Reaching Out ad interim

This archive has the full Sunday Service, bulletin and sermon. See also the following related biblical verses:John 3: 1-17 (http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=356329240)Genesis 12: 1-4a (http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=356329164)Psalm 121 (http://bible.oremus.org/?ql=356329203

Multimodal 3D Object Detection from Simulated Pretraining

The need for simulated data in autonomous driving applications has become increasingly important, both for validation of pretrained models and for training new models. In order for these models to generalize to real-world applications, it is critical that the underlying dataset contains a variety of driving scenarios and that simulated sensor readings closely mimics real-world sensors. We present the Carla Automated Dataset Extraction Tool (CADET), a novel tool for generating training data from the CARLA simulator to be used in autonomous driving research. The tool is able to export high-quality, synchronized LIDAR and camera data with object annotations, and offers configuration to accurately reflect a real-life sensor array. Furthermore, we use this tool to generate a dataset consisting of 10 000 samples and use this dataset in order to train the 3D object detection network AVOD-FPN, with finetuning on the KITTI dataset in order to evaluate the potential for effective pretraining. We also present two novel LIDAR feature map configurations in Bird's Eye View for use with AVOD-FPN that can be easily modified. These configurations are tested on the KITTI and CADET datasets in order to evaluate their performance as well as the usability of the simulated dataset for pretraining. Although insufficient to fully replace the use of real world data, and generally not able to exceed the performance of systems fully trained on real data, our results indicate that simulated data can considerably reduce the amount of training on real data required to achieve satisfactory levels of accuracy.Comment: 12 pages, part of proceedings for the NAIS 2019 symposiu

Top quark spin correlations at hadron colliders: Predictions at next-to-leading order QCD

The collider experiments at the Tevatron and the LHC will allow for detailed investigations of the properties of the top quark. This requires precise predictions of the hadronic production of $t\bar t$ pairs and of their subsequent decays. In this Letter we present for the reactions $p {\bar p}, p p \to t{\bar t} + X \to \ell^+\ell'^-X$ the first calculation of the dilepton angular distribution at next-to-leading order (NLO) in the QCD coupling, keeping the full dependence on the spins of the intermediate $t\bar{t}$ state. The angular distribution reflects the degree of correlation of the $t$ and $\bar t$ spins which we determine for different choices of $t$ and $\bar t$ spin bases. In the case of the Tevatron, the QCD corrections are sizeable, and the distribution is quite sensitive to the parton content of the proton.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Top Quark Pair Production and Decay including Spin Effects at Hadron Colliders: Predictions at NLO QCD

Top quark-antiquark ($t\bar t$) pairs will be produced copiously at the Tevatron collider and in huge numbers at the LHC. This will make possible detailed investigations of the properties and interactions of this quark flavor. The analysis and interpretation of future data requires precise predictions of the hadronic production of $t\bar t$ pairs and of their subsequent decays. In this talk the reactions $p {\bar p}, p p \to t{\bar t} + X \to l^+ l'^- + X$ are considered and results are presented of our calculation of the dilepton angular distribution at next-to-leading order QCD, keeping the full dependence on the spins of the intermediate $t\bar{t}$ state. The angular distribution is determined for different choices of reference axes that can be identified with the $t$ and $\bar t$ spin axes. While the QCD corrections to the leading-order distribution turn out to be small in the case of the LHC, we find them to be sizeable in the case of the Tevatron and find, moreover, the angular distribution to be sensitive to the parton content of the proton.Comment: Talk given at 3rd Circum-Pan-Pacific Symposium on "High Energy Spin Physics", Beijing, China, 8-13, 200

Limb amputations in fixed dystonia: a form of body integrity identity disorder?

Fixed dystonia is a disabling disorder mainly affecting young women who develop fixed abnormal limb postures and pain after apparently minor peripheral injury. There is continued debate regarding its pathophysiology and management. We report 5 cases of fixed dystonia in patients who sought amputation of the affected limb. We place these cases in the context of previous reports of patients with healthy limbs and patients with chronic regional pain syndrome who have sought amputation. Our cases, combined with recent data regarding disorders of mental rotation in patients with fixed dystonia, as well as previous data regarding body integrity identity disorder and amputations sought by patients with chronic regional pain syndrome, raise the possibility that patients with fixed dystonia might have a deficit in body schema that predisposes them to developing fixed dystonia and drives some to seek amputation. The outcome of amputation in fixed dystonia is invariably unfavorable

The Roles and Skill Sets of Systems vs Business Analysts

The role of business analysts and systems analysts appears to be very closely related, and there is no agreement on the definitions of the roles or the required skill set to become one of the said analysts. Though the number of these positions is increasing, the understanding of what the business and systems analysts are remains unclear and differs between organisations. A review of literature shows that there are common roles and skills between the two positions, as well as very distinct roles and skills that are clear. This research has demonstrated that although there is some harmony between the articles and interviews on the distinctions between the business analyst and the systems analyst, there are still discrepancies that can only be understood through further research

Broadband dielectric response of glycerol and propylene carbonate: a comparison

Dielectric data on glycerol and propylene carbonate covering 18 decades of frequency are presented and compared to each other. Both materials exhibit qualitatively similar behavior except for marked differences in the high-frequency region just below the boson peak. The results on both materials are consistent with the mode coupling theory of the glass transition.Comment: 8 pages including 4 figure

Mother-child positivity and negativity: Family-wide and child-specific main effects and interactions predict child adjustment

Links between positive and negative aspects of the parent-child relationship and child adjustment are undisputed. Scholars recognize the importance of parental differential treatment (PDT) of siblings, yet, less is known about PDT in the context of the shared (family-wide) parent-child relationship climate, or about the extent to which positivity may buffer children’s adjustment from negativity. Controlling for behavioral stability, we examined the potential for positive and negative parent-child processes to interact across and between child-specific and family-wide levels in the prediction of children’s adjustment. Specifically, in a sample of 2,039 United Kingdom families, we used multilevel models to examine child-specific and family-wide mother-child relationships (at 4 years)—including interactive processes—in the prediction of prosocial behavior and conduct problems (at 7 years). The majority of variance in children’s adjustment resided within-families: siblings were strikingly different. Accounting for behavioral stability, family-wide negativity and negative PDT associated with both prosociality and conduct problems. More important, we demonstrated interactions between, (a) family-wide negativity and negative PDT for conduct problems, as well as, (b) positive and negative PDT in the prediction of both prosocial behavior and conduct problems. Results suggest negative PDT associates with increased conduct problems over time, even when the overall family climate is low in negativity. They also indicate a buffering role of positive PDT on the deleterious effects of negative PDT for children’s adjustment. Implications for both research and practice are discussed, including the importance of information gained by considering more than one child in the family

ELEMENTAL ANALYSIS OF AYURVEDIC DRUGS (BHASMAS) BY ATOMIC ABSORPTION SPECTROMETER

Objective: Ayurvedic drugs/bhasmas are very potent and promising drugs for the treatment of various ailments. Bhasmas are the multielement samples, and the present work deals the analysis of the concentration of metallic elements in three ayurvedic bhasmas of four different brands, to compare and know the quality of commercial bhasma in market. Methods: Commercially available abhraka bhasma (AB), mandoor bhasma (MB), and godanti bhasma (GB) in market from four different manufacturing companies were procured, and bhasma sample solution was prepared to analyze the elemental concentrations in bhasma; the solution is subjected to flame atomic absorption spectrometer (FAAS) technique and determined elemental concentration in bhasmas of four different commercial brands. Results: FAAS analysis explores the presence of Mg, Al, K, Ca, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mo, and Cd elements’ concentration in three bhasmas/drugs by four manufacturers. AB is rich in Al and Fe following the other elements in low concentrations, MB is rich in Fe, Ca, Mn, Cu, K, and Al and other elements are present in less quantity, and GB is rich in Ca and all other elements were very less in quantity. Conclusion: FAAS analysis showed that there is a difference in quantity/concentration of elements present in bhasma, aluminum (Al) is found high in Patanjali brand bhasmas compared to other three brands, and the toxic metal cadmium (Cd) is found in Dhootapapeshwar mandoor bhasma (DMB) (0.0458 mg/l), except DMB, all bhasmas found free from toxic metals, which reveal that there is a variation in quality of bhasmas from different manufacturers, and the elements present in bhasmas are found to be in permissible range for human intakes. As the mineral elements are essential in human diet, if the amount of any elements becomes too high in body, then it can affect the functioning of other important minerals in body causing the severe health problems, so it is must, to balance all nutrients in human diet, either through food or medicines. Hence, the present analysis work focuses on the variation of concentrations of elements present in bhasma of different manufacturers, which will help in practitioners to compare and refer good quality bhasmas or drugs in terms of their ingredients/elements, which plays a major role in functioning of human body normally. Further work is necessary to carry out on bhasmas and ayurvedic formulations in order to get good of diet supplementation