Comparison of the MPP with other supercomputers for LANDSAT data processing

The massively parallel processor is compared to the CRAY X-MP and the CYBER-205 for LANDSAT data processing. The maximum likelihood classification algorithm is the basis for comparison since this algorithm is simple to implement and vectorizes very well. The algorithm was implemented on all three machines and tested by classifying the same full scene of LANDSAT multispectral scan data. Timings are compared as well as features of the machines and available software

Determining the distribution of values of stochastic impulses acting on a discrete system in relation to their intensity

In our previous works we introduced and applied a mathematical model that allowed us to calculate the approximate distribution of the values of stochastic impulses $η_{i}$ forcing vibrations of an oscillator with damping from the trajectory of its movement. The mathematical model describes correctly the functioning of a physical RLC system if the coefficient of damping is large and the intensity λ of impulses is small. It is so because the inflow of energy is small and behaviour of RLC is stable. In this paper we are going to present some experiments which characterize the behaviour of an oscillator RLC in relation to the intensity parameter λ, precisely to λ E(η). The parameter λ is a constant in the exponential distribution of random variables $τ_{i}$, where $τ_{i} = t_{i} - t_{i - 1}$, i = 1, 2, ... are intervals between successive impulses

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis in a late nineteenth early twenitieth century almshouse cemetery

Diffuse idiopathic skeletal hyperostosis (DISH) is a rheumatology term for a particular type of vertebral arthritis involving the calcification of the right aspect of the anterolateral ligament (ALL) and the presence of ligament ossification at particular peripheral joints. DISH is most common among middle to late age males and is thought to be present in 10% of males over the age of 65. Although the etiology of the disease is unknown, many have associated it with diabetes and a high status lifestyle. In this thesis, DISH is examined in a late nineteenth, early twentieth century almshouse cemetery known as the Milwaukee County Institution Grounds (MCIG) cemetery. Due to the health and diet of the immigrant peoples living in Milwaukee during the MCIG cemetery’s usage, 1850 to 1974, it is suspected that diabetes would not have been a common disorder, thus leading to little to no DISH presence in the cemetery population. However, DISH is seen in the MCIG population which suggests that the etiology of DISH is not a result of diet or diabetes but other factors altogether.Department of AnthropologyThesis (M.A.

A systematic comparison of recurrent event models for application to composite endpoints

Background: Many clinical trials focus on the comparison of the treatment effect between two or more groups concerning a rarely occurring event. In this situation, showing a relevant effect with an acceptable power requires the observation of a large number of patients over a long period of time. For feasibility issues, it is therefore often considered to include several event types of interest, non-fatal or fatal, and to combine them within a composite endpoint. Commonly, a composite endpoint is analyzed with standard survival analysis techniques by assessing the time to the first occurring event. This approach neglects that an individual may experience more than one event which leads to a loss of information. As an alternative, composite endpoints could be analyzed by models for recurrent events. There exists a number of such models, e.g. regression models based on count data or Cox-based models such as the approaches of Andersen and Gill, Prentice, Williams and Peterson or, Wei, Lin and Weissfeld. Although some of the methods were already compared within the literature there exists no systematic investigation for the special requirements regarding composite endpoints. Methods: Within this work a simulation-based comparison of recurrent event models applied to composite endpoints is provided for different realistic clinical trial scenarios. Results: We demonstrate that the Andersen-Gill model and the Prentice- Williams-Petersen models show similar results under various data scenarios whereas the Wei-Lin-Weissfeld model delivers effect estimators which can considerably deviate under commonly met data scenarios. Conclusion: Based on the conducted simulation study, this paper helps to understand the pros and cons of the investigated methods in the context of composite endpoints and provides therefore recommendations for an adequate statistical analysis strategy and a meaningful interpretation of results

Governing through Learning:School Self-Evaluation as a Knowledge-based Regulatory Tool

This paper discusses knowledge-based regulation tools (KBRTs) as new forms of regulation through an exploration of school self-evaluation (SSE) in Scot­land. We conceptualise self-evaluation as a hybrid regulatory instrument, combining data-based knowledge with knowledges “performed” by institutions and individuals to order to demonstrate their progress on the “journey to excellen­ce” in learning (HMIe, 2009) that is expected of schools, teachers and learners in Scotland. We see the development of self-evaluation in Scotland and more widely as arising from earlier over-reliance on data and from the proliferation of information that together combine to produce the problem of “evidence” as a governing technology. Data require continuous and demanding work – including interpretive work – if they are to be effective. SSE, we suggest, offers a combination of data-based knowledge with professional expertise and individual responsibility, that enables the governing and shaping of the school as a “learning organisation” and, in the context of Scotland on which this paper pri­marily focuses, reflects the presentation of governing as learning activity, in which pupils, teachers, local authorities and government itself are collectively engaged

Meso-Scale Hydrologic Modeling for Climate Impact Assessments: A Conceptual and A Regresssion Approach

The paper presents two different approaches to hydrologic modeling for Climate Impact Assessments: A conceptual water balance model and a non-parametric regression model. They both are designed for modeling large-scale river basins (Meso-Scale) at a monthly time step and to accept GCM-based climate scenarios defined as changes in monthly precipitation and temperature. The data requirements for the models are historical, multi-annual series of mean monthly temperature, precipitation, and runoff. These data are used to calibrate the models. GCM data or user-defined sensitivity of climatic variable must be provided for the assessment analyses. The paper describes the theoretical bases of both approaches and presents the results of a comparison of the application of the models to the Vistula River Basin in Poland

Metagenomic analysis of dental calculus in ancient Egyptian baboons

Dental calculus, or mineralized plaque, represents a record of ancient biomolecules and food residues. Recently, ancient metagenomics made it possible to unlock the wealth of microbial and dietary information of dental calculus to reconstruct oral microbiomes and lifestyle of humans from the past. Although most studies have so far focused on ancient humans, dental calculus is known to form in a wide range of animals, potentially informing on how human-animal interactions changed the animals' oral ecology. Here, we characterise the oral microbiome of six ancient Egyptian baboons held in captivity during the late Pharaonic era (9th-6th centuries BC) and of two historical baboons from a zoo via shotgun metagenomics. We demonstrate that these captive baboons possessed a distinctive oral microbiome when compared to ancient and modern humans, Neanderthals and a wild chimpanzee. These results may reflect the omnivorous dietary behaviour of baboons, even though health, food provisioning and other factors associated with human management, may have changed the baboons' oral microbiome. We anticipate our study to be a starting point for more extensive studies on ancient animal oral microbiomes to examine the extent to which domestication and human management in the past affected the diet, health and lifestyle of target animals

Assessment, technology and democratic education in the age of data

This paper contends that powerful techniques to manipulate data, enabled by technological and economic developments, can be easily co-opted to serve the restrictive frameworks of hyper-controlling, managerial accountability that characterise current cultures of summative assessment in education. In response to these challenges, research is urgently needed to increase our understanding of the impact that assessments have on individuals and society. The paper concludes that social research ought to contribute to the identification of responses – educational, technological and political – that can minimise inequalities and potential abuses through the encouragement of data literacy across society