SedLog: A shareware program for drawing graphic logs and log data manipulation

SedLog is a free multi-platform software package for creating graphic sediment logs providing an intuitive graphical user interface. The graphic sediment logs generated by SedLog can be exported as PDF, Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), or JPEG for use by other drawing applications or for publications. Log data can be imported and exported in Comma Separated Values (CSV) format. The logs can also be printed to any paper size the user wants. Zoom In, Zoom Out, Fit page, Fit Height and Fit Width facilities are also provided to enable the user to customise the workspace size.     

A preliminary pharmacogenetic investigation of adverse events from topiramate in heavy drinkers.

Topiramate, an anticonvulsant medication, is an efficacious treatment for alcohol dependence. To date, little is known about genetic moderators of side effects from topiramate. The objective of this study was to examine 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the glutamate receptor GluR5 gene (GRIK1) as predictors of topiramate-induced side effects in the context of a laboratory study of topiramate. Heavy drinkers (n = 51, 19 women and 32 men), 75% of whom met criteria for an alcohol use disorder, completed a 5-week dose escalation schedule to a target dose of either 200 or 300 mg or matched placebo. The combined medication groups were compared with placebo-treated individuals for side effects at target dose. Analyses revealed that an SNP in intron 9 of the GRIK1 gene (rs2832407) was associated with the severity of topiramate-induced side effects and with serum levels of topiramate. Genes underlying glutamatergic neurotransmission, such as the GRIK1 gene, may help predict heterogeneity in topiramate-induced side effects. Future studies in larger samples are needed to more fully establish these preliminary findings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reliability and validity of a demand curve measure of alcohol reinforcement.

Recent clinical research suggests that several self-report behavioral economic measures of relative reinforcing efficacy (RRE) may show utility as indices of substance abuse problem severity. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the reliability and validity of the Alcohol Purchase Task (APT), a RRE measure that uses hypothetical choices regarding alcohol purchases at varying prices (demand curves) to generate several indices of alcohol-related reinforcement. Participants were 38 college students who reported recent alcohol consumption. Both the raw alcohol purchase/consumption values and several of the computed reinforcement parameters (intensity & Omax) showed good to excellent 2-week test–retest reliability. Reinforcement parameters derived from both a linear-elasticity (Hursh, Raslear, Bauman, & Black, 1989) and an exponential (Hursh & Silberberg, 2008) demand curve equation were generally less reliable, despite the fact that both equations provided a good fit to participants’ reported consumption data. The APT measures of demand intensity (number of drinks consumed when price = 0), Omax (maximum expenditure), and elasticity (α) were correlated with weekly drinking, alcohol-related problems, and other self-report RRE measures (relative discretionary monetary expenditures toward alcohol and/or relative substance-related activity participation and enjoyment). Demand intensity was uniquely associated with problem drinking in a regression model that controlled for weekly consumption. These results provide support for the reliability and validity of the RRE indices generated with the APT. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Housing performance evaluation: challenges for international knowledge exchange

ABSTRACT

Developing effective building performance evaluation and feedback processes is a vital part of global efforts to reduce building energy use and gain insight into the actual performance of buildings and technologies. Although attempts have been made to introduce internationally agreed models for these processes, it is clear that various countries are producing different approaches according to their cultural, institutional and policy differences. Knowledge exchange is potentially a key means of developing a shared understanding of values, meanings and practices in relation to building performance evaluation. This paper identifies cultural and institutional barriers in the European Union for international building performance communities of practice utilizing knowledge exchange, from an experiential ‘real-world’ perspective. The preparation of a 30-month research project to help develop building performance evaluation in Poland and an associated bilateral symposium is closely evaluated through an action research case study in terms of the stakeholders, the national contexts in which they operated and the key challenges they faced. Recommendations are then made in terms of the support needed to develop more responsive research programmes in relation to developing international knowledge exchange, and the capacity-building elements required for these international communities of practice.     

Overheating in retrofitted flats: occupant practices,learning and interventions

ABSTRACT

The overheating risk in flats (apartments) retrofitted to energy-efficient standards has been identified by previous studies as one that is particularly high. With climate change and rising mean temperatures this is a growing concern. There is a need to understand the kinds of practices, learning and interventions adopted by the occupants of individual homes to try to reduce overheating, as this area is poorly understood and under-researched. This case study focuses on the impact of different home-use practices in relation to the severity of overheating in 18 flats in one tower block in northern England. Internal temperatures monitored in comparable flats show that the percentage of time spent above the expected category II threshold of thermal comfort according to BS EN 15251 can differ by over 70%. Extensive monitoring, covering a full year, including two summer periods, has identified emergent changes in heatwave practices linked with increased home-use skills and understanding among the research participants. Close analysis of design intentions versus reality has identified key physical barriers and social learning opportunities for appropriate adaptation in relation to heatwaves. Recommendations for designers and policy-makers are highlighted in relation to these factors.     

Web traffic demand forecasting using wavelet‐based multiscale decomposition

In this paper we propose an experimental forecasting strategy taking into account the long‐range dependence of aggregate network traffic, and we apply it to provide one‐minute‐ahead World‐Wide Web (Web) traffic demand forecasts in terms of average number of bytes transferred. Recently, statistical examination of Web traces have shown evidence that Web traffic arising from file transfers exhibits a behavior that is consistent with the notion of self‐similarity. Essentially, self‐similarity indicates that significant burstiness is present on a wide range of time scales (i.e., the process is long‐range dependent). Hence the idea of exploiting this multiscale property with a view towards discovering and capturing regularities underlying the time series which may prove useful for short‐term traffic load forecasting. We carry out a wavelet transform decomposition of the original series to decompose the traffic time series into varying scales of temporal resolution, with the aim of making the underlying temporal structures more tractable. In a second step, each individual wavelet series—supposed to capture some features of the series—is fitted with a dynamical recurrent neural network (DRNN) model to output the wavelet forecast. The latter are afterwards recombined to form the next‐minute Web Traffic demand. The method is applied on a large set of HTTP logs and is shown to yield good results. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

汽车应用需要快速模拟视频切换

尽管家庭娱乐已转向数字视频,但模拟视频在汽车行业等应用中仍有不小的市场。模拟视频是一种成熟、可靠的技术,经过拓展后可以满足汽车应用的要求。继续使用模拟视频的原因包括:很容易获得低成本电路设计、可以使用低廉     

Multiresolution in astronomical image processing: A general framework

Multiresolution transforms, including a wavelet transform, are applied simage visualization, image restoration, filtering and compression, × object detection. Variance stabilization is used, when appropriate, cater for common astronomical image noise models. We discuss idation of such methods in the case of astronomical image processing. A range of examples illustrate the effectiveness of this aproach in handling point source and extended astronomical objects.