Measurement of Particle Size and Distribution in a Suspension

The purpose of the present investigation was the determination of size of Glyptal in suspension

Default Judgment in Montana: The Costs of Inexcusable Neglect or the Death of Trial on the Merits?

Default Judgmen

Can tax policy change exploration levels? A case of Alaska oil legislation.

Thesis (M.S.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2014.This thesis applies modern Autoregressive Distributed Lag modeling techniques to estimate the effects of oil tax policy in the case of the 2007 ACES legislation on exploratory drilling within Alaska. This analysis uses recently released public data to examine the period of 1986 to 2013 in quarterly intervals which includes all periods in which ACES was in place. While this subject has become a popular subject of debate within the state and industry, no similar statistical analysis has been conducted to date. According to the results, ACES had a significantly negative and lasting effect on exploration levels while it was in effect. The oil price and interest rate are also found to be important variables in characterizing exploration activity

Default Judgment in Montana: The Costs of Inexcusable Neglect or the Death of Trial on the Merits?

Default Judgmen

Recovering Intrinsic Images from a Single Image

We present an algorithm that uses multiple cues to recover shading and reflectance intrinsic images from a single image. Using both color information and a classifier trained to recognize gray-scale patterns, each image derivative is classified as being caused by shading or a change in the surface's reflectance. Generalized Belief Propagation is then used to propagate information from areas where the correct classification is clear to areas where it is ambiguous. We also show results on real images

Playing with Puffball: Simple Scale-Invariant Inflation for Use in Vision and Graphics

We describe how inflation, the act of mapping a 2D silhouette to a 3D region, can be applied in two disparate problems to offer insight and improvement: silhouette part segmentation and image-based material transfer. To demonstrate this, we introduce Puffball, a novel inflation technique, which achieves similar results to existing inflation approaches -- including smoothness, robustness, and scale and shift-invariance -- through an exceedingly simple and accessible formulation. The part segmentation algorithm avoids many of the pitfalls of previous approaches by finding part boundaries on a canonical 3-D shape rather than in the contour of the 2-D shape; the algorithm gives reliable and intuitive boundaries, even in cases where traditional approaches based on the 2D Minima Rule are misled. To demonstrate its effectiveness, we present data in which subjects prefer Puffball's segmentations to more traditional Minima Rule-based segmentations across several categories of silhouettes. The texture transfer algorithm utilizes Puffball's estimated shape information to produce visually pleasing and realistically synthesized surface textures with no explicit knowledge of either underlying shape.National Eye Institute (Special Training Grant

Pay-to-Bid Auctions

We analyze a new auction format in which bidders pay a fee each time they increase the auction price. Bidding fees are the primary source of revenue for the seller, but produce the same expected revenue as standard auctions. Our model predicts a particular distribution of ending prices, which we test against observed auction data. Our model fits the data well for over three-fourths of routinely auctioned items. The notable exceptions are video game paraphernalia, which show more aggressive bidding and higher expected revenue. By incorporating mild risk-loving preferences in the model, we explain nearly all of the auctions.

R ates and factors associated with falls in older European Americans, Afro-Caribbeans, African-Americans, and Hispanics

Purpose: To evaluate rates and factors associated with older adult falls in different ethnic groups. Participants and methods: Information on demographics, medical and falls history, and pain and physical activity levels was collected from 550 community-dwelling older adults (75±9 years old, 222 European Americans, 109 Afro-Caribbeans, 106 African-Americans, and 113 Hispanics). Results: Taking medications for anxiety (risk ratio [RR] =1.4, 95% confidence interval [CI] =1.1–2.0), having incontinence (RR =1.4, 95% CI =1.1–1.8, P=0.013), back pain (RR =1.4, 95% CI =1.0–1.8), feet swelling (RR =1.3, 95% CI =1.1–1.7), and age $75 years (RR =1.3, 95$75 years were associated with falls, and Afro-Caribbeans presented lower prevalence of falls. These findings need to be taken into consideration in clinical interventions in aging. Keywords: ethnicity, falls, risks, community dwelling, older adult