8,645 research outputs found
Using visualization for visualization : an ecological interface design approach to inputting data
Visualization is experiencing growing use by a diverse community, with continuing improvements in the availability and usability of systems. In spite of these developments the problem of how first to get the data in has received scant attention: the established approach of pre-defined readers and programming aids has changed little in the last two decades. This paper proposes a novel way of inputting data for scientific visualization that employs rapid interaction and visual feedback in order to understand how the data is stored. The approach draws on ideas from the discipline of ecological interface design to extract and control important parameters describing the data, at the same time harnessing our innate human ability to recognize patterns. Crucially, the emphasis is on file format discovery rather than file format description, so the method can therefore still work when nothing is known initially of how the file was originally written, as is often the case with legacy binary data. © 2013 Elsevier Ltd
Apollo-11 lunar sample information catalogue
The Apollo 11 mission is reviewed with emphasis on the collection of lunar samples, their geologic setting, early processing, and preliminary examination. The experience gained during five subsequent missions was applied to obtain physical-chemical data for each sample using photographic and binocular microscope techniques. Topics discussed include: binocular examination procedure; breccia clast dexrriptuons, thin section examinations procedure typical breccia in thin section, typical basalt in thin section, sample histories, and chemical and age data. An index to photographs is included
Baseline design of the filters for the LAD detector on board LOFT
The Large Observatory for X-ray Timing (LOFT) was one of the M3 missions
selected for the phase A study in the ESA's Cosmic Vision program. LOFT is
designed to perform high-time-resolution X-ray observations of black holes and
neutron stars. The main instrument on the LOFT payload is the Large Area
Detector (LAD), a collimated experiment with a nominal effective area of ~10 m
2 @ 8 keV, and a spectral resolution of ~240 eV in the energy band 2-30 keV.
These performances are achieved covering a large collecting area with more than
2000 large-area Silicon Drift Detectors (SDDs) each one coupled to a collimator
based on lead-glass micro-channel plates. In order to reduce the thermal load
onto the detectors, which are open to Sky, and to protect them from out of band
radiation, optical-thermal filter will be mounted in front of the SDDs.
Different options have been considered for the LAD filters for best compromise
between high quantum efficiency and high mechanical robustness. We present the
baseline design of the optical-thermal filters, show the nominal performances,
and present preliminary test results performed during the phase A study.Comment: Proc. SPIE 9144, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2014:
Ultraviolet to Gamma Ray, 91446
Vibration characteristics of ring-stiffened orthotropic shells of revolution
Computer program solves vibration modes and frequencies of thin shells of revolution having general meridional curvature and orthotropic elastic properties in order to evaluate the dynamic behavior of structures with thin shelled components
Multiple cyclotron line-forming regions in GX 301-2
We present two observations of the high-mass X-ray binary GX 301-2 with
NuSTAR, taken at different orbital phases and different luminosities. We find
that the continuum is well described by typical phenomenological models, like a
very strongly absorbed NPEX model. However, for a statistically acceptable
description of the hard X-ray spectrum we require two cyclotron resonant
scattering features (CRSF), one at ~35 keV and the other at ~50 keV. Even
though both features strongly overlap, the good resolution and sensitivity of
NuSTAR allows us to disentangle them at >=99.9% significance. This is the first
time that two CRSFs are seen in GX 301-2. We find that the CRSFs are very
likely independently formed, as their energies are not harmonically related
and, if it were a single line, the deviation from a Gaussian shape would be
very large. We compare our results to archival Suzaku data and find that our
model also provides a good fit to those data. We study the behavior of the
continuum as well as the CRSF parameters as function of pulse phase in seven
phase bins. We find that the energy of the 35 keV CRSF varies smoothly as
function of phase, between 30-38 keV. To explain this variation, we apply a
simple model of the accretion column, taking the altitude of the line-forming
region, the velocity of the in-falling material, and the resulting relativistic
effects into account. We find that in this model the observed energy variation
can be explained simply due to a variation of the projected velocity and
beaming factor of the line forming region towards us.Comment: 18 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&
Evidence for a Variable Ultrafast Outflow in the Newly Discovered Ultraluminous Pulsar NGC 300 ULX-1
Ultraluminous pulsars are a definite proof that persistent super-Eddington
accretion occurs in nature. They support the scenario according to which most
Ultraluminous X-ray Sources (ULXs) are super-Eddington accretors of stellar
mass rather than sub-Eddington intermediate mass black holes. An important
prediction of theories of supercritical accretion is the existence of powerful
outflows of moderately ionized gas at mildly relativistic speeds. In practice,
the spectral resolution of X-ray gratings such as RGS onboard XMM-Newton is
required to resolve their observational signatures in ULXs. Using RGS, outflows
have been discovered in the spectra of 3 ULXs (none of which are currently
known to be pulsars). Most recently, the fourth ultraluminous pulsar was
discovered in NGC 300. Here we report detection of an ultrafast outflow (UFO)
in the X-ray spectrum of the object, with a significance of more than
3{\sigma}, during one of the two simultaneous observations of the source by
XMM-Newton and NuSTAR in December 2016. The outflow has a projected velocity of
65000 km/s (0.22c) and a high ionisation factor with a log value of 3.9. This
is the first direct evidence for a UFO in a neutron star ULX and also the first
time that this its evidence in a ULX spectrum is seen in both soft and hard
X-ray data simultaneously. We find no evidence of the UFO during the other
observation of the object, which could be explained by either clumpy nature of
the absorber or a slight change in our viewing angle of the accretion flow.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures. Accepted to MNRA
Granular circulation in a cylindrical pan: simulations of reversing radial and tangential flows
Granular flows due to simultaneous vertical and horizontal excitations of a
flat-bottomed cylindrical pan are investigated using event-driven molecular
dynamics simulations. In agreement with recent experimental results, we observe
a transition from a solid-like state, to a fluidized state in which circulatory
flow occurs simultaneously in the radial and tangential directions. By going
beyond the range of conditions explored experimentally, we find that each of
these circulations reverse their direction as a function of the control
parameters of the motion. We numerically evaluate the dynamical phase diagram
for this system and show, using a simple model, that the solid-fluid transition
can be understood in terms of a critical value of the radial acceleration of
the pan bottom; and that the circulation reversals are controlled by the phase
shift relating the horizontal and vertical components of the vibrations. We
also discuss the crucial role played by the geometry of the boundary
conditions, and point out a relationship of the circulation observed here and
the flows generated in vibratory conveyors.Comment: 10 pages, 8 figure
Adapting primary care for new migrants: a formative assessment
Background: Immigration rates have increased recently in the UK. Migrant patients may have
particular needs that are inadequately met by existing primary care provision. In the absence of
national guidance, local adaptations are emerging in response to these new demands.
Aim: To formatively assess the primary care services offered to new migrants and the ways in which
practitioners and practices are adapting to meet need.
Design & setting: Online survey and case studies of current practice across primary care in the UK.
Case studies were selected from mainstream and specialist general practice as well as primary care
provision in the third sector.
Method: Non-probability sample survey of primary care practitioners (n = 70) with descriptive
statistical analysis. Qualitative case studies (n = 8) selected purposively; in-depth exploration of
organisational and practitioner adaptations to services. Analysis is structured around the principles
of equitable care.
Results: Survey results indicated that practitioners focused on working with communities and
external agencies and adapting processes of, for example, screening, vaccination, and health
checks. Lack of funding was cited most frequently as a barrier to service development (n = 51;
73%). Case studies highlighted the prominence partnership working and of an organisational and
practitioner focus on equitable care. Adaptations centred on addressing wider social determinants,
trauma, and violence, and additional individual needs; and on delivering culturally-competent care.
Conclusion: Despite significant resource constraints, some primary care services are adapting to
the needs of new migrants. Many adapted approaches can be characterised as equity-oriented
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