LMMSE Estimation and Interpolation of Continuous-Time Signals from Discrete-Time Samples Using Factor Graphs

The factor graph approach to discrete-time linear Gaussian state space models is well developed. The paper extends this approach to continuous-time linear systems/filters that are driven by white Gaussian noise. By Gaussian message passing, we then obtain MAP/MMSE/LMMSE estimates of the input signal, or of the state, or of the output signal from noisy observations of the output signal. These estimates may be obtained with arbitrary temporal resolution. The proposed input signal estimation does not seem to have appeared in the prior Kalman filtering literature

Climate Change Resilience and Socioeconomic Impacts of MPAs and MPA Networks in the Caribbean - Case Study: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Management of MPAs and Coastal Zones in the Dominican Republic

Many Caribbean nations have established MPAs to preserve marine biodiversity and maintain their economically important marine resources. In some Caribbean nations, in particular the Dominican Republic, most MPAs have failed in these respects and have remained “paper parks” due to being modeled along traditional conservation lines without careful consideration of socioeconomic factors, good management practices or increasingly important climate change factors. Successful Caribbean MPAs and MPA networks effectively function as refuges, attractions, sources of socioeconomic development and ecosystem-based climate change resilience mechanisms. The latter is of utmost importance to Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and other larger island developing states in the region because of their vulnerability to climate change. This multidimensional vision of MPAs has not been developed or applied in the Dominican Republic, and the reasons behind this issue are presented in this paper. Existing Dominican MPAs are analyzed as two individual case studies; National Park del Este and Montecristi National Park. Proposals fortheir improved management are outlined and a comparison is made with two successful Caribbean MPAs: La Soufrière Marine Management Area and the Bonaire Marine Park. The role of Dominican and international NGOs, coastal community involvement and MPA stakeholders such as dive operators and donors is investigated in defining these broad-based MPA objectives. Finally, alternative approaches for reaching the goals of preserving marine biodiversity, integrating socioeconomic impacts and building climate change resilience are proposed. The improvement of national MPAs and integration with regional MPA networks are the best long-term win-win marine conservation solutions for the Dominican Republic and the Caribbean

Function-Orientated Structural Analysis of the Proximal Human Femur

In his model of the biomechanics of the proximal human femur, Friedrich Pauwels assumes a resultant force acting on the femoral head that is created by the partial body weight and the force of the abductor muscles inserting at the greater trochanter. This model suggests a tensile force in the region of the greater trochanter. An exact examination of the muscle insertions at the greater trochanter resulted in a contrasting hypothesis assuming a local compression stress in the region of the greater trochanter. The aim of this study was to examine which hypothesis is favored by the internal architecture of the proximal femur. Based on the architectural software Allplan (R), we performed an extended analysis of the trabecular structure within the proximal femur using CT scans of 10 human cadaver femora altogether. According to our results, both the medial and the trochanteric trabecular systems are orientated approximately perpendicular to the arcuate trabecular system {[}angles between systems ranging from 84.6 to 93.0 degrees (mean angle 90.7 degrees) and from 80.9 to 86.5 degrees, (mean angle 84.9 degrees), respectively]; furthermore, the medial trabecular system is orientated perpendicular to the epiphysis of the femoral head (mean of angles: 94.7). The biomechanical interpretation of these results strongly supports the idea of compressive stress in the region of the greater trochanter and makes a predominant tensile force of the abductor muscles highly unlikely. Copyright (C) 2009 S. Karger AG, Base

Teilzeitbeschäftigung als Arbeitsmarktchance

Mehr als ein Fünftel der Erwerbstätigen in Deutschland sind Teilzeitbeschäftigte. Seit Anfang 2001 ist das Gesetz über Teilzeitarbeit und befristete Arbeitsverträge (Teilzeit- und Befristungsgesetz) in Kraft. Es hat die weitere Ausweitung der Teilzeit und die Schaffung neuer Stellen zum Ziel, um dadurch die allgemeine Beschäftigungssituation und somit die individuellen Partizipationschancen zu verbessern. Zu erwarten ist daher, dass die Zahl der Teilzeitbeschäftigten weiter steigen wird. Die große Mehrheit der Teilzeitbeschäftigten wird nach wie vor von Frauen gestellt, denn eine wichtige Funktion von Teilzeitarbeitsverhältnissen ist es, die Vereinbarkeit von Familie und Beruf zu ermöglichen. Dies wird auch so bleiben, solange insbesondere in Westdeutschland keine bedarfsgerechten öffentlichen Kinderbetreuungsangebote bereitgestellt werden. Die Ergebnisse weisen zudem auf das künftige Potential der Teilzeit als Alternative zur Arbeitslosigkeit hin. Die vom DIW Berlin in Zusammenarbeit mit Infratest Sozialforschung erhobene Längsschnittsstudie Sozio-oekonomisches Panel (SOEP) zeigt, dass Frauen nicht nur häufiger als Männer, sondern auch länger in Teilzeit arbeiten, vor allem in Westdeutschland. Freilich wird deutlich, dass bei Männern der Teilzeitbeschäftigung häufiger der Einstieg in ein weiteres Beschäftigungsverhältnis folgt als bei Frauen. Männer haben auch die besseren Karrierechancen, also größere Übergangswahrscheinlichkeiten in die Vollzeit. Teilzeitbeschäftigung fördert zwar die Partizipationschancen der Frauen im Arbeitsmarkt, kann aber deren Erwerbsbeteiligung in Form einer Vollzeitbeschäftigung nicht nachhaltig verbessern. Teilzeit unterstützt also faktisch das Fortbestehen geschlechtsspezifischer Erwerbsmuster, wobei auch große Ost-West-Unterschiede sichtbar werden.

From Cross-Organizational Business Process to Public Services

Service-oriented architectures promise flexible process integration in heterogeneous environments, particularly in cross organizational contexts. Therefore, a systematic approach for deriving service definitions from cross-organizational business processes is required. The paper at hand presents a structured, model driven approach that allows for cross-organizational integration with service-oriented concepts and technologies based on a cross-organizational business process. The resulting method is specified by means of a metamodel and a procedure model. Taking into account existing approaches in the research field, the paper focuses on the activities for the service design specification and the subsequent implementation of the public services. Feasibility of the method is shown by applying it in a Business-to-Government (B2G) real-world scenario, namely the collaboration between a consigning company and customs authorities according to the new European harmonized customs procedures

Layer-resolved imaging of domain wall interactions in magnetic tunnel junction-like trilayers

We have performed a layer-resolved, microscopic study of interactions between domain walls in two magnetic layers separated by a non-magnetic one, using high-resolution x-ray photoemission electron microscopy. Domain walls in the hard magnetic Co layer of a Co/Al2O3/FeNi trilayer with in-plane uniaxial anisotropy strongly modify the local magnetization direction in the soft magnetic FeNi layer. The stray fields associated to the domain walls lead to an antiparallel coupling between the local Co and FeNi moments. For domain walls parallel to the easy magnetization axis this interaction is limited to the domain wall region itself. For strongly charged (head-on or tail-to-tail) walls, the antiparallel coupling dominates the interaction over radial distances up to several micrometers from the centre of the domain wall.Comment: Published version, J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 19, 476204 (2007

Genome-wide transcription start site profiling in biofilm-grown Burkholderia cenocepacia J2315

Background: Burkholderia cenocepacia is a soil-dwelling Gram-negative Betaproteobacterium with an important role as opportunistic pathogen in humans. Infections with B. cenocepacia are very difficult to treat due to their high intrinsic resistance to most antibiotics. Biofilm formation further adds to their antibiotic resistance. B. cenocepacia harbours a large, multi-replicon genome with a high GC-content, the reference genome of strain J2315 includes 7374 annotated genes. This study aims to annotate transcription start sites and identify novel transcripts on a whole genome scale. Methods: RNA extracted from B. cenocepacia J2315 biofilms was analysed by differential RNA-sequencing and the resulting dataset compared to data derived from conventional, global RNA-sequencing. Transcription start sites were annotated and further analysed according to their position relative to annotated genes. Results: Four thousand ten transcription start sites were mapped over the whole B. cenocepacia genome and the primary transcription start site of 2089 genes expressed in B. cenocepacia biofilms were defined. For 64 genes a start codon alternative to the annotated one was proposed. Substantial antisense transcription for 105 genes and two novel protein coding sequences were identified. The distribution of internal transcription start sites can be used to identify genomic islands in B. cenocepacia. A potassium pump strongly induced only under biofilm conditions was found and 15 non-coding small RNAs highly expressed in biofilms were discovered. Conclusions: Mapping transcription start sites across the B. cenocepacia genome added relevant information to the J2315 annotation. Genes and novel regulatory RNAs putatively involved in B. cenocepacia biofilm formation were identified. These findings will help in understanding regulation of B. cenocepacia biofilm formation

E2F4 regulates transcriptional activation in mouse embryonic stem cells independently of the RB family.

E2F transcription factors are central regulators of cell division and cell fate decisions. E2F4 often represents the predominant E2F activity in cells. E2F4 is a transcriptional repressor implicated in cell cycle arrest and whose repressive activity depends on its interaction with members of the RB family. Here we show that E2F4 is important for the proliferation and the survival of mouse embryonic stem cells. In these cells, E2F4 acts in part as a transcriptional activator that promotes the expression of cell cycle genes. This role for E2F4 is independent of the RB family. Furthermore, E2F4 functionally interacts with chromatin regulators associated with gene activation and we observed decreased histone acetylation at the promoters of cell cycle genes and E2F targets upon loss of E2F4 in RB family-mutant cells. Taken together, our findings uncover a non-canonical role for E2F4 that provide insights into the biology of rapidly dividing cells