476 research outputs found
Graph Creation, Visualisation and Transformation
We describe a tool to create, edit, visualise and compute with interaction
nets - a form of graph rewriting systems. The editor, called GraphPaper, allows
users to create and edit graphs and their transformation rules using an
intuitive user interface. The editor uses the functionalities of the TULIP
system, which gives us access to a wealth of visualisation algorithms.
Interaction nets are not only a formalism for the specification of graphs, but
also a rewrite-based computation model. We discuss graph rewriting strategies
and a language to express them in order to perform strategic interaction net
rewriting
Carbon clusters near the crossover to fullerene stability
The thermodynamic stability of structural isomers of ,
, and , including
fullerenes, is studied using density functional and quantum Monte Carlo
methods. The energetic ordering of the different isomers depends sensitively on
the treatment of electron correlation. Fixed-node diffusion quantum Monte Carlo
calculations predict that a isomer is the smallest stable
graphitic fragment and that the smallest stable fullerenes are the
and clusters with and
symmetry, respectively. These results support proposals that a
solid could be synthesized by cluster deposition.Comment: 4 pages, includes 4 figures. For additional graphics, online paper
and related information see http://www.tcm.phy.cam.ac.uk/~prck
What are the resourcing requirements for an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care research project?
Objective and importance: To explore the role of resourcing during an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander primary health care research project. Study type: Process evaluation using grounded theory approaches of a national Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander research project (N = 500) named Getting it Right: the validation study. Methods: Qualitative semistructured interviews with 36 primary health care staff and 4 community members from 9 of 10 primary health care services involved in the research project. Interviews included questions about the resources needed to conduct the research project, including fexible reimbursement to participating services (allocated within services), human resources and reimbursement to research participants (vouchers). Qualitative data were triangulated with participant feedback, study administrative data and feld notes kept by the interviewer. Results: Three themes were identifed: 1) the infuence of reimbursement on participating services and the research project; 2) the infuence of human resources on the research project at participating services; and 3) the consequences of offering vouchers to reimburse research participants. Reimbursement was allocated to research expenses (human resources and logistics) or non-research expenses (service operations, equipment and conference attendance costs). Most services opted to offer vouchers to compensate participants for their time, which staff considered was appropriate recognition of participantsâ contributions and facilitated recruitment. Some staff described some potential unintended negative consequences from offering vouchers, including creating a welfare mentality or creating problematic expectations. Conclusion: Primary health care research should have suffcient resourcing available, including human resource capacity, to achieve research targets. Research planning should include consideration of the existing commitments, priorities and human capacity needs of services and patients.Sara Farnbacha, Graham Geec, Anne-Marie Eadesa, John Robert Evanse, Jamie Fernandog, Belinda Hammond, Matty Simms, Karrina DeMasi, Nick Glozier, Maree L Hackett, on behalf of the Getting it Right Investigator
Detector Description and Performance for the First Coincidence Observations between LIGO and GEO
For 17 days in August and September 2002, the LIGO and GEO interferometer
gravitational wave detectors were operated in coincidence to produce their
first data for scientific analysis. Although the detectors were still far from
their design sensitivity levels, the data can be used to place better upper
limits on the flux of gravitational waves incident on the earth than previous
direct measurements. This paper describes the instruments and the data in some
detail, as a companion to analysis papers based on the first data.Comment: 41 pages, 9 figures 17 Sept 03: author list amended, minor editorial
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Case-based learning: Predictive features in indexing
Interest in psychological experimentation from the Artificial Intelligence community often takes the form of rigorous post-hoc evaluation of completed computer models. Through an example of our own collaborative research, we advocate a different view of how psychology and AI may be mutually relevant, and propose an integrated approach to the study of learning in humans and machines. We begin with the problem of learning appropriate indices for storing and retrieving information from memory. From a planning task perspective, the most useful indices may be those that predict potential problems and access relevant plans in memory, improving the planner's ability to predict and avoid planning failures. This âpredictive featuresâ hypothesis is then supported as a psychological claim, with results showing that such features offer an advantage in terms of the selectivity of reminding because they more distinctively characterize planning situations where differing plans are appropriate.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/46928/1/10994_2004_Article_BF00993173.pd
A Corporate Social Entrepreneurship Approach to Market-Based Poverty Reduction
In this article, we aim to conceptualize a market-based approach to poverty reduction from a corporate social entrepreneurship (CSE) perspective. Specifically, we describe some market-based initiatives at the base of the economic pyramid and relate them to the social entrepreneurship literature. We refer to the entrepreneurial activities of multinational corporations that create social value as CSE. We then conceptualize CSE according to the corporate entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship domains and shed light on how corporations can implement CSE. Finally, by reviewing relevant literature, we propose some of the factors that can stimulate CSE in organizations and some of the benefits companies can gain by implementing CSE
Measuring enteric methane emissions from individual ruminant animals in their natural environment
Ruminant livestock are an important source of meat, milk, fiber, and labor for humans. The process by which ruminants digest plant material through rumen fermentation into useful product results in the loss of energy in the form of methane gas from consumed organic matter. The animal removes the methane building up in its rumen by repeated eructations of gas through its mouth and nostrils. Ruminant livestock are a notable source of atmospheric methane, with an estimated 17% of global enteric methane emissions from livestock. Historically, enteric methane was seen as an inefficiency in production and wasted dietary energy. This is still the case, but now methane is seen more as a pollutant and potent greenhouse gas. The gold standard method for measuring methane production from individual animals is a respiration chamber, which is used for metabolic studies. This approach to quantifying individual animal emissions has been used in research for over 100 years; however, it is not suitable for monitoring large numbers of animals in their natural environment on commercial farms. In recent years, several more mobile monitoring systems discussed here have been developed for direct measurement of enteric methane emissions from individual animals. Several factors (diet composition, rumen microbial community, and their relationship with morphology and physiology of the host animal) drive enteric methane production in ruminant populations. A reliable method for monitoring individual animal emissions in large populations would allow (1) genetic selection for low emitters, (2) benchmarking of farms, and (3) more accurate national inventory accounting
First narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves from known pulsars in advanced detector data
Spinning neutron stars asymmetric with respect to their rotation axis are potential sources of
continuous gravitational waves for ground-based interferometric detectors. In the case of known pulsars a
fully coherent search, based on matched filtering, which uses the position and rotational parameters
obtained from electromagnetic observations, can be carried out. Matched filtering maximizes the signalto-
noise (SNR) ratio, but a large sensitivity loss is expected in case of even a very small mismatch
between the assumed and the true signal parameters. For this reason, narrow-band analysis methods have
been developed, allowing a fully coherent search for gravitational waves from known pulsars over a
fraction of a hertz and several spin-down values. In this paper we describe a narrow-band search of
11 pulsars using data from Advanced LIGOâs first observing run. Although we have found several initial
outliers, further studies show no significant evidence for the presence of a gravitational wave signal.
Finally, we have placed upper limits on the signal strain amplitude lower than the spin-down limit for 5 of
the 11 targets over the bands searched; in the case of J1813-1749 the spin-down limit has been beaten for
the first time. For an additional 3 targets, the median upper limit across the search bands is below the
spin-down limit. This is the most sensitive narrow-band search for continuous gravitational waves carried
out so far
Associations with intraocular pressure across Europe: The European Eye Epidemiology (E3) Consortium
Raised intraocular pressure (IOP) is the most important risk factor for developing glaucoma, the second commonest cause of blindness globally. Understanding associations with IOP and variations in IOP between countries may teach us about mechanisms underlying glaucoma. We examined cross-sectional associations with IOP in 43,500 European adults from 12 cohort studies belonging to the European Eye Epidemiology (E3) consortium. Each study conducted multivariable linear regression with IOP as the outcome variable and results were pooled using random effects meta-analysis. The association of standardized study IOP with latitude was tested using meta-regression. Higher IOP was observed in men (0.18Â mmHg; 95Â % CI 0.06, 0.31; PÂ =Â 0.004) and with higher body mass index (0.21Â mmHg per 5Â kg/m2; 95Â % CI 0.14, 0.28; PÂ <Â 0.001), shorter height (â0.17Â mmHg per 10Â cm; 95Â % CI â0.25, â0.08; PÂ <Â 0.001), higher systolic blood pressure (0.17Â mmHg per 10Â mmHg; 95Â % CI 0.12, 0.22; PÂ <Â 0.001) and more myopic refraction (0.06Â mmHg per Dioptre; 95Â % CI 0.03, 0.09; PÂ <Â 0.001). An inverted U-shaped trend was observed between age and IOP, with IOP increasing up to the age of 60 and decreasing in participants older than 70Â years. We found no significant association between standardized IOP and study location latitude (PÂ =Â 0.76). Novel findings of our study include the association of lower IOP in taller people and an inverted-U shaped association of IOP with age. We found no evidence of significant variation in IOP across Europe. Despite the limited range of latitude amongst included studies, this finding is in favour of collaborative pooling of data from studies examining environmental and genetic determinants of IOP in Europeans
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