4,035 research outputs found
Temperature and Voltage Probes Far from Equilibrium
We consider an open system of non-interacting electrons consisting of a small
sample connected to several reservoirs and temperature or voltage probes. We
study the non-linear system of equations that determines the probe parameters.
We show that it has a unique solution, which can be computed with a fast
converging iterative algorithm. We illustrate our method with two well-known
models: the three-terminal system and the open Aharovov-Bohm interferometer
Natural Gas Landowner Coalitions in New York State: Emerging Benefits of Collective Natural Resource Management
Thousands of rural landowners in New York State have joined together to form grassroots organizations aimed at collectively bargaining with natural gas companies. The leverage afforded by acting collectively allows these landowner coalitions to potentially influence the economic, environmental, and community impacts of gas development across hundreds of thousands of acres. In-depth interviews with coalition leaders conducted for this article reveal the scope, motivations, and benefits of membership in these groups. Our work examines these elements using multiple frameworks for understanding collective natural resource management. The coalitions are primarily concerned with the advancement of private member benefits, while public benefits of the collective action are poised to accrue indirectly. Group leaders are also contemplating how to use their leverage to secure direct benefits for the wider community – actions that may give communities a modicum of local control over gas development
Mid-infrared sub-wavelength grating mirror design: tolerance and influence of technological constraints
High polarization selective Si/SiO2 mid-infrared sub-wavelength grating
mirrors with large bandwidth adapted to VCSEL integration are compared. These
mirrors have been automatically designed for operation at \lambda = 2.3 m
by an optimization algorithm which maximizes a specially defined quality
factor. Several technological constraints in relation with the grating
manufacturing process have been imposed within the optimization algorithm and
their impact on the optical properties of the mirror have been evaluated.
Furthermore, through the tolerance computation of the different dimensions of
the structure, the robustness with respect to fabrication errors has been
tested. Finally, it appears that the increase of the optical performances of
the mirror imposes a less tolerant design with severer technological
constraints resulting in a more stringent control of the manufacturing process.Comment: The final publication is available at
http://iopscience.iop.org/2040-8986/13/12/125502
Effect of Beam Dynamics Processes in the Low Energy Ring ThomX
As part of the R\&D for the 50 MeV ThomX Compton source project, we have
studied the effect of several beam dynamics processes on the evolution of the
beam in the ring. The processes studied include among others Compton
scattering, intrabeam scattering, coherent synchrotron radiation. We have
performed extensive simulations of a full injection/extraction cycle (400000
turns). We show how each of these processes degrades the flux of photons
produced and how a feedback system contributes to recovering most of the flux.Comment: Submitted to IPAC'14, WEPRO00
A neglected disease of humans: a new focus of visceral leishmaniasis in Bakool, Somalia.
Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) was observed in children in Bakool region, Somalia, an area where VL has not been reported before. We describe the extent of the problem in this war- and famine-stricken area. A retrospective analysis was done of all cases admitted to a VL treatment centre between July 2000 and August 2001. Patients with longstanding fever, splenomegaly and a positive direct agglutination test (DAT; titre > 1:3200) were treated as suspected VL cases. A rapid epidemiological and entomological assessment was performed in the area. Species identification was attempted from blood samples by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis of cysteine proteinase B genes. In 1 year, 230 serologically-positive cases were diagnosed as VL, and response to therapy was good in 91.6% of the 225 treated with sodium stibogluconate. Parasitological confirmation was attempted and obtained in 2 cases. Parasites were found to be most similar to Sudanese and Ethiopian reference strains of the Leishmania donovani complex. In a serological survey of 161 healthy displaced persons, 15% were positive by the leishmanin skin test and 3 (2%) were positive by the DAT. The sandfly captures showed Phlebotomus martini and P. vansomerenae. VL seems to be a longstanding and serious health problem in Bakool region. Food insecurity might have contributed to the emergence and detection of VL in this area
Changing ideas about others' intentions: updating prior expectations tunes activity in the human motor system
Predicting intentions from observing another agent’s behaviours is often thought to depend on motor resonance – i.e., the motor system’s response to a perceived movement by the activation of its stored motor counterpart, but observers might also rely on prior expectations, especially when actions take place in perceptually uncertain situations. Here we assessed motor resonance during an action prediction task using transcranial magnetic stimulation to probe corticospinal excitability (CSE) and report that experimentally-induced updates in observers’ prior expectations modulate CSE when predictions are made under situations of perceptual uncertainty. We show that prior expectations are updated on the basis of both biomechanical and probabilistic prior information and that the magnitude of the CSE modulation observed across participants is explained by the magnitude of change in their prior expectations. These findings provide the first evidence that when observers predict others’ intentions, motor resonance mechanisms adapt to changes in their prior expectations. We propose that this adaptive adjustment might reflect a regulatory control mechanism that shares some similarities with that observed during action selection. Such a mechanism could help arbitrate the competition between biomechanical and probabilistic prior information when appropriate for prediction
Dipole Field, Tune and Chromaticity Correction at the SPS: from Converter Tracking to Eddy Currents
Good control of key parameters like dipole field, tune and chromaticity is a basic requirement for fast cycle commissioning and for good beam transmission through the SPS ramp. The reproducibility of those parameters depends on power converter tracking, eddy currents and remnant fields. The new SPS control system was used to study some of the problems in the low energy ramp segment of the fixed target beam. A small modification of the function generation for the main converters is shown to reduce residual converter tracking errors by more than one order of magnitude. Tune and chromaticity corrections have been analyzed and summarized for different cycles, both for the ramp as well for the injection plateau where eddy current may play a significant role
Real-World Normal Map Capture for Nearly Flat Reflective Surfaces
Although specular objects have gained interest in recent
years, virtually no approaches exist for markerless reconstruction
of reflective scenes in the wild. In this work, we
present a practical approach to capturing normal maps in
real-world scenes using video only. We focus on nearly planar
surfaces such as windows, facades from glass or metal,
or frames, screens and other indoor objects and show how
normal maps of these can be obtained without the use of an
artificial calibration object. Rather, we track the reflections
of real-world straight lines, while moving with a hand-held
or vehicle-mounted camera in front of the object. In contrast
to error-prone local edge tracking, we obtain the reflections
by a robust, global segmentation technique of an
ortho-rectified 3D video cube that also naturally allows efficient
user interaction. Then, at each point of the reflective
surface, the resulting 2D-curve to 3D-line correspondence
provides a novel quadratic constraint on the local surface
normal. This allows to globally solve for the shape by integrability
and smoothness constraints and easily supports
the usage of multiple lines. We demonstrate the technique
on several objects and facades
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