Moisture and heat budgets of a cirrus cloud from aircraft measurements during FIRE

Increasing knowledge of cirrus cloud properties can contribute to general circulation model development and ultimately to a better understanding of climate. The objective was to gain a better understanding of cirrus cloud characteristics. Observations from different sensors during the First ISCCP (International Satellite Cloud Climatology Program) Regional Experiment (FIRE) which took place in Wisconsin over Oshkosh together with pertinent calculations are used to understand the dynamical, microphysical, and radiative characteristics of these clouds

Vertical velocities within a Cirrus cloud from Doppler lidar and aircraft measurements during FIRE: Implications for particle growth

A large and comprehensive data set taken by the NOAA CO2 Doppler lidar, the NCAR King Air, and rawinsondes on 31 October 1986 during the FIRE (First ISCCP Regional Experiment) field program which took place in Wisconsin are presented. Vertical velocities are determined from the Doppler lidar data, and are compared with velocities derived from the aircraft microphysical data. The data are used for discussion of particle growth and dynamical processes operative within the cloud

Real-time virtual fitting with body measurement and motion smoothing

Cataloged from PDF version of article.We present a novel virtual fitting room framework using a depth sensor, which provides a realistic fitting experience with customized motion filters, size adjustments and physical simulation. The proposed scaling method adjusts the avatar and determines a standardized apparel size according to the user's measurements, prepares the collision mesh and the physics simulation, with a total of 1 s preprocessing time. The real-time motion filters prevent unnatural artifacts due to the noise from depth sensor or self-occluded body parts. We apply bone splitting to realistically render the body parts near the joints. All components are integrated efficiently to keep the frame rate higher than previous works while not sacrificing realism. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Effect of mentha on performance, haematological and biochemical parameters in laying hens

Effects of Mentha piperita (peppermint) extract and juice on performance and immune parameters were evaluated in laying hens. A total of 252 Babcock laying hens were allocated to seven treatments with four replications of nine hens. The control hens were fed a basal diet without supplementation. Other hens were given diets supplemented with mentha extract (ME) at 50 (50ME), 100 (100ME), and 200 (200ME) mg/kg of feed or with 50 mentha juice (50MJ), 100 (100MJ) and 200 (200MJ) mg/L that was provided in the drinking water. No significant differences were detected among treatments in bodyweight, feed intake, egg mass, egg production, eggshell breaking strength, Haugh unit, and haematological and serological parameters. The ratio of gram feed to gram egg mass (feed conversion) was significantly better in the birds that received 100ME and 200ME compared with the control hens. The yolk colour index was higher in mid trial analysis (28th day). Thus, although the ME supplementation had a positive effect on feed conversion ratio and egg yolk colour at dosage rates up to 200 mg/kg, further research is needed to establish the efficacy of this herbal product and to determine the most appropriate amount to include in diets for laying hens

Exploring Effects of High School Students’ Mathematical Processing Skills and Conceptual Understanding of Chemical Concepts on Algorithmic Problem Solving

The purpose of the study was to examine the effects of students’ conceptual understanding of chemical concepts and mathematical processing skills on algorithmic problem-solving skills. The sample (N = 554) included grades 9, 10, and 11 students in Turkey. Data were collected using the instrument “MPC Test” and with interviews. The MPC Test consists of 3 sections: 8 conceptual questions (Qcu), 8 algorithmic problems (Qcc), 8 mathematics questions (Qm). It was concluded that students’ conceptual understanding and mathematical processing skills effected algorithmic problem-solving skills. The effects of conceptual understanding were much more than mathematical processing skills on algorithmic problem-solving skills. According to the MCT Test results, 10 students with high, average, and low grades were interviewed. Qualitative findings were consistent with quantitative results. There is a significant relationship between students’ algorithmic skills and their mathematical skills. Also, it was concluded that students’ conceptual understandings are effective on solving chemistry problems but solving chemistry problems correctly does not mean chemistry concepts can be understood truly and deeply on a molecular level

Cloud microphysical characteristics versus temperature for three Canadian field projects

International audienceThe purpose of this study is to better understand how cloud microphysical characteristics such as liquid water content (LWC) and droplet number concentration (Nd) change with temperature (T). The in situ observations were collected during three research projects including: the Radiation, Aerosol, and Cloud Experiment (RACE) which took place over the Bay of Fundy and Central Ontario during August 1995, the First International Regional Arctic Cloud Experiment (FIRE.ACE) which took place in the Arctic Ocean during April 1998, and the Alliance Icing Research Study (AIRS) which took place in the Ontario region during the winter of 1999?2000. The RACE, FIRE.ACE, and AIRS projects represent summer mid-latitude clouds, Arctic clouds, and mid-latitude winter clouds, respectively. A LWC threshold of 0.005 g m-3 was used for this study. Similar to other studies, LWC was observed to decrease with decreasing T. The LWC-T relationship was similar for all projects, although the range of T conditions for each project was substantially different, and the variability of LWC within each project was considerable. Nd also decreased with decreasing T, and a parameterization for Nd versus T is suggested that may be useful for modeling studies

NORMAL TORI IN #_n(S2xS1) AND THE DEHN TWIST AUTOMORPHISMS OF THE FREE GROUP

The 3-dimensional space which renders a Out(F_n) action is M = #_n(S2x S1). The relation between M and Out(F_n) is that the latter is isomorphic to the mapping class group of M up to rotations about 2-spheres in M.Associated to M is a rich algebraic structure coming from the essential 2-spheres that M contains. Inspired by this and combining the work of Whitehead with that of Laudenbach, Hatcher defined the notion of normal form with respect to a fixed sphere system and proved the existence of normal representatives of spheres in a given isotopy class of spheres in M. This is a local notion of minimal intersection of a sphere system with respect to a maximal sphere system in M.In this work, a notion of being normal for tori in #_n(S2 xS1) is defined. This notion is crucial to determine minimality of intersections between tori and between spheres and tori. We prove two theorems regarding existence and uniqueness of normal representatives in a given homotopy class of tori. Then we define criteria for minimal intersection in a local sense and prove that a normal representative from a given homotopy class of tori satisfies it.Just as there is a 1-1 correspondence between the equivalence classes of free splittings of the free group and the isotopy classes of embedded essential spheres in M, we prove that there is a 1-1 correspondence between the equivalence classes of Z- splittings of F_n and homotopy classes of embedded essential tori in M. This gives us the opportunity to understand Dehn twist automorphisms of the free group, since they aredefined with respect to Z- splittings. To this end, we define Dehn twist along a torus in M using the mapping classes of M and describe these twists with respect to their actions on the universal cover of M.In addition, we give the motivation behind this work by stating possible applications and reasons for the importance of studying tori in this manifold