Evaluation of passive microwave snow water equivalent algorithms in the depth hoar-dominated snowpack of the Kuparuk River Watershed, Alaska, USA

This research investigates the utility of passive microwave remote sensing instruments to accurately determine snow water equivalent (SWE) over large spatial extents. Three existing Special Sensor Microwave Imager (SSM/I) snow water equivalent algorithms produced by Chang, Tait and Goodison were evaluated for their ability to determine snow water equivalent in a snowpack containing substantial depth hoar, large faceted snow crystals. The Kuparuk River Watershed (8140 km²) test site on the North Slope of Alaska was chosen for its snowpack containing a think depth hoar layer and long history of ground truth data. A new regional snow water equivalent algorithm was developed to determine if it could produce better results than the existing algorithms in an area known to contain significant depth hoar. The four algorithms were tested to see how well they could determine snow water equivalent: (1) on a per pixel basis, (2) across swath-averaged spatial bands of approximately 850 km², and (3) on a watershed scale. The algorithms were evaluated to see if they captured the annual spatial distribution in snow water equivalent over the watershed. Results show that the algorithms developed by Chang and from this research are generally within 3 cm of the spatially averaged snow water equivalents over the entire watershed. The algorithms produced by Chang, Tait, and in this research were able to predict the basin-wide ground measured snow water equivalent value within a percent error range from −32.4% to 24.4% in the years with a typical snowpack. None of the algorithms produce accurate results on a pixel-by-pixel scale, with errors ranging from −26% to 308%.     

Bodies, antibodies, and neighborhood-density effects in masked form priming.

Facilitatory priming effects due to similarity of orthographic form are obtained for high-N target words provided that they have low-frequency bodies and the body is shared between the prime and target (e.g., perd-HERD). Conversely, it is shown that low-N target words show priming regardless of the frequency of the body, provided that the prime and target do not share the same body (e.g., drice-DRIVE). If the body is shared, then priming occurs only for targets with low-frequency bodies. These results suggest that neighborhood density should be defined in terms of both individual letter units and subsyllabic units and that both types of density jointly determine priming. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Efficient generation of a reshaped human mAb specific for the {alpha} toxin of Clostridium perfringens

We have used the technique of antibody reshaping to producea humanized antibody specific for the a toxin of Clostridiumperfringens. The starting antibody was from a mouse hybridomafrom which variable (V) region nucleo-tide sequences were determined.The complementarity-determining regions (CDRs) from these Vregions were then inserted into human heavy and light chainV region genes with human constant region gene fragments subsequentlyadded. The insertion of CDRs alone into human frameworks didnot produce a functional reshaped antibody and modificationsto the V region framework were required. With minor frameworkmodifications, the affinity of the original murine mAb was restoredand even exceeded. Where affinity was increased, an alteredbinding profile to overlapping peptides was observed. Computermodelling of the reshaped heavy chain V regions suggested thatamino acids adjacent to CDRs can either contribute to, or distort,CDR loop conformation and must be adjusted to achieve high bindingaffinity.     

Computational modeling and elementary process analysis in visual word recognition.

An attempt is made to isolate the assumptions that make a connectionist approach to visual word recognition distinctive. These include the commitment to distributed representations, the claim that there is no distinction between lexical and nonlexical systems in the naming task, and the claim that it is possible to map from orthography to meaning without using localized representations. It is argued that merely demonstrating that a network model can perform these tasks is not sufficient and that a detailed theory of how the network performs its tasks must accompany the simulation, because a simulation is not equivalent to an explanation. It is argued that further progress requires detailed modeling and experimental study of the elementary processes assumed to be involved in networks and that it is premature to dismiss alternative models of lexical access such as serial search models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preventing weight gain in adults: A pound of prevention.

Evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of a program for weight gain prevention (WGP) in normal adults. 219 Ss were randomized to either WGP treatment or no treatment for 12 mo. The treatment group received monthly newsletters relating to weight management, participated in a financial incentive system, and were offered an optional 4-session education course in the 6th mo of the program. Results demonstrate high interest in WGP among Ss who were not objectively overweight. Participation, as measured by return of postcards sent with each newsletter, was approximately 75%. Results after 1 yr show a net weight loss of 1.8 lb in the group receiving the program compared with controls. 82% of participants maintained or lost weight, compared with 56% of controls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Forty-Five Years After Broadbent (1958): Still No Identification Without Attention.

According to D. E. Broadbent's (1958) selective filter theory, people do not process unattended stimuli beyond the analysis of basic physical properties. This theory was later rejected on the basis of numerous findings that people identify irrelevant (and supposedly unattended) stimuli. A careful review of this evidence, however, reveals strong reasons to doubt that these irrelevant stimuli were in fact unattended. This review exposed a clear need for new experiments with tight control over the locus of attention. The authors present 5 such experiments using a priming paradigm. When steps were taken to ensure that irrelevant stimuli were not attended, these stimuli produced no priming effects. Hence, the authors found no evidence that unattended stimuli can be identified. The results support a modern version of Broadbent's selective theory, updated to reflect recent research advances. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Business process management with the user requirements notation

A number of recent initiatives in both academia and industry have sought to achieve improvements in e-businesses through the utilization of Business Process Management (BPM) methodologies and tools. However there are still some inadequacies that need to be addressed when it comes to achieving alignment between business goals and business processes. The User Requirements Notation (URN), recently standardized by ITU-T, has some unique features and capabilities beyond what is available in other notations that can help address alignment issues. In this paper, a URN-based framework and its supporting toolset are introduced which provide business process monitoring and performance management capabilities integrated across the BPM lifecycle. The framework extends the URN notation with Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and other concepts to measure and align processes and goals. An example process for controlling access to a healthcare data warehouse is used to illustrate and evaluate the framework. Early results indicate the feasibility of the approach.     

Fabrication and Optical Properties of Periodic Ag Nano‐Pore and Nano‐Particle Arrays with Controlled Shape and Size over Macroscopic Length Scales

A facile and economical route to preparation of highly ordered sliver pore or particle arrays with controlled pore‐shape and size extended over cm² areas is described. The substrates are prepared at planar and curved surfaces via sphere‐imprinted polymer (PDMS) templating using polystyrene spheres with diameters of 820, 600, or 430 nm. Nano‐pore arrays are created by sputtering 80 nm of Ag directly onto the templates and nano‐particle arrays are prepared by electrode‐less deposition of Ag from Tollen's reagent. The shape of the nano‐pore or particles in the array conformed to that of the imprint of the sphere on the template. Stretching the flexible template enable creation of cuboid shaped nano‐voids and nano‐particles following Ag deposition. Diffuse reflectance from the spherical Ag nano‐cavity arrays showed absorbance maxima at wavelengths comparable similar to the diameter of the templating sphere, whereas reflectance from the cuboid arrays, showed little correlation with the sphere diameter. The cuboid nano‐particle arrays showed the most intense visible absorption which is red‐shifted compared to the spherical arrays. White light diffraction from the arrays, observed by rotating 1 cm² substrates relative to a fixed light source, reflected exactly the symmetry axes of the periodic nano‐features in the arrays demonstrating the remarkable macroscopic order of the periodic structures. Raman spectra of 1‐benzenethiol adsorbed at the arrays indicated SERS enhancements from the substrates are attributed mainly to surface nano‐roughness with only moderate contributions from the periodically corrugated structures. Despite excitation at the major resonance dip in the reflectance spectrum, a weak, localized rim dipole mode is found to elicit a small increase in the SERS enhancement factor for the 430 nm diameter spherical arrays. FDTD studies of nano‐void arrays provided insights into v arious factors affecting the SERS experiment and confirmed the array's plasmonic spectra are dominated by propagating plasmon modes under microscope excitation/collection angles.     

Semi-automated CT segmentation using optic flow and Fourier interpolation techniques

In radiotherapy treatment planning, tumor volumes and anatomical structures are manually contoured for dose calculation, which takes time for clinicians. This study examines the use of semi-automated segmentation of CT images. A few high curvature points are manually drawn on a CT slice. Then Fourier interpolation is used to complete the contour. Consequently, optical flow, a deformable image registration method, is used to map the original contour to other slices. This technique has been applied successfully to contour anatomical structures and tumors. The maximum difference between the mapped contours and manually drawn contours was 6 pixels, which is similar in magnitude to difference one would see in manually drawn contours by different clinicians. The technique fails when the region to contour is topologically different between two slices. A solution is recommended to manually delineate contours on a sparse subset of slices and then map in both directions to fill the remaining slices.     

Orthographic Structure Versus Morphological Structure: Principles of Lexical Organization in a Given Language.

Most models of visual word recognition in alphabetic orthographies assume that words are lexically organized according to orthographic similarity. Support for this is provided by form-priming experiments that demonstrate robust facilitation when primes and targets share similar sequences of letters. The authors examined form-orthographic priming effects in Hebrew, Arabic, and English. Hebrew and Arabic have an alphabetic writing system but a Semitic morphological structure. Hebrew morphemic units are composed of noncontiguous phonemic (and letter) sequences in a given word. Results demonstrate that form-priming effects in Hebrew or Arabic are unreliable, whereas morphological priming effects with minimal letter overlap are robust. Hebrew bilingual subjects, by contrast, showed robust form-priming effects with English material, suggesting that Semitic words are lexically organized by morphological rather than orthographic principles. The authors conclude that morphology can constrain lexical organization even in alphabetic orthographies and that visual processing of words is first determined by morphological characteristics. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)