Using the Balance Function to study the charge correlations of hadrons

We present the recent Balance Function (BF) results obtained by the NA49 collaboration for the pseudo-rapidity dependence of non-identified charged particle correlations for two SPS energies. Experimental results indicate a clear centrality dependence only in the mid-rapidity region. The results of an energy dependence study of the BF throughout the whole SPS energy range will also be discussed. In addition, the correlation of identified hadrons is studied and presented for the first time. The study of hadron correlation has also been extended in order to cope with the high multiplicity environment that is expected to be seen at LHC. We will present the latest results from simulations concerning the extension of these studies to the ALICE experiment.Comment: To appear in the proccedings of the "Quark Confinement and Hadron Spectrum VII" conferenc

Back Analysis of the Lower San Fernando Dam Slide Using a Multi-block Model

A multi-block sliding system model has been developed to simulate the displacement of sliding geo-masses. This model is a useful tool, especially when displacements are very large and computer codes based on the Finite Element Method cannot be applied. The paper investigates the ability of the model to predict the response of the well-documented Lower San Fernando Dam slide. The predicted movement, and deformation agreed reasonably well with that of the upper part of the slide. Yet, the lower part of the slide slid more that the model prediction. The multi-block model was applied a second time. This 2-slide approach predicts movement, and deformation in very good agreement with that measured. In addition, the time duration of motion is in general agreement with the observed

Serious Games in Cultural Heritage

Although the widespread use of gaming for leisure purposes has been well documented, the use of games to support cultural heritage purposes, such as historical teaching and learning, or for enhancing museum visits, has been less well considered. The state-of-the-art in serious game technology is identical to that of the state-of-the-art in entertainment games technology. As a result the field of serious heritage games concerns itself with recent advances in computer games, real-time computer graphics, virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. On the other hand, the main strengths of serious gaming applications may be generalised as being in the areas of communication, visual expression of information, collaboration mechanisms, interactivity and entertainment. In this report, we will focus on the state-of-the-art with respect to the theories, methods and technologies used in serious heritage games. We provide an overview of existing literature of relevance to the domain, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the described methods and point out unsolved problems and challenges. In addition, several case studies illustrating the application of methods and technologies used in cultural heritage are presented

System Size and Centrality Dependence of the Electric Charge Correlations in A+A and p+p Collisions at the SPS Energies

The Balance Function analysis method was developed in order to study the long range correlations in pseudo-rapidity of charged particle. The final results on p+p, C+C, Si+Si and centrality selected Pb+Pb collisions at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 17.2$ GeV and the preliminary data at $\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 8.8$ GeV are presented. The width of the Balance Function decreases with increasing system size and centrality of the collisions. This could suggest a delayed hadronization scenario.Comment: To appear in the proceedings of NPDC18, Prague, Czech Republic, 23-28 Aug. 200

The effect of metal ions released from different dental implant-abutment couples on osteoblast function and secretion of bone resorbing mediators

OBJECTIVES: The etiology of the reduced marginal bone loss observed around platform-switched implant-abutment connections is not clear but could be related to the release of variable amounts of corrosion products. The present study evaluated the effect of different concentrations of metal ions released from different implant abutment couples on osteoblastic cell viability, apoptosis and expression of genes related to bone resorption. METHODS: Osteoblastic cells were exposed to five conditions of culture media prepared containing metal ions (titanium, aluminum, vanadium, cobalt, chromium and molybdenum) in different concentrations representing the amounts released from platform-matched and platform-switched implant-abutment couples as a result of an earlier accelerated corrosion experiment. Cell viability was evaluated over 21days using the Alamar Blue assay. Induction of apoptosis was measured after 24h of exposure using flow cytometry. Expression of interleukin-6, interleukin-8, cyclooxygenase-2, caspase-8, osteoprotegerin and receptor activator of nuclear factor kappa-B ligand (RANKL) by osteoblastic cells were analysed after exposure for 1, 3 and 21days using real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction assay RESULTS: Metal ions in concentrations representing the platform-matched groups led to a reduction in cell viability (P<0.01) up to 7days of exposure. Stimulated cells showed higher rates of early apoptosis (P<0.01) compared to non-treated cells. Metal ions up-regulated the expression of interleukin-6, interleukin-8, cyclooxygenase-2 and RANKL in a dose dependent manner after 1day of exposure (P<0.05). The up-regulation was more pronounced in the groups containing the corrosion products of platform-matched implant-abutment couples. CONCLUSION: Osteoblastic cell viability, apoptosis, and regulation of bone resorbing mediators were significantly altered in the presence of metal ions. The change in cytokine levels expressed was directly proportional to the metal ion concentration. CLINICAL SIGNIFICANCE: The observed biological responses to decreased amounts of metal ions released from platform-switched implant-abutment couples compared to platform-matched couples may partly explain the positive radiographic findings in respect to crestal bone level when utilising the "platform-switching" concept, which highlights the possible role of corrosion products in the mediation of crestal bone loss around dental implants

Video-driven speech reconstruction using generative adversarial networks

Speech is a means of communication which relies on both audio and visual information. The absence of one modality can often lead to confusion or misinterpretation of information. In this paper we present an end-to-end temporal model capable of directly synthesising audio from silent video, without needing to transform to-and-from intermediate features. Our proposed approach, based on GANs is capable of producing natural sounding, intelligible speech which is synchronised with the video. The performance of our model is evaluated on the GRID dataset for both speaker dependent and speaker independent scenarios. To the best of our knowledge this is the first method that maps video directly to raw audio and the first to produce intelligible speech when tested on previously unseen speakers. We evaluate the synthesised audio not only based on the sound quality but also on the accuracy of the spoken words

Improvement of Dynamic Soil Properties Induced by Preloading Verified by a Field Test and Embankment Failure

The results of an elaborate field preloading study on a liquefaction-susceptible site are presented. Preloading was applied by a temporary embankment 9m high. Prior and after preloading, borings with standard penetration tests, cone penetration tests and geophysical studies were performed. During the process of embankment construction and demolition, settlements, excess pore pressures and vertical and horizontal stresses were recorded versus time at different locations. A partial embankment failure occurred during the preloading process. A method predicting failure during the construction of the preload embankment based on excess pore pressure measurements is proposed and verified

Nematic-Isotropic Transition with Quenched Disorder

Nematic elastomers do not show the discontinuous, first-order, phase transition that the Landau-De Gennes mean field theory predicts for a quadrupolar ordering in 3D. We attribute this behavior to the presence of network crosslinks, which act as sources of quenched orientational disorder. We show that the addition of weak random anisotropy results in a singular renormalization of the Landau-De Gennes expression, adding an energy term proportional to the inverse quartic power of order parameter Q. This reduces the first-order discontinuity in Q. For sufficiently high disorder strength the jump disappears altogether and the phase transition becomes continuous, in some ways resembling the supercritical transitions in external field.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figures, to be published on PR