Investigation of top mass measurements with the ATLAS detector at LHC

Several methods for the determination of the mass of the top quark with the ATLAS detector at the LHC are presented. All dominant decay channels of the top quark can be explored. The measurements are in most cases dominated by systematic uncertainties. New methods have been developed to control those related to the detector. The results indicate that a total error on the top mass at the level of 1 GeV should be achievable.Comment: 47 pages, 40 figure

Forming norms: informing diagnosis and management in sports medicine

Clinicians aim to identify abnormalities, and distinguish harmful from harmless abnormalities. In sports medicine, measures of physical function such as strength, balance and joint flexibility are used as diagnostic tools to identify causes of pain and disability and monitor progression in response to an intervention. Comparing results from clinical measures against ‘normal’ values guides decision-making regarding health outcomes. Understanding ‘normal’ is therefore central to appropriate management of disease and disability. However, ‘normal’ is difficult to clarify and definitions are dependent on context. ‘Normal’ in the clinical setting is best understood as an appropriate state of physical function. Particularly as disease, pain and sickness are expected occurrences of being human, understanding ‘normal’ at each stage of the lifespan is essential to avoid the medicalisation of usual life processes. Clinicians use physical measures to assess physical function and identify disability. Accurate diagnosis hinges on access to ‘normal’ reference values for such measures. However our knowledge of ‘normal’ for many clinical measures in sports medicine is limited. Improved knowledge of normal physical function across the lifespan will assist greatly in the diagnosis and management of pain, disease and disability

Spectral UV measurements in Austria from 1994 to 2006: investigations of short- and long-term changes

The influence of variability of atmospheric parameters on short- and long-term changes of spectral UV irradiance measured at the Sonnblick observatory (47.03° N, 12.57° E, 3106 m) during the period from 1994 to 2006 is studied. Measurements were performed with the Brewer #093 single-monochromator spectrophotometer and with a Bentham DM 150 spectroradiometer (double-monochromator). <br> <br> The influence of ozone, albedo, snowline and clouds on UV variability is evaluated for each parameter separately using 10-year climatology. It is found that the effect of total ozone on short-term variability of UV irradiance at 305 nm can be more than 200% and on average more than 50%. Clouds can cause variability of 150% or more and on average 35%. Variability caused by albedo reaches a maximum of 32% in April (6% on average). In summer and autumn, total ozone and clouds strongly influence the variability of UV radiation, whereas in winter and spring ozone has the more pronounced effect. A decrease in snowline height from 3000 m to 800 m a.s.l. enhances the UV irradiance by a factor of 1.24 for clear sky conditions and by a factor of 1.7 for 8/8 cloud cover. <br> <br> Long-term trends are investigated for the time period from 1994 to 2006 based on clear-sky measurements, using the non-parametric Mann-Kendall trend test. Significant downward trends (99% confidence level) are found for solar zenith angle 55° at wavelengths from 305 nm to 324 nm and erythemally weighted irradiance according to CIE, which are caused by an increase in sunshine duration during periods of high total column ozone. Significant trends (90% confidence level) were also found for other combinations of wavelength and SZA

Asymptotic Level Density of the Elastic Net Self-Organizing Feature Map

Whileas the Kohonen Self Organizing Map shows an asymptotic level density following a power law with a magnification exponent 2/3, it would be desired to have an exponent 1 in order to provide optimal mapping in the sense of information theory. In this paper, we study analytically and numerically the magnification behaviour of the Elastic Net algorithm as a model for self-organizing feature maps. In contrast to the Kohonen map the Elastic Net shows no power law, but for onedimensional maps nevertheless the density follows an universal magnification law, i.e. depends on the local stimulus density only and is independent on position and decouples from the stimulus density at other positions.Comment: 8 pages, 10 figures. Link to publisher under http://link.springer.de/link/service/series/0558/bibs/2415/24150939.ht

3D-4D Interlinkage Of qqq Wave Functions Under 3D Support For Pairwise Bethe-Salpeter Kernels

Using the method of Green's functions within a Bethe-Salpeter framework characterized by a pairwise qq interaction with a Lorentz-covariant 3D support to its kernel, the 4D BS wave function for a system of 3 identical relativistic spinless quarks is reconstructed from the corresponding 3D form which satisfies a fully connected 3D BSE. This result is a 3-body generalization of a similar 2-body result found earlier under identical conditions of a 3D support to the corresponding qq-bar BS kernel under Covariant Instaneity (CIA for short). (The generalization from spinless to fermion quarks is straightforward). To set the CIA with 3D BS kernel support ansatz in the context of contemporary approaches to the qqq baryon problem, a model scalar 4D qqq BSE with pairwise contact interactions to simulate the NJL-Faddeev equations is worked out fully, and a comparison of both vertex functions shows that the CIA vertex reduces exactly to the NJL form in the limit of zero spatial range. This consistency check on the CIA vertex function is part of a fuller accounting for its mathematical structure whose physical motivation is traceable to the role of `spectroscopy' as an integral part of the dynamics.Comment: 20 pages, Latex, submitted via the account of K.-C. Yan

Attachment and mentalization as predictors of outcome in family therapy for adolescent anorexia nervosa

Anorexia nervosa-focussed family therapy (FT-AN) is the first-line treatment for adolescent anorexia nervosa (AN), but the predictors of poor treatment response are not well understood. The main aim of this study was to investigate the role of attachment and mentalization in predicting treatment outcome. The secondary aims of the study were to investigate therapeutic alliance at 1 month as a predictor of outcome, and to test the associations between alliance and baseline attachment and mentalization. 192 adolescents with AN and their parents were recruited as they began family therapy in out-patient specialist eating disorder services. Self-report measures of attachment, mentalization, and emotion regulation were completed at the start of treatment by adolescent patients and one of their parents. Self-reported alliance scores were collected at one month. Higher scores on the Certainty Scale of the Reflective Functioning Questionnaire, completed by parents, which indicate over-certainty about mental states, were the strongest predictor of poor outcome (Odds Ratio: 0.42, CI: 0.20–0.87). Similarly, for adolescents, higher Lack of Clarity scores on the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale, representing being unclear about one’s feelings, were predictive of positive treatment outcome (OR: 1.10, CI: 1.00–1.21). Higher alliance scores at 1 month predicted positive outcome, and were associated with attachment security and mentalization. These novel findings suggest that, particularly in parents, a tendency towards excessive certainty about mental states in others may predict poor outcome in FT-AN. Further research is warranted to replicate the finding and characterise families at risk of poor outcome

Dimensional structural constants from chiral and conformal bosonization of QCD

We derive the dimensional non-perturbative part of the QCD effective action for scalar and pseudoscalar meson fields by means of chiral and conformal bosonization. The related structural coupling constants L_5 and L_8 of the chiral lagrangian are estimated using general relations which are valid in a variety of chiral bosonization models without explicit reference to model parameters. The asymptotics for large scalar fields in QCD is elaborated, and model-independent constraints on dimensional coupling constants of the effective meson lagrangian are evaluated. We determine also the interaction between scalar quarkonium and the gluon density and obtain the scalar glueball-quarkonium potential.Comment: 21 pages, LaTe

EEG-Based BCI Control Schemes for Lower-Limb Assistive-Robots

Over recent years, brain-computer interface (BCI) has emerged as an alternative communication system between the human brain and an output device. Deciphered intents, after detecting electrical signals from the human scalp, are translated into control commands used to operate external devices, computer displays and virtual objects in the real-time. BCI provides an augmentative communication by creating a muscle-free channel between the brain and the output devices, primarily for subjects having neuromotor disorders, or trauma to nervous system, notably spinal cord injuries (SCI), and subjects with unaffected sensorimotor functions but disarticulated or amputated residual limbs. This review identifies the potentials of electroencephalography (EEG) based BCI applications for locomotion and mobility rehabilitation. Patients could benefit from its advancements such as, wearable lower-limb (LL) exoskeletons, orthosis, prosthesis, wheelchairs, and assistive-robot devices. The EEG communication signals employed by the aforementioned applications that also provide feasibility for future development in the field are sensorimotor rhythms (SMR), event-related potentials (ERP) and visual evoked potentials (VEP). The review is an effort to progress the development of user's mental task related to LL for BCI reliability and confidence measures. As a novel contribution, the reviewed BCI control paradigms for wearable LL and assistive-robots are presented by a general control framework fitting in hierarchical layers. It reflects informatic interactions, between the user, the BCI operator, the shared controller, the robotic device and the environment. Each sub layer of the BCI operator is discussed in detail, highlighting the feature extraction, classification and execution methods employed by the various systems. All applications' key features and their interaction with the environment are reviewed for the EEG-based activity mode recognition, and presented in form of a table. It i

Motor imagery based EEG features visualization for BCI applications

Over recent years, electroencephalography's (EEG) use in the state-of-the-art brain-computer interface (BCI) technology has broadened to augment the quality of life, both with medical and non-medical applicationS. For medical applications, the availability of real-time data for processing, which could be used as command Signals to control robotic devices, is limited to specific platformS. This paper focuses on the possibility to analyse and visualize EEG signal features using OpenViBE acquisition platform in offline mode apart from its default real-time processing capability, and the options available for processing of data in offline mode. We employed OpenViBE platform to acquire EEG Signals, pre-process it and extract features for a BCI System. For testing purposes, we analysed and tried to visualize EEG data offline, by developing scenarios, using method for quantification of event-related (de)synchronization ERD/ERS patterns, as well as, built in signal processing algorithms available in OpenViBE-designer toolbox. Acquired data was based on deployment of standard Graz BCI experimental protocol, used for foot kinaesthetic motor imagery (KMI). Results clearly reflect that the platform OpenViBE is a streaming tool that encourages processing and analysis of EEG data online, contrary to analysis, or visualization of data in offline, or global mode. For offline analysis and visualization of data, other relevant platforms are discussed. In online execution of BCI, OpenViBE is a potential tool for the control of wearable lower-limb devices, robotic vehicles and rehabilitation equipment. Other applications include remote control of mechatronic devices, or driving of passenger cars by human thoughtS

Reconstruction of erythemal UV-doses for two stations in Austria: a comparison between alpine and urban regions

The aim of this study is the reconstruction of past UV-doses for two stations in Austria, Hoher Sonnblick and Vienna, using a physical radiation transfer model. The method uses the modeled UV-dose under clear-sky conditions, cloud modification factors and a correction factor as input variables. To identify the influence of temporal resolution of input data and modification factors, an ensemble of four different modelling approaches was calculated, each with hourly or daily resolution. This is especially important because we found no other study describing the influence of the temporal resolution of input data on model performance. Following the results of the statistical analysis of the evaluation period the model with the highest temporal resolution (HMC) was chosen for the reconstruction of UV-doses. A good agreement between modelled and measured values of erythemally effective UV-doses was found at both stations. In relation to the reference period 1976–1985 an increase in the erythemal UV-dose in Vienna of 11% is visible in the period 1986–1995 and an increase of 17% in the period 1996–2005 can be seen. At Hoher Sonnblick the corresponding increase is 2% and 9%. For the different seasons the strongest increase in erythemal UV-dose has been found for winter and spring season at both stations. Further the influences of total ozone and cloudiness on changes in erythemal UV-doses were analyzed. This analysis showed for both stations, that changes in total ozone had a larger influence on erythemal UV-doses than changes in cloudiness