539 research outputs found
New model of calculating the energy transfer efficiency for the spherical theta-pinch device
Ion-beam-plasma-interaction plays an important role in the field of Warm
Dense Matter (WDM) and Inertial Confinement Fusion (ICF). A spherical theta
pinch is proposed to act as a plasma target in various applications including a
plasma stripper cell. One key parameter for such applications is the free
electron density. A linear dependency of this density to the amount of energy
transferred into the plasma from an energy storage was found by C. Teske. Since
the amount of stored energy is known, the energy transfer efficiency is a
reliable parameter for the design of a spherical theta pinch device. The
traditional two models of energy transfer efficiency are based on assumptions
which comprise the risk of systematical errors. To obtain precise results, this
paper proposes a new model without the necessity of any assumption to calculate
the energy transfer efficiency for an inductively coupled plasma device.
Further, a comparison of these three different models is given at a fixed
operation voltage for the full range of working gas pressures. Due to the
inappropriate assumptions included in the traditional models, one owns a
tendency to overestimate the energy transfer efficiency whereas the other leads
to an underestimation. Applying our new model to a wide spread set of operation
voltages and gas pressures, an overall picture of the energy transfer
efficiency results
High Speed Vision Based Automatic Inspection and Path Planning for Processing Conveyed Objects
AbstractUnder the pressure of cost reduction and productivity improvement, this paper presents a new methodology which provides a fast inspection of defective objects and generates a real time motion trajectory for processing objects being conveyed with high speed in an industrial large-scale production. The image data obtained by a multispectral imaging system is analyzed within image processing algorithms using classification methods based on support vector machine. These data provide a basis for a path planning algorithm which considers location, orientation and arrangement of defects on the conveyed objects. Selective processing tool guided by the planed path is motion controlled
A high-affinity antibody against the CSP N-terminal domain lacks Plasmodium falciparum inhibitory activity
Malaria is a global health concern and research efforts are ongoing to develop a superior vaccine to RTS,S/AS01. To guide immunogen design, we seek a comprehensive understanding of the protective humoral response against Plasmodium falciparum circumsporozoite protein (PfCSP). In contrast to the well-studied responses to the repeat region and the C-terminus, the antibody response against the N-terminal domain of PfCSP (N-CSP) remains obscure. Here, we characterized the molecular recognition and functional efficacy of the N-CSP-specific monoclonal antibody 5D5. The crystal structure at 1.85 Åresolution revealed that 5D5 binds an α-helical epitope in N-CSP with high affinity through extensive shape and charge complementarity, and the unusual utilization of an N-linked glycan. Nevertheless, functional studies indicated low 5D5 binding to live Pf sporozoites, and lack of sporozoite inhibition in vitro and in mosquitoes. Overall, our data on low recognition and inhibition of sporozoites do not support the inclusion of the 5D5 epitope into the next generation of CSP-based vaccines.Summary Statement The Plasmodium falciparum sporozoite surface protein, PfCSP, is an attractive vaccine target, but the antibody response against the CSP N-terminal domain has remained understudied. Here, to guide immunogen design, Thai et al. provide insights into the binding motif and functional efficacy of the N-terminal domain-specific monoclonal antibody, 5D5
Room temperature high frequency transport of Dirac fermions in epitaxially grown Sb_2Te_3 based topological insulators
We report on the observation of photogalvanic effects in epitaxially grown
Sb_2Te_3 three-dimensional (3D) topological insulators (TI). We show that
asymmetric scattering of Dirac electrons driven back and forth by the terahertz
electric field results in a dc electric current. Due to the "symmetry
filtration" the dc current is generated in the surface electrons only and
provides an opto-electronic access to probe the electric transport in TI,
surface domains orientation and details of electron scattering even in 3D TI at
room temperature where conventional surface electron transport is usually
hindered by the high carrier density in the bulk
Ab initio calculations of the hydrogen bond
Recent x-ray Compton scattering experiments in ice have provided useful
information about the quantum nature of the interaction between HO
monomers. The hydrogen bond is characterized by a certain amount of charge
transfer which could be determined in a Compton experiment. We use ab-initio
simulations to investigate the hydrogen bond in HO structures by
calculating the Compton profile and related quantities in three different
systems, namely the water dimer, a cluster containing 12 water molecules and
the ice crystal. We show how to extract estimates of the charge transfer from
the Compton profiles.Comment: 16 pages, 7 figures, to appear in Phys. Rev.
Image-based Remapping of Material Appearance
Digital 3D content creation requires the ability to exchange assets across multiple software applications. For many 3D asset types, standard formats and interchange conventions are available. For material definitions, however, inter-application exchange is still hampered by different software packages supporting different BRDF models. To make matters worse, even if nominally identical BRDF models are supported, these often differ in their implementation, due to optimisations and safeguards in individual renderers. To facilitate appearance-preserving translation between different BRDF models whose precise implementation is not known (arguably the standard case with commercial systems), we propose a robust translation scheme which leaves BRDF evaluation to the targeted rendering system, and which expresses BRDF similarity in image space. As we will show, even naĂŻve applications of a nonlinear fit which uses such an image space residual metric work well in some cases; however, it does suffer from instabilities for certain material parameters. We propose strategies to mitigate these instabilities and perform reliable parameter remappings between differing BRDF definitions. We report on experiences with this remapping scheme, both with respect to robustness and visual differences of the fits
Advanced perception, navigation and planning for autonomous in-water ship hull inspection
Inspection of ship hulls and marine structures using autonomous underwater vehicles has emerged as a unique and challenging application of robotics. The problem poses rich questions in physical design and operation, perception and navigation, and planning, driven by difficulties arising from the acoustic environment, poor water quality and the highly complex structures to be inspected. In this paper, we develop and apply algorithms for the central navigation and planning problems on ship hulls. These divide into two classes, suitable for the open, forward parts of a typical monohull, and for the complex areas around the shafting, propellers and rudders. On the open hull, we have integrated acoustic and visual mapping processes to achieve closed-loop control relative to features such as weld-lines and biofouling. In the complex area, we implemented new large-scale planning routines so as to achieve full imaging coverage of all the structures, at a high resolution. We demonstrate our approaches in recent operations on naval ships.United States. Office of Naval Research (Grant N00014-06-10043)United States. Office of Naval Research (Grant N00014-07-1-0791
A framework for digital sunken relief generation based on 3D geometric models
Sunken relief is a special art form of sculpture whereby the depicted shapes are sunk into a given surface. This is traditionally created by laboriously carving materials such as stone. Sunken reliefs often utilize the engraved lines or strokes to strengthen the impressions of a 3D presence and to highlight the features which otherwise are unrevealed. In other types of reliefs, smooth surfaces and their shadows convey such information in a coherent manner. Existing methods for relief generation are focused on forming a smooth surface with a shallow depth which provides the presence of 3D figures. Such methods unfortunately do not help the art form of sunken reliefs as they omit the presence of feature lines. We propose a framework to produce sunken reliefs from a known 3D geometry, which transforms the 3D objects into three layers of input to incorporate the contour lines seamlessly with the smooth surfaces. The three input layers take the advantages of the geometric information and the visual cues to assist the relief generation. This framework alters existing techniques in line drawings and relief generation, and then combines them organically for this particular purpose
The influence of Antarctic subglacial volcanism on the global iron cycle during the Last Glacial Maximum
Marine sediment records suggest that episodes of major atmospheric CO<sub>2</sub> drawdown during the last glacial period were linked to iron (Fe) fertilization of subantarctic surface waters. The principal source of this Fe is thought to be dust transported from southern mid-latitude deserts. However, uncertainty exists over contributions to CO<sub>2</sub> sequestration from complementary Fe sources, such as the Antarctic ice sheet, due to the difficulty of locating and interrogating suitable archives that have the potential to preserve such information. Here we present petrographic, geochemical and microbial DNA evidence preserved in precisely dated subglacial calcites from close to the East Antarctic Ice-Sheet margin, which together suggest that volcanically-induced drainage of Fe-rich waters during the Last Glacial Maximum could have reached the Southern Ocean. Our results support a significant contribution of Antarctic volcanism to subglacial transport and delivery of nutrients with implications on ocean productivity at peak glacial conditions
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