Towards Interoperability of Biomedical Ontologies

Report on Dagstuhl Seminar 07132, Schloss Dagstuhl, March 27-30 , 2007

Multiphoton resonances for all-optical quantum logic with multiple cavities

We develop a theory for the interaction of multilevel atoms with multimode cavities yielding cavity-enhanced multiphoton resonances. The locations of the resonances are predicted from the use of effective two- and three-level Hamiltonians. As an application we show that quantum gates can be realized when photonic qubits are encoded on the cavity modes in arrangements where ancilla atoms transit the cavity. The fidelity of operations is increased by conditional measurements on the atom and by the use of a selected, dual-rail, Hilbert space. A universal set of gates is proposed, including the Fredkin gate and iSWAP operation; the system seems promising for scalability

Source attribution of ozone in Southeast Texas before and after the Deepwater Horizon accident using satellite, sonde, surface monitor, and air mass trajectory data

Since the summer of 2004, over 300 ozonesondes have been launched from Rice University (29.7 N, 95.4 W) or the University of Houston (29.7 N, 95.3 W), each \u3c 5 km from downtown Houston. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality maintains a large database of hourly surface ozone observations in Southeast Texas. In this study, we identify the contributions to surface ozone pollution levels from natural and anthropogenic sources, both local and remote in nature. This source identification is performed two ways: 1) through an analysis of sonde data, including ozone concentrations, wind speed and direction, and relative humidity data, and 2) through an analysis that combines trajectory calculations with surface monitor data. We also examine regional changes in Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) measurements of formaldehyde and ozone from 2004 – 2010. In particular, we compare the 2010 sonde, surface monitor, and satellite data after the Deepwater Horizon accident with data from previous years to determine the impact, if any, of the large source of hydrocarbons in the Gulf of Mexico on air quality in Southeast Texas

Carvedilol: Therapeutic Application and Practice Guidelines

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90381/1/j.1875-9114.1998.tb03895.x.pd

Using a motorcycle rider behaviour questionnaire (MRBQ) to investigate the predictors of motorcyclists' crash risk

In 2005, there were over 23,000 motorcyclists (including moped riders) involved in injury road traffic crashes in Great Britain and 6,142 of these riders were killed or seriously injured (Department for Transport, 2006). In order to reduce the casualty rates it is necessary to understand why motorcycle crashes happen. The present study approached this issue by investigating the role of aberrant rider behaviour, using a Motorcycle Rider Behaviour Questionnaire (MRBQ) as a framework. The aims of the study were to test the reliability and discriminant validity of the MRBQ and to examine which MRBQ behaviours relate to crash risk. Following the Driver Behaviour Questionnaire (e.g., Reason et al., 1990), which classifies driver behaviour into a system of errors ('the failure of planned actions to achieve their intended consequences') and violations ('deliberate deviations from those practices necessary to maintain the safe operation of a potentially hazardous system'), the MRBQ measured errors and violations, but with regard to motorcycling rather than car driving (see Elliott, Baughan & Sexton, 2007). The questionnaire consisted of 43 items to measure the self-reported frequency of specific riding behaviours. The questionnaire was administered to a sample of motorcyclists via a postal survey (N = 8,666). Principal components analysis revealed a 5-factor solution (TRAFFIC ERRORS, CONTROL ERRORS, SPEED VIOLATIONS, performance of STUNTS, and use of SAFETY EQUIPMENT). Generalised linear modelling showed that, while controlling for the effects of age, experience and annual mileage, TRAFFIC ERRORS were the main predictors of crash risk. For crashes in which respondents accepted some degree of blame, CONTROL ERRORS and SPEED VIOLATIONS were also significant predictors of crash risk. Implications of the findings will be discussed in relation to deciding on which countermeasures may be most effective at reducing motorcycle casualty rates

Initial rise of bubbles in cohesive sediments by a process of viscoelastic fracture

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2011. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Geophysical Research 116 (2011): B04207, doi:10.1029/2010JB008133.An understanding of the mechanics of bubble rise in sediments is essential because of the role of bubbles in releasing methane to the atmosphere and the formation and melting of gas hydrates. Past models to describe and predict the rise of other buoyant geological bodies through a surrounding solid (e.g., magmas and hydrofractures) appear not to be applicable to bubbles in soft sediments, and this paper presents a new model for gas bubble rise in soft, fine-grained, cohesive sediments. Bubbles in such sediments are essentially “dry” (little if any free water) and grow through a process of elastic expansion and fracture that can be described using the principles of linear elastic fracture mechanics, which assume the existence of a spectrum of flaws within the sediment fabric. By extending this theory, we predict that bubbles initially rise by preferential propagation of a fracture in a (sub) vertical direction. We present a criterion for initial bubble rise. Once rise is initiated, the speed of rise is controlled by the viscoelastic response of the sediments to stress. Using this new bubble rise model, we estimate rise velocities to be of the order of centimeters per second. We again show that capillary pressure plays no substantive role in controlling bubble growth or rise.This research was funded by the U.S. Office of Naval research through grants N00014‐08‐0818 and N00014‐05‐1‐0175 (project managers J. Eckman and T. Drake). Support was also provided by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Council of Canada and by the Killam Trust

Detection of an SO2 plume over Sapporo, Japan from the eruption of Mt. Kasatochi using a balloon sounding technique

During the month of August 2008, 10 ozonesondes were launched from Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan as part of a study to examine regional pollution during the Olympic period. Seven of these soundings included a second instrument with a filter designed to remove SO2 from the intake air stream. SO2 interferes with the normal chemistry of the electrochemical cell (ECC) method for ozone detection, with the net result being that each molecule of SO2 registers as minus one molecule of O3. Thus the unfiltered sonde reports [O3] - [SO2] while the filtered sonde reports [O3]. Laboratory tests prior to launch indicate that the SO2 filter is ~87% effective, while destroying little to no O3. The difference between the filtered and unfiltered readings is ~[SO2]. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this technique in the lower and middle troposphere by examining profiles both with and without SO2 present. Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) SO2 data (Krotkov et al., 2006, 2008) and trajectories from the NASA Goddard Trajectory model (Schoeberl & Sparling, 1995) connect the SO2 detected by our balloon borne instruments over Hokkaido, Japan 21 – 22 August to the plume from the volcanic eruption of Mt. Kasatochi 7 – 9 August