High curie temperatures in ferromagnetic Cr-doped AlN thin films

Al1-xCrxN thin films with 0.02less than or equal toxless than or equal to0.1 were deposited by reactive co-sputtering onto c-plane (001) sapphire. Room-temperature ferromagnetism with a coercive field of 85 Oe was observed in samples with chromium contents as low as x=0.027 (2.7%). With increasing Cr content the mean magnetic moment is strongly suppressed, with a maximum saturation moment of 0.62 and 0.71 mu(B) per Cr atom at 300 and 50 K, respectively. We show that the Curie temperature of Al1-xCrxN for x=0.027 is greater than 900 K. (C) 2004 American Institute of Physics

Improvised interfaces for real-time musical applications

International audienceComputers offer a wealth of promises for real-time musical control. One of them is to enable musicians to change the structure of their instruments in the same time they are playing them, allowing them to adapt their tools to their wills and needs. Few interaction styles provide enough freedom to achieve this. Improvised interfaces are tangible interfaces made out of found objects and tailored by their users. We propose to take advantage of these improvised interfaces to turn the surrounding physical environment into a dynamic musical instrument with tremendous possibilities. Methods dealing with design issues are presented and an implementation of this novel approach is described

Context-aware Configuration: A study on improving cell phone awareness

Abstract. As the number of mobile devices we carry grows, the job of managing those devices throughout the day becomes cumbersome. This is especially true for cell phones. Despite the many benefits they provide, cell phones create problems that arise from a mismatch between the user’s context and the cell phone’s behavior. In large part, the mismatch occurs because owners do not remember to frequently update their cell phone configuration according to the current context. It is desirable for mobile devices to automatically configure themselves based on the context of the environment and user preferences. Given the personal attachment between people and their mobile devices such as cell phones, context-aware automatic configuration may not be the preferred solution for users. We have conducted an in situ experiment to examine the feasibility, effectiveness and people’s reactions to such a solution. Our results show that people prefer automatic configuration over configuring their devices by hand, and they are willing to adopt it in real life. The results also suggest that a hybrid, passive-active, context-aware configuration approach is preferred over a purely passive or active one.

investigation of the role of platelets in the aetiopathogenesis of adenomyosis

Research question Do platelets aggregate in adenomyotic lesions and participate in adenomyosis (AD) pathogenesis and related fibrosis? Design Eutopic and ectopic endometrium from 18 patients with AD and endometrium from 23 healthy controls were collected. Immunohistochemical analyses of platelet marker CD41, transforming growth factor β1 (TGF-β1) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) were performed to investigate aggregation and activation of platelets in the stroma. Picrosirius staining was carried out to evaluate the extent of fibrotic tissue. Results Stroma in the control group showed higher CD41 staining levels than ectopic stroma from patients with AD (p<0.001). In subjects with AD, eutopic stroma expressed more extensive CD41 staining than ectopic stroma (p<0.0001). Stroma in the control group exhibited higher TGF-β1 expression than eutopic and ectopic stroma from AD patients (p<0.001 and p<0.0001). Stroma in the control group also expressed higher VEGF levels than ectopic stroma from subjects with AD (p<0.001). In patients with AD, eutopic stroma showed higher VEGF expression than ectopic stroma (p<0.05). Stroma in ectopic endometrium from AD patients displayed greater picrosirius staining compared to both eutopic stroma from AD patients and stroma in the control group (p<0.0001). Conclusion Our results did not detect a primary role for platelet activation or aggregation in the pathophysiological process of AD. We found higher rates of collagen fibers in adenomyotic lesions, likely to be related to a TGF-β1-independant pathway. Collagen fiber deposition was more extensive in adenomyotic lesions, consistent with fibrosis

An Exploration of Location Error Estimation

Abstract. Many existing localization systems generate location predictions, but fail to report how accurate the predictions are. This paper explores the effect of revealing the error of location predictions to the end-user in a location finding field study. We report findings obtained under four different error visualization conditions and show significant benefit in revealing the error of location predictions to the user in location finding tasks. We report the observed influences of error on participants’ strategies for location finding. Additionally, given the observed benefit of a dynamic estimate of error, we design practical algorithms for estimating the error of a location prediction. Analysis of the algorithms shows a median estimation inaccuracy of up to 50m from the predicted location’s true error.

Interacting with Context

Context is dodgy -- just as the human computer user: hard to predict, erroneous, and probabilistic in nature. Linking the two together i.e. creating context-aware user interfaces (UIs) remains a great challenge in computer science since ubiquitous computing calls for lean, situated, and focused UIs that can be operated on the move or intertwined with primary tasks grabbing the user&apos;s attention. The paper reviews major categories of context that matter at the seam of humans and computers, emphasizing quality issues. Approaches to the marriage of context-awareness and user modeling are highlighted, including our own approach. Both sides of the coin are inspected: the improvement of UIs by means of quality attributed context information and, to a lesser extent, the challenge to convey context quality to the user as part of the interaction