An MPEG-7 scheme for semantic content modelling and filtering of digital video

Abstract Part 5 of the MPEG-7 standard specifies Multimedia Description Schemes (MDS); that is, the format multimedia content models should conform to in order to ensure interoperability across multiple platforms and applications. However, the standard does not specify how the content or the associated model may be filtered. This paper proposes an MPEG-7 scheme which can be deployed for digital video content modelling and filtering. The proposed scheme, COSMOS-7, produces rich and multi-faceted semantic content models and supports a content-based filtering approach that only analyses content relating directly to the preferred content requirements of the user. We present details of the scheme, front-end systems used for content modelling and filtering and experiences with a number of users

Measurement of the gamma ray background in the Davis Cavern at the Sanford Underground Research Facility

Deep underground environments are ideal for low background searches due to the attenuation of cosmic rays by passage through the earth. However, they are affected by backgrounds from γ-rays emitted by 40K and the 238U and 232Th decay chains in the surrounding rock. The LUX-ZEPLIN (LZ) experiment will search for dark matter particle interactions with a liquid xenon TPC located within the Davis campus at the Sanford Underground Research Facility, Lead, South Dakota, at the 4,850-foot level. In order to characterise the cavern background, in-situ γ-ray measurements were taken with a sodium iodide detector in various locations and with lead shielding. The integral count rates (0--3300~keV) varied from 596~Hz to 1355~Hz for unshielded measurements, corresponding to a total flux in the cavern of 1.9±0.4~γ cm−2s−1. The resulting activity in the walls of the cavern can be characterised as 220±60~Bq/kg of 40K, 29±15~Bq/kg of 238U, and 13±3~Bq/kg of 232Th

Designing interactive tangible games for diverse forms of play

This chapter examines how various properties of play have inspired and can inspire new design directions for digital games and intelligent play objects. Play theories from a child development perspective are described and related to concepts from game design, such as game mechanics and dynamics. Furthermore, a discussion is provided of how different properties of play relate to children practicing social, emotional, physical, and cognitive skills in a playful and fun context. An adapted version of the mechanics, dynamics, and aesthetics (MDA) model is presented as a tool that supports considering the richness of play design opportunities when creating dynamics, mechanics, and aesthetics for diverse forms of play from a designer and a player's perspective. The exploration is extended by describing four design case studies of tangible intelligent play concepts for different contexts of use related to different properties of play

Toward next-generation in-flight entertainment systems : a survey of the state of the art and possible extensions

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Sadism and Masochism on the Procrustean Bed of Hysteria: From Psychopathia Sexualis

This contribution presents a reconstruction of the way the concepts of sadism and masochism were introduced and anchored in psychoanalytic metapsychology. It focuses on the first two editions of Freud's Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality. Freud's singular indebtedness to Krafft-Ebing's Psychopathia Sexualis is emphasized. Subsequently, it is argued that Freud's selective reading of Krafft-Ebing is determined by the former's model of hysteria. Hysteria functions as the Procrustean bed onto which both sadism and masochism are forced by Freud at that time. It is argued that Freud in fact fails to give an adequate account of sadism and masochism in his Three Essays. Moreover, even in his later work, sadism and masochism remain conceptually problematic passe-partout concepts, which are used in order to get to grips with human aggression

Cosmogenic production of Ar 37 in the context of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment

© 2022 authors. Published by the American Physical Society.We estimate the amount of Ar37 produced in natural xenon via cosmic-ray-induced spallation, an inevitable consequence of the transportation and storage of xenon on the Earth's surface. We then calculate the resulting Ar37 concentration in a 10-tonne payload (similar to that of the LUX-ZEPLIN experiment) assuming a representative schedule of xenon purification, storage, and delivery to the underground facility. Using the spallation model by Silberberg and Tsao, the sea-level production rate of Ar37 in natural xenon is estimated to be 0.024 atoms/kg/day. Assuming the xenon is successively purified to remove radioactive contaminants in 1-tonne batches at a rate of 1 tonne/month, the average Ar37 activity after 10 tons are purified and transported underground is 0.058-0.090 μBq/kg, depending on the degree of argon removal during above-ground purification. Such cosmogenic Ar37 will appear as a noticeable background in the early science data, while decaying with a 35-day half-life. This newly noticed production mechanism of Ar37 should be considered when planning for future liquid-xenon-based experiments.11Nsciescopu

A Next-Generation Liquid Xenon Observatory for Dark Matter and Neutrino Physics

The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decay and through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-based detector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantly advance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, and cosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector

A Next-Generation Liquid Xenon Observatory for Dark Matter and Neutrino Physics

The nature of dark matter and properties of neutrinos are among the most pressing issues in contemporary particle physics. The dual-phase xenon time-projection chamber is the leading technology to cover the available parameter space for Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs), while featuring extensive sensitivity to many alternative dark matter candidates. These detectors can also study neutrinos through neutrinoless double-beta decay and through a variety of astrophysical sources. A next-generation xenon-based detector will therefore be a true multi-purpose observatory to significantly advance particle physics, nuclear physics, astrophysics, solar physics, and cosmology. This review article presents the science cases for such a detector