Discovery of Non-radial pulsations in PQ Andromedae

We have detected pulsations in time-series photometry of the WZ Sge dwarf nova PQ And. The strongest peak in the power spectrum occurs at a period of 10.5 minutes. Similar periods have been observed in other WZ Sge systems and are attributed to ZZ Ceti type non-radial pulsations. There is no indication in the photometry of an approximately 1.7 hour orbital period as reported in previous spectroscopic observations.Comment: 7 pages, 5 figure

Development of a positioning aid to reduce postural variability and errors in 3D whole body scan measurements

Three-dimensional (3D) body scanners have the potential to evaluate changes to the human form through different clothing configurations, the use of protective equipment, or the effects of medical interventions. To achieve this, scans of an individual need to be superimposed for each experimental condition. The literature highlights that one of the limiting factors is postural variability. This paper describes a newly developed ‘positioning aid’ that stabilises the posture during the scanning process and is invisible on scans. The results of a study evaluating the efficacy of the positioning aid showed that it reduces postural variability for all body parts in lateral and longitudinal directions. A reference test with a rigid mannequin indicated that the ‘technical’ variability due to the scanner hardware and software significantly contributes to the residual variability. Furthermore, the study showed that the newly developed positioning aid overall increased the precision of the software-assisted extraction of body dimensions

MODERN PHOTOGRAMMETRY IN CIVIL ENGINEERING - EXAMPLES FOR MONITORING AND EVALUATION

Monitoring und Bewertung sind Hauptaufgaben im Management bzw. der Revitalisierung von Bauwerken. Unterschiedliche Verfahren können bei der Akquisition der erforderlichen geometrischen Information, wie z. B. Größe oder Verformung eines Gebäudes, eingesetzt werden. Da das Potenzial der digitalen Fotografie kontinuierlich wächst, stellt die Industriephotogrammetrie heute eine bedeutende Alternative zu den klassischen Verfahren wie Dehnmessstreifen oder anderen taktilen Sensoren dar. Moderne Industriephotogrammetrie erfasst die Bilder mittels digitaler Systeme. Dies bedeutet, dass die Information digitaler Bilder mit Hilfe der digitalen Bildverarbeitung untersucht werden muss, um die Bildkoordinaten der Messpunkte zu erhalten. Eine der Aufgaben der Bildverarbeitung für photogrammetrische Zwecke besteht somit darin, den Mittelpunkt von kreisförmigen Marken zu lokalisieren. Die modernen Operatoren liefern Subpixelgenauigkeit für die Koordinaten des Punktes. Das optische Messverfahren der Industriephotogrammetrie erfordert hinsichtlich der Hardware in erster Linie hochauflösende digitale Kameras. Dabei lassen sich die Kameras in Videokameras, HighSpeed-Kameras, intelligente Kameras sowie so genannte Consumer und Professionelle Kameras unterscheiden. Die geometrische Auflösung digitaler HighEnd-Kameras liegt heute bei über 10 Megapixel. In punkto Datentransfer zum Rechner sind verschiedene Standards am Markt verfügbar, z. B. USB2.0, GigE-Vision, CameraLink oder Firewire. Die Wahl des Standards hängt immer von der spezifischen Aufgabenstellung ab, da keine der Techniken eine führende Position einnimmt. Die moderne Photogrammetrie bietet viele neue Möglichkeiten für das Monitoring und die Bewertung von Bauwerken. Sie kann ein-, zwei-, drei- oder vierdimensionale Informationen liefern, falls erforderlich auch in Echtzeit. Als berührungsloses Messverfahren ist der Einsatz der Photogrammetrie noch möglich, wenn die taktilen Sensoren z. B. aufgrund ihres Platzbedarfes nicht mehr eingesetzt werden können. Hochauflösende Videokameras erlauben es, selbst dynamische Untersuchungen mit großer Präzision durchzuführen

3-D Photoionization Structure and Distances of Planetary Nebulae II. Menzel 1

We present the results of a spatio-kinematic study of the planetary nebula Menzel 1 using spectro-photometric mapping and a 3-D photoionization code. We create several 2-D emission line images from our long-slit spectra, and use these to derive the line fluxes for 15 lines, the Halpha/Hbeta extinction map, and the [SII] line ratio density map of the nebula. We use our photoionization code constrained by these data to derive the three-dimensional nebular structure and ionizing star parameters of Menzel 1 by simultaneously fitting the integrated line intensities, the density map, and the observed morphologies in several lines, as well as the velocity structure. Using theoretical evolutionary tracks of intermediate and low mass stars, we derive a mass for the central star of 0.63+-0.05 Msolar. We also derive a distance of 1050+_150 pc to Menzel 1.Comment: To be published in ApJ of 10th February 2005. 12 figure

Short-Term Effects of South Louisiana and Kuwait Crude Oils on Glucose Utilization by Marine Bacterial Populations

Two crude oils, South Louisiana and Kuwait, were examined for their impact on glucose utilization by bacterial populations from the Gulf of Mexico. The uptake and mineralization of [U-(14)C]glucose was assayed after a 4- to 23-h exposure to various concentrations of added crude oil (0, 0.001, 0.01, and 0.1% [vol/vol]). The effects of oil were determined in a total of 15 sediment and 13 water samples collected from offshore, open-bay, and salt marsh environments. The utilization of glucose by bacterial populations usually was not affected by added oil; in 10 sediment and 11 water samples, oil had no significant effect on either glucose uptake or mineralization. Stimulation by oil was recorded in four sediment samples. Oil inhibition occurred in one sediment and two water samples, but only in the presence of the highest concentration of added oil, i.e., 0.1%. Our data suggest that short-term exposure to either South Louisiana or Kuwait crude oil, even at 0.1%, usually has no toxic effect on glucose utilization by marine bacterial populations

Molecular Phenotypes Distinguish Patients with Relatively Stable from Progressive Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF)

BACKGROUND: Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive, chronic interstitial lung disease that is unresponsive to current therapy and often leads to death. However, the rate of disease progression differs among patients. We hypothesized that comparing the gene expression profiles between patients with stable disease and those in which the disease progressed rapidly will lead to biomarker discovery and contribute to the understanding of disease pathogenesis. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: To begin to address this hypothesis, we applied Serial Analysis of Gene Expression (SAGE) to generate lung expression profiles from diagnostic surgical lung biopsies in 6 individuals with relatively stable (or slowly progressive) IPF and 6 individuals with progressive IPF (based on changes in DLCO and FVC over 12 months). Our results indicate that this comprehensive lung IPF SAGE transcriptome is distinct from normal lung tissue and other chronic lung diseases. To identify candidate markers of disease progression, we compared the IPF SAGE profiles in stable and progressive disease, and identified a set of 102 transcripts that were at least 5-fold up regulated and a set of 89 transcripts that were at least 5-fold down regulated in the progressive group (P-value</=0.05). The over expressed genes included surfactant protein A1, two members of the MAPK-EGR-1-HSP70 pathway that regulate cigarette-smoke induced inflammation, and Plunc (palate, lung and nasal epithelium associated), a gene not previously implicated in IPF. Interestingly, 26 of the up regulated genes are also increased in lung adenocarcinomas and have low or no expression in normal lung tissue. More importantly, we defined a SAGE molecular expression signature of 134 transcripts that sufficiently distinguished relatively stable from progressive IPF. CONCLUSIONS: These findings indicate that molecular signatures from lung parenchyma at the time of diagnosis could prove helpful in predicting the likelihood of disease progression or possibly understanding the biological activity of IPF