A longitudinal study of emoticon use in text messaging from smartphones

Our goal in the present study was to understand how emoticons are used in text messaging and, in particular, how genders differed in the frequency and variety of emoticons used via this medium. Previous research has found small and sundry differences in emotive expression online suggesting that technology has closed the gender gap. However, the data collected in these studies were public. In this study, we collected real portions of private communications data from individuals’ smartphones over a 6-month period. SMS messages, in general, were not used very much overall, with only 4% of all messages containing at least one emoticon. Still, differences between genders manifested in the amount and variety of emoticons used. Females sent more messages with emoticons; however, surprisingly, males used a more diverse range of emoticons.     

Soft syntactic constraints for Arabic–English hierarchical phrase-based translation

In adding syntax to statistical machine translation, there is a tradeoff between taking advantage of linguistic analysis and allowing the model to exploit parallel training data with no linguistic analysis: translation quality versus coverage. A number of previous efforts have tackled this tradeoff by starting with a commitment to linguistically motivated analyses and then finding appropriate ways to soften that commitment. We present an approach that explores the tradeoff from the other direction, starting with a translation model learned directly from aligned parallel text, and then adding soft constituent-level constraints based on parses of the source language. We argue that in order for these constraints to improve translation, they must be fine-grained: the constraints should vary by constituent type, and by the type of match or mismatch with the parse. We also use a different feature weight optimization technique, capable of handling large amount of features, thus eliminating the bottleneck of feature selection. We obtain substantial improvements in performance for translation from Arabic to English.     

The Problem of Measurement Model Misspecification in Behavioral and Organizational Research and Some Recommended Solutions.

The purpose of this study was to review the distinction between formative- and reflective-indicator measurement models, articulate a set of criteria for deciding whether measures are formative or reflective, illustrate some commonly researched constructs that have formative indicators, empirically test the effects of measurement model misspecification using a Monte Carlo simulation, and recommend new scale development procedures for latent constructs with formative indicators. Results of the Monte Carlo simulation indicated that measurement model misspecification can inflate unstandardized structural parameter estimates by as much as 400% or deflate them by as much as 80% and lead to Type I or Type II errors of inference, depending on whether the exogenous or the endogenous latent construct is misspecified. Implications of this research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Thiobacillus denitrificans immobilized biotrickling filter for NO2 removal

Nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) removal efficiency of a biotrikling filter was evaluated under different operating conditions. Activated alumina (AA) was used as the immobilization matrix for Thiobacillus denitrificans (T. denitrificans) in the biotrickling filter. Batch studies were conducted to find out the degradation kinetics of nitrate and nitrite for a concentration range of 600–10,000 mg/L expressed as nitrogen. Nitrite exhibited maximum degradation rate followed by nitrate. Electron acceptor in the form of NO₂ gas showed least removal efficiency. Bio-kinetic parameters for T. denitrificans, by utilizing nitrate and nitrite as electron acceptors, were also evaluated. The μ_max (Maximum specific growth rate) and Y_T (Yield coefficient) values for T. denitrificans in the presence of nitrate and nitrite were 1.03 h⁻¹, 0.275 and 0.63 h⁻¹, 0.1316 respectively. Column study was conducted to find the adsorption and desorption potential of activated alumina. The adsorbed NO₂ from AA could easily be desorbed using distilled water with an efficiency of 76±0.8%. Once fed batch studies were conducted to evaluate the NO₂ removal efficiency by a biotrickling filter. With an influent NO₂ gas concentration of 2,735 ppm, the reactor could achieve a removal efficiency of 99% within 2 min from gas phase and within 96 h from the liquid phase, with an average biomass concentration of 200 mg/g of AA. The mechanism of NO₂ gas removal in the biotrickling filter seems to be the dissolution of NO₂ in water to form NO₃⁻, conversion of NO₃⁻ to NO₂ ⁻, and finally to N₂ gas.     

Bistable C1 ferroelectric liquid crystal device for e-paper application

Recent progress in both low pretilt and high pretilt defect-free C1 surface stabilized ferroelectric liquid crystal (SSFLC) devices for e-paper application is reviewed. First, by using numerical calculation to investigate the balance between surface azimuthal anchoring energy and bulk elastic energy within the confined chevron layer geometry of C1 and C2, we found it is possible to achieve a zigzag-free C1 state by low azimuthal anchoring alignment with a low pretilt angle. The critical azimuthal anchoring coefficient for defect-free C1 state is calculated. Its relationship with elastic constants, chevron angle, and surface topography effect are also discussed. Second, by using 5° oblique SiO deposition alignment, a defect-free, large memory angle, high contrast ratio, and bistable C1 SSFLC display, which has potential for electronic paper applications has also been developed. The electro-optical properties and bistability of this device have been investigated. Various aspects of defect control are also discussed.     

Image-based Relighting, and Computer Vision

Image‐based techniques have become very popular over the past couple of years. Ranging from modeling to rendering and lighting, the use of images as direct input for graphics algorithms has become as important as processing polygons or other forms of data. This talk will focus on some of the challenges posed by Image‐based relighting. Starting from a set of photographs of an object under various illumination conditions, Image‐based relighting computes novel renderings of the objects. Also, the inverse problem stated as ``What is the required lighting configuration to reach a desired illumination on the object?'' will be discussed, as well as some thoughts on how results from computer vision can be used to accelerate the process.     

Electron-Impact Cross Sections for Ground State to np Excitations of Sodium and Potassium

Cross sections for electron impact excitation of atoms are important for modeling of low temperature plasmas and gases. While there are many experimental and theoretical results for excitation to the first excited states, little information is available for excitation to higher states. We present here calculations of excitations from the ground state to the np levels of sodium (n = 3 through 11) and potassium (n = 4 through 12). We also present a calculation for a transition from the excited sodium level 3p to 3d to show the generality of the method. Scaling formulas developed earlier by Kim [Phys. Rev. A 64, 032713 (2001)] for plane-wave Born cross sections are used. These formulas have been shown to be remarkably accurate yet simple to use. We have used a core polarization potential in a Dirac-Fock wave function code to calculate target atom wave functions and a matching form of the dipole transition operator to calculate oscillator strengths and Born cross sections. The scaled Born results here for excitation to the first excited levels are in very good agreement with experimental and other theoretical data, and the results for excitation to the next few levels are in satisfactory agreement with the limited data available. The present results for excitation to the higher levels are believed to be the only data available.     

Marine Wastewater Discharges from Multiport Diffusers. II: Unstratified Flowing Water

Laboratory experiments on the near-field mixing of buoyant plumes discharged from multiport diffusers into unstratified flowing water are reported. The spatial variation of dilution was measured by a newly developed three-dimensional laser-induced fluorescence system and a microconductivity probe. The near-field hydrodynamics are complex. The plumes discharged upstream dilute and merge more rapidly than those discharged downstream. Even with wide port spacing, the plumes eventually merge to form a laterally uniform surface wastefield. The density profile in this wastefield becomes gravitationally stable and suppresses mixing, marking the end of the near field. The value of the port spacing ratio, s/H, below which the discharge approximates a line plume is greater for discharge into a flowing current than into a stationary environment, so the port spacing plays a lesser role in a flowing current. The mixing and dilution that occurs in the surface layer is less than for a discharge into a stationary environment, and it decreases as the current speed increases. Semiempirical equations to predict the major near field characteristics are presented.     

Intramaze and Extramaze Cue Processing in Adult APPSWE Tg2576 Transgenic Mice.

The present study examined spatial and nonspatial learning in adult Tg2576 mice. Transgenic mice were impaired in acquisition of a T-maze forced-choice alternation task. However, mutant mice were as sensitive as control mice to the introduction of retention intervals and proactive interference, and this suggested that short-term memory processes were intact in Tg2576 mice. Probe trials revealed that the Tg2576 mice did not use an allocentric strategy to navigate to the goal arm. However, mutant mice acquired an intramaze brightness discrimination, a simple room discrimination, and a contextual biconditional left-right discrimination in a T maze. Results suggest that Tg2576 mice are able to process both intramaze and extramaze stimuli but are impaired in forming an allocentric representation of their environment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Attentional Dynamics of Masked Detection.

A dichoptic masking procedure was used to test whether the mask-dependent cuing effects found in luminance detection by P. L. Smith (2000a) were due to integration masking or interruption masking. Attentional cuing enhanced detection sensitivity (d') when stimuli were backwardly masked with either dichoptic or monoptic masks, whereas no cuing effect was found with unmasked stimuli, implying the mask dependencies were due to interruption of stimulus processing in visual cortex by the mask. The effect is predicted by a gated diffusion process model in which masks interrupt stimulus processing and attention controls the flow of information to a sequential-sampling decision mechanism. The model correctly predicts different patterns of performance for detection and discrimination and cuing effects in simple reaction time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)