Single-trial event-related potential extraction through one-unit ICA-with-reference.

Objective: In recent years, ICA has been one of the more popular methods for extracting event-related potential (ERP) at the single-trial level. It is a blind source separation technique that allows the extraction of an ERP without making strong assumptions on the temporal and spatial characteristics of an ERP. However, the problem with traditional ICA is that the extraction is not direct and is time-consuming due to the need for source selection processing. In this paper, the application of an one-unit ICA-with-Reference (ICA-R), a constrained ICA method, is proposed. Approach: In cases where the time-region of the desired ERP is known a priori, this time information is utilized to generate a reference signal, which is then used for guiding the one-unit ICA-R to extract the source signal of the desired ERP directly. Main results: Our results showed that, as compared to traditional ICA, ICA-R is a more effective method for analysing ERP because it avoids manual source selection and it requires less computation thus resulting in faster ERP extraction. Significance: In addition to that, since the method is automated, it reduces the risks of any subjective bias in the ERP analysis. It is also a potential tool for extracting the ERP in online application

The influence of backward wave transmission on quantitive ultrasonic evaluation using Lamb wave propagation

In view of the various novel quantitative ultrasonic evaluation techniques developed using Lamb wave propagation, the influence of an important related phenomenon, backward transmission, is investigated in this paper. Using the discrete layer theory and a multiple integral transform method, the surface displacement and velocity responses of isotropic plates and cross-ply laminated composite plates due to the Lamb waves excited by parabolic- and piston-type transmitting transducers are evaluated. Analytical expressions for the surface displacement and velocity frequency response functions are developed. Based on this a large volume of calculations is carried out. Through examining the characteristics of the surface displacement and velocity frequency response functions and, especially, the different propagation modes’ contributions to them, the influence of the backward wave transmission related to quantitative ultrasonicnondestructive evaluation applications is discussed and some important conclusions are drawn

Citizen participation in news

The process of producing news has changed significantly due to the advent of the Web, which has enabled the increasing involvement of citizens in news production. This trend has been given many names, including participatory journalism, produsage, and crowd-sourced journalism, but these terms are ambiguous and have been applied inconsistently, making comparison of news systems difficult. In particular, it is problematic to distinguish the levels of citizen involvement, and therefore the extent to which news production has genuinely been opened up. In this paper we perform an analysis of 32 online news systems, comparing them in terms of how much power they give to citizens at each stage of the news production process. Our analysis reveals a diverse landscape of news systems and shows that they defy simplistic categorisation, but it also provides the means to compare different approaches in a systematic and meaningful way. We combine this with four case studies of individual stories to explore the ways that news stories can move and evolve across this landscape. Our conclusions are that online news systems are complex and interdependent, and that most do not involve citizens to the extent that the terms used to describe them imply

KL→γννˉK_L\to\gamma\nu\bar{\nu} in the Light Front Model

We study the CP conserving and violating contributions to the decay of \knng in the standard model. In our analysis, we use the form factors for $K\to\gamma$ transitions calculated directly in the entire physical range of momentum transfer within the light front model. We find that the branching ratios for the CP conserving and violating parts are about $1.0\times 10^{-13}$ and $1.5\times 10^{-15}$, respectively.Comment: 11 pages, 2 Figures, LaTex file, accepted for Phys. Rev.

Simulation of Guided Wave Propagation in Isotropic and Composite Structures using LISA

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97117/1/AIAA2012-1387.pd

Supermassive black holes at high redshifts

MeV blazars are the most luminous persistent sources in the Universe and emit most of their energy in the MeV band. These objects display very large jet powers and accretion luminosities and are known to host black holes with a mass often exceeding $10^9 M_{\odot}$. An MeV survey, performed by a new generation MeV telescope which will bridge the entire energy and sensitivity gap between the current generation of hard X-ray and gamma-ray instruments, will detect $>$1000 MeV blazars up to a redshift of $z=5-6$. Here we show that this would allow us: 1) to probe the formation and growth mechanisms of supermassive black holes at high redshifts, 2) to pinpoint the location of the emission region in powerful blazars, 3) to determine how accretion and black hole spin interplay to power the jet.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure. Submitted to the Astro2020 call for Science White Paper

CGRO/OSSE Observations of the Cassiopeia A Supernova Remnant

Cas A, the youngest known supernova remnant in the Galaxy and a strong radio and Xray source, was observed by OSSE July 16 - August 6, 1992. Its close distance (¸ 3 kpc) and its young age (¸ 300 yrs) make Cas A the best candidate among known supernova remnants for detecting 44 Ti fl-ray lines. We find no evidence of emission at 67.9 keV, 78.4 keV, or 1.157 MeV, the three strongest 44 Ti decay lines. From simultaneous fits to the three lines our 99% confidence upper limit to the flux in each line is 5.5Theta10 Gamma5 fl cm Gamma2 s Gamma1 . We also report upper limits for the 4.44 MeV 12 C nuclear deexcitation line, which could be produced by interactions of accelerated particles in the supernova remnant, and for the hard X-ray continuum