Nonlinear differential equations for the wavefront surface at arbitrary Hartmann-plane distances.

PubMed

Téllez-Quiñones, Alejandro; Malacara-Doblado, Daniel; Flores-Hernández, Ricardo; Gutiérrez-Hernández, David A; León-Rodríguez, Miguel

2016-03-20

In the Hartmann test, a wave aberration function W is estimated from the information of the spot diagram drawn in an observation plane. The distance from a reference plane to the observation plane, the Hartmann-plane distance, is typically chosen as z=f, where f is the radius of a reference sphere. The function W and the transversal aberrations {X,Y} calculated at the plane z=f are related by two well-known linear differential equations. Here, we propose two nonlinear differential equations to denote a more general relation between W and the transversal aberrations {U,V} calculated at any arbitrary Hartmann-plane distance z=r. We also show how to directly estimate the wavefront surface w from the information of {U,V}. The use of arbitrary r values could improve the reliability of the measurements of W, or w, when finding difficulties in adequate ray identification at z=f.

Direct cortical hemodynamic mapping of somatotopy of pig nostril sensation by functional near-infrared cortical imaging (fNCI).

PubMed

Uga, Minako; Saito, Toshiyuki; Sano, Toshifumi; Yokota, Hidenori; Oguro, Keiji; Rizki, Edmi Edison; Mizutani, Tsutomu; Katura, Takusige; Dan, Ippeita; Watanabe, Eiju

2014-05-01

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a neuroimaging technique for the noninvasive monitoring of human brain activation states utilizing the coupling between neural activity and regional cerebral hemodynamics. Illuminators and detectors, together constituting optodes, are placed on the scalp, but due to the presence of head tissues, an inter-optode distance of more than 2.5cm is necessary to detect cortical signals. Although direct cortical monitoring with fNIRS has been pursued, a high-resolution visualization of hemodynamic changes associated with sensory, motor and cognitive neural responses directly from the cortical surface has yet to be realized. To acquire robust information on the hemodynamics of the cortex, devoid of signal complications in transcranial measurement, we devised a functional near-infrared cortical imaging (fNCI) technique. Here we demonstrate the first direct functional measurement of temporal and spatial patterns of cortical hemodynamics using the fNCI technique. For fNCI, inter-optode distance was set at 5mm, and light leakage from illuminators was prevented by a special optode holder made of a light-shielding rubber sheet. fNCI successfully detected the somatotopy of pig nostril sensation, as assessed in comparison with concurrent and sequential somatosensory-evoked potential (SEP) measurements on the same stimulation sites. Accordingly, the fNCI system realized a direct cortical hemodynamic measurement with a spatial resolution comparable to that of SEP mapping on the rostral region of the pig brain. This study provides an important initial step toward realizing functional cortical hemodynamic monitoring during neurosurgery of human brains. Copyright © 2014. Published by Elsevier Inc.

A location-based multiple point statistics method: modelling the reservoir with non-stationary characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yin, Yanshu; Feng, Wenjie

2017-12-01

In this paper, a location-based multiple point statistics method is developed to model a non-stationary reservoir. The proposed method characterizes the relationship between the sedimentary pattern and the deposit location using the relative central position distance function, which alleviates the requirement that the training image and the simulated grids have the same dimension. The weights in every direction of the distance function can be changed to characterize the reservoir heterogeneity in various directions. The local integral replacements of data events, structured random path, distance tolerance and multi-grid strategy are applied to reproduce the sedimentary patterns and obtain a more realistic result. This method is compared with the traditional Snesim method using a synthesized 3-D training image of Poyang Lake and a reservoir model of Shengli Oilfield in China. The results indicate that the new method can reproduce the non-stationary characteristics better than the traditional method and is more suitable for simulation of delta-front deposits. These results show that the new method is a powerful tool for modelling a reservoir with non-stationary characteristics.

A computer model of molecular arrangement in a n-paraffinic liquid

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vacatello, Michele; Avitabile, Gustavo; Corradini, Paolo; Tuzi, Angela

1980-07-01

A computer model of a bulk liquid polymer was built to investigate the problem of local order. The model is made of C30 n-alkane molecules; it is not a lattice model, but it allows for a continuous variability of torsion angles and interchain distances, subject to realistic intra- and intermolecular potentials. Experimental x-ray scattering curves and radial distribution functions are well reproduced. Calculated properties like end-to-end distances, distribution of torsion angles, radial distribution functions, and chain direction correlation parameters, all indicate a random coil conformation and no tendency to form bundles of parallel chains.

Verification of endocrinological functions at a short distance between parametric speakers and the human body.

PubMed

Lee, Soomin; Katsuura, Tetsuo; Shimomura, Yoshihiro

2011-01-01

In recent years, a new type of speaker called the parametric speaker has been used to generate highly directional sound, and these speakers are now commercially available. In our previous study, we verified that the burden of the parametric speaker was lower than that of the general speaker for endocrine functions. However, nothing has yet been demonstrated about the effects of the shorter distance than 2.6 m between parametric speakers and the human body. Therefore, we investigated the distance effect on endocrinological function and subjective evaluation. Nine male subjects participated in this study. They completed three consecutive sessions: a 20-min quiet period as a baseline, a 30-min mental task period with general speakers or parametric speakers, and a 20-min recovery period. We measured salivary cortisol and chromogranin A (CgA) concentrations. Furthermore, subjects took the Kwansei-gakuin Sleepiness Scale (KSS) test before and after the task and also a sound quality evaluation test after it. Four experiments, one with a speaker condition (general speaker and parametric speaker), the other with a distance condition (0.3 m and 1.0 m), were conducted, respectively, at the same time of day on separate days. We used three-way repeated measures ANOVA (speaker factor × distance factor × time factor) to examine the effects of the parametric speaker. We found that the endocrinological functions were not significantly different between the speaker condition and the distance condition. The results also showed that the physiological burdens increased with progress in time independent of the speaker condition and distance condition.

Energetic electrons driven in the polarization direction of an intense laser beam incident normal to a solid target

DOE PAGES

Seely, J. F.; Hudson, L. T.; Pereira, N.; ...

2016-02-24

Experiments were performed at the LLNL Titan laser to measure the propagation direction of the energetic electrons that were generated during the interaction of the polarized laser beam with solid targets in the case of normal incidence. The energetic electrons propagated through vacuum to spectator metal wires in the polarization direction and in the perpendicular direction, and the K shell spectra from the different wire materials were recorded as functions of the distance from the laser focal spot. It was found that the fluence of the energetic electrons driven into the spectator wires in the polarization direction compared to themore » perpendicular direction was larger and increased with the distance from the focal spot. Finally, this indicates that energetic electrons are preferentially driven in the direction of the intense oscillating electric field of the incident laser beam in agreement with the multiphoton inverse Bremsstrahlung absorption process.« less

29 CFR 1926.1421 - Signals-voice signals-additional requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... operations, the operator, signal person and lift director (if there is one), must contact each other and....), direction; distance and/or speed; function, stop command. (c) The operator, signal person and lift director...

Large-scale structure of randomly jammed spheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ikeda, Atsushi; Berthier, Ludovic; Parisi, Giorgio

2017-05-01

We numerically analyze the density field of three-dimensional randomly jammed packings of monodisperse soft frictionless spherical particles, paying special attention to fluctuations occurring at large length scales. We study in detail the two-point static structure factor at low wave vectors in Fourier space. We also analyze the nature of the density field in real space by studying the large-distance behavior of the two-point pair correlation function, of density fluctuations in subsystems of increasing sizes, and of the direct correlation function. We show that such real space analysis can be greatly improved by introducing a coarse-grained density field to disentangle genuine large-scale correlations from purely local effects. Our results confirm that both Fourier and real space signatures of vanishing density fluctuations at large scale are absent, indicating that randomly jammed packings are not hyperuniform. In addition, we establish that the pair correlation function displays a surprisingly complex structure at large distances, which is however not compatible with the long-range negative correlation of hyperuniform systems but fully compatible with an analytic form for the structure factor. This implies that the direct correlation function is short ranged, as we also demonstrate directly. Our results reveal that density fluctuations in jammed packings do not follow the behavior expected for random hyperuniform materials, but display instead a more complex behavior.

Self-potential response to periodic pumping test: a numerical study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Konosavsky, Pavel; Maineult, Alexis; Narbut, Mikhail; Titov, Konstantin

2017-09-01

We numerically model self-potential responses associated with periodic pumping test experiments by sequential calculation of the hydraulic response and the coupled electrical potential. We assume the pumping test experiments with a fully saturated confined aquifer. Application of different excitation functions leads to quasi-linear trends in electrical records whose direction and intensity depend on the form of the excitation function. The hydraulic response is phase shifted compared to the excitation function; the phase shift increases quasi-linearly with the distance from the pumping well. For the electrical signals, we investigated separately the cases of conducting and insulating casings of the pumping well. For the conducting casing the electrical signals are larger in magnitude than that for the insulating casing; they reproduce the drawdown signals in the pumping well at any distance from the well and exhibit any phase shift with the increased distance. For the insulating casing, the electrical signals are phase shifted and their shape depends on the distance from the pumping well. Three characteristic regimes were found for the phase shift, φ, with the increased distance and for various hydraulic diffusivity values. At small distances φ increases quasi-linearly; at intermediate distances φ attends the value of π/2 and stay about this value (for relatively small diffusivity values); and at large distances φ attends the value of π and, stay about this value at larger distances. This behaviour of the electrical signals can be explained by two electrical sources of reverse polarity. They are (i) linear, time independent, and located at the pumping interval of the well; and (ii) volumetric, time dependent, with maximum value located in the aquifer at the distance corresponding to maximum variation of the hydraulic head magnitude with time. We also model the variation of the amplitude and phase of the hydraulic and electrical signals with increased excitation function period, and we show the characteristic periods corresponding to transition of the periodic pumping test regime to the classical pumping test regime, when the excitation function is considered as the step-function. This transition depends on the distance from the pumping well and the hydraulic diffusivity value of aquifer. Finally, with this modelling of saturated flow we reproduced in sufficient details the field data previously obtained by Maineult et al.

Empirical Green's tensor retrieved from ambient noise cross-correlations at The Geysers geothermal field, Northern California

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nayak, Avinash; Taira, Taka'aki; Dreger, Douglas S.; Gritto, Roland

2018-04-01

We retrieve empirical Green's functions in the frequency range (˜0.2-0.9 Hz) for interstation distances ranging from ˜1 to ˜30 km (˜0.22 to ˜6.5 times the wavelength) at The Geysers geothermal field, Northern California, from coherency of ambient seismic noise being recorded by a variety of sensors (broad-band, short-period surface and borehole sensors, and one accelerometer). The applied methodology preserves the intercomponent relative amplitudes of the nine-component Green's tensor that allows us to directly compare noise-derived Green's functions (NGFs) with normalized displacement waveforms of complete single-force synthetic Green's functions (SGFs) computed with various 1-D and 3-D velocity models using the frequency-wavenumber integration method and a 3-D finite-difference wave propagation method, respectively. These comparisons provide an effective means of evaluating the suitability of different velocity models to different regions of The Geysers, and assessing the quality of the sensors and the NGFs. In the T-Tangential, R-Radial, Z-Vertical reference frame, the TT, RR, RZ, ZR and ZZ components (first component: force direction, second component: response direction) of NGFs show clear surface waves and even body-wave phases for many station pairs. They are also broadly consistent in phase and intercomponent relative amplitudes with SGFs for the known local seismic velocity structure that was derived primarily from body-wave traveltime tomography, even at interstation distances less than one wavelength. We also find anomalous large amplitudes in TR, TZ, RT and ZT components of NGFs at small interstation distances (≲4 km) that can be attributed to ˜10°-30° sensor misalignments at many stations inferred from analysis of longer period teleseismic waveforms. After correcting for sensor misalignments, significant residual amplitudes in these components for some longer interstation distance (≳8 km) paths are better reproduced by the 3-D velocity model than by the 1-D models incorporating known values and fast axis directions of crack-induced VS anisotropy in the geothermal field. We also analyse the decay of Fourier spectral amplitudes of the TT component of NGFs at 0.72 Hz with distance in terms of geometrical spreading and attenuation. While there is considerable scatter in the NGF amplitudes, we find the average decay to be consistent with the decay expected from SGF amplitudes and with the decay of tangential component local-earthquake ground-motion amplitudes with distance at the same frequency.

Relating Sensitivity and Criterion Effects to the Internal Mechanisms of Visual Spatial Attention

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-04-30

Hughes & Zimba , 1987; Rizzolatti, Riggio, Descola & *, .. Umilta, 1987). Further, deficits for uncued locations are a function 4. of the distance...Wilson, 1986; Rizzolatti, et. al., 1987; Hughes & Zimba , 1987, argue that this effect depends upon the use of an articulated visual field). Distance...Hughes, H. & Zimba , L. (1987) Nat,ral boundaries for the spatial spread of directed visual attention. Neuropsychologia, 25, 5-18. O Jonides, J. (1976

Entangled-coherent-state quantum key distribution with entanglement witnessing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Simon, David S.; Jaeger, Gregg; Sergienko, Alexander V.

2014-01-01

An entanglement-witness approach to quantum coherent-state key distribution and a system for its practical implementation are described. In this approach, eavesdropping can be detected by a change in sign of either of two witness functions: an entanglement witness S or an eavesdropping witness W. The effects of loss and eavesdropping on system operation are evaluated as a function of distance. Although the eavesdropping witness W does not directly witness entanglement for the system, its behavior remains related to that of the true entanglement witness S. Furthermore, W is easier to implement experimentally than S. W crosses the axis at a finite distance, in a manner reminiscent of entanglement sudden death. The distance at which this occurs changes measurably when an eavesdropper is present. The distance dependence of the two witnesses due to amplitude reduction and due to increased variance resulting from both ordinary propagation losses and possible eavesdropping activity is provided. Finally, the information content and secure key rate of a continuous variable protocol using this witness approach are given.

Human ocular responses to translation of the observer and of the scene: dependence on viewing distance.

PubMed

Busettini, C; Miles, F A; Schwarz, U; Carl, J R

1994-01-01

Recent experiments on monkeys have indicated that the eye movements induced by brief translation of either the observer or the visual scene are a linear function of the inverse of the viewing distance. For the movements of the observer, the room was dark and responses were attributed to a translational vestibulo-ocular reflex (TVOR) that senses the motion through the otolith organs; for the movements of the scene, which elicit ocular following, the scene was projected and adjusted in size and speed so that the retinal stimulation was the same at all distances. The shared dependence on viewing distance was consistent with the hypothesis that the TVOR and ocular following are synergistic and share central pathways. The present experiments looked for such dependencies on viewing distance in human subjects. When briefly accelerated along the interaural axis in the dark, human subjects generated compensatory eye movements that were also a linear function of the inverse of the viewing distance to a previously fixated target. These responses, which were attributed to the TVOR, were somewhat weaker than those previously recorded from monkeys using similar methods. When human subjects faced a tangent screen onto which patterned images were projected, brief motion of those images evoked ocular following responses that showed statistically significant dependence on viewing distance only with low-speed stimuli (10 degrees/s). This dependence was at best weak and in the reverse direction of that seen with the TVOR, i.e., responses increased as viewing distance increased. We suggest that in generating an internal estimate of viewing distance subjects may have used a confounding cue in the ocular-following paradigm--the size of the projected scene--which was varied directly with the viewing distance in these experiments (in order to preserve the size of the retinal image). When movements of the subject were randomly interleaved with the movements of the scene--to encourage the expectation of ego-motion--the dependence of ocular following on viewing distance altered significantly: with higher speed stimuli (40 degrees/s) many responses (63%) now increased significantly as viewing distance decreased, though less vigorously than the TVOR. We suggest that the expectation of motion results in the subject placing greater weight on cues such as vergence and accommodation that provide veridical distance information in our experimental situation: cue selection is context specific.

A formulation of directivity for earthquake sources using isochrone theory

USGS Publications Warehouse

Spudich, Paul; Chiou, Brian S.J.; Graves, Robert; Collins, Nancy; Somerville, Paul

2004-01-01

A functional form for directivity effects can be derived from isochrone theory, in which the measure of the directivity-induced amplification of an S body wave is c, the isochrone velocity. Ground displacement of the near-, intermediate-, and far-field terms of P and S waves is linear in isochrone velocity for a finite source in a whole space. We have developed an approximation c-tilde-prime of isochrone velocity that can easily be implemented as a predictor of directivity effects in empirical ground motion prediction relations. Typically, for a given fault surface, hypocenter, and site geometry, c-tilde-prime is a simple function of the hypocentral distance, the rupture distance, the crustal shear wave speed in the seismogenic zone, and the rupture velocity. c-tilde-prime typically ranges in the interval 0.44, for rupture away from the station, to about 4, for rupture toward the station. In this version of the theory directivity is independent of period. Additionally, we have created another functional form which is c-tilde-prime modified to include the approximate radiation pattern of a finite fault having a given rake. This functional form can be used to model the spatial variations of fault-parallel and fault-normal horizontal ground motions. The strengths of this formulation are 1) the proposed functional form is based on theory, 2) the predictor is unambiguously defined for all possible site locations and source rakes, and 3) it can easily be implemented for well-studied important previous earthquakes. We compare predictions of our functional form with synthetic ground motions calculated for finite strike-slip and dip-slip faults in the magnitude range 6.5 - 7.5. In general our functional form correlates best with computed fault-normal and fault-parallel motions in the synthetic motions calculated for events with M6.5. Correlation degrades but is still useful for larger events and for the geometric average horizontal motions. We have had limited success applying it to geometrically complicated faults.

Maternal Emotion Regulation and Adolescent Behaviors: The Mediating Role of Family Functioning and Parenting.

PubMed

Crandall, AliceAnn; Ghazarian, Sharon R; Day, Randal D; Riley, Anne W

2016-11-01

Prior research links poor maternal emotion regulation to maladaptive parenting and child behaviors, but little research is available on these relationships during the adolescent period. We use structural equation modeling to assess the influence of poor maternal emotion regulation, measured as emotional reactivity and distancing, on adolescent behaviors (measured as aggression and prosocial behaviors) among 478 adolescents (53 % female; baseline age 10-13 years) and their mothers over a 5 year period. We also tested the possible mediating roles of family functioning and parenting behaviors between maternal emotion regulation and adolescent behaviors. Results indicated that higher baseline maternal emotional distancing and reactivity were not directly predictive of adolescents' behaviors, but they were indirectly related through family functioning and parenting. Specifically, indulgent parenting mediated the relationship between maternal emotional reactivity and adolescent aggression. Maternal-reported family functioning significantly mediated the relationship between maternal emotional distancing and adolescent aggression. Family functioning also mediated the relationship between emotional distancing and regulation parenting. The results imply that poor maternal emotion regulation during their child's early adolescence leads to more maladaptive parenting and problematic behaviors during the later adolescent period. However, healthy family processes may ameliorate the negative impact of low maternal emotion regulation on parenting and adolescent behavioral outcomes. The implications for future research and interventions to improve parenting and adolescent outcomes are discussed.

Technological advances in site-directed spin labeling of proteins.

PubMed

Hubbell, Wayne L; López, Carlos J; Altenbach, Christian; Yang, Zhongyu

2013-10-01

Molecular flexibility over a wide time range is of central importance to the function of many proteins, both soluble and membrane. Revealing the modes of flexibility, their amplitudes, and time scales under physiological conditions is the challenge for spectroscopic methods, one of which is site-directed spin labeling EPR (SDSL-EPR). Here we provide an overview of some recent technological advances in SDSL-EPR related to investigation of structure, structural heterogeneity, and dynamics of proteins. These include new classes of spin labels, advances in measurement of long range distances and distance distributions, methods for identifying backbone and conformational fluctuations, and new strategies for determining the kinetics of protein motion. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Partial Correlation-Based Retinotopically Organized Resting-State Functional Connectivity Within and Between Areas of the Visual Cortex Reflects More Than Cortical Distance

PubMed Central

Dawson, Debra Ann; Lam, Jack; Lewis, Lindsay B.; Carbonell, Felix; Mendola, Janine D.

2016-01-01

Abstract Numerous studies have demonstrated functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-based resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between cortical areas. Recent evidence suggests that synchronous fluctuations in blood oxygenation level-dependent fMRI reflect functional organization at a scale finer than that of visual areas. In this study, we investigated whether RSFCs within and between lower visual areas are retinotopically organized and whether retinotopically organized RSFC merely reflects cortical distance. Subjects underwent retinotopic mapping and separately resting-state fMRI. Visual areas V1, V2, and V3, were subdivided into regions of interest (ROIs) according to quadrants and visual field eccentricity. Functional connectivity (FC) was computed based on Pearson's linear correlation (correlation), and Pearson's linear partial correlation (correlation between two time courses after the time courses from all other regions in the network are regressed out). Within a quadrant, within visual areas, all correlation and nearly all partial correlation FC measures showed statistical significance. Consistently in V1, V2, and to a lesser extent in V3, correlation decreased with increasing eccentricity separation. Consistent with previously reported monkey anatomical connectivity, correlation/partial correlation values between regions from adjacent areas (V1-V2 and V2-V3) were higher than those between nonadjacent areas (V1-V3). Within a quadrant, partial correlation showed consistent significance between regions from two different areas with the same or adjacent eccentricities. Pairs of ROIs with similar eccentricity showed higher correlation/partial correlation than pairs distant in eccentricity. Between dorsal and ventral quadrants, partial correlation between common and adjacent eccentricity regions within a visual area showed statistical significance; this extended to more distant eccentricity regions in V1. Within and between quadrants, correlation decreased approximately linearly with increasing distances separating the tested ROIs. Partial correlation showed a more complex dependence on cortical distance: it decreased exponentially with increasing distance within a quadrant, but was best fit by a quadratic function between quadrants. We conclude that RSFCs within and between lower visual areas are retinotopically organized. Correlation-based FC is nonselectively high across lower visual areas, even between regions that do not share direct anatomical connections. The mechanisms likely involve network effects caused by the dense anatomical connectivity within this network and projections from higher visual areas. FC based on partial correlation, which minimizes network effects, follows expectations based on direct anatomical connections in the monkey visual cortex better than correlation. Last, partial correlation-based retinotopically organized RSFC reflects more than cortical distance effects. PMID:26415043

Partial Correlation-Based Retinotopically Organized Resting-State Functional Connectivity Within and Between Areas of the Visual Cortex Reflects More Than Cortical Distance.

PubMed

Dawson, Debra Ann; Lam, Jack; Lewis, Lindsay B; Carbonell, Felix; Mendola, Janine D; Shmuel, Amir

2016-02-01

Numerous studies have demonstrated functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)-based resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) between cortical areas. Recent evidence suggests that synchronous fluctuations in blood oxygenation level-dependent fMRI reflect functional organization at a scale finer than that of visual areas. In this study, we investigated whether RSFCs within and between lower visual areas are retinotopically organized and whether retinotopically organized RSFC merely reflects cortical distance. Subjects underwent retinotopic mapping and separately resting-state fMRI. Visual areas V1, V2, and V3, were subdivided into regions of interest (ROIs) according to quadrants and visual field eccentricity. Functional connectivity (FC) was computed based on Pearson's linear correlation (correlation), and Pearson's linear partial correlation (correlation between two time courses after the time courses from all other regions in the network are regressed out). Within a quadrant, within visual areas, all correlation and nearly all partial correlation FC measures showed statistical significance. Consistently in V1, V2, and to a lesser extent in V3, correlation decreased with increasing eccentricity separation. Consistent with previously reported monkey anatomical connectivity, correlation/partial correlation values between regions from adjacent areas (V1-V2 and V2-V3) were higher than those between nonadjacent areas (V1-V3). Within a quadrant, partial correlation showed consistent significance between regions from two different areas with the same or adjacent eccentricities. Pairs of ROIs with similar eccentricity showed higher correlation/partial correlation than pairs distant in eccentricity. Between dorsal and ventral quadrants, partial correlation between common and adjacent eccentricity regions within a visual area showed statistical significance; this extended to more distant eccentricity regions in V1. Within and between quadrants, correlation decreased approximately linearly with increasing distances separating the tested ROIs. Partial correlation showed a more complex dependence on cortical distance: it decreased exponentially with increasing distance within a quadrant, but was best fit by a quadratic function between quadrants. We conclude that RSFCs within and between lower visual areas are retinotopically organized. Correlation-based FC is nonselectively high across lower visual areas, even between regions that do not share direct anatomical connections. The mechanisms likely involve network effects caused by the dense anatomical connectivity within this network and projections from higher visual areas. FC based on partial correlation, which minimizes network effects, follows expectations based on direct anatomical connections in the monkey visual cortex better than correlation. Last, partial correlation-based retinotopically organized RSFC reflects more than cortical distance effects.

The Application of Elliptic Cylindrical Phantom in Brachytherapy Dosimetric Study of HDR 192Ir Source

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahn, Woo Sang; Park, Sung Ho; Jung, Sang Hoon; Choi, Wonsik; Do Ahn, Seung; Shin, Seong Soo

2014-06-01

The purpose of this study is to determine the radial dose function of HDR 192Ir source based on Monte Carlo simulation using elliptic cylindrical phantom, similar to realistic shape of pelvis, in brachytherapy dosimetric study. The elliptic phantom size and shape was determined by analysis of dimensions of pelvis on CT images of 20 patients treated with brachytherapy for cervical cancer. The radial dose function obtained using the elliptic cylindrical water phantom was compared with radial dose functions for different spherical phantom sizes, including the Williamsion's data loaded into conventional planning system. The differences in the radial dose function for the different spherical water phantoms increase with radial distance, r, and the largest differences in the radial dose function appear for the smallest phantom size. The radial dose function of the elliptic cylindrical phantom significantly decreased with radial distance in the vertical direction due to different scatter condition in comparison with the Williamson's data. Considering doses to ICRU rectum and bladder points, doses to reference points can be underestimated up to 1-2% at the distance from 3 to 6 cm. The radial dose function in this study could be used as realistic data for calculating the brachytherapy dosimetry for cervical cancer.

Acute effects of rearfoot manipulation on dynamic standing balance in healthy individuals.

PubMed

Wassinger, Craig A; Rockett, Ariel; Pitman, Lucas; Murphy, Matthew Matt; Peters, Charles

2014-06-01

Dynamic standing balance is essential to perform functional activities and is included in the treatment of many lower extremity injuries. Physiotherapists utilize many methods to restore standing balance including stability exercises, functional retraining, and manual therapy. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a rearfoot distraction manipulation on dynamic standing balance. Twenty healthy participants (age: 24.4 ± 2.8 years; height: 162.9 ± 37.7 cm; mass: 68.0 ± 4.8 kg; right leg dominant = 20) completed this study. Following familiarization, dynamic standing balance was assessed during: (1) an experimental condition immediately following a rearfoot distraction manipulation, and (2) a control condition. Dominant leg balance was quantified using the Y-balance test which measures lower extremity reach distances. Reach distances were normalized to leg length and measured in the anterior, posteromedial and posterolateral directions. Overall balance was calculated through the summing of all normalized directions. Paired t-tests and Wilcoxon rank tests were used to compare balance scores for parametric and non-parametric data as appropriate. Significance was set at 0.05 a priori. Effect size (ES) was calculated to determine the clinical impact of the manipulation. Increased reach distances (indicating improved balance) were noted following manipulation for overall balance (p = 0.03, ES = 0.26) and in the posteromedial direction (p = 0.01, ES = 0.42). Reach distances did not differ for the anterior (p = 0.11, ES = 0.16) or posterolateral (p = 0.11, ES = 0.25) components. Dynamic standing balance improved after a rearfoot distraction manipulation in healthy participants. It is hypothesized that manual therapy applied to the foot and ankle may be beneficial to augment other therapeutic modalities when working with patients to improve dynamic standing balance. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Statistics of strain rates and surface density function in a flame-resolved high-fidelity simulation of a turbulent premixed bluff body burner

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sandeep, Anurag; Proch, Fabian; Kempf, Andreas M.; Chakraborty, Nilanjan

2018-06-01

The statistical behavior of the surface density function (SDF, the magnitude of the reaction progress variable gradient) and the strain rates, which govern the evolution of the SDF, have been analyzed using a three-dimensional flame-resolved simulation database of a turbulent lean premixed methane-air flame in a bluff-body configuration. It has been found that the turbulence intensity increases with the distance from the burner, changing the flame curvature distribution and increasing the probability of the negative curvature in the downstream direction. The curvature dependences of dilatation rate ∇ṡu → and displacement speed Sd give rise to variations of these quantities in the axial direction. These variations affect the nature of the alignment between the progress variable gradient and the local principal strain rates, which in turn affects the mean flame normal strain rate, which assumes positive values close to the burner but increasingly becomes negative as the effect of turbulence increases with the axial distance from the burner exit. The axial distance dependences of the curvature and displacement speed also induce a considerable variation in the mean value of the curvature stretch. The axial distance dependences of the dilatation rate and flame normal strain rate govern the behavior of the flame tangential strain rate, and its mean value increases in the downstream direction. The current analysis indicates that the statistical behaviors of different strain rates and displacement speed and their curvature dependences need to be included in the modeling of flame surface density and scalar dissipation rate in order to accurately capture their local behaviors.

Cometary coma ions. [which occur when water is the major constituent

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Aikin, A. C.

1974-01-01

For comets whose nuclei are composed of water ice conglomerates it is shown that the ion H3O(+) can predominate to distances of 5000 km in the subsolar direction. Beyond this distance H2O(+) is the most important ion. The crossover point is a sensitive function of the rate of evaporation from the nucleus. The presence of ammonia or metals such as sodium, in concentrations greater than 0.1% H2O, can lead to NH4(+) and Na(+) ions.

Directional Unfolded Source Term (DUST) for Compton Cameras.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mitchell, Dean J.; Horne, Steven M.; O'Brien, Sean

2018-03-01

A Directional Unfolded Source Term (DUST) algorithm was developed to enable improved spectral analysis capabilities using data collected by Compton cameras. Achieving this objective required modification of the detector response function in the Gamma Detector Response and Analysis Software (GADRAS). Experimental data that were collected in support of this work include measurements of calibration sources at a range of separation distances and cylindrical depleted uranium castings.

Anatomic Location of Tumor Predicts the Accuracy of Motor Function Localization in Diffuse Lower-Grade Gliomas Involving the Hand Knob Area.

PubMed

Fang, S; Liang, J; Qian, T; Wang, Y; Liu, X; Fan, X; Li, S; Wang, Y; Jiang, T

2017-10-01

The accuracy of preoperative blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI remains controversial. This study assessed the association between the anatomic location of a tumor and the accuracy of fMRI-based motor function mapping in diffuse lower-grade gliomas. Thirty-five patients with lower-grade gliomas involving motor areas underwent preoperative blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI scans with grasping tasks and received intraoperative direct cortical stimulation. Patients were classified into an overlapping group and a nonoverlapping group, depending on the extent to which blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI and direct cortical stimulation results concurred. Tumor location was quantitatively measured, including the shortest distance from the tumor to the hand knob and the deviation distance of the midpoint of the hand knob in the lesion hemisphere relative to the midline compared with the normal contralateral hemisphere. A 4-mm shortest distance from the tumor to the hand knob value was identified as optimal for differentiating the overlapping and nonoverlapping group with the receiver operating characteristic curve (sensitivity, 84.6%; specificity, 77.8%). The shortest distances from the tumor to the hand knob of ≤4 mm were associated with inaccurate fMRI-based localizations of the hand motor cortex. The shortest distances from the tumor to the hand knob were larger ( P = .002), and the deviation distances for the midpoint of the hand knob in the lesion hemisphere were smaller ( P = .003) in the overlapping group than in the nonoverlapping group. This study suggests that the shortest distance from the tumor to the hand knob and the deviation distance for the midpoint of the hand knob on the lesion hemisphere are predictive of the accuracy of blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI results. Smaller shortest distances from the tumor to the hand knob and larger deviation distances for the midpoint of hand knob on the lesion hemisphere are associated with less accuracy of motor cortex localization with blood oxygen level-dependent fMRI. Preoperative fMRI data for surgical planning should be used cautiously when the shortest distance from the tumor to the hand knob is ≤4 mm, especially for lower-grade gliomas anterior to the central sulcus. © 2017 by American Journal of Neuroradiology.

The Fixed-Point Theory of Strictly Causal Functions

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-06-09

functions were defined to be the functions that are strictly contracting with respect to the Cantor metric (also called the Baire distance) on signals...of Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pages 447–484. Springer Berlin / Heidelberg, 1992. [36] George Markowsky. Chain-complete posets and directed...Journal of Logic Programming, 42(2):59–70, 2000. [52] George M. Reed and A. William Roscoe. A timed model for communicating sequential processes. In Laurent

Controlled, Site-Specific Functionalization of Carbon Nanotubes with Diazonium Salts

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tour, James M.

2013-01-01

This work uses existing technologies to prepare a crossbar architecture of nano tubes, wherein one nanotube is fixed to a substrate, and a second nanotube is suspended a finite distance above. Both nano tubes can be individually addressed electrically. Application of opposite potentials to the two tubes causes the top tube to deform and to essentially come into contact with the lower tube. Contact here refers not to actual, physical contact, but rather within an infinitesimally small distance referred to as van der Walls contact, in which the entities may influence each other on a molecular and electronic scale. First, the top tube is physically deformed, leading to a potentially higher chemical reactivity at the point of deformation, based on current understanding of the effects of curvature strain on reactivity. This feature would allow selective functionalization at the junction via reaction with diazonium salts. Secondly, higher potential is achieved at the point of "cross" between the tubes. In a pending patent application, a method is claimed for directed self-assembly of molecular components onto the surface of metal or conductive materials by application of potential to the metal or conductive surface. In another pending patent application, a method is claimed for attaching molecules to the surface of nanotubes via the use of reactive diazonium salts. In the present invention, the directed functionalization of the crossed-nanotube junctions by applying a potential to the ends of the nanotubes in the presence of reactive diazonium slats, or other reactive molecular species is claimed. The diazonium salts are directed by the potential existing at the junction to react with the surface of the nanotube, thus placing functional molecular components at the junctions. The crossed nano tubes therefore provide a method of directly addressing the functionalized molecules, which have been shown to function as molecular switches, molecular wires, and in other capacities and uses. Site-specific functionalization may enable the use of nanotubes in molecular electronic applications because device functionality is critical at the cross points.

Molecular dynamics investigation of the physisorption and interfacial characteristics of NBR chains on carbon nanotubes with different characteristics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Li, Kun; Gu, Boqin

2017-07-01

The present study investigates the physisorption and interfacial interactions between multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) with different characteristics, including different numbers of walls and different functional groups, and acrylonitrile-butadiene rubber (NBR) polymer chains based on molecular dynamics simulations performed using modeled MWNT/NBR compound systems. The effects of the initial orientation of NBR chains and their relative distances to nanotubes, number of nanotube layers, and the surface functional groups of nanotubes on nanotube/polymer interactions are examined. Analysis is conducted according to the final configuration obtained in conjunction with the binding energy (Eb), radius of gyration (Rg) and end-to-end distance (h). The results show that the final conformations of NBR chains adsorbed on MWNT surfaces is associated with the initial relative angle of the NBR chains and their distance from the nanotubes. For non-functionalized MWNTs, Eb is almost directly proportional to Rg under equivalent parameters. Moreover, it is observed that functional groups hinder the wrapping of NBR chains on the MWNT surfaces. This indicates that functional groups do not always benefit the macro-mechanical properties of the composites. Moreover, the type of the major interaction force has been dramatically changed into electrostatic force from vdW force because of functionalization.

An Aggregated Method for Determining Railway Defects and Obstacle Parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Loktev, Daniil; Loktev, Alexey; Stepanov, Roman; Pevzner, Viktor; Alenov, Kanat

2018-03-01

The method of combining algorithms of image blur analysis and stereo vision to determine the distance to objects (including external defects of railway tracks) and the speed of moving objects-obstacles is proposed. To estimate the deviation of the distance depending on the blur a statistical approach, logarithmic, exponential and linear standard functions are used. The statistical approach includes a method of estimating least squares and the method of least modules. The accuracy of determining the distance to the object, its speed and direction of movement is obtained. The paper develops a method of determining distances to objects by analyzing a series of images and assessment of depth using defocusing using its aggregation with stereoscopic vision. This method is based on a physical effect of dependence on the determined distance to the object on the obtained image from the focal length or aperture of the lens. In the calculation of the blur spot diameter it is assumed that blur occurs at the point equally in all directions. According to the proposed approach, it is possible to determine the distance to the studied object and its blur by analyzing a series of images obtained using the video detector with different settings. The article proposes and scientifically substantiates new and improved existing methods for detecting the parameters of static and moving objects of control, and also compares the results of the use of various methods and the results of experiments. It is shown that the aggregate method gives the best approximation to the real distances.

Building an Online Learning Community

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chen, Yu-Chein

2004-01-01

The Internet was not invented for education at beginning (Pett Grabinger, 1995), but it has influenced educational systems considerably, especially by providing another way for distance learning. This powerful communication function is superior to any other educational media. Students can conduct their own self-directed learning without…

Airfoil shape for a turbine bucket

DOEpatents

Hyde, Susan Marie; By, Robert Romany; Tressler, Judd Dodge; Schaeffer, Jon Conrad; Sims, Calvin Levy

2005-06-28

Third stage turbine buckets have airfoil profiles substantially in accordance with Cartesian coordinate values of X, Y and Z set forth Table I wherein X and Y values are in inches and the Z values are non-dimensional values from 0 to 0.938 convertible to Z distances in inches by multiplying the Z values by the height of the airfoil in inches. The X and Y values are distances which, when connected by smooth continuing arcs, define airfoil profile sections at each distance Z. The profile sections at each distance Z are joined smoothly to one another to form a complete airfoil shape. The X and Y distances may be scalable as a function of the same constant or number to provide a scaled up or scaled down airfoil section for the bucket. The nominal airfoil given by the X, Y and Z distances lies within an envelop of .+-.0.150 inches in directions normal to the surface of the airfoil.

Verification of Emmert's law in actual and virtual environments.

PubMed

Nakamizo, Sachio; Imamura, Mariko

2004-11-01

We examined Emmert's law by measuring the perceived size of an afterimage and the perceived distance of the surface on which the afterimage was projected in actual and virtual environments. The actual environment consisted of a corridor with ample cues as to distance and depth. The virtual environment was made from the CAVE of a virtual reality system. The afterimage, disc-shaped and one degree in diameter, was produced by flashing with an electric photoflash. The observers were asked to estimate the perceived distance to surfaces located at various physical distances (1 to 24 m) by the magnitude estimation method and to estimate the perceived size of the afterimage projected on the surfaces by a matching method. The results show that the perceived size of the afterimage was directly proportional to the perceived distance in both environments; thus, Emmert's law holds in virtual as well as actual environments. We suggest that Emmert's law is a specific case of a functional principle of distance scaling by the visual system.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ferré, Grégoire; Maillet, Jean-Bernard; Stoltz, Gabriel

We present a permutation-invariant distance between atomic configurations, defined through a functional representation of atomic positions. This distance enables us to directly compare different atomic environments with an arbitrary number of particles, without going through a space of reduced dimensionality (i.e., fingerprints) as an intermediate step. Moreover, this distance is naturally invariant through permutations of atoms, avoiding the time consuming associated minimization required by other common criteria (like the root mean square distance). Finally, the invariance through global rotations is accounted for by a minimization procedure in the space of rotations solved by Monte Carlo simulated annealing. A formal frameworkmore » is also introduced, showing that the distance we propose verifies the property of a metric on the space of atomic configurations. Two examples of applications are proposed. The first one consists in evaluating faithfulness of some fingerprints (or descriptors), i.e., their capacity to represent the structural information of a configuration. The second application concerns structural analysis, where our distance proves to be efficient in discriminating different local structures and even classifying their degree of similarity.« less

Do radioactive half-lives vary with the Earth-to-Sun distance?

PubMed

Hardy, J C; Goodwin, J R; Iacob, V E

2012-09-01

Recently, Jenkins, Fischbach and collaborators have claimed evidence that radionuclide half-lives vary systematically over a ±0.1% range as a function of the oscillating distance between the Earth and the Sun, based on multi-year activity measurements. We have avoided the time-dependent instabilities to which such measurements are susceptible by directly measuring the half-life of (198)Au (t(1/2)=2.695 d) on seven occasions spread out in time to cover the complete range of Earth-Sun distances. We observe no systematic oscillations in half-life and can set an upper limit on their amplitude of ±0.02%. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Anharmonic Normal Mode Analysis of Elastic Network Model Improves the Modeling of Atomic Fluctuations in Protein Crystal Structures

PubMed Central

Zheng, Wenjun

2010-01-01

Abstract Protein conformational dynamics, despite its significant anharmonicity, has been widely explored by normal mode analysis (NMA) based on atomic or coarse-grained potential functions. To account for the anharmonic aspects of protein dynamics, this study proposes, and has performed, an anharmonic NMA (ANMA) based on the Cα-only elastic network models, which assume elastic interactions between pairs of residues whose Cα atoms or heavy atoms are within a cutoff distance. The key step of ANMA is to sample an anharmonic potential function along the directions of eigenvectors of the lowest normal modes to determine the mean-squared fluctuations along these directions. ANMA was evaluated based on the modeling of anisotropic displacement parameters (ADPs) from a list of 83 high-resolution protein crystal structures. Significant improvement was found in the modeling of ADPs by ANMA compared with standard NMA. Further improvement in the modeling of ADPs is attained if the interactions between a protein and its crystalline environment are taken into account. In addition, this study has determined the optimal cutoff distances for ADP modeling based on elastic network models, and these agree well with the peaks of the statistical distributions of distances between Cα atoms or heavy atoms derived from a large set of protein crystal structures. PMID:20550915

Selective functionalization of carbon nanotubes based upon distance traveled

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Khare, Bishun N. (Inventor); Meyyappan, Meyya (Inventor)

2010-01-01

Method and system for functionalizing a collection of carbon nanotubes (CNTs). A selected precursor gas (e.g., H.sub.2 or NH.sub.3 or NF.sub.3 or F.sub.2 or CF.sub.4 or C.sub.nH.sub.m) is irradiated to provide a cold plasma of selected target particles, such as atomic H or F, in a first chamber. The target particles are directed toward an array of CNTs located in a second chamber while suppressing transport of ultraviolet radiation to the second chamber. A CNT array is functionalized with the target particles, at or below room temperature, to a point of saturation, in an exposure time interval no longer than about 30 sec. The predominant species that are deposited on the CNT array vary with the distance d measured along a path from the precursor gas to the CNT array; two or three different predominant species can be deposited on a CNT array for distances d=d1 and d=d2>d1 and d=d3>d2.

Permutation-invariant distance between atomic configurations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferré, Grégoire; Maillet, Jean-Bernard; Stoltz, Gabriel

2015-09-01

We present a permutation-invariant distance between atomic configurations, defined through a functional representation of atomic positions. This distance enables us to directly compare different atomic environments with an arbitrary number of particles, without going through a space of reduced dimensionality (i.e., fingerprints) as an intermediate step. Moreover, this distance is naturally invariant through permutations of atoms, avoiding the time consuming associated minimization required by other common criteria (like the root mean square distance). Finally, the invariance through global rotations is accounted for by a minimization procedure in the space of rotations solved by Monte Carlo simulated annealing. A formal framework is also introduced, showing that the distance we propose verifies the property of a metric on the space of atomic configurations. Two examples of applications are proposed. The first one consists in evaluating faithfulness of some fingerprints (or descriptors), i.e., their capacity to represent the structural information of a configuration. The second application concerns structural analysis, where our distance proves to be efficient in discriminating different local structures and even classifying their degree of similarity.

CDMetaPOP: An individual-based, eco-evolutionary model for spatially explicit simulation of landscape demogenetics

USGS Publications Warehouse

Landguth, Erin L; Bearlin, Andrew; Day, Casey; Dunham, Jason B.

2016-01-01

1. Combining landscape demographic and genetics models offers powerful methods for addressing questions for eco-evolutionary applications.2. Using two illustrative examples, we present Cost–Distance Meta-POPulation, a program to simulate changes in neutral and/or selection-driven genotypes through time as a function of individual-based movement, complex spatial population dynamics, and multiple and changing landscape drivers.3. Cost–Distance Meta-POPulation provides a novel tool for questions in landscape genetics by incorporating population viability analysis, while linking directly to conservation applications.

Compensatory mutations cause excess of antagonistic epistasis in RNA secondary structure folding.

PubMed

Wilke, Claus O; Lenski, Richard E; Adami, Christoph

2003-02-05

The rate at which fitness declines as an organism's genome accumulates random mutations is an important variable in several evolutionary theories. At an intuitive level, it might seem natural that random mutations should tend to interact synergistically, such that the rate of mean fitness decline accelerates as the number of random mutations is increased. However, in a number of recent studies, a prevalence of antagonistic epistasis (the tendency of multiple mutations to have a mitigating rather than reinforcing effect) has been observed. We studied in silico the net amount and form of epistatic interactions in RNA secondary structure folding by measuring the fraction of neutral mutants as a function of mutational distance d. We found a clear prevalence of antagonistic epistasis in RNA secondary structure folding. By relating the fraction of neutral mutants at distance d to the average neutrality at distance d, we showed that this prevalence derives from the existence of many compensatory mutations at larger mutational distances. Our findings imply that the average direction of epistasis in simple fitness landscapes is directly related to the density with which fitness peaks are distributed in these landscapes.

Compensatory mutations cause excess of antagonistic epistasis in RNA secondary structure folding

PubMed Central

Wilke, Claus O; Lenski, Richard E; Adami, Christoph

2003-01-01

Background The rate at which fitness declines as an organism's genome accumulates random mutations is an important variable in several evolutionary theories. At an intuitive level, it might seem natural that random mutations should tend to interact synergistically, such that the rate of mean fitness decline accelerates as the number of random mutations is increased. However, in a number of recent studies, a prevalence of antagonistic epistasis (the tendency of multiple mutations to have a mitigating rather than reinforcing effect) has been observed. Results We studied in silico the net amount and form of epistatic interactions in RNA secondary structure folding by measuring the fraction of neutral mutants as a function of mutational distance d. We found a clear prevalence of antagonistic epistasis in RNA secondary structure folding. By relating the fraction of neutral mutants at distance d to the average neutrality at distance d, we showed that this prevalence derives from the existence of many compensatory mutations at larger mutational distances. Conclusions Our findings imply that the average direction of epistasis in simple fitness landscapes is directly related to the density with which fitness peaks are distributed in these landscapes. PMID:12590655

On Fixed Points of Strictly Causal Functions

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-04-08

were defined to be the functions that are strictly contracting with respect to the Cantor metric (also called the Baire distance) on signals over non...in Computer Science, pages 447–484. Springer Berlin / Heidelberg, 1992. [36] George Markowsky. Chain-complete posets and directed sets with...Journal of Logic Programming, 42(2):59–70, 2000. [53] George M. Reed and A. William Roscoe. A timed model for communicating sequential processes. In

Modelling non-Euclidean movement and landscape connectivity in highly structured ecological networks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sutherland, Christopher; Fuller, Angela K.; Royle, J. Andrew

2015-01-01

The ecological distance SCR model uses spatially indexed capture-recapture data to estimate how activity patterns are influenced by landscape structure. As well as reducing bias in estimates of abundance, this approach provides biologically realistic representations of home range geometry, and direct information about species-landscape interactions. The incorporation of both structural (landscape) and functional (movement) components of connectivity provides a direct measure of species-specific landscape connectivity.

Interval and Contour Processing in Autism

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Heaton, Pamela

2005-01-01

High functioning children with autism and age and intelligence matched controls participated in experiments testing perception of pitch intervals and musical contours. The finding from the interval study showed superior detection of pitch direction over small pitch distances in the autism group. On the test of contour discrimination no group…

Photomotility of polymers

PubMed Central

Wie, Jeong Jae; Shankar, M. Ravi; White, Timothy J.

2016-01-01

Light is distinguished as a contactless energy source for microscale devices as it can be directed from remote distances, rapidly turned on or off, spatially modulated across length scales, polarized, or varied in intensity. Motivated in part by these nascent properties of light, transducing photonic stimuli into macroscopic deformation of materials systems has been examined in the last half-century. Here we report photoinduced motion (photomotility) in monolithic polymer films prepared from azobenzene-functionalized liquid crystalline polymer networks (azo-LCNs). Leveraging the twisted-nematic orientation, irradiation with broad spectrum ultraviolet–visible light (320–500 nm) transforms the films from flat sheets to spiral ribbons, which subsequently translate large distances with continuous irradiation on an arbitrary surface. The motion results from a complex interplay of photochemistry and mechanics. We demonstrate directional control, as well as climbing. PMID:27830707

Stereoscopic perception of real depths at large distances.

PubMed

Palmisano, Stephen; Gillam, Barbara; Govan, Donovan G; Allison, Robert S; Harris, Julie M

2010-06-01

There has been no direct examination of stereoscopic depth perception at very large observation distances and depths. We measured perceptions of depth magnitude at distances where it is frequently reported without evidence that stereopsis is non-functional. We adapted methods pioneered at distances up to 9 m by R. S. Allison, B. J. Gillam, and E. Vecellio (2009) for use in a 381-m-long railway tunnel. Pairs of Light Emitting Diode (LED) targets were presented either in complete darkness or with the environment lit as far as the nearest LED (the observation distance). We found that binocular, but not monocular, estimates of the depth between pairs of LEDs increased with their physical depths up to the maximum depth separation tested (248 m). Binocular estimates of depth were much larger with a lit foreground than in darkness and increased as the observation distance increased from 20 to 40 m, indicating that binocular disparity can be scaled for much larger distances than previously realized. Since these observation distances were well beyond the range of vertical disparity and oculomotor cues, this scaling must rely on perspective cues. We also ran control experiments at smaller distances, which showed that estimates of depth and distance correlate poorly and that our metric estimation method gives similar results to a comparison method under the same conditions.

The shadow price of CO2 emissions in China's iron and steel industry.

PubMed

Wang, Ke; Che, Linan; Ma, Chunbo; Wei, Yi-Ming

2017-11-15

As China becomes the world's largest energy consumer and CO 2 emitter, there has been a rapidly emerging literature on estimating China's abatement cost for CO 2 using a distance function approach. However, the existing studies have mostly focused on the cost estimates at macro levels (provinces or industries) with few examining firm-level abatement costs. No work has attempted to estimate the abatement cost of CO 2 emissions in the iron and steel industry. Although some have argued that the directional distance function (DDF) is more appropriate in the presence of bad output under regulation, the choice of directions is largely arbitrary. This study provides the most up-to-date estimate of the shadow price of CO 2 using a unique dataset of China's major iron and steel enterprises in 2014. The paper uses output quadratic DDF and investigates the impact of using different directional vectors representing different carbon mitigation strategies. The results show that the mean CO 2 shadow price of China's iron and steel enterprises is very sensitive to the choice of direction vectors. The average shadow prices of CO 2 are 407, 1226 and 6058Yuan/tonne respectively for the three different direction vectors. We also find substantial heterogeneity in the shadow prices of CO 2 emissions among China's major iron and steel enterprises. Larger, listed enterprises are found to be associated lower CO 2 shadow prices than smaller, unlisted enterprises. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

[Near infrared distance sensing method for Chang'e-3 alpha particle X-ray spectrometer].

PubMed

Liang, Xiao-Hua; Wu, Ming-Ye; Wang, Huan-Yu; Peng, Wen-Xi; Zhang, Cheng-Mo; Cui, Xing-Zhu; Wang, Jin-Zhou; Zhang, Jia-Yu; Yang, Jia-Wei; Fan, Rui-Rui; Gao, Min; Liu, Ya-Qing; Zhang, Fei; Dong, Yi-Fan; Guo, Dong-Ya

2013-05-01

Alpha particle X-ray spectrometer (APXS) is one of the payloads of Chang'E-3 lunar rover, the scientific objective of which is in-situ observation and off-line analysis of lunar regolith and rock. Distance measurement is one of the important functions for APXS to perform effective detection on the moon. The present paper will first give a brief introduction to APXS, and then analyze the specific requirements and constraints to realize distance measurement, at last present a new near infrared distance sensing algorithm by using the inflection point of response curve. The theoretical analysis and the experiment results verify the feasibility of this algorithm. Although the theoretical analysis shows that this method is not sensitive to the operating temperature and reflectance of the lunar surface, the solar infrared radiant intensity may make photosensor saturation. The solutions are reducing the gain of device and avoiding direct exposure to sun light.

Basis for substrate recognition and distinction by matrix metalloproteinases

PubMed Central

Ratnikov, Boris I.; Cieplak, Piotr; Gramatikoff, Kosi; Pierce, James; Eroshkin, Alexey; Igarashi, Yoshinobu; Kazanov, Marat; Sun, Qing; Godzik, Adam; Osterman, Andrei; Stec, Boguslaw; Strongin, Alex; Smith, Jeffrey W.

2014-01-01

Genomic sequencing and structural genomics produced a vast amount of sequence and structural data, creating an opportunity for structure–function analysis in silico [Radivojac P, et al. (2013) Nat Methods 10(3):221–227]. Unfortunately, only a few large experimental datasets exist to serve as benchmarks for function-related predictions. Furthermore, currently there are no reliable means to predict the extent of functional similarity among proteins. Here, we quantify structure–function relationships among three phylogenetic branches of the matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) family by comparing their cleavage efficiencies toward an extended set of phage peptide substrates that were selected from ∼64 million peptide sequences (i.e., a large unbiased representation of substrate space). The observed second-order rate constants [k(obs)] across the substrate space provide a distance measure of functional similarity among the MMPs. These functional distances directly correlate with MMP phylogenetic distance. There is also a remarkable and near-perfect correlation between the MMP substrate preference and sequence identity of 50–57 discontinuous residues surrounding the catalytic groove. We conclude that these residues represent the specificity-determining positions (SDPs) that allowed for the expansion of MMP proteolytic function during evolution. A transmutation of only a few selected SDPs proximal to the bound substrate peptide, and contributing the most to selectivity among the MMPs, is sufficient to enact a global change in the substrate preference of one MMP to that of another, indicating the potential for the rational and focused redesign of cleavage specificity in MMPs. PMID:25246591

The Perihelion Precession of Saturn, Planet X/Nemesis and MOND

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iorio, Lorenzo

2010-05-01

We show that the retrograde perihelion precession of Saturn \\Delta\\dot\\varpi, recently estimated by different teams of astronomers by processing ranging data from the Cassini spacecraft and amounting to some milliarcseconds per century, can be explained in terms of a localized, distant body X, not yet directly discovered. From the determination of its tidal parameter K = GM_X/r_X^3 as a function of its ecliptic longitude \\lambda_X and latitude \\beta_X, we calculate the distance at which X may exist for different values of its mass, ranging from the size of Mars to that of the Sun. The minimum distance would occur for X located perpendicularly to the ecliptic, while the maximum distance is for X lying in the ecliptic. We find for rock-ice planets of the size of Mars and the Earth that they would be at about 80-150 au, respectively, while a Jupiter-sized gaseous giant would be at approximately 1 kau. A typical brown dwarf would be located at about 4 kau, while an object with the mass of the Sun would be at approximately 10 kau, so that it could not be Nemesis for which a solar mass and a heliocentric distance of about 88 kau are predicted. If X was directed towards a specific direction, i.e. that of the Galactic Center, it would mimick the action of a recently proposed form of the External Field Effect (EFE) in the framework of the MOdified Newtonian Dynamics (MOND).

Motion Direction Biases and Decoding in Human Visual Cortex

PubMed Central

Wang, Helena X.; Merriam, Elisha P.; Freeman, Jeremy

2014-01-01

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have relied on multivariate analysis methods to decode visual motion direction from measurements of cortical activity. Above-chance decoding has been commonly used to infer the motion-selective response properties of the underlying neural populations. Moreover, patterns of reliable response biases across voxels that underlie decoding have been interpreted to reflect maps of functional architecture. Using fMRI, we identified a direction-selective response bias in human visual cortex that: (1) predicted motion-decoding accuracy; (2) depended on the shape of the stimulus aperture rather than the absolute direction of motion, such that response amplitudes gradually decreased with distance from the stimulus aperture edge corresponding to motion origin; and 3) was present in V1, V2, V3, but not evident in MT+, explaining the higher motion-decoding accuracies reported previously in early visual cortex. These results demonstrate that fMRI-based motion decoding has little or no dependence on the underlying functional organization of motion selectivity. PMID:25209297

BMDS: A Collection of R Functions for Bayesian Multidimensional Scaling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Okada, Kensuke; Shigemasu, Kazuo

2009-01-01

Bayesian multidimensional scaling (MDS) has attracted a great deal of attention because: (1) it provides a better fit than do classical MDS and ALSCAL; (2) it provides estimation errors of the distances; and (3) the Bayesian dimension selection criterion, MDSIC, provides a direct indication of optimal dimensionality. However, Bayesian MDS is not…

The Perseus arm in the anticenter direction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Monguió, M.; Grosbøl, P.; Figueras, F.

2015-05-01

The stellar overdensity due to the Perseus arm has been detected in the anticenter direction through individual field stars. For that purpose, a Str&{uml;o}mgren photometric survey covering 16° ^2 was developed with the Wide Field Camera at the Isaac Newton Telescope. This photometry allowed us to compute individual physical parameters for these stars using a new method based on atmospheric models and evolutionary tracks. The analysis of the surface density as a function of distance for intermediate young stars in this survey allowed us to detect an overdensity at 1.6±0.2 kpc from the Sun, that can be associated with the Perseus arm, with a surface density amplitude of ˜14%. The significance of the detection is above 4σ for all the cases. The fit for the radial scale length of the Galactic disk provided values in the range [2.9,3.5] kpc for the population of the B4-A1 stars. We also analyzed the interstellar visual absorption distribution, and its variation as a function of distance is coherent with a dust layer before the Perseus arm location.

Gas Near a Wall: Shortened Mean Free Path, Reduced Viscosity, and the Manifestation of the Knudsen Layer in the Navier-Stokes Solution of a Shear Flow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abramov, Rafail V.

2018-06-01

For the gas near a solid planar wall, we propose a scaling formula for the mean free path of a molecule as a function of the distance from the wall, under the assumption of a uniform distribution of the incident directions of the molecular free flight. We subsequently impose the same scaling onto the viscosity of the gas near the wall and compute the Navier-Stokes solution of the velocity of a shear flow parallel to the wall. Under the simplifying assumption of constant temperature of the gas, the velocity profile becomes an explicit nonlinear function of the distance from the wall and exhibits a Knudsen boundary layer near the wall. To verify the validity of the obtained formula, we perform the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo computations for the shear flow of argon and nitrogen at normal density and temperature. We find excellent agreement between our velocity approximation and the computed DSMC velocity profiles both within the Knudsen boundary layer and away from it.

Vector navigation in desert ants, Cataglyphis fortis: celestial compass cues are essential for the proper use of distance information.

PubMed

Sommer, Stefan; Wehner, Rüdiger

2005-10-01

Foraging desert ants navigate primarily by path integration. They continually update homing direction and distance by employing a celestial compass and an odometer. Here we address the question of whether information about travel distance is correctly used in the absence of directional information. By using linear channels that were partly covered to exclude celestial compass cues, we were able to test the distance component of the path-integration process while suppressing the directional information. Our results suggest that the path integrator cannot process the distance information accumulated by the odometer while ants are deprived of celestial compass information. Hence, during path integration directional cues are a prerequisite for the proper use of travel-distance information by ants.

Interstellar scintillations of PSR B1919+21: space-ground interferometry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shishov, V. I.; Smirnova, T. V.; Gwinn, C. R.; Andrianov, A. S.; Popov, M. V.; Rudnitskiy, A. G.; Soglasnov, V. A.

2017-07-01

We carried out observations of pulsar PSR B1919+21 at 324 MHz to study the distribution of interstellar plasma in the direction of this pulsar. We used the RadioAstron (RA) space radio telescope, together with two ground telescopes: Westerbork (WB) and Green Bank (GB). The maximum baseline projection for the space-ground interferometer was about 60 000 km. We show that interstellar scintillation of this pulsar consists of two components: diffractive scintillations from inhomogeneities in a layer of turbulent plasma at a distance z1 = 440 pc from the observer or homogeneously distributed scattering material to the pulsar; and weak scintillations from a screen located near the observer at z2 = 0.14 ± 0.05 pc. Furthermore, in the direction to the pulsar we detected a prism that deflects radiation, leading to a shift in observed source position. We show that the influence of the ionosphere can be ignored for the space-ground baseline. Analysis of the spatial coherence function for the space-ground baseline (RA-GB) yielded a scattering angle in the observer plane of θscat = 0.7 mas. An analysis of the time-frequency correlation function for weak scintillations yielded an angle of refraction in the direction to the pulsar θref, 0 = 110 ms and a distance to the prism zprism ≤ 2 pc.

Use of non-fault fractures in stress tensor reconstruction using the Mohr Circle with the Win-tensor program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Delvaux, Damien

2016-04-01

Paleostress inversion of geological fault-slip data is usually done using the directional part of the applied stress tensor on a slip plane and comparing it with the observed slip lines. However, this method do not fully exploit the brittle data sets as those are composed of shear and tension fractures, in addition to faults. Brittle deformation can be decomposed in two steps. An initial fracture/failure in previously intact rock generate extension/tensile fractures or shear fractures, both without visible opening or displacement. This first step may or not be followed by fracture opening to form tension joints, frictional shearing to form shear faults, or a combination of opening and shearing which produces hybrid fractures. Fractured rock outcrop contain information of the stress conditions that acted during both brittle deformation steps. The purpose here is to investigate how the fracture pattern generated during the initial fracture/failure step might be used in paleostress reconstruction. Each fracture is represented on the Mohr Circle by its resolved normal and shear stress magnitudes. We consider the typical domains on the Mohr circle where the different types de fractures nucleate (tension, hybrid, shear and compression fractures), as well the domain which contain reactivated fractures (faults reactivating an initial fracture plane). In function of the fracture type defined in the field, a "distance" is computed on the Mohr circle between each point and its expected corresponding nucleation/reactivation domain. This "Mohr Distance" is then used as function to minimize during the inversion. We implemented this new function in the Win-Tensor program, and tested it with natural and synthetic data sets from different stress regimes. It can be used alone using only the Mohr Distance on each plane (function F10), or combined with the angular misfit between observed striae and resolved shear directions (composite function F11). When used alone (F10), only the 3 stress axes can be determined and the stress ratio R (sigma 2-3)/sigma1-3) has to be pre-determined. With the combined function (F11), it provide an additional constrain to the classical angular misfit. With data sets composed of a majority of neoformed fractures, stress inversion using the Mohr Distance F10 function provide a good approximation of the 3 stress axes (using only the fracture data) as compared with the results of the F11 composite function (using also the observed slip lines). Tensor program is available at (http://www.damiendelvaux.be/Tensor/tensor-index.html).

Photoreactive “Nanorulers” Detect a Novel Conformation of Full length HDAC3-SMRT Complex in Solution

PubMed Central

Abdelkarim, Hazem; Brunsteiner, Michael; Neelarapu, Raghupathi; Bai, He; Madriaga, Antonett; van Breemen, Richard B.; Blond, Sylvie Y.; Gaponenko, Vadim; Petukhov, Pavel A.

2013-01-01

Histone deacetylase 3 (HDAC3) is a promising epigenetic drug target for multiple therapeutic applications. Direct interaction between the Deacetylase Activating Domain of the silencing mediator for retinoid or thyroid hormone receptors (SMRT-DAD) is required for activation of enzymatic activity of HDAC3. The structure of this complex and the nature of interactions with HDAC inhibitors in solution are unknown. Using novel photoreactive HDAC probes – “nanorulers”, we determined the distance between the catalytic site of the full-length HDAC3 and SMRT-DAD in solution at physiologically relevant conditions and found it to be substantially different from that predicted by the X-ray model with a Δ379-428aa truncated HDAC3. Further experiments indicated that in solution this distance might change in response to chemical stimuli, while the enzymatic activity remained unaffected. These observations were further validated by Saturation Transfer Difference (STD) NMR experiments. We propose that the observed changes in the distance are an important part of the histone code that remains to be explored. Mapping direct interactions and distances between macromolecules with such “nanorulers” as a function of cellular events facilitates better understanding of basic biology and ways for its manipulation in cell and tissue specific manner. PMID:24010878

Michael Jackson, Bin Laden and I: functions of positive and negative, public and private flashbulb memories.

PubMed

Demiray, Burcu; Freund, Alexandra M

2015-01-01

This study examined the perceived psychosocial functions of flashbulb memories: It compared positive and negative public flashbulb memories (positive: Bin Laden's death, negative: Michael Jackson's death) with private ones (positive: pregnancy, negative: death of a loved one). A sample of n = 389 young and n = 176 middle-aged adults answered canonical category questions used to identify flashbulb memories and rated the personal significance, the psychological temporal distance, and the functions of each memory (i.e., self-continuity, social-boding, directive functions). Hierarchical regressions showed that, in general, private memories were rated more functional than public memories. Positive and negative private memories were comparable in self-continuity and directionality, but the positive private memory more strongly served social functions. In line with the positivity bias in autobiographical memory, positive flashbulb memories felt psychologically closer than negative ones. Finally, middle-aged adults rated their memories as less functional regarding self-continuity and social-bonding than young adults. Results are discussed regarding the tripartite model of autobiographical memory functions.

Ranging in Human Sonar: Effects of Additional Early Reflections and Exploratory Head Movements

PubMed Central

Wallmeier, Ludwig; Wiegrebe, Lutz

2014-01-01

Many blind people rely on echoes from self-produced sounds to assess their environment. It has been shown that human subjects can use echolocation for directional localization and orientation in a room, but echo-acoustic distance perception - e.g. to determine one's position in a room - has received little scientific attention, and systematic studies on the influence of additional early reflections and exploratory head movements are lacking. This study investigates echo-acoustic distance discrimination in virtual echo-acoustic space, using the impulse responses of a real corridor. Six blindfolded sighted subjects and a blind echolocation expert had to discriminate between two positions in the virtual corridor, which differed by their distance to the front wall, but not to the lateral walls. To solve this task, participants evaluated echoes that were generated in real time from self-produced vocalizations. Across experimental conditions, we systematically varied the restrictions for head rotations, the subjects' orientation in virtual space and the reference position. Three key results were observed. First, all participants successfully solved the task with discrimination thresholds below 1 m for all reference distances (0.75–4 m). Performance was best for the smallest reference distance of 0.75 m, with thresholds around 20 cm. Second, distance discrimination performance was relatively robust against additional early reflections, compared to other echolocation tasks like directional localization. Third, free head rotations during echolocation can improve distance discrimination performance in complex environmental settings. However, head movements do not necessarily provide a benefit over static echolocation from an optimal single orientation. These results show that accurate distance discrimination through echolocation is possible over a wide range of reference distances and environmental conditions. This is an important functional benefit of human echolocation, which may also play a major role in the calibration of auditory space representations. PMID:25551226

Receiver Functions From Regional and Near-Teleseismic P Waves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Park, J.; Levin, V.

2001-05-01

P waves from regional-distance earthquakes are complex and reverberatory, as would be expected from a combination of head waves, post-critical crustal reflections and shallow-incident P from the upper mantle. Although developed to analyze steeply-incident teleseismic P waves, receiver function analysis can also retrieve information about crustal structure from regional and near-teleseismic P. Using a new method to estimate receiver functions, based on multiple-taper spectral analysis, regional-distance RFs for GSN stations RAYN and ANTO show broad agreement with teleseismic RFs. At RAYN the moveout of the Moho-converted Ps phase, relative to direct P, follows well the predictions of the IASP91 earth model. The Moho-converted Ps phase shows complexity associated with the transition-zone triplication near Δ =20o and constant delay (zero moveout) as Δ -> 0, consistent with conversion from Pn. Similar behavior is seen for ANTO for events that arrive from the west. For eastern backazimuths the ANTO RFs show features whose moveout is negative as Δ -> 0. This moveout is poorly fit by reverberations in flat layers or by direct scattering from a dipping interface, but is consistent with a topographic scatterer 20--30 km eastward of the ANTO site. Regional receiver functions may therefore be useful in judging whether teleseismic RFs at a particular station are suitable candidates for a 1-D velocity structure inversion. Synthetic seismograms of regional P phases, computed with a locked-mode reflectivity approach, confirm broad features of the RAYN and ANTO regional receiver functions.

Acquisition and expression of memories of distance and direction in navigating wood ants.

PubMed

Fernandes, A Sofia D; Philippides, Andrew; Collett, Tom S; Niven, Jeremy E

2015-11-01

Wood ants, like other central place foragers, rely on route memories to guide them to and from a reliable food source. They use visual memories of the surrounding scene and probably compass information to control their direction. Do they also remember the length of their route and do they link memories of direction and distance? To answer these questions, we trained wood ant (Formica rufa) foragers in a channel to perform either a single short foraging route or two foraging routes in opposite directions. By shifting the starting position of the route within the channel, but keeping the direction and distance fixed, we tried to ensure that the ants would rely upon vector memories rather than visual memories to decide when to stop. The homeward memories that the ants formed were revealed by placing fed or unfed ants directly into a channel and assessing the direction and distance that they walked without prior performance of the food-ward leg of the journey. This procedure prevented the distance and direction walked being affected by a home vector derived from path integration. Ants that were unfed walked in the feeder direction. Fed ants walked in the opposite direction for a distance related to the separation between start and feeder. Vector memories of a return route can thus be primed by the ants' feeding state and expressed even when the ants have not performed the food-ward route. Tests on ants that have acquired two routes indicate that memories of the direction and distance of the return routes are linked, suggesting that they may be encoded by a common neural population within the ant brain. © 2015. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Corrections Regarding the Impedance of Distance Functions for Several g(d) Functions

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Beaman, Jay

1976-01-01

Five functions were introduced for modeling travel behavior in the Beaman article "Distance and the 'Reaction' to Distance as a Function of Distance" published in Vol. 6, No. 3 of "Journal of Leisure Research" with the graphs of the functions printed incorrectly. This is a corrected version. (MM)

The distance function effect on k-nearest neighbor classification for medical datasets.

PubMed

Hu, Li-Yu; Huang, Min-Wei; Ke, Shih-Wen; Tsai, Chih-Fong

2016-01-01

K-nearest neighbor (k-NN) classification is conventional non-parametric classifier, which has been used as the baseline classifier in many pattern classification problems. It is based on measuring the distances between the test data and each of the training data to decide the final classification output. Since the Euclidean distance function is the most widely used distance metric in k-NN, no study examines the classification performance of k-NN by different distance functions, especially for various medical domain problems. Therefore, the aim of this paper is to investigate whether the distance function can affect the k-NN performance over different medical datasets. Our experiments are based on three different types of medical datasets containing categorical, numerical, and mixed types of data and four different distance functions including Euclidean, cosine, Chi square, and Minkowsky are used during k-NN classification individually. The experimental results show that using the Chi square distance function is the best choice for the three different types of datasets. However, using the cosine and Euclidean (and Minkowsky) distance function perform the worst over the mixed type of datasets. In this paper, we demonstrate that the chosen distance function can affect the classification accuracy of the k-NN classifier. For the medical domain datasets including the categorical, numerical, and mixed types of data, K-NN based on the Chi square distance function performs the best.

Posterior papillary muscle anchoring affects remote myofiber stress and pump function: finite element analysis.

PubMed

Pantoja, Joe Luis; Ge, Liang; Zhang, Zhihong; Morrel, William G; Guccione, Julius M; Grossi, Eugene A; Ratcliffe, Mark B

2014-10-01

The role of posterior papillary muscle anchoring (PPMA) in the management of chronic ischemic mitral regurgitation (CIMR) is controversial. We studied the effect of anchoring point direction and relocation displacement on left ventricular (LV) regional myofiber stress and pump function. Previously described finite element models of sheep 16 weeks after posterolateral myocardial infarction (MI) were used. True-sized mitral annuloplasty (MA) ring insertion plus different PPM anchoring techniques were simulated. Anchoring points tested included both commissures and the central anterior mitral annulus; relocation displacement varied from 10% to 40% of baseline diastolic distance from the PPM to the anchor points on the annulus. For each reconstruction scenario, myofiber stress in the MI, border zone, and remote myocardium as well as pump function were calculated. PPMA caused reductions in myofiber stress at end-diastole and end-systole in all regions of the left ventricle that were proportional to the relocation displacement. Although stress reduction was greatest in the MI region, it also occurred in the remote region. The maximum 40% displacement caused a slight reduction in LV pump function. However, with the correction of regurgitation by MA plus PPMA, there was an overall increase in forward stroke volume. Finally, anchoring point direction had no effect on myofiber stress or pump function. PPMA reduces remote myofiber stress, which is proportional to the absolute distance of relocation and independent of anchoring point. Aggressive use of PPMA techniques to reduce remote myofiber stress may accelerate reverse LV remodeling without impairing LV function. Copyright © 2014 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Decoding Target Distance and Saccade Amplitude from Population Activity in the Macaque Lateral Intraparietal Area (LIP)

PubMed Central

Bremmer, Frank; Kaminiarz, Andre; Klingenhoefer, Steffen; Churan, Jan

2016-01-01

Primates perform saccadic eye movements in order to bring the image of an interesting target onto the fovea. Compared to stationary targets, saccades toward moving targets are computationally more demanding since the oculomotor system must use speed and direction information about the target as well as knowledge about its own processing latency to program an adequate, predictive saccade vector. In monkeys, different brain regions have been implicated in the control of voluntary saccades, among them the lateral intraparietal area (LIP). Here we asked, if activity in area LIP reflects the distance between fovea and saccade target, or the amplitude of an upcoming saccade, or both. We recorded single unit activity in area LIP of two macaque monkeys. First, we determined for each neuron its preferred saccade direction. Then, monkeys performed visually guided saccades along the preferred direction toward either stationary or moving targets in pseudo-randomized order. LIP population activity allowed to decode both, the distance between fovea and saccade target as well as the size of an upcoming saccade. Previous work has shown comparable results for saccade direction (Graf and Andersen, 2014a,b). Hence, LIP population activity allows to predict any two-dimensional saccade vector. Functional equivalents of macaque area LIP have been identified in humans. Accordingly, our results provide further support for the concept of activity from area LIP as neural basis for the control of an oculomotor brain-machine interface. PMID:27630547

Application of CORSIKA Simulation Code to Study Lateral and Longitudinal Distribution of Fluorescence Light in Cosmic Ray Extensive Air Showers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bagheri, Zahra; Davoudifar, Pantea; Rastegarzadeh, Gohar; Shayan, Milad

2017-03-01

In this paper, we used CORSIKA code to understand the characteristics of cosmic ray induced showers at extremely high energy as a function of energy, detector distance to shower axis, number, and density of secondary charged particles and the nature particle producing the shower. Based on the standard properties of the atmosphere, lateral and longitudinal development of the shower for photons and electrons has been investigated. Fluorescent light has been collected by the detector for protons, helium, oxygen, silicon, calcium and iron primary cosmic rays in different energies. So we have obtained a number of electrons per unit area, distance to the shower axis, shape function of particles density, percentage of fluorescent light, lateral distribution of energy dissipated in the atmosphere and visual field angle of detector as well as size of the shower image. We have also shown that location of highest percentage of fluorescence light is directly proportional to atomic number of elements. Also we have shown when the distance from shower axis increases and the shape function of particles density decreases severely. At the first stages of development, shower axis distance from detector is high and visual field angle is small; then with shower moving toward the Earth, angle increases. Overall, in higher energies, the fluorescent light method has more efficiency. The paper provides standard calibration lines for high energy showers which can be used to determine the nature of the particles.

Simulation of Ground Winds Time Series

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Adelfang, S. I.

2008-01-01

A simulation process has been developed for generation of the longitudinal and lateral components of ground wind atmospheric turbulence as a function of mean wind speed, elevation, temporal frequency range and distance between locations. The distance between locations influences the spectral coherence between the simulated series at adjacent locations. Short distances reduce correlation only at high frequencies; as distances increase correlation is reduced over a wider range of frequencies. The choice of values for the constants d1 and d3 in the PSD model is the subject of work in progress. An improved knowledge of the values for zO as a function of wind direction at the ARES-1 launch pads is necessary for definition of d1. Results of other studies at other locations may be helpful as summarized in Fichtl's recent correspondence. Ideally, further research is needed based on measurements of ground wind turbulence with high resolution anemometers at a number of altitudes at a new KSC tower located closer to the ARES-1 launch pad .The proposed research would be based on turbulence measurements that may be influenced by surface terrain roughness that may be significantly different from roughness prior to 1970 in Fichtl's measurements. Significant improvements in instrumentation, data storage end processing will greatly enhance the capability to model ground wind profiles and ground wind turbulence.

An comprehensive time-distance measurement of deep meridional flow and its temporal variation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Ruizhu; Zhao, Junwei

2016-10-01

We report our latest results on the Sun's deep solar meridional-flow measurements by time-distance helioseismology technique using 6 years of SDO/HMI Doppler-velocity data. Determination of the meridional flow by time-distance helioseismology depends on a precise measurement of the flow-induced travel-time shifts of acoustic waves traveling in the solar interior. To resolve the weak travel-time-shift signals due to deep meridional flow, we need a high signal-to-noise ratio and a robust removal of the center-to-limb (CtoL) effect, which dominates the travel-time shifts. Here we perform an ultimately comprehensive measurement that tracks acoustic waves between any two points on solar surface. The travel-time shifts are composed of CtoL effect, which is a function of disk-centric distances, and contribution from the flow component parallel to wave traveling direction, which is a function of latitude and orientation. Assuming these two effects are independent, we can derive the CtoL effect and meridional-flow contributions by solving a set of linear equations in a least-square sense. We show the solved CtoL effect and the inversion results for the solar meridional flow, and analyze the annual variation of meridional flow from May 2010 to Apr 2016.

Effects of a pretarget distractor on saccade reaction times across space and time in monkeys and humans

PubMed Central

Khan, Aarlenne Z.; Munoz, Douglas P.; Takahashi, Naomi; Blohm, Gunnar; McPeek, Robert M.

2016-01-01

Previous studies have shown that the influence of a behaviorally irrelevant distractor on saccade reaction times (SRTs) varies depending on the temporal and spatial relationship between the distractor and the saccade target. We measured distractor influence on SRTs to a subsequently presented target, varying the spatial location and the timing between the distractor and the target. The distractor appeared at one of four equally eccentric locations, followed by a target (either 50 ms or 200 ms after) at one of 136 different locations encompassing an area of 20° square. We extensively tested two humans and two monkeys on this task to determine interspecies similarities and differences, since monkey neurophysiology is often used to interpret human behavioral findings. Results were similar across species; for the short interval (50 ms), SRTs were shortest to a target presented close to or at the distractor location and increased primarily as a function of the distance from the distractor. There was also an effect of distractor-target direction and visual field. For the long interval (200 ms) the results were inverted; SRTs were longest for short distances between the distractor and target and decreased as a function of distance from distractor. Both SRT patterns were well captured by a two-dimensional dynamic field model with short-distance excitation and long-distance inhibition, based upon known functional connectivity found in the superior colliculus that includes wide-spread excitation and inhibition. Based on these findings, we posit that the different time-dependent patterns of distractor-related SRTs can emerge from the same underlying neuronal mechanisms common to both species. PMID:27148697

Controlling the perceived distance of an auditory object by manipulation of loudspeaker directivity.

PubMed

Laitinen, Mikko-Ville; Politis, Archontis; Huhtakallio, Ilkka; Pulkki, Ville

2015-06-01

This work presents a method to control the perceived distance of an auditory object by changing the directivity pattern of a loudspeaker and consequently the direct-to-reverberant ratio at the listening spot. Control of the directivity pattern is achieved by beamforming using a compact multi-driver loudspeaker unit. A small-sized cubic array consisting of six drivers is assembled, and per driver beamforming filters are derived from directional measurements of the array. The proposed method is evaluated using formal listening tests. The results show that the perceived distance can be controlled effectively by directivity pattern modification.

A new single-particle basis for nuclear many-body calculations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Puddu, G.

2017-10-01

Predominantly, harmonic oscillator single-particle wave functions are the preferred choice for a basis in ab initio nuclear many-body calculations. These wave-functions, although very convenient in order to evaluate the matrix elements of the interaction in the laboratory frame, have too fast a fall-off at large distances. In the past, as an alternative to the harmonic oscillator, other single-particle wave functions have been proposed. In this work, we propose a new single-particle basis, directly linked to nucleon-nucleon interaction. This new basis is orthonormal and complete, has the proper asymptotic behavior at large distances and does not contain the continuum which would pose severe convergence problems in nuclear many body calculations. We consider the newly proposed NNLO-opt nucleon-nucleon interaction, without any renormalization. We show that, unlike other bases, this single-particle representation has a computational cost similar to the harmonic oscillator basis with the same space truncation and it gives lower energies for 6He and 6Li.

Correlation between urodynamic function and 3D cat scan anatomy in neobladders: does it exist?

PubMed

Crivellaro, S; Mami, E; Wald, C; Smith, J J; Kocjancic, E; Stoffel, J; Bresette, J; Libertino, J A

2009-01-01

We compared the functional and anatomical differences among three different orthotopic neobladders, utilizing video urodynamics and 3D CT to determine what parameters, if any, correlate to function. Thirty-four patients were able to participate in the evaluation of their neobladder by 3D CT and video urodynamics. Three different orthotopic neobladders were identified (12 ileal, 7 ileocecal, 15 sigmoid). Multiple measurements, observations and functional data have been obtained. Statistical analysis for this study employed a linear regression test and an odds ratio calculation (using StatSoft V. 5.1). In comparing three different neobladders, no significant differences were noted. Looking at the entire population, the following association was statistically significant in linear correlation: the maximal capacity and the neobladder volume; the pressure at the maximal capacity and the distance from the symphysis, the pressure at maximal flow and both the distance from the symphysis and the thickness of the neobladder. The distance from the left femoral head was directly correlated with the post void residual and inversely correlated with the maximal flow. The Odds ratio calculation revealed (with significant P < 0.05) that the further the center of the neobladder is from the right femoral head, the higher risk of incontinence. The study seems to show no significant anatomical or functional difference among the three different types of neobladders. A possible correlation between the position of the neobladder and urinary incontinence is suggested, recognizing further study in a larger population is required.

The Moon Illusion, II: The moon's apparent size is a function of the presence or absence of terrain.

PubMed

Rock, I; Kaufman, L

1962-06-22

We have examined the two types of explanations of the moon illusion-the egocentric, in which the differences in direction of the horizon and the zenith moons are thought of in relation to different angles of regard of the observer, and the objective, in which the presence or absence of the terrain is considered crucial. The former type is exemplified chiefly by the eye-elevation hypothesis in the work of Boring and his colleagues; the latter, by the apparent-distance hypothesis based on the superior cues to distance provided by the terrain. Boring had rejected the apparent-distance hypothesis on the grounds that the horizon moon is reported as nearer, not farther away, by most observers. He then performed experiments which supported the eye-elevation hypothesis.

Male and female contributions to behavioral isolation in darters as a function of genetic distance and color distance

PubMed Central

Moran, Rachel L.; Zhou, Muchu; Catchen, Julian M.; Fuller, Rebecca C.

2017-01-01

Abstract Determining which reproductive isolating barriers arise first between geographically isolated lineages is critical to understanding allopatric speciation. We examined behavioral isolation among four recently diverged allopatric species in the orangethroat darter clade (Etheostoma: Ceasia). We also examined behavioral isolation between each Ceasia species and the sympatric rainbow darter Etheostoma caeruleum. We asked (1) is behavioral isolation present between allopatric Ceasia species, and how does this compare to behavioral isolation with E. caeruleum, (2) does male color distance and/or genetic distance predict behavioral isolation between species, and (3) what are the relative contributions of female choice, male choice, and male competition to behavioral isolation? We found that behavioral isolation, genetic differentiation, and male color pattern differentiation were present between allopatric Ceasia species. Males, but not females, discerned between conspecific and heterospecific mates. Males also directed more aggression toward conspecific rival males. The high levels of behavioral isolation among Ceasia species showed no obvious pattern with genetic distance or male color distance. However, when the E. caeruleum was included in the analysis, an association between male aggression and male color distance was apparent. We discuss the possibility that reinforcement between Ceasia and E. caeruleum is driving behavioral isolation among allopatric Ceasia species. PMID:28776645

Distribution of distances between DNA barcode labels in nanochannels close to the persistence length

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reinhart, Wesley F.; Reifenberger, Jeff G.; Gupta, Damini; Muralidhar, Abhiram; Sheats, Julian; Cao, Han; Dorfman, Kevin D.

2015-02-01

We obtained experimental extension data for barcoded E. coli genomic DNA molecules confined in nanochannels from 40 nm to 51 nm in width. The resulting data set consists of 1 627 779 measurements of the distance between fluorescent probes on 25 407 individual molecules. The probability density for the extension between labels is negatively skewed, and the magnitude of the skewness is relatively insensitive to the distance between labels. The two Odijk theories for DNA confinement bracket the mean extension and its variance, consistent with the scaling arguments underlying the theories. We also find that a harmonic approximation to the free energy, obtained directly from the probability density for the distance between barcode labels, leads to substantial quantitative error in the variance of the extension data. These results suggest that a theory for DNA confinement in such channels must account for the anharmonic nature of the free energy as a function of chain extension.

Direct measurement of interaction forces between a single bacterium and a flat plate.

PubMed

Klein, Jonah D; Clapp, Aaron R; Dickinson, Richard B

2003-05-15

A technique for precisely measuring the equilibrium and viscous interaction forces between a single bacterium and a flat surface as functions of separation distance is described. A single-beam gradient optical trap was used to micromanipulate the bacterium against a flat surface while evanescent wave light scattering was used to measure separation distances. Calibrating the optical trap far from the surface allowed the trapped bacterium to be used as a force probe. Equilibrium force-distance profiles were determined by measuring the deflection of the cell from the center of the optical trap at various trap positions. Simultaneously, viscous forces were determined by measuring the relaxation time for the fluctuating bacterium. Absolute distances were determined using a best-fit approximation to the theoretical prediction for the hindered mobility of a diffusing sphere near a wall. Using this approach, forces in the range from 0.01 to 4 pN were measured at near-nanometer resolution between Staphylococcus aureus and glass that was bare or coated with adsorbed protein.

Perspective Space as a Model for Distance and Size Perception.

PubMed

Erkelens, Casper J

2017-01-01

In the literature, perspective space has been introduced as a model of visual space. Perspective space is grounded on the perspective nature of visual space during both binocular and monocular vision. A single parameter, that is, the distance of the vanishing point, transforms the geometry of physical space into that of perspective space. The perspective-space model predicts perceived angles, distances, and sizes. The model is compared with other models for distance and size perception. Perspective space predicts that perceived distance and size as a function of physical distance are described by hyperbolic functions. Alternatively, power functions have been widely used to describe perceived distance and size. Comparison of power and hyperbolic functions shows that both functions are equivalent within the range of distances that have been judged in experiments. Two models describing perceived distance on the ground plane appear to be equivalent with the perspective-space model too. The conclusion is that perspective space unifies a number of models of distance and size perception.

Perspective Space as a Model for Distance and Size Perception

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

In the literature, perspective space has been introduced as a model of visual space. Perspective space is grounded on the perspective nature of visual space during both binocular and monocular vision. A single parameter, that is, the distance of the vanishing point, transforms the geometry of physical space into that of perspective space. The perspective-space model predicts perceived angles, distances, and sizes. The model is compared with other models for distance and size perception. Perspective space predicts that perceived distance and size as a function of physical distance are described by hyperbolic functions. Alternatively, power functions have been widely used to describe perceived distance and size. Comparison of power and hyperbolic functions shows that both functions are equivalent within the range of distances that have been judged in experiments. Two models describing perceived distance on the ground plane appear to be equivalent with the perspective-space model too. The conclusion is that perspective space unifies a number of models of distance and size perception. PMID:29225765

Conformational space annealing scheme in the inverse design of functional materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Sunghyun; Lee, In-Ho; Lee, Jooyoung; Oh, Young Jun; Chang, Kee Joo

2015-03-01

Recently, the so-called inverse method has drawn much attention, in which specific electronic properties are initially assigned and target materials are subsequently searched. In this work, we develop a new scheme for the inverse design of functional materials, in which the conformational space annealing (CSA) algorithm for global optimization is combined with first-principles density functional calculations. To implement the CSA, we need a series of ingredients, (i) an objective function to minimize, (ii) a 'distance' measure between two conformations, (iii) a local enthalpy minimizer of a given conformation, (iv) ways to combine two parent conformations to generate a daughter one, (v) a special conformation update scheme, and (vi) an annealing method in the 'distance' parameter axis. We show the results of applications for searching for Si crystals with direct band gaps and the lowest-enthalpy phase of boron at a finite pressure and discuss the efficiency of the present scheme. This work is supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) under Grant No. NRF-2005-0093845 and by Samsung Science and Technology Foundation under Grant No. SSTFBA1401-08.

Reliability of reference distances used in photogrammetry.

PubMed

Aksu, Muge; Kaya, Demet; Kocadereli, Ilken

2010-07-01

To determine the reliability of the reference distances used for photogrammetric assessment. The sample consisted of 100 subjects with mean ages of 22.97 +/- 2.98 years. Five lateral and four frontal parameters were measured directly on the subjects' faces. For photogrammetric assessment, two reference distances for the profile view and three reference distances for the frontal view were established. Standardized photographs were taken and all the parameters that had been measured directly on the face were measured on the photographs. The reliability of the reference distances was checked by comparing direct and indirect values of the parameters obtained from the subjects' faces and photographs. Repeated measure analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Bland-Altman analyses were used for statistical assessment. For profile measurements, the indirect values measured were statistically different from the direct values except for Sn-Sto in male subjects and Prn-Sn and Sn-Sto in female subjects. The indirect values of Prn-Sn and Sn-Sto were reliable in both sexes. The poorest results were obtained in the indirect values of the N-Sn parameter for female subjects and the Sn-Me parameter for male subjects according to the Sa-Sba reference distance. For frontal measurements, the indirect values were statistically different from the direct values in both sexes except for one in male subjects. The indirect values measured were not statistically different from the direct values for Go-Go. The indirect values of Ch-Ch were reliable in male subjects. The poorest results were obtained according to the P-P reference distance. For profile assessment, the T-Ex reference distance was reliable for Prn-Sn and Sn-Sto in both sexes. For frontal assessment, Ex-Ex and En-En reference distances were reliable for Ch-Ch in male subjects.

Fractionating dead reckoning: role of the compass, odometer, logbook, and home base establishment in spatial orientation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wallace, Douglas G.; Martin, Megan M.; Winter, Shawn S.

2008-06-01

Rats use multiple sources of information to maintain spatial orientation. Although previous work has focused on rats’ use of environmental cues, a growing number of studies have demonstrated that rats also use self-movement cues to organize navigation. This review examines the extent that kinematic analysis of naturally occurring behavior has provided insight into processes that mediate dead-reckoning-based navigation. This work supports a role for separate systems in processing self-movement cues that converge on the hippocampus. The compass system is involved in deriving directional information from self-movement cues; whereas, the odometer system is involved in deriving distance information from self-movement cues. The hippocampus functions similar to a logbook in that outward path unique information from the compass and odometer is used to derive the direction and distance of a path to the point at which movement was initiated. Finally, home base establishment may function to reset this system after each excursion and anchor environmental cues to self-movement cues. The combination of natural behaviors and kinematic analysis has proven to be a robust paradigm to investigate the neural basis of spatial orientation.

Fractionating dead reckoning: role of the compass, odometer, logbook, and home base establishment in spatial orientation

PubMed Central

Martin, Megan M.; Winter, Shawn S.

2008-01-01

Rats use multiple sources of information to maintain spatial orientation. Although previous work has focused on rats' use of environmental cues, a growing number of studies have demonstrated that rats also use self-movement cues to organize navigation. This review examines the extent that kinematic analysis of naturally occurring behavior has provided insight into processes that mediate dead-reckoning-based navigation. This work supports a role for separate systems in processing self-movement cues that converge on the hippocampus. The compass system is involved in deriving directional information from self-movement cues; whereas, the odometer system is involved in deriving distance information from self-movement cues. The hippocampus functions similar to a logbook in that outward path unique information from the compass and odometer is used to derive the direction and distance of a path to the point at which movement was initiated. Finally, home base establishment may function to reset this system after each excursion and anchor environmental cues to self-movement cues. The combination of natural behaviors and kinematic analysis has proven to be a robust paradigm to investigate the neural basis of spatial orientation. PMID:18553065

Assessing eco-efficiency: A metafrontier directional distance function approach using life cycle analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beltrán-Esteve, Mercedes, E-mail: mercedes.beltran@uv.es; Reig-Martínez, Ernest; Estruch-Guitart, Vicent

Sustainability analysis requires a joint assessment of environmental, social and economic aspects of production processes. Here we propose the use of Life Cycle Analysis (LCA), a metafrontier (MF) directional distance function (DDF) approach, and Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA), to assess technological and managerial differences in eco-efficiency between production systems. We use LCA to compute six environmental and health impacts associated with the production processes of nearly 200 Spanish citrus farms belonging to organic and conventional farming systems. DEA is then employed to obtain joint economic-environmental farm's scores that we refer to as eco-efficiency. DDF allows us to determine farms' globalmore » eco-efficiency scores, as well as eco-efficiency scores with respect to specific environmental impacts. Furthermore, the use of an MF helps us to disentangle technological and managerial eco-inefficiencies by comparing the eco-efficiency of both farming systems with regards to a common benchmark. Our core results suggest that the shift from conventional to organic farming technology would allow a potential reduction in environmental impacts of 80% without resulting in any decline in economic performance. In contrast, as regards farmers' managerial capacities, both systems display quite similar mean scores.« less

Electronic origin of structural transition in 122 Fe based superconductors

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ghosh, Haranath; Sen, Smritijit; Ghosh, Abyay

2017-03-01

Direct quantitative correlations between the orbital order and orthorhombicity is achieved in a number of Fe-based superconductors of 122 family. The former (orbital order) is calculated from first principles simulations using experimentally determined doping and temperature dependent structural parameters while the latter (the orthorhombicity) is taken from already established experimental studies; when normalized, both the above quantities quantitatively corresponds to each other in terms of their doping as well as temperature variations. This proves that the structural transition in Fe-based materials is electronic in nature due to orbital ordering. An universal correlations among various structural parameters and electronic structure are also obtained. Most remarkable among them is the mapping of two Fe-Fe distances in the low temperature orthorhombic phase, with the band energies Edxz, Edyz of Fe at the high symmetry points of the Brillouin zone. The fractional co-ordinate zAs of As which essentially determines anion height is inversely (directly) proportional to Fe-As bond distances (with exceptions of K doped BaFe2As2) for hole (electron) doped materials as a function of doping. On the other hand, Fe-As bond-distance is found to be inversely (directly) proportional to the density of states at the Fermi level for hole (electron) doped systems. Implications of these results to current issues of Fe based superconductivity are discussed.

Future Directions in Distance Learning and Communication Technologies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shih, Timothy; Hung, Jason

2007-01-01

Future Directions in Distance Learning and Communication Technologies presents theoretical studies and practical solutions for engineers, educational professionals, and graduate students in the research areas of e-learning, distance education, and instructional design. This book provides readers with cutting-edge solutions and research directions…

Remote site-selective C–H activation directed by a catalytic bifunctional template

PubMed Central

Zhang, Zhipeng; Tanaka, Keita; Yu, Jin-Quan

2017-01-01

Converting C–H bonds directly into carbon-carbon and carbon-heteroatom bonds can significantly improve step-economy in synthesis by providing alternative disconnections to traditional functional group manipulations. In this context, directed C–H activation reactions have been extensively explored for regioselective functionalization1-5. Though applicability can be severely curtailed by distance from the directing group and the shape of the molecule, a number of approaches have been developed to overcome this limitation6-12. For instance, recognition of the distal and geometric relationship between an existing functional group and multiple C–H bonds has recently been exploited to achieve meta-selective C–H activation by use of a covalently attached U-shaped template13-17. However, stoichiometric installation of the template is not feasible in the absence of an appropriate functional group handle. Here we report the design of a catalytic, bifunctional template that binds heterocyclic substrate via reversible coordination instead of covalent linkage, allowing remote site-selective C–H olefination of heterocycles. The two metal centers coordinated to this template play different roles; anchoring substrates to the proximity of catalyst and cleaving the remote C–H bonds respectively. Using this strategy, we demonstrate remote site-selective C–H olefination of heterocyclic substrates which do not have functional group handles for covalently attaching templates. PMID:28273068

Retrieval evaluation and distance learning from perceived similarity between endomicroscopy videos.

PubMed

André, Barbara; Vercauteren, Tom; Buchner, Anna M; Wallace, Michael B; Ayache, Nicholas

2011-01-01

Evaluating content-based retrieval (CBR) is challenging because it requires an adequate ground-truth. When the available groundtruth is limited to textual metadata such as pathological classes, retrieval results can only be evaluated indirectly, for example in terms of classification performance. In this study we first present a tool to generate perceived similarity ground-truth that enables direct evaluation of endomicroscopic video retrieval. This tool uses a four-points Likert scale and collects subjective pairwise similarities perceived by multiple expert observers. We then evaluate against the generated ground-truth a previously developed dense bag-of-visual-words method for endomicroscopic video retrieval. Confirming the results of previous indirect evaluation based on classification, our direct evaluation shows that this method significantly outperforms several other state-of-the-art CBR methods. In a second step, we propose to improve the CBR method by learning an adjusted similarity metric from the perceived similarity ground-truth. By minimizing a margin-based cost function that differentiates similar and dissimilar video pairs, we learn a weight vector applied to the visual word signatures of videos. Using cross-validation, we demonstrate that the learned similarity distance is significantly better correlated with the perceived similarity than the original visual-word-based distance.

Impoverished descriptions of familiar routes in three cases of hippocampal/medial temporal lobe amnesia.

PubMed

Herdman, Katherine A; Calarco, Navona; Moscovitch, Morris; Hirshhorn, Marnie; Rosenbaum, R Shayna

2015-10-01

Recent research has challenged classic theories of hippocampal function in spatial memory with findings that the hippocampus may be necessary for detailed representations of environments learned long ago, but not for remembering the gist or schematic aspects that are sufficient for navigating within those environments (Rosenbaum et al., 2000; Rosenbaum, Winocur, Binns, & Moscovitch, 2012). We aimed to probe further distinctions between detailed and schematic representations of familiar environments in three cases of hippocampal/medial temporal lobe (MTL) amnesia by testing them on a route description task and mental navigation tasks that assess the identity and location of landmarks, and distances and directions between them. The amnesic cases could describe basic directions along known, imagined routes, estimate distance and direction between well-known landmarks, and produce sketch maps with accurate layouts, suggestive of intact schematic representations. However, findings that their route descriptions lack richness of detail, along with impoverished sketch maps and poor landmark recognition, substantiates previous findings that detailed representations are hippocampus-dependent. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Measuring Spatial Accessibility of Health Care Providers – Introduction of a Variable Distance Decay Function within the Floating Catchment Area (FCA) Method

PubMed Central

Groneberg, David A.

2016-01-01

We integrated recent improvements within the floating catchment area (FCA) method family into an integrated ‘iFCA`method. Within this method we focused on the distance decay function and its parameter. So far only distance decay functions with constant parameters have been applied. Therefore, we developed a variable distance decay function to be used within the FCA method. We were able to replace the impedance coefficient β by readily available distribution parameter (i.e. median and standard deviation (SD)) within a logistic based distance decay function. Hence, the function is shaped individually for every single population location by the median and SD of all population-to-provider distances within a global catchment size. Theoretical application of the variable distance decay function showed conceptually sound results. Furthermore, the existence of effective variable catchment sizes defined by the asymptotic approach to zero of the distance decay function was revealed, satisfying the need for variable catchment sizes. The application of the iFCA method within an urban case study in Berlin (Germany) confirmed the theoretical fit of the suggested method. In summary, we introduced for the first time, a variable distance decay function within an integrated FCA method. This function accounts for individual travel behaviors determined by the distribution of providers. Additionally, the function inherits effective variable catchment sizes and therefore obviates the need for determining variable catchment sizes separately. PMID:27391649

The effect of sensor spacing on wind measurements at the Shuttle Landing Facility

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Merceret, Francis J.

1995-01-01

This document presents results of a field study of the effect of sensor spacing on the validity of wind measurements at the Space Shuttle landing Facility (SLF). Standard measurements are made at one second intervals from 30 foot (9.1m) towers located 500 feet (152m) from the SLF centerline. The centerline winds are not exactly the same as those measured by the towers. This study quantifies the differences as a function of statistics of the observed winds and distance between the measurements and points of interest. The field program used logarithmically spaced portable wind towers to measure wind speed and direction over a range of conditions. Correlations, spectra, moments, and structure functions were computed. A universal normalization for structure functions was devised. The normalized structure functions increase as the 2/3 power of separation distance until an asymptotic value is approached. This occurs at spacings of several hundred feet (about 100m). At larger spacings, the structure functions are bounded by the asymptote. This enables quantitative estimates of the expected differences between the winds at the measurement point and the points of interest to be made from the measured wind statistics. A procedure is provided for making these estimates.

Fundamental Insights into Proton-Coupled Electron Transfer in Soybean Lipoxygenase from Quantum Mechanical/Molecular Mechanical Free Energy Simulations.

PubMed

Li, Pengfei; Soudackov, Alexander V; Hammes-Schiffer, Sharon

2018-02-28

The proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reaction catalyzed by soybean lipoxygenase has served as a prototype for understanding hydrogen tunneling in enzymes. Herein this PCET reaction is studied with mixed quantum mechanical/molecular mechanical (QM/MM) free energy simulations. The free energy surfaces are computed as functions of the proton donor-acceptor (C-O) distance and the proton coordinate, and the potential of mean force is computed as a function of the C-O distance, inherently including anharmonicity. The simulation results are used to calculate the kinetic isotope effects for the wild-type enzyme (WT) and the L546A/L754A double mutant (DM), which have been measured experimentally to be ∼80 and ∼700, respectively. The PCET reaction is found to be exoergic for WT and slightly endoergic for the DM, and the equilibrium C-O distance for the reactant is found to be ∼0.2 Å greater for the DM than for WT. The larger equilibrium distance for the DM, which is due mainly to less optimal substrate binding in the expanded binding cavity, is primarily responsible for its higher kinetic isotope effect. The calculated potentials of mean force are anharmonic and relatively soft at shorter C-O distances, allowing efficient thermal sampling of the shorter distances required for effective hydrogen tunneling. The primarily local electrostatic field at the transferring hydrogen is ∼100 MV/cm in the direction to facilitate proton transfer and increases dramatically as the C-O distance decreases. These simulations suggest that the overall protein environment is important for conformational sampling of active substrate configurations aligned for proton transfer, but the PCET reaction is influenced primarily by local electrostatic effects that facilitate conformational sampling of shorter proton donor-acceptor distances required for effective hydrogen tunneling.

Nominal and functional task difficulty in skill acquisition: Effects on performance in two tests of transfer.

PubMed

Sanli, Elizabeth A; Lee, Timothy D

2015-06-01

The influence of nominal and functional task difficulty during the acquisition of a motor skill was examined in two tests of transfer of learning. The task involved a ballistic, target-directed, finger action. Nominal task difficulty was defined as the distance of the target from the home position. Functional task difficulty was created by manipulating the progression of target distances during practice. Based on the challenge point framework (Guadagnoli & Lee, 2004), we predicted that practice with a set of targets farther away from the performer would benefit from less functional task difficulty, while practice with a closer set of targets would benefit from more functional task difficulty. In single-task transfer tests, learners who practiced using the high nominal task difficulty targets benefitted in terms of persistence of performance over time. In dual-task transfer tests, groups with an intermediate combined (nominal and functional) task difficulty performed with greater persistence over time on tests of transfer than those who practiced with the highest or lowest combined difficulty. Together these findings suggest that the influences of nominal and functional task difficulty during acquisition are weighted differentially depending upon the transfer test context. The challenge point framework does not accurately capture this complex relationship in its current form. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A statistical approach for inferring the 3D structure of the genome.

PubMed

Varoquaux, Nelle; Ay, Ferhat; Noble, William Stafford; Vert, Jean-Philippe

2014-06-15

Recent technological advances allow the measurement, in a single Hi-C experiment, of the frequencies of physical contacts among pairs of genomic loci at a genome-wide scale. The next challenge is to infer, from the resulting DNA-DNA contact maps, accurate 3D models of how chromosomes fold and fit into the nucleus. Many existing inference methods rely on multidimensional scaling (MDS), in which the pairwise distances of the inferred model are optimized to resemble pairwise distances derived directly from the contact counts. These approaches, however, often optimize a heuristic objective function and require strong assumptions about the biophysics of DNA to transform interaction frequencies to spatial distance, and thereby may lead to incorrect structure reconstruction. We propose a novel approach to infer a consensus 3D structure of a genome from Hi-C data. The method incorporates a statistical model of the contact counts, assuming that the counts between two loci follow a Poisson distribution whose intensity decreases with the physical distances between the loci. The method can automatically adjust the transfer function relating the spatial distance to the Poisson intensity and infer a genome structure that best explains the observed data. We compare two variants of our Poisson method, with or without optimization of the transfer function, to four different MDS-based algorithms-two metric MDS methods using different stress functions, a non-metric version of MDS and ChromSDE, a recently described, advanced MDS method-on a wide range of simulated datasets. We demonstrate that the Poisson models reconstruct better structures than all MDS-based methods, particularly at low coverage and high resolution, and we highlight the importance of optimizing the transfer function. On publicly available Hi-C data from mouse embryonic stem cells, we show that the Poisson methods lead to more reproducible structures than MDS-based methods when we use data generated using different restriction enzymes, and when we reconstruct structures at different resolutions. A Python implementation of the proposed method is available at http://cbio.ensmp.fr/pastis. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press.

Analysis of the moments of the sensitivity function for resistivity over a homogeneous half-space: Rules of thumb for pseudoposition, offline sensitivity and resolution

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butler, S. L.

2017-08-01

It is instructive to consider the sensitivity function for a homogeneous half space for resistivity since it has a simple mathematical formula and it does not require a priori knowledge of the resistivity of the ground. Past analyses of this function have allowed visualization of the regions that contribute most to apparent resistivity measurements with given array configurations. The horizontally integrated form of this equation gives the sensitivity function for an infinitesimally thick horizontal slab with a small resistivity contrast and analysis of this function has admitted estimates of the depth of investigation for a given electrode array. Recently, it has been shown that the average of the vertical coordinate over this function yields a simple formula that can be used to estimate the depth of investigation. The sensitivity function for a vertical inline slab has also been previously calculated. In this contribution, I show that the sensitivity function for a homogeneous half-space can also be integrated so as to give sensitivity functions to semi-infinite vertical slabs that are perpendicular to the array axis. These horizontal sensitivity functions can, in turn, be integrated over the spatial coordinates to give the mean horizontal positions of the sensitivity functions. The mean horizontal positions give estimates for the centres of the regions that affect apparent resistivity measurements for arbitrary array configuration and can be used as horizontal positions when plotting pseudosections even for non-collinear arrays. The mean of the horizontal coordinate that is perpendicular to a collinear array also gives a simple formula for estimating the distance over which offline resistivity anomalies will have a significant effect. The root mean square (rms) widths of the sensitivity functions are also calculated in each of the coordinate directions as an estimate of the inverse of the resolution of a given array. For depth and in the direction perpendicular to the array, the rms thickness is shown to be very similar to the mean distance. For the direction parallel to the array, the rms thickness is shown to be proportional to the array length and similar to the array length divided by 2 for many arrays. I expect that these formulas will provide useful rules of thumb for estimating the centres and extents of regions influencing apparent resistivity measurements for survey planning and for education.

Strain induced plasmon tuning in planar square-shaped aluminum nanoparticles array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mokkath, Junais Habeeb

2018-06-01

Metal nanoparticle aggregate is an exciting platform for manipulating light-matter interactions at the nanoscale, thanks to the optically driven free electrons couple electrically across the inter-particle gap region. We use time dependent density functional theory calculations to investigate the optical response modulations in planar square-shaped aluminum nanoparticles array via morphology deformation (varying the inter-particle gap distance in the range of 2-20 Å) separately along one and two directions. We report the surprising observation that irrespective of the different morphology deformations, there exists a unique inter-particle gap distance of 12 Å for which, a maximum optical field enhancement can be achieved. We remark that plasmonic interaction between metal nanoparticles in an aggregate is controlled to a large extent by the size of the inter-particle gap distance. We believe that our quantum mechanical calculations will inspire and contribute to the design, control, and exploitation of aluminum based plasmonic devices.

Polarization vision seldom increases the sighting distance of silvery fish.

PubMed

Johnsen, Sönke; Gagnon, Yakir L; Marshall, N Justin; Cronin, Thomas W; Gruev, Viktor; Powell, Samuel

2016-08-22

Although the function of polarization vision, the ability to discern the polarization characteristics of light, is well established in many terrestrial and benthic species, its purpose in pelagic species (squid and certain fish and crustaceans) is poorly understood [1]. A long-held hypothesis is that polarization vision in open water is used to break the mirror camouflage of silvery fish, as biological mirrors can change the polarization of reflected light [2,3]. Although, the addition of polarization information may increase the conspicuousness of silvery fish at close range, direct evidence that silvery fish - or indeed any pelagic animal - are visible at longer distances using polarization vision rather than using radiance (i.e. brightness) vision is lacking. Here we show, using in situ polarization imagery and a new visual detection model, that polarization vision does not in fact appear to allow viewers to see silvery fish at greater distances. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The kinetic energy operator for distance-dependent effective nuclear masses: Derivation for a triatomic molecule.

PubMed

Khoma, Mykhaylo; Jaquet, Ralph

2017-09-21

The kinetic energy operator for triatomic molecules with coordinate or distance-dependent nuclear masses has been derived. By combination of the chain rule method and the analysis of infinitesimal variations of molecular coordinates, a simple and general technique for the construction of the kinetic energy operator has been proposed. The asymptotic properties of the Hamiltonian have been investigated with respect to the ratio of the electron and proton mass. We have demonstrated that an ad hoc introduction of distance (and direction) dependent nuclear masses in Cartesian coordinates preserves the total rotational invariance of the problem. With the help of Wigner rotation functions, an effective Hamiltonian for nuclear motion can be derived. In the derivation, we have focused on the effective trinuclear Hamiltonian. All necessary matrix elements are given in closed analytical form. Preliminary results for the influence of non-adiabaticity on vibrational band origins are presented for H 3 + .

Preliminary assessment of the variability of UK offshore wind speed as a function of distance to the coast

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soler-Bientz, Rolando; Watson, Simon

2016-09-01

In the UK, there is an interest in the expected offshore wind resource given ambitious national plans to expand offshore capacity. There is also an increasing interest in alternative datasets to evaluate wind seasonal and inter-annual cycles which can be very useful in the initial stages of the design of wind farms in order to identify prospective areas where local measurements can then be applied to determine small-scale variations in the marine wind climate. In this paper we analyse both MERRA2 reanalysis data and measured offshore mast data to determine patterns in wind speed variation and how they change as a function of the distance from the coast. We also identify an empirical expression to estimate wind speed based on the distance from the coast. From the analysis, it was found that the variations of the seasonal cycles seem to be almost independent of the distance to the nearest shore and that they are an order of magnitude larger than the variations of the diurnal cycles. It was concluded that the diurnal variations decreased to less than a half for places located more than 100km from the nearest shore and that the data from the MERRA2 reanalysis grid points give an under-prediction of the average values of wind speed for both the diurnal and seasonal cycles. Finally, even though the two offshore masts were almost the same nearest distance from the coast and were geographically relatively close, they exhibited significantly different behaviour in terms of the strength of their diurnal and seasonal cycles which may be due to the distance from the coast for the prevailing wind direction being quite different for the two sites.

Implementing Speed and Separation Monitoring in Collaborative Robot Workcells.

PubMed

Marvel, Jeremy A; Norcross, Rick

2017-04-01

We provide an overview and guidance for the Speed and Separation Monitoring methodology as presented in the International Organization of Standardization's technical specification 15066 on collaborative robot safety. Such functionality is provided by external, intelligent observer systems integrated into a robotic workcell. The SSM minimum protective distance function equation is discussed in detail, with consideration for the input values, implementation specifications, and performance expectations. We provide analytical analyses and test results of the current equation, discuss considerations for implementing SSM in human-occupied environments, and provide directions for technological advancements toward standardization.

Implementing Speed and Separation Monitoring in Collaborative Robot Workcells

PubMed Central

Marvel, Jeremy A.; Norcross, Rick

2016-01-01

We provide an overview and guidance for the Speed and Separation Monitoring methodology as presented in the International Organization of Standardization's technical specification 15066 on collaborative robot safety. Such functionality is provided by external, intelligent observer systems integrated into a robotic workcell. The SSM minimum protective distance function equation is discussed in detail, with consideration for the input values, implementation specifications, and performance expectations. We provide analytical analyses and test results of the current equation, discuss considerations for implementing SSM in human-occupied environments, and provide directions for technological advancements toward standardization. PMID:27885312

Comparative analysis of 2D and 3D distance measurements to study spatial genome organization.

PubMed

Finn, Elizabeth H; Pegoraro, Gianluca; Shachar, Sigal; Misteli, Tom

2017-07-01

The spatial organization of genomes is non-random, cell-type specific, and has been linked to cellular function. The investigation of spatial organization has traditionally relied extensively on fluorescence microscopy. The validity of the imaging methods used to probe spatial genome organization often depends on the accuracy and precision of distance measurements. Imaging-based measurements may either use 2 dimensional datasets or 3D datasets which include the z-axis information in image stacks. Here we compare the suitability of 2D vs 3D distance measurements in the analysis of various features of spatial genome organization. We find in general good agreement between 2D and 3D analysis with higher convergence of measurements as the interrogated distance increases, especially in flat cells. Overall, 3D distance measurements are more accurate than 2D distances, but are also more susceptible to noise. In particular, z-stacks are prone to error due to imaging properties such as limited resolution along the z-axis and optical aberrations, and we also find significant deviations from unimodal distance distributions caused by low sampling frequency in z. These deviations are ameliorated by significantly higher sampling frequency in the z-direction. We conclude that 2D distances are preferred for comparative analyses between cells, but 3D distances are preferred when comparing to theoretical models in large samples of cells. In general and for practical purposes, 2D distance measurements are preferable for many applications of analysis of spatial genome organization. Published by Elsevier Inc.

Does Imprecision in The Waggle Dance Fit Patterns Predicted by The Tuned-Error Hypothesis?

PubMed

Tanner, David A; Visscher, P Kirk

2010-05-01

The waggle dance of the honey bee is used to recruit nest mates to a resource, though direction indicated for a resource may vary greatly within a single dance. Some authors suggest that this variation exits as an adaptation to distribute recruits across a patch of flowers, and that, due to the variation's inverse relationship with distance, the shape of the recruit distribution will remain constant for resources at different distances. In this study, we test this hypothesis by examining how variation in the indication of direction and distance changes with respect to distance. We find that imprecision in the communication of direction does not diminish rapidly enough to accommodate an adaptive-error hypothesis, and we also find that variation in the indication of distance has a positive relationship with the distance of a resource from the hive.

Does Imprecision in The Waggle Dance Fit Patterns Predicted by The Tuned-Error Hypothesis?

PubMed Central

Visscher, P. Kirk

2010-01-01

The waggle dance of the honey bee is used to recruit nest mates to a resource, though direction indicated for a resource may vary greatly within a single dance. Some authors suggest that this variation exits as an adaptation to distribute recruits across a patch of flowers, and that, due to the variation’s inverse relationship with distance, the shape of the recruit distribution will remain constant for resources at different distances. In this study, we test this hypothesis by examining how variation in the indication of direction and distance changes with respect to distance. We find that imprecision in the communication of direction does not diminish rapidly enough to accommodate an adaptive-error hypothesis, and we also find that variation in the indication of distance has a positive relationship with the distance of a resource from the hive. PMID:20414338

Fitts' Law is modulated by movement history.

PubMed

Tang, Rixin; Shen, Bingyao; Sang, Zhiqin; Song, Aixia; Goodale, Melvyn A

2017-08-24

Fitts' Law is one of the most robust and well-studied principles in psychology. It holds that movement time (MT) for target-directed aiming movements increases as a function of target distance and decreases as a function of target width. The purpose of this study was to determine whether Fitts' Law is affected not only by the demands of the target on the current trial but also by the requirements for performance on the previous trial. Experiments 1 and 2 examined trial-to-trial effects of varying target width; Experiment 3 examined trial-to-trial effects of varying target distance. The findings from Experiments 1 and 2 showed that moving a finger or cursor towards a large object on a previous trial shortened the movement time on the current trial, whereas the opposite occurred with a small object. In contrast, target distance on the previous trial had no effect on movement time on the current trial. These findings suggest that performance on trial n has a clear and predictable effect on trial n+1 (at least for target width) and that Fitts' Law as it is normally expressed does not accurately predict performance when the width of the target varies from trial to trial.

Membrane nanotubes facilitate long-distance interactions between natural killer cells and target cells

PubMed Central

Chauveau, Anne; Aucher, Anne; Eissmann, Philipp; Vivier, Eric; Davis, Daniel M.

2010-01-01

Membrane nanotubes are membranous tethers that physically link cell bodies over long distances. Here, we present evidence that nanotubes allow human natural killer (NK) cells to interact functionally with target cells over long distances. Nanotubes were formed when NK cells contacted target cells and moved apart. The frequency of nanotube formation was dependent on the number of receptor/ligand interactions and increased on NK cell activation. Most importantly, NK cell nanotubes contained a submicron scale junction where proteins accumulated, including DAP10, the signaling adaptor that associates with the activating receptor NKG2D, and MHC class I chain-related protein A (MICA), a cognate ligand for NKG2D, as occurs at close intercellular synapses between NK cells and target cells. Quantitative live-cell fluorescence imaging suggested that MICA accumulated at small nanotube synapses in sufficient numbers to trigger cell activation. In addition, tyrosine-phosphorylated proteins and Vav-1 accumulated at such junctions. Functionally, nanotubes could aid the lysis of distant target cells either directly or by moving target cells along the nanotube path into close contact for lysis via a conventional immune synapse. Target cells moving along the nanotube path were commonly polarized such that their uropods faced the direction of movement. This is the opposite polarization than for normal cell migration, implying that nanotubes can specifically drive target cell movement. Finally, target cells that remained connected to an NK cell by a nanotube were frequently lysed, whereas removing the nanotube using a micromanipulator reduced lysis of these target cells. PMID:20212116

Method and device for landing aircraft dependent on runway occupancy time

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ghalebsaz Jeddi, Babak (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A technique for landing aircraft using an aircraft landing accident avoidance device is disclosed. The technique includes determining at least two probability distribution functions; determining a safe lower limit on a separation between a lead aircraft and a trail aircraft on a glide slope to the runway; determining a maximum sustainable safe attempt-to-land rate on the runway based on the safe lower limit and the probability distribution functions; directing the trail aircraft to enter the glide slope with a target separation from the lead aircraft corresponding to the maximum sustainable safe attempt-to-land rate; while the trail aircraft is in the glide slope, determining an actual separation between the lead aircraft and the trail aircraft; and directing the trail aircraft to execute a go-around maneuver if the actual separation approaches the safe lower limit. Probability distribution functions include runway occupancy time, and landing time interval and/or inter-arrival distance.

Optimizing Environmental Monitoring Networks with Direction-Dependent Distance Thresholds.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hudak, Paul F.

1993-01-01

In the direction-dependent approach to location modeling developed herein, the distance within which a point of demand can find service from a facility depends on direction of measurement. The utility of the approach is illustrated through an application to groundwater remediation. (Author/MDH)

Defining functional distance using manifold embeddings of gene ontology annotations

PubMed Central

Lerman, Gilad; Shakhnovich, Boris E.

2007-01-01

Although rigorous measures of similarity for sequence and structure are now well established, the problem of defining functional relationships has been particularly daunting. Here, we present several manifold embedding techniques to compute distances between Gene Ontology (GO) functional annotations and consequently estimate functional distances between protein domains. To evaluate accuracy, we correlate the functional distance to the well established measures of sequence, structural, and phylogenetic similarities. Finally, we show that manual classification of structures into folds and superfamilies is mirrored by proximity in the newly defined function space. We show how functional distances place structure–function relationships in biological context resulting in insight into divergent and convergent evolution. The methods and results in this paper can be readily generalized and applied to a wide array of biologically relevant investigations, such as accuracy of annotation transference, the relationship between sequence, structure, and function, or coherence of expression modules. PMID:17595300

Separation of fNIRS Signals into Functional and Systemic Components Based on Differences in Hemodynamic Modalities

PubMed Central

Yamada, Toru; Umeyama, Shinji; Matsuda, Keiji

2012-01-01

In conventional functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), systemic physiological fluctuations evoked by a body's motion and psychophysiological changes often contaminate fNIRS signals. We propose a novel method for separating functional and systemic signals based on their hemodynamic differences. Considering their physiological origins, we assumed a negative and positive linear relationship between oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin changes of functional and systemic signals, respectively. Their coefficients are determined by an empirical procedure. The proposed method was compared to conventional and multi-distance NIRS. The results were as follows: (1) Nonfunctional tasks evoked substantial oxyhemoglobin changes, and comparatively smaller deoxyhemoglobin changes, in the same direction by conventional NIRS. The systemic components estimated by the proposed method were similar to the above finding. The estimated functional components were very small. (2) During finger-tapping tasks, laterality in the functional component was more distinctive using our proposed method than that by conventional fNIRS. The systemic component indicated task-evoked changes, regardless of the finger used to perform the task. (3) For all tasks, the functional components were highly coincident with signals estimated by multi-distance NIRS. These results strongly suggest that the functional component obtained by the proposed method originates in the cerebral cortical layer. We believe that the proposed method could improve the reliability of fNIRS measurements without any modification in commercially available instruments. PMID:23185590

A new navigational mechanism mediated by ant ocelli.

PubMed

Schwarz, Sebastian; Wystrach, Antoine; Cheng, Ken

2011-12-23

Many animals rely on path integration for navigation and desert ants are the champions. On leaving the nest, ants continuously integrate their distance and direction of travel so that they always know their current distance and direction from the nest and can take a direct path to home. Distance information originates from a step-counter and directional information is based on a celestial compass. So far, it has been assumed that the directional information obtained from ocelli contribute to a single global path integrator, together with directional information from the dorsal rim area (DRA) of the compound eyes and distance information from the step-counter. Here, we show that ocelli mediate a distinct compass from that mediated by the compound eyes. After travelling a two-leg outbound route, untreated foragers headed towards the nest direction, showing that both legs of the route had been integrated. In contrast, foragers with covered compound eyes but uncovered ocelli steered in the direction opposite to the last leg of the outbound route. Our findings suggest that, unlike the DRA, ocelli cannot by themselves mediate path integration. Instead, ocelli mediate a distinct directional system, which buffers the most recent leg of a journey.

Beam shaping of light sources using circular photonic crystal funnel

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Mrityunjay; Kumar, Mithun; Dinesh Kumar, V.

2012-10-01

A novel two-dimensional circular photonic crystal (CPC) structure with a sectorial opening for shaping the beam of light sources was designed and investigated. When combined with light sources, the structure acts like an antenna emitting a directional beam which could be advantageously used in several nanophotonic applications. Using the two-dimensional finite-difference time-domain (2D FDTD) method, we examined the effects of geometrical parameters of the structure on the directional and transmission properties of emitted radiation. Further, we examined the transmitting and receiving properties of a pair of identical structures as a function of distance between them.

Contribution to the Understanding of Particle Motion Perception in Marine Invertebrates.

PubMed

André, Michel; Kaifu, Kenzo; Solé, Marta; van der Schaar, Mike; Akamatsu, Tomonari; Balastegui, Andreu; Sánchez, Antonio M; Castell, Joan V

2016-01-01

Marine invertebrates potentially represent a group of species whose ecology may be influenced by artificial noise. Exposure to anthropogenic sound sources could have a direct consequence on the functionality and sensitivity of their sensory organs, the statocysts, which are responsible for their equilibrium and movements in the water column. The availability of novel laser Doppler vibrometer techniques has recently opened the possibility of measuring whole body (distance, velocity, and acceleration) vibration as a direct stimulus eliciting statocyst response, offering the scientific community a new level of understanding of the marine invertebrate hearing mechanism.

Selection vector filter framework

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lukac, Rastislav; Plataniotis, Konstantinos N.; Smolka, Bogdan; Venetsanopoulos, Anastasios N.

2003-10-01

We provide a unified framework of nonlinear vector techniques outputting the lowest ranked vector. The proposed framework constitutes a generalized filter class for multichannel signal processing. A new class of nonlinear selection filters are based on the robust order-statistic theory and the minimization of the weighted distance function to other input samples. The proposed method can be designed to perform a variety of filtering operations including previously developed filtering techniques such as vector median, basic vector directional filter, directional distance filter, weighted vector median filters and weighted directional filters. A wide range of filtering operations is guaranteed by the filter structure with two independent weight vectors for angular and distance domains of the vector space. In order to adapt the filter parameters to varying signal and noise statistics, we provide also the generalized optimization algorithms taking the advantage of the weighted median filters and the relationship between standard median filter and vector median filter. Thus, we can deal with both statistical and deterministic aspects of the filter design process. It will be shown that the proposed method holds the required properties such as the capability of modelling the underlying system in the application at hand, the robustness with respect to errors in the model of underlying system, the availability of the training procedure and finally, the simplicity of filter representation, analysis, design and implementation. Simulation studies also indicate that the new filters are computationally attractive and have excellent performance in environments corrupted by bit errors and impulsive noise.

Communication for extension: developing country experience.

PubMed

Meyer, A J

1985-01-01

This paper characterizes several major approaches to the use of communication in support of agricultural extension and suggests directions for change. The approaches discussed include: direct farmer contact, farmer forums, open broadcasting, advertising and social marketing, print media, multiple channel systems (campaigns and distance teaching), and comprehensive communication systems. Although all programs should be able to use media in interaction with training and the coordination of other inputs, this approach has not been comprehensively implemented in extension programs. There are few examples of cases where multiple methods have been brought together under a comprehensive communications strategy and institutionalized as part of an ongoing extension system. Lessons from social marketing in other sectors have not been exploited, while lessons from distance teaching have been underutilized. In addition, the networking and feedback functions of communication in extenson have not been given adequate attention. There is substantial potential for increasing the coverage and impact of agricultural extension through the more systematic and comprehensive use of communication.

Head repositioning accuracy in patients with neck pain and asymptomatic subjects: concurrent validity, influence of motion speed, motion direction and target distance.

PubMed

Dugailly, Pierre-Michel; De Santis, Roberta; Tits, Mathieu; Sobczak, Stéphane; Vigne, Anna; Feipel, Véronique

2015-12-01

Cervicocephalic kinesthetic deficiencies have been demonstrated in patients with chronic neck pain (NP). On the other hand, authors emphasized the use of different motion speeds for assessing functional impairment of the cervical spine. The objectives of this study were (1) to investigate the head repositioning accuracy in NP patients and control subjects and (2) to assess the influence of target distance, motion speed, motion direction and pain. Seventy-one subjects (36 healthy subjects and 35 NP patients; age 30-55 years) performed the head repositioning test (HRT) at two different speeds for horizontal and vertical movements and at two different distances. For each condition, six consecutive trials were sampled. The study showed the validity and reproducibility of the HRT, confirming a dysfunctional threshold of 4.5°. Normative values of head repositioning error up to 3.6° and 7.1° were identified for healthy and NP subjects, respectively. A distance of 180 cm from the target and a natural motion speed increased HRT accuracy. Repositioning after extension movement showed a significantly larger error in both groups. Intensity, duration of pain as well as pain level did not significantly alter head repositioning error. The assessment of proprioceptive performance in healthy and NP subjects allowed the validation of the HRT. The HRT is a simple, not expensive and fast test, easily implementable in daily practice to assess and monitor treatment and evolution of proprioceptive cervical deficits.

The Microtubule Regulatory Protein Stathmin Is Required to Maintain the Integrity of Axonal Microtubules in Drosophila

PubMed Central

Duncan, Jason E.; Lytle, Nikki K.; Zuniga, Alfredo; Goldstein, Lawrence S. B.

2013-01-01

Axonal transport, a form of long-distance, bi-directional intracellular transport that occurs between the cell body and synaptic terminal, is critical in maintaining the function and viability of neurons. We have identified a requirement for the stathmin (stai) gene in the maintenance of axonal microtubules and regulation of axonal transport in Drosophila . The stai gene encodes a cytosolic phosphoprotein that regulates microtubule dynamics by partitioning tubulin dimers between pools of soluble tubulin and polymerized microtubules, and by directly binding to microtubules and promoting depolymerization. Analysis of stai function in Drosophila , which has a single stai gene, circumvents potential complications with studies performed in vertebrate systems in which mutant phenotypes may be compensated by genetic redundancy of other members of the stai gene family. This has allowed us to identify an essential function for stai in the maintenance of the integrity of axonal microtubules. In addition to the severe disruption in the abundance and architecture of microtubules in the axons of stai mutant Drosophila , we also observe additional neurological phenotypes associated with loss of stai function including a posterior paralysis and tail-flip phenotype in third instar larvae, aberrant accumulation of transported membranous organelles in stai deficient axons, a progressive bang-sensitive response to mechanical stimulation reminiscent of the class of Drosophila mutants used to model human epileptic seizures, and a reduced adult lifespan. Reductions in the levels of Kinesin-1, the primary anterograde motor in axonal transport, enhance these phenotypes. Collectively, our results indicate that stai has an important role in neuronal function, likely through the maintenance of microtubule integrity in the axons of nerves of the peripheral nervous system necessary to support and sustain long-distance axonal transport. PMID:23840848

Open and Distance Learning Today. Routledge Studies in Distance Education Series.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lockwood, Fred, Ed.

This book contains the following papers on open and distance learning today: "Preface" (Daniel); "Big Bang Theory in Distance Education" (Hawkridge); "Practical Agenda for Theorists of Distance Education" (Perraton); "Trends, Directions and Needs: A View from Developing Countries" (Koul); "American…

Ecosystem engineering of harvester ants: effects on vegetation in a sagebrush-steppe ecosystem

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gosselin, Elyce N; Holbrook, Joseph D.; Huggler, Katey; Brown, Emily; Vierling, Kerri T.; Arkle, Robert; Pilliod, David S.

2016-01-01

Harvester ants are influential in many ecosystems because they distribute and consume seeds, remove vegetation, and redistribute soil particles and nutrients. Understanding the interaction between harvester ants and plant communities is important for management and restoration efforts, particularly in systems altered by fire and invasive species such as the sagebrush-steppe. Our objective was to evaluate how vegetation cover changed as a function of distance from Owyhee harvester ant (Pogonomyrmex salinus) nests within a sagebrush-steppe ecosystem. We sampled 105 harvester ant nests within southern Idaho, USA, that occurred in different habitats: annual grassland, perennial grassland, and native shrubland. The influence of Owyhee harvester ants on vegetation was larger at the edge of ant nests, but the relationship was inconsistent among plant species. Percent cover was positively associated with distance from harvester ant nests for plant species that were considered undesirable food sources and were densely distributed. However, percent cover was negatively associated with distance-from-nests for patchily distributed and desirable plant species. For some plant species, there was no change in cover associated with distance-from-nests. Total vegetation cover was associated with distance-from-nests in the shrubland habitat but not in the 2 grasslands. The dominant plant species in the shrubland habitat was a densely distributed shrub (winterfat, Krascheninnikovia lanata) that was defoliated by harvester ants. Our results suggest that Owyhee harvester ants increase spatial heterogeneity in plant communities through plant clearing, but the direction and magnitude of effect will likely be contingent on the dominant vegetation groups. This information may inform future management and plant restoration efforts in sagebrush-steppe by directly considering the islands of influence associated with harvester ant engineering.

Correlation of visual performance with quality of life and intraocular aberrometric profile in patients implanted with rotationally asymmetric multifocal IOLs.

PubMed

Ramón, María L; Piñero, David P; Pérez-Cambrodí, Rafael J

2012-02-01

To examine the visual performance of a rotationally asymmetric multifocal intraocular lens (IOL) by correlating the defocus curve of the IOL-implanted eye with the intraocular aberrometric profile and impact on the quality of life. A prospective, consecutive, case series study including 26 eyes from 13 patients aged between 50 and 83 years (mean: 65.54±7.59 years) was conducted. All patients underwent bilateral cataract surgery with implantation of a rotationally asymmetric multifocal IOL (Lentis Mplus LS-312 MF30, Oculentis GmbH). Distance and near visual acuity outcomes, intraocular aberrations, defocus curve, and quality of life (assessed using the National Eye Institute Visual Functioning Questionnaire-25) were evaluated postoperatively (mean follow-up: 6.42±2.24 months). A significant improvement in distance visual acuity was found postoperatively (P<.01). Mean postoperative logMAR distance-corrected near visual acuity was 0.19±0.12 (∼20/30). Corrected distance visual acuity and near visual acuity of 20/20 or better were achieved by 30.8% and 7.7% of eyes, respectively. Of all eyes, 96.2% had a postoperative addition between 0 and 1.00 diopter (D). The defocus curve showed two peaks of maximum visual acuity (0 and 3.00 D of defocus), with an acceptable range of intermediate vision. LogMAR visual acuity corresponding to near defocus was directly correlated with some higher order intraocular aberrations (r⩾0.44, P⩽.04). Some difficulties evaluated with the quality of life test correlated directly with near and intermediate visual acuity (r⩾0.50, P⩽.01). The Lentis Mplus multifocal IOL provides good distance, intermediate, and near visual outcomes; however, the induced intraocular aberrometric profile may limit the potential visual benefit. Copyright 2012, SLACK Incorporated.

Self-Directed Workplace Literacy Distance Learning for Developmental Disabilities Workers. Final Report.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denny, Verna Haskins

The Self-Directed Workplace Literacy Distance Learning Project demonstrated a model workplace literacy program that helped direct care workers in state-operated developmental disabilities facilities improve their literacy skills for a changing workplace. During the project, 268 New York State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental…

Accuracy assessment methods of tissue marker clip placement after 11-gauge vacuum-assisted stereotactic breast biopsy: comparison of measurements using direct and conventional methods.

PubMed

Yatake, Hidetoshi; Sawai, Yuka; Nishi, Toshio; Nakano, Yoshiaki; Nishimae, Ayaka; Katsuda, Toshizo; Yabunaka, Koichi; Takeda, Yoshihiro; Inaji, Hideo

2017-07-01

The objective of the study was to compare direct measurement with a conventional method for evaluation of clip placement in stereotactic vacuum-assisted breast biopsy (ST-VAB) and to evaluate the accuracy of clip placement using the direct method. Accuracy of clip placement was assessed by measuring the distance from a residual calcification of a targeted calcification clustered to a clip on a mammogram after ST-VAB. Distances in the craniocaudal (CC) and mediolateral oblique (MLO) views were measured in 28 subjects with mammograms recorded twice or more after ST-VAB. The difference in the distance between the first and second measurements was defined as the reproducibility and was compared with that from a conventional method using a mask system with overlap of transparent film on the mammogram. The 3D clip-to-calcification distance was measured using the direct method in 71 subjects. The reproducibility of the direct method was higher than that of the conventional method in CC and MLO views (P = 0.002, P < 0.001). The median 3D clip-to-calcification distance was 2.8 mm, with an interquartile range of 2.0-4.8 mm and a range of 1.1-36.3 mm. The direct method used in this study was more accurate than the conventional method, and gave a median 3D distance of 2.8 mm between the calcification and clip.

Communication Skills for OMRDD Direct Care Workers: Distance Learning Study Guide. Instructor's Manual.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denny, Verna Haskins

This instructor's manual provides an overview, directions, and answer keys for working with the study guide for direct care workers who are enrolled in a self-directed communication skills distance learning program for developmental disabilities workers. It begins with a list of the 12 theme areas and 105 units into which the theme areas are…

Network Characteristics of Collective Chemosensing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, Bo; Duclos, Guillaume; Stone, Howard A.

2013-04-01

The collective chemosensing of nonexcitable mammalian cells involves a biochemical network that features gap junction communications and heterogeneous single cell activities. To understand the integrated multicellular chemosensing, we study the calcium dynamics of micropatterned fibroblast cell colonies in response to adenosine triphosphate (ATP) stimulation. We find that the cross-correlation function between the responses of individual cells decays with topological distance as a power law for large colonies and much faster for smaller colonies. Furthermore, the strongly correlated cell pairs tend to form clusters and are more likely to exceed the percolation threshold. At a given topological distance, the cross-correlations exhibit characteristics of Poisson distributions, which allows us to estimate the unitary conductance of a single gap junction which is in good agreement with direct experimental measurements.

Characteristics of ion distribution functions in dipolarizing flux bundles: Event studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Runov, A.; Angelopoulos, V.; Artemyev, A.; Birn, J.; Pritchett, P. L.; Zhou, X.-Z.

2017-06-01

Taking advantage of multipoint observations from a repeating configuration of the five Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms (THEMIS) probes separated by 1 to 2 Earth radii (RE) along X, Y, and Z in the geocentric solar magnetospheric system (GSM), we study ion distribution functions collected by the probes during three dipolarizing flux bundle (DFB) events observed at geocentric distances 9 < R < 14 RE. By comparing these probes' observations, we characterize changes in the ion distribution functions with respect to probe separation along the X and Y GSM directions and |Bx| levels, which characterize the distance from the neutral sheet. We found that the characteristics of the ion distribution functions strongly depended on the |Bx| level, whereas changes with respect to X and Y were minor. In all three events, ion distribution functions f(v) observed inside DFBs were organized by magnetic and electric fields. The probes near the magnetic equator observed perpendicular anisotropy of the phase space density in the range between thermal energy and twice the thermal energy, although the distribution in the ambient plasma sheet was isotropic. The anisotropic ion distribution in DFBs injected toward the inner magnetosphere may provide the free energy for waves and instabilities, which are important elements of particle energization.

Shanghai: a study on the spatial growth of population and economy in a Chinese metropolitan area.

PubMed

Zhu, J

1995-01-01

In this study of the growth in population and industry in Shanghai, China, between the 1982 and 1990 censuses, data on administrative divisions was normalized through digitization and spatial analysis. Analysis focused on spatial units, intensity of growth, time period, distance, rate of growth, and direction of spatial growth. The trisection method divided the city into city proper, outskirts, and suburbs. The distance function method considered the distance from center city as a function: exponential, power, trigonometric, logarithmic, and polynomial. Population growth and employment in all sectors increased in the outskirts and suburbs and decreased in the city proper except tertiary sectors. Primary sector employment decreased in all three sections. Employment in the secondary increased faster in the outskirts and suburbs than the total rate of growth of population and employment. In the city secondary sector employment rates decreased faster than total population and employment rates. The tertiary sector had the highest rate of growth in all sections, and employment grew faster than secondary sector rates. Tertiary growth was highest in real estate, finance, and insurance. Industrial growth in the secondary sector was 160.2% in the suburbs, 156.6% in the outskirts, and 80.9% in the city. In the distance function analysis, industry expanded further out than the entire secondary sector. Commerce grew the fastest in areas 15.4 km from center city. Economic growth was faster after economic reforms in 1978. Growth was led by industry and followed by the secondary sector, the tertiary sector, and population. Industrial expansion resulted from inner pressure, political factors controlling size, the social and economic system, and the housing construction and distribution system. Initially sociopsychological factors affected urban concentration.

An empirical model of H2O, CO2 and CO coma distributions and production rates for comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko based on ROSINA/DFMS measurements and AMPS-DSMC simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hansen, Kenneth C.; Altwegg, Kathrin; Bieler, Andre; Berthelier, Jean-Jacques; Calmonte, Ursina; Combi, Michael R.; De Keyser, Johan; Fiethe, Björn; Fougere, Nicolas; Fuselier, Stephen; Gombosi, T. I.; Hässig, Myrtha; Huang, Zhenguang; Le Roy, Léna; Rubin, Martin; Tenishev, Valeriy; Toth, Gabor; Tzou, Chia-Yu; ROSINA Team

2016-10-01

We have previously used results from the AMPS DSMC (Adaptive Mesh Particle Simulator Direct Simulation Monte Carlo) model to create an empirical model of the near comet water (H2O) coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In this work we create additional empirical models for the coma distributions of CO2 and CO. The AMPS simulations are based on ROSINA DFMS (Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis, Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer) data taken over the entire timespan of the Rosetta mission. The empirical model is created using AMPS DSMC results which are extracted from simulations at a range of radial distances, rotation phases and heliocentric distances. The simulation results are then averaged over a comet rotation and fitted to an empirical model distribution. Model coefficients are then fitted to piecewise-linear functions of heliocentric distance. The final product is an empirical model of the coma distribution which is a function of heliocentric distance, radial distance, and sun-fixed longitude and latitude angles. The model clearly mimics the behavior of water shifting production from North to South across the inbound equinox while the CO2 production is always in the South.The empirical model can be used to de-trend the spacecraft motion from the ROSINA COPS and DFMS data. The ROSINA instrument measures the neutral coma density at a single point and the measured value is influenced by the location of the spacecraft relative to the comet and the comet-sun line. Using the empirical coma model we can correct for the position of the spacecraft and compute a total production rate based on single point measurements. In this presentation we will present the coma production rates as a function of heliocentric distance for the entire Rosetta mission.This work was supported by contracts JPL#1266313 and JPL#1266314 from the US Rosetta Project and NASA grant NNX14AG84G from the Planetary Atmospheres Program.

The Anatomical Distance of Functional Connections Predicts Brain Network Topology in Health and Schizophrenia

PubMed Central

Vértes, Petra E.; Stidd, Reva; Lalonde, François; Clasen, Liv; Rapoport, Judith; Giedd, Jay; Bullmore, Edward T.; Gogtay, Nitin

2013-01-01

The human brain is a topologically complex network embedded in anatomical space. Here, we systematically explored relationships between functional connectivity, complex network topology, and anatomical (Euclidean) distance between connected brain regions, in the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging brain networks of 20 healthy volunteers and 19 patients with childhood-onset schizophrenia (COS). Normal between-subject differences in average distance of connected edges in brain graphs were strongly associated with variation in topological properties of functional networks. In addition, a club or subset of connector hubs was identified, in lateral temporal, parietal, dorsal prefrontal, and medial prefrontal/cingulate cortical regions. In COS, there was reduced strength of functional connectivity over short distances especially, and therefore, global mean connection distance of thresholded graphs was significantly greater than normal. As predicted from relationships between spatial and topological properties of normal networks, this disorder-related proportional increase in connection distance was associated with reduced clustering and modularity and increased global efficiency of COS networks. Between-group differences in connection distance were localized specifically to connector hubs of multimodal association cortex. In relation to the neurodevelopmental pathogenesis of schizophrenia, we argue that the data are consistent with the interpretation that spatial and topological disturbances of functional network organization could arise from excessive “pruning” of short-distance functional connections in schizophrenia. PMID:22275481

Distance and direction, but not light cues, support response reversal learning.

PubMed

Wright, S L; Martin, G M; Thorpe, C M; Haley, K; Skinner, D M

2018-03-05

Across three experiments, we examined the cuing properties of metric (distance and direction) and nonmetric (lighting) cues in different tasks. In Experiment 1, rats were trained on a response problem in a T-maze, followed by four reversals. Rats that experienced a change in maze orientation (Direction group) or a change in the length of the start arm (Distance group) across reversals showed facilitation of reversal learning relative to a group that experienced changes in room lighting across reversals. In Experiment 2, rats learned a discrimination task more readily when distance or direction cues were used than when light cues were used as the discriminative stimuli. In Experiment 3, performance on a go/no-go task was equivalent using both direction and lighting cues. The successful use of both metric and nonmetric cues in the go/no-go task indicates that rats are sensitive to both types of cues and that the usefulness of different cues is dependent on the nature of the task.

Orbital Transfer Vehicle Oxygen Turbopump Technology. Final Report, Volume 1. Design, Fabrication, and Hydrostatic Bearing Testing

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-12-01

Temperature Distance Sensors -. ...................... 188 Start Transient 4.5-7 Distance Sensor Signal as a Function of Speed...189 4.5-8 Distance Sensor Signal as a Function of Speed ......................................... 190 4.5-9 Cryogenic Operation of...Distance Sensors at 72,000 RPM ........................ 192 Steady State 4.5-10 Cryogenic Operation of Distance Sensor Through Start

Spatial variability in airborne pollen concentrations.

PubMed

Raynor, G S; Ogden, E C; Hayes, J V

1975-03-01

Tests were conducted to determine the relationship between airborne pollen concentrations and distance. Simultaneous samples were taken in 171 tests with sets of eight rotoslide samplers spaced from one to 486 M. apart in straight lines. Use of all possible pairs gave 28 separation distances. Tests were conducted over a 2-year period in urban and rural locations distant from major pollen sources during both tree and ragweed pollen seasons. Samples were taken at a height of 1.5 M. during 5-to 20-minute periods. Tests were grouped by pollen type, location, year, and direction of the wind relative to the line. Data were analyzed to evaluate variability without regard to sampler spacing and variability as a function of separation distance. The mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, ratio of maximum to the mean, and ratio of minimum to the mean were calculated for each test, each group of tests, and all cases. The average coefficient of variation is 0.21, the maximum over the mean, 1.39 and the minimum over the mean, 0.69. No relationship was found with experimental conditions. Samples taken at the minimum separation distance had a mean difference of 18 per cent. Differences between pairs of samples increased with distance in 10 of 13 groups. These results suggest that airborne pollens are not always well mixed in the lower atmosphere and that a sample becomes less representative with increasing distance from the sampling location.

DD-HDS: A method for visualization and exploration of high-dimensional data.

PubMed

Lespinats, Sylvain; Verleysen, Michel; Giron, Alain; Fertil, Bernard

2007-09-01

Mapping high-dimensional data in a low-dimensional space, for example, for visualization, is a problem of increasingly major concern in data analysis. This paper presents data-driven high-dimensional scaling (DD-HDS), a nonlinear mapping method that follows the line of multidimensional scaling (MDS) approach, based on the preservation of distances between pairs of data. It improves the performance of existing competitors with respect to the representation of high-dimensional data, in two ways. It introduces (1) a specific weighting of distances between data taking into account the concentration of measure phenomenon and (2) a symmetric handling of short distances in the original and output spaces, avoiding false neighbor representations while still allowing some necessary tears in the original distribution. More precisely, the weighting is set according to the effective distribution of distances in the data set, with the exception of a single user-defined parameter setting the tradeoff between local neighborhood preservation and global mapping. The optimization of the stress criterion designed for the mapping is realized by "force-directed placement" (FDP). The mappings of low- and high-dimensional data sets are presented as illustrations of the features and advantages of the proposed algorithm. The weighting function specific to high-dimensional data and the symmetric handling of short distances can be easily incorporated in most distance preservation-based nonlinear dimensionality reduction methods.

Electromagnetic or other directed energy pulse launcher

DOEpatents

Ziolkowski, Richard W.

1990-01-01

The physical realization of new solutions of wave propagation equations, such as Maxwell's equations and the scaler wave equation, produces localized pulses of wave energy such as electromagnetic or acoustic energy which propagate over long distances without divergence. The pulses are produced by driving each element of an array of radiating sources with a particular drive function so that the resultant localized packet of energy closely approximates the exact solutions and behaves the same.

Comparative epigenetic and genetic spatial structure of the perennial herb Helleborus foetidus: Isolation by environment, isolation by distance, and functional trait divergence.

PubMed

Herrera, Carlos M; Medrano, Mónica; Bazaga, Pilar

2017-08-16

Epigenetic variation can play a role in local adaptation; thus, there should be associations among epigenetic variation, environmental variation, and functional trait variation across populations. This study examines these relationships in the perennial herb Helleborus foetidus (Ranunculaceae). Plants from 10 subpopulations were characterized genetically (AFLP, SSR markers), epigenetically (MSAP markers), and phenotypically (20 functional traits). Habitats were characterized using six environmental variables. Isolation-by-distance (IBD) and isolation-by-environment (IBE) patterns of genetic and epigenetic divergence were assessed, as was the comparative explanatory value of geographical and environmental distance as predictors of epigenetic, genetic, and functional differentiation. Subpopulations were differentiated genetically, epigenetically, and phenotypically. Genetic differentiation was best explained by geographical distance, while epigenetic differentiation was best explained by environmental distance. Divergence in functional traits was correlated with environmental and epigenetic distances, but not with geographical and genetic distances. Results are compatible with the hypothesis that epigenetic IBE and functional divergence reflected responses to environmental variation. Spatial analyses simultaneously considering epigenetic, genetic, phenotypic and environmental information provide a useful tool to evaluate the role of environmental features as drivers of natural epigenetic variation between populations. © 2017 Botanical Society of America.

Geometric comparison of popular mixture-model distances.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mitchell, Scott A.

2010-09-01

Statistical Latent Dirichlet Analysis produces mixture model data that are geometrically equivalent to points lying on a regular simplex in moderate to high dimensions. Numerous other statistical models and techniques also produce data in this geometric category, even though the meaning of the axes and coordinate values differs significantly. A distance function is used to further analyze these points, for example to cluster them. Several different distance functions are popular amongst statisticians; which distance function is chosen is usually driven by the historical preference of the application domain, information-theoretic considerations, or by the desirability of the clustering results. Relatively littlemore » consideration is usually given to how distance functions geometrically transform data, or the distances algebraic properties. Here we take a look at these issues, in the hope of providing complementary insight and inspiring further geometric thought. Several popular distances, {chi}{sup 2}, Jensen - Shannon divergence, and the square of the Hellinger distance, are shown to be nearly equivalent; in terms of functional forms after transformations, factorizations, and series expansions; and in terms of the shape and proximity of constant-value contours. This is somewhat surprising given that their original functional forms look quite different. Cosine similarity is the square of the Euclidean distance, and a similar geometric relationship is shown with Hellinger and another cosine. We suggest a geodesic variation of Hellinger. The square-root projection that arises in Hellinger distance is briefly compared to standard normalization for Euclidean distance. We include detailed derivations of some ratio and difference bounds for illustrative purposes. We provide some constructions that nearly achieve the worst-case ratios, relevant for contours.« less

The accuracy of assessment of walking distance in the elective spinal outpatients setting.

PubMed

Okoro, Tosan; Qureshi, Assad; Sell, Beulah; Sell, Philip

2010-02-01

Self reported walking distance is a clinically relevant measure of function. The aim of this study was to define patient accuracy and understand factors that might influence perceived walking distance in an elective spinal outpatients setting. A prospective cohort study. 103 patients were asked to perform one test of distance estimation and 2 tests of functional distance perception using pre-measured landmarks. Standard spine specific outcomes included the patient reported claudication distance, Oswestry disability index (ODI), Low Back Outcome Score (LBOS), visual analogue score (VAS) for leg and back, and other measures. There are over-estimators and under-estimators. Overall, the accuracy to within 9.14 metres (m) (10 yards) was poor at only 5% for distance estimation and 40% for the two tests of functional distance perception. Distance: Actual distance 111 m; mean response 245 m (95% CI 176.3-314.7), Functional test 1 actual distance 29.2 m; mean response 71.7 m (95% CI 53.6-88.9) Functional test 2 actual distance 19.6 m; mean response 47.4 m (95% CI 35.02-59.95). Surprisingly patients over 60 years of age (n = 43) are twice as accurate with each test performed compared to those under 60 (n = 60) (average 70% overestimation compared to 140%; p = 0.06). Patients in social class I (n = 18) were more accurate than those in classes II-V (n = 85): There was a positive correlation between poor accuracy and increasing MZD (Pearson's correlation coefficient 0.250; p = 0.012). ODI, LBOS and other parameters measured showed no correlation. Subjective distance perception and estimation is poor in this population. Patients over 60 and those with a professional background are more accurate but still poor.

Operation Sun Beam, Shot Small Boy. Project Officers report. Project 1. 4. Shock photography

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hanlon, P.; Dieter, C.F.

1985-09-01

The objective of this project was to measure the shock position as a function of time from which shock velocities and pressures in limited regions could be calculated, and any asymmetric growth both along along and above the surface could be detected. An outgrowth of the fireball along the surface was observed, and it was attributed to surface heating. The rate of growth along the surface was asymmetric. The growth along the 113 deg azimuth was markedly greater than in any of the other directions measured. Contrary to previous experience with surface shots, the peak pressures obtained above ground zeromore » were less than those obtained along the surface at the same distances. there is some evidence to suggest that the focusing noted on previous shots did not occur or was very much reduced. Scaled Small Boy peak pressure-distance data are in agreement with the composite surface-burst pressure-distance curve.« less

The allocation of attention and working memory in visual crowding.

PubMed

Bacigalupo, Felix; Luck, Steven J

2015-06-01

When the distance between a visual target and nearby flankers falls below a critical distance, target discrimination declines precipitously. This is called "crowding." Many researchers have proposed that selective attention plays a role in crowding. However, although some research has examined the effects of directing attention toward versus away from the targets, no previous research has assessed how attentional allocation varies as a function of target-flanker distance in crowding. Here, we used ERPs to assess the operation of attention during crowding, focusing on the attention-related N2pc component. We used a typical crowding task in which participants were asked to report the category (vowel/consonant) of a lateralized target letter flanked by distractor letters at different distances. We tested the hypothesis that attention fails when the target-flanker distance becomes too small for attention to operate effectively. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that N2pc amplitude was maximal at intermediate target-flanker distances and decreased substantially when crowding became severe. In addition, we examined the sustained posterior contralateral negativity (SPCN), which reflects the amount of information being maintained in working memory. Unlike the N2pc component, the SPCN increased in amplitude at small target-flanker distances, suggesting that observers stored information about the target and flankers in working memory when attention failed to select the target. Together, the N2pc and SPCN results suggest that attention and working memory play distinctive roles in crowding: Attention operates to minimize interference from the flankers at intermediate target-flanker distances, whereas working memory may be recruited when attention fails to select the target at small target-flanker distances.

Incorporating variability in honey bee waggle dance decoding improves the mapping of communicated resource locations.

PubMed

Schürch, Roger; Couvillon, Margaret J; Burns, Dominic D R; Tasman, Kiah; Waxman, David; Ratnieks, Francis L W

2013-12-01

Honey bees communicate to nestmates locations of resources, including food, water, tree resin and nest sites, by making waggle dances. Dances are composed of repeated waggle runs, which encode the distance and direction vector from the hive or swarm to the resource. Distance is encoded in the duration of the waggle run, and direction is encoded in the angle of the dancer's body relative to vertical. Glass-walled observation hives enable researchers to observe or video, and decode waggle runs. However, variation in these signals makes it impossible to determine exact locations advertised. We present a Bayesian duration to distance calibration curve using Markov Chain Monte Carlo simulations that allows us to quantify how accurately distance to a food resource can be predicted from waggle run durations within a single dance. An angular calibration shows that angular precision does not change over distance, resulting in spatial scatter proportional to distance. We demonstrate how to combine distance and direction to produce a spatial probability distribution of the resource location advertised by the dance. Finally, we show how to map honey bee foraging and discuss how our approach can be integrated with Geographic Information Systems to better understand honey bee foraging ecology.

Evaluation of a distance-learning immunology and pathology module in a postgraduate biomedical science course.

PubMed

Ryan, M T; Mulholland, C W

2005-01-01

An electronic presentation of materials for a distance-learning immunology and pathology module from a postgraduate biomedical science course is evaluated. Two different electronic presentation formats for the delivery of the educational material to distance learners are assessed. Responses from users of this material highlighted a preference for a format that has a design tailored to distance learning. There was no significant difference in learning outcome between those taking the module on campus and by distance learning. This suggests that the prerequisites for entry, learning materials and direction given to the students studying by distance learning are adequate for these students to achieve the learning objectives outlined in the course. The evaluation also gave direction for areas within the (CAL) application that can be improved for future students.

Legal aspects of E-HEALTH.

PubMed

Callens, Stefaan; Cierkens, Kim

2008-01-01

Cross-border activities in health care in the European single market are increasing. Many of these cross-border developments are related to e-Health. E-Health describes the application of information and communication technologies across the whole range of functions that affect the health care sector. E-health attracts a growing interest on the European level that highlights the sharp need of appropriate regulatory framework able to ensure its promotion in the European Union. Some Directives constitute a step in this direction. Both the Data Protection Directive, the E-Commerce Directive, the Medical Device Directive and the Directive on Distance Contracting are some of the most important European legal achievements related to e-Health. Although the directives are not adopted especially for e-health applications, they are indirectly very important for e-Health. Firstly, the Data Protection Directive applies to personal data which form part of a filing system and contains several important principles that have to be complied with by e-Health actors processing personal data concerning health. Secondly, the E-commerce Directive applies to services provided at a distance by electronic means. Many e-Health applications fall within this scope. Thirdly, the Medical Devices Directive is of importance for the e-Health sector, especially with regard to e.g. the medical software that is used in many e-health applications. Finally, the Directive on Distance Contracting applies to contracts for goods or services which make use of one or more means of distance communication; E-Health business may involve the conclusion of contracts. Despite these Directives more developments are needed at the European level in order to make sure that e-Health will play an even more important role in health care systems than is the case today. The new e-Health applications like electronic health records, e-health platforms, health grids and the further use of genetic data and tissue involve new legal challenges. Several member states are introducing electronic health records or e-Health platforms. The use of electronic health records that contain data of several health actors poses new risks with some legal consequences. Recently, grids are being used in some ambitious medical and healthcare applications. In order to be truly effective such grid applications must draw together huge amounts of data from disparately located computers - which implies data sharing across jurisdictions and the sharing of responsibilities by a range of different data controllers. E-Health will also enhance the further use of human tissue and genetic data. More and clear guidelines on the reimbursement criteria for telemedicine and on liability would also be very useful. Guidance at the European level can be given as to the criteria that (tele-) health sessions will have to comply with for reimbursement purposes, since it is still unclear when e-Health sessions will be reimbursed. It is clear that the existing European legal framework is not finished yet and that more specific European rules are needed.

Transient Deformation of Stable Continental Lithosphere by the 2011 M9.0 Tohoku-Oki Megatrust

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, T. K.; Chi, D.

2015-12-01

The Korean Peninsula was dislocated laterally by 1-6cm after the 11 March 2011 M9.0 Tohoku-Oki megathrust at a distance of ~1300 km. These lateral displacements produced apparent tensional stresses of 1-7 kPa in the crust of the peninsula, perturbing the medium. Temporal variation of seismic velocities is investigated to assess the lithospheric responses to the megatrust. The Green's function over inter-station paths are retrieved from ambient noises recorded at broadband seismic stations that are densely deployed over the peninsula. The ambient noises are bandpass-filtered between 0.03 and 0.08 Hz, and spectral whitening and one-bit normalization are applied. The fundamental-mode Rayleigh waves are retrieved by stacking the cross-correlation functions of 10-days-long ambient noises from 2010 to 2015. The traveltime changes of Rayleigh waves with respect to the reference traveltimes are calculated by comparing the stacked cross-correlation functions. The reference Rayleigh waves are calculated by stacking the cross-correlation functions for 4 to 6 months before the megathrust. The traveltime changes are normalized by the inter-station distances. Abrupt traveltime delays are observed right after the megathrust, which are particularly strong along paths subparallel to the great-circle direction to the megathrust. The peak traveltime delay reaches 0.028 s/km, which corresponds to shear velocity decrease of 8.9 %. The traveltime delays are weak along the paths deviated from the great-circle directions. The observation suggests that the transient tension stress field caused longitudinal lithospheric perturbation with preferential mineral orientation and fluid migration, decreasing the seismic velocities. The traveltime delays were recovered with rates of 0.000025 to 0.000059 s/km per day, completing the recovery in several hundred days after the megathrust.

Real-Time and Meter-Scale Absolute Distance Measurement by Frequency-Comb-Referenced Multi-Wavelength Interferometry.

PubMed

Wang, Guochao; Tan, Lilong; Yan, Shuhua

2018-02-07

We report on a frequency-comb-referenced absolute interferometer which instantly measures long distance by integrating multi-wavelength interferometry with direct synthetic wavelength interferometry. The reported interferometer utilizes four different wavelengths, simultaneously calibrated to the frequency comb of a femtosecond laser, to implement subwavelength distance measurement, while direct synthetic wavelength interferometry is elaborately introduced by launching a fifth wavelength to extend a non-ambiguous range for meter-scale measurement. A linearity test performed comparatively with a He-Ne laser interferometer shows a residual error of less than 70.8 nm in peak-to-valley over a 3 m distance, and a 10 h distance comparison is demonstrated to gain fractional deviations of ~3 × 10 -8 versus 3 m distance. Test results reveal that the presented absolute interferometer enables precise, stable, and long-term distance measurements and facilitates absolute positioning applications such as large-scale manufacturing and space missions.

Real-Time and Meter-Scale Absolute Distance Measurement by Frequency-Comb-Referenced Multi-Wavelength Interferometry

PubMed Central

Tan, Lilong; Yan, Shuhua

2018-01-01

We report on a frequency-comb-referenced absolute interferometer which instantly measures long distance by integrating multi-wavelength interferometry with direct synthetic wavelength interferometry. The reported interferometer utilizes four different wavelengths, simultaneously calibrated to the frequency comb of a femtosecond laser, to implement subwavelength distance measurement, while direct synthetic wavelength interferometry is elaborately introduced by launching a fifth wavelength to extend a non-ambiguous range for meter-scale measurement. A linearity test performed comparatively with a He–Ne laser interferometer shows a residual error of less than 70.8 nm in peak-to-valley over a 3 m distance, and a 10 h distance comparison is demonstrated to gain fractional deviations of ~3 × 10−8 versus 3 m distance. Test results reveal that the presented absolute interferometer enables precise, stable, and long-term distance measurements and facilitates absolute positioning applications such as large-scale manufacturing and space missions. PMID:29414897

KCH kinesin drives nuclear transport and cytoskeletal coalescence for tip cell growth.

PubMed

Yamada, Moé; Goshima, Gohta

2018-06-07

Long-distance transport along microtubules (MTs) is critical for intracellular organisation. In animals, antagonistic motor proteins kinesin (plus end-directed) and dynein (minus end-directed) drive cargo transport. In land plants, however, the identity of motors responsible for transport is poorly understood, as genes encoding cytoplasmic dynein are absent in plant genomes. How other functions of dynein are brought about in plants also remains unknown. Here, we show that a subclass of the kinesin-14 family, KCH (kinesin with calponin homology domain)-which can also bind actin-drives MT minus end-directed nuclear transport in the moss Physcomitrella patens. When all four KCH genes were deleted, the nucleus was not maintained in the cell centre, but was translocated to the apical end of protonemal cells. In the knockout (KO) line, apical cell tip growth was also severely suppressed. KCH was localized to MTs, including at the MT focal point near the tip of protonemal cells, where MT plus ends coalesced with actin filaments. MT focus was not stably maintained in KCH KO lines, whereas actin destabilisation also disrupted the MT focus in wild-type lines despite KCH remaining on unfocused MTs. KCH had distinct functions in nuclear transport and tip growth, as a truncated KCH construct restored nuclear transport activity, but not tip growth retardation of the KO line. Thus, our study identified KCH as a long-distance retrograde transporter as well as a MT crosslinker, reminiscent of the versatile animal dynein. © 2018 American Society of Plant Biologists. All rights reserved.

The cluster-cluster correlation function. [of galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Postman, M.; Geller, M. J.; Huchra, J. P.

1986-01-01

The clustering properties of the Abell and Zwicky cluster catalogs are studied using the two-point angular and spatial correlation functions. The catalogs are divided into eight subsamples to determine the dependence of the correlation function on distance, richness, and the method of cluster identification. It is found that the Corona Borealis supercluster contributes significant power to the spatial correlation function to the Abell cluster sample with distance class of four or less. The distance-limited catalog of 152 Abell clusters, which is not greatly affected by a single system, has a spatial correlation function consistent with the power law Xi(r) = 300r exp -1.8. In both the distance class four or less and distance-limited samples the signal in the spatial correlation function is a power law detectable out to 60/h Mpc. The amplitude of Xi(r) for clusters of richness class two is about three times that for richness class one clusters. The two-point spatial correlation function is sensitive to the use of estimated redshifts.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Davies, R.

The spatial autocorrelation functions of broad-band longwave and shortwave radiances measured by the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) are analyzed as a function of view angle in an investigation of the general effects of scene inhomogeneity on radiation. For nadir views, the correlation distance of the autocorrelation function is about 900 km for longwave radiance and about 500 km for shortwave radiance, consistent with higher degrees of freedom in shortwave reflection. Both functions rise monotonically with view angle, but there is a substantial difference in the relative angular dependence of the shortwave and longwave functions, especially for view angles lessmore » than 50 deg. In this range, the increase with angle of the longwave functions is found to depend only on the expansion of pixel area with angle, whereas the shortwave functions show an additional dependence on angle that is attributed to the occlusion of inhomogeneities by cloud height variations. Beyond a view angle of about 50 deg, both longwave and shortwave functions appear to be affected by cloud sides. The shortwave autocorrelation functions do not satisfy the principle of directional reciprocity, thereby proving that the average scene is horizontally inhomogeneous over the scale of an ERBE pixel (1500 sq km). Coarse stratification of the measurements by cloud amount, however, indicates that the average cloud-free scene does satisfy directional reciprocity on this scale.« less

Average luminosity distance in inhomogeneous universes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kostov, Valentin Angelov

Using numerical ray tracing, the paper studies how the average distance modulus in an inhomogeneous universe differs from its homogeneous counterpart. The averaging is over all directions from a fixed observer not over all possible observers (cosmic), thus it is more directly applicable to our observations. Unlike previous studies, the averaging is exact, non-perturbative, an includes all possible non-linear effects. The inhomogeneous universes are represented by Sweese-cheese models containing random and simple cubic lattices of mass- compensated voids. The Earth observer is in the homogeneous cheese which has an Einstein - de Sitter metric. For the first time, the averaging is widened to include the supernovas inside the voids by assuming the probability for supernova emission from any comoving volume is proportional to the rest mass in it. For voids aligned in a certain direction, there is a cumulative gravitational lensing correction to the distance modulus that increases with redshift. That correction is present even for small voids and depends on the density contrast of the voids, not on their radius. Averaging over all directions destroys the cumulative correction even in a non-randomized simple cubic lattice of voids. Despite the well known argument for photon flux conservation, the average distance modulus correction at low redshifts is not zero due to the peculiar velocities. A formula for the maximum possible average correction as a function of redshift is derived and shown to be in excellent agreement with the numerical results. The formula applies to voids of any size that: (1) have approximately constant densities in their interior and walls, (2) are not in a deep nonlinear regime. The actual average correction calculated in random and simple cubic void lattices is severely damped below the predicted maximum. That is traced to cancelations between the corrections coming from the fronts and backs of different voids at the same redshift from the observer. The calculated correction at low redshifts allows one to readily predict the redshift at which the averaged fluctuation in the Hubble diagram is below a required precision and suggests a method to extract the background Hubble constant from low redshift data without the need to correct for peculiar velocities.

Shape Sensing Using a Multi-Core Optical Fiber Having an Arbitrary Initial Shape in the Presence of Extrinsic Forces

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rogge, Matthew D. (Inventor); Moore, Jason P. (Inventor)

2014-01-01

Shape of a multi-core optical fiber is determined by positioning the fiber in an arbitrary initial shape and measuring strain over the fiber's length using strain sensors. A three-coordinate p-vector is defined for each core as a function of the distance of the corresponding cores from a center point of the fiber and a bending angle of the cores. The method includes calculating, via a controller, an applied strain value of the fiber using the p-vector and the measured strain for each core, and calculating strain due to bending as a function of the measured and the applied strain values. Additionally, an apparent local curvature vector is defined for each core as a function of the calculated strain due to bending. Curvature and bend direction are calculated using the apparent local curvature vector, and fiber shape is determined via the controller using the calculated curvature and bend direction.

High resolution mapping of seismic properties across upper mantle discontinuities in the stagnant slab region beneath Korea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Y.; Shen, X.; Song, T. R. A.; Lim, H.

2016-12-01

Plate tectonic processes operating over much of the Earth's history induce long-term mantle mixing of chemical heterogeneities, recycling of volatiles into the mantle and regulate basalt geochemistry. Fundamental questions relevant to the mantle transition zone concern the nature of phase transition, the distribution of chemical heterogeneities (e.g., harzburgite, basalt), the temperature gradient, as well as the degree and extent of hydration and melting. One particularly important question is how the slab stagnation may be influenced by hydration or/and basalt enrichment in the mantle transition zone. To help answer these questions, we aim to detail upper mantle seismic discontinuity properties, including the shear velocity contrast, the density contrast, the transition sharpness and the gradient using high quality receiver functions using broadband data in South Korea, which is located in the immediate vicinity of the imaged stagnant slab near northeast China. Our approach involves broadband observation and amplitude analysis of direct converted waves (Pds) and multiples (PpPds) from the 410 and 660 seismic discontinuities, following our previous effort in a similar analysis in China. We processed waveforms from 52 broadband seismic stations of the Korea seismic array using an automatic scheme to remove noisy waveforms and retained close to 12,000 high quality receiver functions. After gathering receiver functions as a function of epicentral distance, we perform slowness stacking of direct converted waves and the multiples, respectively, at several discrete frequency bands between 1 sec and 15 sec. To avoid interferences from other mantle waves (PP, PPP, PcP, PP410s, PP660s), we stack receive functions across epicentral distances of 74-90 (62-76) degrees for the 410 (660) seismic discontinuity and obtain amplitude estimates and uncertainties through the bootstrap method. To properly calibrate the amplitudes of receiver functions, we take into account the effect of incoherent stacking due to discontinuity topography and frequency-dependent attenuation. Preliminary result will be presented and contrasted against our previous work in east China.

Topology guided demons registration with local rigidity preservation.

PubMed

Chaojie Zheng; Xiuying Wang; Dagan Feng

2016-08-01

Demons has been well recognized for its deformable registration capability. However, it might lead to misregistration due to the large spatial distance between the expected corresponding contents or erroneous diffusion tendency. In this paper, we propose a new energy function with topology energy, distance function and demons energy for deformable registration. The new energy function incorporates topological relationships to guide the correct diffusion and deformation, and contributes to local rigidity preservation. The distance function contributes to pulling the corresponding regions into accurate alignment despite of a possible large distance gap. The method was validated on synthetic, phantom and real medical image data.

Self diffusion of interacting membrane proteins.

PubMed Central

Abney, J R; Scalettar, B A; Owicki, J C

1989-01-01

A two-dimensional version of the generalized Smoluchowski equation is used to analyze the time (or distance) dependent self diffusion of interacting membrane proteins in concentrated membrane systems. This equation provides a well established starting point for descriptions of the diffusion of particles that interact through both direct and hydrodynamic forces; in this initial work only the effects of direct interactions are explicitly considered. Data describing diffusion in the presence of hard-core repulsions, soft repulsions, and soft repulsions with weak attractions are presented. The effect that interactions have on the self-diffusion coefficient of a real protein molecule from mouse liver gap junctions is also calculated. The results indicate that self diffusion is always inhibited by direct interactions; this observation is interpreted in terms of the caging that will exist at finite protein concentration. It is also noted that, over small distance scales, the diffusion coefficient is determined entirely by the very strong Brownian forces; therefore, as a function of displacement the self-diffusion coefficient decays (rapidly) from its value at infinite dilution to its steady-state interaction-averaged value. The steady-state self-diffusion coefficient describes motion over distance scales that range from approximately 10 nm to cellular dimensions and is the quantity measured in fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments. The short-ranged behavior of the diffusion coefficient is important on the interparticle-distance scale and may therefore influence the rate at which nearest-neighbor collisional processes take place. The hard-disk theoretical results presented here are in excellent agreement with lattice Monte-Carlo results obtained by other workers. The concentration dependence of experimentally measured diffusion coefficients of antibody-hapten complexes bound to the membrane surface is consistent with that predicted by the theory. The variation in experimental diffusion coefficients of integral membrane proteins is greater than that predicted by the theory, and may also reflect protein-induced perturbations in membrane viscosity. PMID:2720077

REVIEW ARTICLE: Hither and yon: a review of bi-directional microtubule-based transport

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gross, Steven P.

2004-06-01

Active transport is critical for cellular organization and function, and impaired transport has been linked to diseases such as neuronal degeneration. Much long distance transport in cells uses opposite polarity molecular motors of the kinesin and dynein families to move cargos along microtubules. It is increasingly clear that many cargos are moved by both sets of motors, and frequently reverse course. This review compares this bi-directional transport to the more well studied uni-directional transport. It discusses some bi-directionally moving cargos, and critically evaluates three different physical models for how such transport might occur. It then considers the evidence for the number of active motors per cargo, and how the net or average direction of transport might be controlled. The likelihood of a complex linking the activities of kinesin and dynein is also discussed. The paper concludes by reviewing elements of apparent universality between different bi-directionally moving cargos and by briefly considering possible reasons for the existence of bi-directional transport.

Application of Statistical Learning Theory to Plankton Image Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-06-01

linear distance interval from 1 to 40 pixels and two directions formula (horizontal & vertical, and diagonals), EF2 is EF with 7 ex- ponential distance...and four directions formula (horizontal, vertical and two diagonals). It is clear that exponential distance inter- val works better than the linear ...PSI - PS by Vincent, linear and pseudo opening and closing spectra, each has 40 elements, total feature length of 160. PS2 - PS modified from Mei- jster

Axial distribution of plasma fluctuations, plasma parameters, deposition rate and grain size during copper deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gopikishan, S.; Banerjee, I.; Pathak, Anand; Mahapatra, S. K.

2017-08-01

Floating potential fluctuations, plasma parameters and deposition rate have been investigated as a function of axial distance during deposition of copper in direct current (DC) magnetron sputtering system. Fluctuations were analyzed using phase space, power spectra and amplitude bifurcation plots. It has been observed that the fluctuations are modified from chaotic to ordered state with increase in the axial distance from cathode. Plasma parameters such as electron density (ne), electron temperature (Te) and deposition rate (Dr) were measured and correlated with plasma fluctuations. It was found that more the deposition rate, greater the grain size, higher the electron density, higher the electron temperature and more chaotic the oscillations near the cathode. This observation could be helpful to the thin film technology industry to optimize the required film.

Optical Polarization as a Probe of the Local Interstellar Medium

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tinbergen, J.

1984-01-01

The use of interstellar polarization as a tool for measuring interstellar dust is discussed. Problems resulting from dust and magnetic field configurations becoming mixed up are discussed, as is the availability of sufficiently bright stars to obtain the photons needed for precision measurements. It is proposed that: (1) on the scale of several hundred parsec, there is a preferential magnetic field direction, as evidenced by observations at the Galactic poles and selected longitudes in the Galactic plane; (2) the local (r 50 pc) region is devoid of dust, as evidenced by the mean square degree of polarization as a function of distance; and, less certainly, that (3) at a distance of less than 5 pc, there is a patch of dust which may be of interest in connection with cloud models.

Locations of serial reach targets are coded in multiple reference frames.

PubMed

Thompson, Aidan A; Henriques, Denise Y P

2010-12-01

Previous work from our lab, and elsewhere, has demonstrated that remembered target locations are stored and updated in an eye-fixed reference frame. That is, reach errors systematically vary as a function of gaze direction relative to a remembered target location, not only when the target is viewed in the periphery (Bock, 1986, known as the retinal magnification effect), but also when the target has been foveated, and the eyes subsequently move after the target has disappeared but prior to reaching (e.g., Henriques, Klier, Smith, Lowy, & Crawford, 1998; Sorrento & Henriques, 2008; Thompson & Henriques, 2008). These gaze-dependent errors, following intervening eye movements, cannot be explained by representations whose frame is fixed to the head, body or even the world. However, it is unknown whether targets presented sequentially would all be coded relative to gaze (i.e., egocentrically/absolutely), or if they would be coded relative to the previous target (i.e., allocentrically/relatively). It might be expected that the reaching movements to two targets separated by 5° would differ by that distance. But, if gaze were to shift between the first and second reaches, would the movement amplitude between the targets differ? If the target locations are coded allocentrically (i.e., the location of the second target coded relative to the first) then the movement amplitude should be about 5°. But, if the second target is coded egocentrically (i.e., relative to current gaze direction), then the reaches to this target and the distances between the subsequent movements should vary systematically with gaze as described above. We found that requiring an intervening saccade to the opposite side of 2 briefly presented targets between reaches to them resulted in a pattern of reaching error that systematically varied as a function of the distance between current gaze and target, and led to a systematic change in the distance between the sequential reach endpoints as predicted by an egocentric frame anchored to the eye. However, the amount of change in this distance was smaller than predicted by a pure eye-fixed representation, suggesting that relative positions of the targets or allocentric coding was also used in sequential reach planning. The spatial coding and updating of sequential reach target locations seems to rely on a combined weighting of multiple reference frames, with one of them centered on the eye. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

SU-F-T-125: Radial Dose Distributions From Carbon Ions of Therapeutic Energies Calculated with Geant4-DNA

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vassiliev, O

Purpose: Radial dose distribution D(r) is the dose as a function of lateral distance from the path of a heavy charged particle. Its main application is in modelling of biological effects of heavy ions, including applications to hadron therapy. It is the main physical parameter of a broad group of radiobiological models known as the amorphous track models. Our purpose was to calculate D(r) with Monte Carlo for carbon ions of therapeutic energies, find a simple formula for D(r) and fit it to the Monte Carlo data. Methods: All calculations were performed with Geant4-DNA code, for carbon ion energies frommore » 10 to 400 MeV/u (ranges in water: ∼ 0.4 mm to 27 cm). The spatial resolution of dose distribution in the lateral direction was 1 nm. Electron tracking cut off energy was 11 eV (ionization threshold). The maximum lateral distance considered was 10 µm. Over this distance, D(r) decreases with distance by eight orders of magnitude. Results: All calculated radial dose distributions had a similar shape dominated by the well-known inverse square dependence on the distance. Deviations from the inverse square law were observed close to the beam path (r<10 nm) and at large distances (r >1 µm). At small and large distances D(r) decreased, respectively, slower and faster than the inverse square of distance. A formula for D(r) consistent with this behavior was found and fitted to the Monte Carlo data. The accuracy of the fit was better than 10% for all distances considered. Conclusion: We have generated a set of radial dose distributions for carbon ions that covers the entire range of therapeutic energies, for distances from the ion path of up to 10 µm. The latter distance is sufficient for most applications because dose beyond 10 µm is extremely low.« less

Clustering Of Left Ventricular Wall Motion Patterns

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bjelogrlic, Z.; Jakopin, J.; Gyergyek, L.

1982-11-01

A method for detection of wall regions with similar motion was presented. A model based on local direction information was used to measure the left ventricular wall motion from cineangiographic sequence. Three time functions were used to define segmental motion patterns: distance of a ventricular contour segment from the mean contour, the velocity of a segment and its acceleration. Motion patterns were clustered by the UPGMA algorithm and by an algorithm based on K-nearest neighboor classification rule.

Underwater refraction-polarization patterns of skylight perceived by aquatic animals through Snell's window of the flat water surface.

PubMed

Horváth, G; Varjú, D

1995-06-01

The grass shrimp (Palaemonetes vulgaris) orients itself by means of the polarization pattern of the sky visible through Snell's window of the water surface. The celestial polarization pattern viewed from water is distorted and modified because of refraction and repolarization of skylight at the air-water interface. This work provides a quantitative account of the repolarization of skylight transmitted through a flat water surface. The degree and direction of linear polarization, the transmissivity and the shape of the refraction-polarization oval are calculated at the air-water interface as functions of the polarization characteristics and the incident angle of partially linearly polarized incoming light. Two-dimensional patterns of linear polarization ellipses and of the degree and direction of polarization of skylight are presented for different zenith distances of the sun. The corresponding underwater refraction-polarization patterns are computed. Transmissivity patterns of a flat water surface are calculated for unpolarized light of an overcast sky and for partially polarized light of clear skies as a function of the zenith distance of the sun. The role of these refraction-polarization patterns in orientation and polarization vision of the grass shrimp (P. vulgaris) and rainbow trout (Oncorhyncus mykiss) is reviewed. The effects of cloud cover, surface waves and water turbidity on the refraction-polarization patterns are briefly discussed.

Method of measuring cross-flow vortices by use of an array of hot-film sensors

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Agarwal, Aval K. (Inventor); Maddalon, Dal V. (Inventor); Mangalam, Siva M. (Inventor)

1993-01-01

The invention is a method for measuring the wavelength of cross-flow vortices of air flow having streamlines of flow traveling across a swept airfoil. The method comprises providing a plurality of hot-film sensors. Each hot-film sensor provides a signal which can be processed, and each hot-film sensor is spaced in a straight-line array such that the distance between successive hot-film sensors is less than the wavelength of the cross-flow vortices being measured. The method further comprises determining the direction of travel of the streamlines across the airfoil and positioning the straight-line array of hot film sensors perpendicular to the direction of travel of the streamlines, such that each sensor has a spanwise location. The method further comprises processing the signals provided by the sensors to provide root-mean-square values for each signal, plotting each root-mean-square value as a function of its spanwise location, and determining the wavelength of the cross-flow vortices by noting the distance between two maxima or two minima of root-mean-square values.

Characterization of thermally evaporated lead iodide films aimed for the detection of X-rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Caldeira Filho, A. M.; Mulato, M.

2011-04-01

Some semiconductor materials such as lead iodide (PbI2) have applications in the detection of ionizing radiation at room temperature using the direct detection method. In this work we investigate lead iodide films deposited by thermal evaporation. The morphology, structure, and electric properties were investigated as a function of deposition height, i.e. the distance between evaporation-boat and substrates. The results show a morphology of vertical leaves and X-ray diffraction shows just one preferential orientation along the direction 110. Energy dispersive spectroscopy reveals that the films are not stoichiometric, with excess iodine atoms. Electrical resistivity of about 108 Ω cm was measured. This is smaller than for the bulk due to structural defects. The values of activation energy for electric transport increase from 0.52 up to 1.1 eV with decreasing deposition height, what indicates that the best film is the one deposited at the shortest distance. Exposure under X-ray mammographic energy shows a linear behavior up to 500 mR. No variation in sensibility was observed between 22 and 30 kVp.

The Effects of Age and Set Size on the Fast Extraction of Egocentric Distance

PubMed Central

Gajewski, Daniel A.; Wallin, Courtney P.; Philbeck, John W.

2016-01-01

Angular direction is a source of information about the distance to floor-level objects that can be extracted from brief glimpses (near one's threshold for detection). Age and set size are two factors known to impact the viewing time needed to directionally localize an object, and these were posited to similarly govern the extraction of distance. The question here was whether viewing durations sufficient to support object detection (controlled for age and set size) would also be sufficient to support well-constrained judgments of distance. Regardless of viewing duration, distance judgments were more accurate (less biased towards underestimation) when multiple potential targets were presented, suggesting that the relative angular declinations between the objects are an additional source of useful information. Distance judgments were more precise with additional viewing time, but the benefit did not depend on set size and accuracy did not improve with longer viewing durations. The overall pattern suggests that distance can be efficiently derived from direction for floor-level objects. Controlling for age-related differences in the viewing time needed to support detection was sufficient to support distal localization but only when brief and longer glimpse trials were interspersed. Information extracted from longer glimpse trials presumably supported performance on subsequent trials when viewing time was more limited. This outcome suggests a particularly important role for prior visual experience in distance judgments for older observers. PMID:27398065

Migrate small, sound big: functional constraints on body size promote tracheal elongation in cranes.

PubMed

Jones, M R; Witt, C C

2014-06-01

Organismal traits often represent the outcome of opposing selection pressures. Although social or sexual selection can cause the evolution of traits that constrain function or survival (e.g. ornamental feathers), it is unclear how the strength and direction of selection respond to ecological shifts that increase the severity of the constraint. For example, reduced body size might evolve by natural selection to enhance flight performance in migratory birds, but social or sexual selection favouring large body size may provide a countervailing force. Tracheal elongation is a potential outcome of these opposing pressures because it allows birds to convey an auditory signal of exaggerated body size. We predicted that the evolution of migration in cranes has coincided with a reduction in body size and a concomitant intensification of social or sexual selection for apparent large body size via tracheal elongation. We used a phylogenetic comparative approach to examine the relationships among migration distance, body mass and trachea length in cranes. As predicted, we found that migration distance correlated negatively with body size and positively with proportional trachea length. This result was consistent with our hypothesis that evolutionary reductions in body size led to intensified selection for trachea length. The most likely ultimate causes of intensified positive selection on trachea length are the direct benefits of conveying a large body size in intraspecific contests for mates and territories. We conclude that the strength of social or sexual selection on crane body size is linked to the degree of functional constraint. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Evolutionary Biology © 2014 European Society For Evolutionary Biology.

Conflict between object structural and functional affordances in peripersonal space.

PubMed

Kalénine, Solène; Wamain, Yannick; Decroix, Jérémy; Coello, Yann

2016-10-01

Recent studies indicate that competition between conflicting action representations slows down planning of object-directed actions. The present study aims to assess whether similar conflict effects exist during manipulable object perception. Twenty-six young adults performed reach-to-grasp and semantic judgements on conflictual objects (with competing structural and functional gestures) and non-conflictual objects (with similar structural and functional gestures) presented at difference distances in a 3D virtual environment. Results highlight a space-dependent conflict between structural and functional affordances. Perceptual judgments on conflictual objects were slower that perceptual judgments on non-conflictual objects, but only when objects were presented within reach. Findings demonstrate that competition between structural and functional affordances during object perception induces a processing cost, and further show that object position in space can bias affordance competition. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Rise and Shock: Optimal Defibrillator Placement in a High-rise Building.

PubMed

Chan, Timothy C Y

2017-01-01

Out-of-hospital cardiac arrests (OHCA) in high-rise buildings experience lower survival and longer delays until paramedic arrival. Use of publicly accessible automated external defibrillators (AED) can improve survival, but "vertical" placement has not been studied. We aim to determine whether elevator-based or lobby-based AED placement results in shorter vertical distance travelled ("response distance") to OHCAs in a high-rise building. We developed a model of a single-elevator, n-floor high-rise building. We calculated and compared the average distance from AED to floor of arrest for the two AED locations. We modeled OHCA occurrences using floor-specific Poisson processes, the risk of OHCA on the ground floor (λ 1 ) and the risk on any above-ground floor (λ). The elevator was modeled with an override function enabling direct travel to the target floor. The elevator location upon override was modeled as a discrete uniform random variable. Calculations used the laws of probability. Elevator-based AED placement had shorter average response distance if the number of floors (n) in the building exceeded three quarters of the ratio of ground-floor OHCA risk to above-ground floor risk (λ 1 /λ) plus one half (n ≥ 3λ 1 /4λ + 0.5). Otherwise, a lobby-based AED had shorter average response distance. If OHCA risk on each floor was equal, an elevator-based AED had shorter average response distance. Elevator-based AEDs travel less vertical distance to OHCAs in tall buildings or those with uniform vertical risk, while lobby-based AEDs travel less vertical distance in buildings with substantial lobby, underground, and nearby street-level traffic and OHCA risk.

A hybrid correlation analysis with application to imaging genetics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Wenxing; Fang, Jian; Calhoun, Vince D.; Wang, Yu-Ping

2018-03-01

Investigating the association between brain regions and genes continues to be a challenging topic in imaging genetics. Current brain region of interest (ROI)-gene association studies normally reduce data dimension by averaging the value of voxels in each ROI. This averaging may lead to a loss of information due to the existence of functional sub-regions. Pearson correlation is widely used for association analysis. However, it only detects linear correlation whereas nonlinear correlation may exist among ROIs. In this work, we introduced distance correlation to ROI-gene association analysis, which can detect both linear and nonlinear correlations and overcome the limitation of averaging operations by taking advantage of the information at each voxel. Nevertheless, distance correlation usually has a much lower value than Pearson correlation. To address this problem, we proposed a hybrid correlation analysis approach, by applying canonical correlation analysis (CCA) to the distance covariance matrix instead of directly computing distance correlation. Incorporating CCA into distance correlation approach may be more suitable for complex disease study because it can detect highly associated pairs of ROI and gene groups, and may improve the distance correlation level and statistical power. In addition, we developed a novel nonlinear CCA, called distance kernel CCA, which seeks the optimal combination of features with the most significant dependence. This approach was applied to imaging genetic data from the Philadelphia Neurodevelopmental Cohort (PNC). Experiments showed that our hybrid approach produced more consistent results than conventional CCA across resampling and both the correlation and statistical significance were increased compared to distance correlation analysis. Further gene enrichment analysis and region of interest (ROI) analysis confirmed the associations of the identified genes with brain ROIs. Therefore, our approach provides a powerful tool for finding the correlation between brain imaging and genomic data.

Increase in dance imprecision with decreasing foraging distance in the honey bee Apis mellifera L. is partly explained by physical constraints.

PubMed

Beekman, Madeleine; Doyen, Laurent; Oldroyd, Benjamin P

2005-12-01

Honey bee foragers communicate the direction and distance of both food sources and new nest sites to nest mates by means of a symbolic dance language. Interestingly, the precision by which dancers transfer directional information is negatively correlated with the distance to the advertised food source. The 'tuned-error' hypothesis suggests that colonies benefit from this imprecision as it spreads recruits out over a patch of constant size irrespective of the distance to the advertised site. An alternative to the tuned-error hypothesis is that dancers are physically incapable of dancing with great precision for nearby sources. Here we revisit the tuned-error hypothesis by studying the change in dance precision with increasing foraging distance over relatively short distances while controlling for environmental influences. We show that bees indeed increase their dance precision with the increase in foraging distance. However, we also show that dance performed by swarm-scouts for a nearby (30 m) nest site, where there could be no benefit to imprecision, are either without or with only limited directional information. This result suggests that imprecision in dance communication is caused primarily by physical constraints in the ability of dancers to turn around quickly enough when the advertised site is nearby.

Modal noise impact in radio over fiber multimode fiber links.

PubMed

Gasulla, I; Capmany, J

2008-01-07

A novel analysis is given on the statistics of modal noise for a graded-index multimode fiber (MMF) link excited by an analog intensity modulated laser diode. We present the speckle contrast as a function of the power spectrum of the modulated source and the transfer function of the MMF which behaves as an imperfect transversal microwave photonic filter. The theoretical results confirm that the modal noise is directly connected with the coherence properties of the optical source and show that the performance of high-frequency Radio Over Fiber (ROF) transmission through MMF links for short and middle reach distances is not substantially degraded by modal noise.

What Would Batman Do? Self-Distancing Improves Executive Function in Young Children

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

White, Rachel E.; Carlson, Stephanie M.

2016-01-01

This experimental research assessed the influence of graded levels of self-distancing--psychological distancing from one's egocentric perspective--on executive function (EF) in young children. Three- (n = 48) and 5-year-old (n = 48) children were randomly assigned to one of four manipulations of distance from the self (from proximal to distal:…

Attenuation of the S+Lg+Surface Wave Group out to 600 km in Northeastern North America: A Baseline Study?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Boatwright, J.; Seekins, L. C.

2009-12-01

We analyze the S+Lg+surface wave groups radiated out to 600 km by four moderate (4 ≤ M ≤ 5) earthquakes in Quebec, New York, and Maine: the 1997 Cap Rouge, 2002 Ausable Forks, 2005 Rivière du Loup, and 2006 Bar Harbor earthquakes. The raypaths predominately sample the Appalacian Province, and the crustal velocity structure is roughly homogeneous across the study area. We compute spectra using 20-60 s windows of the horizontal broadband components. We restrict our analysis to hard-rock (Vs > 1500 m/s) and soft-rock (Vs > 700 m/s) sites, avoiding resonant sedimentary sites; we model site amplification using average 1D impedance functions (Boore and Joyner, 1997). We use ro = 50 km instead of ro = 100 km for the crossover distance in the Street et al. (1975) function for geometrical spreading: this distance adjusts the corrected spectra at 10 s to the moment tensor estimates. This simple correction scheme allows us to regress for Q directly as a function of frequency: the source spectral shape is entirely unconstrained. Fitting a Qo f q function to the Q estimates from 0.2 to 25 Hz yields Q = 410 f 0.5 for a group velocity of 3.5 km/s. This attenuation is stronger than the Lg attenuation of 650 f 0.36 obtained by Erickson et al. (2004). The Q estimates are consistent for individual events. For f > 20 Hz, the Q estimates increase more rapidly than f 0.5: this deviation from the Qo f q form appears characteristic. To gauge how these Q estimates depend on the distance limit, we will rerun the analysis using broadband data out to 1000 km, adding 30% more recordings to the dataset.

Direct NOE simulation from long MD trajectories.

PubMed

Chalmers, G; Glushka, J N; Foley, B L; Woods, R J; Prestegard, J H

2016-04-01

A software package, MD2NOE, is presented which calculates Nuclear Overhauser Effect (NOE) build-up curves directly from molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories. It differs from traditional approaches in that it calculates correlation functions directly from the trajectory instead of extracting inverse sixth power distance terms as an intermediate step in calculating NOEs. This is particularly important for molecules that sample conformational states on a timescale similar to molecular reorientation. The package is tested on sucrose and results are shown to differ in small but significant ways from those calculated using an inverse sixth power assumption. Results are also compared to experiment and found to be in reasonable agreement despite an expected underestimation of water viscosity by the water model selected. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Interferometric direction finding with a metamaterial detector

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Venkatesh, Suresh; Shrekenhamer, David; Xu, Wangren; Sonkusale, Sameer; Padilla, Willie; Schurig, David

2013-12-01

We present measurements and analysis demonstrating useful direction finding of sources in the S band (2-4 GHz) using a metamaterial detector. An augmented metamaterial absorber that supports magnitude and phase measurement of the incident electric field, within each unit cell, is described. The metamaterial is implemented in a commercial printed circuit board process with off-board back-end electronics. We also discuss on-board back-end implementation strategies. Direction finding performance is analyzed for the fabricated metamaterial detector using simulated data and the standard algorithm, MUtiple SIgnal Classification. The performance of this complete system is characterized by its angular resolution as a function of radiation density at the detector. Sources with power outputs typical of mobile communication devices can be resolved at kilometer distances with sub-degree resolution and high frame rates.

Investigation of compressible vortex flow characteristics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Muirhead, V. U.

1977-01-01

The nature of intense air vortices was studied and the factors which determine the intensity and rate of decay of both single and pairs of vortices were investigated. Vortex parameters of axial pressure differential, circulation, outflow rates, separation distance and directions of rotation were varied. Unconfined vortices, generated by a single rotating cage, were intensified by an increasing axial pressure gradient. Breakdown occurred when the axial gradient became negligible. The core radius was a function of the axial gradient. Dual vortices, generated by two counterrotating cages, rotated opposite to the attached cages. With minimum spacing only one vortex was formed which rotated in a direction opposite to the attached cage. When one cage rotated at half the speed of the other cage, one vortex formed at the higher speed cage rotating in the cage direction.

Direct Measurements of Long-Range Repulsive Interactions in the L_α phase of Polymer-Coated Highly Flexible Membranes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warriner, Heidi E.; Safinya, Cyrus R.

1997-03-01

Using two complimentary techniques, we have measured repulsive interactions in the L_α phase of very flexible membranes composed of the surfactant C12E5 and small amounts of polymer-lipids derived from polyethylene glycol (PEG-DMPE 5000, PEG-DMPE 2000 and PEG-DMPE 550). In the first method, the lamellar repeat distance of samples in equilibrium with a dextran solution of known osmotic pressure is determined, yielding a direct measurement of pressure versus distance. These data immediately differentiate the repulsive interaction between flexible polymer-decorated membranes from polymer-brush forces found in rigid lamellar systems. In the second method, fits to high-resolution x-ray data yield the η parameter, proportional to (κB)-1\\over2, where B is the layer compressional modulus and κ is the bending rigidity of a single membrane. Combining the two types of data to eliminate B, one can quantitatively determine the κ of a decorated membrane as a function of polymer-lipid concentration. For the bare C12E5 membrane, where κ is known , a direct comparison of the compressibility modulus values derived via the two methods is also possible. This work supported by NSF-DMR-9624091; PRF-31352-AC7 CULAR-STB/UC:96-118.

Effects of Vertical Direction and Aperture Size on the Perception of Visual Acceleration.

PubMed

Mueller, Alexandra S; González, Esther G; McNorgan, Chris; Steinbach, Martin J; Timney, Brian

2016-02-06

It is not well understood whether the distance over which moving stimuli are visible affects our sensitivity to the presence of acceleration or our ability to track such stimuli. It is also uncertain whether our experience with gravity creates anisotropies in how we detect vertical acceleration and deceleration. To address these questions, we varied the vertical extent of the aperture through which we presented vertically accelerating and decelerating random dot arrays. We hypothesized that observers would better detect and pursue accelerating and decelerating stimuli that extend over larger than smaller distances. In Experiment 1, we tested the effects of vertical direction and aperture size on acceleration and deceleration detection accuracy. Results indicated that detection is better for downward motion and for large apertures, but there is no difference between vertical acceleration and deceleration detection. A control experiment revealed that our manipulation of vertical aperture size affects the ability to track vertical motion. Smooth pursuit is better (i.e., with higher peak velocities) for large apertures than for small apertures. Our findings suggest that the ability to detect vertical acceleration and deceleration varies as a function of the direction and vertical extent over which an observer can track the moving stimulus. © The Author(s) 2016.

Interaction of PLGA and trimethyl chitosan modified PLGA nanoparticles with mixed anionic/zwitterionic phospholipid bilayers studied using molecular dynamics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Novak, Brian; Astete, Carlos; Sabliov, Cristina; Moldovan, Dorel

2012-02-01

Poly(lactic-co-glycolic acid) (PLGA) is a biodegradable polymer. Nanoparticles of PLGA are commonly used for drug delivery applications. The interaction of the nanoparticles with the cell membrane may influence the rate of their uptake by cells. Both PLGA and cell membranes are negatively charged, so adding positively charged polymers such as trimethyl chitosan (TMC) which adheres to the PLGA particles improves their cellular uptake. The interaction of 3 nm PLGA and TMC-modified-PLGA nanoparticles with lipid bilayers composed of mixtures of phosphatidylcholine and phosphatidylserine lipids was studied using molecular dynamics simulations. The free energy profiles as function of nanoparticles position along the normal direction to the bilayers were calculated, the distribution of phosphatidylserine lipids as a function of distance of the particle from the bilayer was calculated, and the time scale for particle motion in the directions parallel to the bilayer surface was estimated.

Impacts of leguminous shrub encroachment on neighboring grasses include transfer of fixed nitrogen.

PubMed

Zhang, Hai-Yang; Yu, Qiang; Lü, Xiao-Tao; Trumbore, Susan E; Yang, Jun-Jie; Han, Xing-Guo

2016-04-01

Shrub encroachment induced by global change and human disturbance strongly affects ecosystem structure and function. In this study, we explore the degree to which invading leguminous shrubs affected neighboring grasses, including via the transfer of fixed nitrogen (N). We measured N concentrations and natural abundance (15)N of shoot tissues from three dominant grasses from different plant functional groups across seven distances along a local transect (up to 500 cm) to the leguminous shrub, Caragana microphylla. C. microphylla did transfer fixed N to neighboring grasses, but the amount and distance of N transferred were strongly species-specific. Shoot N concentrations decreased significantly with distance from C. microphylla, for a rhizomatous grass, Leymus chinensis, and a bunchgrass, Achnatherum sibiricum. However, N concentrations of another bunchgrass, Stipa grandis, were higher only directly underneath the shrub canopy. Shoot δ(15)N values of L. chinensis were enriched up to 500 cm from the shrub, but for S. grandis were enriched only below the shrub canopy. In contrast, δ(15)N of A. sibiricum did not change along the 500-cm transect. Our results indicated the rhizomatous grass transferred fixed N over long distances while bunchgrasses did not. The presence of C. microphylla increased the shoot biomass of L. chinensis but decreased that of S. grandis and A. sibiricum. These findings highlight the potential role of nutrient-acquisition strategies of neighboring grasses in moderating the interspecific variation of fixed N transfer from the leguminous shrub. Overall, leguminous shrubs have either positive or negative effects on the neighboring grasses and dramatically affect plant community composition and structure.

Determining accurate distances to nearby galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bonanos, Alceste Zoe

2005-11-01

Determining accurate distances to nearby or distant galaxies is a very simple conceptually, yet complicated in practice, task. Presently, distances to nearby galaxies are only known to an accuracy of 10-15%. The current anchor galaxy of the extragalactic distance scale is the Large Magellanic Cloud, which has large (10-15%) systematic uncertainties associated with it, because of its morphology, its non-uniform reddening and the unknown metallicity dependence of the Cepheid period-luminosity relation. This work aims to determine accurate distances to some nearby galaxies, and subsequently help reduce the error in the extragalactic distance scale and the Hubble constant H 0 . In particular, this work presents the first distance determination of the DIRECT Project to M33 with detached eclipsing binaries. DIRECT aims to obtain a new anchor galaxy for the extragalactic distance scale by measuring direct, accurate (to 5%) distances to two Local Group galaxies, M31 and M33, with detached eclipsing binaries. It involves a massive variability survey of these galaxies and subsequent photometric and spectroscopic follow-up of the detached binaries discovered. In this work, I also present a catalog of variable stars discovered in one of the DIRECT fields, M31Y, which includes 41 eclipsing binaries. Additionally, we derive the distance to the Draco Dwarf Spheroidal galaxy, with ~100 RR Lyrae found in our first CCD variability study of this galaxy. A "hybrid" method of discovering Cepheids with ground-based telescopes is described next. It involves applying the image subtraction technique on the images obtained from ground-based telescopes and then following them up with the Hubble Space Telescope to derive Cepheid period-luminosity distances. By re-analyzing ESO Very Large Telescope data on M83 (NGC 5236), we demonstrate that this method is much more powerful for detecting variability, especially in crowded fields. I finally present photometry for the Wolf-Rayet binary WR 20a, which confirmed that the system consists of two extremely massive stars and refined the values of the masses. It is the most massive binary known with an accurate mass determination.

Heuristic lipophilicity potential for computer-aided rational drug design: optimizations of screening functions and parameters.

PubMed

Du, Q; Mezey, P G

1998-09-01

In this research we test and compare three possible atom-based screening functions used in the heuristic molecular lipophilicity potential (HMLP). Screening function 1 is a power distance-dependent function, bi/[formula: see text] Ri-r [formula: see text] gamma, screening function 2 is an exponential distance-dependent function, bi exp(-[formula: see text] Ri-r [formula: see text]/d0), and screening function 3 is a weighted distance-dependent function, sign(bi) exp[-xi [formula: see text] Ri-r [formula: see text]/magnitude of bi)]. For every screening function, the parameters (gamma, d0, and xi) are optimized using 41 common organic molecules of 4 types of compounds: aliphatic alcohols, aliphatic carboxylic acids, aliphatic amines, and aliphatic alkanes. The results of calculations show that screening function 3 cannot give chemically reasonable results, however, both the power screening function and the exponential screening function give chemically satisfactory results. There are two notable differences between screening functions 1 and 2. First, the exponential screening function has larger values in the short distance than the power screening function, therefore more influence from the nearest neighbors is involved using screening function 2 than screening function 1. Second, the power screening function has larger values in the long distance than the exponential screening function, therefore screening function 1 is effected by atoms at long distance more than screening function 2. For screening function 1, the suitable range of parameter gamma is 1.0 < gamma < 3.0, gamma = 2.3 is recommended, and gamma = 2.0 is the nearest integral value. For screening function 2, the suitable range of parameter d0 is 1.5 < d0 < 3.0, and d0 = 2.0 is recommended. HMLP developed in this research provides a potential tool for computer-aided three-dimensional drug design.

Dissociation between visual perception of allocentric distance and visually directed walking of its extent.

PubMed

Kudoh, Nobuo

2005-01-01

Walking without vision to previously viewed targets was compared with visual perception of allocentric distance in two experiments. Experimental evidence had shown that physically equal distances in a sagittal plane on the ground were perceptually underestimated as compared with those in a frontoparallel plane, even under full-cue conditions. In spite of this perceptual anisotropy of space, Loomis et al (1992 Journal of Experimental Psychology. Human Perception and Performance 18 906-921) found that subjects could match both types of distances in a blind-walking task. In experiment 1 of the present study, subjects were required to reproduce the extent of allocentric distance between two targets by either walking towards the targets, or by walking in a direction incompatible with the locations of the targets. The latter condition required subjects to derive an accurate allocentric distance from information based on the perceived locations of the two targets. The walked distance in the two conditions was almost identical whether the two targets were presented in depth (depth-presentation condition) or in the frontoparallel plane (width-presentation condition). The results of a perceptual-matching task showed that the depth distances had to be much greater than the width distances in order to be judged to be equal in length (depth compression). In experiment 2, subjects were required to reproduce the extent of allocentric distance from the viewing point by blindly walking in a direction other than toward the targets. The walked distance in the depth-presentation condition was shorter than that in the width-presentation condition. This anisotropy in motor responses, however, was mainly caused by apparent overestimation of length oriented in width, not by depth compression. In addition, the walked distances were much better scaled than those in experiment 1. These results suggest that the perceptual and motor systems share a common representation of the location of targets, whereas a dissociation in allocentric distance exists between the two systems in full-cue conditions.

Heuristic lipophilicity potential for computer-aided rational drug design: Optimizations of screening functions and parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Qishi; Mezey, Paul G.

1998-09-01

In this research we test and compare three possible atom-basedscreening functions used in the heuristic molecular lipophilicity potential(HMLP). Screening function 1 is a power distance-dependent function, b_{{i}} /| {R_{{i}}- r} |^γ, screening function 2is an exponential distance-dependent function, biexp(-| {R_i- r} |/d_0 , and screening function 3 is aweighted distance-dependent function, {{sign}}( {b_i } ){{exp}}ξ ( {| {R_i- r} |/| {b_i } |} )For every screening function, the parameters (γ ,d0, and ξ are optimized using 41 common organic molecules of 4 types of compounds:aliphatic alcohols, aliphatic carboxylic acids, aliphatic amines, andaliphatic alkanes. The results of calculations show that screening function3 cannot give chemically reasonable results, however, both the powerscreening function and the exponential screening function give chemicallysatisfactory results. There are two notable differences between screeningfunctions 1 and 2. First, the exponential screening function has largervalues in the short distance than the power screening function, thereforemore influence from the nearest neighbors is involved using screeningfunction 2 than screening function 1. Second, the power screening functionhas larger values in the long distance than the exponential screeningfunction, therefore screening function 1 is effected by atoms at longdistance more than screening function 2. For screening function 1, thesuitable range of parameter d0 is 1.5 < d0 < 3.0, and d0 = 2.0 is recommended. HMLP developed in this researchprovides a potential tool for computer-aided three-dimensional drugdesign.

Virtual social interactions in social anxiety--the impact of sex, gaze, and interpersonal distance.

PubMed

Wieser, Matthias J; Pauli, Paul; Grosseibl, Miriam; Molzow, Ina; Mühlberger, Andreas

2010-10-01

In social interactions, interpersonal distance between interaction partners plays an important role in determining the status of the relationship. Interpersonal distance is an important nonverbal behavior, and is used to regulate personal space in a complex interplay with other nonverbal behaviors such as eye gaze. In social anxiety, studies regarding the impact of interpersonal distance on within-situation avoidance behavior are so far rare. Thus the present study aimed to scrutinize the relationship between gaze direction, sex, interpersonal distance, and social anxiety in social interactions. Social interactions were modeled in a virtual-reality (VR) environment, where 20 low and 19 high socially anxious women were confronted with approaching male and female characters, who stopped in front of the participant, either some distance away or close to them, and displayed either a direct or an averted gaze. Gaze and head movements, as well as heart rate, were measured as indices of avoidance behavior and fear reactions. High socially anxious participants showed a complex pattern of avoidance behavior: when the avatar was standing farther away, high socially anxious women avoided gaze contact with male avatars showing a direct gaze. Furthermore, they showed avoidance behavior (backward head movements) in response to male avatars showing a direct gaze, regardless of the interpersonal distance. Overall, the current study proved that VR social interactions might be a very useful tool for investigating avoidance behavior of socially anxious individuals in highly controlled situations. This might also be the first step in using VR social interactions in clinical protocols for the therapy of social anxiety disorder.

Vehicle energy conservation indicating device and process for use

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Crump, J.M.

A vehicle energy conservation indicating device comprises an integrated instrument cluster functioning basically as a nomographic computing mechanism. The odometer distance traveled indicator computing mechanism is linked with the fuel indicating gauge mechanism such that a three variable equation computing mechanism is obtained. The three variables are distance traveled, quantity of fuel consumed and distance traveled per unit of fuel consumed. Energy conservation is achieved by operating the vehicle under such performance conditions as to produce the highest possible value for distance traveled per unit of fuel consumed. The instrument panel cluster brings the operator's attention to focus upon andmore » continuously stimulated to conserving energy. Furthermore, the vehicle energy conservation indicating device can be adapted for recording these performance variables on tape type print out. The speedometer advises the vehicle operator when he is obeying or breaking the speed laws which are enforced and monitored by the police with specific punishment prescribed for violations of the law. At this time there is no comparable procedure for enforcing vehicle energy conservation. Thus, this direct read out of distance traveled per unit of energy will moderate the operation in an analogous manner similar to subliminal advertising. This device becomes the focal point of the instrument panel along with the speedometer, thereby providing constant motivation to obey both the speed and energy conservation laws.« less

Neuromuscular factors associated with decline in long-distance running performance in master athletes.

PubMed

Brisswalter, Jeanick; Nosaka, Kazunori

2013-01-01

This review focuses on neuromuscular factors that may affect endurance performance in master athletes. During the last decade, due to the rapid increase in the number of master or veteran participants in endurance sporting competitions, many studies attempted to identify metabolic factors associated with the decrease in endurance, especially long-distance running performance with ageing, focusing on decreases in maximal oxygen consumption. However, neuromuscular factors have been less studied despite the well-known phenomena of strength loss with ageing. For master athletes to perform better in long-distance running events, it is important to reduce muscle fatigue and/or muscle damage, to improve locomotion efficiency and to facilitate recovery. To date, no consensus exists that regular endurance training is beneficial for improving locomotion efficiency, reducing muscle fatigue and muscle damage, and enhancing recovery capacity in master athletes. Some recent studies seem to indicate that master athletes have similar muscle damage to young athletes, but they require a longer recovery time after a long-distance running event. Further analyses of these parameters in master athletes require more experimental and practical interest from researchers and coaches. In particular, more attention should be directed towards the capacity to maintain muscle function with training and the role of neuromuscular factors in long-distance performance decline with ageing using a more cellular and molecular approach.

Moon illusion and spiral aftereffect: illusions due to the loom-zoom system?

PubMed

Hershenson, M

1982-12-01

The moon illusion and the spiral aftereffect are illusions in which apparent size and apparent distance vary inversely. Because this relationship is exactly opposite to that predicted by the static size--distance invariance hypothesis, the illusions have been called "paradoxical." The illusions may be understood as products of a loom-zoom system, a hypothetical visual subsystem that, in its normal operation, acts according to its structural constraint, the constancy axiom, to produce perceptions that satisfy the constraints of stimulation, the kinetic size--distance invariance hypothesis. When stimulated by its characteristic stimulus of symmetrical expansion or contraction, the loom-zoom system produces the perception of a rigid object moving in depth. If this system is stimulated by a rotating spiral, a negative motion-aftereffect is produced when rotation ceases. If fixation is then shifted to a fixed-sized disc, the aftereffect process alters perceived distance and the loom-zoom system alters perceived size such that the disc appears to expand and approach or to contract and recede, depending on the direction of rotation of the spiral. If the loom-zoom system is stimulated by a moon-terrain configuration, the equidistance tendency produces a foreshortened perceived distance for the moon as an inverse function of elevation and acts in conjunction with the loom-zoom system to produce the increased perceived size of the moon.

Distance-Based Functional Diversity Measures and Their Decomposition: A Framework Based on Hill Numbers

PubMed Central

Chiu, Chun-Huo; Chao, Anne

2014-01-01

Hill numbers (or the “effective number of species”) are increasingly used to characterize species diversity of an assemblage. This work extends Hill numbers to incorporate species pairwise functional distances calculated from species traits. We derive a parametric class of functional Hill numbers, which quantify “the effective number of equally abundant and (functionally) equally distinct species” in an assemblage. We also propose a class of mean functional diversity (per species), which quantifies the effective sum of functional distances between a fixed species to all other species. The product of the functional Hill number and the mean functional diversity thus quantifies the (total) functional diversity, i.e., the effective total distance between species of the assemblage. The three measures (functional Hill numbers, mean functional diversity and total functional diversity) quantify different aspects of species trait space, and all are based on species abundance and species pairwise functional distances. When all species are equally distinct, our functional Hill numbers reduce to ordinary Hill numbers. When species abundances are not considered or species are equally abundant, our total functional diversity reduces to the sum of all pairwise distances between species of an assemblage. The functional Hill numbers and the mean functional diversity both satisfy a replication principle, implying the total functional diversity satisfies a quadratic replication principle. When there are multiple assemblages defined by the investigator, each of the three measures of the pooled assemblage (gamma) can be multiplicatively decomposed into alpha and beta components, and the two components are independent. The resulting beta component measures pure functional differentiation among assemblages and can be further transformed to obtain several classes of normalized functional similarity (or differentiation) measures, including N-assemblage functional generalizations of the classic Jaccard, Sørensen, Horn and Morisita-Horn similarity indices. The proposed measures are applied to artificial and real data for illustration. PMID:25000299

Distance-based functional diversity measures and their decomposition: a framework based on Hill numbers.

PubMed

Chiu, Chun-Huo; Chao, Anne

2014-01-01

Hill numbers (or the "effective number of species") are increasingly used to characterize species diversity of an assemblage. This work extends Hill numbers to incorporate species pairwise functional distances calculated from species traits. We derive a parametric class of functional Hill numbers, which quantify "the effective number of equally abundant and (functionally) equally distinct species" in an assemblage. We also propose a class of mean functional diversity (per species), which quantifies the effective sum of functional distances between a fixed species to all other species. The product of the functional Hill number and the mean functional diversity thus quantifies the (total) functional diversity, i.e., the effective total distance between species of the assemblage. The three measures (functional Hill numbers, mean functional diversity and total functional diversity) quantify different aspects of species trait space, and all are based on species abundance and species pairwise functional distances. When all species are equally distinct, our functional Hill numbers reduce to ordinary Hill numbers. When species abundances are not considered or species are equally abundant, our total functional diversity reduces to the sum of all pairwise distances between species of an assemblage. The functional Hill numbers and the mean functional diversity both satisfy a replication principle, implying the total functional diversity satisfies a quadratic replication principle. When there are multiple assemblages defined by the investigator, each of the three measures of the pooled assemblage (gamma) can be multiplicatively decomposed into alpha and beta components, and the two components are independent. The resulting beta component measures pure functional differentiation among assemblages and can be further transformed to obtain several classes of normalized functional similarity (or differentiation) measures, including N-assemblage functional generalizations of the classic Jaccard, Sørensen, Horn and Morisita-Horn similarity indices. The proposed measures are applied to artificial and real data for illustration.

Optimization methods of pulse-to-pulse alignment using femtosecond pulse laser based on temporal coherence function for practical distance measurement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Yang; Yang, Linghui; Guo, Yin; Lin, Jiarui; Cui, Pengfei; Zhu, Jigui

2018-02-01

An interferometer technique based on temporal coherence function of femtosecond pulses is demonstrated for practical distance measurement. Here, the pulse-to-pulse alignment is analyzed for large delay distance measurement. Firstly, a temporal coherence function model between two femtosecond pulses is developed in the time domain for the dispersive unbalanced Michelson interferometer. Then, according to this model, the fringes analysis and the envelope extraction process are discussed. Meanwhile, optimization methods of pulse-to-pulse alignment for practical long distance measurement are presented. The order of the curve fitting and the selection of points for envelope extraction are analyzed. Furthermore, an averaging method based on the symmetry of the coherence function is demonstrated. Finally, the performance of the proposed methods is evaluated in the absolute distance measurement of 20 μ m with path length difference of 9 m. The improvement of standard deviation in experimental results shows that these approaches have the potential for practical distance measurement.

The use of magnetic resonance imaging for studying female sexual function: A review.

PubMed

Vaccaro, Christine M

2015-04-01

Many would agree that there are two quintessential sexual organs in the female: the clitoris and the brain. Using non-invasive techniques of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), investigators have gained insight into the mental and physical factors involved in female sexual function. Since only the external clitoral glans is easily accessible for direct measurement, the complete anatomy of the clitoris (including the internal components-paired corpora, crura, and bulbs) has only recently been described, with MRI providing the most sensitive way of distinguishing among the various soft tissue planes. Average sizes of clitoral structures and average distances between the clitoral complex and other pelvic landmarks have been measured. These measurements have been correlated with female sexual function: a longer distance between the clitoral complex and the vaginal lumen correlates with poorer sexual function, consistent with prior imaging studies. However, whether clitoral size influences function is debatable, so further studies are needed. Physiological investigations have demonstrated that female arousal disorder is unlikely to be due to inadequate genital engorgement. Some consider the brain to be the ultimate sexual organ, and several recent studies have used functional MRI (fMRI) to reveal sexual excitability in the brain. The normal sexual response requires deactivation of the frontal lobe and activation of the instinctual limbic system of the midbrain. As MR technology continues to improve, the mysteries of female sexuality will be further unraveled. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Significant events in low-level flow conditions hazardous to aircraft

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Alexander, M. B.; Camp, D. W.

1983-01-01

Atmospheric parameters recorded during high surface winds are analyzed to determine magnitude, frequency, duration, and simultaneity of occurrence of low level flow conditions known to be hazardous to the ascent and descent of conventional aircraft and the space shuttle. Graphic and tabular presentations of mean and extreme values and simultaneous occurrences of turbulence (gustiness and a gust factor), wind shear (speed and direction), and vertical motion (updrafts and downdrafts), along with associated temperature inversions are included as function of tower height, layer and/or distance for six 5 sec intervals (one interval every 100 sec) of parameters sampled simultaneously at the rate of 10 speeds, directions and temperatures per second during an approximately 10 min period.

Making Distance Learning E.R.O.T.I.C.: Applying Interpretation Principles to Distance Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ross, Anne; Siepen, Greg; O'Connor, Sue

2003-01-01

Distance learners are self-directed learners traditionally taught via study books, collections of readings, and exercises to test understanding of learning packages. Despite advances in e-Learning environments and computer-based teaching interfaces, distance learners still lack opportunities to participate in exercises and debates available to…

Distance Learning and Non-Formal Education: Existing Trends and New Possibilities of Distance Learning Experiences.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Romi, Shlomo

2000-01-01

Reviews the characteristics of non-formal education as expressed in various academic-theoretical definitions, presents the links in this field to distance learning, and recommends future directions for exploring distance learning in non-formal education. Discusses the use of information and communication technology and considers problems with…

Computer simulation of the carbon activity in austenite

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Murch, G.E.; Thorn, R.J.

1979-02-01

Carbon activity in austenite is described in terms of an Ising-like f.c.c. lattice gas model in which carbon interstitials repel only at the distance of nearest neighbors. A Monte Carlo simulation method in the petit canonical ensemble is employed to calculate directly the carbon activity as a function of composition and temperature. The computed activities are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental data, similarly for the decompostion of the activity to the partial molar enthalpy and entropy.

Mapping atomic contact between pentacene and a Au surface using scanning tunneling spectroscopy.

PubMed

Song, Young Jae; Lee, Kyuho; Kim, Seong Heon; Choi, Byoung-Young; Yu, Jaejun; Kuk, Young

2010-03-10

We mapped spatially varying intramolecular electronic structures on a pentacene-gold interface using scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Along with ab initio calculations based on density functional theory, we found that the directional nature of the d orbitals of Au atoms plays an important role in the interaction at the pentacene-gold contact. The gold-induced interface states are broadened and shifted by various pentacene-gold distances determined by the various registries of a pentacene molecule on a gold substrate.

Impinging laminar jets at moderate Reynolds numbers and separation distances.

PubMed

Bergthorson, Jeffrey M; Sone, Kazuo; Mattner, Trent W; Dimotakis, Paul E; Goodwin, David G; Meiron, Dan I

2005-12-01

An experimental and numerical study of impinging, incompressible, axisymmetric, laminar jets is described, where the jet axis of symmetry is aligned normal to the wall. Particle streak velocimetry (PSV) is used to measure axial velocities along the centerline of the flow field. The jet-nozzle pressure drop is measured simultaneously and determines the Bernoulli velocity. The flow field is simulated numerically by an axisymmetric Navier-Stokes spectral-element code, an axisymmetric potential-flow model, and an axisymmetric one-dimensional stream-function approximation. The axisymmetric viscous and potential-flow simulations include the nozzle in the solution domain, allowing nozzle-wall proximity effects to be investigated. Scaling the centerline axial velocity by the Bernoulli velocity collapses the experimental velocity profiles onto a single curve that is independent of the nozzle-to-plate separation distance. Axisymmetric direct numerical simulations yield good agreement with experiment and confirm the velocity profile scaling. Potential-flow simulations reproduce the collapse of the data; however, viscous effects result in disagreement with experiment. Axisymmetric one-dimensional stream-function simulations can predict the flow in the stagnation region if the boundary conditions are correctly specified. The scaled axial velocity profiles are well characterized by an error function with one Reynolds-number-dependent parameter. Rescaling the wall-normal distance by the boundary-layer displacement-thickness-corrected diameter yields a collapse of the data onto a single curve that is independent of the Reynolds number. These scalings allow the specification of an analytical expression for the velocity profile of an impinging laminar jet over the Reynolds number range investigated of .

From a structural average to the conformational ensemble of a DNA bulge

PubMed Central

Shi, Xuesong; Beauchamp, Kyle A.; Harbury, Pehr B.; Herschlag, Daniel

2014-01-01

Direct experimental measurements of conformational ensembles are critical for understanding macromolecular function, but traditional biophysical methods do not directly report the solution ensemble of a macromolecule. Small-angle X-ray scattering interferometry has the potential to overcome this limitation by providing the instantaneous distance distribution between pairs of gold-nanocrystal probes conjugated to a macromolecule in solution. Our X-ray interferometry experiments reveal an increasing bend angle of DNA duplexes with bulges of one, three, and five adenosine residues, consistent with previous FRET measurements, and further reveal an increasingly broad conformational ensemble with increasing bulge length. The distance distributions for the AAA bulge duplex (3A-DNA) with six different Au-Au pairs provide strong evidence against a simple elastic model in which fluctuations occur about a single conformational state. Instead, the measured distance distributions suggest a 3A-DNA ensemble with multiple conformational states predominantly across a region of conformational space with bend angles between 24 and 85 degrees and characteristic bend directions and helical twists and displacements. Additional X-ray interferometry experiments revealed perturbations to the ensemble from changes in ionic conditions and the bulge sequence, effects that can be understood in terms of electrostatic and stacking contributions to the ensemble and that demonstrate the sensitivity of X-ray interferometry. Combining X-ray interferometry ensemble data with molecular dynamics simulations gave atomic-level models of representative conformational states and of the molecular interactions that may shape the ensemble, and fluorescence measurements with 2-aminopurine-substituted 3A-DNA provided initial tests of these atomistic models. More generally, X-ray interferometry will provide powerful benchmarks for testing and developing computational methods. PMID:24706812

ELF Sferics Produced by Rocket-Triggered Lightning and Observed at Great Distances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dupree, N. A.; Moore, R. C.; Fraser-Smith, A. C.

2013-12-01

Experimental observations of ELF radio atmospherics produced by rocket-triggered lightning flashes are used to analyze Earth-ionosphere waveguide excitation and propagation characteristics as a function of return stroke. Rocket-triggered lightning experiments are performed at the International Center for Lightning Research and Testing (ICLRT) located at Camp Blanding, Florida. Long-distance ELF observations are performed in California, Greenland, and Antarctica, although this work focuses on observations performed in Greenland. The lightning current waveforms directly measured at the base of the lightning channel (at the ICLRT) are used together with the Long Wavelength Propagation Capability (LWPC) code to predict the sferic waveform observed at the receiver locations under various ionospheric conditions. LWPC was developed by the Naval Ocean Systems Center over a period of many years. It is an inherently narrowband propagation code that has been modified to predict the broadband response of the Earth-ionosphere waveguide to an impulsive lightning flash while preserving the ability of LWPC to account for an inhomogeneous waveguide. This paper critically compares observations with model predictions, and in particular analyzes Earth-ionosphere waveguide excitation as a function of return stroke. The ability to infer source characteristics using observations at great distances may prove to greatly enhance the understanding of lightning processes that are associated with the production of transient luminous events (TLEs) as well as other ionospheric effects associated with lightning.

Remote site-selective C-H activation directed by a catalytic bifunctional template.

PubMed

Zhang, Zhipeng; Tanaka, Keita; Yu, Jin-Quan

2017-03-23

In chemical syntheses, the activation of carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds converts them directly into carbon-carbon or carbon-heteroatom bonds without requiring any prior functionalization. C-H activation can thus substantially reduce the number of steps involved in a synthesis. A single specific C-H bond in a substrate can be activated by using a 'directing' (usually a functional) group to obtain the desired product selectively. The applicability of such a C-H activation reaction can be severely curtailed by the distance of the C-H bond in question from the directing group, and by the shape of the substrate, but several approaches have been developed to overcome these limitations. In one such approach, an understanding of the distal and geometric relationships between the functional groups and C-H bonds of a substrate has been exploited to achieve meta-selective C-H activation by using a covalently attached, U-shaped template. However, stoichiometric installation of this template has not been feasible in the absence of an appropriate functional group on which to attach it. Here we report the design of a catalytic, bifunctional nitrile template that binds a heterocyclic substrate via a reversible coordination instead of a covalent linkage. The two metal centres coordinated to this template have different roles: one reversibly anchors substrates near the catalyst, and the other cleaves remote C-H bonds. Using this strategy, we demonstrate remote, site-selective C-H olefination of heterocyclic substrates that do not have the necessary functional groups for covalently attaching templates.

Water Leakage Diagnosis in Metro Tunnels by Intergration of Laser Point Cloud and Infrared Thermal Imaging

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, P.; Wu, H.; Liu, C.; Xu, Z.

2018-04-01

Diagnosis of water leakage in metro tunnels is of great significance to the metro tunnel construction and the safety of metro operation. A method that integrates laser scanning and infrared thermal imaging is proposed for the diagnosis of water leakage. The diagnosis of water leakage in this paper is mainly divided into two parts: extraction of water leakage geometry information and extraction of water leakage attribute information. Firstly, the suspected water leakage is obtained by threshold segmentation based on the point cloud of tunnel. And the real water leakage is obtained by the auxiliary interpretation of infrared thermal images. Then, the characteristic of isotherm outline is expressed by solving Centroid Distance Function to determine the type of water leakage. Similarly, the location of leakage silt and the direction of crack are calculated by finding coordinates of feature points on Centroid Distance Function. Finally, a metro tunnel part in Shanghai was selected as the case area to make experiment and the result shown that the proposed method in this paper can be used to diagnosis water leakage disease completely and accurately.

Modeling Geomagnetically Induced Currents From Magnetometer Measurements: Spatial Scale Assessed With Reference Measurements

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Butala, Mark D.; Kazerooni, Maryam; Makela, Jonathan J.; Kamalabadi, Farzad; Gannon, Jennifer L.; Zhu, Hao; Overbye, Thomas J.

2017-10-01

Solar-driven disturbances generate geomagnetically induced currents (GICs) that can result in power grid instability and, in the most extreme cases, even failure. Magnetometers provide direct measurements of the geomagnetic disturbance (GMD) effect on the surface magnetic field and GIC response can be determined from the power grid topology and engineering parameters. This paper considers this chain of models: transforming surface magnetic field disturbance to induced surface electric field through an electromagnetic transfer function and, then, induced surface electric field to GIC using the PowerWorld simulator to model a realistic power grid topology. Comparisons are made to transformer neutral current reference measurements provided by the American Transmission Company. Three GMD intervals are studied, with the Kp index reaching 8- on 2 October 2013, 7 on 1 June 2013, and 6- on 9 October 2013. Ultimately, modeled to measured GIC correlations are analyzed as a function of magnetometer to GIC sensor distance. Results indicate that modeling fidelity during the three studied GMD intervals is strongly dependent on both magnetometer to substation transformer baseline distance and GMD intensity.

Multi-enzyme complexes on DNA scaffolds capable of substrate channelling with an artificial swinging arm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, Jinglin; Yang, Yuhe Renee; Johnson-Buck, Alexander; Liu, Minghui; Liu, Yan; Walter, Nils G.; Woodbury, Neal W.; Yan, Hao

2014-07-01

Swinging arms are a key functional component of multistep catalytic transformations in many naturally occurring multi-enzyme complexes. This arm is typically a prosthetic chemical group that is covalently attached to the enzyme complex via a flexible linker, allowing the direct transfer of substrate molecules between multiple active sites within the complex. Mimicking this method of substrate channelling outside the cellular environment requires precise control over the spatial parameters of the individual components within the assembled complex. DNA nanostructures can be used to organize functional molecules with nanoscale precision and can also provide nanomechanical control. Until now, protein-DNA assemblies have been used to organize cascades of enzymatic reactions by controlling the relative distance and orientation of enzymatic components or by facilitating the interface between enzymes/cofactors and electrode surfaces. Here, we show that a DNA nanostructure can be used to create a multi-enzyme complex in which an artificial swinging arm facilitates hydride transfer between two coupled dehydrogenases. By exploiting the programmability of DNA nanostructures, key parameters including position, stoichiometry and inter-enzyme distance can be manipulated for optimal activity.

Multi-enzyme complexes on DNA scaffolds capable of substrate channelling with an artificial swinging arm.

PubMed

Fu, Jinglin; Yang, Yuhe Renee; Johnson-Buck, Alexander; Liu, Minghui; Liu, Yan; Walter, Nils G; Woodbury, Neal W; Yan, Hao

2014-07-01

Swinging arms are a key functional component of multistep catalytic transformations in many naturally occurring multi-enzyme complexes. This arm is typically a prosthetic chemical group that is covalently attached to the enzyme complex via a flexible linker, allowing the direct transfer of substrate molecules between multiple active sites within the complex. Mimicking this method of substrate channelling outside the cellular environment requires precise control over the spatial parameters of the individual components within the assembled complex. DNA nanostructures can be used to organize functional molecules with nanoscale precision and can also provide nanomechanical control. Until now, protein-DNA assemblies have been used to organize cascades of enzymatic reactions by controlling the relative distance and orientation of enzymatic components or by facilitating the interface between enzymes/cofactors and electrode surfaces. Here, we show that a DNA nanostructure can be used to create a multi-enzyme complex in which an artificial swinging arm facilitates hydride transfer between two coupled dehydrogenases. By exploiting the programmability of DNA nanostructures, key parameters including position, stoichiometry and inter-enzyme distance can be manipulated for optimal activity.

Evidence for enhanced discrimination of virtual auditory distance among blind listeners using level and direct-to-reverberant cues.

PubMed

Kolarik, Andrew J; Cirstea, Silvia; Pardhan, Shahina

2013-02-01

Totally blind listeners often demonstrate better than normal capabilities when performing spatial hearing tasks. Accurate representation of three-dimensional auditory space requires the processing of available distance information between the listener and the sound source; however, auditory distance cues vary greatly depending upon the acoustic properties of the environment, and it is not known which distance cues are important to totally blind listeners. Our data show that totally blind listeners display better performance compared to sighted age-matched controls for distance discrimination tasks in anechoic and reverberant virtual rooms simulated using a room-image procedure. Totally blind listeners use two major auditory distance cues to stationary sound sources, level and direct-to-reverberant ratio, more effectively than sighted controls for many of the virtual distances tested. These results show that significant compensation among totally blind listeners for virtual auditory spatial distance leads to benefits across a range of simulated acoustic environments. No significant differences in performance were observed between listeners with partial non-correctable visual losses and sighted controls, suggesting that sensory compensation for virtual distance does not occur for listeners with partial vision loss.

Talker Localization Based on Interference between Transmitted and Reflected Audible Sound

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakayama, Masato; Nakasako, Noboru; Shinohara, Toshihiro; Uebo, Tetsuji

In many engineering fields, distance to targets is very important. General distance measurement method uses a time delay between transmitted and reflected waves, but it is difficult to estimate the short distance. On the other hand, the method using phase interference to measure the short distance has been known in the field of microwave radar. Therefore, we have proposed the distance estimation method based on interference between transmitted and reflected audible sound, which can measure the distance between microphone and target with one microphone and one loudspeaker. In this paper, we propose talker localization method based on distance estimation using phase interference. We expand the distance estimation method using phase interference into two microphones (microphone array) in order to estimate talker position. The proposed method can estimate talker position by measuring the distance and direction between target and microphone array. In addition, talker's speech is regarded as a noise in the proposed method. Therefore, we also propose combination of the proposed method and CSP (Cross-power Spectrum Phase analysis) method which is one of the DOA (Direction Of Arrival) estimation methods. We evaluated the performance of talker localization in real environments. The experimental result shows the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Edge Response and NIIRS Estimates for Commercial Remote Sensing Satellites

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blonski, Slawomir; Ryan, Robert E.; Pagnutti, mary; Stanley, Thomas

2006-01-01

Spatial resolution of panchromatic imagery from commercial remote sensing satellites was characterized based on edge response measurements using edge targets and the tilted-edge technique. Relative Edge Response (RER) was estimated as a geometric mean of normalized edge response differences measured in two directions of image pixels at points distanced from the edge by -0.5 and 0.5 of ground sample distance. RER is one of the engineering parameters used in the General Image Quality Equation to provide predictions of imaging system performance expressed in terms of the National Imagery Interpretability Rating Scale (NIIRS). By assuming a plausible range of signal-to-noise ratio and assessing the effects of Modulation Transfer Function compensation, the NIIRS estimates were made and then compared with vendor-provided values and evaluations conducted by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

What would Batman do? Self-distancing improves executive function in young children.

PubMed

White, Rachel E; Carlson, Stephanie M

2016-05-01

This experimental research assessed the influence of graded levels of self-distancing - psychological distancing from one's egocentric perspective - on executive function (EF) in young children. Three- (n = 48) and 5-year-old (n = 48) children were randomly assigned to one of four manipulations of distance from the self (from proximal to distal: self-immersed, control, third person, and exemplar) on a comprehensive measure of EF. Performance increased as a function of self-distancing across age groups. Follow-up analyses indicated that 5-year-olds were driving this effect. They showed significant improvements in EF with increased distance from the self, outperforming controls both when taking a third person perspective on the self and when taking the perspective of an exemplar other (e.g., Batman) through role play. Three-year-olds, however, did not show increased EF performance as a function of greater distance from the self. Preliminary results suggest that developments in theory of mind might contribute to these age-related differences in efficacy. These findings speak to the importance of psychological distancing in the expression of conscious control over thought and action from a young age and suggest a promising new avenue for early EF intervention. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The effects of power, leadership and psychological safety on resident event reporting.

PubMed

Appelbaum, Nital P; Dow, Alan; Mazmanian, Paul E; Jundt, Dustin K; Appelbaum, Eric N

2016-03-01

Although the reporting of adverse events is a necessary first step in identifying and addressing lapses in patient safety, such events are under-reported, especially by frontline providers such as resident physicians. This study describes and tests relationships between power distance and leader inclusiveness on psychological safety and the willingness of residents to report adverse events. A total of 106 resident physicians from the departments of neurosurgery, orthopaedic surgery, emergency medicine, otolaryngology, neurology, obstetrics and gynaecology, paediatrics and general surgery in a mid-Atlantic teaching hospital were asked to complete a survey on psychological safety, perceived power distance, leader inclusiveness and intention to report adverse events. Perceived power distance (β = -0.26, standard error [SE] 0.06, 95% confidence interval [CI] -0.37 to 0.15; p < 0.001) and leader inclusiveness (β = 0.51; SE 0.07, 95% CI 0.38-0.65; p < 0.001) both significantly predicted psychological safety, which, in turn, significantly predicted intention to report adverse events (β = 0.34; SE 0.08, 95% CI 0.18-0.49; p < 0.001). Psychological safety significantly mediated the direct relationship between power distance and intention to report adverse events (indirect effect: -0.09; SE 0.02, 95% CI -0.13 to 0.04; p < 0.001). Psychological safety also significantly mediated the direct relationship between leader inclusiveness and intention to report adverse events (indirect effect: 0.17; SE 0.02, 95% CI 0.08-0.27; p = 0.001). Psychological safety was found to be a predictor of intention to report adverse events. Perceived power distance and leader inclusiveness both influenced the reporting of adverse events through the concept of psychological safety. Because adverse event reporting is shaped by relationships and culture external to the individual, it should be viewed as an organisational as much as a personal function. Supervisors and other leaders in health care should ensure that policies, procedures and leadership practices build psychological safety and minimise power distance between low- and high-status members in order to support greater reporting of adverse events. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Multiphase Interface Tracking with Fast Semi-Lagrangian Contouring.

PubMed

Li, Xiaosheng; He, Xiaowei; Liu, Xuehui; Zhang, Jian J; Liu, Baoquan; Wu, Enhua

2016-08-01

We propose a semi-Lagrangian method for multiphase interface tracking. In contrast to previous methods, our method maintains an explicit polygonal mesh, which is reconstructed from an unsigned distance function and an indicator function, to track the interface of arbitrary number of phases. The surface mesh is reconstructed at each step using an efficient multiphase polygonization procedure with precomputed stencils while the distance and indicator function are updated with an accurate semi-Lagrangian path tracing from the meshes of the last step. Furthermore, we provide an adaptive data structure, multiphase distance tree, to accelerate the updating of both the distance function and the indicator function. In addition, the adaptive structure also enables us to contour the distance tree accurately with simple bisection techniques. The major advantage of our method is that it can easily handle topological changes without ambiguities and preserve both the sharp features and the volume well. We will evaluate its efficiency, accuracy and robustness in the results part with several examples.

Direct interaction of Plin2 with lipids on the surface of lipid droplets: a live cell FRET analysis

PubMed Central

McIntosh, Avery L.; Senthivinayagam, Subramanian; Moon, Kenneth C.; Gupta, Shipra; Lwande, Joel S.; Murphy, Cameron C.; Storey, Stephen M.

2012-01-01

Despite increasing awareness of the health risks associated with excess lipid storage in cells and tissues, knowledge of events governing lipid exchange at the surface of lipid droplets remains unclear. To address this issue, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) was performed to examine live cell interactions of Plin2 with lipids involved in maintaining lipid droplet structure and function. FRET efficiencies (E) between CFP-labeled Plin2 and fluorescently labeled phosphatidylcholine, sphingomyelin, stearic acid, and cholesterol were quantitated on a pixel-by-pixel basis to generate FRET image maps that specified areas with high E (>60%) in lipid droplets. The mean E and the distance R between the probes indicated a high yield of energy transfer and demonstrated molecular distances on the order of 44–57 Å, in keeping with direct molecular contact. In contrast, FRET between CFP-Plin2 and Nile red was not detected, indicating that the CFP-Plin2/Nile red interaction was beyond FRET proximity (>100 Å). An examination of the effect of Plin2 on cellular metabolism revealed that triacylglycerol, fatty acid, and cholesteryl ester content increased while diacylglycerol remained constant in CFP-Plin2-overexpressing cells. Total phospholipids also increased, reflecting increased phosphatidylcholine and sphingomyelin. Consistent with these results, expression levels of enzymes involved in triacylglycerol, cholesteryl ester, and phospholipid synthesis were significantly upregulated in CFP-Plin2-expressing cells while those associated with lipolysis either decreased or were unaffected. Taken together, these data show for the first time that Plin2 interacts directly with lipids on the surface of lipid droplets and influences levels of key enzymes and lipids involved in maintaining lipid droplet structure and function. PMID:22744009

Microstructural Abnormalities of Short-Distance White Matter Tracts in Autism Spectrum Disorder

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shukla, Dinesh K.; Keehn, Brandon; Smylie, Daren M.; Muller, Ralph-Axel

2011-01-01

Recent functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) studies have suggested atypical functional connectivity and reduced integrity of long-distance white matter fibers in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, evidence for short-distance white matter fibers is still limited, despite some speculation of…

Spatial autocorrelation of radiation measured by the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment: Scene inhomogeneity and reciprocity violation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Davies, Roger

1994-01-01

The spatial autocorrelation functions of broad-band longwave and shortwave radiances measured by the Earth Radiation Budget Experiment (ERBE) are analyzed as a function of view angle in an investigation of the general effects of scene inhomogeneity on radiation. For nadir views, the correlation distance of the autocorrelation function is about 900 km for longwave radiance and about 500 km for shortwave radiance, consistent with higher degrees of freedom in shortwave reflection. Both functions rise monotonically with view angle, but there is a substantial difference in the relative angular dependence of the shortwave and longwave functions, especially for view angles less than 50 deg. In this range, the increase with angle of the longwave functions is found to depend only on the expansion of pixel area with angle, whereas the shortwave functions show an additional dependence on angle that is attributed to the occlusion of inhomogeneities by cloud height variations. Beyond a view angle of about 50 deg, both longwave and shortwave functions appear to be affected by cloud sides. The shortwave autocorrelation functions do not satisfy the principle of directional reciprocity, thereby proving that the average scene is horizontally inhomogeneous over the scale of an ERBE pixel (1500 sq km). Coarse stratification of the measurements by cloud amount, however, indicates that the average cloud-free scene does satisfy directional reciprocity on this scale.

Growth-related neural reorganization and the autism phenotype: a test of the hypothesis that altered brain growth leads to altered connectivity

PubMed Central

Lewis, John D.; Elman, Jeffrey L.

2009-01-01

Theoretical considerations, and findings from computational modeling, comparative neuroanatomy and developmental neuroscience, motivate the hypothesis that a deviant brain growth trajectory will lead to deviant patterns of change in cortico-cortical connectivity. Differences in brain size during development will alter the relative cost and effectiveness of short- and long-distance connections, and should thus impact the growth and retention of connections. Reduced brain size should favor long-distance connectivity; brain overgrowth should favor short-distance connectivity; and inconsistent deviations from the normal growth trajectory – as occurs in autism – should result in potentially disruptive changes to established patterns of functional and physical connectivity during development. To explore this hypothesis, neural networks which modeled inter-hemispheric interaction were grown at the rate of either typically developing children or children with autism. The influence of the length of the inter-hemispheric connections was analyzed at multiple developmental time-points. The networks that modeled autistic growth were less affected by removal of the inter-hemispheric connections than those that modeled normal growth – indicating a reduced reliance on long-distance connections – for short response times, and this difference increased substantially at approximately 24 simulated months of age. The performance of the networks showed a corresponding decline during development. And direct analysis of the connection weights showed a parallel reduction in connectivity. These modeling results support the hypothesis that the deviant growth trajectory in autism spectrum disorders may lead to a disruption of established patterns of functional connectivity during development, with potentially negative behavioral consequences, and a subsequent reduction in physical connectivity. The results are discussed in relation to the growing body of evidence of reduced functional and structural connectivity in autism, and in relation to the behavioral phenotype, particularly the developmental aspects. PMID:18171375

Communication Skills for OMRDD Direct Care Workers: Distance Learning Study Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denny, Verna Haskins

This self-directed, self-paced adult distance education program provides developmental aides and transitional employees with practice in job-related reading, writing, math, and problem solving. Participants use e-mail, print materials, and videotapes to do assignments. An introductory brochure precedes materials for 12 theme areas and 105 units…

47 CFR 22.589 - One-way or two-way application requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... transmitter located within 108 kilometers (67 miles) of the proposed transmitter in directions in which the distance to the interfering contour is 76.4 kilometers (47.5 miles) or less, and within 178 kilometers (111 miles) of the proposed transmitter in directions in which the distance to the interfering contour...

47 CFR 22.589 - One-way or two-way application requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... transmitter located within 108 kilometers (67 miles) of the proposed transmitter in directions in which the distance to the interfering contour is 76.4 kilometers (47.5 miles) or less, and within 178 kilometers (111 miles) of the proposed transmitter in directions in which the distance to the interfering contour...

47 CFR 22.589 - One-way or two-way application requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... transmitter located within 108 kilometers (67 miles) of the proposed transmitter in directions in which the distance to the interfering contour is 76.4 kilometers (47.5 miles) or less, and within 178 kilometers (111 miles) of the proposed transmitter in directions in which the distance to the interfering contour...

47 CFR 22.589 - One-way or two-way application requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... transmitter located within 108 kilometers (67 miles) of the proposed transmitter in directions in which the distance to the interfering contour is 76.4 kilometers (47.5 miles) or less, and within 178 kilometers (111 miles) of the proposed transmitter in directions in which the distance to the interfering contour...

47 CFR 22.589 - One-way or two-way application requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... transmitter located within 108 kilometers (67 miles) of the proposed transmitter in directions in which the distance to the interfering contour is 76.4 kilometers (47.5 miles) or less, and within 178 kilometers (111 miles) of the proposed transmitter in directions in which the distance to the interfering contour...

Robust valley polarization of helium ion modified atomically thin MoS2

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, J.; Kuc, A.; Nolinder, A.; Altzschner, M.; Wierzbowski, J.; Sigger, F.; Kreupl, F.; Finley, J. J.; Wurstbauer, U.; Holleitner, A. W.; Kaniber, M.

2018-01-01

Atomically thin semiconductors have dimensions that are commensurate with critical feature sizes of future optoelectronic devices defined using electron/ion beam lithography. Robustness of their emergent optical and valleytronic properties is essential for typical exposure doses used during fabrication. Here, we explore how focused helium ion bombardement affects the intrinsic vibrational, luminescence and valleytronic properties of atomically thin MoS2 . By probing the disorder dependent vibrational response we deduce the interdefect distance by applying a phonon confinement model. We show that the increasing interdefect distance correlates with disorder-related luminscence arising 180 meV below the neutral exciton emission. We perform ab initio density functional theory of a variety of defect related morphologies, which yield first indications on the origin of the observed additional luminescence. Remarkably, no significant reduction of free exciton valley polarization is observed until the interdefect distance approaches a few nanometers, namely the size of the free exciton Bohr radius. Our findings pave the way for direct writing of sub-10 nm nanoscale valleytronic devices and circuits using focused helium ions.

Environmentally Dependent Density-Distance Relationship of Dispersing Culex tarsalis in a Southern California Desert Region.

PubMed

Antonić, Oleg; Sudarić-Bogojević, Mirta; Lothrop, Hugh; Merdić, Enrih

2014-09-01

The direct inclusion of environmental factors into the empirical model that describes a density-distance relationship (DDR) is demonstrated on dispersal data obtained in a capture-mark-release-recapture experiment (CMRR) with Culex tarsalis conducted around the community of Mecca, CA. Empirical parameters of standard (environmentally independent) DDR were expressed as linear functions of environmental variables: relative orientation (azimuthal deviation of north) of release point (relative to recapture point) and proportions of habitat types surrounding each recapture point. The yielded regression model (R(2)  =  0.5373, after optimization on the best subset of linear terms) suggests that spatial density of recaptured individuals after 12 days of a CMRR experiment significantly depended on 1) distance from release point, 2) orientation of recapture points in relation to release point (preferring dispersal toward the south, probably due to wind drift and position of periodically flooded habitats suitable for species egg clutches), and 3) habitat spectrum in surroundings of recapture points (increasing and decreasing population density in desert and urban environment, respectively).

Investigation of the S(500) distribution for large air showers detected with the KASCADE-Grande array

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Toma, G.; Apel, W. D.; Arteaga, J. C.; Badea, F.; Bekk, K.; Bertaina, M.; Blümer, J.; Bozdog, H.; Brancus, I. M.; Brüggemann, M.; Buchholz, P.; Cantoni, E.; Chiavassa, A.; Cossavella, F.; Daumiller, K.; de Souza, V.; di Pierro, F.; Doll, P.; Engel, R.; Engler, J.; Finger, M.; Fuhrmann, D.; Ghia, P. L.; Gils, H. J.; Glasstetter, R.; Grupen, C.; Haungs, A.; Heck, D.; Hörandel, J. R.; Huege, T.; Isar, P. G.; Kampert, K.-H.; Kang, D.; Kickelbick, D.; Klages, H. O.; Kolotaev, Y.; Łuczak, P.; Mathes, H. J.; Mayer, H. J.; Milke, J.; Mitrica, B.; Morello, C.; Navarra, G.; Nehls, S.; Oehlschläger, J.; Ostapchenko, S.; Over, S.; Petcu, M.; Pierog, T.; Rebel, H.; Roth, M.; Schieler, H.; Schröder, F.; Sima, O.; Stümpert, M.; Trinchero, G.; Ulrich, H.; Walkowiak, W.; Weindl, A.; Wochele, J.; Wommer, M.; Zabierowski, J.; KASCADE-Grande Collaboration

2009-12-01

Previous EAS investigations have shown that the charged particle density becomes independent of the primary mass at certain distances from the shower core and can be used as an estimator for the primary energy. In the context of the KASCADE-Grande experiment, the particular distance to shower core at which t his effect takes place is around 500 m, hence the study at this particular distance and the notation S(500) for the charged particle density. It has been shown that S(500) maps the primary energy. We present results of further investigations in this direction. An attenuation correction function can be derived from the S(500) attenuation with the EAS angle of incidence, allowing us to build an all event S(500) spectrum. In view of a future conversion of the recorded S(500) spectrum to the primary energy, based on simulations a calibration of the observed S(500) values with the primary energies has been worked out (in the energy range accessible to the KASCADE-Grande array, 10-10 eV).

Why do people move? Enhancing human mobility prediction using local functions based on public records and SNS data.

PubMed

Kim, Jungmin; Park, Juyong; Lee, Wonjae

2018-01-01

The quality of life for people in urban regions can be improved by predicting urban human mobility and adjusting urban planning accordingly. In this study, we compared several possible variables to verify whether a gravity model (a human mobility prediction model borrowed from Newtonian mechanics) worked as well in inner-city regions as it did in intra-city regions. We reviewed the resident population, the number of employees, and the number of SNS posts as variables for generating mass values for an urban traffic gravity model. We also compared the straight-line distance, travel distance, and the impact of time as possible distance values. We defined the functions of urban regions on the basis of public records and SNS data to reflect the diverse social factors in urban regions. In this process, we conducted a dimension reduction method for the public record data and used a machine learning-based clustering algorithm for the SNS data. In doing so, we found that functional distance could be defined as the Euclidean distance between social function vectors in urban regions. Finally, we examined whether the functional distance was a variable that had a significant impact on urban human mobility.

The influence of the magnetic field on running penumbral waves in the solar chromosphere

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jess, D. B.; Reznikova, V. E.; Van Doorsselaere, T.

2013-12-20

We use images of high spatial and temporal resolution, obtained using both ground- and space-based instrumentation, to investigate the role magnetic field inclination angles play in the propagation characteristics of running penumbral waves in the solar chromosphere. Analysis of a near-circular sunspot, close to the center of the solar disk, reveals a smooth rise in oscillatory period as a function of distance from the umbral barycenter. However, in one directional quadrant, corresponding to the north direction, a pronounced kink in the period-distance diagram is found. Utilizing a combination of the inversion of magnetic Stokes vectors and force-free field extrapolations, wemore » attribute this behavior to the cut-off frequency imposed by the magnetic field geometry in this location. A rapid, localized inclination of the magnetic field lines in the north direction results in a faster increase in the dominant periodicity due to an accelerated reduction in the cut-off frequency. For the first time, we reveal how the spatial distribution of dominant wave periods, obtained with one of the highest resolution solar instruments currently available, directly reflects the magnetic geometry of the underlying sunspot, thus opening up a wealth of possibilities in future magnetohydrodynamic seismology studies. In addition, the intrinsic relationships we find between the underlying magnetic field geometries connecting the photosphere to the chromosphere, and the characteristics of running penumbral waves observed in the upper chromosphere, directly supports the interpretation that running penumbral wave phenomena are the chromospheric signature of upwardly propagating magneto-acoustic waves generated in the photosphere.« less

Distribution of interstellar plasma in the direction of PSR B0525+21 from data obtained on a ground-space interferometer

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Andrianov, A. S.; Smirnova, T. V.; Shishov, V. I.; Gwinn, C.; Popov, M. V.

2017-06-01

Observations on the RadioAstron ground-space interferometer with the participation of the Green Bank and Arecibo ground telescopes at 1668 MHz have enabled studies of the characteristics of the interstellar plasma in the direction of the pulsar PSR B0525+21. The maximum projected baseline for the ground-space interferometer was 233 600 km. The scintillations in these observations were strong, and the spectrum of inhomogeneties in the interstellar plasma was a power law with index n = 3.74, corresponding to a Kolmogorov spectrum. A new method for estimating the size of the scattering disk was applied to estimate the scattering angle (scattering disk radius) in the direction toward PSR B0525+21, θ scat = 0.028 ± 0.002 milliarcsecond. The scattering in this direction occurs in a plasma layer located at a distance of 0.1 Z from the pulsar, where Z is the distance from the pulsar to the observer. For the adopted distance Z = 1.6 kpc, the screen is located at a distance of 1.44 kpc from the observer.

Directional Radio-Frequency Identification Tag Reader

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Medelius, Pedro J.; Taylor, John D.; Henderson, John J.

2004-01-01

A directional radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag reader has been designed to facilitate finding a specific object among many objects in a crowded room. The device could be an adjunct to an electronic inventory system that tracks RFID-tagged objects as they move through reader-equipped doorways. Whereas commercial RFID-tag readers do not measure directions to tagged objects, the device is equipped with a phased-array antenna and a received signal-strength indicator (RSSI) circuit for measuring direction. At the beginning of operation, it is set to address only the RFID tag of interest. It then continuously transmits a signal to interrogate that tag while varying the radiation pattern of the antenna. It identifies the direction to the tag as the radiation pattern direction of peak strength of the signal returned by the tag. An approximate distance to the tag is calculated from the peak signal strength. The direction and distance can be displayed on a screen. A prototype containing a Yagi antenna was found to be capable of detecting a 915.5-MHz tag at a distance of approximately equal to 15 ft (approximately equal to 4.6 m).

Aging persons' estimates of vehicular motion.

PubMed

Schiff, W; Oldak, R; Shah, V

1992-12-01

Estimated arrival times of moving autos were examined in relation to viewer age, gender, motion trajectory, and velocity. Direct push-button judgments were compared with verbal estimates derived from velocity and distance, which were based on assumptions that perceivers compute arrival time from perceived distance and velocity. Experiment 1 showed that direct estimates of younger Ss were most accurate. Older women made the shortest (highly cautious) estimates of when cars would arrive. Verbal estimates were much lower than direct estimates, with little correlation between them. Experiment 2 extended target distances and velocities of targets, with the results replicating the main findings of Experiment 1. Judgment accuracy increased with target velocity, and verbal estimates were again poorer estimates of arrival time than direct ones, with different patterns of findings. Using verbal estimates to approximate judgments in traffic situations appears questionable.

Spatial cues serving the tactile directional sensibility of the human forearm.

PubMed Central

Norrsell, U; Olausson, H

1994-01-01

1. Tactile directional sensibility is considered to rely on the parallel processing of direction-contingent sensory data that depend on skin stretching caused by friction, and spatial cues that vary with time. A temperature-controlled airstream stimulus that prevented the activation of stretch receptors was used to investigate directional sensibility for the skin of the forearm. 2. The dependence on contact load and distance of movement was determined for normal subjects with a two-alternative forced-choice method. Testing was performed under two conditions, elbow bent or straight. Bracing the skin by straightening the arm did not alter the accuracy of the directional sensibility, in contrast to previous findings with stimuli that caused friction. 3. The accuracy of directional sensibility was correlated linearly to the logarithm of the distance of movement of the air jet. No correlation was found between accuracy and contact load, unlike findings with stimuli that cause friction. 4. Measurements were made with different subjects to determine the threshold distance at constant load. On average, subjects were able to distinguish direction with movements of < or = 8 mm. This acuity is sharper than has been reported with static stimuli. There was no correlation between subjects' threshold distances for judging direction and spatial acuity measured with absolute point localization. 5. The ability to distinguish direction was poor for the airstream stimulus compared with stimuli causing frictional contact with hairy skin. Nevertheless, the present findings are consistent with the suggestion that cutaneous spatial acuity is better for dynamic than for static stimuli. Images Figure 1 PMID:7965863

A general theory of interference fringes in x-ray phase grating imaging.

PubMed

Yan, Aimin; Wu, Xizeng; Liu, Hong

2015-06-01

The authors note that the concept of the Talbot self-image distance in x-ray phase grating interferometry is indeed not well defined for polychromatic x-rays, because both the grating phase shift and the fractional Talbot distances are all x-ray wavelength-dependent. For x-ray interferometry optimization, there is a need for a quantitative theory that is able to predict if a good intensity modulation is attainable at a given grating-to-detector distance. In this work, the authors set out to meet this need. In order to apply Fourier analysis directly to the intensity fringe patterns of two-dimensional and one-dimensional phase grating interferometers, the authors start their derivation from a general phase space theory of x-ray phase-contrast imaging. Unlike previous Fourier analyses, the authors evolved the Wigner distribution to obtain closed-form expressions of the Fourier coefficients of the intensity fringes for any grating-to-detector distance, even if it is not a fractional Talbot distance. The developed theory determines the visibility of any diffraction order as a function of the grating-to-detector distance, the phase shift of the grating, and the x-ray spectrum. The authors demonstrate that the visibilities of diffraction orders can serve as the indicators of the underlying interference intensity modulation. Applying the theory to the conventional and inverse geometry configurations of single-grating interferometers, the authors demonstrated that the proposed theory provides a quantitative tool for the grating interferometer optimization with or without the Talbot-distance constraints. In this work, the authors developed a novel theory of the interference intensity fringes in phase grating x-ray interferometry. This theory provides a quantitative tool in design optimization of phase grating x-ray interferometers.

Studies of cosmic plasma using radioastron VLBI observations of giant pulses of the pulsar B0531+21

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudnitskii, A. G.; Karuppusamy, R.; Popov, M. V.; Soglasnov, V. A.

2016-02-01

The structure of the interstellar plasma in the direction of the pulsar in the Crab Nebula is studied using several sets of space-VLBI observations obtained with networks of ground telescopes and the RadioAstron space antenna at 18 and 92 cm. Six observing sessions spanning two years are analyzed. Giant pulses are used to probe the cosmic plasma, making it possible to measure the scattering parameters without averaging. More than 4000 giant pulses were detected. The interferometer responses (visibility functions) on ground and ground-space baselines are analyzed. On the ground baselines, the visibility function as a function of delay is dominated by a narrow feature at zero delay with a width of δ τ ~ 1/B, where B is the receiver bandwidth. This is typical for compact continuum sources. On the ground-space baselines, the visibility function contains a set of features superposed on each other and distributed within a certain interval of delays, which we identify with the scattering time for the interfering rays τ. The amplitude of the visibility function on ground baselines falls with increasing baseline; the scattering disk is partially resolved at 18 cmand fully resolved at 92 cm. Estimates of the scattering angle ? give 0.5-1.3mas at 18 cm and 14.0 mas at 92 cm. The measured values of ? and τ are compared to estimate the distance from the source to the effective scattering screen, which is found at various epochs to be located at distances from 0.33 to 0.96 of the distance from the observer to the pulsar, about 2 kpc. The screen is close to the Crab Nebula at epochs of strong scattering, confirming that scattering on inhomogeneities in the plasma in the vicinity of the nebula itself dominates at these epochs.

Plant salt stress status is transmitted systemically via propagating calcium waves

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stephan, Aaron B.; Schroeder, Julian I.

The existence and relevance of rapid long distance signaling in plants is evident to any observer of the nastic movements of the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) or the sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica). However, all plants require the transmission of sensory information from the site of perception to other tissues to adjust their physiological states according to their environment. It is becoming increasingly apparent that rapid long-distance signals exist throughout the plant kingdom and may be responsible for initiating a multitude of physiological responses: electrical “action potentials” have been shown to convey wounding and saltstress information from leaf-to-leaf (1, 2); amore » “hydraulic signal” transmitted by the direction of water movement within the xylem can mediate long-distance signaling of water stress experienced by the roots to the leaves in Arabidopsis (3); and reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been shown to propagate across a plant and carry stimulus-specific information to a variety of stresses (4). In PNAS, Choi et al. (5) use elegant approaches and present advances demonstrating that calcium can function as a long-distance signaling messenger, propagating in waves from roots and carrying salt-stress signals to induce expression of salt tolerance genes in leaves.« less

Growth habit and surface morphology of L-arginine phosphate monohydrate single crystals

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sangwal, K.; Veintemillas-Verdaguer, S.; Torrent-Burgués, J.

1995-10-01

The results of a study of the growth habit and the surface topography of L-arginine phosphate monohydrate (LAP) single crystals as a function of supersaturation are described and discussed. Apart from a change in the growth habit with supersaturation, it was observed that most of the as-grown faces of LAP exhibit isolated growth hillocks and macrohillocks and parallel bunched layers and that the formation of bunched layers is pronounced on faces showing macrohillocks. Observations of bunching of growth layers emitted by macrohillocks on the {100} faces revealed that, for the onset of bunching close to a macrospiral, there is a characteristic threshold distance whose value depends on the interstep distance and supersaturation, but is independent of step height. The theoretical habit of LAP deduced from PBC analysis showed that all faces exhibiting growth hillocks and macrohillocks are F faces. Analysis of the results on bunch formation revealed that growth of LAP takes place by the direct integration of growth entities at the growth steps, that the bunching is facilitated by an increasing value of the activation energy for their integration, and that the observed dependencies of threshold distance on interstep distance, supersaturation and step height are qualitatively in agreement with van der Eerden and Müller-Krumbhaar's theory of bunch formation.

Plant salt stress status is transmitted systemically via propagating calcium waves

DOE PAGES

Stephan, Aaron B.; Schroeder, Julian I.

2014-04-29

The existence and relevance of rapid long distance signaling in plants is evident to any observer of the nastic movements of the Venus flytrap (Dionaea muscipula) or the sensitive plant (Mimosa pudica). However, all plants require the transmission of sensory information from the site of perception to other tissues to adjust their physiological states according to their environment. It is becoming increasingly apparent that rapid long-distance signals exist throughout the plant kingdom and may be responsible for initiating a multitude of physiological responses: electrical “action potentials” have been shown to convey wounding and saltstress information from leaf-to-leaf (1, 2); amore » “hydraulic signal” transmitted by the direction of water movement within the xylem can mediate long-distance signaling of water stress experienced by the roots to the leaves in Arabidopsis (3); and reactive oxygen species (ROS) have been shown to propagate across a plant and carry stimulus-specific information to a variety of stresses (4). In PNAS, Choi et al. (5) use elegant approaches and present advances demonstrating that calcium can function as a long-distance signaling messenger, propagating in waves from roots and carrying salt-stress signals to induce expression of salt tolerance genes in leaves.« less

Stress concentration in the vicinity of a hole defect under conditions of Hertzian contact

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yamamoto, T.; Eguchi, M.; Murayama, K.

1981-01-01

Two-dimensional photoelastic stress analyses were conducted for epoxy resin models containing a hole defect under the conditions of Hertzian contact. Stress concentrations around the defect were determined as a function of several parameters. These were hole diameter, its vertical distance from the contact surface, and the horizontal distance from the Hertzian contact area. Also determined was the effect of tangential traction (generated by a friction coefficient of 0.1) on the stress concentration. Sharp stress concentrations occur in the vicinity of both the left and the right side of the hole. The stress concentration becomes more distinct the larger the hole diameter and the smaller the distance between the hole and the contact surface. The stress concentration is greatest when the disk imposing a normal load is located at the contact surface directly over the hole. The magnitude and the location of stress concentration varies with the distance between the Hertzian contact area and the hole. Taking into account the stress amplitude, the area which can be involved in a process of rolling contact fatigue seems to be confined to a shallow region at both sides of the hole. The effect of tangential traction is comparatively small on the stress concentration around the hole.

On the Diversity in Mass and Orbital Radius of Giant Planets Formed via Disk Instability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Müller, Simon; Helled, Ravit; Mayer, Lucio

2018-02-01

We present a semi-analytical population synthesis model of protoplanetary clumps formed by disk instability at radial distances of 80–120 au. Various clump density profiles, initial mass functions, protoplanetary disk models, stellar masses, and gap opening criteria are considered. When we use more realistic gap opening criteria, we find that gaps open only rarely, which strongly affects clump survival rates and their physical properties (mass, radius, and radial distance). The inferred surviving population is then shifted toward less massive clumps at smaller radial distances. We also find that populations of surviving clumps are very sensitive to the model assumptions and used parameters. Depending on the chosen parameters, the protoplanets occupy a mass range between 0.01 and 16 M J and may either orbit close to the central star or as far out as 75 au, with a sweet spot at 10–30 au for the massive ones. However, in all of the cases we consider, we find that massive giant planets at very large radial distances are rare, in qualitative agreement with current direct imaging surveys. We conclude that caution should be taken in deriving population synthesis models as well as when comparing the models’ results with observations.

Focal mechanism of the seismic series prior to the 2011 El Hierro eruption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

del Fresno, C.; Buforn, E.; Cesca, S.; Domínguez Cerdeña, I.

2015-12-01

The onset of the submarine eruption of El Hierro (10-Oct-2011) was preceded by three months of low-magnitude seismicity (Mw<4.0) characterized by a well documented hypocenter migration from the center to the south of the island. Seismic sources of this series have been studied in order to understand the physical process of magma migration. Different methodologies were used to obtain focal mechanisms of largest shocks. Firstly, we have estimated the joint fault plane solutions for 727 shocks using first motion P polarities to infer the stress pattern of the sequence and to determine the time evolution of principle axes orientation. Results show almost vertical T-axes during the first two months of the series and horizontal P-axes on N-S direction coinciding with the migration. Secondly, a point source MT inversion was performed with data of the largest 21 earthquakes of the series (M>3.5). Amplitude spectra was fitted at local distances (<20km). Reliability and stability of the results were evaluated with synthetic data. Results show a change in the focal mechanism pattern within the first days of October, varying from complex sources of higher non-double-couple components before that date to a simpler strike-slip mechanism with horizontal tension axes on E-W direction the week prior to the eruption onset. A detailed study was carried out for the 8 October 2011 earthquake (Mw=4.0). Focal mechanism was retrieved using a MT inversion at regional and local distances. Results indicate an important component of strike-slip fault and null isotropic component. The stress pattern obtained corresponds to horizontal compression in a NNW-SSE direction, parallel to the southern ridge of the island, and a quasi-horizontal extension in an EW direction. Finally, a simple source time function of 0.3s has been estimated for this shock using the Empirical Green function methodology.

Combing VFH with bezier for motion planning of an autonomous vehicle

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ye, Feng; Yang, Jing; Ma, Chao; Rong, Haijun

2017-08-01

Vector Field Histogram (VFH) is a method for mobile robot obstacle avoidance. However, due to the nonholonomic constraints of the vehicle, the algorithm is seldom applied to autonomous vehicles. Especially when we expect the vehicle to reach target location in a certain direction, the algorithm is often unsatisfactory. Fortunately, the Bezier Curve is defined by the states of the starting point and the target point. We can use this feature to make the vehicle in the expected direction. Therefore, we propose an algorithm to combine the Bezier Curve with the VFH algorithm, to search for the collision-free states with the VFH search method, and to select the optimal trajectory point with the Bezier Curve as the reference line. This means that we will improve the cost function in the VFH algorithm by comparing the distance between candidate directions and reference line. Finally, select the closest direction to the reference line to be the optimal motion direction.

The influence of distance between microbubbles on the fluid flow produced during ultrasound exposure

PubMed Central

Schutt, Carolyn E.; Ibsen, Stuart D.; Thrift, William; Esener, Sadik C.

2014-01-01

The collapse dynamics of lipid monolayer-coated microbubbles in the clinically-relevant size range under 6 μm in diameter have not been studied directly due to their small size obscuring the collapse visualization. This study investigates the influence of inter-microbubble distance on the shape of lipid debris clouds created by the collapse of the microbubble destroying the microbubble lipid monolayer. The shape was highly influenced by the fluid motion that occurred as the microbubbles collapsed. It was observed that at inter-microbubble distances smaller than 37 μm the microbubbles began to interact with one another resulting in distorted and ellipsoid-shaped debris clouds. At inter-microbubble distances less than 10 μm, significantly elongated debris clouds were observed that extended out from the original microbubble location in a single direction. These distortions show a significant distance-dependent interaction between microbubbles. It was observed that microbubbles in physical contact with one another behaved in the same manner as separate microbubbles less than 10 μm apart creating significantly elongated debris clouds. It can be hypothesized that small inter-microbubble distances influence the microbubble to collapse asymmetrically resulting in the creation of fluid jets that contribute to the formation of debris fields that are elongated in a single direction. PMID:25480086

Clinical Evaluation of Functional Vision of +1.5 Diopters near Addition, Aspheric, Rotational Asymmetric Multifocal Intraocular Lens

PubMed Central

Khoramnia, Rahmin; Attia, Mary Safwat; Koss, Michael Janusz; Linz, Katharina; Auffarth, Gerd Uwe

2016-01-01

Purpose To evaluate postoperative outcomes and visual performance in intermediate distance after implantation of a +1.5 diopters (D) addition, aspheric, rotational asymmetric multifocal intraocular lens (MIOL). Methods Patients underwent bilateral cataract surgery with implantation of an aspheric, asymmetric MIOL with +1.5 D near addition. A complete ophthalmological examination was performed preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively. The main outcome measures were monocular and binocular uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), uncorrected intermediate visual acuity (UIVA), distance corrected intermediate visual acuity (DCIVA), uncorrected near visual acuity (UNVA) and distance corrected keratometry, and manifest refraction. The Salzburg Reading Desk was used to analyze unilateral and bilateral functional vision with uncorrected and corrected reading acuity, reading distance, reading speed, and the smallest log-scaled print size that could be read effectively at near and intermediate distances. Results The study comprised 60 eyes of 30 patients (mean age, 68.30 ± 9.26 years; range, 34 to 80 years). There was significant improvement in UDVA and CDVA. Mean UIVA was 0.01 ± 0.09 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) and mean DCIVA was -0.02 ± 0.11 logMAR. In Salzburg Reading Desk analysis for UIVA, the mean subjective intermediate distance was 67.58 ± 8.59 cm with mean UIVA of -0.02 ± 0.09 logMAR and mean word count of 96.38 ± 28.32 words/min. Conclusions The new aspheric, asymmetric, +1.5 D near addition MIOL offers good results for distance visual function in combination with good performance for intermediate distances and functional results for near distance. PMID:27729759

Clinical Evaluation of Functional Vision of +1.5 Diopters near Addition, Aspheric, Rotational Asymmetric Multifocal Intraocular Lens.

PubMed

Kretz, Florian Tobias Alwin; Khoramnia, Rahmin; Attia, Mary Safwat; Koss, Michael Janusz; Linz, Katharina; Auffarth, Gerd Uwe

2016-10-01

To evaluate postoperative outcomes and visual performance in intermediate distance after implantation of a +1.5 diopters (D) addition, aspheric, rotational asymmetric multifocal intraocular lens (MIOL). Patients underwent bilateral cataract surgery with implantation of an aspheric, asymmetric MIOL with +1.5 D near addition. A complete ophthalmological examination was performed preoperatively and 3 months postoperatively. The main outcome measures were monocular and binocular uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA), corrected distance visual acuity (CDVA), uncorrected intermediate visual acuity (UIVA), distance corrected intermediate visual acuity (DCIVA), uncorrected near visual acuity (UNVA) and distance corrected keratometry, and manifest refraction. The Salzburg Reading Desk was used to analyze unilateral and bilateral functional vision with uncorrected and corrected reading acuity, reading distance, reading speed, and the smallest log-scaled print size that could be read effectively at near and intermediate distances. The study comprised 60 eyes of 30 patients (mean age, 68.30 ± 9.26 years; range, 34 to 80 years). There was significant improvement in UDVA and CDVA. Mean UIVA was 0.01 ± 0.09 logarithm of the minimum angle of resolution (logMAR) and mean DCIVA was -0.02 ± 0.11 logMAR. In Salzburg Reading Desk analysis for UIVA, the mean subjective intermediate distance was 67.58 ± 8.59 cm with mean UIVA of -0.02 ± 0.09 logMAR and mean word count of 96.38 ± 28.32 words/min. The new aspheric, asymmetric, +1.5 D near addition MIOL offers good results for distance visual function in combination with good performance for intermediate distances and functional results for near distance.

Global Structure of a Three-Way Junction in a Phi29 Packaging RNA Dimer Determined Using Site-Directed Spin Labeling

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhang, Xiaojun; Tung, Chang-Shung; Sowa, Glenna

2012-02-08

The condensation of bacteriophage phi29 genomic DNA into its preformed procapsid requires the DNA packaging motor, which is the strongest known biological motor. The packaging motor is an intricate ring-shaped protein/RNA complex, and its function requires an RNA component called packaging RNA (pRNA). Current structural information on pRNA is limited, which hinders studies of motor function. Here, we used site-directed spin labeling to map the conformation of a pRNA three-way junction that bridges binding sites for the motor ATPase and the procapsid. The studies were carried out on a pRNA dimer, which is the simplest ring-shaped pRNA complex and servesmore » as a functional intermediate during motor assembly. Using a nucleotide-independent labeling scheme, stable nitroxide radicals were attached to eight specific pRNA sites without perturbing RNA folding and dimer formation, and a total of 17 internitroxide distances spanning the three-way junction were measured using Double Electron-Electron Resonance spectroscopy. The measured distances, together with steric chemical constraints, were used to select 3662 viable three-way junction models from a pool of 65 billion. The results reveal a similar conformation among the viable models, with two of the helices (HT and HL) adopting an acute bend. This is in contrast to a recently reported pRNA tetramer crystal structure, in which HT and HL stack onto each other linearly. The studies establish a new method for mapping global structures of complex RNA molecules, and provide information on pRNA conformation that aids investigations of phi29 packaging motor and developments of pRNA-based nanomedicine and nanomaterial.« less

Fast and robust shape diameter function.

PubMed

Chen, Shuangmin; Liu, Taijun; Shu, Zhenyu; Xin, Shiqing; He, Ying; Tu, Changhe

2018-01-01

The shape diameter function (SDF) is a scalar function defined on a closed manifold surface, measuring the neighborhood diameter of the object at each point. Due to its pose oblivious property, SDF is widely used in shape analysis, segmentation and retrieval. However, computing SDF is computationally expensive since one has to place an inverted cone at each point and then average the penetration distances for a number of rays inside the cone. Furthermore, the shape diameters are highly sensitive to local geometric features as well as the normal vectors, hence diminishing their applications to real-world meshes which often contain rich geometric details and/or various types of defects, such as noise and gaps. In order to increase the robustness of SDF and promote it to a wide range of 3D models, we define SDF by offsetting the input object a little bit. This seemingly minor change brings three significant benefits: First, it allows us to compute SDF in a robust manner since the offset surface is able to give reliable normal vectors. Second, it runs many times faster since at each point we only need to compute the penetration distance along a single direction, rather than tens of directions. Third, our method does not require watertight surfaces as the input-it supports both point clouds and meshes with noise and gaps. Extensive experimental results show that the offset-surface based SDF is robust to noise and insensitive to geometric details, and it also runs about 10 times faster than the existing method. We also exhibit its usefulness using two typical applications including shape retrieval and shape segmentation, and observe a significant improvement over the existing SDF.

Aggregation Pattern Transitions by Slightly Varying the Attractive/Repulsive Function

PubMed Central

Cheng, Zhao; Zhang, Hai-Tao; Chen, Michael Z. Q.; Zhou, Tao; Valeyev, Najl V.

2011-01-01

Among collective behaviors of biological swarms and flocks, the attractive/repulsive (A/R) functional links between particles play an important role. By slightly changing the cutoff distance of the A/R function, a drastic transition between two distinct aggregation patterns is observed. More precisely, a large cutoff distance yields a liquid-like aggregation pattern where the particle density decreases monotonously from the inside to the outwards within each aggregated cluster. Conversely, a small cutoff distance produces a crystal-like aggregation pattern where the distance between each pair of neighboring particles remains constant. Significantly, there is an obvious spinodal in the variance curve of the inter-particle distances along the increasing cutoff distances, implying a legible transition pattern between the liquid-like and crystal-like aggregations. This work bridges the aggregation phenomena of physical particles and swarming of organisms in nature upon revealing some common mechanism behind them by slightly varying their inter-individual attractive/repulsive functions, and may find its potential engineering applications, for example, in the formation design of multi-robot systems and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). PMID:21799776

S-wave attenuation in northeastern Sonora, Mexico, near the faults that ruptured during the earthquake of 3 May 1887 Mw 7.5.

PubMed

Villalobos-Escobar, Gina P; Castro, Raúl R

2014-01-01

We used a new data set of relocated earthquakes recorded by the Seismic Network of Northeastern Sonora, Mexico (RESNES) to characterize the attenuation of S-waves in the fault zone of the 1887 Sonora earthquake (M w 7.5). We determined spectral attenuation functions for hypocentral distances (r) between 10 and 140 km using a nonparametric approach and found that in this fault zone the spectral amplitudes decay slower with distance at low frequencies (f < 4 Hz) compared to those reported in previous studies in the region using more distant recordings. The attenuation functions obtained for 23 frequencies (0.4 ≤ f ≤ 63.1 Hz) permit us estimating the average quality factor Q S  = (141 ± 1.1 )f ((0.74 ± 0.04)) and a geometrical spreading term G(r) = 1/r (0.21). The values of Q estimated for S-wave paths traveling along the fault system that rupture during the 1887 event, in the north-south direction, are considerably lower than the average Q estimated using source-station paths from multiple stations and directions. These results indicate that near the fault zone S waves attenuate considerably more than at regional scale, particularly at low frequencies. This may be the result of strong scattering near the faults due to the fractured upper crust and higher intrinsic attenuation due to stress concentration near the faults.

Operon-mapper: A Web Server for Precise Operon Identification in Bacterial and Archaeal Genomes.

PubMed

Taboada, Blanca; Estrada, Karel; Ciria, Ricardo; Merino, Enrique

2018-06-19

Operon-mapper is a web server that accurately, easily, and directly predicts the operons of any bacterial or archaeal genome sequence. The operon predictions are based on the intergenic distance of neighboring genes as well as the functional relationships of their protein-coding products. To this end, Operon-mapper finds all the ORFs within a given nucleotide sequence, along with their genomic coordinates, orthology groups, and functional relationships. We believe that Operon-mapper, due to its accuracy, simplicity and speed, as well as the relevant information that it generates, will be a useful tool for annotating and characterizing genomic sequences. http://biocomputo.ibt.unam.mx/operon_mapper/.

Particle acceleration in step function shear flows - A microscopic analysis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jokipii, J. R.; Morfill, G. E.

1990-01-01

The transport of energetic particles in a moving, scattering fluid, which has a large shear in its velocity over a distance small compared with the scattering mean free path is discussed. The analysis is complementary to an earlier paper by Earl, Jokipii, and Morfill (1988), which considered effects of more-gradual shear in the diffusion approximation. The case in which the scattering fluid undergoes a step function change in velocity, in the direction normal to the flow is considered. An analytical, approximate calculation and a Monte Carlo analysis of particle motion are presented. It is found that particles gain energy at a rate proportional to the square of the magnitude of the velocity change.

Decay of S‐wave amplitudes with distance for earthquakes in the Charlevoix, Quebec, area: Effects of radiation pattern and directivity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Frankel, Arthur

2015-01-01

The decay of the Fourier spectral amplitudes of S waves over distances of 10–80 km near Charlevoix, Quebec, was determined using waveforms from seven earthquakes with MN 3.3–5.4. The S‐wave spectral amplitudes were corrected for site response and source amplitude by normalizing the coda‐wave spectrum at a fixed time after the origin time. The amplitude decay with distance was found to be less steep as the frequency increases from 1 to 14, contrary to what would be expected from anelastic and scattering attenuation for a point source with an isotropic radiation pattern. The decay at 14 Hz indicates that the geometrical spreading at distances less than 80 km is less steep than R−1.05. The steeper distance decay of the low‐frequency spectrum appears to be an artifact of the radiation pattern and rupture directivity, which affect the low‐frequency amplitude more than the high frequency. Synthetic seismograms were made for a horizontally layered crust for the Mw 4.6 Rivière du Loup earthquake and an Mw 3.3 event. The decay with distance of the 1 Hz spectral amplitudes of the synthetics is similar to that observed for the Rivière du Loup earthquake, indicating that radiation pattern and rupture directivity are important factors in determining the attenuation with distance at 1 Hz. For the Mw 3.3 earthquake, the distance decay of the 1 Hz spectral amplitudes was found to be sensitive to the focal mechanism. This study demonstrates that estimates of geometrical spreading made using 1 Hz amplitudes can be contaminated by radiation pattern and directivity effects and may not be applicable for constructing ground‐motion prediction equations for sources with other focal mechanisms and rupture behavior.

Real-time measurement of biomagnetic vector fields in functional syncytium using amorphous metal.

PubMed

Nakayama, Shinsuke; Uchiyama, Tusyoshi

2015-03-06

Magnetic field detection of biological electric activities would provide a non-invasive and aseptic estimate of the functional state of cellular organization, namely a syncytium constructed with cell-to-cell electric coupling. In this study, we investigated the properties of biomagnetic waves which occur spontaneously in gut musculature as a typical functional syncytium, by applying an amorphous metal-based gradio-magneto sensor operated at ambient temperature without a magnetic shield. The performance of differentiation was improved by using a single amorphous wire with a pair of transducer coils. Biomagnetic waves of up to several nT were recorded ~1 mm below the sample in a real-time manner. Tetraethyl ammonium (TEA) facilitated magnetic waves reflected electric activity in smooth muscle. The direction of magnetic waves altered depending on the relative angle of the muscle layer and magneto sensor, indicating the existence of propagating intercellular currents. The magnitude of magnetic waves rapidly decreased to ~30% by the initial and subsequent 1 mm separations between sample and sensor. The large distance effect was attributed to the feature of bioelectric circuits constructed by two reverse currents separated by a small distance. This study provides a method for detecting characteristic features of biomagnetic fields arising from a syncytial current.

Real-time Measurement of Biomagnetic Vector Fields in Functional Syncytium Using Amorphous Metal

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nakayama, Shinsuke; Uchiyama, Tusyoshi

2015-03-01

Magnetic field detection of biological electric activities would provide a non-invasive and aseptic estimate of the functional state of cellular organization, namely a syncytium constructed with cell-to-cell electric coupling. In this study, we investigated the properties of biomagnetic waves which occur spontaneously in gut musculature as a typical functional syncytium, by applying an amorphous metal-based gradio-magneto sensor operated at ambient temperature without a magnetic shield. The performance of differentiation was improved by using a single amorphous wire with a pair of transducer coils. Biomagnetic waves of up to several nT were recorded ~1 mm below the sample in a real-time manner. Tetraethyl ammonium (TEA) facilitated magnetic waves reflected electric activity in smooth muscle. The direction of magnetic waves altered depending on the relative angle of the muscle layer and magneto sensor, indicating the existence of propagating intercellular currents. The magnitude of magnetic waves rapidly decreased to ~30% by the initial and subsequent 1 mm separations between sample and sensor. The large distance effect was attributed to the feature of bioelectric circuits constructed by two reverse currents separated by a small distance. This study provides a method for detecting characteristic features of biomagnetic fields arising from a syncytial current.

Calibration of the Tip of the Red Giant Branch Distance Method in IR

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sakai, Shoko

1999-02-01

We propose to investigate the feasibility of the tip of the red giant branch (TRGB) as a distance indicator in IR wavelength. The TRGB has been shown both observationally and theoretically to be an excellent distance indicator in I-band, mainly because of its insensitivity to both metallicity and age. Its accuracy is comparable to that of the Cepheid variable stars. The TRGB method in I-band is currently calibrated by Galactic globular clusters whose distances have been measured with RR Lyrae variables. The main objective of this proposal is to calibrate this method in IR by obtaining JHK photometry for a number of Galactic globular clusters. This is motivated by two related scientific goals: (1) It will be possible in the future to obtain direct distances to galaxies even in Coma cluster using the NGST, but only if the TRGB method has been calibrated accurately in IR filters. If the method is proven reliable, then it can be a powerful tool to map out the density and velocity fields of the local Universe in three dimensions. (2) A considerable amount of effort has been spent on obtaining accurate, direct distances to nearby galaxies. However, this has been difficult for a number of galaxies, including IC 342, because they are located at very low Galactic latitude. These galaxies could potentially have a tremendous effect on the dynamics of the Local Group, depending on their distances. Using the calibrated IR TRGB method, we could solve this uncertainty by measuring their distances directly.

Update of the Graizer-Kalkan ground-motion prediction equations for shallow crustal continental earthquakes

USGS Publications Warehouse

Graizer, Vladimir; Kalkan, Erol

2015-01-01

A ground-motion prediction equation (GMPE) for computing medians and standard deviations of peak ground acceleration and 5-percent damped pseudo spectral acceleration response ordinates of maximum horizontal component of randomly oriented ground motions was developed by Graizer and Kalkan (2007, 2009) to be used for seismic hazard analyses and engineering applications. This GMPE was derived from the greatly expanded Next Generation of Attenuation (NGA)-West1 database. In this study, Graizer and Kalkan’s GMPE is revised to include (1) an anelastic attenuation term as a function of quality factor (Q0) in order to capture regional differences in large-distance attenuation and (2) a new frequency-dependent sedimentary-basin scaling term as a function of depth to the 1.5-km/s shear-wave velocity isosurface to improve ground-motion predictions for sites on deep sedimentary basins. The new model (GK15), developed to be simple, is applicable to the western United States and other regions with shallow continental crust in active tectonic environments and may be used for earthquakes with moment magnitudes 5.0–8.0, distances 0–250 km, average shear-wave velocities 200–1,300 m/s, and spectral periods 0.01–5 s. Directivity effects are not explicitly modeled but are included through the variability of the data. Our aleatory variability model captures inter-event variability, which decreases with magnitude and increases with distance. The mixed-effects residuals analysis shows that the GK15 reveals no trend with respect to the independent parameters. The GK15 is a significant improvement over Graizer and Kalkan (2007, 2009), and provides a demonstrable, reliable description of ground-motion amplitudes recorded from shallow crustal earthquakes in active tectonic regions over a wide range of magnitudes, distances, and site conditions.

A Moveable Feast: Insects Moving at the Forest-Crop Interface Are Affected by Crop Phenology and the Amount of Forest in the Landscape.

PubMed

González, Ezequiel; Salvo, Adriana; Defagó, María Teresa; Valladares, Graciela

2016-01-01

Edges have become prevailing habitats, mainly as a result of habitat fragmentation and agricultural expansion. The interchange of functionally relevant organisms like insects occurs through these edges and can influence ecosystem functioning in both crop and non-crop habitats. However, very few studies have focused on the directionality of insect movement through edges, and the role of crop and non-crop amount has been ignored. Using bi-directional flight interception traps we investigated interchange of herbivore, natural enemy, pollinator and detritivore insects between native forest fragments and soybean crops, simultaneously considering movement direction, forest cover in the landscape and crop phenology. In total, 52,173 specimens and 877 morphospecies were collected. We found that, within most functional and taxonomic groups, movement intensity was similar (richness and/or abundance) between directions, whereas a predominantly forest-to-crop movement characterized natural enemies. Insect movement was extensively affected by crop phenology, decreasing during crop senescence, and was enhanced by forest cover particularly at senescence. Mainly the same herbivore species moved to and from the forest, but different natural enemy species predominated in each direction. Finally, our analyses revealed greater forest contribution to natural enemy than to herbivore communities in the crop, fading with distance to the forest in both groups. By showing that larger amounts of forest lead to richer insect interchange, in both directions and in four functional groups, our study suggests that allocation to natural and cultivated habitats at landscape level could influence functioning of both systems. Moreover, natural enemies seemed to benefit more than pests from natural vegetation, with natural enemy spillover from forests likely contributing to pest control in soybean fields. Thus consequences of insect interchange seem to be mostly positive for the agroecosystem, although consequences for the natural system deserve further study.

Communication Skills for OMRDD Direct Care Workers Distance Learning Program. Video Guide.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Denny, Verna Haskins

Adapted from a larger distance learning program, this video guide is designed for use by students who feel most comfortable working within the video modality. It contains self-study exercises for development of job-related reading, writing, problem-solving, and reasoning skills required of direct care workers. This independent, self-paced course…

Distance Learning as a Viable Staff Development Alternative for Behavioral Healthcare Direct Support Professionals

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gill, James G., Jr.

2011-01-01

This quasi-experiment utilized three groups of direct service staff to explore the effectiveness of three methods of training and an optional survey was offered after the study. The researcher used a counterbalance design. Three courses developed by an independent distance learning company were utilized to provide the learning experience. Each…

Representing uncertainty in a spatial invasion model that incorporates human-mediated dispersal

Treesearch

Frank H. Koch; Denys Yemshanov; Robert A. Haack

2013-01-01

Most modes of human-mediated dispersal of invasive species are directional and vector-based. Classical spatial spread models usually depend on probabilistic dispersal kernels that emphasize distance over direction and have limited ability to depict rare but influential long-distance dispersal events. These aspects are problematic if such models are used to estimate...

Two-point correlation functions in inhomogeneous and anisotropic cosmologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Marcori, Oton H.; Pereira, Thiago S., E-mail: otonhm@hotmail.com, E-mail: tspereira@uel.br

Two-point correlation functions are ubiquitous tools of modern cosmology, appearing in disparate topics ranging from cosmological inflation to late-time astrophysics. When the background spacetime is maximally symmetric, invariance arguments can be used to fix the functional dependence of this function as the invariant distance between any two points. In this paper we introduce a novel formalism which fixes this functional dependence directly from the isometries of the background metric, thus allowing one to quickly assess the overall features of Gaussian correlators without resorting to the full machinery of perturbation theory. As an application we construct the CMB temperature correlation functionmore » in one inhomogeneous (namely, an off-center LTB model) and two spatially flat and anisotropic (Bianchi) universes, and derive their covariance matrices in the limit of almost Friedmannian symmetry. We show how the method can be extended to arbitrary N -point correlation functions and illustrate its use by constructing three-point correlation functions in some simple geometries.« less

Functional connectivity and structural covariance between regions of interest can be measured more accurately using multivariate distance correlation.

PubMed

Geerligs, Linda; Cam-Can; Henson, Richard N

2016-07-15

Studies of brain-wide functional connectivity or structural covariance typically use measures like the Pearson correlation coefficient, applied to data that have been averaged across voxels within regions of interest (ROIs). However, averaging across voxels may result in biased connectivity estimates when there is inhomogeneity within those ROIs, e.g., sub-regions that exhibit different patterns of functional connectivity or structural covariance. Here, we propose a new measure based on "distance correlation"; a test of multivariate dependence of high dimensional vectors, which allows for both linear and non-linear dependencies. We used simulations to show how distance correlation out-performs Pearson correlation in the face of inhomogeneous ROIs. To evaluate this new measure on real data, we use resting-state fMRI scans and T1 structural scans from 2 sessions on each of 214 participants from the Cambridge Centre for Ageing & Neuroscience (Cam-CAN) project. Pearson correlation and distance correlation showed similar average connectivity patterns, for both functional connectivity and structural covariance. Nevertheless, distance correlation was shown to be 1) more reliable across sessions, 2) more similar across participants, and 3) more robust to different sets of ROIs. Moreover, we found that the similarity between functional connectivity and structural covariance estimates was higher for distance correlation compared to Pearson correlation. We also explored the relative effects of different preprocessing options and motion artefacts on functional connectivity. Because distance correlation is easy to implement and fast to compute, it is a promising alternative to Pearson correlations for investigating ROI-based brain-wide connectivity patterns, for functional as well as structural data. Copyright © 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Quantifying Similarity and Distance Measures for Vector-Based Datasets: Histograms, Signals, and Probability Distribution Functions

DTIC Science & Technology

2017-02-01

note, a number of different measures implemented in both MATLAB and Python as functions are used to quantify similarity/distance between 2 vector-based...this technical note are widely used and may have an important role when computing the distance and similarity of large datasets and when considering high...throughput processes. In this technical note, a number of different measures implemented in both MAT- LAB and Python as functions are used to

Fast neutrons measured in copper from the Hiroshima atomic bomb dome.

PubMed

Marchetti, A A; McAninch, J E; Rugel, G; Rühm, W; Korschinek, G; Martinelli, R E; Faestermann, T; Knie, K; Egbert, S D; Wallner, A; Wallner, C; Tanaka, K; Endo, S; Hoshi, M; Shizuma, K; Fujita, S; Hasai, H; Imanaka, T; Straume, T

2009-01-01

The first measurements of (63)Ni produced by A-bomb fast neutrons (above approximately 1 MeV) in copper samples from Hiroshima encompassed distances from approximately 380 to 5062 m from the hypocenter (the point on the ground directly under the bomb). They included the region of interest to survivor studies (approximately 900 to 1500 m) and provided the first direct validation of fast neutrons in that range. However, a significant measurement gap remained between the hypocenter and 380 m. Measurements close to the hypocenter are important as a high-value anchor for the slope of the curve for neutron activation as a function of distance. Here we report measurements of (63)Ni in copper samples from the historic Hiroshima Atomic Bomb Dome, which is located approximately 150 m from the hypocenter. These measurements extend the range of our previously published data for (63)Ni providing a more comprehensive and consistent A-bomb activation curve. The results are also in good agreement with calculations based on the current dosimetry system (DS02) and give further experimental support to the accuracy of this system that forms the basis for radiation risk estimates worldwide.

The Variance of Solar Wind Magnetic Fluctuations: Solutions and Further Puzzles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Roberts, D. A.; Goldstein, M. L.

2006-01-01

We study the dependence of the variance directions of the magnetic field in the solar wind as a function of scale, radial distance, and Alfvenicity. The study resolves the question of why different studies have arrived at widely differing values for the maximum to minimum power (approximately equal to 3:1 up to approximately equal to 20:1). This is due to the decreasing anisotropy with increasing time interval chosen for the variance, and is a direct result of the "spherical polarization" of the waves which follows from the near constancy of |B|. The reason for the magnitude preserving evolution is still unresolved. Moreover, while the long-known tendency for the minimum variance to lie along the mean field also follows from this view (as shown by Barnes many years ago), there is no theory for why the minimum variance follows the field direction as the Parker angle changes. We show that this turning is quite generally true in Alfvenic regions over a wide range of heliocentric distances. The fact that nonAlfvenic regions, while still showing strong power anisotropies, tend to have a much broader range of angles between the minimum variance and the mean field makes it unlikely that the cause of the variance turning is to be found in a turbulence mechanism. There are no obvious alternative mechanisms, leaving us with another intriguing puzzle.

Why do people move? Enhancing human mobility prediction using local functions based on public records and SNS data

PubMed Central

Park, Juyong

2018-01-01

The quality of life for people in urban regions can be improved by predicting urban human mobility and adjusting urban planning accordingly. In this study, we compared several possible variables to verify whether a gravity model (a human mobility prediction model borrowed from Newtonian mechanics) worked as well in inner-city regions as it did in intra-city regions. We reviewed the resident population, the number of employees, and the number of SNS posts as variables for generating mass values for an urban traffic gravity model. We also compared the straight-line distance, travel distance, and the impact of time as possible distance values. We defined the functions of urban regions on the basis of public records and SNS data to reflect the diverse social factors in urban regions. In this process, we conducted a dimension reduction method for the public record data and used a machine learning-based clustering algorithm for the SNS data. In doing so, we found that functional distance could be defined as the Euclidean distance between social function vectors in urban regions. Finally, we examined whether the functional distance was a variable that had a significant impact on urban human mobility. PMID:29432440

Distance M-Me: A novel parameter having significant potential as a predictor of mandibular growth.

PubMed

Jain, Parul; Kaul, Rahul; Mukhopadhyay, Santanu; Saha, Subrata; Sarkar, Subir

2017-01-01

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relationship of the measured distance between two mandibular points (distance M-Me) to chronological age and to find out whether the absolute values of distance M-Me could be classified age-wise into a unique range, which could be directly read for predicting the stage of mandibular growth. The study sample consists of lateral cephalometric records of 65 patients (34 females and 31 males; age range: 6-21 years). Chronological age was calculated in decimal years. Lateral cephalograms were assessed by two independent examiners. Points M and Me were located on the lateral cephalograms, and linear distance between them was measured. Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients showed a high correlation between chronological age and distance M-Me (0.746 for females and 0.869 for males, p < 0.01). When the values of distance M-Me were compared with chronological age, it was possible to make four age groups (for females and males separately), where each group showed a unique range of value for distance M-Me. The values increased with increasing age. Increase in value of distance M-Me with age, showing reduced individual variation, depicts a well-conserved linear dimension. Values of distance M-Me can be directly read for predicting the stage of mandibular growth and can be used as a valuable adjunct or substitute to chronological age.

Technical Reports - FY16 Q1 - October-December 2015

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lordi, Vincenzo; Rubenstein, Brenda M.; Ray, Keith G.

2016-01-20

Recent experiments have demonstrated that the frequency dependence of motional heating rates in ion traps can vary dramatically with temperature.1-6 More specifically, it has been shown that, at temperatures below roughly 70 K, heating rates are substantially lower than those observed at temperatures above 70 K.1,2 These observations, combined with experiments that show that ion bombardment may also reduce heating rates,4,5 suggest that one potential source of heating may be the presence of unwanted adatoms on trap surfaces. Based upon this evidence, this past quarter, we have used our previously detailed microscopic model of anomalous heating to study which adatomsmore » may be responsible for the observed temperature-dependent scaling of motional heating rates with frequency. We have also examined the validity of one of the key assumptions in our model - that surface adatom dipoles can be accurately obtained from a variational ansatz - by using more direct DFT calculations of the dipole moments. Our current results suggest that the adatoms potentially responsible for the observed motional heating rates should bind weakly to the electrode surface and likely have a mass that exceeds that of Ne. Preliminary DFT calculations suggest that an analytical adatom dipole model,9 previously used in the ion trap noise literature7 to obtain the dipole as a function of adatom-surface distance, may be insufficiently accurate. Therefore, we are working toward obtaining a tabulation of the distance-dependent dipole for several adsorbates using first principles calculations for more accurate input to the heating model. The accurate calculation of the adatom dipole is important because its fluctuation is what couples to and heats the trapped ion qubit. Future work will focus on calculating the frequency spectra of a variety of hydrocarbons, which should have the binding characteristics identified below as necessary for reproducing experimental results. Upcoming efforts will moreover be directed toward deriving an improved microscopic model of heating which will enable direct comparisons of heating rates with measured ion-surface distances and will more accurately account for experimental parameters such as the trapping frequency, ion-electrode distance, and RF power applied to the electrodes.« less

"Hot-wire" microfluidic flowmeter based on a microfiber coupler.

PubMed

Yan, Shao-Cheng; Liu, Zeng-Yong; Li, Cheng; Ge, Shi-Jun; Xu, Fei; Lu, Yan-Qing

2016-12-15

Using an optical microfiber coupler (MC), we present a microfluidic platform for strong direct or indirect light-liquid interaction by wrapping a MC around a functionalized capillary. The light propagating in the MC and the liquid flowing in the capillary can be combined and divorced smoothly, keeping a long-distance interaction without the conflict of input and output coupling. Using this approach, we experimentally demonstrate a "hot-wire" microfluidic flowmeter based on a gold-integrated helical MC device. The microfluid inside the glass channel takes away the heat, then cools the MC and shifts the resonant wavelength. Due to the long-distance interaction and high temperature sensitivity, the proposed microfluidic flowmeter shows an ultrahigh flow rate sensitivity of 2.183 nm/(μl/s) at a flow rate of 1 μl/s. The minimum detectable change of the flow rate is around 9 nl/s at 1 μl/s.

Determination of matrix composition based on solute-solute nearest-neighbor distances in atom probe tomography.

PubMed

De Geuser, F; Lefebvre, W

2011-03-01

In this study, we propose a fast automatic method providing the matrix concentration in an atom probe tomography (APT) data set containing two phases or more. The principle of this method relies on the calculation of the relative amount of isolated solute atoms (i.e., not surrounded by a similar solute atom) as a function of a distance d in the APT reconstruction. Simulated data sets have been generated to test the robustness of this new tool and demonstrate that rapid and reproducible results can be obtained without the need of any user input parameter. The method has then been successfully applied to a ternary Al-Zn-Mg alloy containing a fine dispersion of hardening precipitates. The relevance of this method for direct estimation of matrix concentration is discussed and compared with the existing methodologies. Copyright © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Quantum communication through an unmodulated spin chain.

PubMed

Bose, Sougato

2003-11-14

We propose a scheme for using an unmodulated and unmeasured spin chain as a channel for short distance quantum communications. The state to be transmitted is placed on one spin of the chain and received later on a distant spin with some fidelity. We first obtain simple expressions for the fidelity of quantum state transfer and the amount of entanglement sharable between any two sites of an arbitrary Heisenberg ferromagnet using our scheme. We then apply this to the realizable case of an open ended chain with nearest neighbor interactions. The fidelity of quantum state transfer is obtained as an inverse discrete cosine transform and as a Bessel function series. We find that in a reasonable time, a qubit can be directly transmitted with better than classical fidelity across the full length of chains of up to 80 spins. Moreover, our channel allows distillable entanglement to be shared over arbitrary distances.

Development of online NIR urine analyzing system based on AOTF

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wan, Feng; Sun, Zhendong; Li, Xiaoxia

2006-09-01

In this paper, some key techniques on development of on-line MR urine analyzing system based on AOTF (Acousto - Optics Tunable Filter) are introduced. Problems about designing the optical system including collimation of incident light and working distance (the shortest distance for separating incident light and diffracted light) are analyzed and researched. DDS (Direct Digital Synthesizer) controlled by microprocessor is used to realize the wavelength scan. The experiment results show that this MR urine analyzing system based on. AOTF has 10000 - 4000cm -1 wavelength range and O.3ms wavelength transfer rate. Compare with the conventional Fourier Transform NIP. spectrophotometer for analyzing multi-components in urine, this system features low cost, small volume and on-line measurement function. Unscrambler software (multivariate statistical software by CAMO Inc. Norway) is selected as the software for processing the data. This system can realize on line quantitative analysis of protein, urea and creatinine in urine.

Classification With Truncated Distance Kernel.

PubMed

Huang, Xiaolin; Suykens, Johan A K; Wang, Shuning; Hornegger, Joachim; Maier, Andreas

2018-05-01

This brief proposes a truncated distance (TL1) kernel, which results in a classifier that is nonlinear in the global region but is linear in each subregion. With this kernel, the subregion structure can be trained using all the training data and local linear classifiers can be established simultaneously. The TL1 kernel has good adaptiveness to nonlinearity and is suitable for problems which require different nonlinearities in different areas. Though the TL1 kernel is not positive semidefinite, some classical kernel learning methods are still applicable which means that the TL1 kernel can be directly used in standard toolboxes by replacing the kernel evaluation. In numerical experiments, the TL1 kernel with a pregiven parameter achieves similar or better performance than the radial basis function kernel with the parameter tuned by cross validation, implying the TL1 kernel a promising nonlinear kernel for classification tasks.

Electrostatic lens to focus an ion beam to uniform density

DOEpatents

Johnson, Cleland H.

1977-01-11

A focusing lens for an ion beam having a gaussian or similar density profile is provided. The lens is constructed to provide an inner zero electrostatic field, and an outer electrostatic field such that ions entering this outer field are deflected by an amount that is a function of their distance from the edge of the inner field. The result is a beam that focuses to a uniform density in a manner analogous to that of an optical ring lens. In one embodiment, a conically-shaped network of fine wires is enclosed within a cylindrical anode. The wire net together with the anode produces a voltage field that re-directs the outer particles of the beam while the axial particles pass undeflected through a zero field inside the wire net. The result is a focused beam having a uniform intensity over a given target area and at a given distance from the lens.

A two-dimensional neuropsychology of defense: fear/anxiety and defensive distance.

PubMed

McNaughton, Neil; Corr, Philip J

2004-05-01

We present in this paper a picture of the neural systems controlling defense that updates and simplifies Gray's "Neuropsychology of Anxiety". It is based on two behavioural dimensions: 'defensive distance' as defined by the Blanchards and 'defensive direction'. Defensive direction is a categorical dimension with avoidance of threat corresponding to fear and approach to threat corresponding to anxiety. These two psychological dimensions are mapped to underlying neural dimensions. Defensive distance is mapped to neural level, with the shortest defensive distances involving the lowest neural level (periaqueductal grey) and the largest defensive distances the highest neural level (prefrontal cortex). Defensive direction is mapped to separate parallel streams that run across these levels. A significant departure from prior models is the proposal that both fear and anxiety are represented at all levels. The theory is presented in a simplified form that does not incorporate the interactions that must occur between non-adjacent levels of the system. It also requires expansion to include the dimension of escapability of threat. Our current development and these proposed future extensions do not change the core concepts originally proposed by Gray and, we argue, demonstrate their enduring value.

Variable Distance Angular Symbology Reader

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Schramm, Harry F., Jr. (Inventor); Corder, Eric L. (Inventor)

2006-01-01

A variable distance angular symbology, reader utilizes at least one light source to direct light through a beam splitter and onto a target. A target may be angled relative to the impinging light beam up to and maybe even greater than 45deg. A reflected beam from the target passes through the beam splitter and is preferably directed 90deg relative to the light source through a telecentric lens to a scanner which records an image of the target such as a direct part marking code.

Distance Magic-Type and Distance Antimagic-Type Labelings of Graphs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Freyberg, Bryan J.

Generally speaking, a distance magic-type labeling of a graph G of order n is a bijection l from the vertex set of the graph to the first n natural numbers or to the elements of a group of order n, with the property that the weight of each vertex is the same. The weight of a vertex x is defined as the sum (or appropriate group operation) of all the labels of vertices adjacent to x. If instead we require that all weights differ, then we refer to the labeling as a distance antimagic-type labeling. This idea can be generalized for directed graphs; the weight will take into consideration the direction of the arcs. In this manuscript, we provide new results for d-handicap labeling, a distance antimagic-type labeling, and introduce a new distance magic-type labeling called orientable Gamma-distance magic labeling. A d-handicap distance antimagic labeling (or just d-handicap labeling for short) of a graph G = ( V,E) of order n is a bijection l from V to the set {1,2,...,n} with induced weight function [special characters omitted]. such that l(xi) = i and the sequence of weights w(x 1),w(x2),...,w (xn) forms an arithmetic sequence with constant difference d at least 1. If a graph G admits a d-handicap labeling, we say G is a d-handicap graph. A d-handicap incomplete tournament, H(n,k,d ) is an incomplete tournament of n teams ranked with the first n natural numbers such that each team plays exactly k games and the strength of schedule of the ith ranked team is d more than the i + 1st ranked team. That is, strength of schedule increases arithmetically with strength of team. Constructing an H(n,k,d) is equivalent to finding a d-handicap labeling of a k-regular graph of order n.. In Chapter 2 we provide general constructions for every d for large classes of both n and k, providing breadfth and depth to the catalog of known H(n,k,d)'s. In Chapters 3 - 6, we introduce a new type of labeling called orientable Gamma-distance magic labeling. Let Gamma be an abelian group of order n. If for a graph G = (V,E) of order n there exists an orientation of the edges of G and a companion bijection from V to Gamma with the property that there is an element mu of Gamma (called the magic constant) such that [special characters omitted] where w(x) is the weight of vertex x, we say that G is orientable Gamma -distance magic. In addition to introducing the concept, we provide numerous results on orientable Zn-distance magic graphs, where Zn is the cyclic group of order n.. In Chapter 7, we summarize the results of this dissertation and provide suggestions for future work.

Twisted trees and inconsistency of tree estimation when gaps are treated as missing data - The impact of model mis-specification in distance corrections.

PubMed

McTavish, Emily Jane; Steel, Mike; Holder, Mark T

2015-12-01

Statistically consistent estimation of phylogenetic trees or gene trees is possible if pairwise sequence dissimilarities can be converted to a set of distances that are proportional to the true evolutionary distances. Susko et al. (2004) reported some strikingly broad results about the forms of inconsistency in tree estimation that can arise if corrected distances are not proportional to the true distances. They showed that if the corrected distance is a concave function of the true distance, then inconsistency due to long branch attraction will occur. If these functions are convex, then two "long branch repulsion" trees will be preferred over the true tree - though these two incorrect trees are expected to be tied as the preferred true. Here we extend their results, and demonstrate the existence of a tree shape (which we refer to as a "twisted Farris-zone" tree) for which a single incorrect tree topology will be guaranteed to be preferred if the corrected distance function is convex. We also report that the standard practice of treating gaps in sequence alignments as missing data is sufficient to produce non-linear corrected distance functions if the substitution process is not independent of the insertion/deletion process. Taken together, these results imply inconsistent tree inference under mild conditions. For example, if some positions in a sequence are constrained to be free of substitutions and insertion/deletion events while the remaining sites evolve with independent substitutions and insertion/deletion events, then the distances obtained by treating gaps as missing data can support an incorrect tree topology even given an unlimited amount of data. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Correlation range in a supercooled liquid via Green-Kubo expression for viscosity, local atomic stresses, and MD simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Levashov, Valentin A.; Egami, Takeshi; Morris, James R.

2009-03-01

We present a new approach to the issue of correlation range in supercooled liquids based on Green-Kubo expression for viscosity. The integrand of this expression is the average stress-stress autocorrelation function. This correlation function could be rewritten in terms of correlations among local atomic stresses at different times and distances. The features of the autocorrelation function decay with time depend on temperature and correlation range. Through this approach we can study the development of spatial correlation with time, thus directly addressing the question of dynamic heterogeneity. We performed MD simulations on a single component system of particles interacting through short range pair potential. Our results indicate that even above the crossover temperature correlations extend well beyond the nearest neighbors. Surprisingly we found that the system size effects exist even on relatively large systems. We also address the role of diffusion in decay of stress-stress correlation function.

How cosmic microwave background correlations at large angles relate to mass autocorrelations in space

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Blumenthal, George R.; Johnston, Kathryn V.

1994-01-01

The Sachs-Wolfe effect is known to produce large angular scale fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation (CMBR) due to gravitational potential fluctuations. We show how the angular correlation function of the CMBR can be expressed explicitly in terms of the mass autocorrelation function xi(r) in the universe. We derive analytic expressions for the angular correlation function and its multipole moments in terms of integrals over xi(r) or its second moment, J(sub 3)(r), which does not need to satisfy the sort of integral constraint that xi(r) must. We derive similar expressions for bulk flow velocity in terms of xi and J(sub 3). One interesting result that emerges directly from this analysis is that, for all angles theta, there is a substantial contribution to the correlation function from a wide range of distance r and that radial shape of this contribution does not vary greatly with angle.

Probability Distributions of Minkowski Distances between Discrete Random Variables.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schroger, Erich; And Others

1993-01-01

Minkowski distances are used to indicate similarity of two vectors in an N-dimensional space. How to compute the probability function, the expectation, and the variance for Minkowski distances and the special cases City-block distance and Euclidean distance. Critical values for tests of significance are presented in tables. (SLD)

Padé Approximant and Minimax Rational Approximation in Standard Cosmology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zaninetti, Lorenzo

2016-02-01

The luminosity distance in the standard cosmology as given by $\\Lambda$CDM and consequently the distance modulus for supernovae can be defined by the Pad\\'e approximant. A comparison with a known analytical solution shows that the Pad\\'e approximant for the luminosity distance has an error of $4\\%$ at redshift $= 10$. A similar procedure for the Taylor expansion of the luminosity distance gives an error of $4\\%$ at redshift $=0.7 $; this means that for the luminosity distance, the Pad\\'e approximation is superior to the Taylor series. The availability of an analytical expression for the distance modulus allows applying the Levenberg--Marquardt method to derive the fundamental parameters from the available compilations for supernovae. A new luminosity function for galaxies derived from the truncated gamma probability density function models the observed luminosity function for galaxies when the observed range in absolute magnitude is modeled by the Pad\\'e approximant. A comparison of $\\Lambda$CDM with other cosmologies is done adopting a statistical point of view.

Primary arm spacing in chill block melt spun Ni-Mo alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tewari, S. N.; Glasgow, T. K.

1986-01-01

Chill block melt spun ribbons of Ni-Mo binary alloys containing 8.0 to 41.8 wt % Mo have been prepared under carefully controlled processing conditions. The growth velocity has been determined as a function of distance from the quench surface from the observed ribbon thickness dependence on the melt puddle residence time. Primary arm spacings measured at the midribbon thickness locations show a dependence on growth velocity and alloy composition which is expected from dendritic growth models for binary alloys directionally solidified in a positive temperature gradient.

Primary arm spacing in chill block melt spun Ni-Mo alloys

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Tewari, S. N.; Glasgow, T. K.

1987-01-01

Chill block melt spun ribbons of Ni-Mo binary alloys containing 8.0 to 41.8 wt pct Mo have been prepared under carefully controlled processing conditions. The growth velocity has been determined as a function of distance from the quench surface from the observed ribbon thickness dependence on the melt puddle residence time. Primary arm spacing measured at the midribbon thickness locations show a dependence on growth velocity and alloy composition which is expected from dendritic growth models for binary alloys directionally solidified in a positive temperature gradient.

Comparison of Dynamic Balance in Collegiate Field Hockey and Football Players Using Star Excursion Balance Test

PubMed Central

Bhat, Rashi; Moiz, Jamal Ali

2013-01-01

Purpose The preliminary study aimed to compare dynamic balance between collegiate athletes competing or training in football and hockey using star excursion balance test. Methods A total thirty university level players, football (n = 15) and field hockey (n = 15) were participated in the study. Dynamic balance was assessed by using star excursion balance test. The testing grid consists of 8 lines each 120 cm in length extending from a common point at 45° increments. The subjects were instructed to maintain a stable single leg stance with the test leg with shoes off and to reach for maximal distance with the other leg in each of the 8 directions. A pencil was used to point and read the distance to which each subject's foot reached. The normalized leg reach distances in each direction were summed for both limbs and the total sum of the mean of summed normalized distances of both limbs were calculated. Results There was no significant difference in all the directions of star excursion balance test scores in both the groups. Additionally, composite reach distances of both groups also found non-significant (P=0.5). However, the posterior (P=0.05) and lateral (P=0.03) normalized reach distances were significantly more in field hockey players. Conclusion Field hockey players and football players did not differ in terms of dynamic balance. PMID:24427482

Comparison of dynamic balance in collegiate field hockey and football players using star excursion balance test.

PubMed

Bhat, Rashi; Moiz, Jamal Ali

2013-09-01

The preliminary study aimed to compare dynamic balance between collegiate athletes competing or training in football and hockey using star excursion balance test. A total thirty university level players, football (n = 15) and field hockey (n = 15) were participated in the study. Dynamic balance was assessed by using star excursion balance test. The testing grid consists of 8 lines each 120 cm in length extending from a common point at 45° increments. The subjects were instructed to maintain a stable single leg stance with the test leg with shoes off and to reach for maximal distance with the other leg in each of the 8 directions. A pencil was used to point and read the distance to which each subject's foot reached. The normalized leg reach distances in each direction were summed for both limbs and the total sum of the mean of summed normalized distances of both limbs were calculated. There was no significant difference in all the directions of star excursion balance test scores in both the groups. Additionally, composite reach distances of both groups also found non-significant (P=0.5). However, the posterior (P=0.05) and lateral (P=0.03) normalized reach distances were significantly more in field hockey players. Field hockey players and football players did not differ in terms of dynamic balance.

Sensitivity analyses of stopping distance for connected vehicles at active highway-rail grade crossings.

PubMed

Hsu, Chung-Jen; Jones, Elizabeth G

2017-02-01

This paper performs sensitivity analyses of stopping distance for connected vehicles (CVs) at active highway-rail grade crossings (HRGCs). Stopping distance is the major safety factor at active HRGCs. A sensitivity analysis is performed for each variable in the function of stopping distance. The formulation of stopping distance treats each variable as a probability density function for implementing Monte Carlo simulations. The result of the sensitivity analysis shows that the initial speed is the most sensitive factor to stopping distances of CVs and non-CVs. The safety of CVs can be further improved by the early provision of onboard train information and warnings to reduce the initial speeds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Reconceiving the hippocampal map as a topological template

PubMed Central

Dabaghian, Yuri; Brandt, Vicky L; Frank, Loren M

2014-01-01

The role of the hippocampus in spatial cognition is incontrovertible yet controversial. Place cells, initially thought to be location-specifiers, turn out to respond promiscuously to a wide range of stimuli. Here we test the idea, which we have recently demonstrated in a computational model, that the hippocampal place cells may ultimately be interested in a space's topological qualities (its connectivity) more than its geometry (distances and angles); such higher-order functioning would be more consistent with other known hippocampal functions. We recorded place cell activity in rats exploring morphing linear tracks that allowed us to dissociate the geometry of the track from its topology. The resulting place fields preserved the relative sequence of places visited along the track but did not vary with the metrical features of the track or the direction of the rat's movement. These results suggest a reinterpretation of previous studies and new directions for future experiments. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03476.001 PMID:25141375

Delay, Probability, and Social Discounting in a Public Goods Game

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Jones, Bryan A.; Rachlin, Howard

2009-01-01

A human social discount function measures the value to a person of a reward to another person at a given social distance. Just as delay discounting is a hyperbolic function of delay, and probability discounting is a hyperbolic function of odds-against, social discounting is a hyperbolic function of social distance. Experiment 1 obtained individual…

Preferred viewing distance of liquid crystal high-definition television.

PubMed

Lee, Der-Song

2012-01-01

This study explored the effect of TV size, illumination, and viewing angle on preferred viewing distance in high-definition liquid crystal display televisions (HDTV). Results showed that the mean preferred viewing distance was 2856 mm. TV size and illumination significantly affected preferred viewing distance. The larger the screen size, the greater the preferred viewing distance, at around 3-4 times the width of the screen (W). The greater the illumination, the greater the preferred viewing distance. Viewing angle also correlated significantly with preferred viewing distance. The more deflected from direct frontal view, the shorter the preferred viewing distance seemed to be. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd and The Ergonomics Society. All rights reserved.

Method for determining artillery position

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fischer, Johannes; Loges, Werner; Meuser, Wilfried

1988-01-01

A method is disclosed for determining the position of cannon from measurement sites whose distance from each other lies in the same order of magnitude as the distance between the cannons -- that distance being in the kilometer range -- with the help of the travel time evaluation of muzzle blasts received at the measurement sites. There are at least two measurement sites, consisting of a cruciform of four microphones each positioned so that one axis is oriented to an arbitrarily chosen reference direction with the microphones spaced closely together. In this arrangement of diametrically opposed microphones, the respective travel times are determined and placed in a relationship whose arctangent is a radio bearing to the reference direction in which radio bearings are determined with consideration of their position and their opposing distance from the cannon position.

Geometrical analysis of structural data collected at high South latitude: A modular arithmetic method that addresses meridional convergence

USGS Publications Warehouse

Siddoway, C.S.; Siddoway, M.F.

2007-01-01

The convergence of meridians toward the South Pole causes unique problems for geometrical comparison of structural geological and geophysical datasets from Antarctica. The true North reference direction ordinarily is used for measuring and reporting vector data (strike, trend) in Antarctica, as elsewhere. However, over a latitude distance of just 100 km at 85° South, the angular difference in the true North direction exceeds 10°. Consequently, when performing a regional tectonic analysis of vector data (strike, trend) for structures such as faults, dike arrays, or geophysical lineaments oriented with respect to North at different sites, it is necessary to rotate the data to a common reference direction. A modular arithmetic function, performed as a spreadsheet calculation, offers the means to unify data sets from sites having different longitude position, by rotation to a common reference direction. The function is SC ≡ SM + ∆L (mod 360), where SC = converted strike; SM = measured strike; ∆L = angle in degrees longitude between reference longitude and study site; and 360, the divisor, is the number of degrees in Earth’s circumference. The method is used to evaluate 1) paleomagnetic rotation of the Ellsworth-Whitmore Mountains with respect to the Transantarctic Mountains, and 2) orogenic curvature of the Ross Orogen

Light-induced picosecond rotational disordering of the inorganic sublattice in hybrid perovskites.

PubMed

Wu, Xiaoxi; Tan, Liang Z; Shen, Xiaozhe; Hu, Te; Miyata, Kiyoshi; Trinh, M Tuan; Li, Renkai; Coffee, Ryan; Liu, Shi; Egger, David A; Makasyuk, Igor; Zheng, Qiang; Fry, Alan; Robinson, Joseph S; Smith, Matthew D; Guzelturk, Burak; Karunadasa, Hemamala I; Wang, Xijie; Zhu, Xiaoyang; Kronik, Leeor; Rappe, Andrew M; Lindenberg, Aaron M

2017-07-01

Femtosecond resolution electron scattering techniques are applied to resolve the first atomic-scale steps following absorption of a photon in the prototypical hybrid perovskite methylammonium lead iodide. Following above-gap photoexcitation, we directly resolve the transfer of energy from hot carriers to the lattice by recording changes in the mean square atomic displacements on 10-ps time scales. Measurements of the time-dependent pair distribution function show an unexpected broadening of the iodine-iodine correlation function while preserving the Pb-I distance. This indicates the formation of a rotationally disordered halide octahedral structure developing on picosecond time scales. This work shows the important role of light-induced structural deformations within the inorganic sublattice in elucidating the unique optoelectronic functionality exhibited by hybrid perovskites and provides new understanding of hot carrier-lattice interactions, which fundamentally determine solar cell efficiencies.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wu, Xiaoxi; Tan, Liang Z.; Shen, Xiaozhe

Femtosecond resolution electron scattering techniques are applied to resolve the first atomic-scale steps following absorption of a photon in the prototypical hybrid perovskite methylammonium lead iodide. Following above-gap photoexcitation, we directly resolve the transfer of energy from hot carriers to the lattice by recording changes in the mean square atomic displacements on 10-ps time scales. Measurements of the time-dependent pair distribution function show an unexpected broadening of the iodine-iodine correlation function while preserving the Pb-I distance. This indicates the formation of a rotationally disordered halide octahedral structure developing on picosecond time scales. Here, this work shows the important role ofmore » light-induced structural deformations within the inorganic sublattice in elucidating the unique optoelectronic functionality exhibited by hybrid perovskites and provides new understanding of hot carrier-lattice interactions, which fundamentally determine solar cell efficiencies.« less

Direction-finding measurements of type 3 radio bursts out of the ecliptic plane

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Baumback, M. M.; Kurth, W. S.; Gurnett, D. A.

1975-01-01

Direction-finding measurements with the plasma wave experiments on the HAWKEYE 1 and IMP 8 satellites are used to find the source locations of type 3 solar radio bursts in heliocentric latitude and longitude in a frequency range from 31.1 kHz to 500 kHz. Using an empirical model for the emission frequency as a function of radial distance from the sun the three-dimensional trajectory of the type 3 radio source can be determined from direction-finding measurements at different frequencies. Since the electrons which produce these radio emissions follow the magnetic field lines from the sun these measurements provide information on the three-dimensional structure of the magnetic field in the solar wind. The source locations projected into the ecliptic plane follow an Archimedian spiral. Perpendicular to the ecliptic plane the source locations usually follow a constant heliocentric latitude. With direction-finding measurements of this type it is also possible to determine the source size from the modulation factor of the received signals.

SU-E-T-97: Dependence Of Optically Stimulated Luminescent Dosimeter (OSLD) Out Of Field Response On Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) Field Modulation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ware, S; Clouser, E

2014-06-01

Purpose: To determine the out of field response of Microstar ii OSLDs as a function of field modulation and distance in VMAT plan delivery. This work has potential application in fetal dose monitoring or measurements on cardiac pacemakers Methods: VMAT plans were created in Eclipse and optimized to varying degrees of modulation. Three plans were chosen to represent low, medium and high degrees of modulation (modulation factors as defined by MU/cGy). Plans were delivered to slabs of solid water with dimensions 60cm length, 30cm width, and 10cm height. For each modulation factor, 2 OSLDs were placed at 1cm depth withmore » out of field distances of 1, 2, 3, 5, 8 and 10cm and the plan delivered isocentrically to a depth of 5cm. This technique was repeated for a Farmer Chamber by incrementing the table by the appropriate distance. The charge readings for the Farmer Chamber were converted to dose and the ratios taken as functions of modulation factors and distances out of field Results: Examination of the results as a function of out of field distance shows a trend of increasing OSLD/Farmer Chamber ratios for all modulation factors. The slopes appear to be roughly equivalent for all modulation factors investigated. Results as a function of modulation showed a downward trend for all out of field distances, with the greatest differences seen at 5cm and 8cm Conclusion: This study demonstrates that the response of OSLD dosimeters change as a function of out of field distance and modulation. The differences seen are within the stated accuracy of the system for the out of field distances and modulations investigated. Additional investigation is warranted to see if the OSLD response changes appreciably with longer out of field distances or wider ranges of modulation.« less

Variations in plasma wave intensity with distance along the electron foreshock boundary at Venus

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crawford, G. K.; Strangeway, R. J.; Russell, C. T.

1991-01-01

Plasma waves are observed in the solar wind upstream of the Venus bow shock by the Pioneer Venus Orbiter. These wave signatures occur during periods when the interplanetary magnetic field through the spacecraft position intersects the bow shock, thereby placing the spacecraft in the foreshock region. Wave intensity is analyzed as a function of distance along the electron foreshock boundary. It is found that the peak wave intensity may increase along the foreshock boundary from the tangent point to a maximum value at several Venus radii, then decrease in intensity with subsequent increase in distance. These observations could be associated with the instability process: the instability of the distribution function increasing with distance from the tangent point to saturation at the peak. Thermalization of the beam for distances beyond this point could reduce the distribution function instability resulting in weaker wave signatures.

Corticocortical evoked potentials reveal projectors and integrators in human brain networks.

PubMed

Keller, Corey J; Honey, Christopher J; Entz, Laszlo; Bickel, Stephan; Groppe, David M; Toth, Emilia; Ulbert, Istvan; Lado, Fred A; Mehta, Ashesh D

2014-07-02

The cerebral cortex is composed of subregions whose functional specialization is largely determined by their incoming and outgoing connections with each other. In the present study, we asked which cortical regions can exert the greatest influence over other regions and the cortical network as a whole. Previous research on this question has relied on coarse anatomy (mapping large fiber pathways) or functional connectivity (mapping inter-regional statistical dependencies in ongoing activity). Here we combined direct electrical stimulation with recordings from the cortical surface to provide a novel insight into directed, inter-regional influence within the cerebral cortex of awake humans. These networks of directed interaction were reproducible across strength thresholds and across subjects. Directed network properties included (1) a decrease in the reciprocity of connections with distance; (2) major projector nodes (sources of influence) were found in peri-Rolandic cortex and posterior, basal and polar regions of the temporal lobe; and (3) major receiver nodes (receivers of influence) were found in anterolateral frontal, superior parietal, and superior temporal regions. Connectivity maps derived from electrical stimulation and from resting electrocorticography (ECoG) correlations showed similar spatial distributions for the same source node. However, higher-level network topology analysis revealed differences between electrical stimulation and ECoG that were partially related to the reciprocity of connections. Together, these findings inform our understanding of large-scale corticocortical influence as well as the interpretation of functional connectivity networks. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/349152-12$15.00/0.

Effect of direct and indirect contact with mental illness on dangerousness and social distance.

PubMed

Lee, Minhwa; Seo, Mikyung

2018-03-01

This study is based on the contact hypothesis that contact with mental illness is the most effective anti-stigma strategy. This study aims to analyze which form of contact can most effectively decrease the dangerousness and social distance associated with schizophrenia, depression and alcoholism. In total, 573 Korean adults ( M age  = 43.71 years, standard deviation ( SD) = 13.41; 54.1% male, 45.9% female) were surveyed about randomly assigned vignettes of schizophrenia, depression and alcoholism. The participants were questioned on the dangerousness and social distance associated with the assigned vignette, as well as direct and indirect contact experience with the mental illness. Two-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the main effect and interaction effect that the type of mental illness and contact experience have on the two dependent variables (dangerousness and social distance). The findings show that the type of mental illness has a significant main effect on dangerousness and social distance, but contact type only has a significant main effect on social distance. Moreover, the two independent variables (mental illness subtype and contact experience) have an interaction effect on two dependent variables (dangerousness and social distance). Therefore, the anti-stigma effect of contact varies according to the type of mental illness. Our findings suggest that appropriate anti-stigma strategies are required for each type of mental illness. Considering that opportunities for direct contact with persons with mental illness are highly limited, it is necessary to actively utilize indirect contact.

Characterizing hydrophobicity at the nanoscale: a molecular dynamics simulation study.

PubMed

Bandyopadhyay, Dibyendu; Choudhury, Niharendu

2012-06-14

We use molecular dynamics (MD) simulations of water near nanoscopic surfaces to characterize hydrophobic solute-water interfaces. By using nanoscopic paraffin like plates as model solutes, MD simulations in isothermal-isobaric ensemble have been employed to identify characteristic features of such an interface. Enhanced water correlation, density fluctuations, and position dependent compressibility apart from surface specific hydrogen bond distribution and molecular orientations have been identified as characteristic features of such interfaces. Tetrahedral order parameter that quantifies the degree of tetrahedrality in the water structure and an orientational order parameter, which quantifies the orientational preferences of the second solvation shell water around a central water molecule, have also been calculated as a function of distance from the plate surface. In the vicinity of the surface these two order parameters too show considerable sensitivity to the surface hydrophobicity. The potential of mean force (PMF) between water and the surface as a function of the distance from the surface has also been analyzed in terms of direct interaction and induced contribution, which shows unusual effect of plate hydrophobicity on the solvent induced PMF. In order to investigate hydrophobic nature of these plates, we have also investigated interplate dewetting when two such plates are immersed in water.

Oblique Aerial Photography Tool for Building Inspection and Damage Assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Murtiyoso, A.; Remondino, F.; Rupnik, E.; Nex, F.; Grussenmeyer, P.

2014-11-01

Aerial photography has a long history of being employed for mapping purposes due to some of its main advantages, including large area imaging from above and minimization of field work. Since few years multi-camera aerial systems are becoming a practical sensor technology across a growing geospatial market, as complementary to the traditional vertical views. Multi-camera aerial systems capture not only the conventional nadir views, but also tilted images at the same time. In this paper, a particular use of such imagery in the field of building inspection as well as disaster assessment is addressed. The main idea is to inspect a building from four cardinal directions by using monoplotting functionalities. The developed application allows to measure building height and distances and to digitize man-made structures, creating 3D surfaces and building models. The realized GUI is capable of identifying a building from several oblique points of views, as well as calculates the approximate height of buildings, ground distances and basic vectorization. The geometric accuracy of the results remains a function of several parameters, namely image resolution, quality of available parameters (DEM, calibration and orientation values), user expertise and measuring capability.

The Open College of the North West, Distance Learning, and the "Open Tech" Programme.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Percy, Keith; Saunders, Murray

1982-01-01

A regional program of pre-university courses in northwestern England open to adults with no entry qualifications is discussed. It uses some distance learning techniques but is investigating expansion to technical education through distance learning. The complexities and potential costs of such a substantial directional change are examined. (MSE)

Distance Education, Disciplinary Environments and Deep Learning: A Quantitative Exploration of Faculty Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bucci, David Andrew

2014-01-01

Many institutions have increasingly turned to distance education as a way to meet student and institutional needs while living within a constantly shrinking budget. While distance education has the potential to meet many resource-based challenges, its presence provides additional challenges to the faculty who direct the learning environment and…

A Unimodal Model for Double Observer Distance Sampling Surveys.

PubMed

Becker, Earl F; Christ, Aaron M

2015-01-01

Distance sampling is a widely used method to estimate animal population size. Most distance sampling models utilize a monotonically decreasing detection function such as a half-normal. Recent advances in distance sampling modeling allow for the incorporation of covariates into the distance model, and the elimination of the assumption of perfect detection at some fixed distance (usually the transect line) with the use of double-observer models. The assumption of full observer independence in the double-observer model is problematic, but can be addressed by using the point independence assumption which assumes there is one distance, the apex of the detection function, where the 2 observers are assumed independent. Aerially collected distance sampling data can have a unimodal shape and have been successfully modeled with a gamma detection function. Covariates in gamma detection models cause the apex of detection to shift depending upon covariate levels, making this model incompatible with the point independence assumption when using double-observer data. This paper reports a unimodal detection model based on a two-piece normal distribution that allows covariates, has only one apex, and is consistent with the point independence assumption when double-observer data are utilized. An aerial line-transect survey of black bears in Alaska illustrate how this method can be applied.

Calibration of Subsurface Amplification Factors Using Surface/Borehole Strong-motion Records from the KiK-net

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hayashida, T.; Tajima, F.

2007-12-01

The Real-time Earthquake Information System (REIS, Horiuchi et al., 2005) detects earthquakes and determines event parameters using the Hi-net (High-sensitivity seismograph network Japan) data in Japan. The system also predicts the arrival time and seismic intensity at a given site before ground motions arrive. Here, the seismic intensity is estimated based on the intensity magnitude which is derived from data of the Hi-net. As the Hi-net stations are located in the boreholes, intensity estimation on the ground surface is evaluated using a constant for subsurface amplification. But the estimated intensities based on the conventionally used amplification constants are not always in agreement with those observed at specific sites on the ground surface. The KiK-net (KIBAN Kyoshin network Japan) consists of strong motion instruments. Each station has two sets of accelerometers, one set is installed on the ground surface and the other one is co-located with a Hi-net station in the borehole. We use data recorded at the KiK-net stations to calibrate subsurface site amplification factors between the borehole and the ground surface. We selected data recorded for over 200 events during the period of 1997 to 2006 in Hiroshima prefecture and calculated the ratios of peak velocity amplitudes on the ground surface ( Asurf) to those in the borehole ( Abor). The subsurface amplification varies from station to station showing dependency on the propagation distance as well as on the incident direction of seismic waves. Results suggest that the site amplification factors shall be described as a function of distance and incident direction, and are not constants. Thus, we derived empirical amplification formulas between Asurf and the peak velocity amplitudes on the engineering bedrock ( Abed) as a function of distance in place of the conventionally used amplification constants. Here, the engineering bedrock is defined as the depth where the S- wave velocity is 600 m/s. The estimated intensities show substantial improvement in the accuracy at most stations as compared with those calculated using conventional constants. When the amplification dependence on the incident direction was accounted for, the estimated intensities somewhat improved. This calibration will help an earthquake early warning system such as REIS provide more accurate intensity estimates.

Transportation and General Traffic Management, Change 2

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1979-01-01

This Handbook sets forth those transportation and general traffic management responsibilities, guidelines, and procedures governing the use of commercial and Government transportation for NASA. Transportation is an integral function of the logistic process, involving all activities incident to the movement of persons and things. The fundamental and continuous objectives of transportation are to control and diminish the time-distance of lines of communication by the most suitable means. The function of transportation is accomplished through, and encompasses all, the planning, direction, supervision, and execution of the technical, operational, and administrative tasks required to procure or furnish efficient and economical conveyance of cargo and personnel by all modes of commercial and Government transportation. This Handbook is applicable to NASA Headquarters and Field Installations.

Optical tweezers for studying taxis in parasites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Thomaz, A. A.; Fontes, A.; Stahl, C. V.; Pozzo, L. Y.; Ayres, D. C.; Almeida, D. B.; Farias, P. M. A.; Santos, B. S.; Santos-Mallet, J.; Gomes, S. A. O.; Giorgio, S.; Feder, D.; Cesar, C. L.

2011-04-01

In this work we present a methodology to measure force strengths and directions of living parasites with an optical tweezers setup. These measurements were used to study the parasites chemotaxis in real time. We observed behavior and measured the force of: (i) Leishmania amazonensis in the presence of two glucose gradients; (ii) Trypanosoma cruzi in the vicinity of the digestive system walls, and (iii) Trypanosoma rangeli in the vicinity of salivary glands as a function of distance. Our results clearly show a chemotactic behavior in every case. This methodology can be used to study any type of taxis, such as chemotaxis, osmotaxis, thermotaxis, phototaxis, of any kind of living microorganisms. These studies can help us to understand the microorganism sensory systems and their response function to these gradients.

Covering Numbers for Semicontinuous Functions

DTIC Science & Technology

2016-04-29

functions, epi-distance, Attouch-Wets topology, epi-convergence, epi-spline, approximation theory . Date: April 29, 2016 1 Introduction Covering numbers of...classes of functions play central roles in parts of information theory , statistics, and applications such as machine learning; see for example [26...probability theory because there the hypo-distance metrizes weak convergence of distribution functions on IRd, which obviously are usc [22]. Thus, as an

The role of local environment and geographical distance in determining community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at the landscape scale.

PubMed

Hazard, Christina; Gosling, Paul; van der Gast, Christopher J; Mitchell, Derek T; Doohan, Fiona M; Bending, Gary D

2013-03-01

Arbuscular fungi have a major role in directing the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems yet little is known about their biogeographical distribution. The Baas-Becking hypothesis ('everything is everywhere, but, the environment selects') was tested by investigating the distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) at the landscape scale and the influence of environmental factors and geographical distance in determining community composition. AMF communities in Trifolium repens and Lolium perenne roots were assessed in 40 geographically dispersed sites in Ireland representing different land uses and soil types. Field sampling and laboratory bioassays were used, with AMF communities characterised using 18S rRNA terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Landscape-scale distribution of AMF was driven by the local environment. AMF community composition was influenced by abiotic variables (pH, rainfall and soil type), but not land use or geographical distance. Trifolium repens and L. perenne supported contrasting communities of AMF, and the communities colonising each plant species were consistent across pasture habitats and over distance. Furthermore, L. perenne AMF communities grouped by soil type within pasture habitats. This is the largest and most comprehensive study that has investigated the landscape-scale distribution of AMF. Our findings support the Baas-Becking hypothesis at the landscape scale and demonstrate the strong influence the local environment has on determining AMF community composition.

The role of local environment and geographical distance in determining community composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi at the landscape scale

PubMed Central

Hazard, Christina; Gosling, Paul; van der Gast, Christopher J; Mitchell, Derek T; Doohan, Fiona M; Bending, Gary D

2013-01-01

Arbuscular fungi have a major role in directing the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems yet little is known about their biogeographical distribution. The Baas-Becking hypothesis (‘everything is everywhere, but, the environment selects') was tested by investigating the distribution of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) at the landscape scale and the influence of environmental factors and geographical distance in determining community composition. AMF communities in Trifolium repens and Lolium perenne roots were assessed in 40 geographically dispersed sites in Ireland representing different land uses and soil types. Field sampling and laboratory bioassays were used, with AMF communities characterised using 18S rRNA terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism. Landscape-scale distribution of AMF was driven by the local environment. AMF community composition was influenced by abiotic variables (pH, rainfall and soil type), but not land use or geographical distance. Trifolium repens and L. perenne supported contrasting communities of AMF, and the communities colonising each plant species were consistent across pasture habitats and over distance. Furthermore, L. perenne AMF communities grouped by soil type within pasture habitats. This is the largest and most comprehensive study that has investigated the landscape-scale distribution of AMF. Our findings support the Baas-Becking hypothesis at the landscape scale and demonstrate the strong influence the local environment has on determining AMF community composition. PMID:23096401

Auditory spatial representations of the world are compressed in blind humans.

PubMed

Kolarik, Andrew J; Pardhan, Shahina; Cirstea, Silvia; Moore, Brian C J

2017-02-01

Compared to sighted listeners, blind listeners often display enhanced auditory spatial abilities such as localization in azimuth. However, less is known about whether blind humans can accurately judge distance in extrapersonal space using auditory cues alone. Using virtualization techniques, we show that auditory spatial representations of the world beyond the peripersonal space of blind listeners are compressed compared to those for normally sighted controls. Blind participants overestimated the distance to nearby sources and underestimated the distance to remote sound sources, in both reverberant and anechoic environments, and for speech, music, and noise signals. Functions relating judged and actual virtual distance were well fitted by compressive power functions, indicating that the absence of visual information regarding the distance of sound sources may prevent accurate calibration of the distance information provided by auditory signals.

Comparison of the accuracy of direct and indirect three-dimensional digitizing processes for CAD/CAM systems - An in vitro study.

PubMed

Vecsei, Bálint; Joós-Kovács, Gellért; Borbély, Judit; Hermann, Péter

2017-04-01

To compare the accuracy (trueness, precision) of direct and indirect scanning CAD/CAM methods. A master cast with prepared abutments and edentulous parts was created from polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA). A high-resolution industrial scanner was used to create a reference model. Polyvinyl-siloxane (PVS) impressions and digital impressions with three intraoral scanners (iTero, Cerec, Trios) were made (n=10 for each) from the PMMA model. A laboratory scanner (Scan CS2) was used to digitize the sectioned cast made from the PVS impressions. The stereolithographic (STL) files of the impressions (n=40) were exported. Each file was compared to the reference using Geomagic Verify software. Six points were assigned to enable virtual calliper measurement of three distances of varying size within the arch. Methods were compared using interquartile range regression and equality-of-variance tests for precision, and mixed-effects linear regression for trueness. The mean (SD) deviation of short distance measurements from the reference value was -40.3 (79.7) μm using the indirect, and 22.3 (40.0) μm using the direct method. For the medium distance, indirect measurements deviated by 5.2 (SD: 111.3) μm, and direct measurements by 115.8 (SD: 50.7) μm, on average; for the long distance, the corresponding estimates were -325.8 (SD: 134.1) μm with the indirect, and -163.5 (SD: 145.5) μm with the direct method. Significant differences were found between the two methods (p<0.05). With both methods, the shorter the distance, the more accurate results were achieved. Virtual models obtained by digital impressions can be more accurate than their conventional counterparts. Copyright © 2016 Japan Prosthodontic Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Foraging behavior of bee pollinators on the tropical weed Triumfetta semitriloba: flight distance and directionality.

PubMed

Collevatti, R G; Schoereder, J H; Campos, L A

2000-02-01

We studied flight distance and directionality of bee pollinators on the tropical shrub weed Triumfetta semitriloba Jacq. (Tiliaceae), addressing (1) within- and between-plant movement pattern; (2) distances flown between plants; (3) flight directionality. Flowering plants were distributed in well-delimited clumps, in each of two pasture areas (A1 and A2) and one area of forest gap (A3), in Viçosa, southeastern Brazil. Five solitary bee species, Augochlorella michaelis, Augochloropsis cupreola, Pseudocentron paulistana, Ceratinula sp., Melissodes sexcincta, and two social bee, Plebeia droryana, P. cf. nigriceps were observed. All species moved mainly to the nearest flower on the same individual plant and, in between-plant movements, to the first or second nearest neighbor. All species moved non-randomly, presenting a flight directionality in departures (maintenance of flight direction), but with a high frequency of turn angles. It is suggested that this foraging behavior pattern occurred because of the resource quantity and quality (pollen or nectar), and environmental characteristics such as flower density and resource distribution.

An extended car-following model considering random safety distance with different probabilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Jufeng; Sun, Fengxin; Cheng, Rongjun; Ge, Hongxia; Wei, Qi

2018-02-01

Because of the difference in vehicle type or driving skill, the driving strategy is not exactly the same. The driving speeds of the different vehicles may be different for the same headway. Since the optimal velocity function is just determined by the safety distance besides the maximum velocity and headway, an extended car-following model accounting for random safety distance with different probabilities is proposed in this paper. The linear stable condition for this extended traffic model is obtained by using linear stability theory. Numerical simulations are carried out to explore the complex phenomenon resulting from multiple safety distance in the optimal velocity function. The cases of multiple types of safety distances selected with different probabilities are presented. Numerical results show that the traffic flow with multiple safety distances with different probabilities will be more unstable than that with single type of safety distance, and will result in more stop-and-go phenomena.

Effects of fatiguing treadmill running on sensorimotor control in athletes with and without functional ankle instability.

PubMed

Steib, Simon; Hentschke, Christian; Welsch, Goetz; Pfeifer, Klaus; Zech, Astrid

2013-08-01

Sensorimotor control is permanently impaired following functional ankle instability and temporarily decreased following fatigue. Little is known on potential interactions between both conditions. The purpose was to investigate the effect of fatiguing exercise on sensorimotor control in athletes with and without (coper, controls) functional ankle instability. 19 individuals with functional ankle instability, 19 ankle sprain copers, and 19 non-injured controls participated in this cohort study. Maximum reach distance in the star excursion balance test, unilateral jump landing stabilization time, center of pressure sway velocity in single-leg-stance, and passive ankle joint position sense were assessed before and immediately after fatiguing treadmill running. A three factorial linear mixed model was specified for each outcome to evaluate the effects of group, exhausting exercise (fatigue) and their interactions (group by fatigue). Effect sizes were calculated as Cohen's d. Maximum reach distance in the star excursion balance test, jump stabilization time and sway velocity, but not joint position sense, were negatively affected by fatigue in all groups. Effect sizes were moderate, ranging from 0.27 to 0.68. No significant group by fatigue interactions were found except for one measure. Copers showed significantly larger prefatigue to postfatigue reductions in anterior reach direction (P≤0.001; d=-0.55) compared to the ankle instability (P=0.007) and control group (P=0.052). Fatiguing exercise negatively affected postural control but not proprioception. Ankle status did not appear to have an effect on fatigue-induced sensorimotor control impairments. © 2013.

Measurement of the stochastic radial dose distribution for a 30-MeV proton beam using a wall-less tissue-equivalent proportional counter

PubMed Central

Tsuda, S.; Sato, T.; Ogawa, T.

2016-01-01

The frequency distribution of the lineal energy, y, of a 30-MeV proton beam was measured as a function of the radial distance from the beam path, and the dosed mean of y,y¯D, was obtained to investigate the radial dependence of y¯D. A wall-less tissue-equivalent proportional counter, in a cylindrical volume with simulated diameters of 0.36, 0.72 and 1.44 µm was used for the measurement of y distributions, yf(y). The measured values of yf(y) summed in the radial direction agreed fairly well with the corresponding data taken from the microdosimetric calculations using the PHITS code. The y¯D value of the 30-MeV proton beam presented its smallest value at r = 0.0 and gradually increased with radial distance, and the y¯D values of heavy ions such as iron showed rapid decrease with radial distance. This experimental result demonstrated that the stochastic deposited energy distribution of high-energy protons in the microscopic region is rather constant in the core as well as in the penumbra region of the track structure. PMID:25956785

Cell damage evaluation of mammalian cells in cell manipulation by amplified femtosecond ytterbium laser

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hong, Z.-Y.; Iino, T.; Hagihara, H.; Maeno, T.; Okano, K.; Yasukuni, R.; Hosokawa, Y.

2018-03-01

A micrometer-scale explosion with cavitation bubble generation is induced by focusing a femtosecond laser in an aqueous solution. We have proposed to apply the explosion as an impulsive force to manipulate mammalian cells especially in microfluidic chip. Herein, we employed an amplified femtosecond ytterbium laser as an excitation source for the explosion and evaluated cell damage in the manipulation process to clarify the application potential. The damage of C2C12 myoblast cell prepared as a representative mammalian cell was investigated as a function of distance between cell and laser focal point. Although the cell received strong damage on the direct laser irradiation condition, the damage sharply decreased with increasing distance. Since the threshold distance, above which the cell had no damage, was consistent with radius of the cavitation bubble, impact of the cavitation bubble would be a critical factor for the cell damage. The damage had strong nonlinearity in the pulse energy dependence. On the other hand, cell position shift by the impact of the cavitation bubble was almost proportional to the pulse energy. In balance between the cell viability and the cell position shift, we elucidated controllability of the cell manipulation in microfluidic chip.

Quantifying Nucleic Acid Ensembles with X-ray Scattering Interferometry.

PubMed

Shi, Xuesong; Bonilla, Steve; Herschlag, Daniel; Harbury, Pehr

2015-01-01

The conformational ensemble of a macromolecule is the complete description of the macromolecule's solution structures and can reveal important aspects of macromolecular folding, recognition, and function. However, most experimental approaches determine an average or predominant structure, or follow transitions between states that each can only be described by an average structure. Ensembles have been extremely difficult to experimentally characterize. We present the unique advantages and capabilities of a new biophysical technique, X-ray scattering interferometry (XSI), for probing and quantifying structural ensembles. XSI measures the interference of scattered waves from two heavy metal probes attached site specifically to a macromolecule. A Fourier transform of the interference pattern gives the fractional abundance of different probe separations directly representing the multiple conformation states populated by the macromolecule. These probe-probe distance distributions can then be used to define the structural ensemble of the macromolecule. XSI provides accurate, calibrated distance in a model-independent fashion with angstrom scale sensitivity in distances. XSI data can be compared in a straightforward manner to atomic coordinates determined experimentally or predicted by molecular dynamics simulations. We describe the conceptual framework for XSI and provide a detailed protocol for carrying out an XSI experiment. © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Detecting Topological Defect Dark Matter Using Coherent Laser Ranging System

PubMed Central

Yang, Wanpeng; Leng, Jianxiao; Zhang, Shuangyou; Zhao, Jianye

2016-01-01

In the last few decades, optical frequency combs with high intensity, broad optical bandwidth, and directly traceable discrete wavelengths have triggered rapid developments in distance metrology. However, optical frequency combs to date have been limited to determine the absolute distance to an object (such as satellite missions). We propose a scheme for the detection of topological defect dark matter using a coherent laser ranging system composed of dual-combs and an optical clock via nongravitational signatures. The dark matter field, which comprises a defect, may interact with standard model particles, including quarks and photons, resulting in the alteration of their masses. Thus, a topological defect may function as a dielectric material with a distinctive frequency-depend index of refraction, which would cause the time delay of a periodic extraterrestrial or terrestrial light. When a topological defect passes through the Earth, the optical path of long-distance vacuum path is altered, this change in optical path can be detected through the coherent laser ranging system. Compared to continuous wavelength(cw) laser interferometry methods, dual-comb interferometry in our scheme excludes systematic misjudgement by measuring the absolute optical path length. PMID:27389642

Probing the probe: AFM tip-profiling via nanotemplates to determine Hamaker constants from phase-distance curves.

PubMed

Rodriguez, Raul D; Lacaze, Emmanuelle; Jupille, Jacques

2012-10-01

A method to determine the van der Waals forces from phase-distance curves recorded by atomic force microscopy (AFM) in tapping mode is presented. The relationship between the phase shift and the tip-sample distance is expressed as a function of the product of the Hamaker constant by tip radius. Silica-covered silicon tips are used to probe silica-covered silicon substrate in dry conditions to avoid capillary effects. Tips being assumed spherical, radii are determined in situ by averaging profiles recorded in different directions on hematite nanocrystals acting as nanotemplates, thus accounting for tip anisotropy. Through a series of reproducible measurements performed with tips of various radii (including the in-situ characterization of a damaged tip), a value of (6.3±0.4)×10(-20) J is found for the Hamaker constant of interacting silica surfaces in air, in good agreement with tabulated data. The results demonstrate that the onset of the tip-surface interaction is dominated by the van der Waals forces and that the total force can be modeled in the framework of the harmonic approximation. Based on the tip radius and the Hamaker constant associated to the tip-substrate system, the model is quite flexible. Once the Hamaker constant is known, a direct estimate of the tip size can be achieved whereas when the tip size is known, a quantitative evaluation of the van der Waals force becomes possible on different substrates with a spatial resolution at the nanoscale. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Evoked effective connectivity of the human neocortex.

PubMed

Entz, László; Tóth, Emília; Keller, Corey J; Bickel, Stephan; Groppe, David M; Fabó, Dániel; Kozák, Lajos R; Erőss, Loránd; Ulbert, István; Mehta, Ashesh D

2014-12-01

The role of cortical connectivity in brain function and pathology is increasingly being recognized. While in vivo magnetic resonance imaging studies have provided important insights into anatomical and functional connectivity, these methodologies are limited in their ability to detect electrophysiological activity and the causal relationships that underlie effective connectivity. Here, we describe results of cortico-cortical evoked potential (CCEP) mapping using single pulse electrical stimulation in 25 patients undergoing seizure monitoring with subdural electrode arrays. Mapping was performed by stimulating adjacent electrode pairs and recording CCEPs from the remainder of the electrode array. CCEPs reliably revealed functional networks and showed an inverse relationship to distance between sites. Coregistration to Brodmann areas (BA) permitted group analysis. Connections were frequently directional with 43% of early responses and 50% of late responses of connections reflecting relative dominance of incoming or outgoing connections. The most consistent connections were seen as outgoing from motor cortex, BA6-BA9, somatosensory (SS) cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and Broca's area. Network topology revealed motor, SS, and premotor cortices along with BA9 and BA10 and language areas to serve as hubs for cortical connections. BA20 and BA39 demonstrated the most consistent dominance of outdegree connections, while BA5, BA7, auditory cortex, and anterior cingulum demonstrated relatively greater indegree. This multicenter, large-scale, directional study of local and long-range cortical connectivity using direct recordings from awake, humans will aid the interpretation of noninvasive functional connectome studies. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Squared Euclidean distance: a statistical test to evaluate plant community change

Treesearch

Raymond D. Ratliff; Sylvia R. Mori

1993-01-01

The concepts and a procedure for evaluating plant community change using the squared Euclidean distance (SED) resemblance function are described. Analyses are based on the concept that Euclidean distances constitute a sample from a population of distances between sampling units (SUs) for a specific number of times and SUs. With different times, the distances will be...

Do Pre-school Distance Educators Require Specialist Training?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirk, David

1994-01-01

Recommends implementing specialized preparation for rural preschool teachers to function effectively as distance educators. Addresses differences between urban and rural environments affecting education; the important role of parents as educators in distance education; and the need for distance education preschool teachers to reconceptualize their…

Simple, distance-dependent formulation of the Watts-Strogatz model for directed and undirected small-world networks.

PubMed

Song, H Francis; Wang, Xiao-Jing

2014-12-01

Small-world networks-complex networks characterized by a combination of high clustering and short path lengths-are widely studied using the paradigmatic model of Watts and Strogatz (WS). Although the WS model is already quite minimal and intuitive, we describe an alternative formulation of the WS model in terms of a distance-dependent probability of connection that further simplifies, both practically and theoretically, the generation of directed and undirected WS-type small-world networks. In addition to highlighting an essential feature of the WS model that has previously been overlooked, namely the equivalence to a simple distance-dependent model, this alternative formulation makes it possible to derive exact expressions for quantities such as the degree and motif distributions and global clustering coefficient for both directed and undirected networks in terms of model parameters.

Simple, distance-dependent formulation of the Watts-Strogatz model for directed and undirected small-world networks

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Song, H. Francis; Wang, Xiao-Jing

2014-12-01

Small-world networks—complex networks characterized by a combination of high clustering and short path lengths—are widely studied using the paradigmatic model of Watts and Strogatz (WS). Although the WS model is already quite minimal and intuitive, we describe an alternative formulation of the WS model in terms of a distance-dependent probability of connection that further simplifies, both practically and theoretically, the generation of directed and undirected WS-type small-world networks. In addition to highlighting an essential feature of the WS model that has previously been overlooked, namely the equivalence to a simple distance-dependent model, this alternative formulation makes it possible to derive exact expressions for quantities such as the degree and motif distributions and global clustering coefficient for both directed and undirected networks in terms of model parameters.

End-to-end distance and contour length distribution functions of DNA helices

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zoli, Marco

2018-06-01

I present a computational method to evaluate the end-to-end and the contour length distribution functions of short DNA molecules described by a mesoscopic Hamiltonian. The method generates a large statistical ensemble of possible configurations for each dimer in the sequence, selects the global equilibrium twist conformation for the molecule, and determines the average base pair distances along the molecule backbone. Integrating over the base pair radial and angular fluctuations, I derive the room temperature distribution functions as a function of the sequence length. The obtained values for the most probable end-to-end distance and contour length distance, providing a measure of the global molecule size, are used to examine the DNA flexibility at short length scales. It is found that, also in molecules with less than ˜60 base pairs, coiled configurations maintain a large statistical weight and, consistently, the persistence lengths may be much smaller than in kilo-base DNA.

A survey of visual function in an Austrian population of school-age children with reading and writing difficulties.

PubMed

Dusek, Wolfgang; Pierscionek, Barbara K; McClelland, Julie F

2010-05-25

To describe and compare visual function measures of two groups of school age children (6-14 years of age) attending a specialist eyecare practice in Austria; one group referred to the practice from educational assessment centres diagnosed with reading and writing difficulties and the other, a clinical age-matched control group. Retrospective clinical data from one group of subjects with reading difficulties (n = 825) and a clinical control group of subjects (n = 328) were examined.Statistical analysis was performed to determine whether any differences existed between visual function measures from each group (refractive error, visual acuity, binocular status, accommodative function and reading speed and accuracy). Statistical analysis using one way ANOVA demonstrated no differences between the two groups in terms of refractive error and the size or direction of heterophoria at distance (p > 0.05). Using predominately one way ANOVA and chi-square analyses, those subjects in the referred group were statistically more likely to have poorer distance visual acuity, an exophoric deviation at near, a lower amplitude of accommodation, reduced accommodative facility, reduced vergence facility, a reduced near point of convergence, a lower AC/A ratio and a slower reading speed than those in the clinical control group (p < 0.05). This study highlights the high proportions of visual function anomalies in a group of children with reading difficulties in an Austrian population. It confirms the importance of a full assessment of binocular visual status in order to detect and remedy these deficits in order to prevent the visual problems continuing to impact upon educational development.

Characterizing left-right gait balance using footstep-induced structural vibrations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fagert, Jonathon; Mirshekari, Mostafa; Pan, Shijia; Zhang, Pei; Noh, Hae Young

2017-04-01

In this paper, we introduce a method for estimating human left/right walking gait balance using footstep-induced structural vibrations. Understanding human gait balance is an integral component of assessing gait, neurological and musculoskeletal conditions, overall health status, and risk of falls. Existing techniques utilize pressure- sensing mats, wearable devices, and human observation-based assessment by healthcare providers. These existing methods are collectively limited in their operation and deployment; often requiring dense sensor deployment or direct user interaction. To address these limitations, we utilize footstep-induced structural vibration responses. Based on the physical insight that the vibration energy is a function of the force exerted by a footstep, we calculate the vibration signal energy due to a footstep and use it to estimate the footstep force. By comparing the footstep forces while walking, we determine balance. This approach enables non-intrusive gait balance assessment using sparsely deployed sensors. The primary research challenge is that the floor vibration signal energy is also significantly affected by the distance between the footstep location and the vibration sensor; this function is unclear in real-world scenarios and is a mixed function of wave propagation and structure-dependent properties. We overcome this challenge through footstep localization and incorporating structural factors into an analytical force-energy-distance function. This function is estimated through a nonlinear least squares regression analysis. We evaluate the performance of our method with a real-world deployment in a campus building. Our approach estimates footstep forces with a RMSE of 61.0N (8% of participant's body weight), representing a 1.54X improvement over the baseline.

Longitudinal and transverse right ventricular function in pulmonary hypertension: cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging study from the ASPIRE registry

PubMed Central

Rajaram, Smitha; Capener, Dave; Elliot, Charlie; Condliffe, Robin; Wild, Jim M.; Kiely, David G.

2015-01-01

Abstract Right ventricular (RV) function is a strong predictor of outcome in cardiovascular diseases. Two components of RV function, longitudinal and transverse motion, have been investigated in pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, their individual clinical significance remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with transverse and longitudinal RV motion in patients with PH. In 149 treatment-naive patients with PH and 16 patients with suspected PH found to have mean pulmonary arterial pressure of <20 mmHg, cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging was performed within 24 hours of right heart catheterization. In patients with PH, fractional longitudinal motion (fractional tricuspid annulus to apex distance [f-TAAD]) was significantly greater than fractional transverse motion (fractional septum to free wall distance [f-SFD]; P = 0.002). In patients without PH, no significant difference between f-SFD and f-TAAD was identified (P = 0.442). Longitudinal RV motion was singularly associated with RV ejection fraction independent of age, invasive hemodynamics, and cardiac magnetic resonance measurements (P = 0.024). In contrast, transverse RV motion was independently associated with left ventricular eccentricity (P = 0.036) in addition to RV ejection fraction (P = 0.014). In conclusion, RV motion is significantly greater in the longitudinal direction in patients with PH, whereas patients without PH have equal contributions of transverse and longitudinal motion. Longitudinal RV motion is primarily associated with global RV pump function in PH. Transverse RV motion not only reflects global pump function but is independently influenced by ventricular interaction in patients with PH. PMID:26401257

Longitudinal and transverse right ventricular function in pulmonary hypertension: cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging study from the ASPIRE registry.

PubMed

Swift, Andrew J; Rajaram, Smitha; Capener, Dave; Elliot, Charlie; Condliffe, Robin; Wild, Jim M; Kiely, David G

2015-09-01

Right ventricular (RV) function is a strong predictor of outcome in cardiovascular diseases. Two components of RV function, longitudinal and transverse motion, have been investigated in pulmonary hypertension (PH). However, their individual clinical significance remains uncertain. The aim of this study was to determine the factors associated with transverse and longitudinal RV motion in patients with PH. In 149 treatment-naive patients with PH and 16 patients with suspected PH found to have mean pulmonary arterial pressure of <20 mmHg, cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging was performed within 24 hours of right heart catheterization. In patients with PH, fractional longitudinal motion (fractional tricuspid annulus to apex distance [f-TAAD]) was significantly greater than fractional transverse motion (fractional septum to free wall distance [f-SFD]; P = 0.002). In patients without PH, no significant difference between f-SFD and f-TAAD was identified (P = 0.442). Longitudinal RV motion was singularly associated with RV ejection fraction independent of age, invasive hemodynamics, and cardiac magnetic resonance measurements (P = 0.024). In contrast, transverse RV motion was independently associated with left ventricular eccentricity (P = 0.036) in addition to RV ejection fraction (P = 0.014). In conclusion, RV motion is significantly greater in the longitudinal direction in patients with PH, whereas patients without PH have equal contributions of transverse and longitudinal motion. Longitudinal RV motion is primarily associated with global RV pump function in PH. Transverse RV motion not only reflects global pump function but is independently influenced by ventricular interaction in patients with PH.

Mapping spiral structure on the far side of the Milky Way

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sanna, Alberto; Reid, Mark J.; Dame, Thomas M.; Menten, Karl M.; Brunthaler, Andreas

2017-10-01

Direct measurements of distances to astronomical sources rely on parallax, which can usually only be measured for relatively nearby objects. The far side of the Milky Way has been impossible to measure accurately, because the parallax is very small and interstellar dust blocks optical light from those regions. Sanna et al. used radio interferometry to directly determine the parallax distance to a star-forming region on the far side of the Galaxy. They also used a method of inferring distances from transverse motions, which produced the same answer. This allowed them to trace one of the Milky Way's spiral arms through almost an entire rotation.

Remote site-selective C-H activation directed by a catalytic bifunctional template

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, Zhipeng; Tanaka, Keita; Yu, Jin-Quan

2017-03-01

In chemical syntheses, the activation of carbon-hydrogen (C-H) bonds converts them directly into carbon-carbon or carbon-heteroatom bonds without requiring any prior functionalization. C-H activation can thus substantially reduce the number of steps involved in a synthesis. A single specific C-H bond in a substrate can be activated by using a ‘directing’ (usually a functional) group to obtain the desired product selectively. The applicability of such a C-H activation reaction can be severely curtailed by the distance of the C-H bond in question from the directing group, and by the shape of the substrate, but several approaches have been developed to overcome these limitations. In one such approach, an understanding of the distal and geometric relationships between the functional groups and C-H bonds of a substrate has been exploited to achieve meta-selective C-H activation by using a covalently attached, U-shaped template. However, stoichiometric installation of this template has not been feasible in the absence of an appropriate functional group on which to attach it. Here we report the design of a catalytic, bifunctional nitrile template that binds a heterocyclic substrate via a reversible coordination instead of a covalent linkage. The two metal centres coordinated to this template have different roles: one reversibly anchors substrates near the catalyst, and the other cleaves remote C-H bonds. Using this strategy, we demonstrate remote, site-selective C-H olefination of heterocyclic substrates that do not have the necessary functional groups for covalently attaching templates.

Sialic acids regulate microvessel permeability, revealed by novel in vivo studies of endothelial glycocalyx structure and function

PubMed Central

Betteridge, Kai B.; Arkill, Kenton P.; Neal, Christopher R.; Harper, Steven J.; Foster, Rebecca R.; Satchell, Simon C.; Bates, David O.

2017-01-01

Key points We have developed novel techniques for paired, direct, real‐time in vivo quantification of endothelial glycocalyx structure and associated microvessel permeability.Commonly used imaging and analysis techniques yield measurements of endothelial glycocalyx depth that vary by over an order of magnitude within the same vessel.The anatomical distance between maximal glycocalyx label and maximal endothelial cell plasma membrane label provides the most sensitive and reliable measure of endothelial glycocalyx depth.Sialic acid residues of the endothelial glycocalyx regulate glycocalyx structure and microvessel permeability to both water and albumin. Abstract The endothelial glycocalyx forms a continuous coat over the luminal surface of all vessels, and regulates multiple vascular functions. The contribution of individual components of the endothelial glycocalyx to one critical vascular function, microvascular permeability, remains unclear. We developed novel, real‐time, paired methodologies to study the contribution of sialic acids within the endothelial glycocalyx to the structural and functional permeability properties of the same microvessel in vivo. Single perfused rat mesenteric microvessels were perfused with fluorescent endothelial cell membrane and glycocalyx labels, and imaged with confocal microscopy. A broad range of glycocalyx depth measurements (0.17–3.02 μm) were obtained with different labels, imaging techniques and analysis methods. The distance between peak cell membrane and peak glycocalyx label provided the most reliable measure of endothelial glycocalyx anatomy, correlating with paired, numerically smaller values of endothelial glycocalyx depth (0.078 ± 0.016 μm) from electron micrographs of the same portion of the same vessel. Disruption of sialic acid residues within the endothelial glycocalyx using neuraminidase perfusion decreased endothelial glycocalyx depth and increased apparent solute permeability to albumin in the same vessels in a time‐dependent manner, with changes in all three true vessel wall permeability coefficients (hydraulic conductivity, reflection coefficient and diffusive solute permeability). These novel technologies expand the range of techniques that permit direct studies of the structure of the endothelial glycocalyx and dependent microvascular functions in vivo, and demonstrate that sialic acid residues within the endothelial glycocalyx are critical regulators of microvascular permeability to both water and albumin. PMID:28524373

In Situ X-Ray Observations of Dendritic Fragmentation During Directional Solidification of a Sn-Bi Alloy

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gibbs, John W.; Tourret, Damien; Gibbs, Paul J.

2015-09-25

Dendrite fragmentation is an important phenomenon in microstructural development during solidification. For instance, it plays a key role in initiating the columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET). Here, we use x-ray radiography to study dendrite fragmentation rate in a Sn-39.5 wt.% Bi alloy during directional solidification. Experiments were performed in which solidification was parallel and anti-parallel to gravity, leading to significantly different fragmentation rates. We quantify the distribution of fragmentation rate as a function of distance from the solidification front, time in the mushy zone, and volume fraction of solid. While the observed fragmentation rate can be high, there is no evidence ofmore » a CET, illustrating that it requires more than just fragmentation to occur.« less

In Situ X-Ray Observations of Dendritic Fragmentation During Directional Solidification of a Sn-Bi Alloy

DOE PAGES

Gibbs, John W.; Tourret, Damien; Gibbs, Paul J.; ...

2015-09-25

Dendrite fragmentation is an important phenomenon in microstructural development during solidification. For instance, it plays a key role in initiating the columnar-to-equiaxed transition (CET). In this paper, we use x-ray radiography to study dendrite fragmentation rate in a Sn-39.5 wt.% Bi alloy during directional solidification. Experiments were performed in which solidification was parallel and anti-parallel to gravity, leading to significantly different fragmentation rates. We quantify the distribution of fragmentation rate as a function of distance from the solidification front, time in the mushy zone, and volume fraction of solid. Finally, while the observed fragmentation rate can be high, there ismore » no evidence of a CET, illustrating that it requires more than just fragmentation to occur.« less

The effect of thermomechanical processing on second phase particle redistribution in U-10 wt%Mo

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hu, Xiaohua; Wang, Xiaowo; Joshi, Vineet V.

2018-03-01

The multi-pass hot-rolling process of an annealed uranium-10 wt% molybdenum coupon was studied by plane-strain compression finite element modeling. Two point correlation function (2PCF) was used to analyze the carbide particle distribution after each rolling reduction. The hot rolling simulation results show that the alignment of UC particles along grain boundaries will rotate during rolling until it is parallel to the rolling direction, to form stringer-like distributions which are typically observed in rolled products that contain inclusions. 2PCF analysis of simulation shows that the interparticle spacing shrinks along the normal direction. The number of major peaks of 2PCF along NDmore » decreases after large reduction. The locations of major peaks indicate the inter-stringer distances.« less

Dispersal patterns of red foxes relative to population density

USGS Publications Warehouse

Allen, Stephen H.; Sargeant, Alan B.

1993-01-01

Factors affecting red fox (Vulpes vulpes) dispersal patterns are poorly understood but warranted investigation because of the role of dispersal in rebuilding depleted populations and transmission of diseases. We examined dispersal patterns of red foxes in North Dakota based on recoveries of 363 of 854 foxes tagged as pups and relative to fox density. Foxes were recovered up to 8.6 years after tagging; 79% were trapped or shot. Straight-line distances between tagging and recovery locations ranged from 0 to 302 km. Mean recovery distances increased with age and were greater for males than females, but longest individual recovery distances were by females. Dispersal distances were not related to population density for males (P = 0.36) or females (P = 0.96). The proportion of males recovered that dispersed was inversely related to population density (r = -0.94; n = 5; P = 0.02), but not the proportion of females (r = -0.49; n = 5; P = 0.40). Dispersal directions were not uniform for either males (P = 0.003) or females (P = 0.006); littermates tended to disperse in similar directions (P = 0.09). A 4-lane interstate highway altered dispersal directions (P = 0.001). Dispersal is a strong innate behavior of red foxes (especially males) that results in many individuals of both sexes traveling far from natal areas. Because dispersal distance was unaffected by fox density, populations can be rebuilt and diseases transmitted long distances regardless of fox abundance.

Calibrating Reach Distance to Visual Targets

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mon-Williams, Mark; Bingham, Geoffrey P.

2007-01-01

The authors investigated the calibration of reach distance by gradually distorting the haptic feedback obtained when participants grasped visible target objects. The authors found that the modified relationship between visually specified distance and reach distance could be captured by a straight-line mapping function. Thus, the relation could be…

The Provision of Distance Learning in Italy (Summary Report).

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Osbat, Luciano

A study examined the volume and quality of distance training in Italy, the bodies most directly interested, and problems and trends. Two factors were singled out that not only led to greater interest in distance training between 1970 and 1980 but also to the first experiments being carried out--the economic crisis and the modernization process.…

Finite-difference interblock transmissivity for unconfined aquifers and for aquifers having smoothly varying transmissivity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Goode, D.J.; Appel, C.A.

1992-01-01

More accurate alternatives to the widely used harmonic mean interblock transmissivity are proposed for block-centered finite-difference models of ground-water flow in unconfined aquifers and in aquifers having smoothly varying transmissivity. The harmonic mean is the exact interblock transmissivity for steady-state one-dimensional flow with no recharge if the transmissivity is assumed to be spatially uniform over each finite-difference block, changing abruptly at the block interface. However, the harmonic mean may be inferior to other means if transmissivity varies in a continuous or smooth manner between nodes. Alternative interblock transmissivity functions are analytically derived for the case of steady-state one-dimensional flow with no recharge. The second author has previously derived the exact interblock transmissivity, the logarithmic mean, for one-dimensional flow when transmissivity is a linear function of distance in the direction of flow. We show that the logarithmic mean transmissivity is also exact for uniform flow parallel to the direction of changing transmissivity in a two- or three-dimensional model, regardless of grid orientation relative to the flow vector. For the case of horizontal flow in a homogeneous unconfined or water-table aquifer with a horizontal bottom and with areally distributed recharge, the exact interblock transmissivity is the unweighted arithmetic mean of transmissivity at the nodes. This mean also exhibits no grid-orientation effect for unidirectional flow in a two-dimensional model. For horizontal flow in an unconfined aquifer with no recharge where hydraulic conductivity is a linear function of distance in the direction of flow the exact interblock transmissivity is the product of the arithmetic mean saturated thickness and the logarithmic mean hydraulic conductivity. For several hypothetical two- and three-dimensional cases with smoothly varying transmissivity or hydraulic conductivity, the harmonic mean is shown to yield the least accurate solution to the flow equation of the alternatives considered. Application of the alternative interblock transmissivities to a regional aquifer system model indicates that the changes in computed heads and fluxes are typically small, relative to model calibration error. For this example, the use of alternative interblock transmissivities resulted in an increase in computational effort of less than 3 percent. Numerical algorithms to compute alternative interblock transmissivity functions in a modular three-dimensional flow model are presented and documented.

Local-scale Partitioning of Functional and Phylogenetic Beta Diversity in a Tropical Tree Assemblage.

PubMed

Yang, Jie; Swenson, Nathan G; Zhang, Guocheng; Ci, Xiuqin; Cao, Min; Sha, Liqing; Li, Jie; Ferry Slik, J W; Lin, Luxiang

2015-08-03

The relative degree to which stochastic and deterministic processes underpin community assembly is a central problem in ecology. Quantifying local-scale phylogenetic and functional beta diversity may shed new light on this problem. We used species distribution, soil, trait and phylogenetic data to quantify whether environmental distance, geographic distance or their combination are the strongest predictors of phylogenetic and functional beta diversity on local scales in a 20-ha tropical seasonal rainforest dynamics plot in southwest China. The patterns of phylogenetic and functional beta diversity were generally consistent. The phylogenetic and functional dissimilarity between subplots (10 × 10 m, 20 × 20 m, 50 × 50 m and 100 × 100 m) was often higher than that expected by chance. The turnover of lineages and species function within habitats was generally slower than that across habitats. Partitioning the variation in phylogenetic and functional beta diversity showed that environmental distance was generally a better predictor of beta diversity than geographic distance thereby lending relatively more support for deterministic environmental filtering over stochastic processes. Overall, our results highlight that deterministic processes play a stronger role than stochastic processes in structuring community composition in this diverse assemblage of tropical trees.

Electro-mechanical sine/cosine generator

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Flagge, B. (Inventor)

1972-01-01

An electromechanical device for generating both sine and cosine functions is described. A motor rotates a cylinder about an axis parallel to and a slight distance from the central axis of the cylinder. Two noncontacting displacement sensing devices are placed ninety degrees apart, equal distances from the axis of rotation of the cylinder and short distances above the surface of cylinder. Each of these sensing devices produces an electrical signal proportional to the distance that it is away from the cylinder. Consequently, as the cylinder is rotated the outputs from the two sensing devices are the sine and cosine functions.

Hierarchical traits distances explain grassland Fabaceae species' ecological niches distances.

PubMed

Fort, Florian; Jouany, Claire; Cruz, Pablo

2015-01-01

Fabaceae species play a key role in ecosystem functioning through their capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen via their symbiosis with Rhizobium bacteria. To increase benefits of using Fabaceae in agricultural systems, it is necessary to find ways to evaluate species or genotypes having potential adaptations to sub-optimal growth conditions. We evaluated the relevance of phylogenetic distance, absolute trait distance and hierarchical trait distance for comparing the adaptation of 13 grassland Fabaceae species to different habitats, i.e., ecological niches. We measured a wide range of functional traits (root traits, leaf traits, and whole plant traits) in these species. Species phylogenetic and ecological distances were assessed from a species-level phylogenetic tree and species' ecological indicator values, respectively. We demonstrated that differences in ecological niches between grassland Fabaceae species were related more to their hierarchical trait distances than to their phylogenetic distances. We showed that grassland Fabaceae functional traits tend to converge among species with the same ecological requirements. Species with acquisitive root strategies (thin roots, shallow root systems) are competitive species adapted to non-stressful meadows, while conservative ones (coarse roots, deep root systems) are able to tolerate stressful continental climates. In contrast, acquisitive species appeared to be able to tolerate low soil-P availability, while conservative ones need high P availability. Finally we highlight that traits converge along the ecological gradient, providing the assumption that species with similar root-trait values are better able to coexist, regardless of their phylogenetic distance.

Hierarchical traits distances explain grassland Fabaceae species' ecological niches distances

PubMed Central

Fort, Florian; Jouany, Claire; Cruz, Pablo

2015-01-01

Fabaceae species play a key role in ecosystem functioning through their capacity to fix atmospheric nitrogen via their symbiosis with Rhizobium bacteria. To increase benefits of using Fabaceae in agricultural systems, it is necessary to find ways to evaluate species or genotypes having potential adaptations to sub-optimal growth conditions. We evaluated the relevance of phylogenetic distance, absolute trait distance and hierarchical trait distance for comparing the adaptation of 13 grassland Fabaceae species to different habitats, i.e., ecological niches. We measured a wide range of functional traits (root traits, leaf traits, and whole plant traits) in these species. Species phylogenetic and ecological distances were assessed from a species-level phylogenetic tree and species' ecological indicator values, respectively. We demonstrated that differences in ecological niches between grassland Fabaceae species were related more to their hierarchical trait distances than to their phylogenetic distances. We showed that grassland Fabaceae functional traits tend to converge among species with the same ecological requirements. Species with acquisitive root strategies (thin roots, shallow root systems) are competitive species adapted to non-stressful meadows, while conservative ones (coarse roots, deep root systems) are able to tolerate stressful continental climates. In contrast, acquisitive species appeared to be able to tolerate low soil-P availability, while conservative ones need high P availability. Finally we highlight that traits converge along the ecological gradient, providing the assumption that species with similar root-trait values are better able to coexist, regardless of their phylogenetic distance. PMID:25741353

Collisional disruption of gravitational aggregates in the tidal environment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hyodo, Ryuki; Ohtsuki, Keiji

2014-05-20

The degree of disruption in collisions in free space is determined by specific impact energy, and the mass fraction of the largest remnant is a monotonically decreasing function of impact energy. However, it has not been shown whether such a relationship is applicable to collisions under the influence of a planet's tidal force, which is important in ring dynamics and satellite accretion. Here we examine the collisional disruption of gravitational aggregates in the tidal environment by using local N-body simulations. We find that outcomes of such a collision largely depend on the impact velocity, the direction of impact, and themore » radial distance from the planet. In the case of a strong tidal field corresponding to Saturn's F ring, collisions in the azimuthal direction are much more destructive than those in the radial direction. Numerical results of collisions sensitively depend on the impact velocity, and a complete disruption of aggregates can occur even in impacts with velocity much lower than their escape velocity. In such low-velocity collisions, the deformation of colliding aggregates plays an essential role in determining collision outcomes, because the physical size of the aggregate is comparable to its Hill radius. On the other hand, the dependence of collision outcomes on impact velocity becomes similar to the case in free space when the distance from the planet is sufficiently large. Our results are consistent with Cassini observations of the F ring, which suggest ongoing creation and disruption of aggregates within the ring.« less

Correlation function of the luminosity distances

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Biern, Sang Gyu; Yoo, Jaiyul, E-mail: sgbiern@physik.uzh.ch, E-mail: jyoo@physik.uzh.ch

We present the correlation function of the luminosity distances in a flat ΛCDM universe. Decomposing the luminosity distance fluctuation into the velocity, the gravitational potential, and the lensing contributions in linear perturbation theory, we study their individual contributions to the correlation function. The lensing contribution is important at large redshift ( z ∼> 0.5) but only for small angular separation (θ ∼< 3°), while the velocity contribution dominates over the other contributions at low redshift or at larger separation. However, the gravitational potential contribution is always subdominant at all scale, if the correct gauge-invariant expression is used. The correlation functionmore » of the luminosity distances depends significantly on the matter content, especially for the lensing contribution, thus providing a novel tool of estimating cosmological parameters.« less

Determine Earthquake Rupture Directivity Using Taiwan TSMIP Strong Motion Waveforms

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Kaiwen; Chi, Wu-Cheng; Lai, Ying-Ju; Gung, YuanCheng

2013-04-01

Inverting seismic waveforms for the finite fault source parameters is important for studying the physics of earthquake rupture processes. It is also significant to image seismogenic structures in urban areas. Here we analyze the finite-source process and test for the causative fault plane using the accelerograms recorded by the Taiwan Strong-Motion Instrumentation Program (TSMIP) stations. The point source parameters for the mainshock and aftershocks were first obtained by complete waveform moment tensor inversions. We then use the seismograms generated by the aftershocks as empirical Green's functions (EGFs) to retrieve the apparent source time functions (ASTFs) of near-field stations using projected Landweber deconvolution approach. The method for identifying the fault plane relies on the spatial patterns of the apparent source time function durations which depend on the angle between rupture direction and the take-off angle and azimuth of the ray. These derived duration patterns then are compared with the theoretical patterns, which are functions of the following parameters, including focal depth, epicentral distance, average crustal 1D velocity, fault plane attitude, and rupture direction on the fault plane. As a result, the ASTFs derived from EGFs can be used to infer the ruptured fault plane and the rupture direction. Finally we used part of the catalogs to study important seismogenic structures in the area near Chiayi, Taiwan, where a damaging earthquake has occurred about a century ago. The preliminary results show a strike-slip earthquake on 22 October 1999 (Mw 5.6) has ruptured unilaterally toward SSW on a sub-vertical fault. The procedure developed from this study can be applied to other strong motion waveforms recorded from other earthquakes to better understand their kinematic source parameters.

Factors Influencing Cognitive Function in Subjects With COPD.

PubMed

Dag, Ersel; Bulcun, Emel; Turkel, Yakup; Ekici, Aydanur; Ekici, Mehmet

2016-08-01

The aim of this study was to assess the association between cognitive function and age, pulmonary function, comorbidity index, and the 6-min walk distance in subjects with COPD as well as to compare the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) in terms of their ability to identify cognitive dysfunction in subjects with COPD. A total of 52 individuals with stable COPD were included in this study. Cognitive function was assessed using MMSE and MoCA. Age, body mass index, the Modified Cumulative Illness Rating Scale, 6-min walk distance, arterial blood gases, and pulmonary function tests were assessed and recorded. The range and SD of scores in subjects with COPD were larger with MoCA than with MMSE. MMSE and MoCA scores are associated with 6-min walk distance and comorbidity index in subjects with COPD. General cognitive function measured by MoCA was negatively correlated with the comorbidity index but was positively associated with 6-min walk distance in subjects with COPD after controlling for possible confounding factors in the multivariate model. However, general cognitive function measured by MMSE was not correlated with the comorbidity index and 6-min walk distance in subjects with COPD, after controlling for possible confounding factors in the multivariate model. MoCA may be a more reliable screening test than MMSE in detecting cognitive impairment in subjects with COPD. The addition of cognitive tests on assessment of subjects with COPD can provide further benefit. Copyright © 2016 by Daedalus Enterprises.

Plantar Pressure Distribution among Older Persons with Different Types of Foot and Its Correlation with Functional Reach Distance

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Background. Changes in biomechanical structures of human foot are common in the older person, which may lead to alteration of foot type and plantar pressure distribution. We aimed to examine how foot type affects the plantar pressure distribution and to determine the relationship between plantar pressure distribution and functional reach distance in older persons. Methods. Fifty community-dwelling older persons (age: 69.98 ± 5.84) were categorized into three groups based on the Foot Posture Index. The plantar pressure (max⁡P) and contact area were analyzed using Footscan® RSScan platform. The Kruskal-Wallis test was used to compare the plantar pressure between foot types and Spearman's correlation coefficient was used to correlate plantar pressure with the functional reach distance. Results. There were significant differences of max⁡P in the forefoot area across all foot types. The post hoc analysis found significantly lower max⁡P in the pronated foot compared to the supinated foot. A high linear rank correlation was found between functional reach distance and max⁡P of the rearfoot region of the supinated foot. Conclusions. These findings suggested that types of the foot affect the plantar maximal pressure in older persons with functional reach distance showing some associations. PMID:27980874

Multi-instance multi-label distance metric learning for genome-wide protein function prediction.

PubMed

Xu, Yonghui; Min, Huaqing; Song, Hengjie; Wu, Qingyao

2016-08-01

Multi-instance multi-label (MIML) learning has been proven to be effective for the genome-wide protein function prediction problems where each training example is associated with not only multiple instances but also multiple class labels. To find an appropriate MIML learning method for genome-wide protein function prediction, many studies in the literature attempted to optimize objective functions in which dissimilarity between instances is measured using the Euclidean distance. But in many real applications, Euclidean distance may be unable to capture the intrinsic similarity/dissimilarity in feature space and label space. Unlike other previous approaches, in this paper, we propose to learn a multi-instance multi-label distance metric learning framework (MIMLDML) for genome-wide protein function prediction. Specifically, we learn a Mahalanobis distance to preserve and utilize the intrinsic geometric information of both feature space and label space for MIML learning. In addition, we try to deal with the sparsely labeled data by giving weight to the labeled data. Extensive experiments on seven real-world organisms covering the biological three-domain system (i.e., archaea, bacteria, and eukaryote; Woese et al., 1990) show that the MIMLDML algorithm is superior to most state-of-the-art MIML learning algorithms. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The representation of spacetime through steep time functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minguzzi, Ettore

2018-02-01

In a recent work I showed that the family of smooth steep time functions can be used to recover the order, the topology and the (Lorentz-Finsler) distance of spacetime. In this work I present the main ideas entering the proof of the (smooth) distance formula, particularly the product trick which converts metric statements into causal ones. The paper ends with a second proof of the distance formula valid for globally hyperbolic Lorentzian spacetimes.

Hearing in three dimensions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shinn-Cunningham, Barbara

2003-04-01

One of the key functions of hearing is to help us monitor and orient to events in our environment (including those outside the line of sight). The ability to compute the spatial location of a sound source is also important for detecting, identifying, and understanding the content of a sound source, especially in the presence of competing sources from other positions. Determining the spatial location of a sound source poses difficult computational challenges; however, we perform this complex task with proficiency, even in the presence of noise and reverberation. This tutorial will review the acoustic, psychoacoustic, and physiological processes underlying spatial auditory perception. First, the tutorial will examine how the many different features of the acoustic signals reaching a listener's ears provide cues for source direction and distance, both in anechoic and reverberant space. Then we will discuss psychophysical studies of three-dimensional sound localization in different environments and the basic neural mechanisms by which spatial auditory cues are extracted. Finally, ``virtual reality'' approaches for simulating sounds at different directions and distances under headphones will be reviewed. The tutorial will be structured to appeal to a diverse audience with interests in all fields of acoustics and will incorporate concepts from many areas, such as psychological and physiological acoustics, architectural acoustics, and signal processing.

Karl von Frisch lecture. Signals and flexibility in the dance communication of honeybees.

PubMed

Michelsen, Axel

2003-03-01

Progress in understanding dance communication in honeybees is reviewed. The behaviour of both dancers and follower bees contain flexible and stereotypic elements. The transfer of specific information about direction and distance probably involves more than one sensory modality. The follower bees need to stay behind the dancer (within the angle of wagging) during at least one waggle run in order to perceive the specific information. Within this zone, a small stationary air-flow receiver (like the antenna of a follower bee) experiences a well-defined maximum when the abdomen of the wagging dancer passes by. Within 1 mm from the tip of the abdomen, the maximum may be caused by oscillating flows generated by the wagging motion. At other positions and distances (up to several millimetres from the dancer) the maximum is due to a spatially narrow jet air flow generated by the vibrating wings. The time pattern of these maxima is a function of the angular position of the receiver relative to the axis of the waggle run and thus a potential cue for direction. In addition to the narrow jet air flows, the dancers can generate a broad jet. The jets are not automatic by-products of wing vibration, since they can be switched on and off when the dancer adjusts the position of her wings.

Chromosome neighborhood composition determines translocation outcomes after exposure to high-dose radiation in primary cells.

PubMed

Brianna Caddle, Lura; Grant, Jeremy L; Szatkiewicz, Jin; van Hase, Johann; Shirley, Bobbi-Jo; Bewersdorf, Joerg; Cremer, Christoph; Arneodo, Alain; Khalil, Andre; Mills, Kevin D

2007-01-01

Radiation exposure is an occupational hazard for military personnel, some health care professionals, airport security screeners, and medical patients, with some individuals at risk for acute, high-dose exposures. Therefore, the biological effects of radiation, especially the potential for chromosome damage, are major occupational and health concerns. However, the biophysical mechanisms of chromosome instability subsequent to radiation-induced DNA damage are poorly understood. It is clear that interphase chromosomes occupy discrete structural and functional subnuclear domains, termed chromosome territories (CT), which may be organized into 'neighborhoods' comprising groups of specific CTs. We directly evaluated the relationship between chromosome positioning, neighborhood composition, and translocation partner choice in primary lymphocytes, using a cell-based system in which we could induce multiple, concentrated DNA breaks via high-dose irradiation. We critically evaluated mis-rejoining profiles and tested whether breaks occurring nearby were more likely to fuse than breaks occurring at a distance. We show that CT neighborhoods comprise heterologous chromosomes, within which inter-CT distances directly relate to translocation partner choice. These findings demonstrate that interphase chromosome arrangement is a principal factor in genomic instability outcomes in primary lymphocytes, providing a structural context for understanding the biological effects of radiation exposure, and the molecular etiology of tumor-specific translocation patterns.

Digital 2D-photogrammetry and direct anthropometry--a comparing study on test accomplishment and measurement data.

PubMed

Franke-Gromberg, Christine; Schüler, Grit; Hermanussen, Michael; Scheffler, Christiane

2010-01-01

The aim of this methodological anthropometric study was to compare direct anthropometry and digital two-dimensional photogrammetry in 18 male and 27 female subjects, aged 24 to 65 years, from Potsdam, Germany. In view of the rising interest in reliable biometric kephalofacial data, we focussed on head and face measurements. Out of 34 classic facial anatomical landmarks, 27 landmarks were investigated both by direct anthropometry and 2D-photogrammetry; 7 landmarks could not be localized by 2D-photogrammetry. Twenty-six kephalofacial distances were analysed both by direct anthropometry and digital 2D-photogrammetry. Kephalofacial distances are on average 7.6% shorter when obtained by direct anthropometry. The difference between the two techniques is particularly evident in total head height (vertex-gnathion) due to the fact that vertex is usually covered by hair and escapes from photogrammetry. Also the distances photographic sellion-gnathion (1.3 cm, i. e. 11.6%) and nasal-gnathion (1.2 cm, i. e. 9.4%) differ by more than one centimetre. Differences below 0.5 cm between the two techniques were found when measuring mucosa-lip-height (2.2%), gonia (3.0%), glabella-stomion (3.9%), and nose height (glabella-subnasal) (4.0%). Only the estimates of forehead width were significantly narrower when obtained by 2D-photogrammetry (-1.4 cm, -13.1%). The methodological differences increased with increasing magnitude of the kephalometric distance. Apart from these limitations, both techniques are similarly valid and may replace each other.

Visual impairment at baseline is associated with future poor physical functioning among middle-aged women: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, Michigan Site.

PubMed

Chandrasekaran, Navasuja; Harlow, Sioban; Moroi, Sayoko; Musch, David; Peng, Qing; Karvonen-Gutierrez, Carrie

2017-02-01

Emerging evidence suggests that the prevalence rates of poor functioning and of disability are increasing among middle-aged individuals. Visual impairment is associated with poor functioning among older adults but little is known about the impact of vision on functioning during midlife. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of visual impairment on future physical functioning among middle-aged women. In this longitudinal study, the sample consisted of 483 women aged 42 to 56 years, from the Michigan site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. At baseline, distance and near vision were measured using a Titmus vision screener. Visual impairment was defined as visual acuity worse than 20/40. Physical functioning was measured up to 10 years later using performance-based measures, including a 40-foot timed walk, timed stair climb and forward reach. Women with impaired distance vision at baseline had 2.81 centimeters less forward reach distance (95% confidence interval (CI): -4.19, -1.42) and 4.26s longer stair climb time (95% CI: 2.73, 5.79) at follow-up than women without impaired distance vision. Women with impaired near vision also had less forward reach distance (2.26 centimeters, 95% CI: -3.30, -1.21) than those without impaired near vision. Among middle-aged women, visual impairment is a marker of poor physical functioning. Routine eye testing and vision correction may help improve physical functioning among midlife individuals. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Visual Impairment at Baseline is Associated with Future Poor Physical Functioning Among Middle-Aged Women: The Study of Women's Health Across the Nation, Michigan site

PubMed Central

Chandrasekaran, Navasuja; Harlow, Sioban; Moroi, Sayoko; Musch, David; Peng, Qing; Karvonen-Gutierrez, Carrie

2016-01-01

Objectives Emerging evidence suggests that the prevalence rates of poor functioning and of disability are increasing among middle-aged individuals. Visual impairment is associated with poor functioning among older adults but little is known about the impact of vision on functioning during midlife. The objective of this study was to assess the impact of visual impairment on future physical functioning among middle-aged women. Study design In this longitudinal study, the sample consisted of 483 women aged 42 to 56 years, from the Michigan site of the Study of Women's Health Across the Nation. Main Outcome Measures At baseline, distance and near vision were measured using a Titmus vision screener. Visual impairment was defined as visual acuity worse than 20/40. Physical functioning was measured up to 10 years later using performance-based measures, including a 40-foot timed walk, timed stair climb and forward reach. Results Women with impaired distance vision at baseline had 2.81 centimeters less forward reach distance (95% confidence interval (CI): −4.19,−1.42) and 4.26 seconds longer stair climb time (95% CI: 2.73, 5.79) at follow-up than women without impaired distance vision. Women with impaired near vision also had less forward reach distance (2.26 centimeters, 95% CI: −3.30,−1.21) than those without impaired near vision. Conclusion Among middle-aged women, visual impairment is a marker of poor physical functioning. Routine eye testing and vision correction may help improve physical functioning among midlife individuals. PMID:28041592

Skyshine at neutron energies less than or equal to 400 MeV

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Alsmiller, A.G. Jr.; Barish, J.; Childs, R.L.

1980-10-01

The dose equivalent at an air-ground interface as a function of distance from an assumed azimuthally symmetric point source of neutrons can be calculated as a double integral. The integration is over the source strength as a function of energy and polar angle weighted by an importance function that depends on the source variables and on the distance from the source to the filed point. The neutron importance function for a source 15 m above the ground emitting only into the upper hemisphere has been calculated using the two-dimensional discrete ordinates code, DOT, and the first collision source code, GRTUNCL,more » in the adjoint mode. This importance function is presented for neutron energies less than or equal to 400 MeV, for source cosine intervals of 1 to .8, .8 to .6 to .4, .4 to .2 and .2 to 0, and for various distances from the source to the field point. As part of the adjoint calculations a photon importance function is also obtained. This importance function for photon energies less than or equal to 14 MEV and for various source cosine intervals and source-to-field point distances is also presented. These importance functions may be used to obtain skyshine dose equivalent estimates for any known source energy-angle distribution.« less

Scaling of flow distance in random self-similar channel networks

USGS Publications Warehouse

Troutman, B.M.

2005-01-01

Natural river channel networks have been shown in empirical studies to exhibit power-law scaling behavior characteristic of self-similar and self-affine structures. Of particular interest is to describe how the distribution of distance to the outlet changes as a function of network size. In this paper, networks are modeled as random self-similar rooted tree graphs and scaling of distance to the root is studied using methods in stochastic branching theory. In particular, the asymptotic expectation of the width function (number of nodes as a function of distance to the outlet) is derived under conditions on the replacement generators. It is demonstrated further that the branching number describing rate of growth of node distance to the outlet is identical to the length ratio under a Horton-Strahler ordering scheme as order gets large, again under certain restrictions on the generators. These results are discussed in relation to drainage basin allometry and an application to an actual drainage network is presented. ?? World Scientific Publishing Company.

Measurement of the Length of an Optical Trap

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wrbanek, Susan Y.

2010-01-01

NASA Glenn has been involved in developing optical trapping and optical micromanipulation techniques in order to develop a tool that can be used to probe, characterize, and assemble nano and microscale materials to create microscale sensors for harsh flight environments. In order to be able to assemble a sensor or probe candidate sensor material, it is useful to know how far an optical trap can reach; that is, the distance beyond/below the stable trapping point through which an object will be drawn into the optical trap. Typically, to measure the distance over which an optical trap would influence matter in a horizontal (perpendicular to beam propagation) direction, it was common to hold an object in one optical trap, place a second optical trap a known distance away, turn off the first optical trap, and note if the object was moved into the second trap when it was turned on. The disadvantage of this technique is that it only gives information of trap influence distance in horizontal (x y) directions. No information about the distance of the influence of the trap is gained in the direction of propagation of the beam (the z direction). A method was developed to use a time-of-flight technique to determine the length along the propagation direction of an optical trap beam over which an object may be drawn into the optical trap. Test objects (polystyrene microspheres) were held in an optical trap in a water-filled sample chamber and raised to a pre-determined position near the top of the sample chamber. Next, the test objects were released by blocking the optical trap beam. The test objects were allowed to fall through the water for predetermined periods of time, at the end of which the trapping beam was unblocked. It was noted whether or not the test object returned to the optical trap or continued to fall. This determination of the length of an optical trap's influence by this manner assumes that the test object falls through the water in the sample chamber at terminal velocity for the duration of its fall, so that the distance of trap influence can be computed simply by: d = VTt, where d is the trap length (or distance of trap reach), VT is the terminal velocity of the test object, and t is the time interval over which the object is allowed to fall.

Ephemeral penalty functions for contact-impact dynamics

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

De La Fuente, Horacio M.; Felippa, Carlos A.

1991-01-01

The use of penalty functions to treat a class of structural contact-impact problems is investigated, with emphasis on ones in which the impact phenomena are primarily nondestructive in nature and in which only the gross characterization of the response is required. The dynamic equations of motion are integrated by the difference method. The penalty is represented as an ephemeral fictitious nonlinear spring that is inserted on anticipation of contact. The magnitude and variation of the penalty force is determined through energy balancing considerations. The 'bell shape' of the penalty force function for positive gap was found to be satisfactory, as it depends on only two parameters that can be directly assigned the physical meaning of force and distance. The determination of force law parameters by energy balance worked well. The incorporation of restitution coefficients by the area balancing method yielded excellent results, and no substantial modifications are anticipated. Extensional penalty springs are obviously sufficient for the simple examples treated.

Light-induced picosecond rotational disordering of the inorganic sublattice in hybrid perovskites

DOE PAGES

Wu, Xiaoxi; Tan, Liang Z.; Shen, Xiaozhe; ...

2017-07-26

Femtosecond resolution electron scattering techniques are applied to resolve the first atomic-scale steps following absorption of a photon in the prototypical hybrid perovskite methylammonium lead iodide. Following above-gap photoexcitation, we directly resolve the transfer of energy from hot carriers to the lattice by recording changes in the mean square atomic displacements on 10-ps time scales. Measurements of the time-dependent pair distribution function show an unexpected broadening of the iodine-iodine correlation function while preserving the Pb-I distance. This indicates the formation of a rotationally disordered halide octahedral structure developing on picosecond time scales. Here, this work shows the important role ofmore » light-induced structural deformations within the inorganic sublattice in elucidating the unique optoelectronic functionality exhibited by hybrid perovskites and provides new understanding of hot carrier-lattice interactions, which fundamentally determine solar cell efficiencies.« less

The Use of the Technology of Distance Education in a Higher Educational Institution

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vishtak, O. V.

2007-01-01

This article discusses the use of technology of distance education in the teaching and learning process in higher education. The technology of distance education is defined as a system of methods, specific tools and forms by means of which the content of the education is transmitted and the goal-directed implementation of the aggregate set of…

Simultaneous broadband laser ranging and photonic Doppler velocimetry for dynamic compression experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

La Lone, B. M., E-mail: lalonebm@nv.doe.gov; Marshall, B. R.; Miller, E. K.

2015-02-15

A diagnostic was developed to simultaneously measure both the distance and velocity of rapidly moving surfaces in dynamic compression experiments, specifically non-planar experiments where integrating the velocity in one direction does not always give the material position accurately. The diagnostic is constructed mainly from fiber-optic telecommunications components. The distance measurement is based on a technique described by Xia and Zhang [Opt. Express 18, 4118 (2010)], which determines the target distance every 20 ns and is independent of the target speed. We have extended the full range of the diagnostic to several centimeters to allow its use in dynamic experiments, andmore » we multiplexed it with a photonic Doppler velocimetry (PDV) system so that distance and velocity histories can be measured simultaneously using one fiber-optic probe. The diagnostic was demonstrated on a spinning square cylinder to show how integrating a PDV record can give an incorrect surface position and how the ranging diagnostic described here obtains it directly. The diagnostic was also tested on an explosive experiment where copper fragments and surface ejecta were identified in both the distance and velocity signals. We show how the distance measurements complement the velocity data. Potential applications are discussed.« less

Ultraluminous X-ray sources: new distance indicators?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Różańska, A.; Bresler, K.; Bełdycki, B.; Madej, J.; Adhikari, T. P.

2018-05-01

Aims: In this paper we fit the NuSTAR and XMM-Newton data of three sources: NGC 7793 P13, NGC5907 ULX1, and Circinus ULX5. Methods: Our single model contains emission from a non-spherical system: a neutron star plus an accretion disk directed towards the observer. Results: We obtained a very good fit with the reduced χ2 per degree of freedom equal to 1.08 for P13, 1.01 for ULX1, and 1.14 for ULX5. The normalization of our model constrains the distance to the source. The resulting distances are D = 3.41-0.10+0.11, 6.55-0.81+0.69, and 2.60-0.03+0.05 Mpc for P13, ULX1, and ULX5 respectively. The distances to P13 and ULX5 are in perfect agreement with previous distance measurements to their host galaxies. Conclusions: Our results confirm that P13, ULX1, and ULX5 may contain central hot neutron stars. When the outgoing emission is computed by integration over the emitting surface and successfully fitted to the data, then the resulting model normalization is the direct distance indicator.

An exploratory survey of noise levels associated with a 100kW wind turbine

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Balombin, J. R.

1980-01-01

Noise measurements of a 125-foot diameter, 100 kW wind turbine are presented. The data include measurements as functions of distance from the turbine and directivity angle and cover a frequency range from 1 Hz to several kHz. Potential community impact is discussed in terms of A-weighted noise levels relative to background levels, and the intrasonic spectral content. Finally, the change in the sound power spectrum associated with a change in the rotor speed in described. The acoustic impact of this size wind turbine is judged to be minimal.

Hypersonic maneuvering to provide planetary gravity assist

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcronald, Angus D.; Randolph, James E.

1990-01-01

This paper examines the potential of aeroassist maneuvers at Mars for missions to the sun and to Pluto, using a high-lift/drag vehicle such as the waverider to perform an atmospheric 'fly-around' of Mars, in order to rotate the planetocentric velocity vector, thus adding to the rather small rotation due to gravity alone. A fly-around in one direction or the other can place the aphelion or the perihelion of the resulting orbit at the Mars distance, for missions toward the sun or toward Pluto, respectively. The parameters of such maneuvers are given as a function of earth launch velocity.

Late peripheral stent thrombosis due to stent fracture, vigorous exercise and hyporesponsiveness to clopidogrel.

PubMed

Linnemann, Birgit; Thalhammer, Axel; Wolf, Zsuzsanna; Tirneci, Vanessa; Vogl, Thomas J; Edelgard Lindhoff-Last, And

2012-03-01

Late peripheral arterial stent thrombosis usually occurs due to haemodynamically relevant in-stent restenosis. However, late stent thrombosis may be multicausal. We report here the well-documented case of a 69-year-old man with acute thrombosis of the stented superficial femoral artery after a long-distance bicycle tour. Catheter-directed thrombolysis revealed a residual stenosis located at a stent fracture site. In addition, platelet function tests revealed an inadequate platelet response to clopidogrel. In conclusion, stent fracture, strenuous exercise and hyporesponsiveness to clopidogrel may have contributed to the development of late peripheral stent thrombosis.

Optical signal splitting and chirping device modeling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vinogradova, Irina L.; Andrianova, Anna V.; Meshkov, Ivan K.; Sultanov, Albert Kh.; Abdrakhmanova, Guzel I.; Grakhova, Elizaveta P.; Ishmyarov, Arsen A.; Yantilina, Liliya Z.; Kutlieva, Gulnaz R.

2017-04-01

This article examines the devices for optical signal splitting and chirping device modeling. Models with splitting and switching functions are taken into consideration. The described device for optical signal splitting and chirping represents interferential splitter with profiled mixer which provides allocation of correspondent spectral component from ultra wide band frequency diapason, and signal phase shift for aerial array (AA) directive diagram control. This paper proposes modeling for two types of devices for optical signal splitting and chirping: the interference-type optical signal splitting and chirping device and the long-distance-type optical signal splitting and chirping device.

Map reading tools for map libraries.

USGS Publications Warehouse

Greenberg, G.L.

1982-01-01

Engineers, navigators and military strategists employ a broad array of mechanical devices to facilitate map use. A larger number of map users such as educators, students, tourists, journalists, historians, politicians, economists and librarians are unaware of the available variety of tools which can be used with maps to increase the speed and efficiency of their application and interpretation. This paper identifies map reading tools such as coordinate readers, protractors, dividers, planimeters, and symbol-templets according to a functional classification. Particularly, arrays of tools are suggested for use in determining position, direction, distance, area and form (perimeter-shape-pattern-relief). -from Author

Asymptotically exact parabolic solutions of the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation with varying parameters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kruglov, Vladimir I.; Harvey, John D.

2006-12-01

We present exact asymptotic similariton solutions of the generalized nonlinear Schrödinger equation (NLSE) with gain or loss terms for a normal-dispersion fiber amplifier with dispersion, nonlinearity, and gain profiles that depend on the propagation distance. Our treatment is based on the mapping of the NLSE with varying parameters to the NLSE with constant dispersion and nonlinearity coefficients and an arbitrary varying gain function. We formulate an effective procedure that leads directly, under appropriate conditions, to a wide range of exact asymptotic similariton solutions of NLSE demonstrating self-similar propagating regimes with linear chirp.

Neural Codes for One's Own Position and Direction in a Real-World "Vista" Environment.

PubMed

Sulpizio, Valentina; Boccia, Maddalena; Guariglia, Cecilia; Galati, Gaspare

2018-01-01

Humans, like animals, rely on an accurate knowledge of one's spatial position and facing direction to keep orientated in the surrounding space. Although previous neuroimaging studies demonstrated that scene-selective regions (the parahippocampal place area or PPA, the occipital place area or OPA and the retrosplenial complex or RSC), and the hippocampus (HC) are implicated in coding position and facing direction within small-(room-sized) and large-scale navigational environments, little is known about how these regions represent these spatial quantities in a large open-field environment. Here, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in humans to explore the neural codes of these navigationally-relevant information while participants viewed images which varied for position and facing direction within a familiar, real-world circular square. We observed neural adaptation for repeated directions in the HC, even if no navigational task was required. Further, we found that the amount of knowledge of the environment interacts with the PPA selectivity in encoding positions: individuals who needed more time to memorize positions in the square during a preliminary training task showed less neural attenuation in this scene-selective region. We also observed adaptation effects, which reflect the real distances between consecutive positions, in scene-selective regions but not in the HC. When examining the multi-voxel patterns of activity we observed that scene-responsive regions and the HC encoded both spatial information and that the RSC classification accuracy for positions was higher in individuals scoring higher to a self-reported questionnaire of spatial abilities. Our findings provide new insight into how the human brain represents a real, large-scale "vista" space, demonstrating the presence of neural codes for position and direction in both scene-selective and hippocampal regions, and revealing the existence, in the former regions, of a map-like spatial representation reflecting real-world distance between consecutive positions.

A three-station lightning detection system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruhnke, L. H.

1972-01-01

A three-station network is described which senses magnetic and electric fields of lightning. Directional and distance information derived from the data are used to redundantly determine lightning position. This redundancy is used to correct consistent propagation errors. A comparison is made of the relative accuracy of VLF direction finders with a newer method to determine distance to and location of lightning by the ratio of magnetic-to-electric field as observed at 400 Hz. It was found that VLF direction finders can determine lightning positions with only one-half the accuracy of the method that uses the ratio of magnetic-to-electric field.

Physical Forces between Humans and How Humans Attract and Repel Each Other Based on Their Social Interactions in an Online World

PubMed Central

Thurner, Stefan; Fuchs, Benedikt

2015-01-01

Physical interactions between particles are the result of the exchange of gauge bosons. Human interactions are mediated by the exchange of messages, goods, money, promises, hostilities, etc. While in the physical world interactions and their associated forces have immediate dynamical consequences (Newton’s laws) the situation is not clear for human interactions. Here we quantify the relative acceleration between humans who interact through the exchange of messages, goods and hostilities in a massive multiplayer online game. For this game we have complete information about all interactions (exchange events) between about 430,000 players, and about their trajectories (movements) in the metric space of the game universe at any point in time. We use this information to derive “interaction potentials" for communication, trade and attacks and show that they are harmonic in nature. Individuals who exchange messages and trade goods generally attract each other and start to separate immediately after exchange events end. The form of the interaction potential for attacks mirrors the usual “hit-and-run" tactics of aggressive players. By measuring interaction intensities as a function of distance, velocity and acceleration, we show that “forces" between players are directly related to the number of exchange events. We find an approximate power-law decay of the likelihood for interactions as a function of distance, which is in accordance with previous real world empirical work. We show that the obtained potentials can be understood with a simple model assuming an exchange-driven force in combination with a distance-dependent exchange rate. PMID:26196505

Physical Forces between Humans and How Humans Attract and Repel Each Other Based on Their Social Interactions in an Online World.

PubMed

Thurner, Stefan; Fuchs, Benedikt

2015-01-01

Physical interactions between particles are the result of the exchange of gauge bosons. Human interactions are mediated by the exchange of messages, goods, money, promises, hostilities, etc. While in the physical world interactions and their associated forces have immediate dynamical consequences (Newton's laws) the situation is not clear for human interactions. Here we quantify the relative acceleration between humans who interact through the exchange of messages, goods and hostilities in a massive multiplayer online game. For this game we have complete information about all interactions (exchange events) between about 430,000 players, and about their trajectories (movements) in the metric space of the game universe at any point in time. We use this information to derive "interaction potentials" for communication, trade and attacks and show that they are harmonic in nature. Individuals who exchange messages and trade goods generally attract each other and start to separate immediately after exchange events end. The form of the interaction potential for attacks mirrors the usual "hit-and-run" tactics of aggressive players. By measuring interaction intensities as a function of distance, velocity and acceleration, we show that "forces" between players are directly related to the number of exchange events. We find an approximate power-law decay of the likelihood for interactions as a function of distance, which is in accordance with previous real world empirical work. We show that the obtained potentials can be understood with a simple model assuming an exchange-driven force in combination with a distance-dependent exchange rate.

Direct measurement of electron transfer distance decay constants of single redox proteins by electrochemical tunneling spectroscopy.

PubMed

Artés, Juan M; Díez-Pérez, Ismael; Sanz, Fausto; Gorostiza, Pau

2011-03-22

We present a method to measure directly and at the single-molecule level the distance decay constant that characterizes the rate of electron transfer (ET) in redox proteins. Using an electrochemical tunneling microscope under bipotentiostatic control, we obtained current−distance spectroscopic recordings of individual redox proteins confined within a nanometric tunneling gap at a well-defined molecular orientation. The tunneling current decays exponentially, and the corresponding decay constant (β) strongly supports a two-step tunneling ET mechanism. Statistical analysis of decay constant measurements reveals differences between the reduced and oxidized states that may be relevant to the control of ET rates in enzymes and biological electron transport chains.

Traversing psychological distance.

PubMed

Liberman, Nira; Trope, Yaacov

2014-07-01

Traversing psychological distance involves going beyond direct experience, and includes planning, perspective taking, and contemplating counterfactuals. Consistent with this view, temporal, spatial, and social distances as well as hypotheticality are associated, affect each other, and are inferred from one another. Moreover, traversing all distances involves the use of abstraction, which we define as forming a belief about the substitutability for a specific purpose of subjectively distinct objects. Indeed, across many instances of both abstraction and psychological distancing, more abstract constructs are used for more distal objects. Here, we describe the implications of this relation for prediction, choice, communication, negotiation, and self-control. We ask whether traversing distance is a general mental ability and whether distance should replace expectancy in expected-utility theories. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

EClerize: A customized force-directed graph drawing algorithm for biological graphs with EC attributes.

PubMed

Danaci, Hasan Fehmi; Cetin-Atalay, Rengul; Atalay, Volkan

2018-03-26

Visualizing large-scale data produced by the high throughput experiments as a biological graph leads to better understanding and analysis. This study describes a customized force-directed layout algorithm, EClerize, for biological graphs that represent pathways in which the nodes are associated with Enzyme Commission (EC) attributes. The nodes with the same EC class numbers are treated as members of the same cluster. Positions of nodes are then determined based on both the biological similarity and the connection structure. EClerize minimizes the intra-cluster distance, that is the distance between the nodes of the same EC cluster and maximizes the inter-cluster distance, that is the distance between two distinct EC clusters. EClerize is tested on a number of biological pathways and the improvement brought in is presented with respect to the original algorithm. EClerize is available as a plug-in to cytoscape ( http://apps.cytoscape.org/apps/eclerize ).

Distancing, not embracing, the Distancing-Embracing model of art reception.

PubMed

Davies, Stephen

2017-01-01

Despite denials in the target article, the Distancing-Embracing model appeals to compensatory ideas in explaining the appeal of artworks that elicit negative affect. The model also appeals to the deflationary effects of psychological distancing. Having pointed to the famous rejection in the 1960s of the view that aesthetic experience involves psychological distancing, I suggest that "distance" functions here as a weak metaphor that cannot sustain the explanatory burden the theory demands of it.

Analysing designed experiments in distance sampling

Treesearch

Stephen T. Buckland; Robin E. Russell; Brett G. Dickson; Victoria A. Saab; Donal N. Gorman; William M. Block

2009-01-01

Distance sampling is a survey technique for estimating the abundance or density of wild animal populations. Detection probabilities of animals inherently differ by species, age class, habitats, or sex. By incorporating the change in an observer's ability to detect a particular class of animals as a function of distance, distance sampling leads to density estimates...

Estimating Commute Distances of U.S. Army Reservists by Regional and Unit Characteristics

DTIC Science & Technology

1990-09-01

multiple regression equation is used to estimate the parameters of the commute distance distribution as a function of reserve center and market ...used to estimate the parameters of the commute distance distribution as a function of reserve center and market characteristics. The results of the...recruiting personnel to meet unit fill rates. An important objective of the USAREC is to identify market areas that will support new reserve units [Ref. 2:p

A new method for solving reachable domain of spacecraft with a single impulse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Qi; Qiao, Dong; Shang, Haibin; Liu, Xinfu

2018-04-01

This paper develops a new approach to solve the reachable domain of a spacecraft with a single maximum available impulse. First, the distance in a chosen direction, started from a given position on the initial orbit, is formulated. Then, its extreme value is solved to obtain the maximum reachable distance in this direction. The envelop of the reachable domain in three-dimensional space is determined by solving the maximum reachable distance in all directions. Four scenarios are analyzed, including three typical scenarios (either the maneuver position or impulse direction is fixed, or both are arbitrary) and a new extended scenario (the maneuver position is restricted to an interval and the impulse direction is arbitrary). Moreover, the symmetry and the boundedness of the reachable domain are discussed in detail. The former is helpful to reduce the numerical computation, while the latter decides the maximum eccentricity of the initial orbit for a maximum available impulse. The numerical simulations verify the effectiveness of the proposed method for solving the reachable domain in all four scenarios. Especially, the reachable domain with a highly elliptical initial orbit can be determined successfully, which remains unsolved in the existing papers.

Directional time-distance probing of model sunspot atmospheres

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moradi, H.; Cally, P. S.; Przybylski, D.; Shelyag, S.

2015-05-01

A crucial feature not widely accounted for in local helioseismology is that surface magnetic regions actually open a window from the interior into the solar atmosphere, and that the seismic waves leak through this window, reflect high in the atmosphere, and then re-enter the interior to rejoin the seismic wave field normally confined there. In a series of recent numerical studies using translation invariant atmospheres, we utilized a `directional time-distance helioseismology' measurement scheme to study the implications of the returning fast and Alfvén waves higher up in the solar atmosphere on the seismology at the photosphere (Cally & Moradi 2013; Moradi & Cally 2014). In this study, we extend our directional time-distance analysis to more realistic sunspot-like atmospheres to better understand the direct effects of the magnetic field on helioseismic travel-time measurements in sunspots. In line with our previous findings, we uncover a distinct frequency-dependent directional behaviour in the travel-time measurements, consistent with the signatures of magnetohydrodynamic mode conversion. We found this to be the case regardless of the sunspot field strength or depth of its Wilson depression. We also isolated and analysed the direct contribution from purely thermal perturbations to the measured travel times, finding that waves propagating in the umbra are much more sensitive to the underlying thermal effects of the sunspot.

Correlation between electrical direct current resistivity and plasmonic properties of CMOS compatible titanium nitride thin films.

PubMed

Viarbitskaya, S; Arocas, J; Heintz, O; Colas-Des-Francs, G; Rusakov, D; Koch, U; Leuthold, J; Markey, L; Dereux, A; Weeber, J-C

2018-04-16

Damping distances of surface plasmon polariton modes sustained by different thin titanium nitride (TiN) films are measured at the telecom wavelength of 1.55 μm. The damping distances are correlated to the electrical direct current resistivity of the films sustaining the surface plasmon modes. It is found that TiN/Air surface plasmon mode damping distances drop non-linearly from 40 to 16μm as the resistivity of the layers increases from 28 to 130μΩ.cm, respectively. The relevance of the direct current (dc) electrical resistivity for the characterization of TiN plasmonic properties is investigated in the framework of the Drude model, on the basis of parameters extracted from spectroscopic ellipsometry experiments. By probing a parametric space of realistic values for parameters of the Drude model, we obtain a nearly univocal dependence of the surface plasmon damping distance on the dc resistivity demonstrating the relevance of dc resistivity for the evaluation of the plasmonic performances of TiN at telecom frequencies. Finally, we show that better plasmonic performances are obtained for TiN films featuring a low content of oxygen. For low oxygen content and corresponding low resistivity, we attribute the increase of the surface plasmon damping distances to a lower confinement of the plasmon field into the metal and not to a decrease of the absorption of TiN.

Quantum transport of the single metallocene molecule

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Jing-Xin; Chang, Jing; Wei, Rong-Kai; Liu, Xiu-Ying; Li, Xiao-Dong

2016-10-01

The Quantum transport of three single metallocene molecule is investigated by performing theoretical calculations using the non-equilibrium Green's function method combined with density functional theory. We find that the three metallocen molecules structure become stretched along the transport direction, the distance between two Cp rings longer than the other theory and experiment results. The lager conductance is found in nickelocene molecule, the main transmission channel is the electron coupling between molecule and the electrodes is through the Ni dxz and dyz orbitals and the s, dxz, dyz of gold. This is also confirmed by the highest occupied molecular orbital resonance at Fermi level. In addition, negative differential resistance effect is found in the ferrocene, cobaltocene molecules, this is also closely related with the evolution of the transmission spectrum under applied bias.

Dynamic feet distance: A new functional assessment during treadmill locomotion in normal and thoracic spinal cord injured rats.

PubMed

Diogo, Camila Cardoso; Costa, Luís Maltez da; Pereira, José Eduardo; Filipe, Vítor; Couto, Pedro Alexandre; Magalhães, Luís G; Geuna, Stefano; Armada-da-Silva, Paulo A; Maurício, Ana Colette; Varejão, Artur Severo

2017-09-29

Of all the detrimental effects of spinal cord injury (SCI), one of the most devastating is the disruption of the ability to perform functional movement. Very little is known on the recovery of hindlimb joint kinematics after clinically-relevant contusive thoracic lesion in experimental animal models. A new functional assessment instrument, the dynamic feet distance (DFD) was used to describe the distance between the two feet throughout the gait cycle in normal and affected rodents. The purpose of this investigation was the evaluation and characterization of the DFD during treadmill locomotion in normal and T9 contusion injured rats, using three-dimensional (3D) instrumented gait analysis. Despite that normal and injured rats showed a similar pattern in the fifth metatarsal head joints distance excursion, we found a significantly wider distance between the feet during the entire gait cycle following spinal injury. This is the first study to quantify the distance between the two feet, throughout the gait cycle, and the biomechanical adjustments made between limbs in laboratory rodents after nervous system injury. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of Distance Distribution Functions by Singlet-Singlet Energy Transfer

PubMed Central

Cantor, Charles R.; Pechukas, Philip

1971-01-01

The efficiency of energy transfer between two chromophores can be used to define an apparent donor-acceptor distance, which in flexible systems will depend on the R0 of the chromophores. If efficiency is measured as a function of R0, it will be possible to determine the actual distribution function of donor-acceptor distances. Numerical procedures are described for extracting this information from experimental data. They should be most useful for distribution functions with mean values from 20-30 Å (2-3 nm). This technique should provide considerably more detailed information on end-to-end distributions of oligomers than has hitherto been available. It should also be useful for describing, in detail, conformational flexibility in other large molecules. PMID:16591942

Pre- and Post-equinox ROSINA production rates calculated using a realistic empirical coma model derived from AMPS-DSMC simulations of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hansen, Kenneth; Altwegg, Kathrin; Berthelier, Jean-Jacques; Bieler, Andre; Calmonte, Ursina; Combi, Michael; De Keyser, Johan; Fiethe, Björn; Fougere, Nicolas; Fuselier, Stephen; Gombosi, Tamas; Hässig, Myrtha; Huang, Zhenguang; Le Roy, Lena; Rubin, Martin; Tenishev, Valeriy; Toth, Gabor; Tzou, Chia-Yu

2016-04-01

We have previously used results from the AMPS DSMC (Adaptive Mesh Particle Simulator Direct Simulation Monte Carlo) model to create an empirical model of the near comet coma (<400 km) of comet 67P for the pre-equinox orbit of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko. In this work we extend the empirical model to the post-equinox, post-perihelion time period. In addition, we extend the coma model to significantly further from the comet (~100,000-1,000,000 km). The empirical model characterizes the neutral coma in a comet centered, sun fixed reference frame as a function of heliocentric distance, radial distance from the comet, local time and declination. Furthermore, we have generalized the model beyond application to 67P by replacing the heliocentric distance parameterizations and mapping them to production rates. Using this method, the model become significantly more general and can be applied to any comet. The model is a significant improvement over simpler empirical models, such as the Haser model. For 67P, the DSMC results are, of course, a more accurate representation of the coma at any given time, but the advantage of a mean state, empirical model is the ease and speed of use. One application of the empirical model is to de-trend the spacecraft motion from the ROSINA COPS and DFMS data (Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis, Comet Pressure Sensor, Double Focusing Mass Spectrometer). The ROSINA instrument measures the neutral coma density at a single point and the measured value is influenced by the location of the spacecraft relative to the comet and the comet-sun line. Using the empirical coma model we can correct for the position of the spacecraft and compute a total production rate based on the single point measurement. In this presentation we will present the coma production rate as a function of heliocentric distance both pre- and post-equinox and perihelion.

Hip abduction-adduction strength and one-leg hop tests: test-retest reliability and relationship to function in elite ice hockey players.

PubMed

Kea, J; Kramer, J; Forwell, L; Birmingham, T

2001-08-01

Single group, test-retest. To determine: (1) hip abduction and adduction torques during concentric and eccentric muscle actions, (2) medial and lateral one-leg hop distances, (3) the test-retest reliability of these measurements, and (4) the relationship between isokinetic measures of hip muscle strength and hop distances in elite ice hockey players. The skating motion used in ice hockey requires strong contractions of the hip and knee musculature. However, baseline scores for hip strength and hop distances, their test-retest reliability, and measures of the extent to which these tests are related for this population are not available. The dominant leg of 27 men (mean age 20 +/- 3 yrs) was tested on 2 occasions. Hip abduction and adduction movements were completed at 60 degrees.s(-1) angular velocity, with the subject lying on the non-test side and the test leg moving vertically in the subject's coronal plane. One-leg hops requiring jumping from and landing on the same leg without losing balance were completed in the medial and lateral directions. Hip adduction torques were significantly greater than abduction torques during both concentric and eccentric muscle actions, while no significant difference was observed between medial and lateral hop distances. Although hop test scores produced excellent ICCs (> 0.75) when determined using scores on 1 occasion, torques needed to be averaged over 2 test occasions to reach this level. Correlations between the strength and hop tests ranged from slight to low (r = -0.26 to 0.27) and were characterized by wide 95% confidence intervals (-0.54 to 0.61). Isokinetic tests of hip abduction and adduction did not provide a strong indication of performance during sideways hop tests. Although isokinetic tests can provide a measure of muscular strength under specific test conditions, they should not be relied upon as a primary indicator of functional abilities or readiness to return to activity.

Optimal steering for kinematic vehicles with applications to spatially distributed agents

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, Scott; Praeger, Cheryl E.; Giudici, Michael

While there is no universal method to address control problems involving networks of autonomous vehicles, there exist a few promising schemes that apply to different specific classes of problems, which have attracted the attention of many researchers from different fields. In particular, one way to extend techniques that address problems involving a single autonomous vehicle to those involving teams of autonomous vehicles is to use the concept of Voronoi diagram. The Voronoi diagram provides a spatial partition of the environment the team of vehicles operate in, where each element of this partition is associated with a unique vehicle from the team. The partition induces a graph abstraction of the operating space that is in an one-to-one correspondence with the network abstraction of the team of autonomous vehicles; a fact that can provide both conceptual and analytical advantages during mission planning and execution. In this dissertation, we propose the use of a new class of Voronoi-like partitioning schemes with respect to state-dependent proximity (pseudo-) metrics rather than the Euclidean distance or other generalized distance functions, which are typically used in the literature. An important nuance here is that, in contrast to the Euclidean distance, state-dependent metrics can succinctly capture system theoretic features of each vehicle from the team (e.g., vehicle kinematics), as well as the environment-vehicle interactions, which are induced, for example, by local winds/currents. We subsequently illustrate how the proposed concept of state-dependent Voronoi-like partition can induce local control schemes for problems involving networks of spatially distributed autonomous vehicles by examining a sequential pursuit problem of a maneuvering target by a group of pursuers distributed in the plane. The construction of generalized Voronoi diagrams with respect to state-dependent metrics poses some significant challenges. First, the generalized distance metric may be a function of the direction of motion of the vehicle (anisotropic pseudo-distance function) and/or may not be expressible in closed form. Second, such problems fall under the general class of partitioning problems for which the vehicles' dynamics must be taken into account. The topology of the vehicle's configuration space may be non-Euclidean, for example, it may be a manifold embedded in a Euclidean space. In other words, these problems may not be reducible to generalized Voronoi diagram problems for which efficient construction schemes, analytical and/or computational, exist in the literature. This research effort pursues three main objectives. First, we present the complete solution of different steering problems involving a single vehicle in the presence of motion constraints imposed by the maneuverability envelope of the vehicle and/or the presence of a drift field induced by winds/currents in its vicinity. The analysis of each steering problem involving a single vehicle provides us with a state-dependent generalized metric, such as the minimum time-to-go/come. We subsequently use these state-dependent generalized distance functions as the proximity metrics in the formulation of generalized Voronoi-like partitioning problems. The characterization of the solutions of these state-dependent Voronoi-like partitioning problems using either analytical or computational techniques constitutes the second main objective of this dissertation. The third objective of this research effort is to illustrate the use of the proposed concept of state-dependent Voronoi-like partition as a means for passing from control techniques that apply to problems involving a single vehicle to problems involving networks of spatially distributed autonomous vehicles. To this aim, we formulate the problem of sequential/relay pursuit of a maneuvering target by a group of spatially distributed pursuers and subsequently propose a distributed group pursuit strategy that directly derives from the solution of a state-dependent Voronoi-like partitioning problem. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Scalable parallel distance field construction for large-scale applications

DOE PAGES

Yu, Hongfeng; Xie, Jinrong; Ma, Kwan -Liu; ...

2015-10-01

Computing distance fields is fundamental to many scientific and engineering applications. Distance fields can be used to direct analysis and reduce data. In this paper, we present a highly scalable method for computing 3D distance fields on massively parallel distributed-memory machines. Anew distributed spatial data structure, named parallel distance tree, is introduced to manage the level sets of data and facilitate surface tracking overtime, resulting in significantly reduced computation and communication costs for calculating the distance to the surface of interest from any spatial locations. Our method supports several data types and distance metrics from real-world applications. We demonstrate itsmore » efficiency and scalability on state-of-the-art supercomputers using both large-scale volume datasets and surface models. We also demonstrate in-situ distance field computation on dynamic turbulent flame surfaces for a petascale combustion simulation. In conclusion, our work greatly extends the usability of distance fields for demanding applications.« less

Scalable Parallel Distance Field Construction for Large-Scale Applications.

PubMed

Yu, Hongfeng; Xie, Jinrong; Ma, Kwan-Liu; Kolla, Hemanth; Chen, Jacqueline H

2015-10-01

Computing distance fields is fundamental to many scientific and engineering applications. Distance fields can be used to direct analysis and reduce data. In this paper, we present a highly scalable method for computing 3D distance fields on massively parallel distributed-memory machines. A new distributed spatial data structure, named parallel distance tree, is introduced to manage the level sets of data and facilitate surface tracking over time, resulting in significantly reduced computation and communication costs for calculating the distance to the surface of interest from any spatial locations. Our method supports several data types and distance metrics from real-world applications. We demonstrate its efficiency and scalability on state-of-the-art supercomputers using both large-scale volume datasets and surface models. We also demonstrate in-situ distance field computation on dynamic turbulent flame surfaces for a petascale combustion simulation. Our work greatly extends the usability of distance fields for demanding applications.

Integration of geospatial multi-mode transportation Systems in Kuala Lumpur

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ismail, M. A.; Said, M. N.

2014-06-01

Public transportation serves people with mobility and accessibility to workplaces, health facilities, community resources, and recreational areas across the country. Development in the application of Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to transportation problems represents one of the most important areas of GIS-technology today. To show the importance of GIS network analysis, this paper highlights the determination of the optimal path between two or more destinations based on multi-mode concepts. The abstract connector is introduced in this research as an approach to integrate urban public transportation in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia including facilities such as Light Rapid Transit (LRT), Keretapi Tanah Melayu (KTM) Komuter, Express Rail Link (ERL), KL Monorail, road driving as well as pedestrian modes into a single intelligent data model. To assist such analysis, ArcGIS's Network Analyst functions are used whereby the final output includes the total distance, total travelled time, directional maps produced to find the quickest, shortest paths, and closest facilities based on either time or distance impedance for multi-mode route analysis.

Differential survivorship among allozyme genotypes of Hyalella azteca exposed to cadmium, zinc or low pH.

PubMed

Duan, Y; Guttman, S I; Oris, J T; Bailer, A J

2001-09-01

The survival functions (SF) during acute exposures to cadmium, zinc or low pH were examined for amphipods exhibiting variation at three loci. Significant differences were observed in eight of nine locus/toxicant combinations. Two general types of survival curve patterns were identified when genotype-related SF differences were observed. In the first pattern, the survival differences between genotypes were immediately apparent with two SF curves separated at the beginning of exposure with little or no overlap. For the second pattern, both genotypes had similar SF for a period of time, during which the two survival curves crossed or overlapped. After this period, the survival probability of one genotype dropped sharply relative to the other. While SF was related to genotype, it was not related to heterozygosity. Genetic distance analysis showed that exposure to cadmium, zinc or low pH each resulted in directional selection, suggesting the potential use of genetic distance as a bioindicator.

Measuring Time-of-Flight in an Ultrasonic LPS System Using Generalized Cross-Correlation

PubMed Central

Villladangos, José Manuel; Ureña, Jesús; García, Juan Jesús; Mazo, Manuel; Hernández, Álvaro; Jiménez, Ana; Ruíz, Daniel; De Marziani, Carlos

2011-01-01

In this article, a time-of-flight detection technique in the frequency domain is described for an ultrasonic Local Positioning System (LPS) based on encoded beacons. Beacon transmissions have been synchronized and become simultaneous by means of the DS-CDMA (Direct-Sequence Code Division Multiple Access) technique. Every beacon has been associated to a 255-bit Kasami code. The detection of signal arrival instant at the receiver, from which the distance to each beacon can be obtained, is based on the application of the Generalized Cross-Correlation (GCC), by using the cross-spectral density between the received signal and the sequence to be detected. Prior filtering to enhance the frequency components around the carrier frequency (40 kHz) has improved estimations when obtaining the correlation function maximum, which implies an improvement in distance measurement precision. Positioning has been achieved by using hyperbolic trilateration, based on the Time Differences of Arrival (TDOA) between a reference beacon and the others. PMID:22346645

Measuring time-of-flight in an ultrasonic LPS system using generalized cross-correlation.

PubMed

Villladangos, José Manuel; Ureña, Jesús; García, Juan Jesús; Mazo, Manuel; Hernández, Alvaro; Jiménez, Ana; Ruíz, Daniel; De Marziani, Carlos

2011-01-01

In this article, a time-of-flight detection technique in the frequency domain is described for an ultrasonic local positioning system (LPS) based on encoded beacons. Beacon transmissions have been synchronized and become simultaneous by means of the DS-CDMA (direct-sequence code Division multiple access) technique. Every beacon has been associated to a 255-bit Kasami code. The detection of signal arrival instant at the receiver, from which the distance to each beacon can be obtained, is based on the application of the generalized cross-correlation (GCC), by using the cross-spectral density between the received signal and the sequence to be detected. Prior filtering to enhance the frequency components around the carrier frequency (40 kHz) has improved estimations when obtaining the correlation function maximum, which implies an improvement in distance measurement precision. Positioning has been achieved by using hyperbolic trilateration, based on the time differences of arrival (TDOA) between a reference beacon and the others.

The vacuole system is a significant intracellular pathway for longitudinal solute transport in basidiomycete fungi.

PubMed

Darrah, P R; Tlalka, M; Ashford, A; Watkinson, S C; Fricker, M D

2006-07-01

Mycelial fungi have a growth form which is unique among multicellular organisms. The data presented here suggest that they have developed a unique solution to internal solute translocation involving a complex, extended vacuole. In all filamentous fungi examined, this extended vacuole forms an interconnected network, dynamically linked by tubules, which has been hypothesized to act as an internal distribution system. We have tested this hypothesis directly by quantifying solute movement within the organelle by photobleaching a fluorescent vacuolar marker. Predictive simulation models were then used to determine the transport characteristics over extended length scales. This modeling showed that the vacuolar organelle forms a functionally important, bidirectional diffusive transport pathway over distances of millimeters to centimeters. Flux through the pathway is regulated by the dynamic tubular connections involving homotypic fusion and fission. There is also a strongly predicted interaction among vacuolar organization, predicted diffusion transport distances, and the architecture of the branching colony margin.

Similar and functionally typical kinematic reaching parameters in 7- and 15-month-old in utero cocaine-exposed and unexposed infants.

PubMed

Tronick, E Z; Fetters, Linda; Olson, Karen L; Chen, Yuping

2004-04-01

This study examined the effects of intrauterine cocaine exposure on the reaches of 19 exposed and 15 unexposed infants at 7 and 15 months using kinematic measures. Infants sat at a table and reached for a rattle, a toy doll, and a chair. Videotaped reaches were digitized using the Peak Performance system. Kinematic movement variables were extracted (e.g., reach duration, peak velocity, movement units, path length) and ratios computed (e.g., path length divided by number of movement units). Regardless of exposure status, reaches of older infants were faster, more direct, had fewer movement units, and covered more distance with the first movement unit. Exposed infants covered more distance per movement unit than unexposed infants, but there were no other significant differences. Reaches of exposed and unexposed infants were essentially similar. Importantly, reach parameters for these high-risk infants were similar to reach parameters for infants at lower social and biological risk. Copyright 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Stress concentration in the vicinity of a hole defect under conditions of Hertzian contact

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Yamamoto, T.; Eguchi, M.; Murayama, K.

1981-01-01

Two dimensional photoelastic stress analyses were conducted for epoxy resin models containing a hole defect under the conditions of Hertzian contact. Stress concentrations around the defect were determined as a function of several parameters. The effect of tangential traction on the stress concentration was also determined. Sharp stress concentrations occur in the vicinity of both the left and the right side of the hole. The stress concentration becomes more distinct the larger the hole diameter and the smaller distance between the hole and the contact surface. The stress concentration is greatest when the disk imposing a normal load is located at the contact surface directly over the hole. The magnitude and the location of stress concentration varies with the distance between the Hertzian contact area and the hole. The area involved in a process of rolling contact fatigue is confined to a shallow region at both sides of the hole. It was found that the effect of tangential traction is comparatively small on the stress concentration around the hole.

Defect formation energy and magnetic structure of shape memory alloys Ni-X-Ga (X=Mn, Fe, Co) by first principle calculation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bai, J.; Raulot, J. M.; Zhang, Y. D.; Esling, C.; Zhao, X.; Zuo, L.

2010-09-01

The crystallographic and magnetic structures of the Ni2XGa (X=Mn, Fe, Co), are systematically investigated by means of the first-principles calculations within the framework of density functional theory using the VIENNA AB INITIO SOFTWARE PACKAGE. The formation energies of several kinds of defects (atomic exchange, antisite, vacancy) are estimated. The Ga atoms stabilize the cubic structure, and the effect of X atoms on the structural stability is opposite. For most cases of the site occupation, the excess atoms of the rich component directly occupy the site(s) of the deficient one(s), except for Ga-rich Ni-deficient type. The magnitude of the variation in Ni moments is much larger than that of Mn in defective Ni2XGa. The value of Ni magnetic moment sensitively depends on the distance between Ni and X. Excess Mn could be ferromagnetic or antiferromagnetic, depending on the distance between the neighboring Mn atoms.

Signature of an aggregation-prone conformation of tau

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eschmann, Neil A.; Georgieva, Elka R.; Ganguly, Pritam; Borbat, Peter P.; Rappaport, Maxime D.; Akdogan, Yasar; Freed, Jack H.; Shea, Joan-Emma; Han, Songi

2017-03-01

The self-assembly of the microtubule associated tau protein into fibrillar cell inclusions is linked to a number of devastating neurodegenerative disorders collectively known as tauopathies. The mechanism by which tau self-assembles into pathological entities is a matter of much debate, largely due to the lack of direct experimental insights into the earliest stages of aggregation. We present pulsed double electron-electron resonance measurements of two key fibril-forming regions of tau, PHF6 and PHF6*, in transient as aggregation happens. By monitoring the end-to-end distance distribution of these segments as a function of aggregation time, we show that the PHF6(*) regions dramatically extend to distances commensurate with extended β-strand structures within the earliest stages of aggregation, well before fibril formation. Combined with simulations, our experiments show that the extended β-strand conformational state of PHF6(*) is readily populated under aggregating conditions, constituting a defining signature of aggregation-prone tau, and as such, a possible target for therapeutic interventions.

Single Pulse Remote Raman Detection of Minerals and Organics Under Illuminated Condition from 10 Meters Distance

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Misra, A. K.; Sharma, S. K.; Lucey, P. G.

2005-01-01

A directly coupled portable remote Raman instrument developed by the University of Hawaii has been shown here to identify several minerals, chemicals and organics from a distance of 10 m using a single laser pulse in a well illuminated background. Raman spectra, obtained during a very short period of time, of common minerals e.g., dolomite, calcite, marble, barite, gypsum, quarts, rutile, fluorapatite etc. clearly show Raman features which could be used as fingerprints for mineral identification. Raman features of organics such as benzene, cyclohexane, 2-propanol, naphthalene, etc. and other chemicals containing various functional groups like oxides, silicates, sulphates, nitrates, phosphates and carbonates were also easily detected. Ability to measure Raman spectra with a single laser pulse would be promising for future space missions where power consumption is critical and a rapid survey of the minerals with moderate to high Raman cross section might be desirable for selecting rocks that would provide high scientific return or for acquiring rocks for sample return to the Earth.

Primate translational vestibuloocular reflexes. II. Version and vergence responses to fore-aft motion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

McHenry, M. Q.; Angelaki, D. E.

2000-01-01

To maintain binocular fixation on near targets during fore-aft translational disturbances, largely disjunctive eye movements are elicited the amplitude and direction of which should be tuned to the horizontal and vertical eccentricities of the target. The eye movements generated during this task have been investigated here as trained rhesus monkeys fixated isovergence targets at different horizontal and vertical eccentricities during 10 Hz fore-aft oscillations. The elicited eye movements complied with the geometric requirements for binocular fixation, although not ideally. First, the corresponding vergence angle for which the movement of each eye would be compensatory was consistently less than that dictated by the actual fixation parameters. Second, the eye position with zero sensitivity to translation was not straight ahead, as geometrically required, but rather exhibited a systematic dependence on viewing distance and vergence angle. Third, responses were asymmetric, with gains being larger for abducting and downward compared with adducting and upward gaze directions, respectively. As frequency was varied between 4 and 12 Hz, responses exhibited high-pass filter properties with significant differences between abduction and adduction responses. As a result of these differences, vergence sensitivity increased as a function of frequency with a steeper slope than that of version. Despite largely undercompensatory version responses, vergence sensitivity was closer to ideal. Moreover, the observed dependence of vergence sensitivity on vergence angle, which was varied between 2.5 and 10 MA, was largely linear rather than quadratic (as geometrically predicted). We conclude that the spatial tuning of eye velocity sensitivity as a function of gaze and viewing distance follows the general geometric dependencies required for the maintenance of foveal visual acuity. However, systematic deviations from ideal behavior exist that might reflect asymmetric processing of abduction/adduction responses perhaps because of different functional dependencies of version and vergence eye movement components during translation.

The impact of the CartoSound® image directly acquired from the left atrium for integration in atrial fibrillation ablation.

PubMed

Kaseno, Kenichi; Hisazaki, Kaori; Nakamura, Kohki; Ikeda, Etsuko; Hasegawa, Kanae; Aoyama, Daisetsu; Shiomi, Yuichiro; Ikeda, Hiroyuki; Morishita, Tetsuji; Ishida, Kentaro; Amaya, Naoki; Uzui, Hiroyasu; Tada, Hiroshi

2018-04-14

Intracardiac echocardiographic (ICE) imaging might be useful for integrating three-dimensional computed tomographic (CT) images for left atrial (LA) catheter navigation during atrial fibrillation (AF) ablation. However, the optimal CT image integration method using ICE has not been established. This study included 52 AF patients who underwent successful circumferential pulmonary vein isolation (CPVI). In all patients, CT image integration was performed after the CPVI with the following two methods: (1) using ICE images of the LA derived from the right atrium and right ventricular outflow tract (RA-merge) and (2) using ICE images of the LA directly derived from the LA added to the image for the RA-merge (LA-merge). The accuracy of these two methods was assessed by the distances between the integrated CT image and ICE image (ICE-to-CT distance), and between the CT image and actual ablated sites for the CPVI (CT-to-ABL distance). The mean ICE-to-CT distance was comparable between the two methods (RA-merge = 1.6 ± 0.5 mm, LA-merge = 1.7 ± 0.4 mm; p = 0.33). However, the mean CT-to-ABL distance was shorter for the LA-merge (2.1 ± 0.6 mm) than RA-merge (2.5 ± 0.8 mm; p < 0.01). The LA, especially the left-sided PVs and LA roof, was more sharply delineated by direct LA imaging, and whereas the greatest CT-to-ABL distance was observed at the roof portion of the left superior PV (3.7 ± 2.8 mm) after the RA-merge, it improved to 2.6 ± 1.9 mm after the LA-merge (p < 0.01). Additional ICE images of the LA directly acquired from the LA might lead to a greater accuracy of the CT image integration for the CVPI.

Observations of the interplanetary magnetic field between 0.46 and 1 A.U. by the Mariner 10 spacecraft. Ph.D. Thesis - Catholic Univ. of Am.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Behannon, K. W.

1976-01-01

Almost continuous measurement of the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) at a sampling rate of 25 vectors/sec was performed by the magnetic field experiment onboard the Mariner 10 spacecraft during the period November 3, 1973 to April 14, 1974, comprising approximately 5-2/3 solar rotations and extending in radial distance from the sun from 1 to 0.46 AU. A clearly discernible two-sector pattern of field polarity was observed during the last 3-1/2 months of the period, with the dominant polarity toward the sun below the solar equatorial plane. Two compound high-speed solar wind streams were also present during this period, one in each magnetic field sector. Relative fluctuations of the field in magnitude and direction were found to have large time variations, but on average the relative magnitude fluctuations were approximately constant over the range of heliocentric distance covered while the relative directional fluctuations showed a slight decrease on average with increasing distance. The occurrence rate of directional discontinuities was also found to decrease with increasing radial distance from the sun.

Wettability and impact dynamics of water droplets on rice ( Oryza sativa L.) leaves

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kwon, Dae Hee; Huh, Hyung Kyu; Lee, Sang Joon

2014-03-01

We investigated the wettability and impact dynamics of water droplets on rice leaves at various leaf inclination angles and orientations. Contact angle, contact angle hysteresis (CAH), and roll-off angle ( α roll) of water droplets were measured quantitatively. Results showed that droplet motion exhibited less resistance along the longitudinal direction. Impact dynamic parameters, such as impact behaviors, maximum spreading factor, contact distance, and contact time were also investigated. Three different impact behaviors were categorized based on the normal component of Weber number irrespective of the inclination angle of the rice leaf. The asymmetric impact behavior induced by the tangential Weber number was also identified. Variation in the maximum spreading factor according to the normal Weber number was measured and compared with theoretical value obtained according to scaling law to show the wettability of the rice leaves. The contact distance of the impacting droplets depended on the inclination angle of the leaves. Along the longitudinal direction of rice leaves, contact distance was farther than that along the transverse direction. This result is consistent with the smaller values of CAH and α roll along the longitudinal direction.

Conversation Intention Perception based on Knowledge Base

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-01

Yi Liu Gastritis Fracture Vomit Pain Bleeding thirst Anti-acid Clarithromycin styptic Aspirin Symptom Medicine Disease 1/117 1/157 1/20...occurrence frequency. Firstly, we compute the distance between two entities. For example, distance between entity Gastritis and entity Vomit is...considered as one as they are connected directly, distance between entity Gastritis and entity Fracture is two since they are con- nected through entity

Long-distance dispersal of spruce budworm (Choristoneura fumiferana Clemens) in Minnesota (USA) and Ontario (Canada) via the atmospheric pathway

Treesearch

Brian R. Sturtevant; Gary L. Achtemeier; Joseph J. Charney; Dean P. Anderson; Barry J. Cooke; Phillip A. Townsend

2013-01-01

Dispersal can play an important role in the population dynamics of forest insects, but the role of long-distance immigration and emigration remains unclear due to the difficulty of quantifying dispersal distance and direction. We designed an agent-based spruce budworm flight behavior model that, when interfaced with temperature, wind speed, and precipitation output...

High-energy phosphate transfer in human muscle: diffusion of phosphocreatine.

PubMed

Gabr, Refaat E; El-Sharkawy, Abdel-Monem M; Schär, Michael; Weiss, Robert G; Bottomley, Paul A

2011-07-01

The creatine kinase (CK) reaction is central to muscle energetics, buffering ATP levels during periods of intense activity via consumption of phosphocreatine (PCr). PCr is believed to serve as a spatial shuttle of high-energy phosphate between sites of energy production in the mitochondria and sites of energy utilization in the myofibrils via diffusion. Knowledge of the diffusion coefficient of PCr (D(PCr)) is thus critical for modeling and understanding energy transport in the myocyte, but D(PCr) has not been measured in humans. Using localized phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we measured D(PCr) in the calf muscle of 11 adults as a function of direction and diffusion time. The results show that the diffusion of PCr is anisotropic, with significantly higher diffusion along the muscle fibers, and that the diffusion of PCr is restricted to a ∼28-μm pathlength assuming a cylindrical model, with an unbounded diffusion coefficient of ∼0.69 × 10(-3) mm(2)/s. This distance is comparable in size to the myofiber radius. On the basis of prior measures of CK reaction kinetics in human muscle, the expected diffusion distance of PCr during its half-life in the CK reaction is ∼66 μm. This distance is much greater than the average distances between mitochondria and myofibrils. Thus these first measurements of PCr diffusion in human muscle in vivo support the view that PCr diffusion is not a factor limiting high-energy phosphate transport between the mitochondria and the myofibrils in healthy resting myocytes.

High-energy phosphate transfer in human muscle: diffusion of phosphocreatine

PubMed Central

Gabr, Refaat E.; El-Sharkawy, AbdEl-Monem M.; Schär, Michael; Weiss, Robert G.

2011-01-01

The creatine kinase (CK) reaction is central to muscle energetics, buffering ATP levels during periods of intense activity via consumption of phosphocreatine (PCr). PCr is believed to serve as a spatial shuttle of high-energy phosphate between sites of energy production in the mitochondria and sites of energy utilization in the myofibrils via diffusion. Knowledge of the diffusion coefficient of PCr (DPCr) is thus critical for modeling and understanding energy transport in the myocyte, but DPCr has not been measured in humans. Using localized phosphorus magnetic resonance spectroscopy, we measured DPCr in the calf muscle of 11 adults as a function of direction and diffusion time. The results show that the diffusion of PCr is anisotropic, with significantly higher diffusion along the muscle fibers, and that the diffusion of PCr is restricted to a ∼28-μm pathlength assuming a cylindrical model, with an unbounded diffusion coefficient of ∼0.69 × 10−3 mm2/s. This distance is comparable in size to the myofiber radius. On the basis of prior measures of CK reaction kinetics in human muscle, the expected diffusion distance of PCr during its half-life in the CK reaction is ∼66 μm. This distance is much greater than the average distances between mitochondria and myofibrils. Thus these first measurements of PCr diffusion in human muscle in vivo support the view that PCr diffusion is not a factor limiting high-energy phosphate transport between the mitochondria and the myofibrils in healthy resting myocytes. PMID:21368292

Detection of gene expression changes at chromosomal rearrangement breakpoints in evolution

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background We study the relation between genome rearrangements, breakpoints and gene expression. Genome rearrangement research has been concerned with the creation of breakpoints and their position in the chromosome, but the functional consequences of individual breakpoints remain virtually unknown, and there are no direct genome-wide studies of breakpoints from this point of view. A question arises of what the biological consequences of breakpoint creation are, rather than just their structural aspects. The question is whether proximity to the site of a breakpoint event changes the activity of a gene. Results We investigate this by comparing the distribution of distances to the nearest breakpoint of genes that are differentially expressed with the distribution of the same distances for the entire gene complement. We study this in data on whole blood tissue in human versus macaque, and in cerebral cortex tissue in human versus chimpanzee. We find in both data sets that the distribution of distances to the nearest breakpoint of "changed expression genes" differs little from this distance calculated for the rest of the gene complement. In focusing on the changed expression genes closest to the breakpoints, however, we discover that several of these have previously been implicated in the literature as being connected to the evolutionary divergence of humans from other primates. Conclusions We conjecture that chromosomal rearrangements occasionally interrupt the regulatory configurations of genes close to the breakpoint, leading to changes in expression. PMID:22536904

The effect of phenotypic traits and external cues on natal dispersal movements.

PubMed

Delgado, María del Mar; Penteriani, Vincenzo; Revilla, Eloy; Nams, Vilis O

2010-05-01

1. Natal dispersal has the potential to affect most ecological and evolutionary processes. However, despite its importance, this complex ecological process still represents a significant gap in our understanding of animal ecology due to both the lack of empirical data and the intrinsic complexity of dispersal dynamics. 2. By studying natal dispersal of 74 radiotagged juvenile eagle owls Bubo bubo (Linnaeus), in both the wandering and the settlement phases, we empirically addressed the complex interactions by which individual phenotypic traits and external cues jointly shape individual heterogeneity through the different phases of dispersal, both at nightly and weekly temporal scales. 3. Owls in poorer physical conditions travelled shorter total distances during the wandering phase, describing straighter paths and moving slower, especially when crossing heterogeneous habitats. In general, the owls in worse condition started dispersal later and took longer times to find further settlement areas. Net distances were also sex biased, with females settling at further distances. Dispersing individuals did not seem to explore wandering and settlement areas by using a search image of their natal surroundings. Eagle owls showed a heterogeneous pattern of patch occupancy, where few patches were highly visited by different owls whereas the majority were visited by just one individual. During dispersal, the routes followed by owls were an intermediate solution between optimized and randomized ones. Finally, dispersal direction had a marked directionality, largely influenced by dominant winds. These results suggest an asymmetric and anisotropic dispersal pattern, where not only the number of patches but also their functions can affect population viability. 4. The combination of the information coming from the relationships among a large set of factors acting and integrating at different spatial and temporal scales, under the perspective of heterogeneous life histories, are a fruitful ground for future understanding of natal dispersal.

Assessment of the influence of field size on maize gene flow using SSR analysis.

PubMed

Palaudelmàs, M; Melé, E; Monfort, A; Serra, J; Salvia, J; Messeguer, J

2012-06-01

One of the factors that may influence the rate of cross-fertilization is the relative size of the pollen donor and receptor fields. We designed a spatial distribution with four varieties of genetically-modified (GM) yellow maize to generate different sized fields while maintaining a constant distance to neighbouring fields of conventional white kernel maize. Samples of cross-fertilized, yellow kernels in white cobs were collected from all of the adjacent fields at different distances. A special series of samples was collected at distances of 0, 2, 5, 10, 20, 40, 80 and 120 m following a transect traced in the dominant down-wind direction in order to identify the origin of the pollen through SSR analysis. The size of the receptor fields should be taken into account, especially when they extend in the same direction than the GM pollen flow is coming. From collected data, we then validated a function that takes into account the gene flow found in the field border and that is very useful for estimating the % of GM that can be found in any point of the field. It also serves to predict the total GM content of the field due to cross fertilization. Using SSR analysis to identify the origin of pollen showed that while changes in the size of the donor field clearly influence the percentage of GMO detected, this effect is moderate. This study demonstrates that doubling the donor field size resulted in an approximate increase of GM content in the receptor field of 7%. This indicates that variations in the size of the donor field have a smaller influence on GM content than variations in the size of the receptor field.

Plantar pressure changes after long-distance walking.

PubMed

Stolwijk, Niki M; Duysens, Jacques; Louwerens, Jan Willem K; Keijsers, Noël L W

2010-12-01

The popularity of long-distance walking (LDW) has increased in the last decades. However, the effects of LDW on plantar pressure distribution and foot complaints, in particular, after several days of walking, have not been studied. We obtained the plantar pressure data of 62 subjects who had no history of foot complaints and who walked a total distance of 199.8 km for men (n = 30) and 161.5 km for women (n = 32) during four consecutive days. Plantar pressure was measured each day after the finish (posttests I–IV) and compared with the baseline plantar pressure data, which was obtained 1 or 2 d before the march (pretest). Mean, peak, and pressure–time integral per pixel as well as the center of pressure (COP) trajectory of each foot per measurement day were calculated using the normalization method of Keijsers et al. A paired t-test with an adjusted P value was used to detect significant differences between pretest and posttest. Short-term adjustment to LDW resulted in a significant decreased loading on the toes accompanied with an increased loading on the metatarsal head III–V (P < 0.001). At all stages, particularly at later stages, there was significantly more heel loading (P < 0.001). Furthermore, the COP significantly displaced in the posterior direction but not in the mediolateral direction after marching. Contact time increased slightly from 638.5 +/- 24.2 to 675.4 +/- 22.5 ms (P < 0.001). The increased heel loading and decreased function of the toes found after marching indicate a change of walking pattern with less roll-off. It is argued that these changes reflect the effect of fatigue of the lower leg muscles and to avoid loading of the most vulnerable parts of the foot.

Local Homing Navigation Based on the Moment Model for Landmark Distribution and Features

PubMed Central

Lee, Changmin; Kim, DaeEun

2017-01-01

For local homing navigation, an agent is supposed to return home based on the surrounding environmental information. According to the snapshot model, the home snapshot and the current view are compared to determine the homing direction. In this paper, we propose a novel homing navigation method using the moment model. The suggested moment model also follows the snapshot theory to compare the home snapshot and the current view, but the moment model defines a moment of landmark inertia as the sum of the product of the feature of the landmark particle with the square of its distance. The method thus uses range values of landmarks in the surrounding view and the visual features. The center of the moment can be estimated as the reference point, which is the unique convergence point in the moment potential from any view. The homing vector can easily be extracted from the centers of the moment measured at the current position and the home location. The method effectively guides homing direction in real environments, as well as in the simulation environment. In this paper, we take a holistic approach to use all pixels in the panoramic image as landmarks and use the RGB color intensity for the visual features in the moment model in which a set of three moment functions is encoded to determine the homing vector. We also tested visual homing or the moment model with only visual features, but the suggested moment model with both the visual feature and the landmark distance shows superior performance. We demonstrate homing performance with various methods classified by the status of the feature, the distance and the coordinate alignment. PMID:29149043

Predicting performance for ecological restoration: A case study using Spartina altemiflora

USGS Publications Warehouse

Travis, S.E.; Grace, J.B.

2010-01-01

The success of population-based ecological restoration relies on the growth and reproductive performance of selected donor materials, whether consisting of whole plants or seed. Accurately predicting performance requires an understanding of a variety of underlying processes, particularly gene flow and selection, which can be measured, at least in part, using surrogates such as neutral marker genetic distances and simple latitudinal effects. Here we apply a structural equation modeling approach to understanding and predicting performance in a widespread salt marsh grass, Spartina alterniflora, commonly used for ecological restoration throughout its native range in North America. We collected source materials from throughout this range, consisting of eight clones each from 23 populations, for transplantation to a common garden site in coastal Louisiana and monitored their performance. We modeled performance as a latent process described by multiple indicator variables (e.g., clone diameter, stem number) and estimated direct and indirect influences of geographic and genetic distances on performance. Genetic distances were determined by comparison of neutral molecular markers with those from a local population at the common garden site. Geographic distance metrics included dispersal distance (the minimum distance over water between donor and experimental sites) and latitude. Model results indicate direct effects of genetic distance and latitude on performance variation among the donor sites. Standardized effect strengths indicate that performance was roughly twice as sensitive to variation in genetic distance as to latitudinal variation. Dispersal distance had an indirect influence on performance through effects on genetic distance, indicating a typical pattern of genetic isolation by distance. Latitude also had an indirect effect on genetic distance through its linear relationship with dispersal distance. Three performance indicators had significant loadings on performance alone (mean clone diameter, mean number of stems, mean number of inflorescences), while the performance indicators mean stem height and mean stem width were also influenced by latitude. We suggest that dispersal distance and latitude should provide an adequate means of predicting performance in future S. alterniflora restorations and propose a maximum sampling distance of 300 km (holding latitude constant) to avoid the sampling of inappropriate ecotypes. ?? 2010 by the Ecological Society of America.

Effect of Viewing Plane on Perceived Distances in Real and Virtual Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Geuss, Michael N.; Stefanucci, Jeanine K.; Creem-Regehr, Sarah H.; Thompson, William B.

2012-01-01

Three experiments examined perceived absolute distance in a head-mounted display virtual environment (HMD-VE) and a matched real-world environment, as a function of the type and orientation of the distance viewed. In Experiment 1, participants turned and walked, without vision, a distance to match the viewed interval for both egocentric…

Load-dependent ADP binding to myosins V and VI: Implications for subunit coordination and function

PubMed Central

Oguchi, Yusuke; Mikhailenko, Sergey V.; Ohki, Takashi; Olivares, Adrian O.; De La Cruz, Enrique M.; Ishiwata, Shin'ichi

2008-01-01

Dimeric myosins V and VI travel long distances in opposite directions along actin filaments in cells, taking multiple steps in a “hand-over-hand” fashion. The catalytic cycles of both myosins are limited by ADP dissociation, which is considered a key step in the walking mechanism of these motors. Here, we demonstrate that external loads applied to individual actomyosin V or VI bonds asymmetrically affect ADP affinity, such that ADP binds weaker under loads assisting motility. Model-based analysis reveals that forward and backward loads modulate the kinetics of ADP binding to both myosins, although the effect is less pronounced for myosin VI. ADP dissociation is modestly accelerated by forward loads and inhibited by backward loads. Loads applied in either direction slow ADP binding to myosin V but accelerate binding to myosin VI. We calculate that the intramolecular load generated during processive stepping is ≈2 pN for both myosin V and myosin VI. The distinct load dependence of ADP binding allows these motors to perform different cellular functions. PMID:18509050

Linear diffusion into a Faraday cage.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Warne, Larry Kevin; Lin, Yau Tang; Merewether, Kimball O.

2011-11-01

Linear lightning diffusion into a Faraday cage is studied. An early-time integral valid for large ratios of enclosure size to enclosure thickness and small relative permeability ({mu}/{mu}{sub 0} {le} 10) is used for this study. Existing solutions for nearby lightning impulse responses of electrically thick-wall enclosures are refined and extended to calculate the nearby lightning magnetic field (H) and time-derivative magnetic field (HDOT) inside enclosures of varying thickness caused by a decaying exponential excitation. For a direct strike scenario, the early-time integral for a worst-case line source outside the enclosure caused by an impulse is simplified and numerically integrated tomore » give the interior H and HDOT at the location closest to the source as well as a function of distance from the source. H and HDOT enclosure response functions for decaying exponentials are considered for an enclosure wall of any thickness. Simple formulas are derived to provide a description of enclosure interior H and HDOT as well. Direct strike voltage and current bounds for a single-turn optimally-coupled loop for all three waveforms are also given.« less

Obesity-associated variants within FTO form long-range functional connections with IRX3.

PubMed

Smemo, Scott; Tena, Juan J; Kim, Kyoung-Han; Gamazon, Eric R; Sakabe, Noboru J; Gómez-Marín, Carlos; Aneas, Ivy; Credidio, Flavia L; Sobreira, Débora R; Wasserman, Nora F; Lee, Ju Hee; Puviindran, Vijitha; Tam, Davis; Shen, Michael; Son, Joe Eun; Vakili, Niki Alizadeh; Sung, Hoon-Ki; Naranjo, Silvia; Acemel, Rafael D; Manzanares, Miguel; Nagy, Andras; Cox, Nancy J; Hui, Chi-Chung; Gomez-Skarmeta, Jose Luis; Nóbrega, Marcelo A

2014-03-20

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have reproducibly associated variants within introns of FTO with increased risk for obesity and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Although the molecular mechanisms linking these noncoding variants with obesity are not immediately obvious, subsequent studies in mice demonstrated that FTO expression levels influence body mass and composition phenotypes. However, no direct connection between the obesity-associated variants and FTO expression or function has been made. Here we show that the obesity-associated noncoding sequences within FTO are functionally connected, at megabase distances, with the homeobox gene IRX3. The obesity-associated FTO region directly interacts with the promoters of IRX3 as well as FTO in the human, mouse and zebrafish genomes. Furthermore, long-range enhancers within this region recapitulate aspects of IRX3 expression, suggesting that the obesity-associated interval belongs to the regulatory landscape of IRX3. Consistent with this, obesity-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms are associated with expression of IRX3, but not FTO, in human brains. A direct link between IRX3 expression and regulation of body mass and composition is demonstrated by a reduction in body weight of 25 to 30% in Irx3-deficient mice, primarily through the loss of fat mass and increase in basal metabolic rate with browning of white adipose tissue. Finally, hypothalamic expression of a dominant-negative form of Irx3 reproduces the metabolic phenotypes of Irx3-deficient mice. Our data suggest that IRX3 is a functional long-range target of obesity-associated variants within FTO and represents a novel determinant of body mass and composition.

Mesoscale simulations of hydrodynamic squirmer interactions.

PubMed

Götze, Ingo O; Gompper, Gerhard

2010-10-01

The swimming behavior of self-propelled microorganisms is studied by particle-based mesoscale simulations. The simulation technique includes both hydrodynamics and thermal fluctuations that are both essential for the dynamics of microswimmers. The swimmers are modeled as squirmers, i.e., spherical objects with a prescribed tangential surface velocity, where the focus of thrust generation can be tuned from pushers to pullers. For passive squirmers (colloids), we show that the velocity autocorrelation function agrees quantitatively with the Boussinesq approximation. Single active squirmers show a persistent random-walk behavior, determined by forward motion, lateral diffusion, and orientational fluctuations, in agreement with theoretical predictions. For pairs of squirmers, which are initially swimming in parallel, we find an attraction for pushers and a repulsion for pullers, as expected. The hydrodynamic force between squirmer pairs is calculated as a function of the center-to-center distances d(cm) and is found to be consistent with a logarithmic distance dependence for d(cm) less than about two sphere diameters; here, the force is considerably stronger than expected from the far-field expansion. The dependence of the force strength on the asymmetry of the polar surface velocity is obtained. During the collision process, thermal fluctuations turn out to be very important and to strongly affect the postcollision velocity directions of both squirmers.

Long-distance travel modeling: proof of concept : research results digest.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2016-04-01

This research project was established to provide ADOT with direction on the best sources of data and best practices for updating its long-distance personal travel models to better reflect observed travel behavior. Its original intent was to recommend...

MicroRNA-integrated and network-embedded gene selection with diffusion distance.

PubMed

Huang, Di; Zhou, Xiaobo; Lyon, Christopher J; Hsueh, Willa A; Wong, Stephen T C

2010-10-29

Gene network information has been used to improve gene selection in microarray-based studies by selecting marker genes based both on their expression and the coordinate expression of genes within their gene network under a given condition. Here we propose a new network-embedded gene selection model. In this model, we first address the limitations of microarray data. Microarray data, although widely used for gene selection, measures only mRNA abundance, which does not always reflect the ultimate gene phenotype, since it does not account for post-transcriptional effects. To overcome this important (critical in certain cases) but ignored-in-almost-all-existing-studies limitation, we design a new strategy to integrate together microarray data with the information of microRNA, the major post-transcriptional regulatory factor. We also handle the challenges led by gene collaboration mechanism. To incorporate the biological facts that genes without direct interactions may work closely due to signal transduction and that two genes may be functionally connected through multi paths, we adopt the concept of diffusion distance. This concept permits us to simulate biological signal propagation and therefore to estimate the collaboration probability for all gene pairs, directly or indirectly-connected, according to multi paths connecting them. We demonstrate, using type 2 diabetes (DM2) as an example, that the proposed strategies can enhance the identification of functional gene partners, which is the key issue in a network-embedded gene selection model. More importantly, we show that our gene selection model outperforms related ones. Genes selected by our model 1) have improved classification capability; 2) agree with biological evidence of DM2-association; and 3) are involved in many well-known DM2-associated pathways.

Why GPS makes distances bigger than they are

PubMed Central

Ranacher, Peter; Brunauer, Richard; Trutschnig, Wolfgang; Van der Spek, Stefan; Reich, Siegfried

2016-01-01

ABSTRACT Global navigation satellite systems such as the Global Positioning System (GPS) is one of the most important sensors for movement analysis. GPS is widely used to record the trajectories of vehicles, animals and human beings. However, all GPS movement data are affected by both measurement and interpolation errors. In this article we show that measurement error causes a systematic bias in distances recorded with a GPS; the distance between two points recorded with a GPS is – on average – bigger than the true distance between these points. This systematic ‘overestimation of distance’ becomes relevant if the influence of interpolation error can be neglected, which in practice is the case for movement sampled at high frequencies. We provide a mathematical explanation of this phenomenon and illustrate that it functionally depends on the autocorrelation of GPS measurement error (C). We argue that C can be interpreted as a quality measure for movement data recorded with a GPS. If there is a strong autocorrelation between any two consecutive position estimates, they have very similar error. This error cancels out when average speed, distance or direction is calculated along the trajectory. Based on our theoretical findings we introduce a novel approach to determine C in real-world GPS movement data sampled at high frequencies. We apply our approach to pedestrian trajectories and car trajectories. We found that the measurement error in the data was strongly spatially and temporally autocorrelated and give a quality estimate of the data. Most importantly, our findings are not limited to GPS alone. The systematic bias and its implications are bound to occur in any movement data collected with absolute positioning if interpolation error can be neglected. PMID:27019610

Maximization of the directivity ratio with the desired audible gain level for broadband design of near field loudspeaker arrays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Daesung; Kim, Kihyun; Wang, Semyung; Lee, Sung Q.; Crocker, Malcolm J.

2011-11-01

This paper mainly addresses design methods for near field loudspeaker arrays. These methods have been studied recently since they can be used to realize a personal audio space without the use of headphones. From a practical view point, they can also be used to form a directional sound beam within a short distance from the sources especially using a linear loudspeaker array. In this regard, we re-analyzed the previous near field beamforming methods in order to obtain a comprehensive near field beamforming formulation. Broadband directivity control is proposed for multi-objective optimization, which maximizes the directivity with the desired gain, where both the directivity and the gain are commonly used array performance measures. This method of control aims to form a directive sound beam within a short distance while widening the frequency range of the beamforming. Simulation and experimental results demonstrate that broadband directivity control achieves higher directivity and gain over our whole frequency range of interest compared with previous beamforming methods.

Transmission of 51.56-Gb/s OOK signal using 1.55-μm directly modulated laser and duobinary electrical equalizer.

PubMed

Bae, S H; Kim, Hoon; Chung, Y C

2016-10-03

We demonstrate the transmission of 51.56-Gb/s on-off keying (OOK) signals generated by using a 1.55-μm directly modulated laser (DML) over 15-km long standard single-mode fiber. In this experiment, a duobinary electrical equalizer based on a finite-impulse-response filter is used at the receiver to increase the dispersion-limited transmission distance. We evaluate the performances of the 51.56-Gb/s OOK signals with respect to the transmission distance by using the frequency response analysis of the proposed system. This result is used to explain why it is effective to utilize the duobinary equalization (instead of binary equalization) for increasing the transmission distance.

DISTANCES TO DARK CLOUDS: COMPARING EXTINCTION DISTANCES TO MASER PARALLAX DISTANCES

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Foster, Jonathan B.; Jackson, James M.; Stead, Joseph J.

We test two different methods of using near-infrared extinction to estimate distances to dark clouds in the first quadrant of the Galaxy using large near-infrared (Two Micron All Sky Survey and UKIRT Infrared Deep Sky Survey) surveys. Very long baseline interferometry parallax measurements of masers around massive young stars provide the most direct and bias-free measurement of the distance to these dark clouds. We compare the extinction distance estimates to these maser parallax distances. We also compare these distances to kinematic distances, including recent re-calibrations of the Galactic rotation curve. The extinction distance methods agree with the maser parallax distancesmore » (within the errors) between 66% and 100% of the time (depending on method and input survey) and between 85% and 100% of the time outside of the crowded Galactic center. Although the sample size is small, extinction distance methods reproduce maser parallax distances better than kinematic distances; furthermore, extinction distance methods do not suffer from the kinematic distance ambiguity. This validation gives us confidence that these extinction methods may be extended to additional dark clouds where maser parallaxes are not available.« less

Measurement of the stochastic radial dose distribution for a 30-MeV proton beam using a wall-less tissue-equivalent proportional counter.

PubMed

Tsuda, S; Sato, T; Ogawa, T

2016-02-01

The frequency distribution of the lineal energy, y, of a 30-MeV proton beam was measured as a function of the radial distance from the beam path, and the dosed mean of y, y¯(D), was obtained to investigate the radial dependence of y¯(D). A wall-less tissue-equivalent proportional counter, in a cylindrical volume with simulated diameters of 0.36, 0.72 and 1.44 µm was used for the measurement of y distributions, yf(y). The measured values of yf(y) summed in the radial direction agreed fairly well with the corresponding data taken from the microdosimetric calculations using the PHITS code. The y¯(D) value of the 30-MeV proton beam presented its smallest value at r = 0.0 and gradually increased with radial distance, and the y¯(D) values of heavy ions such as iron showed rapid decrease with radial distance. This experimental result demonstrated that the stochastic deposited energy distribution of high-energy protons in the microscopic region is rather constant in the core as well as in the penumbra region of the track structure. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

Performance of an optical equalizer in a 10 G wavelength converting optical access network.

PubMed

Mendinueta, José Manuel D; Cao, Bowen; Thomsen, Benn C; Mitchell, John E

2011-12-12

A centralized optical processing unit (COPU) that functions both as a wavelength converter (WC) and optical burst equaliser in a 10 Gb/s wavelength-converting optical access network is proposed and experimentally characterized. This COPU is designed to consolidate drifting wavelengths generated with an uncooled laser in the upstream direction into a stable wavelength channel for WDM backhaul transmission and to equalize the optical loud/soft burst power in order to relax the burst-mode receiver dynamic range requirement. The COPU consists of an optical power equaliser composed of two cascaded SOAs followed by a WC. Using an optical packet generator and a DC-coupled PIN-based digital burst-mode receiver, the COPU is characterized in terms of payload-BER for back-to-back and backhaul transmission distances of 22, 40, and 62 km. We show that there is a compromise between the receiver sensitivity and overload points that can be optimized tuning the WC operating point for a particular backhaul fiber transmission distance. Using the optimized settings, sensitivities of -30.94, -30.17, and -27.26 dBm with overloads of -9.3, -5, and >-5 dBm were demonstrated for backhaul transmission distances of 22, 40 and 62 km, respectively. © 2011 Optical Society of America

Replication of alpha-satellite DNA arrays in endogenous human centromeric regions and in human artificial chromosome

PubMed Central

Erliandri, Indri; Fu, Haiqing; Nakano, Megumi; Kim, Jung-Hyun; Miga, Karen H.; Liskovykh, Mikhail; Earnshaw, William C.; Masumoto, Hiroshi; Kouprina, Natalay; Aladjem, Mirit I.; Larionov, Vladimir

2014-01-01

In human chromosomes, centromeric regions comprise megabase-size arrays of 171 bp alpha-satellite DNA monomers. The large distances spanned by these arrays preclude their replication from external sites and imply that the repetitive monomers contain replication origins. However, replication within these arrays has not previously been profiled and the role of alpha-satellite DNA in initiation of DNA replication has not yet been demonstrated. Here, replication of alpha-satellite DNA in endogenous human centromeric regions and in de novo formed Human Artificial Chromosome (HAC) was analyzed. We showed that alpha-satellite monomers could function as origins of DNA replication and that replication of alphoid arrays organized into centrochromatin occurred earlier than those organized into heterochromatin. The distribution of inter-origin distances within centromeric alphoid arrays was comparable to the distribution of inter-origin distances on randomly selected non-centromeric chromosomal regions. Depletion of CENP-B, a kinetochore protein that binds directly to a 17 bp CENP-B box motif common to alpha-satellite DNA, resulted in enrichment of alpha-satellite sequences for proteins of the ORC complex, suggesting that CENP-B may have a role in regulating the replication of centromeric regions. Mapping of replication initiation sites in the HAC revealed that replication preferentially initiated in transcriptionally active regions. PMID:25228468

Short torch design for direct liquid sample introduction using conventional and micro-nebulizers for plasma spectrometry

DOEpatents

Montaser, Akbar [Potomac, MD; Westphal, Craig S [Landenberg, PA; Kahen, Kaveh [Montgomery Village, MD; Rutkowski, William F [Arlington, VA

2008-01-08

An apparatus and method for providing direct liquid sample introduction using a nebulizer are provided. The apparatus and method include a short torch having an inner tube and an outer tube, and an elongated adapter having a cavity for receiving the nebulizer and positioning a nozzle tip of the nebulizer a predetermined distance from a tip of the outer tube of the short torch. The predetermined distance is preferably about 2-5 mm.

Directional emission from dye-functionalized plasmonic DNA superlattice microcavities

PubMed Central

Park, Daniel J.; Ku, Jessie C.; Sun, Lin; Lethiec, Clotilde M.; Stern, Nathaniel P.; Schatz, George C.; Mirkin, Chad A.

2017-01-01

Three-dimensional plasmonic superlattice microcavities, made from programmable atom equivalents comprising gold nanoparticles functionalized with DNA, are used as a testbed to study directional light emission. DNA-guided nanoparticle colloidal crystallization allows for the formation of micrometer-scale single-crystal body-centered cubic gold nanoparticle superlattices, with dye molecules coupled to the DNA strands that link the particles together, in the form of a rhombic dodecahedron. Encapsulation in silica allows one to create robust architectures with the plasmonically active particles and dye molecules fixed in space. At the micrometer scale, the anisotropic rhombic dodecahedron crystal habit couples with photonic modes to give directional light emission. At the nanoscale, the interaction between the dye dipoles and surface plasmons can be finely tuned by coupling the dye molecules to specific sites of the DNA particle-linker strands, thereby modulating dye–nanoparticle distance (three different positions are studied). The ability to control dye position with subnanometer precision allows one to systematically tune plasmon–excition interaction strength and decay lifetime, the results of which have been supported by electrodynamics calculations that span length scales from nanometers to micrometers. The unique ability to control surface plasmon/exciton interactions within such superlattice microcavities will catalyze studies involving quantum optics, plasmon laser physics, strong coupling, and nonlinear phenomena. PMID:28053232

Role of ankle foot orthoses in functional stability of individuals with stroke.

PubMed

Rao, N; Aruin, A S

2016-10-01

Ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) are frequently prescribed to improve ambulation in individuals with stroke. However, the role of AFOs in balance control is not completely understood. The aim of the study was to evaluate the contribution of the AFOs in functional stability of individuals with stroke. Twenty three individuals with unilateral hemiparesis due to stroke were assessed using the Functional Reach Test. The subjects performed reaches forward, left and right while standing with or without an AFO. When provided with AFO, individuals with stroke improved the maximal reaching distance in all the directions (p < 0.05). The study found that individuals with unilateral stroke clearly demonstrated improvements in functional stability when they were provided with AFOs. This outcome could be used in the optimization of balance rehabilitation of individuals with stroke. Implications for Rehabilitation Functional stability is impaired in individuals with stroke. Functional Reach Test (FRT) was used to assess the role of ankle foot orthoses (AFOs) in balance control. Individuals with stroke improved their functional stability while they were provided with AFOs. Functional Reach Test could assist clinicians in the evaluation of postural stability associated with the use of AFOs.

Problems in depth perception : perceived size and distance of familiar objects.

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1966-06-01

Judgments of the distance of familiar objects, especially other aircraft, are critical aspects of flight safety. In this study, the perception of distance as a function of the retinal size of a familiar object was investigated by simulating a station...

Procedural justice climate and group power distance: an examination of cross-level interaction effects.

PubMed

Yang, Jixia; Mossholder, Kevin W; Peng, T K

2007-05-01

In this article, the authors extend research on the cross-level effects of procedural justice climate by theorizing and testing its interaction with group power distance. The results indicated that group power distance moderated the relationships between procedural justice climate and individual-level outcomes (organizational commitment and organization-directed citizenship behavior). More specifically, a larger group power distance was found to attenuate the positive cross-level effects of procedural justice climate. Implications for procedural justice climate research are discussed. 2007 APA, all rights reserved

Travelling Randomly on the Poincaré Half-Plane with a Pythagorean Compass

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cammarota, V.; Orsingher, E.

2008-02-01

A random motion on the Poincaré half-plane is studied. A particle runs on the geodesic lines changing direction at Poisson-paced times. The hyperbolic distance is analyzed, also in the case where returns to the starting point are admitted. The main results concern the mean hyperbolic distance (and also the conditional mean distance) in all versions of the motion envisaged. Also an analogous motion on orthogonal circles of the sphere is examined and the evolution of the mean distance from the starting point is investigated.

Point-to-point migration functions and gravity model renormalization: approaches to aggregation in spatial interaction modeling.

PubMed

Slater, P B

1985-08-01

Two distinct approaches to assessing the effect of geographic scale on spatial interactions are modeled. In the first, the question of whether a distance deterrence function, which explains interactions for one system of zones, can also succeed on a more aggregate scale, is examined. Only the two-parameter function for which it is found that distances between macrozones are weighted averaged of distances between component zones is satisfactory in this regard. Estimation of continuous (point-to-point) functions--in the form of quadrivariate cubic polynomials--for US interstate migration streams, is then undertaken. Upon numerical integration, these higher order surfaces yield predictions of interzonal and intrazonal movements at any scale of interest. Test of spatial stationarity, isotropy, and symmetry of interstate migration are conducted in this framework.

Methods for determining infrasound phase velocity direction with an array of line sensors.

PubMed

Walker, Kristoffer T; Zumberge, Mark A; Hedlin, Michael A H; Shearer, Peter M

2008-10-01

Infrasound arrays typically consist of several microbarometers separated by distances that provide predictable signal time separations, forming the basis for processing techniques that estimate the phase velocity direction. The directional resolution depends on the noise level and is proportional to the number of these point sensors; additional sensors help attenuate noise and improve direction resolution. An alternative approach is to form an array of directional line sensors, each of which emulates a line of many microphones that instantaneously integrate pressure change. The instrument response is a function of the orientation of the line with respect to the signal wavefront. Real data recorded at the Piñon Flat Observatory in southern California and synthetic data show that this spectral property can be exploited with multiple line sensors to determine the phase velocity direction with a precision comparable to a larger aperture array of microbarometers. Three types of instrument-response-dependent beamforming and an array deconvolution technique are evaluated. The results imply that an array of five radial line sensors, with equal azimuthal separation and an aperture that depends on the frequency band of interest, provides directional resolution while requiring less space compared to an equally effective array of five microbarometers with rosette wind filters.

Oscillation characteristics of neutrino in the model with three sterile neutrinos for analysis of the anomalies on small distances

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khruschov, V. V.; Fomichev, S. V.

2017-11-01

In the framework of the model with three sterile neutrinos, the transition probabilities for different flavours of neutrino are calculated and the graphical dependences are obtained, in particular, for the appearance probability of electron neutrino and antineutrino in the muon neutrino and antineutrino jets as a function of distance and other model parameters at their acceptable values and at the neutrino energy less than 50 MeV, as well as a function of a ratio of distance to the neutrino energy. The theoretical results obtained can be used for analysis of the neutrino data related to the anomalies on small distances.

Master curves and radial distribution functions for shear dilatancy of liquid n-hexadecane via nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations.

PubMed

Tseng, Huan-Chang; Wu, Jiann-Shing; Chang, Rong-Yeu

2009-04-28

Shear dilatancy, a significant nonlinear behavior of nonequilibrium thermodynamics states, has been observed in nonequilibrium molecular dynamics (NEMD) simulations for liquid n-hexadecane fluid under extreme shear conditions. The existence of shear dilatancy is relevant to the relationship between the imposed shear rate gamma and the critical shear rate gamma(c). Consequently, as gammagamma(c), the intermolecular distance is lengthened substantially by strong shear deformation breaking the equilibrium thermodynamic state so that shear dilatancy takes place. Notably, a characteristic shear rate gamma(m), which depends on the root mean square molecular velocity and the average free molecular distance, is found in nonequilibrium thermodynamics state curves. Studies of the variations in the intermolecular radial distribution function (RDF) with respect to the shear rate provide a direct measure of the variation in the degree of intermolecular separation. Additionally, the variations of the RDF curve in the microscopic regime are consistent with those of the nonequilibrium thermodynamic state in the macroscopic world. By inspecting the overall shape of the RDF curve, it can be readily corroborated that the fluid of interest exists in the liquid state. More importantly, both primary characteristic values, the equilibrium thermodynamic state variable and a particular shear rate of gamma(p), are determined cautiously, with gamma(p) depending on the gamma(m) value and the square root of pressure. Thereby, the nonequilibrium thermodynamic state curves can be normalized as temperature-, pressure-, and density-invariant master curves, formulated by applying the Cross constitutive equation. Clearly, gamma(c) occurs at which a reduced shear rate gamma/gamma(p) approaches 0.1. Furthermore, the trends in the rates of shear dilatancy in both the constant-pressure and constant-volume NEMD systems under isothermal conditions conform to the cyclic rule of pressure, as a function of density and shear rate.

Three-dimensionally derived interlandmark distances for sex estimation in intact and fragmentary crania.

PubMed

Small, Candice; Schepartz, Lynne; Hemingway, Jason; Brits, Desiré

2018-06-01

The skull is the element most frequently presented to forensic anthropologists for analysis yet weathering, corpse maiming, and scavenger activity often result in damage and fragmentation. This fragmentation results in a reduction in the number of traditional calliper derived measurements that can be obtained and subjected to discriminant based analyses for sex estimation. In this investigation, we employed three-dimensional geometric morphometric methods to derive novel interlandmark distance measures across six regions of the cranium including the basicranium, basipalate, zygoma, orbits and the cranium globally to create functions to discriminate sex with high efficacy, even in the event of fragmentation. Forty-five homologous landmarks were digitised across each of 227 (114 males and 113 females) South African crania of European descent (white) sampled from the Raymond A Dart Collection of Human Skeletons, housed in the School of Anatomical Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa. A total of 990 interlandmark distances (ILDs) were mathematically derived using Pythagorean geometry. These ILDs were then filtered by region and subjected to both direct and stepwise discriminant function analyses. Discriminant equations where derived for each region and achieved the following average cross-validated sex estimation accuracies: basicranium-74%; basipalate-80.2%; zygomatic-82.4; orbits-71.8%; nasomaxilla-83.7%; global cranium-88.2%. A large number of the ILDs used to derive the discriminant functions are novel, demonstrating the efficacy of geometric morphometric methods and illustrating the need to reassess old methods of data collection using modern methods to determine whether they best capture biological differences. The results of this study provide an invaluable contribution to forensic anthropology in South Africa as it provides an accurate, practical means of assessing sex using fragmentary material that may otherwise have been disregarded. These will undeniable aid in accurate sex estimation and ultimately, victim identification. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Determination of GMPE functional form for an active region with limited strong motion data: application to the Himalayan region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bajaj, Ketan; Anbazhagan, P.

2018-01-01

Advancement in the seismic networks results in formulation of different functional forms for developing any new ground motion prediction equation (GMPE) for a region. Till date, various guidelines and tools are available for selecting a suitable GMPE for any seismic study area. However, these methods are efficient in quantifying the GMPE but not for determining a proper functional form and capturing the epistemic uncertainty associated with selection of GMPE. In this study, the compatibility of the recent available functional forms for the active region is tested for distance and magnitude scaling. Analysis is carried out by determining the residuals using the recorded and the predicted spectral acceleration values at different periods. Mixed effect regressions are performed on the calculated residuals for determining the intra- and interevent residuals. Additionally, spatial correlation is used in mixed effect regression by changing its likelihood function. Distance scaling and magnitude scaling are respectively examined by studying the trends of intraevent residuals with distance and the trend of the event term with magnitude. Further, these trends are statistically studied for a respective functional form of a ground motion. Additionally, genetic algorithm and Monte Carlo method are used respectively for calculating the hinge point and standard error for magnitude and distance scaling for a newly determined functional form. The whole procedure is applied and tested for the available strong motion data for the Himalayan region. The functional form used for testing are five Himalayan GMPEs, five GMPEs developed under NGA-West 2 project, two from Pan-European, and one from Japan region. It is observed that bilinear functional form with magnitude and distance hinged at 6.5 M w and 300 km respectively is suitable for the Himalayan region. Finally, a new regression coefficient for peak ground acceleration for a suitable functional form that governs the attenuation characteristic of the Himalayan region is derived.

A telephoto camera system with shooting direction control by gaze detection

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Teraya, Daiki; Hachisu, Takumi; Yendo, Tomohiro

2015-05-01

For safe driving, it is important for driver to check traffic conditions such as traffic lights, or traffic signs as early as soon. If on-vehicle camera takes image of important objects to understand traffic conditions from long distance and shows these to driver, driver can understand traffic conditions earlier. To take image of long distance objects clearly, the focal length of camera must be long. When the focal length is long, on-vehicle camera doesn't have enough field of view to check traffic conditions. Therefore, in order to get necessary images from long distance, camera must have long-focal length and controllability of shooting direction. In previous study, driver indicates shooting direction on displayed image taken by a wide-angle camera, a direction controllable camera takes telescopic image, and displays these to driver. However, driver uses a touch panel to indicate the shooting direction in previous study. It is cause of disturb driving. So, we propose a telephoto camera system for driving support whose shooting direction is controlled by driver's gaze to avoid disturbing drive. This proposed system is composed of a gaze detector and an active telephoto camera whose shooting direction is controlled. We adopt non-wear detecting method to avoid hindrance to drive. The gaze detector measures driver's gaze by image processing. The shooting direction of the active telephoto camera is controlled by galvanometer scanners and the direction can be switched within a few milliseconds. We confirmed that the proposed system takes images of gazing straight ahead of subject by experiments.

Functional organization of primate translational vestibulo-ocular reflexes and effects of unilateral labyrinthectomy

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Angelaki, D. E.; McHenry, M. Q.; Newlands, S. D.; Dickman, J. D.

1999-01-01

Translational vestibulo-ocular reflexes (trVORs) are characterized by distinct spatio-temporal properties and sensitivities that are proportional to the inverse of viewing distance. Anodal (inhibitory) labyrinthine stimulation (100 microA, < 2 s) during motion decreased the high-pass filtered dynamics, as well as horizontal trVOR sensitivity and its dependence on viewing distance. Cathodal (excitatory) currents had opposite effects. Translational VORs were also affected after unilateral labyrinthectomy. Animals lost their ability to modulate trVOR sensitivity as a function of viewing distance acutely after the lesion. These deficits partially recovered over time, albeit a significant reduction in trVOR sensitivity as a function of viewing distance remained in compensated animals. During fore-aft motion, the effects of unilateral labyrinthectomy were more dramatic. Both acute and compensated animals permanently lost their ability to modulate fore-aft trVOR responses as a function of target eccentricity. These results suggest that (1) the dynamics and viewing distance-dependent properties of the trVORs are very sensitive to changes in the resting firing rate of vestibular afferents and, consequently, vestibular nuclei neurons; (2) the most irregularly firing primary otolith afferents that are most sensitive to labyrinthine electrical stimulation might contribute to reflex dynamics and sensitivity; (3) inputs from both labyrinths are necessary for the generation of the translational VORs.

Application of Distance Learning Technology to Strategic Education.

DTIC Science & Technology

1996-02-26

service or government agency. STRATEGY RESEARCH PROJECT APPLICATION OF DISTANCE LEARNING TECHNOLOGY TO STRATEGIC EDUCATION BY LIEUTENANT COLONEL...APPLICATION OF DISTANCE LEARNING TECHNOLOGY TO STRATEGIC EDUCATION by Lieutenant Colonel Greig W. Mitchell United States Army Commander David M...distance learning technology can also enhance the functions of research and public service. The purpose of research programs in higher education is

Genome wide analysis reveals Zic3 interaction with distal regulatory elements of stage specific developmental genes in zebrafish.

PubMed

Winata, Cecilia L; Kondrychyn, Igor; Kumar, Vibhor; Srinivasan, Kandhadayar G; Orlov, Yuriy; Ravishankar, Ashwini; Prabhakar, Shyam; Stanton, Lawrence W; Korzh, Vladimir; Mathavan, Sinnakaruppan

2013-10-01

Zic3 regulates early embryonic patterning in vertebrates. Loss of Zic3 function is known to disrupt gastrulation, left-right patterning, and neurogenesis. However, molecular events downstream of this transcription factor are poorly characterized. Here we use the zebrafish as a model to study the developmental role of Zic3 in vivo, by applying a combination of two powerful genomics approaches--ChIP-seq and microarray. Besides confirming direct regulation of previously implicated Zic3 targets of the Nodal and canonical Wnt pathways, analysis of gastrula stage embryos uncovered a number of novel candidate target genes, among which were members of the non-canonical Wnt pathway and the neural pre-pattern genes. A similar analysis in zic3-expressing cells obtained by FACS at segmentation stage revealed a dramatic shift in Zic3 binding site locations and identified an entirely distinct set of target genes associated with later developmental functions such as neural development. We demonstrate cis-regulation of several of these target genes by Zic3 using in vivo enhancer assay. Analysis of Zic3 binding sites revealed a distribution biased towards distal intergenic regions, indicative of a long distance regulatory mechanism; some of these binding sites are highly conserved during evolution and act as functional enhancers. This demonstrated that Zic3 regulation of developmental genes is achieved predominantly through long distance regulatory mechanism and revealed that developmental transitions could be accompanied by dramatic changes in regulatory landscape.

47 CFR 73.152 - Modification of directional antenna data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Modification of directional antenna data. 73... SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES AM Broadcast Stations § 73.152 Modification of directional antenna data. (a) If, after construction and final adjustment of a directional antenna, a measured inverse distance...

47 CFR 73.152 - Modification of directional antenna data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Modification of directional antenna data. 73... SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES AM Broadcast Stations § 73.152 Modification of directional antenna data. (a) If, after construction and final adjustment of a directional antenna, a measured inverse distance...

47 CFR 73.152 - Modification of directional antenna data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2012-10-01 2012-10-01 false Modification of directional antenna data. 73... SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES AM Broadcast Stations § 73.152 Modification of directional antenna data. (a) If, after construction and final adjustment of a directional antenna, a measured inverse distance...

47 CFR 73.152 - Modification of directional antenna data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Modification of directional antenna data. 73... SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES AM Broadcast Stations § 73.152 Modification of directional antenna data. (a) If, after construction and final adjustment of a directional antenna, a measured inverse distance...

47 CFR 73.152 - Modification of directional antenna data.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-10-01

... 47 Telecommunication 4 2011-10-01 2011-10-01 false Modification of directional antenna data. 73... SERVICES RADIO BROADCAST SERVICES AM Broadcast Stations § 73.152 Modification of directional antenna data. (a) If, after construction and final adjustment of a directional antenna, a measured inverse distance...

Plume propagation direction determination with SO2 cameras

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Klein, Angelika; Lübcke, Peter; Bobrowski, Nicole; Kuhn, Jonas; Platt, Ulrich

2017-03-01

SO2 cameras are becoming an established tool for measuring sulfur dioxide (SO2) fluxes in volcanic plumes with good precision and high temporal resolution. The primary result of SO2 camera measurements are time series of two-dimensional SO2 column density distributions (i.e. SO2 column density images). However, it is frequently overlooked that, in order to determine the correct SO2 fluxes, not only the SO2 column density, but also the distance between the camera and the volcanic plume, has to be precisely known. This is because cameras only measure angular extents of objects while flux measurements require knowledge of the spatial plume extent. The distance to the plume may vary within the image array (i.e. the field of view of the SO2 camera) since the plume propagation direction (i.e. the wind direction) might not be parallel to the image plane of the SO2 camera. If the wind direction and thus the camera-plume distance are not well known, this error propagates into the determined SO2 fluxes and can cause errors exceeding 50 %. This is a source of error which is independent of the frequently quoted (approximate) compensation of apparently higher SO2 column densities and apparently lower plume propagation velocities at non-perpendicular plume observation angles.Here, we propose a new method to estimate the propagation direction of the volcanic plume directly from SO2 camera image time series by analysing apparent flux gradients along the image plane. From the plume propagation direction and the known location of the SO2 source (i.e. volcanic vent) and camera position, the camera-plume distance can be determined. Besides being able to determine the plume propagation direction and thus the wind direction in the plume region directly from SO2 camera images, we additionally found that it is possible to detect changes of the propagation direction at a time resolution of the order of minutes. In addition to theoretical studies we applied our method to SO2 flux measurements at Mt Etna and demonstrate that we obtain considerably more precise (up to a factor of 2 error reduction) SO2 fluxes. We conclude that studies on SO2 flux variability become more reliable by excluding the possible influences of propagation direction variations.

Bias properties of extragalactic distance indicators. 3: Analysis of Tully-Fisher distances for the Mathewson-Ford-Buchhorn sample of 1355 galaxies

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Federspiel, Martin; Sandage, Allan; Tammann, G. A.

1994-01-01

The observational selection bias properties of the large Mathewson-Ford-Buchhorn (MFB) sample of axies are demonstrated by showing that the apparent Hubble constant incorrectly increases outward when determined using Tully-Fisher (TF) photometric distances that are uncorreted for bias. It is further shown that the value of H(sub 0) so determined is also multivlaued at a given redshift when it is calculated by the TF method using galaxies with differenct line widths. The method of removing this unphysical contradiction is developed following the model of the bias set out in Paper II. The model developed further here shows that the appropriate TF magnitude of a galaxy that is drawn from a flux-limited catalog not only is a function of line width but, even in the most idealistic cases, requires a triple-entry correction depending on line width, apparent magnitude, and catalog limit. Using the distance-limited subset of the data, it is shown that the mean intrinsic dispersion of a bias-free TF relation is high. The dispersion depends on line width, decreasing from sigma(M) = 0.7 mag for galaxies with rotational velocities less than 100 km s(exp-1) to sigma(M) = 0.4 mag for galaxies with rotational velocities greater than 250 km s(exp-1). These dispersions are so large that the random errors of the bias-free TF distances are too gross to detect any peculiar motions of individual galaxies, but taken together the data show again the offset of 500 km s(exp-1) fond both by Dressler & Faber and by MFB for galaxies in the direction of the putative Great Attractor but described now in a different way. The maximum amplitude of the bulk streaming motion at the Local Group is approximately 500 km s(exp-1) but the perturbation dies out, approaching the Machian frame defined by the CMB at a distance of approximately 80 Mpc (v is approximately 4000 km s(exp -1)). This decay to zero perturbation at v is approximately 4000 km s(exp -1) argues against existing models with a single attraction at approximately 4500 km s(exp -1) (the Great Attactor model) pulling the local region. Rather, the cause of the perturbation appears to be the well-known clumpy mass distribution within 4000 km s(exp -1) in the busy directions of Hydra, Centaurus, Antila and Dorado, as postulated earlier (Tammann & Sandage 1985).

Phase Time and Envelope Time in Time-Distance Analysis and Acoustic Imaging

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chou, Dean-Yi; Duvall, Thomas L.; Sun, Ming-Tsung; Chang, Hsiang-Kuang; Jimenez, Antonio; Rabello-Soares, Maria Cristina; Ai, Guoxiang; Wang, Gwo-Ping; Goode Philip; Marquette, William;

Simple and easy assessment of falling risk in the elderly by functional reach test using elastic stick.

PubMed

Demura, Shin-Ichi; Yamada, Takayoshi

2007-10-01

Dynamic balance ability related to maintaining postural stability during movement is closely tied to fall risk in the elderly. The functional reach (FR) test has been developed to evaluate their dynamic balance. Although a simple and new FR test using an elastic stick has been proposed by modifying the above original FR test, the abilities related to both FR tests are judged to differ because of the large difference in the testing method. This study aimed to compare center of gravity fluctuation, muscle activity and functional reach distance as measured by the original FR test and the elastic stick FR test. First, reach distance, back/forth and right/left moving distance of the center of gravity, and activity of the lower leg muscles (soleus and tibialis anterior) were compared between both tests based on data obtained from 30 young male adults. All parameters except for the right/left moving distance were significantly larger in the elastic stick FR test. Next, the reach distance was examined in both FR tests using 53 elderly subjects; it was significantly longer in the elastic stick FR test, but showed no significant sex difference. The reach distance in both tests was significantly shorter (about 7 cm) in the elderly than in young adults. In conclusion, the elastic stick FR test involves greater leg muscle strength exertion and forward transferring of the center of gravity as compared with the original FR test. Because the elastic stick FR test relates largely to leg muscle function and equilibrium function, it may be more useful for evaluating the dynamic balance ability of the elderly.

The effects of optical sensor-tissue separation in endocavitary photoplethysmography.

PubMed

Patel, Zaibaa; Thaha, Mohamed A; Kyriacou, Panayiotis A

2018-06-12

<i>Objective:</i> Intestinal anastomotic failure that occurs mainly due to ischaemia is a serious risk in colorectal cancer patients undergoing surgery. Surgeons continue to rely on subjective methods such as visual inspection to assess intestinal viability during surgery and there are no clinical tools to directly monitor viability postoperatively. A dual wavelength, reflectance optical sensor has been developed for continuous and dynamic monitoring of intestinal viability via the intestinal lumen. Maintaining direct contact between the sensor and the inner intestinal wall can be difficult in an intraluminal design, therefore impacting on signal acquisition and quality. This paper investigates the effect of direct contact versus variable distances between the sensor and the tissue surface of the buccal mucosa as a surrogate. <i>Approach:</i> The <i>in-vivo</i> study involved 20 healthy volunteers to measure the effect of optical sensor-tissue distances on the ability to acquire photoplethysmography signals and their quality. Signals were acquired from the buccal mucosa at five optical sensor-tissue distances. <i>Main results:</i> Distances between 0 mm (contact) to 5 mm were the most optimal, producing signals of high quality and signal-to-noise ratio, resulting in reliable estimations of the blood oxygen saturation. Distances exceeding 5 mm compromised the acquired signals, and were of poor quality, thereby unreliably estimating the blood oxygen saturation. <i>Significance:</i> The developed optical sensor proved to be reliable for acquiring photoplethysmography signals for cases where distances between the optical sensor-tissue may arise during the assessment of intraluminal intestinal viability. © 2018 Institute of Physics and Engineering in Medicine.

RadioAstron Studies of the Nearby, Turbulent Interstellar Plasma with the Longest Space-Ground Interferometer Baseline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Smirnova, T. V.; Shishov, V. I.; Popov, M. V.; Gwinn, C. R.; Anderson, J. M.; Andrianov, A. S.; Bartel, N.; Deller, A.; Johnson, M. D.; Joshi, B. C.; Kardashev, N. S.; Karuppusamy, R.; Kovalev, Y. Y.; Kramer, M.; Soglasnov, V. A.; Zensus, J. A.; Zhuravlev, V. I.

2014-05-01

RadioAstron space-ground very long baseline interferometry observations of the pulsar B0950+08, conducted with the 10 m Space Radio Telescope in conjunction with the Arecibo 300 m telescope and the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope at a frequency of 324 MHz were analyzed in order to investigate plasma inhomogeneities in the direction of this nearby pulsar. The observations were conducted at a spacecraft distance of 330,000 km, resulting in a projected baseline of 220,000 km, providing the greatest angular resolution ever achieved at meter wavelengths. Our analysis is based on fundamental behavior of structure and coherence functions. We find that the pulsar shows scintillation on two frequency scales, both much less than the observing frequency, but modulation is less than 100%. We infer that the scattering is weak, but a refracting wedge disperses the scintillation pattern. The refraction angle of this "cosmic prism" is measured as θ0 = 1.1-4.4 mas, with the refraction direction being approximately perpendicular to the observer velocity. We show that the observed parameters of scintillation effects indicate that two plasma layers lie along the line of sight to the pulsar, at distances of 4.4-16.4 pc and 26-170 pc, and traveling in different directions relative to the line of sight. Spectra of turbulence for the two layers are found to follow a power law with the indices γ1 = γ2 = 3.00 ± 0.08, significantly different from the index expected for a Kolmogorov spectrum of turbulence, γ = 11/3.

Dependency distances in natural mixed languages. Comment on "Dependency distance: A new perspective on syntactic patterns in natural languages" by Haitao Liu et al.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Lin

2017-07-01

Haitao Liu et al.'s article [1] offers a comprehensive account of the diversity of syntactic patterns in human languages in terms of an important index of memory burden and syntactic difficulty - the dependency distance. Natural languages, a complex system, present overall shorter dependency distances under the universal pressure for dependency distance minimization; however, there exist some relatively-long-distance dependencies, which reflect that language can constantly adapt itself to some deep-level biological or functional constraints.

Ultrasonic Communication Project, Phase 1, FY1999

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haynes, H.D.; Akerman, M.A.; Baylor, V.M.

2000-06-01

This Phase 1 project has been successful in identifying, exploring, and demonstrating methods for ultrasonic-based communication with an emphasis on the application of digital signal processing techniques. During the project, at the direction of the agency project monitor, particular attention was directed at sending and receiving ultrasonic data through air and through pipes that would be commonly found in buildings. Efforts were also focused on development of a method for transmitting computer files ultrasonically. New methods were identified and evaluated for ultrasonic communication. These methods are based on a technique called DFS. With DFS, individual alphanumeric characters are broken downmore » into a sequence of bits, and each bit is used to generate a discrete ultrasonic frequency. Characters are then transmitted one-bit-at-a-time, and reconstructed by the receiver. This technique was put into practice through the development of LabVIEW{trademark}VIs. These VIs were integrated with specially developed electronic circuits to provide a system for demonstrating the transmission and reception/reconstruction of typed messages and computer files. Tests were performed to determine the envelope for ultrasound transmission through pipes (with and without water) versus through air. The practical aspects of connections, efficient electronics, impedance matching, and the effect of damping mechanisms were all investigated. These tests resulted in a considerable number of reference charts that illustrate the absorption of ultrasound through different pipe materials, both with and without water, as a function of distance. Ultrasound was found to be least attenuated by copper pipe and most attenuated by PVC pipe. Water in the pipe provides additional damping and attenuation of ultrasonic signals. Dramatic improvements are observed, however, in ultrasound signal strength if the transducers are directly coupled to the water, rather than simply attaching them to the outside of the pipe. A major accomplishment of this project was the development and integration of hardware and software into a fully functional ultrasonic communication system for demonstration purposes. The development of this system was a major deliverable of this project and has been successfully demonstrated to the program monitor. Major system considerations are discussed in this report, including signal conditioning electronics, speed and distance of transmission, triggering and noise filtering, and error checking. The methods employed by this system are believed to be capable of transmitting information over long distances (greater than 200 ft) under ideal conditions, and under extreme conditions if several improvements are made. Several improvements are suggested as follow-on work. Brief descriptions of these activities are given.« less

Evaluation of Image Segmentation and Object Recognition Algorithms for Image Parsing

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-09-01

generation of the features from the key points. OpenCV uses Euclidean distance to match the key points and has the option to use Manhattan distance...feature vector includes polarity and intensity information. Final step is matching the key points. In OpenCV , Euclidean distance or Manhattan...the code below is one way and OpenCV offers the function radiusMatch (a pair must have a distance less than a given maximum distance). OpenCV’s

Retrieval of Garstang's emission function from all-sky camera images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kocifaj, Miroslav; Solano Lamphar, Héctor Antonio; Kundracik, František

2015-10-01

The emission function from ground-based light sources predetermines the skyglow features to a large extent, while most mathematical models that are used to predict the night sky brightness require the information on this function. The radiant intensity distribution on a clear sky is experimentally determined as a function of zenith angle using the theoretical approach published only recently in MNRAS, 439, 3405-3413. We have made the experiments in two localities in Slovakia and Mexico by means of two digital single lens reflex professional cameras operating with different lenses that limit the system's field-of-view to either 180º or 167º. The purpose of using two cameras was to identify variances between two different apertures. Images are taken at different distances from an artificial light source (a city) with intention to determine the ratio of zenith radiance relative to horizontal irradiance. Subsequently, the information on the fraction of the light radiated directly into the upward hemisphere (F) is extracted. The results show that inexpensive devices can properly identify the upward emissions with adequate reliability as long as the clear sky radiance distribution is dominated by a largest ground-based light source. Highly unstable turbidity conditions can also make the parameter F difficult to find or even impossible to retrieve. The measurements at low elevation angles should be avoided due to a potentially parasitic effect of direct light emissions from luminaires surrounding the measuring site.

Estimation of distances to stars with stellar parameters from LAMOST

DOE PAGES

Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Liu, Chao; Newberg, Heidi Jo; ...

2015-06-05

Here, we present a method to estimate distances to stars with spectroscopically derived stellar parameters. The technique is a Bayesian approach with likelihood estimated via comparison of measured parameters to a grid of stellar isochrones, and returns a posterior probability density function for each star's absolute magnitude. We tailor this technique specifically to data from the Large Sky Area Multi-object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) survey. Because LAMOST obtains roughly 3000 stellar spectra simultaneously within each ~5-degree diameter "plate" that is observed, we can use the stellar parameters of the observed stars to account for the stellar luminosity function and targetmore » selection effects. This removes biasing assumptions about the underlying populations, both due to predictions of the luminosity function from stellar evolution modeling, and from Galactic models of stellar populations along each line of sight. Using calibration data of stars with known distances and stellar parameters, we show that our method recovers distances for most stars within ~20%, but with some systematic overestimation of distances to halo giants. We apply our code to the LAMOST database, and show that the current precision of LAMOST stellar parameters permits measurements of distances with ~40% error bars. This precision should improve as the LAMOST data pipelines continue to be refined.« less

Estimation of distances to stars with stellar parameters from LAMOST

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Carlin, Jeffrey L.; Liu, Chao; Newberg, Heidi Jo

Here, we present a method to estimate distances to stars with spectroscopically derived stellar parameters. The technique is a Bayesian approach with likelihood estimated via comparison of measured parameters to a grid of stellar isochrones, and returns a posterior probability density function for each star's absolute magnitude. We tailor this technique specifically to data from the Large Sky Area Multi-object Fiber Spectroscopic Telescope (LAMOST) survey. Because LAMOST obtains roughly 3000 stellar spectra simultaneously within each ~5-degree diameter "plate" that is observed, we can use the stellar parameters of the observed stars to account for the stellar luminosity function and targetmore » selection effects. This removes biasing assumptions about the underlying populations, both due to predictions of the luminosity function from stellar evolution modeling, and from Galactic models of stellar populations along each line of sight. Using calibration data of stars with known distances and stellar parameters, we show that our method recovers distances for most stars within ~20%, but with some systematic overestimation of distances to halo giants. We apply our code to the LAMOST database, and show that the current precision of LAMOST stellar parameters permits measurements of distances with ~40% error bars. This precision should improve as the LAMOST data pipelines continue to be refined.« less

Supporting Dynamic Quantization for High-Dimensional Data Analytics.

PubMed

Guzun, Gheorghi; Canahuate, Guadalupe

2017-05-01

Similarity searches are at the heart of exploratory data analysis tasks. Distance metrics are typically used to characterize the similarity between data objects represented as feature vectors. However, when the dimensionality of the data increases and the number of features is large, traditional distance metrics fail to distinguish between the closest and furthest data points. Localized distance functions have been proposed as an alternative to traditional distance metrics. These functions only consider dimensions close to query to compute the distance/similarity. Furthermore, in order to enable interactive explorations of high-dimensional data, indexing support for ad-hoc queries is needed. In this work we set up to investigate whether bit-sliced indices can be used for exploratory analytics such as similarity searches and data clustering for high-dimensional big-data. We also propose a novel dynamic quantization called Query dependent Equi-Depth (QED) quantization and show its effectiveness on characterizing high-dimensional similarity. When applying QED we observe improvements in kNN classification accuracy over traditional distance functions. Gheorghi Guzun and Guadalupe Canahuate. 2017. Supporting Dynamic Quantization for High-Dimensional Data Analytics. In Proceedings of Ex-ploreDB'17, Chicago, IL, USA, May 14-19, 2017, 6 pages. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/3077331.3077336.

High-order time-marching reinitialization for regional level-set functions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pan, Shucheng; Lyu, Xiuxiu; Hu, Xiangyu Y.; Adams, Nikolaus A.

2018-02-01

In this work, the time-marching reinitialization method is extended to compute the unsigned distance function in multi-region systems involving arbitrary number of regions. High order and interface preservation are achieved by applying a simple mapping that transforms the regional level-set function to the level-set function and a high-order two-step reinitialization method which is a combination of the closest point finding procedure and the HJ-WENO scheme. The convergence failure of the closest point finding procedure in three dimensions is addressed by employing a proposed multiple junction treatment and a directional optimization algorithm. Simple test cases show that our method exhibits 4th-order accuracy for reinitializing the regional level-set functions and strictly satisfies the interface-preserving property. The reinitialization results for more complex cases with randomly generated diagrams show the capability our method for arbitrary number of regions N, with a computational effort independent of N. The proposed method has been applied to dynamic interfaces with different types of flows, and the results demonstrate high accuracy and robustness.

Spatial analyses for nonoverlapping objects with size variations and their application to coral communities.

PubMed

Muko, Soyoka; Shimatani, Ichiro K; Nozawa, Yoko

2014-07-01

Spatial distributions of individuals are conventionally analysed by representing objects as dimensionless points, in which spatial statistics are based on centre-to-centre distances. However, if organisms expand without overlapping and show size variations, such as is the case for encrusting corals, interobject spacing is crucial for spatial associations where interactions occur. We introduced new pairwise statistics using minimum distances between objects and demonstrated their utility when examining encrusting coral community data. We also calculated the conventional point process statistics and the grid-based statistics to clarify the advantages and limitations of each spatial statistical method. For simplicity, coral colonies were approximated by disks in these demonstrations. Focusing on short-distance effects, the use of minimum distances revealed that almost all coral genera were aggregated at a scale of 1-25 cm. However, when fragmented colonies (ramets) were treated as a genet, a genet-level analysis indicated weak or no aggregation, suggesting that most corals were randomly distributed and that fragmentation was the primary cause of colony aggregations. In contrast, point process statistics showed larger aggregation scales, presumably because centre-to-centre distances included both intercolony spacing and colony sizes (radius). The grid-based statistics were able to quantify the patch (aggregation) scale of colonies, but the scale was strongly affected by the colony size. Our approach quantitatively showed repulsive effects between an aggressive genus and a competitively weak genus, while the grid-based statistics (covariance function) also showed repulsion although the spatial scale indicated from the statistics was not directly interpretable in terms of ecological meaning. The use of minimum distances together with previously proposed spatial statistics helped us to extend our understanding of the spatial patterns of nonoverlapping objects that vary in size and the associated specific scales. © 2013 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2013 British Ecological Society.

Decreased long- and short-range functional connectivity at rest in drug-naive major depressive disorder.

PubMed

Guo, Wenbin; Liu, Feng; Chen, Jindong; Wu, Renrong; Zhang, Zhikun; Yu, Miaoyu; Xue, Zhimin; Zhao, Jingping

2016-08-01

Abnormal functional connectivity has been observed in major depressive disorder. Anatomical distance may affect functional connectivity in patients with major depressive disorder. However, whether and how anatomical distance affects functional connectivity at rest remains unclear in drug-naive patients with major depressive disorder. Forty-four patients with major depressive disorder, as well as 44 age-, sex- and education-matched healthy controls, underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning. Regional functional connectivity strength was calculated for each voxel in the whole brain, which was further divided into short- and long-range functional connectivity strength. The patients showed decreased long-range positive functional connectivity strength in the right inferior parietal lobule, as well as decreased short-range positive functional connectivity strength in the right insula and right superior temporal gyrus relative to those of the controls. No significant correlations existed between abnormal functional connectivity strength and the clinical variables of the patients. The findings revealed that anatomical distance decreases long- and short-range functional connectivity strength in patients with major depressive disorder, which may underlie the neurobiology of major depressive disorder. © The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists 2015.

Compact two-electron wave function for bond dissociation and Van der Waals interactions: a natural amplitude assessment.

PubMed

Giesbertz, Klaas J H; van Leeuwen, Robert

2014-05-14

Electron correlations in molecules can be divided in short range dynamical correlations, long range Van der Waals type interactions, and near degeneracy static correlations. In this work, we analyze for a one-dimensional model of a two-electron system how these three types of correlations can be incorporated in a simple wave function of restricted functional form consisting of an orbital product multiplied by a single correlation function f (r12) depending on the interelectronic distance r12. Since the three types of correlations mentioned lead to different signatures in terms of the natural orbital (NO) amplitudes in two-electron systems, we make an analysis of the wave function in terms of the NO amplitudes for a model system of a diatomic molecule. In our numerical implementation, we fully optimize the orbitals and the correlation function on a spatial grid without restrictions on their functional form. Due to this particular form of the wave function, we can prove that none of the amplitudes vanishes and moreover that it displays a distinct sign pattern and a series of avoided crossings as a function of the bond distance in agreement with the exact solution. This shows that the wave function ansatz correctly incorporates the long range Van der Waals interactions. We further show that the approximate wave function gives an excellent binding curve and is able to describe static correlations. We show that in order to do this the correlation function f (r12) needs to diverge for large r12 at large internuclear distances while for shorter bond distances it increases as a function of r12 to a maximum value after which it decays exponentially. We further give a physical interpretation of this behavior.

Quality assurance testing of acoustic doppler current profiler transform matrices

USGS Publications Warehouse

Armstrong, Brandy; Fulford, Janice M.; Thibodeaux, Kirk G.

2015-01-01

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Instrumentation Facility (HIF) is nationally responsible for the design, testing, evaluation, repair, calibration, warehousing, and distribution of hydrologic instrumentation in use within the USGS Water Mission Area (WMA). The HIF's Hydraulic Laboratory has begun routine quality assurance (QA) testing and documenting the performance of every USGS WMA acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) used for making velocity and discharge measurements. All existing ADCPs are being registered and tracked in a database maintained by the HIF, and called for QA checks in the HIF's Hydraulic Laboratory on a 3- year cycle. All new ADCPs purchased directly from the manufacturer as well as ADCPs sent to the HIF or the manufacturer for repair are being registered and tracked in the database and QA checked in the laboratory before being placed into service. Meters failing the QA check are sent directly to the manufacturer for repairs and rechecked by HIF or removed from service. Although this QA program is specific to the SonTek1 and Teledyne RD Instruments1, ADCPs most commonly used within the WMA, it is the intent of the USGS Office of Surface Water and the HIF to expand this program to include all bottom tracking ADCPs as they become available and more widely used throughout the WMA. As part of the HIF QA process, instruments are inspected for physical damage, the instrument must pass the ADCP diagnostic self-check tests, the temperature probe must be within ± 2 degrees Celsius of a National Institute of Standards and Technology traceable reference thermometer and the distance made good over a fixed distance must meet the manufacturer's specifications (+/-0.25% or +/-1% difference). The transform matrix is tested by conducting distance-made-good (DMG) tests comparing the straight-line distance from bottom tracking to the measured tow-track distance. The DMG test is conducted on each instrument twice in the forward and reverse directions (4 tows) at four orientations (16 total tows); with beam 1 orientated 0 degrees to the towing direction; turned 45 degrees to the towing direction; turned 90 degrees to the towing direction; and turned 135 degrees to the towing direction. All QA data files and summary results are archived. This paper documents methodology, participation and preliminary results of WMA ADCP QA testing.

Theoretical Developments in Decision Field Theory: Comment on Tsetsos, Usher, and Chater (2010)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hotaling, Jared M.; Busemeyer, Jerome R.; Li, Jiyun

2010-01-01

Tsetsos, Usher, and Chater (2010) presented several criticisms of decision field theory (DFT) involving its distance function, instability under externally controlled stopping times, and lack of robustness to various multialternative choice scenarios. Here, we counter those claims with a specification of a distance function based on the…

The assembly of ecological communities inferred from taxonomic and functional composition

Treesearch

Eric R. Sokol; E.F. Benfield; Lisa K. Belden; H. Maurice. Valett

2011-01-01

Among-site variation in metacommunities (beta diversity) is typically correlated with the distance separating the sites (spatial lag). This distance decay in similarity pattern has been linked to both niche-based and dispersal-based community assembly hypotheses. Here we show that beta diversity patterns in community composition, when supplemented with functional-trait...

Kinematical Focus on NGC 7086

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tadross, A. L.

2005-12-01

The main physical parameters; the cluster center, distance, radius, age, reddening, and visual absorbtion; have been re-estimated and improved for the open cluster NGC 7086. The metal abundance, galactic distances, membership richness, luminosity function, mass function, and the total mass of NGC 7086 have been examined for the first time here using Monet et al. (2003) catalog.

47 CFR 73.184 - Groundwave field strength graphs.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-10-01

... function of groundwave conductivity and distance from the source of radiation. The groundwave field... Propagation of Radio Waves Over the Surface of the Earth and in the Upper Atmosphere,” Part II, by Mr. K.A... relative values of groundwave field strength over a plane earth as a function of the numerical distance p...

Tissue specific resonance frequencies of water and metabolites within the human brain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chadzynski, Grzegorz L.; Bender, Benjamin; Groeger, Adriane; Erb, Michael; Klose, Uwe

2011-09-01

Chemical shift imaging (CSI) without water suppression was used to examine tissue-specific resonance frequencies of water and metabolites within the human brain. The aim was to verify if there are any regional differences in those frequencies and to determine the influence of chemical shift displacement in slice-selection direction. Unsuppressed spectra were acquired at 3 T from nine subjects. Resonance frequencies of water and after water signal removal of total choline, total creatine and NAA were estimated. Furthermore, frequency distances between the water and those resonances were calculated. Results were corrected for chemical shift displacement. Frequency distances between water and metabolites were consistent and greater for GM than for WM. The highest value of WM to GM difference (14 ppb) was observed for water to NAA frequency distance. This study demonstrates that there are tissue-specific differences between frequency distances of water and metabolites. Moreover, the influence of chemical shift displacement in slice-selection direction is showed to be negligible.

HABITABLE ZONES OF POST-MAIN SEQUENCE STARS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ramirez, Ramses M.; Kaltenegger, Lisa

Once a star leaves the main sequence and becomes a red giant, its Habitable Zone (HZ) moves outward, promoting detectable habitable conditions at larger orbital distances. We use a one-dimensional radiative-convective climate and stellar evolutionary models to calculate post-MS HZ distances for a grid of stars from 3700 to 10,000 K (∼M1 to A5 stellar types) for different stellar metallicities. The post-MS HZ limits are comparable to the distances of known directly imaged planets. We model the stellar as well as planetary atmospheric mass loss during the Red Giant Branch (RGB) and Asymptotic Giant Branch (AGB) phases for super-Moons tomore » super-Earths. A planet can stay between 200 million years up to 9 Gyr in the post-MS HZ for our hottest and coldest grid stars, respectively, assuming solar metallicity. These numbers increase for increased stellar metallicity. Total atmospheric erosion only occurs for planets in close-in orbits. The post-MS HZ orbital distances are within detection capabilities of direct imaging techniques.« less

Tissue specific resonance frequencies of water and metabolites within the human brain.

PubMed

Chadzynski, Grzegorz L; Bender, Benjamin; Groeger, Adriane; Erb, Michael; Klose, Uwe

2011-09-01

Chemical shift imaging (CSI) without water suppression was used to examine tissue-specific resonance frequencies of water and metabolites within the human brain. The aim was to verify if there are any regional differences in those frequencies and to determine the influence of chemical shift displacement in slice-selection direction. Unsuppressed spectra were acquired at 3T from nine subjects. Resonance frequencies of water and after water signal removal of total choline, total creatine and NAA were estimated. Furthermore, frequency distances between the water and those resonances were calculated. Results were corrected for chemical shift displacement. Frequency distances between water and metabolites were consistent and greater for GM than for WM. The highest value of WM to GM difference (14ppb) was observed for water to NAA frequency distance. This study demonstrates that there are tissue-specific differences between frequency distances of water and metabolites. Moreover, the influence of chemical shift displacement in slice-selection direction is showed to be negligible. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

New presentation method for magnetic resonance angiography images based on skeletonization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nystroem, Ingela; Smedby, Orjan

2000-04-01

Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) images are usually presented as maximum intensity projections (MIP), and the choice of viewing direction is then critical for the detection of stenoses. We propose a presentation method that uses skeletonization and distance transformations, which visualizes variations in vessel width independent of viewing direction. In the skeletonization, the object is reduced to a surface skeleton and further to a curve skeleton. The skeletal voxels are labeled with their distance to the original background. For the curve skeleton, the distance values correspond to the minimum radius of the object at that point, i.e., half the minimum diameter of the blood vessel at that level. The following image processing steps are performed: resampling to cubic voxels, segmentation of the blood vessels, skeletonization ,and reverse distance transformation on the curve skeleton. The reconstructed vessels may be visualized with any projection method. Preliminary results are shown. They indicate that locations of possible stenoses may be identified by presenting the vessels as a structure with the minimum radius at each point.

Direct construction of mesoscopic models from microscopic simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lei, Huan; Caswell, Bruce; Karniadakis, George Em

2010-02-01

Starting from microscopic molecular-dynamics (MD) simulations of constrained Lennard-Jones (LJ) clusters (with constant radius of gyration Rg ), we construct two mesoscopic models [Langevin dynamics and dissipative particle dynamics (DPD)] by coarse graining the LJ clusters into single particles. Both static and dynamic properties of the coarse-grained models are investigated and compared with the MD results. The effective mean force field is computed as a function of the intercluster distance, and the corresponding potential scales linearly with the number of particles per cluster and the temperature. We verify that the mean force field can reproduce the equation of state of the atomistic systems within a wide density range but the radial distribution function only within the dilute and the semidilute regime. The friction force coefficients for both models are computed directly from the time-correlation function of the random force field of the microscopic system. For high density or a large cluster size the friction force is overestimated and the diffusivity underestimated due to the omission of many-body effects as a result of the assumed pairwise form of the coarse-grained force field. When the many-body effect is not as pronounced (e.g., smaller Rg or semidilute system), the DPD model can reproduce the dynamic properties of the MD system.

Instanton dominance over αs at low momenta from lattice QCD simulations at Nf = 0, Nf = 2 + 1 and Nf = 2 + 1 + 1

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Athenodorou, Andreas; Boucaud, Philippe; de Soto, Feliciano; Rodríguez-Quintero, José; Zafeiropoulos, Savvas

2018-03-01

We report on an instanton-based analysis of the gluon Green functions in the Landau gauge for low momenta; in particular we use lattice results for αs in the symmetric momentum subtraction scheme (MOM) for large-volume lattice simulations. We have exploited quenched gauge field configurations, Nf = 0, with both Wilson and tree-level Symanzik improved actions, and unquenched ones with Nf = 2 + 1 and Nf = 2 + 1 + 1 dynamical flavors (domain wall and twisted-mass fermions, respectively). We show that the dominance of instanton correlations on the low-momenta gluon Green functions can be applied to the determination of phenomenological parameters of the instanton liquid and, eventually, to a determination of the lattice spacing. We furthermore apply the Gradient Flow to remove short-distance fluctuations. The Gradient Flow gets rid of the QCD scale, ΛQCD, and reveals that the instanton prediction extents to large momenta. For those gauge field configurations free of quantum fluctuations, the direct study of topological charge density shows the appearance of large-scale lumps that can be identified as instantons, giving access to a direct study of the instanton density and size distribution that is compatible with those extracted from the analysis of the Green functions.

Impaired Long Distance Functional Connectivity and Weighted Network Architecture in Alzheimer's Disease

PubMed Central

Liu, Yong; Yu, Chunshui; Zhang, Xinqing; Liu, Jieqiong; Duan, Yunyun; Alexander-Bloch, Aaron F.; Liu, Bing; Jiang, Tianzi; Bullmore, Ed

2014-01-01

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is increasingly recognized as a disconnection syndrome, which leads to cognitive impairment due to the disruption of functional activity across large networks or systems of interconnected brain regions. We explored abnormal functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) resting-state dynamics, functional connectivity, and weighted functional networks, in a sample of patients with severe AD (N = 18) and age-matched healthy volunteers (N = 21). We found that patients had reduced amplitude and regional homogeneity of low-frequency fMRI oscillations, and reduced the strength of functional connectivity, in several regions previously described as components of the default mode network, for example, medial posterior parietal cortex and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex. In patients with severe AD, functional connectivity was particularly attenuated between regions that were separated by a greater physical distance; and loss of long distance connectivity was associated with less efficient global and nodal network topology. This profile of functional abnormality in severe AD was consistent with the results of a comparable analysis of data on 2 additional groups of patients with mild AD (N = 17) and amnestic mild cognitive impairment (MCI; N = 18). A greater degree of cognitive impairment, measured by the mini-mental state examination across all patient groups, was correlated with greater attenuation of functional connectivity, particularly over long connection distances, for example, between anterior and posterior components of the default mode network, and greater reduction of global and nodal network efficiency. These results indicate that neurodegenerative disruption of fMRI oscillations and connectivity in AD affects long-distance connections to hub nodes, with the consequent loss of network efficiency. This profile was evident also to a lesser degree in the patients with less severe cognitive impairment, indicating that the potential of resting-state fMRI measures as biomarkers or predictors of disease progression in AD. PMID:23314940

Combining DSMC Simulations and ROSINA/COPS Data of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko to Develop a Realistic Empirical Coma Model and to Determine Accurate Production Rates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hansen, K. C.; Fougere, N.; Bieler, A. M.; Altwegg, K.; Combi, M. R.; Gombosi, T. I.; Huang, Z.; Rubin, M.; Tenishev, V.; Toth, G.; Tzou, C. Y.

2015-12-01

We have previously published results from the AMPS DSMC (Adaptive Mesh Particle Simulator Direct Simulation Monte Carlo) model and its characterization of the neutral coma of comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko through detailed comparison with data collected by the ROSINA/COPS (Rosetta Orbiter Spectrometer for Ion and Neutral Analysis/COmet Pressure Sensor) instrument aboard the Rosetta spacecraft [Bieler, 2015]. Results from these DSMC models have been used to create an empirical model of the near comet coma (<200 km) of comet 67P. The empirical model characterizes the neutral coma in a comet centered, sun fixed reference frame as a function of heliocentric distance, radial distance from the comet, local time and declination. The model is a significant improvement over more simple empirical models, such as the Haser model. While the DSMC results are a more accurate representation of the coma at any given time, the advantage of a mean state, empirical model is the ease and speed of use. One use of such an empirical model is in the calculation of a total cometary coma production rate from the ROSINA/COPS data. The COPS data are in situ measurements of gas density and velocity along the ROSETTA spacecraft track. Converting the measured neutral density into a production rate requires knowledge of the neutral gas distribution in the coma. Our empirical model provides this information and therefore allows us to correct for the spacecraft location to calculate a production rate as a function of heliocentric distance. We will present the full empirical model as well as the calculated neutral production rate for the period of August 2014 - August 2015 (perihelion).

Energy hyperspace for stacking interaction in AU/AU dinucleotide step: Dispersion-corrected density functional theory study.

PubMed

Mukherjee, Sanchita; Kailasam, Senthilkumar; Bansal, Manju; Bhattacharyya, Dhananjay

2014-01-01

Double helical structures of DNA and RNA are mostly determined by base pair stacking interactions, which give them the base sequence-directed features, such as small roll values for the purine-pyrimidine steps. Earlier attempts to characterize stacking interactions were mostly restricted to calculations on fiber diffraction geometries or optimized structure using ab initio calculations lacking variation in geometry to comment on rather unusual large roll values observed in AU/AU base pair step in crystal structures of RNA double helices. We have generated stacking energy hyperspace by modeling geometries with variations along the important degrees of freedom, roll, and slide, which were chosen via statistical analysis as maximally sequence dependent. Corresponding energy contours were constructed by several quantum chemical methods including dispersion corrections. This analysis established the most suitable methods for stacked base pair systems despite the limitation imparted by number of atom in a base pair step to employ very high level of theory. All the methods predict negative roll value and near-zero slide to be most favorable for the purine-pyrimidine steps, in agreement with Calladine's steric clash based rule. Successive base pairs in RNA are always linked by sugar-phosphate backbone with C3'-endo sugars and this demands C1'-C1' distance of about 5.4 Å along the chains. Consideration of an energy penalty term for deviation of C1'-C1' distance from the mean value, to the recent DFT-D functionals, specifically ωB97X-D appears to predict reliable energy contour for AU/AU step. Such distance-based penalty improves energy contours for the other purine-pyrimidine sequences also. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers 101: 107-120, 2014. Copyright © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Understanding Innovation Engines: Automated Creativity and Improved Stochastic Optimization via Deep Learning.

PubMed

Nguyen, A; Yosinski, J; Clune, J

2016-01-01

The Achilles Heel of stochastic optimization algorithms is getting trapped on local optima. Novelty Search mitigates this problem by encouraging exploration in all interesting directions by replacing the performance objective with a reward for novel behaviors. This reward for novel behaviors has traditionally required a human-crafted, behavioral distance function. While Novelty Search is a major conceptual breakthrough and outperforms traditional stochastic optimization on certain problems, it is not clear how to apply it to challenging, high-dimensional problems where specifying a useful behavioral distance function is difficult. For example, in the space of images, how do you encourage novelty to produce hawks and heroes instead of endless pixel static? Here we propose a new algorithm, the Innovation Engine, that builds on Novelty Search by replacing the human-crafted behavioral distance with a Deep Neural Network (DNN) that can recognize interesting differences between phenotypes. The key insight is that DNNs can recognize similarities and differences between phenotypes at an abstract level, wherein novelty means interesting novelty. For example, a DNN-based novelty search in the image space does not explore in the low-level pixel space, but instead creates a pressure to create new types of images (e.g., churches, mosques, obelisks, etc.). Here, we describe the long-term vision for the Innovation Engine algorithm, which involves many technical challenges that remain to be solved. We then implement a simplified version of the algorithm that enables us to explore some of the algorithm's key motivations. Our initial results, in the domain of images, suggest that Innovation Engines could ultimately automate the production of endless streams of interesting solutions in any domain: for example, producing intelligent software, robot controllers, optimized physical components, and art.

Commensurate distances and similar motifs in genetic congruence and protein interaction networks in yeast

PubMed Central

Ye, Ping; Peyser, Brian D; Spencer, Forrest A; Bader, Joel S

2005-01-01

Background In a genetic interaction, the phenotype of a double mutant differs from the combined phenotypes of the underlying single mutants. When the single mutants have no growth defect, but the double mutant is lethal or exhibits slow growth, the interaction is termed synthetic lethality or synthetic fitness. These genetic interactions reveal gene redundancy and compensating pathways. Recently available large-scale data sets of genetic interactions and protein interactions in Saccharomyces cerevisiae provide a unique opportunity to elucidate the topological structure of biological pathways and how genes function in these pathways. Results We have defined congruent genes as pairs of genes with similar sets of genetic interaction partners and constructed a genetic congruence network by linking congruent genes. By comparing path lengths in three types of networks (genetic interaction, genetic congruence, and protein interaction), we discovered that high genetic congruence not only exhibits correlation with direct protein interaction linkage but also exhibits commensurate distance with the protein interaction network. However, consistent distances were not observed between genetic and protein interaction networks. We also demonstrated that congruence and protein networks are enriched with motifs that indicate network transitivity, while the genetic network has both transitive (triangle) and intransitive (square) types of motifs. These results suggest that robustness of yeast cells to gene deletions is due in part to two complementary pathways (square motif) or three complementary pathways, any two of which are required for viability (triangle motif). Conclusion Genetic congruence is superior to genetic interaction in prediction of protein interactions and function associations. Genetically interacting pairs usually belong to parallel compensatory pathways, which can generate transitive motifs (any two of three pathways needed) or intransitive motifs (either of two pathways needed). PMID:16283923

The Lateral Trigger Probability function for the Ultra-High Energy Cosmic Ray showers detected by the Pierre Auger Observatory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pierre Auger Collaboration; Abreu, P.; Aglietta, M.; Ahn, E. J.; Albuquerque, I. F. M.; Allard, D.; Allekotte, I.; Allen, J.; Allison, P.; Alvarez Castillo, J.; Alvarez-Muñiz, J.; Ambrosio, M.; Aminaei, A.; Anchordoqui, L.; Andringa, S.; Antičić, T.; Anzalone, A.; Aramo, C.; Arganda, E.; Arqueros, F.; Asorey, H.; Assis, P.; Aublin, J.; Ave, M.; Avenier, M.; Avila, G.; Bäcker, T.; Balzer, M.; Barber, K. B.; Barbosa, A. F.; Bardenet, R.; Barroso, S. L. C.; Baughman, B.; Bäuml, J.; Beatty, J. J.; Becker, B. R.; Becker, K. H.; Bellétoile, A.; Bellido, J. A.; Benzvi, S.; Berat, C.; Bertou, X.; Biermann, P. L.; Billoir, P.; Blanco, F.; Blanco, M.; Bleve, C.; Blümer, H.; Boháčová, M.; Boncioli, D.; Bonifazi, C.; Bonino, R.; Borodai, N.; Brack, J.; Brogueira, P.; Brown, W. C.; Bruijn, R.; Buchholz, P.; Bueno, A.; Burton, R. E.; Caballero-Mora, K. S.; Caramete, L.; Caruso, R.; Castellina, A.; Catalano, O.; Cataldi, G.; Cazon, L.; Cester, R.; Chauvin, J.; Cheng, S. H.; Chiavassa, A.; Chinellato, J. A.; Chou, A.; Chudoba, J.; Clay, R. W.; Coluccia, M. R.; Conceição, R.; Contreras, F.; Cook, H.; Cooper, M. J.; Coppens, J.; Cordier, A.; Cotti, U.; Coutu, S.; Covault, C. E.; Creusot, A.; Criss, A.; Cronin, J.; Curutiu, A.; Dagoret-Campagne, S.; Dallier, R.; Dasso, S.; Daumiller, K.; Dawson, B. R.; de Almeida, R. M.; de Domenico, M.; de Donato, C.; de Jong, S. J.; de La Vega, G.; de Mello Junior, W. J. M.; de Mello Neto, J. R. T.; de Mitri, I.; de Souza, V.; de Vries, K. D.; Decerprit, G.; Del Peral, L.; Deligny, O.; Dembinski, H.; Dhital, N.; di Giulio, C.; Diaz, J. C.; Díaz Castro, M. L.; Diep, P. N.; Dobrigkeit, C.; Docters, W.; D'Olivo, J. C.; Dong, P. N.; Dorofeev, A.; Dos Anjos, J. C.; Dova, M. T.; D'Urso, D.; Dutan, I.; Ebr, J.; Engel, R.; Erdmann, M.; Escobar, C. O.; Etchegoyen, A.; Facal San Luis, P.; Fajardo Tapia, I.; Falcke, H.; Farrar, G.; Fauth, A. C.; Fazzini, N.; Ferguson, A. P.; Ferrero, A.; Fick, B.; Filevich, A.; Filipčič, A.; Fliescher, S.; Fracchiolla, C. E.; Fraenkel, E. D.; Fröhlich, U.; Fuchs, B.; Gaior, R.; Gamarra, R. F.; Gambetta, S.; García, B.; García Gámez, D.; Garcia-Pinto, D.; Gascon, A.; Gemmeke, H.; Gesterling, K.; Ghia, P. L.; Giaccari, U.; Giller, M.; Glass, H.; Gold, M. S.; Golup, G.; Gomez Albarracin, F.; Gómez Berisso, M.; Gonçalves, P.; Gonzalez, D.; Gonzalez, J. G.; Gookin, B.; Góra, D.; Gorgi, A.; Gouffon, P.; Gozzini, S. R.; Grashorn, E.; Grebe, S.; Griffith, N.; Grigat, M.; Grillo, A. F.; Guardincerri, Y.; Guarino, F.; Guedes, G. P.; Guzman, A.; Hague, J. D.; Hansen, P.; Harari, D.; Harmsma, S.; Harton, J. L.; Haungs, A.; Hebbeker, T.; Heck, D.; Herve, A. E.; Hojvat, C.; Hollon, N.; Holmes, V. C.; Homola, P.; Hörandel, J. R.; Horneffer, A.; Hrabovský, M.; Huege, T.; Insolia, A.; Ionita, F.; Italiano, A.; Jarne, C.; Jiraskova, S.; Kadija, K.; Kampert, K. H.; Karhan, P.; Kasper, P.; Kégl, B.; Keilhauer, B.; Keivani, A.; Kelley, J. L.; Kemp, E.; Kieckhafer, R. M.; Klages, H. O.; Kleifges, M.; Kleinfeller, J.; Knapp, J.; Koang, D.-H.; Kotera, K.; Krohm, N.; Krömer, O.; Kruppke-Hansen, D.; Kuehn, F.; Kuempel, D.; Kulbartz, J. K.; Kunka, N.; La Rosa, G.; Lachaud, C.; Lautridou, P.; Leão, M. S. A. B.; Lebrun, D.; Lebrun, P.; Leigui de Oliveira, M. A.; Lemiere, A.; Letessier-Selvon, A.; Lhenry-Yvon, I.; Link, K.; López, R.; Lopez Agüera, A.; Louedec, K.; Lozano Bahilo, J.; Lucero, A.; Ludwig, M.; Lyberis, H.; Maccarone, M. C.; Macolino, C.; Maldera, S.; Mandat, D.; Mantsch, P.; Mariazzi, A. G.; Marin, J.; Marin, V.; Maris, I. C.; Marquez Falcon, H. R.; Marsella, G.; Martello, D.; Martin, L.; Martinez, H.; Martínez Bravo, O.; Mathes, H. J.; Matthews, J.; Matthews, J. A. J.; Matthiae, G.; Maurizio, D.; Mazur, P. O.; Medina-Tanco, G.; Melissas, M.; Melo, D.; Menichetti, E.; Menshikov, A.; Mertsch, P.; Meurer, C.; Mićanović, S.; Micheletti, M. I.; Miller, W.; Miramonti, L.; Mollerach, S.; Monasor, M.; Monnier Ragaigne, D.; Montanet, F.; Morales, B.; Morello, C.; Moreno, E.; Moreno, J. C.; Morris, C.; Mostafá, M.; Moura, C. A.; Mueller, S.; Muller, M. A.; Müller, G.; Münchmeyer, M.; Mussa, R.; Navarra, G.; Navarro, J. L.; Navas, S.; Necesal, P.; Nellen, L.; Nelles, A.; Nhung, P. T.; Niemietz, L.; Nierstenhoefer, N.; Nitz, D.; Nosek, D.; Nožka, L.; Nyklicek, M.; Oehlschläger, J.; Olinto, A.; Oliva, P.; Olmos-Gilbaja, V. M.; Ortiz, M.; Pacheco, N.; Pakk Selmi-Dei, D.; Palatka, M.; Pallotta, J.; Palmieri, N.; Parente, G.; Parizot, E.; Parra, A.; Parsons, R. D.; Pastor, S.; Paul, T.; Pech, M.; Pȩkala, J.; Pelayo, R.; Pepe, I. M.; Perrone, L.; Pesce, R.; Petermann, E.; Petrera, S.; Petrinca, P.; Petrolini, A.; Petrov, Y.; Petrovic, J.; Pfendner, C.; Phan, N.; Piegaia, R.; Pierog, T.; Pieroni, P.; Pimenta, M.; Pirronello, V.; Platino, M.; Ponce, V. H.; Pontz, M.; Privitera, P.; Prouza, M.; Quel, E. 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J.; Wieczorek, G.; Wiencke, L.; Wilczyńska, B.; Wilczyński, H.; Will, M.; Williams, C.; Winchen, T.; Winders, L.; Winnick, M. G.; Wommer, M.; Wundheiler, B.; Yamamoto, T.; Yapici, T.; Younk, P.; Yuan, G.; Yushkov, A.; Zamorano, B.; Zas, E.; Zavrtanik, D.; Zavrtanik, M.; Zaw, I.; Zepeda, A.; Ziolkowski, M.

2011-12-01

In this paper we introduce the concept of Lateral Trigger Probability (LTP) function, i.e., the probability for an Extensive Air Shower (EAS) to trigger an individual detector of a ground based array as a function of distance to the shower axis, taking into account energy, mass and direction of the primary cosmic ray. We apply this concept to the surface array of the Pierre Auger Observatory consisting of a 1.5 km spaced grid of about 1600 water Cherenkov stations. Using Monte Carlo simulations of ultra-high energy showers the LTP functions are derived for energies in the range between 1017 and 1019 eV and zenith angles up to 65°. A parametrization combining a step function with an exponential is found to reproduce them very well in the considered range of energies and zenith angles. The LTP functions can also be obtained from data using events simultaneously observed by the fluorescence and the surface detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory (hybrid events). We validate the Monte Carlo results showing how LTP functions from data are in good agreement with simulations.

Finite-size scaling of survival probability in branching processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garcia-Millan, Rosalba; Font-Clos, Francesc; Corral, Álvaro

2015-04-01

Branching processes pervade many models in statistical physics. We investigate the survival probability of a Galton-Watson branching process after a finite number of generations. We derive analytically the existence of finite-size scaling for the survival probability as a function of the control parameter and the maximum number of generations, obtaining the critical exponents as well as the exact scaling function, which is G (y ) =2 y ey /(ey-1 ) , with y the rescaled distance to the critical point. Our findings are valid for any branching process of the Galton-Watson type, independently of the distribution of the number of offspring, provided its variance is finite. This proves the universal behavior of the finite-size effects in branching processes, including the universality of the metric factors. The direct relation to mean-field percolation is also discussed.

Method and apparatus for sensing a target characteristic by measuring both impedance and resonant frequency of a tank circuit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Laskowski, Edward L. (Inventor)

1995-01-01

An apparatus for sensing a target characteristic, such as relative distance between the apparatus and target, target thickness, target material, or lateral position between the apparatus and the target, includes a coil for directing an electro-magnetic field at the target. A voltage controlled oscillator energizes the coil at a resonant frequency which is functionally related to the target characteristic. The coil has an effective impedance value at resonance functionally related to the target characteristic. A frequency monitor measures the resonant frequency. An impedance monitor determines the impedance value when the drive frequency is at the resonant value. A PROM or controller determines the target characteristic in response to the measured resonant frequency and the determined impedance value. The PROM or controller provides a signal responsive to the determined target characteristic.