Geometric Algebra: An Introduction with Applications in Euclidean and Conformal Geometry

This thesis presents an introduction to geometric algebra for the uninitiated. It contains examples of how some of the more traditional topics of mathematics can be reexpressed in terms of geometric algebra along with proofs of several important theorems from geometry. We introduce the conformal model. This is a current topic among researchers in geometric algebra as it is finding wide applications in computer graphics and robotics. The appendices provide a list of some of the notational conventions used in the literature, a reference list of formulas and identities used in geometric algebra along with some of their derivations, and a glossary of terms

Exploring the past with Google Cardboard

Combining digital reconstruction with mobile technologies has the potential of enriching visitors experience to historic sites. Through designing a mobile App with Google Cardboard it is possible to use technology already in peoples' pockets to provide immersive on-site exploration of historic sites. This paper looks at our experience in developing such a mobile App which acts as a digital guided tour of the remains of St Andrews Cathedral. The App brings together traditional media such as audio, images, panoramas, 3D video and 4π Steradian (or 360°) video with a mobile smartphone and Google Cardboard to provide a tour of one of Scotland's most important historic sites. The mobile App is available from both Google Play and iTunes, providing direct delivery to a potential audience of millions. It complements the location-aware mediaeval St Andrews App, which provides a guided tour to the town of St Andrews as a whole. In the absence of Google Cardboard the App is still useful providing both visual content and audio commentary on this historic monument.Postprin

More than BRIC-a-Brac: Testing Chinese Exceptionalism in Patenting Behavior Using Comparative Empirical Analysis

Although many developing economies are increasingly influencing the global economy, China’s influence has been the greatest of these by far. Once hindered from competition by political and economic restrictions, China is now a major economic player. As China’s economic might has grown, so too has the demand for intellectual property protection for technologies originating from China. In this article, we present a detailed empirical study of Chinese patenting trends in the United States and the implications of these trends for the global economy. We compare these trends to patenting trends from earlier decades. Specifically, we compare Chinese patenting trends to Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Russia, and India. We study how patent allowance rates for Chinese patent applications at the United States Patent and Trademark Office have improved, and how these allowance rates compare to allowance rates in earlier “boom” periods from other East Asian countries. While many believe that China is an exception in many respects, we find that patents for innovations originating from China seem to track a well-trodden path laid down by countries like South Korea in earlier decades. As a historical matter, we show empirically that China’s patenting trend is not unique. It is instead strikingly similar to the patenting trends of other Far East Asian countries whose inventors have applied for patents in the United States. In other words, Chinese innovation is moving up the value chain in product development much like other Far East Asian countries have done in the past. We also find that China appears to be setting itself apart from other BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries in successfully seeking patent protection for technological innovation and in producing products with higher levels of technological sophistication and innovation. Our empirical results can be largely explained by four factors. First, our work underscores the role of foreign direct investments by multinational corporations in China; foreign direct investments are a major factor driving U.S. patent filings from China. Second, Chinese government policies have promoted patent protection and aligned Chinese patent office procedures with the procedures of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Third, investment in research and development in China by both domestic and foreign entities has increased significantly. Fourth, the Chinese government has committed to moving up the value chain in products and services

More than BRIC-a-Brac: Testing Chinese Exceptionalism in Patenting Behavior Using Comparative Empirical Analysis

Although many developing economies are increasingly influencing the global economy, China’s influence has been the greatest of these by far. Once hindered from competition by political and economic restrictions, China is now a major economic player. As China’s economic might has grown, so too has the demand for intellectual property protection for technologies originating from China. In this article, we present a detailed empirical study of Chinese patenting trends in the United States and the implications of these trends for the global economy. We compare these trends to patenting trends from earlier decades. Specifically, we compare Chinese patenting trends to Japan, South Korea, Brazil, Russia, and India. We study how patent allowance rates for Chinese patent applications at the United States Patent and Trademark Office have improved, and how these allowance rates compare to allowance rates in earlier “boom” periods from other East Asian countries. While many believe that China is an exception in many respects, we find that patents for innovations originating from China seem to track a well-trodden path laid down by countries like South Korea in earlier decades. As a historical matter, we show empirically that China’s patenting trend is not unique. It is instead strikingly similar to the patenting trends of other Far East Asian countries whose inventors have applied for patents in the United States. In other words, Chinese innovation is moving up the value chain in product development much like other Far East Asian countries have done in the past. We also find that China appears to be setting itself apart from other BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) countries in successfully seeking patent protection for technological innovation and in producing products with higher levels of technological sophistication and innovation. Our empirical results can be largely explained by four factors. First, our work underscores the role of foreign direct investments by multinational corporations in China; foreign direct investments are a major factor driving U.S. patent filings from China. Second, Chinese government policies have promoted patent protection and aligned Chinese patent office procedures with the procedures of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Third, investment in research and development in China by both domestic and foreign entities has increased significantly. Fourth, the Chinese government has committed to moving up the value chain in products and services

Sulphur-isotope compositions of pig tissues from a controlled feeding study

Sulphur-isotope determinations are becoming increasingly useful for palaeodietary reconstruction, but knowledge of isotopic discrimination between diet and various tissues remains inadequate. In this study, we explore the sensitivity of δ34Stissue values to changes in δ34Sdiet values, sulphur isotopic discrimination between diet and consumer, and the potential impact of terrestrial vs. marine protein consumption on these discrimination offsets. We present new δ34S values of bone collagen, muscle, liver, hair, milk and faeces from ten mature sows, ten piglets and fifteen adolescent pigs from a controlled feeding study. The δ34Stissue values were found to co-vary with the δ34Sdiet values, the δ34Stissue – δ34Sdiet isotopic offsets (Δ34Stissue-diet) are small but consistent, and dietary protein source does not systematically alter the Δ34Stissue-diet isotopic discrimination. The outcomes of this study are of particular relevance to questions that are difficult to resolve using carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes alone, and will also be useful in regions where terrestrial, freshwater, and marine resources could have all potentially contributed to human diet

Improving Resolution and Understanding Controls on GPR Response in Carbonate Strata: Implications for Attribute Analysis

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from "http://mr.crossref.org".For more than a decade, environmental, engineering, groundwater, and shallow stratigraphic studies have demonstrated and advanced the usefulness of ground-penetrating radar (GPR) in lithified and unconsolidated sedimentary deposits (e.g., see Neal, 2004 and references therein). Despite the advances, important questions still remain on factors that control the actual appearance and characteristics of GPR reflections and diffractions in any given setting. ?? 2007 Society of Exploration Geophysicists

Age effects and the influence of varying proportions of terrestrial and marine dietary protein on the stable nitrogen-isotope compositions of pig bone collagen and soft tissues from a controlled feeding experiment

In this study, femoral collagen, rib collagen, femoral muscle, loin muscle and liver samples from sows, piglets and pigs raised in a controlled feeding study are analysed for their nitrogen-isotope compositions. The objectives of this research are to investigate the relationship between tissue and dietary δ15N values across age categories under controlled feeding and housing conditions, and to assess tissue 15N-enrichment relative to diet when pigs of different ages are consuming terrestrial, marine, or mixed terrestrial-marine dietary protein. There is a strong linear relationship between all tissue δ15N values and the amount of marine protein consumed, but the δ15N values do not become consistently elevated for all individuals consuming the same diet until at least 25% of the dietary protein source is marine-derived. Adolescent pigs also had consistently lower δ15N values than either piglets or sows consuming the same diet for collagen and muscle, which is most likely caused by the differences in growth rate among the age categories. Further, for some tissues and animals, a linear relationship between the amount of marine protein consumed and the Δ15NTissue – Whole Diet offset was also observed. We suggest that this variability results from both age-associated growth rates and differential incorporation of amino acids from terrestrial and marine dietary protein into rapidly growing tissue

Lipoprotein lipase regulates hematopoietic stem progenitor cell maintenance through DHA supply.

Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) mediates hydrolysis of triglycerides (TGs) to supply free fatty acids (FFAs) to tissues. Here, we show that LPL activity is also required for hematopoietic stem progenitor cell (HSPC) maintenance. Knockout of Lpl or its obligatory cofactor Apoc2 results in significantly reduced HSPC expansion during definitive hematopoiesis in zebrafish. A human APOC2 mimetic peptide or the human very low-density lipoprotein, which carries APOC2, rescues the phenotype in apoc2 but not in lpl mutant zebrafish. Creating parabiotic apoc2 and lpl mutant zebrafish rescues the hematopoietic defect in both. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) is identified as an important factor in HSPC expansion. FFA-DHA, but not TG-DHA, rescues the HSPC defects in apoc2 and lpl mutant zebrafish. Reduced blood cell counts are also observed in Apoc2 mutant mice at the time of weaning. These results indicate that LPL-mediated release of the essential fatty acid DHA regulates HSPC expansion and definitive hematopoiesis

An X-Ray View of the Jet-Cycle in the Radio Loud AGN 3C120

We present a study of the central engine in the broad-line radio galaxy 3C120 using a multi-epoch analysis of a deep XMM-Newton observation and two deep Suzaku pointings (in 2012). In order to place our spectral data into the context of the disk-disruption/jet-ejection cycles displayed by this object, we monitor the source in the UV/X-ray bands, and in the radio band. We find three statistically acceptable spectral models, a disk-reflection model, a jet-model and a jet+disk model. Despite being good descriptions of the data, the disk-reflection model violates the radio constraints on the inclination, and the jet-model has a fine-tuning problem, requiring a jet contribution exceeding that expected. Thus, we argue for a composite jet+disk model. Within the context of this model, we verify the basic predictions of the jet-cycle paradigm, finding a truncated/refilling disk during the Suzaku observations and a complete disk extending down to the innermost stable circular orbit (ISCO) during the XMM-Newton observation. The idea of a refilling disk is further supported by the detection of the ejection of a new jet knot approximately one month after the Suzaku pointings. We also discover a step-like event in one of the Suzaku pointings in which the soft band lags the hard band. We suggest that we are witnessing the propagation of a disturbance from the disk into the jet on a timescale set by the magnetic field.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in Ap