LANNDD---A Massive Liquid Argon Detector for Proton Decay, Supernova and Solar Neutrino Studies, and a Neutrino Factory Detector

We describe a possible Liquid Argon Neutrino and Nuclear Decay Detector (LANNDD) that consists of a 70kt magnetized liquid argon tracking detector. The detector is being designed for the Carlsbad Underground Laboratory.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures; for the Neutrino Facory Meeting at KEK-NUFACT '0

A New Hough Transform for the Detection of Arbitrary 3-Dimensional Objects

The existing Generalised Hough Transform, although altered to cater for scaling and rotation of the object in the plane, fails to detect the object under rotations out of the plane. This is due to the lack of 3-dimensional information contained in the 2-dimensional template image. In this paper we present a new Hough Transform, known as the Surface Normal Hough Transform (SNHT), which using a suitable 2-dimensional surface representation, transforms a set of surface normal to a surface parameter space. The effect of the SNHT is to map point sets representing a surface in the input space, to a peak in the parameter space. The coordinates of this peak parameterise the given surface and hence allow for post invariant object detection and localisation

TakeCARE, a Video Bystander Program to Help Prevent Sexual Violence on College Campuses: Results of Two Randomized, Controlled Trials

Objective: The present research reports on two randomized controlled trials evaluating TakeCARE, a video bystander program designed to help prevent sexual violence on college campuses. Method: In Study 1, students were recruited from psychology courses at two universities. In Study 2, first-year students were recruited from a required course at one university. In both studies, students were randomly assigned to view one of two videos: TakeCARE or a control video on study skills. Just before viewing the videos, students completed measures of bystander behavior toward friends and ratings of self-efficacy for performing such behaviors. The efficacy measure was administered again after the video, and both the bystander behavior measure and the efficacy measure were administered at either one (Study 1) or two (Study 2) months later. Results: In both studies, students who viewed TakeCARE, compared to students who viewed the control video, reported engaging in more bystander behavior toward friends and greater feelings of efficacy for performing such behavior. In Study 1, feelings of efficacy mediated effects of TakeCARE on bystander behavior; this result did not emerge in Study 2. Conclusions: This research demonstrates that TakeCARE, a video bystander program, can positively influence bystander behavior toward friends. Given its potential to be easily distributed to an entire campus community, TakeCARE might be an effective addition to campus efforts to prevent sexual violence

Session 2-1-E: Betting market efficiency implications of different structures: bookmakers vs. exchanges

Outline (i) Quick definition of market efficiency (ii) Theoretical models lead to general predictions… (iii) ...which lead to specific predictions about betting markets (iv) Results of testing the predictions using real betting market data (v) Implications and conclusio

TakeCARE, a Video to Promote Bystander Behavior on College Campuses: Replication and Extension

Previous research has demonstrated that college students who view TakeCARE, a video bystander program designed to encourage students to take action to prevent sexual and relationship violence (i.e., bystander behavior), display more bystander behavior relative to students who view a control video. The current study aimed to replicate and extend these findings by testing two different methods of administering TakeCARE and examining moderators of TakeCARE’s effects on bystander behavior. Students at four universities (n = 557) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) view TakeCARE in a monitored computer lab, (b) view TakeCARE at their own convenience after receiving an email link to the video, or (c) view a video about study skills (control group). Participants completed measures of bystander behavior at baseline and at a 1-month follow-up. Participants in both TakeCARE conditions reported more bystander behavior at follow-up assessments, compared with participants in the control condition. The beneficial effect of TakeCARE did not differ significantly across administration methods. However, the effects of TakeCARE on bystander behavior were moderated by students’ perceptions of campus responsiveness to sexual violence, with more potent effects when students perceived their institution as responsive to reports of sexual violence

Materials by design: Merging proteins and music

Tailored materials with tunable properties are crucial for applications as biomaterials, for drug delivery, as functional coatings, or as lightweight composites. An emerging paradigm in designing such materials is the construction of hierarchical assemblies of simple building blocks into complex architectures with superior properties. We review this approach in a case study of silk, a genetically programmable and processable biomaterial, which, in its natural role serves as a versatile protein fiber with hierarchical organization to provide structural support, prey procurement or protection of eggs. Through an abstraction of knowledge from the physical system, silk, to a mathematical model using category theory, we describe how the mechanism of spinning fibers from proteins can be translated into music through a process that assigns a set of rules that governs the construction of the system. This technique allows one to express the structure, mechanisms and properties of the ‘material’ in a very different domain, ‘music’. The integration of science and art through categorization of structure–property relationships presents a novel paradigm to create new bioinspired materials, through the translation of structures and mechanisms from distinct hierarchical systems and in the context of the limited number of building blocks that universally governs these systems.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (U01 EB014976)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (CAREER 0642545)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (CBET 1067093)United States. Office of Naval Research (PECASE N00014-10-1-0562)United States. Air Force Office of Scientific Research (FA9550-11-1-0199

Exploring the City of Islands: Interactive Resources for Analyzing the Venetian Lagoon

Our project team created a unified database of demographic, dimensional, historical, and cultural information pertaining to each of the 166 islands in the Venetian Archipelago. Deliverables included online encyclopedia entries, an interactive map application that will help users access and compare island information, and bibliographic resources. We also created prototypes for booklets and brochures on the lesser known islands of Venice. Each deliverable creates easy access to information on this historic city for tourists, researchers and city officials alike

Characterizing trends in HIV infection among men who have sex with men in Australia by birth cohorts: results from a modified back-projection method

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>We set out to estimate historical trends in HIV incidence in Australian men who have sex with men with respect to age at infection and birth cohort.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A modified back-projection technique is applied to data from the HIV/AIDS Surveillance System in Australia, including "<it>newly diagnosed HIV infections</it>", "<it>newly acquired HIV infections</it>" and "<it>AIDS diagnoses</it>", to estimate trends in HIV incidence over both calendar time and age at infection.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Our results demonstrate that since 2000, there has been an increase in new HIV infections in Australian men who have sex with men across all age groups. The estimated mean age at infection increased from ~35 years in 2000 to ~37 years in 2007. When the epidemic peaked in the mid 1980s, the majority of the infections (56%) occurred among men aged 30 years and younger; 30% occurred in ages 31 to 40 years; and only ~14% of them were attributed to the group who were older than 40 years of age. In 2007, the proportion of infections occurring in persons 40 years or older doubled to 31% compared to the mid 1980s, while the proportion of infections attributed to the group younger than 30 years of age decreased to 36%.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The distribution of HIV incidence for birth cohorts by infection year suggests that the HIV epidemic continues to affect older homosexual men as much as, if not more than, younger men. The results are useful for evaluating the impact of the epidemic across successive birth cohorts and study trends among the age groups most at risk.</p

The Linear Theory Power Spectrum from the Lyman-alpha Forest in the Sloan Digital Sky Survey

We analyze the SDSS Ly-alpha forest P_F(k,z) measurement to determine the linear theory power spectrum. Our analysis is based on fully hydrodynamic simulations, extended using hydro-PM simulations. We account for the effect of absorbers with damping wings, which leads to an increase in the slope of the linear power spectrum. We break the degeneracy between the mean level of absorption and the linear power spectrum without significant use of external constraints. We infer linear theory power spectrum amplitude Delta^2_L(k_p=0.009s/km,z_p=3.0)=0.452_{-0.057-0.116}^{+0.069+0.141} and slope n_eff=-2.321_{-0.047-0.102}^{+0.055+0.131} (possible systematic errors are included through nuisance parameters in the fit - a factor >~5 smaller errors would be obtained on both parameters if we ignored modeling uncertainties). The errors are correlated and not perfectly Gaussian, so we provide a chi^2 table to accurately describe the results. The result corresponds to sigma_8=0.85, n=0.94, for a LCDM model with Omega_m=0.3, Omega_b=0.04, and h=0.7, but is most useful in a combined fit with the CMB. The inferred curvature of the linear power spectrum and the evolution of its amplitude and slope with redshift are consistent with expectations for LCDM models, with the evolution of the slope, in particular, being tightly constrained. We use this information to constrain systematic contamination, e.g., fluctuations in the UV background. This paper should serve as a starting point for more work to refine the analysis, including technical improvements such as increasing the size and number of the hydrodynamic simulations, and improvements in the treatment of the various forms of feedback from galaxies and quasars.Comment: Improved presentation, including fit results for (z). Simple code to produce LyaF chi^2 given linear power spectrum available at: http://www.cita.utoronto.ca/~pmcdonal/code.htm

The validity of police reported accident data

Information theory and signal detection theory techniques were used to assess the validity of police reported traffic accident data. The validity criteria were the data and conclusions of multi-disciplinary accident investigation teams who investigated the same traffic accidents. The results indicated that the accident level variables reported by the police with least reliability were vertical road character, accident severity, and road surface composition. The most reliably reported data were those concerned with the accident location, date, and number of drivers, passengers, and vehicles. The informativeness of the police reports with respect to driver/vehicle characteristics was practically nil, with the exception of driver age, sex and vehicle model for which the police were correct most of the time (but not errorless). It was also found that police reports provided very little information regarding the presence of different human conditions and states, vehicle defects and environmental/road deficiencies. The sensitivity of police investigators to all accident causes was low. When causes were categorized into human direct, human indirect (conditions and states) vehicle, and environmental, police were the most reliable with respect to human direct causes and the least reliable with respect to environmental and human indirect causes. Implications for improvement and use of police data are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25202/1/0000641.pd