Efficient least-squares basket-weaving

We report on a novel method to solve the basket-weaving problem. Basket-weaving is a technique that is used to remove scan-line patterns from single-dish radio maps. The new approach applies linear least-squares and works on gridded maps from arbitrarily sampled data, which greatly improves computational efficiency and robustness. It also allows masking of bad data, which is useful for cases where radio frequency interference is present in the data. We evaluate the algorithms using simulations and real data obtained with the Effelsberg 100-m telescope.Comment: 11 pages, 11 figures, accepted by A&

Forms of Imposed Protection in Legal History, Especially in Roman Law

Imposed protection can be traced in Roman law in several forms: the application of the criterion of good faith (bona fides) by the judge, especially in contractual relations. Outside this sphere a special legal remedy for the defendant was introduced through the exceptio doli, introduced in 69 BC. Imposed protection is also visible in early family law since the Law of the XII Tables (450 BC), pertaining to children and women. Further legal measures were taken in the form of protective statutes (leges, e.g. Lex Cincia against impulsive donations) and in the form of decisions of the Senate (Senatus Consulta), e.g. the SC Vellaeanum protecting women and the SC Macedonianum protecting sons. In their turn the rules concerning mistake of law do have protective elements for groups of persons, women, minors, farmers and soldiers. All these legal principles stemming from Roman law spread over Europe in the long process of the reception of Roman law and became a part of living law until this very day

The Song That I Hear In My Dreams

https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/mmb-vp/5336/thumbnail.jp

Designing anti-stalking legislation on the basis of victims experiences and psychopathology

Wording differs substantially between the various legislation with regard to what behaviours constitute stalking. Some legislation comprehensively describes which behaviours are punishable, whilst other legislation uses only broad terms. Differences also exist with regard to the number of occasions and the intent of the perpetrator necessary to constitute stalking. Moreover, legislative provisions usually require the victim to experience negative effects of the offender's behaviour, or require that a reasonable person would be likely to experience such negative effects in the same situation. This article discusses whether these legislative components for the definition of stalking are problematic or not. Past studies and a study among 234 victims in The Netherlands are discussed to illustrate difficulties in legislative provisions dealing with stalking. It is argued that legislation should refrain from descriptions of specific behaviours and negative effects for victims in the definition of what constitutes stalking and that it is advisable for provisions to adhere to a “reasonable-person-test”

The Effelsberg-Bonn HI Survey: Data reduction

Starting in winter 2008/2009 an L-band 7-Feed-Array receiver is used for a 21-cm line survey performed with the 100-m telescope, the Effelsberg-Bonn HI survey (EBHIS). The EBHIS will cover the whole northern hemisphere for decl.>-5 deg comprising both the galactic and extragalactic sky out to a distance of about 230 Mpc. Using state-of-the-art FPGA-based digital fast Fourier transform spectrometers, superior in dynamic range and temporal resolution to conventional correlators, allows us to apply sophisticated radio frequency interference (RFI) mitigation schemes. In this paper, the EBHIS data reduction package and first results are presented. The reduction software consists of RFI detection schemes, flux and gain-curve calibration, stray-radiation removal, baseline fitting, and finally the gridding to produce data cubes. The whole software chain is successfully tested using multi-feed data toward many smaller test fields (1--100 square degrees) and recently applied for the first time to data of two large sky areas, each covering about 2000 square degrees. The first large area is toward the northern galactic pole and the second one toward the northern tip of the Magellanic Leading Arm. Here, we demonstrate the data quality of EBHIS Milky Way data and give a first impression on the first data release in 2011.Comment: 17 pages, 14 figures; to be published in ApJ

Impact of late-season drought on water relations in a sparse canopy of millet (Pennisetum glaucum (L.) R. Br.)

Although millet is known to be adapted to very dry conditions, little is known about its canopy water relations. The control of water loss and dehydration tolerance were studied during the grain filling for two cultivars presumed resistant and sensitive to moisture deficit at this stage. Two experiments were conducted in the dry hot season at Niamey, using crops based on the traditional system of hill sowing at low density : a preliminary trial with low leaf area (index of 0.7 at flowering) ; and a main trial with higher leaf area (index of 1.8) induced by tillering where parameters were recorded at a short time scale. The preliminary trial with small initial leaf area revealed a less apparent leaf water deficit according to leaf water potential and stomatal regulation but the main results were in agreement with those of the main trial. The cultivars were similar in their water relations. During drought, water losses declined quickly due essentially to a large decrease in the green leaf area through senescence. The potential effect of stomatal regulation was reduced by a natural decline of 50% after earing. The water deficit was relatively small and osmotic adjustement was absent in the upper leaves of eared shoots, which stayed green. These results reveal for millet, that rapid control of leaf area by senescence is the predominant mechanism at this stage, inducing long-term avoidance of dehydration of the upper leaves on eared shoots. The quick adjustment of canopy conductance to the reduction of soil water availability is an hypothesis advanced. (Résumé d'auteur

The Spaces of Martín Marco

In La colmena, Camilo José Cela places his characters in an environment of fragmentation and vigilance that reproduces the Franco regime’s desire for authoritarian control, bolstered by harsh laws that encouraged vigilance among its citizens. Though Cela once likened the workings of his novel to the intricate gears of a clock, one character, the wandering vagabond Martín Marco, threatens the integrity of the system by seemingly remaining outside it. Through a close reading of the geography of the novel and of the spaces in which Martín maneuvers, I explore the permeable boundary between private and public space and how this breakdown affects personal networks. Martín’s experience of space and place reveals that in the difficult postwar años del hambre, even fragmented spaces and gaps fall short of offering any type of refuge because they too form part of a disciplinary structure that has little tolerance for vagrant individuals

Varieties of Bricolage and the Process of Entrepreneurship

We offer a theoretical account of how two types of bricolage influence the entrepreneurial process. The first type involves social relationships or physical or functional assets, and thus pertains to an entrepreneur’s external resources used in the instantiation of operations of a new venture. The second type pertains to an entrepreneur’s internal resources—experiences, credentials, knowledge, and certifications—which the entrepreneur appropriates, assembles, modifies and deploys in the presentation of a narrative about the entrepreneurial process. We argue that both types of bricolage are essential to the success of a venturing attempt

Rationalisation in public dental care – impact on clinical work tasks and mechanical exposure for dentists – a prospective study

Swedish dentistry has been exposed to frequent rationalisation initiatives during the last half century. Previous research has shown that rationalisation often results in increased risk of developing work-related musculoskeletal disorders, thus reducing sustainability in the production system. In this prospective study, we assessed mechanical exposures among Swedish dentists in relation to specific rationalisations of clinical dental work during a six-year period. Body postures and movements of 12 dentists were assessed by inclinometry synchronised to video recordings of their work. No rationalisation effects could be shown in terms of a reduction in non-value-adding work (waste'), and at job level, no major differences in mechanical exposure could be shown between baseline and follow-up. Conclusion: The present rationalisation measures in dentistry do not seem to result in rationalisation at job level, but may potentially be more successful at the overall dental system level. Practitioner summary: In contrast to many previous investigations of the mechanical exposure implications of rationalisation, the present rationalisation measures did not increase the level of risk for dentists. It is highlighted that all occupations involved in the production system should be investigated to assess production system sustainability

Disgust implicated in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Psychiatric classificatory systems consider obsessions and compulsions as forms of anxiety disorder. However, the neurology of diseases associated with obsessive-compulsive symptoms suggests the involvement of fronto-striatal regions likely to be involved in the mediation of the emotion of disgust, suggesting that dysfunctions of disgust should be considered alongside anxiety in the pathogenesis of obsessive-compulsive behaviours. We therefore tested recognition of facial expressions of basic emotions (including disgust) by groups of participants with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and with Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome (GTS) with and without co-present obsessive-compulsive behaviours (GTS with OCB; GTS without OCB). A group of people suffering from panic disorder and generalized anxiety were also included in the study. Both groups with obsessive-compulsive symptoms (OCD; GTS with OCB) showed impaired recognition of facial expressions of disgust. Such problems were not evident in participants with panic disorder and generalized anxiety, or for participants with GTS without obsessions or compulsions, indicating that the deficit is closely related to the presence of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Participants with OCD were able to assign words to emotion categories without difficulty, showing that their problem with disgust is linked to a failure to recognize this emotion in others and not a comprehension or response criterion effect. Impaired recognition of disgust is consistent with the neurology of OCD and with the idea that abnormal experience of disgust may be involved in the genesis of obsessions and compulsions