Input Restrictions Research Articles

Effective search results summary size and device screen size: Is there a relationship?

In recent years, small screen devices have seen widespread increase in their acceptance and use. Combining mobility with increased technological advances many such devices can now be considered mobile information terminals. However, user interactions with small display devices remain a challenge due to the inherent input restrictions and limited display capabilities. These challenges are particularly evident for tasks, such as information seeking. For the presentation of retrieval results we consider that a personalised and context dependent approach could offer benefits, particularly for retrieving information in a non-traditional environment. As a starting point, in this paper we report an investigation into the effects of summary length as a function of screen size, where query-biased summaries are used to present retrieval results. Following a brief description of our proposed system, we report a user study aimed at exploring whether there is an optimal summary size for three types of device (smartphone, PDA and laptop), given their different screen sizes.

A combination of state and market through ITQs in the Tasmanian commercial rock lobster fishery: the tail wagging the dog?

Planning for macro-scale issues such as sustainability is often the responsibility of the state. The market, on the other hand, is the sphere in which rights-based exchanges are coordinated between at times hundreds of agents through the mechanism of price. Few fisheries, however, are entirely state planned or market coordinated, but are a combination of both. This paper draws on a 2-year social impact assessment of the introduction of individual transferable quotas (ITQs) in the Tasmanian commercial rock lobster fishery in Australia. This introduction was grafted onto technical conservation measures and input restrictions that stretched back over more than 100 years. The principal lesson to be learnt from the Tasmanian case is that ownership and transferability of entitlements require careful consideration concerning the social character of the fishery as well as the state’s stake in the fishery. In managing a fishery using ITQs, the state risks giving up too much power to the market as legally strong individual private access rights-holders can act as an impediment to responsible planning at the fishery-wide scale.

Switch time-point for rapid experience-dependent changes in zinc-containing circuits in the mouse barrel cortex

It has been previously demonstrated that in the mouse barrel cortex, synaptic zinc is regulated by sensory experience. In adult mice, cutting selected vibrissae produced a rapid but transient elevation of synaptic zinc in the corresponding barrels several hours later, whereas in 8 day-old animals this procedure did not affect synaptic zinc. In the present study, we wished to determine the postnatal age at which zinc-containing terminals gain the ability to respond rapidly to a restriction of sensory input. We therefore examined the effects of 1-day sensory deprivation starting at different postnatal ages. For this purpose we unilaterally trimmed all rows of vibrissae, except for row C, and we then visualized synaptic zinc in the barrel cortex 24 h later. Up to postnatal day 15 such procedure had no effect on the level of synaptic zinc. However, beginning at postnatal day 16, 1-day sensory deprivation produced an increase in synaptic zinc within hollows of deprived rows of barrels as compared to non-deprived rows. These results show that during development there is a specific time-point after which zinc-containing circuits may respond rapidly to altered sensory inputs. A comparison of these findings with previous results obtained after chronic sensory deprivation suggests that a specific time window exists in development for persistent alterations in zinc-containing circuits.

Instrument choice in a fishery

This paper considers the choice of regulatory instruments in a fishery. Fishing captains, consumers, and input suppliers each attempt to influence the regulator's choice of instruments. The regulator chooses among instruments such as input restrictions, entry restrictions, or individual transferable quotas (ITQs). Regulatory instruments that result in zero fishery rents can only occur if the regulator places an extraordinary weight on the welfare of input suppliers relative to fishing captains and consumers. Indeed, heterogeneity of fishing captains is neither necessary nor sufficient to obtain regulations that fail to generate fishery rents.

Robust Autopilot for a Quasi-Linear Parameter-Varying Missile Model

A sideslip velocity autopilot is designed for a model of a tactical missile, and robust stability of the closed-loop system is investigated. The tail-controlled missile in the cruciform e n cone guration is modeled as a second-order quasi-linear parameter-varying system. This nonlinear model is obtained from the Taylor linearized model of the horizontal motion by including explicit dependence of the aerodynamic derivatives on a state (sideslip velocity ) and external parameters (longitudinal velocity and roll angle ). The autopilot design is based on input ‐output pseudolinearization, which is the restriction of input ‐output feedback linearization to the set of equilibria of the nonlinear model. The design makes Taylor linearization of the closed-loop system independent of the choice of equilibria. Thus, iftheoperating points are in thevicinity of the equilibria, then only onelinear model will describe closed-loop dynamics, regardless of the rate of change of the operating points. Simulations for constant lateral acceleration demands show good tracking with fast response time. Parametric and H1 stability margins for uncertainty in the controller parameters and aerodynamic derivatives are analysed using Kharitonov’ s approach. The analysis shows that the design is fairly robust with respect to both kinds of uncertainty.

Spray guns/turnkey finishing systems

A large body of data suggests that body weight influences puberty onset and adult reproduction. However, the underlying mechanism of how body weight influences puberty onset and fertility is not completely understood. The hypothalamic neuronal circuit regulating reproduction is restrained by inhibitory signals during childhood. At the time of puberty, these inhibitory signals are weakened and supplanted by stimulatory signals that, in turn, stimulate the release of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) – a hypothalamic neuropeptide governing reproduction. A number of studies, however, suggest that puberty commencement occurs when body (fat) weight reaches a certain threshold, which is critical for the initiation of puberty and for support of the adult reproductive function. Previously, various signals have been studied which might link body (fat) weight-related information to the hypothalamic neuronal network regulating reproduction. However, the nature of the signal(s) that may link body fat and/or muscle mass with the hypothalamic neuronal network governing reproduction is still unclear. It has been intuitively speculated that augmentation of such signal(s) will cause a restriction of inhibitory input and activation of stimulatory input to GnRH secreting neurons at the time of puberty onset. Therefore, the unveiling of such signal(s) will greatly help in understanding the mechanism of puberty onset. Recently, it has been shown that expression of fibronectin type III domain containing-5 (FNDC5) mRNA in central and peripheral tissues upsurges during postnatal development, especially around the time of puberty onset. Moreover, the systemic level of irisin – one of the protein products of the FNDC5 gene that is secreted as myokine and adipokine – also rises during postnatal development and correlates with the timing of puberty onset. Therefore, we propose here that irisin might serve as a possible signal for linking body fat/muscle mass with the hypothalamic center governing reproductive function. We hypothesize that irisin acts as a trigger for the activation of the hypothalamic neuronal network monitoring the onset of puberty.

330 3次元搬送軌道を考慮した液体搬送システムのスロッシング抑制制御(アドバンスト制御理論応用I)(OS アドバンスト制御理論応用)

This paper is concerned with the advanced control of liquid container transfer, with special consideration given to the transfer on the three dimensional (3D) transfer path as well as the suppression of sloshing (liquid vibration) while maintaining a high speed of transfer for the container. The controller is designed by the hybrid shaped approach considering both time and frequency characteristics, in order to construct a high-speed transfer system for a liquid container which satisfies various control specifications such as the sloshing suppression, overshoot, settling time and restriction of control input's magnitude.

Compensation of differences in light absorption at the levels of photosynthetic primary processes, CO 2 uptake and growth of tobacco plants

Summary Photosynthesis and growth were studied in tobacco ( Nicotiana tabacum L.) plants exhibiting gradually reduced chlorophyll levels as a result of a glutamate 1-semialdehyde aminotransferase antisense transformation. Measurements of leaf pigmentation, spectral absorptance, chlorophyll fluorescence, CO 2 gas exchange, and leaf area growth were carried out on leaves with an equal state of leaf and plant ontogeny, i.e., the 8 th to 12 th leaf from the top of plants with a total of 22 to 26 leaves. The combination of different growth light intensities (300 and 30 μmol · m −2 · s −1 ) and of differences in chlorophyll accumulation resulted in photon absorption rates of the leaves differing by a factor of 31. As a result of the gradually reduced energy input, rates of electron transport, net CO 2 assimilation, and growth were lowered. However, the extent of this reduction varied between the hierarchic process levels: In relation to leaves of the experimental variant with the highest energy input, leaves with 10 % of the rates of photon absorption and electron transport reached 13 % of the assimilation rate and 53 % of the maximum leaf area growth rate. The data show that the electron transport rate was adjusted to a level slightly in excess of the energy demand of carbon assimilation, and the rate of net CO 2 uptake was in excess of the carbohydrate demand of leaf area growth. The effort of these excessive flows of energy and carbon is the increased stability of the system under conditions of varying resource availability. As a result of excessive flows, differences in energy input restriction are compensated to a certain extent at higher hierarchic levels in leaves. Regarding the whole plant, another compensating mechanism plays a role: The differences between the variants were further diminished, as plants growing under severe energy input limitation reached total leaf areas equal to those of control plants with a delay of 40 days.

Conservation concept for a river ecosystem (River Spree, Germany) impacted by flow abstraction in a large post-mining area

In the Lusatia region of northeastern Germany, dewatering for mining activities has resulted in an 8-km 3 deficit in the groundwater balance. In order to refill aquifers and empty lignite pits, water will be abstracted for several decades from the River Spree which drains this region. This affects the ecological integrity of a 230 km river section including the floodplain in several aspects. Ecological consequences are shown for fishes, the aquatic invertebrate fauna, the retention of suspended matter, and oxygen concentrations. Therefore, an ecologically based minimum discharge has to be instituted. Current concepts on the assessment of minimum flow requirements in streams are reviewed. A multiple compartment method (MCM) for the assessment of flow requirements in extended river sections is suggested. Using the MCM, it can be shown that the minimum discharge that is required to preserve the river ecosystem is largely influenced by ambient channel morphology and nutrient concentration. This means that the ecological impacts of water abstraction could be abated by measures of morphological restoration of the river as well as of nutrient input restriction. Also, instream minimum flow requirements would be reduced, so that more river water could be abstracted, and the restoration of the water balance in the post-mining area in Lusatia accelerated.

Differences in Innovator and Non-Innovator Profiles: Small Establishments in Business Services

This paper explores differences between innovative and non-innovative establishments in business service industries. It focuses on small establishments that supply core technical inputs to other firms: establishments in computer and related services, engineering, and other scientific and technical services. The analysis begins by examining the incidence of innovation within the small firm population. Forty percent of small businesses report introducing new or improved products, processes or organizational forms. Among these businesses, product innovation dominates over process or organizational change. A majority of these establishments reveal an ongoing commitment to innovation programs by introducing innovations on a regular basis. By contrast, businesses that do not introduce new or improved products, processes or organizational methods reveal little supporting evidence of innovation activity. The paper then investigates differences in strategic intensity between innovative and non-innovative businesses. Innovators attach greater importance to financial management and capital acquisition. Innovators also place more emphasis on recruiting skilled labour and on promoting incentive compensation. These distinctions are sensible - among small firms in R&D-intensive industries, financing and human resource competencies play a critical role in the innovation process. A final section examines whether the obstacles to innovation differ between innovators and non-innovators. Innovators are more likely to report difficulties related to market success, imitation, and skill restrictions. Evidence of learning-by-doing is more apparent within a multivariate framework. The probability of encountering risk-related obstacles and input restrictions is higher among establishments that engage in R&D and use intellectual property rights, both key elements of the innovation process. Many obstacles to innovation are also more apparent for businesses that stress financing, marketing, production or human resource strategies.

The effects of restricting afferent input during early ontogenesis on evoked activity of projection neurons depend on the maturity of the sensory inputs.

Experiments were performed on 28 Wistar rats, of which 14 were subjected to unilateral denervation of the forelimb (by dissection of the median nerve) on day 13 of postnatal ontogenesis. The effects of restriction of sensory input on baseline and evoked somatosensory cortex neuron activity in the areas corresponding to the representation of the intact fore- and hindlimbs were studied. According to the proximal-distal rule of maturation, the sensory input from the forelimbs was completely formed by the moment at which deafferentation was performed, while the sensory input from the hindlimbs was still incompletely mature. Opposite changes were found to occur in areas receiving more or less mature afferent inputs. In the projection zone of the less mature input (from the hindlimbs), neurons showed a lower frequency of baseline activity and stimulation of the sciatic nerve evoked significantly more activatory responses and an increase in the duration of short-latency activatory responses. In the projection zone of the more mature sensory input (from the forelimb), stimulation of the intact median nerve evoked significantly more inhibitory responses and fewer complex responses. Thus, normal formation of normal brain neuron activity requires an adequate sensory input.

Individual transferable vessel quotas and efficient restructuring of the primary harvesting sector

Over the last three decades most of the world's fisheries have been subject to management programs that have tried to limit the use of key fishing inputs. Inevitably, these restrictions have proven ineffective at preventing rent dissipation and stock depletion. More noteworthy is that fishers have subverted the intentions of these restrictions by adjusting the primary harvesting technology. This has led to an inefficient industrial structure characterized by capital stuffing on the part of each vessel, excess employment, an inefficient mix of vessels in the fleet, and too many vessels altogether. A promising means of encouraging more efficient primary harvesting is the individual transferable vessel quota that allocates a given catch to each vessel, thereby giving an incentive to catch the quota at least cost. This paper examines efficiency gains and potential industry restructuring from the introduction of an ITVQ into a fishery that was previously subject to input restrictions. Using data from the British Columbia salmon fishery, this paper estimates restricted cost functions for each of four different vessel types and simulates the operations of a market for ITVQs. The demand for quota comes from individual vessels and is found by differentiating the cost function with respect to the shadow price of quota. The market for quota is in equilibrium when the total demand for quota is equal to the fixed supply of quota set by the government. This implicitly defines the equilibrium quota rental price. Results show that the ITVQ could generate unit rental prices for quota between 31 and 93 cents per pound (18–53% of the average landed price). Using this simulated price, each vessel's cost‐minimizing strategy is defined and both low cost vessels (those that will buy quota) and high cost vessels (those that will sell quota and exit the fishery) are identified. Quota trades between the two groups result in efficiency gains. These include reduced capital stuffing, exit of less efficient vessel types, attainment of economies of scale, and an efficient composition of vessel types in the fleet. In aggregate these gains lead to an estimate of annual resource rent that is approximately equal to one third of the value of the catch.

Anticipating the Consequences of School Reform: A New Use of DEA

We use DEA-type linear programming techniques to simulate a basic component of educational reform-eliminating restrictions on the allocation of school personnel. Our technique allows us to identify potential output gains (or equivalently potential cost savings) from reform. We can also identify which personnel groups are likely to gain and lose under this reform. When we apply our model to a sample of Texas school districts, we find evidence that the educational establishment has substantial economic rents to protect from school reform, and that the primary beneficiaries of reform are likely to be affluent school districts with few minority students. The technique, which relies on the relationship between the direct and indirect distance functions, can be easily generalized to measure the potential gains from removing other input restrictions such as union work rules, environmental regulations, or deed restrictions.

The coding of head orientations in neurons of bilateral vestibular nuclei of cats after unilateral labyrinthectomy: response to off-vertical axis rotation.

In decerebrate cats that had been acutely hemilabyrinthectomized (HL), the extracellular activities of vestibular nuclear neurons on the lesioned and labyrinth-intact sides were studied during constant-velocity off-vertical axis rotations (OVAR) in the clockwise (CW) and counterclockwise (CCW) directions (at 10 degrees tilt). Over the range of 1.75-15 degrees/s, two types of neuronal responses were identified on both sides. Some neurons showed symmetric and velocity-stable bidirectional response sensitivity (delta defined as the CW gain over the CCW gain) while other neurons exhibited asymmetric and velocity-variable delta. The mathematically derived gain tuning ratios of these two groups of neurons were within the range of one-dimensional and two-dimensional neurons respectively. The best response orientations in one-dimensional neurons and the orientations of the maximum response vector, S(max), in two-dimensional neurons were found to point in all directions on the horizontal plane. On the labyrinth-intact side, both the one-dimensional and two-dimensional neurons showed asymmetry in the neuron numbers and/or the response gains between the two roll quadrants as well as between the two pitch quadrants. In addition, both the neuron number and gain were significantly higher for neurons in the head-down/ipsilateral-side-down half-circle than those in the head-up/contralateral-side-down half-circle. None of the aforementioned asymmetries was observed on the lesioned side. That a comparable pattern of distribution was observed in the one-dimensional and two-dimensional neurons suggests that these neurons maintain a common spatial reference frame in encoding head orientational signals arising from the ipsilateral and contralateral otoliths. Furthermore, a predominance of two-dimensional neurons that exhibited a greater gain with CW rotations was observed on both sides of HL cats. Of the response dynamics observed amongst neurons on the two sides of HL cats, no difference was found with regard to the response gain and the pattern of response lead. However, a difference in response lag was observed between neurons on the two sides of HL cats. These suggest that there is a segregation of otolithic signals to reach the ipsilateral and contralateral vestibular nuclei. Taken together, the present study demonstrates that one-dimensional and two-dimensional neuronal responses could be elicited with inputs arising solely from the ipsilateral or contralateral otoliths. The observed orientational tuning and the CW-CCW asymmetry to bidirectional rotation may provide the essential directional coding of head orientations. Further, the imbalance of spatial/dynamic response patterns between the bilateral vestibular nuclei following the restriction of otolith inputs by HL implies that converging otolithic inputs from the bilateral labyrinths are essential for producing the neuronal responses in control animals. The results are also discussed in terms of the possible contribution of the various neural asymmetries between neuronal subpopulations in the bilateral vestibular nuclei to the behavioral symptoms accompanying acute HL.

Restricted visual input reduces struggling in shackled broiler chickens

Violent struggling and wing flapping during shackling and inversion can seriously injure chickens and other poultry. Apart from harming the birds' well-being by eliciting chronic pain states and their associated deleterious effects, such injuries could also reduce productivity and product quality. Not only are birds shackled during pre-slaughter processing but growing broilers and laying hens are often suspended by the legs for examination by the farmer or a veterinarian. The present study tested the hypothesis that restriction of visual input by hooding immediately before shackling would promote the adoption of immobility in broiler chickens. The hood consisted of an unbleached cotton wash mitten which was secured round the bird's neck with a drawstring. Hooded broilers and their non-hooded controls were shackled in daylight (approximately 625 and 55 lux, respectively, inside and outside the hood) at the entrance to the poultry house when they were 29 days old in experiment 1 and at 45 days of age in experiment 2. By contrast, in experiment 3, birds were tested in a darkened room (2 and 0 lux, respectively, inside and outside the hood) at 42 days of age. All birds were tested individually and once only. The results of all three experiments clearly supported our hypothesis. Covering the broilers' heads with a hood before they were shackled substantially reduced the time spent struggling as well as the numbers of struggling bouts and vocalizations. Therefore, regardless of their age or of the ambient light intensity, we recommend that broiler chickens should be hooded before they are suspended from shackles for weighing or for veterinary examination.

Factor-Input Demand Subject to Economic and Environmental Risk: Nitrogen Fertilizer in Kansas Dryland Corn Production

The purpose of this article is twofold: (1) to develop a model to estimate the external costs arising from excess factor inputs; and (2) to examine how factor-input demand is affected when economic and environmental risks are simultaneously accounted for in a producer's decisionmaking process. Firm-level demand for nitrogen fertilizer in the production of dryland corn in northeast Kansas is used as an example. Many studies have evaluated the economics of fertilizer management, the economics of crop rotations to reduce commercial fertilizer use, and/or the costs of nutrient pollution (Ayer et al.; Jacobs and Casler; Jordan et al.; Lambert; Papendick, Elliot, and Power; SriRamaratnam et al.; Stoecker and Onken; Taylor and Frohberg; Walker and Hoehn; Williams et al.). Similarly, several studies have evaluated the tools (input restrictions, standards, taxes, and charges) often considered for mediating nonpoint source pollution (Homer; Jacobs and Casler; Lambert; Sharp and Bromley; Shortle and Dunn). Although several of these studies addressed the economic risk associated

Studies on the Shore-Fixed Air Chamber for Wave Power Generation. Pressure and Flow Direction Control for a Turbine with a Swaying Valve.

The air chamber system is a kind of method for transformation from wave energy to mechanical energy. In this system, wave energy operates periodically in the wave power generation plant. In order to improve this system, we propose a new technology with one-way flow and restriction of turbine input. The former is applicable to an impulse turbine, and the latter saves the excess power from the air chamber. In this system, the air duct has a bypath with a turbine. Pressure and flow direction are controlled with only one swing plate valve in the air duct. This paper describes both experimental results at a site of sea-side, and the analytical result of the plant performance.

The correlation between cortical neuron maturation and neurofilament phosphorylation: a developmental study of phosphorylated 200 kDa neurofilament protein in cat visual cortex

Neurofilament proteins are major constituents of the neuronal cytoskeleton. When phosphorylated, neurofilament proteins are thought to be involved in slowing down the slower component of axonal transport, thereby increasing neurofilament stability and conferring resistance to proteolysis. In order to investigate the correlation between phosphorylated neurofilament and plasticity of the cat visual cortex, we applied a monoclonal antibody, which recognizes only the phosphorylated form of neurofilament protein, to kitten visual cortex. This antibody appeared to recognizes only axons. There was a progressive increase of phosphorylated neurofilament-immunoreactive axons in the cortical layers and white matter during development. In the visual cortex of young kittens, phosphorylated neurofilament immunoreactive processes were mostly long, fine, and continuous axons. However, in kittens older than 2 months of age, phosphorylated neurofilament immunoreactivity was characterized by short, punctae-like staining. The immunoreactive axons were most dense in deep cortical layers V and VI initially, followed at later ages by layers IVa and IVb, and finally in layer IVc and in the superficial layers of adult animals. This developmental laminar pattern of distribution was not affected by early input restriction and coincides with electrophysiological evidence of early neuronal maturation. In addition, the phosphorylated neurofilament immunoreactivity can also be found in the dendrites and perikaya of degenerating neurons. These results suggest that phosphorylated neurofilament can be used as an index of functional maturity in the kitten visual cortex and also as a marker for neurodegeneration.

A non bit-exact approach for implementation verification of the CCITT LD-CELP speech coder

This paper presents the design methodology behind the floating point verification procedure for the Low-Delay Code-Excited Linear Prediction speech coder, recently selected by the CCITT as Recommendation G.728. This procedure is based on a non bit-exact specification, which is different from previous CCITT speech coder verification procedures. This approach gives additional freedom for the implementor of the algorithm, and will allow for more efficient implementations on various kinds of hardware. However, this flexibility also means that different implementations will respond slightly different to verification test signals. To cope with this, explicit objective measurements of such deviations are used in the verification process. These measurements are simple weighted and unweighted signal-to-noise ratios (WSNR and SNR). In addition to the objective measurements, certain restrictions had to be placed on the test sequence design. In spite of the input restrictions, a set of test sequences giving reasonably good coverage of the LD-CELP algorithm and state space has been found. Evaluation experiments are reported, showing that these sequences have a satisfactory error detecting capability. A final discussion concludes that the chosen verification approach is indeed feasible as an implementor s tool.

Trellis codes for partial-response magnetooptical direct overwrite recording

The authors present conditions on the error sequences between channel input sequences which guarantee certain lower bounds on the free Euclidian distance at the output of a partial-response (PR) class I or II channel. From these expressions, trellis codes are derived which improve performance of binary signaling over noisy PR channels with reduced complexity maximum-likelihood sequence detection. They are shown to be compatible with the input restriction caused by the magnetooptical resonant coil direct overwrite recording scheme. The codes achieve high signal-to-noise ratio coding gains of 3 dB (on PR class I) and 2.2 dB (on PR class II) with rates as close to, but strictly less than, the capacity of the initial input restriction as desired. The performance of these codes is analyzed with an optical channel simulation system which shows that one code has the rare but highly desirable property that its maximum-likelihood sequence detector (MLSD) is less complex than the MLSD of the reference system and still achieves an error rate performance gain of 1.8 dB. >