A hybrid (visual/natural) controlled language

We define the notion of controlled hybrid language that allows information share and interaction between a controlled natural language (specified by a context-free grammar) and a controlled visual language (specified by a Symbol-Relation grammar). We present the controlled hybrid language INAUT, used to represent nautical charts of the French Naval and Hydrographic Service (SHOM) and their companion texts (Instructions nautiques).     

Monte Carlo randomization tests for large-scale abundance datasets on the GPU

Statistical tests are often performed to discover which experimental variables are reacting to specific treatments. Time-series statistical models usually require the researcher to make assumptions with respect to the distribution of measured responses which may not hold. Randomization tests can be applied to data in order to generate null distributions non-parametrically. However, large numbers of randomizations are required for the precise p-values needed to control false discovery rates. When testing tens of thousands of variables (genes, chemical compounds, or otherwise), significant q-value cutoffs can be extremely small (on the order of 10⁻⁵ to 10⁻⁸). This requires high-precision p-values, which in turn require large numbers of randomizations. The NVIDIA^® Compute Unified Device Architecture^® (CUDA^®) platform for General Programming on the Graphics Processing Unit (GPGPU) was used to implement an application which performs high-precision randomization tests via Monte Carlo sampling for quickly screening custom test statistics for experiments with large numbers of variables, such as microarrays, Next-Generation sequencing read counts, chromatographical signals, or other abundance measurements. The software has been shown to achieve up to more than 12 fold speedup on a Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) when compared to a powerful Central Processing Unit (CPU). The main limitation is concurrent random access of shared memory on the GPU. The software is available from the authors.     

Understanding the outsourcing learning curve: A longitudinal analysis of a large Australian company

Outsourcing continues to capture the attention of researchers as more companies move to outsourcing models as part of their business practice. Two areas frequently researched and reported in the literature are the reasons why a company decides to outsource, and outsourcing success factors. This paper describes an in-depth, longitudinal case study that explores both the reasons why the company decided to outsource and factors that impact on success. The paper describes how Alpha, a very large Australian communications company, approached outsourcing and how its approach matured over a period of 9 years. The paper concludes that although a number of reasons are proposed for a company's decision to outsource, lowering costs was the predominant driver in this case. We also describe other factors identified as important for outsourcing success such as how contracts are implemented, the type of outsourcing partner arrangement, and outsourcing vendor capabilities.

Method of imaging low density lipoproteins by atomic force microscopy

This short paper reports a simple method to image low density lipoproteins (LDL) using atomic force microscopy (AFM). This instrument allows imaging of biological samples in liquid and presents the advantage of needing no sample preparation such as staining or fixation that may affect their general structure. Dimensions (diameter and height) of individual LDL particles were successfully measured. AFM imaging revealed that LDL have a quasi-spherical structure on the x and y axis with an oblate spheroid structure in the z axis (i.e., height). LDLs were found to have an average diameter of 23 +/- 3 nm. The obtained mean height was 10 +/- 2 nm.     

Correlations between blood pressure, blood volume and plasma renin during therapy with diuretics in essential hypertension. Comparison between the mineralocorticoid antagonist spironolactone and the "loop" diuretic mefruside

35 patients with benign essential hypertension were treated for 6 weeks with high doses of the mineralocorticoid-antagonist spironolactone (400 mg/day), or with the "loop-diuretic" mefruside (mean maximal dose 110 mg/day). Spironolactone caused greater reductions in blood pressure and blood volume and a more marked increase in plasma renin activity (PRA) than mefruside (p less than 0.05). It appears possible that he weaker antihypertensive effect of mefruside may relate partly to its lesser influence on circulatory volume. With both diuretics, mean decreases in blood pressure were greater in patients with low pre-therapeutic PRA than in patients with normal or high PRA. However, the diuretic-induced changes in blood pressure did not correlate with the associated variations in blood volume or PRA. Thus, the increased blood pressure sensitivity to diuretics in patients with low-renin essential hypertension did not appear to be volume or renin-dependent. Under normal conditions, the maintenance of a constant blood pressure during volume depletion may partly depend on compensatory activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Moreover, patients with low-renin essential hypertension have been found to have decreased adrenergic activity. It seems possible, therefore, that the marked blood pressure sensitivity to diuretic treatment in such patients may be the result of an impaired compensatory sympathetic response to sodium and volume depletion. Analysis of the literature suggests that the diuretic furosemide, a structural relative of mefruside, may also have less blood pressure lowering efficacy in patients with essential hypertension than the distally-acting thiazides, chlorthalidone or spironolactone. Consideration of possible differences in the blood pressure reducing potential of certain diuretics thus appears to be necessary in planning the pharmacotherapy of essential hypertension.     

Whatever happened to neurosis? An overview.

Discusses the decision to eliminate the term "neurosis" from the DSM-III. The history of the term is traced; weaknesses of DSM-II pertaining to neurosis are presented; theoretical and political processes in the deletion procedure are described; and an overview is given of the current resolution as presented in DSM-III. Instead of neurosis, "neurotic disorder" and "neurotic process" were distinguished to reduce potential theoretical bias. The process may or may not be seen by the clinician as causal in the disorder, but those of all theoretical persuasions should be able to agree on what the disorder is. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

From Water Poverty to Water Prosperity—A More Participatory Approach to Studying Local Water Resources Management

The Water Poverty Index (WPI), a tool designed for integrated analysis of water issues, was set-up in a community in Madhya Pradesh, India through a transparent and participatory process. Though the aim of the WPI is to primarily use existing statistical data, quantitative information from census and local records was combined with qualitative data from community interviews and participatory exercises. The inclusion of community chosen indicators and the adjustment of values so that higher numbers represent water prosperity rather than water poverty, led to the Water Prosperity Index (WPI⁺). The WPI?⁺?score was contrasted with the WPI at community level. It was also calculated for two community areas with different caste and socio-economic characteristics and weighted separately according to water issues prioritized by men and women. The WPI?⁺?revealed a great difference in water access between the two areas and in prioritized issues between men and women illustrating the importance of appropriate spatial representation and gender sensitive assessments for revealing important disparities. Results also showed that highly aggregated data hide these differences making it more difficult to target the most vulnerable groups when planning measures to increase equitable water allocation. While quantitative data reveal an important perspective of the water situation, qualitative data about adequacy of resources, services or institutions, improve understanding of which issues to prioritize. A valid and useful community water index must be based on representative participation, transparency and local influence on the methodology and subsequent results.     

Use of flow-normalization to evaluate nutrient concentration and flux changes in Lake Champlain tributaries, 1990–2009

The U.S. Geological Survey evaluated 20 years of total phosphorus (P) and total nitrogen (N) concentration data for 18 Lake Champlain tributaries using a new statistical method based on weighted regressions to estimate daily concentration and flux histories based on discharge, season, and trend as explanatory variables. The use of all the streamflow discharge values for a given date in the record, in a process called “flow-normalization”, removed the year-to-year variation due to streamflow and generated a smooth time series from which trends were calculated. This approach to data analysis can be of great value to evaluations of the success of restoration efforts because it filters out the large random fluctuations in the flux that are due to the temporal variability in streamflow. Results for the full 20 years of record showed a mixture of upward and downward trends for concentrations and yields of P and N. When the record was broken into two 10-year periods, for many tributaries, the more recent period showed a reversal in N from upward to downward trends and a similar reversal or reduction in magnitude of upward trends for P. Some measures of P and N concentrations and yields appear to be related to intensity of agricultural activities, point-source loads of P, or population density. Total flow-normalized P flux aggregated from the monitored tributaries showed a decrease of 30 metric tons per year from 1991 to 2009, which is about 15% of the targeted reduction established by the operational management plan for the Lake Champlain Basin.     

Overcoming challenges in the study of nitrided microalloyed steels using atom probe

Nitrided steels are widely used in the engineering field due to their superior hardness and other attractive properties. Atom probe tomography (APT) was employed to study two Nb-microalloyed CASTRIP steels with different N contents. A major challenge of using APT to study this group of materials is the presence of tails after Fe peaks in the mass spectra, which overestimates the composition for alloying elements such as Nb and Cu in the steels. One important factor that contributes to the tails is believed to be delayed field evaporation from Fe²⁺. This artefact of the mass spectrum was observed to be the most severe when voltage pulsing was used. The application of laser pulses with energy ranging from 0.2 to 1.2 nJ successfully reduced the tails and lead to better compositional measurement accuracy. Spatial resolution in the z-direction (along the tip direction) was observed to be less affected by changing laser energy but deteriorates in x-y direction with increasing laser energy. This investigation suggests that pulsed-laser atom probe with ∼0.4 nJ laser energy can be used to study this group of materials with improved mass resolution while still maintaining high spatial resolution.