Intensity Projection Research Articles

The Canada-European Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement and the Mining Sector: Key Issues and Opportunities

The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between Canada and the EU has the potential to be a generational 'game changer'. This potential is particularly robust for the mining sector. CETA will reduce tariffs on all mining commodities to zero, allow greater trans-Atlantic labour mobility, and access to capital and investments critical to capital intensive mining projects. Changes will not be immediate; however if CETA fulfils its potential, the benefits for Canadian and European mining companies could be considerable. While technical aspects of CETA continue to be negotiated and finalized, this article highlights publically available information at the time of writing on CETA's chapters on goods, services, investment, and the environment and how they apply to the mining sector.

Game design for bioinformatics and cyberinfrastructure learning: a parallel computing case study

SUMMARYAs a growing number of serious games have been developed for biology and computer science learning, few address the communication and technical challenges that arise in cyberinfrastructure (CI) intensive projects, where multiple‐domain scientists collaborate. This paper describes empirical data collected during a year‐long human‐centered game design process, in which design ideas generated by high‐school students were bridged with bioinformatics and parallel computing learning concepts. Our research shows that ‘fun’ and engaging game elements are actually well suited for addressing the sociotechnical aspects of CI projects. We provide a human‐centered game design methodology, as well as a case study, in which this methodology is applied to the design of parallel computing‐focused mini‐games. This research has implications for integrating large‐scale computing concepts such as shared resources and services into gaming experiences. It also has implications for supporting learning through enjoyable and fun experiences as part of a larger CI collaborative environment. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Models, Metaphors and Symbols for Information and Knowledge Systems

A literature search indicates that Data, Information and Knowledge continue to be placed into a hierarchical construct where it is considered that information is more valuable than data and that information can be processed into becoming precious knowledge. Wisdom continues to be added to the model to further confuse the issue. This model constrains our ability to think more logically about how and why we develop knowledge management systems to support and enhance knowledge- intensive processes, tasks or projects. This paper seeks to summarise development of the Data-Information-Knowledge-Wisdom hierarchy, explore the extensive criticism of it and present a more logical (and accurate) construct for the elements of intellectual capital when developing and managing Knowledge Management Systems.

A Future Projection of Turkey's Energy Intensity

Energy intensity is the main indicator which is used as a good measure of the energy efficiency of the economy. This study aims at obtaining numerical equations to estimate Turkey's energy intensity (EI) based on basic energy indicators by using an artificial neural network (ANN). For this purpose, main energy indicators such as total production of primary energy and total gross electricity generation were used to train the ANN approach. The EI was used in the output layer. The R 2 value of EI and average deviation were found to be 0.9998 and 0.0037%, respectively.

Radiation protection, radiation safety and radiation shielding assessment of HIE-ISOLDE

The high intensity and energy ISOLDE (HIE-ISOLDE) project is an upgrade to the existing ISOLDE facility at CERN. The foreseen increase in the nominal intensity and the energy of the primary proton beam of the existing ISOLDE facility aims at increasing the intensity of the produced radioactive ion beams (RIBs). The currently existing ISOLDE facility uses the proton beam from the proton-synchrotron booster with an energy of 1.4 GeV and an intensity up to 2 μA. After upgrade (final stage), the HIE-ISOLDE facility is supposed to run at an energy up to 2 GeV and an intensity up to 4 μA. The foreseen upgrade imposes constrains, from the radiation protection and the radiation safety point of view, to the existing experimental and supply areas. Taking into account the upgraded energy and intensity of the primary proton beam, a new assessment of the radiation protection and radiation safety of the HIE-ISOLDE facility is necessary. Special attention must be devoted to the shielding assessment of the beam dumps and of the experimental areas. In this work the state-of-the-art Monte Carlo particle transport simulation program FLUKA was used to perform the computation of the ambient dose equivalent rate distribution and of the particle fluxes in the projected HIE-ISOLDE facility (taking into account the upgrade nominal primary proton beam energy and intensity) and the shielding assessment of the facility, with the aim of identifying in the existing facility (ISOLDE) the critical areas and locations where new or reinforced shielding may be necessary. The consequences of the upgraded proton beam parameters on the operational radiation protection of the facility were studied.

In‐situ CO2 monitoring network evaluation and design: A criterion based on atmospheric CO2 variability

Estimates of surface fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO2) can be derived from atmospheric CO2 concentration measurements through the solution of an inverse problem, but the sparseness of the existing CO2 monitoring network is often cited as a main limiting factor in constraining fluxes. Existing methods for assessing or designing monitoring networks either primarily rely on expert knowledge, or are sensitive to the large number of modeling choices and assumptions inherent to the solution of inverse problems. This study proposes a monitoring network evaluation and design approach based on the quantification of the spatial variability in modeled atmospheric CO2. The approach is used to evaluate the 2004–2008 North American network expansion and to create two hypothetical further expansions. The less stringent expansion guarantees a monitoring tower within one correlation length (CL) of each location (1 CL), requiring an additional eight towers relative to 2008. The more stringent network includes a tower within one half of a CL (½ CL) and requires 35 towers beyond the 1 CL network. The two proposed networks are evaluated against the network in 2008, which temporarily had the most continuous monitoring sites in North America thanks to the Mid‐Continent Intensive project. Evaluation using a synthetic data inversion shows a marked improvement in the ability to constrain both continental‐ and biome‐scale fluxes, especially in areas that are currently under‐sampled. The proposed approach is flexible, computationally inexpensive, and provides a quantitative design tool that can be used in concert with existing tools to inform atmospheric monitoring needs.

ASSESSING THE WELFARE EFFECTS OF PROMOTING BIOMASS GROWTH AND THE USE OF BIOENERGY

Using a growth model that accounts for environmental and climate externalities, we take a closer look at the welfare effects of promoting biomass growth and the use of bioenergy, and especially the role of carbon neutrality. As an illustration, a hypothetical intensive forest cultivation project is simulated. Costs and benefits of the project show that only determining the postive effects of promoting biomass growth and the use of bioenergy, such as substitution away from fossil fuels and carbon sequestration is not sufficient. But more importantly, to achieve a balanced measure of the effects on the climate, we must also incorporate all carbon emissions that are associated with bioenergy. Not doing so will over-estimate the positive climate effects of increasing the use of bioenergy.

The Internal/External Issue: What is an Outer Object? Another Person as Object and as Separate Other in Object Relations Models

The question of what we mean by the term outer object has its roots in the epistemological foundation of psychoanalysis. From the very beginning, Freud's view was Kantian, and psychoanalysis has kept that stance, as it seems. The author reviews the internal/external issue in Freud's thinking and in the central object relations theories (Klein, Winnicott, and Bion). On this background he proposes a simple model to differentiate the concept of object along one central dimension: internal object, external object, and actual person. The main arguments are: (1) there is no direct, unmediated perception of the actual person--the experience of the other is always affected by the perceiver's subjectivity; (2) in intense transference reactions and projections, the perception of the person is dominated by the qualities of an inner object--and the other person "becomes" an external object for the perceiver; (3) when this distortion is less dominating, the other person to a higher degree remains a separate other--a person in his or her own right. Clinical material illustrates these phenomena, and a graphical picture of the model is presented. Finally with the model as background, the author comments on a selection of phenomena and concepts such as unobjectionable transference, "the third position," mourning and loneliness. The way that the internal colours and distorts the external is of course a central preoccupation of psychoanalysis generally. (Spillius et al., 2011, p. 326)

Implementing a component approach to productivity measurement in a large public service organisation

Productivity measurement efforts in the public sector are complicated by two fundamental issues: 1) the role of qualitative factors in service provision; 2) the underdevelopment of measurement culture. This paper describes and implements a new approach for measuring productivity of large public service organisations. The qualitative multiple case study utilises data obtained through interviews and action research studies. It presents the main experiences from a large and intense research and development project carried out in the City of Helsinki, Finland during 2007 to 2010. The contribution of the paper relates to two issues. First, it presents a new measurement approach. The main idea is to first develop appropriate component measures for the operative level, after which the results can be aggregated for the purposes of decision-making at upper organisational levels. Second, the study illustrates factors that facilitated the success of implementing a new measurement and management control system.

Identification of geometrical properties of red blood cells from light scattering images using SVD

In this paper an automatic identification method of geometrical properties of Red Blood Cells (RBCs) using light scattering images, is presented. A small number of features are estimated by the pixels’ intensity projection into an RBC-space. The basis of the RBC-space is derived using the singular vectors of a set of known RBCs. The nearest neighbor rule is used to classify any image projection to the known RBC coordinates. Since, the dimension ability of the RBC-space is significantly lower than the whole scattering image-space, it is easier to compare projections than original images. Considering the above idea, a Singular Value Decomposition (SVD) approach is implemented in this work. The database includes 1188 simulated scattering images, obtained by means of the Boundary Element Method (BEM). The identification accuracy of the actual RBC shape is estimated using three feature sets in the presence of additive white Gaussian noise from 60 to 10 dB SNR, giving a mean error rate less than 1 percent of the actual RBC shape. Moreover, an open-class classification problem was solved using RBC scattering images with new shapes and landscape images.

Learning, rehabilitation and the arts in prisons: a Scottish case study

This article investigates the role of the arts in enabling prisoners to engage with learning and improve their literacy, and the impact this has on their rehabilitation and desistance from crime. It draws on data collected from prisoners who participated in arts interventions in three different Scottish prisons. It argues that participating in the arts projects built an active learning culture and encouraged the improvement of verbal and written literacy skills through the use of positive pedagogical approaches. In addition participants learned to work together more effectively, developed self-confidence and were more trusting and supportive because they were working together on intensive projects that they had co-devised. For many prisoners participation in the arts projects constructively challenged and disrupted the negative identities that they had internalised. Their public successes in performances before audiences of significant others opened up new personal and social identities (as artists or performers) that helped them to begin to envision an alternative self that in turn motivated them towards future desistance from crime.

Extended Prediction of North Indian Ocean Tropical Cyclones

Abstract This analysis examines the predictability of several key forecasting parameters using the ECMWF Variable Ensemble Prediction System (VarEPS) for tropical cyclones (TCs) in the North Indian Ocean (NIO) including tropical cyclone genesis, pregenesis and postgenesis track and intensity projections, and regional outlooks of tropical cyclone activity for the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. Based on the evaluation period from 2007 to 2010, the VarEPS TC genesis forecasts demonstrate low false-alarm rates and moderate to high probabilities of detection for lead times of 1–7 days. In addition, VarEPS pregenesis track forecasts on average perform better than VarEPS postgenesis forecasts through 120 h and feature a total track error growth of 41 n mi day−1. VarEPS provides superior postgenesis track forecasts for lead times greater than 12 h compared to other models, including the Met Office global model (UKMET), the Navy Operational Global Atmospheric Prediction System (NOGAPS), and the Global Forecasting System (GFS), and slightly lower track errors than the Joint Typhoon Warning Center. This paper concludes with a discussion of how VarEPS can provide much of this extended predictability within a probabilistic framework for the region.

Isolated Celiac and Superior Mesenteric Artery Dissection Identified With MDCT

Isolated celiac or superior mesenteric artery (SMA) dissection is a rare entity in the absence of aortic dissection. Our objective was to detail imaging and clinical course of celiac and or SMA dissections. We conducted a retrospective search from 2004 to 2010 using "celiac and/or SMA dissection" keywords. Analysis of medical record and imaging at diagnosis and follow-up was performed. Dissections for any reason without aortic dissection were included. Twenty-four celiac and 18 SMA dissections were detected in 38 patients. One third of the dissections diagnosed with interactive multiplanar reconstruction/maximum intensity projection (MIP)/3-dimensional (3D) rendering were missed on standard imaging planes. No patients had bowel ischemia or died. Eighty-four percent of the patients were observed, 2 patients received anticoagulation, 2 patients received surgical repair, and 3 patients received stenting. Twenty-three of 25 cases treated with observation exhibited no change or improvement/resolution (2/25) with 20.9-month mean follow-up. Most isolated celiac and SMA dissections were asymptomatic/incidental, supporting observation and surveillance with intervention reserved for vascular compromise. Interactive multiplanar reconstruction/maximum intensity projection/3D rendering can increase diagnostic sensitivity.

Reannotation of the genome sequence of Clostridium difficile strain 630

A regular update of genome annotations is a prerequisite step to help maintain the accuracy and relevance of the information they contain. Five years after the first publication of the complete genome sequence of Clostridium difficile strain 630, we manually reannotated each of the coding sequences (CDSs), using a high-level annotation platform. The functions of more than 500 genes annotated previously with putative functions were reannotated based on updated sequence similarities to proteins whose functions have been recently identified by experimental data from the literature. We also modified 222 CDS starts, detected 127 new CDSs and added the enzyme commission numbers, which were not supplied in the original annotation. In addition, an intensive project was undertaken to standardize the names of genes and gene products and thus harmonize as much as possible with the HAMAP project. The reannotation is stored in a relational database that will be available on the MicroScope web-based platform (https://www.genoscope.cns.fr/agc/microscope/mage/viewer.php?S_id=752&wwwpkgdb=a78e3466ad5db29aa8fe49e8812de8a7). The original submission stored in the (International Nucleotide Sequence Database Collaboration) INSDC nucleotide sequence databases was also updated.

EARLY NAVAJO ARCHAEOLOGY ON MCKEAN MESA, DENÉTAH

The early-eighteenth-century Navajo occupation of Dinétah in northwestern New Mexico has been the subject of research for almost one hundred years. Dinétah Navajos built a plethora of structure types, including forked-pole hogans, sweat-lodges, and masonry pueblitos. Using data from an intensive survey and tree-ring sampling project around McKean Pueblito and data from other block surveys, this research expands on the efforts to delineate aspects of Early Navajo social organization in a small portion of Dinétah.

A Monetary Explanation for the Recession of 1797

This paper presents a monetary explanation the US recession of 1797. Credit expansion initiated by Bank of the United States in the early 1790s unleashed a bout of inflation and low real interest rates which spurred a speculative investment bubble in real estate and capital intensive manufacturing and infrastructure projects. A correction occurred as domestic inflation created a disparity in international prices that led to a reduction in net exports. Specie flowed out of the country, prices began to fall, and real interest rates spiked. In the ensuing credit crunch businesses reliant upon rolling over short term debt were rendered unsustainable. The general economic downturn which ensued throughout 1797 and 1798 involved declines in the price level and nominal GDP, the bursting of the real estate bubble, and a cluster of personal bankruptcies and business failures. We detail the scope of the credit expansion, price level movements, fluctuations in interest rates, and the investment errors that these conditions spawned in several sectors of the economy.

3D chrominance histogram based face localisation

The paper describes face detection and face features localisation. We use YCbCr colour model because of chrominance components separation. The model is compatible with the video-broadcasting applications and videophone technology. First, we create a colour model for skin colour segmentation, and in the next part, we apply the created model to skin colour detection. Our approach is composed of pixel classification based on chrominance components and mathematical morphology. The utilisation of 3D histogram for chrominance components, instead of separated chrominance components, upgrades algorithm efficiency. In the face regions, we apply intensity and gradient projections to localise the face features.

P64 Course and variation of the intercostal artery by computed tomography

BackgroundThe intercostal artery is thought to be shielded in the groove of the superior rib; however, the course and variability of the intercostal artery, and factors which may influence these,...

Therapieziele und ihre Realisierung in einer intensiven Therapiephase nach dem Bobath-Konzept

BACKGROUND: Therapy of children with congenital or acquired CNS lesions poses a major area of paediatric physiotherapy. The diversity of possible diagnoses and manifestations in paediatric neurology cause practical as well as methodological problems with standardised outcome measurement. OBJECTIVE: In a pilot study a combination of outcome measurements were to be tested to portray changes after an intervention based on individual therapy goals. In terms of a preliminary exploration the authors examined the question to what extent even severely and multiply impaired children with heterogeneous appearances could be included in therapy evaluation studies by combining assessment tools. METHODS: Within the scope of 2 intensive therapy projects during post-graduate professional training 2 separate groups of 11 children and adolescents suffering from cerebral palsy and other neurological dysfunctions received therapeutic intervention according to the Bobath approach based on their activities of daily living and individual objectives. The CANADIAN OCCUPATIONAL PERFORMANCE MEASURE (COPM) and the GOAL ATTAINMENT SCALING (GAS) were used to determine and evaluate individual goal setting and completed by goal-oriented video recordings and open interviews. RESULTS: After the intervention in the majority of cases using the applied measurements individually relevant changes were clearly measurable. CONCLUSIONS: COPM and GAS covered different aspects and only the combination of the 2 measurements was able to show therapy effects on different ICF levels. Therefore a trial on therapeutic intervention in paediatric neurology seems to call for the combination of these measures. An intensive practical training is recommended. Further development of the goal-oriented video rating as complementary method seems promising.

CHANGES IN LIVESTOCK PROJECTS ON THE BASIS OF ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT SCREENING

Growing pressures to increase animal production challenge the agricultural sector to identify technologies and solutions that will make livestock production environmentally sound. One mechanism which may assist the sector in meeting this challenge is Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). On the basis of an evaluation of EIA screenings of Danish livestock, this article presents and discusses how EIA responds to the environmental challenge of intensive livestock projects. The analysis and discussion focus on the changes introduced in livestock projects as a result of the EIA screening process. Screening is normally used for deciding whether or not a project proposal requires an EIA. The article shows how screening also functions as a tool for changing livestock projects, thus being a regulatory instrument in its own right. The analysis of livestock EIA screenings shows that changes are initiated through a wide range of measures mitigating the environmental impacts of particular livestock projects. Fodder optimisation, cover crops, reduced animal pressure, change of crop rotation, repositioning of risk areas and changed design of animal houses are frequently applied measures. As a conclusion, EIA is identified as an important supplement to other regulatory instruments aiming at balancing the benefits and environmental costs of livestock production. However, the article also concludes that the systematic inspection of livestock projects needs to be improved in order to secure that the changes introduced through screening are also robust in character.