Measuring Concentration in Data with an Exogenous Order

Concentration measures order the statistical units under observation according to their market share. However, there are situations where an order according to an exogenous variable is more appropriate or even required. The present article introduces a generalized definition of market concentration and defines a corresponding concentration measure. It is shown that this generalized concept of market concentration satisfies the common axioms of (classical) concentration measures. In an application example, the proposed approach is compared with classical concentration measures; the data are transfer spendings of German Bundesliga soccer teams, the ``obvious'' exogenous order of the teams is the league ranking

Tunable multi-photon Rabi oscillations in an electronic spin system

We report on multi-photon Rabi oscillations and controlled tuning of a multi-level system at room temperature (S=5/2 for Mn2+:MgO) in and out of a quasi-harmonic level configuration. The anisotropy is much smaller than the Zeeman splittings, such as the six level scheme shows only a small deviation from an equidistant diagram. This allows us to tune the spin dynamics by either compensating the cubic anisotropy with a precise static field orientation, or by microwave field intensity. Using the rotating frame approximation, the experiments are very well explained by both an analytical model and a generalized numerical model. The calculated multi-photon Rabi frequencies are in excellent agreement with the experimental data

Thin-layer agar for detection of resistance to rifampicin, ofloxacin and kanamycin in Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates

BACKGROUND: In low-income countries there is a great need for economical methods for testing the susceptibility of Mycobacterium tuberculosis to antibiotics. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the thin-layer agar (TLA) for rapid detection of resistance to rifampicin (RMP), ofloxacin (OFX) and kanamycin (KM) in M. tuberculosis clinical isolates and to determine the sensitivity, specificity and time to positivity compared to the gold standard method. METHODS: One hundred and forty-seven clinical isolates of M. tuberculosis were studied. For the TLA method, a quadrant Petri plate containing 7H11 agar with RMP, OFX and KM was used. Results were compared to the Bactec MGIT960 for RMP and the proportion method for OFX and KM. RESULTS: The sensitivity and specificity for RMP and OFX were 100% and for KM they were 100% and 98.7%, respectively. The use of a TLA quadrant plate enables the rapid detection of resistance to the three anti-tuberculosis drugs RMP, OFX and KM in a median of 10 days. CONCLUSION: TLA was an accurate method for the detection of resistance in the three drugs studied. This faster method is simple to perform, providing an alternative method when more sophisticated techniques are not available in low-resource settings

Modelica Analysis of Thermally Connected Residential Appliances

With the United States being the world’s second largest consumer of primary energy, research into areas of significant consumption can provide large impacts in terms of the global energy consumption. Buildings account for 41% of U.S. total energy consumption with the residential sector making up a majority. Household appliances account for the second largest site energy consumption at 27%, after the HVAC system for the U.S. residential sector. Thermally integrating residential appliances by leveraging waste heat recovery goes outside U.S. federal standards and has not been adequately explored by connecting all residential appliances. Limited studies exist focused only on single appliances connected to waste heat recovery or being thermally integrated. Modelica appliance models have been developed for four household appliances: refrigerator-freezer (RF), dishwasher (DW), clothes dryer (CD), and clothes washer (CW). The Modelica models capture individual use and the predictions of the RF and DW were compared against available experimental data. The individual models have been connected to a simple storage tank model to simulate the integrated appliance system. Modelica predicts the energy savings under the integrated system and captures any impact from integration

Diagnosis of invasive fungal infections in immunocompromised children

AbstractEarly recognition and rapid initiation of effective treatment is a prerequisite for successful management of children with invasive fungal infections. The increasing diversity of fungal pathogens in high-risk patients, the differences in the antifungal spectra of available agents and the increasing rates of resistance call for identification of the infecting isolate at the species level and for information on drug resistance, in order to provide state-of-the-art patient care. Microscopy and culture of appropriate specimens remain the reference standard for mycological diagnosis, despite difficulties in obtaining appropriate and/or sufficient specimens, long durations of culture and false-negative results. Modern imaging studies and detection of circulating fungal cell wall components and DNA in blood and other body fluids or in affected tissues may improve the laboratory diagnosis of invasive mycoses