Influence of the pinhole size on the resolution of the 4Pi' microscope studied by means of the optical transfer function

Optical transfer functions are presented for the 4pi' microscope. The effects of the size of the confocal pinhole on the three-dimensional resolution are studied. It is shown that the resolution of the 4Pi' microscope depends weakly on the pinhole size. This result suggest that the pinhole can be removed in order to increase the signal-to-noise ratio

Does a Book Locator System Save Time? A Critical User Study

Examines using the CLSI circulation system as an automated book locator for patrons

Westfall v. Motors Insurance Corporation, 374 P.2d 96 (Mont. 1962)

Westfall v. Motors Insurance Corporatio

Perception in Pixels: Understanding Avatar Representation in Video-Mediated Collaborative Interactions

Despite the abundance of research concerning virtual reality (VR) avatars, the impact of screen-based or augmented reality (AR) avatars for real-world applications remain relatively unexplored. Notably, there is a lack of research examining video-mediated collaborative interaction experiences using AR avatars for goal-directed group activities. This study bridges this gap with a mixed-methods, quasi-experimental user study that investigates video-based small-group interactions when employing AR avatars as opposed to traditional video for user representation. We found that the use of avatars positively influenced self-esteem and video-based collaboration satisfaction. In addition, our group interview findings highlight experiences and perceptions regarding the dynamic use of avatars in video-mediated collaborative interactions, including benefits, challenges, and factors that would influence a decision to use avatars. This study contributes an empirical understanding of avatar representation in mediating video-based collaborative interactions, implications and perceptions surrounding the adoption of AR avatars, and a comprehensive comparison of key characteristics between user representations.Comment: 25 pages, 5 figures, 3 table

El tema de la seguridad.

Starting from the assumption that the security issue involves a number of subjects –philosophy, political science, sociology– whose pervasiveness is related to social, symbolic and cultural mutations about criminal issue, this essay analyzes, first of all, the many and various meanings of the security issue. In the second place, the authoress focuses on the different levels (global, within the European Community and national) of security, underlining the importance of genre perspective, so far lacking in the literature about this subject. Finally, she shows how the security issue affects considerably the criminal issue, determining its new borders: from criminalization of new behaviors to the rising of administrative measures that tend to criminalize specific categories and groups of people classified as potentially dangerous.Partiendo de la tesis de que el tema de la seguridad compromete a varios discursos, filosóficos, politológicos, sociológicos, cuya fuerza de penetración tiene que ver con los cambios sociales, simbólicos y culturales que atañen al mismo ámbito criminal, este ensayo analiza, antes que todo, la variedad y pluralidad de los significados del concepto “seguridad”. Luego, la autora se interesa por los diferentes niveles (global, de la Unión Europea y local nacional) de la seguridad, subrayando la importancia de la perspectiva de género, que sigue siendo muy poco estudiada en la literatura sobre esta materia. Finalmente, muestra cómo el tema de la seguridad incide de forma relevante en el tema criminal, volviendo a trazar sus confines: de la criminalización de nuevos comportamientos a la afirmación de medidas administrativas que tienden a criminalizar determinadas categorías y grupos de personas, que se consideran potencialmente peligrosas

Portable Unit for Metabolic Analysis

The Portable Unit for Metabolic Analysis (PUMA) is an instrument that measures several quantities indicative of human metabolic function. Specifically, this instrument makes time-resolved measurements of temperature, pressure, flow, and the partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide in breath during both inhalation and exhalation. Portable instruments for measuring these quantities have been commercially available, but the response times of those instruments are too long to enable temporal resolution of phenomena on the time scales of human respiration cycles. In contrast, the response time of the PUMA is significantly shorter than characteristic times of human respiration phenomena, making it possible to analyze varying metabolic parameters, not only on sequential breath cycles but also at successive phases of inhalation and exhalation within the same breath cycle. In operation, the PUMA is positioned to sample breath near the subject s mouth. Commercial off-the-shelf sensors are used for three of the measurements: a miniature pressure transducer for pressure, a thermistor for temperature, and an ultrasonic sensor for flow. Sensors developed at Glenn Research Center are used for measuring the partial pressures of oxygen and carbon dioxide: The carbon dioxide sensor exploits the relatively strong absorption of infrared light by carbon dioxide. Light from an infrared source passes through the stream of inhaled or exhaled gas and is focused on an infrared- sensitive photodetector. The oxygen sensor exploits the effect of oxygen in quenching the fluorescence of ruthenium-doped organic molecules in a dye on the tip of an optical fiber. A blue laser diode is used to excite the fluorescence, and the optical fiber carries the fluorescent light to a photodiode, the temporal variation of the output of which bears a known relationship with the rate of quenching of fluorescence and, hence, with the partial pressure of oxygen. The outputs of the sensors are digitized, preprocessed by a small onboard computer, and then sent wirelessly to a desktop computer, where the collected data are analyzed and displayed. In addition to the raw data on temperature, pressure, flow, and mole fractions of oxygen and carbon dioxide, the display can include volumetric oxygen consumption, volumetric carbon dioxide production, respiratory equivalent ratio, and volumetric flow rate of exhaled gas

Codes of Commitment to Crime and Resistance: Determining Social and Cultural Factors over the Behaviors of Italian Mafia Women

This article categorizes thirty-three women in four main Italian Mafia groups and explores social and cultural behaviors of these women. This study introduces the feminist theory of belief and action. The theoretical inquiry investigates the sometimes conflicting behaviors of women when they are subject to systematic oppression. I argue that there is a cultural polarization among the categorized sub-groups. Conservative radicals give their support to the Mafia while defectors and rebels resist the Mafia. After testing the theory, I assert that emancipation of women depends on the strength of their beliefs to perform actions against the Mafiosi culture