Tactile animation

This creative project takes a look at a new method of approaching the study of animation through use of a new type of 3-dimensional zoetrope called the ellistrope. The ellistrope helps answer "the whys" that linger in the heads of new animators. As they look at the figures dance and come to life all at once while the ellistrope is spinning, they can study the figure from a variety of views all at once. They can concentrate on one angle, and then compare it to any other in an instant. The student now has the opportunity to hold a frame in their hands. This will help them grasp the concepts of 3-dimensionality, thinking in the round, and foreshortening, and not just seeing an image on the screen. By doing this they can further study and grasp the concepts of key poses and dynamic drawings. Being able to investigate what happens from many perspectives and in different tangible fragments provides an excellent learning tool not previously accessible.Department of ArtThesis (M.A.

A Prediction for the 4-Loop \beta Function

We predict that the four-loop contribution \beta_3 to the QCD \beta function in the MS-bar prescription is given by \beta_3\simeq 23,600(900) - 6,400(200) N_f + 350(70) N_f^2 + 1.5 N_f^3, where N_f is the number of flavours and the coefficient of N_f^3 is an exact result from large-N_f expansion. In the phenomenologically-interesting case N_f=3, we estimate \beta_3 = (7.6 \pm 0.1) x 10^3. We discuss our estimates of the errors in these QCD predictions, basing them on the demonstrated accuracy of our method in test applications to the O(N) \Phi^4 theory, and on variations in the details of our estimation method, which goes beyond conventional Pade approximants by estimating and correcting for subasymptotic deviations from exact results.Comment: 11 pages, LaTeX, including 2 figures in 3 ps files; requires epsfig.sty; added comparison with recent exact result

The conjugacy problem for automorphism groups of countable homogeneous structures

We consider the conjugacy problem for the automorphism groups of a number of countable homogeneous structures. In each case we find the precise complexity of the conjugacy relation in the sense of Borel reducibility

Application of Pade Approximants to Determination of alpha_s(M_Z^2) from Hadronic Event Shape Observables in e+e- Annihilation

We have applied Pade approximants to perturbative QCD calculations of event shape observables in e+e- --> hadrons. We used the exact O(alpha_s^2) prediction and the [0/1] Pade approximant to estimate the O(alpha_s^3) term for 15 observables, and in each case determined alpha_s(M_Z^2) from comparison with hadronic Z^0 decay data from the SLD experiment. We found the scatter among the alpha_s(M_Z^2) values to be significantly reduced compared with the standard O(alpha_s^2) determination, implying that the Pade method provides at least a partial approximation of higher-order perturbative contributions to event shape observables.Comment: 15 pages, 1 EPS figure, Submitted to Physics Letters

The Anomalous Magnetic Moments of the Electron and the Muon - Improved QED Predictions Using Pade Approximants

We use Pade Approximants to obtain improved predictions for the anomalous magnetic moments of the electron and the muon. These are needed because of the very precise experimental values presently obtained for the electron, and soon to be obtained at BNL for the muon. The Pade prediction for the QED contribution to the anomalous magnetic moment of the muon differs significantly from the naive perturbative prediction.Comment: 8 pages (LateX); SLAC-PUB-6670, CERN-TH-7451/94, TAUP-2201-94, OSU-RN-393/94. Typo correcte

Estimate of the Three-Loop MS bar Contribution to sigma(W_L^+ W_L^- --> Z_L Z_L)

The three-loop contribution to the MS bar single-Higgs-doublet standard-model cross-section $\sigma(W_L^+ W_L^- \to Z_L Z_L)$ at s = (5M_H)^2 is estimated via least-squares matching of the asymptotic Pade-approximant prediction of the next order term, a procedure that has been previously applied to QCD corrections to correlation functions and decay amplitudes. In contrast to these prior applications, the expansion parameter for the W_L^+ W_L^- \to Z_L Z_L process is the non-asymptotically-free quartic scalar-field coupling of the standard model, suggesting that the least-squares matching be performed over the "infrared" mu^2 <= s region of the scale parameter. All three coefficients of logarithms within the three-loop term obtained by such matching are found to be within 6.6% relative error of their true values, as determined via renormalization-group methods. Surprisingly, almost identical results are obtained by performing the least squares matching over the mu^2 >= s region.Comment: 9 pages, LaTeX, 3 figures adde

Construction of a Site-Specific Integrative Vector for Use in Genetic Engineering of Cronobacter sakazakii

Cronobacter sakazakii is a gram-negative bacillus belonging to the family Enterobacteriaceae and is classed as an opportunistic pathogen. Capable of mortality rates in excess of 40% in infected infants and neonates, many investigations have sought to elucidate the pathogenesis of this organism. Constructing a site-specific integrative vector that could be utilized to engineer the species and create a fluorescent C. sakazakii strain may provide a useful visual aid in tissue invasion studies. The vector pOSIP-KC was utilized as a plasmid backbone into which the φES15 integrase gene, derived from a C. sakazakii lysogenic phage, along with the φES15 attP attachment sequence were cloned, creating the novel integrative vector pOSIP-ES15. The efficiency of vector integration and targeting at the predicted attB location was tested by transforming electrocompetent C. sakazakii NCTC 11467 cells with the vector and confirming integration through PCR analysis. pOSIP-ES15 appeared to preferentially integrate into other unknown locations in the chromosome, only integrating into the attB site approximately one third of the time. An expression cassette with a gene encoding the Superfolder GFP protein, driven by the strong, constitutive promoter nptII, was cloned into the vector to create pOSIP-ES15_GFP. Through repeated attempts, although integration of the vector into the NCTC 11467 chromosome was verified, no visual fluorescence was detectable. Fluorescence analysis by spectrophotometry showed no significant difference in emission intensity between integrated strains and parental NCTC 11467 cells. Expression of the cassette when harbored in an episomal plasmid within NCTC 11467 led to high intensity fluorescence, indicating the strain could express the cassette, but once integrated into the chromosome unknown factors caused a silencing of expression. This project demonstrated that site-specific integrative vectors can be powerful genetic engineering tools, but that without prior characterization of integration locations, expression of exogenous DNA introduced cannot always be reliably predicted