Virtual reality learning resources in building pathology

Building surveying students must be capable of analysing the condition of buildings and their components and, where this falls below an agreed standard, make recommendations for their repair. Hence university courses must provide opportunities for students to learn about the main causes of deterioration. Fieldwork exercises are essential but there are often problems locating appropriate buildings, programming visits to satisfy course timetables and complying with health and safety requirements. Whilst virtual surveys of existing buildings are not considered to be a substitute for real-life educational visits, this paper critically examines the development of a novel building pathology educational resource. Alternative technologies for creating digital panoramas are examined, prior to the development of an interactive case study, which enables students to conduct an on-line survey of a Grade 1 listed 16th Century hunting lodge. 360 degree panoramic scenes are linked with hot spots to create an interactive virtual tour of the building. The paper considers how virtual resources can be embedded within the curriculum, gauges tutor reaction to case study materials and identifies opportunities for the development of a suite of building pathology educational media-rich learning materials

Towards a standardised line list for G191-B2B, and other DA type objects

We present a comprehensive analysis of the far UV spectrum of G191-B2B over the range of 900-1700{\AA} using co-added data from the FUSE and STIS archives. While previous identifications made by Holberg et al. (2003) are reaffirmed in this work, it is found that many previously unidentified lines can now be attributed to Fe, Ni, and a few lighter metals. Future work includes extending this detailed analysis to a wider range of DA objects, in the expectation that a more complete analysis of their atmospheres can be realised.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, 1 table: To appear in the proceedings of the "18th European White Dwarf Workshop" in Krakow, Poland, 201

ALMA observations of 99 GHz free-free and H40α\alpha line emission from star formation in the centre of NGC 253

We present Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array observations of 99.02 GHz free-free and H40$\alpha$ emission from the centre of the nearby starburst galaxy NGC 253. We calculate electron temperatures of 3700-4500 K for the photoionized gas, which agrees with previous measurements. We measure a photoionizing photon production rate of $(3.2\pm0.2)\times10^{53}$ s$^{-1}$ and a star formation rate of $1.73\pm0.12$ M$_\odot$ yr$^{-1}$ within the central 20$\times$10 arcsec, which fall within the broad range of measurements from previous millimetre and radio observations but which are better constrained. We also demonstrate that the dust opacities are ~3 dex higher than inferred from previous near-infrared data, which illustrates the benefits of using millimetre star formation tracers in very dusty sources.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in MNRAS Letter

Mixed Methods Analysis and Information Visualization: Graphical Display for Effective Communication of Research Results

In this paper, we introduce various graphical methods that can be used to represent data in mixed research. First, we present a broad taxonomy of visual representation. Next, we use this taxonomy to provide an overview of visual techniques for quantitative data display and qualitative data display. Then, we propose what we call “crossover” visual extensions to summarize and integrate both qualitative and quantitative results within the same framework. We provide several examples of crossover (mixed research) graphical displays that illustrate this natural extension. In so doing, we contend that the use of crossover (mixed research) graphical displays enhances researchers’ understanding (i.e., increased Verstehen) of social and behavioral phenomena in general and the meaning that underlies these phenomena in particular

The joint large-scale foreground-CMB posteriors of the 3-year WMAP data

Using a Gibbs sampling algorithm for joint CMB estimation and component separation, we compute the large-scale CMB and foreground posteriors of the 3-yr WMAP temperature data. Our parametric data model includes the cosmological CMB signal and instrumental noise, a single power law foreground component with free amplitude and spectral index for each pixel, a thermal dust template with a single free overall amplitude, and free monopoles and dipoles at each frequency. This simple model yields a surprisingly good fit to the data over the full frequency range from 23 to 94 GHz. We obtain a new estimate of the CMB sky signal and power spectrum, and a new foreground model, including a measurement of the effective spectral index over the high-latitude sky. A particularly significant result is the detection of a common spurious offset in all frequency bands of ~ -13muK, as well as a dipole in the V-band data. Correcting for these is essential when determining the effective spectral index of the foregrounds. We find that our new foreground model is in good agreement with template-based model presented by the WMAP team, but not with their MEM reconstruction. We believe the latter may be at least partially compromised by the residual offsets and dipoles in the data. Fortunately, the CMB power spectrum is not significantly affected by these issues, as our new spectrum is in excellent agreement with that published by the WMAP team. The corresponding cosmological parameters are also virtually unchanged.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures, submitted to ApJL. Background data are available at http://www.astro.uio.no/~hke under the Research ta

The Evolution of the Global Star Formation History as Measured from the Hubble Deep Field

The Hubble Deep Field (HDF) is the deepest set of multicolor optical photometric observations ever undertaken, and offers a valuable data set with which to study galaxy evolution. Combining the optical WFPC2 data with ground-based near-infrared photometry, we derive photometrically estimated redshifts for HDF galaxies with J<23.5. We demonstrate that incorporating the near-infrared data reduces the uncertainty in the estimated redshifts by approximately 40% and is required to remove systematic uncertainties within the redshift range 1<z<2. Utilizing these photometric redshifts, we determine the evolution of the comoving ultraviolet (2800 A) luminosity density (presumed to be proportional to the global star formation rate) from a redshift of z=0.5 to z=2. We find that the global star formation rate increases rapidly with redshift, rising by a factor of 12 from a redshift of zero to a peak at z~1.5. For redshifts beyond 1.5, it decreases monotonically. Our measures of the star formation rate are consistent with those found by Lilly et al. (1996) from the CFRS at z 2, and bridge the redshift gap between those two samples. The overall star formation or metal enrichment rate history is consistent with the predictions of Pei and Fall (1995) based on the evolving HI content of Lyman-alpha QSO absorption line systems.Comment: Latex format, 10 pages, 3 postscript figures. Accepted for publication in Ap J Letter

Evaluation of ozone difluoride as a liquid propellant additive Final report

Ozone difluoride evaluated as liquid propellant additiv

Inhibition of RNA polymerase II transcription in human cells by synthetic DNA-binding ligands

Sequence-specific DNA-binding small molecules that can permeate human cells potentially could regulate transcription of specific genes. Multiple cellular DNA-binding transcription factors are required by HIV type 1 for RNA synthesis. Two pyrrole-imidazole polyamides were designed to bind DNA sequences immediately adjacent to binding sites for the transcription factors Ets-l, lymphoid-enhancer binding factor 1, and TATA-box binding protein. These synthetic ligands specifically inhibit DNA-binding of each transcription factor and HIV type 1 transcription in cell-free assays. When used in combination, the polyamides inhibit virus replication by >99% in isolated human peripheral blood lymphocytes, with no detectable cell toxicity, The ability of small molecules to target predetermined DNA sequences located within RNA polymerase II promoters suggests a general approach for regulation of gene expression, as well as a mechanism for the inhibition of viral replication