Wishart variate generators

Subroutine WSHRT for generating matrix of variances and covariances of Wishart distributio

Optimum incomplete multinormal samples

Optimum incomplete multinormal sample

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS IN VARIANCE COMPONENT ESTIMATION

The purpose of this paper is to introduce some recent developments in variance component estimation with emphasis on techniques which provide diagnostic information on the data and the model assumptions. This paper concentrates on the balanced data situation, but suggests a natural extension to the case of unbalanced data. The basic ideas are illustrated by several numerical examples

Agro-environmental project duration and effectiveness in South-east Asia

Considerable emphasis has been placed on developing technologies for agricultural sustainability. Many bilateral projects are working to achieve this outcome. A desk review was conducted to study the importance of project duration for the effectiveness of sustainable agricultural projects. Longer-duration projects were successful in addressing more holistic issues than short projects. However, funding agencies tend to fund shorter-duration projects, so projects become progressively shorter. At the same time, the number of projects implemented each year is increasing. Despite the decrease in total development assistance, increases in project numbers, particularly since 1986, appear to be at the cost of project duration. Short project duration was one of the most cited reasons for not completing essential dissemination activities for wider adoption, whereas longer- duration projects were usually considered more successful in addressing more holistic issues. It is difficult to produce tangible outputs from agricultural and soil conservation projects within five years. Considering the slow changes in the system and in agricultural and environmental sustainability, the authors suggest that project developers should be advised to plan for a minimum of 5–10 years, depending on the nature of activities. It is time for funding agencies to reconsider their tendency to fund shorter-duration projects

Quantification of periodontal attachment at single-rooted teeth

. The measurement process of attachment Joss has been criticized in recent years. Problems with clinical interpretation, precision of the measurement, and statistical manipulation of the obtained data, are some of the problems associated with the present methodology. The purpose of the present study was to propose an alternative measurement process which addresses some of the existing problems by estimating the lost attachment surface area (LAS) and the remaining attachment surface area (RAS) from a combination of clinical measurements. The results show that a linear combination of several sources of clinical information can be used to predict RAS and LAS. A diagnostic model for LAS (R 2 =81.5%) predicts the square root of LAS with information obtained from bucco-lingual attachment level measurements, the radiographic lost attachment area, the gingivitis index and the radiographic tooth length. This model increases the precision of the estimate of LAS by a factor of 1.86 when compared to the estimate of LAS using only attachment level measurements, A diagnostic model for RAS (R 2 =75.5%) predicts the square root of RAS with the information obtained from the remaining radiographic attachment area, the gingivitis index and the mobility index. Both linear inference models are constructed with measurements of anatomical landmarks to avoid the discrepancy between anatomical and clinical measurements in the produced estimates. It is concluded that modeling of periodontal data provides a simple, inexpensive, and precise diagnostic tool for predicting the lost and the remaining periodontal attachment of single-rooted teeth. Measurement processes of this type could provide a convincing, basis for the evaluation of clinical decisions and research questions.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72962/1/j.1600-051X.1989.tb01645.x.pd

The Potential For UK Portfolio Investors To Finance Sustainable Tropical Forestry

Environmental Economics and Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

A review of the geology and geodynamic evolution of the Palaeoproterozoic Earaheedy Basin, Western Australia

The Palaeoproterozoic Earaheedy Basin is one of a series of basins that extend for about 700 km east-west and are part of the Capricorn Orogen, situated between the Archaean Pilbara and Yilgarn Cratons. The Earaheedy Basin contains sedimentary rocks that were deposited on the northern passive continental margin of the Yilgarn Craton, probably as a result of continental breakup at 1.8 Ga. The sedimentary rocks of the Earaheedy Group are divided into two Subgroups, Toloo and Miningarra, each representing different depositional environments and aggregating about 3000 m in thickeness. The Tooloo Subgroup consists of basal siliciclastic with minor platform carbonates, overlain by a 600-m-thick succession of Fe-rich rocks (granular iron-formation and hematitic shales). The Miningarra Subgroup is predominantly siliciclastic, but includes stromatolite-bearing carbonate sequences and was deposited during a more active depositional regime. Far field tectonic events at 1.76 and 1.65 Ga resulted in the deformation of the sedimentary package with progressive intensity from north to south, forming the Stanley Fold Belt and giving and overall asymmetric structure to the Basin. These events were followed by a large meteorite impact (Shoemaker Impact Structure), probably in the Neoproterozoic. The Earaheedy Basin is well endowed with Fe resources, represented by the granular iron-formation (Frere Formation, Tooloo Subgroup), particularly in the Stanly Fold Belt, where there was secondary enrichement

Social affiliation motives modulate spontaneous learning in Williams syndrome but not in autism

BACKGROUND: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and those with Williams syndrome (WS) have difficulties with learning, though the nature of these remains unclear. METHODS: In this study, we used novel eye-tracking and behavioral paradigms to measure how 36 preschoolers with ASD and 21 age- and IQ-matched peers with WS attend to and learn novel behaviors (1) from the outcomes of their own actions (non-social learning), (2) through imitation of others’ actions (social learning), and across situations in which imitative learning served either an instrumental function or fulfilled social affiliation motives. RESULTS: The two groups demonstrated similar abilities to learn from the consequences of their own actions and to imitate new actions that were instrumental to the achievement of a tangible goal. Children with WS, unlike those with ASD, increased their attention and imitative learning performance when the model acted in a socially engaging manner. CONCLUSIONS: Learning abnormalities in ASD appear to be linked to the social rather than instrumental dimensions of learning

The growth of leading-edge distortions on a viscous sheet

The results of a set of experiments to determine some features of the undulations that develop on the leading edge of a sheet of fluid on an inclined plane are presented. A range of fluid viscosities, fluid volumes, and plate angles was used. In nearly all the cases, the observed disturbances had a triangular or sawtooth shape, with only a single example of a finger or parallel-sided shape appearing. The power-law exponents for the position down the plate of both the tips of the disturbances and their roots, that is, the points where they join the uniform sheet above them, were calculated from a series of photographs, and the corresponding wavelengths measured. The exponents are broadly in line with those that can be deduced from a simple model including viscosity, gravity, and volume flux, and ignoring all capillary effects. This conclusion suggests that the criterion for distinguishing the two types of disturbance does not depend on the global dynamics of the developing structures, and that a detailed analysis of the tip and root regions, where capillarity will be significant, is needed for further progress to be made. © 1999 American Institute of Physics.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/70941/2/PHFLE6-11-2-307-1.pd