3,162 research outputs found
Correlation of electrical conductivity and radiation-induced free radical concentration in poly/ethylene terephthalate/ and related compounds
Gamma and ultraviolet radiation effects on electronic properties of polyethylene terephthalate and related compound
Mo Músaem Fíorúil: a web-based search and information service for museum visitors
Abstract. We describe the prototype of an interactive, web-based, museum artifact search and information service. Mo Músaem Fíorúil clusters and indexes images of museum artifacts taken by visitors to the museum where the images are captured using a passive capture device such as Microsoft's SenseCam [1]. The system also matches clustered artifacts to images of the same artifact from the museums o cial photo collection and allows the user to view images of the same artifact taken by other visitors to the museum. This matching process potentially allows the system to provide more detailed information about a particular artifact to the user based on their inferred preferences, thereby greatly enhancing the user's overall museum experience. In this work, we introduce the system and describe, in broad terms, it's overall functionality and use. Using different image sets of artificial museum objects, we also describe experiments and results carried out in relation to the artifact matching component of the system
Immunization of Mice with Anthrax Protective Antigen Limits Cardiotoxicity but Not Hepatotoxicity Following Lethal Toxin Challenge
Protective immunity against anthrax is inferred from measurement of vaccine antigen-specific neutralizing antibody titers in serum samples. In animal models, in vivo challenges with toxin and/or spores can also be performed. However, neither of these approaches considers toxin-induced damage to specific organ systems. It is therefore important to determine to what extent anthrax vaccines and existing or candidate adjuvants can provide organ-specific protection against intoxication. We therefore compared the ability of Alum, CpG DNA and the CD1d ligand alpha-galactosylceramide (alphaGC) to enhance protective antigen-specific antibody titers, to protect mice against challenge with lethal toxin, and to block cardiotoxicity and hepatotoxicity. By measurement of serum cardiac Troponin I (cTnI), and hepatic alanine aminotransferase (ALT), and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), it was apparent that neither vaccine modality prevented hepatic intoxication, despite high Ab titers and ultimate survival of the subject. In contrast, cardiotoxicity was greatly diminished by prior immunization. This shows that a vaccine that confers survival following toxin exposure may still have an associated morbidity. We propose that organ-specific intoxication should be monitored routinely during research into new vaccine modalities
Managed moves: schools collaborating for collective gain
Government guidance in the United Kingdom encourages groups of schools to take collective responsibility for supporting and making provision for excluded pupils and those at risk of exclusion. Managed-moves are one way that some schools and authorities are enacting such guidance. This paper presents the results of an evaluation of one such scheme. The scheme, involving seven neighbouring secondary schools, was nearing its first year of completion. The paper draws primarily on interview data with pupils, parents and school staff to describe a number of positive outcomes associated with the scheme and to explore how these were achieved. We found that while some of these could be attributed directly to the managed-move, others arose from the more inclusive ethos and practices of particular schools. The concepts of tailored support, care and commitment emerged as strong themes that underpinned the various practical ways in which some schools in the cluster were able to re-engage 'at-risk' pupils. As managed moves become more widely practiced it will be important to remember that it is how the move proceeds and develops rather than the move itself that will ultimately make the difference for troubled and troublesome pupils
Towards Contextual Action Recognition and Target Localization with Active Allocation of Attention
Exploratory gaze movements are fundamental for gathering the most relevant information regarding the partner during social interactions. We have designed and implemented a system for dynamic attention allocation which is able to actively control gaze movements during a visual action recognition task. During the observation of a partners reaching movement, the robot is able to contextually estimate the goal position of the partner hand and the location in space of the candidate targets, while moving its gaze around with the purpose of optimizing the gathering of information relevant for the task. Experimental results on a simulated environment show that active gaze control provides a relevant advantage with respect to typical passive observation, both in term of estimation precision and of time required for action recognition. © 2012 Springer-Verlag
Adaptive Optics Images of Kepler Objects of Interest
All transiting planets are at risk of contamination by blends with nearby,
unresolved stars. Blends dilute the transit signal, causing the planet to
appear smaller than it really is, or produce a false positive detection when
the target star is blended with eclipsing binary stars. This paper reports on
high spatial-resolution adaptive optics images of 90 Kepler planetary
candidates. Companion stars are detected as close as 0.1 arcsec from the target
star. Images were taken in the near-infrared (J and Ks bands) with ARIES on the
MMT and PHARO on the Palomar Hale 200-inch. Most objects (60%) have at least
one star within 6 arcsec separation and a magnitude difference of 9. Eighteen
objects (20%) have at least one companion within 2 arcsec of the target star; 6
companions (7%) are closer than 0.5 arcsec. Most of these companions were
previously unknown, and the associated planetary candidates should receive
additional scrutiny. Limits are placed on the presence of additional companions
for every system observed, which can be used to validate planets statistically
using the BLENDER method. Validation is particularly critical for low-mass,
potentially Earth-like worlds, which are not detectable with current-generation
radial velocity techniques. High-resolution images are thus a crucial component
of any transit follow-up program.Comment: 9 pages, 4 figures, accepted to A
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