2,089 research outputs found
Application of an Artificial Neural Network for the CPT-based Soil Stratigraphy Classification
Subsurface soil profiling is an essential step in a site investigation. The traditional methods for in situ
investigations, such as SPT borings and sampling, have been progressively replaced by CPT soundings since they
are fast, repeatable, economical and provide continuous parameters of the mechanical behaviour of the soils.
However, the derived CPT-based stratigraphy profiles might present noisy thin layers, and its soil type description
might not reflect a textural-based classification (i.e. Universal Soil Classification System, USCS). Thus, this paper
presents a straightforward artificial neural network (ANN) algorithm, to classify CPT soundings according to the
USCS. Data for training the model have been retrieved from SPT-CPT pairs collected after the 2011 Christchurch
earthquake in New Zealand. The application of the ANN to case studies show how the method is a cost-effective
and time-efficient approach, but more input parameters and data are needed for increasing its performance
Deuteron-breakup reaction studies at COSY
The possibility of identifying and reconstructing deuteron-breakup events by making use of the PAX detector has been investigated. The results are presented
Theory of Stellar Population Synthesis with an application to N-Body simulations
Aims. We present here a new theoretical approach to population synthesis. The
aim is to predict colour magnitude diagrams (CMDs) for huge numbers of stars.
With this method we generate synthetic CMDs for N-body simulations of galaxies.
Sophisticated hydrodynamic N-body models of galaxies require equal quality
simulations of the photometric properties of their stellar content. The only
prerequisite for the method to work is very little information on the star
formation and chemical enrichment histories, i.e. the age and metallicity of
all star-particles as a function of time. The method takes into account the gap
between the mass of real stars and that of the star-particles in N-body
simulations, which best correspond to the mass of star clusters with different
age and metallicity, i.e. a manifold of single stellar sopulations (SSP).
Methods. The theory extends the concept of SSP to include the phase-space
(position and velocity) of each star. Furthermore, it accelerates the building
up of simulated CMD by using a database of theoretical SSPs that extends to all
ages and metallicities of interest. Finally, it uses the concept of
distribution functions to build up the CMD. The technique is independent of the
mass resolution and the way the N-body simulation has been calculated. This
allows us to generate CMDs for simulated stellar systems of any kind: from open
clusters to globular clusters, dwarf galaxies, or spiral and elliptical
galaxies. Results. The new theory is applied to an N-body simulation of a disc
galaxy to test its performance and highlight its flexibility.Comment: accepted for publication in A&
EDGE PRESERVING FILTERS USING GEODESIC DISTANCES ON WEIGHTED ORTHOGONAL DOMAINS
We introduce a framework for image enhancement, which smooths images while preserving edge information. Domain (spatial) and range (feature) information are combined in one single measure in a principled way. This measure turns out to be the geodesic distance between pixels, calculated on weighted orthogonal domains. The weight function is computed to capture the underlying structure of the image manifold, but allowing at the same time to efficiently solve, using the Fast Marching algorithm on orthogonal domains, the eikonal equation to obtain the geodesic distances. We show promising results in edge-preserving denoising of gray scale, color and texture images. Index Terms — Adaptive smoothing filters, geodesic distance, Fast Marching Method, edge-preserving filtering. 1
The IMF as a function of supersonic turbulence
Recent studies seem to suggest that the stellar initial mass function (IMF)
in early-type galaxies might be different from a classical Kroupa or Chabrier
IMF, i.e. contain a larger fraction of the total mass in low-mass stars. From a
theoretical point of view, supersonic turbulence has been the subject of
interest in many analytical theories proposing a strong correlation with the
characteristic mass of the core mass function (CMF) in star forming regions,
and as a consequence with the stellar IMF. Performing two suites of smoothed
particles hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations with different mass resolutions, we
aim at testing the effects of variations in the turbulent properties of a
dense, star forming molecular cloud on the shape of the system mass function in
different density regimes. While analytical theories predict a shift of the
peak of the CMF towards lower masses with increasing velocity dispersion of the
cloud, we observe in the low-density regime the opposite trend, with high Mach
numbers giving rise to a top-heavy mass distribution. For the high-density
regime we do not find any trend correlating the Mach number with the
characteristic mass of the resulting IMF, implying that the dynamics of
protostellar accretion discs and fragmentation on small scales is not strongly
affected by turbulence driven at the scale of the cloud. Furthermore, we
suggest that a significant fraction of dense cores are disrupted by turbulence
before stars can be formed in their interior through gravitational collapse.
Although this particular study has limitations in its numerical resolution, we
suggest that our results, along with those from other studies, cast doubt on
the turbulent fragmentation models on the IMF that simply map the CMF to the
IMF.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures, accepted by MNRA
WFPC2 Observations of Massive and Compact Young Star Clusters in M31
We present color magnitude diagrams of four blue massive and compact star
clusters in M31: G38, G44, G94, and G293. The diagrams of the four clusters
reveal a well-populated upper main sequence and various numbers of supergiants.
The U-B and B-V colors of the upper main sequence stars are used to determine
reddening estimates of the different lines of sight in the M31 disk. Reddening
values range from E(B-V) = 0.20 +/- 0.10 to 0.31 +/- 0.11. We statistically
remove field stars on the basis of completeness, magnitude and color. Isochrone
fits to the field-subtracted, reddening-corrected diagrams yield age estimates
ranging from 63 +/- 15 Myr to 160 +/- 60 Myr. Implications for the recent
evolution of the disk near NGC 206 are discussed.Comment: 17 pages, Latex, ApJ, in Pres
Esperienze di didattica della fisica in diversi livelli del sistema educativo
The growing interest of people in science events, the projects supported by
the Italian Ministry of Education, University and Research to foster STEM
teaching in different levels of the education system and the introduction of
modern physics in some Italian high schools, contributed to the strengthening
of interaction between schools, universities and research centers. This
interaction realized in dedicated activities characterized by innovative
communication and education strategies.This paper presents the events of
science dissemination organized in the last years by the University of Ferrara
and the National Institute for Nuclear Physics taking into account some case
study differentiated by contents, recipients and education strategies.Comment: The article is written in Italia
Fisici Senza Frontiere: Physics laboratory-based activities for schools
The activities realized in the Physics Education project named Fisici Senza Frontiere are here presented and discussed
Ethical prescribing of psychotropic medications for people with neurodevelopmental disorders
Objectives People with neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) such as intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and autism are subjected to restrictive practices like physical restraint and the overuse of psychotropic medications for challenging behaviour in the absence of a psychiatric disorder. This practice may lead to human rights violations. Rational and evidence-based shared decision-making for person-centred planning will help reduce this practice. Methods We have discussed in this paper the issue of the overmedication of people with NDD, explaining how this practice may violate the United Nations (UN) Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Results We have discussed how the following UN CRPD Articles may be affected by overmedication, including Article 15 (degrading treatment or punishment), 16 (abuse), 17 (the integrity of the person), and 25 (health). The other Articles that may be indirectly affected by this practice are 5 (equality and non-discrimination), 9 (accessibility), 19 (independent living and community inclusion), 21 (access to information), 24 (education), 26 (rehabilitation), 27 (work and employment), 28 (adequate living standard), and 30 (participation in recreation and leisure). Conclusions Overmedication of people with NDD, particularly the off-licence use of psychotropics for challenging behaviour, the side effects of these medications impacting the person’s quality of life are likely to violet several UN Articles on Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Following the right guidelines may help reduce these human rights violations
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