3,457 research outputs found
Suppression of combustion oscillations with mechanical devices Interim report
Static rocket thrust chamber simulator for cylindrical cold flow-type apparatus desig
Introducing CatOracle: Corpus-based concatenative improvisation with the Audio Oracle algorithm
CATORACLE responds to the need to join high-level control of audio timbre with the organization of musical form in time. It is inspired by two powerful existing tools: CataRT for corpus-based concatenative synthesis based on the MUBU for MAX library, and PYORACLE for computer improvisation, combining for the first time audio descriptor analysis and learning and generation of musical structures. Harnessing a user-defined list of audio fea- tures, live or prerecorded audio is analyzed to construct an “Audio Oracle” as a basis for improvisation. CatOracle also extends features of classic concatenative synthesis to include live interactive audio mosaicking and score-based transcription using the BACH library for MAX. The project suggests applications not only to live performance of written and improvised electroacoustic music, but also computer-assisted composition and musical analysis
Limit cycles in the presence of convection, a travelling wave analysis
We consider a diffusion model with limit cycle reaction functions, in the
presence of convection. We select a set of functions derived from a realistic
reaction model: the Schnakenberg equations. This resultant form is
unsymmetrical. We find a transformation which maps the irregular equations into
model form. Next we transform the dependent variables into polar form. From
here, a travelling wave analysis is performed on the radial variable. Results
are complex, but we make some simple estimates.
We carry out numerical experiments to test our analysis. An initial `knock'
starts the propagation of pattern. The speed of the travelling wave is not
quite as expected. We investigate further. The system demonstrates distinctly
different behaviour to the left and the right. We explain how this phenomenon
occurs by examining the underlying behaviour.Comment: 20 pages, 5 figure
Microwave Lens for Polar Molecules
We here report on the implementation of a microwave lens for neutral polar
molecules suitable to focus molecules both in low-field-seeking and in
high-field-seeking states. By using the TE_11m modes of a 12 cm long
cylindrically symmetric microwave resonator, Stark-decelerated ammonia
molecules are transversally confined. We investigate the focusing properties of
this microwave lens as a function of the molecules' velocity, the detuning of
the microwave frequency from the molecular resonance frequency, and the
microwave power. Such a microwave lens can be seen as a first important step
towards further microwave devices, such as decelerators and traps.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure
Evaluating privacy-preserving record linkage using cryptographic long-term keys and multibit trees on large medical datasets.
Background: Integrating medical data using databases from different sources by record linkage is a powerful technique increasingly used in medical research. Under many jurisdictions, unique personal identifiers needed for linking the records are unavailable. Since sensitive attributes, such as names, have to be used instead, privacy regulations usually demand encrypting these identifiers. The corresponding set of techniques for privacy-preserving record linkage (PPRL) has received widespread attention. One recent method is based on Bloom filters. Due to superior resilience against cryptographic attacks, composite Bloom filters (cryptographic long-term keys, CLKs) are considered best practice for privacy in PPRL. Real-world performance of these techniques using large-scale data is unknown up to now. Methods: Using a large subset of Australian hospital admission data, we tested the performance of an innovative PPRL technique (CLKs using multibit trees) against a gold-standard derived from clear-text probabilistic record linkage. Linkage time and linkage quality (recall, precision and F-measure) were evaluated. Results: Clear text probabilistic linkage resulted in marginally higher precision and recall than CLKs. PPRL required more computing time but 5 million records could still be de-duplicated within one day. However, the PPRL approach required fine tuning of parameters. Conclusions: We argue that increased privacy of PPRL comes with the price of small losses in precision and recall and a large increase in computational burden and setup time. These costs seem to be acceptable in most applied settings, but they have to be considered in the decision to apply PPRL. Further research on the optimal automatic choice of parameters is needed
Orbit Selection for the Proposed Lynx Observatory Mission
The Advanced Concepts Office design team performed several analyses and trades in support of orbit selection for the proposed Lynx mission, an x-ray observatory being submitted to the Astro2020 Decadal Survey. Though the descriptions in this Technical Memorandum (TM) focus on the Lynx mission, the approach and process for selecting the final orbit is applicable to a variety of proposed science and exploration missions. To select the best orbit for the Lynx science, mission designers assembled a team of subsystem and discipline experts, in addition to mission analysts, to evaluate several candidate orbits. These discipline experts included members of the science and instrument team, power and avionics, thermal, propulsion, and environments. The goal was to clearly show the benefits and weaknesses of each orbit in the trade space and provide sound justification for the final selection. Discipline experts conducted trades and evaluated the results using a variety of methods including engineering judgement, rough estimates, and detailed calculations, and rolled the results into a final grade using a weighted grading method. The orbit options could then be ranked. The principal investigator (PI) for the mission, along with the science team, was given the task of final orbit selection. The result of the trades indicated that a halo orbit about the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point (SE-L2), similar to the planned orbit for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), was the best choice for the Lynx mission. Details of how the team arrived at this selection are below
Dielectronic Recombination of Fe XV forming Fe XIV: Laboratory Measurements and Theoretical Calculations
We have measured resonance strengths and energies for dielectronic
recombination (DR) of Mg-like Fe XV forming Al-like Fe XIV via N=3 -> N' = 3
core excitations in the electron-ion collision energy range 0-45 eV. All
measurements were carried out using the heavy-ion Test Storage Ring at the Max
Planck Institute for Nuclear Physics in Heidelberg, Germany. We have also
carried out new multiconfiguration Breit-Pauli (MCBP) calculations using the
AUTOSTRUCTURE code. For electron-ion collision energies < 25 eV we find poor
agreement between our experimental and theoretical resonance energies and
strengths. From 25 to 42 eV we find good agreement between the two for
resonance energies. But in this energy range the theoretical resonance
strengths are ~ 31% larger than the experimental results. This is larger than
our estimated total experimental uncertainty in this energy range of +/- 26%
(at a 90% confidence level). Above 42 eV the difference in the shape between
the calculated and measured 3s3p(^1P_1)nl DR series limit we attribute partly
to the nl dependence of the detection probabilities of high Rydberg states in
the experiment. We have used our measurements, supplemented by our
AUTOSTRUCTURE calculations, to produce a Maxwellian-averaged 3 -> 3 DR rate
coefficient for Fe XV forming Fe XIV. The resulting rate coefficient is
estimated to be accurate to better than +/- 29% (at a 90% confidence level) for
k_BT_e > 1 eV. At temperatures of k_BT_e ~ 2.5-15 eV, where Fe XV is predicted
to form in photoionized plasmas, significant discrepancies are found between
our experimentally-derived rate coefficient and previously published
theoretical results. Our new MCBP plasma rate coefficient is 19-28% smaller
than our experimental results over this temperature range
Generalized iterated wreath products of cyclic groups and rooted trees correspondence
Consider the generalized iterated wreath product where . We
prove that the irreducible representations for this class of groups are indexed
by a certain type of rooted trees. This provides a Bratteli diagram for the
generalized iterated wreath product, a simple recursion formula for the number
of irreducible representations, and a strategy to calculate the dimension of
each irreducible representation. We calculate explicitly fast Fourier
transforms (FFT) for this class of groups, giving literature's fastest FFT
upper bound estimate.Comment: 15 pages, to appear in Advances in the Mathematical Science
Mismatch in microbial food webs: predators but not prey perform better in their local biotic and abiotic conditions
Understanding how trophic levels respond to changes in abiotic and biotic conditions is key for predicting how food webs will react to environmental perturbations. Different trophic levels may respond disproportionately to change, with lower levels more likely to react faster, as they typically consist of smaller-bodied species with higher reproductive rates. This response could cause a mismatch between trophic levels, in which predators and prey will respond differently to changing abiotic or biotic conditions. This mismatch between trophic levels could result in altered top-down and bottom-up control and changes in interaction strength. To determine the possibility of a mismatch, we conducted a reciprocal-transplant experiment involving Sarracenia purpurea food webs consisting of bacterial communities as prey and a subset of six morphologically similar protozoans as predators. We used a factorial design with four temperatures, four bacteria and protozoan biogeographic origins, replicated four times. This design allowed us to determine how predator and prey dynamics were altered by abiotic (temperature) conditions and biotic (predators paired with prey from either their local or non-local biogeographic origin) conditions. We found that prey reached higher densities in warmer temperature regardless of their temperature of origin. Conversely, predators achieved higher densities in the temperature condition and with the prey from their origin. These results confirm that predators perform better in abiotic and biotic conditions of their origin while their prey do not. This mismatch between trophic levels may be especially significant under climate change, potentially disrupting ecosystem functioning by disproportionately affecting top-down and bottom-up control
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