A computer simulation of a rail network

AbstractA computer simulation of a rail segment is presented. The goal is to provide a capability for scheduling and routing with respect to predetermined objectives. The simulation is founded on a decomposition of the given line segment into fundamental units representing node to node subsegments with each node being an interlocking of the real system. A decision subroutine is activated every time a train reaches a node; all feasible options are then examined with respect to the current configuration of the system. Ultimately, it is hoped the simulation will have on-line monitoring capabilities

SNAP judgments: A small N acceptability paradigm (SNAP) for linguistic acceptability judgments

While published linguistic judgments sometimes differ from the judgments found in large-scale formal experiments with naive participants, there is not a consensus as to how often these errors occur nor as to how often formal experiments should be used in syntax and semantics research. In this article, we first present the results of a large-scale replication of the Sprouse et al. 2013 study on 100 English contrasts randomly sampled from Linguistic Inquiry 2001–2010 and tested in both a forced-choice experiment and an acceptability rating experiment. Like Sprouse, Schütze, and Almeida, we find that the effect sizes of published linguistic acceptability judgments are not uniformly large or consistent but rather form a continuum from very large effects to small or nonexistent effects. We then use this data as a prior in a Bayesian framework to propose a small n acceptability paradigm for linguistic acceptability judgments (SNAP Judgments). This proposal makes it easier and cheaper to obtain meaningful quantitative data in syntax and semantics research. Specifically, for a contrast of linguistic interest for which a researcher is confident that sentence A is better than sentence B, we recommend that the researcher should obtain judgments from at least five unique participants, using at least five unique sentences of each type. If all participants in the sample agree that sentence A is better than sentence B, then the researcher can be confident that the result of a full forced-choice experiment would likely be 75% or more agreement in favor of sentence A (with a mean of 93%). We test this proposal by sampling from the existing data and find that it gives reliable performance.*American Society for Engineering Education. National Defense Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowshi

Subject Preference and Ergativity

This paper presents the first-ever processing experiment on relativization in Avar, an ergative language with prenominal relatives. The results show no processing difference between the ergative subject gap and the absolutive object gap. The absolutive subject gap, however, is processed much faster. We propose a principled explanation for this result. On the one hand, Avar has a subject preference (cf. the Accessibility Hierarchy, Keenan and Comrie, 1977), which would make the processing of the ergative and the absolutive subject gap easier than the processing of the absolutive object gap. On the other hand, the ergative DP in a relative clause serves as a strong cue that allows the parser to project the remainder of the clause, including the absolutive object DP (cf. Marantz, 1991, 2000); such morphological cueing favors the absolutive object gap. Thus, two processing preferences, the one for subject relatives and the other for morphologically cued clauses, cancel each other out in terms of processing difficulty. As a result, reading time results for the ergative subject and absolutive object relative clauses are very similar. The overall processing results are significantly different from what is found in accusative languages, where subject preference and morphological cueing reinforce each other, leading to a strong transitive subject advantage.Linguistic

European White Book on Real-Time Power Hardware in the Loop Testing : DERlab Report No. R- 005.0

The European White Book on Real-Time-Powerhardware-in-the-Loop testing is intended to serve as a reference document on the future of testing of electrical power equipment, with specifi c focus on the emerging hardware-in-the-loop activities and application thereof within testing facilities and procedures. It will provide an outlook of how this powerful tool can be utilised to support the development, testing and validation of specifi cally DER equipment. It aims to report on international experience gained thus far and provides case studies on developments and specifi c technical issues, such as the hardware/software interface. This white book compliments the already existing series of DERlab European white books, covering topics such as grid-inverters and grid-connected storag

Global Drug-Resistance Patterns and the Management of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Immigrants to the United States

Background: In the United States, an increasingly disproportionate burden of tuberculosis among the foreign-born population has led to calls for improvements in the detection and treatment of latent infection in new immigrants. Current treatment guidelines do not take into account global differences in drug resistance patterns or their implications for the treatment of immigrants. The use of multinational surveillance systems to guide the management of latent infection according to region-specific drug-resistance profiles could improve the efficiency of efforts to reduce the burden of tuberculosis in immigrants to the United States. Methods: We constructed a decision-analysis model by using a hypothetical cohort of all documented immigrants entering the United States from developing nations. Region-specific drug-resistance profiles were derived from data on 30,388 cases of infection. The model examined the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of four strategies: no intervention or tuberculin skin testing followed by treatment with isoniazid, treatment with rifampin, or treatment with rifampin plus pyrazinamide for those with a positive test result. Results: A strategy of detecting and treating latent tuberculosis infection was cost-saving among immigrants from Mexico, Haiti, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and developing nations in East Asia and the Pacific. This strategy was highly cost effective among immigrants from other developing nations. Rifampin plus pyrazinamide was the preferred strategy for treating latent infection in immigrants from Vietnam, Haiti, and the Philippines. Conclusions: For new immigrants to the United States from developing nations, a strategy of detecting and treating latent tuberculosis infection would lead to substantial health and economic benefits. Because of the high prevalence of resistance to isoniazid, treatment with a rifampin-containing regimen should be strongly considered for immigrants from Vietnam, Haiti, and the Philippines

Global Drug-Resistance Patterns and the Management of Latent Tuberculosis Infection in Immigrants to the United States

Background: In the United States, an increasingly disproportionate burden of tuberculosis among the foreign-born population has led to calls for improvements in the detection and treatment of latent infection in new immigrants. Current treatment guidelines do not take into account global differences in drug resistance patterns or their implications for the treatment of immigrants. The use of multinational surveillance systems to guide the management of latent infection according to region-specific drug-resistance profiles could improve the efficiency of efforts to reduce the burden of tuberculosis in immigrants to the United States. Methods: We constructed a decision-analysis model by using a hypothetical cohort of all documented immigrants entering the United States from developing nations. Region-specific drug-resistance profiles were derived from data on 30,388 cases of infection. The model examined the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of four strategies: no intervention or tuberculin skin testing followed by treatment with isoniazid, treatment with rifampin, or treatment with rifampin plus pyrazinamide for those with a positive test result. Results: A strategy of detecting and treating latent tuberculosis infection was cost-saving among immigrants from Mexico, Haiti, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and developing nations in East Asia and the Pacific. This strategy was highly cost effective among immigrants from other developing nations. Rifampin plus pyrazinamide was the preferred strategy for treating latent infection in immigrants from Vietnam, Haiti, and the Philippines. Conclusions: For new immigrants to the United States from developing nations, a strategy of detecting and treating latent tuberculosis infection would lead to substantial health and economic benefits. Because of the high prevalence of resistance to isoniazid, treatment with a rifampin-containing regimen should be strongly considered for immigrants from Vietnam, Haiti, and the Philippines

L’arrêt de Karlsruhe sur les aides budgétaires dans la zone euro

L’arrêt rendu le 7 septembre 2011 par le Tribunal constitutionnel fédéral (2 BvR 987/10, 2 BvR 1485/10, 2 BvR 1099/10) examine la conformité avec la Loi fondamentale de la législation allemande en matière d’intégration européenne, plus précisément celle des deux lois d’aide budgétaire au sein de la zone Euro votées en mai 2010. Il s’agit d’une part de la Loi du 7 mai 2010 relative à la prise en charge de garanties pour la préservation de la solvabilité de la République Hellénique, nécessaire à la stabilité financière au sein de l’Union monétaire (Gesetz zur Übernahme von Gewährleistungen zum Erhalt der für die Finanzstabilität in der Währungsunion erforderlichen Zahlungsfähigkeit der Hellenischen Republik), surnommée Loi sur la stabilité financière dans l’UEM (Währungsunion-Finanzstabilitätsgesetz, WFStG), et d’autre part de la Loi du 22 mai 2010 sur la prise en charge de garanties dans le cadre d’un mécanisme européen de stabilité (Gesetz zur Übernahme von Gewährleistungen im Rahmen eines europäischen Stabilisierungsmechanismus). L’arrêt considère que ces deux lois sont conformes à la Constitution (alinéa 119). Néanmoins, son argumentation soulève une fois de plus un certain nombre de questions quant à l’impact de ce mécanisme sur la politique européenne de l’Allemagne et au rôle du Tribunal constitutionel fédéral dans le cadre de la politique d’intégration européenne. Ces questions avaient déjà été évoquées dans l’arrêt du 12 décembre 1993 sur les lois d’approbation du Traité de Maastricht (2 BvR 2134/92, 2 BvR 2159/92- BVerfGE 89, 155), la décision du 31 mars 1998 sur l’introduction de l’Euro (BvR 1877/94, BVerfGE 97, 350), et l’arrêt du 30 juin 2009 sur la loi d’approbation du Traité de Lisbonne (BvE 2/08 et al., BVerfGE 123, 267). Il convient donc d’évaluer le dernier arrêt de la Cour de Karlsruhe à l’aune de sa jurisprudence précédente. Nous commencerons ainsi par présenter ses lignes directrices (I) avant d’examiner les éléments nouveaux qu’il apporte au cadre constitutionnel dans lequel évoluent la politique européenne et la politique de transferts de l’Allemagne (II), le rôle à venir des pouvoirs exécutif, législatif et judiciaire dans sa politique de transferts au sein de la zone Euro (III), et les éventuelles protections juridiques s’offrant aux citoyens allemands contre les aides budgétaires dans la zone Euro (IV)