232 research outputs found
Analysis of the parallel seismic method for foundation reuse
The focus of this thesis is the application of the Parallel Seismic method to determine the depths of unknown foundations. The method involves exciting stress waves in the pile foundations from impacts on the superstructure and recording waves radiating from the foundation in an adjacent borehole or seismic cone penetrometer (SCPT) sounding at different depths. The primary objective of this thesis is to determine the most effective procedures for collecting and analyzing Parallel Seismic data under real world conditions. The specific topics covered in this thesis include: (1) detectability of P-wave and S-wave arrivals under different field and measurement conditions, (2) comparisons of wave recordings using a 3-component borehole sensor with readings obtained using the Missouri Department of Transportation's (MoDOT's) SCPT sensor which lacks a vertical-oriented component, (3) comparing the accuracy of depth estimates using three data interpretation methods, and (4) using simulated wave arrival data to study the effects of battered piles and pile taper on the accuracy of Parallel Seismic measurements. Data were collected from two bridge sites in Southeast Missouri (Route WW and Route U) for four piles at each site using two boreholes and two SCPT soundings at each site. Unfortunately, the depth of penetration of the boreholes and SCPT was not sufficient at one of the sites (Route WW) so most of the observations are from data collected at the Route U site. The interpretation methods applied to the data were a simple intersection method performed by eye, the intersection method with a depth correction applied, and a curve fitting method using a model of wave arrivals.by Levi James GoodIncludes bibliographical reference
Accept & Reject Statement-Based Uncertainty Models
We develop a framework for modelling and reasoning with uncertainty based on
accept and reject statements about gambles. It generalises the frameworks found
in the literature based on statements of acceptability, desirability, or
favourability and clarifies their relative position. Next to the
statement-based formulation, we also provide a translation in terms of
preference relations, discuss---as a bridge to existing frameworks---a number
of simplified variants, and show the relationship with prevision-based
uncertainty models. We furthermore provide an application to modelling symmetry
judgements.Comment: 35 pages, 17 figure
Resolving conflicts between statistical methods by probability combination: Application to empirical Bayes analyses of genomic data
In the typical analysis of a data set, a single method is selected for
statistical reporting even when equally applicable methods yield very different
results. Examples of equally applicable methods can correspond to those of
different ancillary statistics in frequentist inference and of different prior
distributions in Bayesian inference. More broadly, choices are made between
parametric and nonparametric methods and between frequentist and Bayesian
methods.
Rather than choosing a single method, it can be safer, in a game-theoretic
sense, to combine those that are equally appropriate in light of the available
information. Since methods of combining subjectively assessed probability
distributions are not objective enough for that purpose, this paper introduces
a method of distribution combination that does not require any assignment of
distribution weights. It does so by formalizing a hedging strategy in terms of
a game between three players: nature, a statistician combining distributions,
and a statistician refusing to combine distributions. The optimal move of the
first statistician reduces to the solution of a simpler problem of selecting an
estimating distribution that minimizes the Kullback-Leibler loss maximized over
the plausible distributions to be combined. The resulting combined distribution
is a linear combination of the most extreme of the distributions to be combined
that are scientifically plausible. The optimal weights are close enough to each
other that no extreme distribution dominates the others.
The new methodology is illustrated by combining conflicting empirical Bayes
methodologies in the context of gene expression data analysis
Analysis of Tumor Metabolism Reveals Mitochondrial Glucose Oxidation in Genetically Diverse Human Glioblastomas in the Mouse Brain In Vivo
SummaryDysregulated metabolism is a hallmark of cancer cell lines, but little is known about the fate of glucose and other nutrients in tumors growing in their native microenvironment. To study tumor metabolism in vivo, we used an orthotopic mouse model of primary human glioblastoma (GBM). We infused 13C-labeled nutrients into mice bearing three independent GBM lines, each with a distinct set of mutations. All three lines displayed glycolysis, as expected for aggressive tumors. They also displayed unexpected metabolic complexity, oxidizing glucose via pyruvate dehydrogenase and the citric acid cycle, and using glucose to supply anaplerosis and other biosynthetic activities. Comparing the tumors to surrounding brain revealed obvious metabolic differences, notably the accumulation of a large glutamine pool within the tumors. Many of these same activities were conserved in cells cultured ex vivo from the tumors. Thus GBM cells utilize mitochondrial glucose oxidation during aggressive tumor growth in vivo
Health behaviors of head and neck cancer patients the first year after diagnosis
Background. This prospective, cohort study is the first to describe 5 health behaviors of head and neck cancer patients the first year after diagnosis. Methods. Patients ( N = 283) were recruited in otolaryngology clinic waiting rooms and asked to complete written surveys. A medical record audit was also conducted. Descriptive statistics and multivariate analyses were conducted to determine which variables were associated with the 5 health behaviors. Results. Half of the patients smoked and 25% were problem drinkers. Over half of the smokers and drinkers quit 1 year post-diagnosis. Smoking and problem drinking were highly associated and both were associated with lower body mass index (BMI) ( p < .01). Moreover, physical activity and sleep were associated with each other ( p < .01). Low SLEEP (Medical Outcomes Study Sleep Scale) scores were common and highly associated with depression ( p < .01). Conclusion. The health behaviors of head and neck cancer patients are interrelated, and assessing and treating these behaviors together may be beneficial. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Head Neck, 2008Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/57533/1/20665_ftp.pd
The NANOGrav 15-year Data Set: Search for Anisotropy in the Gravitational-Wave Background
The North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav)
has reported evidence for the presence of an isotropic nanohertz gravitational
wave background (GWB) in its 15 yr dataset. However, if the GWB is produced by
a population of inspiraling supermassive black hole binary (SMBHB) systems,
then the background is predicted to be anisotropic, depending on the
distribution of these systems in the local Universe and the statistical
properties of the SMBHB population. In this work, we search for anisotropy in
the GWB using multiple methods and bases to describe the distribution of the
GWB power on the sky. We do not find significant evidence of anisotropy, and
place a Bayesian upper limit on the level of broadband anisotropy such
that . We also derive conservative estimates on the
anisotropy expected from a random distribution of SMBHB systems using
astrophysical simulations conditioned on the isotropic GWB inferred in the
15-yr dataset, and show that this dataset has sufficient sensitivity to probe a
large fraction of the predicted level of anisotropy. We end by highlighting the
opportunities and challenges in searching for anisotropy in pulsar timing array
data.Comment: 19 pages, 11 figures; submitted to Astrophysical Journal Letters as
part of Focus on NANOGrav's 15-year Data Set and the Gravitational Wave
Background. For questions or comments, please email [email protected]
Introduction
Drawing on new research material from ten European countries, Asylum Determination in Europe: Ethnographic Perspectives brings together a range of detailed accounts of the legal and bureaucratic processes by which asylum claims are decided.The book includes a legal overview of European asylum determination procedures, followed by sections on the diverse actors involved, the means by which they communicate, and the ways in which they make life and death decisions on a daily basis. It offers a contextually rich account that moves beyond doctrinal law to uncover the gaps and variances between formal policy and legislation, and law as actually practiced.
The contributors employ a variety of disciplinary perspectives â sociological, anthropological, geographical and linguistic â but are united in their use of an ethnographic methodological approach. Through this lens, the book captures the confusion, improvisation, inconsistency, complexity and emotional turmoil inherent to the process of claiming asylum in Europe
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