Metallicity measurements using atomic lines in M and K dwarf stars

We report the first survey of chemical abundances in M and K dwarf stars using atomic absorption lines in high resolution spectra. We have measured Fe and Ti abundances in 35 M and K dwarf stars using equivalent widths measured from (lambda / Delta lambda) = 33,000 spectra. Our analysis takes advantage of recent improvements in model atmospheres of low-temperature dwarf stars. The stars have temperatures between 3300 and 4700 K, with most cooler than 4100 K. They cover an iron abundance range of -2.44 < [Fe/H] < +0.16. Our measurements show [Ti/Fe] decreasing with increasing [Fe/H], a trend similar to that measured for warmer stars where abundance analysis techniques have been tested more thoroughly. This study is a step toward the observational calibration of procedures to estimate the metallicity of low-mass dwarf stars using photometric and low-resolution spectral indices.Comment: 6 pages, LaTeX. To appear in MNRAS. Full version of Table 2 available at http://www.astro.washington.edu/vmw/mnras/table2.pd

PALB2, CHEK2 and ATM rare variants and cancer risk: data from COGS

Background: The rarity of mutations in PALB2, CHEK2 and ATM make it difficult to estimate precisely associated cancer risks. Population-based family studies have provided evidence that at least some of these mutations are associated with breast cancer risk as high as those associated with rare BRCA2 mutations. We aimed to estimate the relative risks associated with specific rare variants in PALB2, CHEK2 and ATM via a multicentre case-control study.Methods: We genotyped 10 rare mutations using the custom iCOGS array: PALB2 c.1592delT, c.2816T&gt;G and c.3113G&gt;A, CHEK2c.349A&gt;G, c.538C&gt;T, c.715G&gt;A, c.1036C&gt;T, c.1312G&gt;T, and c.1343T&gt;G and ATM c.7271T&gt;G. We assessed associations with breast cancer risk (42 671 cases and 42 164 controls), as well as prostate (22 301 cases and 22 320 controls) and ovarian (14 542 cases and 23 491 controls) cancer risk, for each variant.Results: For European women, strong evidence of association with breast cancer risk was observed for PALB2 c.1592delT OR 3.44 (95% CI 1.39 to 8.52, p=7.1×10−5), PALB2 c.3113G&gt;A OR 4.21 (95% CI 1.84 to 9.60, p=6.9×10−8) and ATM c.7271T&gt;G OR 11.0 (95% CI 1.42 to 85.7, p=0.0012). We also found evidence of association with breast cancer risk for three variants in CHEK2, c.349A&gt;G OR 2.26 (95% CI 1.29 to 3.95), c.1036C&gt;T OR 5.06 (95% CI 1.09 to 23.5) and c.538C&gt;T OR 1.33 (95% CI 1.05 to 1.67) (p≤0.017). Evidence for prostate cancer risk was observed for CHEK2 c.1343T&gt;G OR 3.03 (95% CI 1.53 to 6.03, p=0.0006) for African men and CHEK2 c.1312G&gt;T OR 2.21 (95% CI 1.06 to 4.63, p=0.030) for European men. No evidence of association with ovarian cancer was found for any of these variants.Conclusions: This report adds to accumulating evidence that at least some variants in these genes are associated with an increased risk of breast cancer that is clinically important.</p

Context-aware thinning of artificial water networks for map generalization . GI_Forum|GI_Forum 2016, Volume 1 – open:spatial:interfaces|

This paper summarizes the research conducted to improve the automatic generalization of man-made water networks for topographic maps by context-dependent pruning (Altena, 2014). The aim of this study was to improve existing thinning methods for map generalization by accounting for landscape types. The results show that it is possible to improve the thinning of water networks by taking into account separate landscape types. On a more abstract level, the study delivers a methodology for the pruning of man-made networks with regard to landscape typology. In addition, it provides a method for evaluating the quality of generalization results for networks. First, previous research on both thinning and evaluation of thinning results is described. Secondly, a selection of existing algorithms are implemented and evaluated by several experiments: identification of landscape variation based on feature morphology and humidity; selection of representative test areas; and geometric network improvement. Results show that the connectivity of the network can be significantly increased. This is important to obtain better generalization results. The final experiments investigated the effectiveness on various landscape types of three different thinning algorithms. The results are evaluated in terms of the amount of thinning, the resemblance of the results to the input data, and the deviation in connectivity. The findings of this research can be used to improve the thinning of artificial networks by applying a customized thinning method to each unique landscape type. In addition, the proposed metrics to measure the effectivity of thinning algorithms – reduction, resemblance and connectivity – have been proved to be appropriate criteria for the comparison of results of alternative thinning approaches

Context-aware thinning of artificial water networks for map generalization . GI_Forum|GI_Forum 2016, Volume 1 – open:spatial:interfaces|

This paper summarizes the research conducted to improve the automatic generalization of man-made water networks for topographic maps by context-dependent pruning (Altena, 2014). The aim of this study was to improve existing thinning methods for map generalization by accounting for landscape types. The results show that it is possible to improve the thinning of water networks by taking into account separate landscape types. On a more abstract level, the study delivers a methodology for the pruning of man-made networks with regard to landscape typology. In addition, it provides a method for evaluating the quality of generalization results for networks. First, previous research on both thinning and evaluation of thinning results is described. Secondly, a selection of existing algorithms are implemented and evaluated by several experiments: identification of landscape variation based on feature morphology and humidity; selection of representative test areas; and geometric network improvement. Results show that the connectivity of the network can be significantly increased. This is important to obtain better generalization results. The final experiments investigated the effectiveness on various landscape types of three different thinning algorithms. The results are evaluated in terms of the amount of thinning, the resemblance of the results to the input data, and the deviation in connectivity. The findings of this research can be used to improve the thinning of artificial networks by applying a customized thinning method to each unique landscape type. In addition, the proposed metrics to measure the effectivity of thinning algorithms – reduction, resemblance and connectivity – have been proved to be appropriate criteria for the comparison of results of alternative thinning approaches

Ἰουδαίαν in Acts 2:9: a Diachronic Overview of its Conjectured Emendations

The appearance of Ἰουδαίαν in the table of nations (Acts 2:9–11) has troubled interpreters for centuries. Several scholars have proposed to emendate the text. The argumentations for such conjectures vary in elaboration and support. This article gives a diachronic overview of the conjectured emendations. It concludes with an evaluation of the discussion from a phenomenological perspective and a summary of the used argumentation, thereby providing input for a reversed engineering approach to the issue

Ἰουδαίαν in Acts 2:9:Reverse engineering textual emendations

Building on a plethora of conjectured emendations for IOÏ'ΔAIAN, this article approaches the issue once again to test the viability of a quantitative tool and to establish the possibility of palaeographical confusion of IOÏ'ΔAIAN with an alternative topo- or demonym. The article starts with an experiment using Greek topo- and demonyms derived from contemporary Christian, Jewish, and Classical sources to establish a palaeographical confusion score. Next the likeliness of the "closest"alternatives in the geographical arrangement of Acts 2:9-11 is explored. The article ends with an evaluation of the possible implications for the text in Acts 2:9 as well as a critical appraisal of the method for conjectural criticism.</p

Ἰουδαίαν in Acts 2:9: a Diachronic Overview of its Conjectured Emendations

The appearance of Ἰουδαίαν in the table of nations (Acts 2:9-11) has troubled interpreters for centuries. Several scholars have proposed to emendate the text. The argumentations for such conjectures vary in elaboration and support. This article gives a diachronic overview of the conjectured emendations. It concludes with an evaluation of the discussion from a phenomenological perspective and a summary of the used argumentation, thereby providing input for a reversed engineering approach to the issue

Fully automated generalization of a 1:50k map from 1:10k data. Cartography and Geographic Information Science 41(1

This article presents research that implements a fully automated workflow to generalize a 1:50k map from 1:10k data. This is the first time that a complete topographic map has been generalized without any human interaction. More noteworthy is that the resulting map is good enough to replace the existing map. Specifications for the automated process were established as part of this research. Replication of the existing map was not the aim, because feasibility of automated generalization is better when compliance with traditional generalizations rules is loosened and alternate approaches are acceptable. Indeed, users valued the currency and relevancy of geographical information more than complying with all existing cartographic guidelines. The development of the workflow thus started with the creation of a test map with automated generalization operations. The reason for the test map was to show what is technologically possible and to refine the results based on iterative users&apos; evaluation. The generalization operations (200 in total) containing the relevant algorithms and parameter values were developed and implemented in one model. Particular effort was made to enrich the source data in order to improve the results. The model is context aware which means it is able to apply different algorithms or adjust parameter values in accordance with a specific area. The result of the research is a fully automated generalization workflow that produces a countrywide map at scale 1:50k from 1:10k data in 50 hours. A fully automated workflow may be the only way to produce flexible and on-demand products; consequently, the results were implemented as a new production line in 2013. Issues for further research have been identified