3,205 research outputs found
A general multivariate latent growth model with applications in student careers Data warehouses
The evaluation of the formative process in the University system has been
assuming an ever increasing importance in the European countries. Within this
context the analysis of student performance and capabilities plays a
fundamental role. In this work we propose a multivariate latent growth model
for studying the performances of a cohort of students of the University of
Bologna. The model proposed is innovative since it is composed by: (1)
multivariate growth models that allow to capture the different dynamics of
student performance indicators over time and (2) a factor model that allows to
measure the general latent student capability. The flexibility of the model
proposed allows its applications in several fields such as socio-economic
settings in which personal behaviours are studied by using panel data.Comment: 20 page
Drop-on-demand microdroplet generation: a very stable platform for single-droplet experimentation
This paper reports the performance of drop-on-demand piezo-activated microdroplet generation investigated using microdroplet cavity enhanced fluorescence spectroscopy. Aqueous microdroplets, doped with a fluorescent dye, exhibit fluorescence spectra that are dominated by cavity resonances (termed whispering gallery modes) that, when analysed using Mie theory, allow for the determination of the radius of each microdroplet. The effect of controlled changes in the square-wave droplet generator voltage waveform on droplet size is investigated as well as the size reproducibility of successive microdroplets. Furthermore, using custom square-wave waveforms, microdroplet radii spanning ∼10 to 30 μm are produced from the same droplet dispenser. These non-standard waveforms do not sacrifice the reproducibility of microdroplet generation with \u3c1% size variation. Tuning the single square-wave pulsewidths induces predictable changes in the microdroplet radius and steps on the order of tens of nanometers are detectable. With finer voltage adjustments the microdroplet size is essentially tunable. These results confirm the extremely high stability and reproducibility of on-demand microdroplet generation and that precise size control is possible, rendering them suitable platforms for many applications in fundamental and applied research in areas including mass spectrometry, aerosol investigations and liquid-phase chemistr
Remote electronic monitoring as a potential alternative to on-board observers in small-scale fisheries
This is the final version of the article. Available from Elsevier via the DOI in this record.Small-scale fisheries can greatly impact threatened marine fauna. Peru's small-scale elasmobranch gillnet fishery captures thousands of sharks and rays each year, and incidentally captures sea turtles, marine mammals and seabirds. We assessed the ability of a dedicated fisheries remote electronic monitoring (REM) camera to identify and quantify captures in this fishery by comparing its performance to on-board observer reports. Cameras were installed across five boats with a total of 228 fishing sets monitored. Of these, 169 sets also had on-board fisheries observers present. The cameras were shown to be an effective tool for identifying catch, with > 90% detection rates for 9 of 12 species of elasmobranchs caught. Detection rates of incidental catch were more variable (sea turtle = 50%; cetacean = 80%; pinniped = 100%). The ability to quantify target catch from camera imagery degraded for fish quantities exceeding 15 individuals. Cameras were more effective at quantifying rays than sharks for small catch quantities (x ≤ 15 fish), whereas size affected camera performance for large catches (x > 15 fish). Our study showed REM to be effective in detecting and quantifying elasmobranch target catch and pinniped bycatch in Peru's small-scale fishery, but not, without modification, in detecting and quantifying sea turtle and cetacean bycatch. We showed REM can provide a time- and cost-effective method to monitor target catch in small-scale fisheries and can be used to overcome some deficiencies in observer reports. With modifications to the camera specifications, we expect performance to improve for all target catch and bycatch species.This work was supported by the Darwin Initiative Project EIDP0046 and the Whitley Fund for Nature Grant 150626 CF15. David C. Bartholomew is supported by a NERC studentship NE/L002434/1
Large enhancement of radiative strength for soft transisitons in the quasicontinuum
Radiative strength functions (RSFs) for the 56,57-Fe nuclei below the
separation energy are obtained from the 57-Fe(3-He,alpha gamma)56-Fe and
57-Fe(3-He,3-He' gamma)57-Fe reactions, respectively. An enhancement of more
than a factor of ten over common theoretical models of the soft (E_gamma ~< 2
MeV) RSF for transitions in the quasicontinuum (several MeV above the yrast
line) is observed. Two-step cascade intensities with soft primary transitions
from the 56-Fe(n,2gamma)57-Fe reaction confirm the enhancement.Comment: 4 pages including 3 figure
Critical Behavior of the Meissner Transition in the Lattice London Superconductor
We carry out Monte Carlo simulations of the three dimensional (3D) lattice
London superconductor in zero applied magnetic field, making a detailed finite
size scaling analysis of the Meissner transition. We find that the magnetic
penetration length \lambda, and the correlation length \xi, scale as \lambda ~
\xi ~ |t|^{-\nu}, with \nu = 0.66 \pm 0.03, consistent with ordinary 3D XY
universality, \nu_XY ~ 2/3. Our results confirm the anomalous scaling dimension
of magnetic field correlations at T_c.Comment: 4 pages, 5 ps figure
Vortex Interactions and Thermally Induced Crossover from Type-I to Type-II Superconductivity
We have computed the effective interaction between vortices in the
Ginzburg-Landau model from large-scale Monte-Carlo simulations, taking thermal
fluctuations of matter fields and gauge fields fully into account close to the
critical temperature. We find a change, in the form of a crossover, from
attractive to repulsive effective vortex interactions in an intermediate range
of Ginzburg-Landau parameters upon increasing
the temperature in the superconducting state. This corresponds to a thermally
induced crossover from \typeI to \typeII superconductivity around a temperature
, which we map out in the vicinity of the
metal-to-superconductor transition. In order to see this crossover, it is
essential to include amplitude fluctuations of the matter field, in addition to
phase-fluctuations and gauge-field fluctuations. We present a simple physical
picture of the crossover, and relate it to observations in \metal{Ta} and
\metal{Nb} elemental superconductors which have low-temperature values of
in the relevant range.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures. Accepted for publication in Physical Review
Evolution of level density step structures from 56,57-Fe to 96,97-Mo
Level densities have been extracted from primary gamma spectra for 56,57-Fe
and 96,97-Mo nuclei using (3-He,alpha gamma) and (3-He,3-He') reactions on
57-Fe and 97-Mo targets. The level density curves reveal step structures above
the pairing gap due to the breaking of nucleon Cooper pairs. The location of
the step structures in energy and their shapes arise from the interplay between
single-particle energies and seniority-conserving and seniority-non-conserving
interactions.Comment: 9 pages, including 5 figure
The order of the metal to superconductor transition
We present results from large-scale Monte Carlo simulations on the full
Ginzburg-Landau (GL) model, including fluctuations in the amplitude and the
phase of the matter-field, as well as fluctuations of the non-compact
gauge-field of the theory. {}From this we obtain a precise critical value of
the GL parameter \kct separating a first order metal to superconductor
transition from a second order one, \kct = (0.76\pm 0.04)/\sqrt{2}. This
agrees surprisingly well with earlier analytical results based on a disorder
theory of the superconductor to metal transition, where the value
\kct=0.798/\sqrt{2} was obtained. To achieve this, we have done careful
infinite volume and continuum limit extrapolations. In addition we offer a
novel interpretation of \kct, namely that it is also the value separating
\typeI and \typeII behaviour.<Comment: Minor corrections, present version accepted for publication in PR
Di-neutron correlation and soft dipole excitation in medium mass neutron-rich nuclei near drip-line
The neutron pairing correlation and the soft dipole excitation in medium-mass
nuclei near drip-line are investigated from a viewpoint of the di-neutron
correlation. Numerical analyses by means of the coordinate-space HFB and the
continuum QRPA methods are performed for even-even O, Ca
and Ni. A clear signature of the di-neutron correlation is found in
the HFB ground state; two neutrons are correlated at short relative distances
\lesim 2 fm with large probability . The soft dipole excitation is
influenced strongly by the neutron pairing correlation, and it accompanies a
large transition density for pair motion of neutrons. This behavior originates
from a coherent superposition of two-quasiparticle configurations consisting of continuum states with high orbital angular momenta
reaching an order of . It raises a picture that the soft dipole
excitation under the influence of neutron pairing is characterized by motion of
di-neutron in the nuclear exterior against the remaining subsystem.
Sensitivity to the density dependence of effective pair force is discussed.Comment: 35 pages, 22 figure
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