Frequency Distribution Method Research Articles

Effects of Rainfall Characteristics on the Stability of Tropical Residual Soil Slope

Global climate change has a significant impact on rainfall characteristics, sea water level and groundwater table. Changes in rainfall characteristics may affect stability of slopes and have severe impacts on sustainable urban living. Information on the intensity, frequency and duration of rainfall is often required by geotechnical engineers for performing slope stability analyses. Many seepage analyses are commonly performed using the most extreme rainfall possible which is uneconomical in designing a slope repair or slope failure preventive measure. In this study, the historical rainfall data were analyzed and investigated to understand the characteristics of rainfall in Singapore. The frequency distribution method was used to estimate future rainfall characteristics in Singapore. New intensity-duration-frequency (IDF) curves for rainfall in Singapore were developed for six different durations (10, 20, 30 min and 1, 2 and 24 h) and six frequencies (2, 5, 10, 25, 50 and 100 years). The new IDF curves were used in the seepage and slope stability analyses to determine the variation of factor of safety of residual soil slopes under different rainfall intensities in Singapore.

Inventors'Awarenessabout Patenting in India: An Empirical Study

The present paper attempts to examine the level of awareness among the researchers of different disciplines about the patent procedures in particular and IPRs in general according to their teaching and research experiences, number of national and international publications, number of national and international patents filed and granted, etc. The study is based on primary data collected via a structured questionnaire using five point scale i.e. not at all, little extent, some extent, large extent and full extent, which was administered online to faculties of various disciplines of educational institutes of national importance i.e. Central Universities, NITs, IITs, etc. The collected data are analyzed with the help of frequency distribution and percentage method using SPSS (18 Version). ANOVA technique is used to validate the results of the study. It is found that the respondents from IT and engineering discipline, having teaching experience of 17–24 years and research experience of 21–30 years, having 21–40 publications in national journals and 0–15 publications in international journals, and those who have filed and granted 0–3 patents agree to a full extent that they have the knowledge about the different aspects of IPR management, particularly patenting filing procedure and post filing challenges. The awareness does not differ across independent variables, except according to number of patents filed.

Evaluating Temporal Consistency in Marine Biodiversity Hotspots.

With the ongoing crisis of biodiversity loss and limited resources for conservation, the concept of biodiversity hotspots has been useful in determining conservation priority areas. However, there has been limited research into how temporal variability in biodiversity may influence conservation area prioritization. To address this information gap, we present an approach to evaluate the temporal consistency of biodiversity hotspots in large marine ecosystems. Using a large scale, public monitoring dataset collected over an eight year period off the US Pacific Coast, we developed a methodological approach for avoiding biases associated with hotspot delineation. We aggregated benthic fish species data from research trawls and calculated mean hotspot thresholds for fish species richness and Shannon’s diversity indices over the eight year dataset. We used a spatial frequency distribution method to assign hotspot designations to the grid cells annually. We found no areas containing consistently high biodiversity through the entire study period based on the mean thresholds, and no grid cell was designated as a hotspot for greater than 50% of the time-series. To test if our approach was sensitive to sampling effort and the geographic extent of the survey, we followed a similar routine for the northern region of the survey area. Our finding of low consistency in benthic fish biodiversity hotspots over time was upheld, regardless of biodiversity metric used, whether thresholds were calculated per year or across all years, or the spatial extent for which we calculated thresholds and identified hotspots. Our results suggest that static measures of benthic fish biodiversity off the US West Coast are insufficient for identification of hotspots and that long-term data are required to appropriately identify patterns of high temporal variability in biodiversity for these highly mobile taxa. Given that ecological communities are responding to a changing climate and other environmental perturbations, our work highlights the need for scientists and conservation managers to consider both spatial and temporal dynamics when designating biodiversity hotspots.

Driver's Comprehension and Improvement of Warning Signs

Warning signs are effective only when users clearly understand their meaning. Three experiments were conducted in this study. In the first, the perception accuracy of warning signs was tested. This study investigated the role of age, gender, education background, and years of license in drivers' comprehension of warning signs. The populations sampled were from Nanjing city in China. A total of 12 symbolic warning signs were investigated. A questionnaire prepared to collect the data was distributed to 550 drivers. The results showed that age, gender, and driving years have no significant influence on the sign comprehension. However, the divers with higher education background present better comprehension to warning signs than those with lower education background. In the second experiment, these signs of comprehension score less than 67% in the first experiment were screened and analyzed the cause of wrong responses using semantic analysis frequency distribution method. Using the semantic analysis method, the perception errors are researched by the four features, namely, meaningfulness, recognition, simplicity, and symbol design. In the third, improvement design of warning signs was provided. Lastly, through scheme comparison and the perception of warning signs, reasonable and improved warning signs are determined to better play management and service functions. Language: en

Tomography-measured Spatial Distributions of Non-Aqueous Phase Liquids in Porous Media

Abstract Challenges with transport of dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) in geomedia have been observed by scientists and engineers. Detection of residual amounts of dense non-aqueous phase liquids in porous earth materials is important to understand the extent of contamination at sites where these materials have been released. The objectives of this study were to develop and test x-ray computed tomography (CT) methods for detection of DNAPL mass in sand cores. Two methods were used to assess the mass balance of trichloroethane (TCA) injected into selected samples. These methods included the spatial distribution method (SDM) which determined the mass from the point of injection and the mass frequency distribution method (MFDM) which used noise correction algorithms. Results showed that these methods can be used to detect the distribution of DNAPL in sand cores. Methods to assess the effective energy of the CT scanner are critical in obtaining accurate information. This study indicates that the scanning methods generally agree with the mass of DNAPL injected.

The Current Perception and Practice of 'Shariah Auditing' in Bangladeshi Islamic Banks

Almost all the commercial banks in Bangladesh are operating Islamic banking windows throughout the country to attract Muslims (90% of the population). To ensure shariah compliance, Islamic banks in Bangladesh currently use “Internal Shariah Review” which is basically the SSC’s supervision, monitoring and controlling ‘during’ and ‘after’ the banks’ operation. However, It does not cover a thorough and comprehensive audit to examine the transactions after executing the contracts. There lies a huge functional gap between shariah compliance and internal shariah review, which is obstructing Muslims from trusting these banks. The purpose of this research was to investigate the interpretations of “Shari’ah Auditing” in Islamic Banks by accounting academicians, audit practitioners and Shari’ah scholars in Bangladesh. This research tries to measure the respondents’ idea about establishing “Shari’ah Audit” as a discipline. It also investigates whether there should be a proper shariah audit side-by-side internal shariah review and how far Shariah audit would be worth implementing. Both primary and secondary data were used in this research. For collecting primary data a survey questionnaire, with both ‘open-ended’ and ‘close-ended’ questions, was designed and distributed among the accounting academicians, audit practitioners and Shari’ah scholars in Bangladesh. A combination of quantitative and qualitative method was used to get the result. Frequency distribution method was used to examine the pattern of the respondents (Positivistic approach) and Hermeneutic approach was used to interpret the views of the respondents. The respondents had varying experience of awareness about shariah auditing. However, most of the respondents opined that shariah auditing should be a separate discipline. While shariah scholars claimed that the internal auditor under the guidance of shariah supervisory committee should conduct shariah audit, other respondents opined that an independent professional body should conduct shariah audit. While the shariah scholars considered checking every single transaction should be the best way to ensure shariah compliance, others advocated for existing sampling method. While shariah scholars are quite satisfied, accounting academicians and audit practitioners are quite unhappy about the roles of Islamic banks in promoting shariah audit among the common people. However, most of the respondents opined that there should be a proper shariah audit side-by-side shariah review in the Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Almost all the respondents think that because of the involvement of huge transaction and monitoring costs, Islamic banks in Bangladesh are unwilling to carry out shariah audit instead of or along with shariah review. A unique set of standards for auditing Islamic banks maintaining Islamic shariah principles has to be developed. The existing Islamic banks should maintain a shariah compliance rating for their products and service.

Cost-Benefit Analysis of Implementing Shariiah Auditing as a Separate Discipline in Bangladeshi Islamic Banks

Almost all the commercial banks in Bangladesh are operating Islamic banking windows throughout the country to attract Muslims (90% of the population). To ensure shariah compliance, Islamic banks in Bangladesh currently use “Internal Shariah Review” which is basically the SSC’s supervision, monitoring and controlling ‘during’ and ‘after’ the banks’ operation. However, It does not cover a thorough and comprehensive audit to examine the transactions after executing the contracts. So, there lies a huge functional gap between shariah compliance and internal shariah review, which is obstructing Muslims from trusting these banks. The purpose of this research was to identify the feasibility of implementing shariah auditing in Bangladeshi Islami banks. This research tries to measure the respondents’ idea about establishing “Shari’ah Audit” as a discipline. It also investigates whether there should be a proper shariah audit side-by-side internal shariah review and how far Shariah audit would be worth implementing. For collecting primary data a survey questionnaire, with both ‘open-ended’ and ‘close-ended’ questions, was designed and distributed among the accounting academicians, audit practitioners and Shari’ah scholars in Bangladesh. A combination of quantitative and qualitative method was used to get the result. Frequency distribution method was used to examine the pattern of the respondents (Positivistic approach) and Hermeneutic approach was used to interpret the views of the respondents. The respondents had varying experience of awareness about shariah auditing. However, most of the respondents opined that shariah auditing should be a separate discipline and there should be a proper shariah audit side-by-side shariah review in the Islamic banks in Bangladesh. Almost all the respondents think that because of the involvement of huge transaction and monitoring costs, Islamic banks in Bangladesh are unwilling to carry out shariah audit instead of or along with shariah review.

Analysis of extreme rainfall events over Nethravathi basin

India gets three fourths of its annual rainfall during the south-west monsoon season (June–September). The study of extreme events is significant in the stochastic behaviour of rainfall pattern. The aim of the present work is to compare different methods; and find a suitable method to study extreme rainfall trend analysis. In this study, frequency distribution method, generalized extreme value (GEV) distribution, Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope estimator are used for rainfall trend analysis over the Nethravathi basin located in the southern part of India. The rainfall data during the monsoon months (June–September) were analysed for a period of 1971–2010. The comparison of all the methods had been carried out and it has been observed that there is an increasing trend of frequency in class-1 and decreasing trend in class-2 and class-3, respectively. The interpretation of the results is carried by using the GEV distribution and non-parametric trend analysis (Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope estimator test). It turns out the best results to identify the extreme rainfall trend are obtained by the statistical techniques – Block Maxima (GEV) distribution, Mann–Kendall and Sen’s slope estimator test as compared to frequency-based method. The above results which help to study climate change will contribute towards sustainable development of the Nethravathi River basin.

Establishing eutrophication assessment standards for four lake regions, China

The trophic status assessment of lakes in different lake regions may provide important and fundamental information for lake trophic state classification and eutrophication control. In this study, a region-specific lake eutrophication assessment standard was established through a frequency distribution method based on chlorophyll-α concentration. The assessment standards under the oligotrophic state for lakes in the Eastern plain, Yungui Plateau, Northeast Plain and Mountain Mongolia-Xinjiang regions are total phosphorus of 0.068, 0.005, 0.011, 0.005 mg/L; total nitrogen of 1.00, 0.16, 0.37, 0.60 mg/L; Secchi depth of 0.60, 8.00, 1.55, 3.00 m; and CODMn of 2.24, 1.00, 5.11, 4.00 mg/L, respectively. Moreover, a region-specific comprehensive trophic level index was developed to provide an understandable assessment method for the public. The results indicated that the frequency distribution analysis based on chlorophyll-α combined with trophic level index provided a useful metric for the assessment of the lake trophic status. In addition, the difference of eutrophication assessment standards in different lake regions was analyzed, which suggested that the sensitivities of algae to nutrients and the assessment standard of trophic status possessed significant regional differences for the four lake ecoregions. Lake eutrophication assessment standards would contribute to maximizing the effectiveness of future management strategies, to control and minimize lake eutrophication problems.

Formalisasi Aktivitas Pedagang Kaki Lima di Simpanglima Semarang

Kota Semarang merupakan salah satu kota yang sedang memberi perhatian lebih kepada sektorinformal khususnya PKL. Perhatian pemerintah tersebut dirumuskan dalam kebijakan berupaprogram penataan yaitu salah satunya di Simpanglima. Dalam penataannya, terdapat indikasiadanya upaya formalisasi PKL Simpanglima. Fenomena tersebut dapat dikerucutkan menjadipertanyaan penelitian yaitu bagaimana indikasi formalisasi aktivitas PKL di Simpanglima Semarang?Sasaran yang dilakukan adalah mengidentifikasi kondisi eksisting aktivitas PKL, mengidentifikasiprofil PKL dan pengunjung, mengidentifikasi karakteristik aktivitas PKL dan persepsi pengunjungterhadap keberadaan PKL serta merumuskan indikasi formalisasi aktivitas PKL. Metode dalampenelitian ini menggunakan pendekatan kuantitatif yang didukung dengan alat analisis yaitudeskriptif kuantitatif, distribusi frekuensi serta metode crosstab (tabulasi silang). Menurut profilPKL, bahwa usaha PKL dapat menjadi salah satu alternatif mata pencaharian utama masyarakat.Pada analisis karakteristik aktivitas PKL diketahui telah terjadi pergeseran karakteristik PKL.Sedangkan profil pengunjung PKL bahwa pengunjung PKL berasal dari segala jenis pekerjaan,tingkat penghasilan dan latar belakang pendidikan. Rumusan akhir menunjukkan bahwa terindikasiadanya formalisasi aktivitas PKL yang telah menggeser paradigma karakteristik aktivitas PKL klasik.Kata kunci : formalisasi, pedagang kaki lima, karakteristik aktivitas

Application of a Frequency Distribution Method for Determining Instars of the Beet Armyworm (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) From Widths of Cast Head Capsules

Instar determination of field-collected insect larvae has generally been based on the analysis of head capsule width frequency distributions or bivariate plotting, but few studies have tested the validity of such methods. We used head capsules from exuviae of known instars of the beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), to determine the larval instars with the frequency distribution method and Dyar's rule. Head capsule widths of S. exigua ranged from 0.313 to 1.446 mm. The number of instars from the analytical method matched that from the observed data. Based on misclassification rules derived from nonlinear least square fitting of the head capsule width data, the theoretical misclassification rates ranged from 0.62 to 1.92%. Comparing the theoretical distribution to the observed data, the observational misclassification probabilities ranged from 1.18 to 3.03%. There were also 10 head capsules, eight third instars and two fourth instars, not classified into any of the known instars based on the theoretical distributions. Dyar's growth ratios of successive instars ranged from 1.41 to 1.65, and those based on the observed data and theoretical distribution were similar. Both approaches yielded a linear relationship between the natural logarithm of the mean head capsule width and the instar number, which indicates full representation of the larval instars. The results demonstrated that the frequency distribution-based method was robust, although we recommend caution when using such methods to classify head capsules into specific instar classes. Application of computer algorithms should also be accompanied by visual inspection to determine instars from the frequency distribution.

How Celebrities are Used in Indian Television Commercials

The usage of celebrities by the Indian advertising agencies has experienced a phenomenal increase in the last five years. Effective communication between the marketer and the consumers is the need of the hour and celebrity endorsement is a strategy that is perceived as making full use of this opportunity. Most of the countries have adopted this strategy as an effective marketing tool and even India is carving out space for itself in this arena. The present study attempts to meet three objectives: to identify the mode⁄s in which a celebrity is depicted in Indian television commercials to ascertain relationship (if any) between the category of product endorsed and the type of celebrity used to identify the correspondence between product categories and mode of celebrity presence. For the first objective of identifying the nature of celebrity portrayal, four modes given by McCracken (1989) were used: Explicit mode (the celebrity overtly declares the product endorsement) Implicit mode (physical or verbal communication is used by the celebrity) Imperative mode (the celebrity suggests the viewers to use the product) Co-present mode (the celebrity only appears with the product). For the second and third objectives, cross-tabulated frequency distribution method was used. Content analysis of Indian television commercials was done for the period 1995–2007. The criterion used for selection of advertisements was the presence of celebrity in any form in the ad. On this basis, 558 television commercials (TVCs) were selected featuring a total of 56 celebrities. The findings of the study indicated that: Around 64 per cent of the commercials used the implicit mode of celebrity portrayal for different product categories. Usage of film celebrities was more extensive than sports celebrities in major product categories. This was probably because the shelf life of fame for a film celebrity is more than that of the sports celebrity. Male celebrities dominated the product categories like food and beverage, automobiles, and consumer durables. The female celebrities were featured majorly in beauty products. No distinct association was found between the product categories considered and the mode used for celebrity portrayal. The study findings contributed to the academia as well as practitioners. For the academia, the study identified the most dominant mode of celebrity advertising in India and found that there was no correspondence between the mode in which a celebrity was portrayed and the product category endorsed. For the practitioners, the study identified the lesser used modes of celebrity endorsements which could be used as opportunities.

A frequency distribution approach to hotspot identification

AbstractWe present a new global method for the identification of hotspots in conservation and ecology. The method is based on the identification of spatial structure properties through cumulative relative frequency distributions curves, and is tested with two case studies, the identification of fish density hotspots and terrestrial vertebrate species diversity hotspots. Results from the frequency distribution method are compared with those from standard techniques among local, partially local and global methods. Our approach offers the main advantage to be independent from the selection of any threshold, neighborhood, or other parameter that affect most of the currently available methods for hotspot analysis. The two case studies show how such elements of arbitrariness of the traditional methods influence both size and location of the identified hotspots, and how this new global method can be used for a more objective selection of hotspots.

Characterization and Properties of Sri Lankan Coir Fibre

This study mainly concentrated on revealing the scientific data on the properties of Sri Lankan coir fibre and classifying them into different grades based on scientific parameters instead of visual observations to establish quality specifications for the coir fibre industry in Sri Lanka. Critical parameters were studied for suitability of the industrial applications. Size distribution and average length of different fibres were determined by the frequency distribution method, to be used as industrial oriented parameters. The weighted average breaking load of coir fibre was determined using the universal tensile strength tester.
 As per the result, coir fiber has an elongation property of about 20-28%. Also, coir fibre is a highly resilient natural fibre and Omat coir fibre had the highest value among other coir fibre types. Porous microstructure of the coir fibre was observed through the scanning electron microscopy and hygroscopic characteristics described according to the structure. The moisture equilibrium values of coir fibre in Sri Lanka were observed at 15-18% and it was achieved by sun drying. This moisture levels avoid the heavy condensation during transportation particularly in countries with cold climate. Properties of coir fibre found in the study were used in the establishment of the National Quality Standard specifications for mechanically extracted coir fibre in Sri Lanka.

Mechanochemical Effect in the Iron(III) Spin Crossover Complex [Fe(3-MeO-salenEt)2]PF6 as Studied by Heat Capacity Calorimetry

Magnetic and thermal properties of the iron(III) spin crossover complex [Fe(3MeO-salenEt)(2)]PF(6) are very sensitive to mechanochemical perturbations. Heat capacities for unperturbed and differently perturbed samples were precisely determined by adiabatic calorimetry at temperatures in the 10-300 K range. The unperturbed compound shows a cooperative spin crossover transition at 162.31 K, presenting a hysteresis of 2.8 K. The anomalous enthalpy and entropy contents of the transition were evaluated to be Delta(trs)H = 5.94 kJ mol(-1) and Delta(trs)S = 36.7 J K(-1) mol(-1), respectively. By mechanochemical treatments, (1) the phase transition temperature was lowered by 1.14 K, (2) the enthalpy and entropy gains at the phase transition due to the spin crossover phenomenon were diminished to Delta(trs)H = 4.94 kJ mol(-1) and Delta(trs)S = 31.1 J K(-1) mol(-1), and (3) the lattice heat capacities were larger than those of the unperturbed sample over the whole temperature range. In spite of different mechanical perturbations (grinding with a mortar and pestle and grinding in a ball-mill), two sets of heat capacity measurements provided basically the same results. The mechanochemical perturbation exerts its effect more strongly on the low-spin state than on the high-spin state. It shows a substantial increase of the number of iron(III) ions in the high-spin state below the transition temperature. The heat capacities of the diamagnetic cobalt(III) analogue [Co(3MeO-salenEt)(2)]PF(6) also were measured. The lattice heat capacity of the iron compounds has been estimated from either the measurements on the cobalt complex using a corresponding states law or the effective frequency distribution method. These estimations have been used for the evaluation of the transition anomaly.

The use of domain-specific concepts in biomedical text summarization

Text summarization is a method for data reduction. The use of text summarization enables users to reduce the amount of text that must be read while still assimilating the core information. The data reduction offered by text summarization is particularly useful in the biomedical domain, where physicians must continuously find clinical trial study information to incorporate into their patient treatment efforts. Such efforts are often hampered by the high-volume of publications. This paper presents two independent methods ( BioChain and FreqDist) for identifying salient sentences in biomedical texts using concepts derived from domain-specific resources. Our semantic-based method (BioChain) is effective at identifying thematic sentences, while our frequency-distribution method (FreqDist) removes information redundancy. The two methods are then combined to form a hybrid method ( ChainFreq). An evaluation of each method is performed using the ROUGE system to compare system-generated summaries against a set of manually-generated summaries. The BioChain and FreqDist methods outperform some common summarization systems, while the ChainFreq method improves upon the base approaches. Our work shows that the best performance is achieved when the two methods are combined. The paper also presents a brief physician’s evaluation of three randomly-selected papers from an evaluation corpus to show that the author’s abstract does not always reflect the entire contents of the full-text.

Aircraft Observations of Air-mass Modification Over the Sea of Okhotsk during Sea-ice Growth

In order to quantitatively investigate the role of leads and sea-ice in air-mass modification, aircraft observations were conducted over the partially ice-covered Sea of Okhotsk. We investigated two cold-air outbreak events with different sea-ice concentrations. In both cases, the difference between the temperatures of surface air and the sea surface (ΔT) dropped rapidly with the accumulated fetch-width of leads up to about 35-40 km, and then decreased very slowly. The surface sensible heat flux originating from open water was about 300 W m−2 within a few kilometres from the coast and decreased with increasing accumulated fetch-width. The sensible heat flux was about 100 W m−2 on average. These results indicate that the downwind air-mass modification depends mainly on the total (accumulated) extent of open water. The total buoyancy flux \(\left(\overline {w'T \, '_v}\right)\) calculated by the joint frequency distribution method correlated very well with ice concentration. Such a relationship was not clear in the case of the moisture flux \((\overline {w'q'})\). The ratio between rising thermals \(\left(\overline {w^+T^+_v}\right) \) and cold downdrafts \(\left(\overline {w^-T^-_v}\right)\) differed significantly between upwind and downwind regions; that is, the buoyancy flux was dominated by \(\overline {w^+T^+_v} \) in the developing stage of the boundary layer, while \(\overline {w^-T^-_v} \) also became important after the development of the boundary layer.

A novel frequency distribution selection method for efficient plate layout of a diverse combinatorial library.

A deterministic method (frequency distribution method) for selecting compounds from a partitioned virtual combinatorial library for efficient synthesis is presented here. The method is based on reagent frequency analysis and can be applied to any library of molecules distributed in any given partitioned chemical space (cluster, cell-based, etc.). Compound selection by reagent frequency distribution can produce a unique, diverse set of molecules that adequately represents the library while requiring the least amount of compounds to be synthesized and minimizing the number of different reagents that must be used. This method also provides a practical solution to the configuration of plate layout. Because the method essentially identifies "expensive" regions in the chemical space to synthesize for a desired diversity or similarity coverage, decisions concerning the necessity to synthesize these compounds can be addressed. Minimum compound generation and efficient plate layout results in savings both in time of synthesis and cost of materials. This method always results in a discrete solution, which can be used for any given library size as well as any combination of reagents and is also readily adaptable to robotic automation.

A comparison of five methods that estimate meal criteria for cattle

AbstractIn data collected for feeding behaviour analysis, feeding events are generally separated by many very short to very long intervals during which no feeding occurs. When feeding is clustered in bouts, a meal criterion (that is the longest non-feeding interval accepted as part of a meal) must be estimated before events can be grouped into meals. Until recently, three methods that estimate quantitative meal criteria were available. These methods consist of fitting a ‘broken-stick’ (two straight intersecting lines, both with a negative slope) to the frequency distribution (method 1), the loge-transformed cumulative frequency distribution (the log-survivorship curve; method 2) or the loge-transformed frequency distribution (method 3) of intervals between events. Recently, new methods have been proposed that fit either two (method 4) or three (method 5) Gaussians to the frequency distribution of loge-transformed interval length (log-normal models). We compare the estimates obtained with these five methods when applied to a data set of 79575 intervals between visits to food dispensers. These were recorded with 16 lactating cows during an average period of 156·6 (s.d. 51·5) days per cow. Meal criteria were estimated as 1·9, 6·0, 7·5, 32·4 and 49·1 min by methods 1 to 5, respectively. Estimated daily number of meals ranged from 5·7 to 12·1 per cow and estimated average meal size from 4·0 to 8·4 kg. The observed probabilities of cows initiating feeding in relation to time since feeding last showed best agreement with the predictions of the log-normal models. We conclude that the first three methods do not, while log-normal models do, have an adequate biological basis for a clear interpretation of the estimated meal criteria. Log-normal models are, therefore, the most promising for estimating meal criteria in cattle and probably in other species as well.

Relationship between Frequency Distribution Characteristics of Acoustic Emission and Fracture Mechanisms on AFRP (2nd Report, Analysis of Frequency Distribution by Weighted Mean Frequency Distribution Method).

Studies using an acoustic emission (AE) method have been undertaken to elucidate the fracture mechanisms of [0]8 and [0/±45/90]s AFRP in a static tensile test. In a previous paper, it was confirmed that the fracture phenomena were related to characteristics of the frequency distribution of individual AE waves. Since many AE waves are observed in each deformation process before reaching the final fracture, it is difficult to define a correspondence the representative frequency distribution of AE waves with the representative fracture mechanisms. So, in this paper, a method for new statistical analysis has been proposed. Using this method, it is confirmed that the fracture phenomena can be specified by variation of shape of frequency distribution.