9,529 research outputs found
Fingerprinting the magnetic behavior of antiferromagnetic nanostructures using remanent magnetization curves
Antiferromagnetic (AF) nanostructures from Co3O4, CoO and Cr2O3 were prepared
by the nanocasting method and were characterized magnetometrically. The field
and temperature dependent magnetization data suggests that the nanostructures
consist of a core-shell structure. The core behaves as a regular
antiferromagnet and the shell as a two-dimensional diluted antiferromagnet in a
field (2d DAFF) as previously shown on Co3O4 nanowires [Benitez et al., Phys.
Rev. Lett. 101, 097206 (2008)]. Here we present a more general picture on three
different material systems, i.e. Co3O4, CoO and Cr2O3. In particular we
consider the thermoremanent (TRM) and the isothermoremanent (IRM) magnetization
curves as "fingerprints" in order to identify the irreversible magnetization
contribution originating from the shells. The TRM/IRM fingerprints are compared
to those of superparamagnetic systems, superspin glasses and 3d DAFFs. We
demonstrate that TRM/IRM vs. H plots are generally useful fingerprints to
identify irreversible magnetization contributions encountered in particular in
nanomagnets.Comment: submitted to PR
Engineering a catabolic pathway in plants for the degradation of 1,2-dichloroethane
Plants are increasingly being employed to clean up environmental pollutants such as heavy metals; however, a major limitation of phytoremediation is the inability of plants to mineralize most organic pollutants. A key component of organic pollutants is halogenated aliphatic compounds that include 1,2-dichloroethane (1,2-DCA). Although plants lack the enzymatic activity required to metabolize this compound, two bacterial enzymes, haloalkane dehalogenase (DhlA) and haloacid dehalogenase (DhlB) from the bacterium Xanthobacter autotrophicus GJ10, have the ability to dehalogenate a range of halogenated aliphatics, including 1,2-DCA. We have engineered the dhlA and dhlB genes into tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum ‘Xanthi’) plants and used 1,2-DCA as a model substrate to demonstrate the ability of the transgenic tobacco to remediate a range of halogenated, aliphatic hydrocarbons. DhlA converts 1,2-DCA to 2-chloroethanol, which is then metabolized to the phytotoxic 2-chloroacetaldehyde, then chloroacetic acid, by endogenous plant alcohol dehydrogenase and aldehyde dehydrogenase activities, respectively. Chloroacetic acid is dehalogenated by DhlB to produce the glyoxylate cycle intermediate glycolate. Plants expressing only DhlA produced phytotoxic levels of chlorinated intermediates and died, while plants expressing DhlA together with DhlB thrived at levels of 1,2-DCA that were toxic to DhlA-expressing plants. This represents a significant advance in the development of a low-cost phytoremediation approach toward the clean-up of halogenated organic pollutants from contaminated soil and groundwater
Method of recovering municipal boundary lines in Province of Valencia (Spain) by means of historical cadastral maps
Land demarcation is a fundamental requirement when determining to what extent property owners and public administrations can apply their rights. Just as international boundaries must be clearly marked so that there can be no doubt as to which jurisdiction is to be applied, municipal boundaries must be clearly defined in order to avoid disputes between local administrations.
In Spain the Geographical Institute carried out the demarcation of all municipal boundaries at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries, defined their limits on cadastral maps and represented them on the 1:50,000 scale National Topographical Map.
At the present time, more than a hundred years after this survey, in many cases parts of the original municipal limits have been lost for one reason or another, both on the maps and on the ground itself, and it has now become necessary to take steps to recover them. This paper defines a method of using the municipal councils own historical information to trace original boundary lines. The work included both a study and a series of tests carried out in different municipal areas in the Province of Valencia, Spain. The original reports and field notebooks of the Geographical Institute were used as the basic material of the study, supported by cadastral maps from different periods, as well as historical and contemporary orthophotos to help locate possible boundary markers. GPS techniques were employed to look for, survey and reinstate boundary marker positions.This work has been partially supported by the research project 'The Land Registry as the basic tool for organising spatial information; INSPIRE Directive, spatial data and metadata (II)', DER2011-23321 from the Spanish Government.Femenía Ribera, C.; Benítez Aguado, E.; Mora Navarro, JG.; Martínez Llario, JC. (2014). Method of recovering municipal boundary lines in Province of Valencia (Spain) by means of historical cadastral maps. Survey Review. 46(337):255-266. https://doi.org/10.1179/1752270613Y.0000000081S25526646337Aguña Martín J. 2000.Deslindes de fincas. El topógrafo como técnico indispensable de la determinaci�n de la propiedad. La topografía aplicada a la problemática inmobiliaria.Topografía Aplicada. XVI Cursos de Verano de Laredo. Universidad de Cantabria.Alcázar Molina M. 2003.Catastro Inmobiliario. Centro de Ingeniería Económica (INECO) Editorial Universidad Politécnica de Valencia ref. 2003–2176.Berné Valero J.L and Femenia-Ribera C., C., 2000.Catstro de rústica. Editorial Universidad Politécnica de Valencia ref. 2000–4185, 386.Berné Valero J.L, Femenia-Ribera C, Aznar Bellver J. 2004.Catastro y Valoración Catastral. Editorial Universidad Politécnica de Valencia ref. 2004–532.Berné Valero J.L, Femenia-Ribera C, Benitez-Aguado E. 2008.Catastro en España. Editorial Universidad Politécnica de Valencia ref. 2008–413, 550.Blais, H. (2011). An intra-imperial conflict: the mapping of the border between Algeria and Tunisia, 1881–1914. Journal of Historical Geography, 37(2), 178-190. doi:10.1016/j.jhg.2010.11.006Brumec, M., & Koleša, J. (2011). Land cadastral representation adjustment when making land survey plan. Geodetski vestnik, 55(02), 284-291. doi:10.15292/geodetski-vestnik.2011.02.284-291Capdevila i Subirana J. 2009a.Historia del deslinde de la frontera hispano-francesa. Del tratado de los Pirineos (1659) a los tratados de Bayona (1856-1868). Instituto Geográfico Nacional-Centro Nacional de Información Geográfica, 184.Capdevila i Subirana J. 2009b. Qui va dibuixar la ratlla? Treballs de la Comisión Mixta de Límites (1853–1868).Congrés El Fet Fronterer. Fronteres, relacions, intercanvis.Institut d’Estudis Empordanesos, Figueres.Casey, E. S. (2011). Border versus Boundary at La Frontera. Environment and Planning D: Society and Space, 29(3), 384-398. doi:10.1068/d0410Collier, P. (2009). International Boundary Surveys and Demarcation in the Late 19thand Early 20thCenturies. Survey Review, 41(311), 2-13. doi:10.1179/003962608x325457Cruz Sánchez F. 2010.Líneas límite en la Comunidad Valenciana. Colegio Oficial de Ingenieros Técnicos en Topografía. Valencia.Cruz Sánchez F. 2011.Determinación de líneas límites, Primeras Jornadas de Arquitectura e Ingeniería Civil y Cartográfica de la Comunidad Valenciana. Valencia.Donaldson, J. W. (2008). Pillars and perspective: demarcation of the Belgian Congo–Northern Rhodesia boundary. Journal of Historical Geography, 34(3), 471-493. doi:10.1016/j.jhg.2007.11.005Donaldson, J. W. (2008). Politics and scale in boundary-making: the work of boundary commissions. Journal of Historical Geography, 34(3), 393-396. doi:10.1016/j.jhg.2008.02.001Femenia-Ribera C. 2006. La topografía y la cartografía en los deslindes y servidumbres en España,Biblio 3W: Revista bibliográfica de Geografía y Ciencias Sociales, 10, pp. 100–110, Aviailable at: [accessed 10 July 2013].Femenia-Ribera C. 2009.La Cartografía y su Legislación Territorial. Editorial Universidad Politécnica de Valencia ref. 2009-505, 272.Femenia-Ribera C, Mora-Navarro G, Benitez-Aguado E, Garrido Villén N. 2013. A study and analysis of ways of representing the boundary between adjacent municipal areas as used in different types of maps in Valencia wetland.Scripta Nova.Revista electrónica de geografía y ciencias sociales, to be published.Fernández Pareja M.T and García-Patos Herreros P.J. 2012. International Border Agreements: Spanish-Portuguese Model.X Congreso TopCart 2012: Congreso IberoAmericano de Geomática y Ciencias de la Tierra, Madrid.Forman, G. (2006). Law and the historical geography of the Galilee: Israel’s litigatory advantages during the special operation of land settlement. Journal of Historical Geography, 32(4), 796-817. doi:10.1016/j.jhg.2005.09.004Garrido-Villén, N., Antón-Merino, A., Berné Valero, J. L., & Femenia Ribera, C. (2013). Land surveyors as expert witnesses in real estate litigation matters in Spain. geodetski vestnik, 57(01), 066-084. doi:10.15292/geodetski-vestnik.2013.01.066-084García Cepeda F. 2009.Doctoral Thesis: Optimización de la metodología para la definición, actualización, mantenimiento y aprovechamiento de las líneas límite jurisdiccionales.Departamento de Ingeniería Topográfica y Cartográfica. Universidad Politécnica de Madrid.García Lario J.M and Pérez Casas J.M. 2010.Delimitaciones Territoriales, Centro Nacional de Información Geográfica, Curso Básico sobre el Sistema Cartográfico Nacional. Valencia.Grimalt Servera P. 2001.El Deslinde entre Particulares. Editorial Aranzadi.Kim, M.-A. (2009). The Imaginary Line: A History of the United States and Mexican Boundary Survey, 1848-1857. Hispanic American Historical Review, 89(1), 196-197. doi:10.1215/00182168-2008-077Mañero García A. 2012a.Plan Nacional de Referenciación Geográfica Municipal, Centro Nacional de Información Geográfica. Curso Básico sobre el Sistema Cartográfico Nacional. Valencia.Mañero García A., Piña García F., García Lario J.M and Pérez Casas J.M. 2012b. Actualización de las delimitaciones territoriales en Cantabria,X Congreso TopCart 2012: Congreso IberoAmericano de Geomática y Ciencias de la Tierra.Madrid.Martínez RiveraF., Díez Díaz J., Buitrago M., Olaya G., Ladino A., Duarte E and Mafla E. 2006.Guía para el Deslinde y Amojonamiento, Entidades Territoriales de la República de Colombia. Departamento Nacional de Estadística-DANE, Instituto Geográfico Agustín Codazzi, Colombia, 32.Massó M, Torres M and Jiménez MM. 2011. La recuperació dels límits municipals històrics, Conveni DGAP-ICC (2005-2011,Revista Catalana de Geografia. Revista digital de geografía, cartografía i ciències de la Terra,43, vol. XVI. Available at: [accessed 15 January 2013].Moya Rodríguez M and García-Rodrigo Martín A.M. 2002.Catastro, Valoración y Tributación Inmobiliaria Rústica, Editorial Artemedia Comunicación S.L., p. 454.Piña García F. 2009.Doctoral Thesis: Los Límites Administrativos, el Dominio Público y la zonificación del espacio en la Ordenación del Territorio y el Urbanismo, Análisis y evaluación posicional en Cantabria. Departamento de Ingeniería Geográfica y Técnicas de Expresión Gráfica, Universidad de Cantabria.Pirti, A., Arslan, N., Deveci, B., Aydin, O., Erkaya, H., & Hosbas, R. G. (2009). Real-Time Kinematic GPS for Cadastral Surveying. Survey Review, 41(314), 339-351. doi:10.1179/003962609x451582Pro Ruíz J. 1992.Estado, geometría y propiedad: Los orígenes del Catastro en España: 1715-1941. Centro de Gestión Catastral y Cooperación Tributaria, Ministerio de Economía y Hacienda, p. 419.Pro Ruíz J. 1999.El Catastro desde el punto de vista histórico. XV° Curso de Especialización: Cartografía Catastral Informatizada y Cartografía a grandes escalas.Reguera Rodríguez A.T. 2007. La lucha postal por el territorio.Scripta Nova. Revista electrónica de geografía y ciencias sociales, 237, XI. Aviailable at: [accessed 10 July 2013].Tucci, M., & Giordano, A. (2011). Positional accuracy, positional uncertainty, and feature change detection in historical maps: Results of an experiment. Computers, Environment and Urban Systems, 35(6), 452-463. doi:10.1016/j.compenvurbsys.2011.05.004Urteaga L, Nadal F, Muro JI. 2003. Imperialismo y cartografía: La organización de la Comisión Española del Estado Mayor en Marruecos (1881–1882).Scripta Nova. Revista electrónica de geografía y ciencias sociales, 142, VII. Available at: [accessed 10 July 2013].Urteaga L. 2006. El mapa del norte de Marruecos a escala 1/500·000 y la Conferencia de Algeciras de 1906.Scripta Nova. Revista electrónica de geografía y ciencias sociales, 218, X. Available at: [accessed 10 July 2013].Valcuende del Río J.M and Cardia LM. 2009. Etnografia das Fronteiras Políticas e Sociais na Amazonia Occidental: Brasil, Perú e Bolivia.Scripta Nova. Revista electrónica de geografía y ciencias sociales, 292, XIII. Available at: [accessed 10 July 2013].Vilalta Nicuesa A.E. 2005.Expediente de deslinde y acción de deslinde y amojonamiento, Editorial Bosch, Biblioteca Básica de Práctica Procesal, 17, p. 95
Real-time moving object segmentation in H.264 compressed domain based on approximate reasoning
AbstractThis paper presents a real-time segmentation algorithm to obtain moving objects from the H.264 compressed domain. The proposed segmentation works with very little information and is based on two features of the H.264 compressed video: motion vectors associated to the macroblocks and decision modes. The algorithm uses fuzzy logic and allows to describe position, velocity and size of the detected regions in a comprehensive way, so the proposed approach works with low level information but manages highly comprehensive linguistic concepts. The performance of the algorithm is improved using dynamic design of fuzzy sets that avoids merge and split problems. Experimental results for several traffic scenes demonstrate the real-time performance and the encouraging results in diverse situations
A Semi-Empirical Model of the Infra-Red Universe
We present a simple model of the infra-red universe, based as much as
possible on local observations. We model the luminosity and number evolution of
disk and starburst galaxies, including the effects of dust, gas and spectral
evolution. Although simple, our approach is able to reproduce observations of
galaxy number counts and the infra-red and sub-millimeter extra-galactic
backgrounds. It provides a useful probe of galaxy formation and evolution out
to high redshift. The model demonstrates the significant role of the starburst
population and predicts high star formation rates at redshifts 3 to 4,
consistent with recent extinction-corrected observations of Lyman break
galaxies. Starbursting galaxies are predicted to dominate the current SCUBA
surveys. Their star formation is driven predominantly by strong tidal
interactions and mergers of galaxies. This leads to the creation of spheroidal
stellar systems, which may act as the seeds for disk formation as gas infalls.
We predict the present-day baryonic mass in bulges and halos is comparable to
that in disks. From observations of the extra-galactic background, the model
predicts that the vast majority of star formation in the Universe occurs at
z<5.Comment: 23 pages including 9 figures. To appear in ApJ. Model results
available electronically at http://astro.berkeley.edu/~jt/irmodel.htm
Using Weak Lensing Dilution to Improve Measurements of the Luminous and Dark Matter in A1689
The E/SO sequence of a cluster defines a boundary redward of which a reliable
weak lensing signal can be obtained from background galaxies, uncontaminated by
cluster members. For bluer colors, both background and cluster members are
present, reducing the distortion signal by the proportion of unlensed cluster
members. In deep Subaru and HST/ACS images of A1689 the tangential distortion
of galaxies with bluer colors falls rapidly toward the cluster center relative
to the lensing signal of the red background. We use this dilution effect to
derive the cluster light profile and luminosity function to large radius, with
the advantage that no subtraction of far-field background counts is required.
The light profile declines smoothly to the limit of the data, r<2Mpc/h, with a
constant slope, dlog(L)/dlog(r)=-1.12+-0.06, unlike the lensing mass profile
which steepens continuously with radius, so that M/L peaks at an intermediate
radius, ~100kpc/h. A flatter behavior is found for the more physically
meaningful ratio of dark-matter to stellar-matter, when accounting for the
color-mass relation of cluster members. The cluster luminosity function has a
flat slope, alpha=-1.05+-0.07, independent of radius and with no faint upturn
to M_i'<-12. We establish that the very bluest objects are negligibly
contaminated by the cluster V-i'<0.2, because their distortion profile rises
towards the center following the red background, but offset higher by ~20%.
This larger amplitude is consistent with the greater estimated depth of the
faint blue galaxies, z~=2.0 compared to z~=0.85 for the red background, a
purely geometric effect related to cosmological parameters. Finally, we improve
upon our earlier mass profile by combining both the red and blue background
populations, clearly excluding low concentration CDM profiles.Comment: 17 pages, 21 figures, revised version in response to referee
comments,(added some discussion, references), conclusions unchanged. Accepted
for publication in Ap
Open and hidden charm in proton-nucleus and heavy-ion collisions
We review the collectivity and the suppression pattern of charmed mesons -
produced in proton-nucleus and nucleus-nucleus collisions at SPS (158 AGeV) and
RHIC energies (21 ATeV) - in comparison to dynamical and thermal models. In
particular, we examine the charmonium `melting' and the `comover dissociation'
scenarios - implemented in a microscopic transport approach - in comparison to
the available data from the SPS and RHIC. The analysis shows that the dynamics
of c, c-bar quarks at RHIC are dominated by partonic or `pre-hadronic'
interactions in the strongly coupled plasma stage. Both the `charmonium
melting' and the hadronic `comover absorption and recreation model' are found,
however, to be compatible with the experimental observation at SPS energies;
the experimental ratio of Psi'/J/Psi versus centrality clearly favors the
`hadronic comover' scenario. We find that the collective flow of charm in the
purely hadronic Hadron-String Dynamics (HSD) transport appears compatible with
the data at SPS energies, but substantially underestimates the data at top RHIC
energies. Thus, the large elliptic flow v2 of D-mesons and the low R_AA(p_T) of
J/Psi seen experimentally have to be attributed to early interactions of
non-hadronic degrees of freedom. Simultaneously, we observe that non-hadronic
interactions are mandatory in order to describe the narrowing of the J/Psi
rapidity distribution from pp to central Au+Au collisions at the top RHIC
energy. We demonstrate additionally that the strong quenching of low-pT J/Psi's
in central Au+Au collisions indicates that a large fraction of final J/Psi
mesons is created by a coalescence mechanism close to the phase boundary.
Throughout this review we, furthermore, provide predictions for charm
observables from Au+Au collisions at FAIR energies of 25-35 AGeV.Comment: review for Int. J. Mod. Phys. E, 75 pages, 50 figure
Primordial Earth mantle heterogeneity caused by the Moon-forming giant impact
The giant impact hypothesis for Moon formation successfully explains the dynamic properties of the Earth–Moon system but remains challenged by the similarity of isotopic fingerprints of the terrestrial and lunar mantles. Moreover, recent geochemical evidence suggests that the Earth's mantle preserves ancient (or "primordial") heterogeneity that pre-dates the Moon-forming giant impact. Using a new hydrodynamical method, we here show that Moon-forming giant impacts lead to a stratified starting condition for the evolution of the terrestrial mantle. The upper layer of the Earth is compositionally similar to the disk, out of which the Moon evolves, whereas the lower layer preserves proto-Earth characteristics. As long as this predicted compositional stratification can at least partially be preserved over the subsequent billions of years of Earth mantle convection, a compositional similarity between the Moon and the accessible Earth's mantle is a natural outcome of realistic and high-probability Moon-forming impact scenarios. The preservation of primordial heterogeneity in the modern Earth not only reconciles geochemical constraints but is also consistent with recent geophysical observations. Furthermore, for significant preservation of a proto-Earth reservoir, the bulk major-element composition of the Earth–Moon system may be systematically shifted toward chondritic values
Weak Lensing Analysis of the z~0.8 cluster CL 0152-1357 with the Advanced Camera for Surveys
We present a weak lensing analysis of the X-ray luminous cluster CL 0152-1357
at z~0.84 using HST/ACS observations. The unparalleled resolution and
sensitivity of ACS enable us to measure weakly distorted, faint background
galaxies to the extent that the number density reaches ~175 arcmin^-2. The PSF
of ACS has a complicated shape that also varies across the field. We construct
a PSF model for ACS from an extensive investigation of 47 Tuc stars in a
modestly crowded region. We show that this model PSF excellently describes the
PSF variation pattern in the cluster observation when a slight adjustment of
ellipticity is applied. The high number density of source galaxies and the
accurate removal of the PSF effect through moment-based deconvolution allow us
to restore the dark matter distribution of the cluster in great detail. The
direct comparison of the mass map with the X-ray morphology from Chandra
observations shows that the two peaks of intracluster medium traced by X-ray
emission are lagging behind the corresponding dark matter clumps, indicative of
an on-going merger. The overall mass profile of the cluster can be well
described by an NFW profile with a scale radius of r_s =309+-45 kpc and a
concentration parameter of c=3.7+-0.5. The mass estimates from the lensing
analysis are consistent with those from X-ray and Sunyaev-Zeldovich analyses.
The predicted velocity dispersion is also in good agreement with the
spectroscopic measurement from VLT observations. In the adopted WMAP cosmology,
the total projected mass and the mass-to-light ratio within 1 Mpc are estimated
to be 4.92+-0.44 10^14 solar mass and 95+-8 solar mass/solar luminosity,
respectively.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal. 58 pages, 26
figures. Figures have been degraded to meet size limit; a higher resolution
version available at http://acs.pha.jhu.edu/~mkjee/ms_cl0152.pd
The Nature of Blue Cores in Spheroids: a Possible Connection with AGN and Star Formation
We investigate the physical nature of blue cores in early-type galaxies
through the first multi-wavelength analysis of a serendipitously discovered
field blue-nucleated spheroid in the background of the deep ACS/WFC griz
multicolor observations of the cluster Abell 1689. The resolved g-r, r-i and
i-z color maps reveal a prominent blue core identifying this galaxy as a
``typical'' case study, exhibiting variations of 0.5-1.0 mag in color between
the center and the outer regions, opposite to the expectations of reddened
metallicity induced gradients in passively evolved ellipticals. From a
Magellan-Clay spectrum we secure the galaxy redshift at . We find a
strong X-ray source coincident with the spheroid galaxy. Spectral features and
a high X-ray luminosity indicate the presence of an AGN in the galaxy. However,
a comparison of the X-ray luminosity to a sample derived from the Chandra Deep
Field South displays Lx to be comparable to Type I/QSO galaxies while the
optical flux is consistent with a normal star-forming galaxy. We conclude that
the galaxy's non-thermal component dominates at high-energy wavelengths while
we associate the spheroid blue light with the stellar spectrum of normal
star-forming galaxies. We argue about a probable association between the
presence of blue cores in spheroids and AGN activity.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 6 pages, 3
figures. Full resolution images available at
http://acs.pha.jhu.edu/~felipe/e-print
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