Similarity evaluation of sets of linguistic summaries

Creating linguistic summaries of data has been a goal of the artificial and computational intelligence communities for many years. Summaries of written text have garnered the most attention. More recently, creating summaries of imagery and other sensed data has become important as a means of compressing large amounts of data and communicating with humans. In this paper, we consider the question of comparing sets of summaries generated from sensed data. In an earlier work, we developed a metric between individual protoform‐based summaries; and here, as a next step, we propose aggregation methods to fuse these individual distances. We provide a case study from eldercare where the goal is to compare different nighttime patterns for change detection. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Band-gap tuning of pendant polymers for organic light-emitting devices and photovoltaic applications

The preparation of a series of novel polymers comprising pendant electro-active “push–pull” chromophores and their performance in solution-processed organic electronic devices is described. The design of the electro-active pendant chromophores was based on the well-known motif of cyano-substituted poly(p-phenylenevinylene). Optical band-gap engineering within this series of polymers was achieved by varying the conjugation length and the electron donor/acceptor functionalities of the pendant chromophores. The introduction of a cyanoimine group into the electro-active pendant module resulted in a marked narrowing of the optical band-gap compared with the other electro-active pendant chromophores investigated in this work. Bulk heterojunction solar cell devices comprising these polymers were prepared by solution processing blends of each polymer with [6,6]-phenyl-C₆₁-butyric acid methyl ester, and their performance was evaluated by measuring power conversion efficiencies. The best-performing solar cell in this series exhibited a power conversion efficiency of 0.29% and a maximum incident photon-to-current conversion efficiency of 22% and was produced using the polymer in which the electro-active chromophore comprised the cyanoimine group.     

The effects of expressive writing following first myocardial infarction: A randomized controlled trial.

Objective: To assess the effects of expressive writing on health care utilization, clinical variables and subjective quality of life following first myocardial infarction (MI). Methods: One-hundred and seventy-nine first MI patients were randomized to Intervention (N = 88) or Control (N = 91) groups. The intervention group wrote about their thoughts and feelings in relation to having had an MI. Controls wrote in a neutral way about daily activities. The main outcome measures were health care utilization, physical status and subjective quality of life (QOL), assessed after one, two, and five months. Results: One-hundred and fifty-six (87%) completed the study. Five months post-intervention, the intervention group had significantly fewer recorded medical appointments compared to controls. The number of prescribed medicines decreased over time within the intervention group but increased within the control group. The intervention group attended significantly more rehabilitation sessions, reported fewer cardiac related symptoms and had lower diastolic blood pressure five months post-intervention. There was no significant group by time interaction on reported physical health. The group by time interaction on reported mental health approached significance, those in the intervention group reporting greater improvement. Conclusion: Expressive writing may be a beneficial strategy which could be incorporated into rehabilitation interventions to help individuals adjust after first MI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fate of trace element haps when applying mercury control technologies

During the past several years, and particularly since the Clean Air Mercury Rule (CAMR) was promulgated in June of 2005, the electric utility industry, product vendors, and the research community have been working diligently to develop and test Hg control strategies for a variety of coal types and plant configurations. Some of these strategies include sorbent injection and chemical additives designed to increase mercury capture efficiency in particulate control devices. These strategies have the potential to impact the fate of other inorganic hazardous air pollutants (HAPs), which typically include As, Be, Cd, Cr, Co, Mn, Ni, Pb, Se, and Sb. To evaluate this impact, flue gas samples using EPA Method 29, along with representative coal and ash samples, were collected during recent pilot-scale and field test projects that were evaluating Hg control technologies. These test programs included a range of fuel types with varying trace element concentrations, along with different combustion systems and particulate control devices. The results show that the majority of the trace element HAPs are associated with the particulate matter in the flue gas, except for Se. However, for five of the six projects, Se partitioning was shifted to the particulate phase and total emissions reduced when Hg control technologies were applied.     

Passive Filtration of Airborne Particles from Buildings Ventilated by Natural Convection: Design Procedures and a Case Study at the Buddhist Cave Temples at Yungang,China

Air exchange between interior spaces and the outdoor atmosphere can occur due to a variety of processes, including wind-driven flows and natural convectiondriven flows. As air is exchanged with the outdoors, airborne particles can be brought inside. Depending on the use of the indoor space, the presence of particles in indoor air could be a nuisance to the occupants or could be damaging to materials kept indoors. While one obvious solution to such problems is to install a mechanical air filtration system, that is not always practical. In particular, the character of some historical houses and some archaeological sites would be degraded by the presence of a mechanical air distribution system, and in some parts of the world the reliable electrical power supply needed for such a filtration system may not be available. In the present paper we consider principles for the design of passive filtration systems in which air motion through the filter material is induced by a natural convection flow rather than by a mechanical fan. A fluid mechanical model first is described for predicting the air flow through an interior space that acts as a thermal siphon. The effect of placing filter material in the path of such air flows is examined next. The indoor-outdoor air quality model of Nazaroff and Cass (1989a) is matched to the natural convection air exchange model, and calculations are performed to determine the relationship between the outdoor particle size distribution and indoor particle size distributions and particle deposition rates given a passive filtration system. Example calculations are worked for the case of a passive particle filtration system that could be installed to protect the interior of the Buddhist cave temples at Yungang, China. These are a collection of manmade cave temples dating from the 5th century AD, now situated in the middle of one of China's largest coal-mining regions with its accompanying air pollution problems.     

Detection of hydrogen peroxide at mesoporous platinum microelectrodes

Mesoporous (H(I)-ePt) platinum microelectrodes electrodeposited from the hexagonal (H(I)) lyotropic liquid crystalline phase are shown to be excellent amperometric sensors for the detection of hydrogen peroxide over a wide range of concentrations. Good reproducibility, high precision, and accuracy of measurements are demonstrated. Mesoporous microelectrodes retain the high rates of mass transport typical of conventional microelectrodes, and their high real surface area greatly enhances their catalytic activity. This unique combination of properties overcomes the limitations of previous amperometric hydrogen peroxide sensors and yields outstanding qualitative and quantitative results.     

Mission Impossible? Planning and Preparing for Crisis1

Crisis management logic suggests that planning and preparing for crisis should be a vital part of institutional and policy toolkits. This paper explores the difficulties in translating this ideal into practice. It focuses on four key difficulties. First, crises and disasters are low probability events but they place large demands on resources and have to compete against front‐line service provision. Second, contingency planning requires ordering and coherence of possible threats, yet crisis is not amenable to being packaged in such a predictable way. Third, planning for crisis requires integration and synergy across institutional networks, yet the modern world is characterised by fragmentation across public, private and voluntary sectors. Fourth, robust planning requires active preparation through training and exercises, but such costly activities often produced a level of symbolic readiness which does not reflect operational realities. Finally the paper reflects on whether crisis preparedness is a ‘mission impossible’, even in the post‐9/11 period when contingency planning seems to be an issue of high political salience.     

Small-Strain Behavior of Granular Soils. II: Seismic Response Analyses and Model Evaluation

Using the recorded response at two vertical array sites, the SimSoil model presented in the companion paper is evaluated. The SimSoil model, which describes the small strain nonlinear behavior of granular materials, is implemented as a material model in AMPLE2000, a nonlinear, one-dimensional site response analysis code. Shear wave velocity profiles and laboratory test data available for both the La Cienega site, which was instrumented over 250?m, and the Lotung site, which was instrumented over 47?m, were used to determine SimSoil model parameters. Predictions from AMPLE2000 are compared with the measured response at several elevations for earthquakes that resulted in both nonlinear and nearly linear soil behavior. Using the available laboratory data and known input motions, the predictions of the response at these sites matched the recorded response well for varied magnitudes of shaking with a single set of parameters for each site.     

A Study of Structure, Electric and Magnetic Properties of the New Layered Cobalt Oxides Sr2Y1-x Ca x Co2O7-z

The crystal structure of Sr ₂ Y _0.8 Ca _0.2 Co ₂ O ₆ is orthorhombic below 270 K (Immm, a = 3.84029(7) Å, b = 3.80691(6) Å and c = 19.4980(3) Å at 20 K), transformed from tetragonal (I4/mmm, a = 3.82765(6) Å and c = 19.5795(3) Å) at 295 K. The crystal structure distortion is accompanied by an anomalous temperature dependence of the degree of buckling of the CoO ₂ plane and is correlated with the development of anisotropic antiferromagnetic ordering of magnetic moments (2.93(2) _B per Co at 20 K). A magnetically glassy state below about 35 K and variable range hopping conduction below about 64 K for were found by magnetic susceptibility and electrical resistivity measurements.     

Practitioner development: From trained technicians to reflective practitioners

The EPSRC funded Rethinking Project Management Network produced several insights into new directions for project management theory and practise, highlighting gaps between current theory and practise in several areas. This paper reviews the discussions around project management practitioner development that arose out of this rethinking process where project management is seen as growing from a predominantly technical skill-set to a broader practise of reflectively managing the things needed to provide a successful project outcome. In particular, the paper identifies and addresses the challenges of developing competent project managers in a world exhibiting increasingly complex project challenges, and when skilled resources at all levels are often increasingly scarce. We provide examples of practical and academic initiatives that are designed to address these challenges: internal assessment and development programs, reflective practice thesis, and distance-based critical management MBA. We conclude by speculating on some of the further challenges in developing reflective practitioners that have yet to be resolved.