953 research outputs found
Worldwide cloud cover model
Classifying worldwide cloudiness into homogeneous regions, using a satellite data set containing day IR, night IR, incoming, and absorbed solar radiation measurements on a 2.5-degree latitude-longitude grid is considered. Methods of analysis are presented
A framework for P2P application development
Although Peer-to-Peer (P2P) computing has become increasingly popular over recent years, there still exist only a very small number of application domains that have exploited it on a large scale. This can be attributed to a number of reasons including the rapid evolution of P2P technologies, coupled with their often-complex nature. This paper describes an implemented abstraction framework that seeks to aid developers in building P2P applications. A selection of example P2P applications that have been developed using this framework are also presented
Bacterial endophthalmitis following 25-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy
Drew N Sommerville, Dean P HainsworthThe Mason Eye Institute, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, USAPurpose: To report a case of endophthalmitis following 25-gauge transconjunctival sutureless vitrectomy.Design: Observational case report.Methods: An 87-year-old male who underwent sutureless 25-gauge vitrectomy developed unilateral endophthalmitis. Vitreous culture revealed Staphylococcus coagulase-negative bacteria. He was subsequently treated with intravitreal antibiotics and oral prednisone.Results: The endophthalmitis resolved with a best corrected visual acuity of 6/200 with the presence of an epiretinal membrane.Conclusions: Possible contributing factors to endophthalmitis following sutureless vitrectomy include decreased vitreous irrigation/lavage, lack of a watertight wound, and/or vitreous wicking, all of which may promote intraocular bacterial entrance. A sutureless vitrectomy system may increase the risk of vitrectomy-associated endophthalmitis.Keywords: endophthalmitis, 25-gauge vitrectomy, vitreous wick, sutureless, high flow lavag
Responsibility modelling for civil emergency planning
This paper presents a new approach to analysing and understanding civil emergency planning based on the notion of responsibility modelling combined with HAZOPS-style analysis of information requirements. Our goal is to represent complex contingency plans so that they can be more readily understood, so that inconsistencies can be highlighted and vulnerabilities discovered. In this paper, we outline the framework for contingency planning in the United Kingdom and introduce the notion of responsibility models as a means of representing the key features of contingency plans. Using a case study of a flooding emergency, we illustrate our approach to responsibility modelling and suggest how it adds value to current textual contingency plans
Spherical Orbifolds for Cosmic Topology
Harmonic analysis is a tool to infer cosmic topology from the measured
astrophysical cosmic microwave background CMB radiation. For overall positive
curvature, Platonic spherical manifolds are candidates for this analysis. We
combine the specific point symmetry of the Platonic manifolds with their deck
transformations. This analysis in topology leads from manifolds to orbifolds.
We discuss the deck transformations of the orbifolds and give eigenmodes for
the harmonic analysis as linear combinations of Wigner polynomials on the
3-sphere. These provide new tools for detecting cosmic topology from the CMB
radiation.Comment: 17 pages, 9 figures. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with
arXiv:1011.427
Geometrical Ambiguity of Pair Statistics. I. Point Configurations
Point configurations have been widely used as model systems in condensed
matter physics, materials science and biology. Statistical descriptors such as
the -body distribution function is usually employed to characterize
the point configurations, among which the most extensively used is the pair
distribution function . An intriguing inverse problem of practical
importance that has been receiving considerable attention is the degree to
which a point configuration can be reconstructed from the pair distribution
function of a target configuration. Although it is known that the pair-distance
information contained in is in general insufficient to uniquely determine
a point configuration, this concept does not seem to be widely appreciated and
general claims of uniqueness of the reconstructions using pair information have
been made based on numerical studies. In this paper, we introduce the idea of
the distance space, called the space. The pair distances of a
specific point configuration are then represented by a single point in the
space. We derive the conditions on the pair distances that can be
associated with a point configuration, which are equivalent to the
realizability conditions of the pair distribution function . Moreover, we
derive the conditions on the pair distances that can be assembled into distinct
configurations. These conditions define a bounded region in the
space. By explicitly constructing a variety of degenerate point configurations
using the space, we show that pair information is indeed
insufficient to uniquely determine the configuration in general. We also
discuss several important problems in statistical physics based on the
space.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figure
Modeling seismic wave propagation and amplification in 1D/2D/3D linear and nonlinear unbounded media
To analyze seismic wave propagation in geological structures, it is possible
to consider various numerical approaches: the finite difference method, the
spectral element method, the boundary element method, the finite element
method, the finite volume method, etc. All these methods have various
advantages and drawbacks. The amplification of seismic waves in surface soil
layers is mainly due to the velocity contrast between these layers and,
possibly, to topographic effects around crests and hills. The influence of the
geometry of alluvial basins on the amplification process is also know to be
large. Nevertheless, strong heterogeneities and complex geometries are not easy
to take into account with all numerical methods. 2D/3D models are needed in
many situations and the efficiency/accuracy of the numerical methods in such
cases is in question. Furthermore, the radiation conditions at infinity are not
easy to handle with finite differences or finite/spectral elements whereas it
is explicitely accounted in the Boundary Element Method. Various absorbing
layer methods (e.g. F-PML, M-PML) were recently proposed to attenuate the
spurious wave reflections especially in some difficult cases such as shallow
numerical models or grazing incidences. Finally, strong earthquakes involve
nonlinear effects in surficial soil layers. To model strong ground motion, it
is thus necessary to consider the nonlinear dynamic behaviour of soils and
simultaneously investigate seismic wave propagation in complex 2D/3D geological
structures! Recent advances in numerical formulations and constitutive models
in such complex situations are presented and discussed in this paper. A crucial
issue is the availability of the field/laboratory data to feed and validate
such models.Comment: of International Journal Geomechanics (2010) 1-1
Black holes and a scalar field in an expanding universe
We consider a model of an inhomogeneous universe including a massless scalar
field, where the inhomogeneity is assumed to consist of many black holes. This
model can be constructed by following Lindquist and Wheeler, which has already
been investigated without including scalar field to show that an averaged scale
factor coincides with that of the Friedmann model. In this work we construct
the inhomogeneous universe with an massless scalar field, where we assume that
the averaged scale factor and scalar field are given by those of the Friedmann
model including a scalar field. All of our calculations are carried out in the
framework of Brans-Dicke gravity. In constructing the model of an inhomogeneous
universe, we define the mass of a black hole in the Brans-Dicke expanding
universe which is equivalent to ADM mass if the mass evolves adiabatically, and
obtain an equation relating our mass to the averaged scalar field and scale
factor. As the results we find that the mass has an adiabatic time dependence
in a sufficiently late stage of the expansion of the universe, and that the
time dependence is qualitatively diffenrent according to the sign of the
curvature of the universe: the mass increases decelerating in the closed
universe case, is constant in the flat case and decreases decelerating in the
open case. It is also noted that the mass in the Einstein frame depends on
time. Our results that the mass has a time dependence should be retained even
in the general scalar-tensor gravitiy with a scalar field potential.
Furthermore, we discuss the relation of our results to the uniqueness theorem
of black hole spacetime and gravitational memory effect.Comment: 16 pages, 3 tables, 5 figure
Believing emotions are uncontrollable is linked to eating disorder psychopathology via suppression and reappraisal
Objective
Research suggests that beliefs about emotional controllability influence the use of emotion regulation strategies, which in turn impact psychological health and illness. However, no research has yet investigated whether emotional controllability is linked to eating psychopathology. The current study investigates whether these concepts are related, as individuals with eating disorders have problems with emotion regulation.
Method
We collected self-report data from 718 participants from a community sample using validated questionnaires, and ran mediational analyses to assess the relationship between emotional controllability and eating psychopathology, via reappraisal and suppression, two emotion regulation strategies.
Results
Our mediational analyses suggest that believing emotions to be uncontrollable relates to high levels of suppression (β = −.08), low levels of reappraisal (β = .19) and poorer eating disorder psychopathology (β = −.11). Reappraisal and suppression were found to partially mediate the relationship between emotional controllability and eating psychopathology.
Discussion
The current study has demonstrated relationships that support investigations relating emotional controllability, emotion regulation and psychological health. This research has potential implications for developing interventions to target beliefs about emotions in order to help improve emotion regulation skills and eating psychopathology
Historical roots of Agile methods: where did “Agile thinking” come from?
The appearance of Agile methods has been the most noticeable change to software process thinking in the last fifteen years [16], but in fact many of the “Agile ideas” have been around since 70’s or even before. Many studies and reviews have been conducted about Agile methods which ascribe their emergence as a reaction against traditional methods. In this paper, we argue that although Agile methods are new as a whole, they have strong roots in the history of software engineering. In addition to the iterative and incremental approaches that have been in use since 1957 [21], people who criticised the traditional methods suggested alternative approaches which were actually Agile ideas such as the response to change, customer involvement, and working software over documentation. The authors of this paper believe that education about the history of Agile thinking will help to develop better understanding as well as promoting the use of Agile methods. We therefore present and discuss the reasons behind the development and introduction of Agile methods, as a reaction to traditional methods, as a result of people's experience, and in particular focusing on reusing ideas from histor
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