Mechanization of context information for image interpretation

This is a theoretical and experimental study of ways to use context for automatic interpretation of aerial photography. One type of photo interpretation system interprets a frame of aerial photography by dividing the frame into several square cells and classifying each cell. A parameter extraction device scans each cell, makes measurements, and classifies each cell according to statistical decision theory

Scheduling the Australian football league

Generating a schedule for a professional sports league is an extremely demanding task. Good schedules have many benefits for the league, such as higher attendance and TV viewership, lower costs, and increased fairness. The Australian Football League is particularly interesting because of an unusual competition format integrating a single round robin tournament with additional games. Furthermore, several teams have multiple home venues and some venues are shared by multiple teams. This paper presents a 3-phase process to schedule the Australian Football League. The resulting solution outperforms the official schedule with respect to minimizing and balancing travel distance and breaks, while satisfying more requirements

Planets in Spin-Orbit Misalignment and the Search for Stellar Companions

The discovery of giant planets orbiting close to their host stars was one of the most unexpected results of early exoplanetary science. Astronomers have since found that a significant fraction of these 'Hot Jupiters' move on orbits substantially misaligned with the rotation axis of their host star. We recently reported the measurement of the spin-orbit misalignment for WASP-79b by using data from the 3.9 m Anglo-Australian Telescope. Contemporary models of planetary formation produce planets on nearly coplanar orbits with respect to their host star's equator. We discuss the mechanisms which could drive planets into spin-orbit misalignment. The most commonly proposed being the Kozai mechanism, which requires the presence of a distant, massive companion to the star-planet system. We therefore describe a volume-limited direct-imaging survey of Hot Jupiter systems with measured spin-orbit angles, to search for the presence of stellar companions and test the Kozai hypothesis.Comment: Accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed proceedings of the 13th annual Australian Space Science Conferenc

Severe bilateral atrophy of the spinati muscles in a cadaver

During the routine dissection of a 62-year-old male cadaver, bilateral atrophy of the supra and infraspinatus muscles was observed. The suprascapular nerves, cervical spinal cord and surrounding muscles were found to be normal. We propose that, in the face of normal histology and other normal shoulder girdle muscles and normal nerves, this case represents an instance of Parsonage-Turner syndrome. To our knowledge, this is the first report of bilateral spinati atrophy in a cadaver

Unilateral agenesis of the facial artery with compensation by a giant transverse facial artery

During routine dissections carried out in the course of our medical gross anatomy work, an unusual structure was found unilaterally on the left side of an adult male cadaver. Upon investigation, this was determined to be a hugely dilated transverse facial artery. Also noted was the complete absence of the ipsilateral facial artery. To our knowledge, this is the first report of complete agenesis and not simply diminution of the facial artery with compensatory enlargement of the transverse facial artery

Updated report on the Edinburgh - Laing wave energy device (The Duck)

John Laing Limited have been associated with Stephen Salter, of Edinburgh University, since the late autumn of 1978. In May 1981, at the request of ETSU, a proposal was submitted to The Wave Energy Steering Committee for updating the 1979 report. This presentation led to an Instruction to Proceed being issued by the Department of Energy in August 1981

The role of diatom resting spores for pelagic-benthic coupling in the Southern Ocean

Abstract. Natural iron fertilization downstream of Southern Ocean island plateaus support large phytoplankton blooms and promote carbon export from the mixed layer. In addition to sequestering atmospheric CO2, the biological carbon pump also supplies organic matter (OM) to deep-ocean ecosystems. Although the total flux of OM arriving at the seafloor sets the energy input to the system, the chemical nature of OM is also of significance. However, a quantitative framework linking ecological flux vectors to OM composition is currently lacking. In the present study we report the lipid composition of export fluxes collected by five-moored sediment traps deployed in contrasting productivity regimes of Southern Ocean island systems (Kerguelen, Crozet and South Georgia) and compile them with quantitative data on diatom and fecal pellet fluxes. At the three naturally iron fertilized sites, the relative contribution of labile lipids (mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids, unsaturated fatty alcohols) is 2–4 times higher than at low productivity sites. There is a strong attenuation of labile components as a function of depth, irrespective of productivity. The three island systems also display regional characteristics in lipid export. The diversity of sterols is greater in the relatively warm waters of the Polar Frontal Zone when compared to the Antarctic zone, reflecting the transition from mixed phytoplankton communities to principally diatom-derived OM. An enrichment of zooplankton dietary sterols, such as C27Δ5, at South Georgia is consistent with high zooplankton and krill biomass in the region and the importance of fecal pellets to POC flux. There is a strong association of diatom resting spore fluxes that dominate productive flux regimes with energy rich unsaturated fatty acids. At the Kerguelen Plateau we provide a statistical framework to link seasonal variation in ecological flux vectors and lipid composition over a complete annual cycle. Our analyses demonstrate that ecological processes in the upper ocean, e.g. resting spore formation and grazing, not only impact the magnitude and stoichiometry of the Southern Ocean biological pump, but also regulate the composition of exported OM and the nature of pelagic-benthic coupling. </jats:p

Learning in university technology transfer offices: transactions-focused and relations-focused approaches to commercialization of academic research

University Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) need a wide range of abilities to facilitate commercial exploitation of research outputs; however, we know relatively little about how these important abilities are developed and refined over time. We draw on practice-based studies of learning to create a novel conceptualization of learning processes and their outcomes in TTOs and show that this conceptualization of learning provides new empirical insights into how learning in TTOs shapes their commercialization practice. We investigate learning-in-practice in case studies of six UK TTOs and find two approaches to commercialization, namely transactions-focused practice and relations-focused practice. We find that both practices co-exist and co-evolve in some TTOs while other TTOs are predominantly transactions-focused. For the latter the development of a relations-focused approach is difficult, but possible if there is strategic direction and if sources of inertia are removed by TTO directors. Given that evolving practice cannot be fully explained by informal learning processes, we suggest that so far separate streams of practice-based literature on learning and strategizing should be brought together. The implications for further investigations of TTO abilities and some recommendations for policy and practice are discussed

Human-animal elision: a Darwinian universe in George Eliot’s novels

No abstract available

Observations of Arp 220 using Herschel-SPIRE: An Unprecedented View of the Molecular Gas in an Extreme Star Formation Environment

We present Herschel SPIRE-FTS observations of Arp~220, a nearby ULIRG. The FTS continuously covers 190 -- 670 microns, providing a good measurement of the continuum and detection of several molecular and atomic species. We detect luminous CO (J = 4-3 to 13-12) and water ladders with comparable total luminosity; very high-J HCN absorption; OH+, H2O+, and HF in absorption; and CI and NII. Modeling of the continuum yields warm dust, with T = 66 K, and an unusually large optical depth of ~5 at 100 microns. Non-LTE modeling of the CO shows two temperature components: cold molecular gas at T ~ 50 K and warm molecular gas at T ~1350 K. The mass of the warm gas is 10% of the cold gas, but dominates the luminosity of the CO ladder. The temperature of the warm gas is in excellent agreement with H2 rotational lines. At 1350 K, H2 dominates the cooling (~20 L_sun/M_sun) in the ISM compared to CO (~0.4 L_sun/M_sun). We found that only a non-ionizing source such as the mechanical energy from supernovae and stellar winds can excite the warm gas and satisfy the energy budget of ~20 L_sun/M_sun. We detect a massive molecular outflow in Arp 220 from the analysis of strong P-Cygni line profiles observed in OH+, H2O+, and H2O. The outflow has a mass > 10^{7} M_sun and is bound to the nuclei with velocity < 250 km/s. The large column densities observed for these molecular ions strongly favor the existence of an X-ray luminous AGN (10^{44} ergs/s) in Arp 220.Comment: Accepted in ApJ on September 1, 201