14,439 research outputs found
VisIVO - Integrated Tools and Services for Large-Scale Astrophysical Visualization
VisIVO is an integrated suite of tools and services specifically designed for
the Virtual Observatory. This suite constitutes a software framework for
effective visual discovery in currently available (and next-generation) very
large-scale astrophysical datasets. VisIVO consists of VisiVO Desktop - a stand
alone application for interactive visualization on standard PCs, VisIVO Server
- a grid-enabled platform for high performance visualization and VisIVO Web - a
custom designed web portal supporting services based on the VisIVO Server
functionality. The main characteristic of VisIVO is support for
high-performance, multidimensional visualization of very large-scale
astrophysical datasets. Users can obtain meaningful visualizations rapidly
while preserving full and intuitive control of the relevant visualization
parameters. This paper focuses on newly developed integrated tools in VisIVO
Server allowing intuitive visual discovery with 3D views being created from
data tables. VisIVO Server can be installed easily on any web server with a
database repository. We discuss briefly aspects of our implementation of VisiVO
Server on a computational grid and also outline the functionality of the
services offered by VisIVO Web. Finally we conclude with a summary of our work
and pointers to future developments
Developing social capital in implementing a complex intervention: a process evaluation of the early implementation of a suicide prevention intervention in four European countries
<p>Background: Variation in the implementation of complex multilevel interventions can impact on their delivery and outcomes. Few suicide prevention interventions, especially multilevel interventions, have included evaluation of both the process of implementation as well as outcomes. Such evaluation is essential for the replication of interventions, for interpreting and understanding outcomes, and for improving implementation science. This paper reports on a process evaluation of the early implementation stage of an optimised suicide prevention programme (OSPI-Europe) implemented in four European countries.</p>
<p>Methods: The process analysis was conducted within the framework of a realist evaluation methodology, and involved case studies of the process of implementation in four European countries. Datasets include: repeated questionnaires to track progress of implementation including delivery of individual activities and their intensity; serial interviews and focus groups with stakeholder groups; and detailed observations at OSPI implementation team meetings.</p>
<p>Results: Analysis of local contexts in each of the four countries revealed that the advisory group was a key mechanism that had a substantial impact on the ease of implementation of OSPI interventions, particularly on their ability to recruit to training interventions. However, simply recruiting representatives of key organisations into an advisory group is not sufficient to achieve impact on the delivery of interventions. In order to maximise the potential of high level âgatekeepersâ, it is necessary to first transform them into OSPI stakeholders. Motivations for OSPI participation as a stakeholder included: personal affinity with the shared goals and target groups within OSPI; the complementary and participatory nature of OSPI that adds value to pre-existing suicide prevention initiatives; and reciprocal reward for participants through access to the extended network capacity that organisations could accrue for themselves and their organisations from participation in OSPI.</p>
<p>Conclusions: Exploring the role of advisory groups and the meaning of participation for these participants revealed some key areas for best practice in implementation: careful planning of the composition of the advisory group to access target groups; the importance of establishing common goals; the importance of acknowledging and complementing existing experience and activity; and facilitating an equivalence of benefit from network participation.</p>
Report of the QCD Working Group
The activities of the QCD working group concentrated on improving the
understanding and Monte Carlo simulation of multi-jet final states due to hard
QCD processes at LEP, i.e. quark-antiquark plus multi-gluon and/or secondary
quark production, with particular emphasis on four-jet final states and b-quark
mass effects. Specific topics covered are: relevant developments in the main
event generators PYTHIA, HERWIG and ARIADNE; the new multi-jet generator
APACIC++; description and tuning of inclusive (all-flavour) jet rates; quark
mass effects in the three- and four-jet rates; mass, higher-order and
hadronization effects in four-jet angular and shape distributions; b-quark
fragmentation and gluon splitting into b-quarks.Comment: 95 pages, 48 figures, contribution to Proceedings of the LEP2 Monte
Carlo Workshop. References for NLO 4-jet matrix elements adde
Quintessential Phenomena in Higher Dimensional Space Time
The higher dimensional cosmology provides a natural setting to treat, at a
classical level, the cosmological effects of vacuum energy. Here we discuss two
situations where starting with an ordinary matter field without any equation of
state we end up with a Chaplygin type of gas apparently as a consequence of
extra dimensions. In the second case we study the quintessential phenomena in
higher dimensional spacetime with the help of a Chaplygin type of matter field.
The first case suffers from the disqualification that no dimensional reduction
occurs, which is, however, rectified in the second case. Both the models show
the sought after feature of occurrence of \emph{flip} in the rate of expansion.
It is observed that with the increase of dimensions the occurrence of
\emph{flip} is delayed for both the models, more in line with current
observational demands. Interestingly we see that depending on some initial
conditions our model admits QCDM, CDM and also Phantom like evolution
within a unified framework. Our solutions are general in nature in the sense
that when the extra dimensions are switched off the known 4D model is
recovered.Comment: 17 Pages, 7 figure
Alteraçþes dos atributos do solo em årea de pastagem de Florakirk sobressemeada com forrageiras hibernais, submetida ao manejo rotativo de gado leiteiro em uma unidade de observação do programa Rede Leite.
Excitons in quasi-one dimensional organics: Strong correlation approximation
An exciton theory for quasi-one dimensional organic materials is developed in
the framework of the Su-Schrieffer-Heeger Hamiltonian augmented by short range
extended Hubbard interactions. Within a strong electron-electron correlation
approximation, the exciton properties are extensively studied. Using scattering
theory, we analytically obtain the exciton energy and wavefunction and derive a
criterion for the existence of a exciton. We also systematically
investigate the effect of impurities on the coherent motion of an exciton. The
coherence is measured by a suitably defined electron-hole correlation function.
It is shown that, for impurities with an on-site potential, a crossover
behavior will occur if the impurity strength is comparable to the bandwidth of
the exciton, corresponding to exciton localization. For a charged impurity with
a spatially extended potential, in addition to localization the exciton will
dissociate into an uncorrelated electron-hole pair when the impurity is
sufficiently strong to overcome the Coulomb interaction which binds the
electron-hole pair. Interchain coupling effects are also discussed by
considering two polymer chains coupled through nearest-neighbor interchain
hopping and interchain Coulomb interaction . Within the
matrix scattering formalism, for every center-of-mass momentum, we find two
poles determined only by , which correspond to the interchain
excitons. Finally, the exciton state is used to study the charge transfer from
a polymer chain to an adjacent dopant molecule.Comment: 24 pages, 23 eps figures, pdf file of the paper availabl
Quantum Conductance in Semimetallic Bismuth Nanocontacts
Electronic transport properties of bismuth nanocontacts are analyzed by means
of a low temperature scanning tunneling microscope. The subquantum steps
observed in the conductance versus elongation curves give evidence of atomic
rearrangements in the contact. The underlying quantum nature of the conductance
reveals itself through peaks in the conductance histograms. The shape of the
conductance curves at 77 K is well described by a simple gliding mechanism for
the contact evolution during elongation. The strikingly different behaviour at
4 K suggests a charge carrier transition from light to heavy ones as the
contact cross section becomes sufficiently small.Comment: 5 pages including 4 figures. Accepted for publication in Phys. Rev.
Let
From favorable atomic configurations to supershell structures: a new interpretation of conductance histograms
Title: From favorable atomic configurations to supershell structures: a new
interpretation of conductance histograms Authors: A. Hasmy (IVIC), E. Medina
(IVIC), P.A. Serena (CSIC,IVIC) Comments: 7 pages, 3 figures,
cond-mat.anwar.10825 Subj-class: Soft Condensed MatterComment: 7 pages, 3 figuresSubject: fput HMS.tex HMS-FIG1.ps HMS-FIG2.ps
HMS-FIG3.p
Predicting language learners' grades in the L1, L2, L3 and L4: the effect of some psychological and sociocognitive variables
This study of 89 Flemish high-school students' grades for L1 (Dutch), L2 (French), L3 (English) and L4 (German) investigates the effects of three higher-level personality dimensions (psychoticism, extraversion, neuroticism), one lower-level personality dimension (foreign language anxiety) and sociobiographical variables (gender, social class) on the participants' language grades. Analyses of variance revealed no significant effects of the higher-level personality dimensions on grades. Participants with high levels of foreign language anxiety obtained significantly lower grades in the L2 and L3. Gender and social class had no effect. Strong positive correlations between grades in the different languages could point to an underlying sociocognitive dimension. The implications of these findings are discussed
A single low-energy, iron-poor supernova as the source of metals in the star SMSS J 031300.36-670839.3
The element abundance ratios of four low-mass stars with extremely low
metallicities indicate that the gas out of which the stars formed was enriched
in each case by at most a few, and potentially only one low-energy, supernova.
Such supernovae yield large quantities of light elements such as carbon but
very little iron. The dominance of low-energy supernovae is surprising, because
it has been expected that the first stars were extremely massive, and that they
disintegrated in pair-instability explosions that would rapidly enrich galaxies
in iron. What has remained unclear is the yield of iron from the first
supernovae, because hitherto no star is unambiguously interpreted as
encapsulating the yield of a single supernova. Here we report the optical
spectrum of SMSS J031300.36- 670839.3, which shows no evidence of iron (with an
upper limit of 10^-7.1 times solar abundance). Based on a comparison of its
abundance pattern with those of models, we conclude that the star was seeded
with material from a single supernova with an original mass of ~60 Mo (and that
the supernova left behind a black hole). Taken together with the previously
mentioned low-metallicity stars, we conclude that low-energy supernovae were
common in the early Universe, and that such supernovae yield light element
enrichment with insignificant iron. Reduced stellar feedback both chemically
and mechanically from low-energy supernovae would have enabled first-generation
stars to form over an extended period. We speculate that such stars may perhaps
have had an important role in the epoch of cosmic reionization and the chemical
evolution of early galaxies.Comment: 28 pages, 6 figures, Natur
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