522 research outputs found
Le rÎle de l'ingénieur agronome dans la situation politique de l'agriculture vénézuélienne : 1936-1948
L'article montre les origines d'une nouvelle profession, celle des ingénieurs agronomes au Vénézuéla entre la mort de J.V. GOMEZ et la dictature de 1948. Marquée par la modernisation, l'agronomie sera l'un des acteurs de la transformation rapide du pays. Elle bénéficiera de conditions satisfaisantes mais ne s'interrogera pas sur le sens des transformations en cours ni sur le caractÚre tropical de son agriculture. Discipline avant tout au service de l'Etat, l'agronomie sera aussi un moyen privilégié pour l'accÚs à un statut social reconnu, un moyen d'ascension sociale qui se fera au détriment des aspects techniques. La réforme agraire enfin polarisera l'attention sur les aspects plus politiques, brûlants, il est vrai, dans cette période mouvementée de l'histoire du pays. (Résumé d'auteur
Timing and correction of stepping movements with a virtual reality avatar
Research into the ability to coordinate oneâs movements with external cues has focussed on the use of simple rhythmic, auditory and visual stimuli, or interpersonal coordination with another person. Coordinating movements with a virtual avatar has not been explored, in the context of responses to temporal cues. To determine whether cueing of movements using a virtual avatar is effective, peopleâs ability to accurately coordinate with the stimuli needs to be investigated. Here we focus on temporal cues, as we know from timing studies that visual cues can be difficult to follow in the timing context.
Real stepping movements were mapped onto an avatar using motion capture data. Healthy participants were then motion captured whilst stepping in time with the avatarâs movements, as viewed through a virtual reality headset. The timing of one of the avatar step cycles was accelerated or decelerated by 15% to create a temporal perturbation, for which participants would need to correct to, in order to remain in time. Step onset times of participants relative to the corresponding step-onsets of the avatar were used to measure the timing errors (asynchronies) between them. Participants completed either a visual-only condition, or auditory-visual with footstep sounds included, at two stepping tempo conditions (Fast: 400ms interval, Slow: 800ms interval).
Participantsâ asynchronies exhibited slow drift in the Visual-Only condition, but became stable in the Auditory-Visual condition. Moreover, we observed a clear corrective response to the phase perturbation in both the fast and slow tempo auditory-visual conditions.
We conclude that an avatarâs movements can be used to influence a personâs own motion, but should include relevant auditory cues congruent with the movement to ensure a suitable level of entrainment is achieved. This approach has applications in physiotherapy, where virtual avatars present an opportunity to provide the guidance to assist patients in adhering to prescribed exercises
Optimized Perturbation Theory for Wave Functions of Quantum Systems
The notion of the optimized perturbation, which has been successfully applied
to energy eigenvalues, is generalized to treat wave functions of quantum
systems. The key ingredient is to construct an envelope of a set of
perturbative wave functions. This leads to a condition similar to that obtained
from the principle of minimal sensitivity. Applications of the method to
quantum anharmonic oscillator and the double well potential show that uniformly
valid wave functions with correct asymptotic behavior are obtained in the
first-order optimized perturbation even for strong couplings.Comment: 11 pages, RevTeX, three ps figure
Element specific characterization of heterogeneous magnetism in (Ga,Fe)N films
We employ x-ray spectroscopy to characterize the distribution and magnetism
of particular alloy constituents in (Ga,Fe)N films grown by metal organic vapor
phase epitaxy. Furthermore, photoelectron microscopy gives direct evidence for
the aggregation of Fe ions, leading to the formation of Fe-rich nanoregions
adjacent to the samples surface. A sizable x-ray magnetic circular dichroism
(XMCD) signal at the Fe L-edges in remanence and at moderate magnetic fields at
300 K links the high temperature ferromagnetism with the Fe(3d) states. The
XMCD response at the N K-edge highlights that the N(2p) states carry
considerable spin polarization. We conclude that FeN{\delta} nanocrystals, with
\delta > 0.25, stabilize the ferromagnetic response of the films.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, 1 tabl
Using digital tools in clinical, health and social care research:a mixed-methods study of UK stakeholders
Objective: The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated changes to clinical research methodology, with clinical studies being carried out via online/remote means. This mixed-methods study aimed to identify which digital tools are currently used across all stages of clinical research by stakeholders in clinical, health and social care research and investigate their experience using digital tools.Design: Two online surveys followed by semistructured interviews were conducted. Interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed and analysed thematically.Setting, participants: To explore the digital tools used since the pandemic, survey participants (researchers and related staff (n=41), research and development staff (n=25)), needed to have worked on clinical, health or social care research studies over the past 2 years (2020â2022) in an employing organisation based in the West Midlands region of England (due to funding from a regional clinical research network (CRN)). Survey participants had the opportunity to participate in an online qualitative interview to explore their experiences of digital tools in greater depth (n=8).Results: Six themes were identified in the qualitative interviews: âdefinition of a digital tool in clinical researchâ; âimpact of the COVID-19 pandemicâ; âperceived benefits/drawbacks of digital toolsâ; âselection of a digital toolâ; âbarriers and overcoming barriersâ and âfuture digital tool useâ. The context of each theme is discussed, based on the interview results.Conclusions: Findings demonstrate how digital tools are becoming embedded in clinical research, as well as the breadth of tools used across different research stages. The majority of participants viewed the tools positively, noting their ability to enhance research efficiency. Several considerations were highlighted; concerns about digital exclusion; need for collaboration with digital expertise/clinical staff, research on tool effectiveness and recommendations to aid future tool selection. There is a need for the development of resources to help optimise the selection and use of appropriate digital tools for clinical research staff and participants
(Borel) convergence of the variationally improved mass expansion and the O(N) Gross-Neveu model mass gap
We reconsider in some detail a construction allowing (Borel) convergence of
an alternative perturbative expansion, for specific physical quantities of
asymptotically free models. The usual perturbative expansions (with an explicit
mass dependence) are transmuted into expansions in 1/F, where
for while for m \lsim \Lambda,
being the basic scale and given by renormalization group
coefficients. (Borel) convergence holds in a range of which corresponds to
reach unambiguously the strong coupling infrared regime near , which
can define certain "non-perturbative" quantities, such as the mass gap, from a
resummation of this alternative expansion. Convergence properties can be
further improved, when combined with expansion (variationally improved
perturbation) methods. We illustrate these results by re-evaluating, from
purely perturbative informations, the O(N) Gross-Neveu model mass gap, known
for arbitrary from exact S matrix results. Comparing different levels of
approximations that can be defined within our framework, we find reasonable
agreement with the exact result.Comment: 33 pp., RevTeX4, 6 eps figures. Minor typos, notation and wording
corrections, 2 references added. To appear in Phys. Rev.
Light quarks masses and condensates in QCD
We review some theoretical and phenomenological aspects of the scenario in
which the spontaneous breaking of chiral symmetry is not triggered by a
formation of a large condensate . Emphasis is put on the resulting
pattern of light quark masses, on the constraints arising from QCD sum rules
and on forthcoming experimental tests.Comment: 23 pages, 12 Postscript figures, LaTeX, uses svcon2e.sty, to be
published in the Proceedings of the Workshop on Chiral Dynamics 1997, Mainz,
Germany, Sept. 1-5, 199
Variational Quark Mass Expansion and the Order Parameters of Chiral Symmetry Breaking
We investigate in some detail a "variational mass" expansion approach,
generalized from a similar construction developed in the Gross-Neveu model, to
evaluate the basic order parameters of the dynamical breaking of the and chiral symmetries in QCD. The
method starts with a reorganization of the ordinary perturbation theory with
the addition of an arbitrary quark mass . The new perturbative series can be
summed to all orders thanks to renormalization group properties, with specific
boundary conditions, and advocated analytic continuation in properties. In
the approximation where the explicit breakdown of the chiral symmetries due to
small current quark masses is neglected, we derive ansatzes for the dynamical
contribution to the "constituent" masses of the quarks; the pion
decay constant ; and the quark condensate in terms of
the basic QCD scale . Those ansatzes are then optimized,
in a sense to be specified, and also explicit symmetry breaking mass terms can
be consistently introduced in the framework. The obtained values of and
are roughly in agreement with what is expected from other
non-perturbative methods. In contrast we obtain quite a small value of within our approach. The possible interpretation of the latter results
is briefly discussed.Comment: 40 pages, LaTex, 2 PS figures. Additions in section 2.2 to better
explain the relation between the current mass and the dynamical mass ansatz.
Minor misprints corrected. Version to appear in Phys. Rev.
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