Optimising the use of bio-loggers for movement ecology research

1.The paradigm‐changing opportunities of bio‐logging sensors for ecological research, especially movement ecology, are vast, but the crucial questions of how best to match the most appropriate sensors and sensor combinations to specific biological questions, and how to analyse complex bio‐logging data, are mostly ignored. 2.Here, we fill this gap by reviewing how to optimise the use of bio‐logging techniques to answer questions in movement ecology and synthesise this into an Integrated Bio‐logging Framework (IBF). 3.We highlight that multi‐sensor approaches are a new frontier in bio‐logging, whilst identifying current limitations and avenues for future development in sensor technology. 4.We focus on the importance of efficient data exploration, and more advanced multi‐dimensional visualisation methods, combined with appropriate archiving and sharing approaches, to tackle the big data issues presented by bio‐logging. We also discuss the challenges and opportunities in matching the peculiarities of specific sensor data to the statistical models used, highlighting at the same time the large advances which will be required in the latter to properly analyse bio‐logging data. 5.Taking advantage of the bio‐logging revolution will require a large improvement in the theoretical and mathematical foundations of movement ecology, to include the rich set of high‐frequency multivariate data, which greatly expand the fundamentally limited and coarse data that could be collected using location‐only technology such as GPS. Equally important will be the establishment of multi‐disciplinary collaborations to catalyse the opportunities offered by current and future bio‐logging technology. If this is achieved, clear potential exists for developing a vastly improved mechanistic understanding of animal movements and their roles in ecological processes, and for building realistic predictive models

Search for jet extinction in the inclusive jet-pT spectrum from proton-proton collisions at s=8 TeV

Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published articles title, journal citation, and DOI.The first search at the LHC for the extinction of QCD jet production is presented, using data collected with the CMS detector corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 10.7  fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV. The extinction model studied in this analysis is motivated by the search for signatures of strong gravity at the TeV scale (terascale gravity) and assumes the existence of string couplings in the strong-coupling limit. In this limit, the string model predicts the suppression of all high-transverse-momentum standard model processes, including jet production, beyond a certain energy scale. To test this prediction, the measured transverse-momentum spectrum is compared to the theoretical prediction of the standard model. No significant deficit of events is found at high transverse momentum. A 95% confidence level lower limit of 3.3 TeV is set on the extinction mass scale

Searches for electroweak neutralino and chargino production in channels with Higgs, Z, and W bosons in pp collisions at 8 TeV

Searches for supersymmetry (SUSY) are presented based on the electroweak pair production of neutralinos and charginos, leading to decay channels with Higgs, Z, and W bosons and undetected lightest SUSY particles (LSPs). The data sample corresponds to an integrated luminosity of about 19.5 fb(-1) of proton-proton collisions at a center-of-mass energy of 8 TeV collected in 2012 with the CMS detector at the LHC. The main emphasis is neutralino pair production in which each neutralino decays either to a Higgs boson (h) and an LSP or to a Z boson and an LSP, leading to hh, hZ, and ZZ states with missing transverse energy (E-T(miss)). A second aspect is chargino-neutralino pair production, leading to hW states with E-T(miss). The decays of a Higgs boson to a bottom-quark pair, to a photon pair, and to final states with leptons are considered in conjunction with hadronic and leptonic decay modes of the Z and W bosons. No evidence is found for supersymmetric particles, and 95% confidence level upper limits are evaluated for the respective pair production cross sections and for neutralino and chargino mass values

Education, training, and accreditation of Neonatologist Performed Echocardiography in Europe-framework for practice

There is a growing interest worldwide in using echocardiography in the neonatal unit to act as a complement to the clinical assessment of the hemodynamic status of premature and term infants. However, there is a wide variation in how this tool is implemented across many jurisdictions, the level of expertise, including the oversight of this practice. Over the last 5 years, three major expert consensus statements have been published to provide guidance to neonatologists performing echocardiography, with all recommending a structured training program and clinical governance system for quality assurance. Neonatal practice in Europe is very heterogeneous and the proximity of neonatal units to pediatric cardiology centers varies significantly. Currently, there is no overarching governance structure for training and accreditation in Europe. In this paper, we provide a brief description of the current training recommendations across several jurisdictions including Europe, North America, and Australia and describe the steps required to achieve a sustainable governance structure with the responsibility to provide accreditation to neonatologist performed echocardiography in Europe

Optimal Pricing for Web Search Engines

The research and developments on web search engines have been raised to be one of the hottest topics since the popular usage of the internet. Accordingly, how to price the software becomes an important problem and is still unsolved with satisfactions. Using the Principle-Agent method in economics, the pricing model for web search engines based on the theory of Brown Motion with drifts is established. The stopping time is defined for the model, and the expected benefit of the web-search-engine provider over the rental horizon is derived, with a special case for the outright sale. By maximizing the benefit, the optimal price for the outright sale, the optimal monthly rental and the optimal selling price after renting the search engine for a period of time are discussed. Finally, given sets of parameters, simulations are implemented, and the results show that the optimal prices are reasonable.http://gateway.webofknowledge.com/gateway/Gateway.cgi?GWVersion=2&SrcApp=PARTNER_APP&SrcAuth=LinksAMR&KeyUT=WOS:000234851600067&DestLinkType=FullRecord&DestApp=ALL_WOS&UsrCustomerID=8e1609b174ce4e31116a60747a720701Computer Science, Interdisciplinary ApplicationsComputer Science, Theory & MethodsSCI(E)CPCI-S(ISTP)

Challenges of defence procurement

Defence procurement deals with products that are highly differentiated and its regulation is extremely complex. The 'defence organisation' and 'industry' are the two principal parties involved in procurement transactions. Domestic sourcing of defence materiel has long been encouraged in most countries in the name of 'self-reliance'. Thus, defence planners must determine not only their materiel requirements but also defence-related manufacturing and service capabilities needed in-country. But how much 'self-reliance' is feasible and desirable, especially in smaller countries? This paper provides an overview of issues and policy tools in defence procurement that reflect the experience of a number of small and medium size countries. Issues addressed include: changing user requirements, make-or-buy decisions, contracting, source selection, organisational structure, and international collaboration. These issues are reviewed against the background of global trends in defence spending, industry and trade.Defence procurement, Defence-related industry, Industry preparedness, Make-or-buy decisions, Through-life support, Contracting, Source selection, Competition,

Investment timing and efficiency in incomplete contracts

L22, K12, C7, D8, Investment, Incomplete contracts, Hold-up problem, Renegotiation, Opportunism,