Stochastic approaches to inversion problems in optics

Image restoration, image smoothing, and probability law estimation are important inverse problems in optics. Within the past 10 or so years, much progress has been made toward their resolution. These problems are often ill-posed mathematically. However, such concepts as maximum entropy, maximum likelihood, binay decision discrimination, median window filtering, MAP estimation, and minimum Fisher information have proven invaluable in regularising, or reducing, the ill-posed nature of the problems. In particular, those concepts which measure uncertainty or disorder have played a central role. Given noise-prone data, concepts that describe maximal disorder (maximum entropy, minimum Fisher information, minimal bina y discrimination) exert a smoothing influence on the solutions that drastically reduces noise propagation into the output. Given insufficient but noise-free data, as in the probability estimation problem, the principle of minimum Fisher information, in particular, creates smooth estimates which, oftentimes, are physically correct as well.     

Gambling among lottery winners: Before and after the big score

The proliferation of state lotteries raises the possibility of increasing pathological gambling because large segments of the population are purchasing tickets. This study, based on a 50% response rate of million dollar winners in Ohio in 1986, indicates lottery winners spend relatively small amounts of money on tickets, did not appreciably increase the amount of money they spent on tickets after winning, and rarely engaged in other forms of gambling before or after they won. These data do not support the assumption that lotteries significantly increase the amount of compulsive gambling in our society, but the subject deserves further exploration.     

Japanese Retailing Through the 1990s: Retailer Performance in a Decade of Slow Growth

The development of Japanese retailing through the 1990s is used to illustrate the applicability of a Europe-based growth model in a recessionary market. Through the 1990s the Japanese economy suffered low growth and periods of recession, after strong growth through the 1980s. Retail sales in the 1990s increased only slightly whilst floor-space developments begun in the 1980s and the result of retailer expansion strategies generated increased retail capacity. Large retailers pursued strategies of opening more stores in order to generate sales, but this proved disastrous and resulted in lower productivity, high levels of debt, low levels of innovation and consequential need to restructure. General merchandise and department-store retailers were slow to see the need to restructure and innovate. In contrast, three groups of retailers obtained competitive advantages from the recession, namely retailers who responded quickly to emergent market segments, foreign retailers and e-retailers. The strategic responses to recession and the reasons behind these responses are illustrated and suggestions made on how the experiences of the 1990s will affect development in the early 2000s. Implications of the retailers' behaviour are indicated for retailer strategies, the restructuring of the sector and for research on strategy and structural change.     

A Distributed Parameter Physiologically-Based Pharmacokinetic Model for Dermal and Inhalation Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds

Estimates of dermal dose from exposures to toxic chemicals are typically derived using models that assume instantaneous establishment of steady-state dermal mass flux. However, dermal absorption theory indicates that this assumption is invalid for short-term exposures to volatile organic chemicals (VOCs). A generalized distributed parameter physiologically-based pharmacokinetic model (DP-PBPK), which describes unsteady state dermal mass flux via a partial differential equation (Fickian diffusion), has been developed for inhalation and dermal absorption of VOCs. In the present study, the DP-PBPK model has been parameterized for chloroform, and compared with two simpler PBPK models of chloroform. The latter are lumped parameter models, employing ordinary differential equations, that do not account for the dermal absorption time lag associated with the accumulation of permeant chemical in tissue represented by permeability coefficients. All three models were evaluated by comparing simulated post-exposure exhaled breath concentration profiles with measured concentrations following environmental chloroform exposures. The DP-PBPK model predicted a time-lag in the exhaled breath concentration profile, consistent with the experimental data. The DP-PBPK model also predicted significant volatilization of chloroform, for a simulated dermal exposure scenario. The end-exposure dermal dose predicted by the DP-PBPK model is similar to that predicted by the EPA recommended method for short-term exposures, and is significantly greater than the end-exposure dose predicted by the lumped parameter models. However, the net dermal dose predicted by the DP-PBPK model is substantially less than that predicted by the EPA method, due to the post-exposure volatilization predicted by the DP-PBPK model. Moreover, the net dermal dose of chloroform predicted by all three models was nearly the same, even though the lumped parameter models did not predict substantial volatilization.     

分物流市场一杯羹

帕拉里亚很清楚，科尔根先生是因朋友的再三推荐才同意会面的。然而，在巧克力薯条的诱人香气里，不到半小时，科尔根先生就放松了警惕，态度也缓和了不少。不到一个小时，帕拉里亚开始谈起与优兹食品公司（Utz）的货运协议。     

Reflections on the assessment of outcomes in child care

Measuring the outcomes of social work interventions with children raises complex issues. The instability of intermediate outcomes emphasises the need to undertake regular and carefully timed assessments. Differences in approach and perspective can obscure relationships between evaluations of organisational performance and assessments of outcome for individual children; user perspectives introduce another point of view. Assessing outcomes of family support services raises questions of accountability. Aggregate information about children looked after, collected through the Looking After Children project, should help to establish the chances of certain outcomes being realised, although the influence of some factors may not be easy to explain.     

One body,some genders: drag performances and technologies

This chapter examines the ways in which one body becomes the site for multiple and varied gender performances through Alana Kumbier's performances as drag king Red Rider and drag queen Red Pearl. Using theoretical frameworks provided by Judith Halberstam, Ira Livingston, and Teresa de Lauretis the essay also calls for a consideration of material technologies and artifacts as technologies of gender.     

Developing culturally competent marriage and family therapists: treatment guidelines for non-African-American therapists working with African-American families

To serve African-American families effectively, marriage and family therapists need to develop a level of cultural competence. This content analysis of the relevant treatment literature was conducted to examine the most common expert recommendations for family therapy with African Americans. Fifteen specific guidelines were generated, including orient the family to therapy, do not assume familiarity, address issue of racism, intervene multi-systemically, do home visits, use problem-solving focus, involve religious leader, incorporate the father, and acknowledge strengths. Conceptual and empirical support for each guideline is discussed, and conclusions are made regarding culturally competent therapy with African-American families.