3,102 research outputs found
Implementation of a Modular Growing When Required Neural Gas Architecture for Recognition of Falls
In this paper we aim for the replication of a state of the art architecture for recognition of human actions using skeleton poses obtained from a depth sensor. We review the usefulness of accurate human action recognition in the field of robotic elderly care, focusing on fall detection. We attempt fall recognition using a chained Growing When Required neural gas classifier that is fed only skeleton joints data. We test this architecture against Recurrent SOMs (RSOMs) to classify the TST Fall detection database ver. 2, a specialised dataset for fall sequences. We also introduce a simplified mathematical model of falls for easier and faster bench-testing of classification algorithms for fall detection. The outcome of classifying falls from our mathematical model was successful with an accuracy of 97.12±1.65% and from the TST Fall detection database ver. 2 with an accuracy of 90.2±2.68% when a filter was added.CNP
Chiral tunneling and the Klein paradox in graphene
The so-called Klein paradox - unimpeded penetration of relativistic particles
through high and wide potential barriers - is one of the most exotic and
counterintuitive consequences of quantum electrodynamics (QED). The phenomenon
is discussed in many contexts in particle, nuclear and astro- physics but
direct tests of the Klein paradox using elementary particles have so far proved
impossible. Here we show that the effect can be tested in a conceptually simple
condensed-matter experiment by using electrostatic barriers in single- and
bi-layer graphene. Due to the chiral nature of their quasiparticles, quantum
tunneling in these materials becomes highly anisotropic, qualitatively
different from the case of normal, nonrelativistic electrons. Massless Dirac
fermions in graphene allow a close realization of Klein's gedanken experiment
whereas massive chiral fermions in bilayer graphene offer an interesting
complementary system that elucidates the basic physics involved.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
Quantum dimer models and exotic orders
We discuss how quantum dimer models may be used to provide "proofs of
principle" for the existence of exotic magnetic phases in quantum spin systems.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Contributed talk at the PITP-Les Houches Summer
School on "Quantum Magnetism", June 200
The signalling channel of Central Bank interventions:modelling the Yen/US dollar exchange rate
This paper presents a theoretical framework analysing the signalling channel of exchange rate interventions as an informational trigger. We develop an implicit target zone framework with learning in order to model the signalling channel. The theoretical premise of the model is that interventions convey signals that communicate information about the exchange rate objectives of the central bank. The model is used to analyse the impact of Japanese FX interventions during the period 1999--2011 on the yen/US dollar dynamics
Quantum interference and Klein tunneling in graphene heterojunctions
The observation of quantum conductance oscillations in mesoscopic systems has
traditionally required the confinement of the carriers to a phase space of
reduced dimensionality. While electron optics such as lensing and focusing have
been demonstrated experimentally, building a collimated electron interferometer
in two unconfined dimensions has remained a challenge due to the difficulty of
creating electrostatic barriers that are sharp on the order of the electron
wavelength. Here, we report the observation of conductance oscillations in
extremely narrow graphene heterostructures where a resonant cavity is formed
between two electrostatically created bipolar junctions. Analysis of the
oscillations confirms that p-n junctions have a collimating effect on
ballistically transmitted carriers. The phase shift observed in the conductance
fringes at low magnetic fields is a signature of the perfect transmission of
carriers normally incident on the junctions and thus constitutes a direct
experimental observation of ``Klein Tunneling.''Comment: 13 pages and 6 figures including supplementary information. The paper
has been modified in light of new theoretical results available at
arXiv:0808.048
Higher Dimensional Cylindrical or Kasner Type Electrovacuum Solutions
We consider a D dimensional Kasner type diagonal spacetime where metric
functions depend only on a single coordinate and electromagnetic field shares
the symmetries of spacetime. These solutions can describe static cylindrical or
cosmological Einstein-Maxwell vacuum spacetimes. We mainly focus on
electrovacuum solutions and four different types of solutions are obtained in
which one of them has no four dimensional counterpart. We also consider the
properties of the general solution corresponding to the exterior field of a
charged line mass and discuss its several properties. Although it resembles the
same form with four dimensional one, there is a difference on the range of the
solutions for fixed signs of the parameters. General magnetic field vacuum
solution are also briefly discussed, which reduces to Bonnor-Melvin magnetic
universe for a special choice of the parameters. The Kasner forms of the
general solution are also presented for the cylindrical or cosmological cases.Comment: 16 pages, Revtex. Text and references are extended, Published versio
Honeybee Colony Vibrational Measurements to Highlight the Brood Cycle
Insect pollination is of great importance to crop production worldwide and honey bees are amongst its chief facilitators. Because of the decline of managed colonies, the use of sensor technology is growing in popularity and it is of interest to develop new methods which can more accurately and less invasively assess honey bee colony status. Our approach is to use accelerometers to measure vibrations in order to provide information on colony activity and development. The accelerometers provide amplitude and frequency information which is recorded every three minutes and analysed for night time only. Vibrational data were validated by comparison to visual inspection data, particularly the brood development. We show a strong correlation between vibrational amplitude data and the brood cycle in the vicinity of the sensor. We have further explored the minimum data that is required, when frequency information is also included, to accurately predict the current point in the brood cycle. Such a technique should enable beekeepers to reduce the frequency with which visual inspections are required, reducing the stress this places on the colony and saving the beekeeper time
Neurocognitive outcomes in neurofibromatosis clinical trials
Neurofibromatosis type 1 (NF1) is associated with neurocognitive deficits that can impact everyday functioning of children, adolescents, and adults with this disease. However, there is little agreement regarding measures to use as cognitive endpoints in clinical trials. This article describes the work of the Neurocognitive Committee of the Response Evaluation in Neurofibromatosis and Schwannomatosis (REiNS) International Collaboration. The goal of this committee is to identify standardized and specific cognitive assessment tools for use in NF clinical trials. The committee first identified cognitive domains relevant to NF1 and prioritized attention as the first domain of focus given prior and current trends in NF1 cognitive clinical trials. Performance measures and behavioral rating questionnaires of attention were reviewed by the group using established criteria to assess patient characteristics, psychometric properties, and feasibility. The highest rated tests underwent side-by-side comparison. The Digit Span subtest from the Wechsler scales was given the highest ratings of the performance measures due to its good psychometrics, feasibility, utility across a wide age range, and extensive use in previous research. The Conners scales achieved the highest ratings of the behavioral questionnaires for similar reasons. Future articles will focus on other cognitive domains, with the ultimate goal of achieving agreement for cognitive endpoints that can be used across NF clinical trials
Self-Affirmation Improves Problem-Solving under Stress
High levels of acute and chronic stress are known to impair problem-solving and creativity on a broad range of tasks. Despite this evidence, we know little about protective factors for mitigating the deleterious effects of stress on problem-solving. Building on previous research showing that self-affirmation can buffer stress, we tested whether an experimental manipulation of self-affirmation improves problem-solving performance in chronically stressed participants. Eighty undergraduates indicated their perceived chronic stress over the previous month and were randomly assigned to either a self-affirmation or control condition. They then completed 30 difficult remote associate problem-solving items under time pressure in front of an evaluator. Results showed that self-affirmation improved problem-solving performance in underperforming chronically stressed individuals. This research suggests a novel means for boosting problem-solving under stress and may have important implications for understanding how self-affirmation boosts academic achievement in school settings. © 2013 Creswell et al
Electron quantum metamaterials in van der Waals heterostructures
In recent decades, scientists have developed the means to engineer synthetic
periodic arrays with feature sizes below the wavelength of light. When such
features are appropriately structured, electromagnetic radiation can be
manipulated in unusual ways, resulting in optical metamaterials whose function
is directly controlled through nanoscale structure. Nature, too, has adopted
such techniques -- for example in the unique coloring of butterfly wings -- to
manipulate photons as they propagate through nanoscale periodic assemblies. In
this Perspective, we highlight the intriguing potential of designer
sub-electron wavelength (as well as wavelength-scale) structuring of electronic
matter, which affords a new range of synthetic quantum metamaterials with
unconventional responses. Driven by experimental developments in stacking
atomically layered heterostructures -- e.g., mechanical pick-up/transfer
assembly -- atomic scale registrations and structures can be readily tuned over
distances smaller than characteristic electronic length-scales (such as
electron wavelength, screening length, and electron mean free path). Yet
electronic metamaterials promise far richer categories of behavior than those
found in conventional optical metamaterial technologies. This is because unlike
photons that scarcely interact with each other, electrons in subwavelength
structured metamaterials are charged, and strongly interact. As a result, an
enormous variety of emergent phenomena can be expected, and radically new
classes of interacting quantum metamaterials designed
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