4,997 research outputs found
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Guidelines for better children\u27s television programming : a report on the program design features developed by the Children\u27s Television Workshop.
The Millennium Galaxy Catalogue: Star counts and the Structure of the Galactic Stellar Halo
We derive a star catalogue generated from the images taken as part of the
37.5 sq. deg Millennium Galaxy Catalogue. These data, alone and together with
colours gained from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey Early Data Release, allow the
analysis of faint star counts (B(MGC) < 20) at high Galactic latitude (41 < b <
63), as a function of Galactic longitude (239 < l < 353). We focus here on the
inner stellar halo, providing robust limits on the amplitude of substructure
and on the large-scale flattening. In line with previous results, the thick
disk, an old, intermediate-metallicity population, is clearly seen in the
colour-magnitude diagram. We find that the Galactic stellar halo within ~10 kpc
(the bulk of the stellar mass) is significantly flattened, with an axial ratio
of (c/a) =0.56 +/- 0.01, again consistent with previous results. Our analysis
using counts-in-cells, angular correlation functions and the Lee 2D statistic,
confirms tidal debris from the Sagittarius dwarf but finds little evidence for
other substructure in the inner halo, at heliocentric distances of < 5 kpc.
This new quantification of the smoothness in coordinate space limits the
contribution of recent accretion/disruption to the build-up of the bulk of the
stellar halo.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS (figs 16 and 17 degraded here
Negative magnetoresistance and phase slip process in superconducting nanowires
We argue that the negative magnetoresistance of superconducting nanowires,
which was observed in recent experiments, can be explained by the influence of
the external magnetic field on the critical current of the phase slip process.
We show that the suppression of the order parameter in the bulk superconductors
made by an external magnetic field can lead to an enhancement of both the first
and the second critical currents of the phase slip process in
nanowires. Another mechanism of an enhancement of can come from
decreasing the decay length of the charge imbalance at weak
magnetic fields because is inversely proportional to . The
enhancement of the first critical current leads to a larger intrinsic
dissipation of the phase slip process. It suppresses the rate of both the
thermo-activated and/or quantum fluctuated phase slips and results in
decreasing the fluctuated resistance.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
The role of virtual reality in built environment education
This study builds upon previous research on the integration of Virtual Reality (VR) within the built environment curriculum and aims to investigate the role of VR and three-dimensional (3D) computer modelling on learning and teaching in a school of the built environment. In order to achieve this aim, a number of academic experiences were analysed to explore the applicability and viability of 3D computer modelling and VR into built environment subject areas. Although two-dimensional (2D) representations have been greatly accepted by built environment professions and education, 3D computer representations and VR applications, offering interactivity and immersiveness, are not yet widely accepted. The study attempts to understand the values and challenges of integrating visualisation technologies into built environment teaching and investigates tutors’ perceptions, opinions and concerns with respect to these technologies. The study reports on the integration process and considers how 3D computer modelling and VR technologies can combine with, and extend, the existing range of learning and teaching methods appropriate to different disciplines and programme areas
A search for starlight reflected from HD 75289 b
We have used a doppler tomographic analysis to conduct a deep search for the
starlight reflected from the planetary companion to HD 75289. In 4 nights on
VLT2/UVES in January 2003, we obtained 684 high resolution echelle spectra with
a total integration time of 26 hours. We establish an upper limit on the
planet's geometric albedo p < 0.12 (to the 99.9% significance level) at the
most probable orbital inclination i ~ 60 degrees, assuming a grey albedo, a
Venus-like phase function and a planetary radius R_p = 1.6 R_Jup. We are able
to rule out some combinations of the predicted planetary radius and atmospheric
albedo models with high, reflective cloud decks.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figures, MNRAS accepted 12 Oct 200
Estimating Be Star Disk Radii using H-alpha Emission Equivalent Widths
We present numerical models of the circumstellar disks of Be stars, and we
describe the resulting synthetic H-alpha emission lines and maps of the
wavelength-integrated emission flux projected onto the sky. We demonstrate that
there are monotonic relationships between the emission line equivalent width
and the ratio of the angular half-width at half maximum of the projected disk
major axis to the radius of the star. These relationships depend mainly upon
the temperatures of the disk and star, the inclination of the disk normal to
the line of sight, and the adopted outer boundary for the disk radius. We show
that the predicted H-alpha disk radii are consistent with those observed
directly through long baseline interferometry of nearby Be stars (especially
once allowance is made for disk truncation in binaries and for dilution of the
observed H-alpha equivalent width by continuum disk flux in the V-band).Comment: 12 pages, 2 figures, ApJL in pres
Spatial coherence effects on second- and fourth-order temporal interference
We report the results of two experiments performed with two-photon light,
produced via collinear degenerate optical spontaneous parametric downconversion
(SPDC), in which both second-order (one-photon) and fourth-order (two-photon)
interferograms are recorded in a Mach-Zehnder interferometer (MZI). In the
first experiment, high-visibility fringes are obtained for both the second- and
fourth-order interferograms. In the second experiment, the MZI is modified by
the removal of a mirror from one of its arms; this leaves the fourth-order
interferogram unchanged, but extinguishes the second-order interferogram. A
theoretical model that takes into consideration both the temporal and spatial
degrees-of-freedom of the two-photon state successfully explains the results.
While the temporal interference in the MZI is independent of the spatial
coherence of the source, that of the modified MZI is not
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Dynamic L-type CaV1.2 channel trafficking facilitates CaV1.2 clustering and cooperative gating.
L-type CaV1.2 channels are key regulators of gene expression, cell excitability and muscle contraction. CaV1.2 channels organize in clusters throughout the plasma membrane. This channel organization has been suggested to contribute to the concerted activation of adjacent CaV1.2 channels (e.g. cooperative gating). Here, we tested the hypothesis that dynamic intracellular and perimembrane trafficking of CaV1.2 channels is critical for formation and dissolution of functional channel clusters mediating cooperative gating. We found that CaV1.2 moves in vesicular structures of circular and tubular shape with diverse intracellular and submembrane trafficking patterns. Both microtubules and actin filaments are required for dynamic movement of CaV1.2 vesicles. These vesicles undergo constitutive homotypic fusion and fission events that sustain CaV1.2 clustering, channel activity and cooperative gating. Our study suggests that CaV1.2 clusters and activity can be modulated by diverse and unique intracellular and perimembrane vesicular dynamics to fine-tune Ca2+ signals
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