1,212 research outputs found
SGARFACE: A Novel Detector For Microsecond Gamma Ray Bursts
The Short GAmma Ray Front Air Cherenkov Experiment (SGARFACE) is operated at
the Whipple Observatory utilizing the Whipple 10m gamma-ray telescope. SGARFACE
is sensitive to gamma-ray bursts of more than 100MeV with durations from 100ns
to 35us and provides a fluence sensitivity as low as 0.8 gamma-rays per m^2
above 200MeV (0.05 gamma-rays per m^2 above 2GeV) and allows to record the
burst time structure.Comment: 29 pages, 14 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle
Physic
A New Analysis Method for Reconstructing the Arrival Direction of TeV Gamma-rays Using a Single Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope
We present a method of atmospheric Cherenkov imaging which reconstructs the
unique arrival direction of TeV gamma rays using a single telescope. The method
is derived empirically and utilizes several features of gamma-ray induced air
showers which determine, to a precision of 0.12 degrees, the arrival direction
of photons, on an event-by-event basis. Data from the Whipple Observatory's 10
m gamma-ray telescope is utilized to test selection methods based on source
location. The results compare these selection methods with traditional
techniques and three different camera fields of view. The method will be
discussed in the context of a search for a gamma-ray signal from a point source
located anywhere within the field of view and from regions of extended
emission.Comment: 24 pages, 16 figures, accepted for publication in Astroparticle
Physics May 11, 200
Memory for serial order in bilingual children
Poster: no. 10Recent studies have suggested that phonological short-term memory (STM) capacity is important for language acquisition. In both, children and grownups, reliable correlations have been obtained between digit span, nonword repetition ability, and vocabulary achievement while factoring out other possible factors like age and nonverbal intelligence (Gathercole, Service, Hitch, Adams, & Martin, 1999; Gathercole, Willis, Emslie, & Baddeley, 1992; Gupta, 2003). Majerus et al. (Majerus, Poncelet, Van der Linden, & Weekes, 2008) found that serial order memory was the most important predictor for new word learning. No evidence was found for item short-term memory as a predictor. Majerus et al. therefore suggested that order short-term memory and phonological awareness are independent predictors of new word learning. Our aim was to investigate the memory for serial order in mono- and bilingual language processing to elicit ERP correlates of item and order STM, during encoding, maintenance and retrieval stages. 25 monolingual native English speakers âŠpostprintThe International Conference on Neurobilingualism, Bangor University, Wales, U.K., 19-20 September 2009
Minimal Stereoscopic Analysis for Imaging Atmospheric Cherenkov Telescope Arrays
The trajectory of a primary gamma-ray detected with an array of at least four
atmospheric Cherenkov imaging telescopes can be reconstructed from the shower
image centroid positions and geometrical considerations independent of the
primary energy. Using only the image centroid positions some cosmic-ray
discrimination is also possible. This minimal approach opens the possibility of
pushing the analysis threshold to lower values, close to the hardware
threshold
How are affective word ratings related to lexicosemantic properties?:evidence from the Sussex Affective Word List
Emotional content of verbal material affects the speed of visual word recognition in various cognitive tasks, independently of lexicosemantic variables. However, little is known about how the dimensions of emotional arousal and valence interact with the lexicosemantic properties of words such as age of acquisition, familiarity, and imageability, that determine word recognition performance. This study aimed to examine these relationships using English ratings for affective and lexicosemantic features. Eighty-two native English speakers rated 300 words for emotional valence, arousal, familiarity, age of acquisition, and imageability. Although both dimensions of emotion were correlated with lexicosemantic variables, a unique emotion cluster produced the strongest quadratic relationship. This finding suggests that emotion should be included in models of word recognition as it is likely to make an independent contribution
Detection Techniques of Microsecond Gamma-Ray Bursts using Ground-Based Telescopes
Gamma-ray observations above 200 MeV are conventionally made by
satellite-based detectors. The EGRET detector on the Compton Gamma Ray
Observatory (CGRO) has provided good sensitivity for the detection of bursts
lasting for more than 200 ms. Theoretical predictions of high-energy gamma-ray
bursts produced by quantum-mechanical decay of primordial black holes (Hawking
1971) suggest the emission of bursts on shorter time scales. The final stage of
a primordial black hole results in a burst of gamma-rays, peaking around 250
MeV and lasting for a tenth of a microsecond or longer depending on particle
physics. In this work we show that there is an observational window using
ground-based imaging Cherenkov detectors to measure gamma-ray burst emission at
energies E greater than 200 MeV. This technique, with a sensitivity for bursts
lasting nanoseconds to several microseconds, is based on the detection of
multi-photon-initiated air showers.Comment: accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journa
Using the ârecoveryâ and ârehabilitationâ paradigms to support desistence of substance-involved offenders: Exploration of dual and multi-focus interventions (Invited Paper)
Purpose
The links between substance use and offending are well evidenced in the literature, and increasingly, substance misuse recovery is being seen as a central component of the process of rehabilitation from offending, with substance use identified as a key criminogenic risk factor. In recent years, research has demonstrated the commonalities between recovery and rehabilitation, and the possible merits of providing interventions to substance-involved offenders that address both problematic sets of behaviours. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the links between substance use and offending, and the burgeoning literature around the parallel processes of recovery and rehabilitation.
Design/methodology/approach
This is provided as a rationale for a new treatment approach for substance-involved offenders, Breaking Free Online (BFO), which has recently been provided as part of the âGatewaysâ throughcare pathfinder in a number of prisons in North-West England. The BFO programme contains specific behaviour change techniques that are generic enough to be applied to change a wide range of behaviours, and so is able to support substance-involved offenders to address their substance use and offending simultaneously.
Findings
This dual and multi-target intervention approach has the potential to address multiple, associated areas of need simultaneously, streamlining services and providing more holistic support for individuals, such as substance-involved offenders, who may have multiple and complex needs.
Practical implications
Given the links between substance use and offending, it may be beneficial to provide multi-focussed interventions that address both these behaviours simultaneously, in addition to other areas of multiple and complex needs. Specifically, digital technologies may provide an opportunity to widen access to such multi-focussed interventions, through computer-assisted therapy delivery modalities. Additionally, using digital technologies to deliver such interventions can provide opportunities for joined-up care by making interventions available across both prison and community settings, following offenders on their journey through the criminal justice system.
Originality/value
Recommendations are provided to other intervention developers who may wish to further contribute to widening access to such dual- and multi-focus programmes for substance-involved offenders, based on the experiences developing and evidencing the BFO programme
TOPSAN: a dynamic web database for structural genomics
The Open Protein Structure Annotation Network (TOPSAN) is a web-based collaboration platform for exploring and annotating structures determined by structural genomics efforts. Characterization of those structures presents a challenge since the majority of the proteins themselves have not yet been characterized. Responding to this challenge, the TOPSAN platform facilitates collaborative annotation and investigation via a user-friendly web-based interface pre-populated with automatically generated information. Semantic web technologies expand and enrich TOPSANâs content through links to larger sets of related databases, and thus, enable data integration from disparate sources and data mining via conventional query languages. TOPSAN can be found at http://www.topsan.org
Effects of valence and arousal on written word recognition:Time course and ERP correlates
Models of affect assume a two-dimensional framework, composed of emotional valence and arousal. Although neuroimaging evidence supports a neuro-functional distinction of their effects during single word processing, electrophysiological studies have not yet compared the effects of arousal within the same category of valence (positive and negative). Here we investigate effects of arousal and valence on written lexical decision. Amplitude differences between emotion and neutral words were seen in the early posterior negativity (EPN), the late positive complex and in a sustained slow positivity. In addition, trends towards interactive effects of valence and arousal were observed in the EPN, showing larger amplitude for positive, high-arousal and negative, low-arousal words. The results provide initial evidence for interactions between arousal and valence during processing of positive words and highlight the importance of both variables in studies of emotional stimulus processing. Crown Copyright (C) 2012 Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved
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