6,787 research outputs found
Improved Orientation Sampling for Indexing Diffraction Patterns of Polycrystalline Materials
Orientation mapping is a widely used technique for revealing the
microstructure of a polycrystalline sample. The crystalline orientation at each
point in the sample is determined by analysis of the diffraction pattern, a
process known as pattern indexing. A recent development in pattern indexing is
the use of a brute-force approach, whereby diffraction patterns are simulated
for a large number of crystalline orientations, and compared against the
experimentally observed diffraction pattern in order to determine the most
likely orientation. Whilst this method can robust identify orientations in the
presence of noise, it has very high computational requirements. In this
article, the computational burden is reduced by developing a method for
nearly-optimal sampling of orientations. By using the quaternion representation
of orientations, it is shown that the optimal sampling problem is equivalent to
that of optimally distributing points on a four-dimensional sphere. In doing
so, the number of orientation samples needed to achieve a indexing desired
accuracy is significantly reduced. Orientation sets at a range of sizes are
generated in this way for all Laue groups, and are made available online for
easy use.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figure
Preliminary Experiments using Subjective Logic for the Polyrepresentation of Information Needs
According to the principle of polyrepresentation, retrieval accuracy may
improve through the combination of multiple and diverse information object
representations about e.g. the context of the user, the information sought, or
the retrieval system. Recently, the principle of polyrepresentation was
mathematically expressed using subjective logic, where the potential
suitability of each representation for improving retrieval performance was
formalised through degrees of belief and uncertainty. No experimental evidence
or practical application has so far validated this model. We extend the work of
Lioma et al. (2010), by providing a practical application and analysis of the
model. We show how to map the abstract notions of belief and uncertainty to
real-life evidence drawn from a retrieval dataset. We also show how to estimate
two different types of polyrepresentation assuming either (a) independence or
(b) dependence between the information objects that are combined. We focus on
the polyrepresentation of different types of context relating to user
information needs (i.e. work task, user background knowledge, ideal answer) and
show that the subjective logic model can predict their optimal combination
prior and independently to the retrieval process
Bioavailability of soil organic carbon and Fe as influenced by forestry practices in a subtropical coastal catchment
Potential impacts of plantation forestry practices on soil organic carbon and Fe available to microorganisms were investigated in a subtropical coastal catchment. The impacts of harvesting or replanting were largely limited to the soil top layer (0–10 cm depth). The thirty-year-old Pinus plantation showed low soil moisture content (Wc) and relatively high levels of soil total organic carbon (TOC). Harvesting and replanting increased soil Wc but reduced TOC levels. Mean dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and microbial biomass carbon (MBC) increased in harvested or replanted soils, but such changes were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Total dithionite-citrate and aqua regia-extractable Fe did not respond to forestry practices, but acid ammonium oxalate and pyrophosphate-extractable, bioavailable Fe decreased markedly after harvesting or replanting. Numbers of heterotrophic bacteria were significantly correlated with DOC levels (P < 0.05), whereas Fe-reducing bacteria and S-bacteria detected using laboratory cultivation techniques did not show strong correlation with either soil DOC or Fe content
Intergalactic Transmission and its Impact on the Ly{\alpha} Line
We study the intergalactic transmission of radiation in the vicinity of the
Ly{\alpha} wavelength. Simulating sightlines through the intergalactic medium
(IGM) in detailed cosmological hydrosimulations, the impact of the IGM on the
shape of the line profile from Ly{\alpha} emitting galaxies at redshifts 2.5 to
6.5 is investigated. In particular we show that taking into account the
correlation of the density and velocity fields of the IGM with the galaxies,
the blue part of the spectrum may be appreciably reduced, even at relatively
low redshifts. This may in some cases provide an alternative to the
often-invoked outflow scenario, although it is concluded that this model is
still a plausible explanation of the many asymmetric Ly{\alpha} profiles
observed. Applying the calculated wavelength dependent transmission to
simulated spectra from Ly{\alpha} emitting galaxies, we derive the fraction of
photons that are lost in the IGM, in addition to what is absorbed internally in
the galaxies due to dust. Moreover, by comparing the calculated transmission of
radiation blueward of the Ly{\alpha} line, the total optical depth to Thomson
scattering of cosmic microwave background, with corresponding observations, we
are able to constrain the epoch when the Universe was reionized to z <~ 8.5.Comment: Substantially extended, ~30 references added, 1.5 page extra (article
style) in particular on the impact of the IGM at z~5.8 and z~6.5, 2 extra
figures, unnecessary fluff cut out, accepted for publication in Ap
Rich Ground State Chemical Ordering in Nanoparticles: Exact Solution of a Model for Ag-Au Clusters
We show that nanoparticles can have very rich ground state chemical order.
This is illustrated by determining the chemical ordering of Ag-Au 309-atom
Mackay icosahedral nanoparticles. The energy of the nanoparticles is described
using a cluster expansion model, and a Mixed Integer Programming (MIP) approach
is used to find the exact ground state configurations for all stoichiometries.
The chemical ordering varies widely between the different stoichiometries, and
display a rich zoo of structures with non-trivial ordering.Comment: Revised version. New figure added, discussion expanded, some material
moved into supplementary fil
Smaller, Closer, Dirtier: Diesel Backup Generators in California
Quantifies the threat to air quality and human health by backup generators, and examines air quality in Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, and Fresno, with some analysis of San Francisco as well
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