The five elements and chinese-american mortality.

D. P. Phillips, T. E. Ruth, and L. M. Wagner (1993) reported that 1969-1990 California mortality data show that Chinese Americans are particularly vulnerable to diseases that Chinese astrology and traditional Chinese medicine associate with their birth years. For example, because fire is associated with the heart, a Chinese person born in a fire year (such as 1937) is more likely to die of heart disease than is a Chinese person born in a nonfire year. However, many diseases were excluded from this study, some diseases that were included have ambiguous links to birth years, and the statistical tests were indirect. A more complete statistical analysis and independent California mortality data for the years 1960-1968 and 1991-2002 did not replicate the original results. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Global Asymptotical Synchronization of Chaotic Lur'e Systems Using Sampled Data: A Linear Matrix Inequality Approach

Sampled-data feedback control for master-slave synchronization schemes that consist of identical chaotic Lur'e systems is studied. Sufficient conditions for global asymptotic synchronization of such chaotic Lur'e systems are obtained using the free-weighting matrix approach and expressed in terms of linear matrix inequalities (LMIs). With the help of the LMI solvers, the sampled-data feedback control law can easily be obtained to globally asymptotically synchronize Lur'e chaotic systems. The effectiveness of the proposed method is finally illustrated via numerical simulations of chaotic Chua's circuits.     

Employing optimized combinations of one-class classifiers for automated currency validation

Automated currency validation requires a decision to be made regarding the authenticity of a banknote presented to the validation system. This decision often has to be made with little or no information regarding the characteristics of possible counterfeits as is the case for issues of new currency. A method for automated currency validation is presented which segments the whole banknote into different regions, builds individual classifiers on each region and then combines a small subset of the region specific classifiers to provide an overall decision. The segmentation and combination of region specific classifiers to provide optimized false positive and false negative rates is achieved by employing a genetic algorithm. Experiments based on high value notes of Sterling currency were carried out to assess the effectiveness of the proposed solution.     

Role of Ponded Turbidity Currents in Reservoir Trap Efficiency

The capacity to store water in a reservoir declines as it traps sediment. A river entering a reservoir forms a prograding delta. Coarse sediment (e.g., sand) deposits in the fluvial topset and avalanching foreset of the delta, and is typically trapped with an efficiency near 100%. The trap efficiency of fine sediment (e.g., mud), on the other hand, may be below 100%, because some of this sediment may pass out of the reservoir without settling out. Here, a model of trap efficiency of mud is developed in terms of the mechanics of a turbidity current that plunges on the foreset. The dam causes a sustained turbidity current to reflect and form a muddy pond bounded upstream by a hydraulic jump. If the interface of this muddy pond rises above any vent or overflow point at the dam, the trap efficiency of mud drops below 100%. A model of the coevolution of topset, foreset, and bottomset in a reservoir that captures the dynamics of the internal muddy pond is presented. Numerical implementation, comparison against an experiment, and application to a field-scale case provide the basis for a physical understanding of the processes that determine reservoir trap efficiency.     

The Lambda Library: unnamed functions in C++

The Lambda Library (LL) adds a form of lambda functions to C++, which are common in functional programming languages. The LL is implemented as a template library using standard C++; thus no language extensions or preprocessing is required. The LL consists of a rich set of tools for defining unnamed functions. In particular these unnamed functions work seamlessly with the generic algorithms in the C++ Standard Library. The LL offers significant improvements, in terms of generality and ease of use, compared to the current tools in the C++ Standard Library. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adolescent abortion: Psychological perspectives on public policy.

The Supreme Court has relied on psychological assumptions in adolescent abortion cases, but it has failed to consider relevant empirical research. The work of the Interdivisional Committee on Adolescent Abortion to fill in this gap provides a model for organized psychology's integration, dissemination, and application of psychological knowledge to promote the public interest. Such efforts should be replicated by state associations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Surface and interface properties of PdCr/SiC Schottky diode gas sensor annealed at 425°C

The surface and interface properties of Pd_0.9Cr_0.1/SiC Schottky diode gas sensors both before and after annealing are investigated using Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS). At room temperature the alloy reacted with SiC and formed Pd_xSi only in a very narrow interfacial region. After annealing for 250 h at 425°C, the surface of the Schottky contact area has much less silicon and carbon contamination than that found on the surface of an annealed Pd/SiC structure. Palladium silicides (Pd_xSi) formed at a broadened interface after annealing, but a significant layer of alloy film is still free of silicon and carbon. The chromium concentration with respect to palladium is quite uniform down to the deep interface region. A stable catalytic surface and a clean layer of Pd_0.9Cr_0.1 film are likely responsible for significantly improved device sensitivity.     

The greenhouse effect; Impact upon and the role to be played by construction

The authors highlight several possible ways in which the construction industry could lower present emissions of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide. It is an excellent discussion document and is recommended reading.     

Accelerating entry into supported employment for persons with severe psychiatric disabilities.

Tested the hypothesis that Ss with severe mental illnesses would achieve better vocational outcomes with an accelerated approach to supported employment (AASE), as compared to gradual approaches (GA) with prevocational training. 86 Ss (mean age 35.1 yrs) with a diagnosis of a serious mental illness, were randomly assigned to either the AASE, or the GA, which included a minimum of 4 mo prevocational training. Data were obtained on indicators of vocational outcomes over 2 yrs, and for a limited number of Ss (n=36), during the 4th yr of inception into the program. Initially, only 5% of Ss preferred prevocational training. After 1 yr, AASE Ss showed better outcomes for a range of indicators, including achievement of competitive employment, duration of employment and mean earnings. During the 4th yr, 59% of these Ss were competitively employed, as compared to only 6% of GA Ss. Rehabilitation is more effective using AASE than GA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)