951 research outputs found
Vibration isolation for line of sight performance improvement
Diagrams of the Reaction Wheel Assembly (RWA) are presented along with charts and graphs illustrating jitter error model, induced vibration tests, radial displacement transfer function, and axial displacement power spectra density. The RWA isolator specification requirements are listed
Giant deer (Megaloceros giganteus) diet from Mid-Weichselian deposits under the present North Sea inferred from molar-embedded botanical remains
The molar of a giant deer, Megaloceros giganteus (Blumenbach, 1799), was discovered in sandy deposits of the North Sea, about 10βkm west of the present shoreline of the Netherlands. Compacted masticated plant remains were preserved in the molar's deep folds. A palaeoecological analysis of these plant remains shows the complete dominance of pollen from Artemisia (sage) and other Asteraceae Tubuliflorae (Compositae), indicating that the animal foraged in a steppe environment, and may have preferred to eat Artemisia, which contain a high level of nutrients such as calcium and phosphorous components, which are important for antler building. Radiocarbon dating indicates that the plant remains are of midβWeichselian age [38 570 (+300, β290) 14C a BP, Greenland Interstadialβ11]. This is the first study of the food choice of M. giganteus based on palaeoecological evidence. We hypothesize about links between the extirpation of M. giganteus at the onset of the Holocene in NorthβWest Europe and the transition from a landscape with highly dynamic geomorphological processes and consequently prevalence of immature and nutrientβrich soils, to a less dynamic landscape with stable, leached and acidifying soils, and the decline of Artemisia and other calciphilous plants
Anisotropic Local Stress and Particle Hopping in a Deeply Supercooled Liquid
The origin of the microscopic motions that lead to stress relaxation in
deeply supercooled liquid remains unclear. We show that in such a liquid the
stress relaxation is locally anisotropic which can serve as the driving force
for the hopping of the system on its free energy surface. However, not all
hopping are equally effective in relaxing the local stress, suggesting that
diffusion can decouple from viscosity even at local level. On the other hand,
orientational relaxation is found to be always coupled to stress relaxation.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Adult non-communicable disease mortality in Africa and Asia: evidence from INDEPTH Health and Demographic Surveillance System sites
Background: Mortality from non-communicable diseases (NCDs) is a major global issue, as other categories of mortality have diminished and life expectancy has increased. The World Health Organization's Member States have called for a 25% reduction in premature NCD mortality by 2025, which can only be achieved by substantial reductions in risk factors and improvements in the management of chronic conditions. A high burden of NCD mortality among much older people, who have survived other hazards, is inevitable. The INDEPTH Network collects detailed individual data within defined Health and Demographic Surveillance sites. By registering deaths and carrying out verbal autopsies to determine cause of death across many such sites, using standardised methods, the Network seeks to generate population-based mortality statistics that are not otherwise available. Objective: To describe patterns of adult NCD mortality from INDEPTH Network sites across Africa and Asia, according to the WHO 2012 verbal autopsy (VA) cause categories, with separate consideration of premature (15β64 years) and older (65+ years) NCD mortality. Design: All adult deaths at INDEPTH sites are routinely registered and followed up with VA interviews. For this study, VA archives were transformed into the WHO 2012 VA standard format and processed using the InterVA-4 model to assign cause of death. Routine surveillance data also provide person-time denominators for mortality rates.
Results: A total of 80,726 adult (over 15 years) deaths were documented over 7,423,497 person-years of observation. NCDs were attributed as the cause for 35.6% of these deaths. Slightly less than half of adult NCD deaths occurred in the 15β64 age group. Detailed results are presented by age and sex for leading causes of NCD mortality. Per-site rates of NCD mortality were significantly correlated with rates of HIV/AIDS-related mortality. Conclusions: These findings present important evidence on the distribution of NCD mortality across a wide range of African and Asian settings. This comes against a background of global concern about the burden of NCD mortality, especially among adults aged under 70, and provides an important baseline for future work.P. Kim Streatfield ... Yohannes A. Melaku ... et al
Effect of hydrogen on ground state structures of small silicon clusters
We present results for ground state structures of small SiH (2 \leq
\emph{n} \leq 10) clusters using the Car-Parrinello molecular dynamics. In
particular, we focus on how the addition of a hydrogen atom affects the ground
state geometry, total energy and the first excited electronic level gap of an
Si cluster. We discuss the nature of bonding of hydrogen in these
clusters. We find that hydrogen bonds with two silicon atoms only in SiH,
SiH and SiH clusters, while in other clusters (i.e. SiH,
SiH, SiH, SiH, SiH and SiH) hydrogen is bonded
to only one silicon atom. Also in the case of a compact and closed silicon
cluster hydrogen bonds to the cluster from outside. We find that the first
excited electronic level gap of Si and SiH fluctuates as a function
of size and this may provide a first principles basis for the short-range
potential fluctuations in hydrogenated amorphous silicon. Our results show that
the addition of a single hydrogen can cause large changes in the electronic
structure of a silicon cluster, though the geometry is not much affected. Our
calculation of the lowest energy fragmentation products of SiH clusters
shows that hydrogen is easily removed from SiH clusters.Comment: one latex file named script.tex including table and figure caption.
Six postscript figure files. figure_1a.ps and figure_1b.ps are files
representing Fig. 1 in the main tex
Molecular Dynamics for Low Temperature Plasma-Surface Interaction Studies
The mechanisms of physical and chemical interactions of low temperature
plasmas with surfaces can be fruitfully explored using molecular dynamics (MD)
simulations. MD simulations follow the detailed motion of sets of interacting
atoms through integration of atomic equations of motion, using inter-atomic
potentials that can account for bond breaking and formation that result when
energetic species from the plasma impact surfaces. This article summarizes the
current status of the technique for various applications of low temperature
plasmas to material processing technologies. The method is reviewed, and
commonly used inter-atomic potentials are described. Special attention is paid
to the use of MD in understanding various representative applications,
including tetrahedral amorphous carbon film deposition from energetic carbon
ions; the interactions of radical species with amorphous hydrogenated silicon
films; silicon nano-particles in plasmas; and plasma etching.Comment: Manuscript #271801, Accepted in J. Phys. D, November 10th, 200
Game theory of mind
This paper introduces a model of βtheory of mindβ, namely, how we represent the intentions and goals of others to optimise our mutual interactions. We draw on ideas from optimum control and game theory to provide a βgame theory of mindβ. First, we consider the representations of goals in terms of value functions that are prescribed by utility or rewards. Critically, the joint value functions and ensuing behaviour are optimised recursively, under the assumption that I represent your value function, your representation of mine, your representation of my representation of yours, and so on ad infinitum. However, if we assume that the degree of recursion is bounded, then players need to estimate the opponent's degree of recursion (i.e., sophistication) to respond optimally. This induces a problem of inferring the opponent's sophistication, given behavioural exchanges. We show it is possible to deduce whether players make inferences about each other and quantify their sophistication on the basis of choices in sequential games. This rests on comparing generative models of choices with, and without, inference. Model comparison is demonstrated using simulated and real data from a βstag-huntβ. Finally, we note that exactly the same sophisticated behaviour can be achieved by optimising the utility function itself (through prosocial utility), producing unsophisticated but apparently altruistic agents. This may be relevant ethologically in hierarchal game theory and coevolution
The impact of point mutations in the human androgen receptor : classification of mutations on the basis of transcriptional activity
Peer reviewedPublisher PD
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