The estimation of geoacoustic properties from broadband acoustic data, focusing on instantaneous frequency techniques

The compressional wave velocity and attenuation of marine sediments are fundamental to marine science. In order to obtain reliable estimates of these parameters it is necessary to examine in situ acoustic data, which is generally broadband. A variety of techniques for estimating the compressional wave velocity and attenuation from broadband acoustic data are reviewed. The application of Instantaneous Frequency (IF) techniques to data collected from a normal-incidence chirp profiler is examined. For the datasets examined the best estimates of IF are obtained by dividing the chirp profile into a series of sections, estimating the IF of each trace in the section using the first moments of the Wigner Ville distribution, and stacking the resulting IF to obtain a composite IF for the section. As the datasets examined cover both gassy and saturated sediments, this is likely to be the optimum technique for chirp datasets collected from all sediment environments

Frequency dependence of acoustic waves in marine sediments

In situ techniques provide the most reliable method of examining the geoacoustical properties of marine sediments. In the past, individual in situ surveys have only been able to examine compressional waves over a maximum frequency range of 100 Hz to 50 kHz. A new in situ acoustic device, the Sediment Probing Acoustic Detection Equipment, or SPADE, has been developed, which can emit a variety of pulses, e.g. tonal and swept-frequency, over a continuous frequency range of 10 - 100 kHz. Data from a recent field trial are analysed to obtain the in situ velocity and attenuation over frequency increments of 5 kHz between 10 - 75 kHz. Results imply that scattering is a dominant attenuation mechanism from 10-75 kHz and the media is dispersive for frequencies between 60 and 70 kHz and below 20 kHz. Biot theory cannot accurately model the observed velocity and attenuation

Some recent advances in nanomechanical testing: High strain rates, variable temperatures, fatigue and stress relaxation, combinatorial experimentation

In the first part of the talk, I will present two recently developed platforms for high temperature nanomechanical testing. The first platform allows for variable temperature and variable strain rate testing of micropillars in situ in the scanning electron microscope. By utilizing an intrinsically displacement-controlled micro-compression setup, which applies displacement using a miniaturized piezo-actuator, we’ve recently extended the attainable range of strain rates to up to~ 103 s−1, and enabled cyclic loading up to 107 cycles and load relaxation tests. Stable, variable temperature indentation/micro-compression in the range of -45°C to 600°C is achieved through independent heating and temperature monitoring of both the indenter tip and sample and by cooling the instrument frame. A second system allows for measurements at lower loads ex-situ in a dedicated vacuum chamber in the range of -150 °C to 700 °C. The cryo temperature is achieved by means of a liquid nitrogen line, while the high temperature is generated by three independent heat sources for the sample and the two tips of the differential displacement measurement system, establishing an infrared bath in the measurement area. In the second part several case studies will be presented. Using these new capabilities, we examine the plasticity of electrodeposited nanocrystalline Nickel, of combinatorial thin film libraries, of hard nanocrystalline ceramic thin films. Activation parameters such as activation volume and activation energy were determined and discussed in view of the most probable deformation mechanism. High strain rates and cyclic fatigue tests were performed on nanocrystalline Ni. The strain rate sensitivity seems to increase for strain rates higher than 10 s-1 suggesting a change in deformation mechanism with increasing strain rate. Cyclic fatigue tests up to 1 million cycles were performed on nanocrystalline Ni microbeams and compared with existing data from literature. Combinatorial libraries of bulk metallic glasses were synthesized by a combination of gradient sputtering and evaporation. Hardness and Young’s modulus was mapped as a function of temperate, strain rate and composition. The results are discussed in the light of shear band kinetics. Finally, a wide range of chromium nitride-based hard coatings was investigated using in situ micro-cantilever bending and compression testing. This allowed the first direct measurement of the high temperature compressive strength and fracture toughness

Empirical Evidence on the Use of Credit Scoring for Predicting Insurance Losses with Psycho-social and Biochemical Explanations

An important development in personal lines of insurance in the United States is the use of credit history data for insurance risk classification to predict losses. This research presents the results of collaboration with industry conducted by a university at the request of its state legislature. The purpose was to see the viability and validity of the use of credit scoring to predict insurance losses given its controversial nature and criticism as redundant of other predictive variables currently used. Working with industry and government, this study analyzed more than 175,000 policyholders’ information for the relationship between credit score and claims. Credit scores were significantly related to incurred losses, evidencing both statistical and practical significance. We investigate whether the revealed relationship between credit score and incurred losses was explainable by overlap with existing underwriting variables or whether the credit score adds new information about losses not contained in existing underwriting variables. The results show that credit scores contain significant information not already incorporated into other traditional rating variables (e.g., age, sex, driving history). We discuss how sensation seeking and self-control theory provide a partial explanation of why credit scoring works (the psycho-social perspective). This article also presents an overview of biological and chemical correlates of risk taking that helps explain why knowing risk-taking behavior in one realm (e.g., risky financial behavior and poor credit history) transits to predicting risk-taking behavior in other realms (e.g., automobile insurance incurred losses). Additional research is needed to advance new nontraditional loss prediction variables from social media consumer information to using information provided by technological advances. The evolving and dynamic nature of the insurance marketplace makes it imperative that professionals continue to evolve predictive variables and for academics to assist with understanding the whys of the relationships through theory development.IC2 Institut

Developing young people's sense of self and place through sport

Previous research has recognized positive health implications, both physical and mental, as an outcome of participation in leisure pursuits. They provide opportunities for self-expression and stress reduction, as well as an environment in which people can socialize. Leisure activities, specifically sport activities, can play a significant role in young people's identity development. This paper explores the leisure activities in which young people in Adelaide, Australia participate. It examines the role of leisure activities in terms of young people's identity and feelings towards their hometown. This study consisted of semi-structured focus groups conducted with 24 senior high school students, followed by a survey resulting in 226 useable responses. Respondents were aged between 16 and 18 years of age. From the range of activities identified and explored, the results revealed sports activities to have the greatest impact on young people's lives. The results demonstrated that frequency of participation has a significant effect on young people's involvement levels and how they identify with the activity

Persistent low-level variants in a subset of viral genes are highly predictive of poor outcome in immunocompromised patients with cytomegalovirus infection

ABSTRACT Background Human cytomegalovirus is the most common and serious opportunistic infection after solid organ and haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. In this study, we used whole-genome cytomegalovirus data to investigate viral factors associated with the clinical outcome. Methods We sequenced cytomegalovirus samples from 16 immunocompromised paediatric patients with persistent viraemia. 8/16 patients died of complications due to cytomegalovirus infection. We also sequenced samples from 35 infected solid organ adult recipients of whom one died with cytomegalovirus infection. Results We showed that samples from both groups have fixed variants at resistance sites and mixed infections. NGS sequencing also revealed non-fixed variants at resistance sites in most of the patients who died (6/9). A machine learning approach identified 10 genes with non-fixed variants in these patients. These genes formed a viral signature which discriminated patients with cytomegalovirus infection who died from those that survived with high accuracy (AUC=0.96). Lymphocyte numbers for a subset of patients showed no recovery post-transplant in the patients who died. Conclusions We hypothesise that the viral signature identified in this study may be a useful biomarker for poor response to antiviral drug treatment and indirectly for poor T cell function, potentially identifying early, those patients requiring non-pharmacological interventions

Higher Order Processes in Electromagnetic Production of Electron Positron Pairs in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collisions

We study higher-order effects in the electromagnetic production of electron-positron pairs in relativistic heavy ion collisions. Treating the field of the heavy ions as an external field and neglecting the interaction among electrons and positrons, we show that the $N$-pair creation amplitude is the antisymmetrised product of $N$ one-pair creation amplitudes and the vacuum amplitude. Neglecting contributions coming from exchange terms, we show that the total probability for $N$ pairs is approximately a Poisson distribution. We investigate further the structure of the reduced one-pair amplitude, concentrating especially on multiple-particle corrections. We calculate the first of these corrections in second order Magnus theory based on our previous result in second-order Born approximation for impact parameter $b$ zero. Explicit calculations show that the total probability is increased up to 10 \% by this correction for realistic collider parameters. The calculations can also be used to confirm the use of the Poisson distribution for the total probability.Comment: 29 pages RevTeX and 12 uuencoded figures (compressed postscript

Bucindolol: A Pharmacogenomic Perspective on Its Use in Chronic Heart Failure

Bucindolol is a non-selective β-adrenergic receptor blocker with α-1 blocker properties and mild intrinsic sympatholytic activity. The Beta-Blocker Evaluation of Survival Trial (BEST), which is the largest clinical trial of bucindolol in patients with heart failure, was terminated prematurely and failed to show an overall mortality benefit. However, benefits on cardiac mortality and re-hospitalization rates were observed in the BEST trial. Bucindolol has not shown benefits in African Americans, those with significantly low ejection fraction and those in NYHA class IV heart failure. These observations could be due to the exaggerated sympatholytic response to bucindolol in these sub-groups that may be mediated by genetic polymorphisms or changes in gene regulation due to advanced heart failure. This paper provides a timely clinical update on the use of bucindolol in chronic heart failure

Exploring Appropriation of Global Cultural Rituals

Adolescents, as a consequence of identification with popular culture, have been described as having homogenous consumption patterns. More recently, however, it has been recognised that ‘glocalisation’ (global practices reworked to fit local contexts) affords an opportunity for differentiation. This paper considers a recent UK phenomenon, namely that of the US high school prom, and seeks to explore the ways in which this ritual has been adopted or adapted as part of youth culture. The method employed here was mixed methods and included in-depth interviews with those who attended a prom in the last three years as well as a questionnaire distributed amongst high school pupils who were anticipating a high school prom. The findings illustrate that the high school prom in the UK is becoming increasingly integrated into the fabric of youth culture although, depending on the agentic abilities employed by the emerging adults in the sample, there is differing appropriation of this ritual event particularly in relation to attitudes towards and motivations for attending the prom. A typology of prom attendees is posited. This paper contributes to our understanding of this practice in a local context