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Selected AbstractsEmpirical orthogonal functions and related techniques in atmospheric science: A reviewINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF CLIMATOLOGY, Issue 9 2007A. Hannachi Abstract Climate and weather constitute a typical example where high dimensional and complex phenomena meet. The atmospheric system is the result of highly complex interactions between many degrees of freedom or modes. In order to gain insight in understanding the dynamical/physical behaviour involved it is useful to attempt to understand their interactions in terms of a much smaller number of prominent modes of variability. This has led to the development by atmospheric researchers of methods that give a space display and a time display of large space-time atmospheric data. Empirical orthogonal functions (EOFs) were first used in meteorology in the late 1940s. The method, which decomposes a space-time field into spatial patterns and associated time indices, contributed much in advancing our knowledge of the atmosphere. However, since the atmosphere contains all sorts of features, e.g. stationary and propagating, EOFs are unable to provide a full picture. For example, EOFs tend, in general, to be difficult to interpret because of their geometric properties, such as their global feature, and their orthogonality in space and time. To obtain more localised features, modifications, e.g. rotated EOFs (REOFs), have been introduced. At the same time, because these methods cannot deal with propagating features, since they only use spatial correlation of the field, it was necessary to use both spatial and time information in order to identify such features. Extended and complex EOFs were introduced to serve that purpose. Because of the importance of EOFs and closely related methods in atmospheric science, and because the existing reviews of the subject are slightly out of date, there seems to be a need to update our knowledge by including new developments that could not be presented in previous reviews. This review proposes to achieve precisely this goal. The basic theory of the main types of EOFs is reviewed, and a wide range of applications using various data sets are also provided. Copyright © 2007 Royal Meteorological Society [source] Evaluation of driver satisfaction of travel information on variable message signs using fuzzy aggregationJOURNAL OF ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION, Issue 1 2008Dongmin Lee Driver satisfaction regarding travel information provided by variable message signs (VMS), which are part of the Nam-Mountain Tunnel ATIS, was evaluated using fuzzy aggregation. Application of fuzzy aggregation to analyze driver satisfaction allows one to represent the variability and complexity of human perception with great fidelity. A fuzzy weighted average using two sets of fuzzy membership functions was applied to evaluate individual satisfactions of delay and travel time information provided. Then, those individual satisfactions were aggregated to estimate the driver group's overall satisfaction. The evaluated overall satisfaction was 0.65 for delay information and 0.63 for travel time information. Through these results, it was found that users of the travel information provided by the VMS in the Nam-Mountain Tunnel ATIS were somewhat satisfied with the service quality. Those overall satisfactions were compared with a conventional weighted average and traffic operational effects to demonstrate the usefulness of the developed fuzzy method. [source] Dispatching control at transfer stations in multi-hub transit networksJOURNAL OF ADVANCED TRANSPORTATION, Issue 3 2007Ching-Jung Ting Abstract Among dispatching control approaches, the holding option has attracted the most attention in bus control. However, holding a vehicle at a transfer station may exacerbate the delays because more passengers might accumulate at downstream stations and may also affect other connecting routes at other transfer stations. Our problem is to minimize the total costs of dispatching ready vehicles at each transfer station along coordinated routes in a multi-hub transit network. The total costs include the waiting cost for on-board passengers, the missed connection costs for late arrival passengers at the subject transfer station and possible transfer costs at downstream transfer stations. We develop a heuristic algorithm to optimize the holding times based on real time information about late vehicles. The results show that ready vehicles should be held longer when the arrival variances of late vehicles are small or when many late connecting passengers are expected. [source] Structural effects of macrocyclic compounds and their partition in sodium dodecylsulphate aqueous solutionsJOURNAL OF APPLIED CRYSTALLOGRAPHY, Issue 3-1 2003Delia Chillura-Martino The partition of 1,4,7,10,13,16-esaoxacyclooctadecane (18C6), 4,7,13,16-tetraoxa-1,10-diazacyclooctadecane (2.2), 2,5,8,11,14,17-esaoxabicyclo[16.4.0]dicosane (B18C6) and 2,5,8,15,18,21-esoxatricyclo[20.4.0.09.14]esacosane (Cy218C6) in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) aqueous solutions and their effect on the structure of surfactant aggregates has been investigated by small-angle neutron scattering. Results from data analysis have shown that by increasing macrocycle concentration the SDS micelles dimensions reduce for all systems investigated. At the same time information on macrocycles partition between the micellar and the continuous phase have been obtained. It was found that an appreciable portion of macrocyclic compounds is located in micellar aggregates; in particular, the amount of B18C6 and Cy218C6 results larger than that of 18C6 and 2.2. It was found that 18C6 and 2.2 molecules interact with charged surface of SDS micelles only via complexes formation between the sodium ions and the macrocycles. B18C6 and Cy218C6 interact either via complexes formation with the charged surface or with hydrophobic region inside the micelle, as a consequence of the presence of hydrophobic substituents. It was concluded that Cy218C6 fraction present inside the micelles is located in the core, while the B18C6 fraction is located in the palisade. [source] Pseudomartingale estimating equations for modulated renewal process modelsJOURNAL OF THE ROYAL STATISTICAL SOCIETY: SERIES B (STATISTICAL METHODOLOGY), Issue 1 2009Fengchang Lin Summary., We adapt martingale estimating equations based on gap time information to a general intensity model for a single realization of a modulated renewal process. The consistency and asymptotic normality of the estimators is proved under ergodicity conditions. Previous work has considered either parametric likelihood analysis or semiparametric multiplicative models using partial likelihood. The framework is generally applicable to semiparametric and parametric models, including additive and multiplicative specifications, and periodic models. It facilitates a semiparametric extension of a popular parametric earthquake model. Simulations and empirical analyses of Taiwanese earthquake sequences illustrate the methodology's practical utility. [source] Semi-automated risk estimation using large databases: quinolones and clostridium difficile associated diarrhea,PHARMACOEPIDEMIOLOGY AND DRUG SAFETY, Issue 6 2010Robertino M. Mera Abstract Purpose The availability of large databases with person time information and appropriate statistical methods allow for relatively rapid pharmacovigilance analyses. A semi-automated method was used to investigate the effect of fluoroquinolones on the incidence of C. difficile associated diarrhea (CDAD). Methods Two US databases, an electronic medical record (EMR) and a large medical claims database for the period 2006,2007 were evaluated using a semi-automated methodology. The raw EMR and claims datasets were subject to a normalization procedure that aligns the drug exposures and conditions using ontologies; Snowmed for medications and MedDRA for conditions. A retrospective cohort design was used together with matching by means of the propensity score. The association between exposure and outcome was evaluated using a Poisson regression model after taking into account potential confounders. Results A comparison between quinolones as the target cohort and macrolides as the comparison cohort produced a total of 564,797 subjects exposed to a quinolone in the claims data and 233,090 subjects in the EMR. They were matched with replacement within six strata of the propensity score. Among the matched cohorts there were a total of 488 and 158 outcomes in the claims and the EMR respectively. Quinolones were found to be twice more likely to be significantly associated with CDAD than macrolides adjusting for risk factors (IRR 2.75, 95%CI 2.18,3.48). Conclusions Use of a semi-automated method was successfully applied to two observational databases and was able to rapidly identify a potential for increased risk of developing CDAD with quinolones. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Rapid screening and confirmation of drugs and toxic compounds in biological specimens using liquid chromatography/ion trap tandem mass spectrometry and automated library searchRAPID COMMUNICATIONS IN MASS SPECTROMETRY, Issue 1 2010Hsiu-Chuan Liu Recent advances in liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) technology have provided an opportunity for the development of more specific approaches to achieve the ,screen' and ,confirmation' goals in a single analytical step. For this purpose, this study adapts the electrospray ionization ion trap LC/MS/MS instrumentation (LC/ESI-MS/MS) for the screening and confirmation of over 800 drugs and toxic compounds in biological specimens. Liquid-liquid and solid-phase extraction protocols were coupled to LC/ESI-MS/MS using a 1.8-µm particle size analytical column operated at 50°C. Gradient elution of the analytes was conducted using a solvent system composed of methanol and water containing 0.1% formic acid. Positive-ion ESI-MS/MS spectra and retention times for each of the 800 drugs and toxic compounds were first established using 1,10,µg/mL standard solutions. This spectra and retention time information was then transferred to the library and searched by the identification algorithm for the confirmation of compounds found in test specimens , based on retention time matches and scores of fit, reverse fit, and purity resulting from the searching process. The established method was found highly effective when applied to the analyses of postmortem specimens (blood, urine, and hair) and external proficiency test samples provided by the College of American Pathology (CAP). The development of this approach has significantly improved the efficiency of our routine laboratory operation that was based on a two-step (immunoassay and GC/MS) approach in the past. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] | ||||||||||