Synthesis of finite displacements and displacements in continental margins

The scope of the project is the analysis of displacement-rate fields in the transitional regions between cratonal and oceanic lithospheres over Phanerozoic time (last 700 ma). Associated goals are an improved understanding of range of widths of major displacement zones; the partition of displacement gradients and rotations with position and depth in such zones; the temporal characteristics of such zones-the steadiness, episodicity, and duration of uniform versus nonunifrom fields; and the mechanisms and controls of the establishment and kinematics of displacement zones. The objective is to provide a context of time-averaged kinematics of displacement zones. The initial phase is divided topically among the methodology of measurement and reduction of displacements in the lithosphere and the preliminary analysis from geologic and other data of actual displacement histories from the Cordillera, Appalachians, and southern North America

The utility of unmanned probes in lunar exploration

Utility of unmanned probes of Ranger or Surveyor class in Apollo exploration program - Lunar scientific exploratio

Levels of Marital Conflict Model: A Guide to Assessment and Intervention in Troubled Marriages

Also PCMA Working Paper #4.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/51106/1/338.pd

Impacts on nontarget avian species from aerial meat baiting for feral pigs

Bait containing sodium fluoroacetate (1080) is widely used for the routine control of feral pigs in Australia. In Queensland, meat baits are popular in western and northern pastoral areas where they are readily accepted by feral pigs and can be distributed aerially. Field studies have indicated some levels of interference and consumption of baits by nontarget species and, based on toxicity data and the 1080 content of baits, many nontarget species (particularly birds and varanids) are potentially at risk through primary poisoning. While occasional deaths of species have been recorded, it remains unclear whether the level of mortality is sufficient to threaten the viability or ecological function of species. A series of field trials at Culgoa National Park in south-western Queensland was conducted to determine the effect of broadscale aerial baiting (1.7 baits per km2) on the density of nontarget avian species that may consume baits. Counts of susceptible bird species were conducted prior to and following aerial baiting, and on three nearby unbaited properties, in May and November 2011, and May 2012. A sample of baits was monitored with remote cameras in the November 2011 and May 2012 trials. Over the three baiting campaigns, there was no evidence of a population-level decline among the seven avian nontarget species that were monitored. Thirty per cent and 15% of baits monitored by remote cameras in the November 2011 and May 2012 trials were sampled by birds, varanids or other reptiles. These results support the continued use of 1080 meat baits for feral pig management in western Queensland and similar environs

Patients as researchers - innovative experiences in UK National Health Service research

Consumer involvement is an established priority in UK health and social care service development and research. To date, little has been published describing the process of consumer involvement and assessing ‘consumers’ contributions to research. This paper provides a practical account of the effective incorporation of consumers into a research team, and outlines the extent to which they can enhance the research cycle; from project development and conduct, through data analysis and interpretation, to dissemination. Salient points are illustrated using the example of their collaboration in a research project. Of particular note were consumers’ contributions to the development of an ethically enhanced, more robust project design, and enriched data interpretation, which may not have resulted had consumers not been an integral part of the research team

Detecting high level story elements from low level data

Thesis (M. Eng.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, 2012.Cataloged from PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 57-58).The problem addressed here is yet another artificial intelligence problem that is easily solved by young children yet challenges even sophisticated computer programs. This thesis's canonical example is a scene featuring two entities drinking. In one scene, a cat drinks from a faucet. In the other, a human drinks from a glass. Even young humans can identify that the two images are similar in that they both involve drinking. However, low-level analysis of the scene will find many more differences than similarities in the case cited above. In my research examines ways to detect high-level story elements such as drinking from low-level data such as that which might be produced from analyzing pictures and videos directly. I present a system that accepts as input a collection of high-level events represented in transition space. I analyze, then select the affinity propagation clustering algorithm to group the events using only their low-level representations. To this end, I present a novel algorithm for determining how similar any two points in transition space are. Due to the lack of vision systems capable of providing a varied dataset, I create a system which translates English language descriptions of high-level events and produces a specially formatted transition space file. To support my hypotheses, I presents the results of two experiments using the system described in this thesis. The first experiment uses English language files and the second uses data produced from a set of experimental videos. Using the English language files the system was able to detect groups corresponding to flying and walking among others out of a total set of 16 events.by Erek R. Speed.M.Eng

A retrospective analysis of Salmonella isolation trends from pigs in Great Britain since 1994, with special reference to monophasic S. Typhimurium and antimicrobial resistance trends

The numbers of Salmonella reports from pigs in Great Britain have reduced considerably since the mid- 1990s, when up to 384 positive epidemiological group reports (incidents) per year were recorded, and numbers have been relatively stable since 2003 with less than 200 incidents reported per year. S. Typhimurium has been the most common serovar throughout the study period (between 58 and 75% of incidents). S. Derby, which was the second most common serovar for many years, has shown a downward trend since 2007, accounting only for 5% of incidents in 2009. At the same time, monophasic strains of S. Typhimurium have been on the rise since 2006. S. 4,5,12:i:- went from 0% in 2005 up to 6.2% of incidents in 2009, whereas S. 4,12:i:-, after showing a small peak in 1997, has also increased since 2007 and accounted for 1.2% of incidents in 2009