Reverse time migration: A seismic processing application on the connection machine

The implementation of a reverse time migration algorithm on the Connection Machine, a massively parallel computer is described. Essential architectural features of this machine as well as programming concepts are presented. The data structures and parallel operations for the implementation of the reverse time migration algorithm are described. The algorithm matches the Connection Machine architecture closely and executes almost at the peak performance of this machine

Economical Aspects of Development of Solar Energetics in Czech republic

Import 11/07/2012Tato bakalářská práce je zaměřena na ekonomické aspekty rozvoje solární energetiky v ČR. Jejím cílem je popsat a zhodnotit vývoj solárních elektráren v České republice a jeho dopady na ceny energií. Úvodní kapitola je zaměřena na obecnou definici pojmu fotovoltaika, hodnocení jejího podílu na výrobě elektřiny v rámci obnovitelných zdrojů energie. Dále je v druhé kapitole rozvedena otázka dalšího možného využití OZE. V následující kapitole pojednává o evropské a české legislativě, na jejímž základě jsou provozovatelům fotovoltaických elektráren přidělovány státní dotace. Dále je zde popsán systém zákonů, jež solární energetiku zdaňuje, a také jsou zde popsány vládní programy, prostřednictvím kterých mohou být dotace pro podporu fotovoltaik čerpány. Ve čtvrté kapitole je téma bakalářské práce zpracováno prostřednictvím žurnalistický žánrů se zaměřením na ekonomické a legislativní aspekty tématu a také na možné problémy tohoto odvětví, které by v budoucnu mohly nastat. Výsledkem práce je zjištění zásadního dopadu rozvoje fotovoltaik na ceny energií v ČR, především díky nedostatečné legislativní úpravě v počátcích tohoto boomu.This bachelor thesis focuses on the economical aspects of development of solar energetics in Czech Republic. Its goal is to describe and sum up development of solar power stations in Czech Republic and its influence over prices of elektricity. The introductory chapter focuses on definition of photovoltaics. Chapter also sums up interest of photovoltaics on total production of elektricity from renewabla energy sources. Second chapter specifies possibilities of using renewable energy resources in future. Next chapter is focused on Czech and European legislation related to giving out grants for entrepreneurs in branch of solar energetics. There is also specified system of taxes for solar power stations. Chapter three also focuses on national and European grant programs. Through them should be grants for photovoltaic given out. In the fourth chapter of bachelor thesis was the topic compiled by varios media genres. Last chapter is focused on economical and legal aspects of solar power stations developmnet. There are also metioned possible problems, which should branch of photovoltaic power station cause in future. The outcome of my thesis is finding ,that development of solar energetics has influenced rise of prices of electricity so much, thanks to mistakes in the law related to photovoltaics.121 - Katedra ekonomické žurnalistikyvýborn

Baby Boxes as Economic and Legal Basis for the Mothers of Unwanted Children

Import 05/08/2014Tato diplomová práce je zaměřena na historii a současnost péče o nechtěné děti a také na ekonomické a právní aspekty spojené s odložením dítěte do babyboxu. Cílem této práce je popsat vývoj péče o nechtěné děti a zhodnotit rozvoj sítě babyboxů v České republice. Dalším cílem je nalézt odpověď na otázku, jestli se skutečně matka nebo rodiče mohou dostat do natolik tíživé situace, aby museli své dítě do babyboxu vložit a v jakém poměru jsou náklady rodinné péče k ceně té ústavní. Posledním cílem je potvrzení či vyvrácení hypotézy, že pokud matka odloží své dítě do babyboxu, nedopouští se tím trestného činu. Úvodní kapitola je zaměřena na popis historie péče o nechtěné děti ve světě a na území České republiky a také na popis a hodnocení rozvoje sítě babyboxů u nás. V následující kapitole je rozvedena ekonomická problematika tohoto tématu prostřednictvím výpočtu a komparace nákladů na rodinnou a ústavní péči o dítě. Dále je ve třetí kapitole uveden výpočet nákladů na vybudování, provoz a údržbu sítě babyboxů v České republice. Ve čtvrté kapitole je vymezen legislativní rámec upravující práva dítěte odloženého do babyboxu. Dále je zde popis právního postupu zainteresovaných orgánů při odložení novorozence do babyboxu a komparace zákona o rodině a nového občanského zákoníku se zaměřením na ustanovení spojená s adopcí dítěte z babyboxu. Výsledkem práce je zjištění, že se matka nebo rodiče skutečně mohou dostat do takové finanční situace, kdy je pro ně výchova dítěte z ekonomického hlediska nenosná. Zároveň se podařilo potvrdit hypotézu o právním postupu v případě odložení dítěte do babyboxu.This thesis focuses on the history and present of care of unwanted children as well as the economic and legal aspects associated with deferring a child in a babybox. The aim of this thesis is to describe the development of care of unwanted children and to evaluate the development of the network of babyboxes in the Czech Republic. Another goal is to answer the question, if indeed the mother or parents can get into such a difficult situation so that they had their baby in a babybox insert, the ratio of the cost of family care to the price of the institutional care. The final aim is to confirm or refute the hypothesis that if the mother defers her child in babybox, then she won´t commit the crime. The introductory chapter focuses on describing the history of the care of unwanted children in the world and in the Czech Republic and it also focuses on the description and evaluation of development of babyboxes network in our country. The next chapter elaborates economic problems of this topic through calculation and comparison of the cost of family and institutional child care. Furthermore, in the third chapter is presented the calculation of the cost of construction, operation and maintenance of the babyboxes network in the Czech Republic. In the fourth chapter is defined the legislative framework governing the rights of the child deferred into babybox. There is also a description of the legal procedure of involved authorities, when the newborn is deferred into babybox and there is also the comparison of the Family Code and the new Civil Code, focusing on provisions associated with adopting a child from the babybox. The main finding is that the mother or parents can really get into such a financial situation when a child's care is economically unbearable for them. We also managed to confirm the hypothesis of a legal procedure in the case of postponement of the child to the babybox.121 - Katedra ekonomické žurnalistikyvýborn

Low-complexity methods to mitigate the impact of environmental variables on low-cost UAS-based atmospheric carbon dioxide measurements

This article assesses the individual and joint impact of pressure, temperature, and relative humidity on the accuracy of atmospheric CO2 measurements collected by unmanned aerial systems (UASs) using low-cost commercial non-dispersive infrared (NDIR) sensors. We build upon previous experimental results in the literature and present a new dataset with increased gradients for each environmental variable to match the abrupt changes found in UAS-based atmospheric vertical profiles. As a key contribution, we present a low-complexity correction procedure to mitigate the impact of these variables and reduce errors in this type of atmospheric CO2 measurement. Our findings support the use of low-cost NDIR sensors for UAS-based atmospheric CO2 measurements as a complementary in situ tool for many scientific applications.</p

Observational evidence of temperature trends at two levels in the surface layer

Citation: Lin, X., Pielke, R. A., Mahmood, R., Fiebrich, C. A., & Aiken, R. (2016). Observational evidence of temperature trends at two levels in the surface layer. Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics, 16(2), 827-841. doi:10.5194/acp-16-827-2016Long-term surface air temperatures at 1.5m screen level over land are used in calculating a global average surface temperature trend. This global trend is used by the IPCC and others to monitor, assess, and describe global warming or warming hiatus. Current knowledge of near-surface temperature trends with respect to height, however, is limited and inadequately understood because surface temperature observations at different heights in the surface layer of the world are rare especially from a high-quality and long-term climate monitoring network. Here we use high-quality two-height Oklahoma Mesonet observations, synchronized in time, fixed in height, and situated in relatively flat terrain, to assess temperature trends and differentiating temperature trends with respect to heights (i.e., near-surface lapse rate trend) over the period 1997 to 2013. We show that the near-surface lapse rate has significantly decreased with a trend of -0.18 +/- 0.03 degrees C (10 m)(-1) per decade indicating that the 9m height temperatures increased faster than temperatures at the 1.5m screen level and/or conditions at the 1.5m height cooled faster than at the 9m height. However, neither of the two individual height temperature trends by themselves were statistically significant. The magnitude of lapse rate trend is greatest under lighter winds at night. Nighttime lapse rate trends were significantly more negative than daytime lapse rate trends and the average lapse rate trend was three times more negative under calm conditions than under windy conditions. Our results provide the first observational evidence of near-surface temperature changes with respect to height that could enhance the assessment of climate model predictions

Other Radiopharmaceuticals for Imaging GEP‐NET

In GEP‐NETs, especially the catecholamine and serotonin biosynthetic pathways are upregulated. Therefore, increased biosynthesis of these specific amines in GEP‐NETs enables imaging with specific amine precursors. For the catecholamine pathway, 6‐18F ‐l‐3,4‐dihydroxyphenylalanine (18F‐DOPA) is available, while for the serotonin pathway, carbon‐11‐labeled 5‐hydroxy‐l‐tryptophan ([11C]‐5‐HTP) is available as tracer. 11C‐5‐HTP PET and 18F‐DOPA PET are excellent functional imaging techniques for evaluating patients with proven pancreatic islet cell tumors and carcinoids. For both tracers, the combination with CT further improves the detection rate of NET, which shows that performing PET scans with these tracers in PET/CT scanners is beneficial for patients.Since well‐differentiated GEP‐NETs generally have a low glucose metabolism, 18F‐fluorodexyglucose (18F‐FDG) PET scanning has limited value for the primary staging of patients with well‐differentiated GEP‐NETs. However, in patients with rapidly progressive disease, dedifferentiation of GEP‐NET tumors can lead to a higher glucose metabolism in tumor cells. In these patients, 18F‐FDG PET can be of benefit for tumor staging. Also, 18F‐FDG PET can be of value when other malignancies are suspected in patients with GEP‐NETs, since these patients experience a higher incidence of these malignancies compared to the general population.Nowadays, (GEP)‐NETs can also be imaged with 68Ga‐labeled analogues of somatostatin, which are also PET tracers. Advantages of 68Ga‐labeled somatostatin analogues are the relatively easy generator‐based synthesis and the possibility to evaluate whether peptide (somatostatin) receptor radionuclide therapy (PRRT) for NETs can be considered

Composted biowaste digestates as fertilizers: effects on soil chemistry and plant development in a three-year field trial

In einem dreijährigen Feldversuch wurden kompostierte Gärreste aus Bioabfällen hinsichtlich ihrer pflanzenbau­lichen Einsatzmöglichkeiten und ihrer Wirkung auf boden­chemische Parameter geprüft. Zudem wurden die Auf­be­reitungsverfahren Pelletierung und Agglomeratbildung und deren Auswirkung auf die Gärprodukteigenschaften untersucht. Es wurde festgestellt, dass die unmit­telbare Düngewirkung der Produkte aufgrund der niedrigen Stickstoffverfügbarkeit gering ist. Allerdings zeigte sich nach der Anwendung eine deutliche Erhöhung der Kohlenstoffgehalte im Boden, was auf ein relevantes Humusreproduktionspotential durch derartige Gärprodukte schließen lässt. Agglomeratbildung und Pelletierung scheinen die Mineralisierung der Produkte weiter zu verlangsamen, was sich auf die Nährstofffreisetzung negativ, auf eventuelle Kohlenstoffsequenzierung jedoch positiv auswirkt. Problematisch sind speziell bei Bioabfällen hohe Gehalte an Schwermetallen und anderen Störstoffen. Die gesetzlich vorgegebenen Grenzwerte wurden in 50% der untersuchten Chargen überschritten, wobei jedoch nur max. 7% der ausgebrachten Schwermetalle im oberirdischen Pflanzenmaterial wiedergefunden wurden.In a three-year field trial, composted digestates from biowaste were tested for their potential for plant cultivation and their effect on soil chemical parameters. In addition, the preparation processes of pelleting and agglomeration and their effect on the digestate properties were investigated. It has been found that the immediate fertilising effect of the products is low due to the low nitrogen availability. However, there was a significant increase in carbon content in the soil, suggesting a relevant humus repro­duction potential from such digestate products. Agglo­merate formation and pelleting appear to further slow the mineralization of the products, negatively affect­ing nutrient release but positively impacting carbon sequenc­ing. Particularly problematic in biowaste are high levels of heavy metals and other impurities. The statutory limits were exceeded in 50% of the batches exa­mined, but only max. 7% of the discharged heavy metals were recovered in the aboveground plant material

Herbal product use by persons enrolled in the hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment Against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) Trial

Herbal products, used for centuries in Far Eastern countries, are gaining popularity in western countries. Surveys indicate that persons with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) often use herbals, especially silymarin (milk thistle extract), hoping to improve the modest response to antiviral therapy and reduce side effects. The Hepatitis C Antiviral Long-Term Treatment Against Cirrhosis (HALT-C) Trial, involving persons with advanced CHC, nonresponders to prior antiviral therapy but still willing to participate in long-term pegylated interferon treatment, offered the opportunity to examine the use and potential effects of silymarin. Among 1145 study participants, 56% had never taken herbals, 21% admitted past use, and 23% were using them at enrollment. Silymarin constituted 72% of 60 herbals used at enrollment. Among all participants, 67% had never used silymarin, 16% used it in the past, and 17% used it at baseline. Silymarin use varied widely among the 10 participating study centers; men were more frequent users than women, as were non-Hispanic whites than African Americans and Hispanics. Silymarin use correlated strongly with higher education. No beneficial effect of silymarin was found on serum alanine aminotransferase or hepatitis C virus (HCV) RNA levels. Univariate analysis showed significantly fewer liver-related symptoms and better quality-of-life parameters in users than nonusers, but after reanalysis adjusted for covariates of age, race, education, alcohol consumption, exercise, body mass index, and smoking, only fatigue, nausea, liver pain, anorexia, muscle and joint pain, and general health remained significantly better in silymarin users. In conclusion, silymarin users had similar alanine aminotransferase and HCV levels to those of nonusers but fewer symptoms and somewhat better quality-of-life indices. Because its use among these HALT-C participants was self-motivated and uncontrolled, however, only a well-designed prospective study can determine whether silymarin provides benefit to persons with chronic hepatitis C. (H EPATOLOGY 2008.)Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58026/1/22044_ftp.pd