Wave dynamics of a six-dimensional black hole localized on a tensional three-brane

We study the quasinormal modes and the late-time tail behavior of scalar perturbation in the background of a black hole localized on a tensional three-brane in a world with two large extra dimensions. We find that finite brane tension modifies the standard results in the wave dynamics for the case of a black hole on a brane with completely negligible tension. We argue that the wave dynamics contains the imprint of the extra dimensions.Comment: revised version, 10 pages, 1 table and 2 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Lett.

NameBuzzer

The NameExpert is an iOS mobile application that will help users remember the names of new acquaintances. Many people often experience situations where they would run into someone they have been introduced to before, but could not remember the name to. Situations like this tend to instigate feelings of frustration and awkwardness between both parties. Names are important as part of identity and so the NameExpert would allow individuals to connect names to things like location of the meet, appearances, and other systematic ways. The NameExpert would utilize an algorithm that is derived from a proven psychological research regarding the human memory to help the individual retain the new names

Effect of Business Intelligence and IT Infrastructure Flexibility on Organizational Agility

There is a growing use of business intelligence (BI) for better management decisions in different industries. However, empirical studies on BI are still scarce in academic research. This research investigates BI from an organizational agility perspective. Organizational agility is the ability to sense and respond to market opportunities and threats with speed. Drawing on systems theory and literature on organizational agility, business intelligence, and IT infrastructure flexibility, we hypothesize that BI use and IT infrastructure flexibility are two major antecedents to organizational agility. We developed a research model to examine the effect of BI use and IT infrastructure flexibility on organizational agility. Survey data were collected and used to assess the model. The results support the hypothesis that BI and IT infrastructure flexibility are two significant antecedents of organizational agility. This research is a pioneering work that empirically investigates the significance of BI in business context

Impact of Business Intelligence and IT Infrastructure flexibility on Competitive Performance: An Organizational Agility Perspective

There is a growing usage of business intelligence (BI) for better management decisions in different industries. However, empirical studies on BI are still scarce. In this research we study BI from an organizational agility perspective. Organizational agility is the ability to sense and respond to market opportunities and threats with speed and BI can help the sensing part of organizational agility. Drawing on systems theory, dynamic capabilities framework, and literature on competitive performance, organizational agility, business intelligence, and IT infrastructure flexibility, we hypothesize that BI usage and IT infrastructure flexibility are two important sources for an organization’s agility. We developed a research model to examine the effects of BI and IT infrastructure flexibility on organizational agility, which in turn affects an organization’s competitive performance. IS managers will be the main pool of subjects for this research. We will use PLS to analyze the data

GP-Localize: Persistent Mobile Robot Localization using Online Sparse Gaussian Process Observation Model

Central to robot exploration and mapping is the task of persistent localization in environmental fields characterized by spatially correlated measurements. This paper presents a Gaussian process localization (GP-Localize) algorithm that, in contrast to existing works, can exploit the spatially correlated field measurements taken during a robot's exploration (instead of relying on prior training data) for efficiently and scalably learning the GP observation model online through our proposed novel online sparse GP. As a result, GP-Localize is capable of achieving constant time and memory (i.e., independent of the size of the data) per filtering step, which demonstrates the practical feasibility of using GPs for persistent robot localization and autonomy. Empirical evaluation via simulated experiments with real-world datasets and a real robot experiment shows that GP-Localize outperforms existing GP localization algorithms.Comment: 28th AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI 2014), Extended version with proofs, 10 page

Simultaneous pectoralis major-latissimus dorsi myocutaneous flap: An option of reconstruction for open sternal wounds

SummaryManagement of the open sternal wound after surgery is a challenge. We report a retrospective series of cases with regard to the management of sternal wounds according to our own experience and a review of the related literature. A retrospective chart review from June 2007 to February 2010 of patients with infective and open sternal wounds after surgery was performed. There were seven patients with a previous history of type A aortic dissection treated with the Bentall operation, thymoma with excision, mitral and tricuspid regurgitation with double valve replacement, and acute myocardial infarction with a ventricular-assist device or coronary artery bypass graft. All wound cultures of the seven patients showed positive findings. All patients received the latissimus dorsi (LD) myocutaneous flap for lower sternal wound reconstruction under the decubitus position and a contralateral pedicled rotated pectoralis major (PM) myocutaneous flap for the upper sternal wound. The residual wound was covered with a split-thickness skin graft. The mean age of the seven patients, including four males and three females, was 58.1 years (range: 33–73 years). The mean follow-up was 37.7 months (range: 30–44 months). The average time span between the final débridement and the flap reconstruction procedure was 5.2 ± 1.8 days. The harvested area of LD myocutaneous flap ranged from 25 × 10 cm2 to 15 × 8 cm2, and the area of PM myocutaneous flap ranged from 15×15 cm2 to 10 × 5 cm2. Four of seven patients had an omental flap initially, but salvage surgery was performed using a simultaneous pectoralis major-LD flap. Three cases underwent simultaneous PM-LD flap directly. One patient expired on postoperative Day 4 because of sudden ventricular fibrillation, but no postoperative complications were noted in the other six patients. With long-term follow-up, all patients survived without significant complications. The simultaneous PM-LD myocutaneous flap is a reliable option for open sternal wound reconstruction