European air quality maps 2005 including uncertainty analysis

The objective of this report is (a) the updating and refinement of European air quality maps based on annual statistics of the 2005 observational data reported by EEA Member countries in 2006, and (b) the further improvement of the interpolation methodologies. The paper presents the results achieved and an uncertainty analysis of the interpolated maps and builds upon earlier reports from Horalék et al. (2005; 2007)

Optimization of the gas flow in a GEM chamber and development of the GEM foil stretcher

The gas electron multiplier technology has been proven to tolerate rat e larger than 50 MHz/cm2 without noticeable aging and to provide sub resolution on working chambers up to 45 cm x 45 cm. A new gas electron multiplier-based tracker is under development for the Hall A upgrade at Jefferson Lab. The chambers of the tracker have been designed in a modular way: each chamber consists of 3 adjacent gas electron multiplier modules, with an active area of 40 cm x 50 cm each. We optimized the gas flow inside the gas electron multiplier module volume, using the COMSOL physics simulator framework; the COMSOL-based analysis includes the design of the inlet and outlet pipes and the maximization of the uniformity of the gas flow. We have defined the procedures for the assembling of the gas electron multiplier modules and designed a mechanical system (TENDIGEM) that will be used to stretch the GEM foils at the proper tension (few kg/cm); the TENDIGEM is based on the original design developed at LNF

Analytical Tachyonic Lump Solutions in Open Superstring Field Theory

We construct a classical solution in the GSO(-) sector in the framework of a Wess-Zumino-Witten-like open superstring field theory on a non-BPS D-brane. We use an su(2) supercurrent, which is obtained by compactifying a direction to a circle with the critical radius, in order to get analytical tachyonic lump solutions to the equation of motion. By investigating the action expanded around a solution we find that it represents a deformation from a non-BPS D-brane to a D-brane-anti-D-brane system at the critical value of a parameter which is contained in classical solutions. Although such a process was discussed in terms of boundary conformal field theory before, our study is based on open superstring field theory including interaction terms.Comment: 17 pages, references adde

Heritability estimates of the novel trait 'suppressed in ovo virus infection' in honey bees (Apis mellifera)

Honey bees are under pressure due to abnormal high colony death rates, especially during the winter. The infestation by the Varroa destructor mite and the viruses that this ectoparasite transmits are generally considered as the bees' most important biological threats. Almost all efforts to remedy this dual infection have so far focused on the control of the Varroa mite alone and not on the viruses it transmits. In the present study, the sanitary control of breeding queens was conducted on eggs taken from drone brood for 4 consecutive years (2015-2018). The screening was performed on the sideline of an ongoing breeding program, which allowed us to estimate the heritabilities of the virus status of the eggs. We used the term 'suppressed in ovo virus infection' (SOV) for this novel trait and found moderate heritabilities for the presence of several viruses simultaneously and for the presence of single viral species. Colonies that expressed the SOV trait seemed to be more resilient to virus infections as a whole with fewer and less severe Deformed wing virus infections in most developmental stages, especially in the male caste. The implementation of this novel trait into breeding programs is recommended

Multilinear Wavelets: A Statistical Shape Space for Human Faces

We present a statistical model for $3$D human faces in varying expression, which decomposes the surface of the face using a wavelet transform, and learns many localized, decorrelated multilinear models on the resulting coefficients. Using this model we are able to reconstruct faces from noisy and occluded $3$D face scans, and facial motion sequences. Accurate reconstruction of face shape is important for applications such as tele-presence and gaming. The localized and multi-scale nature of our model allows for recovery of fine-scale detail while retaining robustness to severe noise and occlusion, and is computationally efficient and scalable. We validate these properties experimentally on challenging data in the form of static scans and motion sequences. We show that in comparison to a global multilinear model, our model better preserves fine detail and is computationally faster, while in comparison to a localized PCA model, our model better handles variation in expression, is faster, and allows us to fix identity parameters for a given subject.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures; accepted to ECCV 201

Fate of the predictions in Galle-Unawatuna mangroves, Sri Lanka: A validation after 10 years using satellite (IKONOS) and ground-truth data

Validation of earlier predictions is a challenging but significant contribution to ecological research. The present study tests the predications made 10 years ago by Dahdouh-Guebas et al. (2000) on the evolution of mangrove forest in Galle-Unawatuna, Sri Lanka. The ground inventory carried out in five Sectors covering the entire forest (Point Centred Quarter Method - PCQM) (Cintron and Schaeffer Novelli, 1984) revealed that the adult species composition is dominated by Rhizophora apiculata, Excoecaria agallocha, Bruguiera gymnorrhiza and B. sexangula, with their total density of 216-267 stems 0.1ha-1 and basal area 1.19-1.44m2 0.1ha-1. However, both young and juvenile vegetation in the most Sectors was dominated solely by B. gymnorrhiza (128-869 stems and 356-1482 propagules 0.1ha-1). According to Dahdouh-Guebas et al. (2000), the transition of an E. agallocha forest into a B. gymnorrhiza dominated one or at least their co-dominance in the Sectors 1 and 2 is possible, whereas Sector 3 being dominated by adult and juvenile R. apiculata will persist. Overall, the possible transition to a Bruguiera dominated forest in Galle-Unawatuna area was forecasted. The recent decadal changes between 1994 and 2004 through the integration of IKONOS satellite imagery of 2004 with ground-truth information confirmed many of the predictions and showed dynamic shifts in young/adult vegetation by B. gymnorrhiza. Both E. agallocha and R. apiculata continue to be dominant in Sectors 2 and 3, although the adult turnover by B. gymnorrhiza has not yet occurred, probably due to the small time interval between the two investigations. Confirming in part with the earlier prediction on R. apiculata in Sector 3, present study also revealed the abundance of B. gymnorrhiza as young and juvenile vegetation. Viewing the present dynamic shifts and sheer dominance as young vegetation by B. gymnorrhiza with a mean height of 5.8m in most Sectors, it is still possible to anticipate the mangroves being dominated by this species, and actually now validates the predictions made 10 years ago. Because of apparent changes in the mangrove vegetation structure, it could be concluded that the ‘moving mosaic’ pattern of mangrove species distribution reported earlier for Galle-Unawatuna still persists

Isolated unilateral absence of the right pulmo nary artery.

A 40-year-old man was referred for evaluation of cough of a few weeks duration and a history of recurrent respiratory tract infections for several years. Clinical examination revealed no abnormalities. Routine hematologic and biochemical evaluation were normal. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography of the thorax showed a hypoplastic right lung, hyperinflation of the left lung with cardiomediastinal shift to the right. Absence of the right pulmonary artery was noted and replaced by an extensive collateral network of hypertrophied vessels originating from bronchial, intercostal and mammaria interna arteries, and right arteria subclavia (Fig. A, B). Discrete bronchiectasis with thickened bronchial walls in a hypoplastic right lung was noted (Fig. C). A normal bronchial tree and normal parenchyma in the left lung was seen