8,612 research outputs found
Orbital navigation, docking and obstacle avoidance as a form of three dimensional model-based image understanding
Range imagery from a laser scanner can be used to provide sufficient information for docking and obstacle avoidance procedures to be performed automatically. Three dimensional model-based computer vision algorithms in development can perform these tasks even with targets which may not be cooperative (that is, objects without special targets or markers to provide unambiguous points). Role, pitch, and yaw of a vehicle can be taken into account as image scanning takes place, so that these can be correlated when the image is converted from egocentric to world coordinated. Other attributes of the sensor, such as the registered reflectance and texture channels, provide additional data sources for algorithm robustness
Coupled dark energy and dark matter from dilatation anomaly
Cosmological runaway solutions may exhibit an exact dilatation symmetry in
the asymptotic limit of infinite time. In this limit, the massless dilaton or
cosmon could be accompanied by another massless scalar field - the geon. At
finite time, small time-dependent masses for both the cosmon and geon are still
present due to imperfect dilatation symmetry. For a sufficiently large mass the
geon will start oscillating and play the role of dark matter, while the cosmon
is responsible for dark energy. The common origin of the mass of both fields
leads to an effective interaction between dark matter and dark energy.
Realistic cosmologies are possible for a simple form of the effective
cosmon-geon-potential. We find an inverse geon mass of a size where it could
reduce subgalactic structure formation.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Galileo early cruise, including Venus, first Earth, and Gaspra encounters
This article documents Deep Space Network (DSN) support for the Galileo cruise to Jupiter. The unique trajectory affords multiple encounters during this cruise phase. Each encounter had or will have unique requirements for data acquisition and DSN support configurations. An overview of the cruise and encounters through the asteroid Gaspra encounter is provided
Medium corrections in the formation of light charged particles in heavy ion reactions
Within a microscopic statistical description of heavy ion collisions, we
investigate the effect of the medium on the formation of light clusters. The
dominant medium effects are self-energy corrections and Pauli blocking that
produce the Mott effect for composite particles and enhanced reaction rates in
the collision integrals. Microscopic description of composites in the medium
follows the Dyson equation approach combined with the cluster mean-field
expansion. The resulting effective few-body problem is solved within a properly
modified Alt-Grassberger-Sandhas formalism. The results are incorporated in a
Boltzmann-Uehling-Uhlenbeck simulation for heavy ion collisions. The number and
spectra of light charged particles emerging from a heavy ion collision changes
in a significant manner in effect of the medium modification of production and
absorption processes.Comment: 16 pages, 6 figure
Spin-polarized tunneling spectroscopic studies of the intrinsic heterogeneity and pseudogap phenomena in colossal magnetoresistive manganite La_{0.7}Ca_{0.3}MnO_{3}
Spatially resolved tunneling spectroscopic studies of colossal
magnetoresistive (CMR) manganite (LCMO) epitaxial
films on substrate are investigated as
functions of temperature, magnetic field and spin polarization by means of
scanning tunneling spectroscopy. Systematic surveys of the tunneling spectra
taken with Pt/Ir tips reveal spatial variations on the length scale of a few
hundred nanometers in the ferromagnetic state, which may be attributed to the
intrinsic heterogeneity of the manganites due to their tendency towards phase
separation. The electronic heterogeneity is found to decrease either with
increasing field at low temperatures or at temperatures above all magnetic
ordering temperatures. On the other hand, spectra taken with Cr-coated tips are
consistent with convoluted electronic properties of both LCMO and Cr. In
particular, for temperatures below the magnetic ordering temperatures of both
Cr and LCMO, the magnetic-field dependent tunneling spectra may be
quantitatively explained by the scenario of spin-polarized tunneling in a
spin-valve configuration. Moreover, a low-energy insulating energy gap eV commonly found in the tunneling conductance spectra of bulk metallic
LCMO at may be attributed to a surface ferromagnetic insulating (FI)
phase, as evidenced by its spin filtering effect at low temperatures and
vanishing gap value above the Curie temperature. Additionally, temperature
independent pseudogap (PG) phenomena existing primarily along the boundaries of
magnetic domains are observed in the zero-field tunneling spectra. The PG
becomes strongly suppressed by applied magnetic fields at low temperatures when
the tunneling spectra of LCMO become highly homogeneous. These findings suggest
that the occurrence PG is associated with the electronic heterogeneity of the
manganites.Comment: 15 pages, 15 figures. Published in Physical Review B. Corresponding
author: Nai-Chang Yeh (E-mail: [email protected]
Preparation of zirconium from zirconium tetrafluoride
Increased interest in zirconium as a material of construction has resulted in numerous attempts to develop more economical processes for its production. Currently the Kroll Process, which reduces zirconium tetrachloride with magnesium, is used. A process developed at the Ames Laboratory of the Atomic Energy Commission involves the bomb reduction of zirconium tetrafluoride with calcium. By substituting magnesium for calcium, the cost of producing zirconium by this process might be considerably reduced
Evidence for Strain-Induced Local Conductance Modulations in Single-Layer Graphene on SiO_2
Graphene has emerged as an electronic material that is promising for device applications and for studying two-dimensional electron gases with relativistic dispersion near two Dirac points. Nonetheless, deviations from Dirac-like spectroscopy have been widely reported with varying interpretations. Here we show evidence for strain-induced spatial modulations in the local conductance of single-layer graphene on SiO_2 substrates from scanning tunneling microscopic (STM) studies. We find that strained graphene exhibits parabolic, U-shaped conductance vs bias voltage spectra rather than the V-shaped spectra expected for Dirac fermions, whereas V-shaped spectra are recovered in regions of relaxed graphene. Strain maps derived from the STM studies further reveal direct correlation with the local tunneling conductance. These results are attributed to a strain-induced frequency increase in the out-of-plane phonon mode that mediates the low-energy inelastic charge tunneling into graphene
Systems development methods and usability in Norway: An industrial perspective
This is the post-print version of the Article. The official published version can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2007 Springer Berlin HeidelbergThis paper investigates the relationship between traditional systems development methodologies and usability, through a survey of 78 Norwegian IT companies. Building on previous research we proposed two hypotheses; (1) that software companies will generally pay lip service to usability, but do not prioritize it in industrial projects, and (2) that systems development methods and usability are perceived as not being integrated. We find support for both hypotheses. Thus, the use of systems development methods is fairly stable, confirming earlier research. Most companies do not use a formal method, and of those who do, the majority use their own method. Generally, the use of methods is rather pragmatic: Companies that do not use formal methods report that they use elements from such methods. Further, companies that use their own method import elements from standardised methods into their own
Are tyrosine kinase inhibitors promising for the treatment of systemic sclerosis and other fibrotic diseases?
Tissue fibrosis causes organ failure and death in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc), but clearly effective anti-fibrotic therapies are not available. The tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) imatinib, which blocks the pro-fibrotic c-Abl kinase and PDGF receptor, is currently evaluated in clinical proof-of-concept trials for the treatment of patients with SSc. In experimental models, imatinib efficiently prevented and reduced tissue fibrosis. First clinical case studies demonstrated anti-fibrotic effects of imatinib in selected patients with SSc and other fibrotic diseases, and observational studies in sclerotic chronic graft-versus-host disease showed promising results. Besides imatinib, the two novel TKIs of c-Abl and PDGF receptor nilotinib and dasatinib have recently proven efficacy in experimental models of SSc. The potential of TKIs of the VEGF receptor (e.g., semaxinib, vatalanib, sutent, and sorafenib) and the EGF receptor (e.g., erlotinib, gefitinib, lapatinib, and canertinib) as anti-fibrotic treatments are also discussed in this review. Prior to clinical use, however, controlled trials need to address efficacy as well as tolerability of TKIs in patients with different fibrotic diseases
Investigations of solutions of Einstein's field equations close to lambda-Taub-NUT
We present investigations of a class of solutions of Einstein's field
equations close to the family of lambda-Taub-NUT spacetimes. The studies are
done using a numerical code introduced by the author elsewhere. One of the main
technical complication is due to the S3-topology of the Cauchy surfaces.
Complementing these numerical results with heuristic arguments, we are able to
yield some first insights into the strong cosmic censorship issue and the
conjectures by Belinskii, Khalatnikov, and Lifschitz in this class of
spacetimes. In particular, the current investigations suggest that strong
cosmic censorship holds in this class. We further identify open issues in our
current approach and point to future research projects.Comment: 24 pages, 12 figures, uses psfrag and hyperref; replaced with
published version, only minor corrections of typos and reference
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