using gauge data. The comparison shows good agreement between the two models for different river basins as we show here. This method has been applied globally to the Hillslope River Routing (HRR) model using gauge observations obtained from the Global Runoff Data Center (GRDC). As next step, more catchment properties can be taken into account to further improve the representation of catchment similarity.

Measuring efficiency of university-industry Ph.D. projects using best worst method.

PubMed

Salimi, Negin; Rezaei, Jafar

A collaborative Ph.D. project, carried out by a doctoral candidate, is a type of collaboration between university and industry. Due to the importance of such projects, researchers have considered different ways to evaluate the success, with a focus on the outputs of these projects. However, what has been neglected is the other side of the coin-the inputs. The main aim of this study is to incorporate both the inputs and outputs of these projects into a more meaningful measure called efficiency. A ratio of the weighted sum of outputs over the weighted sum of inputs identifies the efficiency of a Ph.D. The weights of the inputs and outputs can be identified using a multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) method. Data on inputs and outputs are collected from 51 Ph.D. candidates who graduated from Eindhoven University of Technology. The weights are identified using a new MCDM method called Best Worst Method (BWM). Because there may be differences in the opinion of Ph.D. candidates and supervisors on weighing the inputs and outputs, data for BWM are collected from both groups. It is interesting to see that there are differences in the level of efficiency from the two perspectives, because of the weight differences. Moreover, a comparison between the efficiency scores of these projects and their success scores reveals differences that may have significant implications. A sensitivity analysis divulges the most contributing inputs and outputs.

Biases in orienting and maintenance of attention among weight dissatisfied women: an eye-movement study.

PubMed

Gao, Xiao; Wang, Quanchuan; Jackson, Todd; Zhao, Guang; Liang, Yi; Chen, Hong

2011-04-01

Despite evidence indicating fatness and thinness information are processed differently among weight-preoccupied and eating disordered individuals, the exact nature of these attentional biases is not clear. In this research, eye movement (EM) tracking assessed biases in specific component processes of visual attention (i.e., orientation, detection, maintenance and disengagement of gaze) in relation to body-related stimuli among 20 weight dissatisfied (WD) and 20 weight satisfied young women. Eye movements were recorded while participants completed a dot-probe task that featured fatness-neutral and thinness-neutral word pairs. Compared to controls, WD women were more likely to direct their initial gaze toward fatness words, had a shorter mean latency of first fixation on both fatness and thinness words, had longer first fixation on fatness words but shorter first fixation on thinness words, and shorter total gaze duration on thinness words. Reaction time data showed a maintenance bias towards fatness words among the WD women. In sum, results indicated WD women show initial orienting, speeded detection and initial maintenance biases towards fat body words in addition to a speeded detection - avoidance pattern of biases in relation to thin body words. In sum, results highlight the importance of the utility of EM-tracking as a means of identifying subtle attentional biases among weight dissatisfied women drawn from a non-clinical setting and the need to assess attentional biases as a dynamic process. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Psychophysical investigation of an auditory spatial illusion in cats: the precedence effect.

PubMed

Tollin, Daniel J; Yin, Tom C T

2003-10-01

The precedence effect (PE) describes several spatial perceptual phenomena that occur when similar sounds are presented from two different locations and separated by a delay. The mechanisms that produce the effect are thought to be responsible for the ability to localize sounds in reverberant environments. Although the physiological bases for the PE have been studied, little is known about how these sounds are localized by species other than humans. Here we used the search coil technique to measure the eye positions of cats trained to saccade to the apparent locations of sounds. To study the PE, brief broadband stimuli were presented from two locations, with a delay between their onsets; the delayed sound meant to simulate a single reflection. Although the cats accurately localized single sources, the apparent locations of the paired sources depended on the delay. First, the cats exhibited summing localization, the perception of a "phantom" sound located between the sources, for delays < +/-400 micros for sources positioned in azimuth along the horizontal plane, but not for sources positioned in elevation along the sagittal plane. Second, consistent with localization dominance, for delays from 400 micros to about 10 ms, the cats oriented toward the leading source location only, with little influence of the lagging source, both for horizontally and vertically placed sources. Finally, the echo threshold was reached for delays >10 ms, where the cats first began to orient to the lagging source on some trials. These data reveal that cats experience the PE phenomena similarly to humans.

46 CFR 132.350 - Tests and inspections of fire-extinguishing equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... and halon portable fire extinguishers must be refilled when the weight loss of net content exceeds... weight loss exceeds 10% of weight of charge. Test time delays, alarms, and ventilation shutdowns with.... Inspect hoses and nozzles to be sure they are clean. Halon Weigh cylinders. Recharge if weight loss...

46 CFR 132.350 - Tests and inspections of fire-extinguishing equipment.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... and halon portable fire extinguishers must be refilled when the weight loss of net content exceeds... weight loss exceeds 10% of weight of charge. Test time delays, alarms, and ventilation shutdowns with.... Inspect hoses and nozzles to be sure they are clean. Halon Weigh cylinders. Recharge if weight loss...

Weather delay costs to trucking.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2012-11-01

Estimates of the nations freight sector of transportation range to upwards of $600 billion of total gross domestic product with 70 percent of total value and 60 percent of total weight moving by truck. Weather-related delays can add significantly ...

Effects of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate treatment for ADHD on growth.

PubMed

Faraone, Stephen V; Spencer, Thomas J; Kollins, Scott H; Glatt, Stephen J

2010-01-01

To complete an exploratory uncontrolled study of the effects of lisdexamfetamine dimesylate (LDX) on growth of children treated for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) from 281 children ages 6 to 13 years from longitudinal assessments up to 15 months were compared to norms from the Centers for Disease Control. At study entry, children were taller and heavier than average. Growth delays were largest for weight and BMI, and there was a 13 percentile point decrease in height. Children continued to grow in terms of height while treated with LDX; we found no increase in raw weight or BMI during the study period. LDX treatment was significantly associated with diminished gains in height, weight, and BMI compared to levels that would be expected based on age-appropriate standards from the Centers for Disease Control. Growth delays were greatest for the heaviest and tallest children, for those who had not previously received stimulant therapy, and for those with a greater cumulative exposure to LDX. More work is needed to determine effects on ultimate adult height. Consistent with prior studies of stimulants, treatment with LDX leads to statistically significant reductions in expected height, weight, and BMI. Growth of patients with ADHD treated with LDX should be closely monitored and corrective action taken should growth delays be observed.

Investigation on the Efficiency of Financial Companies in Malaysia with Data Envelopment Analysis Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weng Siew, Lam; Kah Fai, Liew; Weng Hoe, Lam

2018-04-01

Financial ratio and risk are important financial indicators to evaluate the financial performance or efficiency of the companies. Therefore, financial ratio and risk factor are needed to be taken into consideration to evaluate the efficiency of the companies with Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model. In DEA model, the efficiency of the company is measured as the ratio of sum-weighted outputs to sum-weighted inputs. The objective of this paper is to propose a DEA model by incorporating the financial ratio and risk factor in evaluating and comparing the efficiency of the financial companies in Malaysia. In this study, the listed financial companies in Malaysia from year 2004 until 2015 are investigated. The results of this study show that AFFIN, ALLIANZ, APEX, BURSA, HLCAP, HLFG, INSAS, LPI, MNRB, OSK, PBBANK, RCECAP and TA are ranked as efficient companies. This implies that these efficient companies have utilized their resources or inputs optimally to generate the maximum outputs. This study is significant because it helps to identify the efficient financial companies as well as determine the optimal input and output weights in maximizing the efficiency of financial companies in Malaysia.

Instrumentation for one-way satellite PTTI applications. [calibration and synchronization of clocks from navigation satellite

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Osborne, A. E.

1973-01-01

A review of general principles and operational procedures illustrates how the typical passive user and omni receiving antenna can recover Precise Time and Time Interval (PTTI) information from a low altitude navigation satellite system for clock calibration and synchronization. Detailed discussions of concepts and theory of the receiver design are presented. The importance of RF correlation of the received and local PN encoded sequences is emphasized as a means of reducing delay uncertainties of the instrumentation to values compatible with nanosecond to submicrosecond PTTI objectives. Two receiver configurations were fabricated for use in satellite-to-laboratory experiments. In one receiver the delay-locked loop for PN signals synchronization used a dithered amplitude detection process while the second receiver used a complex sums phase detection method for measurement of delay error. The necessity for compensation of Doppler shift is discussed. Differences in theoretical signal acquisition and tracking performance of the design concepts are noted.

Efficient high-performance ultrasound beamforming using oversampling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freeman, Steven R.; Quick, Marshall K.; Morin, Marc A.; Anderson, R. C.; Desilets, Charles S.; Linnenbrink, Thomas E.; O'Donnell, Matthew

1998-05-01

High-performance and efficient beamforming circuitry is very important in large channel count clinical ultrasound systems. Current state-of-the-art digital systems using multi-bit analog to digital converters (A/Ds) have matured to provide exquisite image quality with moderate levels of integration. A simplified oversampling beamforming architecture has been proposed that may a low integration of delta-sigma A/Ds onto the same chip as digital delay and processing circuitry to form a monolithic ultrasound beamformer. Such a beamformer may enable low-power handheld scanners for high-end systems with very large channel count arrays. This paper presents an oversampling beamformer architecture that generates high-quality images using very simple; digitization, delay, and summing circuits. Additional performance may be obtained with this oversampled system for narrow bandwidth excitations by mixing the RF signal down in frequency to a range where the electronic signal to nose ratio of the delta-sigma A/D is optimized. An oversampled transmit beamformer uses the same delay circuits as receive and eliminates the need for separate transmit function generators.

Passivity analysis for uncertain BAM neural networks with time delays and reaction-diffusions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Jianping; Xu, Shengyuan; Shen, Hao; Zhang, Baoyong

2013-08-01

This article deals with the problem of passivity analysis for delayed reaction-diffusion bidirectional associative memory (BAM) neural networks with weight uncertainties. By using a new integral inequality, we first present a passivity condition for the nominal networks, and then extend the result to the case with linear fractional weight uncertainties. The proposed conditions are expressed in terms of linear matrix inequalities, and thus can be checked easily. Examples are provided to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed results.

Effects of maternal omega-3 fatty acids supplementation during pregnancy/lactation on body composition of the offspring: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Li, Gai-Ling; Chen, Hui-Jian; Zhang, Wan-Xia; Tong, Qiang; Yan, You-E

2017-08-10

The effect of maternal omega-3 fatty acids intake on the body composition of the offspring is unclear. The aim of this study was to conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to confirm the effects of omega-3 fatty acids supplementation during pregnancy and/or lactation on body weight, body length, body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, fat mass and sum of skinfold thicknesses of offspring. Human intervention studies were selected by a systematic search of PubMed, Web of Science, the Cochrane Library and references of related reviews and studies. Randomized controlled trials of maternal omega-3 fatty acids intake during pregnancy or lactation for offspring's growth were included. The data were analyzed with RevMan 5.3 and Stata 12.0. Effect sizes were presented as weighted mean differences (WMD) or standardized mean difference (SMD) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Twenty-six studies comprising 10,970 participants were included. Significant increases were found in birth weight (WMD = 42.55 g, 95% CI: 21.25, 63.85) and waist circumference (WMD = 0.35 cm, 95% CI: 0.04, 0.67) in the omega-3 fatty acids group. There were no effects on birth length (WMD = 0.09 cm, 95% CI: -0.03, 0.21), postnatal length (WMD = 0.13 cm, 95% CI: -0.11, 0.36), postnatal weight (WMD = 0.04 kg, 95% CI: -0.07, 0.14), BMI (WMD = 0.09, 95% CI: -0.05, 0.23), the sum of skinfold thicknesses (WMD = 0.45 mm, 95% CI: -0.30, 1.20), fat mass (WMD = 0.05 kg, 95% CI: -0.01, 0.11) and the percentage of body fat (WMD = 0.04%, 95% CI: -0.38, 0.46). This meta-analysis showed that maternal omega-3 fatty acids supplementation can increase offspring's birth weight and postnatal waist circumference. However, it did not appear to influence children's birth length, postnatal weight/length, BMI, sum of skinfold thicknesses, fat mass and the percentage of body fat during postnatal period. Larger, well-designed studies are recommended to confirm this conclusion. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd and European Society for Clinical Nutrition and Metabolism. All rights reserved.

ISOFIT - A PROGRAM FOR FITTING SORPTION ISOTHERMS TO EXPERIMENTAL DATA

EPA Science Inventory

Isotherm expressions are important for describing the partitioning of contaminants in environmental systems. ISOFIT (ISOtherm FItting Tool) is a software program that fits isotherm parameters to experimental data via the minimization of a weighted sum of squared error (WSSE) obje...

Distortion-product otoacoustic emission reflection-component delays and cochlear tuning: estimates from across the human lifespan.

PubMed

Abdala, Carolina; Guérit, François; Luo, Ping; Shera, Christopher A

2014-04-01

A consistent relationship between reflection-emission delay and cochlear tuning has been demonstrated in a variety of mammalian species, as predicted by filter theory and models of otoacoustic emission (OAE) generation. As a step toward the goal of studying cochlear tuning throughout the human lifespan, this paper exploits the relationship and explores two strategies for estimating delay trends-energy weighting and peak picking-both of which emphasize data at the peaks of the magnitude fine structure. Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) at 2f1-f2 were recorded, and their reflection components were extracted in 184 subjects ranging in age from prematurely born neonates to elderly adults. DPOAEs were measured from 0.5-4 kHz in all age groups and extended to 8 kHz in young adults. Delay trends were effectively estimated using either energy weighting or peak picking, with the former method yielding slightly shorter delays and the latter somewhat smaller confidence intervals. Delay and tuning estimates from young adults roughly match those obtained from SFOAEs. Although the match is imperfect, reflection-component delays showed the expected bend (apical-basal transition) near 1 kHz, consistent with a break in cochlear scaling. Consistent with other measures of tuning, the term newborn group showed the longest delays and sharpest tuning over much of the frequency range.

System Finds Horizontal Location of Center of Gravity

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Johnston, Albert S.; Howard, Richard T.; Brewster, Linda L.

2006-01-01

An instrumentation system rapidly and repeatedly determines the horizontal location of the center of gravity of a laboratory vehicle that slides horizontally on three air bearings (see Figure 1). Typically, knowledge of the horizontal center-of-mass location of such a vehicle is needed in order to balance the vehicle properly for an experiment and/or to assess the dynamic behavior of the vehicle. The system includes a load cell above each air bearing, electronic circuits that generate digital readings of the weight on each load cell, and a computer equipped with software that processes the readings. The total weight and, hence, the mass of the vehicle are computed from the sum of the load-cell weight readings. Then the horizontal position of the center of gravity is calculated straightforwardly as the weighted sum of the known position vectors of the air bearings, the contribution of each bearing being proportional to the weight on that bearing. In the initial application for which this system was devised, the center- of-mass calculation is particularly simple because the air bearings are located at corners of an equilateral triangle. However, the system is not restricted to this simple geometry. The system acquires and processes weight readings at a rate of 800 Hz for each load cell. The total weight and the horizontal location of the center of gravity are updated at a rate of 800/3 approx. equals 267 Hz. In a typical application, a technician would use the center-of-mass output of this instrumentation system as a guide to the manual placement of small weights on the vehicle to shift the center of gravity to a desired horizontal position. Usually, the desired horizontal position is that of the geometric center. Alternatively, this instrumentation system could be used to provide position feedback for a control system that would cause weights to be shifted automatically (see Figure 2) in an effort to keep the center of gravity at the geometric center.

The Obesogenic Quality of the Home Environment: Associations with Diet, Physical Activity, TV Viewing, and BMI in Preschool Children

PubMed Central

Schrempft, Stephanie; van Jaarsveld, Cornelia H. M.; Fisher, Abigail; Wardle, Jane

2015-01-01

Objectives The home environment is thought to play a key role in early weight trajectories, although direct evidence is limited. There is general agreement that multiple factors exert small individual effects on weight-related outcomes, so use of composite measures could demonstrate stronger effects. This study therefore examined whether composite measures reflecting the ‘obesogenic’ home environment are associated with diet, physical activity, TV viewing, and BMI in preschool children. Methods Families from the Gemini cohort (n = 1096) completed a telephone interview (Home Environment Interview; HEI) when their children were 4 years old. Diet, physical activity, and TV viewing were reported at interview. Child height and weight measurements were taken by the parents (using standard scales and height charts) and reported at interview. Responses to the HEI were standardized and summed to create four composite scores representing the food (sum of 21 variables), activity (sum of 6 variables), media (sum of 5 variables), and overall (food composite/21 + activity composite/6 + media composite/5) home environments. These were categorized into ‘obesogenic risk’ tertiles. Results Children in ‘higher-risk’ food environments consumed less fruit (OR; 95% CI = 0.39; 0.27–0.57) and vegetables (0.47; 0.34–0.64), and more energy-dense snacks (3.48; 2.16–5.62) and sweetened drinks (3.49; 2.10–5.81) than children in ‘lower-risk’ food environments. Children in ‘higher-risk’ activity environments were less physically active (0.43; 0.32–0.59) than children in ‘lower-risk’ activity environments. Children in ‘higher-risk’ media environments watched more TV (3.51; 2.48–4.96) than children in ‘lower-risk’ media environments. Neither the individual nor the overall composite measures were associated with BMI. Conclusions Composite measures of the obesogenic home environment were associated as expected with diet, physical activity, and TV viewing. Associations with BMI were not apparent at this age. PMID:26248313

Convergence analysis of stochastic hybrid bidirectional associative memory neural networks with delays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Li; Zhou, Qinghua

2007-10-01

The stability property of stochastic hybrid bidirectional associate memory (BAM) neural networks with discrete delays is considered. Without assuming the symmetry of synaptic connection weights and the monotonicity and differentiability of activation functions, the delay-independent sufficient conditions to guarantee the exponential stability of the equilibrium solution for such networks are given by using the nonnegative semimartingale convergence theorem.

Delay to mental healthcare in a cohort of Canadian Armed Forces personnel with deployment-related mental disorders, 2002–2011: a retrospective cohort study

PubMed Central

Boulos, David; Zamorski, Mark A

2016-01-01

Objective To assess whether the delay to care among Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel who sought care for a mental disorder changed over time and in association with CAF mental health system augmentations. Design A stratified, random sample (n=2014) was selected for study from an Afghanistan-deployed cohort (N=30 513) and the 415 (weighted N=4108) individuals diagnosed with an Afghanistan service-related mental disorder were further assessed. Diagnosis-related data were abstracted from medical records (22 June 2010 to 30 May 2011). Other data were extracted from administrative databases. Delay to care was assessed across five mental health system eras: 2002/2004, 2005/2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009/2010. Weighted Cox proportional hazards regression assessed the association between era, handled as a time-dependent covariate, and the outcome while controlling for a broad range of potential confounders (ie, sociodemographic, military and clinical characteristics). Taylor series linearisation methods and sample design weights were applied in generating descriptive and regression analysis statistics. Primary outcome The outcome was the delay to mental healthcare, defined as the latency from most recent Afghanistan deployment return date to diagnosis date, among individuals with an Afghanistan service-related mental disorder diagnosis. Results Mean delay to care was 551 days (95% CI 501 to 602); the median was 400 days. Delay to care decreased in subsequent eras relative to 2002/2004; however, only the most recent era (2009/2010) was statistically significant (adjusted HR (aHR): 3.01 (95% CI 1.91 to 4.73)). Men, operations support occupations, higher ranks, non-musculoskeletal comorbidities and fewer years of military service were also independently associated with longer delays to care. Conclusions CAF mental health system changes were associated with reduced delays to mental healthcare. Further evaluation research is needed to identify the key system changes that were most impactful. PMID:27609855

Exposure to Enriched Environment Decreases Neurobehavioral Deficits Induced by Neonatal Glutamate Toxicity

PubMed Central

Horvath, Gabor; Reglodi, Dora; Vadasz, Gyongyver; Farkas, Jozsef; Kiss, Peter

2013-01-01

Environmental enrichment is a popular strategy to enhance motor and cognitive performance and to counteract the effects of various harmful stimuli. The protective effects of enriched environment have been shown in traumatic, ischemic and toxic nervous system lesions. Monosodium glutamate (MSG) is a commonly used taste enhancer causing excitotoxic effects when given in newborn animals. We have previously demonstrated that MSG leads to a delay in neurobehavioral development, as shown by the delayed appearance of neurological reflexes and maturation of motor coordination. In the present study we aimed at investigating whether environmental enrichment is able to decrease the neurobehavioral delay caused by neonatal MSG treatment. Newborn pups were treated with MSG subcutaneously on postnatal days 1, 5 and 9. For environmental enrichment, we placed rats in larger cages, supplemented with different toys that were altered daily. Normal control and enriched control rats received saline treatment only. Physical parameters such as weight, day of eye opening, incisor eruption and ear unfolding were recorded. Animals were observed for appearance of reflexes such as negative geotaxis, righting reflexes, fore- and hindlimb grasp, fore- and hindlimb placing, sensory reflexes and gait. In cases of negative geotaxis, surface righting and gait, the time to perform the reflex was also recorded daily. For examining motor coordination, we performed grid walking, footfault, rope suspension, rota-rod, inclined board and walk initiation tests. We found that enriched environment alone did not lead to marked alterations in the course of development. On the other hand, MSG treatment caused a slight delay in reflex development and a pronounced delay in weight gain and motor coordination maturation. This delay in most signs and tests could be reversed by enriched environment: MSG-treated pups kept under enriched conditions showed no weight retardation, no reflex delay in some signs and performed better in most coordination tests. These results show that environmental enrichment is able to decrease the neurobehavioral delay caused by neonatal excitotoxicity. PMID:24065102

Geographic variation of chlorinated pesticides, toxaphenes and PCBs in human milk from sub-arctic and arctic locations in Russia.

PubMed

Polder, A; Odland, J O; Tkachev, A; Føreid, S; Savinova, T N; Skaare, J U

2003-05-01

The concentrations of HCB, alpha-, beta- and gamma-HCH, 3 chlordanes (CHLs), p,p'-DDE, p,p'-DDD, p,p'-DDT, and 30 PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) were determined in 140 human milk samples from Kargopol (n=19), Severodvinsk (n=50), Arkhangelsk (n=51) and Naryan-Mar (n=20). Pooled samples were used for determination of three toxaphenes (chlorobornanes, CHBs). The concentrations of HCB, beta-HCH and p,p'-DDE in Russian human milk were 2, 10 and 3 times higher than corresponding levels in Norway, respectively, while concentrations of sum-PCBs and sum-TEQs (toxic equivalent quantities) of the mono-ortho substituted PCBs were in the same range as corresponding levels in Norway. The PCB-156 contributed most to the sum-TEQs. Highest mean concentrations of HCB (129 microg/kg milk fat) and sum-PCBs (458 microg/kg milk fat) were detected in Naryan-Mar, while highest mean concentrations of sum-HCHs (408 microg/kg milk fat), sum-CHLs (48 microg/kg milk fat), sum-DDTs (1392 microg/kg milk fat) and sum-toxaphenes (13 microg/kg milk fat) were detected in Arkhangelsk. An eastward geographic trend of increasing ratios of alpha/beta-HCH, gamma/beta-HCH, p,p'-DDT/p,p'-DDE and PCB-180/28 was observed. In all areas the levels of sum-HCHs decreased with parity (number of children born). Considerable variation in levels of the analysed organochlorines (OCs) was found in all the studied areas. Breast milk from mothers nursing their second or third child (multiparas) in Naryan-Mar showed a significant different PCB profile compared to mothers giving birth to their first child (primiparas) from the same area and to primi- and multiparas in the other areas. Both p,p'-DDE and p,p'-DDT showed a significant, but weak, negative correlation with the infants birth weight.

Weaving and neural complexity in symmetric quantum states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Susa, Cristian E.; Girolami, Davide

2018-04-01

We study the behaviour of two different measures of the complexity of multipartite correlation patterns, weaving and neural complexity, for symmetric quantum states. Weaving is the weighted sum of genuine multipartite correlations of any order, where the weights are proportional to the correlation order. The neural complexity, originally introduced to characterize correlation patterns in classical neural networks, is here extended to the quantum scenario. We derive closed formulas of the two quantities for GHZ states mixed with white noise.

Identifying Factors That Predict Promotion Time to E-4 and Re-Enlistment Eligibility for U.S. Marine Corps Field Radio Operators

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-12-01

Primary Military Occupational Specialty PRO Proficiency Q-Q Quantile - Quantile RSS Residual Sum of Squares SI Shop Information T&R Training and...construct multivariate linear regression models to estimate Marines’ Computed Tier Score and time to achieve E-4 based on their individual personal...Science (GS) score, ASVAB Mathematics Knowledge (MK) score, ASVAB Paragraph Comprehension (PC) score, weight , and whether a Marine receives a weight

Lod scores for gene mapping in the presence of marker map uncertainty.

PubMed

Stringham, H M; Boehnke, M

2001-07-01

Multipoint lod scores are typically calculated for a grid of locus positions, moving the putative disease locus across a fixed map of genetic markers. Changing the order of a set of markers and/or the distances between the markers can make a substantial difference in the resulting lod score curve and the location and height of its maximum. The typical approach of using the best maximum likelihood marker map is not easily justified if other marker orders are nearly as likely and give substantially different lod score curves. To deal with this problem, we propose three weighted multipoint lod score statistics that make use of information from all plausible marker orders. In each of these statistics, the information conditional on a particular marker order is included in a weighted sum, with weight equal to the posterior probability of that order. We evaluate the type 1 error rate and power of these three statistics on the basis of results from simulated data, and compare these results to those obtained using the best maximum likelihood map and the map with the true marker order. We find that the lod score based on a weighted sum of maximum likelihoods improves on using only the best maximum likelihood map, having a type 1 error rate and power closest to that of using the true marker order in the simulation scenarios we considered. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Structural Acoustic UXO Detection and Identification in Marine Environments

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-05-01

BOSS Buried Object Scanning Sonar DVL Doppler Velocity Log EW East/West IMU Inertial Measurement Unit NRL Naval Research Laboratory NSWC-PCD... Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) to time-delay and coherently sum matched-filtered phase histories from subsurface focal points over a large number of... Measurement Unit (IMU) systems. In our imaging algorithm, the 2D depth image of a target, i.e. one mapped over x and z or y and z, presents the

Guided wave localization of damage via sparse reconstruction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levine, Ross M.; Michaels, Jennifer E.; Lee, Sang Jun

2012-05-01

Ultrasonic guided waves are frequently applied for structural health monitoring and nondestructive evaluation of plate-like metallic and composite structures. Spatially distributed arrays of fixed piezoelectric transducers can be used to detect damage by recording and analyzing all pairwise signal combinations. By subtracting pre-recorded baseline signals, the effects due to scatterer interactions can be isolated. Given these residual signals, techniques such as delay-and-sum imaging are capable of detecting flaws, but do not exploit the expected sparse nature of damage. It is desired to determine the location of a possible flaw by leveraging the anticipated sparsity of damage; i.e., most of the structure is assumed to be damage-free. Unlike least-squares methods, L1-norm minimization techniques favor sparse solutions to inverse problems such as the one considered here of locating damage. Using this type of method, it is possible to exploit sparsity of damage by formulating the imaging process as an optimization problem. A model-based damage localization method is presented that simultaneously decomposes all scattered signals into location-based signal components. The method is first applied to simulated data to investigate sensitivity to both model mismatch and additive noise, and then to experimental data recorded from an aluminum plate with artificial damage. Compared to delay-and-sum imaging, results exhibit a significant reduction in both spot size and imaging artifacts when the model is reasonably well-matched to the data.

Resolution and quantification accuracy enhancement of functional delay and sum beamforming for three-dimensional acoustic source identification with solid spherical arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Zhigang; Yang, Yang; Shen, Linbang

2017-05-01

Functional delay and sum (FDAS) is a novel beamforming algorithm introduced for the three-dimensional (3D) acoustic source identification with solid spherical microphone arrays. Being capable of offering significantly attenuated sidelobes with a fast speed, the algorithm promises to play an important role in interior acoustic source identification. However, it presents some intrinsic imperfections, specifically poor spatial resolution and low quantification accuracy. This paper focuses on conquering these imperfections by ridge detection (RD) and deconvolution approach for the mapping of acoustic sources (DAMAS). The suggested methods are referred to as FDAS+RD and FDAS+RD+DAMAS. Both computer simulations and experiments are utilized to validate their effects. Several interesting conclusions have emerged: (1) FDAS+RD and FDAS+RD+DAMAS both can dramatically ameliorate FDAS's spatial resolution and at the same time inherit its advantages. (2) Compared to the conventional DAMAS, FDAS+RD+DAMAS enjoys the same super spatial resolution, stronger sidelobe attenuation capability and more than two hundred times faster speed. (3) FDAS+RD+DAMAS can effectively conquer FDAS's low quantification accuracy. Whether the focus distance is equal to the distance from the source to the array center or not, it can quantify the source average pressure contribution accurately. This study will be of great significance to the accurate and quick localization and quantification of acoustic sources in cabin environments.

On the Gibbs phenomenon 4: Recovering exponential accuracy in a sub-interval from a Gegenbauer partial sum of a piecewise analytic function

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gottlieb, David; Shu, Chi-Wang

1994-01-01

We continue our investigation of overcoming Gibbs phenomenon, i.e., to obtain exponential accuracy at all points (including at the discontinuities themselves), from the knowledge of a spectral partial sum of a discontinuous but piecewise analytic function. We show that if we are given the first N Gegenbauer expansion coefficients, based on the Gegenbauer polynomials C(sub k)(sup mu)(x) with the weight function (1 - x(exp 2))(exp mu - 1/2) for any constant mu is greater than or equal to 0, of an L(sub 1) function f(x), we can construct an exponentially convergent approximation to the point values of f(x) in any subinterval in which the function is analytic. The proof covers the cases of Chebyshev or Legendre partial sums, which are most common in applications.

Systematics of strength function sum rules

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

Johnson, Calvin W.

2015-08-28

Sum rules provide useful insights into transition strength functions and are often expressed as expectation values of an operator. In this letter I demonstrate that non-energy-weighted transition sum rules have strong secular dependences on the energy of the initial state. Such non-trivial systematics have consequences: the simplification suggested by the generalized Brink–Axel hypothesis, for example, does not hold for most cases, though it weakly holds in at least some cases for electric dipole transitions. Furthermore, I show the systematics can be understood through spectral distribution theory, calculated via traces of operators and of products of operators. Seen through this lens,more » violation of the generalized Brink–Axel hypothesis is unsurprising: one expectssum rules to evolve with excitation energy. Moreover, to lowest order the slope of the secular evolution can be traced to a component of the Hamiltonian being positive (repulsive) or negative (attractive).« less

LETTER TO THE EDITOR: The quantum Knizhnik Zamolodchikov equation, generalized Razumov Stroganov sum rules and extended Joseph polynomials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Di Francesco, P.; Zinn-Justin, P.

2005-12-01

We prove higher rank analogues of the Razumov Stroganov sum rule for the ground state of the O(1) loop model on a semi-infinite cylinder: we show that a weighted sum of components of the ground state of the Ak-1 IRF model yields integers that generalize the numbers of alternating sign matrices. This is done by constructing minimal polynomial solutions of the level 1 U_q(\\widehat{\\frak{sl}(k)}) quantum Knizhnik Zamolodchikov equations, which may also be interpreted as quantum incompressible q-deformations of quantum Hall effect wavefunctions at filling fraction ν = k. In addition to the generalized Razumov Stroganov point q = -eiπ/k+1, another combinatorially interesting point is reached in the rational limit q → -1, where we identify the solution with extended Joseph polynomials associated with the geometry of upper triangular matrices with vanishing kth power.

Mobile Visual Search Based on Histogram Matching and Zone Weight Learning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Chuang; Tao, Li; Yang, Fan; Lu, Tao; Jia, Huizhu; Xie, Xiaodong

2018-01-01

In this paper, we propose a novel image retrieval algorithm for mobile visual search. At first, a short visual codebook is generated based on the descriptor database to represent the statistical information of the dataset. Then, an accurate local descriptor similarity score is computed by merging the tf-idf weighted histogram matching and the weighting strategy in compact descriptors for visual search (CDVS). At last, both the global descriptor matching score and the local descriptor similarity score are summed up to rerank the retrieval results according to the learned zone weights. The results show that the proposed approach outperforms the state-of-the-art image retrieval method in CDVS.

Life cycle efficiency of beef production: II. Relationship of cow efficiency ratios to traits of the dam and progeny weaned.

PubMed

Davis, M E; Rutledge, J J; Cundiff, L V; Hauser, E R

1983-10-01

Several measures of life cycle cow efficiency were calculated using weights and individual feed consumptions recorded on 160 dams of beef, dairy and beef X dairy breeding and their progeny. Ratios of output to input were used to estimate efficiency, where outputs included weaning weights of progeny plus salvage value of the dam and inputs included creep feed consumed by progeny plus feed consumed by the dam over her entire lifetime. In one approach to estimating efficiency, inputs and outputs were weighted by probabilities that were a function of the cow herd age distribution and percentage calf crop in a theoretical herd. The second approach to estimating cow efficiency involved dividing the sum of the weights by the sum of the feed consumption values, with all pieces of information being given equal weighting. Relationships among efficiency estimates and various traits of dams and progeny were examined. Weights, heights, and weight:height ratios of dams at 240 d of age were not correlated significantly with subsequent efficiency of calf production, indicating that indirect selection for lifetime cow efficiency at an early age based on these traits would be ineffective. However, females exhibiting more efficient weight gains from 240 d to first calving tended to become more efficient dams. Correlations of efficiency with weight of dam at calving and at weaning were negative and generally highly significant. Height at withers was negatively related to efficiency. Ratio of weight to height indicated that fatter dams generally were less efficient. The effect of milk production on efficiency depended upon the breed combinations involved. Dams calving for the first time at an early age and continuing to calve at short intervals were superior in efficiency. Weaning rate was closely related to life cycle efficiency. Large negative correlations between efficiency and feed consumption of dams were observed, while correlations of efficiency with progeny weights and feed consumptions in individual parities tended to be positive though nonsignificant. However, correlations of efficiency with accumulative progeny weights and feed consumptions generally were significant.

Neighborhood income, health insurance, and prehospital delay for myocardial infarction: the atherosclerosis risk in communities study.

PubMed

Foraker, Randi E; Rose, Kathryn M; McGinn, Aileen P; Suchindran, Chirayath M; Goff, David C; Whitsel, Eric A; Wood, Joy L; Rosamond, Wayne D

2008-09-22

Outcomes following an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are generally more favorable if prehospital delay time is minimized. We examined the association of neighborhood household income (nINC) and health insurance status with prehospital delay among a weighted sample of 9700 men and women with a validated, definite, or probable AMI in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) community surveillance study (1993-2002). Weighted multinomial regression with generalized estimation equations was used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) and to account for the clustering of patients within census tracts. Low nINC was associated with a higher odds of long vs short delay (OR, 1.46; 95% CI, 1.09-1.96) and medium vs short delay (OR, 1.43; 95% CI, 1.12-1.81) compared with high nINC in a model including age, sex, race, diabetes, hypertension, presence of chest pain, arrival at the hospital via emergency medical service, distance from residence to hospital, study community, and year of AMI event. Meanwhile, compared with patients with prepaid insurance or prepaid plus Medicare, patients with Medicaid were more likely to have a long vs short delay (OR, 1.87; 95% CI, 1.10-3.19) and a medium vs short delay (OR, 1.76; 95% CI, 1.13-2.74). Both low nINC and being a Medicaid recipient are associated with longer prehospital delay. Reducing socioeconomic and insurance disparities in prehospital delay is critical because excess delay time may hinder effective care for AMI.

A comprehensive review of prehospital and in-hospital delay times in acute stroke care.

PubMed

Evenson, K R; Foraker, R E; Morris, D L; Rosamond, W D

2009-06-01

The purpose of this study was to systematically review and summarize prehospital and in-hospital stroke evaluation and treatment delay times. We identified 123 unique peer-reviewed studies published from 1981 to 2007 of prehospital and in-hospital delay time for evaluation and treatment of patients with stroke, transient ischemic attack, or stroke-like symptoms. Based on studies of 65 different population groups, the weighted Poisson regression indicated a 6.0% annual decline (P<0.001) in hours/year for prehospital delay, defined from symptom onset to emergency department arrival. For in-hospital delay, the weighted Poisson regression models indicated no meaningful changes in delay time from emergency department arrival to emergency department evaluation (3.1%, P=0.49 based on 12 population groups). There was a 10.2% annual decline in hours/year from emergency department arrival to neurology evaluation or notification (P=0.23 based on 16 population groups) and a 10.7% annual decline in hours/year for delay time from emergency department arrival to initiation of computed tomography (P=0.11 based on 23 population groups). Only one study reported on times from arrival to computed tomography scan interpretation, two studies on arrival to drug administration, and no studies on arrival to transfer to an in-patient setting, precluding generalizations. Prehospital delay continues to contribute the largest proportion of delay time. The next decade provides opportunities to establish more effective community-based interventions worldwide. It will be crucial to have effective stroke surveillance systems in place to better understand and improve both prehospital and in-hospital delays for acute stroke care.

A longitudinal study of low back pain and daily vibration exposure in professional drivers.

PubMed

Bovenzi, Massimo

2010-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the relation between low back pain (LBP) outcomes and measures of daily exposure to whole-body vibration (WBV) in professional drivers. In a study population of 202 male drivers, who were not affected with LBP at the initial survey, LBP in terms of duration, intensity, and disability was investigated over a two-year follow-up period. Vibration measurements were made on representative samples of machines and vehicles. The following measures of daily WBV exposure were obtained: (i) 8-h energy-equivalent frequency-weighted acceleration (highest axis), A(8)(max) in ms(-2) r.m.s.; (ii) A(8)(sum) (root-sum-of-squares) in ms(-2) r.m.s.; (iii) Vibration Dose Value (highest axis), VDV(max) in ms(-1.75); (iv) VDV(sum) (root-sum-of-quads) in ms(-1.75). The cumulative incidence of LBP over the follow-up period was 38.6%. The incidence of high pain intensity and severe disability was 16.8 and 14.4%, respectively. After adjustment for several confounders, VDV(max) or VDV(sum) gave better predictions of LBP outcomes over time than A(8)(max) or A(8)(sum), respectively. Poor predictions were obtained with A(8)(max), which is the currently preferred measure of daily WBV exposure in European countries. In multivariate data analysis, physical work load was a significant predictor of LBP outcomes over the follow-up period. Perceived psychosocial work environment was not associated with LBP.

40 CFR 1065.602 - Statistics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR POLLUTION CONTROLS ENGINE-TESTING... number of degrees of freedom, ν, as follows, noting that the εi are the errors (e.g., differences... measured continuously from the raw exhaust of an engine, its flow-weighted mean concentration is the sum of...

40 CFR 1065.602 - Statistics.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-07-01

... Protection of Environment ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED) AIR POLLUTION CONTROLS ENGINE-TESTING... number of degrees of freedom, ν, as follows, noting that the εi are the errors (e.g., differences... measured continuously from the raw exhaust of an engine, its flow-weighted mean concentration is the sum of...

Effects of cockpit lateral stick characteristics on handling qualities and pilot dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mitchell, David G.; Aponso, Bimal L.; Klyde, David H.

1992-01-01

This report presents the results of analysis of cockpit lateral control feel-system studies. Variations in feel-system natural frequency, damping, and command sensing reference (force and position) were investigated, in combination with variations in the aircraft response characteristics. The primary data for the report were obtained from a flight investigation conducted with a variable-stability airplane, with additional information taken from other flight experiments and ground-based simulations for both airplanes and helicopters . The study consisted of analysis of handling qualities ratings and extraction of open-loop, pilot-vehicle describing functions from sum-of-sines tracking data, including, for a limited subset of these data, the development of pilot models. The study confirms the findings of other investigators that the effects on pilot opinion of cockpit feel-system dynamics are not equivalent to a comparable level of added time delay, and until a more comprehensive set of criteria are developed, it is recommended that feel-system dynamics be considered a delay-inducing element in the aircraft response. The best correlation with time-delay requirements was found when the feel-system dynamics were included in the delay measurements, regardless of the command reference. This is a radical departure from past approaches.

RBANS memory percentage retention: No evidence of incremental validity beyond RBANS scores for diagnostic classification of mild cognitive impairment and dementia and for prediction of daily function.

PubMed

Jodouin, Kara A; O'Connell, Megan E; Morgan, Debra G

2017-01-01

RBANS percentage retention scores may be useful for diagnosis, but their incremental validity is unclear. Percentage retention versus RBANS immediate and delayed memory subtests and delayed index scores were compared for diagnostic classification and for prediction of function. Data from 173 memory clinic patients with an interdisciplinary diagnosis (no cognitive impairment, amnestic mild cognitive impairment [aMCI], and dementia due to Alzheimer's disease [AD]) and complete RBANS data were analyzed. Across diagnostic contrasts, list percentage retention classification accuracy was similar to List Learning delayed recall, but below the Delayed Memory Index (DMI). Similarly, for classifying no cognitive impairment versus aMCI or dementia due to AD, story percentage retention was similar to Story Memory subtests and below the DMI. For classifying aMCI versus AD; however, Story Memory exceeded the DMI, but was similar to Story Memory subtest scores. Similarly, for prediction of function percentage retention measures did not predict variance beyond that predicted by the RBANS subtest or index scores. In sum, there is no evidence that calculation of percentage retention for RBANS adds clinical utility beyond those provided by the standard RBANS scores.

A note on the estimation of the Pareto efficient set for multiobjective matrix permutation problems.

PubMed

Brusco, Michael J; Steinley, Douglas

2012-02-01

There are a number of important problems in quantitative psychology that require the identification of a permutation of the n rows and columns of an n × n proximity matrix. These problems encompass applications such as unidimensional scaling, paired-comparison ranking, and anti-Robinson forms. The importance of simultaneously incorporating multiple objective criteria in matrix permutation applications is well recognized in the literature; however, to date, there has been a reliance on weighted-sum approaches that transform the multiobjective problem into a single-objective optimization problem. Although exact solutions to these single-objective problems produce supported Pareto efficient solutions to the multiobjective problem, many interesting unsupported Pareto efficient solutions may be missed. We illustrate the limitation of the weighted-sum approach with an example from the psychological literature and devise an effective heuristic algorithm for estimating both the supported and unsupported solutions of the Pareto efficient set. © 2011 The British Psychological Society.

Multi-objective optimization of a continuous bio-dissimilation process of glycerol to 1, 3-propanediol.

PubMed

Xu, Gongxian; Liu, Ying; Gao, Qunwang

2016-02-10

This paper deals with multi-objective optimization of continuous bio-dissimilation process of glycerol to 1, 3-propanediol. In order to maximize the production rate of 1, 3-propanediol, maximize the conversion rate of glycerol to 1, 3-propanediol, maximize the conversion rate of glycerol, and minimize the concentration of by-product ethanol, we first propose six new multi-objective optimization models that can simultaneously optimize any two of the four objectives above. Then these multi-objective optimization problems are solved by using the weighted-sum and normal-boundary intersection methods respectively. Both the Pareto filter algorithm and removal criteria are used to remove those non-Pareto optimal points obtained by the normal-boundary intersection method. The results show that the normal-boundary intersection method can successfully obtain the approximate Pareto optimal sets of all the proposed multi-objective optimization problems, while the weighted-sum approach cannot achieve the overall Pareto optimal solutions of some multi-objective problems. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Exploring local regularities for 3D object recognition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tian, Huaiwen; Qin, Shengfeng

2016-11-01

In order to find better simplicity measurements for 3D object recognition, a new set of local regularities is developed and tested in a stepwise 3D reconstruction method, including localized minimizing standard deviation of angles(L-MSDA), localized minimizing standard deviation of segment magnitudes(L-MSDSM), localized minimum standard deviation of areas of child faces (L-MSDAF), localized minimum sum of segment magnitudes of common edges (L-MSSM), and localized minimum sum of areas of child face (L-MSAF). Based on their effectiveness measurements in terms of form and size distortions, it is found that when two local regularities: L-MSDA and L-MSDSM are combined together, they can produce better performance. In addition, the best weightings for them to work together are identified as 10% for L-MSDSM and 90% for L-MSDA. The test results show that the combined usage of L-MSDA and L-MSDSM with identified weightings has a potential to be applied in other optimization based 3D recognition methods to improve their efficacy and robustness.

Tamoxifen and vitamin E treatments delay symptoms in the mouse model of Niemann-Pick C.

PubMed

Bascuñan-Castillo, Eric C; Erickson, Robert P; Howison, Christy M; Hunter, Robert J; Heidenreich, Randall H; Hicks, Chad; Trouard, Theodore P; Gillies, Robert J

2004-01-01

Niemann-Pick C disease (NPC) is an irreversible neurodegenerative disorder without current treatment. It is the result of deficient intracellular cholesterol movement. We investigated the effects of tamoxifen and vitamin E (D-alpha tocopherol) treatment on patterns of weight loss and motor function in the mouse model of Niemann-Pick C disease (Npc1-/- mice). Tamoxifen has multiple metabolic effects, including reducing oxidative damage, while vitamin E primarily has this property. Npc1-/- mice were identified and treatment was initiated at an approximate age of 21 days. Tamoxifen suspended in peanut oil was administered via intraperitoneal injection (weekly, at a dose calculated to deliver 0.023 microg/g/day). Vitamin E (25 IU) was administered orally via gavage once a week. Weight loss and Rota-Rod performance were analyzed by using Kaplan-Meyer survival curves. Tamoxifen treatment by itself significantly delayed weight loss (an endpoint of neurodegeneration) in male and female mice compared to untreated controls. Motor function was evaluated by performance on a Rota-Rod. Tamoxifen maintained Rota-Rod performance for about an extra week. Vitamin E treatment significantly delayed weight loss in females only. Rota-Rod performance was maintained slightly longer in mice treated with vitamin E. Simultaneous use of both treatments did not delay weight loss longer than tamoxifen-only treatment but had a greater effect than either treatment alone on Rota-Rod performance and demonstrated a significant positive effect on the early "learning curve" portion of the Rota-Rod evaluations. We found significant but relatively small improvements in rate of disease progression by treating Npc1-/- mice with tamoxifen and/or vitamin E. Some sex differences in response and an early improvement in Rota-Rod performance suggest areas for further study.

Thyroidectomy as Primary Treatment Optimizes BMI in Patients with Hyperthyroidism

PubMed Central

Schneider, David F.; Nookala, Ratnam; Jaraczewski, Taylor J.; Chen, Herbert; Solorzano, Carmen C.; Sippel, Rebecca S.

2014-01-01

Objective The purpose of this study was to determine how the timing of thyroidectomy influenced postoperative weight change. Methods We conducted a two institution study, identifying patients treated with total thyroidectomy for hyperthyroidism. Patients were classified as “early” if they were referred for surgery as the first treatment option or “delayed” if they were previously treated with radioactive iodine. Groups were compared with the student's t-test or Chi-squared test where appropriate. Results There were 204 patients undergoing thyroidectomy for hyperthyroidsim. 171 patients were classified as early and 33 were delayed. Overall, patients gained 6.0% ± 0.8 of their preoperative body weight at last follow-up. Preoperative BMIs were similar between groups (p= 0.98), and the median follow-up time was 388 days (range 15 – 1,584 days). Both groups gained weight until they achieved a normal TSH postoperatively. After achieving a normal TSH, the early group stabilized or lost weight (-0.2 lbs/day) while the delayed group continued to gain weight (0.02 lbs/day, p = 0.61). At last follow-up, there were significantly more patients in the delayed group who increased their BMI category compared to the early group (42.4% vs. 21.6%, p = 0.01). Twice as many patients in the delayed group moved up or into an unhealthy BMI category (overweight or obese) compared to the early group (39.4% vs. 19.3%, p = 0.01). Conclusions Compared to patients initially treated with radioactive iodine, patients with hyperthyroidism who underwent surgery as the first treatment were less likely to become overweight or obese postoperatively. PMID:24522995

Delay in weight bearing in surgically treated tibial shaft fractures is associated with impaired healing: a cohort analysis of 166 tibial fractures.

PubMed

Houben, I B; Raaben, M; Van Basten Batenburg, M; Blokhuis, T J

2018-04-09

The relation between timing of weight bearing after a fracture and the healing outcome is yet to be established, thereby limiting the implementation of a possibly beneficial effect for our patients. The current study was undertaken to determine the effect of timing of weight bearing after a surgically treated tibial shaft fracture. Surgically treated diaphyseal tibial fractures were retrospectively studied between 2007 and 2015. The timing of initial weight bearing (IWB) was analysed as a predictor for impaired healing in a multivariate regression. Totally, 166 diaphyseal tibial fractures were included, 86 cases with impaired healing and 80 with normal healing. The mean age was 38.7 years (range 16-89). The mean time until IWB was significantly shorter in the normal fracture healing group (2.6 vs 7.4 weeks, p < 0.001). Correlation analysis yielded four possible confounders: infection requiring surgical intervention, fracture type, fasciotomy and open fractures. Logistic regression identified IWB as an independent predictor for impaired healing with an odds ratio of 1.13 per week delay (95% CI 1.03-1.25). Delay in initial weight bearing is independently associated with impaired fracture healing in surgically treated tibial shaft fractures. Unlike other factors such as fracture type or soft tissue condition, early resumption of weight bearing can be influenced by the treating physician and this factor therefore has a direct clinical relevance. This study indicates that early resumption of weight bearing should be the treatment goal in fracture fixation. 3b.

Design and test of a four channel motor for electromechanical flight control actuation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1984-01-01

To provide a suitable electromagnetic torque summing approach to flight control system redundancy, a four channel motor capable of sustaining full performance after any two credible failures was designed, fabricated, and tested. The design consists of a single samarium cobalt permanent magnet rotor with four separate three phase windings arrayed in individual stator quadrants around the periphery. Trade studies established the sensitivities of weight and performance to such parameters as design speed, winding pattern, number of poles, magnet configuration, and strength. The motor electromagnetically sums the torque of the individual channels on a single rotor and eliminate complex mechanical gearing arrangements.

Sum and mean. Standard programs for activation analysis.

PubMed

Lindstrom, R M

1994-01-01

Two computer programs in use for over a decade in the Nuclear Methods Group at NIST illustrate the utility of standard software: programs widely available and widely used, in which (ideally) well-tested public algorithms produce results that are well understood, and thereby capable of comparison, within the community of users. Sum interactively computes the position, net area, and uncertainty of the area of spectral peaks, and can give better results than automatic peak search programs when peaks are very small, very large, or unusually shaped. Mean combines unequal measurements of a single quantity, tests for consistency, and obtains the weighted mean and six measures of its uncertainty.

Average receiving scaling of the weighted polygon Koch networks with the weight-dependent walk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Dandan; Dai, Meifeng; Sun, Yanqiu; Shao, Shuxiang; Xie, Qi

2016-09-01

Based on the weighted Koch networks and the self-similarity of fractals, we present a family of weighted polygon Koch networks with a weight factor r(0 < r ≤ 1) . We study the average receiving time (ART) on weight-dependent walk (i.e., the walker moves to any of its neighbors with probability proportional to the weight of edge linking them), whose key step is to calculate the sum of mean first-passage times (MFPTs) for all nodes absorpt at a hub node. We use a recursive division method to divide the weighted polygon Koch networks in order to calculate the ART scaling more conveniently. We show that the ART scaling exhibits a sublinear or linear dependence on network order. Thus, the weighted polygon Koch networks are more efficient than expended Koch networks in receiving information. Finally, compared with other previous studies' results (i.e., Koch networks, weighted Koch networks), we find out that our models are more general.

A Robust and Multi-Weighted Approach to Estimating Topographically Correlated Tropospheric Delays in Radar Interferograms

PubMed Central

Zhu, Bangyan; Li, Jiancheng; Chu, Zhengwei; Tang, Wei; Wang, Bin; Li, Dawei

2016-01-01

Spatial and temporal variations in the vertical stratification of the troposphere introduce significant propagation delays in interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) observations. Observations of small amplitude surface deformations and regional subsidence rates are plagued by tropospheric delays, and strongly correlated with topographic height variations. Phase-based tropospheric correction techniques assuming a linear relationship between interferometric phase and topography have been exploited and developed, with mixed success. Producing robust estimates of tropospheric phase delay however plays a critical role in increasing the accuracy of InSAR measurements. Meanwhile, few phase-based correction methods account for the spatially variable tropospheric delay over lager study regions. Here, we present a robust and multi-weighted approach to estimate the correlation between phase and topography that is relatively insensitive to confounding processes such as regional subsidence over larger regions as well as under varying tropospheric conditions. An expanded form of robust least squares is introduced to estimate the spatially variable correlation between phase and topography by splitting the interferograms into multiple blocks. Within each block, correlation is robustly estimated from the band-filtered phase and topography. Phase-elevation ratios are multiply- weighted and extrapolated to each persistent scatter (PS) pixel. We applied the proposed method to Envisat ASAR images over the Southern California area, USA, and found that our method mitigated the atmospheric noise better than the conventional phase-based method. The corrected ground surface deformation agreed better with those measured from GPS. PMID:27420066

A Robust and Multi-Weighted Approach to Estimating Topographically Correlated Tropospheric Delays in Radar Interferograms.

PubMed

Zhu, Bangyan; Li, Jiancheng; Chu, Zhengwei; Tang, Wei; Wang, Bin; Li, Dawei

2016-07-12

Spatial and temporal variations in the vertical stratification of the troposphere introduce significant propagation delays in interferometric synthetic aperture radar (InSAR) observations. Observations of small amplitude surface deformations and regional subsidence rates are plagued by tropospheric delays, and strongly correlated with topographic height variations. Phase-based tropospheric correction techniques assuming a linear relationship between interferometric phase and topography have been exploited and developed, with mixed success. Producing robust estimates of tropospheric phase delay however plays a critical role in increasing the accuracy of InSAR measurements. Meanwhile, few phase-based correction methods account for the spatially variable tropospheric delay over lager study regions. Here, we present a robust and multi-weighted approach to estimate the correlation between phase and topography that is relatively insensitive to confounding processes such as regional subsidence over larger regions as well as under varying tropospheric conditions. An expanded form of robust least squares is introduced to estimate the spatially variable correlation between phase and topography by splitting the interferograms into multiple blocks. Within each block, correlation is robustly estimated from the band-filtered phase and topography. Phase-elevation ratios are multiply- weighted and extrapolated to each persistent scatter (PS) pixel. We applied the proposed method to Envisat ASAR images over the Southern California area, USA, and found that our method mitigated the atmospheric noise better than the conventional phase-based method. The corrected ground surface deformation agreed better with those measured from GPS.

Weighted Scaling in Non-growth Random Networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Guang; Yang, Xu-Hua; Xu, Xin-Li

2012-09-01

We propose a weighted model to explain the self-organizing formation of scale-free phenomenon in non-growth random networks. In this model, we use multiple-edges to represent the connections between vertices and define the weight of a multiple-edge as the total weights of all single-edges within it and the strength of a vertex as the sum of weights for those multiple-edges attached to it. The network evolves according to a vertex strength preferential selection mechanism. During the evolution process, the network always holds its total number of vertices and its total number of single-edges constantly. We show analytically and numerically that a network will form steady scale-free distributions with our model. The results show that a weighted non-growth random network can evolve into scale-free state. It is interesting that the network also obtains the character of an exponential edge weight distribution. Namely, coexistence of scale-free distribution and exponential distribution emerges.

Highly conductive composites for fuel cell flow field plates and bipolar plates

DOEpatents

Jang, Bor Z; Zhamu, Aruna; Song, Lulu

2014-10-21

This invention provides a fuel cell flow field plate or bipolar plate having flow channels on faces of the plate, comprising an electrically conductive polymer composite. The composite is composed of (A) at least 50% by weight of a conductive filler, comprising at least 5% by weight reinforcement fibers, expanded graphite platelets, graphitic nano-fibers, and/or carbon nano-tubes; (B) polymer matrix material at 1 to 49.9% by weight; and (C) a polymer binder at 0.1 to 10% by weight; wherein the sum of the conductive filler weight %, polymer matrix weight % and polymer binder weight % equals 100% and the bulk electrical conductivity of the flow field or bipolar plate is at least 100 S/cm. The invention also provides a continuous process for cost-effective mass production of the conductive composite-based flow field or bipolar plate.

Weaving and neural complexity in symmetric quantum states

DOE PAGES

Susa, Cristian E.; Girolami, Davide

2017-12-27

Here, we study the behaviour of two different measures of the complexity of multipartite correlation patterns, weaving and neural complexity, for symmetric quantum states. Weaving is the weighted sum of genuine multipartite correlations of any order, where the weights are proportional to the correlation order. The neural complexity, originally introduced to characterize correlation patterns in classical neural networks, is here extended to the quantum scenario. We derive closed formulas of the two quantities for GHZ states mixed with white noise.

14 CFR Appendix E to Part 420 - Tables for Explosive Site Plan

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

.... Table E-2—Liquid Propellant Explosive Equivalents Propellant combinations Explosive equivalent LO2/LH2 The larger of: 8W2/3 where W is the weight of LO2/LH2, or14% of W. LO2/LH2 + LO2/RP-1 Sum of (20% for LO2/RP-1) + the larger of: 8W2/3 where W is the weight of LO2/LH2, or14% of W. LO2/R-1 20% of W up to...

Weaving and neural complexity in symmetric quantum states

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

Susa, Cristian E.; Girolami, Davide

Here, we study the behaviour of two different measures of the complexity of multipartite correlation patterns, weaving and neural complexity, for symmetric quantum states. Weaving is the weighted sum of genuine multipartite correlations of any order, where the weights are proportional to the correlation order. The neural complexity, originally introduced to characterize correlation patterns in classical neural networks, is here extended to the quantum scenario. We derive closed formulas of the two quantities for GHZ states mixed with white noise.

The Joint Program Dilemma: Analyzing the Pervasive Role that Social Dilemmas Play in Undermining Acquisition Success

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-01

from the University of Rochester. Marchetti has worked in digital image processing at Eastman Kodak and in digital control systems at Contraves USA...which was based on a weighted sum of the gain for self and the perceived gain of other stakeholder programs. o A more recent perception of gains weighs...handled with a weighted formula. To the extent that understanding is incomplete (i.e., knowledge of other’s gain is less than 1), a stakeholder program

Exact Maximum-Entropy Estimation with Feynman Diagrams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Netser Zernik, Amitai; Schlank, Tomer M.; Tessler, Ran J.

2018-02-01

A longstanding open problem in statistics is finding an explicit expression for the probability measure which maximizes entropy with respect to given constraints. In this paper a solution to this problem is found, using perturbative Feynman calculus. The explicit expression is given as a sum over weighted trees.

Strategic Air Traffic Planning Using Eulerian Route Based Modeling and Optimization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bombelli, Alessandro

Due to a soaring air travel growth in the last decades, air traffic management has become increasingly challenging. As a consequence, planning tools are being devised to help human decision-makers achieve a better management of air traffic. Planning tools are divided into two categories, strategic and tactical. Strategic planning generally addresses a larger planning domain and is performed days to hours in advance. Tactical planning is more localized and is performed hours to minutes in advance. An aggregate route model for strategic air traffic flow management is presented. It is an Eulerian model, describing the flow between cells of unidirectional point-to-point routes. Aggregate routes are created from flight trajectory data based on similarity measures. Spatial similarity is determined using the Frechet distance. The aggregate routes approximate actual well-traveled traffic patterns. By specifying the model resolution, an appropriate balance between model accuracy and model dimension can be achieved. For a particular planning horizon, during which weather is expected to restrict the flow, a procedure for designing airborne reroutes and augmenting the traffic flow model is developed. The dynamics of the traffic flow on the resulting network take the form of a discrete-time, linear time-invariant system. The traffic flow controls are ground holding, pre-departure rerouting and airborne rerouting. Strategic planning--determining how the controls should be used to modify the future traffic flow when local capacity violations are anticipated--is posed as an integer programming problem of minimizing a weighted sum of flight delays subject to control and capacity constraints. Several tests indicate the effectiveness of the modeling and strategic planning approach. In the final, most challenging, test, strategic planning is demonstrated for the six western-most Centers of the 22-Center national airspace. The planning time horizon is four hours long, and there is weather predicted that causes significant delays to the scheduled flights. Airborne reroute options are computed and added to the route model, and it is shown that the predicted delays can be significantly reduced. The test results also indicate the computational feasibility of the approach for a planning problem of this size.

Association between anthropometric indices and cardiometabolic risk factors in pre-school children.

PubMed

Aristizabal, Juan C; Barona, Jacqueline; Hoyos, Marcela; Ruiz, Marcela; Marín, Catalina

2015-11-06

The world health organization (WHO) and the Identification and prevention of dietary- and lifestyle-induced health effects in children and infants- study (IDEFICS), released anthropometric reference values obtained from normal body weight children. This study examined the relationship between WHO [body mass index (BMI) and triceps- and subscapular-skinfolds], and IDEFICS (waist circumference, waist to height ratio and fat mass index) anthropometric indices with cardiometabolic risk factors in pre-school children ranging from normal body weight to obesity. A cross-sectional study with 232 children (aged 4.1 ± 0.05 years) was performed. Anthropometric measurements were collected and BMI, waist circumference, waist to height ratio, triceps- and subscapular-skinfolds sum and fat mass index were calculated. Fasting glucose, fasting insulin, homeostasis model analysis insulin resistance (HOMA-IR), blood lipids and apolipoprotein (Apo) B-100 (Apo B) and Apo A-I were determined. Pearson's correlation coefficient, multiple regression analysis and the receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis were run. 51% (n = 73) of the boys and 52% (n = 47) of the girls were of normal body weight, 49% (n = 69) of the boys and 48% (n = 43) of the girls were overweight or obese. Anthropometric indices correlated (p < 0.001) with insulin: [BMI (r = 0.514), waist circumference (r = 0.524), waist to height ratio (r = 0.304), triceps- and subscapular-skinfolds sum (r = 0.514) and fat mass index (r = 0.500)], and HOMA-IR: [BMI (r = 0.509), waist circumference (r = 0.521), waist to height ratio (r = 0.296), triceps- and subscapular-skinfolds sum (r = 0.483) and fat mass index (r = 0.492)]. Similar results were obtained after adjusting by age and sex. The areas under the curve (AUC) to identify children with insulin resistance were significant (p < 0.001) and similar among anthropometric indices (AUC > 0.68 to AUC < 0.76). WHO and IDEFICS anthropometric indices correlated similarly with fasting insulin and HOMA-IR. The diagnostic accuracy of the anthropometric indices as a proxy to identify children with insulin resistance was similar. These data do not support the use of waist circumference, waist to height ratio, triceps- and subscapular- skinfolds sum or fat mass index, instead of the BMI as a proxy to identify pre-school children with insulin resistance, the most frequent alteration found in children ranging from normal body weight to obesity.

Simple Learned Weighted Sums of Inferior Temporal Neuronal Firing Rates Accurately Predict Human Core Object Recognition Performance.

PubMed

Majaj, Najib J; Hong, Ha; Solomon, Ethan A; DiCarlo, James J

2015-09-30

To go beyond qualitative models of the biological substrate of object recognition, we ask: can a single ventral stream neuronal linking hypothesis quantitatively account for core object recognition performance over a broad range of tasks? We measured human performance in 64 object recognition tests using thousands of challenging images that explore shape similarity and identity preserving object variation. We then used multielectrode arrays to measure neuronal population responses to those same images in visual areas V4 and inferior temporal (IT) cortex of monkeys and simulated V1 population responses. We tested leading candidate linking hypotheses and control hypotheses, each postulating how ventral stream neuronal responses underlie object recognition behavior. Specifically, for each hypothesis, we computed the predicted performance on the 64 tests and compared it with the measured pattern of human performance. All tested hypotheses based on low- and mid-level visually evoked activity (pixels, V1, and V4) were very poor predictors of the human behavioral pattern. However, simple learned weighted sums of distributed average IT firing rates exactly predicted the behavioral pattern. More elaborate linking hypotheses relying on IT trial-by-trial correlational structure, finer IT temporal codes, or ones that strictly respect the known spatial substructures of IT ("face patches") did not improve predictive power. Although these results do not reject those more elaborate hypotheses, they suggest a simple, sufficient quantitative model: each object recognition task is learned from the spatially distributed mean firing rates (100 ms) of ∼60,000 IT neurons and is executed as a simple weighted sum of those firing rates. Significance statement: We sought to go beyond qualitative models of visual object recognition and determine whether a single neuronal linking hypothesis can quantitatively account for core object recognition behavior. To achieve this, we designed a database of images for evaluating object recognition performance. We used multielectrode arrays to characterize hundreds of neurons in the visual ventral stream of nonhuman primates and measured the object recognition performance of >100 human observers. Remarkably, we found that simple learned weighted sums of firing rates of neurons in monkey inferior temporal (IT) cortex accurately predicted human performance. Although previous work led us to expect that IT would outperform V4, we were surprised by the quantitative precision with which simple IT-based linking hypotheses accounted for human behavior. Copyright © 2015 the authors 0270-6474/15/3513402-17$15.00/0.

A single-chip 32-channel analog beamformer with 4-ns delay resolution and 768-ns maximum delay range for ultrasound medical imaging with a linear array transducer.

PubMed

Um, Ji-Yong; Kim, Yoon-Jee; Cho, Seong-Eun; Chae, Min-Kyun; Kim, Byungsub; Sim, Jae-Yoon; Park, Hong-June

2015-02-01

A single-chip 32-channel analog beamformer is proposed. It achieves a delay resolution of 4 ns and a maximum delay range of 768 ns. It has a focal-point based architecture, which consists of 7 sub-analog beamformers (sub-ABF). Each sub-ABF performs a RX focusing operation for a single focal point. Seven sub-ABFs perform a time-interleaving operation to achieve the maximum delay range of 768 ns. Phase interpolators are used in sub-ABFs to generate sampling clocks with the delay resolution of 4 ns from a low frequency system clock of 5 MHz. Each sub-ABF samples 32 echo signals at different times into sampling capacitors, which work as analog memory cells. The sampled 32 echo signals of each sub-ABF are originated from one target focal point at one instance. They are summed at one instance in a sub-ABF to perform the RX focusing for the target focal point. The proposed ABF chip has been fabricated in a 0.13- μ m CMOS process with an active area of 16 mm (2). The total power consumption is 287 mW. In measurement, the digital echo signals from a commercial ultrasound medical imaging machine were applied to the fabricated chip through commercial DAC chips. Due to the speed limitation of the DAC chips, the delay resolution was relaxed to 10 ns for the real-time measurement. A linear array transducer with no steering operation is used in this work.

Rapid Long-Range Disynaptic Inhibition Explains the Formation of Cortical Orientation Maps

PubMed Central

Antolík, Ján

2017-01-01

Competitive interactions are believed to underlie many types of cortical processing, ranging from memory formation, attention and development of cortical functional organization (e.g., development of orientation maps in primary visual cortex). In the latter case, the competitive interactions happen along the cortical surface, with local populations of neurons reinforcing each other, while competing with those displaced more distally. This specific configuration of lateral interactions is however in stark contrast with the known properties of the anatomical substrate, i.e., excitatory connections (mediating reinforcement) having longer reach than inhibitory ones (mediating competition). No satisfactory biologically plausible resolution of this conflict between anatomical measures, and assumed cortical function has been proposed. Recently a specific pattern of delays between different types of neurons in cat cortex has been discovered, where direct mono-synaptic excitation has approximately the same delay, as the combined delays of the disynaptic inhibitory interactions between excitatory neurons (i.e., the sum of delays from excitatory to inhibitory and from inhibitory to excitatory neurons). Here we show that this specific pattern of delays represents a biologically plausible explanation for how short-range inhibition can support competitive interactions that underlie the development of orientation maps in primary visual cortex. We demonstrate this statement analytically under simplifying conditions, and subsequently show using network simulations that development of orientation maps is preserved when long-range excitation, direct inhibitory to inhibitory interactions, and moderate inequality in the delays between excitatory and inhibitory pathways is added. PMID:28408869

Wheels-Off Time Uncertainty Impact on Benefits of Early Call for Release Scheduling

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Palopo, Kee; Chatterji, Gano B.; Almog, Noam

2017-01-01

Arrival traffic scenarios with 808 flights from 173 airports to Houston George Bush International airport are simulated to determine if Call For Release flights can receive a benefit in terms of less delay over other flights by scheduling prior to gate pushback (look-ahead in time) as opposed to at gate pushback. Call for Release flights are departures that require approval from Air Route Traffic Control Center prior to release. Realism is brought to the study by including gate departure delay and taxi-out delay uncertainties for the 77 major U. S. airports. Gate departure delay uncertainty is assumed to increase as a function of look-ahead time. Results show that Call For Release flights from an airport within the freeze horizon (a region surrounding the arrival airport) can get an advantage over other flights to a capacity constrained airport by scheduling prior to gate pushback, provided the wheels-off time uncertainty with respect to schedule is controlled to a small value, such as within a three-minute window. Another finding of the study is that system delay, measured as the sum of arrival delays, is smaller when flights are scheduled in the order of arrival compared to in the order of departure. Because flights from airports within the freeze horizon are scheduled in the order of departure, an increase in the number of internal airports with a larger freeze horizon increases system delay. Delay in the given scenario was found to increase by 126% (from 13.8 hours to 31.2 hours) as freeze horizon was increased from 30-minutes to 2-hours in the baseline scenario.

10 CFR 76.4 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... to the Act. Administrative controls means the provisions relating to organization and management... agreement under subsection 274b. of the Act. Non-Agreement State means any other State. Alert means events... equivalent means the sum of the products of the dose equivalent to the body organ or tissue and the weighting...

10 CFR 76.4 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... to the Act. Administrative controls means the provisions relating to organization and management... agreement under subsection 274b. of the Act. Non-Agreement State means any other State. Alert means events... equivalent means the sum of the products of the dose equivalent to the body organ or tissue and the weighting...

10 CFR 76.4 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... to the Act. Administrative controls means the provisions relating to organization and management... agreement under subsection 274b. of the Act. Non-Agreement State means any other State. Alert means events... equivalent means the sum of the products of the dose equivalent to the body organ or tissue and the weighting...

10 CFR 76.4 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... to the Act. Administrative controls means the provisions relating to organization and management... agreement under subsection 274b. of the Act. Non-Agreement State means any other State. Alert means events... equivalent means the sum of the products of the dose equivalent to the body organ or tissue and the weighting...

10 CFR 76.4 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... to the Act. Administrative controls means the provisions relating to organization and management... agreement under subsection 274b. of the Act. Non-Agreement State means any other State. Alert means events... equivalent means the sum of the products of the dose equivalent to the body organ or tissue and the weighting...

10 CFR 30.4 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Commission has entered into an effective agreement under subsection 274b. of the Act. Non-agreement State... access control measures that are not related to the safe use of, or security of, radiological materials... equivalent means the sum of the products of the dose equivalent to the organ or tissue and the weighting...

Compound Cuing in Free Recall

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lohnas, Lynn J.; Kahana, Michael J.

2014-01-01

According to the retrieved context theory of episodic memory, the cue for recall of an item is a weighted sum of recently activated cognitive states, including previously recalled and studied items as well as their associations. We show that this theory predicts there should be compound cuing in free recall. Specifically, the temporal contiguity…

76 FR 44815 - Chlorantraniliprole; Pesticide Tolerances

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-27

... effects resulting from short- term dosing were observed. Therefore, the aggregate risk is the sum of the... increased liver weight (males only). Incidental oral short/intermediate- N/A N/A There was no hazard term (1 to 30 days). identified via the oral route over the short- and intermediate-term and therefore, no...

33 CFR 183.220 - Preconditioning for tests.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... (CONTINUED) BOATING SAFETY BOATS AND ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT Flotation Requirements for Outboard Boats Rated for Engines of More Than 2 Horsepower General § 183.220 Preconditioning for tests. A boat must meet the... boat. (b) The boat must be loaded with a quantity of weight that, when submerged, is equal to the sum...

Delayed onset of weanling diarrhoea associated with high breast milk intake.

PubMed

Watkinson, M

1981-01-01

In a West African community where breast feeding was practised universally for 18 to 24 months infants with the higher breast milk intakes were given supplementary foods later than others. Although 66% of infants had diarrhoea before the introduction of these foods, it was generally mild and only 12% suffered diarrhoea-induced weight loss in this pre-weaning period. By the end of infancy, all children had had diarrhoea and 89% had suffered weight loss in one or more attacks. As the bulk of diarrhoeal morbidity occurred after weaning had started, children with the higher breast milk intakes tended to be older before losing weight with diarrhoea. By one year, children with a higher than average breast milk intake and with no diarrhoea-induced weight loss in the first half of infancy weighed an average of 1 kg more than those with low breast milk intakes and early weight loss with diarrhoea. Interventions which improve or maintain maternal lactation performance should not only increase the nutrient intake of an infant, but also delay the almost inevitable weight loss of weanling diarrhoea.

A Novel Feature Level Fusion for Heart Rate Variability Classification Using Correntropy and Cauchy-Schwarz Divergence.

PubMed

Goshvarpour, Ateke; Goshvarpour, Atefeh

2018-04-30

Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis has become a widely used tool for monitoring pathological and psychological states in medical applications. In a typical classification problem, information fusion is a process whereby the effective combination of the data can achieve a more accurate system. The purpose of this article was to provide an accurate algorithm for classifying HRV signals in various psychological states. Therefore, a novel feature level fusion approach was proposed. First, using the theory of information, two similarity indicators of the signal were extracted, including correntropy and Cauchy-Schwarz divergence. Applying probabilistic neural network (PNN) and k-nearest neighbor (kNN), the performance of each index in the classification of meditators and non-meditators HRV signals was appraised. Then, three fusion rules, including division, product, and weighted sum rules were used to combine the information of both similarity measures. For the first time, we propose an algorithm to define the weights of each feature based on the statistical p-values. The performance of HRV classification using combined features was compared with the non-combined features. Totally, the accuracy of 100% was obtained for discriminating all states. The results showed the strong ability and proficiency of division and weighted sum rules in the improvement of the classifier accuracies.

Prediction equation for calculating fat mass in young Indian adults.

PubMed

Sandhu, Jaspal Singh; Gupta, Giniya; Shenoy, Shweta

2010-06-01

Accurate measurement or prediction of fat mass is useful in physiology, nutrition and clinical medicine. Most predictive equations currently used to assess percentage of body fat or fat mass, using simple anthropometric measurements were derived from people in western societies and they may not be appropriate for individuals with other genotypic and phenotypic characteristics. We developed equations to predict fat mass from anthropometric measurements in young Indian adults. Fat mass was measured in 60 females and 58 males, aged 20 to 29 yrs by using hydrostatic weighing and by simultaneous measurement of residual lung volume. Anthropometric measure included weight (kg), height (m) and 4 skinfold thickness [STs (mm)]. Sex specific linear regression model was developed with fat mass as the dependent variable and all anthropometric measures as independent variables. The prediction equation obtained for fat mass (kg) for males was 8.46+0.32 (weight) - 15.16 (height) + 9.54 (log of sum of 4 STs) (R2= 0. 53, SEE=3.42 kg) and - 20.22 + 0.33 (weight) + 3.44 (height) + 7.66 (log of sum of 4 STs) (R2=0.72, SEE=3.01kg) for females. A new prediction equation for the measurement of fat mass was derived and internally validated in young Indian adults using simple anthropometric measurements.

The preparatory state of ground reaction forces in defending against a dribbler in a basketball 1-on-1 dribble subphase.

PubMed

Fujii, Keisuke; Yoshioka, Shinsuke; Isaka, Tadao; Kouzaki, Motoki

2015-03-01

We previously demonstrated the relationship between sidestepping performance and the preparatory state of ground reaction forces (GRFs). The present study investigated the effect of the preparatory state of GRFs on defensive performance in 1-on-1 subphase of basketball. Ten basketball players participated in 1-on-1 dribble game of basketball. The outcomes (penetrating and guarding) and the preparatory state of GRFs (non-weighted and weighted states, i.e. vertical GRFs below and above 120% of body weight, respectively) were assessed by separating the phases. In the non-weighted state and the weighted state to determine the outcome, the probability of successful guarding was 78.8% and 29.6%, respectively. The non-weighted state prevented delay of the defensive step in the determination phase. Both the non-weighted and weighted states, immediately before the determination phase, were likely to change to the weighted state in the determination phase; during this time, the defender's preparatory state would be destabilised, presumably by the dribbler's movement. These results revealed that the preparatory GRFs before the defensive step help to explain the outcome of the 1-on-1 subphase, and suggest a better way to prevent delaying initiation of the defensive step and thereby to guard more effectively against a dribbler.

Roles of antinucleon degrees of freedom in the relativistic random phase approximation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurasawa, Haruki; Suzuki, Toshio

2015-11-01

The roles of antinucleon degrees of freedom in the relativistic random phase approximation (RPA) are investigated. The energy-weighted sum of the RPA transition strengths is expressed in terms of the double commutator between the excitation operator and the Hamiltonian, as in nonrelativistic models. The commutator, however, should not be calculated in the usual way in the local field theory, because, otherwise, the sum vanishes. The sum value obtained correctly from the commutator is infinite, owing to the Dirac sea. Most of the previous calculations take into account only some of the nucleon-antinucleon states, in order to avoid divergence problems. As a result, RPA states with negative excitation energy appear, which make the sum value vanish. Moreover, disregarding the divergence changes the sign of nuclear interactions in the RPA equation that describes the coupling of the nucleon particle-hole states with the nucleon-antinucleon states. Indeed, the excitation energies of the spurious state and giant monopole states in the no-sea approximation are dominated by these unphysical changes. The baryon current conservation can be described without touching the divergence problems. A schematic model with separable interactions is presented, which makes the structure of the relativistic RPA transparent.

On the Latent Variable Interpretation in Sum-Product Networks.

PubMed

Peharz, Robert; Gens, Robert; Pernkopf, Franz; Domingos, Pedro

2017-10-01

One of the central themes in Sum-Product networks (SPNs) is the interpretation of sum nodes as marginalized latent variables (LVs). This interpretation yields an increased syntactic or semantic structure, allows the application of the EM algorithm and to efficiently perform MPE inference. In literature, the LV interpretation was justified by explicitly introducing the indicator variables corresponding to the LVs' states. However, as pointed out in this paper, this approach is in conflict with the completeness condition in SPNs and does not fully specify the probabilistic model. We propose a remedy for this problem by modifying the original approach for introducing the LVs, which we call SPN augmentation. We discuss conditional independencies in augmented SPNs, formally establish the probabilistic interpretation of the sum-weights and give an interpretation of augmented SPNs as Bayesian networks. Based on these results, we find a sound derivation of the EM algorithm for SPNs. Furthermore, the Viterbi-style algorithm for MPE proposed in literature was never proven to be correct. We show that this is indeed a correct algorithm, when applied to selective SPNs, and in particular when applied to augmented SPNs. Our theoretical results are confirmed in experiments on synthetic data and 103 real-world datasets.

Neuropsychological functioning of siblings of children with autism, siblings of children with developmental language delay, and siblings of children with mental retardation of unknown genetic etiology.

PubMed

Pilowsky, Tammy; Yirmiya, Nurit; Gross-Tsur, Varda; Shalev, Ruth S

2007-03-01

Neuropsychological functioning of 30 siblings of children with autism (AU-S), 28 siblings of children with mental retardation of (MR-S), and 30 siblings of children with developmental language delay (DLD-S) was compared. Two siblings, both AU-S, received diagnoses of pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). More siblings with cognitive disabilities were found in DLD-S than in AU-S. However, these differences disappeared after excluding diagnosed siblings or after accounting for family membership. In sum, despite the elevated incidence of PDD among AU-S, the neuropsychological functioning of the remaining siblings did not convey specific characteristics related to the genetic risk associated with autism, in contrast to the cognitive functioning of the DLD-S, which did reflect a genetic risk.

Distant Speech Recognition Using a Microphone Array Network

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakano, Alberto Yoshihiro; Nakagawa, Seiichi; Yamamoto, Kazumasa

In this work, spatial information consisting of the position and orientation angle of an acoustic source is estimated by an artificial neural network (ANN). The estimated position of a speaker in an enclosed space is used to refine the estimated time delays for a delay-and-sum beamformer, thus enhancing the output signal. On the other hand, the orientation angle is used to restrict the lexicon used in the recognition phase, assuming that the speaker faces a particular direction while speaking. To compensate the effect of the transmission channel inside a short frame analysis window, a new cepstral mean normalization (CMN) method based on a Gaussian mixture model (GMM) is investigated and shows better performance than the conventional CMN for short utterances. The performance of the proposed method is evaluated through Japanese digit/command recognition experiments.

Child obesity and motor development delays

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Childhood obesity has been associated with delays in motor development using weight-for-length z-scores and subcutaneous fat. To study this further, percent body fat and motor development were assessed in children ages 3 to 24 months. Included were 455 children with a total of 1882 longitudinal obse...

The Dorsal Visual System Predicts Future and Remembers Past Eye Position

PubMed Central

Morris, Adam P.; Bremmer, Frank; Krekelberg, Bart

2016-01-01

Eye movements are essential to primate vision but introduce potentially disruptive displacements of the retinal image. To maintain stable vision, the brain is thought to rely on neurons that carry both visual signals and information about the current direction of gaze in their firing rates. We have shown previously that these neurons provide an accurate representation of eye position during fixation, but whether they are updated fast enough during saccadic eye movements to support real-time vision remains controversial. Here we show that not only do these neurons carry a fast and accurate eye-position signal, but also that they support in parallel a range of time-lagged variants, including predictive and post dictive signals. We recorded extracellular activity in four areas of the macaque dorsal visual cortex during a saccade task, including the lateral and ventral intraparietal areas (LIP, VIP), and the middle temporal (MT) and medial superior temporal (MST) areas. As reported previously, neurons showed tonic eye-position-related activity during fixation. In addition, they showed a variety of transient changes in activity around the time of saccades, including relative suppression, enhancement, and pre-saccadic bursts for one saccade direction over another. We show that a hypothetical neuron that pools this rich population activity through a weighted sum can produce an output that mimics the true spatiotemporal dynamics of the eye. Further, with different pooling weights, this downstream eye position signal (EPS) could be updated long before (<100 ms) or after (<200 ms) an eye movement. The results suggest a flexible coding scheme in which downstream computations have access to past, current, and future eye positions simultaneously, providing a basis for visual stability and delay-free visually-guided behavior. PMID:26941617

Rosiglitazone delayed weight loss and anorexia while attenuating adipose depletion in mice with cancer cachexia.

PubMed

Asp, Michelle L; Tian, Min; Kliewer, Kara L; Belury, Martha A

2011-12-01

Cachexia is characterized by severe weight loss, including adipose and muscle wasting, and occurs in a large percentage of cancer patients. Insulin resistance contributes to dysregulated metabolism in cachexia and occurs prior to weight loss in mice with colon-26 tumor-induced cachexia. Therefore, we hypothesized that the insulin sensitizer, rosiglitazone, would attenuate the loss of adipose and muscle to result in improved outcomes for mice with late-stage cachexia. Male CD2F1 mice were inoculated with colon-26 adenocarcinoma cells or vehicle. Treatments included vehicle, rosiglitazone (10 mg/kg body weight/day) or rosiglitazone plus pair-feeding to food intake of vehicle-treated mice with tumors. Rosiglitazone delayed weight loss onset by 2 d over the 16 d duration of this aggressive tumor model. This finding was associated, in part, with increased food intake. In addition, adipose mass, adipocyte cross-sectional area and inflammation were improved with rosiglitazone. However, at the time of necropsy 16 d after tumor inoculation rosiglitazone had no effect on retention of muscle mass, strength or proteolysis in late-stage cachexia. We did not measure stamina or endurance in this study. In early-stage cachexia, rosiglitazone normalized PDK4 and PPAR-delta mRNA in quadriceps muscle and rescued the decrease in insulin-stimulated glucose disappearance in mice with tumors. Rosiglitazone may delay weight loss onset by decreasing tumor-induced markers of metabolic change in early-stage cachexia. These changes predict for modest improvement in adipose, but no improvement in muscle strength in late-stage cachexia.

Rosiglitazone delayed weight loss and anorexia while attenuating adipose depletion in mice with cancer cachexia

PubMed Central

Asp, Michelle L.; Tian, Min; Kliewer, Kara L.

2011-01-01

Cachexia is characterized by severe weight loss, including adipose and muscle wasting, and occurs in a large percentage of cancer patients. Insulin resistance contributes to dysregulated metabolism in cachexia and occurs prior to weight loss in mice with colon-26 tumor-induced cachexia. Therefore, we hypothesized that the insulin sensitizer, rosiglitazone, would attenuate the loss of adipose and muscle to result in improved outcomes for mice with late-stage cachexia. Male CD2F1 mice were inoculated with colon-26 adenocarcinoma cells or vehicle. Treatments included vehicle, rosiglitazone (10 mg/kg body weight/day) or rosiglitazone plus pair-feeding to food intake of vehicle-treated mice with tumors. Rosiglitazone delayed weight loss onset by 2 d over the 16 d duration of this aggressive tumor model. This finding was associated, in part, with increased food intake. In addition, adipose mass, adipocyte cross-sectional area and inflammation were improved with rosiglitazone. However, at the time of necropsy 16 d after tumor inoculation rosiglitazone had no effect on retention of muscle mass, strength or proteolysis in late-stage cachexia. We did not measure stamina or endurance in this study. In early-stage cachexia, rosiglitazone normalized PDK4 and PPAR-delta mRNA in quadriceps muscle and rescued the decrease in insulin-stimulated glucose disappearance in mice with tumors. Rosiglitazone may delay weight loss onset by decreasing tumor-induced markers of metabolic change in early-stage cachexia. These changes predict for modest improvement in adipose, but no improvement in muscle strength in late-stage cachexia. PMID:22104958

Delay to mental healthcare in a cohort of Canadian Armed Forces personnel with deployment-related mental disorders, 2002-2011: a retrospective cohort study.

PubMed

Boulos, David; Zamorski, Mark A

2016-09-08

To assess whether the delay to care among Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel who sought care for a mental disorder changed over time and in association with CAF mental health system augmentations. A stratified, random sample (n=2014) was selected for study from an Afghanistan-deployed cohort (N=30 513) and the 415 (weighted N=4108) individuals diagnosed with an Afghanistan service-related mental disorder were further assessed. Diagnosis-related data were abstracted from medical records (22 June 2010 to 30 May 2011). Other data were extracted from administrative databases. Delay to care was assessed across five mental health system eras: 2002/2004, 2005/2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009/2010. Weighted Cox proportional hazards regression assessed the association between era, handled as a time-dependent covariate, and the outcome while controlling for a broad range of potential confounders (ie, sociodemographic, military and clinical characteristics). Taylor series linearisation methods and sample design weights were applied in generating descriptive and regression analysis statistics. The outcome was the delay to mental healthcare, defined as the latency from most recent Afghanistan deployment return date to diagnosis date, among individuals with an Afghanistan service-related mental disorder diagnosis. Mean delay to care was 551 days (95% CI 501 to 602); the median was 400 days. Delay to care decreased in subsequent eras relative to 2002/2004; however, only the most recent era (2009/2010) was statistically significant (adjusted HR (aHR): 3.01 (95% CI 1.91 to 4.73)). Men, operations support occupations, higher ranks, non-musculoskeletal comorbidities and fewer years of military service were also independently associated with longer delays to care. CAF mental health system changes were associated with reduced delays to mental healthcare. Further evaluation research is needed to identify the key system changes that were most impactful. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Association Between Dietary Intake and Function in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

PubMed Central

Nieves, Jeri W.; Gennings, Chris; Factor-Litvak, Pam; Hupf, Jonathan; Singleton, Jessica; Sharf, Valerie; Oskarsson, Björn; Fernandes Filho, J. Americo M.; Sorenson, Eric J.; D’Amico, Emanuele; Goetz, Ray; Mitsumoto, Hiroshi

2017-01-01

IMPORTANCE There is growing interest in the role of nutrition in the pathogenesis and progression of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). OBJECTIVE To evaluate the associations between nutrients, individually and in groups, and ALS function and respiratory function at diagnosis. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS A cross-sectional baseline analysis of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis Multicenter Cohort Study of Oxidative Stress study was conducted from March 14, 2008, to February 27, 2013, at 16 ALS clinics throughout the United States among 302 patients with ALS symptom duration of 18 months or less. EXPOSURES Nutrient intake, measured using a modified Block Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis function, measured using the ALS Functional Rating Scale–Revised (ALSFRS-R), and respiratory function, measured using percentage of predicted forced vital capacity (FVC). RESULTS Baseline data were available on 302 patients with ALS (median age, 63.2 years [interquartile range, 55.5–68.0 years]; 178 men and 124 women). Regression analysis of nutrients found that higher intakes of antioxidants and carotenes from vegetables were associated with higher ALSFRS-R scores or percentage FVC. Empirically weighted indices using the weighted quantile sum regression method of “good” micronutrients and “good” food groups were positively associated with ALSFRS-R scores (β [SE], 2.7 [0.69] and 2.9 [0.9], respectively) and percentage FVC (β [SE], 12.1 [2.8] and 11.5 [3.4], respectively) (all P < .001). Positive and significant associations with ALSFRS-R scores (β [SE], 1.5 [0.61]; P = .02) and percentage FVC (β [SE], 5.2 [2.2]; P = .02) for selected vitamins were found in exploratory analyses. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Antioxidants, carotenes, fruits, and vegetables were associated with higher ALS function at baseline by regression of nutrient indices and weighted quantile sum regression analysis. We also demonstrated the usefulness of the weighted quantile sum regression method in the evaluation of diet. Those responsible for nutritional care of the patient with ALS should consider promoting fruit and vegetable intake since they are high in antioxidants and carotenes. PMID:27775751

Selection of suitable e-learning approach using TOPSIS technique with best ranked criteria weights

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mohammed, Husam Jasim; Kasim, Maznah Mat; Shaharanee, Izwan Nizal Mohd

2017-11-01

This paper compares the performances of four rank-based weighting assessment techniques, Rank Sum (RS), Rank Reciprocal (RR), Rank Exponent (RE), and Rank Order Centroid (ROC) on five identified e-learning criteria to select the best weights method. A total of 35 experts in a public university in Malaysia were asked to rank the criteria and to evaluate five e-learning approaches which include blended learning, flipped classroom, ICT supported face to face learning, synchronous learning, and asynchronous learning. The best ranked criteria weights are defined as weights that have the least total absolute differences with the geometric mean of all weights, were then used to select the most suitable e-learning approach by using TOPSIS method. The results show that RR weights are the best, while flipped classroom approach implementation is the most suitable approach. This paper has developed a decision framework to aid decision makers (DMs) in choosing the most suitable weighting method for solving MCDM problems.

Analysis of Environmental Chemical Mixtures and Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma Risk in the NCI-SEER NHL Study.

PubMed

Czarnota, Jenna; Gennings, Chris; Colt, Joanne S; De Roos, Anneclaire J; Cerhan, James R; Severson, Richard K; Hartge, Patricia; Ward, Mary H; Wheeler, David C

2015-10-01

There are several suspected environmental risk factors for non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). The associations between NHL and environmental chemical exposures have typically been evaluated for individual chemicals (i.e., one-by-one). We determined the association between a mixture of 27 correlated chemicals measured in house dust and NHL risk. We conducted a population-based case-control study of NHL in four National Cancer Institute-Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results centers--Detroit, Michigan; Iowa; Los Angeles County, California; and Seattle, Washington--from 1998 to 2000. We used weighted quantile sum (WQS) regression to model the association of a mixture of chemicals and risk of NHL. The WQS index was a sum of weighted quartiles for 5 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 7 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and 15 pesticides. We estimated chemical mixture weights and effects for study sites combined and for each site individually, and also for histologic subtypes of NHL. The WQS index was statistically significantly associated with NHL overall [odds ratio (OR) = 1.30; 95% CI: 1.08, 1.56; p = 0.006; for one quartile increase] and in the study sites of Detroit (OR = 1.71; 95% CI: 1.02, 2.92; p = 0.045), Los Angeles (OR = 1.44; 95% CI: 1.00, 2.08; p = 0.049), and Iowa (OR = 1.76; 95% CI: 1.23, 2.53; p = 0.002). The index was marginally statistically significant in Seattle (OR = 1.39; 95% CI: 0.97, 1.99; p = 0.071). The most highly weighted chemicals for predicting risk overall were PCB congener 180 and propoxur. Highly weighted chemicals varied by study site; PCBs were more highly weighted in Detroit, and pesticides were more highly weighted in Iowa. An index of chemical mixtures was significantly associated with NHL. Our results show the importance of evaluating chemical mixtures when studying cancer risk.

Dietary Approaches that Delay Age-Related Diseases

PubMed Central

Everitt, Arthur V; Hilmer, Sarah N; Brand-Miller, Jennie C; Jamieson, Hamish A; Truswell, A Stewart; Sharma, Anita P; Mason, Rebecca S; Morris, Brian J; Le Couteur, David G

2006-01-01

Reducing food intake in lower animals such as the rat decreases body weight, retards many aging processes, delays the onset of most diseases of old age, and prolongs life. A number of clinical trials of food restriction in healthy adult human subjects running over 2–15 years show significant reductions in body weight, blood cholesterol, blood glucose, and blood pressure, which are risk factors for the development of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Lifestyle interventions that lower energy balance by reducing body weight such as physical exercise can also delay the development of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In general, clinical trials are suggesting that diets high in calories or fat along with overweight are associated with increased risk for cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, and dementia. There is a growing literature indicating that specific dietary constituents are able to influence the development of age-related diseases, including certain fats (trans fatty acids, saturated, and polyunsaturated fats) and cholesterol for cardiovascular disease, glycemic index and fiber for diabetes, fruits and vegetables for cardiovascular disease, and calcium and vitamin D for osteoporosis and bone fracture. In addition, there are dietary compounds from different functional foods, herbs, and neutraceuticals such as ginseng, nuts, grains, and polyphenols that may affect the development of age-related diseases. Long-term prospective clinical trials will be needed to confirm these diet—disease relationships. On the basis of current research, the best diet to delay age-related disease onset is one low in calories and saturated fat and high in wholegrain cereals, legumes, fruits and vegetables, and which maintains a lean body weight. Such a diet should become a key component of healthy aging, delaying age-related diseases and perhaps intervening in the aging process itself. Furthermore, there are studies suggesting that nutrition in childhood and even in the fetus may influence the later development of aging diseases and lifespan. PMID:18047254

In the Blink of an Eye: Investigating the Role of Awareness in Fear Responding by Measuring the Latency of Startle Potentiation

PubMed Central

Åsli, Ole; Flaten, Magne A.

2012-01-01

The latency of startle reflex potentiation may shed light on the aware and unaware processes underlying associative learning, especially associative fear learning. We review research suggesting that single-cue delay classical conditioning is independent of awareness of the contingency between the conditioned stimulus (CS) and the unconditioned stimulus (US). Moreover, we discuss research that argues that conditioning independent of awareness has not been proven. Subsequently, three studies from our lab are presented that have investigated the role of awareness in classical conditioning, by measuring the minimum latency from CS onset to observed changes in reflexive behavior. In sum, research using this method shows that startle is potentiated 30 to 100 ms after CS onset following delay conditioning. Following trace fear conditioning, startle is potentiated 1500 ms after CS presentation. These results indicate that the process underlying delay conditioned responding is independent of awareness, and that trace fear conditioned responding is dependent on awareness. Finally, this method of investigating the role of awareness is discussed and future research possibilities are proposed. PMID:24962686

Method of steering the gain of a multiple antenna global positioning system receiver

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Evans, Alan G.; Hermann, Bruce R.

1992-06-01

A method for steering the gain of a multiple antenna Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver toward a plurality of a GPS satellites simultaneously is provided. The GPS signals of a known wavelength are processed digitally for a particular instant in time. A range difference or propagation delay between each antenna for GPS signals received from each satellite is first resolved. The range difference consists of a fractional wavelength difference and an integer wavelength difference. The fractional wavelength difference is determined by each antenna's tracking loop. The integer wavelength difference is based upon the known wavelength and separation between each antenna with respect to each satellite position. The range difference is then used to digitally delay the GPS signals at each antenna with respect to a reference antenna. The signal at the reference antenna is then summed with the digitally delayed signals to generate a composite antenna gain. The method searches for the correct number of integer wavelengths to maximize the composite gain. The range differences are also used to determine the attitude of the array.

Development of a real-time, high-frequency ultrasound digital beamformer for high-frequency linear array transducers.

PubMed

Hu, Chang-Hong; Xu, Xiao-Chen; Cannata, Jonathan M; Yen, Jesse T; Shung, K Kirk

2006-02-01

A real-time digital beamformer for high-frequency (>20 MHz) linear ultrasonic arrays has been developed. The system can handle up to 64-element linear array transducers and excite 16 channels and receive simultaneously at 100 MHz sampling frequency with 8-bit precision. Radio frequency (RF) signals are digitized, delayed, and summed through a real-time digital beamformer, which is implemented using a field programmable gate array (FPGA). Using fractional delay filters, fine delays as small as 2 ns can be implemented. A frame rate of 30 frames per second is achieved. Wire phantom (20 microm tungsten) images were obtained and -6 dB axial and lateral widths were measured. The results showed that, using a 30 MHz, 48-element array with a pitch of 100 microm produced a -6 dB width of 68 microm in the axial and 370 microm in the lateral direction at 6.4 mm range. Images from an excised rabbit eye sample also were acquired, and fine anatomical structures, such as the cornea and lens, were resolved.

Identification of Early Risk Factors for Developmental Delay

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Delgado, Christine E. F.; Vagi, Sara J.; Scott, Keith G.

2007-01-01

Statewide birth certificate and preschool exceptionality records were integrated to identify risk factors for developmental delay (DD). Epidemiological methods were used to investigate both individual-level and population-level risk for DD associated with a number of child and maternal factors. Infants born with very low birth weight were at the…

A universal reduced glass transition temperature for liquids

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fedors, R. F.

1979-01-01

Data on the dependence of the glass transition temperature on the molecular structure for low-molecular-weight liquids are analyzed in order to determine whether Boyer's reduced glass transition temperature (1952) is a universal constant as proposed. It is shown that the Boyer ratio varies widely depending on the chemical nature of the molecule. It is pointed out that a characteristic temperature ratio, defined by the ratio of the sum of the melting temperature and the boiling temperature to the sum of the glass transition temperature and the boiling temperature, is a universal constant independent of the molecular structure of the liquid. The average value of the ratio obtained from data for 65 liquids is 1.15.

Diet models with linear goal programming: impact of achievement functions.

PubMed

Gerdessen, J C; de Vries, J H M

2015-11-01

Diet models based on goal programming (GP) are valuable tools in designing diets that comply with nutritional, palatability and cost constraints. Results derived from GP models are usually very sensitive to the type of achievement function that is chosen.This paper aims to provide a methodological insight into several achievement functions. It describes the extended GP (EGP) achievement function, which enables the decision maker to use either a MinSum achievement function (which minimizes the sum of the unwanted deviations) or a MinMax achievement function (which minimizes the largest unwanted deviation), or a compromise between both. An additional advantage of EGP models is that from one set of data and weights multiple solutions can be obtained. We use small numerical examples to illustrate the 'mechanics' of achievement functions. Then, the EGP achievement function is demonstrated on a diet problem with 144 foods, 19 nutrients and several types of palatability constraints, in which the nutritional constraints are modeled with fuzzy sets. Choice of achievement function affects the results of diet models. MinSum achievement functions can give rise to solutions that are sensitive to weight changes, and that pile all unwanted deviations on a limited number of nutritional constraints. MinMax achievement functions spread the unwanted deviations as evenly as possible, but may create many (small) deviations. EGP comprises both types of achievement functions, as well as compromises between them. It can thus, from one data set, find a range of solutions with various properties.

Delayed onset of lactogenesis among first-time mothers is related to maternal obesity and factors associated with ineffective breastfeeding.

PubMed

Nommsen-Rivers, Laurie A; Chantry, Caroline J; Peerson, Janet M; Cohen, Roberta J; Dewey, Kathryn G

2010-09-01

Delayed onset of lactogenesis (OL) is most common in primiparas and increases the risk of excess neonatal weight loss, formula supplementation, and early weaning. We examined variables associated with delayed OL among first-time mothers who delivered at term and initiated breastfeeding (n = 431). We conducted in-person interviews during pregnancy and at days 0, 3, and 7 postpartum and extracted obstetric and newborn information from medical records. We defined OL as delayed if it occurred after 72 h and used chi-square analysis to examine its association with potential risk factors across 6 dimensions: 1) prenatal characteristics, 2) maternal anthropometric characteristics, 3) labor and delivery experience, 4) newborn characteristics, 5) maternal postpartum factors, and 6) infant feeding variables. We examined independent associations by using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Median OL was 68.9 h postpartum; 44% of mothers experienced delayed OL. We observed significant bivariate associations between delayed OL and variables in all 6 dimensions (P < 0.05). In a multivariate model adjusted for prenatal feeding intentions, independent risk factors for delayed OL were maternal age > or =30 y, body mass index in the overweight or obese range, birth weight >3600 g, absence of nipple discomfort between 0-3 d postpartum, and infant failing to "breastfeed well" > or =2 times in the first 24 h. Postpartum edema was significant in an alternate model excluding body mass index (P < 0.05). The risk factors for delayed OL are multidimensional. Public health and obstetric and maternity care interventions are needed to address what has become an alarmingly common problem among primiparas.

Azathioprine pharmacokinetics after intravenous, oral, delayed release oral and rectal foam administration.

PubMed Central

Van Os, E C; Zins, B J; Sandborn, W J; Mays, D C; Tremaine, W J; Mahoney, D W; Zinsmeister, A R; Lipsky, J J

1996-01-01

BACKGROUND: 6-Mercaptopurine and its prodrug azathioprine are effective medications for refractory inflammatory bowel disease. However, use of these drugs has been limited by concerns about their toxicity. Colonic delivery of azathioprine may reduce its systemic bioavailability and limit toxicity. AIM: To determine the bioavailability of 6-mercaptopurine after administration of azathioprine via three colonic delivery formulations. METHODS: Twenty four healthy human subjects each received 50 mg of azathioprine by one of four delivery formulations (each n = 6): oral; delayed release oral; hydrophobic rectal foam; and hydrophilic rectal foam. All subjects also received a 50 mg dose of intravenous azathioprine during a separate study period. Plasma concentrations of 6-mercaptopurine were determined by high pressure liquid chromatography. RESULTS: The bioavailabilities of 6-mercaptopurine after colonic azathioprine administration via delayed release oral, hydrophobic rectal foam, and hydrophilic rectal foam (7%, 5%, 1%; respectively) were significantly lower than the bioavailability of 6-mercaptopurine after oral azathioprine administration (47%) by Wilcoxon rank sum pairwise comparison. CONCLUSIONS: Azathioprine delivered to the colon by delayed release oral and rectal foam formulations considerably reduced systemic 6-mercaptopurine bioavailability. The therapeutic potential of these colonic delivery methods, which can potentially limit toxicity by local delivery of high doses of azathioprine, should be investigated in patients with inflammatory bowel disease. PMID:8881811

[The Amsterdam Dementia Screening Test in cognitively healthy and clinical samples. An update of normative data].

PubMed

van Toutert, Meta; Diesfeldt, Han; Hoek, Dirk

2016-10-01

The six tests in the Amsterdam Dementia Screening Test (ADST) examine the cognitive domains of episodic memory (delayed picture recognition, word learning), orientation, category fluency (animals and occupations), constructional ability (figure copying) and executive function (alternating sequences). New normative data were collected in a sample of 102 elderly volunteers (aged 65-94), including subjects with medical or other health conditions, except dementia or frank cognitive impairment (MMSE > 24). Included subjects were independent in complex instrumental activities of daily living.Fluency, not the other tests, needed adjustment for age and education. A deficit score (0-1) was computed for each test. Summation (range 0-6) proved useful in differentiating patients with dementia (N = 741) from normal elderly (N = 102).Positive and negative predictive power across a range of summed deficit scores and base rates are displayed in Bayesian probability tables.In the normal elderly, delayed recall for eight words was tested and adjusted for initial recall. A recognition test mixed the target words with eight distractors. Delayed recognition was adjusted for immediate and delayed recall.The ADST and the normative data in this paper help the clinical neuropsychologist to make decisions concerning the presence or absence of neurocognitive disorder in individual elderly examinees.

Impact of magnetic resonance imaging on ventricular tachyarrhythmia sensing: Results of the Evera MRI Study.

PubMed

Gold, Michael R; Sommer, Torsten; Schwitter, Juerg; Kanal, Emanuel; Bernabei, Matthew A; Love, Charles J; Surber, Ralf; Ramza, Brian; Cerkvenik, Jeffrey; Merkely, Béla

2016-08-01

Studies have shown that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) conditional pacemakers experience no significant effect from MRI on device function, sensing, or pacing. More recently, similar safety outcomes were demonstrated with MRI conditional defibrillators (implantable cardioverter-defibrillator [ICD]), but the impact on ventricular arrhythmias has not been assessed. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of MRI on ICD sensing and treatment of ventricular tachyarrhythmias. The Evera MRI Study was a worldwide trial of 156 patients implanted with an ICD designed to be MRI conditional. Device-detected spontaneous and induced ventricular tachycardia/ventricular fibrillation (VT/VF) episodes occurring before and after whole body MRI were evaluated by a blinded episode review committee. Detection delay was computed as the sum of RR intervals of undersensed beats. A ≥5-second delay in detection due to undersensing was prospectively defined as clinically significant. Post-MRI, there were 22 polymorphic VT/VF episodes in 21 patients, with 16 of these patients having 17 VT/VF episodes pre-MRI. Therapy was successful for all episodes, with no failures to treat or terminate arrhythmias. The mean detection delay due to undersensing pre- and post-MRI was 0.60 ± 0.59 and 0.33 ± 0.63 seconds, respectively (P = .17). The maximum detection delay was 2.19 seconds pre-MRI and 2.87 seconds post-MRI. Of the 17 pre-MRI episodes, 14 (82%) had some detection delay as compared with 11 of 22 (50%) post-MRI episodes (P = .03); no detection delay was clinically significant. Detection and treatment of VT/VF was excellent, with no detection delays or significant impact of MRI observed. Copyright © 2016 Heart Rhythm Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Stratum Weight Determination Using Shortest Path Algorithm

Treesearch

Susan L. King

2005-01-01

Forest Inventory and Analysis uses poststratification to calculate resource estimates. Each county has a different stratification, and the stratification may differ depending on the number of panels of data available. A ?5 by 5 sum? filter was passed over the reclassified forest/nonforest Multi-Resolution Landscape Characterization image used in Phase 1, generating an...

9 CFR 381.409 - Nutrition label content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... general factors of 4, 4, and 9 calories per gram for protein, total carbohydrate, and total fat... calories per gram for protein, total carbohydrate less the amount of insoluble dietary fiber, and total fat... subtraction of the sum of the crude protein, total fat, moisture, and ash from the total weight of the product...

9 CFR 317.309 - Nutrition label content.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... general factors of 4, 4, and 9 calories per gram for protein, total carbohydrate, and total fat... calories per gram for protein, total carbohydrate less the amount of insoluble dietary fiber, and total fat... subtraction of the sum of the crude protein, total fat, moisture, and ash from the total weight of the product...

7 CFR 760.5 - Fair market value of milk.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... market value of the affected farmer's normal marketings, which, for the purposes of this subpart, shall be the sum of the net proceeds such farmer would have received for his normal marketings in each of... affected farmer's normal marketings for each such pay period by the average net price per hundred-weight of...

46 CFR 163.002-5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... load means the sum of the weights of— (1) The rigid ladder or lift platform, the suspension cables (if... persons capacity of the hoist; (c) Lift height means the distance from the lowest step of the pilot ladder... (2) If the hoist does not have suspension cables, the ladder or lift platform is in its lowest...

46 CFR 163.002-5 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... load means the sum of the weights of— (1) The rigid ladder or lift platform, the suspension cables (if... persons capacity of the hoist; (c) Lift height means the distance from the lowest step of the pilot ladder... (2) If the hoist does not have suspension cables, the ladder or lift platform is in its lowest...

Do Employers Forgive Applicants' Bad Spelling in Résumés?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Martin-Lacroux, Christelle; Lacroux, Alain

2017-01-01

Spelling deficiencies are becoming a growing concern among employers, but few studies have quantified this phenomenon and its impact on recruiters' choice. This article aims to highlight the relative weight of the form (the spelling skills) in application forms, compared with the content (the level of work experience), in recruiters' judgment…

Calculating the permeability coefficients of mixed matrix membranes of polydimethylsiloxane and silicalite crystals to various ethanol-water solutions using molecular simulations.

EPA Science Inventory

The permeability coefficients of mixed matrix membranes of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and silicalite crystal are taken as the sum of the permeability coefficients of membrane components each weighted by their associated mass fraction. The permeability coefficient of a membrane c...

12 CFR 3.2 - Definitions.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Definitions. As used in this part: Additional tier 1 capital is defined in § 3.20(c). Advanced approaches... described in § 3.100(b)(1). Advanced approaches total risk-weighted assets means: (1) The sum of: (i) Credit... respect to a company, means any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with...

On the null distribution of Bayes factors in linear regression

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

We show that under the null, the 2 log (Bayes factor) is asymptotically distributed as a weighted sum of chi-squared random variables with a shifted mean. This claim holds for Bayesian multi-linear regression with a family of conjugate priors, namely, the normal-inverse-gamma prior, the g-prior, and...

Optimal UAS Assignments and Trajectories for Persistent Surveillance and Data Collection from a Wireless Sensor Network

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-24

minimizing a weighted sum ofthe time and control effort needed to collect sensor data. This problem formulation is a modified traveling salesman ...29 2.5 The Shortest Path Problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 2.5.1 Traveling Salesman Problem ...48 3.3.1 Initial Guess by Traveling Salesman Problem Solution

Extension of Weighted Sum of Gray Gas Data to Mathematical Simulation of Radiative Heat Transfer in a Boiler with Gas-Soot Media

PubMed Central

Nouri-Borujerdi, Ali; Kazi, Salim Newaz

2014-01-01

In this study an expression for soot absorption coefficient is introduced to extend the weighted-sum-of-gray gases data to the furnace medium containing gas-soot mixture in a utility boiler 150 MWe. Heat transfer and temperature distribution of walls and within the furnace space are predicted by zone method technique. Analyses have been done considering both cases of presence and absence of soot particles at 100% load. To validate the proposed soot absorption coefficient, the expression is coupled with the Taylor and Foster's data as well as Truelove's data for CO2-H2O mixture and the total emissivities are calculated and compared with the Truelove's parameters for 3-term and 4-term gray gases plus two soot absorption coefficients. In addition, some experiments were conducted at 100% and 75% loads to measure furnace exit gas temperature as well as the rate of steam production. The predicted results show good agreement with the measured data at the power plant site. PMID:25143981

Extension of weighted sum of gray gas data to mathematical simulation of radiative heat transfer in a boiler with gas-soot media.

PubMed

Gharehkhani, Samira; Nouri-Borujerdi, Ali; Kazi, Salim Newaz; Yarmand, Hooman

2014-01-01

In this study an expression for soot absorption coefficient is introduced to extend the weighted-sum-of-gray gases data to the furnace medium containing gas-soot mixture in a utility boiler 150 MWe. Heat transfer and temperature distribution of walls and within the furnace space are predicted by zone method technique. Analyses have been done considering both cases of presence and absence of soot particles at 100% load. To validate the proposed soot absorption coefficient, the expression is coupled with the Taylor and Foster's data as well as Truelove's data for CO2-H2O mixture and the total emissivities are calculated and compared with the Truelove's parameters for 3-term and 4-term gray gases plus two soot absorption coefficients. In addition, some experiments were conducted at 100% and 75% loads to measure furnace exit gas temperature as well as the rate of steam production. The predicted results show good agreement with the measured data at the power plant site.

Comparison of Grand Median and Cumulative Sum Control Charts on Shuttlecock Weight Variable in CV Marjoko Kompas dan Domas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Musdalifah, N.; Handajani, S. S.; Zukhronah, E.

2017-06-01

Competition between the homoneous companies cause the company have to keep production quality. To cover this problem, the company controls the production with statistical quality control using control chart. Shewhart control chart is used to normal distributed data. The production data is often non-normal distribution and occured small process shift. Grand median control chart is a control chart for non-normal distributed data, while cumulative sum (cusum) control chart is a sensitive control chart to detect small process shift. The purpose of this research is to compare grand median and cusum control charts on shuttlecock weight variable in CV Marjoko Kompas dan Domas by generating data as the actual distribution. The generated data is used to simulate multiplier of standard deviation on grand median and cusum control charts. Simulation is done to get average run lenght (ARL) 370. Grand median control chart detects ten points that out of control, while cusum control chart detects a point out of control. It can be concluded that grand median control chart is better than cusum control chart.

Beta-decay rate and beta-delayed neutron emission probability of improved gross theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koura, Hiroyuki

2014-09-01

A theoretical study has been carried out on beta-decay rate and beta-delayed neutron emission probability. The gross theory of the beta decay is based on an idea of the sum rule of the beta-decay strength function, and has succeeded in describing beta-decay half-lives of nuclei overall nuclear mass region. The gross theory includes not only the allowed transition as the Fermi and the Gamow-Teller, but also the first-forbidden transition. In this work, some improvements are introduced as the nuclear shell correction on nuclear level densities and the nuclear deformation for nuclear strength functions, those effects were not included in the original gross theory. The shell energy and the nuclear deformation for unmeasured nuclei are adopted from the KTUY nuclear mass formula, which is based on the spherical-basis method. Considering the properties of the integrated Fermi function, we can roughly categorized energy region of excited-state of a daughter nucleus into three regions: a highly-excited energy region, which fully affect a delayed neutron probability, a middle energy region, which is estimated to contribute the decay heat, and a region neighboring the ground-state, which determines the beta-decay rate. Some results will be given in the presentation. A theoretical study has been carried out on beta-decay rate and beta-delayed neutron emission probability. The gross theory of the beta decay is based on an idea of the sum rule of the beta-decay strength function, and has succeeded in describing beta-decay half-lives of nuclei overall nuclear mass region. The gross theory includes not only the allowed transition as the Fermi and the Gamow-Teller, but also the first-forbidden transition. In this work, some improvements are introduced as the nuclear shell correction on nuclear level densities and the nuclear deformation for nuclear strength functions, those effects were not included in the original gross theory. The shell energy and the nuclear deformation for unmeasured nuclei are adopted from the KTUY nuclear mass formula, which is based on the spherical-basis method. Considering the properties of the integrated Fermi function, we can roughly categorized energy region of excited-state of a daughter nucleus into three regions: a highly-excited energy region, which fully affect a delayed neutron probability, a middle energy region, which is estimated to contribute the decay heat, and a region neighboring the ground-state, which determines the beta-decay rate. Some results will be given in the presentation. This work is a result of Comprehensive study of delayed-neutron yields for accurate evaluation of kinetics of high-burn up reactors entrusted to Tokyo Institute of Technology by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology of Japan.

Analysis of the influencing factors of global energy interconnection development

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Yi; He, Yongxiu; Ge, Sifan; Liu, Lin

2018-04-01

Under the background of building global energy interconnection and achieving green and low-carbon development, this paper grasps a new round of energy restructuring and the trend of energy technology change, based on the present situation of global and China's global energy interconnection development, established the index system of the impact of global energy interconnection development factors. A subjective and objective weight analysis of the factors affecting the development of the global energy interconnection was conducted separately by network level analysis and entropy method, and the weights are summed up by the method of additive integration, which gives the comprehensive weight of the influencing factors and the ranking of their influence.

A new approach for computing a flood vulnerability index using cluster analysis

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fernandez, Paulo; Mourato, Sandra; Moreira, Madalena; Pereira, Luísa

2016-08-01

A Flood Vulnerability Index (FloodVI) was developed using Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a new aggregation method based on Cluster Analysis (CA). PCA simplifies a large number of variables into a few uncorrelated factors representing the social, economic, physical and environmental dimensions of vulnerability. CA groups areas that have the same characteristics in terms of vulnerability into vulnerability classes. The grouping of the areas determines their classification contrary to other aggregation methods in which the areas' classification determines their grouping. While other aggregation methods distribute the areas into classes, in an artificial manner, by imposing a certain probability for an area to belong to a certain class, as determined by the assumption that the aggregation measure used is normally distributed, CA does not constrain the distribution of the areas by the classes. FloodVI was designed at the neighbourhood level and was applied to the Portuguese municipality of Vila Nova de Gaia where several flood events have taken place in the recent past. The FloodVI sensitivity was assessed using three different aggregation methods: the sum of component scores, the first component score and the weighted sum of component scores. The results highlight the sensitivity of the FloodVI to different aggregation methods. Both sum of component scores and weighted sum of component scores have shown similar results. The first component score aggregation method classifies almost all areas as having medium vulnerability and finally the results obtained using the CA show a distinct differentiation of the vulnerability where hot spots can be clearly identified. The information provided by records of previous flood events corroborate the results obtained with CA, because the inundated areas with greater damages are those that are identified as high and very high vulnerability areas by CA. This supports the fact that CA provides a reliable FloodVI.

Determining contrast medium dose and rate on basis of lean body weight: does this strategy improve patient-to-patient uniformity of hepatic enhancement during multi-detector row CT?

PubMed

Ho, Lisa M; Nelson, Rendon C; Delong, David M

2007-05-01

To prospectively evaluate the use of lean body weight (LBW) as the main determinant of the volume and rate of contrast material administration during multi-detector row computed tomography of the liver. This HIPAA-compliant study had institutional review board approval. All patients gave written informed consent. Four protocols were compared. Standard protocol involved 125 mL of iopamidol injected at 4 mL/sec. Total body weight (TBW) protocol involved 0.7 g iodine per kilogram of TBW. Calculated LBW and measured LBW protocols involved 0.86 g of iodine per kilogram and 0.92 g of iodine per kilogram calculated or measured LBW for men and women, respectively. Injection rate used for the three experimental protocols was determined proportionally on the basis of the calculated volume of contrast material. Postcontrast attenuation measurements during portal venous phase were obtained in liver, portal vein, and aorta for each group and were summed for each patient. Patient-to-patient enhancement variability in same group was measured with Levene test. Two-tailed t test was used to compare the three experimental protocols with the standard protocol. Data analysis was performed in 101 patients (25 or 26 patients per group), including 56 men and 45 women (mean age, 53 years). Average summed attenuation values for standard, TBW, calculated LBW, and measured LBW protocols were 419 HU +/- 50 (standard deviation), 443 HU +/- 51, 433 HU +/- 50, and 426 HU +/- 33, respectively (P = not significant for all). Levene test results for summed attenuation data for standard, TBW, calculated LBW, and measured LBW protocols were 40 +/- 29, 38 +/- 33 (P = .83), 35 +/- 35 (P = .56), and 26 +/- 19 (P = .05), respectively. By excluding highly variable but poorly perfused adipose tissue from calculation of contrast medium dose, the measured LBW protocol may lessen patient-to-patient enhancement variability while maintaining satisfactory hepatic and vascular enhancement.

Rayleigh-enhanced attosecond sum-frequency polarization beats via twin color-locking noisy lights

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

Zhang Yanpeng; Li Long; Ma Ruiqiong

2005-07-15

Based on color-locking noisy field correlation, a time-delayed method is proposed to suppress the thermal effect, and the ultrafast longitudinal relaxation time can be measured even in an absorbing medium. One interesting feature in field-correlation effects is that Rayleigh-enhanced four-wave mixing (RFWM) with color-locking noisy light exhibits spectral symmetry and temporal asymmetry with no coherence spike at {tau}=0. Due to the interference between the Rayleigh-resonant signal and the nonresonant background, RFWM exhibits hybrid radiation-matter detuning with terahertz damping oscillations. The subtle Markovian high-order correlation effects have been investigated in the homodyne- or heterodyne-detected Rayleigh-enhanced attosecond sum-frequency polarization beats (RASPBs). Analyticmore » closed forms of fourth-order Markovian stochastic correlations are characterized for homodyne (quadratic) and heterodyne (linear) detection, respectively. Based on the polarization interference between two four-wave mixing processes, the phase-sensitive detection of RASPBs has also been used to obtain the real and imaginary parts of the Rayleigh resonance.« less

7 CFR 59.202 - Mandatory daily reporting for barrows and gilts.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... live weight basis; and (iv) The base price and premiums and discounts paid for carcass characteristics... unavailable due to pricing that is determined on a delayed basis. The packer shall report information on such... reporting day, unless such information is unavailable due to pricing that is determined on a delayed basis...

Effect of Food Deprivation on a Delayed Nonmatch-to-place T-maze Task

PubMed Central

Jang, Eun-Hae; Ahn, Seo-Hee; Lee, Ye-Seul; Lee, Hye-Ryeon

2013-01-01

Food deprivation can affect performance on difficult cognitive task, such as the delayed nonmatch-to-place T-maze task (DNMT). The importance of food deprivation on maintaining high motivation for DNMT task has been emphasized, but not many studies have investigated the optimal conditions for depriving rodents to maximize performance. Establishing appropriate conditions for food deprivation is necessary to maintain DNMT task motivation. We applied different conditions of food deprivation (1-h food restriction vs. 1.5-g food restriction; single caging vs. group caging) and measured body weight and the number of correct choices that 8-week-old C57BL/6J mice made during the DNMT task. The 1.5-g food restriction group maintained 76.0±0.6% of their initial body weight, but the final body weight of the 1-h food restriction condition group was reduced to 62.2±0.8% of their initial body weight. These results propose that 1.5-g food restriction condition is effective condition for maintaining both body weight and motivation to complete the DNMT task. PMID:23833561

Identifying and measuring stakeholder preferences for disease prioritisation: A case study of the pig industry in Australia.

PubMed

Brookes, V J; Hernández-Jover, M; Neslo, R; Cowled, B; Holyoake, P; Ward, M P

2014-01-01

We describe stakeholder preference modelling using a combination of new and recently developed techniques to elicit criterion weights to incorporate into a multi-criteria decision analysis framework to prioritise exotic diseases for the pig industry in Australia. Australian pig producers were requested to rank disease scenarios comprising nine criteria in an online questionnaire. Parallel coordinate plots were used to visualise stakeholder preferences, which aided identification of two diverse groups of stakeholders - one group prioritised diseases with impacts on livestock, and the other group placed more importance on diseases with zoonotic impacts. Probabilistic inversion was used to derive weights for the criteria to reflect the values of each of these groups, modelling their choice using a weighted sum value function. Validation of weights against stakeholders' rankings for scenarios based on real diseases showed that the elicited criterion weights for the group who prioritised diseases with livestock impacts were a good reflection of their values, indicating that the producers were able to consistently infer impacts from the disease information in the scenarios presented to them. The highest weighted criteria for this group were attack rate and length of clinical disease in pigs, and market loss to the pig industry. The values of the stakeholders who prioritised zoonotic diseases were less well reflected by validation, indicating either that the criteria were inadequate to consistently describe zoonotic impacts, the weighted sum model did not describe stakeholder choice, or that preference modelling for zoonotic diseases should be undertaken separately from livestock diseases. Limitations of this study included sampling bias, as the group participating were not necessarily representative of all pig producers in Australia, and response bias within this group. The method used to elicit criterion weights in this study ensured value trade-offs between a range of potential impacts, and that the weights were implicitly related to the scale of measurement of disease criteria. Validation of the results of the criterion weights against real diseases - a step rarely used in MCDA - added scientific rigour to the process. The study demonstrated that these are useful techniques for elicitation of criterion weights for disease prioritisation by stakeholders who are not disease experts. Preference modelling for zoonotic diseases needs further characterisation in this context. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Group sequential monitoring based on the weighted log-rank test statistic with the Fleming-Harrington class of weights in cancer vaccine studies.

PubMed

Hasegawa, Takahiro

2016-09-01

In recent years, immunological science has evolved, and cancer vaccines are now approved and available for treating existing cancers. Because cancer vaccines require time to elicit an immune response, a delayed treatment effect is expected and is actually observed in drug approval studies. Accordingly, we propose the evaluation of survival endpoints by weighted log-rank tests with the Fleming-Harrington class of weights. We consider group sequential monitoring, which allows early efficacy stopping, and determine a semiparametric information fraction for the Fleming-Harrington family of weights, which is necessary for the error spending function. Moreover, we give a flexible survival model in cancer vaccine studies that considers not only the delayed treatment effect but also the long-term survivors. In a Monte Carlo simulation study, we illustrate that when the primary analysis is a weighted log-rank test emphasizing the late differences, the proposed information fraction can be a useful alternative to the surrogate information fraction, which is proportional to the number of events. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Pattern classification using charge transfer devices

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1980-01-01

The feasibility of using charge transfer devices in the classification of multispectral imagery was investigated by evaluating particular devices to determine their suitability in matrix multiplication subsystem of a pattern classifier and by designing a protype of such a system. Particular attention was given to analog-analog correlator devices which consist of two tapped delay lines, chip multipliers, and a summed output. The design for the classifier and a printed circuit layout for the analog boards were completed and the boards were fabricated. A test j:g for the board was built and checkout was begun.

Carcass traits and meat quality of crossbred Boer goats fed peanut cake as a substitute for soybean meal.

PubMed

Silva, T M; de Medeiros, A N; Oliveira, R L; Gonzaga Neto, S; Queiroga, R de C R do E; Ribeiro, R D X; Leão, A G; Bezerra, L R

2016-07-01

This study aimed to determine the impact of replacing soybean meal with peanut cake in the diets of crossbred Boer goats as determined by carcass characteristics and quality and by the fatty acid profile of meat. Forty vaccinated and dewormed crossbred Boer goats were used. Goats had an average age of 5 mo and an average BW of 15.6 ± 2.7 kg. Goats were fed Tifton-85 hay and a concentrate consisting of corn bran, soybean meal, and mineral premix. Peanut cake was substituted for soybean meal at levels of 0.0, 33.33, 66.67, and 100%. Biometric and carcass morphometric measurements of crossbred Boer goats were not affected by replacing soybean meal with peanut cake in the diet. There was no influence of the replacement of soybean meal with peanut cake on weight at slaughter ( = 0.28), HCW ( = 0.26), cold carcass weight ( = 0.23), noncarcass components of weight ( = 0.71), or muscularity index values ( = 0.11). However, regression equations indicated that there would be a reduction of 18 and 11% for loin eye area and muscle:bone ratio, respectively, between the treatment without peanut cake and the treatment with total soybean meal replacement. The weights and yields of the commercial cuts were not affected ( > 0.05) by replacing soybean meal with peanut cake in the diet. Replacing soybean meal with peanut cake did not affect the pH ( = 0.79), color index ( > 0.05), and chemical composition ( > 0.05) of the meat (). However, a quadratic trend for the ash content was observed with peanut cake inclusion in the diet ( = 0.09). Peanut cake inclusion in the diet did not affect the concentrations of the sum of SFA ( = 0.29), the sum of unsaturated fatty acids (UFA; = 0.29), or the sum of PUFA ( = 0.97) or the SFA:UFA ratio ( = 0.23) in goat meat. However, there was a linear decrease ( = 0.01) in the sum of odd-chain fatty acids in the meat with increasing peanut cake in the diet. Soybean meal replacement with peanut cake did not affect the n-6:n-3 ratio ( = 0.13) or the medium-chain fatty acid ( = 0.76), long-chain fatty acid ( = 0.74), or atherogenicity index values ( = 0.60) in the meat. The sensory attributes of the longissimus lumborum did not differ with the inclusion of peanut cake in the diet as a replacement for soybean meal. These results suggest that based on carcass and meat characteristics, peanut cake can completely substitute soybean meal in the diet of crossbred Boer goats.

Low molecular weight polylactic acid as a matrix for the delayed release of pesticides.

PubMed

Zhao, Jing; Wilkins, Richard M

2005-05-18

Low molecular weight polylactic acid (LMW PLA) was used as a matrix to formulate biodegradable matrix granules and films with bromacil using a melt process. The compatibility of the PLA with bromacil was evaluated. The release characteristics of the formulations were investigated in vitro. The degradation and erosion of the formulations were monitored by pH and gravimetric analysis during the course of release. Various granules and films had similar biphasic release patterns, a delayed release followed by an explosive release. The release rates were independent of bromacil content in the matrix, but varied with the geometry of matrices. The mechanisms of diffusion and erosion were involved in the release. The delayed release of the formulations was dominantly governed by the degradation and erosion of PLA. LMW PLA underwent bulk erosion. LMW PLA-based matrix formulations could thus be useful for the application of pesticides to sensitive targets such as seed treatment.

Dwell time-based stabilisation of switched delay systems using free-weighting matrices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koru, Ahmet Taha; Delibaşı, Akın; Özbay, Hitay

2018-01-01

In this paper, we present a quasi-convex optimisation method to minimise an upper bound of the dwell time for stability of switched delay systems. Piecewise Lyapunov-Krasovskii functionals are introduced and the upper bound for the derivative of Lyapunov functionals is estimated by free-weighting matrices method to investigate non-switching stability of each candidate subsystems. Then, a sufficient condition for the dwell time is derived to guarantee the asymptotic stability of the switched delay system. Once these conditions are represented by a set of linear matrix inequalities , dwell time optimisation problem can be formulated as a standard quasi-convex optimisation problem. Numerical examples are given to illustrate the improvements over previously obtained dwell time bounds. Using the results obtained in the stability case, we present a nonlinear minimisation algorithm to synthesise the dwell time minimiser controllers. The algorithm solves the problem with successive linearisation of nonlinear conditions.

Emotion regulation strategies and childhood obesity in high risk preschoolers.

PubMed

Power, Thomas G; Olivera, Yadira A; Hill, Rachael A; Beck, Ashley D; Hopwood, Veronica; Garcia, Karina Silva; Ramos, Guadalupe G; Fisher, Jennifer Orlet; O'Connor, Teresia M; Hughes, Sheryl O

2016-12-01

The current study examined the relationships between the specific strategies that preschool children use to regulate their emotions and childhood weight status to see if emotion regulation strategies would predict childhood weight status over and above measures of eating self-regulation. 185 4- to 5-year-old Latino children were recruited through Head Start centers in a large city in the southeastern U.S. Children completed both a delay of gratification task (emotion regulation) and an eating in the absence of hunger task (eating regulation). Eating regulation also was assessed by maternal reports. Four emotion regulation strategies were examined in the delay of gratification task: shut out stimuli, prevent movement, distraction, and attention to reward. Hierarchical linear regressions predicting children's weight status showed that both measures of eating regulation negatively predicted child obesity, and the use of prevent movement negatively predicted child obesity. Total wait time during the delay of gratification tasks was not a significant predictor. The current findings are consistent with studies showing that for preschool children, summary measures of emotion regulation (e.g., wait time) are not concurrently associated with child obesity. In contrast, the use of emotion regulation strategies was a significant predictor of lower child weight status. These findings help identify emotion regulation strategies that prevention programs can target for helping children regulate their emotions and decrease their obesity risk. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Emotion Regulation Strategies and Childhood Obesity in High Risk Preschoolers

PubMed Central

Power, Thomas G.; Olivera, Yadira A.; Hill, Rachael A.; Beck, Ashley D.; Hopwood, Veronica; Garcia, Karina Silva; Ramos, Guadalupe G.; Fisher, Jennifer Orlet; O’Connor, Teresia M.; Hughes, Sheryl O.

2016-01-01

The current study examined the relationships between the specific strategies that preschool children use to regulate their emotions and childhood weight status to see if emotion regulation strategies would predict childhood weight status over and above measures of eating self-regulation. 185 4- to 5-year-old Latino children were recruited through Head Start centers in a large city in the southeastern U.S. Children completed both a delay of gratification task (emotion regulation) and an eating in the absence of hunger task (eating regulation). Eating regulation also was assessed by maternal reports. Four emotion regulation strategies were examined in the delay of gratification task: shut out stimuli, prevent movement, distraction, and attention to reward. Hierarchical linear regressions predicting children’s weight status showed that both measures of eating regulation negatively predicted child obesity, and the use of prevent movement negatively predicted child obesity. Total wait time during the delay of gratification tasks was not a significant predictor. The current findings are consistent with studies showing that for preschool children, summary measures of emotion regulation (e.g., wait time) are not concurrently associated with child obesity. In contrast, the use of emotion regulation strategies was a significant predictor of lower child weight status. These findings help identify emotion regulation strategies that prevention programs can target for helping children regulate their emotions and decrease their obesity risk. PMID:27620645

Subtype-Specific Radiation Response and Therapeutic Effect of FAS Death Receptor Modulation in Human Breast Cancer.

PubMed

Lee, Chen-Ting; Zhou, Yingchun; Roy-Choudhury, Kingshuk; Siamakpour-Reihani, Sharareh; Young, Kenneth; Hoang, Peter; Kirkpatrick, John P; Chi, Jen-Tsan A; Dewhirst, Mark W; Horton, Janet K

2017-08-01

Breast cancer is the most common malignancy diagnosed among women and represents a heterogeneous group of subtypes. Radiation therapy is a critical component of treatment for breast cancer patients. However, little is known about radiation response among these intrinsic subtypes. In previous studies, we identified a significant induction of FAS after irradiation in biologically favorable breast cancer patients and breast cancer cell lines. Here, we expanded our study and investigated radiation response in a mouse model of breast cancer. MCF7 (luminal), HCC1954 (HER2 + ) or SUM159 (basal) cells were implanted orthotopically into the dorsal mammary fat pad of nude mice. These mice were then treated with different doses of radiation to assess tumor growth control. We further investigated the therapeutic effect of FAS modulation by silencing FAS in radiation-responsive tumors and injecting FAS agonist antibody into radiation-resistant tumors. Exposure to radiation inhibited MCF7, and to a lesser extent HCC1954 tumor growth in a dose-dependent manner. In contrast, SUM159 tumors were resistant to radiation. The estimated TCD 50 values were 19.3 Gy for MCF7 and 44.9 Gy for SUM159. Radiation induced FAS expression in MCF7 tumors, but not SUM159 tumors. We found that silencing of FAS did not negatively impact radiation response in MCF7 tumors, possibly due to compensation by other apoptotic pathways. On the other hand, FAS activating antibody in combination with radiation treatment delayed SUM159 and HCC1954 tumor growth. However, it did not reach statistical significance compared to radiation treatment alone. Our results suggest that there is intrinsic variation in radiation response among breast cancer subtypes. FAS activation concurrent with radiation slows tumor growth in the radiation-resistant subtypes, but the effect was not significant. Alternative subtype-specific modulators of radiation response are under investigation.

Dietary supplementation of L-glutamine and L-glutamate in broiler chicks subjected to delayed placement.

PubMed

Zulkifli, I; Shakeri, M; Soleimani, A F

2016-12-01

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary glutamine (Gln) + glutamic acid (Glu) supplementation on growth performance and physiological stress response in broiler chickens subjected to 24 h delay in placement. Equal number of day-old broiler chicks were assigned to either immediate placement or with 24 h delay in placement with no access to feed and water. Chicks from each placement group were fed either standard starter diet (control) or standard starter diet +1% AminoGut (AG; mixture of 10% Gln and 10% Glu) from 1 to 21 d. Blood and duodenal samples were collected at 21 d for analysis of serum levels of ceruloplasmin (CER), ovotransferin (OVT) and α-1 acid glycoprotein (AGP), duodenal heat shock protein (HSP) 70 expression, and villi length and crypt depth. Results showed that delayed placement for 24 h was detrimental to weight gain during the starter phase (1 to 21 d) but not thereafter. AG supplementation was not able to eliminate that reduction in weight gain and feed intake during the starter stage. However, the observed enhancement in villi length and crypt depth at d 21 resulted in improvement of FCR and weight gain during the finisher stage (22 to 42 d) and consequently the overall period (1 to 42 d). Broiler chickens supplemented with AG also showed lower mortality rate, and higher AGP, OVT, CER, and HSP 70 expression compared to their control counterparts. Based on AGP, OVT, CER, and HSP 70 expression, there is no indication that delayed placement was physiologically stressful to the broiler chickens at 21 d of age. © 2016 Poultry Science Association Inc.

Precipitation Efficiency in the Tropical Deep Convective Regime

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Xiaofan; Sui, C.-H.; Lau, K.-M.; Lau, William K. M. (Technical Monitor)

2001-01-01

Precipitation efficiency in the tropical deep convective regime is analyzed based on a 2-D cloud resolving simulation. The cloud resolving model is forced by the large-scale vertical velocity and zonal wind and large-scale horizontal advections derived from TOGA COARE for a 20-day period. Precipitation efficiency may be defined as a ratio of surface rain rate to sum of surface evaporation and moisture convergence (LSPE) or a ratio of surface rain rate to sum of condensation and deposition rates of supersaturated vapor (CMPE). Moisture budget shows that the atmosphere is moistened (dryed) when the LSPE is less (more) than 100 %. The LSPE could be larger than 100 % for strong convection. This indicates that the drying processes should be included in cumulus parameterization to avoid moisture bias. Statistical analysis shows that the sum of the condensation and deposition rates is bout 80 % of the sum of the surface evaporation rate and moisture convergence, which ads to proportional relation between the two efficiencies when both efficiencies are less han 100 %. The CMPE increases with increasing mass-weighted mean temperature and creasing surface rain rate. This suggests that precipitation is more efficient for warm environment and strong convection. Approximate balance of rates among the condensation, deposition, rain, and the raindrop evaporation is used to derive an analytical solution of the CMPE.

Prediction Equation for Calculating Fat Mass in Young Indian Adults

PubMed Central

Sandhu, Jaspal Singh; Gupta, Giniya; Shenoy, Shweta

2010-01-01

Purpose Accurate measurement or prediction of fat mass is useful in physiology, nutrition and clinical medicine. Most predictive equations currently used to assess percentage of body fat or fat mass, using simple anthropometric measurements were derived from people in western societies and they may not be appropriate for individuals with other genotypic and phenotypic characteristics. We developed equations to predict fat mass from anthropometric measurements in young Indian adults. Methods Fat mass was measured in 60 females and 58 males, aged 20 to 29 yrs by using hydrostatic weighing and by simultaneous measurement of residual lung volume. Anthropometric measure included weight (kg), height (m) and 4 skinfold thickness [STs (mm)]. Sex specific linear regression model was developed with fat mass as the dependent variable and all anthropometric measures as independent variables. Results The prediction equation obtained for fat mass (kg) for males was 8.46+0.32 (weight) − 15.16 (height) + 9.54 (log of sum of 4 STs) (R2= 0. 53, SEE=3.42 kg) and − 20.22 + 0.33 (weight) + 3.44 (height) + 7.66 (log of sum of 4 STs) (R2=0.72, SEE=3.01kg) for females. Conclusion A new prediction equation for the measurement of fat mass was derived and internally validated in young Indian adults using simple anthropometric measurements. PMID:22375197

Behavioral characteristics of very-low-birth-weight infants of varying biologic risk at 6, 15, and 24 months of age.

PubMed

Oehler, J M; Thompson, R J; Goldstein, R F; Gustafson, K E; Brazy, J E

1996-01-01

To explore the relationship between developmental outcome and behavior of very-low-birth-weight (VLBW) infants (< or = 1500 g) at high and low biologic risk. Descriptive, ex post facto. Clinic for follow-up of infants at high risk. A convenience sample of 102 VLBW infants, free of major congenital anomalies, who completed 6-, 15-, and 24-month developmental testing and who were part of a larger study of 274 VLBW infants. Bayley Scales of Infant Development. Infants at high biologic risk, versus infants at low biologic risk, were less attentive and active through age 15 months and were less adept in gross and fine motor skills through age 24 months (p < or = 0.05-0.001). Infants with continuous delay were less attentive than infants with no delay or late delay through age 24 months, less active through age 15 months (p < or = 0.001-0.001), and less skilled in motor behaviors through age 24 months (p < or = 0.05-0.001). Infants at high biologic risk and infants with developmental delays are less attentive, less active, and less skilled in motor tasks during the first 15-24 months of life, suggesting an association between biologic risk and behavior and developmental delay and behavior.

Pressuring and restrictive feeding styles influence infant feeding and size among a low-income African-American sample.

PubMed

Thompson, Amanda L; Adair, Linda S; Bentley, Margaret E

2013-03-01

The prevalence of overweight among infants and toddlers has increased dramatically in the past three decades, highlighting the importance of identifying factors contributing to early excess weight gain, particularly in high-risk groups. Parental feeding styles and the attitudes and behaviors that characterize parental approaches to maintaining or modifying children's eating behavior are an important behavioral component shaping early obesity risk. Using longitudinal data from the Infant Care and Risk of Obesity Study, a cohort study of 217 African-American mother-infant pairs with feeding styles, dietary recalls, and anthropometry collected from 3 to 18 months of infant age, we examined the relationship between feeding styles, infant diet, and weight-for-age and sum of skinfolds. Longitudinal mixed models indicated that higher pressuring and indulgent feeding style scores were positively associated with greater infant energy intake, reduced odds of breastfeeding, and higher levels of age-inappropriate feeding of liquids and solids, whereas restrictive feeding styles were associated with lower energy intake, higher odds of breastfeeding, and reduced odds of inappropriate feeding. Pressuring and restriction were also oppositely related to infant size with pressuring associated with lower infant weight-for-age and restriction with higher weight-for-age and sum of skinfolds. Infant size also predicted maternal feeding styles in subsequent visits indicating that the relationship between size and feeding styles is likely bidirectional. Our results suggest that the degree to which parents are pressuring or restrictive during feeding shapes the early feeding environment and, consequently, may be an important environmental factor in the development of obesity. Copyright © 2012 The Obesity Society.

Existence and exponential stability of traveling waves for delayed reaction-diffusion systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hsu, Cheng-Hsiung; Yang, Tzi-Sheng; Yu, Zhixian

2018-03-01

The purpose of this work is to investigate the existence and exponential stability of traveling wave solutions for general delayed multi-component reaction-diffusion systems. Following the monotone iteration scheme via an explicit construction of a pair of upper and lower solutions, we first obtain the existence of monostable traveling wave solutions connecting two different equilibria. Then, applying the techniques of weighted energy method and comparison principle, we show that all solutions of the Cauchy problem for the considered systems converge exponentially to traveling wave solutions provided that the initial perturbations around the traveling wave fronts belong to a suitable weighted Sobolev space.

Functional Imagery Training to reduce snacking: Testing a novel motivational intervention based on Elaborated Intrusion theory.

PubMed

Andrade, Jackie; Khalil, Marina; Dickson, Jennifer; May, Jon; Kavanagh, David J

2016-05-01

Functional Imagery Training (FIT) is a new theory-based, manualized intervention that trains positive goal imagery. Multisensory episodic imagery of proximal personal goals is elicited and practised, to sustain motivation and compete with less functional cravings. This study tested the impact of a single session of FIT plus a booster phone call on snacking. In a stepped-wedge design, 45 participants who wanted to lose weight or reduce snacking were randomly assigned to receive a session of FIT immediately or after a 2-week delay. High-sugar and high-fat snacks were recorded using timeline follow back for the previous 3 days, at baseline, 2 and 4 weeks. At 2 weeks, snacking was lower in the immediate group than in the delayed group, and the reduction after FIT was replicated in the delayed group between 2 and 4 weeks. Frequencies of motivational thoughts about snack reduction rose following FIT for both groups, and this change correlated with reductions in snacking and weight loss. By showing that FIT can support change in eating behaviours, these findings show its potential as a motivational intervention for weight management. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Immediate compared with delayed pushing in the second stage of labor: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

PubMed

Tuuli, Methodius G; Frey, Heather A; Odibo, Anthony O; Macones, George A; Cahill, Alison G

2012-09-01

To estimate whether immediate or delayed pushing in the second stage of labor optimizes spontaneous vaginal delivery and other perinatal outcomes. We searched electronic databases MEDLINE and CINHAL through August 2011 without restrictions. The search terms used were MeSH headings, text words, and word variations of the words or phrases labor, laboring down, passive descent, passive second stage, physiologic second stage, spontaneous pushing, pushing, or bearing down. We searched for randomized controlled trials comparing immediate with delayed pushing in the second stage of labor. The primary outcome was spontaneous vaginal delivery. Secondary outcomes were instrumental delivery, cesarean delivery, duration of the second stage, duration of active pushing, and other maternal and neonatal outcomes. Heterogeneity was assessed using the Q test and I2. Pooled relative risks (RRs) and weighted mean differences were calculated using random-effects models. Twelve randomized controlled trials (1,584 immediate and 1,531 delayed pushing) met inclusion criteria. Overall, delayed pushing was associated with an increased rate of spontaneous vaginal delivery compared with immediate pushing (61.5% compared with 56.9%, pooled RR 1.09, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.03-1.15). This increase was smaller and not statistically significant among high-quality studies (59.0% compared with 54.9%, pooled RR 1.07, 95% CI 0.98-1.26) but larger and statistically significant in lower-quality studies (81.0% compared with 71.0%%, pooled RR 1.13, 95% CI 1.02-1.24). Operative vaginal delivery rates were high in most studies and not significantly different between the two groups (33.7% compared with 37.4%, pooled RR 0.89, 95% CI 0.76-1.06). Delayed pushing was associated with prolongation of the second stage (weighted mean difference 56.92 minutes, 95% CI 42.19-71.64) and shortened duration of active pushing (weighted mean difference -21.98 minutes, 95% CI -31.29 to -12.68). Studies to date suggest there are few clinical differences in outcomes with immediate compared with delayed pushing in the second stage of labor, especially when high-quality studies are pooled. Effects on maternal and neonatal outcomes remain uncertain.

Anti-Cataract Potential of Heliotropium indicum Linn on Galactose-Induced Cataract in Sprague-Dawley Rats.

PubMed

Kyei, Samuel; Koffuor, George A; Ramkissoon, Paul; Abu, Emmanuel K; Sarpong, Josephine F

2017-03-01

To evaluate the anti-cataract potential of an aqueous whole plant extract of Heliotropium indicum (HIE) on galactose-induced cataract in Sprague-Dawley rats. Cataract scores were recorded in 3-week-old Sprague-Dawley rats in which cataract was being induced by an oral administration of 1500 mgkg -1 galactose twice daily for 4 weeks, and concurrently being treated with 30, 100, or 300 mgkg -1 HIE daily over the induction period. Fasting blood glucose was monitored at weekly intervals. Changes in body weight as well as total lens protein, lens glutathione, and superoxide dismutase (SOD) were determined initially, and at the end of the experimental period. Crystalline lens weight-to-body-weight ratio was also determined for the various treatment groups at the end of the experimental period. Preliminary phytochemical screening, total antioxidant capacity, and reducing power assays were conducted on HIE. The 30 and 100 mgkg -1 HIE-treated rats recorded significantly lower (p ≤ 0.05-0.001) cataract scores (indicating very significant delays in cataractogenesis by the 3 rd and 4 th weeks of treatment) and blood glucose levels. Rats with delayed cataractogenesis also exhibited significant (p ≤ 0.05-0.001) weight gain, and reduction in lens weight. Total lens proteins glutathione and SOD levels in the crystalline lens were also significantly preserved (p ≤ 0.01-0.001). HIE showed substantial antioxidant capacity and reducing power. The aqueous whole plant extract of Heliotropium indicum delays cataractogenesis at an optimum dose of 30 mgkg -1 in Sprague-Dawley rats.

Additivity in tree biomass components of Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.)

Treesearch

Joao P. Carvalho; Bernard R. Parresol

2003-01-01

In tree biomass estimations, it is important to consider the property of additivity, i.e., the total tree biomass should equal the sum of the components. This work presents functions that allow estimation of the stem and crown dry weight components of Pyrenean oak (Quercus pyrenaica Willd.) trees. A procedure that considers additivity of tree biomass...

Power Allocation Based on Data Classification in Wireless Sensor Networks

PubMed Central

Wang, Houlian; Zhou, Gongbo

2017-01-01

Limited node energy in wireless sensor networks is a crucial factor which affects the monitoring of equipment operation and working conditions in coal mines. In addition, due to heterogeneous nodes and different data acquisition rates, the number of arriving packets in a queue network can differ, which may lead to some queue lengths reaching the maximum value earlier compared with others. In order to tackle these two problems, an optimal power allocation strategy based on classified data is proposed in this paper. Arriving data is classified into dissimilar classes depending on the number of arriving packets. The problem is formulated as a Lyapunov drift optimization with the objective of minimizing the weight sum of average power consumption and average data class. As a result, a suboptimal distributed algorithm without any knowledge of system statistics is presented. The simulations, conducted in the perfect channel state information (CSI) case and the imperfect CSI case, reveal that the utility can be pushed arbitrarily close to optimal by increasing the parameter V, but with a corresponding growth in the average delay, and that other tunable parameters W and the classification method in the interior of utility function can trade power optimality for increased average data class. The above results show that data in a high class has priorities to be processed than data in a low class, and energy consumption can be minimized in this resource allocation strategy. PMID:28498346

Viscoelasticity imaging using ultrasound: parameters and error analysis

PubMed Central

Sridhar, M; Liu, J

2009-01-01

Techniques are being developed to image viscoelastic features of soft tissues from time-varying strain. A compress-hold-release stress stimulus commonly used in creep-recovery measurements is applied to samples to form images of elastic strain and strain retardance times. While the intended application is diagnostic breast imaging, results in gelatin hydrogels are presented to demonstrate the techniques. The spatiotemporal behaviour of gelatin is described by linear viscoelastic theory formulated for polymeric solids. Measured creep responses of polymers are frequently modelled as sums of exponentials whose time constants describe the delay or retardation of the full strain response. We found the spectrum of retardation times τ to be continuous and bimodal, where the amplitude at each τ represents the relative number of molecular bonds with a given strength and conformation. Such spectra indicate that the molecular weight of the polymer fibres between bonding points is large. Imaging parameters are found by summarizing these complex spectral distributions at each location in the medium with a second-order Voigt rheological model. This simplification reduces the dimensionality of the data for selecting imaging parameters while preserving essential information on how the creeping deformation describes fluid flow and collagen matrix restructuring in the medium. The focus of this paper is on imaging parameter estimation from ultrasonic echo data, and how jitter from hand-held force applicators used for clinical applications propagate through the imaging chain to generate image noise. PMID:17440244

Delayed introduction of progressive enteral feeds to prevent necrotising enterocolitis in very low birth weight infants.

PubMed

Morgan, Jessie; Young, Lauren; McGuire, William

2014-01-01

The introduction of enteral feeds for very preterm (less than 32 weeks' gestation) or very low birth weight (VLBW; less than 1500 g) infants is often delayed for several days or longer after birth due to concern that early introduction may not be tolerated and may increase the risk of necrotising enterocolitis (NEC). However, delaying enteral feeding could diminish the functional adaptation of the gastrointestinal tract and prolong the need for parenteral nutrition with its attendant infectious and metabolic risks. To determine the effect of delayed introduction of progressive enteral feeds on the incidence of NEC, mortality and other morbidities in very preterm or VLBW infants. We searched the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL, 2014, Issue 8), MEDLINE (1966 to September 2014), EMBASE (1980 to September 2014), CINAHL (1982 to September 2014), conference proceedings and previous reviews. We included randomised or quasi-randomised controlled trials that assessed the effect of delayed (more than four days after birth) versus earlier introduction of progressive enteral feeds on the incidence of NEC, mortality and other morbidities in very preterm or VLBW infants. Two review authors independently assessed trial eligibility and risk of bias and undertook data extraction. We analysed the treatment effects in the individual trials and reported the risk ratio (RR) and risk difference for dichotomous data and mean difference for continuous data, with respective 95% confidence intervals (CI). We used a fixed-effect model in meta-analyses and explored the potential causes of heterogeneity in sensitivity analyses. We identified nine randomised controlled trials in which 1106 infants participated. Few participants were extremely preterm (less 28 weeks' gestation) or extremely low birth weight (less than 1000 g). The trials defined delayed introduction of progressive enteral feeds as later than four to seven days after birth and early introduction as four days or less after birth. Meta-analyses did not detect statistically significant effects on the risk of NEC (typical RR 0.93, 95% CI 0.64 to 1.34; 8 trials; 1092 infants) or all-cause mortality (typical RR 1.18, 95% CI 0.75 to 1.88; 7 trials; 967 infants). Four of the trials restricted participation to growth-restricted infants with Doppler ultrasound evidence of abnormal fetal circulatory distribution or flow. Planned subgroup analyses of these trials found no statistically significant effects on the risk of NEC or all-cause mortality. Infants who had delayed introduction of enteral feeds took longer to establish full enteral feeding (reported median differences two to four days). The evidence available from randomised controlled trials suggested that delaying the introduction of progressive enteral feeds beyond four days after birth did not reduce the risk of developing NEC in very preterm or VLBW infants, including growth-restricted infants. Delaying the introduction of progressive enteral feeds resulted in a few days' delay in establishing full enteral feeds but the clinical importance of this effect was unclear. The applicability of these findings to extremely preterm or extremely low birth weight was uncertain. Further randomised controlled trials in this population may be warranted.

The theory of maximally and minimally even sets, the one- dimensional antiferromagnetic Ising model, and the continued fraction compromise of musical scales

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Douthett, Elwood (Jack) Moser, Jr.

1999-10-01

Cyclic configurations of white and black sites, together with convex (concave) functions used to weight path length, are investigated. The weights of the white set and black set are the sums of the weights of the paths connecting the white sites and black sites, respectively, and the weight between sets is the sum of the weights of the paths that connect sites opposite in color. It is shown that when the weights of all configurations of a fixed number of white and a fixed number of black sites are compared, minimum (maximum) weight of a white set, minimum (maximum) weight of the a black set, and maximum (minimum) weight between sets occur simultaneously. Such configurations are called maximally even configurations. Similarly, the configurations whose weights are the opposite extremes occur simultaneously and are called minimally even configurations. Algorithms that generate these configurations are constructed and applied to the one- dimensional antiferromagnetic spin-1/2 Ising model. Next the goodness of continued fractions as applied to musical intervals (frequency ratios and their base 2 logarithms) is explored. It is shown that, for the intermediate convergents between two consecutive principal convergents of an irrational number, the first half of the intermediate convergents are poorer approximations than the preceding principal convergent while the second half are better approximations; the goodness of a middle intermediate convergent can only be determined by calculation. These convergents are used to determine what equal-tempered systems have intervals that most closely approximate the musical fifth (pn/ qn = log2(3/2)). The goodness of exponentiated convergents ( 2pn/qn~3/2 ) is also investigated. It is shown that, with the exception of a middle convergent, the goodness of the exponential form agrees with that of its logarithmic Counterpart As in the case of the logarithmic form, the goodness of a middle intermediate convergent in the exponential form can only be determined by calculation. A Desirability Function is constructed that simultaneously measures how well multiple intervals fit in a given equal-tempered system. These measurements are made for octave (base 2) and tritave systems (base 3). Combinatorial properties important to music modulation are considered. These considerations lead These considerations lead to the construction of maximally even scales as partitions of an equal-tempered system.

Serum Zinc in Mothers and from Cord Blood of Appropriate Birth-Weight Full Term and Preterm Newborn Infants, and of Low-Birth-Weight Full Term Infants.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trindade, Cleide Enoir Petean; And Others

1984-01-01

Studied the maternal plasmatic zinc behavior at delivery time and the cord blood zinc concentration from appropriate and low-birth-weight full-term infants and appropriate preterm infants. Findings indicated that neither prematurity nor fetal growth delay interfere in maternal or newborn infants' zinc levels. (BJD)

Risk factors for suboptimal infant breastfeeding behavior, delayed onset of lactation, and excess neonatal weight loss.

PubMed

Dewey, Kathryn G; Nommsen-Rivers, Laurie A; Heinig, M Jane; Cohen, Roberta J

2003-09-01

Some mothers have difficulty initiating lactation even when highly motivated to breastfeed. The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of and risk factors for suboptimal infant breastfeeding behavior (SIBB), delayed onset of lactation, and excess neonatal weight loss among mother-infant pairs in a population with high educational levels and motivation to breastfeed. All mothers residing in Davis, California, who gave birth to a healthy, single, term infant at 1 of 5 area hospitals during the 10-month recruitment period in 1999 were invited to participate if they were willing to attempt to breastfeed exclusively for at least 1 month. Lactation guidance was provided and data were collected in the hospital (day 0) and on days 3, 5, 7, and 14. Infant breastfeeding behavior was evaluated by trained lactation consultants using the Infant Breastfeeding Assessment Tool. Onset of lactation was defined based on maternal report of changes in breast fullness. Infant weight loss was considered excessive if it was >or=10% of birth weight by day 3. Of the 328 eligible mothers, 280 (85%) participated in the study. The prevalence of SIBB was 49% on day 0, 22% on day 3, and 14% on day 7. SIBB was significantly associated with primiparity (days 0 and 3), cesarean section (in multiparas, day 0), flat or inverted nipples, infant status at birth (days 0 and 3), use of nonbreast milk fluids in the first 48 hours (days 3 and 7), pacifier use (day 3), stage II labor >1 hour (day 7), maternal body mass index >27 kg/m(2) (day 7) and birth weight <3600 g (day 7). Delayed onset of lactation (>72 hours) occurred in 22% of women and was associated with primiparity, cesarean section, stage II labor >1 hour, maternal body mass index >27 kg/m(2), flat or inverted nipples, and birth weight >3600 g (in primiparas). Excess weight loss occurred in 12% of infants and was associated with primiparity, long duration of labor, use of labor medications (in multiparas), and infant status at birth. The risk of excess infant weight loss was 7.1 times greater if the mother had delayed onset of lactation, and 2.6 times greater if the infant had SIBB on day 0. Early lactation success is strongly influenced by parity, but may also be affected by potentially modifiable factors such as delivery mode, duration of labor, labor medications, use of nonbreast milk fluids and/or pacifiers, and maternal overweight. All breastfeeding mother-infant pairs should be evaluated at 72 to 96 hours' postpartum.

Do Knee Bracing and Delayed Weight Bearing Affect Mid-Term Functional Outcome after Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction?

PubMed

Di Miceli, Riccardo; Marambio, Carlotta Bustos; Zati, Alessandro; Monesi, Roberta; Benedetti, Maria Grazia

2017-12-01

Purpose  The aim of this study was to assess the effect of knee bracing and timing of full weight bearing after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) on functional outcomes at mid-term follow-up. Methods  We performed a retrospective study on 41 patients with ACLR. Patients were divided in two groups: ACLR group, who received isolated ACL reconstruction and ACLR-OI group who received ACL reconstruction and adjunctive surgery. Information about age at surgery, bracing, full or progressive weight bearing permission after surgery were collected for the two groups. Subjective IKDC score was obtained at follow-up. Statistical analysis was performed to compare the two groups for IKDC score. Subgroup analysis was performed to assess the effect of postoperative regimen (knee bracing and weight bearing) on functional outcomes. Results  The mean age of patients was 30.8 ± 10.6 years. Mean IKDC score was 87.4 ± 13.9. The mean follow-up was 3.5 ± 1.8 years. Twenty-two (53.7%) patients underwent ACLR only, while 19 (46.3%) also received other interventions, such as meniscal repair and/or collateral ligament suture. Analysis of overall data showed no differences between the groups for IKDC score. Patients in the ACLR group exhibited a significantly better IKDC score when no brace and full weight bearing after 4 weeks from surgery was prescribed in comparison with patients who worn a brace and had delayed full weight bearing. No differences were found with respect to the use of brace and postoperative weight bearing regimen in the ACLR-OI group. Conclusion  Brace and delayed weight bearing after ACLR have a negative influence on long-term functional outcomes. Further research is required to explore possible differences in the patients operated on ACLR and other intervention with respect to the use of a brace and the timing of full weight bearing to identify optimal recovery strategies. Level of Evidence  Level III, retrospective observational study.

The Role of Maternal Depression in Accessing Early Intervention Services for Children with Developmental Delay

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Colgan, Siobhan Eileen

2012-01-01

This study investigated the relationship between maternal depression and children's access to early intervention services among a sample of children with developmental delay at age two who were determined to be eligible for early intervention services, were full term and of normal birth weight, and were not previously identified with any special…

Design of pilot studies to inform the construction of composite outcome measures.

PubMed

Edland, Steven D; Ard, M Colin; Li, Weiwei; Jiang, Lingjing

2017-06-01

Composite scales have recently been proposed as outcome measures for clinical trials. For example, the Prodromal Alzheimer's Cognitive Composite (PACC) is the sum of z-score normed component measures assessing episodic memory, timed executive function, and global cognition. Alternative methods of calculating composite total scores using the weighted sum of the component measures that maximize signal-to-noise of the resulting composite score have been proposed. Optimal weights can be estimated from pilot data, but it is an open question how large a pilot trial is required to calculate reliably optimal weights. In this manuscript, we describe the calculation of optimal weights, and use large-scale computer simulations to investigate the question of how large a pilot study sample is required to inform the calculation of optimal weights. The simulations are informed by the pattern of decline observed in cognitively normal subjects enrolled in the Alzheimer's Disease Cooperative Study (ADCS) Prevention Instrument cohort study, restricting to n=75 subjects age 75 and over with an ApoE E4 risk allele and therefore likely to have an underlying Alzheimer neurodegenerative process. In the context of secondary prevention trials in Alzheimer's disease, and using the components of the PACC, we found that pilot studies as small as 100 are sufficient to meaningfully inform weighting parameters. Regardless of the pilot study sample size used to inform weights, the optimally weighted PACC consistently outperformed the standard PACC in terms of statistical power to detect treatment effects in a clinical trial. Pilot studies of size 300 produced weights that achieved near-optimal statistical power, and reduced required sample size relative to the standard PACC by more than half. These simulations suggest that modestly sized pilot studies, comparable to that of a phase 2 clinical trial, are sufficient to inform the construction of composite outcome measures. Although these findings apply only to the PACC in the context of prodromal AD, the observation that weights only have to approximate the optimal weights to achieve near-optimal performance should generalize. Performing a pilot study or phase 2 trial to inform the weighting of proposed composite outcome measures is highly cost-effective. The net effect of more efficient outcome measures is that smaller trials will be required to test novel treatments. Alternatively, second generation trials can use prior clinical trial data to inform weighting, so that greater efficiency can be achieved as we move forward.

Isovector and isoscalar dipole excitations in 9Be and 10Be studied with antisymmetrized molecular dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kanada-En'yo, Yoshiko

2016-02-01

Isovector and isoscalar dipole excitations in 9Be and 10Be are investigated in the framework of antisymmetrized molecular dynamics, in which angular-momentum and parity projections are performed. In the present method, 1p-1h excitation modes built on the ground state and a large amplitude α -cluster mode are taken into account. The isovector giant dipole resonance (GDR) in E >20 MeV shows the two-peak structure, which is understood from the dipole excitation in the 2 α core part with the prolate deformation. Because of valence neutron modes against the 2 α core, low-energy E 1 resonances appear in E <20 MeV, exhausting about 20 % of the Thomas-Reiche-Kuhn sum rule and 10 % of the calculated energy-weighted sum. The dipole resonance at E ˜15 MeV in 10Be can be interpreted as the parity partner of the ground state having a 6He+α structure and has remarkable E 1 strength because of the coherent contribution of two valence neutrons. The isoscalar dipole strength for some low-energy resonances is significantly enhanced by the coupling with the α -cluster mode. For the E 1 strength of 9Be, the calculation overestimates the energy-weighted sum (EWS) in the low-energy (E <20 MeV) and GDR (20

Examination of the community-specific prevalence of and factors associated with substance use and misuse among Rural and Urban adolescents: a cross-sectional analysis in Bosnia and Herzegovina

PubMed Central

Zenic, Natasa; Ostojic, Ljerka; Sisic, Nedim; Pojskic, Haris; Peric, Mia; Uljevic, Ognjen; Sekulic, Damir

2015-01-01

Objective The community of residence (ie, urban vs rural) is one of the known factors of influence on substance use and misuse (SUM). The aim of this study was to explore the community-specific prevalence of SUM and the associations that exist between scholastic, familial, sports and sociodemographic factors with SUM in adolescents from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Methods In this cross-sectional study, which was completed between November and December 2014, the participants were 957 adolescents (aged 17 to 18 years) from Bosnia and Herzegovina (485; 50.6% females). The independent variables were sociodemographic, academic, sport and familial factors. The dependent variables consisted of questions on cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption. We have calculated differences between groups of participants (gender, community), while the logistic regressions were applied to define associations between the independent and dependent variables. Results In the urban community, cigarette smoking is more prevalent in girls (OR=2.05; 95% CI 1.27 to 3.35), while harmful drinking is more prevalent in boys (OR=2.07; 95% CI 1.59 to 2.73). When data are weighted by gender and community, harmful drinking is more prevalent in urban boys (OR=1.97; 95% CI 1.31 to 2.95), cigarette smoking is more frequent in rural boys (OR=1.61; 95% CI 1.04 to 2.39), and urban girls misuse substances to a greater extent than rural girls (OR=1.70; 95% CI 1.16 to 2.51,OR=2.85; 95% CI 1.88 to 4.31,OR=2.78; 95% CI 1.67 to 4.61 for cigarette smoking, harmful drinking and simultaneous smoking-drinking, respectively). Academic failure is strongly associated with a higher likelihood of SUM. The associations between parental factors and SUM are more evident in urban youth. Sports factors are specifically correlated with SUM for urban girls. Conclusions Living in an urban environment should be considered as a higher risk factor for SUM in girls. Parental variables are more strongly associated with SUM among urban youth, most probably because of the higher parental involvement in children’ personal lives in urban communities (ie, college plans, for example). Specific indicators should be monitored in the prevention of SUM. PMID:26546145

Is there an association between flow diverter fish mouthing and delayed-type hypersensitivity to metals?-a case-control study.

PubMed

Kocer, Naci; Mondel, Prabath Kumar; Yamac, Elif; Kavak, Ayse; Kizilkilic, Osman; Islak, Civan

2017-11-01

Flow diverters are increasingly used in the treatment of complex and giant intracranial aneurysms. However, they are associated with complications like late aneurysmal rupture. Additionally, flow diverters show focal structural decrease in luminal diameter without any intimal hyperplasia. This resembles a "fish mouth" when viewed en face. In this pilot study, we tested the hypothesis of a possible association between flow diverter fish-mouthing and delayed-type hypersensitivity to its metal constituents. We retrospectively reviewed patient records from our center between May 2010 and November 2015. A total of nine patients had flow diverter fish mouthing. A control group of 25 patients was selected. All study participants underwent prospective patch test to detect hypersensitivity to flow diverter metal constituents. Analysis was performed using logistic regression analysis and Wilcoxon sign rank sum test. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to test variables to predict flow diverter fish mouthing. The association between flow diverter fish mouthing and positive patch test was not statistically significant. In multivariate analysis, history of allergy and maximum aneurysm size category was associated with flow diverter fish mouthing. This was further confirmed on Wilcoxon sign rank sum test. The study showed statistically significant association between flow diverter fish mouthing and history of contact allergy and a small aneurysmal size. Further large-scale studies are needed to detect a statistically significant association between flow diverter fish mouthing and patch test. We recommend early and more frequent follow-up imaging in patients with contact allergy to detect flow diverter fish mouthing and its subsequent evolution.

Inattention and development of toddlers born in preterm and with low birth weight.

PubMed

Huang, June-Hui; Huang, Huei-Lin; Chen, Hsiu-Lin; Lin, Lung-Chang; Tseng, Hsing-I; Kao, Tsung-Jen

2012-07-01

The objective of this study was to examine the impact of low birth weight and preterm birth on a toddler's inattention and development, including cognitive, language, motor, social-emotional and adaptive behaviors. A total of 105 toddlers enrolled for the study; they were divided into four groups: 40 full-term and normal birth weight (NBW, birth weight greater than 2500 g) toddlers, 24 moderate birth weight (MLBW, birth weight between 2499 and 1500 g) toddlers, 20 very to extremely low birth weight (V-ELBW, 12 between 1000 and 1499 g and 8 lower than 1000 g) toddlers, and 21 term toddlers who were recruited from a clinic of developmental delay as the developmental delay at risk (DDR) group. The Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development-Third Edition (BSID-III) and Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale-Toddler were used. The findings were as follows: (1) DDR group performed worst in BSID-III; (2) although there were no statistical differences among the NBW, MLBW, and V-ELBW groups in BSID-III, the lower the birth weight, the lower the average performance, especially in language, adaptive social behavior, and adaptive practical behavior; and (3) comparing the inattention score, the DDR group was the poorest, normal and V-ELBW groups were the best, and MLBW group was in the middle. In conclusion, low birth weight and preterm delivery affected children's inattention and development of language, adaptive social behavior, and adaptive practical behavior. Copyright © 2012. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Parallel interference cancellation for CDMA applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Divsalar, Dariush (Inventor); Simon, Marvin K. (Inventor); Raphaeli, Dan (Inventor)

1997-01-01

The present invention provides a method of decoding a spread spectrum composite signal, the composite signal comprising plural user signals that have been spread with plural respective codes, wherein each coded signal is despread, averaged to produce a signal value, analyzed to produce a tentative decision, respread, summed with other respread signals to produce combined interference signals, the method comprising scaling the combined interference signals with a weighting factor to produce a scaled combined interference signal, scaling the composite signal with the weighting factor to produce a scaled composite signal, scaling the signal value by the complement of the weighting factor to produce a leakage signal, combining the scaled composite signal, the scaled combined interference signal and the leakage signal to produce an estimate of a respective user signal.

Hip arthroscopy protocol: expert opinions on post-operative weight bearing and return to sports guidelines.

PubMed

Rath, Ehud; Sharfman, Zachary T; Paret, Matan; Amar, Eyal; Drexler, Michael; Bonin, Nicolas

2017-01-01

The objectives of this study are to survey the weight-bearing limitation practices and delay for returning to running and impact sports of high volume hip arthroscopy orthopedic surgeons. The study was designed in the form of expert survey questionnaire. Evidence-based data are scares regarding hip arthroscopy post-operative weight-bearing protocols. An international cross-sectional anonymous Internet survey of 26 high-volume hip arthroscopy specialized surgeons was conducted to report their weight-bearing limitations and rehabilitation protocols after various arthroscopic hip procedures. The International Society of Hip Arthroscopy invited this study. The results were examined in the context of supporting literature to inform the studies suggestions. Four surgeons always allow immediate weight bearing and five never offer immediate weight bearing. Seventeen surgeons provide weight bearing depending on the procedures performed: 17 surgeons allowed immediate weight bearing after labral resection, 10 after labral repair and 8 after labral reconstruction. Sixteen surgeons allow immediate weight bearing after psoas tenotomy. Twenty-one respondents restrict weight bearing after microfracture procedures for 3-8 weeks post-operatively. Return to running and impact sports were shorter for labral procedures and bony procedures and longer for cartilaginous and capsular procedures. Marked variability exists in the post-operative weight-bearing practices of hip arthroscopy surgeons. This study suggests that most surgeons allow immediate weight bearing as tolerated after labral resection, acetabular osteoplasty, chondroplasty and psoas tenotomy. For cartilage defect procedures, 6 weeks or more non-weight bearing is suggested depending on the area of the defect and lateral central edge angle. Delayed return to sports activities is suggested after microfracture procedures. The level of evidence was Level V expert opinions.

Hip arthroscopy protocol: expert opinions on post-operative weight bearing and return to sports guidelines

PubMed Central

Rath, Ehud; Paret, Matan; Amar, Eyal; Drexler, Michael; Bonin, Nicolas

2017-01-01

Abstract The objectives of this study are to survey the weight-bearing limitation practices and delay for returning to running and impact sports of high volume hip arthroscopy orthopedic surgeons. The study was designed in the form of expert survey questionnaire. Evidence-based data are scares regarding hip arthroscopy post-operative weight-bearing protocols. An international cross-sectional anonymous Internet survey of 26 high-volume hip arthroscopy specialized surgeons was conducted to report their weight-bearing limitations and rehabilitation protocols after various arthroscopic hip procedures. The International Society of Hip Arthroscopy invited this study. The results were examined in the context of supporting literature to inform the studies suggestions. Four surgeons always allow immediate weight bearing and five never offer immediate weight bearing. Seventeen surgeons provide weight bearing depending on the procedures performed: 17 surgeons allowed immediate weight bearing after labral resection, 10 after labral repair and 8 after labral reconstruction. Sixteen surgeons allow immediate weight bearing after psoas tenotomy. Twenty-one respondents restrict weight bearing after microfracture procedures for 3–8 weeks post-operatively. Return to running and impact sports were shorter for labral procedures and bony procedures and longer for cartilaginous and capsular procedures. Marked variability exists in the post-operative weight-bearing practices of hip arthroscopy surgeons. This study suggests that most surgeons allow immediate weight bearing as tolerated after labral resection, acetabular osteoplasty, chondroplasty and psoas tenotomy. For cartilage defect procedures, 6 weeks or more non-weight bearing is suggested depending on the area of the defect and lateral central edge angle. Delayed return to sports activities is suggested after microfracture procedures. The level of evidence was Level V expert opinions. PMID:28630722

On the number of infinite geodesics and ground states in disordered systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wehr, Jan

1997-04-01

We study first-passage percolation models and their higher dimensional analogs—models of surfaces with random weights. We prove that under very general conditions the number of lines or, in the second case, hypersurfaces which locally minimize the sum of the random weights is with probability one equal to 0 or with probability one equal to +∞. As corollaries we show that in any dimension d≥2 the number of ground states of an Ising ferromagnet with random coupling constants equals (with probability one) 2 or +∞. Proofs employ simple large-deviation estimates and ergodic arguments.

Increased dosage of DYRK1A and DSCR1 delays neuronal differentiation in neocortical progenitor cells

PubMed Central

Kurabayashi, Nobuhiro; Sanada, Kamon

2013-01-01

Down's syndrome (DS), a major genetic cause of mental retardation, arises from triplication of genes on human chromosome 21. Here we show that DYRK1A (dual-specificity tyrosine-phosphorylated and -regulated kinase 1A) and DSCR1 (DS critical region 1), two genes lying within human chromosome 21 and encoding for a serine/threonine kinase and calcineurin regulator, respectively, are expressed in neural progenitors in the mouse developing neocortex. Increasing the dosage of both proteins in neural progenitors leads to a delay in neuronal differentiation, resulting ultimately in alteration of their laminar fate. This defect is mediated by the cooperative actions of DYRK1A and DSCR1 in suppressing the activity of the transcription factor NFATc. In Ts1Cje mice, a DS mouse model, dysregulation of NFATc in conjunction with increased levels of DYRK1A and DSCR1 was observed. Furthermore, counteracting the dysregulated pathway ameliorates the delayed neuronal differentiation observed in Ts1Cje mice. In sum, our findings suggest that dosage of DYRK1A and DSCR1 is critical for proper neurogenesis through NFATc and provide a potential mechanism to explain the neurodevelopmental defects in DS. PMID:24352425

Predictive Validity of Delay Discounting Behavior in Adolescence: A Longitudinal Twin Study

PubMed Central

Isen, Joshua D.; Sparks, Jordan C.; Iacono, William G.

2014-01-01

A standard assumption in the delay discounting literature is that individuals who exhibit steeper discounting of hypothetical rewards also experience greater difficulty deferring gratification to real-world rewards. There is ample cross-sectional evidence that delay discounting paradigms reflect a variety of maladaptive psychosocial outcomes, including substance use pathology. We sought to determine whether a computerized assessment of hypothetical delay discounting (HDD) taps into behavioral impulsivity in a community sample of adolescent twins (N = 675). Using a longitudinal design, we hypothesized that greater HDD at age 14–15 predicts real-world impulsive choices and risk for substance use disorders in late adolescence. We also examined the genetic and environmental structure of HDD performance. Individual differences in HDD behavior showed moderate heritability, and were prospectively associated with real-world temporal discounting at age 17–18. Contrary to expectations, HDD was not consistently related to substance use or trait impulsivity. Although a significant association between HDD behavior and past substance use emerged in males, this effect was mediated by cognitive ability. In both sexes, HDD failed to predict a comprehensive index of substance use problems and behavioral disinhibition in late adolescence. In sum, we present some of the first evidence that HDD performance is heritable and predictive of real-world temporal discounting of rewards. Nevertheless, HDD might not serve as a valid marker of substance use disorder risk in younger adolescents, particularly females. PMID:24999868

Small head size and delayed body weight growth in wild Japanese monkey fetuses after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster.

PubMed

Hayama, Shin-Ichi; Tsuchiya, Moe; Ochiai, Kazuhiko; Nakiri, Sachie; Nakanishi, Setsuko; Ishii, Naomi; Kato, Takuya; Tanaka, Aki; Konno, Fumiharu; Kawamoto, Yoshi; Omi, Toshinori

2017-06-14

To evaluate the biological effect of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster, relative differences in the growth of wild Japanese monkeys (Macaca fuscata) were measured before and after the disaster of 2011 in Fukushima City, which is approximately 70 km from the nuclear power plant, by performing external measurements on fetuses collected from 2008 to 2016. Comparing the relative growth of 31 fetuses conceived prior to the disaster and 31 fetuses conceived after the disaster in terms of body weight and head size (product of the occipital frontal diameter and biparietal diameter) to crown-rump length ratio revealed that body weight growth rate and proportional head size were significantly lower in fetuses conceived after the disaster. No significant difference was observed in nutritional indicators for the fetuses' mothers. Accordingly, radiation exposure could be one factor contributed to the observed growth delay in this study.

Data-Driven Zero-Sum Neuro-Optimal Control for a Class of Continuous-Time Unknown Nonlinear Systems With Disturbance Using ADP.

PubMed

Wei, Qinglai; Song, Ruizhuo; Yan, Pengfei

2016-02-01

This paper is concerned with a new data-driven zero-sum neuro-optimal control problem for continuous-time unknown nonlinear systems with disturbance. According to the input-output data of the nonlinear system, an effective recurrent neural network is introduced to reconstruct the dynamics of the nonlinear system. Considering the system disturbance as a control input, a two-player zero-sum optimal control problem is established. Adaptive dynamic programming (ADP) is developed to obtain the optimal control under the worst case of the disturbance. Three single-layer neural networks, including one critic and two action networks, are employed to approximate the performance index function, the optimal control law, and the disturbance, respectively, for facilitating the implementation of the ADP method. Convergence properties of the ADP method are developed to show that the system state will converge to a finite neighborhood of the equilibrium. The weight matrices of the critic and the two action networks are also convergent to finite neighborhoods of their optimal ones. Finally, the simulation results will show the effectiveness of the developed data-driven ADP methods.

A CCD Monolithic LMS Adaptive Analog Signal Processor Integrated Circuit.

DTIC Science & Technology

1980-03-01

adaptive filter with electrically- reprogrammable MOS analog conductance weights. I The analog and digital peripheral MOS on-chip circuits are provided with...electrically reprogrammable analog weights at tap positions along a CCD analog delay line in order to form a basic linear combiner for adaptive filtering...electrically reprogrammable analog conductance weights was introduced with the use of non-volatile MNOS memory 6-7 transistors biased in their triode

Non-contact weight measurement of flat-faced pharmaceutical tablets using terahertz transmission pulse delay measurements.

PubMed

Bawuah, Prince; Silfsten, Pertti; Ervasti, Tuomas; Ketolainen, Jarkko; Zeitler, J Axel; Peiponen, Kai-Erik

2014-12-10

By measuring the time delay of a terahertz pulse traversing a tablet, and hence its effective refractive index, it is possible to non-invasively and non-destructively detect the weight of tablets made of microcrystalline cellulose (MCC). Two sets of MCC tablets were used in the study: Set A (training set) consisted of 13 tablets with nominally constant height but varying porosities, whereas Set B (test set) comprised of 21 tablets with nominally constant porosity but different heights. A linear correlation between the estimated absolute weight based on the terahertz measurement and the measured weight of both sets of MCC tablets was found. In addition, it was possible to estimate the height of the tablets by utilizing the estimated absolute weight and calculating the relative change of height of each tablet with respect to an ideal tablet. A good agreement between the experimental and the calculated results was found highlighting the potential of this technique for in-line sensing of the weight, porosity and the relative change in height of the tablets compared to a reference/ideal tablet. In this context, we propose a quantitative quality control method to assess the deviations in porosity of tablets immediately after compaction. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Premium-Based Financial Incentives Did Not Promote Workplace Weight Loss In A 2013-15 Study.

PubMed

Patel, Mitesh S; Asch, David A; Troxel, Andrea B; Fletcher, Michele; Osman-Koss, Rosemary; Brady, Jennifer; Wesby, Lisa; Hilbert, Victoria; Zhu, Jingsan; Wang, Wenli; Volpp, Kevin G

2016-01-01

Employers commonly use adjustments to health insurance premiums as incentives to encourage healthy behavior, but the effectiveness of those adjustments is controversial. We gave 197 obese participants in a workplace wellness program a weight loss goal equivalent to 5 percent of their baseline weight. They were randomly assigned to a control arm, with no financial incentive for achieving the goal, or to one of three intervention arms offering an incentive valued at $550. Two intervention arms used health insurance premium adjustments, beginning the following year (delayed) or in the first pay period after achieving the goal (immediate). A third arm used a daily lottery incentive separate from premiums. At twelve months there were no statistically significant differences in mean weight change either between the control group (whose members had a mean gain of 0.1 pound) and any of the incentive groups (delayed premium adjustment, -1.2 pound; immediate premium adjustment, -1.4 pound; daily lottery incentive, -1.0 pound) or among the intervention groups. The apparent failure of the incentives to promote weight loss suggests that employers that encourage weight reduction through workplace wellness programs should test alternatives to the conventional premium adjustment approach by using alternative incentive designs, larger incentives, or both. Project HOPE—The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Orbit-determination performance of Doppler data for interplanetary cruise trajectories. Part 2: 8.4-GHz performance and data-weighting strategies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ulvestad, J. S.

1992-01-01

A consider error covariance analysis was performed in order to investigate the orbit-determination performance attainable using two-way (coherent) 8.4-GHz (X-band) Doppler data for two segments of the planned Mars Observer trajectory. The analysis includes the effects of the current level of calibration errors in tropospheric delay, ionospheric delay, and station locations, with particular emphasis placed on assessing the performance of several candidate elevation-dependent data-weighting functions. One weighting function was found that yields good performance for a variety of tracking geometries. This weighting function is simple and robust; it reduces the danger of error that might exist if an analyst had to select one of several different weighting functions that are highly sensitive to the exact choice of parameters and to the tracking geometry. Orbit-determination accuracy improvements that may be obtained through the use of calibration data derived from Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites also were investigated, and can be as much as a factor of three in some components of the spacecraft state vector. Assuming that both station-location errors and troposphere calibration errors are reduced simultaneously, the recommended data-weighting function need not be changed when GPS calibrations are incorporated in the orbit-determination process.

The Weighted-Average Lagged Ensemble.

PubMed

DelSole, T; Trenary, L; Tippett, M K

2017-11-01

A lagged ensemble is an ensemble of forecasts from the same model initialized at different times but verifying at the same time. The skill of a lagged ensemble mean can be improved by assigning weights to different forecasts in such a way as to maximize skill. If the forecasts are bias corrected, then an unbiased weighted lagged ensemble requires the weights to sum to one. Such a scheme is called a weighted-average lagged ensemble. In the limit of uncorrelated errors, the optimal weights are positive and decay monotonically with lead time, so that the least skillful forecasts have the least weight. In more realistic applications, the optimal weights do not always behave this way. This paper presents a series of analytic examples designed to illuminate conditions under which the weights of an optimal weighted-average lagged ensemble become negative or depend nonmonotonically on lead time. It is shown that negative weights are most likely to occur when the errors grow rapidly and are highly correlated across lead time. The weights are most likely to behave nonmonotonically when the mean square error is approximately constant over the range forecasts included in the lagged ensemble. An extreme example of the latter behavior is presented in which the optimal weights vanish everywhere except at the shortest and longest lead times.

EXPOSURE TO DIETHYL HEXYL PHTHALATE (DEHP) DELAYS PUBERTY AND REDUCES ANDROGEN-DEPENDENT TISSUE WEIGHTS IN LONG EVANS HOODED AND SPRAGUE DAWLEY MALE RATS

EPA Science Inventory

DEHP is a plasticizer that alters sexual differentiation in the male rat by reducing fetal Leydig cell testosterone synthesis and insl3 mRNA levels. When exposure includes the pubertal stage of life, DEHP and other phthalates delay puberty and reduce androgen-dependent tissue wei...

Growth of Carrot and Tomato from Oxamyl-coated Seed and Control of Meloidogyne hapla.

PubMed

Townshend, J L

1990-04-01

Oxamyl was coated on carrot (Daucus carota L. cv. Spartan Fancy-80) and tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill. cv. Glamour) seeds with a polymer sticker for the control of Meloidogyne hapla. The sticker diluted in water 1:1 delayed carrot seedling emergence. Oxamyl at 40 mg/ml in a 1:5 dilution of sticker lowered the rate of carrot seedling emergence until day 13 and plant growth until day 28. Oxamyl at 20 or 40 mg/ml in a 1:5 dilution of sticker on carrot seeds planted in M. hapla-infested muck soil resulted in fewer galled tap roots and fewer galls per root system 4 weeks after planting. Tap root lengths were greater than those of the control. Tomato seedling emergence was delayed and top and root weights were reduced, relative to the control, at 25 days by the sticker diluted 1:1 to 1:3. Oxamyl at 20 or 40 mg/ml in a 1:5 diluted sticker delayed tomato seedling emergence. Top weights of tomato seedlings from seeds coated with 20 mg/ml of oxamyl in a 1:5 diluted sticker planted in a silt loam were greater than control top weights at 4 and 6 weeks. Root weights were greater than those of the control only at 4 weeks. There were fewer galls per gram of root on seedlings from oxamyl-coated seeds and fewer juveniles per pot of soil, relative to the controls, only at 4 weeks.

Putting Short-Term Memory into Context: Reply to Usher, Davelaar, Haarmann, and Goshen-Gottstein (2008)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kahana, Michael J.; Sederberg, Per B.; Howard, Marc W.

2008-01-01

The temporal context model posits that search through episodic memory is driven by associations between the multiattribute representations of items and context. Context, in turn, is a recency weighted sum of previous experiences or memories. Because recently processed items are most similar to the current representation of context, M. Usher, E. J.…

The Testing of Airplane Fabrics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schraivogel, Karl

1932-01-01

This report considers the determining factors in the choice of airplane fabrics, describes the customary methods of testing and reports some of the experimental results. To sum up briefly the results obtained with the different fabrics, it may be said that increasing the strength of covering fabrics by using coarser yarns ordinarily offers no difficulty, because the weight increment from doping is relatively smaller.

Analysis of Source Selection Methods and Performance Outcomes: Lowest Price Technically Acceptable vs. Tradeoff in Air Force Acquisitions

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-12-01

issues. A weighted mean can be used in place of the grand mean3 and the STATA software automatically handles the assignment of the sums of squares. Thus...between groups (i.e., sphericity) using the multivariate test of means provided in STATA 12.1. This test checks whether or not population variances and

Influence of absorption by environmental water vapor on radiation transfer in wildland fires

Treesearch

D. Frankman; B. W. Webb; B. W. Butler

2008-01-01

The attenuation of radiation transfer from wildland flames to fuel by environmental water vapor is investigated. Emission is tracked from points on an idealized flame to locations along the fuel bed while accounting for absorption by environmental water vapor in the intervening medium. The Spectral Line Weighted-sum-of-gray-gases approach was employed for treating the...

What the "Overall" Doesn't Tell about World University Rankings: Examples from ARWU, QSWUR, and THEWUR in 2013

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Soh, Kaycheng

2015-01-01

In the various world university ranking schemes, the "Overall" is a sum of the weighted indicator scores. As the indicators are of a different nature from each other, "Overall" conceals important differences. Factor analysis of the data from three prominent ranking schemes reveals that there are two factors in each of the…

Looking for Patterns in OfStEd Judgements about Primary Pupil Achievement in Design and Technology

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cross, Alan

2006-01-01

Respective English governments have placed considerable faith, political weight and not inconsiderable sums of money in a system of school inspection organised and led by the Office for Standards in Education (OfStEd). This article considers a so-called foundation subject, design and technology, and the extent to which we might meaningfully use…

Relationship between the spectral line based weighted-sum-of-gray-gases model and the full spectrum k-distribution model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chu, Huaqiang; Liu, Fengshan; Consalvi, Jean-Louis

2014-08-01

The relationship between the spectral line based weighted-sum-of-gray-gases (SLW) model and the full-spectrum k-distribution (FSK) model in isothermal and homogeneous media is investigated in this paper. The SLW transfer equation can be derived from the FSK transfer equation expressed in the k-distribution function without approximation. It confirms that the SLW model is equivalent to the FSK model in the k-distribution function form. The numerical implementation of the SLW relies on a somewhat arbitrary discretization of the absorption cross section whereas the FSK model finds the spectrally integrated intensity by integration over the smoothly varying cumulative-k distribution function using a Gaussian quadrature scheme. The latter is therefore in general more efficient as a fewer number of gray gases is required to achieve a prescribed accuracy. Sample numerical calculations were conducted to demonstrate the different efficiency of these two methods. The FSK model is found more accurate than the SLW model in radiation transfer in H2O; however, the SLW model is more accurate in media containing CO2 as the only radiating gas due to its explicit treatment of ‘clear gas.’

Multi Criteria Evaluation Module for RiskChanges Spatial Decision Support System

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olyazadeh, Roya; Jaboyedoff, Michel; van Westen, Cees; Bakker, Wim

2015-04-01

Multi-Criteria Evaluation (MCE) module is one of the five modules of RiskChanges spatial decision support system. RiskChanges web-based platform aims to analyze changes in hydro-meteorological risk and provides tools for selecting the best risk reduction alternative. It is developed under CHANGES framework (changes-itn.eu) and INCREO project (increo-fp7.eu). MCE tool helps decision makers and spatial planners to evaluate, sort and rank the decision alternatives. The users can choose among different indicators that are defined within the system using Risk and Cost Benefit analysis results besides they can add their own indicators. Subsequently the system standardizes and prioritizes them. Finally, the best decision alternative is selected by using the weighted sum model (WSM). The Application of this work is to facilitate the effect of MCE for analyzing changing risk over the time under different scenarios and future years by adopting a group decision making into practice and comparing the results by numeric and graphical view within the system. We believe that this study helps decision-makers to achieve the best solution by expressing their preferences for strategies under future scenarios. Keywords: Multi-Criteria Evaluation, Spatial Decision Support System, Weighted Sum Model, Natural Hazard Risk Management

Low-energy isovector and isoscalar dipole response in neutron-rich nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vretenar, D.; Niu, Y. F.; Paar, N.; Meng, J.

2012-04-01

The self-consistent random-phase approximation, based on the framework of relativistic energy density functionals, is employed in the study of isovector and isoscalar dipole response in 68Ni,132Sn, and 208Pb. The evolution of pygmy dipole states (PDSs) in the region of low excitation energies is analyzed as a function of the density dependence of the symmetry energy for a set of relativistic effective interactions. The occurrence of PDSs is predicted in the response to both the isovector and the isoscalar dipole operators, and its strength is enhanced with the increase in the symmetry energy at saturation and the slope of the symmetry energy. In both channels, the PDS exhausts a relatively small fraction of the energy-weighted sum rule but a much larger percentage of the inverse energy-weighted sum rule. For the isovector dipole operator, the reduced transition probability B(E1) of the PDSs is generally small because of pronounced cancellation of neutron and proton partial contributions. The isoscalar-reduced transition amplitude is predominantly determined by neutron particle-hole configurations, most of which add coherently, and this results in a collective response of the PDSs to the isoscalar dipole operator.

A class of stochastic optimization problems with one quadratic & several linear objective functions and extended portfolio selection model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Jiuping; Li, Jun

2002-09-01

In this paper a class of stochastic multiple-objective programming problems with one quadratic, several linear objective functions and linear constraints has been introduced. The former model is transformed into a deterministic multiple-objective nonlinear programming model by means of the introduction of random variables' expectation. The reference direction approach is used to deal with linear objectives and results in a linear parametric optimization formula with a single linear objective function. This objective function is combined with the quadratic function using the weighted sums. The quadratic problem is transformed into a linear (parametric) complementary problem, the basic formula for the proposed approach. The sufficient and necessary conditions for (properly, weakly) efficient solutions and some construction characteristics of (weakly) efficient solution sets are obtained. An interactive algorithm is proposed based on reference direction and weighted sums. Varying the parameter vector on the right-hand side of the model, the DM can freely search the efficient frontier with the model. An extended portfolio selection model is formed when liquidity is considered as another objective to be optimized besides expectation and risk. The interactive approach is illustrated with a practical example.

Dynamic Precursors of Flares in Active Region NOAA 10486

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Korsós, M. B.; Gyenge, N.; Baranyi, T.; Ludmány, A.

2015-03-01

Four different methods are applied here to study the precursors of flare activity in the Active Region NOAA 10486. Two approaches track the temporal behaviour of suitably chosen features (one, the weighted hori- zontal gradient W G M , is the generalized form of the horizontal gradient of the magnetic field, G M ; the other is the sum of the horizontal gradient of the magnetic field, G S , for all sunspot pairs). W G M is a photospheric indicator, that is a proxy measure of magnetic non-potentiality of a specific area of the active region, i.e., it captures the temporal variation of the weighted horizontal gradient of magnetic flux summed up for the region where opposite magnetic polarities are highly mixed. The third one, referred to as the separateness parameter, S l- f , considers the overall morphology. Further, G S and S l- f are photospheric, newly defined quick-look indicators of the polarity mix of the entire active region. The fourth method is tracking the temporal variation of small X-ray flares, their times of succession and their energies observed by the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager instrument. All approaches yield specific pre-cursory signatures for the imminence of flares.

Super (a,d)-H-antimagic covering of möbius ladder graph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Indriyani, Novia; Sri Martini, Titin

2018-04-01

Let G = (V(G), E(G)) be a simple graph. Let H-covering of G is a subgraph H 1, H 2, …, Hj with every edge in G is contained in at least one graph Hi for 1 ≤ i ≤ j. If every Hi is isomorphic, then G admits an H-covering. Furthermore, an (a,d)-H-antimagic covering if there bijective function ξ :V(G)\\cup E(G)\\to \\{1,2,3,\\ldots,|V(G)|+|E(G)|\\}. The H‑-weights for all subgraphs H‑ isomorphic to H ω ({H}^{\\prime })={\\sum }v\\in V({H^{\\prime })}ξ (v)+{\\sum }e\\in E({H^{\\prime })}ξ (e). The weights of subgraphs constitutes an arithmatic progression {a, a + d, …, a + (t ‑ 1)d} where a and d are positive integers and t is the number of subgraphs G isomorphic to H. If ξ (V(G))=\\{1,2,\\ldots,|V(G)|\\} then ξ is called super (a, d)-H-antimagic covering. The research provides super (a, d)-H-antimagic covering with d = {1, 3} of Möbius ladder graph Mn for n > 5 and n is odd.

Neural node network and model, and method of teaching same

DOEpatents

Parlos, A.G.; Atiya, A.F.; Fernandez, B.; Tsai, W.K.; Chong, K.T.

1995-12-26

The present invention is a fully connected feed forward network that includes at least one hidden layer. The hidden layer includes nodes in which the output of the node is fed back to that node as an input with a unit delay produced by a delay device occurring in the feedback path (local feedback). Each node within each layer also receives a delayed output (crosstalk) produced by a delay unit from all the other nodes within the same layer. The node performs a transfer function operation based on the inputs from the previous layer and the delayed outputs. The network can be implemented as analog or digital or within a general purpose processor. Two teaching methods can be used: (1) back propagation of weight calculation that includes the local feedback and the crosstalk or (2) more preferably a feed forward gradient decent which immediately follows the output computations and which also includes the local feedback and the crosstalk. Subsequent to the gradient propagation, the weights can be normalized, thereby preventing convergence to a local optimum. Education of the network can be incremental both on and off-line. An educated network is suitable for modeling and controlling dynamic nonlinear systems and time series systems and predicting the outputs as well as hidden states and parameters. The educated network can also be further educated during on-line processing. 21 figs.

Neural node network and model, and method of teaching same

DOEpatents

Parlos, Alexander G.; Atiya, Amir F.; Fernandez, Benito; Tsai, Wei K.; Chong, Kil T.

1995-01-01

The present invention is a fully connected feed forward network that includes at least one hidden layer 16. The hidden layer 16 includes nodes 20 in which the output of the node is fed back to that node as an input with a unit delay produced by a delay device 24 occurring in the feedback path 22 (local feedback). Each node within each layer also receives a delayed output (crosstalk) produced by a delay unit 36 from all the other nodes within the same layer 16. The node performs a transfer function operation based on the inputs from the previous layer and the delayed outputs. The network can be implemented as analog or digital or within a general purpose processor. Two teaching methods can be used: (1) back propagation of weight calculation that includes the local feedback and the crosstalk or (2) more preferably a feed forward gradient decent which immediately follows the output computations and which also includes the local feedback and the crosstalk. Subsequent to the gradient propagation, the weights can be normalized, thereby preventing convergence to a local optimum. Education of the network can be incremental both on and off-line. An educated network is suitable for modeling and controlling dynamic nonlinear systems and time series systems and predicting the outputs as well as hidden states and parameters. The educated network can also be further educated during on-line processing.

Synchronization of Switched Neural Networks With Communication Delays via the Event-Triggered Control.

PubMed

Wen, Shiping; Zeng, Zhigang; Chen, Michael Z Q; Huang, Tingwen

2017-10-01

This paper addresses the issue of synchronization of switched delayed neural networks with communication delays via event-triggered control. For synchronizing coupled switched neural networks, we propose a novel event-triggered control law which could greatly reduce the number of control updates for synchronization tasks of coupled switched neural networks involving embedded microprocessors with limited on-board resources. The control signals are driven by properly defined events, which depend on the measurement errors and current-sampled states. By using a delay system method, a novel model of synchronization error system with delays is proposed with the communication delays and event-triggered control in the unified framework for coupled switched neural networks. The criteria are derived for the event-triggered synchronization analysis and control synthesis of switched neural networks via the Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional method and free weighting matrix approach. A numerical example is elaborated on to illustrate the effectiveness of the derived results.

MCTDH on-the-fly: Efficient grid-based quantum dynamics without pre-computed potential energy surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Richings, Gareth W.; Habershon, Scott

2018-04-01

We present significant algorithmic improvements to a recently proposed direct quantum dynamics method, based upon combining well established grid-based quantum dynamics approaches and expansions of the potential energy operator in terms of a weighted sum of Gaussian functions. Specifically, using a sum of low-dimensional Gaussian functions to represent the potential energy surface (PES), combined with a secondary fitting of the PES using singular value decomposition, we show how standard grid-based quantum dynamics methods can be dramatically accelerated without loss of accuracy. This is demonstrated by on-the-fly simulations (using both standard grid-based methods and multi-configuration time-dependent Hartree) of both proton transfer on the electronic ground state of salicylaldimine and the non-adiabatic dynamics of pyrazine.

Examination of the first excited state of 4He as a potential breathing mode

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bacca, Sonia; Barnea, Nir; Leidemann, Winfried; Orlandini, Giuseppina

2015-02-01

The isoscalar monopole excitation of 4He is studied within a few-body ab initio approach. We consider the transition density to the low-lying and narrow 0+ resonance, as well as various sum rules and the strength energy distribution itself at different momentum transfers q . Realistic nuclear forces of chiral and phenomenological nature are employed. Various indications for a collective breathing mode are found: (i) the specific shape of the transition density, (ii) the high degree of exhaustion of the non-energy-weighted sum rule at low q , and (iii) the complete dominance of the resonance peak in the excitation spectrum. For the incompressibility K of the α particle, two different definitions give two rather small values (22 and 36 MeV).

Short-Latency, Goal-Directed Movements of the Pinnae to Sounds That Produce Auditory Spatial Illusions

PubMed Central

McClaine, Elizabeth M.; Yin, Tom C. T.

2010-01-01

The precedence effect (PE) is an auditory spatial illusion whereby two identical sounds presented from two separate locations with a delay between them are perceived as a fused single sound source whose position depends on the value of the delay. By training cats using operant conditioning to look at sound sources, we have previously shown that cats experience the PE similarly to humans. For delays less than ±400 μs, cats exhibit summing localization, the perception of a “phantom” sound located between the sources. Consistent with localization dominance, for delays from 400 μs to ∼10 ms, cats orient toward the leading source location only, with little influence of the lagging source. Finally, echo threshold was reached for delays >10 ms, where cats first began to orient to the lagging source. It has been hypothesized by some that the neural mechanisms that produce facets of the PE, such as localization dominance and echo threshold, must likely occur at cortical levels. To test this hypothesis, we measured both pinnae position, which were not under any behavioral constraint, and eye position in cats and found that the pinnae orientations to stimuli that produce each of the three phases of the PE illusion was similar to the gaze responses. Although both eye and pinnae movements behaved in a manner that reflected the PE, because the pinnae moved with strikingly short latencies (∼30 ms), these data suggest a subcortical basis for the PE and that the cortex is not likely to be directly involved. PMID:19889848

Short-latency, goal-directed movements of the pinnae to sounds that produce auditory spatial illusions.

PubMed

Tollin, Daniel J; McClaine, Elizabeth M; Yin, Tom C T

2010-01-01

The precedence effect (PE) is an auditory spatial illusion whereby two identical sounds presented from two separate locations with a delay between them are perceived as a fused single sound source whose position depends on the value of the delay. By training cats using operant conditioning to look at sound sources, we have previously shown that cats experience the PE similarly to humans. For delays less than +/-400 mus, cats exhibit summing localization, the perception of a "phantom" sound located between the sources. Consistent with localization dominance, for delays from 400 mus to approximately 10 ms, cats orient toward the leading source location only, with little influence of the lagging source. Finally, echo threshold was reached for delays >10 ms, where cats first began to orient to the lagging source. It has been hypothesized by some that the neural mechanisms that produce facets of the PE, such as localization dominance and echo threshold, must likely occur at cortical levels. To test this hypothesis, we measured both pinnae position, which were not under any behavioral constraint, and eye position in cats and found that the pinnae orientations to stimuli that produce each of the three phases of the PE illusion was similar to the gaze responses. Although both eye and pinnae movements behaved in a manner that reflected the PE, because the pinnae moved with strikingly short latencies ( approximately 30 ms), these data suggest a subcortical basis for the PE and that the cortex is not likely to be directly involved.

The chromosome 3q25 genomic region is associated with measures of adiposity in newborns in a multi-ethnic genome-wide association study.

PubMed

Urbanek, Margrit; Hayes, M Geoffrey; Armstrong, Loren L; Morrison, Jean; Lowe, Lynn P; Badon, Sylvia E; Scheftner, Doug; Pluzhnikov, Anna; Levine, David; Laurie, Cathy C; McHugh, Caitlin; Ackerman, Christine M; Mirel, Daniel B; Doheny, Kimberly F; Guo, Cong; Scholtens, Denise M; Dyer, Alan R; Metzger, Boyd E; Reddy, Timothy E; Cox, Nancy J; Lowe, William L

2013-09-01

Newborns characterized as large and small for gestational age are at risk for increased mortality and morbidity during the first year of life as well as for obesity and dysglycemia as children and adults. The intrauterine environment and fetal genes contribute to the fetal size at birth. To define the genetic architecture underlying the newborn size, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in 4281 newborns in four ethnic groups from the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcome Study. We tested for association with newborn anthropometric traits (birth length, head circumference, birth weight, percent fat mass and sum of skinfolds) and newborn metabolic traits (cord glucose and C-peptide) under three models. Model 1 adjusted for field center, ancestry, neonatal gender, gestational age at delivery, parity, maternal age at oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT); Model 2 adjusted for Model 1 covariates, maternal body mass index (BMI) at OGTT, maternal height at OGTT, maternal mean arterial pressure at OGTT, maternal smoking and drinking; Model 3 adjusted for Model 2 covariates, maternal glucose and C-peptide at OGTT. Strong evidence for association was observed with measures of newborn adiposity (sum of skinfolds model 3 Z-score 7.356, P = 1.90×10⁻¹³, and to a lesser degree fat mass and birth weight) and a region on Chr3q25.31 mapping between CCNL and LEKR1. These findings were replicated in an independent cohort of 2296 newborns. This region has previously been shown to be associated with birth weight in Europeans. The current study suggests that association of this locus with birth weight is secondary to an effect on fat as opposed to lean body mass.

Calculating massive 3-loop graphs for operator matrix elements by the method of hyperlogarithms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ablinger, Jakob; Blümlein, Johannes; Raab, Clemens; Schneider, Carsten; Wißbrock, Fabian

2014-08-01

We calculate convergent 3-loop Feynman diagrams containing a single massive loop equipped with twist τ=2 local operator insertions corresponding to spin N. They contribute to the massive operator matrix elements in QCD describing the massive Wilson coefficients for deep-inelastic scattering at large virtualities. Diagrams of this kind can be computed using an extended version of the method of hyperlogarithms, originally being designed for massless Feynman diagrams without operators. The method is applied to Benz- and V-type graphs, belonging to the genuine 3-loop topologies. In case of the V-type graphs with five massive propagators, new types of nested sums and iterated integrals emerge. The sums are given in terms of finite binomially and inverse binomially weighted generalized cyclotomic sums, while the 1-dimensionally iterated integrals are based on a set of ∼30 square-root valued letters. We also derive the asymptotic representations of the nested sums and present the solution for N∈C. Integrals with a power-like divergence in N-space ∝aN,a∈R,a>1, for large values of N emerge. They still possess a representation in x-space, which is given in terms of root-valued iterated integrals in the present case. The method of hyperlogarithms is also used to calculate higher moments for crossed box graphs with different operator insertions.

Evaluation of Scheduling Methods for Multiple Runways

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bolender, Michael A.; Slater, G. L.

1996-01-01

Several scheduling strategies are analyzed in order to determine the most efficient means of scheduling aircraft when multiple runways are operational and the airport is operating at different utilization rates. The study compares simulation data for two and three runway scenarios to results from queuing theory for an M/D/n queue. The direction taken, however, is not to do a steady-state, or equilibrium, analysis since this is not the case during a rush period at a typical airport. Instead, a transient analysis of the delay per aircraft is performed. It is shown that the scheduling strategy that reduces the delay depends upon the density of the arrival traffic. For light traffic, scheduling aircraft to their preferred runways is sufficient; however, as the arrival rate increases, it becomes more important to separate traffic by weight class. Significant delay reduction is realized when aircraft that belong to the heavy and small weight classes are sent to separate runways with large aircraft put into the 'best' landing slot.

Food-deprivation effects on punished schedule-induced drinking in rats.

PubMed Central

Lamas, E; Pellón, R

1995-01-01

Food-deprived rats (at 80% of their free-feeding weights) were exposed to a fixed-time 60-s schedule of food-pellet presentation and developed schedule-induced drinking. Lick-dependent signaled delays (10 s) to food presentation led to decreased drinking, which recovered when the signaled delays were discontinued. A major effect of this punishment contingency was to increase the proportion of interpellet intervals without any licks. The drinking of yoked control rats, which received food at the same times as those exposed to the signaled delay contingency (masters), was not consistently reduced. When food-deprivation level was changed to 90%, all master and yoked control rats showed decreases in punished or unpunished schedule-induced drinking. When the body weights were reduced to 70%, most master rats increased punished behavior to levels similar to those of unpunished drinking. This effect was not observed for yoked controls. Therefore, body-weight loss increased the resistance of schedule-induced drinking to reductions by punishment. Food-deprivation effects on punished schedule-induced drinking are similar to their effects on food-maintained lever pressing. This dependency of punishment on food-deprivation level supports the view that schedule-induced drinking can be modified by the same variables that affect operant behavior in general. PMID:7622981

The role of impulsivity traits and delayed reward discounting in dysregulated eating and drinking among heavy drinkers

PubMed Central

Stojek, Monika M.; Fischer, Sarah; Murphy, Cara M.; MacKillop, James

2016-01-01

Impulsivity is a multifaceted construct that has been linked to dysregulated eating and problematic alcohol use. The UPPS model identifies five personality-based impulsivity traits that have unique predictive utility: Negative Urgency, Perseverance, Premeditation, Sensation Seeking, and Positive Urgency. Delayed reward discounting (DRD) is an index of impulsive decision making characterized by preference for smaller immediate gains at the cost of larger delayed gains. In the current study, we sought to refine the influence of impulsive personality traits and DRD on disordered eating patterns and problematic drinking. One hundred and eight treatment-seeking heavy drinkers were assessed for UPPS impulsivity traits, DRD, disordered eating, alcohol use, and demographic information. With regard to disordered eating patterns, DRD predicted higher levels of Dietary Restraint and Weight and Shape Concerns. Negative Urgency predicted binge eating and Weight and Shape Concerns. Positive Urgency predicted Eating Concerns. Female sex predicted Eating, Weight, and Shape Concerns. When considering problematic alcohol use, only Negative Urgency and Sensation Seeking were predictive. This is the first study to examine both personality-based impulsivity and DRD in relation to pathological eating and drinking behavior. The results suggest the importance of disentangling the contributions of various impulsivity constructs on dysregulated eating. PMID:24816318

The role of impulsivity traits and delayed reward discounting in dysregulated eating and drinking among heavy drinkers.

PubMed

Stojek, Monika M; Fischer, Sarah; Murphy, Cara M; MacKillop, James

2014-09-01

Impulsivity is a multifaceted construct that has been linked to dysregulated eating and problematic alcohol use. The UPPS model identifies five personality-based impulsivity traits that have unique predictive utility: Negative Urgency, Perseverance, Premeditation, Sensation Seeking, and Positive Urgency. Delayed reward discounting (DRD) is an index of impulsive decision making characterized by preference for smaller immediate gains at the cost of larger delayed gains. In the current study, we sought to refine the influence of impulsive personality traits and DRD on disordered eating patterns and problematic drinking. One hundred and eight treatment-seeking heavy drinkers were assessed for UPPS impulsivity traits, DRD, disordered eating, alcohol use, and demographic information. With regard to disordered eating patterns, DRD predicted higher levels of Dietary Restraint and Weight and Shape Concerns. Negative Urgency predicted binge eating and Weight and Shape Concerns. Positive Urgency predicted Eating Concerns. Female sex predicted Eating, Weight, and Shape Concerns. When considering problematic alcohol use, only Negative Urgency and Sensation Seeking were predictive. This is the first study to examine both personality-based impulsivity and DRD in relation to pathological eating and drinking behavior. The results suggest the importance of disentangling the contributions of various impulsivity constructs on dysregulated eating. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Bilateral electromyogram response latency following platform perturbation in unilateral transtibial prosthesis users: influence of weight distribution and limb position.

PubMed

Rusaw, David; Hagberg, Kerstin; Nolan, Lee; Ramstrand, Nerrolyn

2013-01-01

Appropriate muscular response following an external perturbation is essential in preventing falls. Transtibial prosthesis users lack a foot-ankle complex and associated sensorimotor structures on the side with the prosthesis. The effect of this lack on rapid responses of the lower limb to external surface perturbations is unknown. The aim of the present study was to compare electromyogram (EMG) response latencies of otherwise healthy, unilateral, transtibial prosthesis users (n = 23, mean +/- standard deviation [SD] age = 48 +/- 14 yr) and a matched control group (n = 23, mean +/- SD age = 48 +/- 13 yr) following sudden support-surface rotations in the pitch plane (toes-up and toes-down). Perturbations were elicited in various weight-bearing and limb-perturbed conditions. The results indicated that transtibial prosthesis users have delayed responses of multiple muscles of the lower limb following perturbation, both in the intact and residual limbs. Weight-bearing had no influence on the response latency in the residual limb, but did on the intact limb. Which limb received the perturbation was found to influence the muscular response, with the intact limb showing a significantly delayed response when the perturbation was received only on the side with a prosthesis. These delayed responses may represent an increased risk of falling for individuals who use transtibial prostheses.

Effectiveness of honey on radiation-induced oral mucositis, time to mucositis, weight loss, and treatment interruptions among patients with head and neck malignancies: A meta-analysis and systematic review of literature.

PubMed

Co, Jayson L; Mejia, Michael Benedict A; Que, Jocelyn C; Dizon, Janine Margarita R

2016-07-01

Mucositis is a disabling effect of radiotherapy in head and neck cancers. There is no current standard on management of radiation-induced mucositis. Honey has been shown to reduce radiation-induced mucositis. A systematic review and meta-analysis were undertaken to assess the ability of honey in reducing the severity of oral mucositis, time to mucositis, weight loss, and treatment interruptions. Eight studies were included and showed that honey was significantly better in lowering the risk for treatment interruptions, weight loss, and delaying time to mucositis, but not severity of mucositis. There is current evidence that honey is beneficial for patients with head and neck cancers by decreasing treatment interruptions, weight loss, and delaying the onset of oral mucositis, but not in decreasing peak mucositis score. In light of the results, honey is a reasonable treatment for radiation-induced mucositis, but more randomized clinical trials (RCTs) should be done. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck 38: 1119-1128, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

A novel three-stage distance-based consensus ranking method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aghayi, Nazila; Tavana, Madjid

2018-05-01

In this study, we propose a three-stage weighted sum method for identifying the group ranks of alternatives. In the first stage, a rank matrix, similar to the cross-efficiency matrix, is obtained by computing the individual rank position of each alternative based on importance weights. In the second stage, a secondary goal is defined to limit the vector of weights since the vector of weights obtained in the first stage is not unique. Finally, in the third stage, the group rank position of alternatives is obtained based on a distance of individual rank positions. The third stage determines a consensus solution for the group so that the ranks obtained have a minimum distance from the ranks acquired by each alternative in the previous stage. A numerical example is presented to demonstrate the applicability and exhibit the efficacy of the proposed method and algorithms.

Photo-Spectrometer Realized In A Standard Cmos Ic Process

DOEpatents

Simpson, Michael L.; Ericson, M. Nance; Dress, William B.; Jellison, Gerald E.; Sitter, Jr., David N.; Wintenberg, Alan L.

1999-10-12

A spectrometer, comprises: a semiconductor having a silicon substrate, the substrate having integrally formed thereon a plurality of layers forming photo diodes, each of the photo diodes having an independent spectral response to an input spectra within a spectral range of the semiconductor and each of the photo diodes formed only from at least one of the plurality of layers of the semiconductor above the substrate; and, a signal processing circuit for modifying signals from the photo diodes with respective weights, the weighted signals being representative of a specific spectral response. The photo diodes have different junction depths and different polycrystalline silicon and oxide coverings. The signal processing circuit applies the respective weights and sums the weighted signals. In a corresponding method, a spectrometer is manufactured by manipulating only the standard masks, materials and fabrication steps of standard semiconductor processing, and integrating the spectrometer with a signal processing circuit.

An Improved Image Ringing Evaluation Method with Weighted Sum of Gray Extreme Value

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Ling; Meng, Yanhua; Wang, Bo; Bai, Xu

2018-03-01

Blind image restoration algorithm usually produces ringing more obvious at the edges. Ringing phenomenon is mainly affected by noise, species of restoration algorithm, and the impact of the blur kernel estimation during restoration. Based on the physical mechanism of ringing, a method of evaluating the ringing on blind restoration images is proposed. The method extracts the ringing image overshooting and ripple region to make the weighted statistics for the regional gradient value. According to the weights set by multiple experiments, the edge information is used to characterize the details of the edge to determine the weight, quantify the seriousness of the ring effect, and propose the evaluation method of the ringing caused by blind restoration. The experimental results show that the method can effectively evaluate the ring effect in the restoration images under different restoration algorithms and different restoration parameters. The evaluation results are consistent with the visual evaluation results.

Design of Probabilistic Random Forests with Applications to Anticancer Drug Sensitivity Prediction

PubMed Central

Rahman, Raziur; Haider, Saad; Ghosh, Souparno; Pal, Ranadip

2015-01-01

Random forests consisting of an ensemble of regression trees with equal weights are frequently used for design of predictive models. In this article, we consider an extension of the methodology by representing the regression trees in the form of probabilistic trees and analyzing the nature of heteroscedasticity. The probabilistic tree representation allows for analytical computation of confidence intervals (CIs), and the tree weight optimization is expected to provide stricter CIs with comparable performance in mean error. We approached the ensemble of probabilistic trees’ prediction from the perspectives of a mixture distribution and as a weighted sum of correlated random variables. We applied our methodology to the drug sensitivity prediction problem on synthetic and cancer cell line encyclopedia dataset and illustrated that tree weights can be selected to reduce the average length of the CI without increase in mean error. PMID:27081304

The proper weighting function for retrieving temperatures from satellite measured radiances

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arking, A.

1976-01-01

One class of methods for converting satellite measured radiances into atmospheric temperature profiles, involves a linearization of the radiative transfer equation: delta r = the sum of (W sub i) (delta T sub i) where (i=1...s) and where delta T sub i is the deviation of the temperature in layer i from that of a reference atmosphere, delta R is the difference in the radiance at satellite altitude from the corresponding radiance for the reference atmosphere, and W sub i is the discrete (or vector) form of the T-weighting (i.e., temperature weighting) function W(P), where P is pressure. The top layer of the atmosphere corresponds to i = 1, the bottom layer to i = s - 1, and i = s refers to the surface. Linearization in temperature (or some function of temperature) is at the heart of all linear or matrix methods. The weighting function that should be used is developed.

Drude weight of the spin-(1)/(2) XXZ chain: Density matrix renormalization group versus exact diagonalization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Karrasch, C.; Hauschild, J.; Langer, S.; Heidrich-Meisner, F.

2013-06-01

We revisit the problem of the spin Drude weight D of the integrable spin-1/2 XXZ chain using two complementary approaches, exact diagonalization (ED) and the time-dependent density-matrix renormalization group (tDMRG). We pursue two main goals. First, we present extensive results for the temperature dependence of D. By exploiting time translation invariance within tDMRG, one can extract D for significantly lower temperatures than in previous tDMRG studies. Second, we discuss the numerical quality of the tDMRG data and elaborate on details of the finite-size scaling of the ED results, comparing calculations carried out in the canonical and grand-canonical ensembles. Furthermore, we analyze the behavior of the Drude weight as the point with SU(2)-symmetric exchange is approached and discuss the relative contribution of the Drude weight to the sum rule as a function of temperature.

Near-Optimal Operation of Dual-Fuel Launch Vehicles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ardema, M. D.; Chou, H. C.; Bowles, J. V.

1996-01-01

A near-optimal guidance law for the ascent trajectory from earth surface to earth orbit of a fully reusable single-stage-to-orbit pure rocket launch vehicle is derived. Of interest are both the optimal operation of the propulsion system and the optimal flight path. A methodology is developed to investigate the optimal throttle switching of dual-fuel engines. The method is based on selecting propulsion system modes and parameters that maximize a certain performance function. This function is derived from consideration of the energy-state model of the aircraft equations of motion. Because the density of liquid hydrogen is relatively low, the sensitivity of perturbations in volume need to be taken into consideration as well as weight sensitivity. The cost functional is a weighted sum of fuel mass and volume; the weighting factor is chosen to minimize vehicle empty weight for a given payload mass and volume in orbit.

Relative trace-element concern indexes for eastern Kentucky coals

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

Collins, S.L.

Coal trace elements that could affect environmental quality were studied in 372 samples (collected and analyzed by the Kentucky Geological Survey and the United States Geological Survey) from 36 coal beds in eastern Kentucky. Relative trace-element concern indexes are defined as the weighted sum of standarized (substract mean; divide by standard deviation) concentrations. Index R is calculated from uranium and thorium, index 1 from elements of minor concern (antimony, barium, bromine, chloride, cobalt, lithium, manganese, sodium, and strontium), index 2 from elements of moderate concern (chromium, copper, fluorine, nickel, vanadium, and zinc), and index 4 from elements of greatest concernmore » (arsenic, boron, cadmium, lead, mercury, molybdenum, and selenium). Numericals indicate weights, except that index R is weighted by 1, and index 124 is the unweighted sum of indexes 1, 2, and 4. Contour mapping indexes is valid because all indexes have nonnugget effect variograms. Index 124 is low west of Lee and Bell counties, and in Pike County. Index 124 is high in the area bounded by Boyd, Menifee, Knott, and Martin counties and in Owsley, Clay, and Leslie counties. Coal from some areas of eastern Kentucky is less likely to cause environmental problems than that from other areas. Positive correlations of all indexes with the centered log ratios of ash, and negative correlations with centered log ratios of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen, and sulfur indicate that trace elements of concern are predominantly associated with ash. Beneficiation probably would reduce indexes significantly.« less

Using within-day hive weight changes to measure environmental effects on honey bee colonies

PubMed Central

Holst, Niels; Weiss, Milagra; Carroll, Mark J.; McFrederick, Quinn S.; Barron, Andrew B.

2018-01-01

Patterns in within-day hive weight data from two independent datasets in Arizona and California were modeled using piecewise regression, and analyzed with respect to honey bee colony behavior and landscape effects. The regression analysis yielded information on the start and finish of a colony’s daily activity cycle, hive weight change at night, hive weight loss due to departing foragers and weight gain due to returning foragers. Assumptions about the meaning of the timing and size of the morning weight changes were tested in a third study by delaying the forager departure times from one to three hours using screen entrance gates. A regression of planned vs. observed departure delays showed that the initial hive weight loss around dawn was largely due to foragers. In a similar experiment in Australia, hive weight loss due to departing foragers in the morning was correlated with net bee traffic (difference between the number of departing bees and the number of arriving bees) and from those data the payload of the arriving bees was estimated to be 0.02 g. The piecewise regression approach was then used to analyze a fifth study involving hives with and without access to natural forage. The analysis showed that, during a commercial pollination event, hives with previous access to forage had a significantly higher rate of weight gain as the foragers returned in the afternoon, and, in the weeks after the pollination event, a significantly higher rate of weight loss in the morning, as foragers departed. This combination of continuous weight data and piecewise regression proved effective in detecting treatment differences in foraging activity that other methods failed to detect. PMID:29791462

Using within-day hive weight changes to measure environmental effects on honey bee colonies.

PubMed

Meikle, William G; Holst, Niels; Colin, Théotime; Weiss, Milagra; Carroll, Mark J; McFrederick, Quinn S; Barron, Andrew B

2018-01-01

Patterns in within-day hive weight data from two independent datasets in Arizona and California were modeled using piecewise regression, and analyzed with respect to honey bee colony behavior and landscape effects. The regression analysis yielded information on the start and finish of a colony's daily activity cycle, hive weight change at night, hive weight loss due to departing foragers and weight gain due to returning foragers. Assumptions about the meaning of the timing and size of the morning weight changes were tested in a third study by delaying the forager departure times from one to three hours using screen entrance gates. A regression of planned vs. observed departure delays showed that the initial hive weight loss around dawn was largely due to foragers. In a similar experiment in Australia, hive weight loss due to departing foragers in the morning was correlated with net bee traffic (difference between the number of departing bees and the number of arriving bees) and from those data the payload of the arriving bees was estimated to be 0.02 g. The piecewise regression approach was then used to analyze a fifth study involving hives with and without access to natural forage. The analysis showed that, during a commercial pollination event, hives with previous access to forage had a significantly higher rate of weight gain as the foragers returned in the afternoon, and, in the weeks after the pollination event, a significantly higher rate of weight loss in the morning, as foragers departed. This combination of continuous weight data and piecewise regression proved effective in detecting treatment differences in foraging activity that other methods failed to detect.

Do shorter delays to care and mental health system renewal translate into better occupational outcome after mental disorder diagnosis in a cohort of Canadian military personnel who returned from an Afghanistan deployment?

PubMed Central

Boulos, David; Zamorski, Mark A

2015-01-01

Objective Mental disorders in military personnel result in high rates of attrition. Military organisations have strengthened their mental health systems and attempted to overcome barriers to care in order to see better outcomes. This study investigated the roles of mental health services renewal and delay to care in Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) personnel diagnosed with mental disorders. Design Administrative data were used to identify a retrospective cohort of 30 513 CAF personnel who deployed in support of the mission in Afghanistan. Study participants included 508 individuals with a mental disorder diagnosis identified from CAF medical records of a weighted, stratified random sample of 2014 individuals selected from the study cohort. Weighted Cox proportional hazards regression assessed the association of diagnosis era and delay to care with the outcome, after controlling for a broad range of potential confounders (eg, disorder severity, comorbidity). Taylor series linearisation methods and sample design weights were applied in generating descriptive and regression analysis statistics. Primary outcome The outcome was release from military service for medical reasons, assessed using administrative data for the 508 individuals with a mental disorder diagnosis. Results 17.5% (95% CI 16.0% to 19.0%) of the cohort had a mental disorder diagnosis after an Afghanistan-related deployment, of which 21.3% (95% CI 17.2% to 25.5%) had a medical release over a median follow-up of 3.5 years. Medical release risk was elevated for individuals diagnosed before 30 April 2008 relative to those with recent diagnoses (adjusted HR (aHR)=1.77 (95% CI 1.01 to 3.11)) and for individuals with a long delay to care (>21 months after return) relative to those with intermediate delays (8–21 months, aHR 2.47=(95% CI 1.28 to 4.76)). Conclusions Mental health services renewal in the CAF was associated with a better occupational outcome for those diagnosed with mental disorders. Longer delays to care were associated with a less favourable outcome. PMID:26644121

Convex lattice polygons of fixed area with perimeter-dependent weights.

PubMed

Rajesh, R; Dhar, Deepak

2005-01-01

We study fully convex polygons with a given area, and variable perimeter length on square and hexagonal lattices. We attach a weight tm to a convex polygon of perimeter m and show that the sum of weights of all polygons with a fixed area s varies as s(-theta(conv))eK(t)square root(s) for large s and t less than a critical threshold tc, where K(t) is a t-dependent constant, and theta(conv) is a critical exponent which does not change with t. Using heuristic arguments, we find that theta(conv) is 1/4 for the square lattice, but -1/4 for the hexagonal lattice. The reason for this unexpected nonuniversality of theta(conv) is traced to existence of sharp corners in the asymptotic shape of these polygons.

Limited potential of genetic predisposition scores to predict muscle mass and strength performance in Flemish Caucasians between 19 and 73 years of age.

PubMed

Charlier, Ruben; Caspers, Maarten; Knaeps, Sara; Mertens, Evelien; Lambrechts, Diether; Lefevre, Johan; Thomis, Martine

2017-03-01

Since both muscle mass and strength performance are polygenic in nature, the current study compared four genetic predisposition scores (GPS) in their ability to predict these phenotypes. Data were gathered within the framework of the first-generation Flemish Policy Research Centre "Sport, Physical Activity and Health" (2002-2004). Results are based on muscle characteristics data of 565 Flemish Caucasians (19-73 yr, 365 men). Skeletal muscle mass was determined from bioelectrical impedance. The Biodex dynamometer was used to measure isometric (PT static120° ) and isokinetic strength (PT dynamic60° and PT dynamic240° ), ballistic movement speed (S 20% ), and muscular endurance (Work) of the knee extensors. Genotyping was done for 153 gene variants, selected on the basis of a literature search and the expression quantitative trait loci of selected genes. Four GPS were designed: a total GPS (based on the sum of all 153 variants, each favorable allele = score 1), a data-driven and weighted GPS [respectively, the sum of favorable alleles of those variants with significant b-coefficients in stepwise regression (GPS dd ), and the sum of these variants weighted with their respective partial r 2 (GPS w )], and an elastic net GPS (based on the variants that were selected by an elastic net regularization; GPS en ). It was found that four different models for a GPS were able to significantly predict up to ~7% of the variance in strength performance. GPS en made the best prediction of SMM and Work. However, this was not the case for the remaining strength performance parameters, where best predictions were made by GPS dd and GPS w . Copyright © 2017 the American Physiological Society.

Contribution of precursor compounds to the release of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) from waste water treatment plants (WWTPs).

PubMed

Eriksson, Ulrika; Haglund, Peter; Kärrman, Anna

2017-11-01

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) are ubiquitous in sludge and water from waste water treatment plants, as a result of their incorporation in everyday products and industrial processes. In this study, we measured several classes of persistent PFASs, precursors, transformation intermediates, and newly identified PFASs in influent and effluent sewage water and sludge from three municipal waste water treatment plants in Sweden, sampled in 2015. For sludge, samples from 2012 and 2014 were analyzed as well. Levels of precursors in sludge exceeded those of perfluoroalkyl acids and sulfonic acids (PFCAs and PFSAs), in 2015 the sum of polyfluoroalkyl phosphoric acid esters (PAPs) were 15-20ng/g dry weight, the sum of fluorotelomer sulfonic acids (FTSAs) was 0.8-1.3ng/g, and the sum of perfluorooctane sulfonamides and ethanols ranged from non-detected to 3.2ng/g. Persistent PFSAs and PFCAs were detected at 1.9-3.9ng/g and 2.4-7.3ng/g dry weight, respectively. The influence of precursor compounds was further demonstrated by an observed substantial increase for a majority of the persistent PFCAs and PFSAs in water after waste water treatment. Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA), perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) had a net mass increase in all WWTPs, with mean values of 83%, 28%, 37% and 58%, respectively. The load of precursors and intermediates in influent water and sludge combined with net mass increase support the hypothesis that degradation of precursor compounds is a significant contributor to PFAS contamination in the environment. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

GLP-1 and estrogen conjugate acts in the supramammillary nucleus to reduce food-reward and body weight.

PubMed

Vogel, Heike; Wolf, Stefanie; Rabasa, Cristina; Rodriguez-Pacheco, Francisca; Babaei, Carina S; Stöber, Franziska; Goldschmidt, Jürgen; DiMarchi, Richard D; Finan, Brian; Tschöp, Matthias H; Dickson, Suzanne L; Schürmann, Annette; Skibicka, Karolina P

2016-11-01

The obesity epidemic continues unabated and currently available pharmacological treatments are not sufficiently effective. Combining gut/brain peptide, GLP-1, with estrogen into a conjugate may represent a novel, safe and potent, strategy to treat diabesity. Here we demonstrate that the central administration of GLP-1-estrogen conjugate reduced food reward, food intake, and body weight in rats. In order to determine the brain location of the interaction of GLP-1 with estrogen, we avail of single-photon emission computed tomography imaging of regional cerebral blood flow and pinpoint a brain site unexplored for its role in feeding and reward, the supramammillary nucleus (SUM) as a potential target of the conjugated GLP-1-estrogen. We confirm that conjugated GLP-1 and estrogen directly target the SUM with site-specific microinjections. Additional microinjections of GLP-1-estrogen into classic energy balance controlling nuclei, the lateral hypothalamus (LH) and the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS) revealed that the metabolic benefits resulting from GLP-1-estrogen injections are mediated through the LH and to some extent by the NTS. In contrast, no additional benefit of the conjugate was noted on food reward when the compound was microinjected into the LH or the NTS, identifying the SUM as the only neural substrate identified here to underlie the reward reducing benefits of GLP-1 and estrogen conjugate. Collectively we discover a surprising neural substrate underlying food intake and reward effects of GLP-1 and estrogen and uncover a new brain area capable of regulating energy balance and reward. Copyright © 2016 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Erythrocyte linoleic acid, but not oleic acid, is associated with improvements in body composition in men and women.

PubMed

Belury, Martha A; Cole, Rachel M; Bailey, Brittney E; Ke, Jia-Yu; Andridge, Rebecca R; Kiecolt-Glaser, Janice K

2016-05-01

Supplementation with linoleic acid (LA; 18:2Ω6)-rich oils increases lean mass and decreases trunk adipose mass in people. Erythrocyte fatty acids reflect the dietary pattern of fatty acid intake and endogenous metabolism of fatty acids. The aim of this study is to determine the relationship of erythrocyte LA, with aspects of body composition, insulin resistance, and inflammation. Additionally, we tested for relationships of oleic acid (OA) and the sum of long chain omega-three fatty acids (LC-Ω3-SUM), on the same outcomes. Men and women (N = 139) were evaluated for body composition, insulin resistance, and serum inflammatory markers, IL-6, and c-reactive protein (CRP) and erythrocyte fatty acid composition after an overnight fast. LA was positively related to appendicular lean mass/body mass index and inversely related to trunk adipose mass. Additionally, LA was inversely related to insulin resistance and IL-6. While there was an inverse relationship between OA or LC-Ω3-SUM with markers of inflammation, there were no relationships between OA or LC-Ω3-SUM with body composition or HOMA-IR. Higher erythrocyte LA was associated with improved body composition, insulin resistance, and inflammation. Erythrocyte OA or LC-Ω3-SUM was unrelated to body composition and insulin resistance. There is much controversy about whether all unsaturated fats have the same benefits for metabolic syndrome and weight gain. We sought to test the strength of the relationships between three unsaturated fatty acid in erythrocytes with measurements of body composition, metabolism, and inflammation in healthy adults. Linoleic acid, but not oleic acid or the sum of long-chain omega 3 fatty acids (w3), was associated with increased appendicular lean mass and decreased trunk adipose mass and insulin resistance. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Evaluation of primary prostate cancer using 11C-methionine-PET/CT and 18F-FDG-PET/CT.

PubMed

Shiiba, Masato; Ishihara, Keiichi; Kimura, Go; Kuwako, Tomoyuki; Yoshihara, Hisashi; Yoshihara, Naohisa; Sato, Hidetaka; Kondo, Yukihiro; Tsuchiya, Shin-ichi; Kumita, Shin-ichiro

2012-02-01

The objective of this study was to evaluate the capability of (11)C-methionine (MET)-PET/CT and (18)F-2-deoxy-2-fluoro-D: -glucose (FDG)-PET/CT to diagnose primary prostate cancer using recently developed Gemini TF PET/CT (Philips Healthcare, Cleveland, OH). Twenty men who had been referred for a diagnostic work-up for prostate cancer were enrolled in this study. MET- and FDG-PET/CT by high-resolution mode were carried out on the same day prior to prostate biopsy and each maximum standardized uptake value (SUVmax) was compared with the pathological findings. The regions of interest (about 100 mm(2) small round) were placed at standard 6 points of the peripheral zone and 4 points in the apex of the transitional zone in cases that had undergone biopsy of the internal gland. We summed two scores if a specimen had inhomogeneous Gleason scores (e.g. GS 7; 4 + 3) and doubled the score when the Gleason score was the same (e.g. GS 8; 4 × 2). We divided the tumors into three groups. If the summed Gleason score of the specimens was 5 or less, they were grouped as NG (no grade with the Gleason score). If the summed Gleason score was 6 or 7, the tumors were defined as LG (low Gleason score group), and if the summed Gleason score was 8, 9 or 10, the tumors were classified as HG (high Gleason score group). The mean SUVmax was calculated and one-way analysis of variance or Kruskal-Wallis test and the Tukey post hoc test were performed for statistical comparisons. The capabilities of MET and FDG for diagnosing prostate cancer were evaluated through analysis of the area under the curve of the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve. The cut-off levels of SUVmax for the highest accuracy were determined by the results of the ROC analysis, and the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy were calculated. The PET images, obtained with Gemini TF PET/CT, allowed visual identification of anatomical locations within the prostate gland. Among the mean SUVmax of MET, FDG early phase and FDG delayed phase, the differences between NG and HG were all statistically significant (P < 0.01). With MET the difference between NG and LG was also significant (P < 0.05). And for the elevation rate from FDG early to delayed phase, the difference between NG and HG was significant (P < 0.05). The cut-off SUVmax, sensitivity, specificity, accuracy for distinguishing between NG and LG + HG by MET, FDG early and delayed phase were 3.15/78.7/75.6/78.3, 2.81/61.7/80.0/70.7 and 3.00/62.8/78.9/70.7, respectively. And the same factors between NG + LG and HG were 3.76/70.1/89.7/82.6, 2.88/70.1/82.9/78.3 and 3.47/62.7/86.3/77.7, respectively. In terms of the capability to diagnose prostate cancer of high Gleason score (≥8), there was no significant difference between MET and FDG. MET appears to be useful for detecting prostate cancer of both low and high Gleason score.

ECON-KG: A Code for Computation of Electrical Conductivity Using Density Functional Theory

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-10-01

is presented. Details of the implementation and instructions for execution are presented, and an example calculation of the frequency- dependent ...shown to depend on carbon content,3 and electrical conductivity models have become a requirement for input into continuum-level simulations being... dependent electrical conductivity is computed as a weighted sum over k-points: () = ∑ () ∗ () , (2) where W(k) is

Electrostatic interaction energy and factor 1.23

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rubčić, A.; Arp, H.; Rubčić, J.

The factor F≫1.23 has originally been found in the redshift of quasars. Recently, it has been found in very different physical phenomena: the life-time of muonium, the masses of elementary particles (leptons, quarks,...), the correlation of atomic weight (A) and atomic number (Z) and the correlation of the sum of masses of all orbiting bodies with the mass of the central body in gravitational systems.

Interface Evaluation for Open System Architectures

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-03-01

maker (SDM) is responsible for balancing all of the influences of the IPT when making decisions. Coalescing the IPT perspectives for a single IIM...factors are considered in IIM decisions and that decisions are consistent with the preferences of the SDM, ultimately leading to a balance of schedule... board to perform ranking and weighting determinations. Rank sum, rank exponent, rank reciprocal and ROC leverage a subjective assessment of the

Influence of radiation absorption by environmental water vapor on radiation transfer in wildland fires

Treesearch

David Frankman; Brent W. Webb; Bret W. Butler

2007-01-01

Thermal radiation emission from a simulated black flame surface to a fuel bed is analyzed by a ray-tracing technique, tracking emission from points along the flame to locations along the fuel bed while accounting for absorption by environmental water vapor in the intervening medium. The Spectral Line Weighted-sum-of-gray-gases approach was adopted for treating the...

Optimization of Long Range Major Rehabilitation of Airfield Pavements.

DTIC Science & Technology

1983-01-01

the network level, the mathematical representation of choosing those projects that maximize the sum of the user value weighted structural performanceof ...quantitatively be compared . In addition, an estimate of an appropriate level of funding for the entire system can be made. The simple example shows a...pavement engineers to only working in the present. The designing and comparing of pavement maintenance and rehabilitation alternatives remain directed

Multicolinearity and Indicator Redundancy Problem in World University Rankings: An Example Using Times Higher Education World University Ranking 2013-2014 Data

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kaycheng, Soh

2015-01-01

World university ranking systems used the weight-and-sum approach to combined indicator scores into overall scores on which the universities are then ranked. This approach assumes that the indicators all independently contribute to the overall score in the specified proportions. In reality, this assumption is doubtful as the indicators tend to…

Prioritizing the Components of Vulnerability: A Genetic Algorithm Minimization of Flood Risk

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bongolan, Vena Pearl; Ballesteros, Florencio; Baritua, Karessa Alexandra; Junne Santos, Marie

2013-04-01

We define a flood resistant city as an optimal arrangement of communities according to their traits, with the goal of minimizing the flooding vulnerability via a genetic algorithm. We prioritize the different components of flooding vulnerability, giving each component a weight, thus expressing vulnerability as a weighted sum. This serves as the fitness function for the genetic algorithm. We also allowed non-linear interactions among related but independent components, viz, poverty and mortality rate, and literacy and radio/ tv penetration. The designs produced reflect the relative importance of the components, and we observed a synchronicity between the interacting components, giving us a more consistent design.

Decision-making in state lotteries: half now or all of it later?

PubMed

Baker, Forest; Johnson, Matthew W; Bickel, Warren K

2003-12-01

Many state lotteries offer players a choice between receiving roughly half of the jackpot immediately and receiving the entire jackpot over 25 annual payments. This requires players to make a decision that involves uncertainty, delay, and large amounts of real money. Archival data on lottery players' jackpot payment decisions were collected from seven state and three multistate lotteries. Players' jackpot payment preferences were assessed at the time of ticket purchase and after winning a jackpot. Preference for the annuity payment option significantly decreased as jackpot size increased, both at the time of ticket purchase and after winning. Furthermore, a significant proportion of winners who selected the annuity payment option at ticket purchase switched to the cash payment option after winning, whereas no winners switched from the cash to the annuity option after winning. These findings suggest that real-world choices involving large sums of money may be subject to diminishing marginal utility and probability and delay discounting.

Does Computed Tomography Have the Ability to Differentiate Aggressive From Nonaggressive Solid Pseudopapillary Neoplasm?

PubMed

Rastogi, Ashita; Assing, Mathew; Taggart, Mellisa; Rao, Brinda; Sun, Jia; Elsayes, Khaled; Tamm, Eric; Bhosale, Priya

The aim of the study was to assess the ability of contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) to differentiate aggressive from nonaggressive solid pseudopapillary neoplasms (SPNs). Forty treatment-naive patients with pathologically proven pancreatic SPNs were included. Imaging characteristics were determined by consensus of 3 radiologists blinded to histopathologic aggressiveness. All patients underwent 4-phase CECT using a pancreatic protocol. The regions of interest of the tumor and the normal pancreas were documented on all phases. Lymph nodes were considered metastatic if greater than 1.0 cm in short-axis diameter.Fisher exact and Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were used to compare between aggressive and nonaggressive tumors. No significant difference was noted between imaging covariates, such as internal hemorrhage, calcification, wall thickness perceptibility, vascular invasion, margins, cystic component, and pancreatic and biliary ductal dilation. Tumors with greater than 62.5 Hounsfield units and progressive enhancement during the delayed phase had aggressive characteristics (P = 0.03). On delayed phase CECT, pathologically aggressive SPNs may show greater enhancement than nonaggressive SPNs.

Effect of long-time immersion of soft denture liners in water on viscoelastic properties.

PubMed

Iwasaki, Naohiko; Yamaki, Chisato; Takahashi, Hidekazu; Oki, Meiko; Suzuki, Tetsuya

2017-09-26

Aim of this study was to investigate the effect of long-time immersion of soft denture liners in 37°C water on viscoelastic properties. Six silicone-based and two acrylic resin-based soft denture liners were selected. Cylindrical specimens were stored in distilled water at 37°C for 6 months. Viscoelastic properties, which were instantaneous and delayed elastic displacements, viscous flow, and residual displacement, were determined using a creep meter, and analyzed with 2-way analysis of variance and Tukey's comparison (α=0.05). Viscoelastic properties and their time-dependent changes were varied among materials examined. The observed viscoelastic properties of three from six silicone-based liners did not significantly change after 6-month immersion, but those of two acrylic resin-based liners significantly changed with the increase of immersion time. However, the sum of initial instantaneous elastic displacement and delayed elastic displacement of two acrylic resin-based liners during 6-month immersion changed less than 10%, which might indicate clinically sufficient elastic performance.

Temporal Stability of GPS Transmitter Group Delay Variations.

PubMed

Beer, Susanne; Wanninger, Lambert

2018-05-29

The code observable of global navigation satellite systems (GNSS) is influenced by group delay variations (GDV) of transmitter and receiver antennas. For the Global Positioning System (GPS), the variations can sum up to 1 m in the ionosphere-free linear combination and thus can significantly affect precise code applications. The contribution of the GPS transmitters can amount to 0.8 m peak-to-peak over the entire nadir angle range. To verify the assumption of their time-invariance, we determined daily individual satellite GDV for GPS transmitter antennas over a period of more than two years. Dual-frequency observations of globally distributed reference stations and their multipath combination form the basis for our analysis. The resulting GPS GDV are stable on the level of a few centimeters for C1, P2, and for the ionosphere-free linear combination. Our study reveals that the inconsistencies of the GDV of space vehicle number (SVN) 55 with respect to earlier studies are not caused by temporal instabilities, but are rather related to receiver properties.

Mechanosensing of stem bending and its interspecific variability in five neotropical rainforest species.

PubMed

Coutand, Catherine; Chevolot, Malia; Lacointe, André; Rowe, Nick; Scotti, Ivan

2010-02-01

In rain forests, sapling survival is highly dependent on the regulation of trunk slenderness (height/diameter ratio): shade-intolerant species have to grow in height as fast as possible to reach the canopy but also have to withstand mechanical loadings (wind and their own weight) to avoid buckling. Recent studies suggest that mechanosensing is essential to control tree dimensions and stability-related morphogenesis. Differences in species slenderness have been observed among rainforest trees; the present study thus investigates whether species with different slenderness and growth habits exhibit differences in mechanosensitivity. Recent studies have led to a model of mechanosensing (sum-of-strains model) that predicts a quantitative relationship between the applied sum of longitudinal strains and the plant's responses in the case of a single bending. Saplings of five different neotropical species (Eperua falcata, E. grandiflora, Tachigali melinonii, Symphonia globulifera and Bauhinia guianensis) were subjected to a regimen of controlled mechanical loading phases (bending) alternating with still phases over a period of 2 months. Mechanical loading was controlled in terms of strains and the five species were subjected to the same range of sum of strains. The application of the sum-of-strain model led to a dose-response curve for each species. Dose-response curves were then compared between tested species. The model of mechanosensing (sum-of-strain model) applied in the case of multiple bending as long as the bending frequency was low. A comparison of dose-response curves for each species demonstrated differences in the stimulus threshold, suggesting two groups of responses among the species. Interestingly, the liana species B. guianensis exhibited a higher threshold than other Leguminosae species tested. This study provides a conceptual framework to study variability in plant mechanosensing and demonstrated interspecific variability in mechanosensing.

Self-Regulation in Children Born with Extremely Low Birth Weight at 2 Years Old: A Comparison Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lynn, Lisa N.; Cuskelly, Monica; Gray, Peter H.; O'Callaghan, Michael J.

2012-01-01

Survival rates for children born with extremely low birth weight (ELBW) are increasing; however, many of these children experience later problems with learning. This study adopted an integrated approach to these problems, involving the self-regulatory tasks of inhibition and delay of gratification and relevant individual factors including…

The Association Between Spontaneous Hyperventilation, Delayed Cerebral Ischemia, and Poor Neurological Outcome in Patients with Subarachnoid Hemorrhage.

PubMed

Williamson, Craig A; Sheehan, Kyle M; Tipirneni, Renuka; Roark, Christopher D; Pandey, Aditya S; Thompson, B Gregory; Rajajee, Venkatakrishna

2015-12-01

The frequency and associations of spontaneous hyperventilation in subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH) are unknown. Because hyperventilation decreases cerebral blood flow, it may exacerbate delayed cerebral ischemia (DCI) and worsen neurological outcome. This is a retrospective analysis of data from a prospectively collected cohort of SAH patients at an academic medical center. Spontaneous hyperventilation was defined by PaCO2 <35 mmHg and pH >7.45 and subdivided into moderate and severe groups. Clinical and demographic characteristics of patients with and without spontaneous hyperventilation were compared using χ (2) or t tests. Bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to examine the association of moderate and severe hyperventilation with DCI and discharge neurological outcome. Of 207 patients, 113 (55 %) had spontaneous hyperventilation. Spontaneously hyperventilating patients had greater illness severity as measured by the Hunt-Hess, World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies (WFNS), and SAH sum scores. They were also more likely to develop the following complications: pneumonia, neurogenic myocardial injury, systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS), radiographic vasospasm, DCI, and poor neurological outcome. In a multivariable logistic regression model including age, gender, WFNS, SAH sum score, pneumonia, neurogenic myocardial injury, etiology, and SIRS, only moderate [odds ratio (OR) 2.49, 95 % confidence interval (CI) 1.10-5.62] and severe (OR 3.12, 95 % CI 1.30-7.49) spontaneous hyperventilation were associated with DCI. Severe spontaneous hyperventilation (OR 4.52, 95 % CI 1.37-14.89) was also significantly associated with poor discharge outcome in multivariable logistic regression analysis. Spontaneous hyperventilation is common in SAH and is associated with DCI and poor neurological outcome.

Finite-time stability of neutral-type neural networks with random time-varying delays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ali, M. Syed; Saravanan, S.; Zhu, Quanxin

2017-11-01

This paper is devoted to the finite-time stability analysis of neutral-type neural networks with random time-varying delays. The randomly time-varying delays are characterised by Bernoulli stochastic variable. This result can be extended to analysis and design for neutral-type neural networks with random time-varying delays. On the basis of this paper, we constructed suitable Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional together and established a set of sufficient linear matrix inequalities approach to guarantee the finite-time stability of the system concerned. By employing the Jensen's inequality, free-weighting matrix method and Wirtinger's double integral inequality, the proposed conditions are derived and two numerical examples are addressed for the effectiveness of the developed techniques.

Exponential lag function projective synchronization of memristor-based multidirectional associative memory neural networks via hybrid control

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Manman; Wang, Weiping; Luo, Xiong; Li, Lixiang; Kurths, Jürgen; Wang, Xiao

2018-03-01

This paper is concerned with the exponential lag function projective synchronization of memristive multidirectional associative memory neural networks (MMAMNNs). First, we propose a new model of MMAMNNs with mixed time-varying delays. In the proposed approach, the mixed delays include time-varying discrete delays and distributed time delays. Second, we design two kinds of hybrid controllers. Traditional control methods lack the capability of reflecting variable synaptic weights. In this paper, the controllers are carefully designed to confirm the process of different types of synchronization in the MMAMNNs. Third, sufficient criteria guaranteeing the synchronization of system are derived based on the derive-response concept. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed mechanism is validated with numerical experiments.

Multisensor Arrays for Greater Reliability and Accuracy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Immer, Christopher; Eckhoff, Anthony; Lane, John; Perotti, Jose; Randazzo, John; Blalock, Norman; Ree, Jeff

2004-01-01

Arrays of multiple, nominally identical sensors with sensor-output-processing electronic hardware and software are being developed in order to obtain accuracy, reliability, and lifetime greater than those of single sensors. The conceptual basis of this development lies in the statistical behavior of multiple sensors and a multisensor-array (MSA) algorithm that exploits that behavior. In addition, advances in microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and integrated circuits are exploited. A typical sensor unit according to this concept includes multiple MEMS sensors and sensor-readout circuitry fabricated together on a single chip and packaged compactly with a microprocessor that performs several functions, including execution of the MSA algorithm. In the MSA algorithm, the readings from all the sensors in an array at a given instant of time are compared and the reliability of each sensor is quantified. This comparison of readings and quantification of reliabilities involves the calculation of the ratio between every sensor reading and every other sensor reading, plus calculation of the sum of all such ratios. Then one output reading for the given instant of time is computed as a weighted average of the readings of all the sensors. In this computation, the weight for each sensor is the aforementioned value used to quantify its reliability. In an optional variant of the MSA algorithm that can be implemented easily, a running sum of the reliability value for each sensor at previous time steps as well as at the present time step is used as the weight of the sensor in calculating the weighted average at the present time step. In this variant, the weight of a sensor that continually fails gradually decreases, so that eventually, its influence over the output reading becomes minimal: In effect, the sensor system "learns" which sensors to trust and which not to trust. The MSA algorithm incorporates a criterion for deciding whether there remain enough sensor readings that approximate each other sufficiently closely to constitute a majority for the purpose of quantifying reliability. This criterion is, simply, that if there do not exist at least three sensors having weights greater than a prescribed minimum acceptable value, then the array as a whole is deemed to have failed.

Dual-user nonlinear teleoperation subjected to varying time delay and bounded inputs.

PubMed

Zakerimanesh, Amir; Hashemzadeh, Farzad; Ghiasi, Amir Rikhtehgar

2017-05-01

A novel trilateral control architecture for Dual-master/Single-slave teleoperation system with taking account of saturation in actuators, nonlinear dynamics for telemanipulators and bounded varying time delay which affects the transmitted signals in the communication channels, is proposed in this paper. In this research, we will address the stability and desired position coordination problem of trilateral teleoperation system by extension of (nP+D) controller that is used for Single-master/Single-slave teleoperation system. Our proposed controller is weighted summation of nonlinear Proportional plus Damping (nP+D) controller that incorporate gravity compensation and the weights are specified by the dominance factor, which determines the supremacy of each user over the slave robot and over the other user. The asymptotic stability of closed loop dynamics is studied using Lyapunov-Krasovskii functional under conditions on the controller parameters, the actuator saturation characteristics and the maximum values of varying time delays. It is shown that these controllers satisfy the desired position coordination problem in free motion condition. To show the effectiveness of the proposed method, a number of simulations have been conducted on a varying time delay Dual-master/Single-slave teleoperation system using 3-DOF planar robots for each telemanipulator subjected to actuator saturation. Copyright © 2017 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Video Image Tracking Engine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Howard, Richard T. (Inventor); Bryan, ThomasC. (Inventor); Book, Michael L. (Inventor)

2004-01-01

A method and system for processing an image including capturing an image and storing the image as image pixel data. Each image pixel datum is stored in a respective memory location having a corresponding address. Threshold pixel data is selected from the image pixel data and linear spot segments are identified from the threshold pixel data selected.. Ihe positions of only a first pixel and a last pixel for each linear segment are saved. Movement of one or more objects are tracked by comparing the positions of fust and last pixels of a linear segment present in the captured image with respective first and last pixel positions in subsequent captured images. Alternatively, additional data for each linear data segment is saved such as sum of pixels and the weighted sum of pixels i.e., each threshold pixel value is multiplied by that pixel's x-location).

Parental monitoring may protect impulsive children from overeating.

PubMed

Bennett, C; Blissett, J

2017-10-01

Research has highlighted links between impulsivity and weight in children and adults. Nevertheless, little is known about the nature of this link in very young children or about the underlying mechanism by which impulsivity leads to greater adiposity. The present study aimed to explore relationships between impulsivity, weight and eating behaviour in a sample of 95 2 to 4-year-olds. Parent-child dyads visited the laboratory and consumed a meal after which parents completed measures of child impulsivity, eating behaviour and parental feeding, whilst children completed impulsivity tasks measuring the impulsivity facet delay of gratification (Snack Delay task), motor impulsivity (Line Walking task) and inhibitory control (Tower task). Pearson's correlations showed that girls with greater motor impulsivity were heavier. Additionally, monitoring moderated the relationship between impulsivity and food approach behaviour, indicating that monitoring may protect more impulsive children from displaying problematic eating behaviours. The motor impulsivity facet appears particularly relevant to child weight; parents can modulate the impact of impulsivity on child eating behaviour through their feeding style. © 2016 World Obesity Federation.

Delayed access of low body weight-selected chicks to food at hatch is associated with up-regulated pancreatic glucagon and glucose transporter gene expression.

PubMed

Parker, Grace A; Sumners, Lindsay H; Zhao, Xiaoling; Honaker, Christa F; Siegel, Paul B; Cline, Mark A; Gilbert, Elizabeth R

2015-11-01

Chickens selected for low (LWS) and high (HWS) juvenile body weight (BW) for 55 generations differ in BW by 10-fold at selection age. High (HWR) and low (LWR) body weight-relaxed lines have been random-bred since the 46th generation. Our objective was to evaluate the developmental and nutritional regulation of pancreatic mRNA abundance of pancreatic and duodenal homeobox 1 (PDX1), preproinsulin (PPI), preproglucagon (PPG), and glucose transporter 2 (GLUT2). At day of hatch (DOH) and days 1, 3, 7, and 15 (D1, 3, 7 and 15, respectively), pancreas was collected and real time PCR was performed in Experiment 1. In Experiment 2, HWS and LWS were fed or delayed access to food for 72 h post-hatch, and pancreas collected at D15. There was an interaction of line and age for GLUT2 (P=0.001), PPI (P<0.0001), PPG (P=0.034), and PDX1 (P<0.0001). Expression was greater in chicks from LWR and LWS than HWR and HWS. There was an interaction of line and nutrition on PPG (P<0.0001) and GLUT2 (P=0.001) mRNA, where expression was similar among chicks that were fed but greater in LWS than HWS when chicks were delayed access to food. Thus, the first two weeks is important for maturation of pancreatic endocrine function. Long-term selection for BW is associated with differences in pancreas development, and delaying access to food at hatch may have persisting effects on glucose regulatory function. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Growth and development of very low birth weight infants aged 18-24 months at Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health.

PubMed

Sangtawesin, Varaporn; Singarj, Yupayao; Kanjanapattanakul, Wiboon

2011-08-01

The number of very low birth weight (VLBW) births is increasing worldwide. Despite better care in recent years, they have a high incidence of delayed growth and development. There are no previous studies regarding the growth and development of these infants at Queen Sirikit National Institute of Child Health (QSNICH). To study growth and developmental outcome of VLBW infants, aged 18-24 months who were discharged from QSNICH. VLBW infants who were discharged from QSNICH during the year 2007 were recruited in the study. Patients with chromosomal abnormalities, major congenital anomalies, definite congenital infections and positive maternal anti-HIV tests were excluded. At the corrected age of 18-24 months, the parents were called upon to bring their infants for complete physical examination and developmental evaluation on 2 occasions, two months apart. There were 111 cases of VLBW infants who were discharged from QSNICH during the year 2007. Fifty-four patients were eligible for the present study. Thirty cases (55.56%) were contacted for the first examination. During this examination, there were 3 cases (10%) with low head circumference, 1 case (3.33%) with poor weight gain, 5 cases (16.67%) with visual defect, 1 case (3.33%) with moderately severe hearing loss, 1 case (3.33%) with cerebral palsy and 7 cases (23.33%) with delayed development. Twenty-one cases could be recalled for a second evaluation. Two of the 5 cases had delayed language development. There were no cases with hydrocephalous, blindness or profound hearing loss. VLBW infants at QSNICH had much better survival during recent years. Most of these survivors had normal growth and development. Those with delayed growth and development need aggressive intervention and long-term follow-up for enhancement of quality of their lives.

The small-molecule TNF-α inhibitor, UTL-5g, delays deaths and increases survival rates for mice treated with high doses of cisplatin.

PubMed

Shaw, Jiajiu; Media, Joseph; Chen, Ben; Valeriote, Fredrick

2013-09-01

UTL-5g is a novel small-molecule chemoprotector that lowers hepatotoxicity, nephrotoxicity, and myelotoxicity induced by cisplatin through TNF-α inhibition among other factors. The objective of this study was to investigate whether UTL-5g can reduce the overall acute toxicity of cisplatin and increase cisplatin tolerability in mice. BDF1 female mice were treated individually with UTL-5g (suspended in Ora-Plus) by oral gavage at 60 mg/kg, 30 min before i.p. injection of cisplatin at 10, 15, and 20 mg/kg, respectively, on Day 0. Starting from Day 1, individual mice were again treated daily by the same dose of UTL-5g for 4 consecutive days. Survivals and body weights were monitored. UTL-5g treatment increased the survival rate and delayed the time to death for mice treated with 150 % of the maximum tolerated dose (MTD) of cisplatin (15 mg/kg). Likewise, at 200 % of the MTD of cisplatin (20 mg/kg), treatment of UTL-5g increased the survival rate and delayed the time to death. Treatment of UTL-5g did not have a significant effect on weight loss induced by cisplatin, indicating that body weight may not be a sensitive-enough measure for chemoprotection of UTL-5g against cisplatin. In summary, UTL-5g delayed deaths and increased survival rates of mice treated by high doses of cisplatin, indicating that UTL-5g is capable of reducing the overall acute toxicity of cisplatin and increased cisplatin tolerability in mice; this is in line with the specific chemoprotective effects of UTL-5g previously reported. Further investigation of UTL-5g in combination with cisplatin is warranted.

Multi-source apportionment of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons using simultaneous linear equations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Marinaite, Irina; Semenov, Mikhail

2014-05-01

A new approach to identify multiple sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and to evaluate the source contributions to atmospheric deposition of particulate PAHs is proposed. The approach is based on differences in concentrations of sums of PAHs with the same molecular weight among the sources. The data on PAHs accumulation in snow as well as the source profiles were used for calculations. Contributions of aluminum production plant, oil-fired central heating boilers, and residential wood and coal combustion were calculated using the linear mixing models. The concentrations of PAH pairs such as Benzo[b]fluorantene + Benzo[k]fluorantene and Benzo[g,h,i]perylene + Indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene normalized to Benzo[a]antracene + Chrysene were used as tracers in mixing equations. The results obtained using ratios of sums of PAHs were compared with those obtained using molecular diagnostic ratios such as Benzo[a]antracene/Chrysene and Benzo[g,h,i]perylene/Indeno[1,2,3-c,d]pyrene. It was shown that the results obtained using diagnostic ratios as tracers are less reliable than results obtained using ratios of sums of PAHs. Funding was provided by Siberian Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences grant No. 8 (2012-2014).

Delayed Occurrence of Diabetes Insipidus After Transsphenoidal Surgery with Radiologic Evaluation of the Pituitary Stalk on Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

PubMed

Hayashi, Yasuhiko; Aida, Yasuhiro; Sasagawa, Yasuo; Oishi, Masahiro; Kita, Daisuke; Tachibana, Osamu; Ueda, Fumiaki; Nakada, Mitsutoshi

2018-02-01

Diabetes insipidus (DI) is a major complication of transsphenoidal surgery (TSS). DI usually occurs within a couple of days after TSS. Delayed occurrence of postoperative DI is rarely observed and its developing mechanisms remain unknown. Six patients were identified as having postoperative delayed DI, which was defined as DI that first occurred 2 or more weeks after TSS. They consisted of 1 male and 5 females, and their mean age was 38.3 years (range, 10-76 years). Five patients were histologically diagnosed with Rathke cleft cyst (RCC), and one had RCC coexisting with prolactin-secreting adenoma. Sequential T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was evaluated for hyperintensity (HI) in the pituitary stalk and the posterior lobe, indicating the location of antidiuretic hormone. No patients had any DI before TSS. Delayed DI occurred 2 weeks to 3 months after TSS and persisted for 2 weeks to 5 months. T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging showed that the HI in the posterior lobe became faint but did not disappear after DI occurrence, and their intensities increased with recovery from DI. In contrast, the HI in the pituitary stalk was found faintly preoperatively and turned clear postoperatively and decreased with recovery from DI. The morphologic patterns were dependent on DI duration. In the delayed occurrence of DI, it was suggested that preoperative antidiuretic hormone transport was mildly congested yet not completely blocked when DI manifested postoperatively. Gradual spreading of inflammation to the infundibulum after RCC removal was considered as 1 possible mechanism of this delayed DI development. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

THE SOURCE STRUCTURE OF 0642+449 DETECTED FROM THE CONT14 OBSERVATIONS

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

Xu, Ming H.; Wang, Guang L.; Heinkelmann, Robert

2016-11-01

The CONT14 campaign with state-of-the-art very long baseline interferometry (VLBI) data has observed the source 0642+449 with about 1000 observables each day during a continuous observing period of 15 days, providing tens of thousands of closure delays—the sum of the delays around a closed loop of baselines. The closure delay is independent of the instrumental and propagation delays and provides valuable additional information about the source structure. We demonstrate the use of this new “observable” for the determination of the structure in the radio source 0642+449. This source, as one of the defining sources in the second realization of themore » International Celestial Reference Frame, is found to have two point-like components with a relative position offset of −426 microarcseconds ( μ as) in R.A. and −66 μ as in decl. The two components are almost equally bright, with a flux-density ratio of 0.92. The standard deviation of closure delays for source 0642+449 was reduced from 139 to 90 ps by using this two-component model. Closure delays larger than 1 ns are found to be related to the source structure, demonstrating that structure effects for a source with this simple structure could be up to tens of nanoseconds. The method described in this paper does not rely on a priori source structure information, such as knowledge of source structure determined from direct (Fourier) imaging of the same observations or observations at other epochs. We anticipate our study to be a starting point for more effective determination of the structure effect in VLBI observations.« less

The Tradeoff between Travel Time from Home to Hospital and Door to Balloon Time in Determining Mortality among STEMI Patients Undergoing PCI.

PubMed

Di Domenicantonio, Riccardo; Cappai, Giovanna; Sciattella, Paolo; Belleudi, Valeria; Di Martino, Mirko; Agabiti, Nera; Mataloni, Francesca; Ricci, Roberto; Perucci, Carlo Alberto; Davoli, Marina; Fusco, Danilo

2016-01-01

In ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), even in presence of short door to balloon time (DTBT), timely reperfusion with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) is hampered by pre-hospital delays. Travel time (TT) constitutes a relevant part of these delays and may contribute to worse outcomes. To evaluate the relationship between TT from home to hospital and DTBT on 30-day mortality after PCI among patients with STEMI. We enrolled a cohort of 3,608 STEMI patients with a DTBT within 120 minutes who underwent PCI between years 2009 and 2013 in Lazio Region (Italy). We calculated the minimum travel time from residential address to emergency department where the first medical contact occurred. We defined system delay as the sum of travel time and DTBT time. Logistic regression models, including clinical and demographic characteristics were used to estimate the effect of TT and DTBT on mortality. Among patients with 0-90 minutes of system delay, TT above the median value is positively associated with mortality (OR = 2.46; P = 0.009). Survival benefit associated with DTBT below the median results only among patients with TT below the median (OR for DTBT below the median = 0.39; P = 0.013), (OR for interaction between TT and DTBT = 2.36; p = 0.076). TT affects survival after PCI for STEMI, even in the presence of health care systems compliant with current guidelines. Results emphasize the importance of health system initiatives to reduce pre-hospital delay. Utilization of TT can contribute to a better estimate of patient mortality risk in the evaluation of quality of care.

Optimization of a simultaneous dual-isotope 201Tl/123I-MIBG myocardial SPECT imaging protocol with a CZT camera for trigger zone assessment after myocardial infarction for routine clinical settings: Are delayed acquisition and scatter correction necessary?

PubMed

D'estanque, Emmanuel; Hedon, Christophe; Lattuca, Benoît; Bourdon, Aurélie; Benkiran, Meriem; Verd, Aurélie; Roubille, François; Mariano-Goulart, Denis

2017-08-01

Dual-isotope 201 Tl/ 123 I-MIBG SPECT can assess trigger zones (dysfunctions in the autonomic nervous system located in areas of viable myocardium) that are substrate for ventricular arrhythmias after STEMI. This study evaluated the necessity of delayed acquisition and scatter correction for dual-isotope 201 Tl/ 123 I-MIBG SPECT studies with a CZT camera to identify trigger zones after revascularization in patients with STEMI in routine clinical settings. Sixty-nine patients were prospectively enrolled after revascularization to undergo 201 Tl/ 123 I-MIBG SPECT using a CZT camera (Discovery NM 530c, GE). The first acquisition was a single thallium study (before MIBG administration); the second and the third were early and late dual-isotope studies. We compared the scatter-uncorrected and scatter-corrected (TEW method) thallium studies with the results of magnetic resonance imaging or transthoracic echography (reference standard) to diagnose myocardial necrosis. Summed rest scores (SRS) were significantly higher in the delayed MIBG studies than the early MIBG studies. SRS and necrosis surface were significantly higher in the delayed thallium studies with scatter correction than without scatter correction, leading to less trigger zone diagnosis for the scatter-corrected studies. Compared with the scatter-uncorrected studies, the late thallium scatter-corrected studies provided the best diagnostic values for myocardial necrosis assessment. Delayed acquisitions and scatter-corrected dual-isotope 201 Tl/ 123 I-MIBG SPECT acquisitions provide an improved evaluation of trigger zones in routine clinical settings after revascularization for STEMI.

Ultra-Low Loss, Chip-Based Hollow-Core Waveguide Using High-Contrast Grating

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-09-28

Although the physical mechanism for tuning the filter may allow fast tuning, the tap weight computational algorithm must also be fast enough to support...applications and the ability to accurately set tap weights through optical splitting and combining networks is important. Techniques for trimming and...are: h(t)=s*(-t) and H(OJ)=S*(-OJ), respectively. Then the tap weights and delays should be chosen as: tk=kLJt and ak=h(tll)=s*(-tk), respectively

Multi-objective LQR with optimum weight selection to design FOPID controllers for delayed fractional order processes.

PubMed

Das, Saptarshi; Pan, Indranil; Das, Shantanu

2015-09-01

An optimal trade-off design for fractional order (FO)-PID controller is proposed with a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) based technique using two conflicting time domain objectives. A class of delayed FO systems with single non-integer order element, exhibiting both sluggish and oscillatory open loop responses, have been controlled here. The FO time delay processes are handled within a multi-objective optimization (MOO) formalism of LQR based FOPID design. A comparison is made between two contemporary approaches of stabilizing time-delay systems withinLQR. The MOO control design methodology yields the Pareto optimal trade-off solutions between the tracking performance and total variation (TV) of the control signal. Tuning rules are formed for the optimal LQR-FOPID controller parameters, using median of the non-dominated Pareto solutions to handle delayed FO processes. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Parsimonious description for predicting high-dimensional dynamics

PubMed Central

Hirata, Yoshito; Takeuchi, Tomoya; Horai, Shunsuke; Suzuki, Hideyuki; Aihara, Kazuyuki

2015-01-01

When we observe a system, we often cannot observe all its variables and may have some of its limited measurements. Under such a circumstance, delay coordinates, vectors made of successive measurements, are useful to reconstruct the states of the whole system. Although the method of delay coordinates is theoretically supported for high-dimensional dynamical systems, practically there is a limitation because the calculation for higher-dimensional delay coordinates becomes more expensive. Here, we propose a parsimonious description of virtually infinite-dimensional delay coordinates by evaluating their distances with exponentially decaying weights. This description enables us to predict the future values of the measurements faster because we can reuse the calculated distances, and more accurately because the description naturally reduces the bias of the classical delay coordinates toward the stable directions. We demonstrate the proposed method with toy models of the atmosphere and real datasets related to renewable energy. PMID:26510518

Environmental plasticity of Pinot noir grapevine leaves: A trans-European study of morphological and biochemical changes along a 1,500-km latitudinal climatic gradient.

PubMed

Castagna, Antonella; Csepregi, Kristóf; Neugart, Susanne; Zipoli, Gaetano; Večeřová, Kristýna; Jakab, Gábor; Jug, Tjaša; Llorens, Laura; Martínez-Abaigar, Javier; Martínez-Lüscher, Johann; Núñez-Olivera, Encarnación; Ranieri, Annamaria; Schoedl-Hummel, Katharina; Schreiner, Monika; Teszlák, Péter; Tittmann, Susanne; Urban, Otmar; Verdaguer, Dolors; Jansen, Marcel A K; Hideg, Éva

2017-11-01

A 2-year study explored metabolic and phenotypic plasticity of sun-acclimated Vitis vinifera cv. Pinot noir leaves collected from 12 locations across a 36.69-49.98°N latitudinal gradient. Leaf morphological and biochemical parameters were analysed in the context of meteorological parameters and the latitudinal gradient. We found that leaf fresh weight and area were negatively correlated with both global and ultraviolet (UV) radiation, cumulated global radiation being a stronger correlator. Cumulative UV radiation (sumUVR) was the strongest correlator with most leaf metabolites and pigments. Leaf UV-absorbing pigments, total antioxidant capacities, and phenolic compounds increased with increasing sumUVR, whereas total carotenoids and xanthophylls decreased. Despite of this reallocation of metabolic resources from carotenoids to phenolics, an increase in xanthophyll-cycle pigments (the sum of the amounts of three xanthophylls: violaxanthin, antheraxanthin, and zeaxanthin) with increasing sumUVR indicates active, dynamic protection for the photosynthetic apparatus. In addition, increased amounts of flavonoids (quercetin glycosides) and constitutive β-carotene and α-tocopherol pools provide antioxidant protection against reactive oxygen species. However, rather than a continuum of plant acclimation responses, principal component analysis indicates clusters of metabolic states across the explored 1,500-km-long latitudinal gradient. This study emphasizes the physiological component of plant responses to latitudinal gradients and reveals the physiological plasticity that may act to complement genetic adaptations. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Linking Assessment and Intervention for Developmental/Functional Outcomes of Premature, Low-Birth-Weight Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Xu, Yaoying; Filler, John W.

2005-01-01

Prematurity and low birth weight (LBW) are two major biological factors that put infants and young children at high risk for developmental delays or disabilities. While survival rates for premature and LBW children have improved, incidence figures have changed little over the past 20 years; in fact, the incidence of LBW has increased. Although the…

System for sensing droplet formation time delay in a flow cytometer

DOEpatents

Van den Engh, Ger; Esposito, Richard J.

1997-01-01

A droplet flow cytometer system which includes a system to optimize the droplet formation time delay based on conditions actually experienced includes an automatic droplet sampler which rapidly moves a plurality of containers stepwise through the droplet stream while simultaneously adjusting the droplet time delay. Through the system sampling of an actual substance to be processed can be used to minimize the effect of the substances variations or the determination of which time delay is optimal. Analysis such as cell counting and the like may be conducted manually or automatically and input to a time delay adjustment which may then act with analysis equipment to revise the time delay estimate actually applied during processing. The automatic sampler can be controlled through a microprocessor and appropriate programming to bracket an initial droplet formation time delay estimate. When maximization counts through volume, weight, or other types of analysis exists in the containers, the increment may then be reduced for a more accurate ultimate setting. This may be accomplished while actually processing the sample without interruption.

On the Total Edge Irregularity Strength of Generalized Butterfly Graph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dwi Wahyuna, Hafidhyah; Indriati, Diari

2018-04-01

Let G(V, E) be a connected, simple, and undirected graph with vertex set V and edge set E. A total k-labeling is a map that carries vertices and edges of a graph G into a set of positive integer labels {1, 2, …, k}. An edge irregular total k-labeling λ: V(G) ∪ E(G) → {1, 2, …, k} of a graph G is a total k-labeling such that the weights calculated for all edges are distinct. The weight of an edge uv in G, denoted by wt(uv), is defined as the sum of the label of u, the label of v, and the label of uv. The total edge irregularity strength of G, denoted by tes(G), is the minimum value of the largest label k over all such edge irregular total k-labelings. A generalized butterfly graph, BFn , obtained by inserting vertices to every wing with assumption that sum of inserting vertices to every wing are same then it has 2n + 1 vertices and 4n ‑ 2 edges. In this paper, we investigate the total edge irregularity strength of generalized butterfly graph, BFn , for n > 2. The result is tes(B{F}n)=\\lceil \\frac{4n}{3}\\rceil .

Determinations of Vus using inclusive hadronic τ decay data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Maltman, Kim; Hudspith, Renwick James; Lewis, Randy; Izubuchi, Taku; Ohki, Hiroshi; Zanotti, James M.

2016-08-01

Two methods for determining |Vus| employing inclusive hadronic τ decay data are discussed. The first is the conventional flavor-breaking sum rule determination whose usual implementation produces results ˜ 3σ low compared to three-family unitary expectations. The second is a novel approach combining experimental strange hadronic τ distributions with lattice light-strange current-current two-point function data. Preliminary explorations of the latter show the method promises |Vus| determinations competitive with those from Kℓ3 and Γ[Kμ2]/Γ[πμ2]. For the former, systematic issues in the conventional implementation are investigated. Unphysical dependences of |Vus| on the choice of sum rule weight, w, and upper limit, s0, of the weighted experimental spectral integrals are observed, the source of these problems identified and a new implementation which overcomes these problems developed. Lattice results are shown to provide a tool for quantitatively assessing truncation uncertainties for the slowly converging D = 2 OPE series. The results for |Vus| from this new implementation are shown to be free of unphysical w- and s0-dependences, and ˜ 0.0020 higher than those produced by the conventional implementation. With preliminary new Kπ branching fraction results as input, we find |Vus| in excellent agreement with that obtained from Kℓ3, and compatible within errors with expectations from three-family unitarity.

Linear error analysis of slope-area discharge determinations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kirby, W.H.

1987-01-01

The slope-area method can be used to calculate peak flood discharges when current-meter measurements are not possible. This calculation depends on several quantities, such as water-surface fall, that are subject to large measurement errors. Other critical quantities, such as Manning's n, are not even amenable to direct measurement but can only be estimated. Finally, scour and fill may cause gross discrepancies between the observed condition of the channel and the hydraulic conditions during the flood peak. The effects of these potential errors on the accuracy of the computed discharge have been estimated by statistical error analysis using a Taylor-series approximation of the discharge formula and the well-known formula for the variance of a sum of correlated random variates. The resultant error variance of the computed discharge is a weighted sum of covariances of the various observational errors. The weights depend on the hydraulic and geometric configuration of the channel. The mathematical analysis confirms the rule of thumb that relative errors in computed discharge increase rapidly when velocity heads exceed the water-surface fall, when the flow field is expanding and when lateral velocity variation (alpha) is large. It also confirms the extreme importance of accurately assessing the presence of scour or fill. ?? 1987.

Evaluation of a speaker identification system with and without fusion using three databases in the presence of noise and handset effects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

S. Al-Kaltakchi, Musab T.; Woo, Wai L.; Dlay, Satnam; Chambers, Jonathon A.

2017-12-01

In this study, a speaker identification system is considered consisting of a feature extraction stage which utilizes both power normalized cepstral coefficients (PNCCs) and Mel frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCC). Normalization is applied by employing cepstral mean and variance normalization (CMVN) and feature warping (FW), together with acoustic modeling using a Gaussian mixture model-universal background model (GMM-UBM). The main contributions are comprehensive evaluations of the effect of both additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) and non-stationary noise (NSN) (with and without a G.712 type handset) upon identification performance. In particular, three NSN types with varying signal to noise ratios (SNRs) were tested corresponding to street traffic, a bus interior, and a crowded talking environment. The performance evaluation also considered the effect of late fusion techniques based on score fusion, namely, mean, maximum, and linear weighted sum fusion. The databases employed were TIMIT, SITW, and NIST 2008; and 120 speakers were selected from each database to yield 3600 speech utterances. As recommendations from the study, mean fusion is found to yield overall best performance in terms of speaker identification accuracy (SIA) with noisy speech, whereas linear weighted sum fusion is overall best for original database recordings.

Interplay of Gravicentric, Egocentric, and Visual Cues About the Vertical in the Control of Arm Movement Direction.

PubMed

Bock, Otmar; Bury, Nils

2018-03-01

Our perception of the vertical corresponds to the weighted sum of gravicentric, egocentric, and visual cues. Here we evaluate the interplay of those cues not for the perceived but rather for the motor vertical. Participants were asked to flip an omnidirectional switch down while their egocentric vertical was dissociated from their visual-gravicentric vertical. Responses were directed mid-between the two verticals; specifically, the data suggest that the relative weight of congruent visual-gravicentric cues averages 0.62, and correspondingly, the relative weight of egocentric cues averages 0.38. We conclude that the interplay of visual-gravicentric cues with egocentric cues is similar for the motor and for the perceived vertical. Unexpectedly, we observed a consistent dependence of the motor vertical on hand position, possibly mediated by hand orientation or by spatial selective attention.

Generalized minimum dominating set and application in automatic text summarization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Yi-Zhi; Zhou, Hai-Jun

2016-03-01

For a graph formed by vertices and weighted edges, a generalized minimum dominating set (MDS) is a vertex set of smallest cardinality such that the summed weight of edges from each outside vertex to vertices in this set is equal to or larger than certain threshold value. This generalized MDS problem reduces to the conventional MDS problem in the limiting case of all the edge weights being equal to the threshold value. We treat the generalized MDS problem in the present paper by a replica-symmetric spin glass theory and derive a set of belief-propagation equations. As a practical application we consider the problem of extracting a set of sentences that best summarize a given input text document. We carry out a preliminary test of the statistical physics-inspired method to this automatic text summarization problem.

Modified weighted fair queuing for packet scheduling in mobile WiMAX networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Satrya, Gandeva B.; Brotoharsono, Tri

2013-03-01

The increase of user mobility and the need for data access anytime also increases the interest in broadband wireless access (BWA). The best available quality of experience for mobile data service users are assured for IEEE 802.16e based users. The main problem of assuring a high QOS value is how to allocate available resources among users in order to meet the QOS requirement for criteria such as delay, throughput, packet loss and fairness. There is no specific standard scheduling mechanism stated by IEEE standards, which leaves it for implementer differentiation. There are five QOS service classes defined by IEEE 802.16: Unsolicited Grant Scheme (UGS), Extended Real Time Polling Service (ertPS), Real Time Polling Service (rtPS), Non Real Time Polling Service (nrtPS) and Best Effort Service (BE). Each class has different QOS parameter requirements for throughput and delay/jitter constraints. This paper proposes Modified Weighted Fair Queuing (MWFQ) scheduling scenario which was based on Weighted Round Robin (WRR) and Weighted Fair Queuing (WFQ). The performance of MWFQ was assessed by using above five QoS criteria. The simulation shows that using the concept of total packet size calculation improves the network's performance.

Hepatitis B vaccination of premature infants: a reassessment of current recommendations for delayed immunization.

PubMed

Losonsky, G A; Wasserman, S S; Stephens, I; Mahoney, F; Armstrong, P; Gumpper, K; Dulkerian, S; West, D J; Gewolb, I H

1999-02-01

Current American Academy of Pediatrics and United States Public Health Service Immunization Practices Advisory Committee recommendations for hepatitis B immunization in premature infants weighing <2 kg at birth born to hepatitis B surface antigen (HBSAg)-negative mothers are to delay the initiation of vaccination until such infants reach 2 kg or until 2 months of age. This proposal to delay vaccination at birth in these low-risk infants was based on limited studies not conducted in the United States. We sought to reassess current recommendations to delay administration of hepatitis B vaccine in low-risk premature infants by determining the immunogenicity of early hepatitis B vaccination in a US population and identifying variables associated with poor immunogenicity. A total of 148 infants <37 weeks' gestation born to mothers negative for HBSAg were recruited at birth and stratified to three birth weight groups: <1000 g, 1000 to 1500 g, and >1500 g. Recombinant hepatitis B vaccine was administered within the first week of life, at 1 to 2 months of age, and at 6 to 7 months of age. Serum obtained at birth and after the second and third doses of vaccine was tested for antibody to HBSAg. Variables associated with poor response were sought prospectively by collecting demographic and clinical data. A total of 118 subjects (83%) completed the study. Postsecond dose sera were available for 117 infants and postthird dose sera were available for 112 infants. The seroprotection rate (attaining >/=10 mIU/mL HBS antibody) after two doses was low (25%) regardless of birth weight; infants weighing <1000 g at birth had the poorest response (11%). The seroprotection response rate after three doses of vaccine increased with birth weight; infants weighing 1500 g at birth (group 3; 84% response rate). The seroprotection response rate of group 3 infants after three doses of vaccine, although low, could not be differentiated from the response rates reported for full-term infants using 95% confidence intervals. Of all infants who did not achieve protective levels of antibody after three doses of vaccine, 96% (26/27) weighed <1700 g at birth. The geometric mean HBS antibody levels in responders were 88 and 386 mIU/mL after two and three doses, respectively. Of 36 children with a birth weight >1500 g, 33 (91%) achieved levels of HBS antibody >100 mIU/mL after three doses of vaccine, compared with 25/35 (71%) of infants with birth weight <1500 g. Using logistic regression analysis, nonresponders were more likely than were responders to have been treated with steroids (26% vs 9%) and to have had a low birth weight (1037 g vs 1455 g). In addition, the seroresponse rate of black infants was more likely than that of white infants to be associated with poor weight gain (falling off 2 percentile ranks in weight) in the first 6 months of life: 22% of black and 60% of white children who failed to gain weight adequately responded to vaccination, compared with 92% of black and 70% of white children who were growing adequately. Of interest, the only infant with a birth weight of >1700 g who did not make protective levels of specific antibody after three doses of vaccine was 2300 g at birth, but had inadequate weight gain in the first 6 months of life. This study supports current recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for delaying the initiation of hepatitis B immunization beyond the first week of life for premature infants at low risk for hepatitis B infection, particularly in newborns weighing <1700 g at birth. In addition, we have identified variables other than birth weight that were associated with an inadequate immune response to early hepatitis B vaccination in premature infants, such as poor weight gain in the first 6 months of life

Moisture-Induced Delayed Alumina Scale Spallation on a Ni(Pt)Al Coating

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Smialek, James L.

2009-01-01

Delayed interfacial scale failure takes place after cooling for samples of a Ni(Pt)Al-coated CMSX4 single crystal superalloy, cycled at 1150 C for up to 2000 hr. One sample exhibited premature coating grain boundary wrinkling, alumina scale spallation to bare metal, and a final weight loss of 3.3 mg/cm2 . Spallation under ambient conditions was monitored with time after cooldown and was found to continue for 24 hr. This produced up to 0.05 mg/cm2 additional loss for each hold, accumulating 0.7 mg/cm 2 (20 percent of the total) over the course of the test. After test termination, water immersion produced an additional 0.15 mg/cm2 loss. (A duplicate sample produced much less wrinkling and time dependent spalling, maintaining a net weight gain.) The results are consistent with the general phenomena of moisture-induced delayed spallation (MIDS) of mature, distressed alumina scales formed on oxidation resistant M-Al alloys. Relative ambient humidity is discussed as the factor controlling adsorbed moisture, reaction with the substrate, and hydrogen effects on interface strength.

A New Local Bipolar Autoassociative Memory Based on External Inputs of Discrete Recurrent Neural Networks With Time Delay.

PubMed

Zhou, Caigen; Zeng, Xiaoqin; Luo, Chaomin; Zhang, Huaguang

In this paper, local bipolar auto-associative memories are presented based on discrete recurrent neural networks with a class of gain type activation function. The weight parameters of neural networks are acquired by a set of inequalities without the learning procedure. The global exponential stability criteria are established to ensure the accuracy of the restored patterns by considering time delays and external inputs. The proposed methodology is capable of effectively overcoming spurious memory patterns and achieving memory capacity. The effectiveness, robustness, and fault-tolerant capability are validated by simulated experiments.In this paper, local bipolar auto-associative memories are presented based on discrete recurrent neural networks with a class of gain type activation function. The weight parameters of neural networks are acquired by a set of inequalities without the learning procedure. The global exponential stability criteria are established to ensure the accuracy of the restored patterns by considering time delays and external inputs. The proposed methodology is capable of effectively overcoming spurious memory patterns and achieving memory capacity. The effectiveness, robustness, and fault-tolerant capability are validated by simulated experiments.

Novel mesalamine-loaded beads in tablets for delayed release of drug to the colon.

PubMed

Nguyen, Chien; Christensen, J Mark; Ayres, James W

2012-01-01

Novel 'beads-in-a-tablet' formulations (total weight ∼740-780 mg) have been prepared that meet USP 31 requirements for Delayed Release of mesalamine. Several methods are presented that overcome breakage of beads during tablet compaction were explored. Bead formulations comprise a combination of extrusion and spheronization to produce a relatively high drug load (80%), followed by coating (25%) with a colonic-targeted drug release polymer (polymethacrylates, Eudragit(®) S100), overcoated (3%) with hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (Opadry(®)) to improve bead binding and compactability, and using 20% coat of lactose/sodium starch glycolate (Explotab(®)) as binder/disintegrant/cushioning agent, thus allowing a sufficiently thick coating to be uniform and without being broken during tablet compaction. Then, the aforementioned beads were compressed into tablets at 1500 pounds of pressure containing 400 mg of mesalamine, and finally coating the compressed tablets with Surelease(®) (ethylcellulose):Opadry(®) = 1:0.5 ranging from 1.5-2.5% weight gain; the resulting tablets met USP 31 dissolution requirements for delayed release tablets.