A framework for using magic to study the mind.

PubMed

Rensink, Ronald A; Kuhn, Gustav

2014-01-01

Over the centuries, magicians have developed extensive knowledge about the manipulation of the human mind-knowledge that has been largely ignored by psychology. It has recently been argued that this knowledge could help improve our understanding of human cognition and consciousness. But how might this be done? And how much could it ultimately contribute to the exploration of the human mind? We propose here a framework outlining how knowledge about magic can be used to help us understand the human mind. Various approaches-both old and new-are surveyed, in terms of four different levels. The first focuses on the methods in magic, using these to suggest new approaches to existing issues in psychology. The second focuses on the effects that magic can produce, such as the sense of wonder induced by seeing an apparently impossible event. Third is the consideration of magic tricks-methods and effects together-as phenomena of scientific interest in their own right. Finally, there is the organization of knowledge about magic into an informative whole, including the possibility of a science centered around the experience of wonder.

A framework for using magic to study the mind

PubMed Central

Rensink, Ronald A.; Kuhn, Gustav

2015-01-01

Over the centuries, magicians have developed extensive knowledge about the manipulation of the human mind—knowledge that has been largely ignored by psychology. It has recently been argued that this knowledge could help improve our understanding of human cognition and consciousness. But how might this be done? And how much could it ultimately contribute to the exploration of the human mind? We propose here a framework outlining how knowledge about magic can be used to help us understand the human mind. Various approaches—both old and new—are surveyed, in terms of four different levels. The first focuses on the methods in magic, using these to suggest new approaches to existing issues in psychology. The second focuses on the effects that magic can produce, such as the sense of wonder induced by seeing an apparently impossible event. Third is the consideration of magic tricks—methods and effects together—as phenomena of scientific interest in their own right. Finally, there is the organization of knowledge about magic into an informative whole, including the possibility of a science centered around the experience of wonder. PMID:25698983

A comparison of various algorithms to extract Magic Formula tyre model coefficients for vehicle dynamics simulations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vijay Alagappan, A.; Narasimha Rao, K. V.; Krishna Kumar, R.

2015-02-01

Tyre models are a prerequisite for any vehicle dynamics simulation. Tyre models range from the simplest mathematical models that consider only the cornering stiffness to a complex set of formulae. Among all the steady-state tyre models that are in use today, the Magic Formula tyre model is unique and most popular. Though the Magic Formula tyre model is widely used, obtaining the model coefficients from either the experimental or the simulation data is not straightforward due to its nonlinear nature and the presence of a large number of coefficients. A common procedure used for this extraction is the least-squares minimisation that requires considerable experience for initial guesses. Various researchers have tried different algorithms, namely, gradient and Newton-based methods, differential evolution, artificial neural networks, etc. The issues involved in all these algorithms are setting bounds or constraints, sensitivity of the parameters, the features of the input data such as the number of points, noisy data, experimental procedure used such as slip angle sweep or tyre measurement (TIME) procedure, etc. The extracted Magic Formula coefficients are affected by these variants. This paper highlights the issues that are commonly encountered in obtaining these coefficients with different algorithms, namely, least-squares minimisation using trust region algorithms, Nelder-Mead simplex, pattern search, differential evolution, particle swarm optimisation, cuckoo search, etc. A key observation is that not all the algorithms give the same Magic Formula coefficients for a given data. The nature of the input data and the type of the algorithm decide the set of the Magic Formula tyre model coefficients.

A highly ordered mesostructured material containing regularly distributed phenols: preparation and characterization at a molecular level through ultra-fast magic angle spinning proton NMR spectroscopy.

PubMed

Roussey, Arthur; Gajan, David; Maishal, Tarun K; Mukerjee, Anhurada; Veyre, Laurent; Lesage, Anne; Emsley, Lyndon; Copéret, Christophe; Thieuleux, Chloé

2011-03-14

Highly ordered organic-inorganic mesostructured material containing regularly distributed phenols is synthesized by combining a direct synthesis of the functional material and a protection-deprotection strategy and characterized at a molecular level through ultra-fast magic angle spinning proton NMR spectroscopy.

Magical thinking in narratives of adolescent cutters.

PubMed

Gregory, Robert J; Mustata, Georgian T

2012-08-01

Adolescents sometimes cut themselves to relieve distress; however, the mechanism is unknown. Previous studies have linked self-injury to deficits in processing emotions symbolically through language. To investigate expressive language of adolescent cutters, the authors analyzed 100 narratives posted on the Internet. Most narratives (n = 66) displayed idiosyncratic use of language indicating poor differentiation between the real and the symbolic, such as blood substituting for negative emotions, which can then be released from the self; or emotional pain magically transforming into physical pain, which can then be managed. This kind of magical thinking correlated with cutting to relieve distress, to see blood, and to feel pain, but negatively correlated with complex representation of people, understanding social causality, and self-esteem. The results suggest that magical thinking represents a pre-symbolic mental state that processes and organizes distressing emotions through body schema. Magical thinking thus provides a plausible mechanism for why cutting works. Copyright © 2012 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Magical thinking and decision-making strategies among late adolescent regular gamblers: A mediation model.

PubMed

Passanisi, Alessia; Craparo, Giuseppe; Pace, Ugo

2017-08-01

In the present study, the relation between the tendency to seek supernatural connections between external events and one's own thoughts, words, and actions and gambling among late adolescents has been studied. Psychologists have called this tendency magical thinking. The principal aim of the present study was to test the fit of an explanatory model of risk that starts from magical thinking and passes through maladaptive decision-making strategies, culminating with pathological gambling. Two hundred twenty-two Italian late adolescents, regularly attending bingo halls, aged between 19 and 21 years, completed measures on magical thinking, decision-making strategies, and gambling. Results highlight that young adults adopting dysfunctional modes of thought (i.e. magical thinking) tend to engage with maladaptive styles of decision-making that predispose them to gamble. Copyright © 2017 The Foundation for Professionals in Services for Adolescents. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Monte-Carlo based assessment of MAGIC, MAGICAUG, PAGATUG and PAGATAUG polymer gel dosimeters for ovaries and uterus organ dosimetry in brachytherapy, nuclear medicine and Tele-therapy.

PubMed

Adinehvand, Karim; Rahatabad, Fereidoun Nowshiravan

2018-06-01

Calculation of 3D dose distribution during radiotherapy and nuclear medicine helps us for better treatment of sensitive organs such as ovaries and uterus. In this research, we investigate two groups of normoxic dosimeters based on meta-acrylic acid (MAGIC and MAGICAUG) and polyacrylamide (PAGATUG and PAGATAUG) for brachytherapy, nuclear medicine and Tele-therapy in their sensitive and critical role as organ dosimeters. These polymer gel dosimeters are compared with soft tissue while irradiated by different energy photons in therapeutic applications. This comparison has been simulated by Monte-Carlo based MCNPX code. ORNL phantom-Female has been used to model the critical organs of kidneys, ovaries and uterus. Right kidney is proposed to be the source of irradiation and another two organs are exposed to this irradiation. Effective atomic numbers of soft tissue, MAGIC, MAGICAUG, PAGATUG and PAGATAUG are 6.86, 7.07, 6.95, 7.28, and 7.07 respectively. Results show the polymer gel dosimeters are comparable to soft tissue for using in nuclear medicine and Tele-therapy. Differences between gel dosimeters and soft tissue are defined as the dose responses. This difference is less than 4.1%, 22.6% and 71.9% for Tele-therapy, nuclear medicine and brachytherapy respectively. The results approved that gel dosimeters are the best choice for ovaries and uterus in nuclear medicine and Tele-therapy respectively. Due to the slight difference between the effective atomic numbers of these polymer gel dosimeters and soft tissue, these polymer gels are not suitable for brachytherapy since the dependence of photon interaction to atomic number, for low energy brachytherapy, had been so effective. Also this dependence to atomic number, decrease for photoelectric and increase for Compton. Therefore polymer gel dosimeters are not a good alternative to soft tissue replacement in brachytherapy. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Modernizing the MagIC Paleomagnetic and Rock Magnetic Database Technology Stack to Encourage Code Reuse and Reproducible Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minnett, R.; Koppers, A. A. P.; Jarboe, N.; Jonestrask, L.; Tauxe, L.; Constable, C.

2016-12-01

The Magnetics Information Consortium (https://earthref.org/MagIC/) develops and maintains a database and web application for supporting the paleo-, geo-, and rock magnetic scientific community. Historically, this objective has been met with an Oracle database and a Perl web application at the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC). The Oracle Enterprise Cluster at SDSC, however, was decommissioned in July of 2016 and the cost for MagIC to continue using Oracle became prohibitive. This provided MagIC with a unique opportunity to reexamine the entire technology stack and data model. MagIC has developed an open-source web application using the Meteor (http://meteor.com) framework and a MongoDB database. The simplicity of the open-source full-stack framework that Meteor provides has improved MagIC's development pace and the increased flexibility of the data schema in MongoDB encouraged the reorganization of the MagIC Data Model. As a result of incorporating actively developed open-source projects into the technology stack, MagIC has benefited from their vibrant software development communities. This has translated into a more modern web application that has significantly improved the user experience for the paleo-, geo-, and rock magnetic scientific community.

Healing and morality: a Javanese example.

PubMed

Woodward, M R

1985-01-01

Javanese traditional medicine is based on Sufi Muslim notions of personhood, knowledge and magical power. This world view motivates two conflicting modalities of medical practice: one based on the magic powers of curers (dukun), the others on the religiously validated powers of Sufi saints. The association of magical and bio-medical knowledge allows Javanese to interpret traditional and bio-medical cures as components of a unified health care system. Comparison of Javanese medical, religious and political systems suggests that the structural uniformity of cultural domains derives from the hierarchical organization of cultural knowledge and that the study of traditional medicine and medical pluralism can not be undertaken apart from that of world view.

Application of the MAGIC model to the Glacier Lakes catchments

Treesearch

John O. Reuss

1994-01-01

The MAGIC model (Cosby et al. 1985, 1986) was calibrated for East and West Glacier Lakes, two adjacent high-altitude (3200 m- 3700 m) catchments in the Medicine Bow National Forest of southern Wyoming. This model uses catchment characteristics including weathering rates, soil chemical characteristics, hydrological parameters, and precipitation amounts and composition...

Resource Letter NSM-1: New insights into the nuclear shell model

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

Dean, David Jarvis; Hamilton, J. H.

2011-01-01

This Resource Letter provides a guide to the literature on the spherical shell model as applied to nuclei. The nuclear shell model describes the structure of nuclei starting with a nuclear core developed by the classical neutron and proton magic numbers N,Z=2,8,20,28,50,82, 126, where gaps occur in the single-particle energies as a shell is filled, and the interactions of valence nucleons that reside beyond that core. Various modern extensions of this model for spherical nuclei are likewise described. Significant extensions of the nuclear shell model include new magic numbers for spherical nuclei and now for deformed nuclei as well. Whenmore » both protons and neutrons have shell gaps at the same spherical or deformed shapes, they can reinforce each other to give added stability to that shape and lead to new magic numbers. The vanishings of the classical spherical shell model energy gaps and magic numbers in new neutron-rich nuclei are described. Spherical and deformed shell gaps are seen to be critical for the existence of elements with Z > 100.« less

CapDEM TD - Modeling and Simulation (Role and Tools) State of the Art Report

DTIC Science & Technology

2005-01-01

office/wcm1/ornclinfn/ciefilnlt rnsnx [55] http://www.idefine.com/Tutorial/TutOiial%20Sales%20Page.htm [56] Gartner , " Magic Quadrant for Business ...21 Figure 3-5: Gartner Magic Quadrant For BPA, 2004 (56...of January 2004 Niche Players Visionaries ------- Completeness of Vision ..., Figure 3-5: Gartner Magic Quadrant For BPA, 2004 [56] Gartner , Inc

Beyond magic bullets: true innovation in health care.

PubMed

Narayan, Vaibhav A; Mohwinckel, Marco; Pisano, Gary; Yang, Michael; Manji, Husseini K

2013-02-01

The time has come to move beyond product-focused 'magic bullet' therapeutic development strategies towards models that can also incorporate devices, tools and services to provide integrated health-care solutions.

Minimal-assumption inference from population-genomic data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Weissman, Daniel; Hallatschek, Oskar

Samples of multiple complete genome sequences contain vast amounts of information about the evolutionary history of populations, much of it in the associations among polymorphisms at different loci. Current methods that take advantage of this linkage information rely on models of recombination and coalescence, limiting the sample sizes and populations that they can analyze. We introduce a method, Minimal-Assumption Genomic Inference of Coalescence (MAGIC), that reconstructs key features of the evolutionary history, including the distribution of coalescence times, by integrating information across genomic length scales without using an explicit model of recombination, demography or selection. Using simulated data, we show that MAGIC's performance is comparable to PSMC' on single diploid samples generated with standard coalescent and recombination models. More importantly, MAGIC can also analyze arbitrarily large samples and is robust to changes in the coalescent and recombination processes. Using MAGIC, we show that the inferred coalescence time histories of samples of multiple human genomes exhibit inconsistencies with a description in terms of an effective population size based on single-genome data.

[Investigation into the formation of proportions of "realistic thinking vs magical thinking" in paranoid schizophrenia].

PubMed

Jarosz, M; Pankiewicz, Z; Buczek, I; Poprawska, I; Rojek, J; Zaborowski, A

1993-01-01

Both magical thinking among healthy persons and magical and symbolic thinking in schizophrenia were discussed. The investigation covered 100 paranoid schizophrenics. They also underwent an examination in connection with the formation of the remaining 3 proportions. Both "realistic thinking and magical thinking" scales were used. An ability to think realistically was preserved, to a varying degree, in all patients, with 50% of those examined having shown an explicit or very explicit ability to follow realistic thinking. The above findings deviate from a simplified cognitive model within the discussed range. It was further confirmed that realistic thinking may coexist with magical thinking, and, in some cases, it concerns the same events. That type of disorders of the content of thinking are referred to as magical-realistic interpenetration. The results, and particularly high coefficient of negative correlation within the scales of the examined proportions, confirm the correctness of the assumption that the investigated modes of thinking form an antithetic bipolarity of proportions, aggregating antithetic values, therefore being also complementary.

Magic C60 islands forming due to moiré interference between islands and substrate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Olyanich, D. A.; Mararov, V. V.; Utas, T. V.; Utas, O. A.; Gruznev, D. V.; Zotov, A. V.; Saranin, A. A.

2015-05-01

Recently proposed mechanism for self-organized formation of magic islands [Nat.Comm. 4(2013)1679] has received a new experimental confirmation. According to this mechanism, self-assembly is mediated by the moiré interference between an island and underlying substrate lattice. It was first detected at C60 island growth on In-adsorbed Si(111)√{ 3} ×√{ 3}-Au surface. Changing In adsorbate for Tl results in lowering the corrugations of the surface potential relief due to a greater surface metallization. This allows formation of the C60 arrays with novel moiré pattern. As a result, a new set of magic C60 islands is formed on Tl-adsorbed Au/Si(111) surface differing from that observed on In-adsorbed surface. For example, the 19-C60 magic island which has a non-compact boomerang shape on In-adsorbed Au/Si(111) surfaces adopts a shape of a regular hexagon on Tl-adsorbed surface.

Managing Rock and Paleomagnetic Data Flow with the MagIC Database: from Measurement and Analysis to Comprehensive Archive and Visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koppers, A. A.; Minnett, R. C.; Tauxe, L.; Constable, C.; Donadini, F.

2008-12-01

The Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) is commissioned to implement and maintain an online portal to a relational database populated by rock and paleomagnetic data. The goal of MagIC is to archive all measurements and derived properties for studies of paleomagnetic directions (inclination, declination) and intensities, and for rock magnetic experiments (hysteresis, remanence, susceptibility, anisotropy). Organizing data for presentation in peer-reviewed publications or for ingestion into databases is a time-consuming task, and to facilitate these activities, three tightly integrated tools have been developed: MagIC-PY, the MagIC Console Software, and the MagIC Online Database. A suite of Python scripts is available to help users port their data into the MagIC data format. They allow the user to add important metadata, perform basic interpretations, and average results at the specimen, sample and site levels. These scripts have been validated for use as Open Source software under the UNIX, Linux, PC and Macintosh© operating systems. We have also developed the MagIC Console Software program to assist in collating rock and paleomagnetic data for upload to the MagIC database. The program runs in Microsoft Excel© on both Macintosh© computers and PCs. It performs routine consistency checks on data entries, and assists users in preparing data for uploading into the online MagIC database. The MagIC website is hosted under EarthRef.org at http://earthref.org/MAGIC/ and has two search nodes, one for paleomagnetism and one for rock magnetism. Both nodes provide query building based on location, reference, methods applied, material type and geological age, as well as a visual FlashMap interface to browse and select locations. Users can also browse the database by data type (inclination, intensity, VGP, hysteresis, susceptibility) or by data compilation to view all contributions associated with previous databases, such as PINT, GMPDB or TAFI or other user-defined compilations. Query results are displayed in a digestible tabular format allowing the user to descend from locations to sites, samples, specimens and measurements. At each stage, the result set can be saved and, when supported by the data, can be visualized by plotting global location maps, equal area, XY, age, and depth plots, or typical Zijderveld, hysteresis, magnetization and remanence diagrams.

On an algebraic structure of dimensionally reduced magical supergravity theories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fukuchi, Shin; Mizoguchi, Shun'ya

2018-06-01

We study an algebraic structure of magical supergravities in three dimensions. We show that if the commutation relations among the generators of the quasi-conformal group in the super-Ehlers decomposition are in a particular form, then one can always find a parameterization of the group element in terms of various 3d bosonic fields that reproduces the 3d reduced Lagrangian of the corresponding magical supergravity. This provides a unified treatment of all the magical supergravity theories in finding explicit relations between the 3d dimensionally reduced Lagrangians and particular coset nonlinear sigma models. We also verify that the commutation relations of E 6 (+ 2), the quasi-conformal group for A = C, indeed satisfy this property, allowing the algebraic interpretation of the structure constants and scalar field functions as was done in the F 4 (+ 4) magical supergravity.

Measurement of Atmospheric Pressure Air Plasma via Pulsed Electron Beam and Sustaining Electric Field

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-08-29

cell plasma code ( MAGIC ) and an air-chemistry code are used to quantify beam propagation through an electron-beam transmission window into air and the...to generate and maintain plasma in air on the timescale of 1 ms. 15. SUBJECT TERMS Air Chemistry, Air Plasma, MAGIC Modeling, Plasma, Power, Test-Cell...Microwave diagnostics quantify electron number density and optical diagnostics quantify ozone production. A particle in cell plasma code ( MAGIC ) and an

Magic in the machine: a computational magician's assistant.

PubMed

Williams, Howard; McOwan, Peter W

2014-01-01

A human magician blends science, psychology, and performance to create a magical effect. In this paper we explore what can be achieved when that human intelligence is replaced or assisted by machine intelligence. Magical effects are all in some form based on hidden mathematical, scientific, or psychological principles; often the parameters controlling these underpinning techniques are hard for a magician to blend to maximize the magical effect required. The complexity is often caused by interacting and often conflicting physical and psychological constraints that need to be optimally balanced. Normally this tuning is done by trial and error, combined with human intuitions. Here we focus on applying Artificial Intelligence methods to the creation and optimization of magic tricks exploiting mathematical principles. We use experimentally derived data about particular perceptual and cognitive features, combined with a model of the underlying mathematical process to provide a psychologically valid metric to allow optimization of magical impact. In the paper we introduce our optimization methodology and describe how it can be flexibly applied to a range of different types of mathematics based tricks. We also provide two case studies as exemplars of the methodology at work: a magical jigsaw, and a mind reading card trick effect. We evaluate each trick created through testing in laboratory and public performances, and further demonstrate the real world efficacy of our approach for professional performers through sales of the tricks in a reputable magic shop in London.

Detection of very high energy gamma-ray emission from the gravitationally lensed blazar QSO B0218+357 with the MAGIC telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahnen, M. L.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; Antoranz, P.; Arcaro, C.; Babic, A.; Banerjee, B.; Bangale, P.; Barres de Almeida, U.; Barrio, J. A.; Becerra González, J.; Bednarek, W.; Bernardini, E.; Berti, A.; Biasuzzi, B.; Biland, A.; Blanch, O.; Bonnefoy, S.; Bonnoli, G.; Borracci, F.; Bretz, T.; Buson, S.; Carosi, A.; Chatterjee, A.; Clavero, R.; Colin, P.; Colombo, E.; Contreras, J. L.; Cortina, J.; Covino, S.; Da Vela, P.; Dazzi, F.; De Angelis, A.; De Lotto, B.; de Oña Wilhelmi, E.; Di Pierro, F.; Doert, M.; Domínguez, A.; Dominis Prester, D.; Dorner, D.; Doro, M.; Einecke, S.; Eisenacher Glawion, D.; Elsaesser, D.; Engelkemeier, M.; Fallah Ramazani, V.; Fernández-Barral, A.; Fidalgo, D.; Fonseca, M. V.; Font, L.; Frantzen, K.; Fruck, C.; Galindo, D.; García López, R. J.; Garczarczyk, M.; Garrido Terrats, D.; Gaug, M.; Giammaria, P.; Godinović, N.; Gora, D.; Guberman, D.; Hadasch, D.; Hahn, A.; Hayashida, M.; Herrera, J.; Hose, J.; Hrupec, D.; Hughes, G.; Idec, W.; Kodani, K.; Konno, Y.; Kubo, H.; Kushida, J.; La Barbera, A.; Lelas, D.; Lindfors, E.; Lombardi, S.; Longo, F.; López, M.; López-Coto, R.; Majumdar, P.; Makariev, M.; Mallot, K.; Maneva, G.; Manganaro, M.; Mannheim, K.; Maraschi, L.; Marcote, B.; Mariotti, M.; Martínez, M.; Mazin, D.; Menzel, U.; Miranda, J. M.; Mirzoyan, R.; Moralejo, A.; Moretti, E.; Nakajima, D.; Neustroev, V.; Niedzwiecki, A.; Nievas Rosillo, M.; Nilsson, K.; Nishijima, K.; Noda, K.; Nogués, L.; Paiano, S.; Palacio, J.; Palatiello, M.; Paneque, D.; Paoletti, R.; Paredes, J. M.; Paredes-Fortuny, X.; Pedaletti, G.; Peresano, M.; Perri, L.; Persic, M.; Poutanen, J.; Prada Moroni, P. G.; Prandini, E.; Puljak, I.; Garcia, J. R.; Reichardt, I.; Rhode, W.; Ribó, M.; Rico, J.; Saito, T.; Satalecka, K.; Schroeder, S.; Schweizer, T.; Shore, S. N.; Sillanpää, A.; Sitarek, J.; Snidaric, I.; Sobczynska, D.; Stamerra, A.; Strzys, M.; Surić, T.; Takalo, L.; Tavecchio, F.; Temnikov, P.; Terzić, T.; Tescaro, D.; Teshima, M.; Torres, D. F.; Toyama, T.; Treves, A.; Vanzo, G.; Verguilov, V.; Vovk, I.; Ward, J. E.; Will, M.; Wu, M. H.; Zanin, R.; Desiante, R.

2016-11-01

Context. QSO B0218+357 is a gravitationally lensed blazar located at a redshift of 0.944. The gravitational lensing splits the emitted radiation into two components that are spatially indistinguishable by gamma-ray instruments, but separated by a 10-12 day delay. In July 2014, QSO B0218+357 experienced a violent flare observed by the Fermi-LAT and followed by the MAGIC telescopes. Aims: The spectral energy distribution of QSO B0218+357 can give information on the energetics of z 1 very high energy gamma-ray sources. Moreover the gamma-ray emission can also be used as a probe of the extragalactic background light at z 1. Methods: MAGIC performed observations of QSO B0218+357 during the expected arrival time of the delayed component of the emission. The MAGIC and Fermi-LAT observations were accompanied by quasi-simultaneous optical data from the KVA telescope and X-ray observations by Swift-XRT. We construct a multiwavelength spectral energy distribution of QSO B0218+357 and use it to model the source. The GeV and sub-TeV data obtained by Fermi-LAT and MAGIC are used to set constraints on the extragalactic background light. Results: Very high energy gamma-ray emission was detected from the direction of QSO B0218+357 by the MAGIC telescopes during the expected time of arrival of the trailing component of the flare, making it the farthest very high energy gamma-ray source detected to date. The observed emission spans the energy range from 65 to 175 GeV. The combined MAGIC and Fermi-LAT spectral energy distribution of QSO B0218+357 is consistent with current extragalactic background light models. The broadband emission can be modeled in the framework of a two-zone external Compton scenario, where the GeV emission comes from an emission region in the jet, located outside the broad line region.

Detection of very high energy gamma-ray emission from the gravitationally lensed blazar QSO B0218+357 with the MAGIC telescopes

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

Ahnen, M. L.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.

QSO B0218+357 is a gravitationally lensed blazar located at a redshift of 0.944. The gravitational lensing splits the emitted radiation into two components that are spatially indistinguishable by gamma-ray instruments, but separated by a 10–12 day delay. In July 2014, QSO B0218+357 experienced a violent flare observed by the Fermi-LAT and followed by the MAGIC telescopes. The spectral energy distribution of QSO B0218+357 can give information on the energetics of z ~ 1 very high energy gamma-ray sources. Furthermore, the gamma-ray emission can also be used as a probe of the extragalactic background light at z ~ 1. MAGIC performedmore » observations of QSO B0218+357 during the expected arrival time of the delayed component of the emission. The MAGIC and Fermi-LAT observations were accompanied by quasi-simultaneous optical data from the KVA telescope and X-ray observations by Swift-XRT. We construct a multiwavelength spectral energy distribution of QSO B0218+357 and use it to model the source. The GeV and sub-TeV data obtained by Fermi-LAT and MAGIC are used to set constraints on the extragalactic background light. We detected very high energy gamma-ray emission from the direction of QSO B0218+357 by the MAGIC telescopes during the expected time of arrival of the trailing component of the flare, making it the farthest very high energy gamma-ray source detected to date. We also observed emission spans the energy range from 65 to 175 GeV. The combined MAGIC and Fermi-LAT spectral energy distribution of QSO B0218+357 is consistent with current extragalactic background light models. The broadband emission can be modeled in the framework of a two-zone external Compton scenario, where the GeV emission comes from an emission region in the jet, located outside the broad line region.« less

Detection of very high energy gamma-ray emission from the gravitationally lensed blazar QSO B0218+357 with the MAGIC telescopes

DOE PAGES

Ahnen, M. L.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; ...

2016-11-04

QSO B0218+357 is a gravitationally lensed blazar located at a redshift of 0.944. The gravitational lensing splits the emitted radiation into two components that are spatially indistinguishable by gamma-ray instruments, but separated by a 10–12 day delay. In July 2014, QSO B0218+357 experienced a violent flare observed by the Fermi-LAT and followed by the MAGIC telescopes. The spectral energy distribution of QSO B0218+357 can give information on the energetics of z ~ 1 very high energy gamma-ray sources. Furthermore, the gamma-ray emission can also be used as a probe of the extragalactic background light at z ~ 1. MAGIC performedmore » observations of QSO B0218+357 during the expected arrival time of the delayed component of the emission. The MAGIC and Fermi-LAT observations were accompanied by quasi-simultaneous optical data from the KVA telescope and X-ray observations by Swift-XRT. We construct a multiwavelength spectral energy distribution of QSO B0218+357 and use it to model the source. The GeV and sub-TeV data obtained by Fermi-LAT and MAGIC are used to set constraints on the extragalactic background light. We detected very high energy gamma-ray emission from the direction of QSO B0218+357 by the MAGIC telescopes during the expected time of arrival of the trailing component of the flare, making it the farthest very high energy gamma-ray source detected to date. We also observed emission spans the energy range from 65 to 175 GeV. The combined MAGIC and Fermi-LAT spectral energy distribution of QSO B0218+357 is consistent with current extragalactic background light models. The broadband emission can be modeled in the framework of a two-zone external Compton scenario, where the GeV emission comes from an emission region in the jet, located outside the broad line region.« less

[Disease and identity--a study of The magic mountain by Thomas Mann].

PubMed

Hofmann, Bjørn

2003-12-23

Disease is more than dysfunctional organs, morphological abnormalities and genetic divergence. It is also about existence, self-conception and social identity. Disease changes us as persons, but how this happens is usually not discussed in medical textbooks. However, literature appears to be rich in descriptions of these perspectives. This article explores The magic mountain by Thomas Mann to elucidate the relationship between personal identity and disease. I will argue that such knowledge is important to modern clinical practice.

Acidophilic Halophilic Microorganisms in Fluid Inclusions in Halite from Lake Magic, Western Australia

PubMed Central

Conner, Amber J.

2013-01-01

Abstract Lake Magic is one of the most extreme of hundreds of ephemeral acid-saline lakes in southern Western Australia. It has pH as low as 1.7, salinity as high as 32% total dissolved solids, temperatures ranging from 0°C to 50°C, and an unusually complex aqueous composition. Optical petrography, UV-vis petrography, and laser Raman spectrometry were used to detect microorganisms and organic compounds within primary fluid inclusions in modern bedded halite from Lake Magic. Rare prokaryotes appear as 1–3 μm, bright cocci that fluoresce green with UV-vis illumination. Dimpled, 5–7 μm yellow spherules that fluoresce blue with UV-vis illumination are interpreted as Dunaliella algae. Yellow-orange beta-carotene crystals, globules, and coatings are characterized by orange-red fluorescence and three distinct Raman peaks. Because acid saline lakes are good Mars analogues, the documentation of prokaryotes, eukaryotes, and organic compounds preserved in the halite here has implications for the search for life on Mars. Missions to Mars should incorporate such in situ optical and chemical examination of martian evaporites for possible microorganisms and/or organic compounds in fluid inclusions. Key Words: Acid—Extremophiles—Western Australia—Fluid inclusions—Lake Magic—Dunaliella. Astrobiology 13, 850–860. PMID:23971647

Interplay between collective and single particle excitations around neutron-rich doubly-magic nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leoni, S.

2016-05-01

The excitation spectra of nuclei with one or two particles outside a doubly-magic core are expected to be dominated, at low energy, by the couplings between phonon excitations of the core and valence particles. A survey of the experimental situation is given for some nuclei lying in close proximity of neutron-rich doubly-magic systems, such as 47,49Ca, 133Sb and 210Bi. Data are obtained with various types of reactions (multinucleon transfer with heavy ions, cold neutron capture and neutron induced fission of 235U and 241Pu targets), with the employment of complex detection systems based on HPGe arrays. A comparison with theoretical calculations is also presented, in terms of large shell model calculations and of a phenomenological particle-phonon model. In the case of 133Sb, a new microscopic "hybrid" model is introduced: it is based on the coupling between core excitations (both collective and non-collective) of the doubly-magic core and the valence nucleon, using the Skyrme effective interaction in a consistent way.

MAGIC: Model and Graphic Information Converter

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Herbert, W. C.

2009-01-01

MAGIC is a software tool capable of converting highly detailed 3D models from an open, standard format, VRML 2.0/97, into the proprietary DTS file format used by the Torque Game Engine from GarageGames. MAGIC is used to convert 3D simulations from authoritative sources into the data needed to run the simulations in NASA's Distributed Observer Network. The Distributed Observer Network (DON) is a simulation presentation tool built by NASA to facilitate the simulation sharing requirements of the Data Presentation and Visualization effort within the Constellation Program. DON is built on top of the Torque Game Engine (TGE) and has chosen TGE's Dynamix Three Space (DTS) file format to represent 3D objects within simulations.

Using AppletMagic(tm) to Implement an Orbit Propagator: New Life for Ada Objects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stark, Michael E.

1997-01-01

This paper will discuss the use of the Intermetrics AppletMagic tool to build an applet to display a satellite ground track on a world map. This applet is the result of a prototype project that was developed by the Goddard Space Flight Center's Flight Dynamics Division (FDD), starting in June of 1996. Both Version 1 and Version 2 of this applet can be accessed via the URL http://fdd.gsfc.nasa.gov/Java.html. This paper covers Version 1, as Version 2 did not make radical changes to the Ada part of the applet. This paper will briefly describe the design of the applet, discuss the issues that arose during development, and will conclude with lessons learned and future plans for the FDD's use of Ada and Java. The purpose of this paper is to show examples of a successful project using Oi AppletMagic, and to highlight some of the pitfalls that occurred along the way. It is hoped that this discussion will be useful both to users of AppletMagic and to organizations such as Intermetrics that develop new technology.

Acidification and Prognosis for Future Recovery of Acid-Sensitive Streams in the Southern Blue Ridge Province

Treesearch

Timothy Sullivan; Bernard Cosby; William Jackson; Kai Snyder; Alan Herlihy

2011-01-01

This study applied the Model of Acidification of Groundwater in Catchments (MAGIC) to estimate the sensitivity of 66 watersheds in the Southern Blue Ridge Province of the Southern Appalachian Mountains, United States, to changes in atmospheric sulfur (S) deposition. MAGIC predicted that stream acid neutralizing capacity (ANC) values were above 20 μeq/L in all modeled...

Magic in the machine: a computational magician's assistant

PubMed Central

Williams, Howard; McOwan, Peter W.

2014-01-01

A human magician blends science, psychology, and performance to create a magical effect. In this paper we explore what can be achieved when that human intelligence is replaced or assisted by machine intelligence. Magical effects are all in some form based on hidden mathematical, scientific, or psychological principles; often the parameters controlling these underpinning techniques are hard for a magician to blend to maximize the magical effect required. The complexity is often caused by interacting and often conflicting physical and psychological constraints that need to be optimally balanced. Normally this tuning is done by trial and error, combined with human intuitions. Here we focus on applying Artificial Intelligence methods to the creation and optimization of magic tricks exploiting mathematical principles. We use experimentally derived data about particular perceptual and cognitive features, combined with a model of the underlying mathematical process to provide a psychologically valid metric to allow optimization of magical impact. In the paper we introduce our optimization methodology and describe how it can be flexibly applied to a range of different types of mathematics based tricks. We also provide two case studies as exemplars of the methodology at work: a magical jigsaw, and a mind reading card trick effect. We evaluate each trick created through testing in laboratory and public performances, and further demonstrate the real world efficacy of our approach for professional performers through sales of the tricks in a reputable magic shop in London. PMID:25452736

Creating Magic Squares.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lyon, Betty Clayton

1990-01-01

One method of making magic squares using a prolongated square is illustrated. Discussed are third-order magic squares, fractional magic squares, fifth-order magic squares, decimal magic squares, and even magic squares. (CW)

First broadband characterization and redshift determination of the VHE blazar MAGIC J2001+439

DOE PAGES

Aleksić, J.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; ...

2014-12-09

We aim to characterize the broadband emission from 2FGL J2001.1+4352, which has been associated with the unknown-redshift blazar MG4 J200112+4352. Based on its gamma-ray spectral properties, it was identified as a potential very high energy (VHE; E> 100 GeV) gamma-ray emitter. We investigate whether this object is aVHE emitter, characterize its gamma-ray spectrum, and study the broadband emission within the one-zone synchrotron self-Compton (SSC) scenario, which is commonly used to describe the emission in blazars. Moreover, we also intend to determine the redshift of this object, which is a crucial parameter for its scientific interpretation. Here, the source was observedmore » with MAGIC first in 2009 and later in 2010 within a multi-instrument observation campaign. The MAGIC observations yielded 14.8 h of good quality stereoscopic data. Besides MAGIC, the campaign involved, observations with Fermi-LAT, Swift-XRT/UVOT, the optical telescopes KVA, Goddard Robotic Telescope, Galaxy View observatory, Crimean Astrophysical observatory, St. Petersburg observatory, and the Owens Valley Radio Observatory. The object was monitored at radio, optical and gamma-ray energies during the years 2010 and 2011. We characterize the radio to VHE spectral energy distribution and quantify the multiband variability and correlations over short (few days) and long (many months) timescales. We also organized deep imaging optical observations with the Nordic Optical Telescope in 2013 to determine the source redshift. As a result, the source, named MAGIC J2001+439, is detected for the first time at VHE with MAGIC at a statistical significance of 6.3σ (E > 70 GeV) during a 1.3 h long observation on 2010 July 16. The multi-instrument observations show variability in all energy bands with the highest amplitude of variability in the X-ray and VHE bands. Besides the variability on few-day timescales, the long-term monitoring of MAGIC J2001+439 shows that, the gamma-ray, optical, and radio emissions gradually decreased on few-month timescales from 2010 through 2011, indicating that at least some of the radio, optical and gamma-ray emission is produced in a single region by the same population of particles. We also determine for the first time the redshift of this BL Lac object through the measurement of its host galaxy during low blazar activity. Using the observational evidence that the luminosities of BL Lac host galaxies are confined to a relatively narrow range, we obtain z = 0.18 ± 0.04. In addition, we use the Fermi-LAT and MAGIC gamma-ray spectra to provide an independent redshift estimation, z = 0.17 ± 0.10. Finally, using the former (more accurate) redshift value, we adequately describe the broadband emission with a one-zone SSC model for different activity states and interpret the few-day timescale variability as produced by changes in the high-energy component of the electron energy distribution.« less

Migration to Current Open Source Technologies by MagIC Enables a More Responsive Website, Quicker Development Times, and Increased Community Engagement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarboe, N.; Minnett, R.; Koppers, A.; Constable, C.; Tauxe, L.; Jonestrask, L.

2017-12-01

The Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) supports an online database for the paleo, geo, and rock magnetic communities ( https://earthref.org/MagIC ). Researchers can upload data into the archive and download data as selected with a sophisticated search system. MagIC has completed the transition from an Oracle backed, Perl based, server oriented website to an ElasticSearch backed, Meteor based thick client website technology stack. Using JavaScript on both the sever and the client enables increased code reuse and allows easy offloading many computational operations to the client for faster response. On-the-fly data validation, column header suggestion, and spreadsheet online editing are some new features available with the new system. The 3.0 data model, method codes, and vocabulary lists can be browsed via the MagIC website and more easily updated. Source code for MagIC is publicly available on GitHub ( https://github.com/earthref/MagIC ). The MagIC file format is natively compatible with the PmagPy ( https://github.com/PmagPy/PmagPy) paleomagnetic analysis software. MagIC files can now be downloaded from the database and viewed and interpreted in the PmagPy GUI based tool, pmag_gui. Changes or interpretations of the data can then be saved by pmag_gui in the MagIC 3.0 data format and easily uploaded to the MagIC database. The rate of new contributions to the database has been increasing with many labs contributing measurement level data for the first time in the last year. Over a dozen file format conversion scripts are available for translating non-MagIC measurement data files into the MagIC format for easy uploading. We will continue to work with more labs until the whole community has a manageable workflow for contributing their measurement level data. MagIC will continue to provide a global repository for archiving and retrieving paleomagnetic and rock magnetic data and, with the new system in place, be able to more quickly respond to the community's requests for changes and improvements.

The Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Johnson, C.; Constable, C.; Tauxe, L.; Koppers, A.; Banerjee, S.; Jackson, M.; Solheid, P.

2003-12-01

The Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) is a multi-user facility to establish and maintain a state-of-the-art relational database and digital archive for rock and paleomagnetic data. The goal of MagIC is to make such data generally available and to provide an information technology infrastructure for these and other research-oriented databases run by the international community. As its name implies, MagIC will not be restricted to paleomagnetic or rock magnetic data only, although MagIC will focus on these kinds of information during its setup phase. MagIC will be hosted under EarthRef.org at http://earthref.org/MAGIC/ where two "integrated" web portals will be developed, one for paleomagnetism (currently functional as a prototype that can be explored via the http://earthref.org/databases/PMAG/ link) and one for rock magnetism. The MagIC database will store all measurements and their derived properties for studies of paleomagnetic directions (inclination, declination) and their intensities, and for rock magnetic experiments (hysteresis, remanence, susceptibility, anisotropy). Ultimately, this database will allow researchers to study "on the internet" and to download important data sets that display paleo-secular variations in the intensity of the Earth's magnetic field over geological time, or that display magnetic data in typical Zijderveld, hysteresis/FORC and various magnetization/remanence diagrams. The MagIC database is completely integrated in the EarthRef.org relational database structure and thus benefits significantly from already-existing common database components, such as the EarthRef Reference Database (ERR) and Address Book (ERAB). The ERR allows researchers to find complete sets of literature resources as used in GERM (Geochemical Earth Reference Model), REM (Reference Earth Model) and MagIC. The ERAB contains addresses for all contributors to the EarthRef.org databases, and also for those who participated in data collection, archiving and analysis in the magnetic studies. Integration with these existing components will guarantee direct traceability to the original sources of the MagIC data and metadata. The MagIC database design focuses around the general workflow that results in the determination of typical paleomagnetic and rock magnetic analyses. This ensures that individual data points can be traced between the actual measurements and their associated specimen, sample, site, rock formation and locality. This permits a distinction between original and derived data, where the actual measurements are performed at the specimen level, and data at the sample level and higher are then derived products in the database. These relations will also allow recalculation of derived properties, such as site means, when new data becomes available for a specific locality. Data contribution to the MagIC database is critical in achieving a useful research tool. We have developed a standard data and metadata template that can be used to provide all data at the same time as publication. Software tools are provided to facilitate easy population of these templates. The tools allow for the import/export of data files in a delimited text format, and they provide some advanced functionality to validate data and to check internal coherence of the data in the template. During and after publication these standardized MagIC templates will be stored in the ERR database of EarthRef.org from where they can be downloaded at all times. Finally, the contents of these template files will be automatically parsed into the online relational database.

Microwave-Assisted Chemistry: Synthetic Applications for Rapid Assembly of Nanomaterials and Organics

EPA Science Inventory

The magic of microwave (MW) heating technique, termed as the Bunsen burner of the 21th Century, has emerged as valuable alternative in synthesis of organics, polymers, inorganics, and nanomaterials. Important innovations in MW-assisted chemistry now enable chemists to prepare cat...

A Study on the Stream Cipher Embedded Magic Square of Random Access Files

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Chenglian; Zhao, Jian-Ming; Rafsanjani, Marjan Kuchaki; Shen, Yijuan

2011-09-01

Magic square and stream cipher issues are both interesting and well-tried topics. In this paper, we are proposing a new scheme which streams cipher applications for random access files based on the magic square method. There are two thresholds required to secure our data, if using only decrypts by the stream cipher. It isn't to recovery original source. On other hand, we improve the model of cipher stream to strengthen and defend efficiently; it also was its own high speed and calculates to most parts of the key stream generator.

Marine ARM GPCI Investigation of Clouds (MAGIC) Field Campaign Report

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

Lewis, Ernie R.

The Marine ARM GPCI Investigation of Clouds (MAGIC) field campaign, which deployed the second ARM Mobile Facility (AMF2) aboard the Horizon Lines cargo container ship Spirit as it ran its regular route between Los Angeles, California and Honolulu, Hawaii, measured properties of clouds and precipitation, aerosols, radiation, and atmospheric, meteorological, and oceanic conditions with the goal of obtaining statistics of these properties to achieve better understanding of the transition between stratocumulus and cumulus cloud regimes that occur in that region. This Sc-Cu transition is poorly represented in models, and a major reason for this is the lack of high-quality andmore » comprehensive data that can be used to constrain, validate, and improve model representation of the transition. MAGIC consisted of 20 round trips between Los Angeles and Honolulu, and thus over three dozen transects through the transition, totaling nearly 200 days at sea between September, 2012 and October, 2013. During this time MAGIC collected a unique and unprecedented data set, including more than 550 successful radiosonde launches. An Intensive Observational Period (IOP) occurred in July, 2013 during which more detailed measurements of the atmospheric structure were made. MAGIC was very successful in its operations and overcame numerous logistical and technological challenges, clearly demonstrating the feasibility of a marine AMF2 deployment and the ability to make accurate measurements of clouds and precipitation, aerosols, and radiation while at sea.« less

The Phantom Vanish Magic Trick: Investigating the Disappearance of a Non-existent Object in a Dynamic Scene

PubMed Central

Tompkins, Matthew L.; Woods, Andy T.; Aimola Davies, Anne M.

2016-01-01

Drawing inspiration from sleight-of-hand magic tricks, we developed an experimental paradigm to investigate whether magicians’ misdirection techniques could be used to induce the misperception of “phantom” objects. While previous experiments investigating sleight-of-hand magic tricks have focused on creating false assumptions about the movement of an object in a scene, our experiment investigated creating false assumptions about the presence of an object in a scene. Participants watched a sequence of silent videos depicting a magician performing with a single object. Following each video, participants were asked to write a description of the events in the video. In the final video, participants watched the Phantom Vanish Magic Trick, a novel magic trick developed for this experiment, in which the magician pantomimed the actions of presenting an object and then making it magically disappear. No object was presented during the final video. The silent videos precluded the use of false verbal suggestions, and participants were not asked leading questions about the objects. Nevertheless, 32% of participants reported having visual impressions of non-existent objects. These findings support an inferential model of perception, wherein top-down expectations can be manipulated by the magician to generate vivid illusory experiences, even in the absence of corresponding bottom-up information. PMID:27493635

Genetics Home Reference: acromicric dysplasia

MedlinePlus

... part of the fibers that provide strength and flexibility to connective tissues, which support the bones, skin, ... Little People of America Little People UK National Organization for Rare Disorders (NORD) The MAGIC Foundation Scientific ...

Maria Goeppert Mayer, the Nuclear Shell Structure, and Magic Numbers

Science.gov Websites

dropdown arrow Site Map A-Z Index Menu Synopsis Maria Goeppert-Mayer, the Nuclear Shell Model, and Magic explanation of how neutrons and protons within atomic nuclei are structured. Called the "nuclear shell American husband, chemical physicist Joseph Mayer. At Argonne, Goeppert-Mayer learned most of her nuclear

Cellular uptake: lessons from supramolecular organic chemistry.

PubMed

Gasparini, Giulio; Bang, Eun-Kyoung; Montenegro, Javier; Matile, Stefan

2015-07-04

The objective of this Feature Article is to reflect on the importance of established and emerging principles of supramolecular organic chemistry to address one of the most persistent problems in life sciences. The main topic is dynamic covalent chemistry on cell surfaces, particularly disulfide exchange for thiol-mediated uptake. Examples of boronate and hydrazone exchange are added for contrast, comparison and completion. Of equal importance are the discussions of proximity effects in polyions and counterion hopping, and more recent highlights on ring tension and ion pair-π interactions. These lessons from supramolecular organic chemistry apply to cell-penetrating peptides, particularly the origin of "arginine magic" and the "pyrenebutyrate trick," and the currently emerging complementary "disulfide magic" with cell-penetrating poly(disulfide)s. They further extend to the voltage gating of neuronal potassium channels, gene transfection, and the delivery of siRNA. The collected examples illustrate that the input from conceptually innovative chemistry is essential to address the true challenges in biology beyond incremental progress and random screening.

Spanish jet: something more than gemstone with magical properties

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

Suarez-Ruiz, I.; Iglesias, M.J.

The first reference to the existence of jet in Spain dates back to the 7th century. Due to the magical powers attributed to this stone, it has always been considered a mysterious gem. Spanish jet is now a scarce natural resource. The article gives scientific explanation for the magical properties of Spanish jet. It is a humic coal, black in colour, bright, carves and polishes well and has a remarkably stability on exposure to the air, for centuries. Its composition is almost exclusively organic and FTIR analysis shows a high proportion of aliphatic over condensed aromatic structures. The conventional rankmore » parameters are not applicable as the results are contradictory. Carbon content and rank of organic matter suggest it is a high volatile bituminous coal, which agrees with the reflectance for phlobaphinite, the other maceral of the huminite/vitrinite group in this coal. These contradictory characteristics of Spanish jet are derived from an anomalous high enrichment of hydrogen. During coalification there is an increase in aromaticity which is responsible for the variation in coal rank parameters, carbon content and responsible for the variation in coal rank parameters, carbon content and vitrinite reflectance. The remarkable stability is attributed to the adsorbed hydrocarbons preventing easy access of oxygen. 2 figs.« less

Model analysis for the MAGIC telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mazin, D.; Bigongiari, C.; Goebel, F.; Moralejo, A.; Wittek, W.

The MAGIC Collaboration operates the 17m imaging Cherenkov telescope on the Canary island La Palma. The main goal of the experiment is an energy threshold below 100 GeV for primary gamma rays. The new analysis technique (model analysis) takes advantage of the high resolution (both in space and time) camera by fitting the averaged expected templates of the shower development to the measured shower images in the camera. This approach allows to recognize and reconstruct images just above the level of the night sky background light fluctuations. Progress and preliminary results of the model analysis technique will be presented.

GLASS TRANSITION AND DEGREE OF CONVERSION OF A LIGHT-CURED ORTHODONTIC COMPOSITE

PubMed Central

Sostena, Michela M. D. S.; Nogueira, Renata A.; Grandini, Carlos R.; Moraes, João Carlos Silos

2009-01-01

Objective: This study evaluated the glass transition temperature (Tg) and degree of conversion (DC) of a light-cured (Fill Magic) versus a chemically cured (Concise) orthodontic composite. Material and Methods: Anelastic relaxation spectroscopy was used for the first time to determine the Tg of a dental composite, while the DC was evaluated by infrared spectroscopy. The light-cured composite specimens were irradiated with a commercial LED light-curing unit using different exposure times (40, 90 and 120 s). Results: Fill Magic presented lower Tg than Concise (35-84°C versus 135°C), but reached a higher DC. Conclusions: The results of this study suggest that Fill Magic has lower Tg than Concise due to its higher organic phase content, and that when this light-cured composite is used to bond orthodontic brackets, a minimum energy density of 7.8 J/cm2 is necessary to reach adequate conversion level and obtain satisfactory adhesion. PMID:20027428

All possible tripartitions of {}(236) 236U isotope in collinear configuration

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Santhosh, K. P.; Krishnan, Sreejith; Joseph, Jayesh George

2018-07-01

Using the recently proposed unified ternary fission model (UTFM), the tripartition of ^{236}U isotope was studied for all possible fragmentations, in which the interacting potential barrier is taken as the sum of the Coulomb and proximity potentials with fragments in collinear configuration. The highest yield is obtained for the fragmentation ^{48}Ca{+}^{58}Ti{+}^{130}Sn and next highest yield is found for ^{58}Cr{+}^{46}Ar{+}^{132}Sn, which stress the importance of doubly magic or near doubly magic nuclei in the tripartition of ^{236}U isotope. The formation of ^{68}Ni and ^{70}Ni as the edge fragments linking the doubly magic nucleus ^{132}Sn by the isotope of Si is in good agreement with experimental and theoretical studies, in the collinear cluster tripartition of ^{236}U isotope which reveals the reliability of our model (UTFM) in ternary fission.

Magic Angle Spinning NMR of Viruses

PubMed Central

Quinn, Caitlin; Lu, Manman; Suiter, Christopher L.; Hou, Guangjin; Zhang, Huilan; Polenova, Tatyana

2015-01-01

Viruses, relatively simple pathogens, are able to replicate in many living organisms and to adapt to various environments. Conventional atomic-resolution structural biology techniques, X-ray crystallography and solution NMR spectroscopy provided abundant information on the structures of individual proteins and nucleic acids comprising viruses; however, viral assemblies are not amenable to analysis by these techniques because of their large size, insolubility, and inherent lack of long-range order. In this article, we review the recent advances in magic angle spinning NMR spectroscopy that enabled atomic-resolution analysis of structure and dynamics of large viral systems and give examples of several exciting case studies. PMID:25919197

Believing what we do not believe: Acquiescence to superstitious beliefs and other powerful intuitions.

PubMed

Risen, Jane L

2016-03-01

Traditionally, research on superstition and magical thinking has focused on people's cognitive shortcomings, but superstitions are not limited to individuals with mental deficits. Even smart, educated, emotionally stable adults have superstitions that are not rational. Dual process models--such as the corrective model advocated by Kahneman and Frederick (2002, 2005), which suggests that System 1 generates intuitive answers that may or may not be corrected by System 2--are useful for illustrating why superstitious thinking is widespread, why particular beliefs arise, and why they are maintained even though they are not true. However, to understand why superstitious beliefs are maintained even when people know they are not true requires that the model be refined. It must allow for the possibility that people can recognize--in the moment--that their belief does not make sense, but act on it nevertheless. People can detect an error, but choose not to correct it, a process I refer to as acquiescence. The first part of the article will use a dual process model to understand the psychology underlying magical thinking, highlighting features of System 1 that generate magical intuitions and features of the person or situation that prompt System 2 to correct them. The second part of the article will suggest that we can improve the model by decoupling the detection of errors from their correction and recognizing acquiescence as a possible System 2 response. I suggest that refining the theory will prove useful for understanding phenomena outside of the context of magical thinking. (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Abject Magic: Reasoning Madness in Justine Larbalestier's "Magic or Madness" Trilogy

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Potter, Troy

2013-01-01

This paper explores the representation of magic and madness in Justine Larbalestier's "Magic or Madness" trilogy (2005-2007). Throughout the series, magic is constructed as an abject and disabling force that threatens to disable magic-wielders, either through madness or death. Despite being represented as a ubiquitous force, the…

The Magic of Balanced Groups: Educational Applications of Magic Squares

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bosse, Michael J.; Nandakumar, N. R.; Ore, Melanie L.

2007-01-01

This paper provides students with many interesting observations regarding the nature of magic squares, magic rectangles, and quasi-magic squares and provides tools for teachers to group students into ability-balanced cooperative learning groups.

Assessing recovery from acidification of European surface waters in the year 2010: evaluation of projections made with the MAGIC model in 1995.

PubMed

Helliwell, Rachel C; Wright, Richard F; Jackson-Blake, Leah A; Ferrier, Robert C; Aherne, Julian; Cosby, Bernard J; Evans, Christopher D; Forsius, Martin; Hruska, Jakub; Jenkins, Alan; Kram, Pavel; Kopáček, Jiri; Majer, Vladimir; Moldan, Filip; Posch, Maximilian; Potts, Jacqueline M; Rogora, Michela; Schöpp, Wolfgang

2014-11-18

In 1999 we used the MAGIC (Model of Acidification of Groundwater In Catchments) model to project acidification of acid-sensitive European surface waters in the year 2010, given implementation of the Gothenburg Protocol to the Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution (LRTAP). A total of 202 sites in 10 regions in Europe were studied. These forecasts can now be compared with measurements for the year 2010, to give a "ground truth" evaluation of the model. The prerequisite for this test is that the actual sulfur and nitrogen deposition decreased from 1995 to 2010 by the same amount as that used to drive the model forecasts; this was largely the case for sulfur, but less so for nitrogen, and the simulated surface water [NO3(-)] reflected this difference. For most of the sites, predicted surface water recovery from acidification for the year 2010 is very close to the actual recovery observed from measured data, as recovery is predominantly driven by reductions in sulfur deposition. Overall these results show that MAGIC successfully predicts future water chemistry given known changes in acid deposition.

Sex Differences in Magical Ideation: A Community-Based Twin Study

PubMed Central

Karcher, Nicole R.; Slutske, Wendy S.; Kerns, John G.; Piasecki, Thomas M.; Martin, Nicholas G.

2014-01-01

Two questions regarding sex differences in magical ideation were investigated in this study: (1) whether there are mean level sex differences on the Magical Ideation Scale (MIS), and (2) whether there are quantitative and/or qualitative sex differences in the genetic contributions to variation on this scale. These questions were evaluated using data obtained from a large community sample of adult Australian twins (N=4,355) that included opposite-sex pairs. Participants completed a modified 15-item version of the MIS within a larger assessment battery. Women reported both higher means and variability on the MIS than men; this was also observed within families (in opposite-sex twin pairs). Biometric modeling indicated that the proportion of variation in MIS scores due to genetic influences (indicating quantitative sex differences) and the specific latent genetic contributions to this variation (indicating qualitative sex differences) were the same in men and women. These findings clarify the nature of sex differences in magical ideation and point to avenues for future research. PMID:24364500

Magic discovery of very high energy emission from the FSRQ PKS 1222+21

DOE PAGES

Aleksić, J.; Antonelli, L. A.; Antoranz, P.; ...

2011-02-25

Very high energy (VHE) γ-ray emission from the flat spectrum radio quasar (FSRQ) PKS 1222+21 (4C 21.35, z = 0.432) was detected with the MAGIC Cherenkov telescopes during a short observation (~0.5 hr) performed on 2010 June 17. The MAGIC detection coincides with high-energy MeV/GeV γ-ray activity measured by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board the Fermi satellite. The VHE spectrum measured by MAGIC extends from about 70 GeV up to at least 400 GeV and can be well described by a power-law dN/dE ∝ E –Γ with a photon index Γ = 3.75 ± 0.27 stat ± 0.2more » syst. The averaged integral flux above 100 GeV is (4.6 ± 0.5) × 10–10 cm–2 s–1 (~1 Crab Nebula flux). The VHE flux measured by MAGIC varies significantly within the 30 minute exposure implying a flux doubling time of about 10 minutes. The VHE and MeV/GeV spectra, corrected for the absorption by the extragalactic background light (EBL), can be described by a single power law with photon index 2.72 ± 0.34 between 3 GeV and 400 GeV, and is consistent with emission belonging to a single component in the jet. The absence of a spectral cutoff constrains the γ-ray emission region to lie outside the broad-line region, which would otherwise absorb the VHE γ-rays. Together with the detected fast variability, this challenges present emission models from jets in FSRQs. Furthermore, the combined Fermi/LAT and MAGIC spectral data yield constraints on the density of the EBL in the UV-optical to near-infrared range that are compatible with recent models.« less

Expertise among professional magicians: an interview study.

PubMed

Rissanen, Olli; Pitkänen, Petteri; Juvonen, Antti; Kuhn, Gustav; Hakkarainen, Kai

2014-01-01

The purpose of the present investigation was to analyse interviews of highly regarded Finnish magicians. Social network analysis (N = 120) was used to identify Finland's most highly regarded magicians (N = 16). The selected participants' careers in professional magic and various aspects of their professional conduct were examined by relying on semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that cultivation of professional level competence in magic usually requires an extensive period of time compared with other domains of expertise. Magic is a unique performing art and it differs from other professions focusing on deceiving the audience. A distinctive feature of magical expertise is that the process takes place entirely through informal training supported by communities of magical practitioners. Three interrelated aspects of magical activity were distinguished: magic tricks, performance, and audience. Although magic tricks constitute a central aspect of magic activity, the participants did not talk about their tricks extensively; this is in accordance with the secretive nature of magic culture. The interviews revealed that a core aspect of the magicians' activity is performance in front of an audience that repeatedly validates competence cultivated through years of practice. The interviewees reported investing a great deal of effort in planning, orchestrating, and reflecting on their performances. Close interaction with the audience plays an important role in most interviewees' activity. Many participants put a great deal of effort in developing novel magic tricks. It is common to borrow magic effects from fellow magicians and develop novel methods of implementation. Because magic tricks or programs are not copyrighted, many interviewees considered "stealing" an unacceptable and unethical aspect of magical activity. The interviewees highlighted the importance of personality and charisma in the successful pursuit of magic activity.

Expertise among professional magicians: an interview study

PubMed Central

Rissanen, Olli; Pitkänen, Petteri; Juvonen, Antti; Kuhn, Gustav; Hakkarainen, Kai

2014-01-01

The purpose of the present investigation was to analyse interviews of highly regarded Finnish magicians. Social network analysis (N = 120) was used to identify Finland's most highly regarded magicians (N = 16). The selected participants' careers in professional magic and various aspects of their professional conduct were examined by relying on semi-structured interviews. The results revealed that cultivation of professional level competence in magic usually requires an extensive period of time compared with other domains of expertise. Magic is a unique performing art and it differs from other professions focusing on deceiving the audience. A distinctive feature of magical expertise is that the process takes place entirely through informal training supported by communities of magical practitioners. Three interrelated aspects of magical activity were distinguished: magic tricks, performance, and audience. Although magic tricks constitute a central aspect of magic activity, the participants did not talk about their tricks extensively; this is in accordance with the secretive nature of magic culture. The interviews revealed that a core aspect of the magicians' activity is performance in front of an audience that repeatedly validates competence cultivated through years of practice. The interviewees reported investing a great deal of effort in planning, orchestrating, and reflecting on their performances. Close interaction with the audience plays an important role in most interviewees' activity. Many participants put a great deal of effort in developing novel magic tricks. It is common to borrow magic effects from fellow magicians and develop novel methods of implementation. Because magic tricks or programs are not copyrighted, many interviewees considered “stealing” an unacceptable and unethical aspect of magical activity. The interviewees highlighted the importance of personality and charisma in the successful pursuit of magic activity. PMID:25566156

Tested Demonstrations.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gilbert, George L., Ed.

1990-01-01

Described are demonstrations designed to reveal the important "nonsolvent" properties of water through its interaction with a toy called "Magic Sand" and other synthetic silica derivatives, especially those bonded with organic moities. The procedures for seven demonstrations along with a discussion of the effects are presented. (CW)

Structure of Ni 78 from First-Principles Computations

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

Hagen, Gaute; Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN; Jansen, Gustav R.

Doubly magic nuclei have a simple structure and are the cornerstones for entire regions of the nuclear chart. Theoretical insights into the supposedly doubly magic 78Ni and its neighbors are challenging because of the extreme neutron-to-proton ratio and the proximity of the continuum. In this study, we predict the J π = 2more » $$+\\atop{1}$$ state in 78Ni from a correlation with the J π = 2$$+\\atop{1}$$ state in 48Ca using chiral nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interactions. Our results confirm that 78Ni is doubly magic, and the predicted low-lying states of 79,80Ni open the way for shell-model studies of many more rare isotopes.« less

Structure of Ni 78 from First-Principles Computations

DOE PAGES

Hagen, Gaute; Univ. of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN; Jansen, Gustav R.; ...

2016-10-17

Doubly magic nuclei have a simple structure and are the cornerstones for entire regions of the nuclear chart. Theoretical insights into the supposedly doubly magic 78Ni and its neighbors are challenging because of the extreme neutron-to-proton ratio and the proximity of the continuum. In this study, we predict the J π = 2more » $$+\\atop{1}$$ state in 78Ni from a correlation with the J π = 2$$+\\atop{1}$$ state in 48Ca using chiral nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon interactions. Our results confirm that 78Ni is doubly magic, and the predicted low-lying states of 79,80Ni open the way for shell-model studies of many more rare isotopes.« less

MAGIC database and interfaces: an integrated package for gene discovery and expression.

PubMed

Cordonnier-Pratt, Marie-Michèle; Liang, Chun; Wang, Haiming; Kolychev, Dmitri S; Sun, Feng; Freeman, Robert; Sullivan, Robert; Pratt, Lee H

2004-01-01

The rapidly increasing rate at which biological data is being produced requires a corresponding growth in relational databases and associated tools that can help laboratories contend with that data. With this need in mind, we describe here a Modular Approach to a Genomic, Integrated and Comprehensive (MAGIC) Database. This Oracle 9i database derives from an initial focus in our laboratory on gene discovery via production and analysis of expressed sequence tags (ESTs), and subsequently on gene expression as assessed by both EST clustering and microarrays. The MAGIC Gene Discovery portion of the database focuses on information derived from DNA sequences and on its biological relevance. In addition to MAGIC SEQ-LIMS, which is designed to support activities in the laboratory, it contains several additional subschemas. The latter include MAGIC Admin for database administration, MAGIC Sequence for sequence processing as well as sequence and clone attributes, MAGIC Cluster for the results of EST clustering, MAGIC Polymorphism in support of microsatellite and single-nucleotide-polymorphism discovery, and MAGIC Annotation for electronic annotation by BLAST and BLAT. The MAGIC Microarray portion is a MIAME-compliant database with two components at present. These are MAGIC Array-LIMS, which makes possible remote entry of all information into the database, and MAGIC Array Analysis, which provides data mining and visualization. Because all aspects of interaction with the MAGIC Database are via a web browser, it is ideally suited not only for individual research laboratories but also for core facilities that serve clients at any distance.

["The multiple science instructional curious artist". Alchemy, folk magic and folk medicine in baroque home reference books].

PubMed

Priesner, Claus

2011-01-01

Germany's Hausväterliteratur, the "literature of the fathers of the houses," was once a popular genre but today is seldom studied. Roughly, this literature, as its name suggests, comprises books on the proper keeping of noble households and mansions. Interestingly, besides the content which one might expect in such books, the organization of personnel, the arrangement of festivities, discussions of the various branches of technical skills, economic advice and the whole field of agriculture, fishing and hunting, these books also contain remarkably large amounts of information directly connected with magic and an associated popular medicine (Volksmedizin). This medicine involved treatment administered mostly by laywomen instead of regular physicians and was based not just upon traditional medical knowledge per se but also upon magical practices. Also found in such texts are alchemical ideas and recipes. This means that despite the fact that such books were written and published in the 17th and early 18th century, the Age of Enlightenment, conceptions found in them are still deeply rooted in older intellectual currents, in Medieval and Renaissance thinking. The present study examines examples of alchemical, magical and popular medical ideas in three such works and seeks to explain how pre-enlightenment ideas and thought could maintain such an influential place in the intellectual world of a later time dominated by other philosophies.

Uploading, Searching and Visualizing of Paleomagnetic and Rock Magnetic Data in the Online MagIC Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minnett, R.; Koppers, A.; Tauxe, L.; Constable, C.; Donadini, F.

2007-12-01

The Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) is commissioned to implement and maintain an online portal to a relational database populated by both rock and paleomagnetic data. The goal of MagIC is to archive all available measurements and derived properties from paleomagnetic studies of directions and intensities, and for rock magnetic experiments (hysteresis, remanence, susceptibility, anisotropy). MagIC is hosted under EarthRef.org at http://earthref.org/MAGIC/ and will soon implement two search nodes, one for paleomagnetism and one for rock magnetism. Currently the PMAG node is operational. Both nodes provide query building based on location, reference, methods applied, material type and geological age, as well as a visual map interface to browse and select locations. Users can also browse the database by data type or by data compilation to view all contributions associated with well known earlier collections like PINT, GMPDB or PSVRL. The query result set is displayed in a digestible tabular format allowing the user to descend from locations to sites, samples, specimens and measurements. At each stage, the result set can be saved and, where appropriate, can be visualized by plotting global location maps, equal area, XY, age, and depth plots, or typical Zijderveld, hysteresis, magnetization and remanence diagrams. User contributions to the MagIC database are critical to achieving a useful research tool. We have developed a standard data and metadata template (version 2.3) that can be used to format and upload all data at the time of publication in Earth Science journals. Software tools are provided to facilitate population of these templates within Microsoft Excel. These tools allow for the import/export of text files and provide advanced functionality to manage and edit the data, and to perform various internal checks to maintain data integrity and prepare for uploading. The MagIC Contribution Wizard at http://earthref.org/MAGIC/upload.htm executes the upload and takes only a few minutes to process tens of thousands of data records. The standardized MagIC template files are stored in the digital archives of EarthRef.org where they remain available for download by the public (in both text and Excel format). Finally, the contents of these template files are automatically parsed into the online relational database, making the data available for online searches in the paleomagnetic and rock magnetic search nodes. During the upload process the owner has the option of keeping the contribution private so it can be viewed in the context of other data sets and visualized using the suite of MagIC plotting tools. Alternatively, the new data can be password protected and shared with a group of users at the contributor's discretion. Once they are published and the owner is comfortable making the upload publicly accessible, the MagIC Editing Committee reviews the contribution for adherence to the MagIC data model and conventions to ensure a high level of data integrity.

Application of a Resource Theory for Magic States to Fault-Tolerant Quantum Computing.

PubMed

Howard, Mark; Campbell, Earl

2017-03-03

Motivated by their necessity for most fault-tolerant quantum computation schemes, we formulate a resource theory for magic states. First, we show that robustness of magic is a well-behaved magic monotone that operationally quantifies the classical simulation overhead for a Gottesman-Knill-type scheme using ancillary magic states. Our framework subsequently finds immediate application in the task of synthesizing non-Clifford gates using magic states. When magic states are interspersed with Clifford gates, Pauli measurements, and stabilizer ancillas-the most general synthesis scenario-then the class of synthesizable unitaries is hard to characterize. Our techniques can place nontrivial lower bounds on the number of magic states required for implementing a given target unitary. Guided by these results, we have found new and optimal examples of such synthesis.

The nuclear shell model toward the drip lines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Poves, A.; Caurier, E.; Nowacki, F.; Sieja, K.

2012-10-01

We describe the 'islands of inversion' that occur when approaching the neutron drip line around the magic numbers N=20, N=28 and N=40 in the framework of the interacting shell model in very large valence spaces. We explain these configuration inversions (and the associated shape transitions) as the result of the competition between the spherical mean field (monopole) that favors magicity and the correlations (multipole) that favor deformed intruder states. We also show that the N=20 and N=28 islands are in reality a single one, which for the magnesium isotopes is limited by N=18 and N=32.

SU-E-T-102: Determination of Dose Distributions and Water-Equivalence of MAGIC-F Polymer Gel for 60Co and 192Ir Brachytherapy Sources

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

Quevedo, A; Nicolucci, P

2014-06-01

Purpose: Analyse the water-equivalence of MAGIC-f polymer gel for {sup 60}Co and {sup 192}Ir clinical brachytherapy sources, through dose distributions simulated with PENELOPE Monte Carlo code. Methods: The real geometry of {sup 60} (BEBIG, modelo Co0.A86) and {sup 192}192Ir (Varian, model GammaMed Plus) clinical brachytherapy sources were modelled on PENELOPE Monte Carlo simulation code. The most probable emission lines of photons were used for both sources: 17 emission lines for {sup 192}Ir and 12 lines for {sup 60}. The dose distributions were obtained in a cubic water or gel homogeneous phantom (30 × 30 × 30 cm{sup 3}), with themore » source positioned in the middle of the phantom. In all cases the number of simulation showers remained constant at 10{sup 9} particles. A specific material for gel was constructed in PENELOPE using weight fraction components of MAGIC-f: wH = 0,1062, wC = 0,0751, wN = 0,0139, wO = 0,8021, wS = 2,58×10{sup −6} e wCu = 5,08 × 10{sup −6}. The voxel size in the dose distributions was 0.6 mm. Dose distribution maps on the longitudinal and radial direction through the centre of the source were used to analyse the water-equivalence of MAGIC-f. Results: For the {sup 60} source, the maximum diferences in relative doses obtained in the gel and water were 0,65% and 1,90%, for radial and longitudinal direction, respectively. For {sup 192}Ir, the maximum difereces in relative doses were 0,30% and 1,05%, for radial and longitudinal direction, respectively. The materials equivalence can also be verified through the effective atomic number and density of each material: Zef-MAGIC-f = 7,07 e .MAGIC-f = 1,060 g/cm{sup 3} and Zef-water = 7,22. Conclusion: The results showed that MAGIC-f is water equivalent, consequently being suitable to simulate soft tissue, for Cobalt and Iridium energies. Hence, gel can be used as a dosimeter in clinical applications. Further investigation to its use in a clinical protocol is needed.« less

Controlling the magic and normal sizes of white CdSe quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Su, Yu-Sheng; Chung, Shu-Ru

2017-08-01

In this study, we have demonstrated a facile chemical route to prepare CdSe QDs with white light emission, and the performance of white CdSe-based white light emitting diode (WLED) is also exploded. An organic oleic acid (OA) is used to form Cd-OA complex first and hexadecylamine (HDA) and 1-octadecene (ODE) is used as surfactants. Meanwhile, by varying the reaction time from 1 s to 60 min, CdSe QDs with white light can be obtained. The result shows that the luminescence spectra compose two obvious emission peaks and entire visible light from 400 to 700 nm, when the reaction time less than 10 min. The wide emission wavelength combine two particle sizes of CdSe, magic and normal, and the magic-CdSe has band-edge and surface-state emission, while normal size only possess band-edge emission. The TEM characterization shows that the two different sizes with diameter of 1.5 nm and 2.7 nm for magic and normal size CdSe QDs can be obtained when the reaction time is 4 min. We can find that the magic size of CdSe is produced when the reaction time is less than 3 min. In the time ranges from 3 to 10 min, two sizes of CdSe QDs are formed, and with QY from 20 to 60 %. Prolong the reaction time to 60 min, only normal size of CdSe QD can be observed due to the Ostwald repining, and its QYs is 8 %. Based on the results we can conclude that the two emission peaks are generated from the coexistence of magic size and normal size CdSe to form the white light QDs, and the QY and emission wavelength of CdSe QDs can be increased with prolonging reaction time. The sample reacts for 2 (QY 30 %), 4 (QY 32 %) and 60 min (QY 8 %) are choosing to mixes with transparent acrylic-based UV curable resin for WLED fabrication. The Commission International d'Eclairage (CIE) chromaticity, color rendering index (CRI), and luminous efficacy for magic, mix, and normal size CdSe are (0.49, 0.44), 81, 1.5 lm/W, (0.35, 0.30), 86, 1.9 lm/W, and (0.39, 0.25), 40, 0.3 lm/W, respectively.

Solving the challenges of data preprocessing, uploading, archiving, retrieval, analysis and visualization for large heterogeneous paleo- and rock magnetic datasets

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minnett, R.; Koppers, A. A.; Tauxe, L.; Constable, C.; Jarboe, N. A.

2011-12-01

The Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) provides an archive for the wealth of rock- and paleomagnetic data and interpretations from studies on natural and synthetic samples. As with many fields, most peer-reviewed paleo- and rock magnetic publications only include high level results. However, access to the raw data from which these results were derived is critical for compilation studies and when updating results based on new interpretation and analysis methods. MagIC provides a detailed metadata model with places for everything from raw measurements to their interpretations. Prior to MagIC, these raw data were extremely cumbersome to collect because they mostly existed in a lab's proprietary format on investigator's personal computers or undigitized in field notebooks. MagIC has developed a suite of offline and online tools to enable the paleomagnetic, rock magnetic, and affiliated scientific communities to easily contribute both their previously published data and data supporting an article undergoing peer-review, to retrieve well-annotated published interpretations and raw data, and to analyze and visualize large collections of published data online. Here we present the technology we chose (including VBA in Excel spreadsheets, Python libraries, FastCGI JSON webservices, Oracle procedures, and jQuery user interfaces) and how we implemented it in order to serve the scientific community as seamlessly as possible. These tools are now in use in labs worldwide, have helped archive many valuable legacy studies and datasets, and routinely enable new contributions to the MagIC Database (http://earthref.org/MAGIC/).

Magic star puzzle for educational mathematics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gan, Yee Siang; Fong, Wan Heng; Sarmin, Nor Haniza

2013-04-01

One of the interesting fields in recreational mathematics is the magic number arrangement. There are different kinds of arrays in the arrangement for a group of numbers. In particular, one of the arrays in magic number arrangement is called magic star. In fact, magic star involves combinatorics that contributes to geometrical analysis and number theory. Hence, magic star is suitable to be introduced as educational mathematics to cultivate interest in different area of mathematics. To obtain the solutions of normal magic stars of order six, the possible sets of numbers for every line in a magic star have been considered. Previously, the calculation for obtaining the solutions has been done manually which is time-consuming. Therefore, a programming code to generate all the fundamental solutions for normal magic star of order six without including the properties of rotation and reflection has been done. In this puzzle, a magic star puzzle is created by using Matlab software, which enables a user to verify the entries for the cells of magic star of order six. Moreover, it is also user-friendly as it provides interactive commands on the inputs given by the user, which enables the user to detect the incorrect inputs. In addition, user can also choose to view all the fundamental solutions as generated by the programming code.

Discovery of VHE γ -rays from the blazar 1ES 1215+303 with the MAGIC telescopes and simultaneous multi-wavelength observations

DOE PAGES

Aleksić, J.; Alvarez, E. A.; Antonelli, L. A.; ...

2012-08-15

Here, we present the discovery of very high energy (VHE, E > 100 GeV) γ-ray emission from the BL Lac object 1ES 1215+303 by the MAGIC telescopes and simultaneous multi-wavelength data in a broad energy range from radio to γ-rays. We also study the VHE γ-ray emission from 1ES 1215+303 and its relation to the emissions in other wavelengths. Triggered by an optical outburst, MAGIC observed the source in 2011 January - February for 20.3 h. The target was monitored in the optical R-band by the KVA telescope that also performed optical polarization measurements. Furthermore, we triggered target of opportunitymore » observations with the Swift satellite and obtained simultaneous and quasi-simultaneous data from the Fermi Large Area Telescope and from the Metsähovi radio telescope. We also present the analysis of older MAGIC data taken in 2010. The MAGIC observations of 1ES 1215+303 carried out in 2011 January - February resulted in the first detection of the source at VHE with a statistical significance of 9.4σ. Simultaneously, the source was observed in a high optical and X-ray state. In 2010 the source was observed in a lower state in optical, X-ray, and VHE, while the GeV γ-ray flux and the radio flux were comparable in 2010 and 2011. The spectral energy distribution obtained with the 2011 data can be modeled with a simple one zone SSC model, but it requires extreme values for the Doppler factor or the electron energy distribution.« less

77 FR 58416 - Large Scale Networking (LSN); Middleware and Grid Interagency Coordination (MAGIC) Team

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-09-20

... Coordination (MAGIC) Team AGENCY: The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD.... Dates/Location: The MAGIC Team meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month, 2:00-4:00pm, at... participation is available for each meeting. Please reference the MAGIC Team Web site for updates. Magic Web...

78 FR 70076 - Large Scale Networking (LSN)-Middleware and Grid Interagency Coordination (MAGIC) Team

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-22

... Coordination (MAGIC) Team AGENCY: The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD... MAGIC Team meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month, 2:00-4:00 p.m., at the National... for each meeting. Please reference the MAGIC Team Web site for updates. Magic Web site: The agendas...

Emotional salience, emotional awareness, peculiar beliefs, and magical thinking.

PubMed

Berenbaum, Howard; Boden, M Tyler; Baker, John P

2009-04-01

Two studies with college student participants (Ns = 271 and 185) tested whether peculiar beliefs and magical thinking were associated with (a) the emotional salience of the stimuli about which individuals may have peculiar beliefs or magical thinking, (b) attention to emotion, and (c) clarity of emotion. Study 1 examined belief that a baseball team was cursed. Study 2 measured magical thinking using a procedure developed by P. Rozin and C. Nemeroff (2002). In both studies, peculiar beliefs and magical thinking were associated with Salience x Attention x Clarity interactions. Among individuals for whom the objects of the belief-magical thinking were highly emotionally salient and who had high levels of attention to emotion, higher levels of emotional clarity were associated with increased peculiar beliefs-magical thinking. In contrast, among individuals for whom the objects of the belief-magical thinking were not emotionally salient and who had high levels of attention to emotion, higher levels of emotional clarity were associated with diminished peculiar beliefs-magical thinking. (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved.

[Magical thinking in healthy people and in schizophrenia].

PubMed

Jarosz, M

1996-01-01

Different conditions of magical thinking have been analyzed. A formation of the proportion "realistic thinking - magical thinking" in paranoid schizophrenia has been discussed and the characteristic features of magical thinking in schizophrenia have been indicated.

Binding Energy of 79Cu: Probing the Structure of the Doubly Magic 78Ni from Only One Proton Away

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Welker, A.; Althubiti, N. A. S.; Atanasov, D.; Blaum, K.; Cocolios, T. E.; Herfurth, F.; Kreim, S.; Lunney, D.; Manea, V.; Mougeot, M.; Neidherr, D.; Nowacki, F.; Poves, A.; Rosenbusch, M.; Schweikhard, L.; Wienholtz, F.; Wolf, R. N.; Zuber, K.

2017-11-01

The masses of the neutron-rich copper isotopes 75-79Cu are determined using the precision mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at the CERN-ISOLDE facility. The trend from the new data differs significantly from that of previous results, offering a first accurate view of the mass surface adjacent to the Z =28 , N =50 nuclide 78Ni and supporting a doubly magic character. The new masses compare very well with large-scale shell-model calculations that predict shape coexistence in a doubly magic 78Ni and a new island of inversion for Z <28 . A coherent picture of this important exotic region begins to emerge where excitations across Z =28 and N =50 form a delicate equilibrium with a spherical mean field.

How the Alchemy Makes Inquiry, Evidence, and Exclusion.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Popkewitz, Thomas S.

2002-01-01

Modern teaching and teacher education "magically" transform sciences, social sciences, and humanities. The alchemy of school subjects provides a way to think about frames of reference organizing inquiry and constitutes evidence in teacher education, also obscuring the normalizing and dividing practices of teaching (including…

Back-extraction of trace elements from organometallic-halide extracts for determination by flameless atomic absorption spectrometry

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clark, J.R.; Viets, J.G.

1981-01-01

The Methyl isobutyl ketone-Amine synerGistic Iodkte Complex (MAGIC) extraction system offers the advantage that a large number of trace elements can be rapidly determined with a single sample preparation procedure. However, many of the elements extracted by the MAGIC system form volatile organometallic halide salts when the organic extract is heated in the graphite furnace. High concentrations of some elements such as Cu and Zn extracted by the system from anomalous geological samples produce serious interferences when certain other elements are determined by flameless atomic absorption. Stripping systems have been developed using solutions of HNO3, H2SO4, and CH3COOH individually or combined with H2O2 in order to circumvent these problems. With these systems most of the elements in the organic extract can be sequentially stripped into an aqueous phase. Organometallic volatilization and the most serious interelement interferences, therefore, can be eliminated by stripping with various combinations of reagents in a series of steps.

Magic 2010 RASR Team

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-12-15

MAGIC 2010 – FINAL REPORT RASR TEAM - CONTRACT NO: FA2386-10-1-4021 December 15, 2010 Final Report for AOARD Grant FA23861014021 – MAGIC ... MAGIC 2010 Competition - Robotic Research Team (RASR) Abstract: The RASR team developed a system for the coordination of groups of unmanned...accomplish those missions. Our team goal was to develop a system that can provide long term value to the war-fighter, utilizing MAGIC 2010 as a stepping

Fascinating Fibonaccis: Mystery and Magic in Numbers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Garland, Trudi Hammel

This document presents activities and information related to Fibonacci numbers, which are based upon the Golden Ratio, in areas of the arts, sciences, and mathematics. The work is organized into eight chapters: (1) "Origins and Definitions"; (2) "Fibonacci Numbers in Nature"; (3) "Fibonacci Numbers in Art and…

Capturing the Magic of Classroom Training in Blended Learning

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Laiken, Marilyn E.; Milland, Russ; Wagner, Jon

2014-01-01

Organizations today are faced with the challenges of expanding their traditional classroom-based approaches into blended learning experiences which integrate regular classrooms, virtual classrooms, social learning, independent reading, on the job learning and other methodologies. Our team converted a two-day classroom-based program, taught from…

Tools to manage the enterprise-wide picture archiving and communications system environment.

PubMed

Lannum, L M; Gumpf, S; Piraino, D

2001-06-01

The presentation will focus on the implementation and utilization of a central picture archiving and communications system (PACS) network-monitoring tool that allows for enterprise-wide operations management and support of the image distribution network. The MagicWatch (Siemens, Iselin, NJ) PACS/radiology information system (RIS) monitoring station from Siemens has allowed our organization to create a service support structure that has given us proactive control of our environment and has allowed us to meet the service level performance expectations of the users. The Radiology Help Desk has used the MagicWatch PACS monitoring station as an applications support tool that has allowed the group to monitor network activity and individual systems performance at each node. Fast and timely recognition of the effects of single events within the PACS/RIS environment has allowed the group to proactively recognize possible performance issues and resolve problems. The PACS/operations group performs network management control, image storage management, and software distribution management from a single, central point in the enterprise. The MagicWatch station allows for the complete automation of software distribution, installation, and configuration process across all the nodes in the system. The tool has allowed for the standardization of the workstations and provides a central configuration control for the establishment and maintenance of the system standards. This report will describe the PACS management and operation prior to the implementation of the MagicWatch PACS monitoring station and will highlight the operational benefits of a centralized network and system-monitoring tool.

Force and Moment Plots from Pacejka 2002 Magic Formula Tire Model Coefficients

DTIC Science & Technology

2010-09-01

Page Form ApprovedOMB No. 0704-0188 Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including...failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. 1 . REPORT DATE 10 SEP 2010 2. REPORT...forces and moments applied to the tires. Many vehicle simulation programs such as MSC.Software ADAMS, Altair HyperWorks MotionSolve, etc. use the Magic

Magic with Magic Squares.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wills, Herbert III

1989-01-01

Describes ways to make magic squares of 4 by 4 matrices. Presents two handouts: (1) Sets of 4 Numbers from 1 to 16 Whose Sum is 34; and (2) The Durer Square. Shows patterns which appeared in the magic squares, such as squares, chevrons, rhomboids, and trapezoids. (YP)

The Illusory Beliefs Inventory: a new measure of magical thinking and its relationship with obsessive compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Kingdon, Bianca L; Egan, Sarah J; Rees, Clare S

2012-01-01

Magical thinking has been proposed to have an aetiological role in obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). To address the limitations of existing measures of magical thinking we developed and validated a new 24-item measure of magical thinking, the Illusory Beliefs Inventory (IBI). The validation sample comprised a total of 1194 individuals across two samples recruited via an Internet based survey. Factor analysis identified three subscales representing domains relevant to the construct of magical thinking: Magical Beliefs, Spirituality, and Internal State and Thought Action Fusion. The scale had excellent internal consistency and evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. Evidence of criterion-related concurrent validity confirmed that magical thinking is a cognitive domain associated with OCD and is largely relevant to neutralizing, obsessing and hoarding symptoms. It is important for future studies to extend the evidence of the psychometric properties of the IBI in new populations and to conduct longitudinal studies to examine the aetiological role of magical thinking.

The Baeyer-Villiger Oxidation with Trifluoroacetic Acid and Household Sodium Percarbonate

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kjonaas, Richard A.; Clemons, Anthony E.

2008-01-01

A method for carrying out the Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of cyclopentanone to [delta]-valerolactone in a large-section introductory organic chemistry laboratory course is reported. The oxidizing agent is trifluoroperoxyacetic acid generated in situ from trifluoroacetic acid and household sodium percarbonate such as OxiClean, Oxi Magic, or…

Watching films with magical content facilitates creativity in children.

PubMed

Subbotsky, Eugene; Hysted, Claire; Jones, Nicola

2010-08-01

Two experiments examined the possible link between magical thinking and creativity in preschool children. In Exp. 1, 4- and 6-yr.-old children were shown a film with either a magical or nonmagical theme. Results indicated that the mean scores of children shown the magical film was significantly higher than that of children watching the nonmagical film on the majority of subsequent creativity tests for both age groups. This trend was also found for 6-yr.-olds' drawings of impossible items. In Exp. 2, Exp. 1 was replicated successfully with 6- and 8-yr.-old children. Exposing children to a film with a magical theme did not affect their beliefs about magic. The results were interpreted to accentuate the role of magical thinking in children's cognitive development. Classroom implications of the results were also discussed.

Advances/applications of MAGIC and SOS

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Warren, Gary; Ludeking, Larry; Nguyen, Khanh; Smithe, David; Goplen, Bruce

1993-12-01

MAGIC and SOS have been applied to investigate a variety of accelerator-related devices. Examples include high brightness electron guns, beam-RF interactions in klystrons, cold-test modes in an RFQ and in RF sources, and a high-quality, flexible, electron gun with operating modes appropriate for gyrotrons, peniotrons, and other RF sources. Algorithmic improvements for PIC have been developed and added to MAGIC and SOS to facilitate these modeling efforts. Two new field algorithms allow improved control of computational numerical noise and selective control of harmonic modes in RF cavities. An axial filter in SOS accelerates simulations in cylindrical coordinates. The recent addition of an export/import feature now allows long devices to be modeled in sections. Interfaces have been added to receive electromagnetic field information from the Poisson group of codes and from EGUN and to send beam information to PARMELA for subsequent tracing of bunches through beam optics. Post-processors compute and display beam properties including geometric, normalized, and slice emittances, and phase-space parameters, and video. VMS, UNIX, and DOS versions are supported, with migration underway toward windows environments.

Polar and singular value decomposition of 3×3 magic squares

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Trenkler, Götz; Schmidt, Karsten; Trenkler, Dietrich

2013-07-01

In this note, we find polar as well as singular value decompositions of a 3×3 magic square, i.e. a 3×3 matrix M with real elements where each row, column and diagonal adds up to the magic sum s of the magic square.

MAGIC observations and multifrequency properties of the flat spectrum radio quasar 3C 279 in 2011

DOE PAGES

Aleksic, J.

2014-07-01

Aims. We present a study of the very high energy (VHE; E>100 GeV) γ-ray emission of the blazar PKS 1424+240 observed with the MAGIC telescopes. The primary aim of this paper is the multiwavelength spectral characterization and modeling of this blazar, which is made particularly interesting by the recent discovery of a lower limit of its redshift of z ≥ 0.6 and makes it a promising candidate to be the most distant VHE source. Methods. The source has been observed with the MAGIC telescopes in VHE rays for a total observation time of ~33.6 h from 2009 to 2011. Amore » detailed analysis of its γ-ray spectrum and time evolution has been carried out. Moreover, we have collected and analyzed simultaneous and quasi-simultaneous multiwavelength data. Results. The source was marginally detected in VHE rays during 2009 and 2010, and later, the detection was confirmed during an optical outburst in 2011. The combined significance of the stacked sample is ~7.2σ. The differential spectra measured during the different campaigns can be described by steep power laws with the indices ranging from 3.5 ± 1.2 to 5.0 ± 1.7. The MAGIC spectra corrected for the absorption due to the extragalactic background light connect smoothly, within systematic errors, with the mean spectrum in 2009-2011 observed at lower energies by the Fermi-LAT. The absorption-corrected MAGIC spectrum is flat with no apparent turn down up to 400 GeV. The multiwavelength light curve shows increasing flux in radio and optical bands that could point to a common origin from the same region of the jet. The large separation between the two peaks of the constructed non-simultaneous spectral energy distribution also requires an extremely high Doppler factor if an one zone synchrotron self-Compton model is applied. We find that a two-component synchrotron self-Compton model describes the spectral energy distribution of the source well, if the source is located at z ~ 0.6.« less

MAGIC long-term study of the distant TeV blazar PKS 1424+240 in a multiwavelength context

DOE PAGES

Aleksić, J.

2014-07-01

Aims. We present a study of the very high energy (VHE; E>100 GeV) γ-ray emission of the blazar PKS 1424+240 observed with the MAGIC telescopes. The primary aim of this paper is the multiwavelength spectral characterization and modeling of this blazar, which is made particularly interesting by the recent discovery of a lower limit of its redshift of z ≥ 0.6 and makes it a promising candidate to be the most distant VHE source. Methods. The source has been observed with the MAGIC telescopes in VHE rays for a total observation time of ~33.6 h from 2009 to 2011. Amore » detailed analysis of its γ-ray spectrum and time evolution has been carried out. Moreover, we have collected and analyzed simultaneous and quasi-simultaneous multiwavelength data. Results. The source was marginally detected in VHE rays during 2009 and 2010, and later, the detection was confirmed during an optical outburst in 2011. The combined significance of the stacked sample is ~7.2σ. The differential spectra measured during the different campaigns can be described by steep power laws with the indices ranging from 3.5 ± 1.2 to 5.0 ± 1.7. The MAGIC spectra corrected for the absorption due to the extragalactic background light connect smoothly, within systematic errors, with the mean spectrum in 2009-2011 observed at lower energies by the Fermi-LAT. The absorption-corrected MAGIC spectrum is flat with no apparent turn down up to 400 GeV. The multiwavelength light curve shows increasing flux in radio and optical bands that could point to a common origin from the same region of the jet. The large separation between the two peaks of the constructed non-simultaneous spectral energy distribution also requires an extremely high Doppler factor if an one zone synchrotron self-Compton model is applied. We find that a two-component synchrotron self-Compton model describes the spectral energy distribution of the source well, if the source is located at z ~ 0.6.« less

[Interactive augmented reality systems : Aid for personalized patient education and rehabilitation].

PubMed

Bork, F

2018-04-01

During patient education, information exchange plays a critical role both for patient compliance during medical or rehabilitative treatment and for obtaining an informed consent for an operative procedure. In this article the augmented reality system "Magic Mirror" as an additive tool during patient education, rehabilitation as well as anatomical education is highlighted. The Magic Mirror system allows the user of the system to inspect both a detailed model of the 3‑dimensional anatomy of the human body and volumetric slice images in a virtual mirror environment. First preliminary results from the areas of rehabilitation and learning anatomy indicate the broad potential of the Magic Mirror. Similarly, the system also provides interesting advantages for patient education situations in comparison to traditional methods of information exchange. Novel technologies, such as augmented reality are a door opener for many innovations in medicine. In the future, patient-specific systems, such as the Magic Mirror will be used increasingly more in areas such as patient education and rehabilitation. In order to maximize the benefits of such systems, further evaluation studies are necessary to find out about the best use cases and to start an iterative optimization process of these systems.

Magical ideation is related to questionnaire but not behavioural measures of handedness.

PubMed

Grimshaw, Gina M; Yelle, Serena K; Schoger, Jamie; Bright, Kathleen S

2008-01-01

Magical ideation has repeatedly been shown to be related to handedness, with mixed-handers exhibiting higher levels of magical thinking. However, most previous research has assessed hand preference with a questionnaire measure, leaving open the possibility that the correlation reflects some aspect of questionnaire-taking behaviour and not an underlying neuropsychological relationship. The present study addressed this issue by administering the Magical Ideation Scale (Eckblad & Chapman, 1983), the Waterloo Handedness Questionnaire-Revised (Elias, Bryden, & Bulman-Fleming, 1998), and a manual dot-filling task (Tapley & Bryden, 1985) as a behavioural measure of handedness to an undergraduate student sample. The expected relationship between magical ideation and handedness as assessed by the questionnaire was observed. However, magical ideation was not related to the behavioural measure of handedness. Results cast doubt on a neuropsychological interpretation of the relationship between handedness and magical ideation in sub-clinical populations.

On Super Edge-magic Total Labeling of Modified Watermill Graph

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nurdin; Ungko, T. S.; Gormantara, J.; Abdullah, A.; Aulyah, S.; Nikita

2018-03-01

An edge-magic total labeling on a graph G is one-to-one map from V(G) ∪ E(G) onto the set of integers 1,2, ...,ν + e, where ν = |V(G)| and e = |E(G)|, with the property that, given any edge uv, f(u) + f(u, ν}) + f(ν) = k for every u,v ∈ V(G), and k is called magic valuation. An edge-magic total labeling f is called super edge-magic total if f(v(G)) = {1,2 ...,|V(G)|} and f(E(G)) = {|V(G)| + 1, |V(G)| + 2,... |V(G) + E(G)|}. In this paper we investigate edge-magic total labeling of a new graph called modified Watermill graph. Furthermore, the magic valuation of the modified Watermill graph WM(n) is k=\\frac{1}{2}(21n+3), for n odd, n ≥ 3.

Observation of the black widow B1957+20 millisecond pulsar binary system with the MAGIC telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahnen, M. L.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; Arcaro, C.; Babić, A.; Banerjee, B.; Bangale, P.; Barres de Almeida, U.; Barrio, J. A.; Becerra González, J.; Bednarek, W.; Bernardini, E.; Berti, A.; Biasuzzi, B.; Biland, A.; Blanch, O.; Bonnefoy, S.; Bonnoli, G.; Borracci, F.; Bretz, T.; Carosi, R.; Carosi, A.; Chatterjee, A.; Colin, P.; Colombo, E.; Contreras, J. L.; Cortina, J.; Covino, S.; Cumani, P.; da Vela, P.; Dazzi, F.; de Angelis, A.; de Lotto, B.; De Oña Wilhelmi, E.; Di Pierro, F.; Doert, M.; Domínguez, A.; Dominis Prester, D.; Dorner, D.; Doro, M.; Einecke, S.; Eisenacher Glawion, D.; Elsaesser, D.; Engelkemeier, M.; Fallah Ramazani, V.; Fernández-Barral, A.; Fidalgo, D.; Fonseca, M. V.; Font, L.; Fruck, C.; Galindo, D.; García López, R. J.; Garczarczyk, M.; Gaug, M.; Giammaria, P.; Godinović, N.; Gora, D.; Gozzini, S. R.; Griffiths, S.; Guberman, D.; Hadasch, D.; Hahn, A.; Hassan, T.; Hayashida, M.; Herrera, J.; Hose, J.; Hrupec, D.; Hughes, G.; Ishio, K.; Konno, Y.; Kubo, H.; Kushida, J.; Kuveždić, D.; Lelas, D.; Lindfors, E.; Lombardi, S.; Longo, F.; López, M.; Majumdar, P.; Makariev, M.; Maneva, G.; Manganaro, M.; Mannheim, K.; Maraschi, L.; Mariotti, M.; Martínez, M.; Mazin, D.; Menzel, U.; Mirzoyan, R.; Moralejo, A.; Moreno, V.; Moretti, E.; Neustroev, V.; Niedzwiecki, A.; Nievas Rosillo, M.; Nilsson, K.; Nishijima, K.; Noda, K.; Nogués, L.; Paiano, S.; Palacio, J.; Paneque, D.; Paoletti, R.; Paredes, J. M.; Paredes-Fortuny, X.; Pedaletti, G.; Peresano, M.; Perri, L.; Persic, M.; Poutanen, J.; Prada Moroni, P. G.; Prandini, E.; Puljak, I.; Garcia, J. R.; Reichardt, I.; Rhode, W.; Ribó, M.; Rico, J.; Saito, T.; Satalecka, K.; Schroeder, S.; Schweizer, T.; Sillanpää, A.; Sitarek, J.; Šnidarić, I.; Sobczynska, D.; Stamerra, A.; Strzys, M.; Surić, T.; Takalo, L.; Tavecchio, F.; Temnikov, P.; Terzić, T.; Tescaro, D.; Teshima, M.; Torres, D. F.; Torres-Albà, N.; Treves, A.; Vanzo, G.; Vazquez Acosta, M.; Vovk, I.; Ward, J. E.; Will, M.; Wu, M. H.; Zarić, D.; MAGIC Collaboration; Cognard, I.; Guillemot, L.

2017-10-01

B1957+20 is a millisecond pulsar located in a black-widow-type compact binary system with a low-mass stellar companion. The interaction of the pulsar wind with the companion star wind and/or the interstellar plasma is expected to create plausible conditions for acceleration of electrons to TeV energies and subsequent production of very high-energy γ-rays in the inverse Compton process. We performed extensive observations with the Major Atmospheric Gamma Imaging Cherenkov Telescopes (MAGIC) telescopes of B1957+20. We interpret results in the framework of a few different models, namely emission from the vicinity of the millisecond pulsar, the interaction of the pulsar and stellar companion wind region or bow shock nebula. No significant steady very high-energy γ-ray emission was found. We derived a 95 per cent confidence level upper limit of 3.0 × 10-12 cm-2 s-1 on the average γ-ray emission from the binary system above 200 GeV. The upper limits obtained with the MAGIC constrain, for the first time, different models of the high-energy emission in B1957+20. In particular, in the inner mixed wind nebula model with mono-energetic injection of electrons, the acceleration efficiency of electrons is constrained to be below ˜2-10 per cent of the pulsar spin-down power. For the pulsar emission, the obtained upper limits for each emission peak are well above the exponential cut-off fits to the Fermi-LAT data, extrapolated to energies above 50 GeV. The MAGIC upper limits can rule out a simple power-law tail extension through the sub-TeV energy range for the main peak seen at radio frequencies.

78 FR 7464 - Large Scale Networking (LSN)-Middleware And Grid Interagency Coordination (MAGIC) Team

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-01

... Coordination (MAGIC) Team AGENCY: The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development (NITRD... (703) 292-4873. Date/Location: The MAGIC Team meetings are held on the first Wednesday of each month, 2... basis. WebEx participation is available for each meeting. Please reference the MAGIC Team Web site for...

Z3 -vertex magic total labeling and Z3 -edge magic total labelingfor the extended duplicate graph of quadrilateral snake

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Indira, P.; Selvam, B.; Thirusangu, K.

2018-04-01

Based on the works of Kotzig, Rosa and MacDougall et.al., we present algorithms and prove the existence of Z3-vertex magic total labeling and Z3-edge magic total labeling for the extended duplicate graph of quadrilateral snake.

Relationships between magical thinking, obsessive-compulsiveness and other forms of anxiety in a sample of non-clinical children.

PubMed

Simonds, Laura M; Demetre, James D; Read, Cristina

2009-06-01

Despite the obvious phenomenological similarities between magical thinking and obsessive-compulsiveness, the relationship between them has been the subject of few empirical investigations in samples of children. The present study aimed to examine the relationship between a general epistemic stance towards magical causation and tendencies towards obsessive-compulsiveness in a non-clinical sample of schoolchildren. One-hundred and two children, aged between 5 and 10 years (48 boys and 54 girls), completed questionnaire measures designed to assess magical thinking, obsessive-compulsiveness, and other forms of anxiety. School teachers completed a measure of strengths and difficulties for each child. General belief in magical causation was correlated with all types of anxiety, not just obsessive-compulsiveness, with significant correlations shown for boys in the sample, but not girls. General belief in magical causation contributed little to the prediction of obsessive-compulsiveness beyond general anxiety. In this study, a general epistemic stance towards magical causation did not differentiate obsessive-compulsiveness from other anxiety dimensions. The findings are considered in the context of developmental theories of magical and scientific causal reasoning.

MAGIC gamma-ray and multi-frequency observations of flat spectrum radio quasar PKS 1510-089 in early 2012

DOE PAGES

Aleksić, J.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; ...

2014-09-17

Aims. We report amongst more than fifty blazars detected in very high energy (VHE, E> 100 GeV) γ rays, only three belong to the subclass of flat spectrum radio quasars (FSRQs). The detection of FSRQs in the VHE range is challenging, mainly because of their soft spectra in the GeV-TeV regime. MAGIC observed PKS 1510-089 (z = 0.36) starting 2012 February 3 until April 3 during a high activity state in the high energy (HE, E> 100 MeV) γ-ray band observed by AGILE and Fermi. MAGIC observations result in the detection of a source with significance of 6.0 standard deviationsmore » (σ). We study the multi-frequency behaviour of the source at the epoch of MAGIC observation, collecting quasi-simultaneous data at radio and optical (GASP-WEBT and F-Gamma collaborations, REM, Steward, Perkins, Liverpool, OVRO, and VLBA telescopes), X-ray (Swift satellite), and HE γ-ray frequencies. Methods. We study the VHE γ-ray emission, together with the multi-frequency light curves, 43 GHz radio maps, and spectral energy distribution (SED) of the source. The quasi-simultaneous multi-frequency SED from the millimetre radio band to VHE γ rays is modelled with a one-zone inverse Compton model. We study two different origins of the seed photons for the inverse Compton scattering, namely the infrared torus and a slow sheath surrounding the jet around the Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) core. Results. We find that the VHE γ-ray emission detected from PKS 1510-089 in 2012 February-April agrees with the previous VHE observations of the source from 2009 March-April. We find no statistically significant variability during the MAGIC observations on daily, weekly, or monthly time scales, while the other two known VHE FSRQs (3C 279 and PKS 1222+216) have shown daily scale to sub-hour variability. The γ-ray SED combining AGILE, Fermi and MAGIC data joins smoothly and shows no hint of a break. The multi-frequency light curves suggest a common origin for the millimetre radio and HE γ-ray emission, and the HE γ-ray flaring starts when the new component is ejected from the 43 GHz VLBA core and the studied SED models fit the data well. However, the fast HE γ-ray variability requires that within the modelled large emitting region, more compact regions must exist. Lastly, we suggest that these observed signatures would be most naturally explained by a turbulent plasma flowing at a relativistic speed down the jet and crossing a standing conical shock.« less

Spectroscopic properties of 130Sb, 132Te and 134I nuclei in 100-132Sn magic cores

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Benrachi, Fatima; Khiter, Meriem; Laouet, Nadjet

2017-09-01

We have performed shell model calculations by means of Oxbash nuclear structure code using recent experimental single particle (spes) and single hole (shes) energies with valence space models above the 100sn and 132sn doubly magic cores. The two-body matrix elements (tbme) of original CD-Bonn realistic interaction are introduced after have been modified taking into account the three-body forces. We have focused our study on spectroscopic properties evaluation of 130Sb, 132Te and 134I nuclei, in particular their energy spectra, transition probabilities and moments have been determined. The getting spectra are in reasonable agreement with the experimental data.

Skyrme density functional description of the double magic 78Ni nucleus

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brink, D. M.; Stancu, Fl.

2018-06-01

We calculate the single-particle spectrum of the double magic nucleus 78Ni in a Hartree-Fock approach using the Skyrme density-dependent effective interaction containing central, spin-orbit, and tensor parts. We show that the tensor part has an important effect on the spin-orbit splitting of the proton 1 f orbit that may explain the survival of magicity so far from the stability valley. We confirm the inversion of the 1 f 5 /2 and 2 p 3 /2 levels at the neutron number 48 in the Ni isotopic chain expected from previous Monte Carlo shell-model calculations and supported by experimental observation.

Characterization of completely k-magic regular graphs

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eniego, A. A.; Garces, I. J. L.

2017-10-01

Let k ∈ ℕ and c ∈ ℤ k . A graph G is said to be c-sum k-magic if there is a labeling ℓ : E(G) → ℤ k {0} such that Σ u∈N(v) ℓ(uv) ≡ c (mod k) for every vertex v of G, where N(v) is the neighborhood of v in G. We say that G is completely k-magic whenever it is c-sum k-magic for every c ∈ ℤ k . In this paper, we characterize all completely k-magic regular graphs.

Magic cards: a new augmented-reality approach.

PubMed

Demuynck, Olivier; Menendez, José Manuel

2013-01-01

Augmented reality (AR) commonly uses markers for detection and tracking. Such multimedia applications associate each marker with a virtual 3D model stored in the memory of the camera-equipped device running the application. Application users are limited in their interactions, which require knowing how to design and program 3D objects. This generally prevents them from developing their own entertainment AR applications. The Magic Cards application solves this problem by offering an easy way to create and manage an unlimited number of virtual objects that are encoded on special markers.

Practical Magic: On the Front Lines of Teaching Excellence.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roueche, John E.; Milliron, Mark D.; Roueche, Susanne D.

This report is intended to remind those involved in the teaching and learning enterprise that the business of education is complex and involves an intricate interplay among individuals, organizations, and diverse life situations. The report focuses specifically on teachers and the perspectives they bring to the discourse on education. The book…

Science Magic: Making a Difference

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tidel, L. L.

2004-01-01

In this narrative article, the author fondly takes a look back at her own personal experiences with a memorable science teacher who showed his students that science was a living, breathing world. Whether he assigned his class to collect water samples from local ponds (to look at microscopic organisms), bring in rocks to class for identification,…

Ham Radio is Mir Magic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Evans, Gary

1997-01-01

Presents a classroom activity in which students communicated with U.S. and Russian astronauts via ham radio while they were in orbit on the space station Mir. Gives suggestions for other ham radio classroom activities as well as names of organizations, publications, and grant programs that teachers can access to help in bring ham radio into their…

The War against America's Public Schools: Privatizing Schools, Commercializing Education.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bracey, Gerald W.

Education reform has a long and ignoble history of searching for magic bullets. Charter schools, vouchers, educational management organizations, tuition tax credits, and high-standards movements are all part of the education landscape today. Some reformers are mere opportunists who look at the $700 billion that the United States spends on…

Analysis of magic lengths in growth of supported metallic nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Han, Yong

2014-12-01

Metallic nanowires can exhibit fascinating physical properties. These unique properties often originate primarily from the quantum confinement of free electrons in a potential well, while electron-electron interactions do not play a decisive role. A recent experimental study shows that self-assembled Ir nanowires grown on Ge(001) surface have a strong length preference: the nanowire lengths are an integer multiple of 4.8 nm. In this paper, a free-electron-gas model for geometries corresponding to the nanowires is used to analyze the selection of these preferred or magic lengths. The model shows that the inclusion of even numbers of free electrons in an Ir nanowire produces these magic lengths once an electron spillage effect is taken into account. The model also shows that the stability of the nanowire diminishes with its increasing length, and consequently suggests why no long nanowires are observed in experiments. It is also shown that applying generic results for quantum size effects in a nanofilm geometry is not adequate to accurately describe the length selection in the rather different nanowire geometry, where the transverse dimensions are smaller than the electron Fermi wavelength. Finally, monatomic Au chain growth on Ge(001) surface is also analyzed. In contrast to Ir nanowires, the model shows that the stability of an Au chain depends strongly on the extent of electron spillage.

Sleightly Persuasive: Using Magic To Teach Principles of Persuasion.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frasier, C. Jay

Magic can be used in the communication classroom as a means for introducing and/or illustrating the subject of persuasion. A magical effect which fools the class can lead to an early discussion of the need to be a critical consumer of persuasive messages. Magic can also be used to introduce the subject of ethics in persuasion. Each student can be…

Science meets magic: photonic metamaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozbay, Ekmel

2012-05-01

The word "magic" is usually associated with movies, fiction, children stories, etc. but seldom with the natural sciences. Recent advances in metamaterials have changed this notion, in which we can now speak of "almost magical" properties that scientists could only dream about only a decade ago. In this article, we review some of the recent "almost magical" progress in the field of meta-materials.

Science meets magic: photonic metamaterials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ozbay, Ekmel

2012-03-01

The word "magic" is usually associated with movies, fiction, children stories, etc. but seldom with the natural sciences. Recent advances in metamaterials have changed this notion, in which we can now speak of "almost magical" properties that scientists could only dream about only a decade ago. In this article, we review some of the recent "almost magical" progress in the field of meta-materials.

Magical Ideation, Creativity, Handedness, and Cerebral Asymmetries: A Combined Behavioural and fMRI Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Badzakova-Trajkov, Gjurgjica; Haberling, Isabelle S.; Corballis, Michael C.

2011-01-01

Magical ideation has been shown to be related to measures of hand preference, in which those with mixed handedness exhibit higher levels of magical ideation than those with either consistent left- or right-handedness. It is unclear whether the relation between magical ideation and hand preference is the result of a bias in questionnaire-taking…

Compact Magic-T using microstrip-slotline transitions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

U-Yen, Kongpop (Inventor); Wollack, Edward J. (Inventor); Doiron, Terence (Inventor); Moseley, Samuel H. (Inventor)

2010-01-01

The design of a compact low-loss Magic-T is described. The planar Magic-T incorporates a compact microstrip-slotline tee junction and small microstrip-slotline transition area to reduce slotline radiation. The Magic-T produces broadband in-phase and out-of-phase power combiner/divider responses, has low in-band insertion loss, and small in-band phase and amplitude imbalance.

Magical ideation associated social cognition in adolescents: signs of a negative facial affect recognition deficit.

PubMed

Canli, Derya; Ozdemir, Hatice; Kocak, Orhan Murat

2015-08-01

Studies provide evidence for impaired social cognition in schizotypy and its association with negative symptoms. Cognitive features related to magical ideation - a component of the positive dimension of schizotypy - have been less investigated. We aimed to assess social cognitive functioning among adolescents with high magical ideation scores, mainly focusing on face and emotion recognition. 22 subjects with magical ideation scale scores above the cut off level and 22 controls with lowest scores from among 250 students screened with this scale were included in the study. A face and emotion recognition n-back test, the empathy quotient, theory of mind tests and the Physical Anhedonia Scale were applied to both magical ideation and control groups. The magical ideation group performed significantly worse than controls on both face and emotion recognition tests. Emotion recognition performance was found to be affected by memory load, with sadness, among emotions, revealing a difference between the two groups. Empathy and theory of mind tests did not distinguish the magical ideation group from controls. Our findings provide evidence for a deficit in negative emotion recognition affected by memory load associated with magical ideation in adolescents. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Magical ideation, creativity, handedness, and cerebral asymmetries: a combined behavioural and fMRI study.

PubMed

Badzakova-Trajkov, Gjurgjica; Häberling, Isabelle S; Corballis, Michael C

2011-08-01

Magical ideation has been shown to be related to measures of hand preference, in which those with mixed handedness exhibit higher levels of magical ideation than those with either consistent left- or right-handedness. It is unclear whether the relation between magical ideation and hand preference is the result of a bias in questionnaire-taking behaviour or of some neuropsychological concomitant of cerebral specialization. We sought to replicate this finding and further investigate how magical ideation is related to other measures of laterality, including handedness based on finger-tapping performance, and cerebral asymmetries for language, spatial judgment, and face processing as revealed by fMRI. Creative achievement was also assessed by questionnaire and correlated with magical ideation and the other measures. Magical ideation and creativity were positively correlated, and both were negatively correlated with absolute hand preference but not with hand performance or with any of the cerebral asymmetries being assessed. The results do not support the notion that the observed association between magical ideation, creativity and hand preference has a neuropsychological explanation based on reduced cerebral lateralization. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Study of Multi-Λ Hypernuclei Within Spherical Relativistic Mean-Field Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rather, Asloob A.; Ikram, M.; Usmani, A. A.; Kumar, B.; Patra, S. K.

2017-12-01

This research article is a follow up of an earlier work by M. Ikram et al., reported in Int. J. Mod. Phys. E 25, 1650103 (2016) where we searched for Λ magic numbers in experimentally confirmed doubly magic nucleonic cores in light to heavy mass region (i.e., 16 O-208 P b) by injecting Λ's into them. In the present manuscript, working within the state of the art relativistic mean field theory with the inclusion of Λ N and ΛΛ interaction in addition to nucleon-meson NL 3∗ effective force, we extend the search of lambda magic numbers in multi- Λ hypernuclei using the predicted doubly magic nucleonic cores 292120, 304120, 360132, 370132, 336138, 396138 of the elusive superheavy mass regime. In analogy to well established signatures of magicity in conventional nuclear theory, the prediction of hypernuclear magicities is made on the basis of one-, two- Λ separation energy ( S Λ, S 2Λ) and two lambda shell gaps ( δ 2Λ) in multi- Λ hypernuclei. The calculations suggest that the Λ numbers 92, 106, 126, 138, 184, 198, 240, and 258 might be the Λ shell closures after introducing the Λ's in the elusive superheavy nucleonic cores. The appearance of new lambda shell closures apart from the nucleonic ones predicted by various relativistic and non-relativistic theoretical investigations can be attributed to the relatively weak strength of the spin-orbit coupling in hypernuclei compared to normal nuclei. Further, the predictions made in multi- Λ hypernuclei under study resembles closely the magic numbers in conventional nuclear theory suggested by various relativistic and non-relativistic theoretical models. Moreover, in support of the Λ shell closure, the investigation of Λ pairing energy and effective Λ pairing gap has been made. We noticed a very close agreement of the predicted Λ shell closures with the survey made on the pretext of S Λ, S 2Λ, and δ 2Λ except for the appearance of magic numbers corresponding to Λ = 156 which manifest in Λ effective pairing gap and pairing energy. Also, the lambda single-particle spectrum is analyzed to mark the energy shell gap for further strengthening the predictions made on the basis of separation energies and shell gaps. Lambda and nucleon spin-orbit interactions are analyzed to confirm the reduction in magnitude of Λ spin-orbit interaction compared to the nucleonic case, however the interaction profile is similar in both the cases. Lambda and nucleon density distributions have been investigated to reveal the impurity effect of Λ hyperons which make the depression of central density of the core of superheavy doubly magic nuclei. Lambda skin structure is also seen.

The magic words: Using computers to uncover mental associations for use in magic trick design.

PubMed

Williams, Howard; McOwan, Peter W

2017-01-01

The use of computational systems to aid in the design of magic tricks has been previously explored. Here further steps are taken in this direction, introducing the use of computer technology as a natural language data sourcing and processing tool for magic trick design purposes. Crowd sourcing of psychological concepts is investigated; further, the role of human associative memory and its exploitation in magical effects is explored. A new trick is developed and evaluated: a physical card trick partially designed by a computational system configured to search for and explore conceptual spaces readily understood by spectators.

Toward a Model-Based Approach to the Clinical Assessment of Personality Psychopathology

PubMed Central

Eaton, Nicholas R.; Krueger, Robert F.; Docherty, Anna R.; Sponheim, Scott R.

2015-01-01

Recent years have witnessed tremendous growth in the scope and sophistication of statistical methods available to explore the latent structure of psychopathology, involving continuous, discrete, and hybrid latent variables. The availability of such methods has fostered optimism that they can facilitate movement from classification primarily crafted through expert consensus to classification derived from empirically-based models of psychopathological variation. The explication of diagnostic constructs with empirically supported structures can then facilitate the development of assessment tools that appropriately characterize these constructs. Our goal in this paper is to illustrate how new statistical methods can inform conceptualization of personality psychopathology and therefore its assessment. We use magical thinking as example, because both theory and earlier empirical work suggested the possibility of discrete aspects to the latent structure of personality psychopathology, particularly forms of psychopathology involving distortions of reality testing, yet other data suggest that personality psychopathology is generally continuous in nature. We directly compared the fit of a variety of latent variable models to magical thinking data from a sample enriched with clinically significant variation in psychotic symptomatology for explanatory purposes. Findings generally suggested a continuous latent variable model best represented magical thinking, but results varied somewhat depending on different indices of model fit. We discuss the implications of the findings for classification and applied personality assessment. We also highlight some limitations of this type of approach that are illustrated by these data, including the importance of substantive interpretation, in addition to use of model fit indices, when evaluating competing structural models. PMID:24007309

Mathematical Construction of Magic Squares Utilizing Base-N Arithmetic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

O'Brien, Thomas D.

2006-01-01

Magic squares have been of interest as a source of recreation for over 4,500 years. A magic square consists of a square array of n[squared] positive and distinct integers arranged so that the sum of any column, row, or main diagonal is the same. In particular, an array of consecutive integers from 1 to n[squared] forming an nxn magic square is…

Magical ideation -- defense mechanism or neuropathology? A study with multiple sclerosis patients.

PubMed

te Wildt, Bert Theodor; Schultz-Venrath, Ulrich

2004-01-01

The major psychological stress factor in multiple sclerosis (MS) is loss of control of life. In MS patients with impaired cognition, magical ideation might be a characteristic way of thinking. Proof for this may be the high frequency of alternative treatments used by individuals with MS. The study investigates whether the level of magical ideation in MS patients is higher compared to healthy control subjects and, in case of positive confirmation, with which somatic and psychological features it is associated. Moreover, it is aimed to discuss the modalities of magical ideation in general. A German version of the Magical Ideation Scale was validated with a group of 69 healthy subjects. Ninety-four MS patients were additionally assessed with the Dissociative Experience Scale, the Symptom-Check-List-90-Revised and 5 neuropsychological tests. The Magical Ideation Scale did not reveal a significant difference between MS patients and healthy controls (p = 0.968). Among the MS patients, magical ideation shows a correlation neither with age nor with disability, but a positive correlation (p = 0.007; r = 0.329) with the grade of neuropsychological deficiency. Among the psychological parameters, the highest positive correlation with magical ideation was found in dissociation (p = 0.000; r = 0.520). Magical ideation, sharing common features with dissociation, can be viewed as an early defense mechanism when perceiving a loss of control of life, particularly in early stages of MS. In late stages, when developing neuropsychological deficits, it may occur as a substitute for cognitive coping. The data may encourage clinicians to identify magical ideation. In young and previously diagnosed patients, it is important to acknowledge helplessness and support a rather rational way of coping. Training cognitive skills could be crucial to prevent older patients from losing touch with reality. More generally, the occurrence of a significant amount of magical ideation is discussed both as a psychological and a neurophysiologic regression of thinking. Copyright 2004 S. Karger AG, Basel

Children's and adults' reactions to magical and ordinary suggestion: are suggestibility and magical thinking psychologically close relatives?

PubMed

Subbotsky, Eugene

2007-11-01

In Experiment 1, 6- and 9-year-old children and adults were asked to imagine various types of objects. The experimenter then attempted to change the image of those objects in participants' minds by either suggesting that the objects may change against the participants' will, or by asking participants to change the objects as a favor to the experimenter. Two types of suggestive causation were employed: Magical-suggestion (a magic spell was cast with the aim of changing the imagined objects) and ordinary-suggestion (participants were told that the objects in their minds could alter against their will). Ordinary-suggestion was as effective as magical-suggestion in changing the participants' imagined objects. For adults, a direct request for compliance produced a stronger effect than did magical suggestion. This effect was not found in children. In Experiment 2, the two types of suggestion were tested on an alternative type of imagined objects. Adult participants were asked to imagine their futures. It was then proposed that (a) a magic spell could be cast on their futures with the aim of changing them either for the worse or for the better (magical-suggestion), or (b) changing a numerical pattern on a computer screen could change their futures (ordinary-suggestion). All participants denied that changing a numerical pattern on a computer screen could affect their lives, yet in their actions they demonstrated an element of belief in this possibility. As in Experiment 1, in Experiment 2 ordinary suggestion was as effective as magical suggestion. The hypothesis of an historic contiguity between magical causality and ordinary suggestion is discussed.

Analysis of gamma-ray energies for 56 excited superdeformed rotational bands of nuclei of lanthanons La to Dy and of Hg, Tl, and Pb on the basis of the two-revolving-cluster model, with evaluation of moments of inertia and radii of revolution and assignment of nucleonic compositions to the clusters and the central sphere.

PubMed

Pauling, L

1992-08-01

Analysis of the gamma-ray energies of 28 excited superdeformed bands of lanthanon nuclei by application of the two-revolving-cluster model yields the result that the central sphere for all 28 has the semimagic-magic composition p40n50, with the range p8n12 to p14n18 for the clusters and the radius of revolution increasing from 7.31 to 7.76 fm. Similar analysis of 28 excited bands of Hg, Tl, and Pb nuclei leads to p56n82 (semimagic-magic) for the central sphere of 24 bands, p64n82 (semimagic-magic) for 2, and p64n90 (doubly semimagic) for 2, with cluster range p8n12 to p14n16 and values of the radius of revolution from 8.70 to 8.92 fm for 26 bands and 9.2 fm for 2.

Analysis of gamma-ray energies for 56 excited superdeformed rotational bands of nuclei of lanthanons La to Dy and of Hg, Tl, and Pb on the basis of the two-revolving-cluster model, with evaluation of moments of inertia and radii of revolution and assignment of nucleonic compositions to the clusters and the central sphere.

PubMed Central

Pauling, L

1992-01-01

Analysis of the gamma-ray energies of 28 excited superdeformed bands of lanthanon nuclei by application of the two-revolving-cluster model yields the result that the central sphere for all 28 has the semimagic-magic composition p40n50, with the range p8n12 to p14n18 for the clusters and the radius of revolution increasing from 7.31 to 7.76 fm. Similar analysis of 28 excited bands of Hg, Tl, and Pb nuclei leads to p56n82 (semimagic-magic) for the central sphere of 24 bands, p64n82 (semimagic-magic) for 2, and p64n90 (doubly semimagic) for 2, with cluster range p8n12 to p14n16 and values of the radius of revolution from 8.70 to 8.92 fm for 26 bands and 9.2 fm for 2. PMID:11607313

A Note on Magic Squares

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Williams, Horace E.

1974-01-01

A method for generating 3x3 magic squares is developed. A series of questions relating to these magic squares is posed. An invesitgation using matrix methods is suggested with some questions for consideration. (LS)

The Versatile Magic Square.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Watson, Gale A.

2003-01-01

Demonstrates the transformations that are possible to construct a variety of magic squares, including modifications to challenge students from elementary grades through algebra. Presents an example of using magic squares with students who have special needs. (YDS)

Differential network analysis reveals the genome-wide landscape of estrogen receptor modulation in hormonal cancers

PubMed Central

Hsiao, Tzu-Hung; Chiu, Yu-Chiao; Hsu, Pei-Yin; Lu, Tzu-Pin; Lai, Liang-Chuan; Tsai, Mong-Hsun; Huang, Tim H.-M.; Chuang, Eric Y.; Chen, Yidong

2016-01-01

Several mutual information (MI)-based algorithms have been developed to identify dynamic gene-gene and function-function interactions governed by key modulators (genes, proteins, etc.). Due to intensive computation, however, these methods rely heavily on prior knowledge and are limited in genome-wide analysis. We present the modulated gene/gene set interaction (MAGIC) analysis to systematically identify genome-wide modulation of interaction networks. Based on a novel statistical test employing conjugate Fisher transformations of correlation coefficients, MAGIC features fast computation and adaption to variations of clinical cohorts. In simulated datasets MAGIC achieved greatly improved computation efficiency and overall superior performance than the MI-based method. We applied MAGIC to construct the estrogen receptor (ER) modulated gene and gene set (representing biological function) interaction networks in breast cancer. Several novel interaction hubs and functional interactions were discovered. ER+ dependent interaction between TGFβ and NFκB was further shown to be associated with patient survival. The findings were verified in independent datasets. Using MAGIC, we also assessed the essential roles of ER modulation in another hormonal cancer, ovarian cancer. Overall, MAGIC is a systematic framework for comprehensively identifying and constructing the modulated interaction networks in a whole-genome landscape. MATLAB implementation of MAGIC is available for academic uses at https://github.com/chiuyc/MAGIC. PMID:26972162

Bound states for magic state distillation in fault-tolerant quantum computation.

PubMed

Campbell, Earl T; Browne, Dan E

2010-01-22

Magic state distillation is an important primitive in fault-tolerant quantum computation. The magic states are pure nonstabilizer states which can be distilled from certain mixed nonstabilizer states via Clifford group operations alone. Because of the Gottesman-Knill theorem, mixtures of Pauli eigenstates are not expected to be magic state distillable, but it has been an open question whether all mixed states outside this set may be distilled. In this Letter we show that, when resources are finitely limited, nondistillable states exist outside the stabilizer octahedron. In analogy with the bound entangled states, which arise in entanglement theory, we call such states bound states for magic state distillation.

The magic words: Using computers to uncover mental associations for use in magic trick design

PubMed Central

2017-01-01

The use of computational systems to aid in the design of magic tricks has been previously explored. Here further steps are taken in this direction, introducing the use of computer technology as a natural language data sourcing and processing tool for magic trick design purposes. Crowd sourcing of psychological concepts is investigated; further, the role of human associative memory and its exploitation in magical effects is explored. A new trick is developed and evaluated: a physical card trick partially designed by a computational system configured to search for and explore conceptual spaces readily understood by spectators. PMID:28792941

Magic Physics?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Featonby, David

2010-01-01

This article examines several readily available "magic tricks" which base their "trickery" on physics principles, and questions the use of the word "magic" in the 21st century, both in popular children's science and in everyday language. (Contains 18 figures.)

Magical thinking and memory: distinctiveness effect for tv commercials with magical content.

PubMed

Subbotsky, Eugene; Mathews, Jayne

2011-10-01

The aim of this study was to examine whether memorizing advertised products of television advertisements with magical effects (i.e., talking animals, inanimate objects which turn into humans, objects that appear from thin air or instantly turn into other objects) is easier than memorizing products of advertisements without such effects, by testing immediate and delayed retention. Adolescents and adults viewed two films containing television advertisements and were asked to recall and recognize the films' characters, events, and advertised products. Film 1 included magical effects, but Film 2 did not. On a free-recall test, no differences in the number of items recalled were noted for the two films. On the immediate recognition test, adolescents, but not adults, showed significantly better recognition for the magical than the nonmagical film. When this test was repeated two weeks later, results were reversed: adults, but not adolescents, recognized a significantly larger number of items from the magical film than the nonmagical one. These results are interpreted to accentuate the role of magical thinking in cognitive processes.

You've Got That Magic Touch: Integrating the Sense of Touch into Early Childhood Services

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Schneider, Elaine Fogel; Patterson, Philip P.

2010-01-01

Newborns have often been characterized as helpless. However, more recent research suggests that infants are armed with an arsenal of sensory and perceptual abilities that enable them to organize and attach meaning to the world. Examples of such abilities include visual, auditory, olfactory, and gustatory skills. Although initially primitive, these…

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Robbins, Eric M.

2010-01-01

Imagine a magical treehouse hidden in the woods, with secret doors and rope swings--the stuff of one's wildest dreams! Imagine children rolling their wheelchairs all the way around a lake and arriving at this wondrous place. At Camp Twin Lakes (CTL), a not-for-profit organization in Georgia, one doesn't have to imagine--it's the real thing. Each…

Advanced slow-magic angle spinning probe for magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy

DOEpatents

Wind, Robert A.; Hu, Jian Zhi; Minard, Kevin R.; Rommereim, Donald N.

2006-01-24

The present invention relates to a probe and processes useful for magnetic resonance imaging and spectroscopy instruments. More particularly, the invention relates to a MR probe and processes for obtaining resolution enhancements of fluid objects, including live specimens, using an ultra-slow (magic angle) spinning (MAS) of the specimen combined with a modified phase-corrected magic angle turning (PHORMAT) pulse sequence. Proton NMR spectra were measured of the torso and the top part of the belly of a female BALBc mouse in a 2T field, while spinning the animal at a speed of 1.5 Hz. Results show that even in this relatively low field with PHORMAT, an isotropic spectrum is obtained with line widths that are a factor 4.6 smaller than those obtained in a stationary mouse. Resolution of ¹H NMR metabolite spectra are thus significantly enhanced. Results indicate that PHORMAT has the potential to significantly increase the utility of ¹H NMR spectroscopy for in vivo biochemical, biomedical and/or medical applications involving large-sized biological objects such as mice, rats and even humans within a hospital setting. For small-sized objects, including biological objects, such as excised tissues, organs, live bacterial cells, and biofilms, use of PASS at a spinning rate of 30 Hz and above is preferred.

The oxygen isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alex Brown, B.

The properties of the oxygen isotopes provide diverse examples of progress made in experiments and theory. This chain of isotopes has been studied from beyond the proton drip line in 12O to beyond the neutron drip line in 25,26O. This short survey starts with the microscopic G matrix approach for 18O of Kuo and Brown in the 1960's and shows how theory has evolved. The nuclear structure around the doubly-magic nucleus 24O is particularly simple in terms of the nuclear shell model. The nuclear structure around the doubly-magic nucleus 16O exhibits the coexistence of single-particle and collective structure.

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

Pilgrim, C. D.; Callahan, J. R.; Colla, C. A.

Here, one-dimensional 27Al, 23Na Magic-Angle-Spinning (MAS) NMR and 27Al Multiple-Quantum Magic-Angle-Spinning NMR (MQMAS) measurements are reported for the δ-isomer of the Al 13 Keggin structure at high spinning speed and 14.1 T field. Values for the CQ and η parameters are on the same scale as those seen in other isomers of the Al 13 structure. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are performed for comparison to the experimental fits using the B3PW91/6-31+G* and PBE0/6-31+G* levels of theory, with the Polarizable Continuum Model (PCM).

First evidence of γ collectivity close to the doubly magic core Sn 132

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

Urban, W.; Sieja, K.; Rząca-Urban, T.

2016-03-01

The Te-138 and Xe-140 nuclei have been reinvestigated using prompt gamma-ray data from spontaneous fission of Cm-248, collected with the EUROGAM2 Ge array. gamma bands have been identified in both nuclei. The gamma band observed in Te-138, a nucleus with only six valence nucleons, indicates the presence of collectivity very close to the doubly magic Sn-132 core. Such band is even more pronounced in Xe-140, the N = 86 isotone of Te-138. The newly observed bands are interpreted within the shell model, which reproduce well the. collectivity at N = 86.

MAGIC Computer Simulation. Volume 2: Analyst Manual, Part 1

DTIC Science & Technology

1971-05-01

A review of the subject Magic Computer Simulation User and Analyst Manuals has been conducted based upon a request received from the US Army...1971 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE MAGIC Computer Simulation Analyst Manual Part 1 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6...14. ABSTRACT The MAGIC computer simulation generates target description data consisting of item-by-item listings of the target’s components and air

NTRFACE for MAGIC

DTIC Science & Technology

1989-07-31

40. NO NO ACCESSION NO N7 ?I TITLE (inWijuod Security Claisification) NTRFACE FOR MAGIC 𔃼 PERSONAL AUTHOR(S) N.T. GLADD PE OF REPORT T b TIME...the MAGIC Particle-in-Cell Simulation Code. 19 ABSTRACT (Contianue on reverse if nceary and d ntiy by block number) The NTRFACE system was developed...made concret by applying it to a specific application- a mature, highly complex plasma physics particle in cell simulation code name MAGIC . This

Evaluation of magical thinking: validation of the Illusory Beliefs Inventory.

PubMed

Shihata, Sarah; Egan, Sarah J; Rees, Clare S

2014-01-01

Magical thinking has been related to obsessive-compulsive disorder; yet, little research has examined this construct in other anxiety disorders. The Illusory Beliefs Inventory (IBI) is a recently developed measure of magical thinking. The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of this new measure and to determine if magical thinking accounts for pathological worry beyond the well-researched constructs of intolerance of uncertainty (IU) and perfectionism. A sample of 502 participants completed an online survey. Confirmatory factor analysis identified a three-factor solution for the IBI, and the measure had good internal consistency (α = .92), test-retest reliability (r = .94) and discriminant validity. Magical thinking, IU, and perfectionism all predicted pathological worry; however, magical thinking accounted for less than 1% of unique variance in worry, suggesting that it is not strongly related to worry. Further investigation regarding the validity and clinical utility of the IBI is required.

Contemporaneous observations of the radio galaxy NGC 1275 from radio to very high energy γ -rays

DOE PAGES

Aleksić, J.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; ...

2014-03-27

The radio galaxy NGC 1275, recently identified as a very high energy (VHE, >100 GeV) γ-ray emitter by MAGIC, is one of the few non-blazar active galactic nuclei detected in the VHE regime. The purpose of this work is to better understand the origin of the γ-ray emission and locate it within the galaxy. We studied contemporaneous multifrequency observations of NGC 1275 and modeled the overall spectral energy distribution. We analyzed unpublished MAGIC observations carried out between October 2009 and February 2010, and the previously published observations taken between August 2010 and February 2011. Here, we studied the multiband variabilitymore » and correlations by analyzing data of Fermi-LAT in the 100 MeV–100 GeV energy band, as well as Chandra (X-ray), KVA (optical), and MOJAVE (radio) data taken during the same period. Using customized Monte Carlo simulations corresponding to early MAGIC stereoscopic data, we detect NGC 1275 also in the earlier MAGIC campaign. The flux level and energy spectra are similar to the results of the second campaign. The monthly light curve above 100 GeV shows a hint of variability at the 3.6σ level. In the Fermi-LAT band, both flux and spectral shape variabilities are reported. Furthermore, the optical light curve is also variable and shows a clear correlation with the γ-ray flux above 100 MeV. In radio, three compact components are resolved in the innermost part of the jet. One of these components shows a similar trend as the Fermi-LAT and KVA light curves. The γ-ray spectra measured simultaneously with MAGIC and Fermi-LAT from 100 MeV to 650 GeV can be well fitted either by a log-parabola or by a power-law with a subexponential cutoff for the two observation campaigns. A single-zone synchrotron-self-Compton model, with an electron spectrum following a power-law with an exponential cutoff, can explain the broadband spectral energy distribution and the multifrequency behavior of the source. But, this model suggests an untypical low bulk-Lorentz factor or a velocity alignment closer to the line of sight than the parsec-scale radio jet.« less

Met-Activating Genetically Improved Chimeric Factor-1 Promotes Angiogenesis and Hypertrophy in Adult Myogenesis.

PubMed

Ronzoni, Flavio; Ceccarelli, Gabriele; Perini, Ilaria; Benedetti, Laura; Galli, Daniela; Mulas, Francesca; Balli, Martina; Magenes, Giovanni; Bellazzi, Riccardo; De Angelis, Gabriella C; Sampaolesi, Maurilio

2017-01-01

Myogenic progenitor cells (activated satellite cells) are able to express both HGF and its receptor cMet. After muscle injury, HGF-Met stimulation promotes activation and primary division of satellite cells. MAGIC-F1 (Met-Activating Genetically Improved Chimeric Factor-1) is an engineered protein that contains two human Met-binding domains that promotes muscle hypertrophy. MAGIC-F1 protects myogenic precursors against apoptosis and increases their fusion ability enhancing muscle differentiation. Hemizygous and homozygous Magic-F1 transgenic mice displayed constitutive muscle hypertrophy. Here we describe microarray analysis on Magic-F1 myogenic progenitor cells showing an altered gene signatures on muscular hypertrophy and angiogenesis compared to wild-type cells. In addition, we performed a functional analysis on Magic-F1+/+ transgenic mice versus controls using treadmill test. We demonstrated that Magic-F1+/+ mice display an increase in muscle mass and cross-sectional area leading to an improvement in running performance. Moreover, the presence of MAGIC-F1 affected positively the vascular network, increasing the vessel number in fast twitch fibers. Finally, the gene expression profile analysis of Magic-F1+/+ satellite cells evidenced transcriptomic changes in genes involved in the control of muscle growth, development and vascularisation. We showed that MAGIC-F1-induced muscle hypertrophy affects positively vascular network, increasing vessel number in fast twitch fibers. This was due to unique features of mammalian skeletal muscle and its remarkable ability to adapt promptly to different physiological demands by modulating the gene expression profile in myogenic progenitors. Copyright© Bentham Science Publishers; For any queries, please email at epub@benthamscience.org.

Multiwavelength observations of the blazar 1ES 1011+496 in Spring 2008

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahnen, M. L.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; Antoranz, P.; Babic, A.; Banerjee, B.; Bangale, P.; Barres de Almeida, U.; Barrio, J. A.; Becerra González, J.; Bednarek, W.; Bernardini, E.; Biasuzzi, B.; Biland, A.; Blanch, O.; Bonnefoy, S.; Bonnoli, G.; Borracci, F.; Bretz, T.; Carmona, E.; Carosi, A.; Chatterjee, A.; Clavero, R.; Colin, P.; Colombo, E.; Contreras, J. L.; Cortina, J.; Covino, S.; Da Vela, P.; Dazzi, F.; De Angelis, A.; De Caneva, G.; De Lotto, B.; de Oña Wilhelmi, E.; Delgado Mendez, C.; Di Pierro, F.; Dominis Prester, D.; Dorner, D.; Doro, M.; Einecke, S.; Elsaesser, D.; Fernández-Barral, A.; Fidalgo, D.; Fonseca, M. V.; Font, L.; Frantzen, K.; Fruck, C.; Galindo, D.; García López, R. J.; Garczarczyk, M.; Garrido Terrats, D.; Gaug, M.; Giammaria, P.; Eisenacher Glawion, D.; Godinović, N.; González Muñoz, A.; Guberman, D.; Hanabata, Y.; Hayashida, M.; Herrera, J.; Hose, J.; Hrupec, D.; Hughes, G.; Idec, W.; Kodani, K.; Konno, Y.; Kubo, H.; Kushida, J.; La Barbera, A.; Lelas, D.; Lindfors, E.; Lombardi, S.; Longo, F.; López, M.; López-Coto, R.; López-Oramas, A.; Lorenz, E.; Majumdar, P.; Makariev, M.; Mallot, K.; Maneva, G.; Manganaro, M.; Mannheim, K.; Maraschi, L.; Marcote, B.; Mariotti, M.; Martínez, M.; Mazin, D.; Menzel, U.; Miranda, J. M.; Mirzoyan, R.; Moralejo, A.; Nakajima, D.; Neustroev, V.; Niedzwiecki, A.; Nievas Rosillo, M.; Nilsson, K.; Nishijima, K.; Noda, K.; Orito, R.; Overkemping, A.; Paiano, S.; Palacio, J.; Palatiello, M.; Paneque, D.; Paoletti, R.; Paredes, J. M.; Paredes-Fortuny, X.; Persic, M.; Poutanen, J.; Prada Moroni, P. G.; Prandini, E.; Puljak, I.; Reinthal, R.; Rhode, W.; Ribó, M.; Rico, J.; Rodriguez Garcia, J.; Rügamer, S.; Saito, T.; Satalecka, K.; Scapin, V.; Schultz, C.; Schweizer, T.; Shore, S. N.; Sillanpää, A.; Sitarek, J.; Snidaric, I.; Sobczynska, D.; Stamerra, A.; Steinbring, T.; Strzys, M.; Takalo, L.; Takami, H.; Tavecchio, F.; Temnikov, P.; Terzić, T.; Tescaro, D.; Teshima, M.; Thaele, J.; Torres, D. F.; Toyama, T.; Treves, A.; Verguilov, V.; Vovk, I.; Ward, J. E.; Will, M.; Wu, M. H.; Zanin, R.; Lucarelli, F.; Pittori, C.; Vercellone, S.; Berdyugin, A.; Carini, M. T.; Lähteenmäki, A.; Pasanen, M.; Pease, A.; Sainio, J.; Tornikoski, M.; Walters, R.

2016-07-01

The BL Lac object 1ES 1011+496 was discovered at very high energy (VHE, E > 100GeV) γ-rays by Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray Imaging Cherenkov (MAGIC) in Spring 2007. Before that the source was little studied in different wavelengths. Therefore, a multiwavelength (MWL) campaign was organized in Spring 2008. Along MAGIC, the MWL campaign included the Metsähovi Radio Observatory, Bell and Kungliga Vetenskapsakademien (KVA) optical telescopes and the Swift and AGILE satellites. MAGIC observations span from 2008 March to May for a total of 27.9 h, of which 19.4 h remained after quality cuts. The light curve showed no significant variability yielding an integral flux above 200 GeV of (1.3 ± 0.3) × 10-11 photons cm-2 s-1. The differential VHE spectrum could be described with a power-law function with a spectral index of 3.3 ± 0.4. Both results were similar to those obtained during the discovery. Swift X-ray Telescope observations revealed an X-ray flare, characterized by a harder-when-brighter trend, as is typical for high synchrotron peak BL Lac objects (HBL). Strong optical variability was found during the campaign, but no conclusion on the connection between the optical and VHE γ-ray bands could be drawn. The contemporaneous spectral energy distribution shows a synchrotron-dominated source, unlike concluded in previous work based on non-simultaneous data, and is well described by a standard one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model. We also performed a study on the source classification. While the optical and X-ray data taken during our campaign show typical characteristics of an HBL, we suggest, based on archival data, that 1ES 1011+496 is actually a borderline case between intermediate and high synchrotron peak frequency BL Lac objects.

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

DeMott, Paul J.; Hill, Thomas C. J.

This campaign augmented measurements obtained via deployment of the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s ARM Mobile Facility (AMF) in the Marine ARM GPCI1 Investigation of Clouds (MAGIC) field campaign. The measurements, comprised of shipboard aerosol collections obtained during the five legs of the summer 2013 cruises, were sent for offline processing to measure ice nucleating particle (INP) number concentrations. The forty-three sample periods each represented, nominally, 24-hour segments during outbound and inbound transits of the Horizon Spirit. The samples were collected at locations between Los Angeles and Hawaii. Eight samples have been analyzed for immersion freezing temperature spectramore » thus far, using funding from other grants. Remaining samples are being frozen until support for further processing is obtained. Future analyses will investigate the inorganic/organic proportions of ice nuclei, in addition to determining the genetic composition of the overall biological community associated with INPs. Resulting correlations will be compared with other archived aerosol quantities, meteorological and ocean data (e.g., temperature, wind speed, sea surface temperature, etc…) and satellite ocean color products. These findings will ultimately aid in parameterizing oceanic (e.g., sea spray) INP emissions in regional and global scale models, when illustrating aerosol connections to cloud phases and properties. Independent future analyses of frozen filter samples, as proposed by collaborating investigators at the time of this report, will include single particle analyses of marine boundary layer aerosol compositions and morphology. The MAGIC-IN data are considered representative of the oligotrophic, low Chlorophyll-a (with the exception of near-shore) ocean regions, which exist along the MAGIC transect. Current analyses suggest that INP numbers in the marine boundary layer over this region are typically low, compared to existing measurements over marine areas and those collected in the laboratory as the result of realistic sea spray particle generation. These findings, along with separate studies, confirm the existence of highly variable emission sources for INP from oceans, (though weaker than land-based emissions at modestly cooled temperatures).« less

Finding All Solutions to the Magic Hexagram

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Holland, Jason; Karabegov, Alexander

2008-01-01

In this article, a systematic approach is given for solving a magic star puzzle that usually is accomplished by trial and error or "brute force." A connection is made to the symmetries of a cube, thus the name Magic Hexahedron.

Preliminary evaluation of a self-directed video-based 1-2-3 Magic parenting program: a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Porzig-Drummond, Renata; Stevenson, Richard J; Stevenson, Caroline

2015-03-01

The current study examined the effectiveness of a self-directed video-based format of the 1-2-3 Magic parenting program in reducing dysfunctional parenting and child problem behaviors. Eighty-four parents of children aged 2-10 were randomly assigned to either the intervention group (n = 43) or the waitlist control group (n = 41). Participants in the intervention group reported significantly less problem behaviors for their children, and significantly less dysfunctional parenting, at post-intervention when compared to the control group. The results were maintained at 6-month follow-up. There was no significant change on measures of parental adjustment for either group. The current results provide preliminary support for the conclusion that the video-based self-directed format of the 1-2-3 Magic parenting program is suitable as an entry-level intervention in a multi-level intervention model and is suitable for inclusion in a population approach to parenting program delivery. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MAGIC Computer Simulation. Volume 1: User Manual

DTIC Science & Technology

1970-07-01

vulnerability and MAGIC programs. A three-digit code is assigned to each component of the target, such as armor, gun tube; and a two-digit code is assigned to...A review of the subject Magic Computer Simulation User and Analyst Manuals has been conducted based upon a request received from the US Army...1970 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE MAGIC Computer Simulation 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d. PROJECT

An Overview of the MAGIC Project

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-12-01

unlimnitedj_ _______ 13. ABSTRACT (Mxmwn WO0 words) This note provides an overview of the MAGIC project1 which is developing a high-speed, wide-area...298Rv.9 16. PRICE COASSDE 3.1 17. SEURITY18. SEURITY19. SEURITY2930.2BIA NO An Overview of the M 93B0000173 MAGIC Project December 1993 Barbara B...Intelligence Division ii ABSTRACT This note provides an overview of the MAGIC project, which is developing a high-speed, wide- area networking testbed

Secrets of the Chinese magic mirror replica

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mak, Se-yuen; Yip, Din-yan

2001-03-01

We examine the structure of five Chinese magic mirror replicas using a special imaging technique developed by the authors. All mirrors are found to have a two-layered structure. The reflecting surface that gives rise to a projected magic pattern on the screen is hidden under a polished half-reflecting top layer. An alternative method of making the magic mirror using ancient technology has been proposed. Finally, we suggest a simple method of reconstructing a mirror replica in the laboratory.

An fMRI investigation of expectation violation in magic tricks.

PubMed

Danek, Amory H; Öllinger, Michael; Fraps, Thomas; Grothe, Benedikt; Flanagin, Virginia L

2015-01-01

Magic tricks violate the expected causal relationships that form an implicit belief system about what is possible in the world around us. Observing a magic effect seemingly invalidates our implicit assumptions about what action causes which outcome. We aimed at identifying the neural correlates of such expectation violations by contrasting 24 video clips of magic tricks with 24 control clips in which the expected action-outcome relationship is upheld. Using fMRI, we measured the brain activity of 25 normal volunteers while they watched the clips in the scanner. Additionally, we measured the professional magician who had performed the magic tricks under the assumption that, in contrast to naïve observers, the magician himself would not perceive his own magic tricks as an expectation violation. As the main effect of magic - control clips in the normal sample, we found higher activity for magic in the head of the caudate nucleus (CN) bilaterally, the left inferior frontal gyrus and the left anterior insula. As expected, the magician's brain activity substantially differed from these results, with mainly parietal areas (supramarginal gyrus bilaterally) activated, supporting our hypothesis that he did not experience any expectation violation. These findings are in accordance with previous research that has implicated the head of the CN in processing changes in the contingency between action and outcome, even in the absence of reward or feedback.

Assessing anthropogenic impact on boreal lakes with historical fish species distribution data and hydrogeochemical modeling.

PubMed

Valinia, Salar; Englund, Göran; Moldan, Filip; Futter, Martyn N; Köhler, Stephan J; Bishop, Kevin; Fölster, Jens

2014-09-01

Quantifying the effects of human activity on the natural environment is dependent on credible estimates of reference conditions to define the state of the environment before the onset of adverse human impacts. In Europe, emission controls that aimed at restoring ecological status were based on hindcasts from process-based models or paleolimnological reconstructions. For instance, 1860 is used in Europe as the target for restoration from acidification concerning biological and chemical parameters. A more practical problem is that the historical states of ecosystems and their function cannot be observed directly. Therefore, we (i) compare estimates of acidification based on long-term observations of roach (Rutilus rutilus) populations with hindcast pH from the hydrogeochemical model MAGIC; (ii) discuss policy implications and possible scope for use of long-term archival data for assessing human impacts on the natural environment and (iii) present a novel conceptual model for interpreting the importance of physico-chemical and ecological deviations from reference conditions. Of the 85 lakes studied, 78 were coherently classified by both methods. In 1980, 28 lakes were classified as acidified with the MAGIC model, however, roach was present in 14 of these. In 2010, MAGIC predicted chemical recovery in 50% of the lakes, however roach only recolonized in five lakes after 1990, showing a lag between chemical and biological recovery. Our study is the first study of its kind to use long-term archival biological data in concert with hydrogeochemical modeling for regional assessments of anthropogenic acidification. Based on our results, we show how the conceptual model can be used to understand and prioritize management of physico-chemical and ecological effects of anthropogenic stressors on surface water quality. © 2014 The Authors Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Assessing anthropogenic impact on boreal lakes with historical fish species distribution data and hydrogeochemical modeling

PubMed Central

Valinia, Salar; Englund, Göran; Moldan, Filip; Futter, Martyn N; Köhler, Stephan J; Bishop, Kevin; Fölster, Jens

2014-01-01

Quantifying the effects of human activity on the natural environment is dependent on credible estimates of reference conditions to define the state of the environment before the onset of adverse human impacts. In Europe, emission controls that aimed at restoring ecological status were based on hindcasts from process-based models or paleolimnological reconstructions. For instance, 1860 is used in Europe as the target for restoration from acidification concerning biological and chemical parameters. A more practical problem is that the historical states of ecosystems and their function cannot be observed directly. Therefore, we (i) compare estimates of acidification based on long-term observations of roach (Rutilus rutilus) populations with hindcast pH from the hydrogeochemical model MAGIC; (ii) discuss policy implications and possible scope for use of long-term archival data for assessing human impacts on the natural environment and (iii) present a novel conceptual model for interpreting the importance of physico-chemical and ecological deviations from reference conditions. Of the 85 lakes studied, 78 were coherently classified by both methods. In 1980, 28 lakes were classified as acidified with the MAGIC model, however, roach was present in 14 of these. In 2010, MAGIC predicted chemical recovery in 50% of the lakes, however roach only recolonized in five lakes after 1990, showing a lag between chemical and biological recovery. Our study is the first study of its kind to use long-term archival biological data in concert with hydrogeochemical modeling for regional assessments of anthropogenic acidification. Based on our results, we show how the conceptual model can be used to understand and prioritize management of physico-chemical and ecological effects of anthropogenic stressors on surface water quality. PMID:24535943

A Simple Parameterization of 3 x 3 Magic Squares

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Trenkler, Gotz; Schmidt, Karsten; Trenkler, Dietrich

2012-01-01

In this article a new parameterization of magic squares of order three is presented. This parameterization permits an easy computation of their inverses, eigenvalues, eigenvectors and adjoints. Some attention is paid to the Luoshu, one of the oldest magic squares.

Parsivel Disdrometer Support for MAGIC Field Campaign Report

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

Kollias, Pavlos; Bartholomew, Mary Jane

2016-06-01

In the Marine ARM GPCI Investigation of Clouds (MAGIC) field campaign, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Atmospheric Radiation Measurement (ARM) Climate Research Facility’s second Mobile Facility (AMF2) was deployed on the Horizon Lines cargo ship Spirit traversing a route between Los Angeles, California and Honolulu, Hawaii for one full year. The transect for this deployment was chosen specifically because it crosses the stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition of the North-East Pacific, a region of great climatic interest and a close approximation to the transect used for several focused model intercomparison efforts. The cloud type and cover along this transect vary from lowmore » marine stratocumulus with high areal coverage near the California coast to isolated shallow cumulus with much lower areal coverage in the trade wind regime near Hawaii. The low marine stratocumulus decks, with their high albedo, exert a major influence on the shortwave radiation budget in the ocean environment, and thus provide an extremely important forcing of Earth’s climate. The trade cumulus clouds play a large role in the global surface evaporation and also in Earth’s albedo. One of the important science drivers of the MAGIC campaign was to measure the properties of clouds and precipitation, specifically cloud type, fractional coverage, base height, physical thickness, liquid water path (LWP), optical depth, and drizzle and precipitation frequency, amount, and extent. Retrievals of cloud and precipitation properties during the MAGIC campaign relied critically on the calibration of the AMF2 radar systems. For MAGIC this included the KAZR and M-WACR, both fixed zenith-pointing systems, and the 1290 MHz beam steerable wind profiler.« less

Prospects for detection of very high-energy emission from GRB in the context of the external shock model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Galli, A.; Piro, L.

2008-10-01

Context: The detection of the 100 GeV-TeV emission by a gamma-ray burst (GRB) will provide an unprecedented opportunity to study the nature of the central engine and the interaction between the relativistic flow and the environment of the burst's progenitor. Aims: In this paper we show that there are exciting prospects of detecting from the burst by MAGIC high-energy (HE) emission during the early X-ray flaring activity and, later, during the normal afterglow phase. We also identify the best observational strategy: trigger conditions and time period of observation. Methods: We determine the expected HE emission from the flaring and afterglow phases of GRBs in the context of the external shock scenario and compare them with the MAGIC threshold. Results: We find that an X-ray flare with the average properties of the class can be detected in the 100 GeV range by MAGIC, provided that z ≲ 0.7. The requested observational window with MAGIC should then start from 10-20 s after the burst and cover about 1000-2000 s. Furthermore, we demonstrate that there are solid prospects of detecting the late afterglow emission in the same energy range for most of the bursts with z ≲ 0.5 if the density of the external medium is n ≳ a few cm-3. In this case, the MAGIC observation shall extend to about 10-20 ks. We provide recipes for tailoring this prediction to the observational properties of each burst, in particular the fluence in the prompt emission and the redshift, thus allowing an almost real time decision procedure to decide whether to continue the follow-up observation of a burst at late times.

MAGIC detection of very high energy γ-ray emission from the low-luminosity blazar 1ES 1741+196

DOE PAGES

Ahnen, M. L.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; ...

2017-02-23

Here, we present the first detection of the nearby (z = 0.084) low-luminosity BL Lac object 1ES 1741+196 in the very high energy (E > 100 GeV) band. This object lies in a triplet of interacting galaxies. Early predictions had suggested 1ES 1741+196 to be, along with several other high-frequency BL Lac sources, within the reach of MAGIC detectability. Its detection by MAGIC, later confirmed by VERITAS, helps to expand the small population of known TeV BL Lacs. The source was observed with the MAGIC telescopes between 2010 April and 2011 May, collecting 46 h of good quality data. Thesemore » observations led to the detection of the source at 6.0 σ confidence level, with a steady flux F(>100 GeV) = (6.4 ± 1.7stat ± 2.6syst) × 10–12 ph cm–2s–1 and a differential spectral photon index Γ = 2.4 ± 0.2stat ± 0.2syst in the range of ~80 GeV–3 TeV. To study the broad-band spectral energy distribution (SED) simultaneous with MAGIC observations, we use KVA, Swift/UVOT and XRT and Fermi/LAT data. One-zone synchrotron-self-Compton (SSC) modelling of the SED of 1ES 1741+196 suggests values for the SSC parameters that are quite common among known TeV BL Lacs except for a relatively low Doppler factor and slope of electron energy distribution. A thermal feature seen in the SED is well matched by a giant elliptical's template. As a result, this appears to be the signature of thermal emission from the host galaxy, which is clearly resolved in optical observations.« less

Making the MagIC (Magnetics Information Consortium) Web Application Accessible to New Users and Useful to Experts

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minnett, R.; Koppers, A.; Jarboe, N.; Tauxe, L.; Constable, C.; Jonestrask, L.

2017-12-01

Challenges are faced by both new and experienced users interested in contributing their data to community repositories, in data discovery, or engaged in potentially transformative science. The Magnetics Information Consortium (https://earthref.org/MagIC) has recently simplified its data model and developed a new containerized web application to reduce the friction in contributing, exploring, and combining valuable and complex datasets for the paleo-, geo-, and rock magnetic scientific community. The new data model more closely reflects the hierarchical workflow in paleomagnetic experiments to enable adequate annotation of scientific results and ensure reproducibility. The new open-source (https://github.com/earthref/MagIC) application includes an upload tool that is integrated with the data model to provide early data validation feedback and ease the friction of contributing and updating datasets. The search interface provides a powerful full text search of contributions indexed by ElasticSearch and a wide array of filters, including specific geographic and geological timescale filtering, to support both novice users exploring the database and experts interested in compiling new datasets with specific criteria across thousands of studies and millions of measurements. The datasets are not large, but they are complex, with many results from evolving experimental and analytical approaches. These data are also extremely valuable due to the cost in collecting or creating physical samples and the, often, destructive nature of the experiments. MagIC is heavily invested in encouraging young scientists as well as established labs to cultivate workflows that facilitate contributing their data in a consistent format. This eLightning presentation includes a live demonstration of the MagIC web application, developed as a configurable container hosting an isomorphic Meteor JavaScript application, MongoDB database, and ElasticSearch search engine. Visitors can explore the MagIC Database through maps and image or plot galleries or search and filter the raw measurements and their derived hierarchy of analytical interpretations.

Effect of science magic applied in interactive lecture demonstrations on conceptual understanding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Taufiq, Muhammad; Suhandi, Andi; Liliawati, Winny

2017-08-01

Research about the application of science magic-assisting Interactive Lecture Demonstrations (ILD) has been conducted. This research is aimed at providing description about the comparison of the improvement of the conceptual understanding of lesson on pressure between students who receive physics lesson through science magic-assisting ILD and students who receive physics lesson through ILD without science magic. This research used a quasi-experiment methods with Control Group Pretest-Posttest Design. The subject of the research is all students of class VIII in one of MTs (Islamic junior high school) in Pekalongan. Research samples were selected using random sampling technique. Data about students' conceptual understanding was collected using test instrument of conceptual understanding in the form of multiple choices. N-gain average calculation was performed in order to determine the improvement of students' conceptual understanding. The result of the research shows that conceptual understanding of students on lesson about pressure who received lesson with ILD using science magic <0.44> is higher than students who received lesson with ILD without science magic <0.25>. Therefore, the conclusion is that the application of science magic ILD is more effective to improve the conceptual understanding of lesson on pressure.

The role of magical thinking in hallucinations. Comparisons of clinical and non-clinical groups.

PubMed

García-Montes, José M; Pérez-Álvarez, Marino; Odriozola-González, Paula; Vallina-Fernández, Oscar; Perona-Garcelán, Salvador

2014-11-01

Magical thinking consists of accepting the possibility that events that, according to the causal concepts of a culture, cannot have any causal relationship, but might somehow nevertheless have one. Magical thinking has been related to both obsessive-compulsive disorder and schizophrenia. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of magical thinking in hallucinations of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. Four groups were recruited for this purpose from a clinical population (hallucinating schizophrenic patients, patients diagnosed with psychoses who had never hallucinated, obsessive-compulsive disorder patients and a clinical control group) and a non-clinical control group, who were given the Magical Ideation Scale. The results show that magical ideation differentiates the group of schizophrenic patients with auditory hallucinations from the rest of the groups that participated in the design. Items related to "mind reading", to the presence of auditory illusions in response to sound stimuli, and to the sense of sometimes being accompanied by an evil presence are the most closely related to the presence of auditory hallucinations. Magical thinking, understood as beliefs in non-consensual modes of causation, is closely linked to auditory hallucinations in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Early Childhood Corner: Take the Magic Out of Your Classroom!

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Andrews, Angela Giglio

1995-01-01

Students are often as mystified by mathematical procedures as they are by magic tricks. This article suggests ways of making the estimation of how many jelly beans in a jar and the 20-questions game less magical and more understandable. (MKR)

Magical thinking by inpatient staff members.

PubMed

Pilette, W L

1983-01-01

Magical thinking is a primitive form of mental activity which, nevertheless, the author contends, is common among mental health professionals. Four examples of magical thinking by inpatient staff members are presented and briefly explored, in order to shed light on our work and ourselves.

[Further Distinctions between Magic, Reality, Religion, and Fiction. Commentaries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boyer, Pascal; Taylor, Marjorie; Harris, Paul L.; Chandler, Michael; Johnson, Carl N.

1997-01-01

Contains the following commentaries: "Further Distinctions between Magic, Reality, Religion, and Fiction"; "The Role of Creative Control and Culture in Children's Fantasy/Reality Judgments"; "The Last of the Magicians? Children, Scientists, and the Invocation of Hidden Causal Powers"; "Rescuing Magical Thinking…

TRIP-ID: A tool for a smart and interactive identification of Magic Formula tyre model parameters from experimental data acquired on track or test rig

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Farroni, Flavio; Lamberti, Raffaele; Mancinelli, Nicolò; Timpone, Francesco

2018-03-01

Tyres play a key role in ground vehicles' dynamics because they are responsible for traction, braking and cornering. A proper tyre-road interaction model is essential for a useful and reliable vehicle dynamics model. In the last two decades Pacejka's Magic Formula (MF) has become a standard in simulation field. This paper presents a Tool, called TRIP-ID (Tyre Road Interaction Parameters IDentification), developed to characterize and to identify with a high grade of accuracy and reliability MF micro-parameters from experimental data deriving from telemetry or from test rig. The tool guides interactively the user through the identification process on the basis of strong diagnostic considerations about the experimental data made evident by the tool itself. A motorsport application of the tool is shown as a case study.

The Magic Background of Pearl Harbor. Volume 1 (February 14, 1941 - May 12, 1941)

DTIC Science & Technology

1977-01-01

1977 2. REPORT TYPE 3. DATES COVERED 00-00-1977 to 00-00-1977 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE The ’ Magic ’ Background of Pearl Harbor. Volume 1: February...34 MAGIC " BACKGROUND OF PEARL HARBOR VOLUME I (February 14, 1941-May 12,1941) /- / DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA For sale by the...The Department of Defense is releasing for public use and research this multi-volume study giving the " MAGIC " or communications intelligence background

[Magical thinking and self development].

PubMed

Resch, F

1994-01-01

Based on a historical survey of the term "magic thinking" structural aspects of primary process and prelogical thinking will be elucidated. Developmental necessities for the emergence of magic interpretations in children of pre-school age are proposed. The thesis will be formulated, that magic interpretations may help the developing self in the management of life-circumstances during a period of cognitive egocentrism: feelings of non-competence may be compensated, and the locus of control may be held in the face of experiences of inferiority.

[The magic universe of cures: the role of magic practices and witchcraft in the universe of 17th century Mato Grosso].

PubMed

Sá, Mario

2009-01-01

The article analyzes the role of healing agents played by practitioners of magic and witchcraft in Mato Grosso society during the 17th century. It observes that magic and witchcraft were developed as competitors, alternatives or associated with other forms of healing (official and lay). It points out how such roles contributed to the process of subjugating its practitioners, especially Africans, Indians and their descendents, and were appropriated as an opportunity for survival in the colonial slave society. The pastoral visit made by Bruno Pinna in 1785 to Cuiabá and nearby areas served as the principal source of knowledge regarding the practices and practitioners of magic and witchcraft.

When "Holiday Magic" Hurts.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goldstein, Karen

2001-01-01

Claims that religious messages in public school are not acceptable and are hurtful to kids who do not subscribe to the beliefs expressed in those messages. Describes the author's personal experience in helping a teacher transform the script for "Christmas Magic" into the more inclusive "Holiday Magic." (RS)

Magical attachment: Children in magical relations with hospital clowns

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

The aim of the present study was to achieve a theoretical understanding of several different-age children's experiences of magic relations with hospital clowns in the context of medical care, and to do so using psychological theory and a child perspective. The method used was qualitative and focused on nine children. The results showed that age was important to consider in better understanding how the children experienced the relation with the hospital clowns, how they described the magical aspects of the encounter and how they viewed the importance of clown encounters to their own well-being. The present theoretical interpretation characterized the encounter with hospital clowns as a magical safe area, an intermediate area between fantasy and reality. The discussion presented a line of reasoning concerning a magical attachment between the child and the hospital clowns, stating that this attachment: a) comprised a temporary relation; b) gave anonymity; c) entailed reversed roles; and d) created an emotional experience of boundary-transcending opportunities. PMID:22371813

The presence of magical thinking in obsessive compulsive disorder.

PubMed

Einstein, Danielle A; Menzies, Ross G

2004-05-01

Two research groups have raised the possibility that magical ideation may be a fundamental feature of obsessive-compulsive disorder. It has been proposed to underlie thought action fusion and superstitious beliefs. In this study, the Magical Ideation scale, the Lucky Behaviours and Lucky Beliefs scales, the Thought Action Fusion-Revised scale, the Padua Inventory, and the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Short Version were completed by 60 obsessive compulsive patients at a hospital clinic. Of all the measures, the Magical Ideation (MI) scale was found to be the most strongly related to obsessive compulsive symptoms. Large and significant relationships between MI scores and the measures of OCD were obtained even when alternative constructs (Lucky Behaviours, Lucky Beliefs, Thought Action Fusion-Revised scales) were held constant. No other variable remained significantly related to the Obsessive Compulsive Inventory-Short Version when magical ideation scores were held constant. The findings suggest that a general magical thinking tendency may underpin previous observed links between superstitiousness, thought action fusion and OCD severity.

Very high energy γ-rays from the universe's middle age: detection of the z = 0.940 blazar PKS 1441+25 with magic

DOE PAGES

Ahnen, M. L.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; ...

2015-12-15

The flat-spectrum radio quasar PKS 1441+25 at a redshift of z = 0.940 is detected between 40 and 250 GeV with a significance of 25.5σ using the MAGIC telescopes. Together with the gravitationally lensed blazar QSO B0218+357 (z = 0.944), PKS 1441+25 is the most distant very high energy (VHE) blazar detected to date. The observations were triggered by an outburst in 2015 April seen at GeV energies with the Large Area Telescope on board Fermi. Multi-wavelength observations suggest a subdivision of the high state into two distinct flux states. In the band covered by MAGIC, the variability timescale ismore » estimated to be 6.4 ± 1.9 days. Modeling the broadband spectral energy distribution with an external Compton model, the location of the emitting region is understood as originating in the jet outside the broad-line region (BLR) during the period of high activity, while being partially within the BLR during the period of low (typical) activity. In conclusion, the observed VHE spectrum during the highest activity is used to probe the extragalactic background light at an unprecedented distance scale for ground-based gamma-ray astronomy.« less

Detection of Epistasis for Flowering Time Using Bayesian Multilocus Estimation in a Barley MAGIC Population

PubMed Central

Mathew, Boby; Léon, Jens; Sannemann, Wiebke; Sillanpää, Mikko J.

2018-01-01

Gene-by-gene interactions, also known as epistasis, regulate many complex traits in different species. With the availability of low-cost genotyping it is now possible to study epistasis on a genome-wide scale. However, identifying genome-wide epistasis is a high-dimensional multiple regression problem and needs the application of dimensionality reduction techniques. Flowering Time (FT) in crops is a complex trait that is known to be influenced by many interacting genes and pathways in various crops. In this study, we successfully apply Sure Independence Screening (SIS) for dimensionality reduction to identify two-way and three-way epistasis for the FT trait in a Multiparent Advanced Generation Inter-Cross (MAGIC) barley population using the Bayesian multilocus model. The MAGIC barley population was generated from intercrossing among eight parental lines and thus, offered greater genetic diversity to detect higher-order epistatic interactions. Our results suggest that SIS is an efficient dimensionality reduction approach to detect high-order interactions in a Bayesian multilocus model. We also observe that many of our findings (genomic regions with main or higher-order epistatic effects) overlap with known candidate genes that have been already reported in barley and closely related species for the FT trait. PMID:29254994

VERY HIGH ENERGY γ-RAYS FROM THE UNIVERSE’S MIDDLE AGE: DETECTION OF THE z = 0.940 BLAZAR PKS 1441+25 WITH MAGIC

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

Ahnen, M. L.; Biland, A.; Ansoldi, S.

2015-12-20

The flat-spectrum radio quasar PKS 1441+25 at a redshift of z = 0.940 is detected between 40 and 250 GeV with a significance of 25.5σ using the MAGIC telescopes. Together with the gravitationally lensed blazar QSO B0218+357 (z = 0.944), PKS 1441+25 is the most distant very high energy (VHE) blazar detected to date. The observations were triggered by an outburst in 2015 April seen at GeV energies with the Large Area Telescope on board Fermi. Multi-wavelength observations suggest a subdivision of the high state into two distinct flux states. In the band covered by MAGIC, the variability timescale is estimated to bemore » 6.4 ± 1.9 days. Modeling the broadband spectral energy distribution with an external Compton model, the location of the emitting region is understood as originating in the jet outside the broad-line region (BLR) during the period of high activity, while being partially within the BLR during the period of low (typical) activity. The observed VHE spectrum during the highest activity is used to probe the extragalactic background light at an unprecedented distance scale for ground-based gamma-ray astronomy.« less

Probing the diffuse optical-IR background with TeV blazars detected with the MAGIC Telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prandini, Elisa; Domínguez, Alberto; Fallah Ramazani, Vandad; Hassan, Tarek; Mazin, Daniel; Moralejo, Abelardo; Nievas Rosillo, Mireia; Vanzo, Gaia; Vazquez Acosta, Monica

2017-11-01

Blazars are radio loud quasars whose jet points toward the observer. The observed emission is mostly non-thermal, dominated by the jet emission, and in some cases extends up to the very high energy gamma rays (VHE; E > 100 GeV). To date, more than 60 blazars have been detected at VHE mainly with ground-based imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes (IACTs) such as MAGIC, H.E.S.S. and VERITAS. Energetic photons from a blazar may interact with the diffuse optical and IR background (the extragalactic background light, EBL) leaving an imprint on the blazar energy spectrum. This effect can be used to constrain the EBL, with basic assumptions on the intrinsic energy spectrum. Current generation of IACTs is providing valuable measurements of the EBL density and energy spectrum from optical to infrared frequencies. In this contribution, we present the latest results obtained with the data taken with the MAGIC telescopes: using 32 spectra from 12 blazars, the scale factor of the optical density predicted by the EBL model from Domínguez et al. (2011) is constrained to be 0.95 (+0.11, -0.12)_{stat} (+0.16, -0.07)_{sys}, where a value of 1 means the perfect match with the model.

Chinese "Magic" Mirrors.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Swinson, Derek B.

1992-01-01

Chinese "magic" mirrors are made from bronze with the front side a mirror and the reverse side a molded image. When light is reflected from the mirror,the image on the reverse side appears. Discusses reflections of conventional mirrors, possible explanations for the magic mirror phenomenon, and applications of the phenomenon to…

U.S. EPA, Pesticide Product Label, FLEAGO THE MAGIC CRYSTAL, 07/09/1997

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

2011-04-21

... Fleago The Magic Crystal '~~~:ul~~i~;~i~~!;~i~~fat~~I~~n~w~~~~: W~?~:~iA~~~~~r~Y '~~;: ... lhe Magic Crystal ...

Structure and Evolution of the Central Appalachians from the Mantle to the Surface: Results from the MAGIC Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Long, M. D.; Benoit, M. H.; Evans, R. L.; King, S. D.; Kirby, E.; Aragon, J. C.; Miller, S. R.; Liu, S.; Elsenbeck, J.

2017-12-01

The eastern margin of North America has undergone multiple episodes of orogenesis and rifting, yielding the surface geology and topography visible today. It is poorly known, however, how the crust and mantle lithosphere have responded to these tectonic forces, and how geologic units preserved at the surface relate to deeper structures. Furthermore, the evolution of Appalachian topography through time, which reflects a complex interplay among erosion, lithology, and mantle flow, remains a major outstanding problem. The MAGIC project involves a multidisciplinary, collaborative effort to understand the structure and evolution of the central Appalachians, from the mantle to the surface. New images of the lithosphere derived from a passive broadband seismic array and a magnetotelluric deployment demonstrate significant along-strike lateral variability across the MAGIC transect. We observe a sharp change in crustal thickness across the eastern edge of the Appalachians, with a deeper Moho beneath the mountains than suggested by simple isostatic models. We find evidence for a relatively shallow lithosphere-asthenosphere boundary (LAB) beneath the Appalachians, with the thinnest LAB coinciding with the location of Eocene volcanism in and around Harrisonburg, VA. This observation is consistent with lithospheric loss as a mechanism for Eocene volcanic activity. Observations of seismic anisotropy suggest deformation of the mantle lithosphere associated with both Appalachian orogenesis and later Mesozoic rifting, with an observable component of anisotropy due to present-day mantle flow. Geodynamic models of mantle flow using a variety of tomographic models and density scaling relationships are being used to generate predictions of dynamic topography and plate motions for comparison with observations, and are currently being refined to incorporate realistic lithospheric morphology based on imaging results. Models of present-day erosion rates throughout the Appalachians from stream profile analysis show particularly fast erosion rates just to the west of Harrisonburg. Integration of results from the MAGIC project is yielding new insight into the structure and evolution of the central Appalachians and into the processes associated with orogenesis, rifting, and post-rift evolution of the passive margin.

The oxygen isotopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brown, B. Alex

The properties of the oxygen isotopes provide diverse examples of progress made in experiments and theory. This chain of isotopes has been studied from beyond the proton drip line in 12O to beyond the neutron drip line in 25,26O. This short survey starts with the microscopic G matrix approach for 18O of Kuo and Brown in the 1960’s and shows how theory has evolved. The nuclear structure around the doubly-magic nucleus 24O is particularly simple in terms of the nuclear shell model. The nuclear structure around the doubly-magic nucleus 16O exhibits the coexistence of single-particle and collective structure.

Wide-Range Multiwavelength Observations of Northern TeV Blazars With MAGIC / HESS, Suzaku And KVA

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

Hayashida, M.; /Munich, Max Planck Inst.; Rugamer, S.

2007-11-14

We have conducted multiwavelength observations of several northern TeV blazars employing the ground-based {gamma}-ray observatories MAGIC and HESS, the optical KVA telescope, and the Suzaku X-ray satellite. The data taken in 2006 establish measurements of the contemporaneous spectral energy distributions of the rapidly variable blazar emission over a wide range of frequencies. Results allow us to test leptonic and hadronic emission and particle acceleration models which predict different correlations between the optical, X-ray, and very high energy {gamma}-ray emissions. In this presentation, we report on the highlights of the results of these observations.

27Al MQMAS of the δ-Al 13-Keggin

DOE PAGES

Pilgrim, C. D.; Callahan, J. R.; Colla, C. A.; ...

2017-01-20

Here, one-dimensional 27Al, 23Na Magic-Angle-Spinning (MAS) NMR and 27Al Multiple-Quantum Magic-Angle-Spinning NMR (MQMAS) measurements are reported for the δ-isomer of the Al 13 Keggin structure at high spinning speed and 14.1 T field. Values for the CQ and η parameters are on the same scale as those seen in other isomers of the Al 13 structure. Density functional theory (DFT) calculations are performed for comparison to the experimental fits using the B3PW91/6-31+G* and PBE0/6-31+G* levels of theory, with the Polarizable Continuum Model (PCM).

One-Neutron Removal Measurement Reveals {sup 24}O as a New Doubly Magic Nucleus

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

Kanungo, R.; Perro, C.; Nociforo, C.

The first measurement of the momentum distribution for one-neutron removal from {sup 24}O at 920A MeV performed at GSI, Darmstadt is reported. The observed distribution has a width (FWHM) of 99{+-}4 MeV/c in the projectile rest frame and a one-neutron removal cross section of 63{+-}7 mb. The results are well explained with a nearly pure 2s{sub 1/2} neutron spectroscopic factor of 1.74{+-}0.19 within the eikonal model. This large s-wave probability shows a spherical shell closure thereby confirming earlier suggestions that {sup 24}O is a new doubly magic nucleus.

SEARCH FOR VHE {gamma}-RAY EMISSION FROM THE GLOBULAR CLUSTER M13 WITH THE MAGIC TELESCOPE

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

Anderhub, H.; Biland, A.; Antonelli, L. A.

Based on MAGIC observations from 2007 June to July, we have obtained an integral upper limit to the VHE energy emission of the globular cluster M13 of F(E>200 GeV) < 5.1 x 10{sup -12} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1}, and differential upper limits for E > 140 GeV. Those limits allow us to constrain the population of millisecond pulsars within M13 and to test models for acceleration of leptons inside their magnetospheres and surrounding. We conclude that in M13 either millisecond pulsars are fewer than expected or they accelerate leptons less efficiently than predicted.

Contextuality as a Resource for Models of Quantum Computation with Qubits

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bermejo-Vega, Juan; Delfosse, Nicolas; Browne, Dan E.; Okay, Cihan; Raussendorf, Robert

2017-09-01

A central question in quantum computation is to identify the resources that are responsible for quantum speed-up. Quantum contextuality has been recently shown to be a resource for quantum computation with magic states for odd-prime dimensional qudits and two-dimensional systems with real wave functions. The phenomenon of state-independent contextuality poses a priori an obstruction to characterizing the case of regular qubits, the fundamental building block of quantum computation. Here, we establish contextuality of magic states as a necessary resource for a large class of quantum computation schemes on qubits. We illustrate our result with a concrete scheme related to measurement-based quantum computation.

"You Will": Technology, Magic, and the Cultural Contexts of Technical Communication.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kitalong, Karla Saari

2000-01-01

Provides some background on the use of magical language in technical contexts, gives examples of magical discourse in technology advertisements and newsmagazine articles, and proposes a technical communication pedagogy of media analysis. Notes that the proposed pedagogy involves students conducting diagnostic critiques of media texts and affords…

Magical Landscapes: Two Love Stories.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Moore, John Noell

2002-01-01

Introduces two books about magic, one a collection of essays "Ex Libris: Confessions of a Common Reader," which describes the author's inherited lifelong passion for books and reading; and the other a novel, "Mangos, Bananas and Coconuts: A Cuban Love Story," which tells a story of love and magic that seems both real and…

Magical Mysteries. Texas Reading Club, 1984. A Librarian's Planning Handbook.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oliver, Jim

Designed to encourage library use by Texas youth, the Texas Reading Club programs usually include a structured reading program and a variety of entertaining literature-related storyhours, puppet shows, films, and other attractive happenings. This handbook for the 1984 theme--"magical mysteries"--focuses on mysteries, magic, and adventure…

Redefining the magic square on numerical characters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nasution, M. K. M.; Sawaluddin

2018-02-01

As a number system, the magic square is different from the others. Characteristic depends not only on size but also depends on numerical character in computation. This paper has redefined the term of magic square formally, by exposing the inductive general characteristics of cases to numerical ordering of numbers.

Magic User’s Manual 2006

DTIC Science & Technology

2006-12-01

K (M) M issioin Research MRC/WDC-R-556 MAGIC USER’S MANUAL 2006 Author(s): Larry Ludeking ATK Mission Research Contract No.: F49620-03-C-0030 L¾[iJiD... Magic Tool Suite for Windows. It uses the standard Windows Help so it is pretty self-explanatory. You can use the panel to the left to scan through... MAGIC Go to Part 2. MCL Commands Go to Part 3. Tirnc and Space Go to Part 4. Spatial Extensions Go to Part 5. Properties Go to Part 6. Algorithms Go

A Compact Low-loss Magic-T using Microstrip-Slotline Transitions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

U-yen, Kongpop; Wollack, Edward J.; Moseley, Samuel H.; Papapolymerou, John; Laskar, Joy

2007-01-01

The design of a compact low-loss magic-T is proposed. The planar magic-T incorporates the compact microstrip-slotline tee junction and small microstrip-slotline transition area to reduce slotline radiation. The experimental results show that the magic-T produces broadband in-phase and out-of-phase power combiner/divider responses, has an average in-band insertion loss of 0.3 dB and small in-band phase and amplitude imbalance of less than plus or minus 1.6 deg. and plus or minus 0.3 dB, respectively.

Lenz's Law Magic Trick

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ruiz, Michael J.

2006-02-01

The demonstration of Lenz's law by dropping a powerful magnet down a nonmagnetic metal pipe has become a classic lecture-hall demonstration.1,2 An inexpensive version is packaged as a professional magic trick3 called "Newton's Nightmare." Combining sleight-of-hand with a demonstration of Lenz's law is a surefire way to heighten student interest. The subsequent student discussion motivated by a desire to understand the magic trick can lead to a memorable physics lesson. This paper will discuss Lenz's law magic and review literature that reveals the subtlety of the physics.

The use of magical plants by curanderos in the Ecuador highlands

PubMed Central

Cavender, Anthony P; Albán, Manuel

2009-01-01

Although the use of plants for treating supernaturally caused illnesses (e.g., soul loss, evil wind, witchcraft) has been documented in the Ecuador highlands, so-called magical plants have received much less focused attention than plants used for treating naturalistic disorders. Drawing on interviews done in 2002 and 2003 with 116 curanderos residing in the Ecuador highlands, this paper examines the characteristics of plants identified as magical, how they are used, and how the study of magical plants provides insights into the mindscape of residents of the highlands. PMID:19161618

Do cultural factors affect causal beliefs? Rational and magical thinking in Britain and Mexico.

PubMed

Subbotsky, Eugene; Quinteros, Graciela

2002-11-01

In two experiments, unusual phenomena (spontaneous destruction of objects in an empty wooden box) were demonstrated to adult participants living in rural communities in Mexico. These were accompanied by actions which had no physical link to the destroyed object but could suggest either scientifically based (the effect of an unknown physical device) or non-scientifically based (the effect of a 'magic spell') causal explanations of the event. The results were compared to the results of the matching two experiments from the earlier study made in Britain. The expectation that scientifically based explanations would prevail in British participants' judgments and behaviours, whereas Mexican participants would be more tolerant toward magical explanations, received only partial support. The prevalence of scientific explanations over magical explanations was evident in British participants' verbal judgments but not in Mexican participants' judgments. In their behavioural responses under the low-risk condition, British participants rejected magical explanations more frequently than did Mexican participants. However, when the risk of disregarding the possible causal effect of magic was increased, participants in both samples showed an equal degree of credulity in the possible effect of magic. The data are interpreted in terms of the relationships between scientific and 'folk' representations of causality and object permanence.

Discovering the 'Magic' of Target Marketing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grier, Linda J.; Ackenbom, Charles R.

1988-01-01

Describes target marketing of children's summer camps, emphasizing the benefits of collaborative advertising campaigns. Discusses the scope and economics of four model campaigns. Outlines the design, implementation, and evaluation of collaborative marketing projects. (SV)

Cultural Variables in Conservation: A Model for Cross-Cultural Research

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mohanty, A.; Stewin, L. L.

1976-01-01

Cultural, ecological, and educational variables in relation to magical thinking, perceptual flexibility, and logical reasoning seem to be crucial in development of children's judgments and explanations in conservation tasks. (Author)

The quantum life

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davies, Paul

2009-07-01

To a physicist, life seems little short of miraculous-all those stupid atoms getting together to perform such clever tricks! For centuries, living organisms were regarded as some sort of magic matter. Today, we know that no special "life force" is at work in biology; there is just ordinary matter doing extraordinary things, all the while obeying the familiar laws of physics. What, then, is the secret of life's remarkable properties?

Algebra Magic Tricks: Algecadabra! Volume 1.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Ronald

This resource book contains 20 magic tricks based on the properties of whole numbers that are intended to spark the interest and imagination of students. Following each activity, students are asked to write about their discoveries and to create their own magic tricks. A matrix of skills for all the activities and lists of the materials required…

Algebra Magic Tricks: Algecadabra! Volume 2.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Edwards, Ronald

This resource book contains 15 magic tricks based on the properties of whole numbers that are intended to spark the interest and imagination of students. Following each activity, students are asked to write about their discoveries and to create their own magic tricks. A matrix of skills for all the activities and lists of the materials required…

A COAXIAL MAGIC-T

DTIC Science & Technology

Three different designs of coaxial hybrid junctions having perf ormance analogous to a wave-guide magic -T are discussed. The experimental results...loads, decoupling greater than 70 db can be obtained. An application of the magic -T in phase measurement is described which is independent of the signal amplitude and is similar to the homodyne system of phase measurement.

A CMOS VLSI IC for Real-Time Opto-Electronic Two-Dimensional Histogram Generation

DTIC Science & Technology

1993-12-01

large scale integration) design; MAGIC ; CMOS; optics; image processing; 93 16. PRICE CODE 17. SECURITY CLASSIFICATION 18. SECURITY CLASSIFICATiON 19...1. Sun SPARCstation ............. .............. 6 2. Magic .................. ................... 6 a. Peg ................. .................. 7 b...38 v APPENDIX B. MAGIC CELL LAYOUTS .... ............ .. 39 APPENDIX C: SIMULATION DATA ....... ............. .. 56 A. FINITE STATE MACHINE

Magical Realist Pathways into and under the Psychotherapeutic Imaginary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Speedy, Jane

2011-01-01

My experience of people's life stories from my work as a narrative therapist consistently destabilised distinctions between imagined/magical and real experiences. I came to realise that the day-to-day magical realist juxtapositions I came upon were encounters with people's daily lives, as lived, that have remained unacknowledged within the…

Glamour and Spelling: Reclaiming Magical Thinking in the Composition Classroom.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wagner, Julia

It is a good thing to demolish "magical thinking" if it refers to the view of language for which words have fixed, inevitable meanings. Words are often deprived of their meanings and reduced to verbal noises, producing involuntary responses like knee-reflexes. Various critics have discussed and written about the magical aspects of…

Garden Gnomes: Magical or Tacky?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flynt, Deborah

2012-01-01

Garden gnomes: magical or tacky? Well, art is in the eye of the beholder, and for the author's advanced seventh-grade art class, garden gnomes are magical. Gnomes have a very long history, dating back to medieval times. A fairytale describes them as brownie-like creatures that are nocturnal helpers. In this article, the author describes how her…

Tunable magic wavelengths for trapping with focused Laguerre-Gaussian beams

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bhowmik, Anal; Dutta, Narendra Nath; Majumder, Sonjoy

2018-02-01

We present in this paper a theory of dynamic polarizability for an atomic state due to an external field of nonparaxial Laguerre-Gaussian (LG) beam using the sum-over-states technique. A highly correlated relativistic coupled-cluster theory is used to evaluate the most important and correlation-sensitive parts of the sum. The theory is applied on Sr+ to determine the magic wavelengths for 5 s1 /2→4 d3 /2,4 d5 /2 transitions. Results show the variation of magic wavelengths with the choice of orbital and spin angular momenta of the incident LG beam. Also, the tunability of the magic wavelengths is studied by using the focusing angle of the LG beam and its efficiency in the near-infrared region is observed. Evaluations of the wide spectrum of magic wavelengths from infrared to ultraviolet have substantial importance to experimentalists for carrying out high-precision measurements in fundamental physics. These magic wavelengths can be used to confine the atom or ion at the dark central node or at the high-intensity ring of the LG beam.

Analytic Modeling of Insurgencies

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-08-01

Counterinsurgency, Situational Awareness, Civilians, Lanchester 1. Introduction Combat modeling is one of the oldest areas of operations research, dating...Army. The ground-breaking work of Lanchester in 1916 [1] marks the beginning of formal models of conflicts, where mathematical formulas and, later...Warfare model [3], which is a Lanchester - based mathematical model (see more details about this model later on), and McCormick’s Magic Diamond model [4

MagicPlate-512: A 2D silicon detector array for quality assurance of stereotactic motion adaptive radiotherapy.

PubMed

Petasecca, M; Newall, M K; Booth, J T; Duncan, M; Aldosari, A H; Fuduli, I; Espinoza, A A; Porumb, C S; Guatelli, S; Metcalfe, P; Colvill, E; Cammarano, D; Carolan, M; Oborn, B; Lerch, M L F; Perevertaylo, V; Keall, P J; Rosenfeld, A B

2015-06-01

Spatial and temporal resolutions are two of the most important features for quality assurance instrumentation of motion adaptive radiotherapy modalities. The goal of this work is to characterize the performance of the 2D high spatial resolution monolithic silicon diode array named "MagicPlate-512" for quality assurance of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) combined with a dynamic multileaf collimator (MLC) tracking technique for motion compensation. MagicPlate-512 is used in combination with the movable platform HexaMotion and a research version of radiofrequency tracking system Calypso driving MLC tracking software. The authors reconstruct 2D dose distributions of small field square beams in three modalities: in static conditions, mimicking the temporal movement pattern of a lung tumor and tracking the moving target while the MLC compensates almost instantaneously for the tumor displacement. Use of Calypso in combination with MagicPlate-512 requires a proper radiofrequency interference shielding. Impact of the shielding on dosimetry has been simulated by (GEANT)4 and verified experimentally. Temporal and spatial resolutions of the dosimetry system allow also for accurate verification of segments of complex stereotactic radiotherapy plans with identification of the instant and location where a certain dose is delivered. This feature allows for retrospective temporal reconstruction of the delivery process and easy identification of error in the tracking or the multileaf collimator driving systems. A sliding MLC wedge combined with the lung motion pattern has been measured. The ability of the MagicPlate-512 (MP512) in 2D dose mapping in all three modes of operation was benchmarked by EBT3 film. Full width at half maximum and penumbra of the moving and stationary dose profiles measured by EBT3 film and MagicPlate-512 confirm that motion has a significant impact on the dose distribution. Motion, no motion, and motion with MLC tracking profiles agreed within 1 and 0.4 mm, respectively, for all field sizes tested. Use of electromagnetic tracking system generates a fluctuation of the detector baseline up to 10% of the full scale signal requiring a proper shielding strategy. MagicPlate-512 is also able to reconstruct the dose variation pulse-by-pulse in each pixel of the detector. An analysis of the dose transients with motion and motion with tracking shows that the tracking feedback algorithm used for this experiment can compensate effectively only the effect of the slower transient components. The fast changing components of the organ motion can contribute only to discrepancy of the order of 15% in penumbral region while the slower components can change the dose profile up to 75% of the expected dose. MagicPlate-512 is shown to be, potentially, a valid alternative to film or 2D ionizing chambers for quality assurance dosimetry in SRS or SBRT. Its high spatial and temporal resolutions allow for accurate reconstruction of the profile in any conditions with motion and with tracking of the motion. It shows excellent performance to reconstruct the dose deposition in real time or retrospectively as a function of time for detailed analysis of the effect of motion in a specific pixel or area of interest.

Observations of VHE γ-Ray Sources with the MAGIC Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartko, H.

2008-10-01

The MAGIC telescope with its 17m diameter mirror is today the largest operating single-dish Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope (IACT). It is located on the Canary Island La Palma, at an altitude of 2200m above sea level, as part of the Roque de los Muchachos European Northern Observatory. The MAGIC telescope detects celestial very high energy γ-radiation in the energy band between about 50 GeV and 10 TeV. Since Autumn of 2004 MAGIC has been taking data routinely, observing various objects like supernova remnants (SNRs), γ-ray binaries, Pulsars, Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and Gamma-ray Bursts (GRB). We briefly describe the observational strategy, the procedure implemented for the data analysis, and discuss the results for individual sources. An outlook to the construction of the second MAGIC telescope is given.

[Magical and religious healing in Byzantium].

PubMed

Józsa, László

2010-01-01

Religious and magical ways of healing have been known and practiced since the very beginning of human history. In the present article, the Byzantine philosophical, cultural, historical and "methodological" aspects of this way of healing are discussed. The article outlines the development of magic healing in Byzantium from the 4th to the 15th century. During this period magical therapy included the cult of patron saints--listed by the author--and pleading for divine intervention as well. The activity of "anargyroi" and the use of magical objects and amulets is also discussed in detail. Exorcism was also a part of religious therapy both against psychical and somatical diseases. In early Christianity, and especially in Byzantium the devil or other demons were also supposed to cause various somatical or psychical illnesses by "intrusion" or "internalisation," i.e. by possession or obsession of their victims.

Maximum nonlocality and minimum uncertainty using magic states

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Howard, Mark

2015-04-01

We prove that magic states from the Clifford hierarchy give optimal solutions for tasks involving nonlocality and entropic uncertainty with respect to Pauli measurements. For both the nonlocality and uncertainty tasks, stabilizer states are the worst possible pure states, so our solutions have an operational interpretation as being highly nonstabilizer. The optimal strategy for a qudit version of the Clauser-Horne-Shimony-Holt game in prime dimensions is achieved by measuring maximally entangled states that are isomorphic to single-qudit magic states. These magic states have an appealingly simple form, and our proof shows that they are "balanced" with respect to all but one of the mutually unbiased stabilizer bases. Of all equatorial qudit states, magic states minimize the average entropic uncertainties for collision entropy and also, for small prime dimensions, min-entropy, a fact that may have implications for cryptography.

Logistical Support of AirLand Operations: Myth or Magic?

DTIC Science & Technology

1992-05-04

I4 May 1992 Master’s Thesis, 4 Aug 91-5 Jun 92 4. TITLE AND SUBTITLE 5. FUNDING NUMBERS .Support of AirLand Operations: Myth or Magic 6. AUTHOR(S) HA•J...SUPPORT OF AIRLAND OPERATIONS: MYTH OR MAGIC A thesis nresented to the Faculty of the U.S. Army Command and General Staff College in oartial fulfillment of...inerati,,,: Myth or Magic . Aprroved by: .Theq is Comni tt-t- fTh~airrnan; J ),I i .5 .a rria A.n . T.T! 3:•, J!. Pnwe r. M’. P. A . " ,ý) VoD" Member

Comparison of HELIX TWT Simulation Using 2-D PIC (Magic), 2-D Modal (Gator), and 1-D Modal (Christine) Methods

DTIC Science & Technology

1998-05-01

Mission Research Corporation MRC/WDC-R-424 COMPARISON OF HELIX TWT SIMULATION USING 2-D PIC ( MAGIC ), 2-D MODAL (GATOR), AND 1-D MODAL (CHRISTINE...BRILLOUIN RUN 9 3.4 OUTLIER ELECTRON EFFECT IN GATOR 12 3.5 EMISSION CONDITION AND NONLAMINAR FLOW IN MAGIC 12 3.6 RADIAL SHEAR 13 SECTION 4. PPM B...Simulation using 2-D PIC ( MAGIC ), 2-D Modal (GATOR) and 1-D Modal (CHRISTINE) methods * D.N. Smithe(a), H. Freund(b), T. M. Antonsen Jr.,(b)’(c), E

Optically guided atom interferometer tuned to magic wavelength

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Akatsuka, Tomoya; Takahashi, Tadahiro; Katori, Hidetoshi

2017-11-01

We demonstrate an atom interferometer operating on the 1S0-3P0 clock transition of 87Sr atoms in a “magic” optical guide, where the light shift perturbations of the guiding potential are canceled. As a proof-of-principle demonstration, a Mach-Zehnder interferometer is set horizontally to map the acceleration introduced by the focused optical guide. This magic guide interferometer on the clock transition is applicable to atomic elements where magic wavelengths can be found. Possible applications of the magic guide interferometer, including a hollow-core fiber interferometer and gradiometer, are discussed.

Magic angle for barrier-controlled double quantum dots

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Xu-Chen; Wang, Xin

2018-01-01

We show that the exchange interaction of a singlet-triplet spin qubit confined in double quantum dots, when being controlled by the barrier method, is insensitive to a charged impurity lying along certain directions away from the center of the double-dot system. These directions differ from the polar axis of the double dots by the magic angle, equaling arccos(1 /√{3 })≈54 .7∘ , a value previously found in atomic physics and nuclear magnetic resonance. This phenomenon can be understood from an expansion of the additional Coulomb interaction created by the impurity, but also relies on the fact that the exchange interaction solely depends on the tunnel coupling in the barrier-control scheme. Our results suggest that for a scaled-up qubit array, when all pairs of double dots rotate their respective polar axes from the same reference line by the magic angle, crosstalk between qubits can be eliminated, allowing clean single-qubit operations. While our model is a rather simplified version of actual experiments, our results suggest that it is possible to minimize unwanted couplings by judiciously designing the layout of the qubits.

Review of fundamental physics results with the MAGIC telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rico, Javier

2017-01-01

The MAGIC Cherenkov telescopes are powerful tools for the exploration of the Physics frontiers, addressing topics such as the nature of dark matter and its distribution in the Universe, or the search for quantum gravitational effects in photon propagation. Since the beginning of operations in 2004, MAGIC has studied these questions thanks to hundreds of hours of observations of different targets, and has produced several high-impact results. Those include, significantly, the most constraining limits to the WIMP annihilation cross-section for particle masses above few hundred GeV, from observations of dwarf spheroidal (dSph) satellite galaxies. More recently, we have completed a combined analysis of MAGIC and Fermi-LAT observations of dSphs, obtaining limits for dark matter particle masses between 10 GeV and 100 TeV - the widest mass range ever explored by a single gamma-ray analysis - and improving the previously published Fermi-LAT and MAGIC results by up to a factor of two at certain masses. In this talk, I present an overview of the status and results of MAGIC Fundamental Physics projects, including our latest results concerning searches for Lorentz Invariance violation (LIV), and dark matter searches. I will propose the use of the framework developed for the MAGIC/Fermi-LAT joint analysis for the combination of results from the current generation of gamma-ray and neutrino detectors.

The "Magic" String

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hoover, Todd F.

2010-01-01

The "Magic" String is a discrepant event that includes a canister with what appears to be the end of two strings protruding from opposite sides of it. Due to the way the strings are attached inside the canister, it appears as if the strings can magically switch the way they are connected. When one string end is pulled, the observer's expectation…

Pulling Words Out of a Hat: Magic in ESL Lessons.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Friedenberg, Randi D.

Magic motivates students to talk, and stimulates the affective domain. While watching magic, many people imagine how the effect is accomplished or how they might perform the trick if they were performing. This can be extended into an English lesson by using phrases such as, "If I were a magician, I could..." Total physical response…

The Cultural Work of Magical Realism in Three Young Adult Novels

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Latham, Don

2007-01-01

Magical realism as a literary mode is often subversive and transgressive, questioning the values and assumptions of the dominant society that it depicts. Young adult literature, by contrast, is typically thought to serve a socializing function, helping to integrate young readers into adult society. What then is the cultural work of magical realism…

Molecules, magic and forgetful fruit flies: the supernatural science of medical gas research.

PubMed

Mychaskiw, George

2011-09-06

Medical gas research often involves the study of molecules under extraphysiologic conditions, that is, conditions that do not exist in nature. This "supernatural" nature of medical gas research sometimes produces results that appear to be almost "magic" to those schooled in traditional physiology"Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic".-Arthur C. Clarke.

Development of next-generation mapping populations: Multi-parent Advanced Generation Inter-Cross (MAGIC) and Marker-Assisted Recurrent Selection (MARS) populations in peanut

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Generation Inter-Cross (MAGIC) and Marker-Assisted Recurrent Selection (MARS) have been proposed and used in many crops to dissect complex traits or QTL. MAGIC allows for dissecting genomic structure, and for improving breeding populations by integrating multiple alleles from different parents. MAR...

Elementary School Teachers' Perceptions toward ICT: The Case of Using Magic Board for Teaching Mathematics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Yuan, Yuan; Lee, Chun-Yi

2012-01-01

This study aims at investigating elementary school teachers' perceptions toward to the use of ICT. Magic Board, an interactive web-based environment which provides a set of virtual manipulatives for elementary mathematics, is used as the case of ICT. After participating in Magic Board workshops, 250 elementary school teachers in Taiwan responded…

77 FR 70432 - Magic Valley Pipeline, L.P.; Notice of Filing

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-26

... Pipeline, L.P.; Notice of Filing Take notice that on November 15, 2012, Magic Valley Pipeline, L.P. (Magic...: 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on Tuesday, November 27, 2012. Dated: November 19, 2012. Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary. [FR Doc. 2012-28544 Filed 11-23-12; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6717-01-P ...

OBSERVATIONS OF THE CRAB PULSAR BETWEEN 25 AND 100 GeV WITH THE MAGIC I TELESCOPE

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

Aleksic, J.; Blanch, O.; Alvarez, E. A.

2011-11-20

We report on the observation of {gamma}-rays above 25 GeV from the Crab pulsar (PSR B0532+21) using the MAGIC I telescope. Two data sets from observations during the winter period 2007/2008 and 2008/2009 are used. In order to discuss the spectral shape from 100 MeV to 100 GeV, one year of public Fermi Large Area Telescope (Fermi-LAT) data are also analyzed to complement the MAGIC data. The extrapolation of the exponential cutoff spectrum determined with the Fermi-LAT data is inconsistent with MAGIC measurements, which requires a modification of the standard pulsar emission models. In the energy region between 25 andmore » 100 GeV, the emission in the P1 phase (from -0.06 to 0.04, location of the main pulse) and the P2 phase (from 0.32 to 0.43, location of the interpulse) can be described by power laws with spectral indices of -3.1 {+-} 1.0{sub stat} {+-} 0.3{sub syst} and -3.5 {+-} 0.5{sub stat} {+-} 0.3{sub syst}, respectively. Assuming an asymmetric Lorentzian for the pulse shape, the peak positions of the main pulse and the interpulse are estimated to be at phases -0.009 {+-} 0.007 and 0.393 {+-} 0.009, while the full widths at half-maximum are 0.025 {+-} 0.008 and 0.053 {+-} 0.015, respectively.« less

Introducing a New Interface for the Online MagIC Database by Integrating Data Uploading, Searching, and Visualization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarboe, N.; Minnett, R.; Constable, C.; Koppers, A. A.; Tauxe, L.

2013-12-01

The Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) is dedicated to supporting the paleomagnetic, geomagnetic, and rock magnetic communities through the development and maintenance of an online database (http://earthref.org/MAGIC/), data upload and quality control, searches, data downloads, and visualization tools. While MagIC has completed importing some of the IAGA paleomagnetic databases (TRANS, PINT, PSVRL, GPMDB) and continues to import others (ARCHEO, MAGST and SECVR), further individual data uploading from the community contributes a wealth of easily-accessible rich datasets. Previously uploading of data to the MagIC database required the use of an Excel spreadsheet using either a Mac or PC. The new method of uploading data utilizes an HTML 5 web interface where the only computer requirement is a modern browser. This web interface will highlight all errors discovered in the dataset at once instead of the iterative error checking process found in the previous Excel spreadsheet data checker. As a web service, the community will always have easy access to the most up-to-date and bug free version of the data upload software. The filtering search mechanism of the MagIC database has been changed to a more intuitive system where the data from each contribution is displayed in tables similar to how the data is uploaded (http://earthref.org/MAGIC/search/). Searches themselves can be saved as a permanent URL, if desired. The saved search URL could then be used as a citation in a publication. When appropriate, plots (equal area, Zijderveld, ARAI, demagnetization, etc.) are associated with the data to give the user a quicker understanding of the underlying dataset. The MagIC database will continue to evolve to meet the needs of the paleomagnetic, geomagnetic, and rock magnetic communities.

Improved Traceability of a Small Satellite Mission Concept to Requirements Using Model Based System Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reil, Robin L.

2014-01-01

Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) has recently been gaining significant support as a means to improve the "traditional" document-based systems engineering (DBSE) approach to engineering complex systems. In the spacecraft design domain, there are many perceived and propose benefits of an MBSE approach, but little analysis has been presented to determine the tangible benefits of such an approach (e.g. time and cost saved, increased product quality). This paper presents direct examples of how developing a small satellite system model can improve traceability of the mission concept to its requirements. A comparison of the processes and approaches for MBSE and DBSE is made using the NASA Ames Research Center SporeSat CubeSat mission as a case study. A model of the SporeSat mission is built using the Systems Modeling Language standard and No Magic's MagicDraw modeling tool. The model incorporates mission concept and requirement information from the mission's original DBSE design efforts. Active dependency relationships are modeled to demonstrate the completeness and consistency of the requirements to the mission concept. Anecdotal information and process-duration metrics are presented for both the MBSE and original DBSE design efforts of SporeSat.

Improved Traceability of Mission Concept to Requirements Using Model Based Systems Engineering

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Reil, Robin

2014-01-01

Model Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) has recently been gaining significant support as a means to improve the traditional document-based systems engineering (DBSE) approach to engineering complex systems. In the spacecraft design domain, there are many perceived and propose benefits of an MBSE approach, but little analysis has been presented to determine the tangible benefits of such an approach (e.g. time and cost saved, increased product quality). This thesis presents direct examples of how developing a small satellite system model can improve traceability of the mission concept to its requirements. A comparison of the processes and approaches for MBSE and DBSE is made using the NASA Ames Research Center SporeSat CubeSat mission as a case study. A model of the SporeSat mission is built using the Systems Modeling Language standard and No Magics MagicDraw modeling tool. The model incorporates mission concept and requirement information from the missions original DBSE design efforts. Active dependency relationships are modeled to analyze the completeness and consistency of the requirements to the mission concept. Overall experience and methodology are presented for both the MBSE and original DBSE design efforts of SporeSat.

[Magician nature and human magician: on a fundamental analogy of alchemy].

PubMed

Schott, Heinz

2010-01-01

This contribution discusses Paracelsism-influenced early-modern alchemy. There are notably two forms of analogy, each hierarchically arranged: a vertically ordered analogy ("as above, thus below") in which Nature is situated as mediator between God and man, and a horizontally ordered analogy ("as without, thus within") in which Nature's magic is regarded as a model for man, particularly expressed in the metaphor of "Vulcan" (smith) and doctor (e.g., Nature as inner healer). In alchemy the conventional "healing power of Nature" is pin-pointed: The doctor (as alchemist, magician) must unravel Nature's secrets and emulate her magic to perfect her work -particularly medicine production. Diagrams and historical depictions illustrate this.

Molecules, magic and forgetful fruit flies: the supernatural science of medical gas research

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Medical gas research often involves the study of molecules under extraphysiologic conditions, that is, conditions that do not exist in nature. This "supernatural" nature of medical gas research sometimes produces results that appear to be almost "magic" to those schooled in traditional physiology "Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". -Arthur C. Clarke PMID:22146602

The Magical Classroom: Exploring Science, Language, and Perception with Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Strauss, Michael J.

The science of magic is the subject of this book which also examines how to help children experience and describe the world, how to experiment and ask questions about it, and how to make decisions about what is true and what is not. Background information about the relationship between magic and science and the nature of effects and illusions are…

Overview of MAGIC results

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rico, Javier; MAGIC Collaboration

2016-04-01

MAGIC is a system of two 17-m diameter Cherenkov telescopes, located at the Observatorio del Roque de los Muchachos, in the Canary island La Palma (Spain). MAGIC performs astronomical observations of gamma-ray sources in the energy range between 50 GeV and 10 TeV. The first MAGIC telescope has been operating since 2004, and in 2009 the system was completed with the second one. During 2011 and 2012 the electronics for the readout system were fully upgraded, and the camera of the first telescope replaced. After that, no major hardware interventions are foreseen in the next years, and the experiment has undertaken a final period of steady astronomical observations. MAGIC studies particle acceleration in the most violent cosmic environments, such as active galactic nuclei, gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, supernova remnants or binary systems. In addition, it addresses some fundamental questions of Physics, such as the origin of Galactic cosmic rays and the nature of dark matter. Moreover, by observing the gamma-ray emission from sources at cosmological distances, we measure the intensity and evolution of the extragalactic background radiation, and perform tests of Lorentz Invariance. In this paper I present the status and some of the latest results of the MAGIC gamma-ray telescopes.

Real time dynamics of Si magic clusters mediating phase transformation: Si(111)-(1 × 1) to (7 × 7) reconstruction revisited

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ong, Wei Jie; Tok, Eng Soon

2012-07-01

Using Scanning Tunneling Microscope (STM), we show that the surface undergoes phase transformation from disordered "1 × 1" to (7 × 7) reconstruction which is mediated by the formation of Si magic clusters. Mono-disperse Si magic clusters of size ~ 13.5 ± 0.5 Å can be formed by heating the Si(111) surface to 1200 °C and quenching it to room temperature at cooling rates of at least 100 °C/min. The structure consists of 3 tetra-clusters of size ~ 4.5 Ǻ similar to the Si magic clusters that were formed from Si adatoms deposited by Si solid source on Si(111)-(7 × 7) [1]. Using real time STM scanning to probe the surface at ~ 400 °C, we show that Si magic clusters pop up from the (1 × 1) surface and form spontaneously during the phase transformation. This is attributed to the difference in atomic density between "disordered 1 × 1" and (7 × 7) surface structures which lead to the release of excess Si atoms onto the surface as magic clusters.

The relationship between magical thinking, inferential confusion and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

PubMed

Goods, N A R; Rees, C S; Egan, S J; Kane, R T

2014-01-01

Inferential confusion is an under-researched faulty reasoning process in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Based on an overreliance on imagined possibilities, it shares similarities with the extensively researched construct of thought-action fusion (TAF). While TAF has been proposed as a specific subset of the broader construct of magical thinking, the relationship between inferential confusion and magical thinking is unexplored. The present study investigated this relationship, and hypothesised that magical thinking would partially mediate the relationship between inferential confusion and obsessive-compulsive symptoms. A non-clinical sample of 201 participants (M = 34.94, SD = 15.88) were recruited via convenience sampling. Regression analyses found the hypothesised mediating relationship was supported, as magical thinking did partially mediate the relationship between inferential confusion and OC symptoms. Interestingly, inferential confusion had the stronger relationship with OC symptoms in comparison to the other predictor variables. Results suggest that inferential confusion can both directly and indirectly (via magical thinking) impact on OC symptoms. Future studies with clinical samples should further investigate these constructs to determine whether similar patterns emerge, as this may eventually inform which cognitive errors to target in treatment of OCD.

Does magical thinking produce neutralising behaviour? An experimental investigation.

PubMed

Bocci, Laura; Gordon, P Kenneth

2007-08-01

Magical thinking is of relevance to obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and has been most widely investigated in relation to the cognitive bias known as thought-action fusion (TAF). This is seen as playing a role in the formation of fears about responsibility for harm. We suggest that magical thinking may also characterise some types of neutralising behaviour, which arise in response to those fears, and are a hallmark of the disorder. In an experimental study of 51 undergraduate students, we assessed whether the use of neutralising behaviours in response to an induction of fears of increasing likelihood for harm is related to a propensity for magical thinking. The 75.5% of participants demonstrated at least one form of neutralising behaviour in response to a TAF-induction task. Neutralising was associated with stronger and more persistent responses to the task, and with questionnaire measures of magical ideation. Those who neutralised did not report higher levels of OCD symptoms. It appears that neutralising is a common response in circumstances that provoke a sense of responsibility for harm. Its occurrence may be linked to magical thinking, however, the results from this experimental investigation suggested that this process may not be specific to OCD.

MAGIC upper limits on the GRB 090102 afterglow

DOE PAGES

Aleksic, J.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; ...

2013-12-09

Indications of a GeV component in the emission from gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are known since the Energetic Gamma-Ray Experiment Telescope observations during the 1990s and they have been confirmed by the data of the Fermi satellite. Our results have, however, shown that our understanding of GRB physics is still unsatisfactory. The new generation of Cherenkov observatories and in particular the MAGIC telescope, allow for the first time the possibility to extend the measurement of GRBs from several tens up to hundreds of GeV energy range. Both leptonic and hadronic processes have been suggested to explain the possible GeV/TeV counterpart ofmore » GRBs. Observations with ground-based telescopes of very high energy (VHE) photons (E > 30 GeV) from these sources are going to play a key role in discriminating among the different proposed emission mechanisms, which are barely distinguishable at lower energies. MAGIC telescope observations of the GRB 090102 (z = 1.547) field and Fermi Large Area Telescope data in the same time interval are analysed to derive upper limits of the GeV/TeV emission. We compare these results to the expected emissions evaluated for different processes in the framework of a relativistic blastwave model for the afterglow. Simultaneous upper limits with Fermi and a Cherenkov telescope have been derived for this GRB observation. We obtained results compatible with the expected emission although the difficulties in predicting the HE and VHE emission for the afterglow of this event makes it difficult to draw firmer conclusions. Nonetheless, MAGIC sensitivity in the energy range of overlap with space-based instruments (above about 40 GeV) is about one order of magnitude better with respect to Fermi. This makes evident the constraining power of ground-based observations and shows that the MAGIC telescope has reached the required performance to make possible GRB multiwavelength studies in the VHE range.« less

Leadership and Magical Thinking

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lawrie, J. W.

1970-01-01

The author discusses limitations of the motivator-leader" (charismatic) leadership style and the psychological basis for widespread acceptance of this model. He recommends a more realistic style marked by perceptiveness, flexibility, and the manipulation of environments rather than people. (LY)

Working wonders? investigating insight with magic tricks.

PubMed

Danek, Amory H; Fraps, Thomas; von Müller, Albrecht; Grothe, Benedikt; Ollinger, Michael

2014-02-01

We propose a new approach to differentiate between insight and noninsight problem solving, by introducing magic tricks as problem solving domain. We argue that magic tricks are ideally suited to investigate representational change, the key mechanism that yields sudden insight into the solution of a problem, because in order to gain insight into the magicians' secret method, observers must overcome implicit constraints and thus change their problem representation. In Experiment 1, 50 participants were exposed to 34 different magic tricks, asking them to find out how the trick was accomplished. Upon solving a trick, participants indicated if they had reached the solution either with or without insight. Insight was reported in 41.1% of solutions. The new task domain revealed differences in solution accuracy, time course and solution confidence with insight solutions being more likely to be true, reached earlier, and obtaining higher confidence ratings. In Experiment 2, we explored which role self-imposed constraints actually play in magic tricks. 62 participants were presented with 12 magic tricks. One group received verbal cues, providing solution relevant information without giving the solution away. The control group received no informative cue. Experiment 2 showed that participants' constraints were suggestible to verbal cues, resulting in higher solution rates. Thus, magic tricks provide more detailed information about the differences between insightful and noninsightful problem solving, and the underlying mechanisms that are necessary to have an insight. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

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

Petasecca, M., E-mail: marcop@uow.edu.au; Newall, M. K.; Aldosari, A. H.

Purpose: Spatial and temporal resolutions are two of the most important features for quality assurance instrumentation of motion adaptive radiotherapy modalities. The goal of this work is to characterize the performance of the 2D high spatial resolution monolithic silicon diode array named “MagicPlate-512” for quality assurance of stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) and stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) combined with a dynamic multileaf collimator (MLC) tracking technique for motion compensation. Methods: MagicPlate-512 is used in combination with the movable platform HexaMotion and a research version of radiofrequency tracking system Calypso driving MLC tracking software. The authors reconstruct 2D dose distributions of smallmore » field square beams in three modalities: in static conditions, mimicking the temporal movement pattern of a lung tumor and tracking the moving target while the MLC compensates almost instantaneously for the tumor displacement. Use of Calypso in combination with MagicPlate-512 requires a proper radiofrequency interference shielding. Impact of the shielding on dosimetry has been simulated by GEANT4 and verified experimentally. Temporal and spatial resolutions of the dosimetry system allow also for accurate verification of segments of complex stereotactic radiotherapy plans with identification of the instant and location where a certain dose is delivered. This feature allows for retrospective temporal reconstruction of the delivery process and easy identification of error in the tracking or the multileaf collimator driving systems. A sliding MLC wedge combined with the lung motion pattern has been measured. The ability of the MagicPlate-512 (MP512) in 2D dose mapping in all three modes of operation was benchmarked by EBT3 film. Results: Full width at half maximum and penumbra of the moving and stationary dose profiles measured by EBT3 film and MagicPlate-512 confirm that motion has a significant impact on the dose distribution. Motion, no motion, and motion with MLC tracking profiles agreed within 1 and 0.4 mm, respectively, for all field sizes tested. Use of electromagnetic tracking system generates a fluctuation of the detector baseline up to 10% of the full scale signal requiring a proper shielding strategy. MagicPlate-512 is also able to reconstruct the dose variation pulse-by-pulse in each pixel of the detector. An analysis of the dose transients with motion and motion with tracking shows that the tracking feedback algorithm used for this experiment can compensate effectively only the effect of the slower transient components. The fast changing components of the organ motion can contribute only to discrepancy of the order of 15% in penumbral region while the slower components can change the dose profile up to 75% of the expected dose. Conclusions: MagicPlate-512 is shown to be, potentially, a valid alternative to film or 2D ionizing chambers for quality assurance dosimetry in SRS or SBRT. Its high spatial and temporal resolutions allow for accurate reconstruction of the profile in any conditions with motion and with tracking of the motion. It shows excellent performance to reconstruct the dose deposition in real time or retrospectively as a function of time for detailed analysis of the effect of motion in a specific pixel or area of interest.« less

The International Year of Light 2015 and its impact on educational activities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Curticapean, Dan; Vauderwange, Oliver; Wozniak, Peter; Mandal, Avikarsha

2016-09-01

The International Year of Light and Light-Based Technologies 2015 (IYL 2015) was celebrated around the world. Worldwide activities were organized to highlight the impact of optics and photonics on life, science, economics, arts and culture, and also in education. With most of our activities at Offenburg University of Applied Sciences (Offenburg/Germany), we reached our own students and the general population of our region: - University for Children: "The Magic of Light" winter lecture program and "Across the Universe with Relativity and Quantum Theory" summer lecture program - "Students Meet Scientists" - "A Century of General Relativity Theory" lecture program Nevertheless, with some of our activities we also engaged a worldwide audience: - IYL 2015 art poster collection (Magic of Light and No Football, Just Photonics) - Smart Interactive Projection - Twitter Wall - "Invisible Light" - Live broadcasting of the total lunar eclipse - Film Festival Merida Mexico The authors will highlight recent activities at our university dedicated to promote, celebrate, and create a legacy for the IYL 2015.

The Influence of Chemical Modification on Linker Rotational Dynamics in Metal-Organic Frameworks.

PubMed

Damron, Joshua T; Ma, Jialiu; Kurz, Ricardo; Saalwächter, Kay; Matzger, Adam J; Ramamoorthy, Ayyalusamy

2018-05-21

The robust synthetic flexibility of metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offers a promising class of tailorable materials, for which the ability to tune specific physicochemical properties is highly desired. This is achievable only through a thorough description of the consequences for chemical manipulations both in structure and dynamics. Magic angle spinning solid-state NMR spectroscopy offers many modalities in this pursuit, particularly for dynamic studies. Herein, we employ a separated-local-field NMR approach to show how specific intraframework chemical modifications to MOF UiO-66 heavily modulate the dynamic evolution of the organic ring moiety over several orders of magnitude. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Aerosol Properties over the Eastern North Pacific based on Measurements from the MAGIC Field Campaign

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lewis, E. R.; Senum, G.; Springston, S. R.; Kuang, C.

2015-12-01

The MAGIC field campaign, funded and operated by the ARM (Atmospheric Radiation Measurement) Climate Research Facility of the US Department of Energy, occurred between September 2012 and October, 2013 aboard the Horizon Lines cargo container ship Spirit making regular trips between Los Angeles, CA and Honolulu, HI. Along this route, which lies very near the GPCI (GCSS Pacific Cross-section Intercomparison) transect, the predominant cloud regime changes from stratocumulus near the California coast to trade-wind cumulus near Hawaii. The transition between these two regimes is poorly understood and not accurately represented in models. The goal of MAGIC was to acquire statistic of this transition and thus improve its representation in models by making repeated transects through this region and measuring properties of clouds and precipitation, aerosols, radiation, and atmospheric structure. To achieve these goals, the Second ARM Mobile Facility (AMF2) was deployed on the Horizon Spirit as it ran its regular route between Los Angeles and Honolulu. AMF2 consists of three 20-foot SeaTainers and includes three radars and other instruments to measure properties of clouds and precipitation; the Aerosol Observing System (AOS), which has a suite of instruments to measure properties of aerosols; and other instruments to measure radiation, meteorological quantities, and sea surface temperature. Two technicians accompanied the AMF2, and scientists rode the ship as observers. MAGIC made nearly 20 round trips between Los Angeles and Honolulu (and thus nearly 40 excursions through the stratocumulus-to-cumulus transition) and spent 200 days at sea, collecting an unprecedented data set. Aerosol properties measured with the AOS include number concentration and size distribution, CCN activity, hygroscopic growth, and light-scattering and absorption. Additionally, more than one hundred filter samples were collected. Aerosol properties and their spatial and temporal behavior are discussed and examined in terms of other meteorological and environmental parameters.

Using Magic Board as a Teaching Aid in Third Grader Learning of Area Concepts

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Chang, Wen-Long; Yuan, Yuan; Lee, Chun-Yi; Chen, Min-Hui; Huang, Wen-Guu

2013-01-01

The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of incorporating Magic Board in the instruction of concepts related to area. We adopted a non-equivalent quasi-experimental design and recruited participants from two classes of third-grade students in an elementary school in Taoyuan County, Taiwan. Magic Board was used as a teaching aid in the…

Magical Thinking in Judgments of Causation: Can Anomalous Phenomena Affect Ontological Causal Beliefs in Children and Adults?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Subbotsky, Eugene

2004-01-01

In four experiments, 4-, 5-, 6- and 9-year-old children and adults were tested on the entrenchment of their magical beliefs and their beliefs in the universal power of physical causality. In Experiment 1, even 4-year-olds showed some understanding of the difference between ordinary and anomalous (magical) causal events, but only 6-year-olds and…

The Ghost in the Machine: Why and How the Belief in Magic Survives in the Rational Mind

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Subbotsky, Eugene

2011-01-01

Since the time of Galileo (1564-1642), Western civilization has increasingly fallen under the spell of science. Despite this fact, anthropological and psychological research has shown that magical beliefs are present in both children and adults in modern industrial cultures. How can a belief in magic coexist with a belief in science in the mind of…

Francesca Lia Block's Use of Enchantment: Teenagers' Need for Magic in the Real World.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Warner, Lois L.

2002-01-01

Considers how Francesca Lia Block's melding of the magic and the ordinary makes her work special. Suggests that magic is what makes people dream, and that the teen years is a great time to dream because there is still time to make dreams come true. Presents a nine-item annotated bibliography of titles for adolescents by Block. (SG)

Middle School Science Notes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Science Review, 1983

1983-01-01

Demonstrations, experiments, and classroom activities/materials for middle school science are presented. These include: additive color mixing demonstration; electricity activity and worksheet; atmospheric pressure "magic" demonstration; homemade microbalance; energy from soap bubbles; and a model used to demonstrate muscle pairs and how…

The Magic Bullet: A Tool for Assessing and Evaluating Learning Potential in Games

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Becker, Katrin

2011-01-01

This paper outlines a simple and effective model that can be used to evaluate and design educational digital games. It also facilitates the formulation of strategies for using existing games in learning contexts. The model categorizes game goals and learning objectives into one or more of four possible categories. An overview of the model is…

Atmospheric monitoring in MAGIC and data corrections

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fruck, Christian; Gaug, Markus

2015-03-01

A method for analyzing returns of a custom-made "micro"-LIDAR system, operated alongside the two MAGIC telescopes is presented. This method allows for calculating the transmission through the atmospheric boundary layer as well as thin cloud layers. This is achieved by applying exponential fits to regions of the back-scattering signal that are dominated by Rayleigh scattering. Making this real-time transmission information available for the MAGIC data stream allows to apply atmospheric corrections later on in the analysis. Such corrections allow for extending the effective observation time of MAGIC by including data taken under adverse atmospheric conditions. In the future they will help reducing the systematic uncertainties of energy and flux.

Magical ideation modulates spatial behavior.

PubMed

Mohr, Christine; Bracha, H Stefan; Brugger, Peter

2003-01-01

Previous research has found that animals as well as persons with psychotic disorders preferentially orient away from the cerebral hemisphere with the more active dopamine system. This study investigated the modulation of spatial behavior by a mode of thinking reminiscent of the positive symptoms of psychosis. In a non-treatment-seeking sample of healthy volunteers (20 women and 16 men), the authors assessed the lateral biases in turning and veering behavior and in line bisection as a function of their magical ideation, that is, a mild form of schizotypy. Across tasks, pronounced magical ideation was associated with reduced right-sided orientation preferences. This finding suggests a relative hyperdopaminergia of the right hemisphere as the biological basis of magical ideation.

Freud, Piaget, or neither? Beliefs in controlling others by wishful thinking and magical behavior in young children.

PubMed

Vikan, A; Clausen, S E

1993-09-01

Tests showed that 4- to 6-year-old children believe that people can be influenced or "controlled" both by thinking (e.g., both wishful thinking and magical behavior) and by realistic means (e.g., positive reinforcement, example, and group pressure). Belief in control by thinking did not vary by the subjects' sex or age, influence type (wishing or magical behavior), or target response (behavior, emotion, or thought). Quantitative measures, however, suggested that magical behavior was seen by subjects as being more efficient than wishing, and that emotion was considered easier to influence than thinking. Beliefs in control by thinking were not related to a measure of fantasy-reality differentiation (realism).

Constraints Modeling in FRBR Data Model Using OCL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rudić, Gordana

2011-09-01

Transformation of the conceptual FRBR data model to the class diagram in UML 2.0 notation is given. The class diagram is formed using MagicDraw CASE tool. The paper presents a class diagram for the first group of FRBR entities ie. classes (the product of intellectual or artistic endeavour). It is demonstrated how to model constraints over relationships between classes in FRBR object data model using OCL 2.0.

Distillation with Sublogarithmic Overhead.

PubMed

Hastings, Matthew B; Haah, Jeongwan

2018-02-02

It has been conjectured that, for any distillation protocol for magic states for the T gate, the number of noisy input magic states required per output magic state at output error rate ε is Ω[log(1/ε)]. We show that this conjecture is false. We find a family of quantum error correcting codes of parameters ⟦∑[under i=w+1][over m](m/i),∑[under i=0][over w](m/i),∑[under i=w+1][over r+1](r+1/i)⟧ for any integers m>2r, r>w≥0, by puncturing quantum Reed-Muller codes. When m>νr, our code admits a transversal logical gate at the νth level of Clifford hierarchy. In a distillation protocol for magic states at the level ν=3 (T gate), the ratio of input to output magic states is O(log^{γ}(1/ε)), where γ=log(n/k)/log(d)<0.678 for some m, r, w. The smallest code in our family for which γ<1 is on ≈2^{58} qubits.

Need for cognition moderates paranormal beliefs and magical ideation in inconsistent-handers.

PubMed

Prichard, Eric C; Christman, Stephen D

2016-01-01

A growing literature suggests that degree of handedness predicts gullibility and magical ideation. Inconsistent-handers (people who use their non-dominant hand for at least one common manual activity) report more magical ideation and are more gullible. The current study tested whether this effect is moderated by need for cognition. One hundred eighteen university students completed questionnaires assessing handedness, self-reported paranormal beliefs, and self-reported need for cognition. Handedness (Inconsistent vs. Consistent Right) and Need for Cognition (High vs. Low) were treated as categorical predictors. Both paranormal beliefs and magical ideation served as dependent variable's in separate analyses. Neither set of tests yielded main effects for handedness or need for cognition. However, there were a significant handedness by need for cognition interactions. Post-hoc comparisons revealed that low, but not high, need for cognition inconsistent-handers reported relatively elevated levels of paranormal belief and magical ideation. A secondary set of tests treating the predictor variables as continuous instead of categorical obtained the same overall pattern.

What's Magic about Magic Numbers? Chunking and Data Compression in Short-Term Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mathy, Fabien; Feldman, Jacob

2012-01-01

Short term memory is famously limited in capacity to Miller's (1956) magic number 7 plus or minus 2--or, in many more recent studies, about 4 plus or minus 1 "chunks" of information. But the definition of "chunk" in this context has never been clear, referring only to a set of items that are treated collectively as a single unit. We propose a new…

Western aeronautical test range real-time graphics software package MAGIC

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Malone, Jacqueline C.; Moore, Archie L.

1988-01-01

The master graphics interactive console (MAGIC) software package used on the Western Aeronautical Test Range (WATR) of the NASA Ames Research Center is described. MAGIC is a resident real-time research tool available to flight researchers-scientists in the NASA mission control centers of the WATR at the Dryden Flight Research Facility at Edwards, California. The hardware configuration and capabilities of the real-time software package are also discussed.

Setting the magic angle for fast magic-angle spinning probes.

PubMed

Penzel, Susanne; Smith, Albert A; Ernst, Matthias; Meier, Beat H

2018-06-15

Fast magic-angle spinning, coupled with 1 H detection is a powerful method to improve spectral resolution and signal to noise in solid-state NMR spectra. Commercial probes now provide spinning frequencies in excess of 100 kHz. Then, one has sufficient resolution in the 1 H dimension to directly detect protons, which have a gyromagnetic ratio approximately four times larger than 13 C spins. However, the gains in sensitivity can quickly be lost if the rotation angle is not set precisely. The most common method of magic-angle calibration is to optimize the number of rotary echoes, or sideband intensity, observed on a sample of KBr. However, this typically uses relatively low spinning frequencies, where the spinning of fast-MAS probes is often unstable, and detection on the 13 C channel, for which fast-MAS probes are typically not optimized. Therefore, we compare the KBr-based optimization of the magic angle with two alternative approaches: optimization of the splitting observed in 13 C-labeled glycine-ethylester on the carbonyl due to the Cα-C' J-coupling, or optimization of the H-N J-coupling spin echo in the protein sample itself. The latter method has the particular advantage that no separate sample is necessary for the magic-angle optimization. Copyright © 2018. Published by Elsevier Inc.

(1)H-(13)C Hetero-nuclear dipole-dipole couplings of methyl groups in stationary and magic angle spinning solid-state NMR experiments of peptides and proteins.

PubMed

Wu, Chin H; Das, Bibhuti B; Opella, Stanley J

2010-02-01

(13)C NMR of isotopically labeled methyl groups has the potential to combine spectroscopic simplicity with ease of labeling for protein NMR studies. However, in most high resolution separated local field experiments, such as polarization inversion spin exchange at the magic angle (PISEMA), that are used to measure (1)H-(13)C hetero-nuclear dipolar couplings, the four-spin system of the methyl group presents complications. In this study, the properties of the (1)H-(13)C hetero-nuclear dipolar interactions of (13)C-labeled methyl groups are revealed through solid-state NMR experiments on a range of samples, including single crystals, stationary powders, and magic angle spinning of powders, of (13)C(3) labeled alanine alone and incorporated into a protein. The spectral simplifications resulting from proton detected local field (PDLF) experiments are shown to enhance resolution and simplify the interpretation of results on single crystals, magnetically aligned samples, and powders. The complementarity of stationary sample and magic angle spinning (MAS) measurements of dipolar couplings is demonstrated by applying polarization inversion spin exchange at the magic angle and magic angle spinning (PISEMAMAS) to unoriented samples. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Turn on, tune in, but don't drop out: The impact of neo-liberalism on magic mushroom users' (in)ability to imagine collectivist social worlds.

PubMed

Riley, Sarah; Thompson, James; Griffin, Christine

2010-11-01

Between 2002 and 2005 fresh or unprepared psilocin-based 'magic' mushrooms were legal to possess and traffic in the UK, and commercial sales demonstrated a significant market for this hallucinogenic drug. During and after this time there has been relatively little analysis concerning how magic mushroom users accounted for their drug use, nor on the wider political and cultural discourses that might have shaped this sense making. In this paper we present a critical analysis of contemporary discourses around magic mushroom use in the UK through a multi-level discourse analysis of focus group data from 20 magic mushroom users (13 male and 7 female, mean age 25 years), taken at a time when magic mushrooms were being legally sold in the UK. Locating participants' use of magic mushrooms within the context of a culture of intoxication, neo-liberalism and the legacy of 1960s psychedelic philosophy, we identify six interpretative repertoires in their talk, which were subsumed within two overarching discourses. The first discourse drew on neo-liberal rhetoric, constructing participants as rational risk managing subjects engaged in a form of calculated hedonism that was legitimated as an act of personal freedom and consumer choice. The second discourse, identified as 'post-psychedelic', both celebrated and problematised a collective, connected 'hippy' form of spirituality. The paper analyses the relationships between identity, consumption and citizenship by arguing that people's ability to imagine collectivist, spiritual or interconnected social worlds has been contained within neo-liberalism rhetoric. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Magic Pools: Parallel Assessment of Transposon Delivery Vectors in Bacteria

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

Liu, Hualan; Price, Morgan N.; Waters, Robert Jordan

Transposon mutagenesis coupled to next-generation sequencing (TnSeq) is a powerful approach for discovering the functions of bacterial genes. However, the development of a suitable TnSeq strategy for a given bacterium can be costly and time-consuming. To meet this challenge, we describe a part-based strategy for constructing libraries of hundreds of transposon delivery vectors, which we term “magic pools.” Within a magic pool, each transposon vector has a different combination of upstream sequences (promoters and ribosome binding sites) and antibiotic resistance markers as well as a random DNA barcode sequence, which allows the tracking of each vector during mutagenesis experiments. Tomore » identify an efficient vector for a given bacterium, we mutagenize it with a magic pool and sequence the resulting insertions; we then use this efficient vector to generate a large mutant library. We used the magic pool strategy to construct transposon mutant libraries in five genera of bacteria, including three genera of the phylumBacteroidetes. IMPORTANCEMolecular genetics is indispensable for interrogating the physiology of bacteria. However, the development of a functional genetic system for any given bacterium can be time-consuming. Here, we present a streamlined approach for identifying an effective transposon mutagenesis system for a new bacterium. Our strategy first involves the construction of hundreds of different transposon vector variants, which we term a “magic pool.” The efficacy of each vector in a magic pool is monitored in parallel using a unique DNA barcode that is introduced into each vector design. Using archived DNA “parts,” we next reassemble an effective vector for making a whole-genome transposon mutant library that is suitable for large-scale interrogation of gene function using competitive growth assays. Here, we demonstrate the utility of the magic pool system to make mutant libraries in five genera of bacteria.« less

Magic Pools: Parallel Assessment of Transposon Delivery Vectors in Bacteria

DOE PAGES

Liu, Hualan; Price, Morgan N.; Waters, Robert Jordan; ...

2018-01-16

Transposon mutagenesis coupled to next-generation sequencing (TnSeq) is a powerful approach for discovering the functions of bacterial genes. However, the development of a suitable TnSeq strategy for a given bacterium can be costly and time-consuming. To meet this challenge, we describe a part-based strategy for constructing libraries of hundreds of transposon delivery vectors, which we term “magic pools.” Within a magic pool, each transposon vector has a different combination of upstream sequences (promoters and ribosome binding sites) and antibiotic resistance markers as well as a random DNA barcode sequence, which allows the tracking of each vector during mutagenesis experiments. Tomore » identify an efficient vector for a given bacterium, we mutagenize it with a magic pool and sequence the resulting insertions; we then use this efficient vector to generate a large mutant library. We used the magic pool strategy to construct transposon mutant libraries in five genera of bacteria, including three genera of the phylumBacteroidetes. IMPORTANCEMolecular genetics is indispensable for interrogating the physiology of bacteria. However, the development of a functional genetic system for any given bacterium can be time-consuming. Here, we present a streamlined approach for identifying an effective transposon mutagenesis system for a new bacterium. Our strategy first involves the construction of hundreds of different transposon vector variants, which we term a “magic pool.” The efficacy of each vector in a magic pool is monitored in parallel using a unique DNA barcode that is introduced into each vector design. Using archived DNA “parts,” we next reassemble an effective vector for making a whole-genome transposon mutant library that is suitable for large-scale interrogation of gene function using competitive growth assays. Here, we demonstrate the utility of the magic pool system to make mutant libraries in five genera of bacteria.« less

Probing Silica-Biomolecule Interactions by Solid-State NMR and Molecular Dynamics Simulations.

PubMed

Brückner, Stephan Ingmar; Donets, Sergii; Dianat, Arezoo; Bobeth, Manfred; Gutiérrez, Rafael; Cuniberti, Gianaurelio; Brunner, Eike

2016-11-08

Understanding the molecular interactions between inorganic phases such as silica and organic material is fundamental for chromatographic applications, for tailoring silica-enzyme interactions, and for elucidating the mechanisms of biomineralization. The formation, structure, and properties of the organic/inorganic interface is crucial in this context. Here, we investigate the interaction of selectively 13 C-labeled choline with 29 Si-labeled monosilicic acid/silica at the molecular level. Silica/choline nanocomposites were analyzed by solid-state NMR spectroscopy in combination with extended molecular dynamics (MD) simulations to understand the silica/organic interface. Cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CP MAS)-based NMR experiments like 1 H- 13 C CP-REDOR (rotational-echo double resonance), 1 H- 13 C HETCOR (heteronuclear correlation), and 1 H- 29 Si- 1 H double CP are employed to determine spatial parameters. The measurement of 29 Si- 13 C internuclear distances for selectively 13 C-labeled choline provides an experimental parameter that allows the direct verification of MD simulations. Atomistic modeling using classical MD methodologies is performed using the INTERFACE force field. The modeling results are in excellent agreement with the experimental data and reveal the relevant molecular conformations as well as the nature and interplay of the interactions between the choline cation and the silica surface. Electrostatic interactions and hydrogen bonding are both important and depend strongly on the hydration level as well as the charge state of the silica surface.

Magnetic resonance imaging of DNP enhancements in a rotor spinning at the magic angle

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

Perras, Frederic A.; Kobayashi, Takeshi; Pruski, Marek

Simulations performed on model, static, samples have shown that the microwave power is non-uniformly distributed in the magic angle spinning (MAS) rotor when using conventional dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) instrumentation. Here, we applied the stray-field magic angle spinning imaging (STRAFI–MAS) experiment to generate a spatial map of the DNP enhancements in a full rotor, which is spun at a low rate in a commercial DNP–MAS NMR system. Notably, we observed that the enhancement factors produced in the center of the rotor can be twice as large as those produced at the top of the rotor. Surprisingly, we observed that themore » largest enhancement factors are observed along the axis of the rotor as opposed to against its walls, which are most directly irradiated by the microwave beam. We lastly observed that the distribution of enhancement factors can be moderately improved by degassing the sample and increasing the microwave power. The inclusion of dielectric particles greatly amplifies the enhancement factors throughout the rotor. Furthermore, the STRAFI–MAS approach can provide useful guidance for optimizing the access of microwave power to the sample, and thereby lead to further increases in sensitivity of DNP–MAS NMR.« less

Magnetic resonance imaging of DNP enhancements in a rotor spinning at the magic angle

DOE PAGES

Perras, Frederic A.; Kobayashi, Takeshi; Pruski, Marek

2016-02-23

Simulations performed on model, static, samples have shown that the microwave power is non-uniformly distributed in the magic angle spinning (MAS) rotor when using conventional dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) instrumentation. Here, we applied the stray-field magic angle spinning imaging (STRAFI–MAS) experiment to generate a spatial map of the DNP enhancements in a full rotor, which is spun at a low rate in a commercial DNP–MAS NMR system. Notably, we observed that the enhancement factors produced in the center of the rotor can be twice as large as those produced at the top of the rotor. Surprisingly, we observed that themore » largest enhancement factors are observed along the axis of the rotor as opposed to against its walls, which are most directly irradiated by the microwave beam. We lastly observed that the distribution of enhancement factors can be moderately improved by degassing the sample and increasing the microwave power. The inclusion of dielectric particles greatly amplifies the enhancement factors throughout the rotor. Furthermore, the STRAFI–MAS approach can provide useful guidance for optimizing the access of microwave power to the sample, and thereby lead to further increases in sensitivity of DNP–MAS NMR.« less

Future Threats or Clear and Present Dangers?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Eisenberg, Leon

1976-01-01

Addresses the questions of the social and medical uses and limitations of stimulant drugs. Reviews the biochemical models of learning and concludes that the temptation to ascribe magical or science fiction-like properties to chemical agents must be resisted. (Editor/RK)

Nuclear matter parameters and optical model analysis of proton elastic scattering on the doubly magic nucleus 40Ca

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Khalaf, A. M.; Khalifa, M. M.; Solieman, A. H. M.; Comsan, M. N. H.

2018-01-01

Owing to its doubly magic nature having equal numbers of protons and neutrons, the 40Ca nuclear scattering can be successfully described by the optical model that assumes a spherical nuclear potential. Therefore, optical model analysis was employed to calculate the elastic scattering cross section for p +40Ca interaction at energies from 9 to 22 MeV as well as the polarization at energies from 10 to 18.2 MeV. New optical model parameters (OMPs) were proposed based on the best fitting to experimental data. It is found that the best fit OMPs depend on the energy by smooth relationships. The results were compared with other OMPs sets regarding their chi square values (χ2). The obtained OMP's set was used to calculate the volume integral of the potentials and the root mean square (rms) value of nuclear matter radius of 40Ca. In addition, 40Ca bulk nuclear matter properties were discussed utilizing both the obtained rms radius and the Thomas-Fermi rms radius calculated using spherical Hartree-Fock formalism employing Skyrme type nucleon-nucleon force. The nuclear scattering SCAT2000 FORTRAN code was used for the optical model analysis.

USE OF A LUMPED MODEL (MAGIC) TO BOUND THE ESTIMATION OF POTENTIAL FUTURE EFFECTS OF SULFUR AND NITROGEN DEPOSITION ON LAKE CHEMISTRY IN THE ADIRONDACK MOUNTAINS

EPA Science Inventory

Leaching of atmospherically deposited nitrogen from forested watersheds can acidify lakes and streams. Using a modified version of the Model of Acidification of Groundwater in Catchments, we made computer simulations of such effects for 36 lake catchments in the Adirondack Mount...

Is the Universe More Transparent to Gamma Rays than Previously Thought?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stecker, Floyd W.; Scully, Sean T.

2009-01-01

The MAGIC collaboration has recently reported the detection of the strong gamma-ray blazar 3C279 during a 1-2 day flare. They have used their spectral observations to draw conclusions regarding upper limits on the opacity of the Universe to high energy gamma-rays and, by implication, upper limits on the extragalactic mid-infrared background radiation. In this paper we examine the effect of gamma-ray absorption by the extragalactic infrared radiation on intrinsic spectra for this blazar and compare our results with the observational data on 3C279. We find agreement with our previous results, contrary to the recent assertion of the MAGIC group that the Universe is more transparent to gamma-rays than our calculations indicate. Our analysis indicates that in the energy range between approx. 80 and approx. 500 GeV, 3C279 has a best-fit intrinsic spectrum with a spectral index approx. 1.78 using our fast evolution model and approx. 2.19 using our baseline model. However, we also find that spectral indices in the range of 1.0 to 3.0 are almost as equally acceptable as the best fit spectral indices. Assuming the same intrinsic spectral index for this flare as for the 1991 flare from 3C279 observed by EGRET, viz., 2.02, which lies between our best fit indeces, we estimate that the MAGIC flare was approx.3 times brighter than the EGRET flare observed 15 years earlier.

Creating a FIESTA (Framework for Integrated Earth Science and Technology Applications) with MagIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minnett, R.; Koppers, A. A. P.; Jarboe, N.; Tauxe, L.; Constable, C.

2017-12-01

The Magnetics Information Consortium (https://earthref.org/MagIC) has recently developed a containerized web application to considerably reduce the friction in contributing, exploring and combining valuable and complex datasets for the paleo-, geo- and rock magnetic scientific community. The data produced in this scientific domain are inherently hierarchical and the communities evolving approaches to this scientific workflow, from sampling to taking measurements to multiple levels of interpretations, require a large and flexible data model to adequately annotate the results and ensure reproducibility. Historically, contributing such detail in a consistent format has been prohibitively time consuming and often resulted in only publishing the highly derived interpretations. The new open-source (https://github.com/earthref/MagIC) application provides a flexible upload tool integrated with the data model to easily create a validated contribution and a powerful search interface for discovering datasets and combining them to enable transformative science. MagIC is hosted at EarthRef.org along with several interdisciplinary geoscience databases. A FIESTA (Framework for Integrated Earth Science and Technology Applications) is being created by generalizing MagIC's web application for reuse in other domains. The application relies on a single configuration document that describes the routing, data model, component settings and external services integrations. The container hosts an isomorphic Meteor JavaScript application, MongoDB database and ElasticSearch search engine. Multiple containers can be configured as microservices to serve portions of the application or rely on externally hosted MongoDB, ElasticSearch, or third-party services to efficiently scale computational demands. FIESTA is particularly well suited for many Earth Science disciplines with its flexible data model, mapping, account management, upload tool to private workspaces, reference metadata, image galleries, full text searches and detailed filters. EarthRef's Seamount Catalog of bathymetry and morphology data, EarthRef's Geochemical Earth Reference Model (GERM) databases, and Oregon State University's Marine and Geology Repository (http://osu-mgr.org) will benefit from custom adaptations of FIESTA.

On microscopic theory of radiative nuclear reaction characteristics

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

Kamerdzhiev, S. P.; Achakovskiy, O. I., E-mail: oachakovskiy@ippe.ru; Avdeenkov, A. V.

2016-07-15

A survey of some results in the modern microscopic theory of properties of nuclear reactions with gamma rays is given. First of all, we discuss the impact of Phonon Coupling (PC) on the Photon Strength Function (PSF) because it represents the most natural physical source of additional strength found for Sn isotopes in recent experiments that could not be explained within the standard HFB + QRPA approach. The self-consistent version of the Extended Theory of Finite Fermi Systems in the Quasiparticle Time Blocking Approximation is applied. It uses the HFB mean field and includes both the QRPA and PC effectsmore » on the basis of the SLy4 Skyrme force. With our microscopic E1 PSFs, the following properties have been calculated for many stable and unstable even–even semi-magic Sn and Ni isotopes as well as for double-magic {sup 132}Sn and {sup 208}Pb using the reaction codes EMPIRE and TALYS with several Nuclear Level Density (NLD) models: (1) the neutron capture cross sections; (2) the corresponding neutron capture gamma spectra; (3) the average radiative widths of neutron resonances. In all the properties considered, the PC contribution turned out to be significant, as compared with the standard QRPA one, and necessary to explain the available experimental data. The results with the phenomenological so-called generalized superfluid NLD model turned out to be worse, on the whole, than those obtained with the microscopic HFB + combinatorial NLD model. The very topical question about the M1 resonance contribution to PSFs is also discussed.Finally, we also discuss the modern microscopic NLD models based on the self-consistent HFB method and show their relevance to explain the experimental data as compared with the phenomenological models. The use of these self-consistent microscopic approaches is of particular relevance for nuclear astrophysics, but also for the study of double-magic nuclei.« less

It's a kind of magic-what self-reports can reveal about the phenomenology of insight problem solving.

PubMed

Danek, Amory H; Fraps, Thomas; von Müller, Albrecht; Grothe, Benedikt; Öllinger, Michael

2014-01-01

Magic tricks usually remain a mystery to the observer. For the sake of science, we offered participants the opportunity to discover the magician's secret method by repeatedly presenting the same trick and asking them to find out how the trick worked. In the context of insightful problem solving, the present work investigated the emotions that participants experience upon solving a magic trick. We assumed that these emotions form the typical "Aha! experience" that accompanies insightful solutions to difficult problems. We aimed to show that Aha! experiences can be triggered by magic tricks and to systematically explore the phenomenology of the Aha! experience by breaking it down into five previously postulated dimensions. 34 video clips of different magic tricks were presented up to three times to 50 participants who had to find out how the trick was accomplished, and to indicate whether they had experienced an Aha! during the solving process. Participants then performed a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative assessment of their Aha! experiences which was repeated after 14 days to control for its reliability. 41% of all suggested solutions were accompanied by an Aha! experience. The quantitative assessment remained stable across time in all five dimensions. Happiness was rated as the most important dimension. This primacy of positive emotions was also reflected in participants' qualitative self-reports which contained more emotional than cognitive aspects. Implementing magic tricks as problem solving task, we could show that strong Aha! experiences can be triggered if a trick is solved. We could at least partially capture the phenomenology of Aha! by identifying one prevailing aspect (positive emotions), a new aspect (release of tension upon gaining insight into a magic trick) and one less important aspect (impasse).

Compact Low-Loss Planar Magic-T

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

U-yen, Kongpop; Wollack, Edward J.; Doiron, Terence; Moseley, Sameul H.

2008-01-01

This design allows broadband power combining with high isolation between the H port and E port, and achieves a lower insertion loss than any other broadband planar magic-T. Passive micro wave/millimeter-wave signal power is combined both in-phase and out-of-phase at the ports, with the phase error being less than 1 , which is limited by port impedance. The in-phase signal combiner consists of two quarter-wavelength-long transmission lines combined at the microstrip line junction. The out-of-phase signal combiner consists of two half-wavelength-long transmission lines combined in series. Structural symmetry creates a virtual ground plane at the combining junction, and the combined signal is converted from microstrip line to slotline. Optimum realizable characteristic impedances are used so that the magic-T provides broadband response with low return loss. The magic-T is used in microwave and millimeter-wave frequencies, with the operating bandwidth being approximately 100 percent. The minimum isolation obtainable is 32 dB from port E to port H. The magic-T VSWR is less than 1.1 in the operating band. Operating temperature is mainly dependent on the variation in the dielectric constant of the substrate. Using crystallized substrate, the invention can operate in an extremely broad range of temperatures (from 0 to 400 K). It has a very high reliability because it has no moving parts and requires no maintenance, though it is desirable that the magic-T operate in a low-humidity environment. Fabrication of this design is very simple, using only two metallized layers. No bond wires, via holes, or air bridges are required. Additionally, this magic-T can operate as an individual component without auxiliary components.

Rescuing magical thinking from the jaws of social determinism.

PubMed

Chandler, M

1997-12-01

Although there is otherwise much to recommend it, by riveting attention too narrowly on the contents of magical thought, and by recasting what is left of process in exclusively substantiative terms, this target article works to create the unwarranted impression that the magical thoughts of children and adults are all of a common piece. This commentary reads these oversights and omissions as symptoms of an unspoken new-situationalism working behind the back of Woolley's review.

Magic Numbers in Small Iron Clusters: A First-Principles Study

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

Kim, Eunja; Mohrland, Andrew B.; Weck, Philippe F.

2014-10-03

We perform ab initio spin-polarized density functional calculations of Fen aggregates with n ≤ 17 atoms to reveal the origin of the observed magic numbers, which indicate particularly high stability of clusters with 7, 13 and 15 atoms. Our results clarify the controversy regarding the ground state geometry of clusters such as Fe5and indicate that magnetism plays an important role in determining the stability and magic numbers in small iron clusters.

Airbag Trail Dubbed 'Magic Carpet'

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2004-01-01

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] Click on the image for Airbag Trail Dubbed 'Magic Carpet' (QTVR)

[figure removed for brevity, see original site] [figure removed for brevity, see original site] Magic Carpet Close-upMagic Carpet Close-up HD

This section of the first color image from the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit has been further processed to produce a sharper look at a trail left by the one of rover's airbags. The drag mark was made after the rover landed and its airbags were deflated and retracted. Scientists have dubbed the region the 'Magic Carpet' after a crumpled portion of the soil that appears to have been peeled away (lower left side of the drag mark). Rocks were also dragged by the airbags, leaving impressions and 'bow waves' in the soil. The mission team plans to drive the rover over to this site to look for additional clues about the composition of the martian soil. This image was taken by Spirit's panoramic camera.

This extreme close-up image (see insets above) highlights the martian feature that scientists have named 'Magic Carpet' because of its resemblance to a crumpled carpet fold. Scientists think the soil here may have detached from its underlying layer, possibly due to interaction with the Mars Exploration Rover Spirit's airbag after landing. This image was taken on Mars by the rover's panoramic camera.

A New Interface for the Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) Paleo and Rock Magnetic Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarboe, N.; Minnett, R.; Koppers, A. A. P.; Tauxe, L.; Constable, C.; Shaar, R.; Jonestrask, L.

2014-12-01

The Magnetic Information Consortium (MagIC) database (http://earthref.org/MagIC/) continues to improve the ease of uploading data, the creation of complex searches, data visualization, and data downloads for the paleomagnetic, geomagnetic, and rock magnetic communities. Data uploading has been simplified and no longer requires the use of the Excel SmartBook interface. Instead, properly formatted MagIC text files can be dragged-and-dropped onto an HTML 5 web interface. Data can be uploaded one table at a time to facilitate ease of uploading and data error checking is done online on the whole dataset at once instead of incrementally in an Excel Console. Searching the database has improved with the addition of more sophisticated search parameters and with the ability to use them in complex combinations. Searches may also be saved as permanent URLs for easy reference or for use as a citation in a publication. Data visualization plots (ARAI, equal area, demagnetization, Zijderveld, etc.) are presented with the data when appropriate to aid the user in understanding the dataset. Data from the MagIC database may be downloaded from individual contributions or from online searches for offline use and analysis in the tab delimited MagIC text file format. With input from the paleomagnetic, geomagnetic, and rock magnetic communities, the MagIC database will continue to improve as a data warehouse and resource.

Role of magical thinking in obsessive-compulsive symptoms in an undergraduate sample.

PubMed

Einstein, Danielle A; Menzies, Ross G

2004-01-01

Thought action fusion (TAF) is an important presenting feature of many individuals with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). "Magical thinking" is a similar construct (developed within the literature on schizotypy) that may provide a more accurate depiction of difficulties encountered by individuals with OCD. This study seeks to examine relationships between components of magical thinking, TAF, and superstitiousness; establish the extent to which these constructs are independently related to OCD proneness; and establish the extent to which these biased reasoning styles are related to each of the major OCD symptom clusters (e.g., washing, checking). The Padua Inventory (PI), the Maudsley Obsessional-Compulsive Inventory (MOCI), the Magical Ideation Scale (MI), the Lucky Behaviours (Lbeh) and Lucky Beliefs (Lbel) Scales, and the Thought Action Fusion-Revised scale (TAF-R) were given to a cohort of 86 undergraduate students. Of all the measures, the MI scale was found to be the most strongly related to obsessive-compulsive symptoms. Large and significant relationships between MI scores and the two measures of OCD (i.e., MOCI and PI) were obtained even when alternative mediators (i.e., Lbeh, Lbel, TAF-R) were held constant. No other variable remained significantly related to the MOCI or PI when magical ideation scores were held constant. The findings suggest that a general magical thinking tendency may underpin previous observed links between superstitiousness, thought action fusion, and OCD severity. Copyright 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Step-by-step magic state encoding for efficient fault-tolerant quantum computation

PubMed Central

Goto, Hayato

2014-01-01

Quantum error correction allows one to make quantum computers fault-tolerant against unavoidable errors due to decoherence and imperfect physical gate operations. However, the fault-tolerant quantum computation requires impractically large computational resources for useful applications. This is a current major obstacle to the realization of a quantum computer. In particular, magic state distillation, which is a standard approach to universality, consumes the most resources in fault-tolerant quantum computation. For the resource problem, here we propose step-by-step magic state encoding for concatenated quantum codes, where magic states are encoded step by step from the physical level to the logical one. To manage errors during the encoding, we carefully use error detection. Since the sizes of intermediate codes are small, it is expected that the resource overheads will become lower than previous approaches based on the distillation at the logical level. Our simulation results suggest that the resource requirements for a logical magic state will become comparable to those for a single logical controlled-NOT gate. Thus, the present method opens a new possibility for efficient fault-tolerant quantum computation. PMID:25511387

Step-by-step magic state encoding for efficient fault-tolerant quantum computation.

PubMed

Goto, Hayato

2014-12-16

Quantum error correction allows one to make quantum computers fault-tolerant against unavoidable errors due to decoherence and imperfect physical gate operations. However, the fault-tolerant quantum computation requires impractically large computational resources for useful applications. This is a current major obstacle to the realization of a quantum computer. In particular, magic state distillation, which is a standard approach to universality, consumes the most resources in fault-tolerant quantum computation. For the resource problem, here we propose step-by-step magic state encoding for concatenated quantum codes, where magic states are encoded step by step from the physical level to the logical one. To manage errors during the encoding, we carefully use error detection. Since the sizes of intermediate codes are small, it is expected that the resource overheads will become lower than previous approaches based on the distillation at the logical level. Our simulation results suggest that the resource requirements for a logical magic state will become comparable to those for a single logical controlled-NOT gate. Thus, the present method opens a new possibility for efficient fault-tolerant quantum computation.

Gamma-ray blazars: the combined AGILE and MAGIC views

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Persic, M.; De Angelis, A.; Longo, F.; Tavani, M.

The large FOV of the AGILE Gamma-Ray Imaging Detector (GRID), 2.5 sr, will allow the whole sky to be surveyed once every 10 days in the 30 MeV - 50 GeV energy band down to 0.05 Crab Units. This fact gives the opportunity of performing the first flux-limited, high-energy g-ray all-sky survey. The high Galactic latitude point-source population is expected to be largely dominated by blazars. Several tens of blazars are expected to be detected by AGILE (e.g., Costamante & Ghisellini 2002), about half of which accessible to the ground-based MAGIC Cherenkov telescope. The latter can then carry out pointed observations of this subset of AGILE sources in the 50GeV - 10TeV band. Given the comparable sensitivities of AGILE/GRID and MAGIC in adjacent energy bands where the emitted radiation is produced by the same (e.g., SSC) mechanism, we expect that most of these sources can be detected by MAGIC. We expect this broadband g-ray strategy to enable discovery by MAGIC of 10-15 previously unknown TeV blazars.

Quantum computation with realistic magic-state factories

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

O'Gorman, Joe; Campbell, Earl T.

2017-03-01

Leading approaches to fault-tolerant quantum computation dedicate a significant portion of the hardware to computational factories that churn out high-fidelity ancillas called magic states. Consequently, efficient and realistic factory design is of paramount importance. Here we present the most detailed resource assessment to date of magic-state factories within a surface code quantum computer, along the way introducing a number of techniques. We show that the block codes of Bravyi and Haah [Phys. Rev. A 86, 052329 (2012), 10.1103/PhysRevA.86.052329] have been systematically undervalued; we track correlated errors both numerically and analytically, providing fidelity estimates without appeal to the union bound. We also introduce a subsystem code realization of these protocols with constant time and low ancilla cost. Additionally, we confirm that magic-state factories have space-time costs that scale as a constant factor of surface code costs. We find that the magic-state factory required for postclassical factoring can be as small as 6.3 million data qubits, ignoring ancilla qubits, assuming 10-4 error gates and the availability of long-range interactions.

Assessment of Magical Beliefs about Food and Health.

PubMed

Lindeman, M; Keskivaara, P; Roschier, M

2000-03-01

The Magical Beliefs About Food and Health scale (MFH) was developed to assess individual differences in the tendency to adopt eating and health instructions that many magazines, health care books and food ideologies regard as valid but which obey universal laws of similarity and contagion. In a study of 216 individuals, the total MFH score showed good internal consistency and it was associated with various validity criteria as hypothesized (e.g. vegetarianism and other ideological commitments to food choice, female gender, increased neuroticism, experiential thinking, positive attitudes towards alternative medicine, low sensation seeking and endorsement of universalism values). Factor analysis yielded two factors: General Magical Beliefs and Animal Products as Food Contaminants. In addition, three other items (the Animal Products as Personality Contaminants scale) cross-loaded on the two factors. The factor structure and test-retest reliability were confirmed with separate samples. The results showed that the total MFH score is a reliable and valid measure of magical food and health beliefs, and that the subscales may prove useful when a multidimensional assessment of magical beliefs is needed.

New calculations of gross β-decay properties for astrophysical applications: Speeding-up the classical r process

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Möller, Peter; Pfeiffer, Bernd; Kratz, Karl-Ludwig

2003-05-01

Recent compilations of experimental gross β-decay properties, i.e., half-lives (T1/2) and neutron-emission probabilities (Pn), are compared to improved global macroscopic-microscopic model predictions. The model combines calculations within the quasiparticle (QP) random-phase approximation for the Gamow-Teller (GT) part with an empirical spreading of the QP strength and the gross theory for the first-forbidden part of β- decay. Nuclear masses are either taken from the 1995 data compilation of Audi et al., when available, otherwise from the finite-range droplet model. Especially for spherical and neutron-(sub-)magic isotopes a considerable improvement compared to our earlier predictions for pure GT decay (ADNDT, 1997) is observed. T1/2 and Pn values up to the neutron drip line have been used in r-process calculations within the classical “waiting-point” approximation. With the new nuclear-physics input, a considerable speeding-up of the r-matter flow is observed, in particular at those r-abundance peaks which are related to magic neutron-shell closures.

Observation of Galactic Sources of Very High Energy γ-RAYS with the Magic Telescope

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bartko, H.

The MAGIC telescope with its 17m diameter mirror is today the largest operating single-dish Imaging Air Cherenkov Telescope (IACT). It is located on the Canary Island La Palma, at an altitude of 2200 m above sea level, as part of the Roque de los Muchachos European Northern Observatory. The MAGIC telescope detects celestial very high energy γ-radiation in the energy band between about 50 GeV and 10 TeV. Since the autumn of 2004 MAGIC has been taking data routinely, observing various objects, like supernova remnants (SNRs), γ-ray binaries, Pulsars, Active Galactic Nuclei (AGN) and Gamma-ray Bursts (GRB). We briefly describe the observational strategy, the procedure implemented for the data analysis, and discuss the results of observations of Galactic Sources.

The permanence of mental objects: testing magical thinking on perceived and imaginary realities.

PubMed

Subbotsky, Eugene

2005-03-01

This study tested participants' preparedness to acknowledge that an object could change as a result of magical intervention. Six- and 9-year-old children and adults treated perceived and imagined objects as being equally permanent. Adults treated a fantastic object as significantly less permanent than either perceived or imagined objects. Results were similar when a different type of mental-physical causality--a participant's own wish--was examined. Adults were also tested on the permanence of personally significant imagined objects (participants' images of their future lives). Although almost all participants claimed that they did not believe in magic, in test trials they were not prepared to rule out the possibility that their future lives could be affected by a magical curse. Copyright 2005 APA, all rights reserved.

The Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) Online Database: Uploading, Searching and Visualizing Paleomagnetic and Rock Magnetic Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Minnett, R.; Koppers, A.; Tauxe, L.; Constable, C.; Pisarevsky, S. A.; Jackson, M.; Solheid, P.; Banerjee, S.; Johnson, C.

2006-12-01

The Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) is commissioned to implement and maintain an online portal to a relational database populated by both rock and paleomagnetic data. The goal of MagIC is to archive all measurements and the derived properties for studies of paleomagnetic directions (inclination, declination) and intensities, and for rock magnetic experiments (hysteresis, remanence, susceptibility, anisotropy). MagIC is hosted under EarthRef.org at http://earthref.org/MAGIC/ and has two search nodes, one for paleomagnetism and one for rock magnetism. Both nodes provide query building based on location, reference, methods applied, material type and geological age, as well as a visual map interface to browse and select locations. The query result set is displayed in a digestible tabular format allowing the user to descend through hierarchical levels such as from locations to sites, samples, specimens, and measurements. At each stage, the result set can be saved and, if supported by the data, can be visualized by plotting global location maps, equal area plots, or typical Zijderveld, hysteresis, and various magnetization and remanence diagrams. User contributions to the MagIC database are critical to achieving a useful research tool. We have developed a standard data and metadata template (Version 2.1) that can be used to format and upload all data at the time of publication in Earth Science journals. Software tools are provided to facilitate population of these templates within Microsoft Excel. These tools allow for the import/export of text files and provide advanced functionality to manage and edit the data, and to perform various internal checks to maintain data integrity and prepare for uploading. The MagIC Contribution Wizard at http://earthref.org/MAGIC/upload.htm executes the upload and takes only a few minutes to process several thousand data records. The standardized MagIC template files are stored in the digital archives of EarthRef.org where they remain available for download by the public (in both text and Excel format). Finally, the contents of these template files are automatically parsed into the online relational database, making the data available for online searches in the paleomagnetic and rock magnetic search nodes. The MagIC database contains all data transferred from the IAGA paleomagnetic poles database (GPMDB), the lava flow paleosecular variation database (PSVRL), lake sediment database (SECVR) and the PINT database. Additionally, a substantial number of data compiled under the Time Averaged Field Investigations project is now included plus a significant fraction of the data collected at SIO and the IRM. Ongoing additions of legacy data include over 40 papers from studies on the Hawaiian Islands and Mexico, data compilations from archeomagnetic studies and updates to the lake sediment dataset.

Proton-hole and core-excited states in the semi-magic nucleus 131In82

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

Taprogge, J.; Jungclaus, A.; Grawe, H.

2016-11-01

The decay of the N = 83 nucleus Cd-131 has been studied at the RIBF facility at the RIKEN Nishina Center. The main purpose of the study was to identify the position of the and proton-hole states and the energies of core-excited configurations in the semi-magic nucleus In-131. From the radiation emitted following the decay, a level scheme of In-131 was established and the feeding to each excited state determined. Similarities between the single-particle transitions observed in the decays of the N = 83 isotones In-132 and Cd-131 are discussed. Finally the excitation energies of several core-excited configurations in In-131more » are compared to QRPA and shell-model calculations.« less

Priority Setting in Government: Beyond the Magic Bullet.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bosin, Morris Robert

1992-01-01

Priority setting is examined from the perspective of planning practitioners operating in a major federal regulatory agency. Causes of ambivalence in setting priorities are considered, and ways to reduce ambivalence are suggested. Three models are proposed for setting priorities in the public sector. (SLD)

VLSI Research

DTIC Science & Technology

1984-04-01

Ousterhout, G.T. Hamachi, R.N. Mayo, W.S. Scott, and G.S. Taylor , "A Collection of Papers on Magic," Technical Report No. UCB/CSD 83/154, Computer Science...Division, University of California, Berkeley, December 1983. (3) J.K Ousterhout, G.T. Hamachi, R.N. Mayo, W.S. Scott, and G.S. Taylor , "Magic: A...VLSI Layout System." to appear, Slst Design Automation Confer- ence, June 1984. (4) G.S. Taylor and J.K Ousterhout, "Magic’s Incremental Design-Rule

MAGIC discovers VHE gamma-ray emission from the blazar 1ES 1727+502

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mariotti, Mose

2011-11-01

The MAGIC Collaboration reports the discovery of Very High Energy (VHE; E>100 GeV) gamma-ray emission from the BL Lac object 1ES 1727+502 (also known as OT546) with redshift z=0.055. The source was selected from the compilation of Costamante, L. & Ghisellini, G. 2002, A&A, 384, 56. Previous observations with the single MAGIC-I telescope yielded an upper limit on the level of 11.8% of the Crab Nebula flux above 140 GeV (J.

Controlling soliton excitations in Heisenberg spin chains through the magic angle.

PubMed

Lu, Jing; Zhou, Lan; Kuang, Le-Man; Sun, C P

2009-01-01

We study the nonlinear dynamics of collective excitation in an N -site XXZ quantum spin chain, which is manipulated by an oblique magnetic field. We show that, when the tilted field is applied along the magic angle, theta_{0}=+/-arccossqrt[13] , the anisotropic Heisenberg spin chain becomes isotropic and thus an freely propagating spin wave is stimulated. Also, in the regime of tilted angles larger and smaller than the magic angle, two types of nonlinear excitations appear: bright and dark solitons.

Alpha-cluster preformation factor within cluster-formation model for odd-A and odd-odd heavy nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Saleh Ahmed, Saad M.

2017-06-01

The alpha-cluster probability that represents the preformation of alpha particle in alpha-decay nuclei was determined for high-intensity alpha-decay mode odd-A and odd-odd heavy nuclei, 82 < Z < 114, 111 < N < 174. This probability was calculated using the energy-dependent formula derived from the formulation of clusterisation states representation (CSR) and the hypothesised cluster-formation model (CFM) as in our previous work. Our previous successful determination of phenomenological values of alpha-cluster preformation factors for even-even nuclei motivated us to expand the work to cover other types of nuclei. The formation energy of interior alpha cluster needed to be derived for the different nuclear systems with considering the unpaired-nucleon effect. The results showed the phenomenological value of alpha preformation probability and reflected the unpaired nucleon effect and the magic and sub-magic effects in nuclei. These results and their analyses presented are very useful for future work concerning the calculation of the alpha decay constants and the progress of its theory.

Electronic structures of Al-Si clusters and the magic number structure Al8Si4

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Du, Ning; Su, Mingzhi; Chen, Hongshan

2018-02-01

The low-energy structures of Al8Sim (m = 1-6) have been determined by using the genetic algorithm combined with density functional theory and the Second-order Moller-Plesset perturbation theory (MP2) models. The results show that the close-packed structures are preferable in energy for Al-Si clusters and in most cases there exist a few isomers with close energies. The valence molecular orbitals, the orbital level structures and the electron localisation function (ELF) consistently demonstrate that the electronic structures of Al-Si clusters can be described by the jellium model. Al8Si4 corresponds to a magic number structure with pronounced stability and large energy gap; the 40 valence electrons form closed 1S21P61D102S21F142P6 shells. The ELF attractors also suggest weak covalent Si-Si, Si-Al and Al-Al bonding, and doping Si in aluminium clusters promotes the covalent interaction between Al atoms.

Haitian vodou as a health care system: between magic, religion, and medicine.

PubMed

Vonarx, Nicolas

2011-01-01

Haitian vodou has been considered an African-American religion organized around a pantheon, sanctuaries, priests, fraternities, and rituals honoring the spirits (lwa), the dead, and the ancestors. This construction of vodou, which is predominant in the literature, is based on a substantive approach to religion. It obscures the close connections between vodou and illness and does not adequately reveal how vodou is used in the daily lives of Haitians. By adopting a microsocial perspective on vodou and focusing on the knowledge and practices of vodou practitioners, the importance of vodou's therapeutic dimension becomes clear. Indeed, I am compelled to conclude that vodou is a health care system. Grounded in 16 months' research in the Haitian countryside and using a definition of health care systems identified in the medical anthropology literature, this new way of approaching vodou situates its religious and magical dimensions within its role as a health care system. This article deals with these different aspects, addressing the criteria that make vodou a health care system. In particular, I explore the practitioners who are recognized as healers and consulted as such; the sites where practitioners meet with the sick and treat them; the vodou theories on illness; and the curative, preventive, and care-giving practices based on those theories. This approach helps us to better understand how medicine, religion, and magic are linked in Haitian vodou and leads us back to debates about the construction of vodou, which are apparently well known in the scientific literature. All of this leads us to reflect on Western approaches to healing and caring.

Mission informed needed information: discoverable, available sensing sources (MINI-DASS): the operators and process flows the magic rabbits must negotiate

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolodny, Michael A.

2017-05-01

Today's battlefield space is extremely complex, dealing with an enemy that is neither well-defined nor well-understood. Adversaries are comprised of widely-distributed, loosely-networked groups engaging in nefarious activities. Situational understanding is needed by decision makers; understanding of adversarial capabilities and intent is essential. Information needed at any time is dependent on the mission/task at hand. Information sources potentially providing mission-relevant information are disparate and numerous; they include sensors, social networks, fusion engines, internet, etc. Management of these multi-dimensional informational sources is critical. This paper will present a new approach being undertaken to answer the challenge of enhancing battlefield understanding by optimizing the utilization of available informational sources (means) to required missions/tasks as well as determining the "goodness'" of the information acquired in meeting the capabilities needed. Requirements are usually expressed in terms of a presumed technology solution (e.g., imagery). A metaphor of the "magic rabbits" was conceived to remove presumed technology solutions from requirements by claiming the "required" technology is obsolete. Instead, intelligent "magic rabbits" are used to provide needed information. The question then becomes: "WHAT INFORMATION DO YOU NEED THE RABBITS TO PROVIDE YOU?" This paper will describe a new approach called Mission-Informed Needed Information - Discoverable, Available Sensing Sources (MINI-DASS) that designs a process that builds information acquisition missions and determines what the "magic rabbits" need to provide in a manner that is machine understandable. Also described is the Missions and Means Framework (MMF) model used, the process flow utilized, the approach to developing an ontology of information source means and the approach for determining the value of the information acquired.

The NMR-Rosetta capsid model of M13 bacteriophage reveals a quadrupled hydrophobic packing epitope.

PubMed

Morag, Omry; Sgourakis, Nikolaos G; Baker, David; Goldbourt, Amir

2015-01-27

Filamentous phage are elongated semiflexible ssDNA viruses that infect bacteria. The M13 phage, belonging to the family inoviridae, has a length of ∼1 μm and a diameter of ∼7 nm. Here we present a structural model for the capsid of intact M13 bacteriophage using Rosetta model building guided by structure restraints obtained from magic-angle spinning solid-state NMR experimental data. The C5 subunit symmetry observed in fiber diffraction studies was enforced during model building. The structure consists of stacked pentamers with largely alpha helical subunits containing an N-terminal type II β-turn; there is a rise of 16.6-16.7 Å and a tilt of 36.1-36.6° between consecutive pentamers. The packing of the subunits is stabilized by a repeating hydrophobic stacking pocket; each subunit participates in four pockets by contributing different hydrophobic residues, which are spread along the subunit sequence. Our study provides, to our knowledge, the first magic-angle spinning NMR structure of an intact filamentous virus capsid and further demonstrates the strength of this technique as a method of choice to study noncrystalline, high-molecular-weight molecular assemblies.

The NMR–Rosetta capsid model of M13 bacteriophage reveals a quadrupled hydrophobic packing epitope

PubMed Central

Morag, Omry; Sgourakis, Nikolaos G.; Baker, David; Goldbourt, Amir

2015-01-01

Filamentous phage are elongated semiflexible ssDNA viruses that infect bacteria. The M13 phage, belonging to the family inoviridae, has a length of ∼1 μm and a diameter of ∼7 nm. Here we present a structural model for the capsid of intact M13 bacteriophage using Rosetta model building guided by structure restraints obtained from magic-angle spinning solid-state NMR experimental data. The C5 subunit symmetry observed in fiber diffraction studies was enforced during model building. The structure consists of stacked pentamers with largely alpha helical subunits containing an N-terminal type II β-turn; there is a rise of 16.6–16.7 Å and a tilt of 36.1–36.6° between consecutive pentamers. The packing of the subunits is stabilized by a repeating hydrophobic stacking pocket; each subunit participates in four pockets by contributing different hydrophobic residues, which are spread along the subunit sequence. Our study provides, to our knowledge, the first magic-angle spinning NMR structure of an intact filamentous virus capsid and further demonstrates the strength of this technique as a method of choice to study noncrystalline, high-molecular-weight molecular assemblies. PMID:25587134

[Sociocultural aspects of albinism in Sub-Saharan Africa: mutilations and ritual murders committed in east Africa (Burundi and Tanzania)].

PubMed

Aquaron, R; Djatou, M; Kamdem, L

2009-10-01

This report presents an overview of the many sociocultural prejudices confronting albinos and their parents in Sub-Saharan Africa at each stage of life (infancy, adolescence, and adulthood). The birth of an albino child to two black parents has always been an enigma for African peoples. French-speaking and English-speaking populations in Central, East and South African countries have invented numerous myths to account for this event. Albinos are believed to possess good and evil magical powers. On the white magic side, some organs are believed to confer luck, health, and prosperity. For this reason albinos in Tanzania and Burundi are still in 2008 prey to ritual murders and mutilations to obtain various body parts such as arms, legs, and genitals for preparation of amulets. This barbaric and iniquitous practice has been severely condemned by authorities in both countries as well as by the European Parliament. To end these atrocities disseminating accurate medical information explaining the genetic basis of albinism will be necessary to eliminate ignorance and superstition.

Indirect detection of infinite-speed MAS solid-state NMR spectra

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

Perras, Frédéric A.; Venkatesh, Amrit; Hanrahan, Michael P.

Heavy spin-1/2 nuclides are known to possess very large chemical shift anisotropies that can challenge even the most advanced magic-angle-spinning (MAS) techniques. Wide manifolds of overlapping spinning sidebands and insufficient excitation bandwidths often obfuscate meaningful spectral information and force the use of static, low-resolution solid-state (SS)NMR methods for the characterization of materials. In order to address these issues, we have merged fast-magic-angle-turning (MAT) and dipolar heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence (D-HMQC) experiments to obtain D-HMQC-MAT pulse sequences which enable the rapid acquisition of 2D SSNMR spectra that correlate isotropic 1H chemical shifts to the indirectly detected isotropic “infinite-MAS” spectra of heavy spin-1/2more » nuclides. Furthermore, for these nuclides, the combination of fast MAS and 1H detection provides a high sensitivity, which rivals the DNP-enhanced ultra-wideline SSNMR. The new pulse sequences were used to determine the Pt coordination environments in a complex mixture of decomposition products of transplatin and in a metal-organic framework with Pt ions coordinated to the linker ligands.« less

Indirect detection of infinite-speed MAS solid-state NMR spectra

DOE PAGES

Perras, Frédéric A.; Venkatesh, Amrit; Hanrahan, Michael P.; ...

2017-01-18

Heavy spin-1/2 nuclides are known to possess very large chemical shift anisotropies that can challenge even the most advanced magic-angle-spinning (MAS) techniques. Wide manifolds of overlapping spinning sidebands and insufficient excitation bandwidths often obfuscate meaningful spectral information and force the use of static, low-resolution solid-state (SS)NMR methods for the characterization of materials. In order to address these issues, we have merged fast-magic-angle-turning (MAT) and dipolar heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence (D-HMQC) experiments to obtain D-HMQC-MAT pulse sequences which enable the rapid acquisition of 2D SSNMR spectra that correlate isotropic 1H chemical shifts to the indirectly detected isotropic “infinite-MAS” spectra of heavy spin-1/2more » nuclides. Furthermore, for these nuclides, the combination of fast MAS and 1H detection provides a high sensitivity, which rivals the DNP-enhanced ultra-wideline SSNMR. The new pulse sequences were used to determine the Pt coordination environments in a complex mixture of decomposition products of transplatin and in a metal-organic framework with Pt ions coordinated to the linker ligands.« less

Information Technology Projects - Leaving the `Magic' to the `Wizards'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bednar, Peter M.; Welch, Christine

In this chapter, we explore the significant challenges relating to investment in IT business. Information technology does not in itself deliver business value. We highlight the complexities that are often ignored in management of IT projects. If the management system in an organization is ineffective, then installing information technologies does not constitute a ‘magic wand' that will generate prosperity. It can only generate value if attention is paid to the design of the system for use at the same time that technological systems are developed. The authors explore how IT benefits require attention from management generally and show that investment in IT projects cannot be left to ‘IT experts' alone. We point out that undue reliance on rational planning is unsatisfactory, as it ignores contextual dependencies in organizational life. Criteria by which the success/failure of projects is to be judged must go beyond a focus on timescales, budgets, and ‘requirement specifications.' We suggest that the criteria need to be expanded to embrace usefulness of resultant systems, as perceived by organizational staff as they attempt to use them in carrying out their work.

Evaluation of Cancer Metabolomics Using ex vivo High Resolution Magic Angle Spinning (HRMAS) Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS)

PubMed Central

Fuss, Taylor L.; Cheng, Leo L.

2016-01-01

According to World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, cancer is responsible for more deaths than all coronary heart disease or stroke worldwide, serving as a major public health threat around the world. High resolution magic angle spinning (HRMAS) magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) has demonstrated its usefulness in the identification of cancer metabolic markers with the potential to improve diagnosis and prognosis for the oncology clinic, due partially to its ability to preserve tissue architecture for subsequent histological and molecular pathology analysis. Capable of the quantification of individual metabolites, ratios of metabolites, and entire metabolomic profiles, HRMAS MRS is one of the major techniques now used in cancer metabolomic research. This article reviews and discusses literature reports of HRMAS MRS studies of cancer metabolomics published between 2010 and 2015 according to anatomical origins, including brain, breast, prostate, lung, gastrointestinal, and neuroendocrine cancers. These studies focused on improving diagnosis and understanding patient prognostication, monitoring treatment effects, as well as correlating with the use of in vivo MRS in cancer clinics. PMID:27011205

Exploring high-resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) NMR spectroscopy for metabonomic analysis of apples.

PubMed

Vermathen, Martina; Marzorati, Mattia; Vermathen, Peter

2012-01-01

Classical liquid-state high-resolution (HR) NMR spectroscopy has proved a powerful tool in the metabonomic analysis of liquid food samples like fruit juices. In this paper the application of (1)H high-resolution magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) NMR spectroscopy to apple tissue is presented probing its potential for metabonomic studies. The (1)H HR-MAS NMR spectra are discussed in terms of the chemical composition of apple tissue and compared to liquid-state NMR spectra of apple juice. Differences indicate that specific metabolic changes are induced by juice preparation. The feasibility of HR-MAS NMR-based multivariate analysis is demonstrated by a study distinguishing three different apple cultivars by principal component analysis (PCA). Preliminary results are shown from subsequent studies comparing three different cultivation methods by means of PCA and partial least squares discriminant analysis (PLS-DA) of the HR-MAS NMR data. The compounds responsible for discriminating organically grown apples are discussed. Finally, an outlook of our ongoing work is given including a longitudinal study on apples.

Indirect detection of infinite-speed MAS solid-state NMR spectra

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perras, Frédéric A.; Venkatesh, Amrit; Hanrahan, Michael P.; Goh, Tian Wei; Huang, Wenyu; Rossini, Aaron J.; Pruski, Marek

2017-03-01

Heavy spin-1/2 nuclides are known to possess very large chemical shift anisotropies that can challenge even the most advanced magic-angle-spinning (MAS) techniques. Wide manifolds of overlapping spinning sidebands and insufficient excitation bandwidths often obfuscate meaningful spectral information and force the use of static, low-resolution solid-state (SS)NMR methods for the characterization of materials. To address these issues, we have merged fast-magic-angle-turning (MAT) and dipolar heteronuclear multiple-quantum coherence (D-HMQC) experiments to obtain D-HMQC-MAT pulse sequences which enable the rapid acquisition of 2D SSNMR spectra that correlate isotropic 1H chemical shifts to the indirectly detected isotropic "infinite-MAS" spectra of heavy spin-1/2 nuclides. For these nuclides, the combination of fast MAS and 1H detection provides a high sensitivity, which rivals the DNP-enhanced ultra-wideline SSNMR. The new pulse sequences were used to determine the Pt coordination environments in a complex mixture of decomposition products of transplatin and in a metal-organic framework with Pt ions coordinated to the linker ligands.

Metabolic profiling of apples from different production systems before and after controlled atmosphere (CA) storage studied by 1H high resolution-magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) NMR.

PubMed

Vermathen, Martina; Marzorati, Mattia; Diserens, Gaëlle; Baumgartner, Daniel; Good, Claudia; Gasser, Franz; Vermathen, Peter

2017-10-15

Determination of metabolic alterations in apples induced by such processes as different crop protection strategies or storage, are of interest to assess correlations with fruit quality or fruit disorders. Preliminary results proposed the metabolic discrimination of apples from organic (BIO), integrated (IP) and low-input (LI) production. To determine contributions of temporal metabolic developments and to define the type of metabolic changes during storage, 1 H high resolution-magic angle spinning (HR-MAS) NMR spectroscopy of apple pulp was performed before and after two time points of controlled atmosphere storage. Statistical analysis revealed similar metabolic changes over time for IP-, LI- and BIO-samples, mainly decreasing lipid and sucrose, and increasing fructose, glucose and acetaldehyde levels, which are potential contributors to fruit aroma. Across the production systems, BIO apples had consistently higher levels of fructose and monomeric phenolic compounds but lower levels of condensed polyphenols than LI and IP apples, while the remaining metabolites assimilated. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Magic wavelengths of the Ca+ ion for circularly polarized light

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Jun; Jiang, Li; Wang, Xia; Zhang, Deng-Hong; Xie, Lu-You; Dong, Chen-Zhong

2017-10-01

The dynamic dipole polarizabilities of low-lying states of Ca+ ions for circularly polarized light are calculated by using the relativistic configuration interaction plus core polarization approach. The magic wavelengths are determined for the magnetic sublevel transitions 4 s1/2 ,m→4 pj',m' and 4 s1/2 ,m→3 dj',m' with total angular momentum j' and its components m'. In contrast to the case of linearly polarized light, several additional magic wavelengths are found for these transitions. We suggest that accurate measurements on the magic wavelengths near 851 nm for the 4 s1/2 ,m→4 p3/2 ,m' transitions can be used to determine the ratio of the oscillator strengths for the 4 p3/2→3 d3/2 and 4 p3/2→3 d5/2 transitions.

Development of a composite large-size SiPM (assembled matrix) based modular detector cluster for MAGIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hahn, A.; Mazin, D.; Bangale, P.; Dettlaff, A.; Fink, D.; Grundner, F.; Haberer, W.; Maier, R.; Mirzoyan, R.; Podkladkin, S.; Teshima, M.; Wetteskind, H.

2017-02-01

The MAGIC collaboration operates two 17 m diameter Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) on the Canary Island of La Palma. Each of the two telescopes is currently equipped with a photomultiplier tube (PMT) based imaging camera. Due to the advances in the development of Silicon Photomultipliers (SiPMs), they are becoming a widely used alternative to PMTs in many research fields including gamma-ray astronomy. Within the Otto-Hahn group at the Max Planck Institute for Physics, Munich, we are developing a SiPM based detector module for a possible upgrade of the MAGIC cameras and also for future experiments as, e.g., the Large Size Telescopes (LST) of the Cherenkov Telescope Array (CTA). Because of the small size of individual SiPM sensors (6 mm×6 mm) with respect to the 1-inch diameter PMTs currently used in MAGIC, we use a custom-made matrix of SiPMs to cover the same detection area. We developed an electronic circuit to actively sum up and amplify the SiPM signals. Existing non-imaging hexagonal light concentrators (Winston cones) used in MAGIC have been modified for the angular acceptance of the SiPMs by using C++ based ray tracing simulations. The first prototype based detector module includes seven channels and was installed into the MAGIC camera in May 2015. We present the results of the first prototype and its performance as well as the status of the project and discuss its challenges.

Statistical Mechanical Foundation for the Two-State Transition in Protein Folding of Small Globular Proteins

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iguchi, Kazumoto

We discuss the statistical mechanical foundation for the two-state transition in the protein folding of small globular proteins. In the standard arguments of protein folding, the statistical search for the ground state is carried out from astronomically many conformations in the configuration space. This leads us to the famous Levinthal's paradox. To resolve the paradox, Gō first postulated that the two-state transition - all-or-none type transition - is very crucial for the protein folding of small globular proteins and used the Gō's lattice model to show the two-state transition nature. Recently, there have been accumulated many experimental results that support the two-state transition for small globular proteins. Stimulated by such recent experiments, Zwanzig has introduced a minimal statistical mechanical model that exhibits the two-state transition. Also, Finkelstein and coworkers have discussed the solution of the paradox by considering the sequential folding of a small globular protein. On the other hand, recently Iguchi have introduced a toy model of protein folding using the Rubik's magic snake model, in which all folded structures are exactly known and mathematically represented in terms of the four types of conformations: cis-, trans-, left and right gauche-configurations between the unit polyhedrons. In this paper, we study the relationship between the Gō's two-state transition, the Zwanzig's statistical mechanics model and the Finkelsteinapos;s sequential folding model by applying them to the Rubik's magic snake models. We show that the foundation of the Gō's two-state transition model relies on the search within the equienergy surface that is labeled by the contact order of the hydrophobic condensation. This idea reproduces the Zwanzig's statistical model as a special case, realizes the Finkelstein's sequential folding model and fits together to understand the nature of the two-state transition of a small globular protein by calculating the physical quantities such as the free energy, the contact order and the specific heat. We point out the similarity between the liquid-gas transition in statistical mechanics and the two-state transition of protein folding. We also study morphology of the Rubik's magic snake models to give a prototype model for understanding the differences between α-helices proteins and β-sheets proteins.

Middle School Science Notes.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Science Review, 1983

1983-01-01

Describes a soap bubble motor, house insulation models, using hot-water bottles as heat sources, solar mobile, surface tension boat, evaporative cooling experiments, six activities on heat, and a magic trick based on friction. Also discusses using the Cambion Electronics Kit to introduce junior high students to the subject. (JM)

A Typology of Partnerships for Promoting Innovation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Barnett, Bruce G.; Hall, Gene E.; Berg, Judith H.; Camarena, Margaret M.

1999-01-01

Conceptualizes a framework of types of partnerships that can develop between a school system and an external resource agency. More complex organizational structures are required as interdependency increases in the collaborative, symbiotic partnership, and spin-off models. There is no magic formula for initiating, sustaining, or terminating…

MAGIC observations of the February 2014 flare of 1ES 1011+496 and ensuing constraint of the EBL density

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahnen, M. L.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; Antoranz, P.; Babic, A.; Banerjee, B.; Bangale, P.; Barres de Almeida, U.; Barrio, J. A.; Becerra González, J.; Bednarek, W.; Bernardini, E.; Biasuzzi, B.; Biland, A.; Blanch, O.; Bonnefoy, S.; Bonnoli, G.; Borracci, F.; Bretz, T.; Carmona, E.; Carosi, A.; Chatterjee, A.; Clavero, R.; Colin, P.; Colombo, E.; Contreras, J. L.; Cortina, J.; Covino, S.; Da Vela, P.; Dazzi, F.; De Angelis, A.; De Lotto, B.; de Oña Wilhelmi, E.; Delgado Mendez, C.; Di Pierro, F.; Dominis Prester, D.; Dorner, D.; Doro, M.; Einecke, S.; Eisenacher Glawion, D.; Elsaesser, D.; Fernández-Barral, A.; Fidalgo, D.; Fonseca, M. V.; Font, L.; Frantzen, K.; Fruck, C.; Galindo, D.; García López, R. J.; Garczarczyk, M.; Garrido Terrats, D.; Gaug, M.; Giammaria, P.; Godinović, N.; González Muñoz, A.; Guberman, D.; Hahn, A.; Hanabata, Y.; Hayashida, M.; Herrera, J.; Hose, J.; Hrupec, D.; Hughes, G.; Idec, W.; Kodani, K.; Konno, Y.; Kubo, H.; Kushida, J.; La Barbera, A.; Lelas, D.; Lindfors, E.; Lombardi, S.; Longo, F.; López, M.; López-Coto, R.; López-Oramas, A.; Lorenz, E.; Majumdar, P.; Makariev, M.; Mallot, K.; Maneva, G.; Manganaro, M.; Mannheim, K.; Maraschi, L.; Marcote, B.; Mariotti, M.; Martínez, M.; Mazin, D.; Menzel, U.; Miranda, J. M.; Mirzoyan, R.; Moralejo, A.; Moretti, E.; Nakajima, D.; Neustroev, V.; Niedzwiecki, A.; Nievas Rosillo, M.; Nilsson, K.; Nishijima, K.; Noda, K.; Orito, R.; Overkemping, A.; Paiano, S.; Palacio, J.; Palatiello, M.; Paneque, D.; Paoletti, R.; Paredes, J. M.; Paredes-Fortuny, X.; Persic, M.; Poutanen, J.; Prada Moroni, P. G.; Prandini, E.; Puljak, I.; Rhode, W.; Ribó, M.; Rico, J.; Rodriguez Garcia, J.; Saito, T.; Satalecka, K.; Schultz, C.; Schweizer, T.; Shore, S. N.; Sillanpää, A.; Sitarek, J.; Snidaric, I.; Sobczynska, D.; Stamerra, A.; Steinbring, T.; Strzys, M.; Takalo, L.; Takami, H.; Tavecchio, F.; Temnikov, P.; Terzić, T.; Tescaro, D.; Teshima, M.; Thaele, J.; Torres, D. F.; Toyama, T.; Treves, A.; Verguilov, V.; Vovk, I.; Ward, J. E.; Will, M.; Wu, M. H.; Zanin, R.

2016-05-01

Context. During February-March 2014, the MAGIC telescopes observed the high-frequency peaked BL Lac 1ES 1011+496 (z = 0.212) in flaring state at very-high energy (VHE, E> 100 GeV). The flux reached a level of more than ten times higher than any previously recorded flaring state of the source. Aims: To describe the characteristics of the flare presenting the light curve and the spectral parameters of the night-wise spectra and the average spectrum of the whole period. From these data we aim to detect the imprint of the extragalactic background light (EBL) in the VHE spectrum of the source, to constrain its intensity in the optical band. Methods: We analyzed the gamma-ray data from the MAGIC telescopes using the standard MAGIC software for the production of the light curve and the spectra. To constrain the EBL, we implement the method developed by the H.E.S.S. collaboration, in which the intrinsic energy spectrum of the source is modeled with a simple function (≤4 parameters), and the EBL-induced optical depth is calculated using a template EBL model. The likelihood of the observed spectrum is then maximized, including a normalization factor for the EBL opacity among the free parameters. Results: The collected data allowed us to describe the night-wise flux changes and also to produce differential energy spectra for all nights in the observed period. The estimated intrinsic spectra of all the nights could be fitted by power-law functions. Evaluating the changes in the fit parameters, we conclude that the spectral shape for most of the nights were compatible, regardless of the flux level, which enabled us to produce an average spectrum from which the EBL imprint could be constrained. The likelihood ratio test shows that the model with an EBL density 1.07 (-0.20, +0.24)stat+sys, relative to the one in the tested EBL template, is preferred at the 4.6σ level to the no-EBL hypothesis, with the assumption that the intrinsic source spectrum can be modeled as a log-parabola. This would translate into a constraint of the EBL density in the wavelength range [0.24 μm, 4.25 μm], with a peak value at 1.4 μm of λFλ = 12.27-2.29+2.75 nW m-2 sr-1, including systematics.

A Model Study to Unravel the Complexity of Bio-Oil from Organic Wastes.

PubMed

Croce, Annamaria; Battistel, Ezio; Chiaberge, Stefano; Spera, Silvia; De Angelis, Francesco; Reale, Samantha

2017-01-10

Binary and ternary mixtures of cellulose, bovine serum albumin (BSA) and tripalmitin, as biomass reference compounds for carbohydrates, proteins and triglycerides, respectively, were treated under hydrothermal liquefaction (HTL) conditions to describe the main reaction pathways involved in the process of bio-oil production from municipal organic wastes. Several analytical techniques (elemental analysis, GC-MS, atmospheric-pressure photo-ionisation high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry, and 13 C cross-polarisation magic-angle spinning NMR spectroscopy) were used for the molecular-level characterisation of the resulting aqueous phase, solid residue and bio-oil, in particular. The main reaction pathways led to free fatty acids, fatty acid amides, 2,5-diketopiperazines and Maillard-type compounds as the main components of the bio-oil. The relationship of such compounds to the original components of the biomass was thus determined, which highlights the fate of the heteroatom-containing molecules in particular. Finally, the molecular composition of the bio-oils from our reference compounds was matched with that of the bio-oil from municipal organic waste biomass by comparing their high-resolution Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectra, and we obtained a surprisingly high similarity. Hence, the ternary mixture acts as a reliable biomass model and is a powerful tool to clarify the degradation mechanisms that occur in the biomass under HTL treatment, with the ultimate goal to improve the HTL process itself by modulating the input of the organic starting matter and then the upgrading steps to bio-fuels. © 2017 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

The curious influence of timing on the magical experience evoked by conjuring tricks involving false transfer: decay of amodal object permanence?

PubMed

Beth, Tessa; Ekroll, Vebjørn

2015-07-01

In magic tricks involving false transfer, the conjurer typically creates the illusion of transferring a coin from one hand into the other, which is then closed into a fist, while in reality the coin is kept hidden in the first hand. The magical experience occurs when the closed fist of the second hand is opened and shown to be empty. According to professional magicians, the magical experience evoked by this kind of tricks becomes noticeably weaker when the time interval between the false transfer and the opening of the fist increases. This observation is surprising, given that neither the length of this interval nor any obvious factors associated with it can be expected to change the spectators' intellectual conviction regarding the true location of the coin. We performed a controlled psychological experiment and obtained results corroborating these informal observations. Increasing the temporal interval from 1 to 32 s led to an average reduction of the strength of the magical experience of 38%. We discuss potential explanations of this curious phenomenon in terms of object persistence, object files and temporal amodal completion.

Distillation with Sublogarithmic Overhead

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hastings, Matthew B.; Haah, Jeongwan

2018-02-01

It has been conjectured that, for any distillation protocol for magic states for the T gate, the number of noisy input magic states required per output magic state at output error rate ɛ is Ω [log (1 /ɛ )] . We show that this conjecture is false. We find a family of quantum error correcting codes of parameters ⟦ ∑ i =w +1 m (m i ),∑ i =0 w (m i ),∑ i =w +1 r +1 (r +1 i )⟧ for any integers m >2 r , r >w ≥0 , by puncturing quantum Reed-Muller codes. When m >ν r , our code admits a transversal logical gate at the ν th level of Clifford hierarchy. In a distillation protocol for magic states at the level ν =3 (T gate), the ratio of input to output magic states is O (logγ(1 /ɛ )) , where γ =log (n /k )/log (d )<0.678 for some m , r , w . The smallest code in our family for which γ <1 is on ≈258 qubits.

People Interview: The science behind the 'magic'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

2010-01-01

INTERVIEW The science behind the 'magic' Grand Illusions is a website dedicated to science-based phenomena, fun and games, and optical illusions. David Smith speaks to two of its key members—Hendrik Ball and Tim Rowett.

JPRS Report, Soviet Union, Military History Journal, No. 9, September 1987

DTIC Science & Technology

1988-03-10

The company party organizer, Lt S.F. Makeyev , wrote out a leaflet. It stated: "Today, having shown courage and heroism, Komsomol member Ivan... magic effect. The fleeing soldiers returned to their places and by their accurate fire forced the enemy infantry which has risen for the assault to...pp 76-81) Partisan Actions in the Patriotic War of 1812 (V.A. Yevlanov)(pp 82- 85 ) Military Activities of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (V.O. Daynes)(pp 86

Structural properties and magic structures in hydrogenated finite and infinite silicon nanowires

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zdetsis, A. D.; Koukaras, E. N.; Garoufalis, C. S.

2007-11-01

Unusual effects such as bending and "canting," related with the stability, have been identified by ab initio real-space calculations for hydrogenated silicon nanowires. We have examined in detail the electronic and structural properties of finite and infinite nanowires as a function of length (and width) and have developed stability and bending rules, demonstrating that "magic" wires do not bend. Reconstructed 2×1 nanowires are practically as stable as the magic ones. Our calculations are in good agreement with the experimental data of Ma et al. [Science 299, 1874 (2003).].

Magic informationally complete POVMs with permutations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Planat, Michel; Gedik, Zafer

2017-09-01

Eigenstates of permutation gates are either stabilizer states (for gates in the Pauli group) or magic states, thus allowing universal quantum computation (Planat, Rukhsan-Ul-Haq 2017 Adv. Math. Phys. 2017, 5287862 (doi:10.1155/2017/5287862)). We show in this paper that a subset of such magic states, when acting on the generalized Pauli group, define (asymmetric) informationally complete POVMs. Such informationally complete POVMs, investigated in dimensions 2-12, exhibit simple finite geometries in their projector products and, for dimensions 4 and 8 and 9, relate to two-qubit, three-qubit and two-qutrit contextuality.

The Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) Online Database: Uploading, Searching and Visualizing Paleomagnetic and Rock Magnetic Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koppers, A.; Tauxe, L.; Constable, C.; Pisarevsky, S.; Jackson, M.; Solheid, P.; Banerjee, S.; Johnson, C.; Genevey, A.; Delaney, R.; Baker, P.; Sbarbori, E.

2005-12-01

The Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) operates an online relational database including both rock and paleomagnetic data. The goal of MagIC is to store all measurements and their derived properties for studies of paleomagnetic directions (inclination, declination) and their intensities, and for rock magnetic experiments (hysteresis, remanence, susceptibility, anisotropy). MagIC is hosted under EarthRef.org at http://earthref.org/MAGIC/ and has two search nodes, one for paleomagnetism and one for rock magnetism. These nodes provide basic search capabilities based on location, reference, methods applied, material type and geological age, while allowing the user to drill down from sites all the way to the measurements. At each stage, the data can be saved and, if the available data supports it, the data can be visualized by plotting equal area plots, VGP location maps or typical Zijderveld, hysteresis, FORC, and various magnetization and remanence diagrams. All plots are made in SVG (scalable vector graphics) and thus can be saved and easily read into the user's favorite graphics programs without loss of resolution. User contributions to the MagIC database are critical to achieve a useful research tool. We have developed a standard data and metadata template (version 1.6) that can be used to format and upload all data at the time of publication in Earth Science journals. Software tools are provided to facilitate easy population of these templates within Microsoft Excel. These tools allow for the import/export of text files and they provide advanced functionality to manage/edit the data, and to perform various internal checks to high grade the data and to make them ready for uploading. The uploading is all done online by using the MagIC Contribution Wizard at http://earthref.org/MAGIC/upload.htm that takes only a few minutes to process a contribution of approximately 5,000 data records. After uploading these standardized MagIC template files will be stored in the digital archives of EarthRef.org from where they can be downloaded at all times. Finally, the contents of these template files will be automatically parsed into the online relational database, making the data available for online searches in the paleomagnetic and rock magnetic search nodes. The MagIC database contains all data transferred from the IAGA paleomagnetic poles database (GPMDB), the lava flow paleosecular variation database (PSVRL), lake sediment database (SECVR) and the PINT database. In addition to that a substantial number of data compiled under the Time Averaged Field Investigations project is now included plus a significant fraction of the data collected at SIO and the IRM. Ongoing additions of legacy data include ~40 papers from studies on the Hawaiian Islands, data compilations from archeomagnetic studies and updates to the lake sediment dataset.

In-situ molecular-level elucidation of organofluorine binding sites in a whole peat soil.

PubMed

Longstaffe, James G; Courtier-Murias, Denis; Soong, Ronald; Simpson, Myrna J; Maas, Werner E; Fey, Michael; Hutchins, Howard; Krishnamurthy, Sridevi; Struppe, Jochem; Alaee, Mehran; Kumar, Rajeev; Monette, Martine; Stronks, Henry J; Simpson, André J

2012-10-02

The chemical nature of xenobiotic binding sites in soils is of vital importance to environmental biogeochemistry. Interactions between xenobiotics and the naturally occurring organic constituents of soils are strongly correlated to environmental persistence, bioaccessibility, and ecotoxicity. Nevertheless, because of the complex structural and chemical heterogeneity of soils, studies of these interactions are most commonly performed indirectly, using correlative methods, fractionation, or chemical modification. Here we identify the organic components of an unmodified peat soil where some organofluorine xenobiotic compounds interact using direct molecular-level methods. Using (19)F→(1)H cross-polarization magic angle spinning (CP-MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, the (19)F nuclei of organofluorine compounds are used to induce observable transverse magnetization in the (1)H nuclei of organic components of the soil with which they interact after sorption. The observed (19)F→(1)H CP-MAS spectra and dynamics are compared to those produced using model soil organic compounds, lignin and albumin. It is found that lignin-like components can account for the interactions observed in this soil for heptafluoronaphthol (HFNap) while protein structures can account for the interactions observed for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA). This study employs novel comprehensive multi-phase (CMP) NMR technology that permits the application of solution-, gel-, and solid-state NMR experiments on intact soil samples in their swollen state.

"Happier than Ever to Be Exactly What He Was": Reflections on, "Shrek," Fiona and the Magic Mirrors of Commodity Culture,

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roberts, Lewis

2014-01-01

This article compares the models of subjectivity and identity in William Steig's 1990 picture book "Shrek!" and in DreamWorks' "Shrek" films. Steig presented his ogre hero as a model of the crises of subjectivity all children must face, and then reassured readers by showing how even a hideous figure such as…

Magic While They are Young

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cox, Anne Mae

1974-01-01

Magic squares are used both as a vehicle for arithmetic drill and the development of mathematical concepts for second-grade students. By searching for patterns within the squares, additional number concepts are developed along with the concept of symmetry. (JP)

Clinical toxicology of ‘magic mushroom’ ingestion

PubMed Central

Peden, N. R.; Macaulay, K. E. C.; Bissett, Ann F.; Crooks, J.; Pelosi, A. J.

1981-01-01

The clinical features are reported in 27 cases of ‘magic mushroom’ ingestion. Mydriasis and hyperreflexia were common as were disorders of perception and affect. Psilocybe semilanceata appears to have been the species of fungus involved. PMID:7199140

Thawing Out Some Magic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hippler, Arthur E.

1975-01-01

Psychiatrists have learned that delivering mental health services in a culture long dominated by magical thinking is not easy. Article discussed the problem of bringing the Eskimo into the care of the Alaska Psychiatric Institute and contemporary society. (Editor/RK)

Pulsar observations with the MAGIC telescopes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fidalgo, David

2016-07-01

The vast majority of spectra of gamma-ray pulsars exhibit an exponential cut-off at a few GeV, as seen by the Large Area Telescope (LAT) on board of the Fermi satellite. Due to this cut-off, current Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescopes (IACTs) with an energy threshold as low as 30 GeV, struggle to detect pulsars. So far, emission above 50 GeV has been confirmed only for the Crab and Vela pulsars. In the case of the former, the spectrum even extends up to about 1 TeV firmly revealing a second emission component. To further understand the emission mechanism of gamma-ray pulsars, the MAGIC collaboration continues the search of pulsars above 50 GeV. In this talk we report on recent results on the Crab and Geminga Pulsar obtained with the MAGIC telescopes, including the analysis of data taken with a new trigger system lowering the energy threshold of the MAGIC telescopes.

Children's discrimination of fantastic vs. realistic visual displays after watching a film with magical content.

PubMed

Subbotsky, Eugene; Slater, Elizabeth

2011-04-01

Six- and nine-yr.-old children (n=28 of each) were divided into equal experimental and control groups. The experimental groups were shown a film with a magical theme, and the control groups were shown a film with a nonmagical theme. All groups then were presented with a choice task requiring them to discriminate between ordinary and fantastic visual displays on a computer screen. Statistical analyses indicated that mean scores for correctly identifying the ordinary and fantastic displays were significantly different between experimental and control groups. The children in the experimental groups who watched the magical film had significantly higher scores on correct identifications than children in the control groups who watched the nonmagical film for both age groups. The results suggest that watching films with a magical theme might enhance children's sensitivity toward the fantasy/reality distinction.

Limits to dark matter annihilation cross-section from a combined analysis of MAGIC and Fermi-LAT observations of dwarf satellite galaxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

MAGIC Collaboration; Ahnen, M. L.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; Antoranz, P.; Babic, A.; Banerjee, B.; Bangale, P.; Barres de Almeida, U.; Barrio, J. A.; Becerra González, J.; Bednarek, W.; Bernardini, E.; Biasuzzi, B.; Biland, A.; Blanch, O.; Bonnefoy, S.; Bonnoli, G.; Borracci, F.; Bretz, T.; Carmona, E.; Carosi, A.; Chatterjee, A.; Clavero, R.; Colin, P.; Colombo, E.; Contreras, J. L.; Cortina, J.; Covino, S.; Da Vela, P.; Dazzi, F.; De Angelis, A.; De Lotto, B.; de Oña Wilhelmi, E.; Delgado Mendez, C.; Di Pierro, F.; Dominis Prester, D.; Dorner, D.; Doro, M.; Einecke, S.; Eisenacher Glawion, D.; Elsaesser, D.; Fernández-Barral, A.; Fidalgo, D.; Fonseca, M. V.; Font, L.; Frantzen, K.; Fruck, C.; Galindo, D.; García López, R. J.; Garczarczyk, M.; Garrido Terrats, D.; Gaug, M.; Giammaria, P.; Godinović, N.; González Muñoz,; A.; Guberman, D.; Hahn, A.; Hanabata, Y.; Hayashida, M.; Herrera, J.; Hose, J.; Hrupec, D.; Hughes, G.; Idec, W.; Kodani, K.; Konno, Y.; Kubo, H.; Kushida, J.; La Barbera, A.; Lelas, D.; Lindfors, E.; Lombardi, S.; Longo, F.; López-Coto, M. López R.; López-Oramas, A.; Lorenz, E.; Majumdar, P.; Makariev, M.; Mallot, K.; Maneva, G.; Manganaro, M.; Mannheim, K.; Maraschi, L.; Marcote, B.; Mariotti, M.; Martínez, M.; Mazin, D.; Menzel, U.; Miranda, J. M.; Mirzoyan, R.; Moralejo, A.; Moretti, E.; Nakajima, D.; Neustroev, V.; Niedzwiecki, A.; Nievas Rosillo, M.; Nilsson, K.; Nishijima, K.; Noda, K.; Orito, R.; Overkemping, A.; Paiano, S.; Palacio, J.; Palatiello, M.; Paneque, D.; Paoletti, R.; Paredes, J. M.; Paredes-Fortuny, X.; Persic, M.; Poutanen, J.; Prada Moroni, P. G.; Prandini, E.; Puljak, I.; Rhode, W.; Ribó, M.; Rico, J.; Rodriguez Garcia, J.; Saito, T.; Satalecka, K.; Schultz, C.; Schweizer, T.; Shore, S. N.; Sillanpää, A.; Sitarek, J.; Snidaric, I.; Sobczynska, D.; Stamerra, A.; Steinbring, T.; Strzys, M.; Takalo, L.; Takami, H.; Tavecchio, F.; Temnikov, P.; Terzić, T.; Tescaro, D.; Teshima, M.; Thaele, J.; Torres, D. F.; Toyama, T.; Treves, A.; Verguilov, V.; Vovk, I.; Ward, J. E.; Will, M.; Wup, M. H.; Zanins, R.; Aleksić, J.; Wood, M.; Anderson, B.; Bloom, E. D.; Cohen-Tanugi, J.; Drlica-Wagner, A.; Mazziotta, M. N.; Sánchez-Condeai, M.; Strigarian, L.

2016-02-01

We present the first joint analysis of gamma-ray data from the MAGIC Cherenkov telescopes and the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) to search for gamma-ray signals from dark matter annihilation in dwarf satellite galaxies. We combine 158 hours of Segue 1 observations with MAGIC with 6-year observations of 15 dwarf satellite galaxies by the Fermi-LAT. We obtain limits on the annihilation cross-section for dark matter particle masses between 10 GeV and 100 TeV—the widest mass range ever explored by a single gamma-ray analysis. These limits improve on previously published Fermi-LAT and MAGIC results by up to a factor of two at certain masses. Our new inclusive analysis approach is completely generic and can be used to perform a global, sensitivity-optimized dark matter search by combining data from present and future gamma-ray and neutrino detectors.

Magic-Angle-Spinning NMR Magnet Development: Field Analysis and Prototypes

PubMed Central

Voccio, John; Hahn, Seungyong; Park, Dong Keun; Ling, Jiayin; Kim, Youngjae; Bascuñán, Juan; Iwasa, Yukikazu

2013-01-01

We are currently working on a program to complete a 1.5 T/75 mm RT bore magic-angle-spinning nuclear magnetic resonance magnet. The magic-angle-spinning magnet comprises a z-axis 0.866-T solenoid and an x-axis 1.225-T dipole, each to be wound with NbTi wire and operated at 4.2 K in persistent mode. A combination of the fields creates a 1.5-T field pointed at 54.74 degrees (magic angle) from the rotation (z) axis. In the first year of this 3-year program, we have completed magnetic analysis and design of both coils. Also, using a winding machine of our own design and fabrication, we have wound several prototype dipole coils with NbTi wire. As part of this development, we have repeatedly made successful persistent NbTi-NbTi joints with this multifilamentary NbTi wire. PMID:24058275

Measurement of 13C chemical shift tensor principal values with a magic-angle turning experiment.

PubMed

Hu, J Z; Orendt, A M; Alderman, D W; Pugmire, R J; Ye, C; Grant, D M

1994-08-01

The magic-angle turning (MAT) experiment introduced by Gan is developed into a powerful and routine method for measuring the principal values of 13C chemical shift tensors in powdered solids. A large-volume MAT probe with stable rotation frequencies down to 22 Hz is described. A triple-echo MAT pulse sequence is introduced to improve the quality of the two-dimensional baseplane. It is shown that measurements of the principal values of chemical shift tensors in complex compounds can be enhanced by using either short contact times or dipolar dephasing pulse sequences to isolate the powder patterns from protonated or non-protonated carbons, respectively. A model compound, 1,2,3-trimethoxybenzene, is used to demonstrate these techniques, and the 13C principal values in 2,3-dimethylnaphthalene and Pocahontas coal are reported as typical examples.

Dosimetric Considerations in Radioimmunotherapy and Systemic Radionuclide Therapies: A Review

PubMed Central

Loke, Kelvin S. H.; Padhy, Ajit K.; Ng, David C. E.; Goh, Anthony S.W.; Divgi, Chaitanya

2011-01-01

Radiopharmaceutical therapy, once touted as the “magic bullet” in radiation oncology, is increasingly being used in the treatment of a variety of malignancies; albeit in later disease stages. With ever-increasing public and medical awareness of radiation effects, radiation dosimetry is becoming more important. Dosimetry allows administration of the maximum tolerated radiation dose to the tumor/organ to be treated but limiting radiation to critical organs. Traditional tumor dosimetry involved acquiring pretherapy planar scans and plasma estimates with a diagnostic dose of intended radiopharmaceuticals. New advancements in single photon emission computed tomography and positron emission tomography systems allow semi-quantitative measurements of radiation dosimetry thus allowing treatments tailored to each individual patient. PMID:22144871

Magic Universe - The Oxford Guide to Modern Science

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Calder, Nigel

2003-11-01

As a prolific author, BBC commentator, and magazine editor, Nigel Calder has spent a lifetime spotting and explaining the big discoveries in all branches of science. In Magic Universe , he draws on his vast experience to offer readers a lively, far-reaching look at modern science in all its glory, shedding light on the latest ideas in physics, biology, chemistry, medicine, astronomy, and many other fields. What is truly magical about Magic Universe is Calder's incredible breadth. Migrating birds, light sensors in the human eye, black holes, antimatter, buckyballs and nanotubes--with exhilarating sweep, Calder can range from the strings of a piano to the superstrings of modern physics, from Pythagoras's theory of musical pitch to the most recent ideas about atoms and gravity and a ten-dimensional universe--all in one essay. The great virtue of this wide-ranging style--besides its liveliness and versatility--is that it allows Calder to illuminate how the modern sciences intermingle and cross-fertilize one another. Indeed, whether discussing astronauts or handedness or dinosaurs, Calder manages to tease out hidden connections between disparate fields of study. What is most wondrous about the "magic universe" is that one can begin with stellar dust and finish with life itself. Drawing on interviews with more than 200 researchers, from graduate students to Nobel prize-winners, Magic Universe takes us on a high-spirited tour through the halls of science, one that will enthrall everyone interested in science, whether a young researcher in a high-tech lab or an amateur buff sitting in the comfort of an armchair.

Venus, the goddess of fertility, numerologically 15 in Babylon and the origin of the Chinese system of 8 designs, called Pa-Kua.

PubMed

Mahdihassan, S

1987-01-01

In Babylonia, numerology was invented and Venus, as the goddess of fertility, was first depicted as a 6-cornered star. But, numerologically she was designated 15. As a 6-cornered star, its make-up shows two opposite triangles interpenetrated. This was changed to two squares fused into one where geometrically the shape became a square. It created 9 cells which were so numbered that the numbers counted in any row gave the sum 15. Venus thus became a Magic Square of 15. Geometrically it was a Magic Square, but numerologically it was 15. In the make-up the squares were two and opposites. As goddess of fertility she especially helped the pregnant to an easy delivery. Some 8 variants of the Magic Square, with different arrangements of numbers, represented 4 cosmic elements and 4 cosmic qualities. The Magic Squares, which represented elements, had the numbers 1, 3, 5 and 8 near one another forming a miniature square by themselves. A Magic Square representing a quality did not have the numbers 1, 3, 5 and 8, as a consolidated unit. This explains the importance of the numbers 1, 3, 5 and 8, a mystery which had remained unsolved. Venus was also the star of copper. When copper technology migrated from Babylon to China, the occult science associated with Venus also reached China. Here the 8 Magic Squares were translated into a system of whole and broken lines, called Pa-Kua, meaning 8 designs.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

Magic and the aesthetic illusion.

PubMed

Balter, Leon

2002-01-01

The aesthetic illusion is the subjective experience that the content of a work of art is reality. It has an intrinsic relation to magic, an intrapsychic maneuver oriented toward modification and control of the extraspyschic world, principally through ego functioning. Magic is ontogenetically and culturally archaic, expresses the omnipotence inherent in primary narcissism, and operates according to the logic of the primary process. Magic is a constituent of all ego functioning, usually latent in later development. It may persist as an archaic feature or may be evoked regressively in global or circumscribed ways. It causes a general disinhibition of instincts and impulses attended by a sense of confidence, exhiliration, and exuberance. The aesthetic illusion is a combination of illusions: (1) that the daydream embodied by the work of art is the beholder's own, the artist being ignored, and (2) that the artistically described protagonist is a real person with a real "world." The first illusion arises through the beholder's emotional-instinctual gratification from his or her own fantasy-memory constellations; the second comes about because the beholder, by taking the protagonist as proxy, mobilizes the subjective experience of the imaginary protagonist's "reality." The first illusion is necessary for the second to take place; the second establishes the aesthetic illusion proper. Both illusions are instances of magic. Accordingly, the aesthetic illusion is accompanied by a heady experience of excitement and euphoria. The relation among the aesthetic illusion, magic, and enthusiasm is illustrated by an analytic case, J. D. Salinger's "The Laughing Man," Woody Allen's Play It Again, Sam, Don Quixote, and the medieval Cult of the Saints.

CdSe magic-sized quantum dots incorporated in biomembrane models at the air-water interface composed of components of tumorigenic and non-tumorigenic cells.

PubMed

Goto, Thiago E; Lopes, Carla C; Nader, Helena B; Silva, Anielle C A; Dantas, Noelio O; Siqueira, José R; Caseli, Luciano

2016-07-01

Cadmium selenide (CdSe) magic-sized quantum dots (MSQDs) are semiconductor nanocrystals with stable luminescence that are feasible for biomedical applications, especially for in vivo and in vitro imaging of tumor cells. In this work, we investigated the specific interaction of CdSe MSQDs with tumorigenic and non-tumorigenic cells using Langmuir monolayers and Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) films of lipids as membrane models for diagnosis of cancerous cells. Surface pressure-area isotherms and polarization modulation reflection-absorption spectroscopy (PM-IRRAS) showed an intrinsic interaction between the quantum dots, inserted in the aqueous subphase, and Langmuir monolayers constituted either of selected lipids or of tumorigenic and non-tumorigenic cell extracts. The films were transferred to solid supports to obtain microscopic images, providing information on their morphology. Similarity between films with different compositions representing cell membranes, with or without the quantum dots, was evaluated by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and confocal microscopy. This study demonstrates that the affinity of quantum dots for models representing cancer cells permits the use of these systems as devices for cancer diagnosis. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Supersymmetric solutions of the cosmological, gauged, ℂ magic model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chimento, Samuele; Ortín, Tomás; Ruipérez, Alejandro

2018-05-01

We construct supersymmetric solutions of theories of gauged N = 1 , d = 5 supergravity coupled to vector multiplets with a U(1)R Abelian (Fayet-Iliopoulos) gauging and an independent SU(2) gauging associated to an SU(2) isometry group of the Real Special scalar manifold. These theories provide minimal supersymmetrizations of 5-dimensional SU(2) Einstein-Yang-Mills theories with negative cosmological constant. We consider a minimal model with these gauge groups and the "magic model" based on the Jordan algebra J 3 ℂ with gauge group SU(3) × U(1)R, which is a consistent truncation of maximal SO(6)-gauged supergravity in d = 5 and whose solutions can be embedded in Type IIB Superstring Theory. We find several solutions containing selfdual SU(2) instantons, some of which asymptote to AdS5 and some of which are very small, supersymmetric, deformations of AdS5. We also show how some of those solutions can be embedded in Romans' SU(2) × U(1)-gauged half-maximal supergravity, which was obtained by Lu, Pope and Tran by compactification of the Type IIB Superstring effective action. This provides another way of uplifting those solutions to 10 dimensions.

Magical Ideation and Schizophrenia.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

George, Leonard; Neufeld, Richard W. J.

1987-01-01

Administered the Eckblad and Chapman (1983) Magical Ideation Scale to groups of paranoid and nonparanoid schizophrenics and control subjects. Schizophrenics scored significantly higher than nonschizophrenic patients (mainly cases of affective disorder) and normal control subjects. Discusses theoretical and prognostic utility of this finding.…

Helping, Manipulation, and Magic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Frey, Louise A.; Edinburg, Golda M.

1978-01-01

The thesis of this article is that an understanding of the primitive origins of the helping process in myth, magic, and ritual may prevent social workers from engaging in practices that negate their clients' ability to work out their own solutions to problems. (Author)

Promoting Reasoning through the Magic V Task

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Bragg, Leicha A.; Widjaja, Wanty; Loong, Esther Yook-Kin; Vale, Colleen; Herbert, Sandra

2015-01-01

Reasoning in mathematics plays a critical role in developing mathematical understandings. In this article, Bragg, Loong, Widjaja, Vale & Herbert explore an adaptation of the Magic V Task and how it was used in several classrooms to promote and develop reasoning skills.

"[N]ot subject to our sense” : Margaret Cavendish's fusion of Renaissance science, magic and fairy lore.

PubMed

Walters, Lisa

2010-01-01

This article explores Margaret Cavendish's depictions of alchemy, witchcraft and fairy lore in her scientific treatise Philosophical Letters and in fictional texts from Natures Pictures and Poems and Fancies. Though Cavendish was a dedicated materialist, she appropriates theories of magic from early modern science and folklore into her materialist epistemology. As Cavendish draws upon a fusion of early modern conceptions of magic, she creates a radical theory of matter which not only challenges patriarchy and binary oppositions, but also explores the plurality and mystery that can exist within an infinitely complex material world.

TheE Dynamics of Formation and Evaporation of Mixed Alkali halide Nanocrystals: A Case of Comparable Lattice Energies

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-09-21

nI131+ mixed nanocrystals containing a " magic " number of 14 metal cations and 13 iodide anions is examined. These nanocrystals were generated through...RbnK14-nl13J+ mixed nanocrystals containing a " magic " number of 14 metal cations and 13 iodide anions is examined. These nanocrystals were generated...deviations or "local maxima" occur at n= 14, 23, 38, and 63 . These n values are called the " magic numbers" and are attributed to the formation of relatively

Explicit symplectic orbit and spin tracking method for electric storage ring

DOE PAGES

Hwang, Kilean; Lee, S. Y.

2016-08-18

We develop a symplectic charged particle tracking method for phase space coordinates and polarization in all electric storage rings. Near the magic energy, the spin precession tune is proportional to the fractional momentum deviation δ m from the magic energy, and the amplitude of the radial and longitudinal spin precession is proportional to η/δ m, where η is the electric dipole moment for an initially vertically polarized beam. As a result, the method can be used to extract the electron electric dipole moment of a charged particle by employing narrow band frequency analysis of polarization around the magic energy.

Gesture Recognition for Educational Games: Magic Touch Math

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kye, Neo Wen; Mustapha, Aida; Azah Samsudin, Noor

2017-08-01

Children nowadays are having problem learning and understanding basic mathematical operations because they are not interested in studying or learning mathematics. This project proposes an educational game called Magic Touch Math that focuses on basic mathematical operations targeted to children between the age of three to five years old using gesture recognition to interact with the game. Magic Touch Math was developed in accordance to the Game Development Life Cycle (GDLC) methodology. The prototype developed has helped children to learn basic mathematical operations via intuitive gestures. It is hoped that the application is able to get the children motivated and interested in mathematics.

Development and characterization of a strawberry MAGIC population derived from crosses with six strawberry cultivars

PubMed Central

Wada, Takuya; Oku, Koichiro; Nagano, Soichiro; Isobe, Sachiko; Suzuki, Hideyuki; Mori, Miyuki; Takata, Kinuko; Hirata, Chiharu; Shimomura, Katsumi; Tsubone, Masao; Katayama, Takao; Hirashima, Keita; Uchimura, Yosuke; Ikegami, Hidetoshi; Sueyoshi, Takayuki; Obu, Ko-ichi; Hayashida, Tatsuya; Shibato, Yasushi

2017-01-01

A strawberry Multi-parent Advanced Generation Intercrosses (MAGIC) population, derived from crosses using six strawberry cultivars was successfully developed. The population was composed of 338 individuals; genome conformation was evaluated by expressed sequence tag-derived simple short repeat (EST-SSR) markers. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis (PCA) based on EST-SSR marker polymorphisms revealed that the MAGIC population was a mosaic of the six founder cultivars and covered the genomic regions of the six founders evenly. Fruit quality related traits, including days to flowering (DTF), fruit weight (FW), fruit firmness (FF), fruit color (FC), soluble solid content (SC), and titratable acidity (TA), of the MAGIC population were evaluated over two years. All traits showed normal transgressive segregation beyond the founder cultivars and most traits, except for DTF, distributed normally. FC exhibited the highest correlation coefficient overall and was distributed normally regardless of differences in DTF, FW, FF, SC, and TA. These facts were supported by PCA using fruit quality related values as explanatory variables, suggesting that major genetic factors, which are not influenced by fluctuations in other fruit traits, could control the distribution of FC. This MAGIC population is a promising resource for genome-wide association studies and genomic selection for efficient strawberry breeding. PMID:29085247

Coherence Preservation of a Single Neutral Atom Qubit Transferred between Magic-Intensity Optical Traps.

PubMed

Yang, Jiaheng; He, Xiaodong; Guo, Ruijun; Xu, Peng; Wang, Kunpeng; Sheng, Cheng; Liu, Min; Wang, Jin; Derevianko, Andrei; Zhan, Mingsheng

2016-09-16

We demonstrate that the coherence of a single mobile atomic qubit can be well preserved during a transfer process among different optical dipole traps (ODTs). This is a prerequisite step in realizing a large-scale neutral atom quantum information processing platform. A qubit encoded in the hyperfine manifold of an ^{87}Rb atom is dynamically extracted from the static quantum register by an auxiliary moving ODT and reinserted into the static ODT. Previous experiments were limited by decoherences induced by the differential light shifts of qubit states. Here, we apply a magic-intensity trapping technique which mitigates the detrimental effects of light shifts and substantially enhances the coherence time to 225±21  ms. The experimentally demonstrated magic trapping technique relies on the previously neglected hyperpolarizability contribution to the light shifts, which makes the light shift dependence on the trapping laser intensity parabolic. Because of the parabolic dependence, at a certain "magic" intensity, the first order sensitivity to trapping light-intensity variations over ODT volume is eliminated. We experimentally demonstrate the utility of this approach and measure hyperpolarizability for the first time. Our results pave the way for constructing scalable quantum-computing architectures with single atoms trapped in an array of magic ODTs.

The paddle move commonly used in magic tricks as a means for analysing the perceptual limits of combined motion trajectories.

PubMed

Hergovich, Andreas; Gröbl, Kristian; Carbon, Claus-Christian

2011-01-01

Following Gustav Kuhn's inspiring technique of using magicians' acts as a source of insight into cognitive sciences, we used the 'paddle move' for testing the psychophysics of combined movement trajectories. The paddle move is a standard technique in magic consisting of a combined rotating and tilting movement. Careful control of the mutual speed parameters of the two movements makes it possible to inhibit the perception of the rotation, letting the 'magic' effect emerge--a sudden change of the tilted object. By using 3-D animated computer graphics we analysed the interaction of different angular speeds and the object shape/size parameters in evoking this motion disappearance effect. An angular speed of 540 degrees s(-1) (1.5 rev. s(-1)) sufficed to inhibit the perception of the rotary movement with the smallest object showing the strongest effect. 90.7% of the 172 participants were not able to perceive the rotary movement at an angular speed of 1125 degrees s(-1) (3.125 rev. s(-1)). Further analysis by multiple linear regression revealed major influences on the effectiveness of the magic trick of object height and object area, demonstrating the applicability of analysing key factors of magic tricks to reveal limits of the perceptual system.

Magical thinking in obsessive-compulsive disorder and generalized anxiety disorder.

PubMed

West, Bonnie; Willner, Paul

2011-07-01

Magical thinking (MT), which has historically been associated with psychotic disorders, has more recently been found to be a central cognitive construct in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) that is associated with a poor prognosis (Einstein and Menzies, 2008). Although MT has been found to distinguish OCD from Panic Disorder (PD) (Einstein and Menzies, 2006), little is known about its role in other anxiety disorders. This study aimed to compare whether elevated levels of magical thinking could distinguish individuals with OCD from non-anxious controls and individuals with Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). The Magical Ideation Scale (MIS, Eckblad and Chapman, 1983) was used to compare levels of magical thinking in groups of individuals with OCD (n = 40), GAD (n = 15), and a normal control group (n = 19). As expected, the mean MIS score of the OCD group was significantly higher than that of the non-clinical group. Interestingly, there was no significant difference between the mean MIS scores of the OCD and GAD group. However, the results of correlational analyses suggest that it may have differing roles in these disorders. Although elevated MT is evident in individuals with OCD, it may not be specific to OCD and may also be prominent in GAD. Further research is recommended to elucidate the exact role of this construct in these disorders.

Large scale shell model study of nuclear spectroscopy in nuclei around 132Sn

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lo Iudice, N.; Bianco, D.; Andreozzi, F.; Porrino, A.; Knapp, F.

2012-10-01

The properties of low-lying 2+ states in chains of nuclei in the proximity of the magic number N=82 are investigated within a new shell model approach exploiting an iterative algorithm alternative to Lanczos. The calculation yields levels and transition strengths in overall good agreement with experiments. The comparative analysis of the E2 and M1 transitions supports, in many cases, the scheme provided by the interacting boson model.

Solid effect in magic angle spinning dynamic nuclear polarization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Corzilius, Björn; Smith, Albert A.; Griffin, Robert G.

2012-08-01

For over five decades, the solid effect (SE) has been heavily utilized as a mechanism for performing dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP). Nevertheless, it has not found widespread application in contemporary, high magnetic field DNP experiments because SE enhancements display an ω _0 ^{ - 2} field dependence. In particular, for nominally forbidden zero and double quantum SE transitions to be partially allowed, it is necessary for mixing of adjacent nuclear spin states to occur, and this leads to the observed field dependence. However, recently we have improved our instrumentation and report here an enhancement of ɛ = 91 obtained with the organic radical trityl (OX063) in magic angle spinning experiments performed at 5 T and 80 K. This is a factor of 6-7 higher than previous values in the literature under similar conditions. Because the solid effect depends strongly on the microwave field strength, we attribute this large enhancement to larger microwave field strengths inside the sample volume, achieved with more efficient coupling of the gyrotron to the sample chamber. In addition, we develop a theoretical model to explain the dependence of the buildup rate of enhanced nuclear polarization and the steady-state enhancement on the microwave power. Buildup times and enhancements were measured as a function of 1H concentration for both trityl and Gd-DOTA. Comparison of the results indicates that for trityl the initial polarization step is the slower, rate-determining step. However, for Gd-DOTA the spread of nuclear polarization via homonuclear 1H spin diffusion is rate-limiting. Finally, we discuss the applicability of the solid effect at fields > 5 T and the requirements to address the unfavorable field dependence of the solid effect.

Mummies & Magic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Casey, Jeanne E.

1989-01-01

Covers the cultural and aesthetic significance of Egyptian mummies, as explained in an exhibition at Boston's Museum of Fine Arts. The display, "Mummies & Magic: The Funerary Arts of Ancient Egypt," allowed for restoration work which did much to advance modern knowledge of Egyptian culture and funerary art. (LS)

Pre-schoolers Learn at Home.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Smith, Penny

1985-01-01

Reviews: "ArithMagic (Counting, Addition, Subtraction)" which uses graphics to illustrate/review basic arithmetic concepts; "The Sweet Shop" which uses graphics (and a character called Mr. Jellybean) to teach arithmetic concepts; and "Math Magic," a monster-filled arcade game that teaches addition and subtraction.…

Examining the Link between Stress Events and Prosocial Behavior in Adolescents: More Ordinary Magic?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Larson, Andrea; Moses, Tally

2017-01-01

Scholarship regarding adolescent resilience has typically defined resilience as the absence of negative outcomes rather than the existence of positive outcomes. This study drew on the challenge model of resilience, which anticipates a curvilinear relationship between stress exposure and adaptive functioning, to test whether adolescents reporting…

"There's Magic in the Web": e-Mentoring for Women's Career Development

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Headlam-Wells, Jenny; Gosland, Julian; Craig, Jane

2005-01-01

Purpose: This paper aims to advance the argument for the transformative potential of e-mentoring for professional women. Design/methodology/approach: Existing mentoring and e-mentoring models are evaluated as the context for the development of an innovative e-mentoring programme for professional women in the UK (Empathy-Edge). The European…

Discovery of VHE γ -ray emission from the BL Lacertae object B3 2247+381 with the MAGIC telescopes

DOE PAGES

Aleksić, J.; Alvarez, E. A.; Antonelli, L. A.; ...

2012-03-02

Here, we study the non-thermal jet emission of the BL Lac object B3 2247+381 during a high optical state. The MAGIC telescopes observed the source during 13 nights between September 30th and October 30th 2010, collecting a total of 14.2 h of good quality very high energy (VHE) γ-ray data. Simultaneous multiwavelength data was obtained with X-ray observations by the Swift satellite and optical R-band observations at the KVA-telescope. We also use high energy γ-ray (HE, 0.1-100 GeV) data from the Fermi satellite. We also dedected the BL Lac object B3 2247+381 (z = 0.119) , for the first time,more » at VHE γ-rays at a statistical significance of 5.6σ. A soft VHE spectrum with a photon index of -3.2 ± 0.6 was determined. No significant short term flux variations were found. Finally, we model the spectral energy distribution using a one-zone SSC-model, which can successfully describe our data.« less

Contextuality supplies the 'magic' for quantum computation.

PubMed

Howard, Mark; Wallman, Joel; Veitch, Victor; Emerson, Joseph

2014-06-19

Quantum computers promise dramatic advantages over their classical counterparts, but the source of the power in quantum computing has remained elusive. Here we prove a remarkable equivalence between the onset of contextuality and the possibility of universal quantum computation via 'magic state' distillation, which is the leading model for experimentally realizing a fault-tolerant quantum computer. This is a conceptually satisfying link, because contextuality, which precludes a simple 'hidden variable' model of quantum mechanics, provides one of the fundamental characterizations of uniquely quantum phenomena. Furthermore, this connection suggests a unifying paradigm for the resources of quantum information: the non-locality of quantum theory is a particular kind of contextuality, and non-locality is already known to be a critical resource for achieving advantages with quantum communication. In addition to clarifying these fundamental issues, this work advances the resource framework for quantum computation, which has a number of practical applications, such as characterizing the efficiency and trade-offs between distinct theoretical and experimental schemes for achieving robust quantum computation, and putting bounds on the overhead cost for the classical simulation of quantum algorithms.

Distribution of nuclei in equilibrium stellar matter from the free-energy density in a Wigner-Seitz cell

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Grams, G.; Giraud, S.; Fantina, A. F.; Gulminelli, F.

2018-03-01

The aim of the present study is to calculate the nuclear distribution associated at finite temperature to any given equation of state of stellar matter based on the Wigner-Seitz approximation, for direct applications in core-collapse simulations. The Gibbs free energy of the different configurations is explicitly calculated, with special care devoted to the calculation of rearrangement terms, ensuring thermodynamic consistency. The formalism is illustrated with two different applications. First, we work out the nuclear statistical equilibrium cluster distribution for the Lattimer and Swesty equation of state, widely employed in supernova simulations. Secondly, we explore the effect of including shell structure, and consider realistic nuclear mass tables from the Brussels-Montreal Hartree-Fock-Bogoliubov model (specifically, HFB-24). We show that the whole collapse trajectory is dominated by magic nuclei, with extremely spread and even bimodal distributions of the cluster probability around magic numbers, demonstrating the importance of cluster distributions with realistic mass models in core-collapse simulations. Simple analytical expressions are given, allowing further applications of the method to any relativistic or nonrelativistic subsaturation equation of state.

Origin of hybrid ferrolatite lavas from Magic Reservoir eruptive center, Snake River Plain, Idaho

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Honjo, Norio; Leeman, William P.

1987-06-01

The mineralogy and geochemical characteristics of intermediate composition ferrolatites and related lavas from the Magic Reservoir eruptive center (central Snake River Plain) have been investigated to evaluate the origin and petrologic significance of these hybrid lavas. The ferrolatites are chemically uniform, but contain a disequilibrium phenocryst/xenocryst assemblage derived in part from mixed rhyolitic and basaltic magmas that are closely represented by extrusive units in the area. The hybrid lavas also contain xenoliths of Archean granulites and have high 87Sr/ 86Sr and low 143Nd/144Nd ratios, all of which suggest significant magma-crust interaction. Quantitative models including magma mixing, minor crystal fractionation, and crustal contamination very closely reproduce the observed compositions of these ferrolatites; closed system fractionation and (or) simple bulk contamination models are not as successful and can be ruled out. It appears that preexisting mafic and silicic magmas from distinct sources (e.g., mantle and crust) encounter one another in crustal-level magma chambers under conditions where intimate mixing may occur despite wide differences in the physical properties of these liquids.

[Medical practice, magic and religion - conjunction and development before and after Reformation].

PubMed

Thorvardardottir, Olina Kjerulf

2017-12-01

The conjunction between medical practice, religion and magic becomes rather visible when one peers into old scripts and ancient literature. Before the foundation and diffusion of universities of the continent, the european convents and cloisters were the centers of medical knowl-edge and -practice for centuries. Alongside the scholarly development of medical science, driven from the roots of the eldest scholarly medicial practice, the practice of folk-medicin flourished and thrived all over Europe, not least the herbal-medicine which is the original form and foundation for modern pharmacy. This article deals with the conjunction of religion, magic and medical practice in ancient Icelandic sources such as the Old-Norse literature, medical-scripts from the 12th - 15th century Iceland, and not least the Icelandic magical-scripts (galdrakver) of the 17th century. The last mentioned documents were used as evidence in several witch-trials that led convicted witches to suffer executions at the stake once the wave of European witch-persecutions had rushed ashore in 17th century Iceland. These sources indicate a decline of medical knowledge and science in the 16th and 17th century Iceland, the medical practice being rather undeveloped at the time - in Iceland as in other parts of Europe - there-fore a rather unclear margin between "the learned and the laymen". While common people and folk-healers were convicted as witches to suffer at the stake for possession of magical scripts and healing-books, some scholars of the state of Danmark were practicing healing-methods that deserve to be compared to the activities of the former ones. That comparison raises an inevitable question of where to draw the line between the learned medical man and the magician of 17th century Iceland, that is between Magic and Science.

It's a kind of magic—what self-reports can reveal about the phenomenology of insight problem solving

PubMed Central

Danek, Amory H.; Fraps, Thomas; von Müller, Albrecht; Grothe, Benedikt; Öllinger, Michael

2014-01-01

Magic tricks usually remain a mystery to the observer. For the sake of science, we offered participants the opportunity to discover the magician's secret method by repeatedly presenting the same trick and asking them to find out how the trick worked. In the context of insightful problem solving, the present work investigated the emotions that participants experience upon solving a magic trick. We assumed that these emotions form the typical “Aha! experience” that accompanies insightful solutions to difficult problems. We aimed to show that Aha! experiences can be triggered by magic tricks and to systematically explore the phenomenology of the Aha! experience by breaking it down into five previously postulated dimensions. 34 video clips of different magic tricks were presented up to three times to 50 participants who had to find out how the trick was accomplished, and to indicate whether they had experienced an Aha! during the solving process. Participants then performed a comprehensive quantitative and qualitative assessment of their Aha! experiences which was repeated after 14 days to control for its reliability. 41% of all suggested solutions were accompanied by an Aha! experience. The quantitative assessment remained stable across time in all five dimensions. Happiness was rated as the most important dimension. This primacy of positive emotions was also reflected in participants' qualitative self-reports which contained more emotional than cognitive aspects. Implementing magic tricks as problem solving task, we could show that strong Aha! experiences can be triggered if a trick is solved. We could at least partially capture the phenomenology of Aha! by identifying one prevailing aspect (positive emotions), a new aspect (release of tension upon gaining insight into a magic trick) and one less important aspect (impasse). PMID:25538658

A systematic study of superheavy nuclei for Z = 114 and beyond using the relativistic mean field approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Patra, S. K.; Wu, Cheng-Li; Praharaj, C. R.; Gupta, Raj K.

1999-05-01

We have studied the structural properties of even-even, neutron deficient, Z = 114-126, superheavy nuclei in the mass region A ˜ 270-320, using an axially deformed relativistic mean field model. The calculations are performed with three parameter sets (NL1, TM1 and NL-SH), in order to see the dependence of the structural properties on the force used. The calculated ground state shapes are found to be parameter dependent. For some parameter sets, many of the nuclei are degenerate in their ground state configuration. Special attention is given to the investigation of the magic structures (spherical shell closures) in the superheavy region. We find that some known magic numbers are absent and new closed shells are predicted. Large shell gaps appear at Z = 80, 92, (114), 120 and 138, N = 138, (164), (172), 184, (198), (228) and 258, irrespective of the parameter sets used. The numbers in parenthesis are those which correspond to relatively smaller gaps. The existence of new magic numbers in the valley of superheavy elements is discussed. It is suggested that nuclei around Z = 114 and N = 164 ˜ 172 could be considered as candidates for the next search of superheavy nuclei. The existence of superheavy islands around Z = 120 and N = 172 or N = 184 double shell closure is also discussed.

Towards real-time metabolic profiling of a biopsy specimen during a surgical operation by 1H high resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance: a case report.

PubMed

Piotto, Martial; Moussallieh, François-Marie; Neuville, Agnès; Bellocq, Jean-Pierre; Elbayed, Karim; Namer, Izzie Jacques

2012-01-18

Providing information on cancerous tissue samples during a surgical operation can help surgeons delineate the limits of a tumoral invasion more reliably. Here, we describe the use of metabolic profiling of a colon biopsy specimen by high resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to evaluate tumoral invasion during a simulated surgical operation. Biopsy specimens (n = 9) originating from the excised right colon of a 66-year-old Caucasian women with an adenocarcinoma were automatically analyzed using a previously built statistical model. Metabolic profiling results were in full agreement with those of a histopathological analysis. The time-response of the technique is sufficiently fast for it to be used effectively during a real operation (17 min/sample). Metabolic profiling has the potential to become a method to rapidly characterize cancerous biopsies in the operation theater.

NPDES Draft Permit for Dakota Magic Casino Wastewater Treatment Facility in North Dakota

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Under NPDES draft permit ND0030813, the Dakota Magic Hotel and Casino WWTF is authorized to discharge, in accordance with the requirements as contained in the provisions of this Permit, from its wastewater treatment facility to the Bois de Sioux.

Carol Ryrie Brink's Gendered Space in "Caddie Woodlawn" and "Magical Melons."

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maher, Susan Naramore

1996-01-01

Explores the reasons for the contrasting receptions of two books written by Ryrie Brink, "Caddie Woodlawn" (1935) and its sequel "Magical Melons" (1944). Speculates that the difference lies in their different portrayals of the relationship between male and female worlds. (TB)

Devices and process for high-pressure magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance

DOEpatents

Hoyt, David W; Sears, Jr., Jesse A; Turcu, Romulus V.F.; Rosso, Kevin M; Hu, Jian Zhi

2014-04-08

A high-pressure magic angle spinning (MAS) rotor is detailed that includes a high-pressure sample cell that maintains high pressures exceeding 150 bar. The sample cell design minimizes pressure losses due to penetration over an extended period of time.

Devices and process for high-pressure magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance

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

Hoyt, David W.; Sears, Jesse A.; Turcu, Romulus V. F.

A high-pressure magic angle spinning (MAS) rotor is detailed that includes a high-pressure sample cell that maintains high pressures exceeding 150 bar. The sample cell design minimizes pressure losses due to penetration over an extended period of time.

Limits to dark matter annihilation cross-section from a combined analysis of MAGIC and Fermi-LAT observations of dwarf satellite galaxies

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

MAGIC Collaboration

2016-02-01

We present the first joint analysis of gamma-ray data from the MAGIC Cherenkov telescopes and the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) to search for gamma-ray signals from dark matter annihilation in dwarf satellite galaxies. We combine 158 hours of Segue 1 observations with MAGIC with 6-year observations of 15 dwarf satellite galaxies by the Fermi-LAT. We obtain limits on the annihilation cross-section for dark matter particle masses between 10 GeV and 100 TeV—the widest mass range ever explored by a single gamma-ray analysis. These limits improve on previously published Fermi-LAT and MAGIC results by up to a factor of twomore » at certain masses. Our new inclusive analysis approach is completely generic and can be used to perform a global, sensitivity-optimized dark matter search by combining data from present and future gamma-ray and neutrino detectors.« less

Evidence for prevalent Z = 6 magic number in neutron-rich carbon isotopes.

PubMed

Tran, D T; Ong, H J; Hagen, G; Morris, T D; Aoi, N; Suzuki, T; Kanada-En'yo, Y; Geng, L S; Terashima, S; Tanihata, I; Nguyen, T T; Ayyad, Y; Chan, P Y; Fukuda, M; Geissel, H; Harakeh, M N; Hashimoto, T; Hoang, T H; Ideguchi, E; Inoue, A; Jansen, G R; Kanungo, R; Kawabata, T; Khiem, L H; Lin, W P; Matsuta, K; Mihara, M; Momota, S; Nagae, D; Nguyen, N D; Nishimura, D; Otsuka, T; Ozawa, A; Ren, P P; Sakaguchi, H; Scheidenberger, C; Tanaka, J; Takechi, M; Wada, R; Yamamoto, T

2018-04-23

The nuclear shell structure, which originates in the nearly independent motion of nucleons in an average potential, provides an important guide for our understanding of nuclear structure and the underlying nuclear forces. Its most remarkable fingerprint is the existence of the so-called magic numbers of protons and neutrons associated with extra stability. Although the introduction of a phenomenological spin-orbit (SO) coupling force in 1949 helped in explaining the magic numbers, its origins are still open questions. Here, we present experimental evidence for the smallest SO-originated magic number (subshell closure) at the proton number six in 13-20 C obtained from systematic analysis of point-proton distribution radii, electromagnetic transition rates and atomic masses of light nuclei. Performing ab initio calculations on 14,15 C, we show that the observed proton distribution radii and subshell closure can be explained by the state-of-the-art nuclear theory with chiral nucleon-nucleon and three-nucleon forces, which are rooted in the quantum chromodynamics.

The role of magical thinking in forecasting the future.

PubMed

Stavrova, Olga; Meckel, Andrea

2017-02-01

This article explores the role of magical thinking in the subjective probabilities of future chance events. In five experiments, we show that individuals tend to predict a more lucky future (reflected in probability judgements of lucky and unfortunate chance events) for someone who happened to purchase a product associated with a highly moral person than for someone who unknowingly purchased a product associated with a highly immoral person. In the former case, positive events were considered more likely than negative events, whereas in the latter case, the difference in the likelihood judgement of positive and negative events disappeared or even reversed. Our results indicate that this effect is unlikely to be driven by participants' immanent justice beliefs, the availability heuristic, or experimenter demand. Finally, we show that individuals rely more heavily on magical thinking when their need for control is threatened, thus suggesting that lack of control represents a factor in driving magical thinking in making predictions about the future. © 2016 The British Psychological Society.

Error rates and resource overheads of encoded three-qubit gates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Takagi, Ryuji; Yoder, Theodore J.; Chuang, Isaac L.

2017-10-01

A non-Clifford gate is required for universal quantum computation, and, typically, this is the most error-prone and resource-intensive logical operation on an error-correcting code. Small, single-qubit rotations are popular choices for this non-Clifford gate, but certain three-qubit gates, such as Toffoli or controlled-controlled-Z (ccz), are equivalent options that are also more suited for implementing some quantum algorithms, for instance, those with coherent classical subroutines. Here, we calculate error rates and resource overheads for implementing logical ccz with pieceable fault tolerance, a nontransversal method for implementing logical gates. We provide a comparison with a nonlocal magic-state scheme on a concatenated code and a local magic-state scheme on the surface code. We find the pieceable fault-tolerance scheme particularly advantaged over magic states on concatenated codes and in certain regimes over magic states on the surface code. Our results suggest that pieceable fault tolerance is a promising candidate for fault tolerance in a near-future quantum computer.

Limits to dark matter annihilation cross-section from a combined analysis of MAGIC and Fermi-LAT observations of dwarf satellite galaxies

DOE PAGES

Ahnen, M. L.

2016-02-16

Here, we present the first joint analysis of gamma-ray data from the MAGIC Cherenkov telescopes and the Fermi Large Area Telescope (LAT) to search for gamma-ray signals from dark matter annihilation in dwarf satellite galaxies. We combine 158 hours of Segue 1 observations with MAGIC with 6-year observations of 15 dwarf satellite galaxies by the Fermi-LAT. We obtain limits on the annihilation cross-section for dark matter particle masses between 10 GeV and 100 TeV - the widest mass range ever explored by a single gamma-ray analysis. These limits improve on previously published Fermi-LAT and MAGIC results by up to amore » factor of two at certain masses. Our new inclusive analysis approach is completely generic and can be used to perform a global, sensitivity-optimized dark matter search by combining data from present and future gamma-ray and neutrino detectors.« less

Discrete magic angle turning system, apparatus, and process for in situ magnetic resonance spectroscopy and imaging

DOEpatents

Hu, Jian Zhi [Richland, WA; Sears, Jr., Jesse A.; Hoyt, David W [Richland, WA; Wind, Robert A [Kennewick, WA

2009-05-19

Described are a "Discrete Magic Angle Turning" (DMAT) system, devices, and processes that combine advantages of both magic angle turning (MAT) and magic angle hopping (MAH) suitable, e.g., for in situ magnetic resonance spectroscopy and/or imaging. In an exemplary system, device, and process, samples are rotated in a clockwise direction followed by an anticlockwise direction of exactly the same amount. Rotation proceeds through an angle that is typically greater than about 240 degrees but less than or equal to about 360 degrees at constant speed for a time applicable to the evolution dimension. Back and forth rotation can be synchronized and repeated with a special radio frequency (RF) pulse sequence to produce an isotropic-anisotropic shift 2D correlation spectrum. The design permits tubes to be inserted into the sample container without introducing plumbing interferences, further allowing control over such conditions as temperature, pressure, flow conditions, and feed compositions, thus permitting true in-situ investigations to be carried out.

Magic wavelengths for the 6{s}^{2}{}^{1}{S}_{0}{--}6s6p{}^{3}{P}_{1}^{o} transition in ytterbium atom

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, Zhi-Ming; Yu, Yan-Mei; Jiang, Jun; Dong, Chen-Zhong

2018-06-01

The static and dynamic electric dipole polarizabilities of the 6{s}2{}1{S}0 and 6s6p{}3{P}1o states of Yb are calculated by using the relativistic ab initio method. Focusing on the red detuning region to the 6{s}2{}1{S}0{--}6s6p{}3{P}1o transition, we find two magic wavelengths at 1035.7(2) and 612.9(2) nm for the 6{s}2{}1{S}0{--}6s6p{}3{P}1o,{M}J=0 transition and three magic wavelengths at 1517.68(6), 1036.0(3) and 858(12) nm for the 6{s}2{}1{S}0{--}6s6p{}3{P}1o,{M}J=+/- 1 transitions. Such magic wavelengths are of particular interest for attaining the state-insensitive cooling, trapping, and quantum manipulation of neutral Yb atom.

Long term (1987-2012) trends in water chemistry of acid sensitive Swedish lakes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Futter, Martyn; Valinia, Salar; Fölster, Jens

2014-05-01

Acidification of surface waters is a serious concern in Sweden. During the 1970s and 1980s, many surface waters in Sweden were acidified by long-range pollution. Legislated emissions reductions have led to the recovery of many water bodies but today, there are concerns about the possibility of re-acidification. Sweden is committed to a goal of natural acidification only (i.e. no anthropogenic acidification). Here, we present long term (1987-2012) trends in strong acid anion, base cation, organic carbon and alkalinity measurements. Lakes are defined as acidified in Sweden if pH is more than 0.4 units less than a reference (1860) pH estimated using MAGIC, a widely used process-based model of acidification. Using this criteria, many acid sensitive Swedish lakes are still acidified. A changing climate and more intensive forest harvesting may further delay the recovery from acidification. Average measured alkalinity in the 38 lakes presented here was <= 0.02 mekv/l between 2000-2012. Strong acid anion concentrations declined, primarily as a result of declines in sulfate. Chloride is now the dominant anion in many of these lakes. Base cations concentrations have declined less rapidly, leading to an increase in charge balance ANC. This increase in charge balance ANC has not been matched by an increase in measured alkalinity. Total organic carbon concentrations have increased significantly in many of these lakes, to the point where modeled organic acidity is now approximately equal to inorganic acidity. While the results presented here conform to acidification theory, they illustrate the value of long-term monitoring for assessing the effects of pollutant reduction measures, identifying new threats to water quality and corroborating model results. Most importantly, the long-term monitoring results presented here can be an important tool for informing environmental policy.

On the application of magic echo cycles for quadrupolar echo spectroscopy of spin-1 nuclei.

PubMed

Mananga, E S; Roopchand, R; Rumala, Y S; Boutis, G S

2007-03-01

Magic echo cycles are introduced for performing quadrupolar echo spectroscopy of spin-1 nuclei. An analysis is performed via average Hamiltonian theory showing that the evolution under chemical shift or static field inhomogeneity can be refocused simultaneously with the quadrupolar interaction using these cycles. Due to the higher convergence in the Magnus expansion, with sufficient RF power, magic echo based quadrupolar echo spectroscopy outperforms the conventional two pulse quadrupolar echo in signal to noise. Experiments highlighting a signal to noise enhancement over the entire bandwidth of the quadrupolar pattern of a powdered sample of deuterated polyethelene are shown.

MagIC: Fluid dynamics in a spherical shell simulator

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wicht, J.; Gastine, T.; Barik, A.; Putigny, B.; Yadav, R.; Duarte, L.; Dintrans, B.

2017-09-01

MagIC simulates fluid dynamics in a spherical shell. It solves for the Navier-Stokes equation including Coriolis force, optionally coupled with an induction equation for Magneto-Hydro Dynamics (MHD), a temperature (or entropy) equation and an equation for chemical composition under both the anelastic and the Boussinesq approximations. MagIC uses either Chebyshev polynomials or finite differences in the radial direction and spherical harmonic decomposition in the azimuthal and latitudinal directions. The time-stepping scheme relies on a semi-implicit Crank-Nicolson for the linear terms of the MHD equations and a Adams-Bashforth scheme for the non-linear terms and the Coriolis force.

77 FR 15747 - Combined Notice of Filings #1

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-03-16

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Combined Notice of Filings 1 Take notice...-000. Applicants: Magic Valley Wind Farm I, LLC. Description: Notice of Self-Certification of Exempt Wholesale Generator Status of Magic Valley Wind Farm I, LLC. Filed Date: 3/7/12. Accession Number: 20120307...

Constraints on Children's Judgments of Magical Causality

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolley, Jacqueline D.; Browne, Cheryl A.; Boerger, Elizabeth A.

2006-01-01

In 3 studies we addressed the operation of constraints on children's causal judgments. Our primary focus was whether children's beliefs about magical causality, specifically wishing, are constrained by features that govern the attribution of ordinary causality. In Experiment 1, children witnessed situations in which a confederate's wish appeared…

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Applications: Proton NMR In Biological Objects Subjected To Magic Angle Spinning

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

Wind, Robert A.; Hu, Jian Zhi

2005-01-01

Proton NMR in Biological Objects Submitted to Magic Angle Spinning, In Encyclopedia of Analytical Science, Second Edition (Paul J. Worsfold, Alan Townshend and Colin F. Poole, eds.), Elsevier, Oxford 6:333-342. Published January 1, 2005. Proposal Number 10896.

Math in Your Classroom: Math Magic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Naylor, Michael

2005-01-01

Mathematics truly is magical, especially for students with strong number sense and algebra skills. This paper describes a variety of mathematical surprises that will capture students' interest and motivate exploration of mathematical ideas. While the tricks themselves are fascinating, push students to think about the reasons why these stunning…

Fourth Workshop on Science with the New Generation of High Energy Gamma-ray Experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Massai, Marco Maria; Omodei, Nicola; Spandre, Gloria

I. Space-based telescope. Integral-4 years in orbit / P. Umbertini, P. Caraveo. The Suzaku mission / K. Yamaoka. The Swift mission: two years of operation / A. Moretti. Gamma-ray astrophysics with AGILE / F.Longo et al., The AGILE collaboration. The GLAST mission / J.E. McEnery -- II. Ground-based telescope. Recent results from CANGAROO / M. Mori for the CANGAROO team. The H.E.S.S. project / C. Masterson for the H.E.S.S. collaboration. The MAGIC experiment / N. Turini for the MAGIC collaboration. VERITAS: status and performance / J. Holder for the VERITAS collaboration -- III. Galactic variable sources. Galactic variable sky with EGRET and GLAST / S. Digel. Galactic variable sources observed with H.E.S.S. / N. Komin for the H.E.S.S collaboration. Gamma ray pulsars in the GLAST era / M. Razzano. Solving the riddle of unidentified high-energy gamma-ray sources / P. Caraveo. Supernovae and gamma-ray burst / M. Della Valle. First cycle of MAGIC galactic observations / J. Cortina for the MAGIC collaboration. Gamma-rays and neutrinos from a SNR in the galactic center / V. Cavasinni, D. Grasso, L. Maccione. Solving GRBs and SGRs puzzles by precessing jets / D. Fargion, O. Lanciano, P. Oliva -- IV. Extragalactic sources. Multiwavelength observations and theories of blazers / G. Tosti. AGN observations with the MAGIC telescope / C. Bigongiari for the MAGIC collaboration. Gamma ray bursts/ L. Amati. X-rays and GeV flares in GRB light curves / A. Galli ... [et al.]. The highest energy emission from gamma ray bursts: MILAGRO's constraints and HAWC's potential / B. Dingus for the MILAGRO and HAWC collaborations. Observation of GRB with the MAGIC telescope / N. Galante, P. Piccioli for the MAGIC collaboration. GRB 060218 and the outliers with respect to the E-E correlation / G. Ghirlanda, G. Ghibellini -- V. Poster session. Study of the performance and calibration of the GLAST-LAT silicon tracker / M. Brigida, N. Giglietto, P. Spinelli. The online monitor for the GLAST calibration unit beam test / L. Baldini, J. Bregeon, C. Sgrò. ARGO-YBJ experiment: the scalar mode technique / I. James. on behalf of ARGO-YBJ collaboration. Analysis of pulsars in LAT data challenge 2: a population point of view / M. Razzano. Search of optimized cuts for gamma-ray pulsar detection with GLAST-LAT instrument / A. Calandro, N. Biglietto, P. Spinelli. Gamma-ray burst physics with GLAST / N. Omodei. The global fit approach to time-resolved spectroscopy GRBs / A. Chernenko.

A Dual Band Frequency Reconfigurable Origami Magic Cube Antenna for Wireless Sensor Network Applications.

PubMed

Shah, Syed Imran Hussain; Lim, Sungjoon

2017-11-20

In this paper, a novel dual band frequency reconfigurable antenna using an origami magic cube is proposed for wireless sensor network (WSN) applications. The proposed origami antenna consists of a meandered monopole folded onto three sides of the magic cube. A microstrip open-ended stub is loaded on the meandered monopole. The proposed origami magic cube can be mechanically folded and unfolded. The proposed antenna operates at 1.57 GHZ and 2.4 GHz in the folded state. In the unfolded state, the proposed antenna operates at 900 MHz and 2.3 GHz. The resonant frequency of the second band can be tunable by varying the length and position of the open stub. The origami magic cube is built on paper. Its performance is numerically and experimentally demonstrated from S-parameters and radiation patterns. The measured 10 dB impedance bandwidth of the proposed origami antenna is 18% (900-1120 MHz) and 15% (2.1-2.45 GHz) for the unfolded state and 20% (1.3-1.6 GHz) and 14% (2.3-2.5 GHz) for the folded state. The measured peak gain at 900 MHz and 2.3 GHz are 1.1 dBi and 2.32 dBi, respectively, in the unfolded state. The measured peak gain at 1.5 GHz and 2.4 GHz are 3.28 dBi and 1.98 dBi, respectively, in the folded state.

Creating 3, 4, 6 and 10-dimensional spacetime from W3 symmetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ambjørn, J.; Watabiki, Y.

2017-07-01

We describe a model where breaking of W3 symmetry will lead to the emergence of time and subsequently of space. Surprisingly the simplest such models which lead to higher dimensional spacetimes are based on the four ;magical; Jordan algebras of 3 × 3 Hermitian matrices with real, complex, quaternion and octonion entries, respectively. The simplest symmetry breaking leads to universes with spacetime dimensions 3, 4, 6, and 10.

People's feelings and ideas about receiving transplants of different origins--questions of life and death, identity, and nature's border.

PubMed

Sanner, M A

2001-02-01

The aim of this study was to explore the public's feelings and ideas with regard to receiving transplants of different origins. Sixty-nine individuals with varying sociodemographic background, selected from samples who had responded to a questionnaire on receiving and donating organs, were interviewed in-depth. A wide variety of reactions was displayed. The feelings and ideas about receiving organs were summarized in ten categories: 1) the emergency situation; 2) the functioning of the transplant; 3) the influence of transplants on personality, behaviour, and appearance; 4) the influence of transplants on body image; 5) disgust; 6) cannibalism; 7) trespassing nature's border; 8) tradition; 9) ethical considerations; and 10) the debt of gratitude. Most individuals were willing to accept at least one organ. Animal organs were the least preferred. The hierarchy of organ preferences--with organs from a relative at the top and animal organs at the bottom was explained in terms of rational, magical, and analogy thinking. Finally, the consequences for the encounter between health care personnel and transplantation candidates were briefly discussed.

NPDES Permit for Dakota Magic Casino and Hotel Wastewater Treatment Facility in North Dakota

EPA Pesticide Factsheets

Under NPDES permit ND0030813, the the Dakota Magic Casino and Hotel is authorized is authorized to discharge from its wastewater treatment facility in Richland County, North Dakota, to a roadside ditch flowing to an unnamed tributary to the Bois de Sioux.

Ursula LeGuin's Magical World of Earthsea.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Griffin, Jan M.

1996-01-01

Discusses how Ursula LeGuin's Earthsea Trilogy reflects her belief in Taoist philosophy as well as her skill in telling stories of magic and adventure. Notes that the three books can be described as coming-of-age novels in which three separate individuals struggle to become mature, responsible, whole adults. (RS)

The EDIT-COMGEOM Code

DTIC Science & Technology

1975-09-01

This report assumes a familiarity with the GIFT and MAGIC computer codes. The EDIT-COMGEOM code is a FORTRAN computer code. The EDIT-COMGEOM code...converts the target description data which was used in the MAGIC computer code to the target description data which can be used in the GIFT computer code

Wisconsin Summer Library Program Manual, 1981. Merlin's Mid-Summer Magic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kreigh, Helen, Comp.

This manual provides librarians with suggestions and patterns for decorations, promotion, resources (print, nonprint, and human), and activities and events for a community cooperative program providing library services to children during the summertime. Several ways in which the theme, Merlin's Midsummer Magic could be developed are suggested;…

Neuroscience, Magic, and Counseling

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Echterling, Lennis G.; Presbury, Jack; Cowan, Eric

2012-01-01

Recent findings in neuroscience have identified principles, such as attention management and change blindness, which stage magicians exploit to create illusions. Neuroscientists have also revealed how mirror neurons and oxytocin enhance the impact of magic. In other words, magicians are just as much practitioners of sleight of mind as they are of…

Pre-School Children's Encounters with "The Magic Flute"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nyland, Berenice; Acker, Aleksandra; Ferris, Jill; Deans, Jan

2011-01-01

This article describes a music programme in an Australian early learning centre. Through a repertoire of songs, games and instruments, the children were introduced to music forms, including opera. Mozart's Magic Flute was presented to these children by watching the Metropolitan Opera's latest film performance. Because this opera seized the…

Thinking about Fantasy: Are Children Fundamentally Different Thinkers and Believers from Adults?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Woolley, Jacqueline D.

1997-01-01

Reviews research on children's and adults' beliefs about fantasy and their tendency to engage in "magical thinking." Suggests that children are not fundamentally different from adults in their ability to distinguish fantasy from reality. Both entertain fantastical beliefs and engage in magical thinking. Offers suggestions regarding age…

Magical Thinking in Formal Operational Adults.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lesser, R.; Paisner, M.

1985-01-01

Female adult members of a spiritual community denying the existence of chance were matched by age and educational level with adult female nonmembers. Level of development of logical operations and causal belief systems were assessed. Findings indicate that personally charged, magical concepts of causality can develop into maturity and exist…

Imagination and the Magic of Libraries.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

The Bookmark, 1990

1990-01-01

This issue of "The Bookmark" presents 20 articles focusing on the theme that libraries foster imagination. The articles are: (1) "Imagination and the Magic of Libraries" (Elizabeth S. Manion); (2) "Powerful Partners--Discovery and Democracy, An Interview with Cynthia Jenkins" (Anne E. Simon); (3) "Fostering Imagination in Children" (Susan Lehr);…

Sparkling Science Programs.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Allen, Denise

1995-01-01

Reviews five compact disc-read only memory (CD-ROM) products and one video series that focus on science projects: (1) "Body Park" (Virtual Entertainment); (2) "The Magic School Bus Explores the Solar System" (Microsoft); (3) "The Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body" (Microsoft); (4) "Science Curriculum Assistance Program" (Demco); and (5)…

"Black Magic" and "Gold Dust": The Epistemic and Political Uses of Evidence Tools in Public Health Policy Making

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Stewart, Ellen; Smith, Katherine E.

2015-01-01

Concerns about the limited influence of research on decision making have prompted the development of tools intended to mediate evidence for policy audiences. This article focuses on three examples, prominent in public health: impact assessments; systematic reviews; and economic decision-making tools (cost-benefit analysis and scenario modelling).…

Unifying Gate Synthesis and Magic State Distillation.

PubMed

Campbell, Earl T; Howard, Mark

2017-02-10

The leading paradigm for performing a computation on quantum memories can be encapsulated as distill-then-synthesize. Initially, one performs several rounds of distillation to create high-fidelity magic states that provide one good T gate, an essential quantum logic gate. Subsequently, gate synthesis intersperses many T gates with Clifford gates to realize a desired circuit. We introduce a unified framework that implements one round of distillation and multiquibit gate synthesis in a single step. Typically, our method uses the same number of T gates as conventional synthesis but with the added benefit of quadratic error suppression. Because of this, one less round of magic state distillation needs to be performed, leading to significant resource savings.

Magical thinking decreases across adulthood.

PubMed

Brashier, Nadia M; Multhaup, Kristi S

2017-12-01

Magical thinking, or illogical causal reasoning such as superstitions, decreases across childhood, but almost no data speak to whether this developmental trajectory continues across the life span. In four experiments, magical thinking decreased across adulthood. This pattern replicated across two judgment domains and could not be explained by age-related differences in tolerance of ambiguity, domain-specific knowledge, or search for meaning. These data complement and extend findings that experience, accumulated over decades, guides older adults' judgments so that they match, or even exceed, young adults' performance. They also counter participants' expectations, and cultural sayings (e.g., "old wives' tales"), that suggest that older adults are especially superstitious. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Correlates of the multidimensional construct of hypnotizability: paranormal belief, fantasy proneness, magical ideation, and dissociation.

PubMed

Dasse, Michelle N; Elkins, Gary R; Weaver, Charles A

2015-01-01

Hypnotizability is a multifaceted construct that may relate to multiple aspects of personality and beliefs. This study sought to address 4 known correlates of hypnotizability to aid in its understanding. Eighty undergraduates completed the Magical Ideation Scale (MIS), the Creative Experiences Questionnaire (CEQ), the Australian Sheep-Goat Scale (ASGS), and the Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES) and then were administered the Creative Imagination Scale (CIS). All 5 scales were significantly correlated. Participants higher in hypnotizability scored higher on the CEQ and the MIS. The findings demonstrate the influence of fantasy proneness and magical thinking on hypnotizability and support the theory that hypnotizability is a complex interaction of multiple traits.

A nonmainstream approach against cancer.

PubMed

Fais, Stefano

2016-12-01

The discovery of antibiotics as specific and effective drugs against infectious agents has generated the belief that the famous Paul Erlich theory on magic bullet should be applied to cancer as well. However, after around 60 years of failures in finding a magic bullet against cancer, a question appears mandatory: does the magic bullet against cancer really exist? In trying to understand more on the issue, we propose three discoveries are coming from a nonmainstream approach against cancer. Tumor is acidic, and tumor acidity impairs drugs entering within tumor cells and isolates tumors from the rest of the body. Proton pumps are key in allowing tumor cells to live in the acidic microenvironment. A class of antiacidic drugs, proton pump inhibitors (PPIs), were shown to have a potent anti-tumor effect, through inhibition of proton pumps in tumor cells. PPIs are indeed prodrugs needing acidity to be activated into the active molecule. So they use protonation by H+ as an activating mechanism, while the vast majority of drugs are totally neutralized by protonation. An anti-tumor therapy based on PPI showed to be effective both in vitro and in vivo. Differently from normal cells, cancer cells meet their energy needs in great part by fermentation, and it appears conceivable that hypoxia and low nutrient transform tumor cells into fermenting anaerobes. This suggests that cancer cells are more similar to unicellular organisms, aimed at surviving in a continuous fighting, rather than cooperating, with other cells, as it occurs in the normal homeostasis of our body. We have shown that cancer cells take their fuel by "cannibalizing" other cells, either dead or alive, especially when starved and in acidic condition. This finding led to the discovery of a new oncogene TM9SF4 that human malignant cell shares with amoebas. The evidence is accumulating that almost all the cells release extracellular vehicles (EVs), from micro- to nanosize, which shuttle a variety of molecules. Tumor cells, particularly when stressed in their hostile microenvironment, release high levels of EVs, able to interact with target cells in various ways, within an organ or at a distance. They may represent both valuable tumor biomarker and shuttles for drugs with anti-tumor properties. This article wants to burst a real change in future anti-cancer strategies, based on the idea that tumors are much more common features than specific molecular targets.

Magic trees in mammalians respiration or when evolution selected clever physical systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sapoval, B.; Filoche, M.

2014-03-01

The respiratory system of mammalians is made of two successive branched structures with different physiological functions. The upper structure, or bronchial tree, is a fluid transportation system made of approximately 15 generations of bifurcations leading to the order of 215= 30.000 bronchioles with a diameter of order 0.5 mm in the human lung.1 The branching pattern continues up to generation 23 but the structure and function of each of the subsequent structures, called the acini, is different. Each acinus is made of a branched system of ducts surrounded by alveolae and play the role of a diffusion cell where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged with blood across the alveolar membrane.2 We show in this letter that the bronchial tree present simultaneously several optimal properties of totally different nature. It is first energy efficient3-6, second, it is space filling;7 and third it is "rapid" as discussed here. It is this multi-optimality that is qualified here as magic. The multioptimality physical characteristic suggests that, in the course of evolution, an organ selected against one criterion could have been later used later for a totally different reason. For example, once energetic efficiency for the transport of a viscous fluid like blood has been selected, the same genetic material could have been used for its optimized rapidity. This would have allowed the emergence of mammalian respiration made of inspiration-expiration cycles. For this phenomenon to exist, the rapid character is essential, as fresh air has to reach the gas exchange organs, the pulmonary acini, before the start of expiration.

Magic Trees in Mammalians Respiration or when Evolution Selected Clever Physical Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sapoval, B.; Filoche, M.

2013-01-01

The respiratory system of mammalians is made of two successive branched structures with different physiological functions. The upper structure, or bronchial tree, is a fluid transportation system made of approximately 15 generations of bifurcations leading to the order of 215 = 30,000 bronchioles with a diameter of order 0.5 mm in the human lung.1 The branching pattern continues up to generation 23 but the structure and function of each of the subsequent structures, called the acini, is different. Each acinus is made of a branched system of ducts surrounded by alveolae and play the role of a diffusion cell where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged with blood across the alveolar membrane.2 We show in this paper that the bronchial tree presents simultaneously several optimal properties of totally different nature. It is first energy efficient;3-6 second, it is space filling;7 and third it is "rapid" as discussed here. It is this multi-optimality that is qualified here as magic. The multi-optimality physical characteristic suggests that, in the course of evolution, an organ selected against one criterion could have been later used for a totally different reason. For example, once energetic efficiency for the transport of a viscous fluid like blood has been selected, the same genetic material could have been used for its optimized rapidity. This would have allowed the emergence of mammalian respiration made of inspiration-expiration cycles. For this phenomenon to exist, the rapid character is essential, as fresh air has to reach the gas exchange organs, the pulmonary acini, before the start of expiration.

Magic Finger Teaching Method in Learning Multiplication Facts among Deaf Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Thai, Liong; Yasin, Mohd. Hanafi Mohd

2016-01-01

Deaf students face problems in mastering multiplication facts. This study aims to identify the effectiveness of Magic Finger Teaching Method (MFTM) and students' perception towards MFTM. The research employs a quasi experimental with non-equivalent pre-test and post-test control group design. Pre-test, post-test and questionnaires were used. As…

Plying at Poetic Writing.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cobine, Gary R.

Creative writing is not a magical art from magic wands, but an everyday practice in the hands of steady writers. Creative writing calls, above all, for self-discipline. Along with intellectual and emotional stamina, a poetic writer needs sensory awareness. The writer also forms a mysterious sixth sense--intuition. In search of the good words, the…

Astra's Magic Math. Teacher's Manual, Manipulatives, and Student Worksheets.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Judith; And Others

Astra's Magic Math is a beginning multi-sensory program that attempts to teach basic math skills through 22 sequentially developed self-contained units designed to combine manipulation, writing, and language activities. The units are first introduced to the large group to stimulate interest and develop concepts through oral language. Children then…

It's Not Magic! Research on Developing Expertise

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Peskin, Joan

2011-01-01

In the past two decades, a large body of research has examined the differences between novices and experts in subject areas ranging from physics to poetry. Yet research on developing expertise has found no "magic bullet" in becoming an expert and has concluded that innate talent plays a less prominent role than previously imagined.…

Magic, Morals and Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Warren R.

2010-01-01

Magic has to do with the supernatural and the unnatural. It is indifferent to natural law and science and is aloof from scientific inquiry. Its existence depends upon unquestioning faith. Granted such faith, it is extraordinarily potent. If it does not move mountains, it convinces the faithful that it can. It can damage health and perhaps, restore…

Sugar Cane Magic.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mower, Nancy Alpert

The booklet contains a story for middle-grade students which shows how the roles of men and women change through the years. The main characters are three sixth graders in Hawaii: one girl has Hawaiian ancestors, one girl has Japanese ancestors, and one boy has New England missionary ancestors. The children discover a magic stalk of sugar cane…

Creativity, Magic and Morality: The Dilemma of the Young Gifted Child.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buescher, Thomas M.

1979-01-01

The article explores the dilemma of young gifted children (ages 4-8 years) in the evolution and resolution of their own system of morality. The author explains that research and observation has revealed a systematic appearance and disappearance of magical thinking (the hallmark of the onset of reasoning) in four stages. (PHR)

Magical Boxes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Costello, Judith

2005-01-01

Students get excited when they realize that they can transform a flat sheet of paper into a box. By using different sizes of paper, they can make different sizes of boxes and put a box inside a box, inside a box. These magical boxes within boxes can contain unwanted emotions or special treasures. The project described in this article incorporates…

Educational Alchemy: The Transformation of Schools.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Mugits, Michael James

Alchemy is the magical or mysterious power or process involving chemistry, magic, and philosophy in transforming one thing into another. The term is often used to describe the medieval study that sought to transform cheaper metals into gold or silver. "Educational alchemy" is the process by which schools are converted into more effective learning…

Using Internet Aesthetic Mathematical Texts to Develop Secondary School Learners' Thinking Skills

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nyaumwe, Lovemore J.

2011-01-01

This paper presents some internet aesthetic texts collected over a period of two years through chain message communications with colleagues located in different parts of the world. The aesthetic texts are grouped into four themes of mathematical magic, values, beauty, and prediction. Mathematical magic aesthetics show fascinating things that can…

Word Magic: Poetry as a Shared Adventure.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McVitty, Walter, Ed.

Written by teachers and poets, this book offers insights into the nature of poetry and the ways in which children can be taught to enjoy reading and writing poetry. The book contains the following articles: "Poetry and the Magic of Words," by Colin Thiele; "Poetry and the Child," by Charles Causley; "A Verse Along the…

MAGIC detection of increased activity from FSRQ 3C 279 at very-high-energy gamma rays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mirzoyan, Razmik

2018-04-01

The MAGIC telescopes observed an increase in the very-high-energy (VHE; > 100 GeV) gamma-ray flux from FSRQ 3C 279 at radio coordinates R.A.=194.04652737 deg and Dec= -5.78931242 deg, J2000.0 (Fey et al. 2004, AJ, 127, 3587).

Fostering Algebraic Understanding through Math

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lim, Kien H.

2016-01-01

Magic captivates humans because of their innate capacity to be intrigued and a desire to resolve their curiosity. In a mathematics classroom, algorithms akin to magic tricks can be an effective tool to engage students in thinking and problem solving. Tricks that rely on the power of mathematics are especially suitable for students to experience an…

Magic state distillation protocols with noisy Clifford gates

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Brooks, Peter

2013-03-01

A promising approach to universal fault-tolerant quantum computation is to implement the non-universal group of Clifford gates, and to achieve universality by adding the ability to prepare high-fidelity copies of certain ``magic states''. By applying state distillation protocols, many noisy copies of a magic state ancilla can be purified into a smaller number of clean copies which are arbitrarily close to the perfect state, using only Clifford operations. In practice, the Clifford gates themselves will be noisy, which can limit the efficiency of state distillation and put a floor on the achievable fidelity with the desired state. Recently, a number of new state distillation protocols have been proposed that have the potential to reduce the required resource overhead. I analyze these protocols and explore the tradeoffs between these different approaches to magic state distillation when noisy Clifford gates are taken into account. Supported in part by IARPA under contract D11PC20165, by NSF under Grant No. PHY-0803371, by DOE under Grant No. DE-FG03-92-ER40701, and by NSA/ARO under Grant No. W911NF-09-1-0442.

[Magical and physical reality].

PubMed

Kállai, János

In the postmodern countries the computer generated virtual reality provides new perceptual domains wherein the evaluation of real and unreal contents generates an essential challenge for both children and adults. The expectances to perceive unreal content which is contradictory with the common sense experiences become seductive for most of people. The time in front of the screen that emits the magic reality gradually rises. The sudden advance in generation of alternative realities demands that we have to recall the basic principles of psychological reality testing and the involving mechanism that produces a distinction between phantasy and reality for both healthy and pathological mind. Frame of reference usually restrains the thinking. This review contains two parts, the first is focuses on the historical aspect of magical and physical reality and the second one, that will be published in a next issue, will present an evaluation of the boundary between self and another person in point of view of the psychopathological phenomenon. This analysis will focus on how the boundary of the self behaves in physically real and magic computer generated environment.

Improvements to the Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) Paleo and Rock Magnetic Database

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jarboe, N.; Minnett, R.; Tauxe, L.; Koppers, A. A. P.; Constable, C.; Jonestrask, L.

2015-12-01

The Magnetic Information Consortium (MagIC) database (http://earthref.org/MagIC/) continues to improve the ease of data uploading and editing, the creation of complex searches, data visualization, and data downloads for the paleomagnetic, geomagnetic, and rock magnetic communities. Online data editing is now available and the need for proprietary spreadsheet software is therefore entirely negated. The data owner can change values in the database or delete entries through an HTML 5 web interface that resembles typical spreadsheets in behavior and uses. Additive uploading now allows for additions to data sets to be uploaded with a simple drag and drop interface. Searching the database has improved with the addition of more sophisticated search parameters and with the facility to use them in complex combinations. A comprehensive summary view of a search result has been added for increased quick data comprehension while a raw data view is available if one desires to see all data columns as stored in the database. Data visualization plots (ARAI, equal area, demagnetization, Zijderveld, etc.) are presented with the data when appropriate to aid the user in understanding the dataset. MagIC data associated with individual contributions or from online searches may be downloaded in the tab delimited MagIC text file format for susbsequent offline use and analysis. With input from the paleomagnetic, geomagnetic, and rock magnetic communities, the MagIC database will continue to improve as a data warehouse and resource.

Intriguing structures and magic sizes of heavy noble metal nanoclusters around size 55 governed by relativistic effect and covalent bonding

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

Zhao, X. J.; Xue, X. L.; Guo, Z. X.

Nanoclusters usually display exotic physical and chemical properties due to their intriguing geometric structures in contrast to their bulk counterparts. By means of first-principles calculations within density functional theory, we find that heavy noble metal Pt N nanoclusters around the size N = 55 begin to prefer an open configuration, rather than previously reported close-packed icosahedron or core-shell structures. Particularly, for Pt N, the widely supposed icosahedronal magic cluster is changed to a three-atomic-layered structure with D 6h symmetry, which can be well addressed by our recently established generalized Wulff construction principle (GWCP). But, the magic number of Pt Nmore » clusters around 55 is shifted to a new odd number of 57. The high symmetric three-layered Pt-57 motif is mainly stabilized by the enhanced covalent bonding contributed by both spin-orbital coupling effect and the open d orbital (5d 96s 1) of Pt, which result in a delicate balance between the enhanced Pt-Pt covalent bonding of the interlayers and negligible d dangling bonds on the cluster edges. Our findings about Pt N clusters are also applicable to Ir N clusters, but qualitatively different from their earlier neighboring element Os and their later neighboring element Au. The magic numbers for Os and Au are even, being 56 and 58, respectively. Finally, the findings of the new odd magic number 57 are the important supplementary of the recently established GWCP.« less

A Dual Band Frequency Reconfigurable Origami Magic Cube Antenna for Wireless Sensor Network Applications

PubMed Central

Shah, Syed Imran Hussain

2017-01-01

In this paper, a novel dual band frequency reconfigurable antenna using an origami magic cube is proposed for wireless sensor network (WSN) applications. The proposed origami antenna consists of a meandered monopole folded onto three sides of the magic cube. A microstrip open-ended stub is loaded on the meandered monopole. The proposed origami magic cube can be mechanically folded and unfolded. The proposed antenna operates at 1.57 GHZ and 2.4 GHz in the folded state. In the unfolded state, the proposed antenna operates at 900 MHz and 2.3 GHz. The resonant frequency of the second band can be tunable by varying the length and position of the open stub. The origami magic cube is built on paper. Its performance is numerically and experimentally demonstrated from S-parameters and radiation patterns. The measured 10 dB impedance bandwidth of the proposed origami antenna is 18% (900–1120 MHz) and 15% (2.1–2.45 GHz) for the unfolded state and 20% (1.3–1.6 GHz) and 14% (2.3–2.5 GHz) for the folded state. The measured peak gain at 900 MHz and 2.3 GHz are 1.1 dBi and 2.32 dBi, respectively, in the unfolded state. The measured peak gain at 1.5 GHz and 2.4 GHz are 3.28 dBi and 1.98 dBi, respectively, in the folded state. PMID:29156654

MagIC, a genetically encoded fluorescent indicator for monitoring cellular Mg2+ using a non-Förster resonance energy transfer ratiometric imaging approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Koldenkova, Vadim Pérez; Matsuda, Tomoki; Nagai, Takeharu

2015-10-01

Intracellular Mg roles are commensurate with its abundance in the cell cytoplasm. However, little is known about Mg subcellular dynamics, primarily due to the lack of suitable Mg-selective tools to monitor this ion in intracellular compartments. To cope with this lack, we developed a Mg-sensitive indicator-MagIC (indicator for Magnesium Imaging in Cell) -composed of a functionalized yellow fluorescent protein (FP) variant fused to a red-emitting FP serving as a reference, thus allowing ratiometric imaging of Mg. MagIC expressed in mammalian cells is homogeneously distributed between the cytosol and nucleus but its fusion with appropriate targeting sequences redirects it to mitochondria or the endoplasmic reticulum. MagIC shows little interference by intracellular Ca [Kd(Mg2+)=5.1 mM Kd(Ca2+)=4.8 mM] and its kinetic properties (k=84 s-1) approach those of indicator dyes. With MagIC, as reported previously, we also observed a cytosolic Mg increase provoked by application of 50 mM MgCl2 in the medium. This effect is, however, mimicked by 75 mM KCl or 150 mM D-sorbitol addition, indicating that it is a response to the associated hyperosmotic shock and not to Mg itself. Our results confirm the functionality of MagIC as a useful tool for the long-awaited possibility of prolonged and organelle-specific monitoring of cellular Mg.

The role of magical thinking in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder symptoms and cognitions in an analogue sample.

PubMed

Yorulmaz, Orçun; Inozu, Mujgan; Gültepe, Bedirhan

2011-06-01

In addition to clinical observations exemplifying biased reasoning styles (e.g., overemphasis of thoughts) and particular ritualistic behaviors, it is also empirically supported that magical beliefs are also associated with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) symptoms and some cognitions. It should be noted, however, that most empirical studies have been carried out on the samples from Western cultures, even though these beliefs were culturally determined. Thus, more research is needed in order to understand their roles in the OCD symptoms in different cultural contexts. The present study aimed to examine the impact of magical beliefs in OCD symptoms, cognitions and thought control in a non-Western analogue sample from Turkey. The measures of paranormal beliefs, fusion of thoughts-actions, obsessive beliefs, strategies of thought control and OCD symptoms were administered to an undergraduate sample. Consistent with findings in the literature, the analyses of group comparisons, correlation and regression showed that even after controlling general negative affect, magical beliefs were still associated with OCD symptoms, some beliefs and control strategies, namely the symptoms of obsessional thoughts and checking, fusions of thoughts and actions in likelihood, faulty beliefs in perfectionism-certainty and punishment. Some methodological concerns such as cross-sectional nature, inclusion of only non-clinical sample were major restrictions of the present study. Evidence that magical thinking is a critical factor in the OCD is supported once more in a different cultural context. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Radiological properties of MAGIC normoxic polymer gel dosimetry

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Aljamal, M.; Zakaria, A.; Shamsuddin, S.

2013-04-01

For a polymer gel dosimeter to be of use in radiation dosimetry, it should display water-equivalent radiological properties. In this study, the radiological properties of the MAGIC (Methacrylic and Ascorbic acid in Gelatin Initiated by Copper) normoxic polymer gels were investigated. The mass density (ρ) was determined based on Archimedes' principle. The weight fraction of elemental composition and the effective atomic number (Zeff) were calculated. The electron density was also measured with 90° scattering angle at room temperature. The linear attenuation coefficient (μ) of unirradiated gel, irradiated gel, and water were determined using Am-241 based on narrow beam geometry. Monte Carlo simulation was used to calculate the depth doses response of MAGIC gel and water for 6MV photon beam. The weight fractions of elements composition of MAGIC gel were close to that for water. The mass density was found to be 1027 ± 2 kg m-3, which is also very close to mass density of muscle tissue (1030 kg m-3) and 2.7% higher than that of water. The electron density (ρe) and atomic number (Zeff) were found to be 3.43 × 1029 e m-3 and 7.105, respectively. The electron density measured was 2.6% greater than that for water. The atomic number was very close to that for water. The prepared MAGIC gel was found to be water equivalent based on the study of element composition, mass density, electron density and atomic number. The linear attenuation coefficient of unirradiated gel was very close to that of water. The μ of irradiated gel was found to be linear with dose 2-40 Gy. The depth dose response for MAGIC gel from a 6 MV photon beam had a percentage dose difference to water of less than 1%. Therefore it satisfies the criteria to be a good polymer gel dosimeter for radiotherapy.

Alkali-ion microsolvation with benzene molecules.

PubMed

Marques, J M C; Llanio-Trujillo, J L; Albertí, M; Aguilar, A; Pirani, F

2012-05-24

The target of this investigation is to characterize by a recently developed methodology, the main features of the first solvation shells of alkaline ions in nonpolar environments due to aromatic rings, which is of crucial relevance to understand the selectivity of several biochemical phenomena. We employ an evolutionary algorithm to obtain putative global minima of clusters formed with alkali-ions (M(+)) solvated with n benzene (Bz) molecules, i.e., M(+)-(Bz)(n). The global intermolecular interaction has been decomposed in Bz-Bz and in M(+)-Bz contributions, using a potential model based on different decompositions of the molecular polarizability of benzene. Specifically, we have studied the microsolvation of Na(+), K(+), and Cs(+) with benzene molecules. Microsolvation clusters up to n = 21 benzene molecules are involved in this work and the achieved global minimum structures are reported and discussed in detail. We observe that the number of benzene molecules allocated in the first solvation shell increases with the size of the cation, showing three molecules for Na(+) and four for both K(+) and Cs(+). The structure of this solvation shell keeps approximately unchanged as more benzene molecules are added to the cluster, which is independent of the ion. Particularly stable structures, so-called "magic numbers", arise for various nuclearities of the three alkali-ions. Strong "magic numbers" appear at n = 2, 3, and 4 for Na(+), K(+), and Cs(+), respectively. In addition, another set of weaker "magic numbers" (three per alkali-ion) are reported for larger nuclearities.

Quantitative Story Telling: Initial steps towards bridging perspectives and tools for a robust nexus assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cabello, Violeta

2017-04-01

This communication will present the advancement of an innovative analytical framework for the analysis of Water-Energy-Food-Climate Nexus termed Quantitative Story Telling (QST). The methodology is currently under development within the H2020 project MAGIC - Moving Towards Adaptive Governance in Complexity: Informing Nexus Security (www.magic-nexus.eu). The key innovation of QST is that it bridges qualitative and quantitative analytical tools into an iterative research process in which each step is built and validated in interaction with stakeholders. The qualitative analysis focusses on the identification of the narratives behind the development of relevant WEFC-Nexus policies and innovations. The quantitative engine is the Multi-Scale Analysis of Societal and Ecosystem Metabolism (MuSIASEM), a resource accounting toolkit capable of integrating multiple analytical dimensions at different scales through relational analysis. Although QST may not be labelled a data-driven but a story-driven approach, I will argue that improving models per se may not lead to an improved understanding of WEF-Nexus problems unless we are capable of generating more robust narratives to frame them. The communication will cover an introduction to MAGIC project, the basic concepts of QST and a case study focussed on agricultural production in a semi-arid region in Southern Spain. Data requirements for this case study and the limitations to find, access or estimate them will be presented alongside a reflection on the relation between analytical scales and data availability.

Magic Women on the Margins: Ec-Centric Models in Mary Poppins and Ms Wiz

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Valverde, Cristina Perez

2009-01-01

This paper offers a comparative analysis of two characters belonging to the tradition of empowered "spinster" in children's fiction, namely Mary Poppins and Ms Wiz, from the perspective of gender politics and child/adult interactions. A distinction is made between the figure portrayed in P. L. Travers' texts and the Disney film starring Julie…

Reimagining the Retention Problem: Moving Our Thinking from End-Product to By-Product

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Siegel, Michael J.

2011-01-01

Over the past several decades, college-student retention has arguably been the most intensely studied issue in academe. Though the body of retention literature grows ever larger, no one model adequately explains the process by which college students make a decision to leave an institution or to persist to graduation. And while no magic bullet…

PG 1553+113: Five Years Of Observations With Magic

DOE PAGES

J., Aleksić

2012-03-05

We present the results of five years (2005-2009) of MAGIC observations of the BL Lac object PG 1553+113 at very high energies (VHEs; E > 100 GeV). Power-law fits of the individual years are compatible with a steady mean photon index Γ = 4.27 ± 0.14. In the last three years of data, the flux level above 150 GeV shows a clear variability (probability of constant flux < 0.001%). The flux variations are modest, lying in the range from 4% to 11% of the Crab Nebula flux. Simultaneous optical data also show only modest variability that seems to be correlatedmore » with VHE gamma-ray variability. We also performed a temporal analysis of (all available) simultaneous Fermi/Large Area Telescope data of PG 1553+113 above 1 GeV, which reveals hints of variability in the 2008-2009 sample. Finally, we present a combination of the mean spectrum measured at VHEs with archival data available for other wavelengths. The mean spectral energy distribution can be modeled with a one-zone synchrotron self-Compton model, which gives the main physical parameters governing the VHE emission in the blazar jet.« less

Nuclear relaxation and critical fluctuations in membranes containing cholesterol

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

McConnell, Harden

2009-04-01

Nuclear resonance frequencies in bilayer membranes depend on lipid composition. Our calculations describe the combined effects of composition fluctuations and diffusion on nuclear relaxation near a miscibility critical point. Both tracer and gradient diffusion are included. The calculations involve correlation functions and a correlation length ξ =ξ0T/(T -Tc), where T -Tc is temperature above the critical temperature and ξ0 is a parameter of molecular length. Several correlation functions are examined, each of which is related in some degree to the Ising model correlation function. These correlation functions are used in the calculation of transverse deuterium relaxation rates in magic angle spinning and quadrupole echo experiments. The calculations are compared with experiments that report maxima in deuterium and proton nuclear relaxation rates at the critical temperature [Veatch et al., Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 104, 17650 (2007)]. One Ising-model-related correlation function yields a maximum 1/T2 relaxation rate at the critical temperature for both magic angle spinning and quadrupole echo experiments. The calculated rates at the critical temperature are close to the experimental rates. The rate maxima involve relatively rapid tracer diffusion in a static composition gradient over distances of up to 10-100 nm.

WITCHCRAFT, SORCERY, MAGIC, AND OTHER PSYCHOLOGICAL PHENOMENA AND THEIR IMPLICATIONS ON MILITARY AND PARAMILITARY OPERATIONS IN THE CONGO

DTIC Science & Technology

This report has been prepared in response to a query regarding the purported use of witchcraft , sorcery, and magic by insurgent elements in the...tribe or tribes has been seriously threatened. Manifestations of witchcraft and sorcery in these instances can be said to reflect, in part, a return to

Intuition in Coaching: It's Not Magic

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

St. Pierre, Peter; Smith, Mark

2014-01-01

Many coaches have been called instinctive for decisions they have made, whether in game situations, recruiting, or other aspects of their job. Coaches often report having "gut feelings" before making important decisions. The purpose of this article is to dispel the notion of intuition as a magical ability, and begin to look at it as an…

Identification of a Maize Locus that Modulates the Hypersensitive Defense Response, Using Mutant-Assisted Gene Identification and Characterization (MAGIC)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The hypersensitive response (HR) is the most visible and arguably the most important defense response in plants, although the details of how it is controlled and executed remain patchy. In this paper a novel genetic technique called MAGIC (Mutant-Assisted Gene Identification and Characterization) i...

A LITERATURE SEARCH TO DETERMINE THE BASE-LINE CONDITIONS AND EFFECTS OF POLLUTION ON THE BIG WOOD RIVER AND MAGIC RESERVOIR, IDAHO. 1977

EPA Science Inventory

This report examines existing information concerning the ecology of Magic Reservoir and Big Wood River, Idaho (17040219) to determine the background conditions and effects of pollution on these ecosystems. The area is a popular attraction for outdoor recreationists, which has st...

ADEC - The Astrophysics Data Centers Executive Council

Science.gov Websites

| Magical Feet | MagicalFeet | Only Swallows | OnlySwallows | Jake Malone | JakeMalone | Milf Ex Gf Mobile | MilfExGfMobile | Big Tits Round Asses Mobile | BigTitsRoundAssesMobile | Fuck Mature | FuckMature | Double Team Balls | BabyGotBalls | Out of the Family | OutoftheFamily | Big Mouthfuls Mobile | BigMouthfulsMobile

Less Is More: "Good Management Begins with Good People"

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vicars, Dennis

2012-01-01

In so many areas of early care and education, whether for profit, non profit, state agencies, or any number of other environments for young children, educators keep looking for the magical "one thing" that will make the difference. Surely there must be some secret sauce or magic formula. The "one thing" is simply this: early care and education…

Pulsar observations with the MAGIC Telescope

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

Lopez, M.; Contreras, J. L.; Otte, N.

2007-07-12

Pulsars were detected by EGRET up to energies below 20 GeV. Observations at higher energies with ground-based experiments, including MAGIC, so far failed to detect pulsars, indicating a sharp cutoff of the pulsed emission. Here we present, in particular, the results of the search for very high {gamma}-ray emission from the pulsar PSR B1951+32.

Magic Breakfast: Evaluation Report and Executive Summary

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Crawford, Claire; Edwards, Amy; Farquharson, Christine; Greaves, Ellen; Trevelyan, Grace; Wallace, Emma; White, Clarissa

2016-01-01

The Magic Breakfast project provided 106 schools with support and resources to offer a free, universal, before-school breakfast club, including to all Year 2 and Year 6 pupils. The aim of the project was to improve attainment outcomes by increasing the number of children who ate a healthy breakfast. The schools in the project were schools in…

Magical Thinking, Causation and Prediction: Psycholinguistic Implications for Reading Skills in Disturbed Children.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Buescher, Thomas M.

Operant magical thinking (belief that thought can significantly alter reality) and reading comprehension were examined in samples of Pupils 7 to 13 years old identified as either gifted, normal, or emotionally disturbed. Sixty-eight children were sampled in a school for gifted children, in a regular suburban elementary school, and in an in-patient…

The Permanence of Mental Objects: Testing Magical Thinking on Perceived and Imaginary Realities

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Subbotsky, Eugene

2005-01-01

This study tested participants' preparedness to acknowledge that an object could change as a result of magical intervention. Six- and 9-year-old children and adults treated perceived and imagined objects as being equally permanent. Adults treated a fantastic object as significantly less permanent than either perceived or imagined objects. Results…

A MAGIC population-based genome-wide association study reveals functional association of GhRBB1_A07 gene with superior fiber quality in cotton

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Background: Cotton supplies a great majority of natural fiber for the global textile industry. The negative correlation between yield and fiber quality has hindered breeders’ ability to improve these traits simultaneously. A multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) population developed t...

[On the ancient and magical lesions in the sixteenth to eighteenth centuries].

PubMed

Hach, W; Hach-Wunderle, V

2014-11-01

At the beginning of the Renaissance magical, witchcraft and demonological medicine still played a large role in the poor healing ability of chronic leg ulcers. This included the general administration of magical potions and topical application. An example of the manipulation of the whole body by the devil was the Abracadabra text from Johann Christoph Bitterkraut in the year 1677. The use of bewitched ointments was particularly propagated by Paracelsus in 1622; however, even as early as the beginning of the seventeenth century, the invocation of supernatural powers was slowly diminishing until at the beginning of the nineteenth century the medical schools on chronic leg ulcers could be cultivated at the universities and by specialized wound healers.

MAGIC-f Gel in Nuclear Medicine Dosimetry: study in an external beam of Iodine-131

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schwarcke, M.; Marques, T.; Garrido, C.; Nicolucci, P.; Baffa, O.

2010-11-01

MAGIC-f gel applicability in Nuclear Medicine dosimetry was investigated by exposure to a 131I source. Calibration was made to provide known absorbed doses in different positions around the source. The absorbed dose in gel was compared with a Monte Carlo Simulation using PENELOPE code and a thermoluminescent dosimetry (TLD). Using MRI analysis for the gel a R2-dose sensitivity of 0.23 s-1Gy-1was obtained. The agreement between dose-distance curves obtained with Monte Carlo simulation and TLD was better than 97% and for MAGIC-f and TLD was better than 98%. The results show the potential of polymer gel for application in nuclear medicine where three dimensional dose distribution is demanded.

Spectra, composition and interactions of nuclei above 10 TeV using magnet-interferometric chambers (SCIN/MAGIC)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wefel, John P.

1991-01-01

Initial definition studies were performed for the SCIN/MAGIC experiment selected as an Astromag investigation on Space Station Freedom. The study focused on Science Objectives and Science Requirement, Accommodation on both the STS and the Astromag facility, Data extraction techniques and Background Studies. The detectors are emulsion chambers which will be exposed for approximately 90 days and then recovered from orbit for subsequent processing and analysis in the laboratory. Such a technique is the only means to obtain information on the ultrahigh energy cosmic rays and their nuclear interactions. The SCIN/MAGIC investigation can supply unique data in relatively unexplored energy region and address many of the fundamental questions in particle astrophysics.

Nucleus Z=126 with magic neutron number N=184 may be related to the measured Maruhn-Greiner maximum at A/2=155 from compound nuclei at low energy nuclear reactions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prelas, M. A.; Hora, H.; Miley, G. H.

2014-07-01

Evaluation of nuclear binding energies from theory close to available measurements of a very high number of superheavy elements (SHE) based on α-decay energies Qα, arrived at a closing shell with a significant neutron number 184. Within the option of several discussed magic numbers for protons of around 120, Bagge's numbers 126 and 184 fit well and are supported by the element generation measurements by low energy nuclear reactions (LENR) discovered in deuterium loaded host metals. These measurements were showing a Maruhn-Greiner maximum from fission of compound nuclei in an excited state with double magic numbers for mutual confirmation.

Double-quantum homonuclear rotary resonance: Efficient dipolar recovery in magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nielsen, N. C.; Bildsøe, H.; Jakobsen, H. J.; Levitt, M. H.

1994-08-01

We describe an efficient method for the recovery of homonuclear dipole-dipole interactions in magic-angle spinning NMR. Double-quantum homonuclear rotary resonance (2Q-HORROR) is established by fulfilling the condition ωr=2ω1, where ωr is the sample rotation frequency and ω1 is the nutation frequency around an applied resonant radio frequency (rf) field. This resonance can be used for double-quantum filtering and measurement of homonuclear dipolar interactions in the presence of magic-angle spinning. The spin dynamics depend only weakly on crystallite orientation allowing good performance for powder samples. Chemical shift effects are suppressed to zeroth order. The method is demonstrated for singly and doubly 13C labeled L-alanine.

Ambidexterity and magical ideation.

PubMed

Barnett, Kylie J; Corballis, Michael C

2002-01-01

In a sample of 250 healthy undergraduate students, scores on a scale of magical ideation rose to a peak at the point of ambilaterality on a scale of hand preference, and fell away with increasing right- or left-handedness. This effect mirrors that reported by Crow, Crow, Done, and Leask (1998) who found a dip in academic abilities at the point of ambilaterality, or what they call ''the point of hemispheric indecision''. We relate these findings to genetic theories of laterality in which one allele (RS+) codes for left-cerebral dominance while the other (RS-) leaves laterality to chance. RS-- homozygotes may be susceptible to a lack of dominance, resulting in a disposition to magical ideation and an increased risk of schizophrenia, but also enhanced creativity and lateral thinking.

Polymorphism in magic-sized Au144(SR)60 clusters

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jensen, Kirsten M. Ø.; Juhas, Pavol; Tofanelli, Marcus A.; Heinecke, Christine L.; Vaughan, Gavin; Ackerson, Christopher J.; Billinge, Simon J. L.

2016-06-01

Ultra-small, magic-sized metal nanoclusters represent an important new class of materials with properties between molecules and particles. However, their small size challenges the conventional methods for structure characterization. Here we present the structure of ultra-stable Au144(SR)60 magic-sized nanoclusters obtained from atomic pair distribution function analysis of X-ray powder diffraction data. The study reveals structural polymorphism in these archetypal nanoclusters. In addition to confirming the theoretically predicted icosahedral-cored cluster, we also find samples with a truncated decahedral core structure, with some samples exhibiting a coexistence of both cluster structures. Although the clusters are monodisperse in size, structural diversity is apparent. The discovery of polymorphism may open up a new dimension in nanoscale engineering.

Evidence of structural invariance across three groups of Meehlian schizotypes

PubMed Central

Chan, Raymond CK; Gooding, Diane C; Shi, Hai-song; Geng, Fu-lei; Xie, Dong-jie; Yang, Zhuo-Ya; Liu, Wen-hua; Wang, Yi; Yan, Chao; Shi, Chuan; Lui, Simon SY; Cheung, Eric FC

2016-01-01

According to Meehl’s model of schizotypy, there is a latent personality organization associated with the diathesis for schizophrenia that can be identified in several ways. We sought to examine the structural invariance of four Chapman psychosis–proneness scales (CPPS) across three groups of putative schizotypes, namely, clinically-, biologically-, and psychometrically-identified schizotypes. We examined the factor structure of the Perceptual Aberration (PER), Magical Ideation (MIS), Revised Social Anhedonia (RSAS), and Revised Physical Anhedonia (RPAS) scales in 196 schizophrenia patients, 197 non-psychotic first-degree relatives, and 1,724 non-clinical young adults. The confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the best-fitting model was one in which there is a two-factor model with negative schizotypy (RSAS and RPAS) and positive schizotypy (PER and MIS). All three samples fit the model well, with Comparative Fit Indices>0.95 and Tucker Lewis Indices>0.90. The root mean square error of approximations were all small (P values⩽0.01). We also observed that for both anhedonia scales, the groups’ mean scale scores varied in the hypothesized direction, as predicted by Meehl’s model of schizotypy. All three Chinese samples, namely, the patients (clinical schizotypes), relatives (biologically-identified schizotypes), and non-clinical young adults (containing psychometrically-identified schizotypes) showed the same factorial structure. This finding supports the suitability of the CPPS for cross-cultural and/or genetic investigations of schizotypy. PMID:27336057

Assessment of soil water, carbon and nitrogen cycling in reseeded grassland on the North Wyke Farm Platform using a process-based model.

PubMed

Li, Yuefen; Liu, Yi; Harris, Paul; Sint, Hadewij; Murray, Phil J; Lee, Michael R F; Wu, Lianhai

2017-12-15

The North Wyke Farm Platform (NWFP) generates large volumes of temporally-indexed data that provides a valuable test-bed for agricultural mathematical models in temperate grasslands. In our study, we used the primary datasets generated from the NWFP (https://nwfp.rothamsted.ac.uk/) to validate the SPACSYS model in terms of the dynamics of water loss and forage dry matter yield estimated through cutting. The SPACSYS model is capable of simulating soil water, carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) balance in the soil-plant-atmosphere system. The validated model was then used to simulate the responses of soil water, C and N to reseeding grass cultivars with either high sugar (Lolium perenne L. cv. AberMagic) or deep rooting (Festulolium cv. Prior) traits. Simulation results demonstrated that the SPACSYS model could predict reliably soil water, C and N cycling in reseeded grassland. Compared to AberMagic, the Prior grass could fix more C in the second year following reseeding, whereas less C was lost through soil respiration in the first transition year. In comparison to the grass cultivar of the permanent pasture that existed before reseeding, both grasses reduced N losses through runoff and contributed to reducing water loss, especially Prior in relation to the latter. The SPACSYS model could predict these differences as supported by the rich dataset from the NWFP, providing a tool for future predictions on less characterized pasture. Copyright © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Dynamical Origin of the Effective Storage Capacity in the Brain's Working Memory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bick, Christian; Rabinovich, Mikhail I.

2009-11-01

The capacity of working memory (WM), a short-term buffer for information in the brain, is limited. We suggest a model for sequential WM that is based upon winnerless competition amongst representations of available informational items. Analytical results for the underlying mathematical model relate WM capacity and relative lateral inhibition in the corresponding neural network. This implies an upper bound for WM capacity, which is, under reasonable neurobiological assumptions, close to the “magical number seven.”

An IBM-3 analysis of the nuclei just beyond the magic numbers N = Z = 28

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Elliott, J. P.; Evans, J. A.; Lac, V. S.; Long, G. L.

1996-02-01

The isospin-invariant form IBM-3 of the interacting boson model has been used to study energies and electromagnetic properties of the isotopes of nickel, zinc, germanium and selenium in the first half of the 1p {3}/{2}, 0f {5}/{2} and 1p {1}/{2} shell. The hamiltonian and electromagnetic operators vary with boson number and isospin in a manner determined by a mapping into the shell-model based on seniority and reduced isospin.

The 'Magic Light': A Discussion on Laser Ethics.

PubMed

Stylianou, Andreas; Talias, Michael A

2015-08-01

Innovations in technology and science form novel fields that, although beneficial, introduce new bio-ethical issues. In their short history, lasers have greatly influenced our everyday lives, especially in medicine. This paper focuses particularly on medical and para-medical laser ethics and their origins, and presents the complex relationships within laser ethics through a three-dimensional matrix model. The term 'laser' and the myth of the 'magic light' can be identified as landmarks for laser related ethical issues. These ethical issues are divided into five major groups: (1) media, marketing, and advertising; (2) economic outcomes; (3) user training; (4) the user-patient/client relationship; and (5) other issues. In addition, issues arising from two of the most common applications of lasers, laser eye surgery and laser tattoo removal, are discussed. The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that the use of medical and para-medical lasers has so greatly influenced our lives that the scientific community must initiate an earnest discussion of medical laser ethics.

Towards real-time metabolic profiling of a biopsy specimen during a surgical operation by 1H high resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance: a case report

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Introduction Providing information on cancerous tissue samples during a surgical operation can help surgeons delineate the limits of a tumoral invasion more reliably. Here, we describe the use of metabolic profiling of a colon biopsy specimen by high resolution magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to evaluate tumoral invasion during a simulated surgical operation. Case presentation Biopsy specimens (n = 9) originating from the excised right colon of a 66-year-old Caucasian women with an adenocarcinoma were automatically analyzed using a previously built statistical model. Conclusions Metabolic profiling results were in full agreement with those of a histopathological analysis. The time-response of the technique is sufficiently fast for it to be used effectively during a real operation (17 min/sample). Metabolic profiling has the potential to become a method to rapidly characterize cancerous biopsies in the operation theater. PMID:22257563

Tantalum induced butterfly-like clusters on Si (111)-7 × 7 surface: STM/STS study at low coverage

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shukrynau, Pavel; Mutombo, Pingo; Švec, Martin; Hietschold, Michael; Cháb, Vladimír

2012-02-01

The adsorption of the small amounts of tantalum on Si (111)-7 × 7 reconstructed surface is investigated systematically using scanning tunneling microscopy and tunneling spectroscopy combined with first-principles density functional theory calculations. We find out that the moderate annealing of the Ta covered surface results in the formation of clusters of the butterfly-like shape. The clusters are sporadically distributed over the surface and their density is metal coverage dependent. Filled and empty state STM images of the clusters differ strongly suggesting the existence of covalent bonds within the cluster. Tunneling spectroscopy measurements reveal small energy gap, showing semiconductor-like behavior of the constituent atoms. The cluster model based on experimental images and theoretical calculations has been proposed and discussed. Presented results show that Ta joins the family of adsorbates, that are known to form magic clusters on Si (111)-7 × 7, but its magic cluster has the structural and electronic properties that are different from those reported before.

MagIC: Geomagnetic Applications from Earth History to Archeology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Constable, C.; Tauxe, L.; Koppers, A.; Minnett, R.; Jarboe, N.

2016-12-01

Major scientific challenges increasingly require an interdisciplinary approach, and highlight the need for open archives, incorporating visualization and analysis tools that are flexible enough to address novel research problems. Increasingly modern standards for publication are (or should be) demanding direct links to data, data citations, and adequate documentation that allow other researchers direct access to the fundamental measurements and analyses producing the results. Carefully documented metadata are essential and data models may need considerable complexity to accommodate re-use of observations originally collected with a different purpose in mind. The Magnetics Information Consortium (MagIC) provides an online home for all kinds of paleo-, archeo-magnetic, rock, and environmental magnetic data, from documentation of fieldwork, through lab protocols, to interpretations in terms of geomagnetic history. Examples of their application to understanding geomagnetic field behavior, archeological dating, and voyages of exploration to discover America will be used to highlight best practices and illustrate unexpected benefits of data archived using best practices with the goal of maintaining high standards for reproducibility.

Performance of the MAGIC telescopes under moonlight

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahnen, M. L.; Ansoldi, S.; Antonelli, L. A.; Arcaro, C.; Babić, A.; Banerjee, B.; Bangale, P.; Barres de Almeida, U.; Barrio, J. A.; Becerra González, J.; Bednarek, W.; Bernardini, E.; Berti, A.; Bhattacharyya, W.; Biasuzzi, B.; Biland, A.; Blanch, O.; Bonnefoy, S.; Bonnoli, G.; Carosi, R.; Carosi, A.; Chatterjee, A.; Colin, P.; Colombo, E.; Contreras, J. L.; Cortina, J.; Covino, S.; Cumani, P.; Da Vela, P.; Dazzi, F.; De Angelis, A.; De Lotto, B.; de Oña Wilhelmi, E.; Di Pierro, F.; Doert, M.; Domínguez, A.; Dominis Prester, D.; Dorner, D.; Doro, M.; Einecke, S.; Eisenacher Glawion, D.; Elsaesser, D.; Engelkemeier, M.; Fallah Ramazani, V.; Fernández-Barral, A.; Fidalgo, D.; Fonseca, M. V.; Font, L.; Fruck, C.; Galindo, D.; García López, R. J.; Garczarczyk, M.; Gaug, M.; Giammaria, P.; Godinović, N.; Gora, D.; Griffiths, S.; Guberman, D.; Hadasch, D.; Hahn, A.; Hassan, T.; Hayashida, M.; Herrera, J.; Hose, J.; Hrupec, D.; Hughes, G.; Ishio, K.; Konno, Y.; Kubo, H.; Kushida, J.; Kuveždić, D.; Lelas, D.; Lindfors, E.; Lombardi, S.; Longo, F.; López, M.; Maggio, C.; Majumdar, P.; Makariev, M.; Maneva, G.; Manganaro, M.; Mannheim, K.; Maraschi, L.; Mariotti, M.; Martínez, M.; Mazin, D.; Menzel, U.; Minev, M.; Mirzoyan, R.; Moralejo, A.; Moreno, V.; Moretti, E.; Neustroev, V.; Niedzwiecki, A.; Nievas Rosillo, M.; Nilsson, K.; Ninci, D.; Nishijima, K.; Noda, K.; Nogués, L.; Paiano, S.; Palacio, J.; Paneque, D.; Paoletti, R.; Paredes, J. M.; Paredes-Fortuny, X.; Pedaletti, G.; Peresano, M.; Perri, L.; Persic, M.; Prada Moroni, P. G.; Prandini, E.; Puljak, I.; Garcia, J. R.; Reichardt, I.; Rhode, W.; Ribó, M.; Rico, J.; Rugliancich, A.; Saito, T.; Satalecka, K.; Schroeder, S.; Schweizer, T.; Sillanpää, A.; Sitarek, J.; Šnidarić, I.; Sobczynska, D.; Stamerra, A.; Strzys, M.; Surić, T.; Takalo, L.; Tavecchio, F.; Temnikov, P.; Terzić, T.; Tescaro, D.; Teshima, M.; Torres, D. F.; Torres-Albà, N.; Treves, A.; Vanzo, G.; Vazquez Acosta, M.; Vovk, I.; Ward, J. E.; Will, M.; Zarić, D.

2017-09-01

MAGIC, a system of two imaging atmospheric Cherenkov telescopes, achieves its best performance under dark conditions, i.e. in absence of moonlight or twilight. Since operating the telescopes only during dark time would severely limit the duty cycle, observations are also performed when the Moon is present in the sky. Here we develop a dedicated Moon-adapted analysis to characterize the performance of MAGIC under moonlight. We evaluate energy threshold, angular resolution and sensitivity of MAGIC under different background light levels, based on Crab Nebula observations and tuned Monte Carlo simulations. This study includes observations taken under non-standard hardware configurations, such as reducing the camera photomultiplier tubes gain by a factor ∼1.7 (reduced HV settings) with respect to standard settings (nominal HV) or using UV-pass filters to strongly reduce the amount of moonlight reaching the cameras of the telescopes. The Crab Nebula spectrum is correctly reconstructed in all the studied illumination levels, that reach up to 30 times brighter than under dark conditions. The main effect of moonlight is an increase in the analysis energy threshold and in the systematic uncertainties on the flux normalization. The sensitivity degradation is constrained to be below 10%, within 15-30% and between 60 and 80% for nominal HV, reduced HV and UV-pass filter observations, respectively. No worsening of the angular resolution was found. Thanks to observations during moonlight, the maximal duty cycle of MAGIC can be increased from ∼18%, under dark nights only, to up to ∼40% in total with only moderate performance degradation.

Magical ideation and right-sided hemispatial inattention on a spatial working memory task: influences of sex and handedness.

PubMed

Nalçaci, E; Kalaycioglu, C; Ciçek, M; Budanur, O E

2000-12-01

A correlation between magical ideation scores and the size of relative right-sided hemispatial inattention was previously reported for healthy right-handed men performing a tactile line-bisection task. To re-investigate this relation, a computerized version of Corsi's Block-Tapping Test was used to test working memory. In this version, different numbers of cubes are similtaneously displayed on a screen, and after the cubes disappear the subject is asked to designate the cubes' locations on a grid as quickly as possible. 98 healtly medical students were divided into four groups on the basis of their handedness and sex in the following way: right-handed men, right-handed women, nonright-handed men, and nonright-handed women. Each subject performed the test once with the right hand and once with the left hand. Accuracy and Neglect scores were computed for the two hemispaces separately. Also, all subjects filled in the Magical Ideation Scale which asks for hallucination-like experiences and delusion-like beliefs. In all groups a significant right-sided inattention was found when subjects performed with the right hand. Magical Ideation scores were significantly correlated with Neglect in the right hemispace for the right-handed women when the right hand was used. For the nonright-handed men, when the right hand was used, a significant negative correlation between Magical Ideation scores and Neglect scores in the left hemispace was found. Our findings support the previous study in some aspects and suggest that the correlation between hemispatial inattention and proneness to schizotypy in normal subjects is restricted to right-hand performance.

Intriguing structures and magic sizes of heavy noble metal nanoclusters around size 55 governed by relativistic effect and covalent bonding

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

Zhao, X. J.; Xue, X. L.; Jia, Yu

Nanoclusters usually display exotic physical and chemical properties due to their intriguing geometric structures in contrast to their bulk counterparts. By means of first-principles calculations within density functional theory, we find that heavy noble metal Pt{sub N} nanoclusters around the size N = 55 begin to prefer an open configuration, rather than previously reported close-packed icosahedron or core-shell structures. Particularly, for Pt{sub N}, the widely supposed icosahedronal magic cluster is changed to a three-atomic-layered structure with D{sub 6h} symmetry, which can be well addressed by our recently established generalized Wulff construction principle (GWCP). However, the magic number of Pt{sub N}more » clusters around 55 is shifted to a new odd number of 57. The high symmetric three-layered Pt{sub 57} motif is mainly stabilized by the enhanced covalent bonding contributed by both spin-orbital coupling effect and the open d orbital (5d{sup 9}6s{sup 1}) of Pt, which result in a delicate balance between the enhanced Pt–Pt covalent bonding of the interlayers and negligible d dangling bonds on the cluster edges. These findings about Pt{sub N} clusters are also applicable to Ir{sub N} clusters, but qualitatively different from their earlier neighboring element Os and their later neighboring element Au. The magic numbers for Os and Au are even, being 56 and 58, respectively. The findings of the new odd magic number 57 are the important supplementary of the recently established GWCP.« less

Chemical and carbon-13 cross-polarization magic-angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance characterization of logyard fines from British Columbia.

PubMed

Preston, C M; Forrester, P D

2004-01-01

Phasing out beehive burners and rising costs for landfilling have increased the need to widen options for utilization of the smaller size fractions of woody wastes generated during log handling and sawmilling in British Columbia. We characterized several size classes of logyard fines up to 16 mm sampled from coastal and interior operations. Total C, total N, ash, and condensed tannin concentrations were consistent with properties derived largely from wood, with varying proportions of bark and mixing with mineral soil. Especially for < 3-mm fractions, the latter resulted in high ash contents that would make them unsuitable for fuel. Solid-state 13C cross-polarization magic-angle spinning (CPMAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra were consistent with the chemical data, with high O-alkyl intensity and similarity to naturally occurring woody forest floor; no samples were high in aromatic or phenolic C. Aqueous extracts of two < 16-mm fines, which accounted for only a small proportion of the total C, were enriched in alkyl C and had low or undetectable tannins. Application to forest sites might cause short-term immobilization of N, but also might include possible longer-term benefits from reduction of N loss after harvesting and restoration of soil organic matter in degraded sites.

Invite the Magic of Siegfried and Roy into Your Torts Discussion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ludlum, M. P.

2008-01-01

Magic is exciting, but dangerous. David Copperfield explained "of all the performers on stage, no one courts disaster, no one flirts with danger as much as the magician." On October 3, 2003, Siegfried and Roy experienced that danger firsthand when Roy was attacked by one of his tigers while performing before a live audience. This tragic event can…

Sealed magic angle spinning nuclear magnetic resonance probe and process for spectroscopy of hazardous samples

DOEpatents

Cho, Herman M.; Washton, Nancy M.; Mueller, Karl T.; Sears, Jr., Jesse A.; Townsend, Mark R.; Ewing, James R.

2016-06-14

A magic-angle-spinning (MAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) probe is described that includes double containment enclosures configured to seal and contain hazardous samples for analysis. The probe is of a modular design that ensures containment of hazardous samples during sample analysis while preserving spin speeds for superior NMR performance and convenience of operation.

Carnivals, the Carnivalesque, "The Magic Puddin'," and David Almond's "Wild Girl, Wild Boy": Toward a Theorizing of Children's Plays.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnston, Rosemary Ross

2003-01-01

Seeks to extend current children's literature criticism into children's plays and children's theatre. Uses Norman Lindsay's "The Magic Pudding" as a prose introduction to an idea of a theatrical carnivalesque. Develops a theory of plays-as-the-performance-of-texts, relating this to the current debate on performance and performativity.…

Monster Magic: A Reading Activities Idea Book for Use with Children. A Fun with Reading Book.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Fowler, Zinita

Intended as a usable resource for librarians and teachers in planning and implementing a program for young library users and students, this book was developed to stimulate children to use the library. The introduction contains opening comments--including an explanation of how the theme of "monster magic" inspires creativity, specific goals, and a…

NMR system and method having a permanent magnet providing a rotating magnetic field

DOEpatents

Schlueter, Ross D [Berkeley, CA; Budinger, Thomas F [Berkeley, CA

2009-05-19

Disclosed herein are systems and methods for generating a rotating magnetic field. The rotating magnetic field can be used to obtain rotating-field NMR spectra, such as magic angle spinning spectra, without having to physically rotate the sample. This result allows magic angle spinning NMR to be conducted on biological samples such as live animals, including humans.

Magic, Morals and Health: Plus 40 Years

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Young, Michael; Valois, Robert F.

2010-01-01

In the article "Magic, Morals and Health" the reader is treated to Dr. Warren Johnson's thoughts about health and society, and the role of health educators. If one stays with Dr. Johnson's train of thought, one will find Dr. Johnson is concerned that: (1) A large segment of society tends to base at least some of their beliefs about health on…

An Inquiry-Oriented Approach to Span and Linear Independence: The Case of the Magic Carpet Ride Sequence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wawro, Megan; Rasmussen, Chris; Zandieh, Michelle; Sweeney, George Franklin; Larson, Christine

2012-01-01

In this paper we present an innovative instructional sequence for an introductory linear algebra course that supports students' reinvention of the concepts of span, linear dependence, and linear independence. Referred to as the Magic Carpet Ride sequence, the problems begin with an imaginary scenario that allows students to build rich imagery and…

A MAGIC population-based genome-wide association study reveals functional association of GhRBB1_A07 gene with superior fiber quality in cotton

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

An Upland cotton multi-parent advanced generation inter-cross (MAGIC) population was developed through random-mating of 11 diverse cultivars for five generations. In this study, fiber quality data obtained from four environments and 6,071 SNP markers generated via GBS and 223 microsatellite markers...

Team Teaching an Interdisciplinary First-Year Seminar on Magic, Religion, and the Origins of Science: A "Pieces-to-Picture" Approach

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nungsari, Melati; Dedrick, Maia; Patel, Shaily

2017-01-01

Interdisciplinary teaching has been advocated as a means to foster cooperation between traditionally separate fields and broaden students' perspectives in the classroom. We explored the pedagogical difficulties of interdisciplinary team teaching through a first-year seminar in magic, religion, and the origins of science. Although many accounts in…

Martin Gardner: 100 Years of the Magic of Physics

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gillaspy, John D.

2014-01-01

2014 marks the 100th anniversary of the birth of Martin Gardner, a man whose writings helped inspire generations of young students to pursue a career in physics and mathematics. From his first to his last, and many in between, Gardner's publications often combined magic and science. A recurring theme was the clever use of physical principles…

Magic bases, metric ansaetze and generalized graph theories in the Virasoro master equation

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

Halpern, M.B.; Obers, N.A.

1991-11-15

The authors define a class of magic Lie group bases in which the Virasoro master equation admits a class of simple metric ansaetze (g{sub metric}), whose structure is visible in the high-level expansion. When a magic basis is real on compact g, the corresponding g{sub metric} is a large system of unitary, generically irrational conformal field theories. Examples in this class include the graph-theory ansatz SO(n){sub diag} in the Cartesian basis of So(n) and the ansatz SU(n){sub metric} in the Pauli-like basis of SU(n). A new phenomenon is observed in the high-level comparison of SU(n){sub metric}: Due to the trigonometricmore » structure constants of the Pauli-like basis, irrational central charge is clearly visible at finite order of the expansion. They also define the sine-area graphs of SU(n), which label the conformal field theories of SU(n){sub metric} and note that, in a similar fashion, each magic basis of g defines a generalize graph theory on g which labels the conformal field theories of g{sub metric}.« less

The central pixel of the MAGIC telescope for optical observations

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lucarelli, F.; Barrio, J. A.; Antoranz, P.; Asensio, M.; Camara, M.; Contreras, J. L.; Fonseca, M. V.; Lopez, M.; Miranda, J. M.; Oya, I.; Reyes, R. De Los; Firpo, R.; Sidro, N.; Goebel, F.; Lorenz, E.; Otte, N.

2008-05-01

The MAGIC telescope has been designed for the observation of Cherenkov light generated in Extensive Air Showers initiated by cosmic particles. However, its 17 m diameter mirror and optical design makes the telescope suitable for direct optical observations as well. In this paper, we report about the development of a system based on the use of a dedicated photo-multiplier (PMT) for optical observations. This PMT is installed in the centre of the MAGIC camera (the so-called central pixel). An electro-to-optical system has been developed in order to transmit the PMT output signal by an optical fibre to the counting room, where it is digitized and stored for off-line analysis. The performance of the system using the optical pulsation of the Crab nebula as calibration source is presented. The time required for a 5σ detection of the Crab pulsar in the optical band is less than 20 s. The central pixel will be mainly used to perform simultaneous observations of the Crab pulsar both in the optical and γ-ray regimes. It will also allow for periodic testing of the precision of the MAGIC timing system using the Crab rotational optical pulses as a very precise timing reference.

Investigation of Regional Influence of Magic-Angle Effect on T2 in Human Articular Cartilage with Osteoarthritis at 3 T

PubMed Central

Wang, Ligong; Regatte, Ravinder R.

2014-01-01

Rationale and Objectives The objectives of this research study were to determine the magic-angle effect on different subregions of in vivo human femoral cartilage through the quantitative assessment of the effect of static magnetic field orientation (B0) on transverse (T2) relaxation time at 3.0 T. Materials and Methods Healthy volunteers (n = 5l; mean age, 36.4 years) and clinical patients (n = 5; mean age, 64 years) with early osteoarthritis (OA) were scanned at 3.0-T magnetic resonance using an 8-channel phased-array knee coil (transmit-receive). Results The T2 maps revealed significantly greater values in ventral than in dorsal regions. When the cartilage regions were oriented at 55° to B0 (magic angle), the longest T2 values were detected in comparison with the neighboring regions oriented 90° and 180° (0°) to B0. The subregions oriented 180° (0°) to B0 showed the lowest T2 values. Conclusions The differences in T2 values of different subregions suggest that magic-angle effect needs to be considered when interpreting cartilage abnormalities in OA patients. PMID:25481517

The relationship between schizotypal facets and conspiracist beliefs via cognitive processes.

PubMed

Barron, David; Furnham, Adrian; Weis, Laura; Morgan, Kevin D; Towell, Tony; Swami, Viren

2018-01-01

This study sought to replicate previous work showing relationships between components of schizotypy and conspiracist beliefs, and extend it by examining the mediating role of cognitive processes. An international online sample of 411 women and men (mean age = 35.41 years) completed measures of the schizotypal facets of Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and Ideas of Reference, conspiracist beliefs, and cognitive processes related to need for cognition, analytic thinking, and cognitive insight. Path analysis confirmed the associations between both schizotypal facets and conspiracist beliefs in the present sample. Confirmatory evidence was found for the association between analytic thinking and conspiracist beliefs, and results also suggested an association between cognitive insight and conspiracist beliefs. Cognitive insight also mediated the link between Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and Ideas of Reference with conspiracist beliefs. However, analytic thinking provided a mediating link to conspiracy ideation for Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and not Ideas of Reference. Finally, there was an association between Odd Beliefs or Magical Thinking and need for cognition, but this path did not extend to conspiracist beliefs. These results suggest possible mediating roles for analytic thinking and self-certainty between schizotypy and conspiracist beliefs. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The MAGIC telescope for gamma-ray astronomy above 30 GeV

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Moralejo, A.; MAGIC Collaboration

The MAGIC telescope is presently at its commissioning phase at the Roque de los Muchachos Observatory (ORM) on the island of La Palma. MAGIC will become the largest ground-based gamma ray telescope in the world, being sensitive to photons of energies as low as 30 GeV. The spectral range between 10 and 300 GeV remains to date mostly unexplored. Observations in this region of the spectrum are expected to provide key data for the understanding of a wide variety of astrophysical phenomena belonging to the so-called ``non thermal Universe'', like the processes in the nuclei of active galaxies, the radiation mechanisms of pulsars and supernova remnants, and the enigmatic gamma-ray bursts. And overview of the telescope and its Physics goals is presented.

Polymorphism in magic-sized Au144(SR)60 clusters

DOE PAGES

Jensen, Kirsten M. O.; Juhas, Pavol; Tofanelli, Marcus A.; ...

2016-06-14

Ultra-small, magic-sized metal nanoclusters represent an important new class of materials with properties between molecules and particles. However, their small size challenges the conventional methods for structure characterization. We present the structure of ultra-stable Au144(SR)60 magic-sized nanoclusters obtained from atomic pair distribution function analysis of X-ray powder diffraction data. Our study reveals structural polymorphism in these archetypal nanoclusters. Additionally, in order to confirm the theoretically predicted icosahedral-cored cluster, we also find samples with a truncated decahedral core structure, with some samples exhibiting a coexistence of both cluster structures. Although the clusters are monodisperse in size, structural diversity is apparent. Finally,more » the discovery of polymorphism may open up a new dimension in nanoscale engineering.« less

MAGIC: a European program to push the insertion of maskless lithography

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pain, L.; Icard, B.; Tedesco, S.; Kampherbeek, B.; Gross, G.; Klein, C.; Loeschner, H.; Platzgummer, E.; Morgan, R.; Manakli, S.; Kretz, J.; Holhe, C.; Choi, K.-H.; Thrum, F.; Kassel, E.; Pilz, W.; Keil, K.; Butschke, J.; Irmscher, M.; Letzkus, F.; Hudek, P.; Paraskevopoulos, A.; Ramm, P.; Weber, J.

2008-03-01

With the willingness of the semiconductor industry to push manufacturing costs down, the mask less lithography solution represents a promising option to deal with the cost and complexity concerns about the optical lithography solution. Though a real interest, the development of multi beam tools still remains in laboratory environment. In the frame of the seventh European Framework Program (FP7), a new project, MAGIC, started January 1st 2008 with the objective to strengthen the development of the mask less technology. The aim of the program is to develop multi beam systems from MAPPER and IMS nanofabrication technologies and the associated infrastructure for the future tool usage. This paper draws the present status of multi beam lithography and details the content and the objectives of the MAGIC project.

Satellite transitions acquired in real time by magic angle spinning (STARTMAS): ``Ultrafast'' high-resolution MAS NMR spectroscopy of spin I =3/2 nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thrippleton, Michael J.; Ball, Thomas J.; Wimperis, Stephen

2008-01-01

The satellite transitions acquired in real time by magic angle spinning (STARTMAS) NMR experiment combines a train of pulses with sample rotation at the magic angle to refocus the first- and second-order quadrupolar broadening of spin I =3/2 nuclei in a series of echoes, while allowing the isotropic chemical and quadrupolar shifts to evolve. The result is real-time isotropic NMR spectra at high spinning rates using conventional MAS equipment. In this paper we describe in detail how STARTMAS data can be acquired and processed with ease on commercial equipment. We also discuss the advantages and limitations of the approach and illustrate the discussion with numerical simulations and experimental data from four different powdered solids.

Oligo-branched peptides for tumor targeting: from magic bullets to magic forks.

PubMed

Falciani, Chiara; Pini, Alessandro; Bracci, Luisa

2009-02-01

Selective targeting of tumor cells is the final goal of research and drug discovery for cancer diagnosis, imaging and therapy. After the invention of hybridoma technology, the concept of magic bullet was introduced into the field of oncology, referring to selective killing of tumor cells, by specific antibodies. More recently, small molecules and peptides have also been proposed as selective targeting agents. We analyze the state of the art of tumor-selective agents that are presently available and tested in clinical settings. A novel approach based on 'armed' oligo-branched peptides as tumor targeting agents, is discussed and compared with existing tumor-selective therapies mediated by antibodies, small molecules or monomeric peptides. Oligo-branched peptides could be novel drugs that combine the advantages of antibodies and small molecules.

Experimental magic state distillation for fault-tolerant quantum computing.

PubMed

Souza, Alexandre M; Zhang, Jingfu; Ryan, Colm A; Laflamme, Raymond

2011-01-25

Any physical quantum device for quantum information processing (QIP) is subject to errors in implementation. In order to be reliable and efficient, quantum computers will need error-correcting or error-avoiding methods. Fault-tolerance achieved through quantum error correction will be an integral part of quantum computers. Of the many methods that have been discovered to implement it, a highly successful approach has been to use transversal gates and specific initial states. A critical element for its implementation is the availability of high-fidelity initial states, such as |0〉 and the 'magic state'. Here, we report an experiment, performed in a nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) quantum processor, showing sufficient quantum control to improve the fidelity of imperfect initial magic states by distilling five of them into one with higher fidelity.

Magical beliefs and discriminating science from pseudoscience in undergraduate professional students.

PubMed

Garrett, Bernard M; Cutting, Roger L

2017-11-01

Paranormal beliefs and magical thinking exist in the public, and amongst university students. Researchers have found that media can influence such beliefs. A 2012 study suggested pseudoscientific rationales can influence acceptance of reported paranormal phenomena. Using a paranormal belief survey and controlled experiment this work explores the paranormal beliefs and test the effects of three versions of a supernatural news story on undergraduate professional students. One version of the story presented a simple news article, another the same with a pseudoscientific rationale, and another gave a discrediting scientific critique. Results confirmed that many students do hold magical beliefs but discriminated between scientific and pseudoscientific narratives. However, pre-existing paranormal beliefs were associated with an increased likelihood of students finding paranormal reports scientific, believable and credible.

UTE bi-component analysis of T2* relaxation in articular cartilage

PubMed Central

Shao, H.; Chang, E.Y.; Pauli, C.; Zanganeh, S.; Bae, W.; Chung, C.B.; Tang, G.; Du, J.

2015-01-01

SUMMARY Objectives To determine T2* relaxation in articular cartilage using ultrashort echo time (UTE) imaging and bi-component analysis, with an emphasis on the deep radial and calcified cartilage. Methods Ten patellar samples were imaged using two-dimensional (2D) UTE and Car-Purcell-Meiboom-Gill (CPMG) sequences. UTE images were fitted with a bi-component model to calculate T2* and relative fractions. CPMG images were fitted with a single-component model to calculate T2. The high signal line above the subchondral bone was regarded as the deep radial and calcified cartilage. Depth and orientation dependence of T2*, fraction and T2 were analyzed with histopathology and polarized light microscopy (PLM), confirming normal regions of articular cartilage. An interleaved multi-echo UTE acquisition scheme was proposed for in vivo applications (n = 5). Results The short T2* values remained relatively constant across the cartilage depth while the long T2* values and long T2* fractions tended to increase from subchondral bone to the superficial cartilage. Long T2*s and T2s showed significant magic angle effect for all layers of cartilage from the medial to lateral facets, while the short T2* values and T2* fractions are insensitive to the magic angle effect. The deep radial and calcified cartilage showed a mean short T2* of 0.80 ± 0.05 ms and short T2* fraction of 39.93 ± 3.05% in vitro, and a mean short T2* of 0.93 ± 0.58 ms and short T2* fraction of 35.03 ± 4.09% in vivo. Conclusion UTE bi-component analysis can characterize the short and long T2* values and fractions across the cartilage depth, including the deep radial and calcified cartilage. The short T2* values and T2* fractions are magic angle insensitive. PMID:26382110

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.

Multielement extraction system for determining 19 trace elements in gold exploration samples

USGS Publications Warehouse

Clark, J. Robert; Viets, John G.; ,

1990-01-01

A multielement extraction system is being used successfully to provide essentially interference-free geochemical analyses to aid in gold exploration. The Methyl isobutyl ketone-Amine synerGistic Iodide Complex (MAGIC) extraction system separates Ag, As, Au, Bi, Cd, Cu, Ga, Hg, In, Mo, Pb, Pd, Pt, Sb, Se, Sn, Te, Tl, and Zn from interfering geological matrices. Quantitative extraction of these elements is accomplished over a broad range of acid normality making it possible to economically determine all 19 elements from a single digestion or leach solution. The resulting organic extracts are amenable to analysis by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES) and flame atomic absorption spectroscopy (FAAS). For many years the principal shortcoming of ICP-AES was the complex spectral and stray-light interferences that were caused by the extreme variability of components such as Fe, Na, and Ca in common geological matrices. The MAGIC extraction allows determination of the extracted elements with enhanced sensitivity, from a virtually uniform matrix, by ICP-AES and FAAS. Because of its simultaneous multichannel capabilities, ICP-AES is the ideal instrumental technique for determining these 19 extracted elements. Ultratrace (sub-part-per-billion) determinations of Au and many of the other extracted elements can be made by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy (GFAAS), following back stripping of the extracts. The combination of the extraction followed by stripping of the organic phase eliminates 99.999% of potential interferences for Au. Gold determination by GFAAS from these extracts under the specified conditions yields a fourfold improvement in sensitivity over conventional GFAAS methods. This sensitivity enhancement and the interference-free matrix allow highly reliable determinations well into the parts-per-trillion range.

Microscopic calculations of the characteristics of radiative nuclear reactions for double-magic nuclei

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Achakovskiy, Oleg; Kamerdzhiev, Sergei; Tselyaev, Victor; Shitov, Mikhail

2016-01-01

The neutron capture cross sections and average radiative widths Γγ of neutron resonances for two double-magic nuclei 132Sn and 208Pb have been calculated using the microscopic photon strength functions (PSF), which were obtained within the microscopic self-consistent version of the extended theory of finite Fermi systems in the time blocking approximation. For the first time, the microscopic PSFs have been obtained within the fully self-consistent approach with exact accounting for the single particle continuum (for 208Pb). The approach includes phonon coupling effects in addition to the standard RPA approach. The known Skyrme force has been used. The calculations of nuclear reaction characteristics have been performed with the EMPIRE 3.1 nuclear reaction code. Here, three nuclear level density (NLD) models have been used: the so-called phenomenological GSM, the EMPIRE specific (or Enhanced GSM) and the microscopical combinatorial HFB NLD models. For both considered characteristics we found a significant disagreement between the results obtained with the GSM and HFB NLD models. For 208Pb, a reasonable agreement has been found with systematic for the Γγ values with HFB NLD and with the experimental data for the HFB NLD average resonance spacing D0, while for these two quantities the differences between the values obtained with GSM and HFB NLD are of several orders of magnitude. The discrepancies between the results with the phenomenological EGLO PSF and microscopic RPA or TBA are much less for the same NLD model.

Intravenous magnesium for pediatric sickle cell vaso-occlusive crisis: methodological issues of a randomized controlled trial.

PubMed

Badaki-Makun, Oluwakemi; Scott, J Paul; Panepinto, Julie A; Casper, T Charles; Hillery, Cheryl A; Dean, J Michael; Brousseau, David C

2014-06-01

Multiple recent Sickle Cell Disease studies have been terminated due to poor enrollment. We developed methods to overcome past barriers and utilized these to study the efficacy and safety of intravenous magnesium for vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC). We describe the methods of the Intravenous Magnesium in Sickle Vaso-occlusive Crisis (MAGiC) trial and discuss methods used to overcome past barriers. MAGiC was a multi-center randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial of intravenous magnesium versus normal saline for treatment of VOC. The study was a collaboration between Pediatric Hematologists and Emergency Physicians in the Pediatric Emergency Care Applied Research Network (PECARN). Eligible patients were randomized within 12 hours of receiving intravenous opioids in the Emergency Department (ED) and administered study medication every 8 hours. The primary outcome was hospital length of stay. Associated plasma studies elucidated magnesium's mechanism of action and the pathophysiology of VOC. Health-related quality of life was measured. Site-, protocol-, and patient-related barriers from prior studies were identified and addressed. Limited study staff availability, lack of collaboration with the ED, and difficulty obtaining consent were previously identified barriers. Leveraging PECARN resources, forging close collaborations between Sickle Cell Centers and EDs of participating sites, and approaching eligible patients for prior consent helped overcome these barriers. Participation in the PECARN network and establishment of collaborative arrangements between Sickle Cell Centers and their affiliated EDs are major innovative features of the MAGiC study that allowed improved subject capture. These methods could serve as a model for future studies of VOCs. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

School Syndrome: Understanding the USA's Magical Belief That Schooling Can Somehow Improve Society, Promote Access, and Preserve Advantage

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Labaree, David F.

2012-01-01

The US is suffering from a school syndrome, which arises from Americans' insistence on having things both ways through the magical medium of education. Society wants schools to express the highest ideals as a society and the greatest aspirations as individuals, but only as long as they remain ineffective in actually realizing them, since one does…

''It's Magic!'' the Effects of Presentation Modality on Children's Event Memory, Suggestibility, and Confidence Judgments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Roebers, Claudia M.; Gelhaar, Tim; Schneider, Wolfgang

2004-01-01

The current study investigated the influence of presentation modality (live, video, and slide show) on children's memory, suggestibility, recognition, and metamemorial monitoring processes. A total of 270 children in three age groups (5- and 6-year-olds, 7- and 8-year-olds, and 9- and 10-year-olds) watched a magic show and were questioned about it…

The Magic Shrinking Machine Revisited: The Presence of Props at Recall Facilitates Memory in 3-Year-Olds

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dahl, Jonna J.; Kingo, Osman S.; Krøjgaard, Peter

2015-01-01

In a seminal study Simcock and Hayne (2002) showed that 3-year-olds were unable to use newly acquired words to describe a "magic" event experienced 6 or 12 months earlier. In the reference study the children's verbal recall was tested without props being present. Inspired by recent evidence, the original design was replicated, testing…

Immunoconjugates: Magic Bullets for Cancer Therapy?

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Passeri, Daniel R.; Spiegel, Jack

1993-01-01

Conjugating cytotoxic agents to antibodies allows for site-specific delivery of the agent to tumor cells and should provide increased efficacy and reduced non-specific toxicity. These site-specific cytotoxic agents are known as immunoconjugates or 'magic bullets' and have demonstrated great promise as therapeutic agents for cancer and other diseases. The historical developments and future potential of this new approach to cancer therapy are reviewed.

Magic Words, Magic Brush: The Art of William Butler and Jack Yeats. ArtsEdge Curricula, Lessons and Activities.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Karsten, Jayne

This curriculum unit, designed for grades 7-12, integrates various artistic disciplines with geography, history, social studies, media, and technology. This unit on William Butler Yeats, the writer, and Jack Yeats, the painter, seeks to immerse students in a study of the brothers as voices of Ireland and as two of the most renowned artists of the…

Once Upon a Time...Celebrating the Magic of Children's Books in Honor of the Twentieth Anniversary of Reading Is Fundamental.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rock, Victoria, Ed.

Conceived as a twentieth anniversary tribute to the Reading Is Fundamental Program, this book contains a varied collection of stories, poems, and drawings by some of America's most famous authors and artists of books for children, relating real and imaginary childhood memories that celebrate the joys of reading and the magic of children's…

Determination of magic wavelengths for the 7 s 1/2 2S -7 p 3/2, 1/2 2P transitions in Fr

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, Sukhjit; Sahoo, B. K.; Arora, Bindiya

2016-08-01

Magic wavelengths (λmagic) for the 7 S1 /2-7 P1 /2 ,3 /2 transitions (D lines) in Fr were reported by Dammalapati et al. [U. Dammalapati, K. Harada, and Y. Sakemi, Phys. Rev. A 93, 043407 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevA.93.043407]. These λmagic were determined by plotting dynamic polarizabilities (α ) of the involved states with the above transitions against a desired range of wavelengths. Electric dipole (E1) matrix elements listed in [J. E. Sansonetti, J. Phys. Chem. Ref. Data 36, 497 (2007), 10.1063/1.2719251], from the measured lifetimes of the 7 P1 /2 ,3 /2 states and from the calculations considering core-polarization effects in the relativistic Hartree-Fock (HFR) method, were used to determine α . However, contributions from core correlation effects and from the E1 matrix elements of the 7 P -7 S , 7 P -8 S , and 7 P -6 D transitions to α of the 7 P states were ignored. In this work, we demonstrate importance of these contributions and improve accuracies of α further by replacing the E1 matrix elements taken from the HFR method by the values obtained employing relativistic coupled-cluster theory. Our static α are found to be in excellent agreement with the other available theoretical results, whereas substituting the E1 matrix elements used by Dammalapati et al. gives very small α values for the 7 P states. Owing to this, we find disagreement in λmagic reported by Dammalapati et al. for linearly polarized light, especially at wavelengths close to the D lines and in the infrared region. As a consequence, a λmagic reported at 797.75 nm which was seen supporting a blue detuned trap in their work is now estimated at 771.03 nm and is supporting a red detuned trap. Also, none of our results match with the earlier results for circularly polarized light. Moreover, our static values of α will be very useful for guiding experiments to carry out their measurements.

WE-E-18A-07: MAGIC: Multi-Acquisition Gain Image Correction for Mobile X-Ray Systems with Intrinsic Localization Crosshairs

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

Park, Y; Sharp, G

2014-06-15

Purpose: Gain calibration for X-ray imaging systems with movable flat panel detectors (FPD) and intrinsic crosshairs is a challenge due to the geometry dependence of the heel effect and crosshair artifact. This study aims to develop a gain correction method for such systems by implementing the multi-acquisition gain image correction (MAGIC) technique. Methods: Raw flat-field images containing crosshair shadows and heel effect were acquired in 4 different FPD positions with fixed exposure parameters. The crosshair region was automatically detected and substituted with interpolated values from nearby exposed regions, generating a conventional single-image gain-map for each FPD position. Large kernel-based correctionmore » was applied to these images to correct the heel effect. A mask filter was used to invalidate the original cross-hair regions previously filled with the interpolated values. A final, seamless gain-map was created from the processed images by either the sequential filling (SF) or selective averaging (SA) techniques developed in this study. Quantitative evaluation was performed based on detective quantum efficiency improvement factor (DQEIF) for gain-corrected images using the conventional and proposed techniques. Results: Qualitatively, the MAGIC technique was found to be more effective in eliminating crosshair artifacts compared to the conventional single-image method. The mean DQEIF over the range of frequencies from 0.5 to 3.5 mm-1 were 1.09±0.06, 2.46±0.32, and 3.34±0.36 in the crosshair-artifact region and 2.35±0.31, 2.33±0.31, and 3.09±0.34 in the normal region, for the conventional, MAGIC-SF, and MAGIC-SA techniques, respectively. Conclusion: The introduced MAGIC technique is appropriate for gain calibration of an imaging system associated with a moving FPD and an intrinsic crosshair. The technique showed advantages over a conventional single image-based technique by successfully reducing residual crosshair artifacts, and higher image quality with respect to DQE.« less