MCMCpack: Markov Chain Monte Carlo in R

We introduce MCMCpack, an R package that contains functions to perform Bayesian inference using posterior simulation for a number of statistical models. In addition to code that can be used to fit commonly used models, MCMCpack also contains some useful utility functions, including some additional density functions and pseudo-random number generators for statistical distributions, a general purpose Metropolis sampling algorithm, and tools for visualization.

The nature of growth in the biofuel feedstock and bloom-forming green macroalga Ulva

Ulva is a genus of multicellular green algae that is phylogenetically similar to uni- cellular green algae such as Chlamydomonas and Ostreococcus. Ulva is present in much of the coastal benthic zones worldwide, and is of great interest for three main reasons. Firstly, Ulva is an important feedstock for biofuels. Secondly, many Ulva species are massively proliferating organisms that cause Harmful Algal Blooms, which are ecologically devastating. Finally, Ulva is an important model organism that could elucidate the evolution of multicellularity. This thesis investigates the physiology of growth in Ulva in four sequential results chapters. The first establishes a statistical proof for the goodness of fit of gene family occupancy data to a discrete power law model. This was an assumption used in the only Ulva genome study, which found no genomic signature for multicellularity. This establishes the baseline for the in- vestigation of bottom-up morphogenesis in Ulva. The second is the investigation of differential growth, by identifying cell tessellation patterns in different morphologies of Ulva thalli, namely the “ribbon” and “leaf” morphotypes, with mathematical mod- els using Voronoi tessellations. The third expands investigates differential growth in the ribbon and leaf morphotypes with a focus on identifying potential mechanisms with further mathematical models using Centroidal Voronoi Tessellations. The fourth aims to develop experimental techniques to confirm the hypotheses arising from the mathematical modelling in the second and third chapters. The first part involves the use of EdU cellular proliferation assays. The remainder of the chapter will investigate the development of a live-imaging biomass monitoring system that aims to improve the accuracy, reliability and temporal resolution of aquatic biomass measurements. It can be concluded that Ulva does not show a genomic signature for multicellularity, and bottom-up mechanisms likely explain its morphogenesis and morphologies

The AXES-lite video search engine

The aim of AXES is to develop tools that provide various types of users with new engaging ways to interact with audiovisual libraries, helping them discover, browse, navigate, search, and enrich archives. This paper describes the initial (lite) version of the AXES search engine, which is targeted at professional users such as media professionals and archivists. We describe the overall system design, the user interface, and the results of our experiments at TRECVid 2011

The rescaling of the Chinese state and Sino-North Korean relations: beyond state-centrism

While Beijing has repeatedly signed up to multilateral sanctions against North Korea, it is widely regarded as having failed to strictly enforce those sanctions. Indeed, China's deepening economic engagement with the country has led observers to debate the causes of this seemingly duplicitous approach. Constructivist and realist approaches have relied on state-centric frameworks that serve to reduce Sino-North Korean relations to the high politics of Beijing-Pyongyang diplomacy in the context of broader geopolitical dynamics. We argue that such approaches pay insufficient attention to the profound rescaling of the Chinese state in recent years and the implications this process has for bilateral relations. We shed light on how Sino-North Korean relations are being driven by actors at multiple scales and by a multitude of objectives as a result of decentralisation and marketisation alongside increasing geographical unevenness within China and new challenges to continued capital accumulation. North Korea has come to play an increasingly important role in efforts to facilitate economic recovery in the northeastern border regions through serving as spatial fix for Chinese manufacturing capital. These new cross-border flows of capital and labour suggest an emerging pattern of Sino-North Korean relations that is by no means static but in considerable flux

Cause for optimism? Financial sanctions and the rise of the Sino-North Korean border economy

This article critically engages with recent arguments that financial sanctions are capable of overcoming the shortcomings of traditional trade sanctions as well as more targeted ‘smart sanctions.’ Much of the existing analysis of financial sanctions cites as evidence of their success the case of the US Treasury's 2005 accusations against Macao's Banco Delta Asia of facilitating North Korean money laundering. We argue, however, that analysis of the broader impact of financial sanctions on North Korea's principle bilateral economic relationship, namely the Sino-North Korean border economy, reveals that such measures have merely served to increase the scope of evasive economic activity. In particular, financial sanctions have meant that methods of trade settlement in the border economy are based primarily on cash and barter, with minimal recourse to the official banking system. This raises questions not only regarding the effectiveness of financial sanctions but also the degree to which they serve to provoke counter-responses that actively undermine the broader objectives pursued by sender states. Through examining the case of Sino-North Korean border economy, this article contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the shortcomings of financial sanctions as a tool of foreign policy

Link anchors in images: is there truth?

While automatic linking in text collections is well understood, little is known about links in images. In this work, we investigate two aspects of anchors, the origin of a link, in images: 1) the requirements of users for such anchors, e.g. the things users would like more information on, and 2) possible evaluation methods assessing anchor selection al- gorithms. To investigate these aspects, we perform a study with 102 users. We find that 59% of the required anchors are image segments, as opposed to the whole image, and most users require information on displayed persons. The agreement of users on the required anchors is too low (often below 30%) for a ground truth-based evaluation, which is the standard IR evaluation method. As an alternative, we propose a novel evaluation method based on improved search performance and user experience

Short-Term versus Long-Term Group Work with Female Survivors of Childhood Sexual Abuse: A Brief Meta-Analytic Review

This meta-analytic review synthesizes the findings of seven published independent studies dealing with group work with female survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and compares the effectiveness of short-term versus long-term methods. Across-study summative findings were: (1) generally, group work has large beneficial effects upon female survivors\u27 affect and self-esteem-three-quarters of the group participants improve; (2) no extant empirical evidence supports the differential effectiveness of either short-term or long-term groups; and (3) only one study to date has reported the size of long-term methods\u27 clinical effect. In short, the question of the differential effectiveness of short- versus long-term group work with female survivors is not yet answerable with the extant research literature. Future research needs are discussed