6,782 research outputs found
Integrating remote sensing datasets into ecological modelling: a Bayesian approach
Process-based models have been used to simulate 3-dimensional complexities of
forest ecosystems and their temporal changes, but their extensive data
requirement and complex parameterisation have often limited their use for
practical management applications. Increasingly, information retrieved using
remote sensing techniques can help in model parameterisation and data
collection by providing spatially and temporally resolved forest information. In
this paper, we illustrate the potential of Bayesian calibration for integrating such
data sources to simulate forest production. As an example, we use the 3-PG
model combined with hyperspectral, LiDAR, SAR and field-based data to
simulate the growth of UK Corsican pine stands. Hyperspectral, LiDAR and
SAR data are used to estimate LAI dynamics, tree height and above ground
biomass, respectively, while the Bayesian calibration provides estimates of
uncertainties to model parameters and outputs. The Bayesian calibration
contrasts with goodness-of-fit approaches, which do not provide uncertainties
to parameters and model outputs. Parameters and the data used in the
calibration process are presented in the form of probability distributions,
reflecting our degree of certainty about them. After the calibration, the
distributions are updated. To approximate posterior distributions (of outputs
and parameters), a Markov Chain Monte Carlo sampling approach is used (25
000 steps). A sensitivity analysis is also conducted between parameters and
outputs. Overall, the results illustrate the potential of a Bayesian framework for
truly integrative work, both in the consideration of field-based and remotely
sensed datasets available and in estimating parameter and model output uncertainties
The clinical relevance and newsworthiness of NIHR HTA-funded research: a cohort study
ObjectiveTo assess the clinical relevance and newsworthiness of the UK National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Programme funded reports.Study designRetrospective cohort study.SettingThe cohort included 311 NIHR HTA Programme funded reports publishing in HTA in the period 1 January 2007â31 December 2012. The McMaster Online Rating of Evidence (MORE) system independently identified the clinical relevance and newsworthiness of NIHR HTA publications and non-NIHR HTA publications. The MORE system involves over 4000 physicians rating publications on a scale of relevance (the extent to which articles are relevant to practice) and a scale of newsworthiness (the extent to which articles contain news or something clinicians are unlikely to know).Main outcome measuresThe proportion of reports published in HTA meeting MORE inclusion criteria and mean average relevance and newsworthiness ratings were calculated and compared with publications from the same studies publishing outside HTA and non-NIHR HTA funded publications.Results286/311 (92.0%) of NIHR HTA reports were assessed by MORE, of which 192 (67.1%) passed MORE criteria. The average clinical relevance rating for NIHR HTA reports was 5.48, statistically higher than the 5.32 rating for non-NIHR HTA publications (mean difference=0.16, 95% CI 0.04 to 0.29, p=0.01). Average newsworthiness ratings were similar between NIHR HTA reports and non-NIHR HTA publications (4.75 and 4.70, respectively; mean difference=0.05, 95% CI ?0.18 to 0.07, p=0.402). NIHR HTA-funded original research reports were statistically higher for newsworthiness than reviews (5.05 compared with 4.64) (mean difference=0.41, 95% CI 0.18 to 0.64, p=0.001).ConclusionsFunding research of clinical relevance is important in maximising the value of research investment. The NIHR HTA Programme is successful in funding projects that generate outputs of clinical relevance
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Requirements Engineering as Creative Problem Solving: A Research Agenda for Idea Finding
This vision paper frames requirements engineering as a creative problem solving process. Its purpose is to enable requirements researchers and practitioners to recruit relevant theories, models, techniques and tools from creative problem solving to understand and support requirements processes more effectively. It uses 4 drivers to motivate the case for requirements engineering as a creative problem solving process. It then maps established requirements activities onto one of the longest-established creative problem solving processes, and uses these mappings to locate opportunities for the application of creative problem solving in requirements engineering. The second half of the paper describes selected creativity theories, techniques, software tools and training that can be adopted to improve requirements engineering research and practice. The focus is on support for problem and idea finding - two creative problem solving processes that our investigation revealed are poorly supported in requirements engineering. The paper ends with a research agenda to incorporate creative processes, techniques, training and tools in requirements projects
Mining Missing Hyperlinks from Human Navigation Traces: A Case Study of Wikipedia
Hyperlinks are an essential feature of the World Wide Web. They are
especially important for online encyclopedias such as Wikipedia: an article can
often only be understood in the context of related articles, and hyperlinks
make it easy to explore this context. But important links are often missing,
and several methods have been proposed to alleviate this problem by learning a
linking model based on the structure of the existing links. Here we propose a
novel approach to identifying missing links in Wikipedia. We build on the fact
that the ultimate purpose of Wikipedia links is to aid navigation. Rather than
merely suggesting new links that are in tune with the structure of existing
links, our method finds missing links that would immediately enhance
Wikipedia's navigability. We leverage data sets of navigation paths collected
through a Wikipedia-based human-computation game in which users must find a
short path from a start to a target article by only clicking links encountered
along the way. We harness human navigational traces to identify a set of
candidates for missing links and then rank these candidates. Experiments show
that our procedure identifies missing links of high quality
Summation and transformation formulas for elliptic hypergeometric series
Using matrix inversion and determinant evaluation techniques we prove several
summation and transformation formulas for terminating, balanced,
very-well-poised, elliptic hypergeometric series.Comment: 21 pages, AMS-LaTe
Radio Emission from the Composite Supernova Remnant G326.3-1.8 (MSH15-56)
High resolution radio observations of the composite supernova remnant (SNR)
G326.3-1.8 or MSH 15-56 with the Australia Telescope Compact Array show details
of both the shell and the bright plerion which is offset about 1/3 of the
distance from the center of the SNR to the shell. The shell appears to be
composed of thin filaments, typical of older shell SNRs. The central part of
the elongated plerion is composed of a bundle of parallel ridges which bulge
out at the ends and form a distinct ring structure on the northwestern end. The
magnetic field with a strength of order 45 microGauss, is directed along the
axis of the ridges but circles around the northwestern ring. This plerion is
large and bright in the radio but is not detected in x-ray or optical
wavelengths. There is, however, a faint hard x-ray feature closer to the shell
outside the plerion. Perhaps if the supernova explosion left a rapidly moving
magnetar with large energy input but initially rapid decay of both relativistic
particles and magnetic field, the observed differences with wavelength could be
explained.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, accepted by Ap
Bernoulli type polynomials on Umbral Algebra
The aim of this paper is to investigate generating functions for modification
of the Milne-Thomson's polynomials, which are related to the Bernoulli
polynomials and the Hermite polynomials. By applying the Umbral algebra to
these generating functions, we provide to deriving identities for these
polynomials
IC 4406: a radio-infrared view
IC 4406 is a large (about 100'' x 30'') southern bipolar planetary nebula,
composed of two elongated lobes extending from a bright central region, where
there is evidence for the presence of a large torus of gas and dust. We show
new observations of this source performed with IRAC (Spitzer Space Telescope)
and the Australia Telescope Compact Array. The radio maps show that the flux
from the ionized gas is concentrated in the bright central region and
originates in a clumpy structure previously observed in H_alpha, while in the
infrared images filaments and clumps can be seen in the extended nebular
envelope, the central region showing toroidal emission. Modeling of the
infrared emission leads to the conclusion that several dust components are
present in the nebula.Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical
Journal; v.2 has changes in both figures and content; preprint forma
Impact of birth weight and gender on early postnatal hypothalamic energy balance regulatory gene expression in the young lamb
Peer reviewedPreprin
Transition from a phase-segregated state to single-phase incommensurate sodium ordering in Na_xCoO_2 with x \approx 0.53
Synchrotron X-ray diffraction investigations of two single crystals of
Na_xCoO_2 from different batches with composition x = 0.525-0.530 reveal
homogeneous incommensurate sodium ordering with propagation vector (0.53 0.53
0) at room-temperature. The incommensurate (qq0) superstructure exists between
220 K and 430 K. The value of q varies between q = 0.514 and 0.529, showing a
broad plateau at the latter value between 260 K and 360 K. On cooling, unusual
reversible phase segregation into two volume fractions is observed. Below 220
K, one volume fraction shows the well-known commensurate orthorhombic x = 0.50
superstructure, while a second volume fraction with x = 0.55 exhibits another
commensurate superstructure, presumably with a 6a x 6a x c hexagonal supercell.
We argue that the commensurate-to-incommensurate transition is an intrinsic
feature of samples with Na concentrations x = 0.5 + d with d ~ 0.03.Comment: Corrected/improved versio
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