5,781 research outputs found
Developing efficient web-based GIS applications
There is an increase in the number of web-based GIS applications over the recent years. This paper describes different mapping technologies, database standards, and web application development standards that are relevant to the development of web-based GIS applications. Different mapping technologies for displaying geo-referenced data are available and can be used in different situations. This paper also explains why Oracle is the system of choice for geospatial applications that need to handle large amounts of data. Wireframing and design patterns have been shown to be useful in making GIS web applications efficient, scalable and usable, and should be an important part of every web-based GIS application. A range of different development technologies are available, and their use in different operating environments has been discussed here in some detail
Collaborative Mapping of London Using Google Maps: The LondonProfiler
This paper begins by reviewing the ways in which the innovation of Google Maps has transformed our ability to reference and view geographically referenced data. We describe the ways in which the GMap Creator tool developed under the ESRC National Centre for E Social Science programme enables users to ‘mashup’ thematic choropleth maps using the Google API. We illustrate the application of GMap Creator using the example of www.londonprofiler.org, which makes it possible to view a range of health, education and other socioeconomic datasets against a backcloth of Google Maps data. Our conclusions address the ways in which Google Map mashups developed using GMap Creator facilitate online exploratory cartographic visualisation in a range of areas of policy concern
A statistical model for the intrinsically broad superconducting to normal transition in quasi-two-dimensional crystalline organic metals
Although quasi-two-dimensional organic superconductors such as
-(BEDT-TTF)Cu(NCS) seem to be very clean systems, with apparent
quasiparticle mean-free paths of several thousand \AA, the superconducting
transition is intrinsically broad (e.g K wide for K).
We propose that this is due to the extreme anisotropy of these materials, which
greatly exacerbates the statistical effects of spatial variations in the
potential experienced by the quasiparticles. Using a statistical model, we are
able to account for the experimental observations. A parameter , which
characterises the spatial potential variations, may be derived from
Shubnikov-de Haas oscillation experiments. Using this value, we are able to
predict a transition width which is in good agreement with that observed in MHz
penetration-depth measurements on the same sample.Comment: 8 pages, 2 figures, submitted to J. Phys. Condens. Matte
Hawking radiation, Unruh radiation and the equivalence principle
We compare the response function of an Unruh-DeWitt detector for different
space-times and different vacua and show that there is a {\it detailed}
violation of the equivalence principle. In particular comparing the response of
an accelerating detector to a detector at rest in a Schwarzschild space-time we
find that both detectors register thermal radiation, but for a given,
equivalent acceleration the fixed detector in the Schwarzschild space-time
measures a higher temperature. This allows one to locally distinguish the two
cases. As one approaches the horizon the two temperatures have the same limit
so that the equivalence principle is restored at the horizon.Comment: 9 pages. Added references and added discussion. To be published in
PR
Inflation with a graceful exit and entrance driven by Hawking radiation
We present a model for cosmological inflation which has a natural "turn on"
and a natural "turn off" mechanism. In our model inflation is driven by the
Hawking-like radiation that occurs in Friedman-Robertson-Walker (FRW)
space-time. This Hawking-like radiation results in an effective negative
pressure "fluid" which leads to a rapid period of expansion in the very early
Universe. As the Universe expands the FRW Hawking temperature decreases and the
inflationary expansion turns off and makes a natural transition to the power
law expansion of a radiation dominated universe. The "turn on" mechanism is
more speculative, but is based on the common hypothesis that in a quantum
theory of gravity at very high temperatures/high densities Hawking radiation
will stop. Applying this speculation to the very early Universe implies that
the Hawking-like radiation of the FRW space-time will be turned off and
therefore the inflation driven by this radiation will turn off.Comment: 19 pages, 2 figures revtex, matches PRD published versio
Glueball Spin
The spin of a glueball is usually taken as coming from the spin (and possibly
the orbital angular momentum) of its constituent gluons. In light of the
difficulties in accounting for the spin of the proton from its constituent
quarks, the spin of glueballs is reexamined. The starting point is the
fundamental QCD field angular momentum operator written in terms of the
chromoelectric and chromomagnetic fields. First, we look at the restrictions
placed on the structure of glueballs from the requirement that the QCD field
angular momentum operator should satisfy the standard commutation
relationships. This can be compared to the electromagnetic charge/monopole
system, where the quantization of the field angular momentum places
restrictions (i.e. the Dirac condition) on the system. Second, we look at the
expectation value of this operator under some simplifying assumptions.Comment: 11 pages, 0 figures; added references and some discussio
The C Terminus of Ku80 activates the DNA-dependent protein kinase catalytic subunit
Ku is a heterodimeric protein with double-stranded DNA end-binding activity that operates in the process of nonhomologous end joining. Ku is thought to target the DNA-dependent protein kinase (DNA-PK) complex to the DNA and, when DNA bound, can interact and activate the DNA-PK catalytic subunit (DNA-PKcs). We have carried out a 3′ deletion analysis of Ku80, the larger subunit of Ku, and shown that the C-terminal 178 amino acid residues are dispensable for DNA end-binding activity but are required for efficient interaction of Ku with DNA-PKcs. Cells expressing Ku80 proteins that lack the terminal 178 residues have low DNA-PK activity, are radiation sensitive, and can recombine the signal junctions but not the coding junctions during V(D)J recombination. These cells have therefore acquired the phenotype of mouse SCID cells despite expressing DNA-PKcs protein, suggesting that an interaction between DNA-PKcs and Ku, involving the C-terminal region of Ku80, is required for DNA double-strand break rejoining and coding but not signal joint formation. To gain further insight into important domains in Ku80, we report a point mutational change in Ku80 in the defective xrs-2 cell line. This residue is conserved among species and lies outside of the previously reported Ku70-Ku80 interaction domain. The mutational change nonetheless abrogates the Ku70-Ku80 interaction and DNA end-binding activity
Inadequacies in the conventional treatment of the radiation field of moving sources
There is a fundamental difference between the classical expression for the
retarded electromagnetic potential and the corresponding retarded solution of
the wave equation that governs the electromagnetic field. While the boundary
contribution to the retarded solution for the {\em potential} can always be
rendered equal to zero by means of a gauge transformation that preserves the
Lorenz condition, the boundary contribution to the retarded solution of the
wave equation governing the {\em field} may be neglected only if it diminishes
with distance faster than the contribution of the source density in the far
zone. In the case of a source whose distribution pattern both rotates and
travels faster than light {\em in vacuo}, as realized in recent experiments,
the boundary term in the retarded solution governing the field is by a factor
of the order of {\em larger} than the source term of this solution in
the limit that the distance of the boundary from the source tends to
infinity. This result is consistent with the prediction of the retarded
potential that part of the radiation field generated by a rotating superluminal
source decays as , instead of , a prediction that is
confirmed experimentally. More importantly, it pinpoints the reason why an
argument based on a solution of the wave equation governing the field in which
the boundary term is neglected (such as appears in the published literature)
misses the nonspherical decay of the field
Opening of DNA double strands by helicases. Active versus passive opening
Helicase opening of double-stranded nucleic acids may be "active" (the
helicase directly destabilizes the dsNA to promote opening) or "passive" (the
helicase binds ssNA available due to a thermal fluctuation which opens part of
the dsNA). We describe helicase opening of dsNA, based on helicases which bind
single NA strands and move towards the double-stranded region, using a discrete
``hopping'' model. The interaction between the helicase and the junction where
the double strand opens is characterized by an interaction potential. The form
of the potential determines whether the opening is active or passive. We
calculate the rate of passive opening for the helicase PcrA, and show that the
rate increases when the opening is active. Finally, we examine how to choose
the interaction potential to optimize the rate of strand separation. One
important result is our finding that active opening can increase the unwinding
rate by 7 fold compared to passive opening.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figure
Comparison of the Fermi-surface topologies of kappa-(BEDT-TTF)_2 Cu(NCS)_2 and its deuterated analogue
We have measured details of the quasi one-dimensional Fermi-surface sections
in the organic superconductor kappa-(BEDT-TTF)_2 Cu(NCS)_2 and its deuterated
analogue using angle-dependent millimetre-wave techniques. There are
significant differences in the corrugations of the Fermi surfaces in the
deuterated and undeuterated salts. We suggest that this is important in
understanding the inverse isotope effect, where the superconducting transition
temperature rises on deuteration. The data support models for superconductivity
which invoke electron-electron interactions depending on the topological
properties of the Fermi surface
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