Topological Fragmentation of Medical 3D Surface Mesh Models for Multi-Hierarchy Anatomical Classification

High resolution 3D mesh representations of patient anatomy with appendant functional classification are of high importance in the field of clinical education and therapy planning. Thereby, classification is not always possible directly from patient morphology, thus necessitating tool support. In this work a hierarchical mesh data model for multi-hierarchy anatomical classification is introduced, allowing labeling of a patient model according to various medical taxonomies. The classification regions are thereby specified utilizing a spline representation to be placed and deformed by a medical expert at low effort. Furthermore, application of randomized dilation allows conversion of the specified regions on the surface into fragmented and closed sub-meshes, comprising the entire anatomical structure.As proof of concept, the semi-automated classification method is implemented for VTK library and visualization of the multihierarchy anatomical model is validated with OpenGL, successfully extracting sub-meshes of the brain lobes and preparing classification regions according to Brodmann area taxonomy

Growth and Anneals of HgBa2CuO4+δ

Faculty Advisor: Martin GrevenHigh temperature superconductivity is a phenomenon that exhibits considerable promise in the advancement of technology. The alluring premise of zero resistance at manageable temperatures offers unparalleled minimization of power loss, which necessitates extensive research to aid in understanding the operation of HTSCs (High Temperature Superconductors). This study focused on the well-known HTSC HgBa2CuO4+δ (Hg1201). Specifically, the growth procedure was modified using liquid Hg in an attempt to improve crystal quality and size. The frequency of high-quality crystals increased following the change to include liquid mercury in the growth. Additionally, several large crystals were isolated in a higher frequency than with the old growth method. It was also the objective to perform carefully monitored anneals of Hg1201 crystals to modify their oxygen content, with an emphasis on low doping. This was done in order to obtain samples for relevant future experiments. Four anneals were carried out: one highly reduced anneal, two lightly reduced anneals, and one oxidized anneal. These trials yielded inconsistent results.This research was supported by the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP)

Katamnese - Therapiemotivation bei substanzabhängigen Klienten im Programm Therapie statt Strafe

Die vorliegende Untersuchung beschäftigt sich mit der Veränderung motivationaler Schemata zweier Behandlungsgruppen in einer ambulanten Therapieeinrichtung für Suchtkranke. Zum einen werden substanzabhängige Klienten untersucht, welche aufgrund einer Weisung vom Gericht an dem Programm „Therapie statt Strafe“ teilnehmen. Zum anderen handelt es sich um substanzabhängige Klienten, welche aufgrund anderer Motive freiwillig dieselbe ambulante Suchttherapiestelle aufsuchen. Auf Basis des transtheoretischen Modells der Veränderung von Prochaska und DiClimente(1983) wird die Veränderung des Stadiums der Verhaltensänderung in Abhängigkeit zum Zwangskontext analysiert. Ein weiterer Schwerpunkt dieser Studie liegt in der Veränderung des emotionalen Befindens. Von großem Interesse ist die noch wenig untersuchte Rolle des Faktor Zwangs. Für diese Studie konnten 43 Personen rekrutiert werden, die nach einem sechsmonatigen Katamnesezeitraum, infolge der Querschnittsuntersuchung zu Therapiebeginn von Leeb (2011), an einer erneuten Testung teilgenommen haben.The present study explores changes concerning motivation of two treatment groups in a treatment institute for drug addicts. The first group is part of the program “Therapie statt Strafe” based on a judicial order. The other group consists of people which are voluntarily in a treatment institute. The study is based on the transtheoretical stages of change model from Prochaska and DiClemente (1983) where changes of behaviour stages will be analyzed according to coercion. Another important point in this study is the change of emotional well being. Especially the unknown role of external pressure and coercion in this content is interesting. For the present study 43 drug dependent treatment clients could be recruited. The clients were tested at the beginning of their treatment (Leeb, 2011). In this study the drug dependent clients were tested again after six months to discover changes concerning drug addiction and treatment

High-frequency broadband laser phase noise cancellation using a delay line

Laser phase noise remains a limiting factor in many experimental settings, including metrology, time-keeping, as well as quantum optics. Hitherto this issue was addressed at low frequencies, ranging from well below 1 Hz to maximally 100 kHz. However, a wide range of experiments, such as, e.g., those involving nanomechanical membrane resonators, are highly sensitive to noise at higher frequencies in the range of 100 kHz to 10 MHz, such as nanomechanical membrane resonators. Here we employ a fiber-loop delay line interferometer optimized to cancel laser phase noise at frequencies around 1.5 MHz. We achieve noise reduction in 300 kHz-wide bands with a peak reduction of more than 10 dB at desired frequencies, reaching phase noise of less than -160 dB (rad$^2$/Hz) with a Ti:Al$_2$O$_3$ laser. These results provide a convenient noise reduction technique to achieve deep ground-state cooling of mechanical motion.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figure

Density-wave ordering in a unitary Fermi gas with photon-mediated interactions

A density wave (DW) is a fundamental type of long-range order in quantum matter tied to self-organization into a crystalline structure. The interplay of DW order with superfluidity can lead to complex scenarios that pose a great challenge to theoretical analysis. In the last decades, tunable quantum Fermi gases have served as model systems for exploring the physics of strongly interacting fermions, including most notably magnetic ordering, pairing and superfluidity, and the crossover from a Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer (BCS) superfluid to a Bose-Einstein condensate (BEC). Here, we realize a Fermi gas featuring both strong, tunable contact interactions and photon-mediated, spatially structured long-range interactions in a transversely driven high-finesse optical cavity. Above a critical long-range interaction strength DW order is stabilized in the system, which we identify via its superradiant light scattering properties. We quantitatively measure the variation of the onset of DW order as the contact interaction is varied across the BCS-BEC crossover, in qualitative agreement with a mean-field theory. The atomic DW susceptibility varies over an order of magnitude upon tuning the strength and the sign of the long-range interactions below the self-ordering threshold, demonstrating independent and simultaneous control over the contact and long-range interactions. Therefore, our experimental setup provides a fully tunable and microscopically controllable platform for the experimental study of the interplay of superfluidity and DW order.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure

An everlasting pioneer: the story of Antirrhinum research

Despite the tremendous success of Arabidopsis thaliana, no single model can represent the vast range of form that is seen in the ~250,000 existing species of flowering plants (angiosperms). Here, we consider the history and future of an alternative angiosperm model — the snapdragon Antirrhinum majus. We ask what made Antirrhinum attractive to the earliest students of variation and inheritance, and how its use led to landmark advances in plant genetics and to our present understanding of plant development. Finally, we show how the wide diversity of Antirrhinum species, combined with classical and molecular genetics — the two traditional strengths of Antirrhinum — provide an opportunity for developmental, evolutionary and ecological approaches. These factors make A. majus an ideal comparative angiosperm