Based on a presentation at the 27th Annual Conference of the Canadian Association for Information Science, June 9 - 12, 1999. / This exploratory study attempts to map the curricula of the ALA accredited LIS programs to provide a better understanding of the nature of LIS education as is currently prevalent in the United States and Canada. The mapping methodology is based on clustering keywords of individual course titles and course descriptions from each LIS program. Hence, the study provides a relatively accurate snapshot of the curricula through a concept intensity map of the subjects being presently taught in LIS programs. It is hoped that the map will contribute to discussions in designing a more cohesive LIS education.

One approach to protein structure prediction is to first predict from sequence, a thresholded and binary 2D representation of a protein's topology known as a contact map. Then, the predicted contact map can be used as distance constraints to construct a 3D structure. We focus on the latter half of the process and aim to obtain a set of non-binary distance constraints from contacts maps. This thesis proposes an approach to extend the traditional binary definition of “in contact” by incorporating fuzzy logic to construct fuzzy contact maps from a set of contact maps at different thresholds, providing a vehicle for error handling. Then, a novel template-based similarity search and distance geometry methods were applied to predict distance constraints in the form of a distance map. The three-dimensional coordinates were then calculated from the predicted distance constraints. Experiments were conducted to test our approach for various levels of noise. As well, we compare the performance of fuzzy contact maps to binary contact maps in the framework of our methodology. Our results showed that fuzzy contact map similarity was indicative of distance map similarity. Thus, we were able to retrieved similar distance map regions using fuzzy contact map similarity. The retrieved distance map regions provided a good starting point for adaptation and allowed for the extrapolation of missing distance values. We were thus able to predict distance maps from which, the three-dimensional coordinates were able to be calculated. Testing of this framework on binary contact maps revealed that fuzzy contact maps had better performance with or without noise due to a stronger correlation between fuzzy contact map similarity and distance map similarity. Thus, the methodology described in this thesis is able to predict good distance maps from fuzzy contact maps in the presence of noise and the resulting coordinates were highly correlated to the performance of the predicted distance maps. / Thesis (Ph.D, Computing) -- Queen's University, 2012-05-23 13:59:28.12

Since electric power is one the most important necessities for today’s life and industry, its service reliability must be maintained in an extremely high level. Thunderstorms often reduce this quality of service. Since cloud-to-ground lightning strokes are among the most frequent yet least understood causes of service interruption, predicting the geographical and temporal distribution of the lightning strokes can help power system planners and designers improve the protection of new and existing transmission lines. Such a prediction needs a model that is based on physical properties of the phenomenon and acquired data. This approach requires several stages including modelling, simulation, and characterization. Characterization provides metrics for comparison between the physical and simulated data. The distributions of the lightning stroke densities (aka lightning stroke maps (LSMs)) have patterns that are highly nonlinear, nonstationary, and stochastic. Ordinary analyzes and metrics are insufficient to characterize such patterns. Multiscale analysis of these patterns indicates their self-affinity over multiple scales, which is an indication of their multifractality. Consequently, multifractal analysis methods such as the Rényi fractal dimension spectrum are appropriate candidates for characterization of these density maps. This work uses the lightning stroke data collected by Canadian lightning detection network for Manitoba from 1998 to 2006, employs a multifractal analysis of the lightning stroke maps, and investigates the consistency of such a characterization over time. The results indicate that the LSMs of Manitoba have multifractal distributions, both locally and globally. The results also indicate a convergence in statistical distribution for the LSMs and strong sensitivity of the Rényi spectra to the data variations. For modelling such data, multifractal approaches such as diffusion limited aggregation, percolation, or cellular automata are appropriate candidates. This work provides diffusion limited aggregate modelling and simulation for the maps and compares the physical and simulated lightning stroke maps through Rényi spectra, where the results indicate a high similarity, both visually and analytically. Since lightning strokes are global phenomena, the same methods and techniques can be used for LSMs anywhere in the world. In addition, the utilized methods and approaches for analysis and modelling can be used for similarly complicated phenomena.

Since electric power is one the most important necessities for today’s life and industry, its service reliability must be maintained in an extremely high level. Thunderstorms often reduce this quality of service. Since cloud-to-ground lightning strokes are among the most frequent yet least understood causes of service interruption, predicting the geographical and temporal distribution of the lightning strokes can help power system planners and designers improve the protection of new and existing transmission lines. Such a prediction needs a model that is based on physical properties of the phenomenon and acquired data. This approach requires several stages including modelling, simulation, and characterization. Characterization provides metrics for comparison between the physical and simulated data. The distributions of the lightning stroke densities (aka lightning stroke maps (LSMs)) have patterns that are highly nonlinear, nonstationary, and stochastic. Ordinary analyzes and metrics are insufficient to characterize such patterns. Multiscale analysis of these patterns indicates their self-affinity over multiple scales, which is an indication of their multifractality. Consequently, multifractal analysis methods such as the Rényi fractal dimension spectrum are appropriate candidates for characterization of these density maps. This work uses the lightning stroke data collected by Canadian lightning detection network for Manitoba from 1998 to 2006, employs a multifractal analysis of the lightning stroke maps, and investigates the consistency of such a characterization over time. The results indicate that the LSMs of Manitoba have multifractal distributions, both locally and globally. The results also indicate a convergence in statistical distribution for the LSMs and strong sensitivity of the Rényi spectra to the data variations. For modelling such data, multifractal approaches such as diffusion limited aggregation, percolation, or cellular automata are appropriate candidates. This work provides diffusion limited aggregate modelling and simulation for the maps and compares the physical and simulated lightning stroke maps through Rényi spectra, where the results indicate a high similarity, both visually and analytically. Since lightning strokes are global phenomena, the same methods and techniques can be used for LSMs anywhere in the world. In addition, the utilized methods and approaches for analysis and modelling can be used for similarly complicated phenomena.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington. / Vita. Bibliography: L. [170]-183.

Erlangen, Nürnberg, Universiẗat, Diss., 2006. / Enth. 1 Sonderabdr. aus: Respiratory research ; 6. 2005. - Beitr. teilw. dt., teilw. engl.

Tübingen, Univ., Diss., 2008.

Tübingen, Univ., Diss., 2009.

Würzburg, Univ., Diss., 2009

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 1994. / Typescript. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.