911 research outputs found
Manoeuvring Experiments Using the MUN Explorer AUV
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are
self-propelled robotic platforms that can perform a
predetermined mission completely unmanned. A series of
manoeuvring experiments were performed using the MUN
Explorer AUV during the summer of 2006 and a selection of
these experimental results are presented in this paper. The
purpose of these experiments was to collect a set of useful
data for validating a hydrodynamic model of the dynamic
performance of the vehicle. This paper aims at explaining the
methods and measures adopted in accomplishing this task.
Apart from providing a data set for validation of the
hydrodynamic model, the data record also shows the ability
of the AUV to perform extreme manoeuvres and the accuracy
with which it can follow a pre-planned mission
Manoeuvring Trials with the MUN Explorer AUV: Data Analysis and Observations
Manoeuvring trials are usually performed to
determine the manoeuvring characteristics of a marine vehicle. It
is through certain standard manoeuvres we evaluate the
robustness, performance and limitations of the vehicle control
system. A series of open-water manoeuvring trials were
performed using the MUN Explorer AUV in the summer of 2006.
The actual purpose of these experiments was to collect a set of
experimental data in order to validate a hydrodynamic model of
the dynamic performance of the vehicle. This paper presents the
results and observations from the analysis of a set of
manoeuvring trials data: in particular the results from straightline
(acceleration – deceleration) tests and turning circles. It
outlines briefly the method by which these tests were conducted
and discusses the results and observations made. Apart from
providing a data set for validation purposes, the results also
indicate the ability of the vehicle to follow a pre-planned mission
with precision
Globally aligned photomosaic of the Lucky Strike hydrothermal vent field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 37°18.5′N) : release of georeferenced data, mosaic construction, and viewing software
Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2008. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 9 (2008): Q12009, doi:10.1029/2008GC002204.We present a georeferenced photomosaic of the Lucky Strike hydrothermal vent field (Mid-Atlantic Ridge, 37°18′N). The photomosaic was generated from digital photographs acquired using the ARGO II seafloor imaging system during the 1996 LUSTRE cruise, which surveyed a ∼1 km2 zone and provided a coverage of ∼20% of the seafloor. The photomosaic has a pixel resolution of 15 mm and encloses the areas with known active hydrothermal venting. The final mosaic is generated after an optimization that includes the automatic detection of the same benthic features across different images (feature-matching), followed by a global alignment of images based on the vehicle navigation. We also provide software to construct mosaics from large sets of images for which georeferencing information exists (location, attitude, and altitude per image), to visualize them, and to extract data. Georeferencing information can be provided by the raw navigation data (collected during the survey) or result from the optimization obtained from image matching. Mosaics based solely on navigation can be readily generated by any user but the optimization and global alignment of the mosaic requires a case-by-case approach for which no universally software is available. The Lucky Strike photomosaics (optimized and navigated-only) are publicly available through the Marine Geoscience Data System (MGDS, http://www.marine-geo.org). The mosaic-generating and viewing software is available through the Computer Vision and Robotics Group Web page at the University of Girona (http://eia.udg.es/∼rafa/mosaicviewer.html).This work has been supported by the EU Marie Curie
RTNs MOMARNet (OD, RG, JE, LN, JF, NG) and FREESUBNet
(RG, NG, XC), the Spanish Ministry of Science and
Innovation (grant CTM2007–64751; RG, JE), CNRS and
ANR (grant ANR NT05–3_42212, JE), ICREA (LN), and
by the Generalitat de Catalunya (JE, RG). JF has been funded
by MICINN under FPI grant BES-2006-12733 and NG has
been supported by MICINN under the ‘‘Ramon y Cajal’’
program
Gender differences in local and systemic reactions to inactivated influenza vaccine, established by a meta-analysis of fourteen independent studies
In order to determine whether there is a difference between genders in reported adverse reactions to inactivated influenza vaccine, a computerized database of serological studies was investigated. A standardized questionnaire was used to evaluate vaccine reactogenicity. A total of 1,800 vaccinees in 14 studies were analyzed separately for two age groups ( or = 60 years of age). Females reported significantly more local reactions than males. The pooled odds ratio for the outcome measure "any local reaction" was 0.32 (95% confidence interval, 0.26-0.40, significant) and 0.54 (95% Cl, 0.41-0.70, significant) for young and elderly adults, respectively. Similar results were obtained for the outcome measure "any systemic reaction." Previous exposure to influenza or influenza vaccine had no influence on reactogenicity. There were no gender differences in sero-responses. In conclusion, gender should be regarded as a predictor of reported reactions to influenza vaccine in both young and elderly adults and should be addressed in future study designs
New material of Laophis crotaloides, an enigmatic giant snake from Greece, with an overview of the largest fossil European vipers
Laophis crotaloides was described by Richard Owen as a new and very large fossil viperid snake species from Greece. The type material is apparently lost and the taxon was mostly neglected for more than a century. We here describe a new partial viperid vertebra, collected from the same locality and of equivalent size to the type material. This vertebra indicates that at least one of the three morphological characters that could be used to diagnose L. crotaloides is probably an artifact of the lithographer who prepared the illustration supporting the original description. A revised diagnosis of L. crotaloides is provided on the basis of the new specimen. Despite the fragmentary nature of the new vertebra, it confirms the validity of L. crotaloides, although its exact relationships within Viperidae remain unknown. The new find supports the presence of a large viperid snake in the early Pliocene of northern Greece, adding further data to the diversity of giant vipers from Europe
Submeter bathymetric mapping of volcanic and hydrothermal features on the East Pacific Rise crest at 9°50′N
Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems 8 (2007): Q01006, doi:10.1029/2006GC001333.Recent advances in underwater vehicle navigation and sonar technology now permit detailed mapping of complex seafloor bathymetry found at mid-ocean ridge crests. Imagenex 881 (675 kHz) scanning sonar data collected during low-altitude (~5 m) surveys conducted with DSV Alvin were used to produce submeter resolution bathymetric maps of five hydrothermal vent areas at the East Pacific Rise (EPR) Ridge2000 Integrated Study Site (9°50′N, “bull's-eye”). Data were collected during 29 dives in 2004 and 2005 and were merged through a grid rectification technique to create high-resolution (0.5 m grid) composite maps. These are the first submeter bathymetric maps generated with a scanning sonar mounted on Alvin. The composite maps can be used to quantify the dimensions of meter-scale volcanic and hydrothermal features within the EPR axial summit trough (AST) including hydrothermal vent structures, lava pillars, collapse areas, the trough walls, and primary volcanic fissures. Existing Autonomous Benthic Explorer (ABE) bathymetry data (675 kHz scanning sonar) collected at this site provide the broader geologic context necessary to interpret the meter-scale features resolved in the composite maps. The grid rectification technique we employed can be used to optimize vehicle time by permitting the creation of high-resolution bathymetry maps from data collected during multiple, coordinated, short-duration surveys after primary dive objectives are met. This method can also be used to colocate future near-bottom sonar data sets within the high-resolution composite maps, enabling quantification of bathymetric changes associated with active volcanic, hydrothermal and tectonic processes.This work was supported by an NSF Ridge2000 fellowship
to V.L.F. and a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
fellowship supported by the W. Alan Clark Senior Scientist
Chair (D.J.F.). Funding was also provided by the Censsis
Engineering Research Center of the National Science Foundation
under grant EEC-9986821. Support for field and laboratory studies
was provided by the National Science Foundation under grants
OCE-9819261 (D.J.F. and M.T.), OCE-0096468 (D.J.F. and
T.S.), OCE-0328117 (SMC), OCE-0525863 (D.J.F. and
S.A.S.), OCE-0112737 ATM-0427220 (L.L.W.), and OCE-
0327261 and OCE-0328117 (T.S.). Additional support was
provided by The Edwin Link Foundation (J.C.K.)
Observation of the Decay Λ0b→Λ+cτ−¯ν
The first observation of the semileptonic b-baryon decay Λb0→Λc+τ-ν¯τ, with a significance of 6.1σ, is reported using a data sample corresponding to 3 fb-1 of integrated luminosity, collected by the LHCb experiment at center-of-mass energies of 7 and 8 TeV at the LHC. The τ- lepton is reconstructed in the hadronic decay to three charged pions. The ratio K=B(Λb0→Λc+τ-ν¯τ)/B(Λb0→Λc+π-π+π-) is measured to be 2.46±0.27±0.40, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. The branching fraction B(Λb0→Λc+τ-ν¯τ)=(1.50±0.16±0.25±0.23)% is obtained, where the third uncertainty is from the external branching fraction of the normalization channel Λb0→Λc+π-π+π-. The ratio of semileptonic branching fractions R(Λc+)B(Λb0→Λc+τ-ν¯τ)/B(Λb0→Λc+μ-ν¯μ) is derived to be 0.242±0.026±0.040±0.059, where the external branching fraction uncertainty from the channel Λb0→Λc+μ-ν¯μ contributes to the last term. This result is in agreement with the standard model prediction
The Toxic Effects of Cigarette Additives. Philip Morris' Project Mix Reconsidered: An Analysis of Documents Released through Litigation
Stanton Glantz and colleagues analyzed previously secret tobacco industry documents and peer-reviewed published results of Philip Morris' Project MIX about research on cigarette additives, and show that this research on the use of cigarette additives cannot be taken at face value
Observation of the doubly charmed baryon decay Ξcc++→Ξc′+π+
The Ξcc++→Ξc′+π+ decay is observed using proton-proton collisions collected by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 5.4 fb−1. The Ξcc++→Ξc′+π+ decay is reconstructed partially, where the photon from the Ξc′+→Ξc+γ decay is not reconstructed and the pK−π+ final state of the Ξc+ baryon is employed. The Ξcc++→Ξc′+π+branching fraction relative to that of the Ξcc++→Ξc+π+ decay is measured to be 1.41 ± 0.17 ± 0.10, where the first uncertainty is statistical and the second systematic. [Figure not available: see fulltext.
Measurement of antiproton production from antihyperon decays in pHe collisions at √sNN=110GeV
The interpretation of cosmic antiproton flux measurements from space-borne experiments is currently limited by the knowledge of the antiproton production cross-section in collisions between primary cosmic rays and the interstellar medium. Using collisions of protons with an energy of 6.5 TeV incident on helium nuclei at rest in the proximity of the interaction region of the LHCb experiment, the ratio of antiprotons originating from antihyperon decays to prompt production is measured for antiproton momenta between 12 and 110GeV\!/c . The dominant antihyperon contribution, namely Λ¯ → p¯ π+ decays from promptly produced Λ¯ particles, is also exclusively measured. The results complement the measurement of prompt antiproton production obtained from the same data sample. At the energy scale of this measurement, the antihyperon contributions to antiproton production are observed to be significantly larger than predictions of commonly used hadronic production models
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