7,885 research outputs found
FM-track: a fiducial marker tracking software for studying cell mechanics in a three-dimensional environment
Tracking the deformation of fiducial markers in the vicinity of living cells embedded in compliant synthetic or biological gels is a powerful means to study cell mechanics and mechanobiology in three-dimensional environments. However, current approaches to track and quantify three-dimensional (3D) fiducial marker displacements remain ad-hoc, can be difficult to implement, and may not produce reliable results. Herein, we present a compact software package entitled âFM-Track,â written in the popular Python language, to facilitate feature-based particle tracking tailored for 3D cell micromechanical environment studies. FM-Track contains functions for pre-processing images, running fiducial marker tracking, and post-processing and visualization. FM-Track can thus aid the study of cellular mechanics and mechanobiology by providing an extensible software platform to more reliably extract complex local 3D cell contractile information in transparent compliant gel systems.https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352711019303474Published versio
A nonlinear transformation of the dispersive long wave equations in (2+1) dimensions and its applications
A nonlinear transformation of the dispersive long wave equations in (2+1)
dimensions is derived by using the homogeneous balance method. With the aid of
the transformation given here, exact solutions of the equations are obtained
Modified NASA-Lewis chemical equilibrium code for MHD applications
A substantially modified version of the NASA-Lewis Chemical Equilibrium Code was recently developed. The modifications were designed to extend the power and convenience of the Code as a tool for performing combustor analysis for MHD systems studies. The effect of the programming details is described from a user point of view
New data from borehole strainmeters to infer lava fountain sources (Etna 2011-2012)
In January 2011 eruptive activity resumed at Etna producing a new phase with frequent lava fountain episodes until April 2012. In November 2011, the first two borehole strainmeters were installed, which detected negative strain changes (~ 0.15 - 0.8 ïstrain) during the paroxysmal events. A Finite Element Model was set up to estimate accurately the tilt and volumetric strain, taking into account the real profile of the volcano and the elastic medium heterogeneity. The numerical computations indicated an elongated depressurizing source located at 0 km b.s.l., which underwent a volume change of ~2 x 106 m3 which is the most of the magma volume erupted while a smaller remaining part is accommodated by the magma compressibility. This shallow source cannot accumulate large magma volumes and, thus, favours short term periodic eruptive events with a fairly constant balance between the refilling and the erupted magma
Two Gap State Density in MgB: A True Bulk Property or A Proximity Effect?
We report on the temperature dependence of the quasiparticle density of
states (DOS) in the simple binary compound MgB2 directly measured using
scanning tunneling microscope (STM). To achieve high quality tunneling
conditions, a small crystal of MgB2 is used as a tip in the STM experiment. The
``sample'' is chosen to be a 2H-NbSe2 single crystal presenting an atomically
flat surface. At low temperature the tunneling conductance spectra show a gap
at the Fermi energy followed by two well-pronounced conductance peaks on each
side. They appear at voltages V mV and V mV. With rising temperature both peaks disappear at the Tc of the bulk
MgB2, a behavior consistent with the model of two-gap superconductivity. The
explanation of the double-peak structure in terms of a particular proximity
effect is also discussed.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Language Policy And Practice In Almost-Bilingual Classrooms
This study explores language policies in âalmost-bilingualâ classrooms, in which most but not all students share a home language. Teachers who are bilingual face a dilemma in these settings. Should they draw on shared linguistic expertise to benefit the majority while excluding a few, or should they forego significant benefits for most in the interest of equity? This qualitative study examines the classroom language policies and practices of one English-as-a second-language (ESL) teacher at a majority-Latino high school. Drawing on field notes, interviews, and systematic teacher reflection, the authors identify a collection of multilingual practices across ESL and sheltered content courses: translated texts, âtranslanguaging from the students up,â and concurrent translation. They discuss the benefits and drawbacks of these policies for Spanish speakers and âsingletonsââstudents with no same-language peersâto offer pedagogical and policy insights for meeting the diverse and sometimes-conflicting needs of students in multilingual classrooms
"How May I Help You?": Modeling Twitter Customer Service Conversations Using Fine-Grained Dialogue Acts
Given the increasing popularity of customer service dialogue on Twitter,
analysis of conversation data is essential to understand trends in customer and
agent behavior for the purpose of automating customer service interactions. In
this work, we develop a novel taxonomy of fine-grained "dialogue acts"
frequently observed in customer service, showcasing acts that are more suited
to the domain than the more generic existing taxonomies. Using a sequential
SVM-HMM model, we model conversation flow, predicting the dialogue act of a
given turn in real-time. We characterize differences between customer and agent
behavior in Twitter customer service conversations, and investigate the effect
of testing our system on different customer service industries. Finally, we use
a data-driven approach to predict important conversation outcomes: customer
satisfaction, customer frustration, and overall problem resolution. We show
that the type and location of certain dialogue acts in a conversation have a
significant effect on the probability of desirable and undesirable outcomes,
and present actionable rules based on our findings. The patterns and rules we
derive can be used as guidelines for outcome-driven automated customer service
platforms.Comment: 13 pages, 6 figures, IUI 201
âEvery human being is an artistâ: Social sculpture practice enables new forms of creative engagement and action within the sustainability agenda
Earth Forum, a citizensâ practice (2011 on-going) with global grassroots take-up in South Africa and Europe, demonstrates cultural and educational impacts through Sacksâ 40-year social sculpture and connective practices enquiry. It incorporates insights from the Exchange Values project, whose 12 venues, since 1996, offered thousands of consumers an arena for exploring âfairtradeâ and their relationship to the global economy. Participatory social sculpture processes with Caribbean farmers inform methodologies and connective aesthetic practices in all later commissions including, University of the Trees and Ort des Treffens. Sacksâ internationally recognized pedagogies, commissioned lecture-actions, writing and projects extend Joseph Beuysâ social sculpture ideas into a coherent and widely accessible set of understandings and practices
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