3,399 research outputs found
Vacuum-isolation vessel and method for measurement of thermal noise in microphones
The vacuum isolation vessel and method in accordance with the present invention are used to accurately measure thermal noise in microphones. The apparatus and method could be used in a microphone calibration facility or any facility used for testing microphones. Thermal noise is measured to determine the minimum detectable sound pressure by the microphone. Conventional isolation apparatus and methods have been unable to provide an acoustically quiet and substantially vibration free environment for accurately measuring thermal noise. In the present invention, an isolation vessel assembly comprises a vacuum sealed outer vessel, a vacuum sealed inner vessel, and an interior suspension assembly coupled between the outer and inner vessels for suspending the inner vessel within the outer vessel. A noise measurement system records thermal noise data from the isolation vessel assembly. A vacuum system creates a vacuum between an internal surface of the outer vessel and an external surface of the inner vessel. The present invention thus provides an acoustically quiet environment due to the vacuum created between the inner and outer vessels and a substantially vibration free environment due to the suspension assembly suspending the inner vessel within the outer vessel. The thermal noise in the microphone, effectively isolated according to the invention, can be accurately measured
Lateral spin-orbit interaction and spin polarization in quantum point contacts
We study ballistic transport through semiconductor quantum point contact
systems under different confinement geometries and applied fields. In
particular, we investigate how the {\em lateral} spin-orbit coupling,
introduced by asymmetric lateral confinement potentials, affects the spin
polarization of the current. We find that even in the absence of external
magnetic fields, a variable {\em non-zero spin polarization} can be obtained by
controlling the asymmetric shape of the confinement potential. These results
suggest a new approach to produce spin polarized electron sources and we study
the dependence of this phenomenon on structural parameters and applied magnetic
fields. This asymmetry-induced polarization provides also a plausible
explanation of our recent observations of a 0.5 conductance plateau (in units
of ) in quantum point contacts made on InAs quantum-well structures.
Although our estimates of the required spin-orbit interaction strength in these
systems do not support this explanation, they likely play a role in the effects
enhanced by electron-electron interactions.Comment: Summited to PRB (2009
A deep level set method for image segmentation
This paper proposes a novel image segmentation approachthat integrates fully
convolutional networks (FCNs) with a level setmodel. Compared with a FCN, the
integrated method can incorporatesmoothing and prior information to achieve an
accurate segmentation.Furthermore, different than using the level set model as
a post-processingtool, we integrate it into the training phase to fine-tune the
FCN. Thisallows the use of unlabeled data during training in a
semi-supervisedsetting. Using two types of medical imaging data (liver CT and
left ven-tricle MRI data), we show that the integrated method achieves
goodperformance even when little training data is available, outperformingthe
FCN or the level set model alone
High strength/density ratio in a syntactic foam made from one-part mix geopolymer and cenospheres
By designing a composite of one-part mix geopolymer and hollow cenospheres, a commercially viable and environmentally-friendly foam was synthesised with a high strength/density ratio. The composite is made of a dry mix powder of geopolymer source materials, sodium silicate alkali activator and cenospheres, which starts to react when mixed with water. As the geopolymer reacts and gains strength over time, the surface of the cenospheres takes part in the reaction and forms a strong bond with the binding matrix. Synchrotron-based Fourier transform infrared microspectroscopy revealed, for the first time, the chemical bonding interaction of the amorphous interfacial layer between the geopolymer and cenospheres. The resulting foam composite gained a strength of 17.5 MPa at a density of 978 kg/m3, which is noticeably higher than that of existing environmentally-friendly lightweight foams made under ambient conditions. The thermal conductivity of the foam was measured to be around 0.28 kW/mK, which is similar to that of foam concrete. This foam produced in this study is found to be lightweight, strong and possess a desirable insulating capacity, while the preparation process of the one-part mix composite is maintained simply by adding water and curing the mixture at an ambient temperature
Frustration Effects in Antiferromagnetic FCC Heisenberg Films
We study the effects of frustration in an antiferromagnetic film of FCC
lattice with Heisenberg spin model including an Ising-like anisotropy. Monte
Carlo (MC) simulations have been used to study thermodynamic properties of the
film. We show that the presence of the surface reduces the ground state (GS)
degeneracy found in the bulk. The GS is shown to depend on the surface in-plane
interaction with a critical value at which ordering of type I coexists
with ordering of type II. Near this value a reentrant phase is found. Various
physical quantities such as layer magnetizations and layer susceptibilities are
shown and discussed. The nature of the phase transition is also studied by
histogram technique. We have also used the Green's function (GF) method for the
quantum counterpart model. The results at low- show interesting effects of
quantum fluctuations. Results obtained by the GF method at high are
compared to those of MC simulations. A good agreement is observed.Comment: 11 pages, 19 figures, submitted to J. Phys.: Condensed Matte
Mobile phone-based interventions for improving contraception use (Review)
This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: To determine wheth er inter ventions delivered by mobile phone can improve contraception us
Biomarkers of Metabolism in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by the deterioration of motor neurons. However, this complex disease extends beyond the boundaries of the central nervous system, with metabolic alterations being observed at the systemic and cellular level. While the number of studies that assess the role and impact of metabolic perturbations in ALS is rapidly increasing, the use of metabolism biomarkers in ALS remains largely underinvestigated. In this review, we discuss current and potential metabolism biomarkers in the context of ALS. Of those for which data does exist, there is limited insight provided by individual markers, with specificity for disease, and lack of reproducibility and efficacy in informing prognosis being the largest drawbacks. However, given the array of metabolic markers available, the potential exists for a panel of metabolism biomarkers, which may complement other current biomarkers (including neurophysiology, imaging, as well as CSF, blood and urine markers) to overturn these limitations and give rise to new diagnostic and prognostic indicators
Re-orientation Transition in Molecular Thin Films: Potts Model with Dipolar Interaction
We study the low-temperature behavior and the phase transition of a thin film
by Monte Carlo simulation. The thin film has a simple cubic lattice structure
where each site is occupied by a Potts parameter which indicates the molecular
orientation of the site. We take only three molecular orientations in this
paper which correspond to the 3-state Potts model. The Hamiltonian of the
system includes: (i) the exchange interaction between nearest-neighbor
sites and (ii) the long-range dipolar interaction of amplitude
truncated at a cutoff distance (iii) a single-ion perpendicular
anisotropy of amplitude . We allow between surface spins, and
otherwise. We show that the ground state depends on the the ratio
and . For a single layer, for a given , there is a critical value
below (above) which the ground-state (GS) configuration of molecular axes
is perpendicular (parallel) to the film surface. When the temperature is
increased, a re-orientation transition occurs near : the low- in-plane
ordering undergoes a transition to the perpendicular ordering at a finite ,
below the transition to the paramagnetic phase. The same phenomenon is observed
in the case of a film with a thickness. We show that the surface phase
transition can occur below or above the bulk transition depending on the ratio
. Surface and bulk order parameters as well as other physical quantities
are shown and discussed.Comment: 7 pages, 11 figures, submitted for publicatio
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