Apparatus for producing high purity silicon carbide crystals Patent

Device for producing high purity silicon carbide on carbon base by hydrogen reduction of silicon tetrachlorid

Method of coating carbonaceous base to prevent oxidation destruction and coated base Patent

Vapor deposited laminated nitride-silicon coating for corrosion prevention of carbonaceous surface

A middleware for a large array of cameras

Large arrays of cameras are increasingly being employed for producing high quality image sequences needed for motion analysis research. This leads to the logistical problem with coordination and control of a large number of cameras. In this paper, we used a lightweight multi-agent system for coordinating such camera arrays. The agent framework provides more than a remote sensor access API. It allows reconfigurable and transparent access to cameras, as well as software agents capable of intelligent processing. Furthermore, it eases maintenance by encouraging code reuse. Additionally, our agent system includes an automatic discovery mechanism at startup, and multiple language bindings. Performance tests showed the lightweight nature of the framework while validating its correctness and scalability. Two different camera agents were implemented to provide access to a large array of distributed cameras. Correct operation of these camera agents was confirmed via several image processing agents

Sustainable energy for all

The UN Secretary General established the Sustainable Energy for All Initiative in order to guide and support efforts to achieve universal access to modern energy, rapidly increase energy efficiency, and expand the use of renewable energies. The High-Level Group, which leads the Initiative, formed Task Forces involving prominent energy leaders and experts from business, government, academia and civil society worldwide. The goal of the Task Forces is to inform the implementation of the Initiative by identifying challenges and opportunities for achieving its objectives. This report contains the findings of the Task Force Two dedicated to energy efficiency and renewable energy objectives. It convincingly shows that doubling the rate of energy efficiency improvements and doubling the share of energy from renewable sources by 2030 is challenging but feasible if sufficient actions are implemented. Strong and well-informed government policies as well as extensive private investment should focus on "high impact areas" identified by Task Force Two. We would like to thank the authors and the members of Task Force Two for their dedicated work and wish the readers to incorporate the findings and the recommendations of the report into their policy, commercial, research, educational or other work, thus making a contribution toward a sustainable energy future

“I’m Running So You Can Be Happy and I Can Keep My Scholarship”: A Comparative Study of Black Male College Athletes’ Experiences With Role Conflict

The purpose of this study was to examine the experiences of two groups of Black male college athletes at a Division I historically White institution (HWI) to better understand the key contributors that influenced their academic performance levels, academic engagement, and the quality of their overall college experiences. Two focus groups were conducted with 10 Black male college athletes enrolled at a Division I HWI and a demographic questionnaire was administered to ascertain a better understanding of their personal backgrounds, college academic experiences, and college athletic experiences. Role theory was incorporated as a theoretical lens to investigate the participants’ identity salience, role commitments, and overall college experiences. Findings revealed participants from each group shared common experiences encountering role conflict. However, the coping strategies and academic performance outcomes varied between each group. Implications for policy and practice are discussed

CMB likelihood approximation by a Gaussianized Blackwell-Rao estimator

We introduce a new CMB temperature likelihood approximation called the Gaussianized Blackwell-Rao (GBR) estimator. This estimator is derived by transforming the observed marginal power spectrum distributions obtained by the CMB Gibbs sampler into standard univariate Gaussians, and then approximate their joint transformed distribution by a multivariate Gaussian. The method is exact for full-sky coverage and uniform noise, and an excellent approximation for sky cuts and scanning patterns relevant for modern satellite experiments such as WMAP and Planck. A single evaluation of this estimator between l=2 and 200 takes ~0.2 CPU milliseconds, while for comparison, a single pixel space likelihood evaluation between l=2 and 30 for a map with ~2500 pixels requires ~20 seconds. We apply this tool to the 5-year WMAP temperature data, and re-estimate the angular temperature power spectrum, $C_{\ell}$, and likelihood, L(C_l), for l<=200, and derive new cosmological parameters for the standard six-parameter LambdaCDM model. Our spectrum is in excellent agreement with the official WMAP spectrum, but we find slight differences in the derived cosmological parameters. Most importantly, the spectral index of scalar perturbations is n_s=0.973 +/- 0.014, 1.9 sigma away from unity and 0.6 sigma higher than the official WMAP result, n_s = 0.965 +/- 0.014. This suggests that an exact likelihood treatment is required to higher l's than previously believed, reinforcing and extending our conclusions from the 3-year WMAP analysis. In that case, we found that the sub-optimal likelihood approximation adopted between l=12 and 30 by the WMAP team biased n_s low by 0.4 sigma, while here we find that the same approximation between l=30 and 200 introduces a bias of 0.6 sigma in n_s.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Ap

Production of high purity silicon carbide Patent

Producing high purity silicon carbide on carbon base by hydrogen reduction of silicon tetrachlorid

Risk factors associated with Rift Valley fever epidemics in South Africa in 2008-11.

Rift Valley fever (RVF) is a zoonotic and vector-borne disease, mainly present in Africa, which represents a threat to human health, animal health and production. South Africa has experienced three major RVF epidemics (1950-51, 1973-75 and 2008-11). Due to data scarcity, no previous study has quantified risk factors associated with RVF epidemics in animals in South Africa. Using the 2008-11 epidemic datasets, a retrospective longitudinal study was conducted to identify and quantify spatial and temporal environmental factors associated with RVF incidence. Cox regressions with a Besag model to account for the spatial effects were fitted to the data. Coefficients were estimated by Bayesian inference using integrated nested Laplace approximation. An increase in vegetation density was the most important risk factor until 2010. In 2010, increased temperature was the major risk factor. In 2011, after the large 2010 epidemic wave, these associations were reversed, potentially confounded by immunity in animals, probably resulting from earlier infection and vaccination. Both vegetation density and temperature should be considered together in the development of risk management strategies. However, the crucial need for improved access to data on population at risk, animal movements and vaccine use is highlighted to improve model predictions