A performance index for semicoherent structures

The index introduced here provides a normalized measure of the effectiveness of any semicoherent structure. We study the mathematical properties of the index and derive different axiomatic characterizations for it. Moreover, close relationships are shown to reliability functions and also to the Birnbaum structural importance measure—for which twice the performance index plays the role of potential function—that give rise to computational procedures. Some numerical examples illustrate the application of the index.     

Simulation-based designs for multiperiod control

In multiperiod control one sequentially chooses the value of an input variable to keep an output variable close to a target value. At any stage the input variable has to be such that the output is close to target while at the same time it provides as much information as possible about the model that relates input and output, to help keep the output close to target in the future. Certainty equivalence policies set the input variable at the value under which the output is estimated to be equal to target. Three alternative approaches that improve on certainty equivalence by searching for the best policy among families of policies that embed them are proposed, and their use is exemplified both on static as well as on time-varying dynamic models. Two approaches observe on credible regions for the root, while the third one is an adaptation of stochastic approximation sequences.     

Probability matching involves rule-generating ability: A neuropsychological mechanism dealing with probabilities.

Probability matching is a nonoptimal strategy consisting of selecting each alternative in proportion to its reinforcement contingency. However, matching is related to hypothesis testing in an incidental, marginal, and methodologically disperse manner. Although some authors take it for granted, the relationship has not been demonstrated. Fifty-eight healthy participants performed a modified, bias-free probabilistic two-choice task, the Simple Prediction Task (SPT). Self-reported spurious rules were recorded and then graded by two independent judges. Participants who produced the most complex rules selected the probability matching strategy and were therefore less successful than those who did not produce rules. The close relationship between probability matching and rule generating makes SPT a complementary instrument for studying decision making, which might throw some light on the debate about irrationality. The importance of the reaction times, both before and after responding, is also discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Tracking and inferring spatial rotation by children and great apes.

Finding hidden objects in space is a fundamental ability that has received considerable research attention from both a developmental and a comparative perspective. Tracking the rotational displacements of containers and hidden objects is a particularly challenging task. This study investigated the ability of 3-, 5-, 7-, and 9-year-old children and great apes (chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, and orangutans) to (a) visually track rotational displacements of a baited container on a platform and (b) infer its displacements by using the changes of position or orientation of 3 landmarks: an object on a container, the color of the containers, and the color of the platform on which the containers rested. Great apes and 5-year-old and older children successfully tracked visible rotations, but only children were able to infer the location of a correct cup (with the help of landmarks) after invisible rotations. The ability to use landmarks changed with age so that younger children solved this task only with the most explicit marker on the baited container, whereas older children, particularly 9-year-olds, were able to use landmark orientation to infer correct locations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Digital Footprinting: Uncovering Tourists with User-Generated Content

Novel methods and tools are being developed to explore the significance of the new types of user-related spatiotemporal data. This approach helps uncover the presence and movements of tourists from cell phone network data and the georeferenced photos they generate.     

Hybrid Turbo FEC/ARQ Systems and Distributed Space-Time Coding for Cooperative Transmission

Cooperative transmission can be seen as a “virtual” MIMO system, where the multiple transmit antennas are in fact implemented distributed by the antennas both at the source and the relay terminal. Depending on the system design, diversity/multiplexing gains are achievable. This design involves the definition of the type of retransmission (incremental redundancy, repetition coding), the design of the distributed space-time codes, the error correcting scheme, the operation of the relay (decode & forward or amplify & forward) and the number of antennas at each terminal. Proposed schemes are evaluated in different conditions in combination with forward error correcting codes (FEC), both for linear and near-optimum (sphere decoder) receivers, for its possible implementation in downlink high speed packet services of cellular networks. Results show the benefits of coded cooperation over direct transmission in terms of increased throughput. It is shown that multiplexing gains are observed even if the mobile station features a single antenna, provided that cell wide reuse of the relay radio resource is possible.     

Liquid conservation in orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and humans (Homo sapiens): Individual differences and perceptual strategies.

Four orangutans (1 juvenile, 2 subadults, and 1 adult) and 10 6–8-yr-old children were tested in 4 liquid conservation tasks of increasing levels of difficulty. Task difficulty depended on the type of transformation (continuous vs discontinuous quantities) and the relative contrast between the shapes of the containers. Results indicate that orangutans did not display conservation in the strict sense; instead they showed "partial" conservation (intermediate reactions according to J. Piaget & B. Inhelder, 1941). In contrast, some of the children provided evidence of conservation in all 4 tasks, showing "true" or logically necessary conservation in the original sense proposed by J. Piaget and B. Inhelder (1941). Although orangutans did not show conservation in the strict sense, as J. Piaget (1955) and others have generally agreed it should be defined, orangutans behaved as individual and creative problem solvers, adopting different perceptual strategies depending on the task. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Proanthocyanidin metabolites associated with dietary fibre from in vitro colonic fermentation and proanthocyanidin metabolites in human plasma

Proanthocyanidins (PAs) or condensed tannins, a major group of dietary polyphenols, are oligomers and polymers of flavan‐3‐ol and flavan‐3, 4‐diols widely distributed in plant foods. Most literature data on PAs' metabolic fate deal with PAs that can be extracted from the food matrix by aqueous‐organic solvents ( extractable proanthocyanidins). However, there are no data on colonic fermentation of non‐extractable proanthocyanidins (NEPAs), which arrive almost intact to the colon, mostly associated to dietary fibre (DF). The aim of the present work was to examine colonic fermentation of NEPAs associated with DF, using a model of in vitro small intestine digestion and colonic fermentation. Two NEPA‐rich materials obtained from carob pod (Ceratonia siliqua L. proanthocyanidin) and red grapes (grape antioxidant dietary fibre) were used as test samples. The colonic fermentation of these two products released hydroxyphenylacetic acid, hydroxyphenylvaleric acid and two isomers of hydroxyphenylpropionic acid, detected by HPLC‐ESI‐MS/MS. Differences between the two products indicate that DF may enhance the yield of metabolites. In addition, the main NEPA metabolite in human plasma was 3,4‐dihydroxyphenyl acetic acid. The presence in human plasma of the same metabolites as were detected after in vitro colonic fermentation of NEPAs suggests that dietary NEPAs would undergo colonic fermentation releasing absorbable metabolites with potential healthy effects.     

Analysis of adenoviruses and polyomaviruses quantified by qPCR as indicators of water quality in source and drinking-water treatment plants

Three drinking-water treatment plants were analyzed for the presence of human adenoviruses (HAdV) and JC polyomavirus (JCPyV), previously suggested as viral contamination indicators, in order to define their water quality in relation to the presence of viral pathogens and the efficiency of the treatments applied.The 90% of the river water samples had positive results of HAdV (10¹-10⁴ genome copies (GC)/L); and 48%, of JCPyV (10⁰-10³ GC/L). Lower concentrations of HAdV and JCPyV were found in different treatment steps of the plants in absence of bacterial standards. Virus removal efficiencies were higher than 5 logs in plants 1 and 3 and could be quantified as >2 logs in plant 2. However, three post-chlorinated samples from plants 2 and 3 (11%) were found to be positive for HAdV by qPCR, but did not show infectivity in the cell cultures assayed. Simple methods based on the adsorption-elution of viruses from glass wool give low-cost and efficient virus recovery from source water and large-volume water samples. Quantification of JCPyV and HAdV using qPCR is useful for evaluating virus removal efficiency in water treatment plants, identification of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) and as a molecular index of the virological quality of water. Though infectivity is not guaranteed when using qPCR techniques in water treated with disinfection processes, the quality of source water, where viruses have proved to have infective capabilities, and the removal efficiency of viral particles may be efficiently quantified.