1,136 research outputs found
Methods of tropical optimization in rating alternatives based on pairwise comparisons
We apply methods of tropical optimization to handle problems of rating
alternatives on the basis of the log-Chebyshev approximation of pairwise
comparison matrices. We derive a direct solution in a closed form, and
investigate the obtained solution when it is not unique. Provided the
approximation problem yields a set of score vectors, rather than a unique (up
to a constant factor) one, we find those vectors in the set, which least and
most differentiate between the alternatives with the highest and lowest scores,
and thus can be representative of the entire solution.Comment: 9 pages, presented at the Annual Intern. Conf. of the German
Operations Research Society (GOR), Helmut Schmidt University Hamburg,
Germany, August 30 - September 2, 201
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Innovating Pedagogy 2017: Exploring new forms of teaching, learning and assessment, to guide educators and policy makers. Open University Innovation Report 6
This series of reports explores new forms of teaching, learning and assessment for an interactive world, to guide teachers and policy makers in productive innovation. This sixth report proposes ten innovations that are already in currency but have not yet had a profound influence on education. To produce it, a group of academics at the Institute of Educational Technology in The Open University collaborated with researchers from the Learning In a NetworKed Society (LINKS) Israeli Center of Research Excellence (I-CORE).
Themes:
• Big-data inquiry: thinking with data
• Learners making science
• Navigating post-truth societies
• Immersive learning
• Learning with internal values
• Student-led analytics
• Intergroup empathy
• Humanistic knowledge-building communities
• Open Textbooks
• Spaced Learnin
Implementation of an Optimal First-Order Method for Strongly Convex Total Variation Regularization
We present a practical implementation of an optimal first-order method, due
to Nesterov, for large-scale total variation regularization in tomographic
reconstruction, image deblurring, etc. The algorithm applies to -strongly
convex objective functions with -Lipschitz continuous gradient. In the
framework of Nesterov both and are assumed known -- an assumption
that is seldom satisfied in practice. We propose to incorporate mechanisms to
estimate locally sufficient and during the iterations. The mechanisms
also allow for the application to non-strongly convex functions. We discuss the
iteration complexity of several first-order methods, including the proposed
algorithm, and we use a 3D tomography problem to compare the performance of
these methods. The results show that for ill-conditioned problems solved to
high accuracy, the proposed method significantly outperforms state-of-the-art
first-order methods, as also suggested by theoretical results.Comment: 23 pages, 4 figure
The AFLOW Fleet for Materials Discovery
The traditional paradigm for materials discovery has been recently expanded
to incorporate substantial data driven research. With the intent to accelerate
the development and the deployment of new technologies, the AFLOW Fleet for
computational materials design automates high-throughput first principles
calculations, and provides tools for data verification and dissemination for a
broad community of users. AFLOW incorporates different computational modules to
robustly determine thermodynamic stability, electronic band structures,
vibrational dispersions, thermo-mechanical properties and more. The AFLOW data
repository is publicly accessible online at aflow.org, with more than 1.7
million materials entries and a panoply of queryable computed properties. Tools
to programmatically search and process the data, as well as to perform online
machine learning predictions, are also available.Comment: 14 pages, 8 figure
Leukocytes Breach Endothelial Barriers by Insertion of Nuclear Lobes and Disassembly of Endothelial Actin Filaments
Israel Science Foundation (grant 87/12)
Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute Foundation (FAMRI) (grant FAMRI032001_CoE), USA
Minerva Foundation, Germany
Wellcome Trust (grant 098291/Z/12/Z to S.N.
Development of a Health-Protective Drinking Water Level for Perchlorate
We evaluated animal and human toxicity data for perchlorate and identified reduction of thyroidal iodide uptake as the critical end point in the development of a health-protective drinking water level [also known as the public health goal (PHG)] for the chemical. This work was performed under the drinking water program of the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment of the California Environmental Protection Agency. For dose–response characterization, we applied benchmark-dose modeling to human data and determined a point of departure (the 95% lower confidence limit for 5% inhibition of iodide uptake) of 0.0037 mg/kg/day. A PHG of 6 ppb was calculated by using an uncertainty factor of 10, a relative source contribution of 60%, and exposure assumptions specific to pregnant women. The California Department of Health Services will use the PHG, together with other considerations such as economic impact and engineering feasibility, to develop a California maximum contaminant level for perchlorate. We consider the PHG to be adequately protective of sensitive subpopulations, including pregnant women, their fetuses, infants, and people with hypothyroidism
Successful removal of a telephone cable, a foreign body through the urethra into the bladder: a case report
The variety of foreign bodies inserted into or externally attached to the genitourinary tract defies imagination and includes all types of objects. The frequency of such cases renders these an important addition to the diseases of the genitourinary organs. The most common motive associated with the insertion of foreign bodies into the genitourinary tract is sexual or erotic in nature. In adults this is commonly caused by the insertion of objects used for masturbation and is frequently associated with mental health disorders. We report a case of insertion of telephone cable wire into the urethra. Our case highlights the importance of good history, clinical examination, relevant radiological investigation and simple measures to solve the problem
Facing erythrocytosis: Results of an international physician survey.
We observed a good agreement among hematologists regarding the diagnostic procedures and a widespread awareness regarding the importance of the new 2016 WHO criteria and bone marrow his-tology. On the other side, we observed a marked heterogeneity in treatment practice, regarding both the Hct threshold and the use of anti-platelet agents
Association of the 894G>T polymorphism in the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene with risk of acute myocardial infarction
Background: This study was designed to investigate the association of the 894G>T polymorphism in the eNOS gene with risk of acute myocardial infarction (AMI), extent of coronary artery disease (CAD) on coronary angiography, and in-hospital mortality after AMI.
Methods: We studied 1602 consecutive patients who were enrolled in the GEMIG study. The control group was comprised by 727 individuals, who were randomly selected from the general adult population.
Results: The prevalence of the Asp298 variant of eNOS was not found to be significantly and independently associated with risk of AMI (RR = 1.08, 95%CI = 0.77–1.51, P = 0.663), extent of CAD on angiography (OR = 1.18, 95%CI = 0.63–2.23, P = 0.605) and in-hospital mortality (RR = 1.08, 95%CI = 0.29–4.04, P = 0.908).
Conclusion: In contrast to previous reports, homozygosity for the Asp298 variant of the 894G>T polymorphism in the eNOS gene was not found to be associated with risk of AMI, extent of CAD and in-hospital mortality after AM
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