CLEAR: Covariant LEAst-square Re-fitting with applications to image restoration

In this paper, we propose a new framework to remove parts of the systematic errors affecting popular restoration algorithms, with a special focus for image processing tasks. Generalizing ideas that emerged for $\ell_1$ regularization, we develop an approach re-fitting the results of standard methods towards the input data. Total variation regularizations and non-local means are special cases of interest. We identify important covariant information that should be preserved by the re-fitting method, and emphasize the importance of preserving the Jacobian (w.r.t. the observed signal) of the original estimator. Then, we provide an approach that has a "twicing" flavor and allows re-fitting the restored signal by adding back a local affine transformation of the residual term. We illustrate the benefits of our method on numerical simulations for image restoration tasks

Sistem Pendukung Keputusan Menentukan Anak Asuh Pena Prestasi Menggunakan Metode Saw (Simple Additive Weighting) Pada Lembaga Amil Zakat Dana Peduli Ummat Kalimantan Timur

Sistem Pendukung Keputusan Penentuan Anak Asuh , merupakan sistem yang dibuat untuk membantu dalam pengambilan keputusan dalam penentuan anak asuh pada lembaga Amil Zakat Dana Peduli Ummat dengan menggunakan bantuan metode Simple Additive Weighting (SAW). Simple additive weighting adalah pendekatan untuk menyelesaikan persoalan multi attribute decision making. Konsep utama dari metode ini adalah mencari penjumlahan dari semua atribut pada setiap alternatif. Metode simple additive weighting membutuhkan proses normalisasi matriks ke skala atau nilai yang dapat dibandingkan dengan nilai dari alternatif lain dan menemukan alternatif terbaik. Nilai dari alternatif tersebut harus melewati proses normalisasi matriks sebelumnya. Dengan perhitungan antar semua atribut setiap alternatif, sistem dapat membuat sebuah rekomendasi untuk membantu pembuat keputusan untuk membuat keputusan yang efektif dan efisien dari sebelumnya. Membantu Perusahaan untuk menyelesaikan masalah kesulitan dan ketidak akuratan dalam membuat keputusan penentuan calon anak asuh

Analisis Sistem Antrian Pada Bank Mandiri Cabang Ambon

Antrian adalah suatu garis tunggu dari orang/satuan yang memerlukan pelayanan dari satu atau lebih fasilitas layanan, misalnya antrian pada teller di bank. Pada bank dengan jumlah teller yang sedikit atau tingkat pelayanan yang rendah seringkali mengakibatkan antrian yang panjang di depan teller sehingga nasabah yang akan dilayani menunggu dalam jangka waktu yang lama. Tujuan penelitian ini yaitu untuk menentukan jumlah teller yang optimal pada Bank Mandiri Cabang Ambon dengan menggunakan Model Tingkat Aspirasi. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa jumlah teller yang optimal ialah 4 teller

Pendekatan Model Geographically Weighted Regression untuk Menentukan Faktor-faktor yang Mempengaruhi Jumlah Rumah Tangga Miskin di Pulau Buru

Kemiskinan merupakan persoalan yang kompleks, karena tidak hanya berkaitan dengan masalah rendahnya tingkat pendapatan dan konsumsi, tetapi juga berkaitan dengan rendahnya tingkat pendidikan, kesehatan serta ketidakberdayaannya untuk berpartisipasi dalam pembangunan. Tujuan penelitian ini adalah menentukan faktor-faktor yang mempengaruhi jumlah rumah tangga miskin dengan memperhatikan faktor geografis di Pulau Buru menggunakan model Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR), sehingga diperoleh model yang dapat digunakan untuk memperkirakan jumlah rumah tangga miskin 13 Kecamatan di Pulau Buru. Hasil penelitian menunjukan bahwa variabel yang signifikan mempengaruhi jumlah rumah tangga miskin di tiap kecamatan di Pulau Buru yaitu banyaknya rumah tangga yang tidak punya fasilitas tempat buang air besar atau bersifat umum (X1), banyaknya rumah tangga yang sumber penerangan utama bukan listrik (X2), banyaknya rumah tangga yang sumber air minumnya dari sumur/mata air tak terlindung/sungai (X4), banyaknya rumah tangga yang pengeluaran untuk makanannya lebih besar 80% (X5) serta banyaknya rumah tangga yang pendidikan tertinggi kepala rumah tangganya SD kebawah (X7)

Does diet mediate associations of volume and bouts of sedentary time with cardiometabolic health indicators in adolescents?

Objective: Examine the mediating role of diet in the relationship between volume and duration of sedentary time with cardiometabolic health in adolescents. Methods: Adolescents (12-19 years) participating in the 2003/04 and 2005/06 U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were examined. Cardiometabolic health indicators were body mass index z-scores (zBMI) (n 5 1,797) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) (n 5 812). An ActiGraph hip-worn accelerometer was used to derive total sedentary time and usual sedentary bout duration. Dietary intake was assessed using two 24-hour dietary recalls. Mediation analyses were conducted to examine five dietary mediators [total energy intake, discretionary foods, sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), fruits and vegetables, and dietary quality] of the relationship between total sedentary time and usual sedentary bout duration with zBMI and MetS. Results: Total sedentary time was inversely associated with zBMI (b 5 21.33; 95% CI 22.53 to 20.13) but attenuated after adjusting for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. No significant associations were observed between usual sedentary bout duration with zBMI or either sedentary measure with MetS. None of the five dietary variables mediated any of the relationships examined. Conclusions: Further studies are needed to explore associations of specific time periods (e.g., after school) and bout durations with both cardiometabolic health indicators and dietary behaviors

Diamonds are Forever

We defend the thesis that every necessarily true proposition is always true. Since not every proposition that is always true is necessarily true, our thesis is at odds with theories of modality and time, such as those of Kit Fine and David Kaplan, which posit a fundamental symmetry between modal and tense operators. According to such theories, just as it is a contingent matter what is true at a given time, it is likewise a temporary matter what is true at a given possible world; so a proposition that is now true at all worlds, and thus necessarily true, may yet at some past or future time be false in the actual world, and thus not always true. We reconstruct and criticize several lines of argument in favor of this picture, and then argue against the picture on the grounds that it is inconsistent with certain sorts of contingency in the structure of time

Interdisciplinary (retail) research: The business of geography and the geography of business

NoAt the 2005 British Academy of Management conference several well-known economic geographers, including Neil Wrigley, Gordon Clark, and Susan Christopherson, called for management researchers to engage with economic geographers on interrelated geographical and managerial issues in the study of (retail) firms. In this commentary we reflect upon the present geography -management interface.We begin by considering the term `interdisciplinary research' and its relationship to any management - geography interface. This is followed by a context-specific discussion of international retailing and the role of research on the retail transnational corporation (TNC) in developing an interdisciplinary agenda. This commentary represents an initial more business and management focused response to the call from geography academics for more/better interdisciplinary research at the geography - management interface

Energetics, skeletal dynamics and long-term predictions in Kolmogorov-Lorenz systems

We study a particular return map for a class of low dimensional chaotic models called Kolmogorov Lorenz systems, which received an elegant general Hamiltonian description and includes also the famous Lorenz63 case, from the viewpoint of energy and Casimir balance. In particular it is considered in detail a subclass of these models, precisely those obtained from the Lorenz63 by a small perturbation on the standard parameters, which includes for example the forced Lorenz case in Ref.[6]. The paper is divided into two parts. In the first part the extremes of the mentioned state functions are considered, which define an invariant manifold, used to construct an appropriate Poincare surface for our return map. From the experimental observation of the simple orbital motion around the two unstable fixed points, together with the circumstance that these orbits are classified by their energy or Casimir maximum, we construct a conceptually simple skeletal dynamics valid within our sub class, reproducing quite well the Lorenz map for Casimir. This energetic approach sheds some light on the physical mechanism underlying regime transitions. The second part of the paper is devoted to the investigation of a new type of maximum energy based long term predictions, by which the knowledge of a particular maximum energy shell amounts to the knowledge of the future (qualitative) behaviour of the system. It is shown that, in this respect, a local analysis of predictability is not appropriate for a complete characterization of this behaviour. A perspective on the possible extensions of this type of predictability analysis to more realistic cases in (geo)fluid dynamics is discussed at the end of the paper.Comment: 21 pages, 14 figure

Aging research using the common marmoset: Focus on aging interventions

Traditional animal models have been used to make seminal discoveries in biomedical research including a better understanding of the biology of the aging process. However, translation of these findings from laboratory to clinical populations has likely been hindered due to fundamental biological and physiological differences between common laboratory animals and humans. Non-human primates (NHP) may serve as an effective bridge towards translation, and short-lived NHP like the common marmoset offer many advantages as models for aging research. Here, we address these advantages and discuss what is currently understood about the changes in physiology and pathology that occur with age in the marmoset. In addition, we discuss how aging research might best utilize this model resource, and outline an ongoing study to address whether pharmaceutical intervention can slow aging in the marmoset. With this manuscript, we clarify how common marmosets might assist researchers in geroscience as a potential model for pre-clinical translation

Wireless Audience Response System: Does It Make a Difference?

Because Extension seminars are costly in preparation and delivery, questions about the costs and effectiveness of various methods are important to consider. Interactive devices are becoming increasingly available to Extension professionals. One such device, OptionFinder®, utilizes individual wireless remote keypads and a control station, manned by the lecturer or an assistant. It is believed to increase audience participation and information retention. The lecturer can assess the audiences\u27 understanding within seconds by asking multiple choice or true/false questions. The study described here examined the cost and value, in terms of knowledge retention, of such a system compared with other workshop methods