5,836 research outputs found
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FACTORS INFLUENCING ATMOSPHERIC COMPOSITION OVER SUB-ARCTIC NORTH-AMERICA DURING SUMMER
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ORIGIN OF TROPOSPHERIC NOX OVER SUB-ARCTIC EASTERN CANADA IN SUMMER
Observational constraints on Cosmic Reionization
Recent observations have set the first constraints on the epoch of
reionization (EoR), corresponding to the formation epoch of the first luminous
objects. Studies of Gunn-Peterson (GP) absorption, and related phenomena,
suggest a qualitative change in the state of the intergalactic medium (IGM) at
, indicating a rapid increase in the neutral fraction of the IGM,
from , perhaps up to
0.1, at . Conversely, transmission spikes in the GP trough, and the
evolution of the \lya galaxy luminosity function indicate at
, while the large scale polarization of the cosmic microwave
background (CMB) implies a significant ionization fraction extending to higher
redshifts, . The results suggest that reionization is less an
event than a process, with the process beginning as early as , and
with the 'percolation', or 'overlap' phase ending at . The data are
consistent with low luminosity star forming galaxies as being the dominant
sources of reionizing photons. Low frequency radio telescopes currently under
construction should be able to make the first direct measurements of HI 21cm
emission from the neutral IGM during the EoR, and upcoming measurements of
secondary CMB temperature anisotropy will provide fine details of the dynamics
of the reionized IGM.Comment: to appear in ARAA 2006, vol 44, page 415-462; latex. 84 pages. 15 fi
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SUMMERTIME PHOTOCHEMISTRY OF THE TROPOSPHERE AT HIGH NORTHERN LATITUDES
Dust-free quasars in the early Universe
The most distant quasars known, at redshifts z=6, generally have properties
indistinguishable from those of lower-redshift quasars in the rest-frame
ultraviolet/optical and X-ray bands. This puzzling result suggests that these
distant quasars are evolved objects even though the Universe was only seven per
cent of its current age at these redshifts. Recently one z=6 quasar was shown
not to have any detectable emission from hot dust, but it was unclear whether
that indicated different hot-dust properties at high redshift or if it is
simply an outlier. Here we report the discovery of a second quasar without
hot-dust emission in a sample of 21 z=6 quasars. Such apparently hot-dust-free
quasars have no counterparts at low redshift. Moreover, we demonstrate that the
hot-dust abundance in the 21 quasars builds up in tandem with the growth of the
central black hole, whereas at low redshift it is almost independent of the
black hole mass. Thus z=6 quasars are indeed at an early evolutionary stage,
with rapid mass accretion and dust formation. The two hot-dust-free quasars are
likely to be first-generation quasars born in dust-free environments and are
too young to have formed a detectable amount of hot dust around them.Comment: To be published in Nature on the 18 March 2010
Foot Bone in Vivo: Its Center of Mass and Centroid of Shape
This paper studies foot bone geometrical shape and its mass distribution and
establishes an assessment method of bone strength. Using spiral CT scanning,
with an accuracy of sub-millimeter, we analyze the data of 384 pieces of foot
bones in vivo and investigate the relationship between the bone's external
shape and internal structure. This analysis is explored on the bases of the
bone's center of mass and its centroid of shape. We observe the phenomenon of
superposition of center of mass and centroid of shape fairly precisely,
indicating a possible appearance of biomechanical organism. We investigate two
aspects of the geometrical shape, (i) distance between compact bone's centroid
of shape and that of the bone and (ii) the mean radius of the same density bone
issue relative to the bone's centroid of shape. These quantities are used to
interpret the influence of different physical exercises imposed on bone
strength, thereby contributing to an alternate assessment technique to bone
strength.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figure
Development and application of a loop-mediated isothermal amplification method for rapid detection of Haemophilus parasuis
Haemophilus parasuis is the causative agent of GlĂ€sserâs disease that has received much attention recently, due to the increasing economic losses this disease inflicts upon the pig industry worldwide. In this study, loop-mediated isothermal amplification method (LAMP) methodology was designed for diagnosing H. parasuis infections and tested against 56 clinical samples. Two sets of primers for LAMP were designed based on the H. parasuis inf B gene sequence. Target DNA was amplified and visualized on agarose gels after 50 min incubation at 63°C. The LAMP amplicon was also directly visualized in the reaction tubes by the naked eye following the addition of SYBR green I. The detection limit of the inf BLAMP method was 10 cfu mL-1, that was 10 times more sensitive than conventional PCR. Furthermore, positive rates of H. parasuis detection using inf B-LAMP were higher (46.4%, 26/56) than the rates obtained with conventional PCR (33.9%, 19/56). inf B-LAMP specificity analysis demonstrated no crossreactivity with any other swine pathogens. In conclusion, inf B-LAMP was more sensitive and faster and could be carried out in the absence of expensive equipment. Furthermore, the visual readout demonstrated great potential for the use of inf B-LAMP in the clinical detection of H. parasuis.Key words: GlĂ€sserâs disease, Haemophilus parasuis, inf B, PCR, LAM
SmartEx: a case study on user profiling and adaptation in exhibition booths
An investigation into user profiling and adaptation with exhibition booth as a case study is reported. First a review of the field of exhibitions and trade fairs and a summary introduction to adaptation and profiling are given. We then introduce three criteria for the evaluation of exhibition booth: effectiveness, efficiency and affect. Effectiveness is related the amount of information collected, efficiency is a measurement of the time taken to collect the information, and affect is the perception of the experience and the mood booth visitors have during and after their visit. We have selected these criteria to assess adaptive and profiled exhibition booths, we call smart exhibition (SmartEx). The assessment is performed with an experiment with three test conditions (non-profiled/non adaptive, profiled/non-adaptive and profiled adaptive presentations). Results of the experiment are presented along discussion. While there is significant improvements of effectiveness and efficiency between the two-first test conditions, the improvement is not significant for the last test condition, for reasons explained. As for the affect, the results show that it has an under-estimated importance in people minds and that it should be addressed more carefully
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