23,493 research outputs found
Advancing Learner Autonomy in Tefl Via Collaborative Learning
Learner autonomy has been defined as \u27a capacity to control important aspects of one\u27s learning\u27(Benson, 2013, p. 852). In the teaching of additional languages, learner autonomy dates back at least to the 1970s. For instance, Trim, who was a leader in the teaching of additional languages in Europe, stated that a goal of language education was to:
make the process of language learning more democratic by providing the con- ceptual tools for the planning, construction and conduct of courses closely geared to the needs, motivations and characteristics of the learner and enabling him [sic] so far as possible to steer and control his own progress. (1978, p. 1
The synthesis of optimal controls for linear problems with retarded controls
Synthesis of optimal controls for linear systems with retarded control
Engineering Quantum States, Nonlinear Measurements, and Anomalous Diffusion by Imaging
We show that well-separated quantum superposition states, measurements of
strongly nonlinear observables, and quantum dynamics driven by anomalous
diffusion can all be achieved for single atoms or molecules by imaging
spontaneous photons that they emit via resonance florescence. To generate
anomalous diffusion we introduce continuous measurements driven by L\'evy
processes, and prove a number of results regarding their properties. In
particular we present strong evidence that the only stable L\'evy density that
can realize a strictly continuous measurement is the Gaussian.Comment: revtex4-1, 17 pages, 7 eps figure
Radiometric temperature analysis of the Hayabusa spacecraft re-entry
Hayabusa, an unmanned Japanese spacecraft, was launched to study and collect samples from the surface of the asteroid 25143 Itokawa. In June 2010, the Hayabusa spacecraft completed it’s seven year voyage. The spacecraft and the sample return capsule (SRC) re-entered the Earth’s atmosphere over the central Australian desert at speeds on the order of 12 km/s. This provided a rare opportunity to experimentally investigate the radiative heat transfer from the shock-compressed gases in front of the sample return capsule at true-flight conditions. This paper reports on the results of observations from a tracking camera situated on the ground about 100 km from where the capsule experienced peak heating during re-entry
Magnetic structures of RbCuCl_3 in a transverse field
A recent high-field magnetization experiment found a phase transition of
unknown character in the layered, frustrated antiferromagnet RbCuCl_3, in a
transverse field (in the layers). Motivated by these results, we have examined
the magnetic structures predicted by a model of RbCuCl_3, using the classical
approximation. At small fields, we obtain the structure already known to be
optimal, an incommensurate (IC) spiral with wave vector q in the layers. At
higher fields, we find a staircase of long-period commensurate (C) phases
(separated initially by the low-field IC phase), then two narrow IC phases,
then a fourth IC phase (also with intermediate C phases), and finally the
ferromagnetically aligned phase at the saturation field H_S. The
three-sublattice C states familiar from the theory of the triangular
antiferromagnet are never optimal. The C phases and the two intermediate IC
phases were previously unknown in this context. The magnetization is
discontinuous at a field \approx 0.4H_S, in qualitative agreement with
experiment, though we find much fine structure not reported.Comment: 9 pages, 8 figure
Phonon number quantum jumps in an optomechanical system
We describe an optomechanical system in which the mean phonon number of a
single mechanical mode conditionally displaces the amplitude of the optical
field. Using homodyne detection of the output field we establish the conditions
under which phonon number quantum jumps can be inferred from the measurement
record: both the cavity damping rate and the measurement rate of the phonon
number must be much greater than the thermalization rate of the mechanical
mode. We present simulations of the conditional dynamics of the measured system
using the stochastic master equation. In the good-measurement limit, the
conditional evolution of the mean phonon number shows quantum jumps as phonons
enter and exit the mechanical resonator via the bath.Comment: 13 pages, 4 figures. minor revisions since first versio
In vivo Detection of Hyperoxia-induced Pulmonary Endothelial Cell Death Using \u3csup\u3e99m\u3c/sup\u3eTc-Duramycin
Introduction 99mTc-duramycin, DU, is a SPECT biomarker of tissue injury identifying cell death. The objective of this study is to investigate the potential of DU imaging to quantify capillary endothelial cell death in rat lung injury resulting from hyperoxia exposure as a model of acute lung injury. Methods Rats were exposed to room air (normoxic) or \u3e 98% O2 for 48 or 60 hours. DU was injected i.v. in anesthetized rats, scintigraphy images were acquired at steady-state, and lung DU uptake was quantified from the images. Post-mortem, the lungs were removed for histological studies. Sequential lung sections were immunostained for caspase activation and endothelial and epithelial cells. Results Lung DU uptake increased significantly (p \u3c 0.001) by 39% and 146% in 48-hr and 60-hr exposed rats, respectively, compared to normoxic rats. There was strong correlation (r2 = 0.82, p = 0.005) between lung DU uptake and the number of cleaved caspase 3 (CC3) positive cells, and endothelial cells accounted for more than 50% of CC3 positive cells in the hyperoxic lungs. Histology revealed preserved lung morphology through 48 hours. By 60 hours there was evidence of edema, and modest neutrophilic infiltrate. Conclusions Rat lung DU uptake in vivo increased after just 48 hours of \u3e 98% O2 exposure, prior to the onset of any substantial evidence of lung injury. These results suggest that apoptotic endothelial cells are the primary contributors to the enhanced DU lung uptake, and support the utility of DU imaging for detecting early endothelial cell death in vivo
Conditions for the Quantum to Classical Transition: Trajectories vs. Phase Space Distributions
We contrast two sets of conditions that govern the transition in which
classical dynamics emerges from the evolution of a quantum system. The first
was derived by considering the trajectories seen by an observer (dubbed the
``strong'' transition) [Bhattacharya, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 85: 4852
(2000)], and the second by considering phase-space densities (the ``weak''
transition) [Greenbaum, et al., Chaos 15, 033302 (2005)]. On the face of it
these conditions appear rather different. We show, however, that in the
semiclassical regime, in which the action of the system is large compared to
, and the measurement noise is small, they both offer an essentially
equivalent local picture. Within this regime, the weak conditions dominate
while in the opposite regime where the action is not much larger than Planck's
constant, the strong conditions dominate.Comment: 8 pages, 2 eps figure
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