Wide parameter search for isolated pulsars using the Hough transform

We use the Hough transform to analyze data from the second science run of the LIGO interferometers, to look for gravitational waves from isolated pulsars. We search over the whole sky and over a large range of frequencies and spin-down parameters. Our search method is based on the Hough transform, which is a semi-coherent, computationally efficient, and robust pattern recognition technique. We also present a validation of the search pipeline using hardware signal injections.Comment: Presented at GWDAW-9 in Annecy, France (Dec. 2004). 11 pages, 5 Figures. To appear in Classical and Quantum Gravit

Computer vision in microstructural analysis

The following is a laboratory experiment designed to be performed by advanced-high school and beginning-college students. It is hoped that this experiment will create an interest in and further understanding of materials science. The objective of this experiment is to demonstrate that the microstructure of engineered materials is affected by the processing conditions in manufacture, and that it is possible to characterize the microstructure using image analysis with a computer. The principle of computer vision will first be introduced followed by the description of the system developed at Texas A&M University. This in turn will be followed by the description of the experiment to obtain differences in microstructure and the characterization of the microstructure using computer vision

Is Internet Gaming Legal in Canada: A Look at Starnet

The development of the Internet has kindled many new business opportunities in the online environment. Despite the recent slump in online business growth and popularity, one line of online business is generating profit and growing at a rapid rate: the business of online gaming. The legality of such businesses is questionable in Canada and there are few gaming cases to assist Canadian lawyers. The following analysis must be considered in light of the dearth of jurisprudence in this area and should not be considered legal advice. This area of the law is in flux and developments may be unpredictable. When you are feeling in the dark, even a flickering candle is welcome. Therefore, a recent British Columbia online gaming prosecution, in which the accused pled guilty, is worthy of study. Though resolved by a guilty plea with little judicial reasoning, the case provides some guidance in this largely unmapped area. It confirms that in certain circumstances, there can be criminal liability in Canada for running an online gaming operation. Online gaming ventures will have to consider several factors and be mindful of how their ventures are structured in order to avoid prosecution in Canada and conform to Canadian laws

Scanning capacitance microscopy on a 25 nm scale

Journal ArticleA near-field capacitance microscope has been demonstrated on a 25 nm scale. A resonant circuit provides the means for sensing the capacitance variations between a sub-lGO-nra tip and surface with a sensitivity of 1X 10 19 F in a I kHz bandwidth. Feedback control is used to scan the tip at constant gap across a sample, providing a means of noncontact surface profiling. Images of conducting and nonconducting structures are presented

Computational Models of Miscommunication Phenomena

Miscommunication phenomena such as repair in dialogue are important indicators of the quality of communication. Automatic detection is therefore a key step toward tools that can characterize communication quality and thus help in applications from call center management to mental health monitoring. However, most existing computational linguistic approaches to these phenomena are unsuitable for general use in this way, and particularly for analyzing human–human dialogue: Although models of other-repair are common in human-computer dialogue systems, they tend to focus on specific phenomena (e.g., repair initiation by systems), missing the range of repair and repair initiation forms used by humans; and while self-repair models for speech recognition and understanding are advanced, they tend to focus on removal of “disfluent” material important for full understanding of the discourse contribution, and/or rely on domain-specific knowledge. We explain the requirements for more satisfactory models, including incrementality of processing and robustness to sparsity. We then describe models for self- and other-repair detection that meet these requirements (for the former, an adaptation of an existing repair model; for the latter, an adaptation of standard techniques) and investigate how they perform on datasets from a range of dialogue genres and domains, with promising results.EPSRC. Grant Number: EP/10383/1; Future and Emerging Technologies (FET). Grant Number: 611733; German Research Foundation (DFG). Grant Number: SCHL 845/5-1; Swedish Research Council (VR). Grant Numbers: 2016-0116, 2014-3

Body fat distribution as a risk factor for osteoporosis

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare the body fat distribution of patients with osteoporosis (GP) with that of an appropriately matched non-GP control group. Design: Case control study. Setting: Department of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Tygerberg Hospital. Participants: A total of 56 patients with histologicatly proven idiopathic GP, of whom 39 were women (mean age 61 ± 11 years) and 17 men (49 ± 15 years), were compared with 125 age- and sex-matched non-OP (confirmed by dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) subjects, 98 women (60 ± 11 years) and 27 men (51 ± 16 years). Outcome measures: Anthropometric data, including weight, height, skinfold measurements, mid-upper arm, waist and hip circumferences, as well as elbow breadth. Results: The men and women with OP were significantly shorter (P = 0.04 and P = 0.03 respectively) and of lower body mass (P = 0.04 and P = 0.02 respectively) than the control subjects, although their mean body mass indices were comparable. The OP population had significantly lower skinfold, elbow breadth and ann circumference values, although the majority of subjects in both groups fell within the 15 - 85th percentiles. Despite their lower body mass, both the OP women (P = 0.009) and men (P =0.002) had significantly higher waist/hip ratios than corresponding controls. Conclusion: Whatever the underlying pathogenesis, this new finding suggests that, should these results be confirmed by larger studies, OP can be added to the list of diseases associated with a waist fat distribution.S Afr Med J 1996; 86: 1081-108

Ethics in community nursing

The purpose of this theoretical paper is to explore the ethics in a community nursing. Nursing, a practice discipline recognizes caring, morals, and values as integral to the practice of all nurses. The ethical principles of beneficence, autonomy, advocacy, and social justice will be discussed from the lens of caring. Caring nursing theorists, such as Jean Watson, Ann Boykin, and Savina Schoenhofer, articulate the importance of understanding communities and individuals as whole and autonomous. These theorists and others challenge nursing to engage in a responsive, ethical and philosophical discourse when the community is viewed as autonomous

First VLBA Images of the Nuclei in 3CR Lobe-dominated Quasars

We report the first VLBA images of the nuclei in eight objects from the 3CR complete sample of 25 lobe-dominated quasars (LDQs): 3C 207, 3C 208, 3C 212, 3C 245, 3C 249.1, 3C 263, 3C 270.1, and 3C 275.1. These images reveal core-jet structures of considerable extent and complexity. In combination with earlier VLBI work on the 3CR LDQ sample, the partial distribution of apparent parsec-scale jet speeds for ten objects is relatively flat up to ~ 5h^(−1) c, or perhaps even ~ 10h^(−1) c. While this is not inconsistent with simple beaming models and quasar-FR II radio galaxy unification, it is crucial to obtain the complete speed distribution for truly definitive tests. Work is in progress on multi-frequency, dual-polarization, and phase-referencing VLBA observations on selected objects in the sample