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Sample records for group-blind space-time multiuser

  1. Blind Multiuser Detection by Kurtosis Maximization for Asynchronous Multirate DS/CDMA Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Peng Chun-Hsien

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Chi et al. proposed a fast kurtosis maximization algorithm (FKMA for blind equalization/deconvolution of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO linear time-invariant systems. This algorithm has been applied to blind multiuser detection of single-rate direct-sequence/code-division multiple-access (DS/CDMA systems and blind source separation (or independent component analysis. In this paper, the FKMA is further applied to blind multiuser detection for multirate DS/CDMA systems. The ideas are to properly formulate discrete-time MIMO signal models by converting real multirate users into single-rate virtual users, followed by the use of FKMA for extraction of virtual users' data sequences associated with the desired user, and recovery of the data sequence of the desired user from estimated virtual users' data sequences. Assuming that all the users' spreading sequences are given a priori, two multirate blind multiuser detection algorithms (with either a single receive antenna or multiple antennas, which also enjoy the merits of superexponential convergence rate and guaranteed convergence of the FKMA, are proposed in the paper, one based on a convolutional MIMO signal model and the other based on an instantaneous MIMO signal model. Some simulation results are then presented to demonstrate their effectiveness and to provide a performance comparison with some existing algorithms.

  2. Cognitive radio networks with orthogonal space-time block coding and multiuser diversity

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Liang; Qaraqe, Khalid A.; Serpedin, Erchin; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Liu, Weiping

    2013-01-01

    This paper considers a multiuser spectrum sharing (SS) system operating in a Rayleigh fading environment and in which every node is equipped with multiple antennas. The system employs orthogonal space-time block coding at the secondary users. Under such a framework, the average capacity and error performance under a peak interference constraint are first analyzed. For a comparison purpose, an analysis of the transmit antenna selection scheme is also presented. Finally, some selected numerical results are presented to corroborate the proposed analysis. © 1997-2012 IEEE.

  3. Cognitive radio networks with orthogonal space-time block coding and multiuser diversity

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Liang

    2013-04-01

    This paper considers a multiuser spectrum sharing (SS) system operating in a Rayleigh fading environment and in which every node is equipped with multiple antennas. The system employs orthogonal space-time block coding at the secondary users. Under such a framework, the average capacity and error performance under a peak interference constraint are first analyzed. For a comparison purpose, an analysis of the transmit antenna selection scheme is also presented. Finally, some selected numerical results are presented to corroborate the proposed analysis. © 1997-2012 IEEE.

  4. Adaptive DSP Algorithms for UMTS: Blind Adaptive MMSE and PIC Multiuser Detection

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Potman, J.

    2003-01-01

    A study of the application of blind adaptive Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE) and Parallel Interference Cancellation (PIC) multiuser detection techniques to Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), the physical layer of Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), has been performed as

  5. Timing-Free Blind Multiuser Detection for Multicarrier DS/CDMA Systems with Multiple Antennae

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefano Buzzi

    2004-05-01

    Full Text Available The problem of blind multiuser detection for an asynchronous multicarrier DS-CDMA system employing multiple transmit and receive antennae over a Rayleigh fading channel is considered in this paper. The solutions that we develop require prior knowledge of the spreading code of the user to be decoded only, while no further information either on the user to be decoded or on the other active users is required. Several combining rules for the observables at the output of each receive antenna are proposed and assessed, and the implications of the different options are studied in depth in terms of both detection performance and computational complexity. A closed form expression is also derived for the conditional error probability and a lower bound for the near-far resistance is provided. Results confirm that the proposed blind receivers can cope with both multiple access interference suppression and channel estimation at the price of a limited performance loss as compared to the ideal linear receivers which assume perfect channel state information.

  6. AudioMUD: a multiuser virtual environment for blind people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez, Jaime; Hassler, Tiago

    2007-03-01

    A number of virtual environments have been developed during the last years. Among them there are some applications for blind people based on different type of audio, from simple sounds to 3-D audio. In this study, we pursued a different approach. We designed AudioMUD by using spoken text to describe the environment, navigation, and interaction. We have also introduced some collaborative features into the interaction between blind users. The core of a multiuser MUD game is a networked textual virtual environment. We developed AudioMUD by adding some collaborative features to the basic idea of a MUD and placed a simulated virtual environment inside the human body. This paper presents the design and usability evaluation of AudioMUD. Blind learners were motivated when interacted with AudioMUD and helped to improve the interaction through audio and interface design elements.

  7. DEEP SPACE: High Resolution VR Platform for Multi-user Interactive Narratives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuka, Daniela; Elias, Oliver; Martins, Ronald; Lindinger, Christopher; Pramböck, Andreas; Jalsovec, Andreas; Maresch, Pascal; Hörtner, Horst; Brandl, Peter

    DEEP SPACE is a large-scale platform for interactive, stereoscopic and high resolution content. The spatial and the system design of DEEP SPACE are facing constraints of CAVETM-like systems in respect to multi-user interactive storytelling. To be used as research platform and as public exhibition space for many people, DEEP SPACE is capable to process interactive, stereoscopic applications on two projection walls with a size of 16 by 9 meters and a resolution of four times 1080p (4K) each. The processed applications are ranging from Virtual Reality (VR)-environments to 3D-movies to computationally intensive 2D-productions. In this paper, we are describing DEEP SPACE as an experimental VR platform for multi-user interactive storytelling. We are focusing on the system design relevant for the platform, including the integration of the Apple iPod Touch technology as VR control, and a special case study that is demonstrating the research efforts in the field of multi-user interactive storytelling. The described case study, entitled "Papyrate's Island", provides a prototypical scenario of how physical drawings may impact on digital narratives. In this special case, DEEP SPACE helps us to explore the hypothesis that drawing, a primordial human creative skill, gives us access to entirely new creative possibilities in the domain of interactive storytelling.

  8. Space-Time Crystal and Space-Time Group.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xu, Shenglong; Wu, Congjun

    2018-03-02

    Crystal structures and the Bloch theorem play a fundamental role in condensed matter physics. We extend the static crystal to the dynamic "space-time" crystal characterized by the general intertwined space-time periodicities in D+1 dimensions, which include both the static crystal and the Floquet crystal as special cases. A new group structure dubbed a "space-time" group is constructed to describe the discrete symmetries of a space-time crystal. Compared to space and magnetic groups, the space-time group is augmented by "time-screw" rotations and "time-glide" reflections involving fractional translations along the time direction. A complete classification of the 13 space-time groups in one-plus-one dimensions (1+1D) is performed. The Kramers-type degeneracy can arise from the glide time-reversal symmetry without the half-integer spinor structure, which constrains the winding number patterns of spectral dispersions. In 2+1D, nonsymmorphic space-time symmetries enforce spectral degeneracies, leading to protected Floquet semimetal states. We provide a general framework for further studying topological properties of the (D+1)-dimensional space-time crystal.

  9. Space-Time Coded MC-CDMA: Blind Channel Estimation, Identifiability, and Receiver Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Hongbin

    2002-01-01

    Full Text Available Integrating the strengths of multicarrier (MC modulation and code division multiple access (CDMA, MC-CDMA systems are of great interest for future broadband transmissions. This paper considers the problem of channel identification and signal combining/detection schemes for MC-CDMA systems equipped with multiple transmit antennas and space-time (ST coding. In particular, a subspace based blind channel identification algorithm is presented. Identifiability conditions are examined and specified which guarantee unique and perfect (up to a scalar channel estimation when knowledge of the noise subspace is available. Several popular single-user based signal combining schemes, namely the maximum ratio combining (MRC and the equal gain combining (EGC, which are often utilized in conventional single-transmit-antenna based MC-CDMA systems, are extended to the current ST-coded MC-CDMA (STC-MC-CDMA system to perform joint combining and decoding. In addition, a linear multiuser minimum mean-squared error (MMSE detection scheme is also presented, which is shown to outperform the MRC and EGC at some increased computational complexity. Numerical examples are presented to evaluate and compare the proposed channel identification and signal detection/combining techniques.

  10. On low-complexity full-diversity detection of multi-user space-time coding

    KAUST Repository

    Ismail, Amr

    2013-06-01

    The incorporation of multiple input multiple output (MIMO) schemes in recent wireless communication standards paved the way to exploit the newly introduced dimension (i.e. space) to efficiently cancel the interference without requiring additional resources. In this paper, we focus on multiple input multiple ouitput (MIMO) multiple access channel (MAC) case and we answer the question about whether it is possible to suppress the interference in a MIMO MAC channel for completely blind users while achieving full-diversity with a simplified decoder in the affirmative. In fact, this goal can be attained by employing space-time block codes (STBC)s that achive full-diversity under partial interference cancellation (PIC). We derive sufficient conditions for a wide range of STBCs to achieve full-diversity under PIC group decoding with or without successive interference cancellation (SIC). Based on the provided design criteria we derive an upper-bound on the achievable rate for a class of codes. A two-user MIMO MAC interference cancellation scheme is presented and proved to achieve full-diversity under PIC group decoding. We compare our scheme to existing beamforming schemes with full or limit feedback. © 2013 IEEE.

  11. A MUSIC-Based Algorithm for Blind User Identification in Multiuser DS-CDMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Reza Soleymani

    2005-04-01

    Full Text Available A blind scheme based on multiple-signal classification (MUSIC algorithm for user identification in a synchronous multiuser code-division multiple-access (CDMA system is suggested. The scheme is blind in the sense that it does not require prior knowledge of the spreading codes. Spreading codes and users' power are acquired by the scheme. Eigenvalue decomposition (EVD is performed on the received signal, and then all the valid possible signature sequences are projected onto the subspaces. However, as a result of this process, some false solutions are also produced and the ambiguity seems unresolvable. Our approach is to apply a transformation derived from the results of the subspace decomposition on the received signal and then to inspect their statistics. It is shown that the second-order statistics of the transformed signal provides a reliable means for removing the false solutions.

  12. Aspects of multiuser MIMO for cell throughput maximization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bauch, Gerhard; Tejera, Pedro; Guthy, Christian

    2007-01-01

    We consider a multiuser MIMO downlink scenario where the resources in time, frequency and space are allocated such that the total cell throughput is maximized. This is achieved by exploiting multiuser diversity, i.e. the physical resources are allocated to the user with the highest SNR. We assume...

  13. Multiuser MIMO Channel Measurements and Performance in a Large Office Environment

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bauch, Gerhard; Andersen, Jørgen Bach; Guthy, Christian

    2007-01-01

    We consider a multiuser MIMO-OFDMA scheme which exploits multiuser diversity in all dimensions: time, frequency and space. The main contribution of this paper is the evaluation and explanation of multiuser MIMO in a real world scenario, i.e. a large office room, based on measured channels. We rep...

  14. Blind information-theoretic multiuser detection algorithms for DS-CDMA and WCDMA downlink systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waheed, Khuram; Salem, Fathi M

    2005-07-01

    Code division multiple access (CDMA) is based on the spread-spectrum technology and is a dominant air interface for 2.5G, 3G, and future wireless networks. For the CDMA downlink, the transmitted CDMA signals from the base station (BS) propagate through a noisy multipath fading communication channel before arriving at the receiver of the user equipment/mobile station (UE/MS). Classical CDMA single-user detection (SUD) algorithms implemented in the UE/MS receiver do not provide the required performance for modern high data-rate applications. In contrast, multi-user detection (MUD) approaches require a lot of a priori information not available to the UE/MS. In this paper, three promising adaptive Riemannian contra-variant (or natural) gradient based user detection approaches, capable of handling the highly dynamic wireless environments, are proposed. The first approach, blind multiuser detection (BMUD), is the process of simultaneously estimating multiple symbol sequences associated with all the users in the downlink of a CDMA communication system using only the received wireless data and without any knowledge of the user spreading codes. This approach is applicable to CDMA systems with relatively short spreading codes but becomes impractical for systems using long spreading codes. We also propose two other adaptive approaches, namely, RAKE -blind source recovery (RAKE-BSR) and RAKE-principal component analysis (RAKE-PCA) that fuse an adaptive stage into a standard RAKE receiver. This adaptation results in robust user detection algorithms with performance exceeding the linear minimum mean squared error (LMMSE) detectors for both Direct Sequence CDMA (DS-CDMA) and wide-band CDMA (WCDMA) systems under conditions of congestion, imprecise channel estimation and unmodeled multiple access interference (MAI).

  15. On the performance of free-space optical communication systems with multiuser diversity

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Liang; Gao, Xiqi; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2014-01-01

    Free space optical (FSO) communication has become a cost-effective method to provide high data rates. However, the turbulence-induced fading limits its application to short range applications. To address this, we propose a multiuser diversity (MD

  16. Space-Time Chip Equalization for Maximum Diversity Space-Time Block Coded DS-CDMA Downlink Transmission

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Leus, G.; Petré, F.; Moonen, M.

    2004-01-01

    In the downlink of DS-CDMA, frequency-selectivity destroys the orthogonality of the user signals and introduces multiuser interference (MUI). Space-time chip equalization is an efficient tool to restore the orthogonality of the user signals and suppress the MUI. Furthermore, multiple-input

  17. Blind and semi-blind ML detection for space-time block-coded OFDM wireless systems

    KAUST Repository

    Zaib, Alam; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.

    2014-01-01

    This paper investigates the joint maximum likelihood (ML) data detection and channel estimation problem for Alamouti space-time block-coded (STBC) orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) wireless systems. The joint ML estimation and data detection is generally considered a hard combinatorial optimization problem. We propose an efficient low-complexity algorithm based on branch-estimate-bound strategy that renders exact joint ML solution. However, the computational complexity of blind algorithm becomes critical at low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) as the number of OFDM carriers and constellation size are increased especially in multiple-antenna systems. To overcome this problem, a semi-blind algorithm based on a new framework for reducing the complexity is proposed by relying on subcarrier reordering and decoding the carriers with different levels of confidence using a suitable reliability criterion. In addition, it is shown that by utilizing the inherent structure of Alamouti coding, the estimation performance improvement or the complexity reduction can be achieved. The proposed algorithms can reliably track the wireless Rayleigh fading channel without requiring any channel statistics. Simulation results presented against the perfect coherent detection demonstrate the effectiveness of blind and semi-blind algorithms over frequency-selective channels with different fading characteristics.

  18. Maximum Likelihood Blind Channel Estimation for Space-Time Coding Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hakan A. Çırpan

    2002-05-01

    Full Text Available Sophisticated signal processing techniques have to be developed for capacity enhancement of future wireless communication systems. In recent years, space-time coding is proposed to provide significant capacity gains over the traditional communication systems in fading wireless channels. Space-time codes are obtained by combining channel coding, modulation, transmit diversity, and optional receive diversity in order to provide diversity at the receiver and coding gain without sacrificing the bandwidth. In this paper, we consider the problem of blind estimation of space-time coded signals along with the channel parameters. Both conditional and unconditional maximum likelihood approaches are developed and iterative solutions are proposed. The conditional maximum likelihood algorithm is based on iterative least squares with projection whereas the unconditional maximum likelihood approach is developed by means of finite state Markov process modelling. The performance analysis issues of the proposed methods are studied. Finally, some simulation results are presented.

  19. Nonlinear Multiuser Receiver for Optimized Chaos-Based DS-CDMA Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Shaerbaf

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Chaos based communications have drawn increasing attention over the past years. Chaotic signals are derived from non-linear dynamic systems. They are aperiodic, broadband and deterministic signals that appear random in the time domain. Because of these properties, chaotic signals have been proposed to generate spreading sequences for wide-band secure communication recently. Like conventional DS-CDMA systems, chaos-based CDMA systems suffer from multi-user interference (MUI due to other users transmitting in the cell. In this paper, we propose a novel method based on radial basis function (RBF for both blind and non-blind multiuser detection in chaos-based DS-CDMA systems. We also propose a new method for optimizing generation of binary chaotic sequences using Genetic Algorithm. Simulation results show that our proposed nonlinear receiver with optimized chaotic sequences outperforms in comparison to other conventional detectors such as a single-user detector, decorrelating detector and minimum mean square error detector, particularly for under-loaded CDMA condition, which the number of active users is less than processing gain.

  20. Interference Cancellation Using Space-Time Processing and Precoding Design

    CERN Document Server

    Li, Feng

    2013-01-01

    Interference Cancellation Using Space-Time Processing and Precoding Design introduces original design methods to achieve interference cancellation, low-complexity decoding and full diversity for a series of multi-user systems. In multi-user environments, co-channel interference will diminish the performance of wireless communications systems. In this book, we investigate how to design robust space-time codes and pre-coders to suppress the co-channel interference when multiple antennas are available.   This book offers a valuable reference work for graduate students, academic researchers and engineers who are interested in interference cancellation in wireless communications. Rigorous performance analysis and various simulation illustrations are included for each design method.   Dr. Feng Li is a scientific researcher at Cornell University.

  1. Performance Analysis of Free-Space Optical Communication Systems With Multiuser Diversity Over Atmospheric Turbulence Channels

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Liang; Gao, Xiqi; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2014-01-01

    Free-space optical (FSO) communication has become a cost-effective method to provide high data rates. However, the turbulence-induced fading limits its application to short-range applications. To address this, we propose a multiuser diversity (MD

  2. Multi-User Space Link Extension (SLE) System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Perkins, Toby

    2013-01-01

    The Multi-User Space (MUS) Link Extension system, a software and data system, provides Space Link Extension (SLE) users with three space data transfer services in timely, complete, and offline modes as applicable according to standards defined by the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS). MUS radically reduces the schedule, cost, and risk of implementing a new SLE user system, minimizes operating costs with a lights-out approach to SLE, and is designed to require no sustaining engineering expense during its lifetime unless changes in the CCSDS SLE standards, combined with new provider implementations, force changes. No software modification to MUS needs to be made to support a new mission. Any systems engineer with Linux experience can begin testing SLE user service instances with MUS starting from a personal computer (PC) within five days. For flight operators, MUS provides a familiar-looking Web page for entering SLE configuration data received from SLE. Operators can also use the Web page to back up a space mission's entire set of up to approximately 500 SLE service instances in less than five seconds, or to restore or transfer from another system the same amount of data from a MUS backup file in about the same amount of time. Missions operate each MUS SLE service instance independently by sending it MUS directives, which are legible, plain ASCII strings. MUS directives are usually (but not necessarily) sent through a TCP-IP (Transmission Control Protocol Internet Protocol) socket from a MOC (Mission Operations Center) or POCC (Payload Operations Control Center) system, under scripted control, during "lights-out" spacecraft operation. MUS permits the flight operations team to configure independently each of its data interfaces; not only commands and telemetry, but also MUS status messages to the MOC. Interfaces can use single- or multiple-client TCP/IP server sockets, TCP/IP client sockets, temporary disk files, the system log, or standard in

  3. On Low-Complexity Full-diversity Detection In Multi-User MIMO Multiple-Access Channels

    KAUST Repository

    Ismail, Amr

    2014-01-28

    Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques are becoming commonplace in recent wireless communication standards. This newly introduced dimension (i.e., space) can be efficiently used to mitigate the interference in the multi-user MIMO context. In this paper, we focus on the uplink of a MIMO multiple access channel (MAC) where perfect channel state information (CSI) is only available at the destination. We provide new sufficient conditions for a wide range of space-time block codes (STBC)s to achieve full-diversity under partial interference cancellation group decoding (PICGD) with or without successive interference cancellation (SIC) for completely blind users. Interference cancellation (IC) schemes for two and three users are then provided and shown to satisfy the full-diversity criteria. Beside the complexity reduction due to the fact that PICGD enables separate decoding of distinct users without sacrificing the diversity gain, further reduction of the decoding complexity may be obtained. In fact, thanks to the structure of the proposed schemes, the real and imaginary parts of each user\\'s symbols may be decoupled without any loss of performance. Our new IC scheme is shown to outperform recently proposed two-user IC scheme especially for high spectral efficiency while requiring significantly less decoding complexity.

  4. On Low-Complexity Full-diversity Detection In Multi-User MIMO Multiple-Access Channels

    KAUST Repository

    Ismail, Amr; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2014-01-01

    Multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) techniques are becoming commonplace in recent wireless communication standards. This newly introduced dimension (i.e., space) can be efficiently used to mitigate the interference in the multi-user MIMO context. In this paper, we focus on the uplink of a MIMO multiple access channel (MAC) where perfect channel state information (CSI) is only available at the destination. We provide new sufficient conditions for a wide range of space-time block codes (STBC)s to achieve full-diversity under partial interference cancellation group decoding (PICGD) with or without successive interference cancellation (SIC) for completely blind users. Interference cancellation (IC) schemes for two and three users are then provided and shown to satisfy the full-diversity criteria. Beside the complexity reduction due to the fact that PICGD enables separate decoding of distinct users without sacrificing the diversity gain, further reduction of the decoding complexity may be obtained. In fact, thanks to the structure of the proposed schemes, the real and imaginary parts of each user's symbols may be decoupled without any loss of performance. Our new IC scheme is shown to outperform recently proposed two-user IC scheme especially for high spectral efficiency while requiring significantly less decoding complexity.

  5. Transmitter Layering for Multiuser MIMO Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schlegel Christian

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract A novel structure for multiple antenna transmissions utilizing space-time dispersion is proposed, where the original data stream is divided into substreams which are modulated onto all available transmit antennas using stream-specific transmit signature sequences. In order to achieve this, the transmit antennas are partitioned into groups of antennas, called partitions. The signals from the data streams are independently interleaved by partition over the entire transmission frame. The interleaved partitions are then added over all substreams prior to transmission over the MIMO channel. At the receiver, a low-complexity iterative detector adapted from recent CDMA multiuser detection research is used. It is shown that with careful substream power assignments this transmission methodology can efficiently utilize the capacity of rank-deficient channels as it can approach the capacity limits of the multiple antenna channel closely over the entire range of available signal-to-noise ratios and system sizes. This transmission methodology and receiver structure are then applied to multiuser MIMO systems where several multiple antenna terminals communicate concurrently to a joint receiver. It is shown that different received power levels from the different MIMO terminals can be beneficial and that higher spectral efficiencies can be achieved than in the single-terminal case.

  6. Transmitter Layering for Multiuser MIMO Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zachary Bagley

    2008-03-01

    Full Text Available A novel structure for multiple antenna transmissions utilizing space-time dispersion is proposed, where the original data stream is divided into K substreams which are modulated onto all available transmit antennas using stream-specific transmit signature sequences. In order to achieve this, the transmit antennas are partitioned into M groups of antennas, called partitions. The signals from the K data streams are independently interleaved by partition over the entire transmission frame. The interleaved partitions are then added over all K substreams prior to transmission over the MIMO channel. At the receiver, a low-complexity iterative detector adapted from recent CDMA multiuser detection research is used. It is shown that with careful substream power assignments this transmission methodology can efficiently utilize the capacity of rank-deficient channels as it can approach the capacity limits of the multiple antenna channel closely over the entire range of available signal-to-noise ratios and system sizes. This transmission methodology and receiver structure are then applied to multiuser MIMO systems where several multiple antenna terminals communicate concurrently to a joint receiver. It is shown that different received power levels from the different MIMO terminals can be beneficial and that higher spectral efficiencies can be achieved than in the single-terminal case.

  7. Multi-User Hardware Solutions to Combustion Science ISS Research

    Science.gov (United States)

    Otero, Angel M.

    2001-01-01

    In response to the budget environment and to expand on the International Space Station (ISS) Fluids and Combustion Facility (FCF) Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR), common hardware approach, the NASA Combustion Science Program shifted focus in 1999 from single investigator PI (Principal Investigator)-specific hardware to multi-user 'Minifacilities'. These mini-facilities would take the CIR common hardware philosophy to the next level. The approach that was developed re-arranged all the investigations in the program into sub-fields of research. Then common requirements within these subfields were used to develop a common system that would then be complemented by a few PI-specific components. The sub-fields of research selected were droplet combustion, solids and fire safety, and gaseous fuels. From these research areas three mini-facilities have sprung: the Multi-user Droplet Combustion Apparatus (MDCA) for droplet research, Flow Enclosure for Novel Investigations in Combustion of Solids (FEANICS) for solids and fire safety, and the Multi-user Gaseous Fuels Apparatus (MGFA) for gaseous fuels. These mini-facilities will develop common Chamber Insert Assemblies (CIA) and diagnostics for the respective investigators complementing the capability provided by CIR. Presently there are four investigators for MDCA, six for FEANICS, and four for MGFA. The goal of these multi-user facilities is to drive the cost per PI down after the initial development investment is made. Each of these mini-facilities will become a fixture of future Combustion Science NASA Research Announcements (NRAs), enabling investigators to propose against an existing capability. Additionally, an investigation is provided the opportunity to enhance the existing capability to bridge the gap between the capability and their specific science requirements. This multi-user development approach will enable the Combustion Science Program to drive cost per investigation down while drastically reducing the time

  8. On the performance of free-space optical communication systems with multiuser diversity

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Liang

    2014-09-01

    Free space optical (FSO) communication has become a cost-effective method to provide high data rates. However, the turbulence-induced fading limits its application to short range applications. To address this, we propose a multiuser diversity (MD) FSO scheme in which the Nth best user is selected and the channel fluctuations can be effectively exploited to produce a selection diversity gain. More specifically, we first present the statistics analysis for the considered system over weak atmospheric turbulence channels. Based on these statistics, the outage probability, bit-error rate performance, and coverage are analyzed.

  9. Iterative MIMO Turbo Multiuser Detection and Equalization for STTrC-Coded Systems with Unknown Interference

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Veselinovic Nenad

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Iterative multiuser detection in a single-carrier broadband multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO system is studied in this paper. A minimum mean squared error (MMSE low-complexity multiuser receiver is derived for space-division multiple-access (SDMA space-time trellis-coded (STTrC systems in frequency-selective fading channels. The receiver uses MMSE filtering to jointly detect several transmit antennas of the user of interest, while the interference from the undetected transmit antennas, cochannel interference (CCI, and intersymbol interference (ISI are all cancelled by the soft cancellation. The performances of two extreme receiver cases are evaluated. In the first case, only one transmit antenna of the user of interest is detected at a time and the remaining ones are cancelled by soft cancellation. In the second case, all the transmit antennas are detected jointly. The comparison of the two cases shows improvement with the latter one, both in single-user and multiuser communications and in the presence of unknown cochannel interference (UCCI. It is further shown that in the multiuser case, the proposed receivers approach the corresponding single-user bounds. The number of receive antenna elements required to achieve single-user bound is thereby equal to the number of users and not to the total number of transmit antennas.

  10. Managing a Safe and Successful Multi-User Spaceport

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dacko, Taylor; Ketterer, Kirk; Meade, Phillip

    2016-01-01

    Encouraged by the creation of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation within the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in 1984 and the Commercial Space Act of 1998, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) now relies on an extensive network of support from commercial companies and organizations. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC), this collaboration opens competitive opportunities for launch providers, including repurposing underutilized Shuttle Program resources, constructing new facilities, and utilizing center services and laboratories. The resulting multi-user spaceport fosters diverse activity, though it engenders risk from hazards associated with various spaceflight processing activities. The KSC Safety & Mission Assurance (S&MA) Directorate, in coordination with the center's Spaceport Integration and Center Planning & Development organizations, has developed a novel approach to protect NASA's workforce, critical assets, and the public from hazardous, space-related activity associated with KSC's multi-user spaceport. For NASA KSC S&MA, the transformation to a multi-user spaceport required implementing methods to foster safe and successful commercial activity while resolving challenges involving: Retirement of the Space Shuttle program; Co-location of multiple NASA programs; Relationships between the NASA programs; Complex relationships between NASA programs and commercial partner operations in exclusive-use facilities; Complex relationships between NASA programs and commercial partner operations in shared-use facilities. NASA KSC S&MA challenges were met with long-term planning and solutions involving cooperation with the Spaceport Integration and Services Directorate. This directorate is responsible for managing active commercial partnerships with customer advocacy and services management, providing a dedicated and consistent level of support to a wide array of commercial operations. This paper explores these solutions, their

  11. Space-Time Chip Equalization for Maximum Diversity Space-Time Block Coded DS-CDMA Downlink Transmission

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petré Frederik

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available In the downlink of DS-CDMA, frequency-selectivity destroys the orthogonality of the user signals and introduces multiuser interference (MUI. Space-time chip equalization is an efficient tool to restore the orthogonality of the user signals and suppress the MUI. Furthermore, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO communication techniques can result in a significant increase in capacity. This paper focuses on space-time block coding (STBC techniques, and aims at combining STBC techniques with the original single-antenna DS-CDMA downlink scheme. This results into the so-called space-time block coded DS-CDMA downlink schemes, many of which have been presented in the past. We focus on a new scheme that enables both the maximum multiantenna diversity and the maximum multipath diversity. Although this maximum diversity can only be collected by maximum likelihood (ML detection, we pursue suboptimal detection by means of space-time chip equalization, which lowers the computational complexity significantly. To design the space-time chip equalizers, we also propose efficient pilot-based methods. Simulation results show improved performance over the space-time RAKE receiver for the space-time block coded DS-CDMA downlink schemes that have been proposed for the UMTS and IS-2000 W-CDMA standards.

  12. Virtual environment navigation with look-around mode to explore new real spaces by people who are blind.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lahav, Orly; Gedalevitz, Hadas; Battersby, Steven; Brown, David; Evett, Lindsay; Merritt, Patrick

    2018-05-01

    This paper examines the ability of people who are blind to construct a mental map and perform orientation tasks in real space by using Nintendo Wii technologies to explore virtual environments. The participant explores new spaces through haptic and auditory feedback triggered by pointing or walking in the virtual environments and later constructs a mental map, which can be used to navigate in real space. The study included 10 participants who were congenitally or adventitiously blind, divided into experimental and control groups. The research was implemented by using virtual environments exploration and orientation tasks in real spaces, using both qualitative and quantitative methods in its methodology. The results show that the mode of exploration afforded to the experimental group is radically new in orientation and mobility training; as a result 60% of the experimental participants constructed mental maps that were based on map model, compared with only 30% of the control group participants. Using technology that enabled them to explore and to collect spatial information in a way that does not exist in real space influenced the ability of the experimental group to construct a mental map based on the map model. Implications for rehabilitation The virtual cane system for the first time enables people who are blind to explore and collect spatial information via the look-around mode in addition to the walk-around mode. People who are blind prefer to use look-around mode to explore new spaces, as opposed to the walking mode. Although the look-around mode requires users to establish a complex collecting and processing procedure for the spatial data, people who are blind using this mode are able to construct a mental map as a map model. For people who are blind (as for the sighted) construction of a mental map based on map model offers more flexibility in choosing a walking path in a real space, accounting for changes that occur in the space.

  13. Genetic Local Search for Optimum Multiuser Detection Problem in DS-CDMA Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Shaowei; Ji, Xiaoyong

    Optimum multiuser detection (OMD) in direct-sequence code-division multiple access (DS-CDMA) systems is an NP-complete problem. In this paper, we present a genetic local search algorithm, which consists of an evolution strategy framework and a local improvement procedure. The evolution strategy searches the space of feasible, locally optimal solutions only. A fast iterated local search algorithm, which employs the proprietary characteristics of the OMD problem, produces local optima with great efficiency. Computer simulations show the bit error rate (BER) performance of the GLS outperforms other multiuser detectors in all cases discussed. The computation time is polynomial complexity in the number of users.

  14. Multiuser hybrid switched-selection diversity systems

    KAUST Repository

    Shaqfeh, Mohammad; Alnuweiri, Hussein M.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2011-01-01

    system provides flexibility in trading-off the channel information feedback overhead with the prospected multiuser diversity gains. The users are clustered into groups, and the users' groups are ordered into a sequence. Per-group feedback thresholds

  15. Multipass Channel Estimation and Joint Multiuser Detection and Equalization for MIMO Long-Code DS/CDMA Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Buzzi Stefano

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available The problem of joint channel estimation, equalization, and multiuser detection for a multiantenna DS/CDMA system operating over a frequency-selective fading channel and adopting long aperiodic spreading codes is considered in this paper. First of all, we present several channel estimation and multiuser data detection schemes suited for multiantenna long-code DS/CDMA systems. Then, a multipass strategy, wherein the data detection and the channel estimation procedures exchange information in a recursive fashion, is introduced and analyzed for the proposed scenario. Remarkably, this strategy provides, at the price of some attendant computational complexity increase, excellent performance even when very short training sequences are transmitted, and thus couples together the conflicting advantages of both trained and blind systems, that is, good performance and no wasted bandwidth, respectively. Space-time coded systems are also considered, and it is shown that the multipass strategy provides excellent results for such systems also. Likewise, it is also shown that excellent performance is achieved also when each user adopts the same spreading code for all of its transmit antennas. The validity of the proposed procedure is corroborated by both simulation results and analytical findings. In particular, it is shown that adopting the multipass strategy results in a remarkable reduction of the channel estimation mean-square error and of the optimal length of the training sequence.

  16. Multiuser underwater acoustic communication using single-element virtual time reversal mirror

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    YIN JingWei; WANG YiLin; WANG Lei; HUI JunYing

    2009-01-01

    Pattern time delay shift coding (PDS) scheme is introduced and combined with spread spectrum tech-nique called SS-PDS for short which is power-saving and competent for long-range underwater acous-tic networks.Single-element virtual time reversal mirror (VTRM) is presented in this paper and validated by the lake trial results.Employing single-element VTRM in multiuser communication system based on SS-PDS can separate different users' information simultaneously at master node as indicated in the simulation results.

  17. Multiuser hybrid switched-selection diversity systems

    KAUST Repository

    Shaqfeh, Mohammad

    2011-09-01

    A new multiuser scheduling scheme is proposed and analyzed in this paper. The proposed system combines features of conventional full-feedback selection-based diversity systems and reduced-feedback switch-based diversity systems. The new hybrid system provides flexibility in trading-off the channel information feedback overhead with the prospected multiuser diversity gains. The users are clustered into groups, and the users\\' groups are ordered into a sequence. Per-group feedback thresholds are used and optimized to maximize the system overall achievable rate. The proposed hybrid system applies switched diversity criterion to choose one of the groups, and a selection criterion to decide the user to be scheduled from the chosen group. Numerical results demonstrate that the system capacity increases as the number of users per group increases, but at the cost of more required feedback messages. © 2011 IEEE.

  18. Optimal One Bit Time Reversal For UWB Impulse Radio In Multi-User Wireless Communications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nguyen, Hung Tuan

    2008-01-01

    In this paper, with the purpose of further reducing the complexity of the system, while keeping its temporal and spatial focusing performance, we investigate the possibility of using optimal one bit time reversal (TR) system for impulse radio ultra wideband multi-user wireless communications...

  19. Investigation on iterative multiuser detection physical layer network coding in two-way relay free-space optical links with turbulences and pointing errors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abu-Almaalie, Zina; Ghassemlooy, Zabih; Bhatnagar, Manav R; Le-Minh, Hoa; Aslam, Nauman; Liaw, Shien-Kuei; Lee, It Ee

    2016-11-20

    Physical layer network coding (PNC) improves the throughput in wireless networks by enabling two nodes to exchange information using a minimum number of time slots. The PNC technique is proposed for two-way relay channel free space optical (TWR-FSO) communications with the aim of maximizing the utilization of network resources. The multipair TWR-FSO is considered in this paper, where a single antenna on each pair seeks to communicate via a common receiver aperture at the relay. Therefore, chip interleaving is adopted as a technique to separate the different transmitted signals at the relay node to perform PNC mapping. Accordingly, this scheme relies on the iterative multiuser technique for detection of users at the receiver. The bit error rate (BER) performance of the proposed system is examined under the combined influences of atmospheric loss, turbulence-induced channel fading, and pointing errors (PEs). By adopting the joint PNC mapping with interleaving and multiuser detection techniques, the BER results show that the proposed scheme can achieve a significant performance improvement against the degrading effects of turbulences and PEs. It is also demonstrated that a larger number of simultaneous users can be supported with this new scheme in establishing a communication link between multiple pairs of nodes in two time slots, thereby improving the channel capacity.

  20. Multi-Use Non-Intrusive Flow Characterization System (FCS), Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — The innovation is a Multi-Use Non-Intrusive Flow Characterization System (FCS) for densified, normal boiling point, and two-phase cryogenic flows, capable of...

  1. Multiuser switched diversity scheduling schemes

    KAUST Repository

    Shaqfeh, Mohammad; Alnuweiri, Hussein M.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2012-01-01

    Multiuser switched-diversity scheduling schemes were recently proposed in order to overcome the heavy feedback requirements of conventional opportunistic scheduling schemes by applying a threshold-based, distributed, and ordered scheduling mechanism. The main idea behind these schemes is that slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we characterize the achievable rate region of multiuser switched diversity systems and compare it with the rate region of full feedback multiuser diversity systems. We propose also a novel proportional fair multiuser switched-based scheduling scheme and we demonstrate that it can be optimized using a practical and distributed method to obtain the feedback thresholds. We finally demonstrate by numerical examples that switched-diversity scheduling schemes operate within 0.3 bits/sec/Hz from the ultimate network capacity of full feedback systems in Rayleigh fading conditions. © 2012 IEEE.

  2. Multiuser switched diversity scheduling schemes

    KAUST Repository

    Shaqfeh, Mohammad

    2012-09-01

    Multiuser switched-diversity scheduling schemes were recently proposed in order to overcome the heavy feedback requirements of conventional opportunistic scheduling schemes by applying a threshold-based, distributed, and ordered scheduling mechanism. The main idea behind these schemes is that slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we characterize the achievable rate region of multiuser switched diversity systems and compare it with the rate region of full feedback multiuser diversity systems. We propose also a novel proportional fair multiuser switched-based scheduling scheme and we demonstrate that it can be optimized using a practical and distributed method to obtain the feedback thresholds. We finally demonstrate by numerical examples that switched-diversity scheduling schemes operate within 0.3 bits/sec/Hz from the ultimate network capacity of full feedback systems in Rayleigh fading conditions. © 2012 IEEE.

  3. University multi-user facility survey-2010.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riley, Melissa B

    2011-12-01

    Multi-user facilities serve as a resource for many universities. In 2010, a survey was conducted investigating possible changes and successful characteristics of multi-user facilities, as well as identifying problems in facilities. Over 300 surveys were e-mailed to persons identified from university websites as being involved with multi-user facilities. Complete responses were received from 36 facilities with an average of 20 years of operation. Facilities were associated with specific departments (22%), colleges (22%), and university research centers (8.3%) or were not affiliated with any department or college within the university (47%). The five most important factors to succeed as a multi-user facility were: 1) maintaining an experienced, professional staff in an open atmosphere; 2) university-level support providing partial funding; 3) broad client base; 4) instrument training programs; and 5) an effective leader and engaged strategic advisory group. The most significant problems were: 1) inadequate university financial support and commitment; 2) problems recovering full service costs from university subsidies and user fees; 3) availability of funds to repair and upgrade equipment; 4) inability to retain highly qualified staff; and 5) unqualified users dirtying/damaging equipment. Further information related to these issues and to fee structure was solicited. Overall, there appeared to be a decline in university support for facilities and more emphasis on securing income by serving clients outside of the institution and by obtaining grants from entities outside of the university.

  4. Design of simplified maximum-likelihood receivers for multiuser CPM systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bing, Li; Bai, Baoming

    2014-01-01

    A class of simplified maximum-likelihood receivers designed for continuous phase modulation based multiuser systems is proposed. The presented receiver is built upon a front end employing mismatched filters and a maximum-likelihood detector defined in a low-dimensional signal space. The performance of the proposed receivers is analyzed and compared to some existing receivers. Some schemes are designed to implement the proposed receivers and to reveal the roles of different system parameters. Analysis and numerical results show that the proposed receivers can approach the optimum multiuser receivers with significantly (even exponentially in some cases) reduced complexity and marginal performance degradation.

  5. MIMO wireless networks channels, techniques and standards for multi-antenna, multi-user and multi-cell systems

    CERN Document Server

    Clerckx, Bruno

    2013-01-01

    This book is unique in presenting channels, techniques and standards for the next generation of MIMO wireless networks. Through a unified framework, it emphasizes how propagation mechanisms impact the system performance under realistic power constraints. Combining a solid mathematical analysis with a physical and intuitive approach to space-time signal processing, the book progressively derives innovative designs for space-time coding and precoding as well as multi-user and multi-cell techniques, taking into consideration that MIMO channels are often far from ideal. Reflecting developments

  6. Design of Simplified Maximum-Likelihood Receivers for Multiuser CPM Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Bing

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available A class of simplified maximum-likelihood receivers designed for continuous phase modulation based multiuser systems is proposed. The presented receiver is built upon a front end employing mismatched filters and a maximum-likelihood detector defined in a low-dimensional signal space. The performance of the proposed receivers is analyzed and compared to some existing receivers. Some schemes are designed to implement the proposed receivers and to reveal the roles of different system parameters. Analysis and numerical results show that the proposed receivers can approach the optimum multiuser receivers with significantly (even exponentially in some cases reduced complexity and marginal performance degradation.

  7. Center Planning and Development: Multi-User Spaceport Initiatives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Christopher John

    2015-01-01

    The Vehicle Assembly building at NASAs Kennedy Space Center has been used since 1966 to vertically assemble every launch vehicle, since the Apollo Program, launched from Launch Complex 39 (LC-39). After the cancellation of the Constellation Program in 2010 and the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program in 2011, the VAB faced an uncertain future. As the Space Launch System (SLS) gained a foothold as the future of American spaceflight to deep space, NASA was only using a portion of the VABs initial potential. With three high bays connected to the Crawler Way transportation system, the potential exists for up to three rockets to be simultaneously processed for launch. The Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Master plan, supported by the Center Planning and Development (CPD) Directorate, is guiding Kennedy toward a 21st century multi-user spaceport. This concept will maintain Kennedy as the United States premier gateway to space and provide multi-user operations through partnerships with the commercial aerospace industry. Commercial aerospace companies, now tasked with transporting cargo and, in the future, astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) via the Commercial Resupply Service (CRS) and Commercial Crew Program (CCP), are a rapidly growing industry with increasing capabilities to make launch operations more economical for both private companies and the government. Commercial operations to Low Earth Orbit allow the government to focus on travel to farther destinations through the SLS Program. With LC-39B designated as a multi-use launch pad, companies seeking to use it will require an integration facility to assemble, integrate, and test their launch vehicle. An Announcement for Proposals (AFP) was released in June, beginning the process of finding a non-NASA user for High Bay 2 (HB2) and the Mobile Launcher Platforms (MLPs). An Industry Day, a business meeting and tour for interested companies and organizations, was also arranged to identify and answer any

  8. A geometric renormalization group in discrete quantum space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Requardt, Manfred

    2003-01-01

    We model quantum space-time on the Planck scale as dynamical networks of elementary relations or time dependent random graphs, the time dependence being an effect of the underlying dynamical network laws. We formulate a kind of geometric renormalization group on these (random) networks leading to a hierarchy of increasingly coarse-grained networks of overlapping lumps. We provide arguments that this process may generate a fixed limit phase, representing our continuous space-time on a mesoscopic or macroscopic scale, provided that the underlying discrete geometry is critical in a specific sense (geometric long range order). Our point of view is corroborated by a series of analytic and numerical results, which allow us to keep track of the geometric changes, taking place on the various scales of the resolution of space-time. Of particular conceptual importance are the notions of dimension of such random systems on the various scales and the notion of geometric criticality

  9. Coding Across Multicodes and Time in CDMA Systems Employing MMSE Multiuser Detector

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Park Jeongsoon

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available When combining a multicode CDMA system with convolutional coding, two methods have been considered in the literature. In one method, coding is across time in each multicode channel while in the other the coding is across both multicodes and time. In this paper, a performance/complexity analysis of decoding metrics and trellis structures for the two schemes is carried out. It is shown that the latter scheme can exploit the multicode diversity inherent in convolutionally coded direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA systems which employ minimum mean squared error (MMSE multiuser detectors. In particular, when the MMSE detector provides sufficiently different signal-to-interference ratios (SIRs for the multicode channels, coding across multicodes and time can obtain significant performance gain over coding across time, with nearly the same decoding complexity.

  10. Two-Way Multiuser Mixed RF/FSO Relaying: Performance Analysis and Power Allocation

    KAUST Repository

    Al-Eryani, Yasser F.; Salhab, Anas; Zummo, Salam A.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2018-01-01

    In this paper, the performance of two-way multiuser mixed radio frequency/free space optical (RF/FSO) relay networks with opportunistic user scheduling and asymmetric channel fading is studied. RF links are used to conduct data transmission between

  11. Full-diversity partial interference cancellation for multi-user wireless relaying networks

    KAUST Repository

    El Astal, M. T O

    2013-12-01

    We focus on the uplink channel of multi-user wireless relaying networks in a coverage extension scenario. The network consists of two users, a single half duplex (HD) relay and a destination, all equipped with multiple antennas. Perfect channel state information (CSI) is assumed to be available exclusively at the receiving nodes (i.e., the relay and the destination) while the users are assumed to be completely blind. The communication through the considered network takes place over two phases. During the first phase, both users send their information concurrently to the relay. The second phase consists of decoding the received data and forwarding it simultaneously to the destination. A transmission scheme that achieves full-diversity under partial interference cancellation (PIC) group decoding is proposed. Unlike many existing schemes, it allows the concurrent transmission in both phases while achieving the full-diversity gain of full time division multiple access (TDMA) transmission regardless of the number of antennas at each node. Numerical comparison with existing schemes in the literature is provided to corroborate our theoretical claims. It is found that our interference cancellation (IC) scheme clearly outperforms existing schemes at the expense of an affordable increase in decoding complexity at both of the relay and destination. © 2013 IEEE.

  12. Full-diversity partial interference cancellation for multi-user wireless relaying networks

    KAUST Repository

    El Astal, M. T O; Ismail, Amr; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Olivier, Jan Corné

    2013-01-01

    We focus on the uplink channel of multi-user wireless relaying networks in a coverage extension scenario. The network consists of two users, a single half duplex (HD) relay and a destination, all equipped with multiple antennas. Perfect channel state information (CSI) is assumed to be available exclusively at the receiving nodes (i.e., the relay and the destination) while the users are assumed to be completely blind. The communication through the considered network takes place over two phases. During the first phase, both users send their information concurrently to the relay. The second phase consists of decoding the received data and forwarding it simultaneously to the destination. A transmission scheme that achieves full-diversity under partial interference cancellation (PIC) group decoding is proposed. Unlike many existing schemes, it allows the concurrent transmission in both phases while achieving the full-diversity gain of full time division multiple access (TDMA) transmission regardless of the number of antennas at each node. Numerical comparison with existing schemes in the literature is provided to corroborate our theoretical claims. It is found that our interference cancellation (IC) scheme clearly outperforms existing schemes at the expense of an affordable increase in decoding complexity at both of the relay and destination. © 2013 IEEE.

  13. Blind cooperative diversity using distributed space-time coding in block fading channels

    KAUST Repository

    Tourki, Kamel

    2010-08-01

    Mobile users with single antennas can still take advantage of spatial diversity through cooperative space-time encoded transmission. In this paper, we consider a scheme in which a relay chooses to cooperate only if its source-relay channel is of an acceptable quality and we evaluate the usefulness of relaying when the source acts blindly and ignores the decision of the relays whether they may cooperate or not. In our study, we consider the regenerative relays in which the decisions to cooperate are based on a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) threshold and consider the impact of the possible erroneously detected and transmitted data at the relays. We derive the end-to-end bit-error rate (BER) expression and its approximation for binary phase-shift keying modulation and look at two power allocation strategies between the source and the relays in order to minimize the end-to-end BER at the destination for high SNR. Some selected performance results show that computer simulations based results coincide well with our analytical results. © 2010 IEEE.

  14. Performance Analysis of Free-Space Optical Communication Systems With Multiuser Diversity Over Atmospheric Turbulence Channels

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Liang

    2014-04-01

    Free-space optical (FSO) communication has become a cost-effective method to provide high data rates. However, the turbulence-induced fading limits its application to short-range applications. To address this, we propose a multiuser diversity (MD) FSO scheme in which the Nth best user is selected and the channel fluctuations can be effectively exploited to produce a selection diversity gain. More specifically, we first present the statistics analysis for the considered system over both weak and strong atmospheric turbulence channels. Based on these statistics, the outage probability, bit-error rate performance, average capacity, diversity order, and coverage are analyzed. Results show that the diversity order for the gamma-gamma fading is N min{α, β}/2, where N is the number of users, and α and β are the channel fading parameters related to the effective atmospheric conditions of the link.

  15. An Improved User Selection Algorithm in Multiuser MIMO Broadcast with Channel Prediction

    Science.gov (United States)

    Min, Zhi; Ohtsuki, Tomoaki

    In multiuser MIMO-BC (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output Broadcasting) systems, user selection is important to achieve multiuser diversity. The optimal user selection algorithm is to try all the combinations of users to find the user group that can achieve the multiuser diversity. Unfortunately, the high calculation cost of the optimal algorithm prevents its implementation. Thus, instead of the optimal algorithm, some suboptimal user selection algorithms were proposed based on semiorthogonality of user channel vectors. The purpose of this paper is to achieve multiuser diversity with a small amount of calculation. For this purpose, we propose a user selection algorithm that can improve the orthogonality of a selected user group. We also apply a channel prediction technique to a MIMO-BC system to get more accurate channel information at the transmitter. Simulation results show that the channel prediction can improve the accuracy of channel information for user selections, and the proposed user selection algorithm achieves higher sum rate capacity than the SUS (Semiorthogonal User Selection) algorithm. Also we discuss the setting of the algorithm threshold. As the result of a discussion on the calculation complexity, which uses the number of complex multiplications as the parameter, the proposed algorithm is shown to have a calculation complexity almost equal to that of the SUS algorithm, and they are much lower than that of the optimal user selection algorithm.

  16. Twistor space, Minkowski space and the conformal group

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Broek, P.M. van den

    1983-01-01

    It is shown that the conformal group of compactified Minkowski space is isomorphic to a group of rays of semilinear transformations of twistor space. The action of the conformal group on twistor space is given by an explicit realisation of this isomorphism. In this way we determine the transformation of twistor space under space inversion and time inversion. (orig.)

  17. A comparative study of simple auditory reaction time in blind (congenitally) and sighted subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gandhi, Pritesh Hariprasad; Gokhale, Pradnya A; Mehta, H B; Shah, C J

    2013-07-01

    Reaction time is the time interval between the application of a stimulus and the appearance of appropriate voluntary response by a subject. It involves stimulus processing, decision making, and response programming. Reaction time study has been popular due to their implication in sports physiology. Reaction time has been widely studied as its practical implications may be of great consequence e.g., a slower than normal reaction time while driving can have grave results. To study simple auditory reaction time in congenitally blind subjects and in age sex matched sighted subjects. To compare the simple auditory reaction time between congenitally blind subjects and healthy control subjects. STUDY HAD BEEN CARRIED OUT IN TWO GROUPS: The 1(st) of 50 congenitally blind subjects and 2(nd) group comprises of 50 healthy controls. It was carried out on Multiple Choice Reaction Time Apparatus, Inco Ambala Ltd. (Accuracy±0.001 s) in a sitting position at Government Medical College and Hospital, Bhavnagar and at a Blind School, PNR campus, Bhavnagar, Gujarat, India. Simple auditory reaction time response with four different type of sound (horn, bell, ring, and whistle) was recorded in both groups. According to our study, there is no significant different in reaction time between congenital blind and normal healthy persons. Blind individuals commonly utilize tactual and auditory cues for information and orientation and they reliance on touch and audition, together with more practice in using these modalities to guide behavior, is often reflected in better performance of blind relative to sighted participants in tactile or auditory discrimination tasks, but there is not any difference in reaction time between congenitally blind and sighted people.

  18. Enhancing Physical Layer Security of Multiuser SIMO Mixed RF/FSO Relay Networks with Multi-Eavesdroppers

    KAUST Repository

    El-Malek, Ahmed H. Abd; Salhab, Anas M.; Zummo, Salam A.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we investigate the secrecy performance of multiuser (MU) single-input multiple-output (SIMO) mixed radio frequency (RF)/free space optical (FSO) relay network with opportunistic user scheduling and multiple eavesdropping attacks

  19. Fundamental group of dual graphs and applications to quantum space time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nada, S.I.; Hamouda, E.H.

    2009-01-01

    Let G be a connected planar graph with n vertices and m edges. It is known that the fundamental group of G has 1 -(n - m) generators. In this paper, we show that if G is a self-dual graph, then its fundamental group has (n - 1) generators. We indicate that these results are relevant to quantum space time.

  20. A Third-Party E-Payment Protocol Based on Quantum Group Blind Signature

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jian-Zhong; Yang, Yuan-Yuan; Xie, Shu-Cui

    2017-09-01

    A third-party E-payment protocol based on quantum group blind signature is proposed in this paper. Our E-payment protocol could protect user's anonymity as the traditional E-payment systems do, and also have unconditional security which the classical E-payment systems can not provide. To achieve that, quantum key distribution, one-time pad and quantum group blind signature are adopted in our scheme. Furthermore, if there were a dispute, the manager Trent can identify who tells a lie.

  1. A reduced feedback proportional fair multiuser scheduling scheme

    KAUST Repository

    Shaqfeh, Mohammad; Alnuweiri, Hussein M.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2011-01-01

    . A slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we propose a novel proportional fair multiuser switched

  2. El Naschie's Cantorian space-time and general relativity by means of Barbilian's group. A Cantorian fractal axiomatic model of space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gottlieb, I.; Agop, M.; Jarcau, M.

    2004-01-01

    One builds the vacuum metrics of the stationary electromagnetic field through the complex potential model. There are thus emphasized both a variational principle, independent on the Ricci tensor, and some internal symmetries of the vacuum solutions. One shows that similar results may be obtained using the Barbiliant's group. By analytical continuation of a Barbilian transformation the link between the fixed points of the modular groups of the vacuum and the golden mean PHI=(1/(1+PHI))=(√5-1)/2 of ε (∞) space-time is established. Finally, a Cantorian fractal axiomatic model of the space-time is presented. The model is explained using a set of coupled equations which may describe the self organizing processes at the solid-liquid, plasma-plasma, and superconductor-superconductor interfaces

  3. Extended system of space-time coordinates and generalized translation group of transformations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yamaleev, R.M.

    1980-01-01

    A method of extending space-time is considered. In the nonrelativistic case extending goes by joining a scalar to the 3-dimensional radius-vector, completing this to a quaternion. The interpretation of scalar obtained as a parameter of scale transfornation of the generalized translation of group of transformations is given. Some basic expressions of nonrelativistic classical mechanics in the quaternion representation are given. In the relativistic case space-time is constructed from two quaternions: the first one consists of a pair scalar-3-dimensional radius-vector; the second one, of a pair-time-scalar-3-dimensional time-vector. Time and space coordinates, enter into the expression with the opposite signature. The introduction of a time-vector as well as of a new scalar is stipulated by the requirement of the principle of conforming quantum mechanics of the 1/2 spin to classical mechanics [ru

  4. Space-time versus world-sheet renormalization group equation in string theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brustein, R.; Roland, K.

    1991-05-01

    We discuss the relation between space-time renormalization group equation for closed string field theory and world-sheet renormalization group equation for first-quantized strings. Restricting our attention to massless states we argue that there is a one-to-one correspondence between the fixed point solutions of the two renormalization group equations. In particular, we show how to extract the Fischler-Susskind mechanism from the string field theory equation in the case of the bosonic string. (orig.)

  5. Leakage based precoding for multi-user MIMO-OFDM systems

    KAUST Repository

    Sadek, Mirette

    2011-08-01

    In downlink multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) transmissions, several precoding schemes have been proposed to decrease interference among users. Notable among these precoding schemes is one that uses the signal-to-leakage-plus-noise ratio (SLNR) as an optimization criterion. In this paper, leveraging the efficiency of the SLNR optimization, we generalize this precoding scheme to MIMO orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) multi-user systems where the OFDM is used to overcome the inter-symbol- interference (ISI) introduced by multipath channels. We also introduce a channel compensation technique that reconstructs the channel at the transmitter for every time instant given a significantly lower channel feedback rate by the receiver. © 2006 IEEE.

  6. AdaM: Adapting Multi-User Interfaces for Collaborative Environments in Real-Time

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Park, Seonwook; Gebhardt, Christoph; Rädle, Roman

    2018-01-01

    and rule-based solutions are tedious to create and do not scale to larger problems nor do they adapt to dynamic changes, such as users leaving or joining an activity. In this paper, we cast the problem of UI distribution as an assignment problem and propose to solve it using combinatorial optimization. We...... present a mixed integer programming formulation which allows real-time applications in dynamically changing collaborative settings. It optimizes the allocation of UI elements based on device capabilities, user roles, preferences, and access rights. We present a proof-of-concept designer-in-the-loop tool......Developing cross-device multi-user interfaces (UIs) is a challenging problem. There are numerous ways in which content and interactivity can be distributed. However, good solutions must consider multiple users, their roles, their preferences and access rights, as well as device capabilities. Manual...

  7. Dynamic Subcarrier Allocation for Real-Time Traffic over Multiuser OFDM Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li VictorOK

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available A dynamic resource allocation algorithm to satisfy the packet delay requirements for real-time services, while maximizing the system capacity in multiuser orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM systems is introduced. Our proposed cross-layer algorithm, called Dynamic Subcarrier Allocation algorithm for Real-time Traffic (DSA-RT, consists of two interactive components. In the medium access control (MAC layer, the users' expected transmission rates in terms of the number of subcarriers per symbol and their corresponding transmission priorities are evaluated. With the above MAC-layer information and the detected subcarriers' channel gains, in the physical (PHY layer, a modified Kuhn-Munkres algorithm is developed to minimize the system power for a certain subcarrier allocation, then a PHY-layer resource allocation scheme is proposed to optimally allocate the subcarriers under the system signal-to-noise ratio (SNR and power constraints. In a system where the number of mobile users changes dynamically, our developed MAC-layer access control and removal schemes can guarantee the quality of service (QoS of the existing users in the system and fully utilize the bandwidth resource. The numerical results show that DSA-RT significantly improves the system performance in terms of the bandwidth efficiency and delay performance for real-time services.

  8. Security-Reliability Trade-Off Analysis for Multiuser SIMO Mixed RF/FSO Relay Networks With Opportunistic User Scheduling

    KAUST Repository

    El-Malek, Ahmed H. Abd; Salhab, Anas M.; Zummo, Salam A.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we study the performance of multiuser single-input multiple-output mixed radio frequency (RF)/free space optical (FSO) relay network with opportunistic user scheduling. The considered system includes multiple users, one amplify

  9. A versatile multi-user polyimide surface micromachinning process for MEMS applications

    KAUST Repository

    Carreno, Armando Arpys Arevalo

    2015-04-01

    This paper reports a versatile multi-user micro-fabrication process for MEMS devices, the \\'Polyimide MEMS Multi-User Process\\' (PiMMPs). The reported process uses polyimide as the structural material and three separate metallization layers that can be interconnected depending on the desired application. This process enables for the first time the development of out-of-plane compliant mechanisms that can be designed using six different physical principles for actuation and sensing on a wafer from a single fabrication run. These principles are electrostatic motion, thermal bimorph actuation, capacitive sensing, magnetic sensing, thermocouple-based sensing and radio frequency transmission and reception. © 2015 IEEE.

  10. Multiuser chirp modulation for underwater acoustic channel based on VTRM

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Fei Yuan

    2017-05-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, an ascheme is proposed for multiuser underwater acoustic communication by using the multi-chirp rate signals. It differs from the well known TDMA (Time Division Multiple Access, FDMA (Frequency Division Multiple Access or CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access, by assigning each users with different chirp-rate carriers instead of the time, frequency or PN code. Multi-chirp rate signals can be separated from each other by FrFT (Fractional Fourier Transform, which can be regarded as the chirp-based decomposing, and superior to the match filter in the underwater acoustic channel. VTRM (Virtual Time Reverse Mirror is applied into the system to alleviate the ISI caused by the multipatch and make the equalization more simple. Results of computer simulations and pool experiments prove that the proposed multiuser underwater acoustic communication based on the multi-chirp rate exhibit well performance. Outfield experments carrie out in Xiamen Port show that using about 10 kHz bandwidth, four users could communicate at the same time with 425 bps with low BER and can match the UAC application.

  11. Multiuser Diversity with Adaptive Modulation in Non-Identically Distributed Nakagami Fading Environments

    KAUST Repository

    Rao, Anlei

    2012-09-08

    In this paper, we analyze the performance of adaptive modulation with single-cell multiuser scheduling over independent but not identical distributed (i.n.i.d.) Nakagami fading channels. Closed-form expressions are derived for the average channel capacity, spectral efficiency, and bit-error-rate (BER) for both constant-power variable-rate and variable-power variable-rate uncoded/coded M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM) schemes. We also study the impact of time delay on the average BER of adaptive M-QAM. Selected numerical results show that the multiuser diversity brings a considerably better performance even over i.n.i.d. fading environments.

  12. A reduced feedback proportional fair multiuser scheduling scheme

    KAUST Repository

    Shaqfeh, Mohammad

    2011-12-01

    Multiuser switched-diversity scheduling schemes were recently proposed in order to overcome the heavy feedback requirements of conventional opportunistic scheduling schemes by applying a threshold-based, distributed and ordered scheduling mechanism. A slight reduction in the prospected multiuser diversity gains is an acceptable trade-off for great savings in terms of required channel-state-information feedback messages. In this work, we propose a novel proportional fair multiuser switched-diversity scheduling scheme and we demonstrate that it can be optimized using a practical and distributed method to obtain the per-user feedback thresholds. We demonstrate by numerical examples that our reduced feedback proportional fair scheduler operates within 0.3 bits/sec/Hz from the achievable rates by the conventional full feedback proportional fair scheduler in Rayleigh fading conditions. © 2011 IEEE.

  13. Multi-user data acquisition environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Storch, N.A.

    1983-01-01

    The typical data acquisition environment involves data collection and monitoring by a single user. However, in order to support experiments on the Mars facility at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, we have had to create a multi-user data acquisition environment where any user can control the data acquisition and several users can monitor and analyze data being collected in real time. This paper describes how we accomplished this on an HP A600 computer. It focuses on the overall system description and user communication with the tasks within the system. Our current implementation is one phase of a long-term software development project

  14. Adaptive Multiuser Detectors for DS-CDMA Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Jean Etienne Jeszensky

    2006-02-01

    Full Text Available This work makes a review of the main Adaptives Multi-user Detectors (MuD-Adpt for Direct Sequence - Code Division Multiple Access (DS-CDMA systems. The MuD-Adpt based on Minimum Mean Square Error (MMSE and Decorrelator (MuD-Dec are focused. Multi-user detectors show great resistance to the near-far effect and combat effectively the Multiple Access Interference (MAI. Comparative numeric results characterize the substantial performance improvement of those detectors in relation to the matched filter conventional receiver (Conv.

  15. Multiuser receiver for DS-CDMA signals in multipath channels: an enhanced multisurface method.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahendra, Chetan; Puthusserypady, Sadasivan

    2006-11-01

    This paper deals with the problem of multiuser detection in direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (DS-CDMA) systems in multipath environments. The existing multiuser detectors can be divided into two categories: (1) low-complexity poor-performance linear detectors and (2) high-complexity good-performance nonlinear detectors. In particular, in channels where the orthogonality of the code sequences is destroyed by multipath, detectors with linear complexity perform much worse than the nonlinear detectors. In this paper, we propose an enhanced multisurface method (EMSM) for multiuser detection in multipath channels. EMSM is an intermediate piecewise linear detection scheme with a run-time complexity linear in the number of users. Its bit error rate performance is compared with existing linear detectors, a nonlinear radial basis function detector trained by the new support vector learning algorithm, and Verdu's optimal detector. Simulations in multipath channels, for both synchronous and asynchronous cases, indicate that it always outperforms all other linear detectors, performing nearly as well as nonlinear detectors.

  16. Blind Separation of Nonstationary Sources Based on Spatial Time-Frequency Distributions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Yimin

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Blind source separation (BSS based on spatial time-frequency distributions (STFDs provides improved performance over blind source separation methods based on second-order statistics, when dealing with signals that are localized in the time-frequency (t-f domain. In this paper, we propose the use of STFD matrices for both whitening and recovery of the mixing matrix, which are two stages commonly required in many BSS methods, to provide robust BSS performance to noise. In addition, a simple method is proposed to select the auto- and cross-term regions of time-frequency distribution (TFD. To further improve the BSS performance, t-f grouping techniques are introduced to reduce the number of signals under consideration, and to allow the receiver array to separate more sources than the number of array sensors, provided that the sources have disjoint t-f signatures. With the use of one or more techniques proposed in this paper, improved performance of blind separation of nonstationary signals can be achieved.

  17. Cross-Layer Framework for Multiuser Real Time H.264/AVC Video Encoding and Transmission over Block Fading MIMO Channels Using Outage Probability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Slavche Pejoski

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We present a framework for cross-layer optimized real time multiuser encoding of video using a single layer H.264/AVC and transmission over MIMO wireless channels. In the proposed cross-layer adaptation, the channel of every user is characterized by the probability density function of its channel mutual information and the performance of the H.264/AVC encoder is modeled by a rate distortion model that takes into account the channel errors. These models are used during the resource allocation of the available slots in a TDMA MIMO communication system with capacity achieving channel codes. This framework allows for adaptation to the statistics of the wireless channel and to the available resources in the system and utilization of the multiuser diversity of the transmitted video sequences. We show the effectiveness of the proposed framework for video transmission over Rayleigh MIMO block fading channels, when channel distribution information is available at the transmitter.

  18. A STUDY ON PREVALENCE AND CAUSES OF CORNEAL BLINDNESS IN PAEDIATRIC AGE GROUP

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    E. Ramadevi

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND Corneal disease is responsible for less than 2% of blindness in children in industrialised countries. In poor countries of the world, corneal scarring occurs due to vitamin A deficiency, measles and ophthalmia neonatorum. Thus, corneal disease is an important cause of blindness among children living in developing nations, which already carry a major burden of blindness. The aim of the study is to study the1. Prevalence of corneal blindness in the paediatric age group. 2. Causes of corneal blindness in the paediatric age group. 3. Morbidity of corneal blindness in the paediatric age group. MATERIALS AND METHODS It was cross-sectional observational study. Study Period- December 2014 to August 2016. Study Done- Government General Hospital, Kakinada. Sample Size- 50 patients. Inclusion Criteria- Children of age group 6 to 12 years with corneal blindness who have attended the outpatient department during the study period. Exclusion Criteria- Children with childhood blindness other than corneal pathology. Study Tools- Predesigned, semi-structured questionnaire regarding age, sex and age of onset of visual loss, laterality, history of ocular injury, vitamin A immunisation, family history of consanguinity and place of residence and socioeconomic status was taken. Visual acuity was measured using an E optotype and Landolt broken C chart with best corrected vision. Visual loss was classified according to the WHO categories of visual impairment. Ophthalmic examination was done by slit lamp and B scan. RESULTS Ocular trauma and corneal ulcers are most common cause of corneal blindness. 84% of corneal blindness cases were preventable and curable. CONCLUSION Trauma was the commonest cause of corneal blindness followed by infectious keratitis. 84% of corneal blindness was preventable and curable. Most causes of corneal blindness were avoidable.

  19. Multiuser TOA Estimation Algorithm in DS-CDMA Sparse Channel for Radiolocation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Sunwoo

    This letter considers multiuser time delay estimation in a sparse channel environment for radiolocation. The generalized successive interference cancellation (GSIC) algorithm is used to eliminate the multiple access interference (MAI). To adapt GSIC to sparse channels the alternating maximization (AM) algorithm is considered, and the continuous time delay of each path is estimated without requiring a priori known data sequences.

  20. Space groups for solid state scientists

    CERN Document Server

    Glazer, Michael; Glazer, Alexander N

    2014-01-01

    This Second Edition provides solid state scientists, who are not necessarily experts in crystallography, with an understandable and comprehensive guide to the new International Tables for Crystallography. The basic ideas of symmetry, lattices, point groups, and space groups are explained in a clear and detailed manner. Notation is introduced in a step-by-step way so that the reader is supplied with the tools necessary to derive and apply space group information. Of particular interest in this second edition are the discussions of space groups application to such timely topics as high-te

  1. Effect of RF Interference on the Security-Reliability Trade-off Analysis of Multiuser Mixed RF/FSO Relay Networks with Power Allocation

    KAUST Repository

    Abd El-Malek, Ahmed H.; Salhab, Anas; Zummo, Salam; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, the impact of radio frequency (RF) cochannel interference (CCI) on the performance of multiuser mixed RF/free-space optical (FSO) relay network with opportunistic user scheduling under eavesdropping attack is studied. The considered

  2. Gauge fields in nonlinear group realizations involving two-dimensional space-time symmetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Machacek, M.E.; McCliment, E.R.

    1975-01-01

    It is shown that gauge fields may be consistently introduced into a model Lagrangian previously considered by the authors. The model is suggested by the spontaneous breaking of a Lorentz-type group into a quasiphysical two-dimensional space-time and one internal degree of freedom, loosely associated with charge. The introduction of zero-mass gauge fields makes possible the absorption via the Higgs mechanism of the Goldstone fields that appear in the model despite the fact that the Goldstone fields do not transform as scalars. Specifically, gauge invariance of the Yang-Mills type requires the introduction of two sets of massless gauge fields. The transformation properties in two-dimensional space-time suggest that one set is analogous to a charge doublet that behaves like a second-rank tensor in real four-dimensional space time. The other set suggests a spin-one-like charge triplet. Via the Higgs mechanism, the first set absorbs the Goldstone fields and acquires mass. The second set remains massless. If massive gauge fields are introduced, the associated currents are not conserved and the Higgs mechanism is no longer fully operative. The Goldstone fields are not eliminated, but coupling between the Goldstone fields and the gauge fields does shift the mass of the antisymmetric second-rank-tensor gauge field components

  3. Psychological and social adjustment to blindness: understanding from two groups of blind people in Ilorin, Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tunde-Ayinmode, Mosunmola F; Akande, Tanimola M; Ademola-Popoola, Dupe S

    2011-01-01

    Blindness can cause psychosocial distress leading to maladjustment if not mitigated. Maladjustment is a secondary burden that further reduces quality of life of the blind. Adjustment is often personalized and depends on nature and quality of prevailing psychosocial support and rehabilitation opportunities. This study was aimed at identifying the pattern of psychosocial adjustment in a group of relatively secluded and under-reached totally blind people in Ilorin, thus sensitizing eye doctors to psychosocial morbidity and care in the blind. A cross-sectional descriptive study using 20-item Self-Reporting Questionnaire (SRQ) and a pro forma designed by the authors to assess the psychosocial problems and risk factors in some blind people in Ilorin metropolis. The study revealed that most of the blind people were reasonably adjusted in key areas of social interaction, marriage, and family. Majority were considered to be poorly adjusted in the areas of education, vocational training, employment, and mobility. Many were also considered to be psychologically maladjusted based on the high rate of probable psychological disorder of 51%, as determined by SRQ. Factors identified as risk factors of probable psychological disorder were poor educational background and the presence of another medical disorder. Most of the blind had no access to formal education or rehabilitation system, which may have contributed to their maladjustment in the domains identified. Although their prevailing psychosocial situation would have been better prevented yet, real opportunity still exists to help this group of people in the area of social and physical rehabilitation, meeting medical needs, preventive psychiatry, preventive ophthalmology, and community health. This will require the joint efforts of medical community, government and nongovernment organizations to provide the framework for delivery of these services directly to the communities.

  4. Following the actors and avatars of massively multi-user online role-playing games

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Sisse Siggaard

    2007-01-01

    held in high esteem by a group, or guild, of avatars and actors, these are activities, which may be conceived of as being complex, reflective practices. To become a skilled, professional, high-level avatar is hard work, it may take months, and only then, can the avatar perform without the many......’ conceptions of the virtual worlds, 2) their choices and constructions of mediating avatars, 3) the diversity of social interactions, 4) the constructions of self experienced and expressed while reflecting on action and communication, and 5) the interplay between the virtual worlds and the actors’ life worlds......In the massively multi-user online role-playing games of e.g. EverQuest I & II and the World of Warcraft, millions of actors inhabit and create new places and spaces for communication and social interaction (Castranova 2001, Gee, 2003, Goffman 1974/86, Jensen 2006a, Qvortrup 2001, 2002). Some...

  5. On Performance of Linear Multiuser Detectors for Wireless Multimedia Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agarwal, Rekha; Reddy, B. V. R.; Bindu, E.; Nayak, Pinki

    In this paper, performance of different multi-rate schemes in DS-CDMA system is evaluated. The analysis of multirate linear multiuser detectors with multiprocessing gain is analyzed for synchronous Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) systems. Variable data rate is achieved by varying the processing gain. Our conclusion is that bit error rate for multirate and single rate systems can be made same with a tradeoff with number of users in linear multiuser detectors.

  6. Proposal for Implementing Multi-User Database (MUD) Technology in an Academic Library.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Filby, A. M. Iliana

    1996-01-01

    Explores the use of MOO (multi-user object oriented) virtual environments in academic libraries to enhance reference services. Highlights include the development of multi-user database (MUD) technology from gaming to non-recreational settings; programming issues; collaborative MOOs; MOOs as distinguished from other types of virtual reality; audio…

  7. Axiomatics of uniform space-time models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Levichev, A.V.

    1983-01-01

    The mathematical statement of space-time axiomatics of the special theory of relativity is given; it postulates that the space-time M is the binding single boundary Hausedorf local-compact four-dimensional topological space with the given order. The theorem is proved: if the invariant order in the four-dimensional group M is given by the semi-group P, which contingency K contains inner points , then M is commutative. The analogous theorem is correct for the group of two and three dimensionalities

  8. Differences between early-blind, late-blind, and blindfolded-sighted people in haptic spatial-configuration learning and resulting memory traces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Postma, Albert; Zuidhoek, Sander; Noordzij, Matthijs L; Kappers, Astrid M L

    2007-01-01

    The roles of visual and haptic experience in different aspects of haptic processing of objects in peripersonal space are examined. In three trials, early-blind, late-blind, and blindfolded-sighted individuals had to match ten shapes haptically to the cut-outs in a board as fast as possible. Both blind groups were much faster than the sighted in all three trials. All three groups improved considerably from trial to trial. In particular, the sighted group showed a strong improvement from the first to the second trial. While superiority of the blind remained for speeded matching after rotation of the stimulus frame, coordinate positional-memory scores in a non-speeded free-recall trial showed no significant differences between the groups. Moreover, when assessed with a verbal response, categorical spatial-memory appeared strongest in the late-blind group. The role of haptic and visual experience thus appears to depend on the task aspect tested.

  9. Recognizing Multi-user Activities using Body Sensor Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gu, Tao; Wang, Liang; Chen, Hanhua

    2011-01-01

    The advances of wireless networking and sensor technology open up an interesting opportunity to infer human activities in a smart home environment. Existing work in this paradigm focuses mainly on recognizing activities of a single user. In this work, we address the fundamental problem...... activity classes of data—for building activity models and design a scalable, noise-resistant, Emerging Pattern based Multi-user Activity Recognizer (epMAR) to recognize both single- and multi-user activities. We develop a multi-modal, wireless body sensor network for collecting real-world traces in a smart...... home environment, and conduct comprehensive empirical studies to evaluate our system. Results show that epMAR outperforms existing schemes in terms of accuracy, scalability and robustness....

  10. A Multiuser Detector Based on Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm for DS-UWB Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhendong Yin

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Artificial Bee Colony (ABC algorithm is an optimization algorithm based on the intelligent behavior of honey bee swarm. The ABC algorithm was developed to solve optimizing numerical problems and revealed premising results in processing time and solution quality. In ABC, a colony of artificial bees search for rich artificial food sources; the optimizing numerical problems are converted to the problem of finding the best parameter which minimizes an objective function. Then, the artificial bees randomly discover a population of initial solutions and then iteratively improve them by employing the behavior: moving towards better solutions by means of a neighbor search mechanism while abandoning poor solutions. In this paper, an efficient multiuser detector based on a suboptimal code mapping multiuser detector and artificial bee colony algorithm (SCM-ABC-MUD is proposed and implemented in direct-sequence ultra-wideband (DS-UWB systems under the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN channel. The simulation results demonstrate that the BER and the near-far effect resistance performances of this proposed algorithm are quite close to those of the optimum multiuser detector (OMD while its computational complexity is much lower than that of OMD. Furthermore, the BER performance of SCM-ABC-MUD is not sensitive to the number of active users and can obtain a large system capacity.

  11. Performance Analysis of Iterative Channel Estimation and Multiuser Detection in Multipath DS-CDMA Channels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Husheng; Betz, Sharon M.; Poor, H. Vincent

    2007-05-01

    This paper examines the performance of decision feedback based iterative channel estimation and multiuser detection in channel coded aperiodic DS-CDMA systems operating over multipath fading channels. First, explicit expressions describing the performance of channel estimation and parallel interference cancellation based multiuser detection are developed. These results are then combined to characterize the evolution of the performance of a system that iterates among channel estimation, multiuser detection and channel decoding. Sufficient conditions for convergence of this system to a unique fixed point are developed.

  12. Multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessment of farming systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Van Passel, Steven, E-mail: Steven.vanpassel@uhasselt.be [Hasselt University, Faculty of Business Economics, Centre for Environmental Sciences, Agoralaan, Building D, 3590, Diepenbeek (Belgium); University of Antwerp, Department Bioscience Engineering, Groenenborgerlaan 171, 2020 Antwerp (Belgium); Meul, Marijke [University College Ghent, Department of Biosciences and Landscape Architecture, Campus Schoonmeersen, Building C, Schoonmeersstraat 52, 9000, Gent (Belgium)

    2012-01-15

    Sustainability assessment is needed to build sustainable farming systems. A broad range of sustainability concepts, methodologies and applications already exists. They differ in level, focus, orientation, measurement, scale, presentation and intended end-users. In this paper we illustrate that a smart combination of existing methods with different levels of application can make sustainability assessment more profound, and that it can broaden the insights of different end-user groups. An overview of sustainability assessment tools on different levels and for different end-users shows the complementarities and the opportunities of using different methods. In a case-study, a combination of the sustainable value approach (SVA) and MOTIFS is used to perform a sustainability evaluation of farming systems in Flanders. SVA is used to evaluate sustainability at sector level, and is especially useful to support policy makers, while MOTIFS is used to support and guide farmers towards sustainability at farm level. The combined use of the two methods with complementary goals can widen the insights of both farmers and policy makers, without losing the particularities of the different approaches. To stimulate and support further research and applications, we propose guidelines for multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessments. - Highlights: Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We give an overview of sustainability assessment tools for agricultural systems. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer SVA and MOTIFS are used to evaluate the sustainability of dairy farming in Flanders. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer Combination of methods with different levels broadens the insights of different end-user groups. Black-Right-Pointing-Pointer We propose guidelines for multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessments.

  13. Multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessment of farming systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Passel, Steven; Meul, Marijke

    2012-01-01

    Sustainability assessment is needed to build sustainable farming systems. A broad range of sustainability concepts, methodologies and applications already exists. They differ in level, focus, orientation, measurement, scale, presentation and intended end-users. In this paper we illustrate that a smart combination of existing methods with different levels of application can make sustainability assessment more profound, and that it can broaden the insights of different end-user groups. An overview of sustainability assessment tools on different levels and for different end-users shows the complementarities and the opportunities of using different methods. In a case-study, a combination of the sustainable value approach (SVA) and MOTIFS is used to perform a sustainability evaluation of farming systems in Flanders. SVA is used to evaluate sustainability at sector level, and is especially useful to support policy makers, while MOTIFS is used to support and guide farmers towards sustainability at farm level. The combined use of the two methods with complementary goals can widen the insights of both farmers and policy makers, without losing the particularities of the different approaches. To stimulate and support further research and applications, we propose guidelines for multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessments. - Highlights: ► We give an overview of sustainability assessment tools for agricultural systems. ► SVA and MOTIFS are used to evaluate the sustainability of dairy farming in Flanders. ► Combination of methods with different levels broadens the insights of different end-user groups. ► We propose guidelines for multilevel and multi-user sustainability assessments.

  14. Multiuser switched scheduling systems with per-user threshold and post-user selection

    KAUST Repository

    Nam, Haewoon

    2010-06-01

    A multiuser switched diversity scheduling scheme with per-user feedback threshold is proposed in this paper. Unlike the conventional multiuser switched diversity scheduling scheme where a single threshold is used by all the users in order to determine whether to transmit a feedback, the proposed scheme deploys per-user threshold, where each user uses a potentially different threshold than other users thresholds. This paper first provides a generic analytical framework for the optimal feedback thresholds in a closed form. Then we investigates the impact of user sequence strategies and post selection strategies on the performance of the multiuser switched scheduling scheme with per-user threshold. Numerical and simulation results show that the proposed scheme provides a higher system capacity compared to the conventional scheme. © 2010 IEEE.

  15. Multiuser switched scheduling systems with per-user threshold and post-user selection

    KAUST Repository

    Nam, Haewoon; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2010-01-01

    A multiuser switched diversity scheduling scheme with per-user feedback threshold is proposed in this paper. Unlike the conventional multiuser switched diversity scheduling scheme where a single threshold is used by all the users in order to determine whether to transmit a feedback, the proposed scheme deploys per-user threshold, where each user uses a potentially different threshold than other users thresholds. This paper first provides a generic analytical framework for the optimal feedback thresholds in a closed form. Then we investigates the impact of user sequence strategies and post selection strategies on the performance of the multiuser switched scheduling scheme with per-user threshold. Numerical and simulation results show that the proposed scheme provides a higher system capacity compared to the conventional scheme. © 2010 IEEE.

  16. Cubic scattering amplitudes for all massless representations of the Poincare group in any space-time dimension

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fradkin, E.S.; Metsaev, R.R.

    1996-02-01

    Using the language of highest weight representations and the light cone formalism we construct a full list of cubic amplitudes of scattering for all bosonic massless representations of the Poincare group in any even space-time dimension. (author). 29 refs

  17. Methodology and Implementation on DSP of Heuristic Multiuser DS/CDMA Detectors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Alex Miyamoto Mussi

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available The growing number of users of mobile communications networks and the scarcity of the electromagnetic spectrum make the use of diversity techniques and detection/decoding efficient, such as the use of multiple antennas at the transmitter and/or receiver, multiuser detection (MuD – Multiuser Detection, among others, have an increasingly prominent role in the telecommunications landscape. This paper presents a design methodology based on digital signal processors (DSP – Digital Signal Processor with a view to the implementation of multiuser heuristics detectors in systems DS/CDMA (Direct Sequence Code Division Multiple Access. Heuristics detection techniques result in near-optimal performance in order to approach the performance of maximum-likelihood (ML. In this work, was employed the DSP development platform called the C6713 DSK, which is based in Texas TMS320C6713 processor. The heuristics techniques proposed are based on well established algorithms in the literature. The efficiency of the algorithms implemented in DSP has been evaluated numerically by computing the measure of bit error rate (BER. Finally, the feasibility of implementation in DSP could then be verified by comparing results from multiple Monte-Carlo simulation in Matlab, with those obtained from implementation on DSP. It also demonstrates the effective increase in performance and system capacity of DS/CDMA with the use of heuristic multiuser detection techniques, implemented directly in the DSP.

  18. An Efficient Downlink Scheduling Strategy Using Normal Graphs for Multiuser MIMO Wireless Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jung-Chieh; Wu, Cheng-Hsuan; Lee, Yao-Nan; Wen, Chao-Kai

    Inspired by the success of the low-density parity-check (LDPC) codes in the field of error-control coding, in this paper we propose transforming the downlink multiuser multiple-input multiple-output scheduling problem into an LDPC-like problem using the normal graph. Based on the normal graph framework, soft information, which indicates the probability that each user will be scheduled to transmit packets at the access point through a specified angle-frequency sub-channel, is exchanged among the local processors to iteratively optimize the multiuser transmission schedule. Computer simulations show that the proposed algorithm can efficiently schedule simultaneous multiuser transmission which then increases the overall channel utilization and reduces the average packet delay.

  19. A Multi-User Remote Academic Laboratory System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrios, Arquimedes; Panche, Stifen; Duque, Mauricio; Grisales, Victor H.; Prieto, Flavio; Villa, Jose L.; Chevrel, Philippe; Canu, Michael

    2013-01-01

    This article describes the development, implementation and preliminary operation assessment of Multiuser Network Architecture to integrate a number of Remote Academic Laboratories for educational purposes on automatic control. Through the Internet, real processes or physical experiments conducted at the control engineering laboratories of four…

  20. Canadian space agency discipline working group for space dosimetry and radiation science

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Waker, Anthony; Waller, Edward; Lewis, Brent; Bennett, Leslie; Conroy, Thomas

    2008-01-01

    Full text: One of the great technical challenges in the human and robotic exploration of space is the deleterious effect of radiation on humans and physical systems. The magnitude of this challenge is broadly understood in terms of the sources of radiation, however, a great deal remains to be done in the development of instrumentation, suitable for the space environment, which can provide real-time monitoring of the complex radiation fields encountered in space and a quantitative measure of potential biological risk. In order to meet these research requirements collaboration is needed between experimental nuclear instrumentation scientists, theoretical scientists working on numerical modeling techniques and radiation biologists. Under the auspices of the Canadian Space Agency such a collaborative body has been established as one of a number of Discipline Working Groups. Members of the Space Dosimetry and Radiation Science working group form a collaborative network across Canada including universities, government laboratories and the industrial sector. Three central activities form the core of the Space Dosimetry and Radiation Science DWG. An instrument sub-group is engaged in the development of instruments capable of gamma ray, energetic charged particle and neutron dosimetry including the ability to provide dosimetric information in real-time. A second sub-group is focused on computer modeling of space radiation fields in order to assess the performance of conceptual designs of detectors and dosimeters or the impact of radiation on cellular and sub-cellular biological targets and a third sub-group is engaged in the study of the biological effects of space radiation and the potential of biomarkers as a method of assessing radiation impact on humans. Many working group members are active in more than one sub-group facilitating communication throughout the whole network. A summary progress-report will be given of the activities of the Discipline Working Group and the

  1. Blind cooperative diversity using distributed space-time coding in block fading channels

    KAUST Repository

    Tourki, Kamel; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Deneire, Luc

    2010-01-01

    Mobile users with single antennas can still take advantage of spatial diversity through cooperative space-time encoded transmission. In this paper, we consider a scheme in which a relay chooses to cooperate only if its source-relay channel

  2. Sensor-Based Human Activity Recognition in a Multi-user Scenario

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Liang; Gu, Tao; Tao, Xianping; Lu, Jian

    Existing work on sensor-based activity recognition focuses mainly on single-user activities. However, in real life, activities are often performed by multiple users involving interactions between them. In this paper, we propose Coupled Hidden Markov Models (CHMMs) to recognize multi-user activities from sensor readings in a smart home environment. We develop a multimodal sensing platform and present a theoretical framework to recognize both single-user and multi-user activities. We conduct our trace collection done in a smart home, and evaluate our framework through experimental studies. Our experimental result shows that we achieve an average accuracy of 85.46% with CHMMs.

  3. Network coding multiuser scheme for indoor visible light communications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Jiankun; Dang, Anhong

    2017-12-01

    Visible light communication (VLC) is a unique alternative for indoor data transfer and developing beyond point-to-point. However, for realizing high-capacity networks, VLC is facing challenges including the constrained bandwidth of the optical access point and random occlusion. A network coding scheme for VLC (NC-VLC) is proposed, with increased throughput and system robustness. Based on the Lambertian illumination model, theoretical decoding failure probability of the multiuser NC-VLC system is derived, and the impact of the system parameters on the performance is analyzed. Experiments demonstrate the proposed scheme successfully in the indoor multiuser scenario. These results indicate that the NC-VLC system shows a good performance under the link loss and random occlusion.

  4. A Hybrid Approach to Spatial Multiplexing in Multiuser MIMO Downlinks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Spencer Quentin H

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available In the downlink of a multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO communication system, simultaneous transmission to several users requires joint optimization of the transmitted signals. Allowing all users to have multiple antennas adds an additional degree of complexity to the problem. In this paper, we examine the case where a single base station transmits to multiple users using linear processing (beamforming at each of the antenna arrays. We propose generalizations of several previous iterative algorithms for multiuser transmit beamforming that allow multiple antennas and multiple data streams for each user, and that take into account imperfect channel estimates at the transmitter. We then present a new hybrid algorithm that is based on coordinated transmit-receive beamforming, and combines the strengths of nonorthogonal iterative solutions with zero-forcing solutions. The problem of distributing power among the subchannels is solved by using standard bit-loading algorithms combined with the subchannel gains resulting from the zero-forcing solution. The result is a significant performance improvement over equal power distribution. At the same time, the number of iterations required to compute the final solution is reduced.

  5. Sound lateralization test in adolescent blind individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yabe, Takao; Kaga, Kimitaka

    2005-06-21

    Blind individuals require to compensate for the lack of visual information by other sensory inputs. In particular, auditory inputs are crucial to such individuals. To investigate whether blind individuals localize sound in space better than sighted individuals, we tested the auditory ability of adolescent blind individuals using a sound lateralization method. The interaural time difference discrimination thresholds of blind individuals were statistically significantly shorter than those of blind individuals with residual vision and controls. These findings suggest that blind individuals have better auditory spatial ability than individuals with visual cues; therefore, some perceptual compensation occurred in the former.

  6. Twistor space, Minkowski space and the conformal group

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    van den Broek, P.M.

    1983-01-01

    It is shown that the conformal group of compactified Minkowski space is isomorphic to a group of rays of semilinear transformations of twistor space. The action of the conformal group on twistor space is given by an explicit realisation of this isomorphism. In this way we determine the

  7. Group Analysis in FieldTrip of Time-Frequency Responses: A Pipeline for Reproducibility at Every Step of Processing, Going From Individual Sensor Space Representations to an Across-Group Source Space Representation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lau M. Andersen

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available An important aim of an analysis pipeline for magnetoencephalographic (MEG data is that it allows for the researcher spending maximal effort on making the statistical comparisons that will answer his or her questions. The example question being answered here is whether the so-called beta rebound differs between novel and repeated stimulations. Two analyses are presented: going from individual sensor space representations to, respectively, an across-group sensor space representation and an across-group source space representation. The data analyzed are neural responses to tactile stimulations of the right index finger in a group of 20 healthy participants acquired from an Elekta Neuromag System. The processing steps covered for the first analysis are MaxFiltering the raw data, defining, preprocessing and epoching the data, cleaning the data, finding and removing independent components related to eye blinks, eye movements and heart beats, calculating participants' individual evoked responses by averaging over epoched data and subsequently removing the average response from single epochs, calculating a time-frequency representation and baselining it with non-stimulation trials and finally calculating a grand average, an across-group sensor space representation. The second analysis starts from the grand average sensor space representation and after identification of the beta rebound the neural origin is imaged using beamformer source reconstruction. This analysis covers reading in co-registered magnetic resonance images, segmenting the data, creating a volume conductor, creating a forward model, cutting out MEG data of interest in the time and frequency domains, getting Fourier transforms and estimating source activity with a beamformer model where power is expressed relative to MEG data measured during periods of non-stimulation. Finally, morphing the source estimates onto a common template and performing group-level statistics on the data are

  8. System identification through nonstationary data using Time-Frequency Blind Source Separation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guo, Yanlin; Kareem, Ahsan

    2016-06-01

    Classical output-only system identification (SI) methods are based on the assumption of stationarity of the system response. However, measured response of buildings and bridges is usually non-stationary due to strong winds (e.g. typhoon, and thunder storm etc.), earthquakes and time-varying vehicle motions. Accordingly, the response data may have time-varying frequency contents and/or overlapping of modal frequencies due to non-stationary colored excitation. This renders traditional methods problematic for modal separation and identification. To address these challenges, a new SI technique based on Time-Frequency Blind Source Separation (TFBSS) is proposed. By selectively utilizing "effective" information in local regions of the time-frequency plane, where only one mode contributes to energy, the proposed technique can successfully identify mode shapes and recover modal responses from the non-stationary response where the traditional SI methods often encounter difficulties. This technique can also handle response with closely spaced modes which is a well-known challenge for the identification of large-scale structures. Based on the separated modal responses, frequency and damping can be easily identified using SI methods based on a single degree of freedom (SDOF) system. In addition to the exclusive advantage of handling non-stationary data and closely spaced modes, the proposed technique also benefits from the absence of the end effects and low sensitivity to noise in modal separation. The efficacy of the proposed technique is demonstrated using several simulation based studies, and compared to the popular Second-Order Blind Identification (SOBI) scheme. It is also noted that even some non-stationary response data can be analyzed by the stationary method SOBI. This paper also delineates non-stationary cases where SOBI and the proposed scheme perform comparably and highlights cases where the proposed approach is more advantageous. Finally, the performance of the

  9. Quantum groups and quantum homogeneous spaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kulish, P.P.

    1994-01-01

    The usefulness of the R-matrix formalism and the reflection equations is demonstrated on examples of the quantum group covariant algebras (quantum homogeneous spaces): quantum Minkowski space-time, quantum sphere and super-sphere. The irreducible representations of some covariant algebras are constructed. The generalization of the reflection equation to super case is given and the existence of the quasiclassical limits is pointed out. (orig.)

  10. Specifics of psychomotor development in group of congenital blind children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zbyněk Janečka

    2011-03-01

    Full Text Available Ontogenesis of the psychomotor development in group of congenital blind children has its own specifics. Visual defect is influenced by many things. In the period from birth to two years of age occur in children, significant changes in cognitive, psychomotor and social development. Compared with the normal sighted population go the development of congenital blind children in all these areas slower. Visual deprivation also influenced on development of body posture. More important is whether the development proceeds in stages that correspond to the development of normal vision child. If development proceeds in the right direction is the temporal aspect criterion rather orientation. For blind children is also important to strengthen the ability to correctly identify their own body through somatognosy. Stereognosy in turn determines the degree of contact with the outer world and focus it in relation to the physical schema.

  11. A Robotic Coach Architecture for Elder Care (ROCARE) Based on Multi-User Engagement Models.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Jing; Bian, Dayi; Zheng, Zhi; Beuscher, Linda; Newhouse, Paul A; Mion, Lorraine C; Sarkar, Nilanjan

    2017-08-01

    The aging population with its concomitant medical conditions, physical and cognitive impairments, at a time of strained resources, establishes the urgent need to explore advanced technologies that may enhance function and quality of life. Recently, robotic technology, especially socially assistive robotics has been investigated to address the physical, cognitive, and social needs of older adults. Most system to date have predominantly focused on one-on-one human robot interaction (HRI). In this paper, we present a multi-user engagement-based robotic coach system architecture (ROCARE). ROCARE is capable of administering both one-on-one and multi-user HRI, providing implicit and explicit channels of communication, and individualized activity management for long-term engagement. Two preliminary feasibility studies, a one-on-one interaction and a triadic interaction with two humans and a robot, were conducted and the results indicated potential usefulness and acceptance by older adults, with and without cognitive impairment.

  12. Multiuser switched diversity scheduling systems with per-user threshold

    KAUST Repository

    Nam, Haewoon

    2010-05-01

    A multiuser switched diversity scheduling scheme with per-user feedback threshold is proposed and analyzed in this paper. The conventional multiuser switched diversity scheduling scheme uses a single feedback threshold for every user, where the threshold is a function of the average signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) of the users as well as the number of users involved in the scheduling process. The proposed scheme, however, constructs a sequence of feedback thresholds instead of a single feedback threshold such that each user compares its channel quality with the corresponding feedback threshold in the sequence. Numerical and simulation results show that thanks to the flexibility of threshold selection, where a potentially different threshold can be used for each user, the proposed scheme provides a higher system capacity than that for the conventional scheme. © 2006 IEEE.

  13. Topology of classical vacuum space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cho, Y.M.

    2007-04-01

    We present a topological classification of classical vacuum space-time. Assuming the 3-dimensional space allows a global chart, we show that the static vacuum space-time of Einstein's theory can be classified by the knot topology π 3 (S 3 ) = π 3 (S 2 ). Viewing Einstein's theory as a gauge theory of Lorentz group and identifying the gravitational connection as the gauge potential of Lorentz group, we construct all possible vacuum gravitational connections which give a vanishing curvature tensor. With this we show that the vacuum connection has the knot topology, the same topology which describes the multiple vacua of SU(2) gauge theory. We discuss the physical implications of our result in quantum gravity. (author)

  14. Compressive Sensing for Feedback Reduction in Wireless Multiuser Networks

    KAUST Repository

    Elkhalil, Khalil

    2015-01-01

    User/relay selection is a simple technique that achieves spatial diversity in multiuser networks. However, for user/relay selection algorithms to make a selection decision, channel state information (CSI) from all cooperating users/relays is usually

  15. Is space-time symmetry a suitable generalization of parity-time symmetry?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Amore, Paolo; Fernández, Francisco M.; Garcia, Javier

    2014-01-01

    We discuss space-time symmetric Hamiltonian operators of the form H=H 0 +igH ′ , where H 0 is Hermitian and g real. H 0 is invariant under the unitary operations of a point group G while H ′ is invariant under transformation by elements of a subgroup G ′ of G. If G exhibits irreducible representations of dimension greater than unity, then it is possible that H has complex eigenvalues for sufficiently small nonzero values of g. In the particular case that H is parity-time symmetric then it appears to exhibit real eigenvalues for all 0group symmetry and perturbation theory enable one to predict whether H may exhibit real or complex eigenvalues for g>0. We illustrate the main theoretical results and conclusions of this paper by means of two- and three-dimensional Hamiltonians exhibiting a variety of different point-group symmetries. - Highlights: • Space-time symmetry is a generalization of PT symmetry. • The eigenvalues of a space-time Hamiltonian are either real or appear as pairs of complex conjugate numbers. • In some cases all the eigenvalues are real for some values of a potential-strength parameter g. • At some value of g space-time symmetry is broken and complex eigenvalues appear. • Some multidimensional oscillators exhibit broken space-time symmetry for all values of g

  16. Automatic Bluetooth testing for mobile multi-user applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luck, Dennis; Hörning, Henrik; Edlich, Stefan

    2008-02-01

    In this paper we present a simple approach for the development of multiuser and multimedia applications based on Bluetooth. One main obstacle for Bluetooth synchronization of mobile applications is the lack of a complete specification implementation. Nowadays these applications must be on market as fast as possible. Hence, developers must be able to test several dozens of mobile devices for their Bluetooth capability. And surprisingly, the capabilities differ not only between the Bluetooth specification 1.0 and 2.0. The current development was triggered by the development of mass applications as mobile multiuser games (e.g. Tetris). Our Application can be distributed on several mobile phones. If started, the Bluetooth applications try to connect each other and automatically start to detect device capabilities. These capabilities will be gathered and distributed to a server. The server performs statistical investigations and aggregates them to be presented as a report. The result is a faster development regarding mobile communications.

  17. Outage and ser performance of an opportunistic multi-user underlay cognitive network

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Fahd Ahmed

    2012-10-01

    Consider a multi-user underlay cognitive network where multiple cognitive users concurrently share the spectrum with a primary network and a single secondary user is selected for transmission. The channel is assumed to have independent but not identical Nakagami-m fading. Closed form expressions for the outage performance and the symbol-error-rate performance of the opportunistic multi-user secondary network are derived when a peak interference power constraint is imposed on the secondary network in addition to the limited peak transmit power of each secondary user. © 2012 IEEE.

  18. On end-to-end performance of MIMO multiuser in cognitive radio networks

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Yuli

    2011-12-01

    In this paper, a design for the multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) multiuser transmission in the cognitive radio network is developed and its end-to-end performance is investigated under spectrum-sharing constraints. Firstly, the overall average packet error rate is analyzed by considering the channel state information feedback delay and the multiuser scheduling. Then, we provide corresponding numerical results to measure the performance evaluation for several separate scenarios, which presents a convenient tool for the cognitive radio network design with multiple secondary MIMO users. © 2011 IEEE.

  19. On end-to-end performance of MIMO multiuser in cognitive radio networks

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Yuli; Aissa, Sonia

    2011-01-01

    In this paper, a design for the multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) multiuser transmission in the cognitive radio network is developed and its end-to-end performance is investigated under spectrum-sharing constraints. Firstly, the overall average packet error rate is analyzed by considering the channel state information feedback delay and the multiuser scheduling. Then, we provide corresponding numerical results to measure the performance evaluation for several separate scenarios, which presents a convenient tool for the cognitive radio network design with multiple secondary MIMO users. © 2011 IEEE.

  20. Muddy Learning: Evaluating Learning in Multi-User Computer-Based Environments

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    McArthur, David

    1998-01-01

    ... (Multiple User Synthetic Environments), and MOOs (Multi-User Object Oriented), enables users to create new "rooms" in virtual worlds, define their own personnaes, and engage visitors in rich dialogues...

  1. Perbandingan Kinerja Deteksi Multiuser Linier Dan Deteksi Multiuser Dengan Jaringan Syaraf Tiruan Pada Sistem DS-CDMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Popy Maria

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available Beberapa hal yang dapat menurunkan kapasitas dan kualitas sinyal informasi yang diterima pada sistem DS-CDMA (Direct Sequence Code Division Multiple Access adalah interferensi, noise dan efek near-far. Pada umumnya efek near-far diatasi dengan menggunakan power control. Namun demikian power control tidak dapat mengatasi interferensi yang disebabkan oleh user lain pada kanal yang sama atau yang lebih dikenal dengan MAI (Multiple Access Interference. Pendekatan lain yang digunakan untuk mengatasi hal ini adalah dengan deteksi multiuser (MUD. Pada tugas akhir ini akan dibandingkan kinerja dari MUD linier yang terdiri dari decorrelating dan MMSE dengan MUD yang menggunakan jaringan syaraf tiruan (JST dan mengacu pada deteksi konvensional. Jaringan syaraf tiruan ini menggunakan algoritma propagasi balik. Deteksi multiuser ini diaplikasikan pada  output deteksi konvensional. Kinerja dari masing-masing detektor dilihat dari BER sebagai fungsi nilai SNR  atau jumlah user pada kanal AWGN dan Rayleigh fading. Hasil simulasi pada  kanal AWGN, menunjukkan bahwa MUD dengan JST mempunyai kinerja yang lebih baik. Untuk target BER 10-3 pada kanal  AWGN, MUD decorrelating mencapainya pada SNR 6.3 dB, MUD MMSE pada SNR 5.97 dB, dan MUD dengan JST pada SNR 5.89 dB sedangkan pada kanal Rayleigh, MUD decorrelating mencapainya pada SNR 11.74 dB, MUD MMSE pada SNR 10.91 dB, dan MUD dengan JST pada SNR 10.31 dB

  2. An improved reconstruction algorithm based on multi-user detection for uplink grant-free NOMA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hou Chengyan

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available For the traditional orthogonal matching pursuit(OMP algorithm in multi-user detection(MUD for uplink grant-free NOMA, here is a poor BER performance, so in this paper we propose an temporal-correlation orthogonal matching pursuit algorithm(TOMP to realize muli-user detection. The core idea of the TOMP is to use the time correlation of the active user sets to achieve user activity and data detection in a number of continuous time slots. We use the estimated active user set in the current time slot as a priori information to estimate the active user sets for the next slot. By maintaining the active user set Tˆl of size K(K is the number of users, but modified in each iteration. Specifically, active user set is believed to be reliable in one iteration but shown error in another iteration, can be added to the set path delay Tˆl or removed from it. Theoretical analysis of the improved algorithm provide a guarantee that the multi-user can be successfully detected with a high probability. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme can achieve better bit error rate (BER performance in the uplink grant-free NOMA system.

  3. RACOON: a multiuser QoS design for mobile wireless body area networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cheng, Shihheng; Huang, Chingyao; Tu, Chun Chen

    2011-10-01

    In this study, Random Contention-based Resource Allocation (RACOON) medium access control (MAC) protocol is proposed to support the quality of service (QoS) for multi-user mobile wireless body area networks (WBANs). Different from existing QoS designs that focus on a single WBAN, a multiuser WBAN QoS should further consider both inter-WBAN interference and inter-WBAN priorities. Similar problems have been studied in both overlapped wireless local area networks (WLANs) and Bluetooth piconets that need QoS supports. However, these solutions are designed for non-medical transmissions that do not consider any priority scheme for medical applications. Most importantly, these studies focus on only static or low mobility networks. Network mobility of WBANs will introduce unnecessary inter-network collisions and energy waste, which are not considered by these solutions. The proposed multiuser-QoS protocol, RACOON, simultaneously satisfies the inter WBAN QoS requirements and overcomes the performance degradation caused by WBAN mobility. Simulation results verify that RACOON provides better latency and energy control, as compared with WBAN QoS protocols without considering the inter-WBAN requirements.

  4. Blind source separation problem in GPS time series

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gualandi, A.; Serpelloni, E.; Belardinelli, M. E.

    2016-04-01

    A critical point in the analysis of ground displacement time series, as those recorded by space geodetic techniques, is the development of data-driven methods that allow the different sources of deformation to be discerned and characterized in the space and time domains. Multivariate statistic includes several approaches that can be considered as a part of data-driven methods. A widely used technique is the principal component analysis (PCA), which allows us to reduce the dimensionality of the data space while maintaining most of the variance of the dataset explained. However, PCA does not perform well in finding the solution to the so-called blind source separation (BSS) problem, i.e., in recovering and separating the original sources that generate the observed data. This is mainly due to the fact that PCA minimizes the misfit calculated using an L2 norm (χ 2), looking for a new Euclidean space where the projected data are uncorrelated. The independent component analysis (ICA) is a popular technique adopted to approach the BSS problem. However, the independence condition is not easy to impose, and it is often necessary to introduce some approximations. To work around this problem, we test the use of a modified variational Bayesian ICA (vbICA) method to recover the multiple sources of ground deformation even in the presence of missing data. The vbICA method models the probability density function (pdf) of each source signal using a mix of Gaussian distributions, allowing for more flexibility in the description of the pdf of the sources with respect to standard ICA, and giving a more reliable estimate of them. Here we present its application to synthetic global positioning system (GPS) position time series, generated by simulating deformation near an active fault, including inter-seismic, co-seismic, and post-seismic signals, plus seasonal signals and noise, and an additional time-dependent volcanic source. We evaluate the ability of the PCA and ICA decomposition

  5. Managing Multiuser Database Buffers Using Data Mining Techniques

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Feng, L.; Lu, H.J.

    2004-01-01

    In this paper, we propose a data-mining-based approach to public buffer management for a multiuser database system, where database buffers are organized into two areas – public and private. While the private buffer areas contain pages to be updated by particular users, the public

  6. Group theoretical construction of planar noncommutative phase spaces

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ngendakumana, Ancille, E-mail: nancille@yahoo.fr; Todjihoundé, Leonard, E-mail: leonardt@imsp.uac.org [Institut de Mathématiques et des Sciences Physiques (IMSP), Porto-Novo (Benin); Nzotungicimpaye, Joachim, E-mail: kimpaye@kie.ac.rw [Kigali Institute of Education (KIE), Kigali (Rwanda)

    2014-01-15

    Noncommutative phase spaces are generated and classified in the framework of centrally extended anisotropic planar kinematical Lie groups as well as in the framework of noncentrally abelian extended planar absolute time Lie groups. Through these constructions the coordinates of the phase spaces do not commute due to the presence of naturally introduced fields giving rise to minimal couplings. By symplectic realizations methods, physical interpretations of generators coming from the obtained structures are given.

  7. Group theoretical construction of planar noncommutative phase spaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ngendakumana, Ancille; Todjihoundé, Leonard; Nzotungicimpaye, Joachim

    2014-01-01

    Noncommutative phase spaces are generated and classified in the framework of centrally extended anisotropic planar kinematical Lie groups as well as in the framework of noncentrally abelian extended planar absolute time Lie groups. Through these constructions the coordinates of the phase spaces do not commute due to the presence of naturally introduced fields giving rise to minimal couplings. By symplectic realizations methods, physical interpretations of generators coming from the obtained structures are given

  8. Empty space-times with separable Hamilton-Jacobi equation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Collinson, C.D.; Fugere, J.

    1977-01-01

    All empty space-times admitting a one-parameter group of motions and in which the Hamilton-Jacobi equation is (partially) separable are obtained. Several different cases of such empty space-times exist and the Riemann tensor is found to be either type D or N. The results presented here complete the search for empty space-times with separable Hamilton-Jacobi equation. (author)

  9. A CDMA multiuser detection algorithm on the basis of belief propagation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kabashima, Yoshiyuki

    2003-01-01

    An iterative algorithm for the multiuser detection problem that arises in code division multiple access (CDMA) systems is developed on the basis of Pearl's belief propagation (BP). We show that the BP-based algorithm exhibits nearly optimal performance in a practical time scale by utilizing the central limit theorem and self-averaging property appropriately, whereas direct application of BP to the detection problem is computationally difficult and far from practical. We further present close relationships of the proposed algorithm to the Thouless-Anderson-Palmer approach and replica analysis known in spin-glass research

  10. On low-complexity full-diversity detection of multi-user space-time coding

    KAUST Repository

    Ismail, Amr; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2013-01-01

    for a wide range of STBCs to achieve full-diversity under PIC group decoding with or without successive interference cancellation (SIC). Based on the provided design criteria we derive an upper-bound on the achievable rate for a class of codes. A two

  11. Traveling with blindness: A qualitative space-time approach to understanding visual impairment and urban mobility.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wong, Sandy

    2018-01-01

    This paper draws from Hägerstrand's space-time framework to generate new insights on the everyday mobilities of individuals with visual impairments in the San Francisco Bay Area. While existing research on visual impairment and mobility emphasizes individual physical limitations resulting from vision loss or inaccessible public spaces, this article highlights and bridges both the behavioral and social processes that influence individual mobility. A qualitative analysis of sit-down and mobile interview data reveals that the space-time constraints of people with visual impairments are closely linked to their access to transportation, assistive technologies, and mobile devices. The findings deepen our understandings of the relationship between health and mobility, and present intervention opportunities for improving the quality of life for people with visual impairment. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Performance Analysis of Capacity of MIMO Systems under Multiuser Interference Based on Worst-Case Noise Behavior

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorswieck E. A.

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available The capacity of a cellular multiuser MIMO system depends on various parameters, for example, the system structure, the transmit and receive strategies, the channel state information at the transmitter and the receiver, and the channel properties. Recently, the main focus of research was on single-user MIMO systems, their channel capacity, and their error performance with space-time coding. In general, the capacity of a cellular multiuser MIMO system is limited by additive white Gaussian noise, intracell interference from other users within the cell, and intercell interference from users outside the considered cell. We study one point-to-point link, on which interference acts. The interference models the different system scenarios and various parameters. Therefore, we consider three scenarios in which the noise is subject to different constraints. A general trace constraint is used in the first scenario. The noise covariance matrix eigenvalues are kept fixed in the second scenario, and in the third scenario the entries on the diagonal of the noise covariance matrix are kept fixed. We assume that the receiver as well as the transmitter have perfect channel state information. We solve the corresponding minimax programming problems and characterize the worst-case noise and the optimal transmit strategy. In all scenarios, the achievable capacity of the MIMO system with worst-case noise is equal to the capacity of some MIMO system in which either the channels are orthogonal or the transmit antennas are not allowed to cooperate or in which no channel state information is available at the transmitter. Furthermore, the minimax expressions fulfill a saddle point property. All theoretical results are illustrated by examples and numerical simulations.

  13. Bilinear modeling of EMG signals to extract user-independent features for multiuser myoelectric interface.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsubara, Takamitsu; Morimoto, Jun

    2013-08-01

    In this study, we propose a multiuser myoelectric interface that can easily adapt to novel users. When a user performs different motions (e.g., grasping and pinching), different electromyography (EMG) signals are measured. When different users perform the same motion (e.g., grasping), different EMG signals are also measured. Therefore, designing a myoelectric interface that can be used by multiple users to perform multiple motions is difficult. To cope with this problem, we propose for EMG signals a bilinear model that is composed of two linear factors: 1) user dependent and 2) motion dependent. By decomposing the EMG signals into these two factors, the extracted motion-dependent factors can be used as user-independent features. We can construct a motion classifier on the extracted feature space to develop the multiuser interface. For novel users, the proposed adaptation method estimates the user-dependent factor through only a few interactions. The bilinear EMG model with the estimated user-dependent factor can extract the user-independent features from the novel user data. We applied our proposed method to a recognition task of five hand gestures for robotic hand control using four-channel EMG signals measured from subject forearms. Our method resulted in 73% accuracy, which was statistically significantly different from the accuracy of standard nonmultiuser interfaces, as the result of a two-sample t -test at a significance level of 1%.

  14. Iterative Multiuser Equalization for Subconnected Hybrid mmWave Massive MIMO Architecture

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Magueta

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Millimeter waves and massive MIMO are a promising combination to achieve the multi-Gb/s required by future 5G wireless systems. However, fully digital architectures are not feasible due to hardware limitations, which means that there is a need to design signal processing techniques for hybrid analog-digital architectures. In this manuscript, we propose a hybrid iterative block multiuser equalizer for subconnected millimeter wave massive MIMO systems. The low complexity user-terminals employ pure-analog random precoders, each with a single RF chain. For the base station, a subconnected hybrid analog-digital equalizer is designed to remove multiuser interference. The hybrid equalizer is optimized using the average bit-error-rate as a metric. Due to the coupling between the RF chains in the optimization problem, the computation of the optimal solutions is too complex. To address this problem, we compute the analog part of the equalizer sequentially over the RF chains using a dictionary built from the array response vectors. The proposed subconnected hybrid iterative multiuser equalizer is compared with a recently proposed fully connected approach. The results show that the performance of the proposed scheme is close to the fully connected hybrid approach counterpart after just a few iterations.

  15. Smart LED allocation scheme for efficient multiuser visible light communication networks.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sewaiwar, Atul; Tiwari, Samrat Vikramaditya; Chung, Yeon Ho

    2015-05-18

    In a multiuser bidirectional visible light communication (VLC), a large number of LEDs or an LED array needs to be allocated in an efficient manner to ensure sustainable data rate and link quality. Moreover, in order to support an increasing or decreasing number of users in the network, the LED allocation is required to be performed dynamically. In this paper, a novel smart LED allocation scheme for efficient multiuser VLC networks is presented. The proposed scheme allocates RGB LEDs to multiple users in a dynamic and efficient fashion, while satisfying illumination requirements in an indoor environment. The smart LED array comprised of RGB LEDs is divided into sectors according to the location of the users. The allocated sectors then provide optical power concentration toward the users for efficient and reliable data transmission. An algorithm for the dynamic allocation of the LEDs is also presented. To verify its effective resource allocation feature of the proposed scheme, simulations were performed. It is found that the proposed smart LED allocation scheme provides the effect of optical beamforming toward individual users, thereby increasing the collective power concentration of the optical signals on the desirable users and resulting in significantly increased data rate, while ensuring sufficient illumination in a multiuser VLC environment.

  16. How supportive are existing national legal regimes for multi-use marine spatial planning?—The South African case

    CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

    Taljaard, Susan

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available responsible for the environment is viewed as the most appropriate agency to house the statutory mechanism for multi-use MSP at national and provincial levels, but delegating local multi-use MSP processes to local government agencies. The political...

  17. Rubber Hands Feel Touch, but Not in Blind Individuals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ehrsson, H. Henrik

    2012-01-01

    Psychology and neuroscience have a long-standing tradition of studying blind individuals to investigate how visual experience shapes perception of the external world. Here, we study how blind people experience their own body by exposing them to a multisensory body illusion: the somatic rubber hand illusion. In this illusion, healthy blindfolded participants experience that they are touching their own right hand with their left index finger, when in fact they are touching a rubber hand with their left index finger while the experimenter touches their right hand in a synchronized manner (Ehrsson et al. 2005). We compared the strength of this illusion in a group of blind individuals (n = 10), all of whom had experienced severe visual impairment or complete blindness from birth, and a group of age-matched blindfolded sighted participants (n = 12). The illusion was quantified subjectively using questionnaires and behaviorally by asking participants to point to the felt location of the right hand. The results showed that the sighted participants experienced a strong illusion, whereas the blind participants experienced no illusion at all, a difference that was evident in both tests employed. A further experiment testing the participants' basic ability to localize the right hand in space without vision (proprioception) revealed no difference between the two groups. Taken together, these results suggest that blind individuals with impaired visual development have a more veridical percept of self-touch and a less flexible and dynamic representation of their own body in space compared to sighted individuals. We speculate that the multisensory brain systems that re-map somatosensory signals onto external reference frames are less developed in blind individuals and therefore do not allow efficient fusion of tactile and proprioceptive signals from the two upper limbs into a single illusory experience of self-touch as in sighted individuals. PMID:22558268

  18. Rubber hands feel touch, but not in blind individuals.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valeria I Petkova

    Full Text Available Psychology and neuroscience have a long-standing tradition of studying blind individuals to investigate how visual experience shapes perception of the external world. Here, we study how blind people experience their own body by exposing them to a multisensory body illusion: the somatic rubber hand illusion. In this illusion, healthy blindfolded participants experience that they are touching their own right hand with their left index finger, when in fact they are touching a rubber hand with their left index finger while the experimenter touches their right hand in a synchronized manner (Ehrsson et al. 2005. We compared the strength of this illusion in a group of blind individuals (n = 10, all of whom had experienced severe visual impairment or complete blindness from birth, and a group of age-matched blindfolded sighted participants (n = 12. The illusion was quantified subjectively using questionnaires and behaviorally by asking participants to point to the felt location of the right hand. The results showed that the sighted participants experienced a strong illusion, whereas the blind participants experienced no illusion at all, a difference that was evident in both tests employed. A further experiment testing the participants' basic ability to localize the right hand in space without vision (proprioception revealed no difference between the two groups. Taken together, these results suggest that blind individuals with impaired visual development have a more veridical percept of self-touch and a less flexible and dynamic representation of their own body in space compared to sighted individuals. We speculate that the multisensory brain systems that re-map somatosensory signals onto external reference frames are less developed in blind individuals and therefore do not allow efficient fusion of tactile and proprioceptive signals from the two upper limbs into a single illusory experience of self-touch as in sighted individuals.

  19. Rubber hands feel touch, but not in blind individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petkova, Valeria I; Zetterberg, Hedvig; Ehrsson, H Henrik

    2012-01-01

    Psychology and neuroscience have a long-standing tradition of studying blind individuals to investigate how visual experience shapes perception of the external world. Here, we study how blind people experience their own body by exposing them to a multisensory body illusion: the somatic rubber hand illusion. In this illusion, healthy blindfolded participants experience that they are touching their own right hand with their left index finger, when in fact they are touching a rubber hand with their left index finger while the experimenter touches their right hand in a synchronized manner (Ehrsson et al. 2005). We compared the strength of this illusion in a group of blind individuals (n = 10), all of whom had experienced severe visual impairment or complete blindness from birth, and a group of age-matched blindfolded sighted participants (n = 12). The illusion was quantified subjectively using questionnaires and behaviorally by asking participants to point to the felt location of the right hand. The results showed that the sighted participants experienced a strong illusion, whereas the blind participants experienced no illusion at all, a difference that was evident in both tests employed. A further experiment testing the participants' basic ability to localize the right hand in space without vision (proprioception) revealed no difference between the two groups. Taken together, these results suggest that blind individuals with impaired visual development have a more veridical percept of self-touch and a less flexible and dynamic representation of their own body in space compared to sighted individuals. We speculate that the multisensory brain systems that re-map somatosensory signals onto external reference frames are less developed in blind individuals and therefore do not allow efficient fusion of tactile and proprioceptive signals from the two upper limbs into a single illusory experience of self-touch as in sighted individuals.

  20. The extensions of space-time. Physics in the 8-dimensional homogeneous space D = SU(2,2)/K

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Barut, A.O.

    1993-07-01

    The Minkowski space-time is only a boundary of a bigger homogeneous space of the conformal group. The conformal group is the symmetry group of our most fundamental massless wave equations. These extended groups and spaces have many remarkable properties and physical implications. (author). 36 refs

  1. Impact of interference on the performance of selection based parallel multiuser scheduling

    KAUST Repository

    Nam, Sungsik

    2012-02-01

    In conventional multiuser parallel scheduling schemes, every scheduled user is interfering with every other scheduled user, which limits the capacity and performance of multiuser systems, and the level of interference becomes substantial as the number of scheduled users increases. Based on the above observations, we investigate the trade-off between the system throughput and the number of scheduled users through the exact analysis of the total average sum rate capacity and the average spectral efficiency. Our analytical results can help the system designer to carefully select the appropriate number of scheduled users to maximize the overall throughput while maintaining an acceptable quality of service under certain channel conditions. © 2012 IEEE.

  2. An Iterative Multiuser Detector for Turbo-Coded DS-CDMA Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Takawira Fambirai

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available We propose an iterative multiuser detector for turbo-coded synchronous and asynchronous direct-sequence CDMA (DS-CDMA systems. The receiver is derived from the maximum a posteriori (MAP estimation of the single user's transmitted data, conditioned on information about the estimate of the multiple-access interference (MAI and the received signal from the channel. This multiple-access interference is reconstructed by making hard decisions on the users' detected bits at the preceding iteration. The complexity of the proposed receiver increases linearly with the number of users. The proposed detection scheme is compared with a previously developed one. The multiuser detector proposed in this paper has a better performance when the transmitted powers of all active users are equal in the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN channel. Also, the detector is found to be resilient against the near-far effect.

  3. Prevalence and causes of blindness, visual impairment among different ethnical minority groups in Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, China.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Yanping; Huang, Wenyong; Qiqige, Aoyun; Zhang, Hongwei; Jin, Ling; Ti, Pula; Yip, Jennifer; Xiao, Baixiang

    2018-02-13

    The aim of this cross-sectional study is to ascertain the prevalence and causes of blindness, visual impairment, uptake of cataract surgery among different ethnic groups in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China. Four thousand one hundred fifty people at 50 years and above from different minority ethnic groups were randomly selected for an eye examination. The four trained eye teams collected data using tumbling E visual chart, torch, portable slit lamp and direct ophthalmoscope in 2015. The World Health Organization's definition of blindness and visual impairment (VI) was used to classify patients in each ethnic group. Data were analyzed by different minority groups and were compared with Han Chinese. 3977 (95.8%) out of 4150 people were examined. The prevalence of blindness from the study population was 1.7% (95% confidence interval: 1.3-2.2%).There was no significant difference in prevalence of blindness between Han Chinese and people of Khazak and other minority ethnic groups, nor, between male and female. Cataract was the leading course (65.5%) of blindness and uncorrected refractive error was the most common cause of VI (36.3%) followed by myopic retinopathy. The most common barrier to cataract surgery was lack of awareness of service availability. This study documented a low blindness prevalence among people aged 50 years and over comparing to prevalence identified through studies of other regions in China. It still indicates blindness and un-operated cataract as the significant public health issue, with no evidence of eye health inequalities, but some inequities in accessing to cataract surgery amongst ethnic minority groups in Xinjiang.

  4. On the Feedback Reduction of Relay Multiuser Networks using Compressive Sensing

    KAUST Repository

    Elkhalil, Khalil; Eltayeb, Mohammed; Kammoun, Abla; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.; Bahrami, Hamid Reza

    2016-01-01

    This paper presents a comprehensive performance analysis of full-duplex multiuser relay networks employing opportunistic scheduling with noisy and compressive feedback. Specifically, two feedback techniques based on compressive sensing (CS) theory

  5. Multiuser MIMO: Principle, Performance in Measured Channels and Applicable Service

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bauch, Gerhard; Tejera, Pedro; Utschick, Wolfgang

    2007-01-01

    The exploitation of multiuser diversity and the application of multiple antennas at transmitter and receiver are considered to be key technologies for future highly bandwidthefficient wireless systems. We combine both ideas in a downlink multicarrier transmission scheme where multiple users compe...

  6. Multiuser Random Coding Techniques for Mismatched Decoding

    OpenAIRE

    Scarlett, Jonathan; Martinez, Alfonso; Guillén i Fàbregas, Albert

    2016-01-01

    This paper studies multiuser random coding techniques for channel coding with a given (possibly suboptimal) decoding rule. For the mismatched discrete memoryless multiple-access channel, an error exponent is obtained that is tight with respect to the ensemble average, and positive within the interior of Lapidoth's achievable rate region. This exponent proves the ensemble tightness of the exponent of Liu and Hughes in the case of maximum-likelihood decoding. An equivalent dual form of Lapidoth...

  7. Simple derivation of magnetic space groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bertaut, E.F.; CEA Centre d'Etudes Nucleaires de Grenoble, 38

    1975-01-01

    The magnetic translation lattices can be described by invariant wave vectors k. Advantages of the wave vector notation over the notations used by Belov et al. and Opechowski et al. are pointed out. In a one-dimensional real representation a space group element (α/tau(1)) has either the character +1 (symmetry element) or -1 (antisymmetry element). Thus the square of any space group operation must have the character +1 in a one-dimensional real representation. This simple ''square criterion'' is used to limit the admissible k-vectors and to derive the family of magnetic space groups, i.e. the set of all possible magnetic space groups, belonging to the same crystallographic space group. In the discussion some useful side results are obtained. Not only the real one-dimensional representations of point groups are connected to real one-dimensional representations of space groups, but a direct connection is shown to exist between one-dimensional complex representations of the point groups 3, 4 and 6 and one-dimensional real representations, belonging to P[001/2]=Psub(2c)(Psub(c))-lattices with screw axes 3 1 , 3 2 , 4 2 , 6 2 and 6 4 . Rules are derived for finding the Belov symbol when the Opechowski-Guccione symbol of the magnetic space group is known and this opportunity is used for correcting errors in the Opechowski-Guccione tables [fr

  8. Allocentric and contra-aligned spatial representations of a town environment in blind people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiesa, Silvia; Schmidt, Susanna; Tinti, Carla; Cornoldi, Cesare

    2017-10-01

    Evidence concerning the representation of space by blind individuals is still unclear, as sometimes blind people behave like sighted people do, while other times they present difficulties. A better understanding of blind people's difficulties, especially with reference to the strategies used to form the representation of the environment, may help to enhance knowledge of the consequences of the absence of vision. The present study examined the representation of the locations of landmarks of a real town by using pointing tasks that entailed either allocentric points of reference with mental rotations of different degrees, or contra-aligned representations. Results showed that, in general, people met difficulties when they had to point from a different perspective to aligned landmarks or from the original perspective to contra-aligned landmarks, but this difficulty was particularly evident for the blind. The examination of the strategies adopted to perform the tasks showed that only a small group of blind participants used a survey strategy and that this group had a better performance with respect to people who adopted route or verbal strategies. Implications for the comprehension of the consequences on spatial cognition of the absence of visual experience are discussed, focusing in particular on conceivable interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  9. Introducing ORACLE: Library Processing in a Multi-User Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Queensland Library Board, Brisbane (Australia).

    Currently being developed by the State Library of Queensland, Australia, ORACLE (On-Line Retrieval of Acquisitions, Cataloguing, and Circulation Details for Library Enquiries) is a computerized library system designed to provide rapid processing of library materials in a multi-user environment. It is based on the Australian MARC format and fully…

  10. Space-time interdependence: evidence against asymmetric mapping between time and space.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cai, Zhenguang G; Connell, Louise

    2015-03-01

    Time and space are intimately related, but what is the real nature of this relationship? Is time mapped metaphorically onto space such that effects are always asymmetric (i.e., space affects time more than time affects space)? Or do the two domains share a common representational format and have the ability to influence each other in a flexible manner (i.e., time can sometimes affect space more than vice versa)? In three experiments, we examined whether spatial representations from haptic perception, a modality of relatively low spatial acuity, would lead the effect of time on space to be substantially stronger than the effect of space on time. Participants touched (but could not see) physical sticks while listening to an auditory note, and then reproduced either the length of the stick or the duration of the note. Judgements of length were affected by concurrent stimulus duration, but not vice versa. When participants were allowed to see as well as touch the sticks, however, the higher acuity of visuohaptic perception caused the effects to converge so length and duration influenced each other to a similar extent. These findings run counter to the spatial metaphor account of time, and rather support the spatial representation account in which time and space share a common representational format and the directionality of space-time interaction depends on the perceptual acuity of the modality used to perceive space. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  11. Reserch on energy absorption efficiency in full-duplex multi-user broadcast channel

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    JIANG Fengju

    2015-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper studies the user energy scenarios absorption efficiency optimization in multiuser broadcast channel.This paper assumed that the user terminals using full-duplex mode that the user receive uplink energy information and transfer uplink energy at the same time.In this paper,we maximize the minimum user uplink transmit power,when we ensure that each user′s energy absorption efficiency is greater than a threshold value and satisfies the premise of the base station downlink power emission limits.Finally,the simulation results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

  12. Audible vision for the blind and visually impaired in indoor open spaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Xunyi; Ganz, Aura

    2012-01-01

    In this paper we introduce Audible Vision, a system that can help blind and visually impaired users navigate in large indoor open spaces. The system uses computer vision to estimate the location and orientation of the user, and enables the user to perceive his/her relative position to a landmark through 3D audio. Testing shows that Audible Vision can work reliably in real-life ever-changing environment crowded with people.

  13. Sensor-based Human Activity Recognition in a Multi-user Scenario

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Liang; Gu, Tao; Tao, Xianping

    2009-01-01

    Existing work on sensor-based activity recognition focuses mainly on single-user activities. However, in real life, activities are often performed by multiple users involving interactions between them. In this paper, we propose Coupled Hidden Markov Models (CHMMs) to recognize multi-user activiti...

  14. The space-time model according to dimensional continuous space-time theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martini, Luiz Cesar

    2014-01-01

    This article results from the Dimensional Continuous Space-Time Theory for which the introductory theoretician was presented in [1]. A theoretical model of the Continuous Space-Time is presented. The wave equation of time into absolutely stationary empty space referential will be described in detail. The complex time, that is the time fixed on the infinite phase time speed referential, is deduced from the New View of Relativity Theory that is being submitted simultaneously with this article in this congress. Finally considering the inseparable Space-Time is presented the duality equation wave-particle.

  15. On the Impact of User Distribution on Cooperative Spectrum Sensing and Data Transmission with Multiuser Diversity

    KAUST Repository

    Rao, Anlei

    2011-07-01

    In this thesis, we investigate the independent but not identically distributed (i.n.i.d.) situations for spectrum sensing and data transmission. In particular, we derive the false-alarm probability and the detection probability of cooperative spectrum sensing with the scheme of energy fusion over i.n.i.d. Nakagami fading channels. Then, the performance of adaptive modulation with single-cell multiuser scheduling over i.n.i.d. Nakagami fading channels is analyzed. Closed-form expressions are derived for the average channel capacity, spectral efficiency, and bit-error-rate (BER) for both constant-power variable-rate and variable-power variable-rate uncoded M- ary quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM) schemes. In addition, we study the impact of time delay on the average BER of adaptive M-QAM. From the selected numerical results, we can see that cooperative spectrum sensing and multiuser diversity brings considerably better performance even over i.n.i.d. fading environments.

  16. Multi-User Virtual Reality Therapy for Post-Stroke Hand Rehabilitation at Home

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daria Tsoupikova

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Our paper describes the development of a novel multi-user virtual reality (VR system for post-stroke rehabilitation that can be used independently in the home to improve upper extremity motor function. This is the pre-clinical phase of an ongoing collaborative, interdisciplinary research project at the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago involving a team of engineers, researchers, occupational therapists and artists. This system was designed for creative collaboration within a virtual environment to increase patients' motivation, further engagement and to alleviate the impact of social isolation following stroke. This is a low-cost system adapted to everyday environments and designed to run on a personal computer that combines three VR environments with audio integration, wireless Kinect tracking and hand motion tracking sensors. Three different game exercises for this system were developed to encourage repetitive task practice, collaboration and competitive interaction. The system is currently being tested with 15 subjects in three settings: a multi-user VR, a single-user VR and at a tabletop with standard exercises to examine the level of engagement and to compare resulting functional performance across methods. We hypothesize that stroke survivors will become more engaged in therapy when training with a multi-user VR system and this will translate into greater gains.

  17. Uplink transmit beamforming design for SINR maximization with full multiuser channel state information

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xi, Songnan; Zoltowski, Michael D.

    2008-04-01

    Multiuser multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems are considered in this paper. We continue our research on uplink transmit beamforming design for multiple users under the assumption that the full multiuser channel state information, which is the collection of the channel state information between each of the users and the base station, is known not only to the receiver but also to all the transmitters. We propose an algorithm for designing optimal beamforming weights in terms of maximizing the signal-to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR). Through statistical modeling, we decouple the original mathematically intractable optimization problem and achieved a closed-form solution. As in our previous work, the minimum mean-squared error (MMSE) receiver with successive interference cancellation (SIC) is adopted for multiuser detection. The proposed scheme is compared with an existing jointly optimized transceiver design, referred to as the joint transceiver in this paper, and our previously proposed eigen-beamforming algorithm. Simulation results demonstrate that our algorithm, with much less computational burden, accomplishes almost the same performance as the joint transceiver for spatially independent MIMO channel and even better performance for spatially correlated MIMO channels. And it always works better than our previously proposed eigen beamforming algorithm.

  18. On the Delay-Energy Tradeoff in Multiuser Fading Channels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ralf R. Müller

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available We consider the delay-energy tradeoff on a fading channel with multiuser diversity. For fixed arbitrary rates of the users, the total transmitted energy is minimized subject to a delay constraint. To achieve this goal we propose a scheme which schedules a subset of all users simultaneously. The scheduled users are allocated power to guarantee successful separation at the detector by successive decoding. In this way, we can benefit from both multiuser diversity and the near-far situation via scheduling and simultaneous transmission, respectively. We analytically show that when the number of users goes to infinity the energy required to guarantee the required user rates can be made as small as required at the cost of a higher delay “delay-energy tradeoff”. We explicitly compute the delay under the proposed scheduling policy and discuss how delay differentiation can be achieved. We extend the results to multiband multiaccess channel. Finally, all the results can be generalized in a straightforward fashion to broadcast channel due to the Gaussian multiaccess-broadcast channel duality.

  19. Inattentional blindness is influenced by exposure time not motion speed.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kreitz, Carina; Furley, Philip; Memmert, Daniel

    2016-01-01

    Inattentional blindness is a striking phenomenon in which a salient object within the visual field goes unnoticed because it is unexpected, and attention is focused elsewhere. Several attributes of the unexpected object, such as size and animacy, have been shown to influence the probability of inattentional blindness. At present it is unclear whether or how the speed of a moving unexpected object influences inattentional blindness. We demonstrated that inattentional blindness rates are considerably lower if the unexpected object moves more slowly, suggesting that it is the mere exposure time of the object rather than a higher saliency potentially induced by higher speed that determines the likelihood of its detection. Alternative explanations could be ruled out: The effect is not based on a pop-out effect arising from different motion speeds in relation to the primary-task stimuli (Experiment 2), nor is it based on a higher saliency of slow-moving unexpected objects (Experiment 3).

  20. Keeping space public : Times Square (New York and the Senegalese peddlers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stéphane Tonnelat

    2007-03-01

    Full Text Available This paper explores the public nature of Times Square's physical and represented (TV, internet, press spaces through an analysis of the techniques used by Senegalese male peddlers to sell souvenirs to the visiting tourists. Whereas a number of scholars denounce the Disneyfication of Times Square, in other words its privatization, the observation of the peddlers shows that there is an almost self-regulated social order of the flow escaping the control of the pseudo-public institution in charge of Times Square, the Business Improvement District. On the other hand, the difficulties encountered by the vendors also reveal another Times square, less public, constituted by the accumulation of images captured by the finance and media companies settled in the office towers. This "clean and safe" pseudo-private space (Mitchell and Staeheli 2006 cannot tolerate the presence of the vendors, thus pushing them to the blind spots of the site. It nevertheless relies on the dynamics of the flow, thus preserving a place for the vendors and the public nature of the physical space of Times Square. But how long can this compromise work?

  1. The separating topology for the space-times of general relativity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lindstroem, U.

    1977-08-01

    The separating topology, first suggested by Zeeman, is defined for the space-times of general relativity. It is defined by a basis. A number of properties are derived. The topology induces the ordinary Euclidean topology on space-like hypersurfaces as well as on timelike curves and the discrete topology on null-cones. The group of auto-homeomorphisms is found to be the group of smooth conformal diffeomorphisms if the space-time is strongly causal. (author)

  2. Swarm, genetic and evolutionary programming algorithms applied to multiuser detection

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Jean Etienne Jeszensky

    2005-02-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, the particles swarm optimization technique, recently published in the literature, and applied to Direct Sequence/Code Division Multiple Access systems (DS/CDMA with multiuser detection (MuD is analyzed, evaluated and compared. The Swarm algorithm efficiency when applied to the DS-CDMA multiuser detection (Swarm-MuD is compared through the tradeoff performance versus computational complexity, being the complexity expressed in terms of the number of necessary operations in order to reach the performance obtained through the optimum detector or the Maximum Likelihood detector (ML. The comparison is accomplished among the genetic algorithm, evolutionary programming with cloning and Swarm algorithm under the same simulation basis. Additionally, it is proposed an heuristics-MuD complexity analysis through the number of computational operations. Finally, an analysis is carried out for the input parameters of the Swarm algorithm in the attempt to find the optimum parameters (or almost-optimum for the algorithm applied to the MuD problem.

  3. Multi-User Identification-Based Eye-Tracking Algorithm Using Position Estimation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suk-Ju Kang

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper proposes a new multi-user eye-tracking algorithm using position estimation. Conventional eye-tracking algorithms are typically suitable only for a single user, and thereby cannot be used for a multi-user system. Even though they can be used to track the eyes of multiple users, their detection accuracy is low and they cannot identify multiple users individually. The proposed algorithm solves these problems and enhances the detection accuracy. Specifically, the proposed algorithm adopts a classifier to detect faces for the red, green, and blue (RGB and depth images. Then, it calculates features based on the histogram of the oriented gradient for the detected facial region to identify multiple users, and selects the template that best matches the users from a pre-determined face database. Finally, the proposed algorithm extracts the final eye positions based on anatomical proportions. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm improved the average F1 score by up to 0.490, compared with benchmark algorithms.

  4. A Virtual Map to Support People Who Are Blind in Navigation through Real Spaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lahav, Orly; Schloerb, David W.; Kumar, Siddarth; Srinivasan, Mandayam A.

    2011-01-01

    Most of the spatial information needed by sighted people to construct cognitive maps of spaces is gathered through the visual channel. Unfortunately, people who are blind lack the ability to collect the required spatial information in advance. The use of virtual reality as a learning and rehabilitation tool for people with disabilities has been on…

  5. Quantum Dynamics of Test Particle in Curved Space-Time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Piechocki, W.

    2002-01-01

    To reveal the nature of space-time singularities of removable type we examine classical and quantum dynamics of a free particle in the Sitter type spacetimes. Consider space-times have different topologies otherwise are isometric. Our systems are integrable and we present analytic solutions of the classical dynamics. We quantize the systems by making use of the group theoretical method: we find an essentially self-adjoint representation of the algebra of observables integrable to the irreducible unitarity representation of the symmetry group of each consider gravitational system. The massless particle dynamics is obtained in the zero-mass limit of the massive case. Global properties of considered gravitational systems are of primary importance for the quantization procedure. Systems of a particle in space-times with removable singularities appear to be quantizable. We give specific proposal for extension of our analysis to space-times with essential type singularities. (author)

  6. We live in the quantum 4-dimensional Minkowski space-time

    OpenAIRE

    Hwang, W-Y. Pauchy

    2015-01-01

    We try to define "our world" by stating that "we live in the quantum 4-dimensional Minkowski space-time with the force-fields gauge group $SU_c(3) \\times SU_L(2) \\times U(1) \\times SU_f(3)$ built-in from the outset". We begin by explaining what "space" and "time" are meaning for us - the 4-dimensional Minkowski space-time, then proceeding to the quantum 4-dimensional Minkowski space-time. In our world, there are fields, or, point-like particles. Particle physics is described by the so-called ...

  7. The ATLAS multi-user upgrade and potential applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mustapha, B.; Nolen, J. A.; Savard, G.; Ostroumov, P. N.

    2017-12-01

    With the recent integration of the CARIBU-EBIS charge breeder into the ATLAS accelerator system to provide for more pure and efficient charge breeding of radioactive beams, a multi-user upgrade of the ATLAS facility is being proposed to serve multiple users simultaneously. ATLAS was the first superconducting ion linac in the world and is the US DOE low-energy Nuclear Physics National User Facility. The proposed upgrade will take advantage of the continuous-wave nature of ATLAS and the pulsed nature of the EBIS charge breeder in order to simultaneously accelerate two beams with very close mass-to-charge ratios; one stable from the existing ECR ion source and one radioactive from the newly commissioned EBIS charge breeder. In addition to enhancing the nuclear physics program, beam extraction at different points along the linac will open up the opportunity for other potential applications; for instance, material irradiation studies at ~ 1 MeV/u and isotope production at ~ 6 MeV/u or at the full ATLAS energy of ~ 15 MeV/u. The concept and proposed implementation of the ATLAS multi-user upgrade will be presented. Future plans to enhance the flexibility of this upgrade will also be presented.

  8. Multi-User GeoGebra for Virtual Math Teams

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gerry Stahl

    2010-05-01

    Full Text Available The Math Forum is an online resource center for pre-algebra, algebra, geometry and pre-calculus. Its Virtual Math Teams (VMT service provides an integrated web-based environment for small teams to discuss mathematics. The VMT collaboration environment now includes the dynamic mathematics application, GeoGebra. It offers a multi-user version of GeoGebra, which can be used in concert with VMT’s chat, web browsers, curricula and wiki repository.

  9. Space, time and group identity in Jubilees 8-9 | Venter | HTS ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Jubilees 8-9 is a rewriting of Genesis 10. It changed a depiction of Israel's identity in genealogical terms into one using spatial terms. This ideological construct was based on a Noah tradition and on Biblical texts describing the ideal borders of the land allotted to. Israel. Using a triad of space, time and identity the author of ...

  10. Spaces of positive and negative frequency solutions of field equations in curved space--times. I. The Klein--Gordon equation in stationary space--times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moreno, C.

    1977-01-01

    In stationary space--times V/sub n/ x R with compact space-section manifold without boundary V/sub n/, the Klein--Gordon equation is solved by the one-parameter group of unitary operators generated by the energy operator i -1 T -1 in the Sobolev spaces H/sup l/(V/sub n/) x H/sup l/(V/sub n/). The canonical symplectic and complex structures of the associated dynamical system are calculated. The existence and the uniqueness of the Lichnerowicz kernel are established. The Hilbert spaces of positive and negative frequency-part solutions defined by means of this kernel are constructed

  11. Color coded multiple access scheme for bidirectional multiuser visible light communications in smart home technologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tiwari, Samrat Vikramaditya; Sewaiwar, Atul; Chung, Yeon-Ho

    2015-10-01

    In optical wireless communications, multiple channel transmission is an attractive solution to enhancing capacity and system performance. A new modulation scheme called color coded multiple access (CCMA) for bidirectional multiuser visible light communications (VLC) is presented for smart home applications. The proposed scheme uses red, green and blue (RGB) light emitting diodes (LED) for downlink and phosphor based white LED (P-LED) for uplink to establish a bidirectional VLC and also employs orthogonal codes to support multiple users and devices. The downlink transmission for data user devices and smart home devices is provided using red and green colors from the RGB LEDs, respectively, while uplink transmission from both types of devices is performed using the blue color from P-LEDs. Simulations are conducted to verify the performance of the proposed scheme. It is found that the proposed bidirectional multiuser scheme is efficient in terms of data rate and performance. In addition, since the proposed scheme uses RGB signals for downlink data transmission, it provides flicker-free illumination that would lend itself to multiuser VLC system for smart home applications.

  12. Optimal Multiuser Zero Forcing with Per-Antenna Power Constraints for Network MIMO Coordination

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kaviani Saeed

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available We consider a multicell multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO coordinated downlink transmission, also known as network MIMO, under per-antenna power constraints. We investigate a simple multiuser zero-forcing (ZF linear precoding technique known as block diagonalization (BD for network MIMO. The optimal form of BD with per-antenna power constraints is proposed. It involves a novel approach of optimizing the precoding matrices over the entire null space of other users' transmissions. An iterative gradient descent method is derived by solving the dual of the throughput maximization problem, which finds the optimal precoding matrices globally and efficiently. The comprehensive simulations illustrate several network MIMO coordination advantages when the optimal BD scheme is used. Its achievable throughput is compared with the capacity region obtained through the recently established duality concept under per-antenna power constraints.

  13. Movement and Space

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Riisgaard Hansen, Thomas; Eriksson, Eva; Lykke-Olesen, Andreas

    2005-01-01

    In this paper we explore the space in which movement based interaction takes place. We have in several projects explored how fixed and mobile cameras can be used in movement based interaction and will shortly describe these projects. Based on our experience with working with movement......-based interaction we will briefly introduce and discuss how learning, mapping and multi-user interaction are important when designing movement based interaction....

  14. Multiuser Diversity with Adaptive Modulation in Non-Identically Distributed Nakagami Fading Environments

    KAUST Repository

    Rao, Anlei; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, we analyze the performance of adaptive modulation with single-cell multiuser scheduling over independent but not identical distributed (i.n.i.d.) Nakagami fading channels. Closed-form expressions are derived for the average channel

  15. Neural correlates of virtual route recognition in congenital blindness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kupers, Ron; Chebat, Daniel R; Madsen, Kristoffer H

    2010-01-01

    Despite the importance of vision for spatial navigation, blind subjects retain the ability to represent spatial information and to move independently in space to localize and reach targets. However, the neural correlates of navigation in subjects lacking vision remain elusive. We therefore used...... functional MRI (fMRI) to explore the cortical network underlying successful navigation in blind subjects. We first trained congenitally blind and blindfolded sighted control subjects to perform a virtual navigation task with the tongue display unit (TDU), a tactile-to-vision sensory substitution device...... that translates a visual image into electrotactile stimulation applied to the tongue. After training, participants repeated the navigation task during fMRI. Although both groups successfully learned to use the TDU in the virtual navigation task, the brain activation patterns showed substantial differences. Blind...

  16. Performance of fading multi-user diversity for underlay cognitive networksy

    KAUST Repository

    Khan, Fahd Ahmed

    2013-05-01

    Having multiple secondary users (SUs) can be exploited to achieve multiuser diversity and improve the throughput of the underlay secondary network. In the cognitive setting, satisfying the interference constraint is essential, and thus, a scheduling scheme is considered where some SUs are preselected based on the low interference power. From this subset, the SU that yields the highest throughput is selected for transmission. This scheduling scheme helps to lower the interference power while giving good throughput. For an independent but not identically distributed Nakagami-m fading channel, we obtain exact closed-form expressions of the capacity of this scheduling scheme. Furthermore, the scheduling time of SUs is characterized and closed-form expressions for the mean time after which a SU is selected for transmission are obtained. Numerical simulations are performed to corroborate the derived analytical results. Our results show that at low interference threshold, increasing transmit power of the SUs is not beneficial and results in reduced capacity. Furthermore, the channel idle time (i.e. time that no user is utilizing the channel) reduces with increasing the number of SUs. © 2013 IEEE.

  17. Interaction Control Protocols for Distributed Multi-user Multi-camera Environments

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gareth W Daniel

    2003-10-01

    Full Text Available Video-centred communication (e.g., video conferencing, multimedia online learning, traffic monitoring, and surveillance is becoming a customary activity in our lives. The management of interactions in such an environment is a complicated HCI issue. In this paper, we present our study on a collection of interaction control protocols for distributed multiuser multi-camera environments. These protocols facilitate different approaches to managing a user's entitlement for controlling a particular camera. We describe a web-based system that allows multiple users to manipulate multiple cameras in varying remote locations. The system was developed using the Java framework, and all protocols discussed have been incorporated into the system. Experiments were designed and conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of these protocols, and to enable the identification of various human factors in a distributed multi-user and multi-camera environment. This work provides an insight into the complexity associated with the interaction management in video-centred communication. It can also serve as a conceptual and experimental framework for further research in this area.

  18. Blind Synchronization in Asynchronous UWB Networks Based on the Transmit-Reference Scheme

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Leus Geert

    2006-01-01

    Full Text Available Ultra-wideband (UWB wireless communication systems are based on the transmission of extremely narrow pulses, with a duration inferior to a nanosecond. The application of transmit reference (TR to UWB systems allows to side-step channel estimation at the receiver, with a tradeoff of the effective transmission bandwidth, which is reduced by the usage of a reference pulse. Similar to CDMA systems, different users can share the same available bandwidth by means of different spreading codes. This allows the receiver to separate users, and to recover the timing information of the transmitted data packets. The nature of UWB transmissions—short, burst-like packets—requires a fast synchronization algorithm, that can accommodate several asynchronous users. Exploiting the fact that a shift in time corresponds to a phase rotation in the frequency domain, a blind and computationally effcient synchronization algorithm that takes advantage of the shift invariance structure in the frequency domain is proposed in this paper. Integer and fractional delay estimations are considered, along with a subsequent symbol estimation step. This results in a collision-avoiding multiuser algorithm, readily applicable to a fast acquisition procedure in a UWB ad hoc network.

  19. Multi-user cognitive radio network resource allocation based on the adaptive niche immune genetic algorithm

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zu Yun-Xiao; Zhou Jie

    2012-01-01

    Multi-user cognitive radio network resource allocation based on the adaptive niche immune genetic algorithm is proposed, and a fitness function is provided. Simulations are conducted using the adaptive niche immune genetic algorithm, the simulated annealing algorithm, the quantum genetic algorithm and the simple genetic algorithm, respectively. The results show that the adaptive niche immune genetic algorithm performs better than the other three algorithms in terms of the multi-user cognitive radio network resource allocation, and has quick convergence speed and strong global searching capability, which effectively reduces the system power consumption and bit error rate. (geophysics, astronomy, and astrophysics)

  20. Multiuser Collaboration with Networked Mobile Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tso, Kam S.; Tai, Ann T.; Deng, Yong M.; Becks, Paul G.

    2006-01-01

    In this paper we describe a multiuser collaboration infrastructure that enables multiple mission scientists to remotely and collaboratively interact with visualization and planning software, using wireless networked personal digital assistants(PDAs) and other mobile devices. During ground operations of planetary rover and lander missions, scientists need to meet daily to review downlinked data and plan science activities. For example, scientists use the Science Activity Planner (SAP) in the Mars Exploration Rover (MER) mission to visualize downlinked data and plan rover activities during the science meetings [1]. Computer displays are projected onto large screens in the meeting room to enable the scientists to view and discuss downlinked images and data displayed by SAP and other software applications. However, only one person can interact with the software applications because input to the computer is limited to a single mouse and keyboard. As a result, the scientists have to verbally express their intentions, such as selecting a target at a particular location on the Mars terrain image, to that person in order to interact with the applications. This constrains communication and limits the returns of science planning. Furthermore, ground operations for Mars missions are fundamentally constrained by the short turnaround time for science and engineering teams to process and analyze data, plan the next uplink, generate command sequences, and transmit the uplink to the vehicle [2]. Therefore, improving ground operations is crucial to the success of Mars missions. The multiuser collaboration infrastructure enables users to control software applications remotely and collaboratively using mobile devices. The infrastructure includes (1) human-computer interaction techniques to provide natural, fast, and accurate inputs, (2) a communications protocol to ensure reliable and efficient coordination of the input devices and host computers, (3) an application

  1. An Efficient and Privacy-Preserving Multiuser Cloud-Based LBS Query Scheme

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lu Ou

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Location-based services (LBSs are increasingly popular in today’s society. People reveal their location information to LBS providers to obtain personalized services such as map directions, restaurant recommendations, and taxi reservations. Usually, LBS providers offer user privacy protection statement to assure users that their private location information would not be given away. However, many LBSs run on third-party cloud infrastructures. It is challenging to guarantee user location privacy against curious cloud operators while still permitting users to query their own location information data. In this paper, we propose an efficient privacy-preserving cloud-based LBS query scheme for the multiuser setting. We encrypt LBS data and LBS queries with a hybrid encryption mechanism, which can efficiently implement privacy-preserving search over encrypted LBS data and is very suitable for the multiuser setting with secure and effective user enrollment and user revocation. This paper contains security analysis and performance experiments to demonstrate the privacy-preserving properties and efficiency of our proposed scheme.

  2. Sum-rate analysis of spectrum sharing spatial multiplexing MIMO systems with zero-forcing and multiuser diversity

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Liang

    2013-06-01

    This paper considers a multiuser spectrum sharing (SS) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system with zero-forcing (ZF) operating in a Rayleigh fading environment. We provide an asymptotic sum-rate analysis to investigate the effects of different parameters on the multiuser diversity gain. For a ZF SS spatial multiplexing system with scheduling, the asymptotic sum-rate scales like Nt log2(Q(Nt Np√K - 1)/N t), where Np denotes the number of antennas of primary receiver, Q is the interference temperature, and K represents the number of secondary transmitters. © 2013 IEEE.

  3. Mapping spaces and automorphism groups of toric noncommutative spaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barnes, Gwendolyn E.; Schenkel, Alexander; Szabo, Richard J.

    2017-09-01

    We develop a sheaf theory approach to toric noncommutative geometry which allows us to formalize the concept of mapping spaces between two toric noncommutative spaces. As an application, we study the `internalized' automorphism group of a toric noncommutative space and show that its Lie algebra has an elementary description in terms of braided derivations.

  4. Aspects of space-time dualities

    CERN Document Server

    Giveon, Amit

    1996-01-01

    Duality groups of Abelian gauge theories on four manifolds and their reduction to two dimensions are considered. The duality groups include elements that relate different space-times in addition to relating different gauge-coupling matrices. We interpret (some of) such dualities as the geometrical symmetries of compactified theories in higher dimensions. In particular, we consider compactifications of a (self-dual) 2-form in 6-D, and compactifications of a self-dual 4-form in 10-D. Relations with a self-dual superstring in 6-D and with the type IIB superstring are discussed.

  5. Optimal Multiuser Diversity in Multi-Cell MIMO Uplink Networks: User Scaling Law and Beamforming Design

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Bang Chul Jung

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available We introduce a distributed protocol to achieve multiuser diversity in a multicell multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO uplink network, referred to as a MIMO interfering multiple-access channel (IMAC. Assuming both no information exchange among base stations (BS and local channel state information at the transmitters for the MIMO IMAC, we propose a joint beamforming and user scheduling protocol, and then show that the proposed protocol can achieve the optimal multiuser diversity gain, i.e., KMlog(SNRlog N, as long as the number of mobile stations (MSs in a cell, N, scales faster than SNR K M − L 1 − ϵ for a small constant ϵ > 0, where M, L, K, and SNR denote the number of receive antennas at each BS, the number of transmit antennas at each MS, the number of cells, and the signal-to-noise ratio, respectively. Our result indicates that multiuser diversity can be achieved in the presence of intra-cell and inter-cell interference even in a distributed fashion. As a result, vital information on how to design distributed algorithms in interference-limited cellular environments is provided.

  6. Synaesthetic perception of colour and visual space in a blind subject: An fMRI case study

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Niccolai, V.; Leeuwen, T.M. van; Blakemore, C.; Störig, P.

    2012-01-01

    In spatial sequence synaesthesia (SSS) ordinal stimuli are perceived as arranged in peripersonal space. Using fMRI, we examined the neural bases of SSS and colour synaesthesia for spoken words in a late-blind synaesthete, JF. He reported days of the week and months of the year as both coloured and

  7. The science of space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Raine, D.J.; Heller, M.

    1981-01-01

    Analyzing the development of the structure of space-time from the theory of Aristotle to the present day, the present work attempts to sketch a science of relativistic mechanics. The concept of relativity is discussed in relation to the way in which space-time splits up into space and time, and in relation to Mach's principle concerning the relativity of inertia. Particular attention is given to the following topics: Aristotelian dynamics Copernican kinematics Newtonian dynamics the space-time of classical dynamics classical space-time in the presence of gravity the space-time of special relativity the space-time of general relativity solutions and problems in general relativity Mach's principle and the dynamics of space-time theories of inertial mass the integral formation of general relativity and the frontiers of relativity

  8. Sum-Rate Enhancement in Multiuser MIMO Decode-and-Forward Relay Broadcasting Channel with Energy Harvesting Relays

    KAUST Repository

    Benkhelifa, Fatma

    2016-09-20

    In this paper, we consider a multiuser multipleinput multiple-output (MIMO) decode-and-forward (DF) relay broadcasting channel (BC) with single source, multiple energy harvesting (EH) relays and multiple destinations. All the nodes are equipped with multiple antennas. The EH and information decoding (ID) tasks at the relays and destinations are separated over the time, which is termed as the time switching (TS) scheme. As optimal solutions for the sum-rate maximization problems of BC channels and the MIMO interference channels are hard to obtain, the end-to-end sum rate maximization problem of a multiuser MIMO DF relay BC channel is even harder. In this paper, we propose to tackle a simplified problem where we employ the block diagonalization (BD) procedure at the source, and we mitigate the interference between the relaydestination channels using an algorithm similar to the BD method. In order to show the relevance of our low complex proposed solution, we compare it to the minimum mean-square error (MMSE) solution that was shown in the literature to be equivalent to the solution of the sum-rate maximization in MIMO broadcasting interfering channels. We also investigate the time division multiple access (TDMA) solution which separates all the information transmissions from the source to the relays and from the relays to the destinations over time. We provide numerical results to show the relevance of our proposed solution, in comparison with the no co-channel interference (CCI) case, the TDMA based solution and the MMSE based solution.

  9. Sum-Rate Enhancement in Multiuser MIMO Decode-and-Forward Relay Broadcasting Channel with Energy Harvesting Relays

    KAUST Repository

    Benkhelifa, Fatma; Salem, Ahmed Sultan; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2016-01-01

    In this paper, we consider a multiuser multipleinput multiple-output (MIMO) decode-and-forward (DF) relay broadcasting channel (BC) with single source, multiple energy harvesting (EH) relays and multiple destinations. All the nodes are equipped with multiple antennas. The EH and information decoding (ID) tasks at the relays and destinations are separated over the time, which is termed as the time switching (TS) scheme. As optimal solutions for the sum-rate maximization problems of BC channels and the MIMO interference channels are hard to obtain, the end-to-end sum rate maximization problem of a multiuser MIMO DF relay BC channel is even harder. In this paper, we propose to tackle a simplified problem where we employ the block diagonalization (BD) procedure at the source, and we mitigate the interference between the relaydestination channels using an algorithm similar to the BD method. In order to show the relevance of our low complex proposed solution, we compare it to the minimum mean-square error (MMSE) solution that was shown in the literature to be equivalent to the solution of the sum-rate maximization in MIMO broadcasting interfering channels. We also investigate the time division multiple access (TDMA) solution which separates all the information transmissions from the source to the relays and from the relays to the destinations over time. We provide numerical results to show the relevance of our proposed solution, in comparison with the no co-channel interference (CCI) case, the TDMA based solution and the MMSE based solution.

  10. Substring Position Search over Encrypted Cloud Data Supporting Efficient Multi-User Setup

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mikhail Strizhov

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available Existing Searchable Encryption (SE solutions are able to handle simple Boolean search queries, such as single or multi-keyword queries, but cannot handle substring search queries over encrypted data that also involve identifying the position of the substring within the document. These types of queries are relevant in areas such as searching DNA data. In this paper, we propose a tree-based Substring Position Searchable Symmetric Encryption (SSP-SSE to overcome the existing gap. Our solution efficiently finds occurrences of a given substring over encrypted cloud data. Specifically, our construction uses the position heap tree data structure and achieves asymptotic efficiency comparable to that of an unencrypted position heap tree. Our encryption takes O ( k n time, and the resulting ciphertext is of size O ( k n , where k is a security parameter and n is the size of stored data. The search takes O ( m 2 + o c c time and three rounds of communication, where m is the length of the queried substring and o c c is the number of occurrences of the substring in the document collection. We prove that the proposed scheme is secure against chosen-query attacks that involve an adaptive adversary. Finally, we extend SSP-SSE to the multi-user setting where an arbitrary group of cloud users can submit substring queries to search the encrypted data.

  11. Group dynamics in a long-term blind endeavor on Earth: An analog for space missions (Lewis & Clark Expedition group dynamic analysis)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allner, M.; Rygalov, V.

    2008-12-01

    suggested distinguishable mission phase model, the Lewis and Clark Expedition will be analyzed for similarities to these space findings. Factors of consideration in support of this analysis involve an understanding of the leadership qualities of Lewis and Clark (and relations established and maintained with one another), the selection and diversity of their crew, and the group dynamics that were developed and maintained so carefully during the expedition. With this knowledge and understanding one can gain enormous insights useful in the planning and preparation for future long-duration space exploratory missions with high level of autonomy, mobility, minimal primary life support supply and high dependence on material re-circulation and In-Situ Resource Utilization approach.

  12. Change Blindness in Pigeons (Columba livia: the Effects of Change Salience and Timing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Walter Troy Herbranson

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Change blindness is a well-established phenomenon in humans, in which plainly visible changes in the environment go unnoticed. Recently a parallel change blindness phenomenon has been demonstrated in pigeons. The reported experiment follows up on this finding by investigating whether change salience affects change blindness in pigeons the same way it affects change blindness in humans. Birds viewed alternating displays of randomly generated lines back-projected onto three response keys, with one or more line features on a single key differing between consecutive displays. Change salience was manipulated by varying the number of line features that changed on the critical response key. Results indicated that change blindness is reduced if a change is made more salient, and this matches previous human results. Furthermore, accuracy patterns indicate that pigeons’ effective search area expanded over the course of a trial to encompass a larger portion of the stimulus environment. Thus, the data indicate two important aspects of temporal cognition. First, the timing of a change has a profound influence on whether or not that change will be perceived. Second, pigeons appear to engage in a serial search for changes, in which additional time is required to search additional locations.

  13. 2-D deformation of two welded half-spaces due to a blind dip-slip fault

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    The solution of two-dimensional problem of an interface breaking long inclined dip-slip fault in two welded half-spaces is well known.The purpose of this note is to obtain the corresponding solution for a blind fault.The solution is valid for arbitrary values of the fault-depth and the dip angle.Graphs showing the variation of the ...

  14. Space, time and group identity in Jubilees 8-9

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    p1243322

    This paper investigates this change in communication strategy and ... his orientation towards and organisation of space, as revealed in his ideas ..... two versions of the same tradition or the parallel development of an older, .... In the case of Numbers Israel ... with its chronological system of jubilees and heavenly space.

  15. A game-theoretical pricing mechanism for multiuser rate allocation for video over WiMAX

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chao-An; Lo, Chi-Wen; Lin, Chia-Wen; Chen, Yung-Chang

    2010-07-01

    In multiuser rate allocation in a wireless network, strategic users can bias the rate allocation by misrepresenting their bandwidth demands to a base station, leading to an unfair allocation. Game-theoretical approaches have been proposed to address the unfair allocation problems caused by the strategic users. However, existing approaches rely on a timeconsuming iterative negotiation process. Besides, they cannot completely prevent unfair allocations caused by inconsistent strategic behaviors. To address these problems, we propose a Search Based Pricing Mechanism to reduce the communication time and to capture a user's strategic behavior. Our simulation results show that the proposed method significantly reduce the communication time as well as converges stably to an optimal allocation.

  16. Causes and emerging trends of childhood blindness: findings from schools for the blind in Southeast Nigeria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aghaji, Ada; Okoye, Obiekwe; Bowman, Richard

    2015-06-01

    To ascertain the causes severe visual impairment and blindness (SVI/BL) in schools for the blind in southeast Nigeria and to evaluate temporal trends. All children who developed blindness at schools for the blind in southeast Nigeria were examined. All the data were recorded on a WHO/Prevention of Blindness (WHO/PBL) form entered into a Microsoft Access database and transferred to STATA V.12.1 for analysis. To estimate temporal trends in causes of blindness, older (>15 years) children were compared with younger (≤15 years) children. 124 children were identified with SVI/BL. The most common anatomical site of blindness was the lens (33.9%). Overall, avoidable blindness accounted for 73.4% of all blindness. Exploring trends in SVI/BL between children ≤15 years of age and those >15 years old, this study shows a reduction in avoidable blindness but an increase in cortical visual impairment in the younger age group. The results from this study show a statistically significant decrease in avoidable blindness in children ≤15 years old. Corneal blindness appears to be decreasing but cortical visual impairment seems to be emerging in the younger age group. Appropriate strategies for the prevention of avoidable childhood blindness in Nigeria need to be developed and implemented. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://group.bmj.com/group/rights-licensing/permissions.

  17. Gauge fields in algebraically special space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Torres del Castillo, G.F.

    1985-01-01

    It is shown that in an algebraically special space-time which admits a congruence of null strings, a source-free gauge field aligned with the congruence is determined by a matrix potential which has to satisfy a second-order differential equation with quadratic nonlinearities. The Einstein--Yang--Mills equations are then reduced to a scalar and two matrix equations. In the case of self-dual gauge fields in a self-dual space-time, the existence of an infinite set of conservation laws, of an associated linear system, and of infinitesimal Baecklund transformations is demonstrated. All the results apply for an arbitrary gauge group

  18. Tactile maze solving in congenitally blind individuals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Gagnon, Léa; Kupers, Ron; Schneider, Fabien C

    2010-01-01

    and environmental cues such as temperature and echolocation. We hypothesize that by limiting these cues, blind individuals will lose their advantage compared with controls in spatial navigation tasks. We therefore evaluated the performance of blind and sighted individuals in small-scale, tactile multiple T mazes....... Our results show that blindfolded sighted controls outperformed blind participants in the route-learning tasks. This suggests that, contrary to indoor large-scale spaces, navigational skills inside small-scale spaces benefit from visual experience....

  19. How can audiovisual pathways enhance the temporal resolution of time-compressed speech in blind subjects?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ingo eHertrich

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available In blind people, the visual channel cannot assist face-to-face communication via lipreading or visual prosody. Nevertheless, the visual system may enhance the evaluation of auditory information due to its cross-links to (1 the auditory system, (2 supramodal representations, and (3 frontal action-related areas. Apart from feedback or top-down support of, for example, the processing of spatial or phonological representations, experimental data have shown that the visual system can impact auditory perception at more basic computational stages such as temporal resolution. For example, blind as compared to sighted subjects are more resistant against backward masking, and this ability appears to be associated with activity in visual cortex. Regarding the comprehension of continuous speech, blind subjects can learn to use accelerated text-to-speech systems for "reading" texts at ultra-fast speaking rates (> 16 syllables/s, exceeding by far the normal range of 6 syllables/s. An fMRI study has shown that this ability, among other brain regions, significantly covaries with BOLD responses in bilateral pulvinar, right visual cortex, and left supplementary motor area. Furthermore, magnetoencephalographic (MEG measurements revealed a particular component in right occipital cortex phase-locked to the syllable onsets of accelerated speech. In sighted people, the "bottleneck" for understanding time-compressed speech seems related to a demand for buffering phonological material and is, presumably, linked to frontal brain structures. On the other hand, the neurophysiological correlates of functions overcoming this bottleneck, seem to depend upon early visual cortex activity. The present Hypothesis and Theory paper outlines a model that aims at binding these data together, based on early cross-modal pathways that are already known from various audiovisual experiments considering cross-modal adjustments in space, time, and object recognition.

  20. New methods in order to determine the extent of temporary blinding from laser and LED light and proposal how to allocate into blinding groups

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reidenbach, Hans-Dieter; Ott, Günter; Brose, Martin; Dollinger, Klaus

    2010-02-01

    recovery time tVA has been found to obey the dose relationship: tVA /s ~ 3.7•ln(energy/μJ) - 16.2 in the case of a green HB-LED in the power range 0.12 mW to 1.5 mW and for exposure durations between 1 s and 8 s. Further investigations were performed with other LED colors especially as far as threshold values for temporary blinding are concerned. The afterimage duration tafterimage,fv produced by a red laser beam was determined to be: tafterimage,fv/s ~ 50.6•ln[(P•texp)/μJ] - 13.4, for laser output powers P between 10 μW and 30 μW with exposure durations texp from 0.25 s up to 10 s, when the beam hits the fovea. Additional results have been achieved with a green laser at a wavelength of 532 nm and compared with the respective values at 632.8 nm. The results of the research project suggest classifying light sources like laser and LEDs into so-called blinding groups. In total 3 different groups which reflect the obtained results and are proposed in order to fulfil the requirements of special classification and might be regarded as an appropriate assistance to perform a risk analysis.

  1. Time-Space Topology Optimization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Jakob Søndergaard

    2008-01-01

    A method for space-time topology optimization is outlined. The space-time optimization strategy produces structures with optimized material distributions that vary in space and in time. The method is demonstrated for one-dimensional wave propagation in an elastic bar that has a time-dependent Young......’s modulus and is subjected to a transient load. In the example an optimized dynamic structure is demonstrated that compresses a propagating Gauss pulse....

  2. Altered sleep-wake patterns in blindness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aubin, S.; Gacon, C.; Jennum, P.

    2016-01-01

    discuss variability in the sleep–wake pattern between blind and normal-sighted individuals. Methods Thirty-day actigraphy recordings were collected from 11 blind individuals without residual light perception and 11 age- and sex-matched normal-sighted controls. From these recordings, we extracted...... the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and chronotype, using the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire. Results Although no group differences were found when averaging over the entire recording period, we found a greater variability throughout the 30-days in both sleep efficiency and timing of the night-time sleep...

  3. On maximal surfaces in asymptotically flat space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bartnik, R.; Chrusciel, P.T.; O Murchadha, N.

    1990-01-01

    Existence of maximal and 'almost maximal' hypersurfaces in asymptotically flat space-times is established under boundary conditions weaker than those considered previously. We show in particular that every vacuum evolution of asymptotically flat data for Einstein equations can be foliated by slices maximal outside a spatially compact set and that every (strictly) stationary asymptotically flat space-time can be foliated by maximal hypersurfaces. Amongst other uniqueness results, we show that maximal hypersurface can be used to 'partially fix' an asymptotic Poincare group. (orig.)

  4. The Spatial Musical Association of Response Codes does not depend on a normal visual experience: A study with early blind individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cattaneo, Zaira; Lega, Carlotta; Rinaldi, Luca; Fantino, Micaela; Ferrari, Chiara; Merabet, Lotfi B; Vecchi, Tomaso

    2018-02-26

    Converging evidence suggests that the perception of auditory pitch exhibits a characteristic spatial organization. This pitch-space association can be demonstrated experimentally by the Spatial Musical Association of Response Codes (SMARC) effect. This is characterized by faster response times when a low-positioned key is pressed in response to a low-pitched tone, and a high-positioned key is pressed in response to a high-pitched tone. To investigate whether the development of this pitch-space association is mediated by normal visual experience, we tested a group of early blind individuals on a task that required them to discriminate the timbre of different instrument sounds with varying pitch. Results revealed a comparable pattern in the SMARC effect in both blind participants and sighted controls, suggesting that the lack of prior visual experience does not prevent the development of an association between pitch height and vertical space.

  5. Postural control in blind subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Soares, Antonio Vinicius; Oliveira, Cláudia Silva Remor de; Knabben, Rodrigo José; Domenech, Susana Cristina; Borges Junior, Noe Gomes

    2011-12-01

    To analyze postural control in acquired and congenitally blind adults. A total of 40 visually impaired adults participated in the research, divided into 2 groups, 20 with acquired blindness and 20 with congenital blindness - 21 males and 19 females, mean age 35.8 ± 10.8. The Brazilian version of Berg Balance Scale and the motor domain of functional independence measure were utilized. On Berg Balance Scale the mean for acquired blindness was 54.0 ± 2.4 and 54.4 ± 2.5 for congenitally blind subjects; on functional independence measure the mean for acquired blind group was 87.1 ± 4.8 and 87.3 ± 2.3 for congenitally blind group. Based upon the scale used the results suggest the ability to control posture can be developed by compensatory mechanisms and it is not affected by visual loss in congenitally and acquired blindness.

  6. Multiuser Radio Resource Allocation for Multiservice Transmission in OFDMA-Based Cooperative Relay Networks

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zhang Xing

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The problem of multiservice transmission in OFDMA-based cooperative relay networks is studied comprehensively. We propose a framework to adaptively allocate power, subcarriers, and data rate in OFDMA system to maximize spectral efficiency under the constraints of satisfying multiuser multiservices' QoS requirements. Specifically, first we concentrate on the single-user scenario which considers multiservice transmission in point-to-point cooperative relay network. Based on the analysis of single-user scenario, we extend the multiservice transmission to multiuser point-to-multipoint scenario. Next, based on the framework, we propose several suboptimal radio resource allocation algorithms for multiservice transmissions in OFDMA-based cooperative relay networks to further reduce the computational complexity. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithms yield much higher spectral efficiency and much lower outage probability, which are flexible and efficient for the OFDMA-based cooperative relay system.

  7. An Approach to Optimum Joint Beamforming Design in a MIMO-OFDM Multiuser System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Pascual-Iserte Antonio

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper describes a multiuser scenario with several terminals acceding simultaneously to the same frequency channel. The objective is to design an optimal multiuser system that may be used as a comparative framework when evaluating other suboptimal solutions and to contribute to the already published works on this topic. The present work assumes that a centralized manager knows perfectly all the channel responses between all the terminals. According to this, the transmitters and receivers, using antenna arrays and leading to the so-called multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO channels, are designed in a joint beamforming approach, attempting to minimize the total transmit power subject to quality of service (QoS constraints. Since this optimization problem is not convex, the use of the simulated annealing (SA technique is proposed to find the optimum solution.

  8. QoE-based transmission strategies for multi-user wireless information and power transfer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Taehun Jung

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available One solution to the problem of supplying energy to wireless networks is wireless power transfer. One such technology–electromagnetic radiation enabled wireless power transfer–will change traditional wireless networks. In this paper, we investigate a transmission strategy for multi-user wireless information and power transfer. We consider a multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO channel that includes one base station (BS and two user terminals (UT consisting of one energy harvesting (EH receiver and one information decoding (ID receiver. Our system provides transmission strategies that can be executed and implemented in practical scenarios. The paper then analyzes the rate–energy (R–E pair of our strategies and compares them to those of the theoretical optimal strategy. We furthermore propose a QoE-based mode selection algorithm by mapping the R–E pair to the utility functions.

  9. Studying the Effectiveness of Multi-User Immersive Environments for Collaborative Evaluation Tasks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lorenzo, Carlos-Miguel; Sicilia, Miguel Angel; Sanchez, Salvador

    2012-01-01

    Massively Multiuser On-line Learning (MMOL) Platforms, often called "virtual learning worlds", constitute a still unexplored context for communication-enhanced learning, where synchronous communication skills in an explicit social setting enhance the potential of effective collaboration. In this paper, we report on an experimental study of…

  10. Robust Transceivers Design for Multi-stream Multi-user MIMO Visible Light Communication

    KAUST Repository

    Sifaou, Houssem

    2017-11-27

    Visible light communication (VLC) is an emerging technique that uses light-emitting diodes to combine communication and illumination. It is considered as a promising scheme for indoor wireless communication that can be deployed at reduced costs, while offering high data rate performance. This paper focuses on the design of precoding and receiving schemes for downlink multi-user multiple-input multiple-output VLC systems using angle diversity receivers. Two major concerns need to be considered while solving such a problem. The first one is related to the inter-user interference, basically inherent to our consideration of a multi-user system, while the second results from the users’ mobility, causing imperfect channel estimates. To address both concerns, we propose robust precoding and receiver that solve the max-min SINR problem. The performance of the proposed VLC design is studied under different working conditions, where a significant gain of the proposed robust transceivers over their non-robust counterparts has been observed.

  11. Robust Transceivers Design for Multi-stream Multi-user MIMO Visible Light Communication

    KAUST Repository

    Sifaou, Houssem; Kammoun, Abla; Park, Kihong; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2017-01-01

    Visible light communication (VLC) is an emerging technique that uses light-emitting diodes to combine communication and illumination. It is considered as a promising scheme for indoor wireless communication that can be deployed at reduced costs, while offering high data rate performance. This paper focuses on the design of precoding and receiving schemes for downlink multi-user multiple-input multiple-output VLC systems using angle diversity receivers. Two major concerns need to be considered while solving such a problem. The first one is related to the inter-user interference, basically inherent to our consideration of a multi-user system, while the second results from the users’ mobility, causing imperfect channel estimates. To address both concerns, we propose robust precoding and receiver that solve the max-min SINR problem. The performance of the proposed VLC design is studied under different working conditions, where a significant gain of the proposed robust transceivers over their non-robust counterparts has been observed.

  12. The right view from the wrong location: depth perception in stereoscopic multi-user virtual environments.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pollock, Brice; Burton, Melissa; Kelly, Jonathan W; Gilbert, Stephen; Winer, Eliot

    2012-04-01

    Stereoscopic depth cues improve depth perception and increase immersion within virtual environments (VEs). However, improper display of these cues can distort perceived distances and directions. Consider a multi-user VE, where all users view identical stereoscopic images regardless of physical location. In this scenario, cues are typically customized for one "leader" equipped with a head-tracking device. This user stands at the center of projection (CoP) and all other users ("followers") view the scene from other locations and receive improper depth cues. This paper examines perceived depth distortion when viewing stereoscopic VEs from follower perspectives and the impact of these distortions on collaborative spatial judgments. Pairs of participants made collaborative depth judgments of virtual shapes viewed from the CoP or after displacement forward or backward. Forward and backward displacement caused perceived depth compression and expansion, respectively, with greater compression than expansion. Furthermore, distortion was less than predicted by a ray-intersection model of stereo geometry. Collaboration times were significantly longer when participants stood at different locations compared to the same location, and increased with greater perceived depth discrepancy between the two viewing locations. These findings advance our understanding of spatial distortions in multi-user VEs, and suggest a strategy for reducing distortion.

  13. Feedback Reduction in Broadcast and two Hop Multiuser Networks: A Compressed Sensing Approach

    KAUST Repository

    Shibli, Hussain J.

    2013-01-01

    In multiuser wireless networks, the base stations (BSs) rely on the channel state information (CSI) of the users to in order to perform user scheduling and downlink transmission. While the downlink channels can be easily estimated at all user

  14. Multi-user Activity Recognition in a Smart Home

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wang, Liang; Gu, Tao; Tao, Xianping

    2010-01-01

    The advances of wearable sensors and wireless networks offer many opportunities to recognize human activities from sensor readings in pervasive computing. Existing work so far focus mainly on recognizing activities of a single user in a home environment. However, there are typically multiple...... inhabitants in a real home and they often perform activities together. In this paper, we investigate the problem of recognizing multi-user activities using wearable sensors in a home setting. We develop a multi-modal, wearable sensor platform to collect sensor data for multiple users, and study two temporal...

  15. COSTANZA, 1-D 2 Group Space-Dependent Reactor Dynamics of Spatial Reactor with 1 Group Delayed Neutrons

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Agazzi, A.; Gavazzi, C.; Vincenti, E.; Monterosso, R.

    1964-01-01

    1 - Nature of physical problem solved: The programme studies the spatial dynamics of reactor TESI, in the two group and one space dimension approximation. Only one group of delayed neutrons is considered. The programme simulates the vertical movement of the control rods according to any given movement law. The programme calculates the evolution of the fluxes and temperature and precursor concentration in space and time during the power excursion. 2 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: The maximum number of lattice points is 100

  16. CGLXTouch: A multi-user multi-touch approach for ultra-high-resolution collaborative workspaces

    KAUST Repository

    Ponto, Kevin; Doerr, Kai; Wypych, Tom; Kooker, John; Kuester, Falko

    2011-01-01

    multi-touch tablet and phone devices, which can be added to and removed from the system on the fly. Events from these devices are tagged with a device identifier and are synchronized with the distributed display environment, enabling multi-user support

  17. Quaternionic formulation of tachyons, superluminal transformations and a complex space-time

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Imaeda, K [Dublin Inst. for Advanced Studies (Ireland)

    1979-04-11

    A theory of tachyons and superluminal transformations is developed on the basis of the quaternionic formulation. A complex space-time adn a complex transformation group which contains both Lorentz transformations and superluminal transformations are introduced. The complex space-time '' the biquaternion space'' which is closed under the superluminal transformations is introduced. The principle of special relativity, such as the conservation of the quadratic form of the metric of the space-time, and the principle of duality are extended to the complex space-time and to bradyons, luxons and tachyons under the complex transformations. SeVeral characteristic features of the superluminal transformations and of tachyons are derived.

  18. Postural control in blind subjects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Antonio Vinicius Soares

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To analyze postural control in acquired and congenitally blind adults. Methods: A total of 40 visually impaired adults participated in the research, divided into 2 groups, 20 with acquired blindness and 20 with congenital blindness - 21 males and 19 females, mean age 35.8 ± 10.8. The Brazilian version of Berg Balance Scale and the motor domain of functional independence measure were utilized. Results: On Berg Balance Scale the mean for acquired blindness was 54.0 ± 2.4 and 54.4 ± 2.5 for congenitally blind subjects; on functional independence measure the mean for acquired blind group was 87.1 ± 4.8 and 87.3 ± 2.3 for congenitally blind group. Conclusion: Based upon the scale used the results suggest the ability to control posture can be developed by compensatory mechanisms and it is not affected by visual loss in congenitally and acquired blindness.

  19. Quantum group gauge theory on quantum spaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brzezinski, T.; Majid, S.

    1993-01-01

    We construct quantum group-valued canonical connections on quantum homogeneous spaces, including a q-deformed Dirac monopole on the quantum sphere of Podles quantum differential coming from the 3-D calculus of Woronowicz on SU q (2). The construction is presented within the setting of a general theory of quantum principal bundles with quantum group (Hopf algebra) fiber, associated quantum vector bundles and connection one-forms. Both the base space (spacetime) and the total space are non-commutative algebras (quantum spaces). (orig.)

  20. Assessment of the rate of premolar extraction space closure in the maxillary arch with the AcceleDent Aura appliance vs no appliance in adolescents: A single-blind randomized clinical trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miles, Peter; Fisher, Elizabeth; Pandis, Nikolaos

    2018-01-01

    The purpose of this 2-arm parallel trial was to assess the effect of the AcceleDent Aura appliance (OrthoAccel Technologies, Houston, Tex) on the rate of maxillary premolar extraction space closure in adolescent patients. Forty Class II adolescents treated with full fixed appliances and maxillary premolar extractions participated in this randomized clinical trial. They were recruited in a private practice and treated by 1 clinician. Randomization was accomplished in blocks of 10 patients assigned to either a no-appliance group or the AcceleDent Aura appliance group with the allocations concealed in opaque, sealed envelopes. Both the operator and the outcome assessor were blinded; however, it was not feasible to blind the patients. Models were taken of the maxillary arch at the start of space closure and just before complete space closure. The space was measured parallel to the occlusal plane from the cusp tips of the teeth mesial and distal to the extraction spaces. There was no clinically (0.05 mm per month; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.24, 0.34) or statistically significant difference in the rate of space closure (P = 0.74). In both the univariable and multivariable analyses, the mean rate of tooth movement was slower by 0.13 mm per month (95% CI, -.26, .005) on the left side compared with the right side, but this was not statistically significant (P = 0.06). The AcceleDent Aura appliance had no effect on the rate of maxillary premolar extraction space closure. Only a few participants were considered to be good compliers with the appliance. However, the rate of space closure in the good compliers was similar to the overall group and did not appear to influence the result. This trial was not registered. The protocol was not published before trial commencement. Copyright © 2017 American Association of Orthodontists. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  1. Space-Time Quantum Imaging

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ronald E. Meyers

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available We report on an experimental and theoretical investigation of quantum imaging where the images are stored in both space and time. Ghost images of remote objects are produced with either one or two beams of chaotic laser light generated by a rotating ground glass and two sensors measuring the reference field and bucket field at different space-time points. We further observe that the ghost images translate depending on the time delay between the sensor measurements. The ghost imaging experiments are performed both with and without turbulence. A discussion of the physics of the space-time imaging is presented in terms of quantum nonlocal two-photon analysis to support the experimental results. The theoretical model includes certain phase factors of the rotating ground glass. These experiments demonstrated a means to investigate the time and space aspects of ghost imaging and showed that ghost imaging contains more information per measured photon than was previously recognized where multiple ghost images are stored within the same ghost imaging data sets. This suggests new pathways to explore quantum information stored not only in multi-photon coincidence information but also in time delayed multi-photon interference. The research is applicable to making enhanced space-time quantum images and videos of moving objects where the images are stored in both space and time.

  2. Perception of blindness and blinding eye conditions in rural communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ashaye, Adeyinka; Ajuwon, Ademola Johnson; Adeoti, Caroline

    2006-01-01

    PURPOSE: The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the causes and management of blindness and blinding eye conditions as perceived by rural dwellers of two Yoruba communities in Oyo State, Nigeria. METHODS: Four focus group discussions were conducted among residents of Iddo and Isale Oyo, two rural Yoruba communities in Oyo State, Nigeria. Participants consisted of sighted, those who were partially or totally blind and community leaders. Ten patent medicine sellers and 12 traditional healers were also interviewed on their perception of the causes and management of blindness in their communities. FINDINGS: Blindness was perceived as an increasing problem among the communities. Multiple factors were perceived to cause blindness, including germs, onchocerciasis and supernatural forces. Traditional healers believed that blindness could be cured, with many claiming that they had previously cured blindness in the past. However, all agreed that patience was an important requirement for the cure of blindness. The patent medicine sellers' reports were similar to those of the traditional healers. The barriers to use of orthodox medicine were mainly fear, misconception and perceived high costs of care. There was a consensus of opinion among group discussants and informants that there are severe social and economic consequences of blindness, including not been able to see and assess the quality of what the sufferer eats, perpetual sadness, loss of sleep and dependence on other persons for daily activities. CONCLUSION: Local beliefs associated with causation, symptoms and management of blindness and blinding eye conditions among rural Yoruba communities identified have provided a bridge for understanding local perspectives and basis for implementing appropriate primary eye care programs. PMID:16775910

  3. A Tabletop Board Game Interface for Multi-User Interaction with a Storytelling System

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Alofs, T.; Theune, Mariet; Swartjes, I.M.T.; Camurri, A.; Costa, C.

    2011-01-01

    The Interactive Storyteller is an interactive storytelling system with a multi-user tabletop interface. Our goal was to design a generic framework combining emergent narrative, where stories emerge from the actions of autonomous intelligent agents, with the social aspects of traditional board games.

  4. Bidirectional and Multi-User Telerehabilitation System: Clinical Effect on Balance, Functional Activity, and Satisfaction in Patients with Chronic Stroke Living in Long-Term Care Facilities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kwan-Hwa Lin

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Background: The application of internet technology for telerehabilitation in patients with stroke has developed rapidly. Objective: The current study aimed to evaluate the effect of a bidirectional and multi-user telerehabilitation system on balance and satisfaction in patients with chronic stroke living in long-term care facilities (LTCFs. Method: This pilot study used a multi-site, blocked randomization design. Twenty-four participants from three LTCFs were recruited, and the participants were randomly assigned into the telerehabilitation (Tele and conventional therapy (Conv groups within each LTCF. Tele group received telerehabilitation but the Conv group received conventional therapy with two persons in each group for three sessions per week and for four weeks. The outcome measures included Berg Balance Scale (BBS, Barthel Index (BI, and the telerehabilitation satisfaction of the participants. Setting: A telerehabilitation system included “therapist end” in a laboratory, and the “client end” in LTCFs. The conventional therapy was conducted in LTCFs. Results: Training programs conducted for both the Tele and Conv groups showed significant effects within groups on the participant BBS as well as the total and self-care scores of BI. No significant difference between groups could be demonstrated. The satisfaction of participants between the Tele and the Conv groups also did not show significant difference. Conclusions: This pilot study indicated that the multi-user telerehabilitation program is feasible for improving the balance and functional activity similar to conventional therapy in patients with chronic stroke living in LTCFs.

  5. The Thaayorre think of Time Like They Talk of Space.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gaby, Alice

    2012-01-01

    Around the world, it is common to both talk and think about time in terms of space. But does our conceptualization of time simply reflect the space/time metaphors of the language we speak? Evidence from the Australian language Kuuk Thaayorre suggests not. Kuuk Thaayorre speakers do not employ active spatial metaphors in describing time. But this is not to say that spatial language is irrelevant to temporal construals: non-linguistic representations of time are shown here to covary with the linguistic system of describing space. This article contrasts two populations of ethnic Thaayorre from Pormpuraaw - one comprising Kuuk Thaayorre/English bilinguals and the other English-monolinguals - in order to distinguish the effects of language from environmental and other factors. Despite their common physical, social, and cultural context, the two groups differ in their representations of time in ways that are congruent with the language of space in Kuuk Thaayorre and English, respectively. Kuuk Thaayorre/English bilinguals represent time along an absolute east-to-west axis, in alignment with the high frequency of absolute frame of reference terms in Kuuk Thaayorre spatial description. The English-monolinguals, in contrast, represent time from left-to-right, aligning with the dominant relative frame of reference in English spatial description. This occurs in the absence of any east-to-west metaphors in Kuuk Thaayorre, or left-to-right metaphors in English. Thus the way these two groups think about time appears to reflect the language of space and not the language of time.

  6. Sobolev Spaces on Locally Compact Abelian Groups: Compact Embeddings and Local Spaces

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Przemysław Górka

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available We continue our research on Sobolev spaces on locally compact abelian (LCA groups motivated by our work on equations with infinitely many derivatives of interest for string theory and cosmology. In this paper, we focus on compact embedding results and we prove an analog for LCA groups of the classical Rellich lemma and of the Rellich-Kondrachov compactness theorem. Furthermore, we introduce Sobolev spaces on subsets of LCA groups and study its main properties, including the existence of compact embeddings into Lp-spaces.

  7. Rehabilitation Program Integrating Virtual Environment to Improve Orientation and Mobility Skills for People Who Are Blind.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lahav, Orly; Schloerb, David W; Srinivasan, Mandayam A

    2015-01-01

    This paper presents the integration of a virtual environment (BlindAid) in an orientation and mobility rehabilitation program as a training aid for people who are blind. BlindAid allows the users to interact with different virtual structures and objects through auditory and haptic feedback. This research explores if and how use of the BlindAid in conjunction with a rehabilitation program can help people who are blind train themselves in familiar and unfamiliar spaces. The study, focused on nine participants who were congenitally, adventitiously, and newly blind, during their orientation and mobility rehabilitation program at the Carroll Center for the Blind (Newton, Massachusetts, USA). The research was implemented using virtual environment (VE) exploration tasks and orientation tasks in virtual environments and real spaces. The methodology encompassed both qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, a questionnaire, videotape recording, and user computer logs. The results demonstrated that the BlindAid training gave participants additional time to explore the virtual environment systematically. Secondly, it helped elucidate several issues concerning the potential strengths of the BlindAid system as a training aid for orientation and mobility for both adults and teenagers who are congenitally, adventitiously, and newly blind.

  8. Metric space construction for the boundary of space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Meyer, D.A.

    1986-01-01

    A distance function between points in space-time is defined and used to consider the manifold as a topological metric space. The properties of the distance function are investigated: conditions under which the metric and manifold topologies agree, the relationship with the causal structure of the space-time and with the maximum lifetime function of Wald and Yip, and in terms of the space of causal curves. The space-time is then completed as a topological metric space; the resultant boundary is compared with the causal boundary and is also calculated for some pertinent examples

  9. SWIPT in Multiuser MIMO Decode-and-Forward Relay Broadcasting Channel with Energy Harvesting Relays

    KAUST Repository

    Benkhelifa, Fatma; Salem, Ahmed Sultan; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, we consider a multiuser multiple- input multiple-output (MIMO) decode-and-forward (DF) relay broadcasting channel (BC) with single source, multiple energy harvesting relays and multiple destinations. Since the end-to-end sum rate

  10. Theoretical Limits on Multiuser Molecular Communication in Internet of Nano-Bio Things.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dinc, Ergin; Akan, Ozgur B

    2017-06-01

    In nano-bio networks, multiple transmitter-receiver pairs will operate in the same medium. Both inter-symbol interference and multi-user interference can cause saturation at the receiver side, and this effect may cause an outage. Thus, we propose a tractable framework to calculate the theoretical operating points for fully absorbing receiver.

  11. Noncommutative phase spaces on Aristotle group

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ancille Ngendakumana

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available We realize noncommutative phase spaces as coadjoint orbits of extensions of the Aristotle group in a two dimensional space. Through these constructions the momenta of the phase spaces do not commute due to the presence of a naturally introduced magnetic eld. These cases correspond to the minimal coupling of the momentum with a magnetic potential.

  12. Retabulation of space group extinctions for electron diffraction

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goodman, P.; Tanaka, M.

    1989-01-01

    The space group tables previously published by one of the authors and others are here presented in a revised and compacted form designed to make for compatability with existing tables for X-ray diffraction. 136 of the 230 space groups are subject to dynamic extinctions due to glide planes and screw axes, and the observables from these space groups in specific settings are tabulated. Tabs

  13. Group structure and group process for effective space station astronaut teams

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nicholas, J. M.; Kagan, R. S.

    1985-01-01

    Space Station crews will encounter new problems, many derived from the social interaction of groups working in space for extended durations. Solutions to these problems must focus on the structure of groups and the interaction of individuals. A model of intervention is proposed to address problems of interpersonal relationships and emotional stress, and improve the morale, cohesiveness, and productivity of astronaut teams.

  14. Student Facebook groups as a third space

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Aaen, Janus Holst; Dalsgaard, Christian

    2016-01-01

    -institutional, personal space of the Facebook network. The main study of the article examines six student-managed Facebook groups and provides an analysis of a total of 2247 posts and 12,217 comments. Furthermore, the study draws on group interviews with students from 17 Danish upper secondary schools and a survey......The paper examines educational potentials of Facebook groups that are created and managed by students without any involvement from teachers. The objective is to study student-managed Facebook groups as a ‘third space' between the institutional space of teacher-managed Facebook groups and the non...... answered by 932 students from 25 schools. Based on the survey and interviews, the paper concludes that Facebook is an important educational tool for students in Danish upper secondary schools to receive help on homework and assignments. Furthermore, on the basis of the analysis of Facebook groups...

  15. Half-Blind to the Risk of Predation

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guy Beauchamp

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Blinking serves several functions in animals, but it comes at the cost of intermittent blindness. Blinking can occur spontaneously, but it is commonly associated with head movements. As feeding animals often need to move the head down repeatedly to gather resources, intermittent blindness might represent a hitherto unappreciated cost of feeding. In addition, this cost might also be more prevalent in larger groups as feeding effort typically increases with group size. In chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus, blinks associated with head movements occurred at a high frequently during feeding bouts. While blinks tended to be short, the amount of time spent blinking was close to 50% when feeding and increased with group size. By contrast, time spent blinking was much lower when birds simply monitored their surroundings between feeding bouts. Intermittent blinking at this scale when feeding is likely to decrease the ability to detect predation threats in a timely fashion and to monitor neighbors effectively.

  16. Detecting space-time cancer clusters using residential histories

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jacquez, Geoffrey M.; Meliker, Jaymie R.

    2007-04-01

    Methods for analyzing geographic clusters of disease typically ignore the space-time variability inherent in epidemiologic datasets, do not adequately account for known risk factors (e.g., smoking and education) or covariates (e.g., age, gender, and race), and do not permit investigation of the latency window between exposure and disease. Our research group recently developed Q-statistics for evaluating space-time clustering in cancer case-control studies with residential histories. This technique relies on time-dependent nearest neighbor relationships to examine clustering at any moment in the life-course of the residential histories of cases relative to that of controls. In addition, in place of the widely used null hypothesis of spatial randomness, each individual's probability of being a case is instead based on his/her risk factors and covariates. Case-control clusters will be presented using residential histories of 220 bladder cancer cases and 440 controls in Michigan. In preliminary analyses of this dataset, smoking, age, gender, race and education were sufficient to explain the majority of the clustering of residential histories of the cases. Clusters of unexplained risk, however, were identified surrounding the business address histories of 10 industries that emit known or suspected bladder cancer carcinogens. The clustering of 5 of these industries began in the 1970's and persisted through the 1990's. This systematic approach for evaluating space-time clustering has the potential to generate novel hypotheses about environmental risk factors. These methods may be extended to detect differences in space-time patterns of any two groups of people, making them valuable for security intelligence and surveillance operations.

  17. An FPGA-based DS-CDMA multiuser demodulator employing adaptive multistage parallel interference cancellation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Xinhua; Song, Zhenyu; Zhan, Yongjie; Wu, Qiongzhi

    2009-12-01

    Since the system capacity is severely limited, reducing the multiple access interfere (MAI) is necessary in the multiuser direct-sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) system which is used in the telecommunication terminals data-transferred link system. In this paper, we adopt an adaptive multistage parallel interference cancellation structure in the demodulator based on the least mean square (LMS) algorithm to eliminate the MAI on the basis of overviewing various of multiuser dectection schemes. Neither a training sequence nor a pilot signal is needed in the proposed scheme, and its implementation complexity can be greatly reduced by a LMS approximate algorithm. The algorithm and its FPGA implementation is then derived. Simulation results of the proposed adaptive PIC can outperform some of the existing interference cancellation methods in AWGN channels. The hardware setup of mutiuser demodulator is described, and the experimental results based on it demonstrate that the simulation results shows large performance gains over the conventional single-user demodulator.

  18. Time-Space Trade-Offs

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pagter, Jakob Illeborg

    . The area of time-space trade-offs deals with both upper and lower bounds and both are interesting, theoretically as well as practically. The viewpoint of this dissertation is theoretical, but we believe that some of our results can find applications in practice as well. The last four years has witnessed...... perspective hierarchical memory layout models are the most interesting. Such models are called external memory models, in contrast to the internal memory models discussed above. Despite the fact that space might be of great relevance when solving practical problems on real computers, no theoretical model...... capturing space (and time simultaneously) has been defined. We introduce such a model and use it to prove so-called IOspace trade-offs for Sorting. Building on the abovementioned techniques for time-space efficient internal memory Sorting, we develop the first IO-space efficient external memory Sorting...

  19. Assessment of Measurement Distortions in GNSS Antenna Array Space-Time Processing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thyagaraja Marathe

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Antenna array processing techniques are studied in GNSS as effective tools to mitigate interference in spatial and spatiotemporal domains. However, without specific considerations, the array processing results in biases and distortions in the cross-ambiguity function (CAF of the ranging codes. In space-time processing (STP the CAF misshaping can happen due to the combined effect of space-time processing and the unintentional signal attenuation by filtering. This paper focuses on characterizing these degradations for different controlled signal scenarios and for live data from an antenna array. The antenna array simulation method introduced in this paper enables one to perform accurate analyses in the field of STP. The effects of relative placement of the interference source with respect to the desired signal direction are shown using overall measurement errors and profile of the signal strength. Analyses of contributions from each source of distortion are conducted individually and collectively. Effects of distortions on GNSS pseudorange errors and position errors are compared for blind, semi-distortionless, and distortionless beamforming methods. The results from characterization can be useful for designing low distortion filters that are especially important for high accuracy GNSS applications in challenging environments.

  20. Rapid processing of haptic cues for postural control in blind subjects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schieppati, Marco; Schmid, Monica; Sozzi, Stefania

    2014-07-01

    Vision and touch rapidly lead to postural stabilization in sighted subjects. Is touch-induced stabilization more rapid in blind than in sighted subjects, owing to cross-modal reorganization of function in the blind? We estimated the time-period elapsing from onset of availability of haptic support to onset of lateral stabilization in a group of early- and late-onset blinds. Eleven blind (age 39.4 years±11.7SD) and eleven sighted subjects (age 30.0 years±10.0SD), standing eyes closed with feet in tandem position, touched a pad with their index finger and withdrew the finger from the pad in sequence. EMG of postural muscles and displacement of centre of foot pressure were recorded. The task was repeated fifty times, to allow statistical evaluation of the latency of EMG and sway changes following the haptic shift. Steady-state sway (with or without contact with pad, no haptic shift) did not differ between blind and sighted. On adding the haptic stimulus, EMG and sway diminished in both groups, but at an earlier latency (by about 0.5 s) in the blinds (p blinds. When the haptic stimulus was withdrawn, both groups increased EMG and sway at equally short delays. Blinds are rapid in implementing adaptive postural modifications when granted an external haptic reference. Fast processing of the stabilizing haptic spatial-orientation cues may be favoured by cortical plasticity in blinds. These findings add new information to the field of sensory-guided dynamic control of equilibrium in man. Copyright © 2013 International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

  1. Double-blind, parallel-group evaluation of etodolac and naproxen in patients with acute sports injuries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    D'Hooghe, M

    1992-01-01

    The efficacy and safety of etodolac and naproxen were compared in a double-blind, randomized, parallel-group outpatient study. Patients with acute sports injuries were assigned to receive either etodolac 300 mg TID (50 patients) or naproxen 500 mg BID (49 patients) for up to 7 days. Assessments were made at the pretreatment screening (baseline) and at days 2, 3, 4, and 7 of treatment. Assessments included patient and physician global evaluations, spontaneous and induced pain intensity, range of motion, tenderness, heat, degree of swelling, and degree of erythema. Safety assessments, including laboratory profiles, were made at pretreatment and at final evaluation; patients' complaints were elicited at all visits. Both treatment groups showed significant (P less than or equal to 0.05) improvement from baseline for all efficacy parameters by day 2 and thereafter at all time points. Improvement was similar for the two groups. No patients in either group withdrew from the study because of drug-related adverse reactions. The results of this study indicate that etodolac (900 mg/day) is effective and well tolerated as an analgesic and anti-inflammatory in acute sports injuries and is comparable to naproxen (1000 mg/day).

  2. The space-time cube revisited it potential to visualize mobile data

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kveladze, Irma; Kraak, Menno-Jan

    2010-01-01

    and analyse the complex movement patterns (COST - MOVE, 2009; Keim et al., 2008). This results in the development of new visual analytical and exploratory tools, while existing solutions receive new attention (Andrienko et al., 2007). Among the last the Space Time Cube (STC) can be grouped. It has the ability...... to provide information about spatial and temporal relationships. The original idea of STC was introduced by Hägerstrand (1970). It represents an elegant framework to study spatio-temporal characteristics of human activity (Kraak and Koussoulakou, 2005). The vertical dimension of cube represents time (t......), while horizontal axes represent space (x, y). Basic elements represented in the cube are the Space-time Path (STP), Stations, and the Space Time Prism (STP). The STP represents the continuous activities of movements undertaken in space and time displayed as trajectory. It has been studied...

  3. Gauge Gravity and Space-Time

    OpenAIRE

    Wu, Ning

    2012-01-01

    When we discuss problems on gravity, we can not avoid some fundamental physical problems, such as space-time, inertia, and inertial reference frame. The goal of this paper is to discuss the logic system of gravity theory and the problems of space-time, inertia, and inertial reference frame. The goal of this paper is to set up the theory on space-time in gauge theory of gravity. Based on this theory, it is possible for human kind to manipulate physical space-time on earth, and produce a machin...

  4. Explicit Minkowski invariance and differential calculus in the quantum space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu Zhan.

    1991-11-01

    In terms of the R-circumflex matrix of the quantum group SL q (2), the explicit Minkowski coordinate commutation relations in the four-dimensional quantum space-time are given, and the invariance of the Minkowski metric is shown. The differential calculus in this quantum space-time is discussed and the corresponding commutation relations are proposed. (author). 17 refs

  5. Projected space-time and varying speed of light

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Iovane, G.; Bellucci, S.; Benedetto, E.

    2008-01-01

    In this paper starting from El Naschie's Cantorian space-time and our model of projected Universe, we consider its properties in connection with varying speed of light. A possible way-out of the related problem is provided by the Fantappie group approach

  6. The efficacy of the semi-blind approach of transversus abdominis plane block on postoperative analgesia in patients undergoing inguinal hernia repair: a prospective randomized double-blind study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Salman AE

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available A Ebru Salman,1 Fahri Yetisir,2 Banu Yürekli,3 Mustafa Aksoy,1 Murat Yildirim,2 Mehmet Kiliç21Anesthesiology and Reanimation Department, 2General Surgery Department, Atatürk Research and Training Hospital, Ankara, Turkey; 3Endocrinology Department, Bozyaka Research and Training Hospital, Izmir, TurkeyPurpose: In this prospective, randomized, double-blind study, our aim was to compare the analgesic efficacy of the semi-blind approach of transversus abdominis plane (TAP block with a placebo block in patients undergoing unilateral inguinal hernia repair.Methods: After receiving hospital ethical committee approval and informed patient consents, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA I–III patients aged 18–80 were enrolled in the study. Standard anesthesia monitoring was applied to all patients. After premedication, spinal anesthesia was administered to all patients with 3.5 mL heavy bupivacaine at the L3-L4 subarachnoid space. Patients were randomly allocated into 2 groups. Group I (n = 32 received a placebo block with 20 mL saline, Group II (n = 32 received semi-blind TAP block with 0.25% bupivacaine in 20 mL with a blunt regional anesthesia needle into the neurofascial plane via the lumbar triangle of Petit near the midaxillary line before fascial closure. At the end of the operation, intravenous (IV dexketoprofen was given to all patients. The verbal analog scale (VAS was recorded at 2, 4, 6, 12, and 24 hours postoperatively. Paracetamol IV was given to patients if their VAS score > 3. A rescue analgesic of 0.05 mg/kg morphine IV was applied if VAS > 3. Total analgesic consumption and morphine requirement in 24 hours were recorded.Results: TAP block reduced VAS scores at all postoperative time points (P < 0.001. Postoperative analgesic and morphine requirement in 24 hours was significantly lower in group II (P < 0.01.Conclusion: Semi-blind TAP block provided effective analgesia, reducing total 24-hour postoperative analgesic

  7. Tunable optical frequency comb enabled scalable and cost-effective multiuser orthogonal frequency-division multiple access passive optical network with source-free optical network units.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Chen; Zhang, Chongfu; Liu, Deming; Qiu, Kun; Liu, Shuang

    2012-10-01

    We propose and experimentally demonstrate a multiuser orthogonal frequency-division multiple access passive optical network (OFDMA-PON) with source-free optical network units (ONUs), enabled by tunable optical frequency comb generation technology. By cascading a phase modulator (PM) and an intensity modulator and dynamically controlling the peak-to-peak voltage of a PM driven signal, a tunable optical frequency comb source can be generated. It is utilized to assist the configuration of a multiple source-free ONUs enhanced OFDMA-PON where simultaneous and interference-free multiuser upstream transmission over a single wavelength can be efficiently supported. The proposed multiuser OFDMA-PON is scalable and cost effective, and its feasibility is successfully verified by experiment.

  8. Inspiring Equal Contribution and Opportunity in a 3D Multi-User Virtual Environment: Bringing Together Men Gamers and Women Non-Gamers in Second Life[R

    Science.gov (United States)

    deNoyelles, Aimee; Seo, Kay Kyeong-Ju

    2012-01-01

    A 3D multi-user virtual environment holds promise to support and enhance student online learning communities due to its ability to promote global synchronous interaction and collaboration, rich multisensory experience and expression, and elaborate design capabilities. Second Life[R], a multi-user virtual environment intended for adult users 18 and…

  9. Hazy spaces, tangent spaces, manifolds and groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dodson, C.T.J.

    1977-03-01

    The results on hazy spaces and the developments leading to hazy manifolds and groups are summarized. Proofs have appeared elsewhere so here examples are considered and some motivation for definitions and constructions in the theorems is analyzed. It is shown that quite simple ideas, intuitively acceptable, lead to remarkable similarity with the theory of differentiable manifolds. Hazy n manifolds have tangent bundles that are hazy 2n manifolds and there are hazy manifold structures for groups. Products and submanifolds are easily constructed and in particular the hazy n-sphere manifolds as submanifolds of the standard hazy manifold Zsup(n+1)

  10. Space and time, matter and mind the relationship between reality and space-time

    CERN Document Server

    1994-01-01

    In principle, the elements of space and time cannot be measured. Therefore, the following question arises: How are reality and space-time related to each other? In this book, it is argued on the basis of many facts that reality is not embedded but projected onto space and time. We can never make statements about the actual reality outside (basic reality), but we can "only" form pictures of it. These are pictures of the same reality on different levels. From this point of view, the "hard" objects (matter) and the products of the mind are similar in character.

  11. Perceiving space and optical cues via a visuo-tactile sensory substitution system: a methodological approach for training of blind subjects for navigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Segond, Hervé; Weiss, Déborah; Kawalec, Magdalena; Sampaio, Eliana

    2013-01-01

    A methodological approach to perceptual learning was used to allow both early blind subjects (experimental group) and blindfolded sighted subjects (control group) to experience optical information and spatial phenomena, on the basis of visuo-tactile information transmitted by a 64-taxel pneumatic sensory substitution device. The learning process allowed the subjects to develop abilities in spatial localisation, shape recognition (with generalisation to different points of view), and monocular depth cue interpretation. During the training phase, early blind people initially experienced more difficulties than blindfolded sighted subjects (having previous perceptual experience of perspective) with interpreting and using monocular depth cues. The amelioration of the performance for all blind subjects during training sessions and the quite similar level of performance reached by two groups in the final navigation tasks suggested that early blind people were able to develop and apply cognitive understanding of depth cues. Both groups showed generalisation of the learning from the initial phases to cue identification in the maze, and subjectively experienced shapes facing them. Subjects' performance depended not only on their perceptual experience but also on their previous spatial competencies.

  12. Space, time and conservation laws

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aronov, R.A.; Ugarov, V.A.

    1978-01-01

    The Neter theorem establishing correspondence between conservation laws and symmetry properties (space and time in particular) is considered. The theorem is based on one of the possible ways of finding equations of motion for a physical system. From a certain expression (action functional) equations of motion for a system can be obtained which do not contain new physical assertions in principal in comparison with the Newtonian laws. Neter suggested a way of deriving conservation laws by transforming space and time coordinates. Neter theorem consequences raise a number of problems: 1). Are conservation laws (energy, momentum) consequences of space and time symmetry properties. 2). Is it possible to obtain conservation laws in theory neglecting equations of motion. 3). What is of the primary importance: equations of motion, conservation laws or properties of space and time symmetry. It is shown that direct Neter theorem does not testify to stipulation of conservation laws by properties of space and time symmetry and symmetry properties of other non-space -time properties of material systems in objective reality. It says nothing of whether there is any subordination between symmetry properties and conservation laws

  13. String cohomology groups of complex projective spaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ottosen, Iver; Bökstedt, Marcel

    2007-01-01

    Let X be a space and write LX for its free loop space equipped with the action of the circle group T given by dilation. The equivariant cohomology H*(LXhT;Z/p) is a module over H*(BT;Z/p). We give a computation of this module when X=CPr for any positive integer r and any prime number p. The compu......Let X be a space and write LX for its free loop space equipped with the action of the circle group T given by dilation. The equivariant cohomology H*(LXhT;Z/p) is a module over H*(BT;Z/p). We give a computation of this module when X=CPr for any positive integer r and any prime number p...

  14. Two-Dimensional Space-Time Dependent Multi-group Diffusion Equation with SLOR Method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yulianti, Y.; Su'ud, Z.; Waris, A.; Khotimah, S. N.

    2010-01-01

    The research of two-dimensional space-time diffusion equations with SLOR (Successive-Line Over Relaxation) has been done. SLOR method is chosen because this method is one of iterative methods that does not required to defined whole element matrix. The research is divided in two cases, homogeneous case and heterogeneous case. Homogeneous case has been inserted by step reactivity. Heterogeneous case has been inserted by step reactivity and ramp reactivity. In general, the results of simulations are agreement, even in some points there are differences.

  15. A Multiuser Manufacturing Resource Service Composition Method Based on the Bees Algorithm

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yongquan Xie

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to realize an optimal resource service allocation in current open and service-oriented manufacturing model, multiuser resource service composition (RSC is modeled as a combinational and constrained multiobjective problem. The model takes into account both subjective and objective quality of service (QoS properties as representatives to evaluate a solution. The QoS properties aggregation and evaluation techniques are based on existing researches. The basic Bees Algorithm is tailored for finding a near optimal solution to the model, since the basic version is only proposed to find a desired solution in continuous domain and thus not suitable for solving the problem modeled in our study. Particular rules are designed for handling the constraints and finding Pareto optimality. In addition, the established model introduces a trusted service set to each user so that the algorithm could start by searching in the neighbor of more reliable service chains (known as seeds than those randomly generated. The advantages of these techniques are validated by experiments in terms of success rate, searching speed, ability of avoiding ingenuity, and so forth. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in handling multiuser RSC problems.

  16. Kolmogorov Space in Time Series Data

    OpenAIRE

    Kanjamapornkul, K.; Pinčák, R.

    2016-01-01

    We provide the proof that the space of time series data is a Kolmogorov space with $T_{0}$-separation axiom using the loop space of time series data. In our approach we define a cyclic coordinate of intrinsic time scale of time series data after empirical mode decomposition. A spinor field of time series data comes from the rotation of data around price and time axis by defining a new extradimension to time series data. We show that there exist hidden eight dimensions in Kolmogorov space for ...

  17. Time: the enigma of space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Francis T. S.

    2017-08-01

    In this article we have based on the laws of physics to illustrate the enigma time as creating our physical space (i.e., the universe). We have shown that without time there would be no physical substances, no space and no life. In reference to Einstein's energy equation, we see that energy and mass can be traded, and every mass can be treated as an Energy Reservoir. We have further shown that physical space cannot be embedded in absolute empty space and cannot have any absolute empty subspace in it. Since all physical substances existed with time, our cosmos is created by time and every substance including our universe is coexisted with time. Although time initiates the creation, it is the physical substances which presented to us the existence of time. We are not alone with almost absolute certainty. Someday we may find a right planet, once upon a time, had harbored a civilization for a short period of light years.

  18. Specialized, multi-user computer facility for the high-speed, interactive processing of experimental data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maples, C.C.

    1979-05-01

    A proposal has been made at LBL to develop a specialized computer facility specifically designed to deal with the problems associated with the reduction and analysis of experimental data. Such a facility would provide a highly interactive, graphics-oriented, multi-user environment capable of handling relatively large data bases for each user. By conceptually separating the general problem of data analysis into two parts, cyclic batch calculations and real-time interaction, a multilevel, parallel processing framework may be used to achieve high-speed data processing. In principle such a system should be able to process a mag tape equivalent of data through typical transformations and correlations in under 30 s. The throughput for such a facility, for five users simultaneously reducing data, is estimated to be 2 to 3 times greater than is possible, for example, on a CDC7600. 3 figures

  19. Specialized, multi-user computer facility for the high-speed, interactive processing of experimental data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maples, C.C.

    1979-01-01

    A proposal has been made to develop a specialized computer facility specifically designed to deal with the problems associated with the reduction and analysis of experimental data. Such a facility would provide a highly interactive, graphics-oriented, multi-user environment capable of handling relatively large data bases for each user. By conceptually separating the general problem of data analysis into two parts, cyclic batch calculations and real-time interaction, a multi-level, parallel processing framework may be used to achieve high-speed data processing. In principle such a system should be able to process a mag tape equivalent of data, through typical transformations and correlations, in under 30 sec. The throughput for such a facility, assuming five users simultaneously reducing data, is estimated to be 2 to 3 times greater than is possible, for example, on a CDC7600

  20. Voltage margin control for offshore multi-use platform integration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mier, V.; Casielles, P.G.; Koto, J.

    This paper discusses a multiterminal direct current (MTDC) connection proposed for integration of offshore multi-use platforms into continental grids. Voltage source converters (VSC) were selected for their suitability for multiterminal dc systems and for their flexibility in control. A five...... terminal VSC-MTDC which includes offshore generation, storage, loads and ac connection, was modeled and simulated in DigSILENT Power Factory software. Voltage margin method has been used for reliable operation of the MTDC system without the need of fast communication. Simulation results show......, sell or store energy attending to the price in the electricity market....

  1. Impact of Channel Estimation Errors on Multiuser Detection via the Replica Method

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li Husheng

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available For practical wireless DS-CDMA systems, channel estimation is imperfect due to noise and interference. In this paper, the impact of channel estimation errors on multiuser detection (MUD is analyzed under the framework of the replica method. System performance is obtained in the large system limit for optimal MUD, linear MUD, and turbo MUD, and is validated by numerical results for finite systems.

  2. Space Weather and Real-Time Monitoring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S Watari

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available Recent advance of information and communications technology enables to collect a large amount of ground-based and space-based observation data in real-time. The real-time data realize nowcast of space weather. This paper reports a history of space weather by the International Space Environment Service (ISES in association with the International Geophysical Year (IGY and importance of real-time monitoring in space weather.

  3. Adaptive Space-Time-Spreading-Assisted Wideband CDMA Systems Communicating over Dispersive Nakagami- Fading Channels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yang Lie-Liang

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available In this contribution, the performance of wideband code-division multiple-access (W-CDMA systems using space-time-spreading- (STS- based transmit diversity is investigated, when frequency-selective Nakagami- fading channels, multiuser interference, and background noise are considered. The analysis and numerical results suggest that the achievable diversity order is the product of the frequency-selective diversity order and the transmit diversity order. Furthermore, both the transmit diversity and the frequency-selective diversity have the same order of importance. Since W-CDMA signals are subjected to frequency-selective fading, the number of resolvable paths at the receiver may vary over a wide range depending on the transmission environment encountered. It can be shown that, for wireless channels where the frequency selectivity is sufficiently high, transmit diversity may be not necessitated. Under this case, multiple transmission antennas can be leveraged into an increased bitrate. Therefore, an adaptive STS-based transmission scheme is then proposed for improving the throughput of W-CDMA systems. Our numerical results demonstrate that this adaptive STS-based transmission scheme is capable of significantly improving the effective throughput of W-CDMA systems. Specifically, the studied W-CDMA system's bitrate can be increased by a factor of three at the modest cost of requiring an extra 0.4 dB or 1.2 dB transmitted power in the context of the investigated urban or suburban areas, respectively.

  4. The International Space Life Sciences Strategic Planning Working Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Ronald J.; Rabin, Robert; Lujan, Barbara F.

    1993-01-01

    Throughout the 1980s, ESA and the space agencies of Canada, Germany, France, Japan, and the U.S. have pursued cooperative projects bilaterally and multilaterally to prepare for, and to respond to, opportunities in space life sciences research previously unapproachable in scale and sophistication. To cope effectively with likely future space research opportunities, broad, multilateral, coordinated strategic planning is required. Thus, life scientists from these agencies have allied to form the International Space Life Sciences Strategic Planning Working Group. This Group is formally organized under a charter that specifies the purpose of the Working Group as the development of an international strategic plan for the space life sciences, with periodic revisions as needed to keep the plan current. The plan will be policy-, not operations-oriented. The Working Group also may establish specific implementation teams to coordinate multilateral science policy in specific areas; such teams have been established for space station utilization, and for sharing of flight equipment.

  5. Twistor Cosmology and Quantum Space-Time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brody, D.C.; Hughston, L.P.

    2005-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to present a model of a 'quantum space-time' in which the global symmetries of space-time are unified in a coherent manner with the internal symmetries associated with the state space of quantum-mechanics. If we take into account the fact that these distinct families of symmetries should in some sense merge and become essentially indistinguishable in the unified regime, our framework may provide an approximate description of or elementary model for the structure of the universe at early times. The quantum elements employed in our characterisation of the geometry of space-time imply that the pseudo-Riemannian structure commonly regarded as an essential feature in relativistic theories must be dispensed with. Nevertheless, the causal structure and the physical kinematics of quantum space-time are shown to persist in a manner that remains highly analogous to the corresponding features of the classical theory. In the case of the simplest conformally flat cosmological models arising in this framework, the twistorial description of quantum space-time is shown to be effective in characterising the various physical and geometrical properties of the theory. As an example, a sixteen-dimensional analogue of the Friedmann-Robertson-Walker cosmologies is constructed, and its chronological development is analysed in some detail. More generally, whenever the dimension of a quantum space-time is an even perfect square, there exists a canonical way of breaking the global quantum space-time symmetry so that a generic point of quantum space-time can be consistently interpreted as a quantum operator taking values in Minkowski space. In this scenario, the breakdown of the fundamental symmetry of the theory is due to a loss of quantum entanglement between space-time and internal quantum degrees of freedom. It is thus possible to show in a certain specific sense that the classical space-time description is an emergent feature arising as a consequence of a

  6. Sum-rate analysis of spectrum sharing spatial multiplexing MIMO systems with zero-forcing and multiuser diversity

    KAUST Repository

    Yang, Liang; Qaraqe, Khalid A.; Serpedin, Erchin; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2013-01-01

    This paper considers a multiuser spectrum sharing (SS) multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) system with zero-forcing (ZF) operating in a Rayleigh fading environment. We provide an asymptotic sum-rate analysis to investigate the effects of different

  7. Multi-user software of radio therapeutical calculation using a computational network

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Allaucca P, J.J.; Picon C, C.; Zaharia B, M.

    1998-01-01

    It has been designed a hardware and software system for a radiotherapy Department. It runs under an Operative system platform Novell Network sharing the existing resources and of the server, it is centralized, multi-user and of greater safety. It resolves a variety of problems and calculation necessities, patient steps and administration, it is very fast and versatile, it contains a set of menus and options which may be selected with mouse, direction arrows or abbreviated keys. (Author)

  8. Space-time-modulated stochastic processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Giona, Massimiliano

    2017-10-01

    Starting from the physical problem associated with the Lorentzian transformation of a Poisson-Kac process in inertial frames, the concept of space-time-modulated stochastic processes is introduced for processes possessing finite propagation velocity. This class of stochastic processes provides a two-way coupling between the stochastic perturbation acting on a physical observable and the evolution of the physical observable itself, which in turn influences the statistical properties of the stochastic perturbation during its evolution. The definition of space-time-modulated processes requires the introduction of two functions: a nonlinear amplitude modulation, controlling the intensity of the stochastic perturbation, and a time-horizon function, which modulates its statistical properties, providing irreducible feedback between the stochastic perturbation and the physical observable influenced by it. The latter property is the peculiar fingerprint of this class of models that makes them suitable for extension to generic curved-space times. Considering Poisson-Kac processes as prototypical examples of stochastic processes possessing finite propagation velocity, the balance equations for the probability density functions associated with their space-time modulations are derived. Several examples highlighting the peculiarities of space-time-modulated processes are thoroughly analyzed.

  9. Braille Telecaptioning: Making Real-Time Television Accessible to Deaf-Blind Consumers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Biederman-Anderson, L.

    1989-01-01

    A federal grant has been awarded to develop and test a prototype device to make closed-captioned television available to deaf-blind people. The Braille TeleCaption System, with output available in braille and large print, is currently being tested. Such new technology makes real-time viewing of news, weather, and entertainment accessible to…

  10. Mapping Spaces, Centralizers, and p-Local Finite Groups of Lie Type

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Laude, Isabelle

    We study the space of maps from the classifying space of a finite p-group to theBorel construction of a finite group of Lie type G in characteristic p acting on itsbuilding. The first main result is a description of the homology with Fp-coefficients,showing that the mapping space, up to p...... between a finite p-group and theuncompleted classifying space of the p-local finite group coming from a finite groupof Lie type in characteristic p, providing some of the first results in this uncompletedsetting.......-completion, is a disjoint union indexedover the group homomorphism up to conjugation of classifying spaces of centralizersof p-subgroups in the underlying group G. We complement this description bydetermining the actual homotopy groups of the mapping space. These resultstranslate to descriptions of the space of maps...

  11. Multi-user MIMO and carrier aggregation in 4G systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Cattoni, Andrea Fabio; Nguyen, Hung Tuan; Duplicy, Jonathan

    2012-01-01

    The market success of broadband multimediaenabled devices such as smart phones, tablets, and laptops is increasing the demand for wireless data capacity in mobile cellular systems. In order to meet such requirements, the introduction of advanced techniques for increasing the efficiency in spectrum...... usage was required. Multi User -Multiple Input Multiple Output (MU-MIMO) and Carrier Aggregation (CA) are two important techniques addressed by 3GPP for LTE and LTE-Advanced. The aim of the EU FP7 project on ”Spectrum Aggregation and Multiuser-MIMO: real-World Impact” (SAMURAI) is to investigate...

  12. Hyperbolic statics in space-time

    OpenAIRE

    Pavlov, Dmitry; Kokarev, Sergey

    2014-01-01

    Based on the concept of material event as an elementary material source that is concentrated on metric sphere of zero radius --- light-cone of Minkowski space-time, we deduce the analog of Coulomb's law for hyperbolic space-time field universally acting between the events of space-time. Collective field that enables interaction of world lines of a pair of particles at rest contains a standard 3-dimensional Coulomb's part and logarithmic addendum. We've found that the Coulomb's part depends on...

  13. Multi-User Preemptive Scheduling For Critical Low Latency Communications in 5G Networks

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Abdul-Mawgood Ali Ali Esswie, Ali; Pedersen, Klaus

    2018-01-01

    5G new radio is envisioned to support three major service classes: enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB), ultrareliable low-latency communications (URLLC), and massive machine type communications. Emerging URLLC services require up to one millisecond of communication latency with 99.999% success...... probability. Though, there is a fundamental trade-off between system spectral efficiency (SE) and achievable latency. This calls for novel scheduling protocols which cross-optimize system performance on user-centric; instead of network-centric basis. In this paper, we develop a joint multi-user preemptive...... scheduling strategy to simultaneously cross-optimize system SE and URLLC latency. At each scheduling opportunity, available URLLC traffic is always given higher priority. When sporadic URLLC traffic appears during a transmission time interval (TTI), proposed scheduler seeks for fitting the URLLC-eMBB traffic...

  14. Mechanisms for collaboration: a design and evaluation framework for multi-user interfaces

    OpenAIRE

    Yuill, Nicola; Rogers, Yvonne

    2012-01-01

    Multi-user interfaces are said to provide “natural” interaction in supporting collaboration, compared to individual and noncolocated technologies. We identify three mechanisms accounting for the success of such interfaces: high awareness of others' actions and intentions, high control over the interface, and high availability of background information. We challenge the idea that interaction over such interfaces is necessarily “natural” and argue that everyday interaction involves constraints ...

  15. Overcomplete Blind Source Separation by Combining ICA and Binary Time-Frequency Masking

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Michael Syskind; Wang, DeLiang; Larsen, Jan

    2005-01-01

    a novel method for over-complete blind source separation. Two powerful source separation techniques have been combined, independent component analysis and binary time-frequency masking. Hereby, it is possible to iteratively extract each speech signal from the mixture. By using merely two microphones we...

  16. NASA's Internal Space Weather Working Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    St. Cyr, O. C.; Guhathakurta, M.; Bell, H.; Niemeyer, L.; Allen, J.

    2011-01-01

    Measurements from many of NASA's scientific spacecraft are used routinely by space weather forecasters, both in the U.S. and internationally. ACE, SOHO (an ESA/NASA collaboration), STEREO, and SDO provide images and in situ measurements that are assimilated into models and cited in alerts and warnings. A number of years ago, the Space Weather laboratory was established at NASA-Goddard, along with the Community Coordinated Modeling Center. Within that organization, a space weather service center has begun issuing alerts for NASA's operational users. NASA's operational user community includes flight operations for human and robotic explorers; atmospheric drag concerns for low-Earth orbit; interplanetary navigation and communication; and the fleet of unmanned aerial vehicles, high altitude aircraft, and launch vehicles. Over the past three years we have identified internal stakeholders within NASA and formed a Working Group to better coordinate their expertise and their needs. In this presentation we will describe this activity and some of the challenges in forming a diverse working group.

  17. A perspective on multi-user interaction design based on an understanding of domestic lighting conflict

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Niemantsverdriet, K.; van Essen, H.A.; Eggen, J.H.

    2017-01-01

    More and more connected systems are entering the social and shared home environment. Interaction with these systems is often rather individual and based on personal preferences, leading to conflicts in multi-user situations. In this paper, we aim to develop a perspective on how to design for

  18. Sediment Contaminants and Infauna Associated with Recreational Boating Structures in a Multi-Use Marine Park

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sim, Vivian X. Y.; Dafforn, Katherine A.; Simpson, Stuart L.; Kelaher, Brendan P.; Johnston, Emma L.

    2015-01-01

    Multi-use marine parks achieve conservation through spatial management of activities. Zoning of marine parks in New South Wales, Australia, includes high conservation areas and special purpose zones (SPZ) where maritime activities are concentrated. Although such measures geographically constrain anthropogenic impacts, we have limited understanding of potential ecological effects. We assessed sediment communities and contaminants adjacent to boating infrastructure (boat ramps, jetties and a marina) in a SPZ from the Clyde Estuary in Batemans Marine Park. Metal concentrations and fines content were elevated at boating structures compared to reference sites. Species richness was higher at sites with boating structures, where capitellid polychaetes and nematodes dominated the communities. Changes associated with boating structures were localised and did not extend beyond breakwalls or to reference sites outside the SPZ. The study highlights the benefits of appropriate zoning in a multi-use marine park and the potential to minimise stress on pristine areas through the application of spatial management. PMID:26086427

  19. Sediment Contaminants and Infauna Associated with Recreational Boating Structures in a Multi-Use Marine Park.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sim, Vivian X Y; Dafforn, Katherine A; Simpson, Stuart L; Kelaher, Brendan P; Johnston, Emma L

    2015-01-01

    Multi-use marine parks achieve conservation through spatial management of activities. Zoning of marine parks in New South Wales, Australia, includes high conservation areas and special purpose zones (SPZ) where maritime activities are concentrated. Although such measures geographically constrain anthropogenic impacts, we have limited understanding of potential ecological effects. We assessed sediment communities and contaminants adjacent to boating infrastructure (boat ramps, jetties and a marina) in a SPZ from the Clyde Estuary in Batemans Marine Park. Metal concentrations and fines content were elevated at boating structures compared to reference sites. Species richness was higher at sites with boating structures, where capitellid polychaetes and nematodes dominated the communities. Changes associated with boating structures were localised and did not extend beyond breakwalls or to reference sites outside the SPZ. The study highlights the benefits of appropriate zoning in a multi-use marine park and the potential to minimise stress on pristine areas through the application of spatial management.

  20. Sediment Contaminants and Infauna Associated with Recreational Boating Structures in a Multi-Use Marine Park.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vivian X Y Sim

    Full Text Available Multi-use marine parks achieve conservation through spatial management of activities. Zoning of marine parks in New South Wales, Australia, includes high conservation areas and special purpose zones (SPZ where maritime activities are concentrated. Although such measures geographically constrain anthropogenic impacts, we have limited understanding of potential ecological effects. We assessed sediment communities and contaminants adjacent to boating infrastructure (boat ramps, jetties and a marina in a SPZ from the Clyde Estuary in Batemans Marine Park. Metal concentrations and fines content were elevated at boating structures compared to reference sites. Species richness was higher at sites with boating structures, where capitellid polychaetes and nematodes dominated the communities. Changes associated with boating structures were localised and did not extend beyond breakwalls or to reference sites outside the SPZ. The study highlights the benefits of appropriate zoning in a multi-use marine park and the potential to minimise stress on pristine areas through the application of spatial management.

  1. Unification of gauge and gravity Chern-Simons theories in 3-D space-time

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Saghir, Chireen A.; Shamseddine, Laurence W. [American University of Beirut, Physics Department, Beirut (Lebanon)

    2017-11-15

    Chamseddine and Mukhanov showed that gravity and gauge theories could be unified in one geometric construction provided that a metricity condition is imposed on the vielbein. In this paper we are going to show that by enlarging the gauge group we are able to unify Chern-Simons gauge theory and Chern-Simons gravity in 3-D space-time. Such a unification leads to the quantization of the coefficients for both Chern-Simons terms for compact groups but not for non-compact groups. Moreover, it leads to a topological invariant quantity of the 3-dimensional space-time manifold on which they are defined. (orig.)

  2. Quantum Secure Group Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Zheng-Hong; Zubairy, M Suhail; Al-Amri, M

    2018-03-01

    We propose a quantum secure group communication protocol for the purpose of sharing the same message among multiple authorized users. Our protocol can remove the need for key management that is needed for the quantum network built on quantum key distribution. Comparing with the secure quantum network based on BB84, we show our protocol is more efficient and securer. Particularly, in the security analysis, we introduce a new way of attack, i.e., the counterfactual quantum attack, which can steal information by "invisible" photons. This invisible photon can reveal a single-photon detector in the photon path without triggering the detector. Moreover, the photon can identify phase operations applied to itself, thereby stealing information. To defeat this counterfactual quantum attack, we propose a quantum multi-user authorization system. It allows us to precisely control the communication time so that the attack can not be completed in time.

  3. Time travel in Goedel's space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pfarr, J.

    1981-01-01

    An analysis is presented of the motion of test particles in Goedel's universe. Both geodesical and nongeodesical motions are considered; the accelerations for nongeodesical motions are given. Examples for closed timelike world lines are shown and the dynamical conditions for time travel in Goedel's space-time are discussed. It is shown that these conditions alone do not suffice to exclude time travel in Goedel's space-time. (author)

  4. From perception to metacognition: Auditory and olfactory functions in early blind, late blind, and sighted individuals

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stina Cornell Kärnekull

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Although evidence is mixed, studies have shown that blind individuals perform better than sighted at specific auditory, tactile, and chemosensory tasks. However, few studies have assessed blind and sighted individuals across different sensory modalities in the same study. We tested early blind (n = 15, late blind (n = 15, and sighted (n = 30 participants with analogous olfactory and auditory tests in absolute threshold, discrimination, identification, episodic recognition, and metacognitive ability. Although the multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA showed no overall effect of blindness and no interaction with modality, follow-up between-group contrasts indicated a blind-over-sighted advantage in auditory episodic recognition, that was most pronounced in early blind individuals. In contrast to the auditory modality, there was no empirical support for compensatory effects in any of the olfactory tasks. There was no conclusive evidence for group differences in metacognitive ability to predict episodic recognition performance. Taken together, the results showed no evidence of an overall superior performance in blind relative sighted individuals across olfactory and auditory functions, although early blind individuals exceled in episodic auditory recognition memory. This observation may be related to an experience-induced increase in auditory attentional capacity.

  5. Space Interferometry Science Working Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ridgway, Stephen T.

    1992-12-01

    Decisions taken by the astronomy and astrophysics survey committee and the interferometry panel which lead to the formation of the Space Interferometry Science Working Group (SISWG) are outlined. The SISWG was formed by the NASA astrophysics division to provide scientific and technical input from the community in planning for space interferometry and in support of an Astrometric Interferometry Mission (AIM). The AIM program hopes to measure the positions of astronomical objects with a precision of a few millionths of an arcsecond. The SISWG science and technical teams are described and the outcomes of its first meeting are given.

  6. Quantum fields in curved space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ashtekar, A.; Magnon, A.

    1975-01-01

    The problem of obtaining a quantum description of the (real) Klein-Gordon system in a given curved space-time is discussed. An algebraic approach is used. The *-algebra of quantum operators is constructed explicitly and the problem of finding its *-representation is reduced to that of selecting a suitable complex structure on the real vector space of the solutions of the (classical) Klein-Gordon equation. Since, in a static space-time, there already exists, a satisfactory quantum field theory, in this case one already knows what the 'correct' complex structure is. A physical characterization of this 'correct' complex structure is obtained. This characterization is used to extend quantum field theory to non-static space-times. Stationary space-times are considered first. In this case, the issue of extension is completely straightforward and the resulting theory is the natural generalization of the one in static space-times. General, non-stationary space-times are then considered. In this case the issue of extension is quite complicated and only a plausible extension is presented. Although the resulting framework is well-defined mathematically, the physical interpretation associated with it is rather unconventional. Merits and weaknesses of this framework are discussed. (author)

  7. On the differentiability of space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Clarke, C.J.S.

    1977-01-01

    It is shown that the differentiability of a space-time is implied by that of its Riemann tensor, assuming a priori only boundedness of the first derivations of the metric. Consequently all the results on space-time singularities proved in earlier papers by the author hold true in C 2- space-times. (author)

  8. Symmetries of quantum spaces. Subgroups and quotient spaces of quantum SU(2) and SO(3) groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Podles, P.

    1995-01-01

    We prove that each action of a compact matrix quantum group on a compact quantum space can be decomposed into irreducible representations of the group. We give the formula for the corresponding multiplicities in the case of the quotient quantum spaces. We describe the subgroups and the quotient spaces of quantum SU(2) and SO(3) groups. (orig.)

  9. Differences between early-blind, late-blind, and blindfolded-sighted people in haptic spatial-configuration learning and resulting memory traces

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Postma, Albert; Zuidhoek, Sander; Noordzij, Matthijs L.; Kappers, Astrid M L

    2007-01-01

    The roles of visual and haptic experience in different aspects of haptic processing of objects in peripersonal space are examined. In three trials, early-blind, late-blind, and blindfoldedsighted individuals had to match ten shapes haptically to the cut-outs in a board as fast as possible. Both

  10. Matter fields in curved space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Viet, Nguyen Ai; Wali, Kameshwar C.

    2000-01-01

    We study the geometry of a two-sheeted space-time within the framework of non-commutative geometry. As a prelude to the Standard Model in curved space-time, we present a model of a left- and a right- chiral field living on the two sheeted-space time and construct the action functionals that describe their interactions

  11. The manifold model for space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heller, M.

    1981-01-01

    Physical processes happen on a space-time arena. It turns out that all contemporary macroscopic physical theories presuppose a common mathematical model for this arena, the so-called manifold model of space-time. The first part of study is an heuristic introduction to the concept of a smooth manifold, starting with the intuitively more clear concepts of a curve and a surface in the Euclidean space. In the second part the definitions of the Csub(infinity) manifold and of certain structures, which arise in a natural way from the manifold concept, are given. The role of the enveloping Euclidean space (i.e. of the Euclidean space appearing in the manifold definition) in these definitions is stressed. The Euclidean character of the enveloping space induces to the manifold local Euclidean (topological and differential) properties. A suggestion is made that replacing the enveloping Euclidean space by a discrete non-Euclidean space would be a correct way towards the quantization of space-time. (author)

  12. Modeling nonstationarity in space and time.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shand, Lyndsay; Li, Bo

    2017-09-01

    We propose to model a spatio-temporal random field that has nonstationary covariance structure in both space and time domains by applying the concept of the dimension expansion method in Bornn et al. (2012). Simulations are conducted for both separable and nonseparable space-time covariance models, and the model is also illustrated with a streamflow dataset. Both simulation and data analyses show that modeling nonstationarity in both space and time can improve the predictive performance over stationary covariance models or models that are nonstationary in space but stationary in time. © 2017, The International Biometric Society.

  13. Quantum gravity effects in Myers-Perry space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Litim, Daniel F.; Nikolakopoulos, Konstantinos

    2014-01-01

    We study quantum gravity effects for Myers-Perry black holes assuming that the leading contributions arise from the renormalization group evolution of Newton’s coupling. Provided that gravity weakens following the asymptotic safety conjecture, we find that quantum effects lift a degeneracy of higher-dimensional black holes, and dominate over kinematical ones induced by rotation, particularly for small black hole mass, large angular momentum, and higher space-time dimensionality. Quantum-corrected space-times display inner and outer horizons, and show the existence of a black hole of smallest mass in any dimension. Ultra-spinning solutions no longer persist. Thermodynamic properties including temperature, specific heat, the Komar integrals, and aspects of black hole mechanics are studied as well. Observing a softening of the ring singularity, we also discuss the validity of classical energy conditions

  14. A Multi-User Virtual Environment for Building and Assessing Higher Order Inquiry Skills in Science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ketelhut, Diane Jass; Nelson, Brian C.; Clarke, Jody; Dede, Chris

    2010-01-01

    This study investigated novel pedagogies for helping teachers infuse inquiry into a standards-based science curriculum. Using a multi-user virtual environment (MUVE) as a pedagogical vehicle, teams of middle-school students collaboratively solved problems around disease in a virtual town called River City. The students interacted with "avatars" of…

  15. Real-time pedestrian detection in a Truck's blind spot camera

    OpenAIRE

    Van Beeck, Kristof; Goedemé, Toon

    2014-01-01

    In this paper we present a multi-pedestrian detection and tracking framework targeting a specific application: detecting vulnerable road users in a truck's blind spot zone. Research indicates that existing non-vision based safety solutions are not able to handle this problem completely. Therefore we aim to develop an active safety system which warns the truck driver if pedestrians are present in the truck's blind spot zone. Our system solely uses the vision input from the truck's blind spot c...

  16. Real-time Multiresolution Crosswalk Detection with Walk Light Recognition for the Blind

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    ROMIC, K.

    2018-02-01

    Full Text Available Real-time image processing and object detection techniques have a great potential to be applied in digital assistive tools for the blind and visually impaired persons. In this paper, algorithm for crosswalk detection and walk light recognition is proposed with the main aim to help blind person when crossing the road. The proposed algorithm is optimized to work in real-time on portable devices using standard cameras. Images captured by camera are processed while person is moving and decision about detected crosswalk is provided as an output along with the information about walk light if one is present. Crosswalk detection method is based on multiresolution morphological image processing, while the walk light recognition is performed by proposed 6-stage algorithm. The main contributions of this paper are accurate crosswalk detection with small processing time due to multiresolution processing and the recognition of the walk lights covering only small amount of pixels in image. The experiment is conducted using images from video sequences captured in realistic situations on crossings. The results show 98.3% correct crosswalk detections and 89.5% correct walk lights recognition with average processing speed of about 16 frames per second.

  17. CAMAC programming for PDP-11 computers: A modular, multiuser approach

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vegh, J.

    1987-01-01

    A user-friendly CAMAC handling software concept for multitask environments is presented. The CAMAC modules are handled like all the other devices, with all the multiuser capabilities of the operating system. The concept is implemented under the RSX-11M operating system and results in effective and modular software. The system serves typically a few thousands of events in a second; the actual speed depends on many factors. In small and medium size systems the concept has several advantages; the test applications are supported mainly on macro (machine code) level and with some limitations on system level. (orig.)

  18. Space-Time and Architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Field, F.; Goodbun, J.; Watson, V.

    Architects have a role to play in interplanetary space that has barely yet been explored. The architectural community is largely unaware of this new territory, for which there is still no agreed method of practice. There is moreover a general confusion, in scientific and related fields, over what architects might actually do there today. Current extra-planetary designs generally fail to explore the dynamic and relational nature of space-time, and often reduce human habitation to a purely functional problem. This is compounded by a crisis over the representation (drawing) of space-time. The present work returns to first principles of architecture in order to realign them with current socio-economic and technological trends surrounding the space industry. What emerges is simultaneously the basis for an ecological space architecture, and the representational strategies necessary to draw it. We explore this approach through a work of design-based research that describes the construction of Ocean; a huge body of water formed by the collision of two asteroids at the Translunar Lagrange Point (L2), that would serve as a site for colonisation, and as a resource to fuel future missions. Ocean is an experimental model for extra-planetary space design and its representation, within the autonomous discipline of architecture.

  19. Computational derivation of quantum relativist electromagnetic systems with forward-backward space-time shifts

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dubois, Daniel M.

    2000-01-01

    This paper is a continuation of our preceding paper dealing with computational derivation of the Klein-Gordon quantum relativist equation and the Schroedinger quantum equation with forward and backward space-time shifts. The first part introduces forward and backward derivatives for discrete and continuous systems. Generalized complex discrete and continuous derivatives are deduced. The second part deduces the Klein-Gordon equation from the space-time complex continuous derivatives. These derivatives take into account forward-backward space-time shifts related to an internal phase velocity u. The internal group velocity v is related to the speed of light u.v=c 2 and to the external group and phase velocities u.v=v g .v p . Without time shift, the Schroedinger equation is deduced, with a supplementary term, which could represent a reference potential. The third part deduces the Quantum Relativist Klein-Gordon equation for a particle in an electromagnetic field

  20. The topology of geodesically complete space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, C.W.

    1983-01-01

    Two theorems are given on the topology of geodesically complete space-times which satisfy the energy condition. Firstly, the condition that a compact embedded 3-manifold in space-time be dentless is defined in terms of causal structure. Then it is shown that a dentless 3-manifold must separate space-time, and that it must enclose a compact portion of space-time. Further, it is shown that if the dentless 3-manifold is homeomorphic to S 3 then the part of space-time that it encloses must be simply connected. (author)

  1. Philosophy of physics space and time

    CERN Document Server

    Maudlin, Tim

    2012-01-01

    This concise book introduces nonphysicists to the core philosophical issues surrounding the nature and structure of space and time, and is also an ideal resource for physicists interested in the conceptual foundations of space-time theory. Tim Maudlin's broad historical overview examines Aristotelian and Newtonian accounts of space and time, and traces how Galileo's conceptions of relativity and space-time led to Einstein's special and general theories of relativity. Maudlin explains special relativity using a geometrical approach, emphasizing intrinsic space-time structure rather than coordinate systems or reference frames. He gives readers enough detail about special relativity to solve concrete physical problems while presenting general relativity in a more qualitative way, with an informative discussion of the geometrization of gravity, the bending of light, and black holes. Additional topics include the Twins Paradox, the physical aspects of the Lorentz-FitzGerald contraction, the constancy of the speed...

  2. Deaf-blindness: Voices of mothers concerning leisure-time physical activity and coping with disability

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dana Štěrbová

    2014-12-01

    Full Text Available Background: Deaf-blindness (DB is a distinct disability because of combined impairments of hearing and visual functions, causes severe difficulties in the psychosocial area, communication, social interaction, and interaction with the environment. Leisure-time physical activities (LTPA properly planned and executed can be beneficial in providing support and facilitating coping as strategy for managing stress in families of children with disabilities. Appropriate LTPA also influence the quality of the lives of people with DB. Our study was also based on coping theory. Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the beliefs of mothers with regard to leisure-time physical activity of families of children with deaf-blindness, the benefits that activities can bring to families of children with DB, needs and the barriers to participation. Methods: Participants of this study were five mothers of children with DB, who were interviewed using the phenomenological tradition of qualitative inquiry. Results: Findings show six emergent themes in relation to perceived needs of children with DB: structure of life; coactive engagement; happiness and well-being; doing "normal things"; appropriate support and services; and appropriate communication. Conclusion: The results of the present study indicated that there are various support systems, which could facilitate participation in LTPA: (a special schools and respite care centers; (b special programs such as family camps or programs where children can learn basic skills needed for participation in physical activities (e.g., swimming or biking; (c adapted equipment which can allow participation; (d parental support groups where parents can share common experiences or religious support groups, which might be able to accept a family with a child with DB as equal member of their community; and finally (e assistance, which could have a formal form of professionals or paraprofessionals working with persons with

  3. The sensory construction of dreams and nightmare frequency in congenitally blind and late blind individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meaidi, Amani; Jennum, Poul; Ptito, Maurice; Kupers, Ron

    2014-05-01

    We aimed to assess dream content in groups of congenitally blind (CB), late blind (LB), and age- and sex-matched sighted control (SC) participants. We conducted an observational study of 11 CB, 14 LB, and 25 SC participants and collected dream reports over a 4-week period. Every morning participants filled in a questionnaire related to the sensory construction of the dream, its emotional and thematic content, and the possible occurrence of nightmares. We also assessed participants' ability of visual imagery during waking cognition, sleep quality, and depression and anxiety levels. All blind participants had fewer visual dream impressions compared to SC participants. In LB participants, duration of blindness was negatively correlated with duration, clarity, and color content of visual dream impressions. CB participants reported more auditory, tactile, gustatory, and olfactory dream components compared to SC participants. In contrast, LB participants only reported more tactile dream impressions. Blind and SC participants did not differ with respect to emotional and thematic dream content. However, CB participants reported more aggressive interactions and more nightmares compared to the other two groups. Our data show that blindness considerably alters the sensory composition of dreams and that onset and duration of blindness plays an important role. The increased occurrence of nightmares in CB participants may be related to a higher number of threatening experiences in daily life in this group. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  4. Polyimide and Metals MEMS Multi-User Processes

    KAUST Repository

    Arevalo, Arpys

    2016-11-01

    The development of a polyimide and metals multi-user surface micro-machining process for Micro-electro-mechanical Systems (MEMS) is presented. The process was designed to be as general as possible, and designed to be capable to fabricate different designs on a single silicon wafer. The process was not optimized with the purpose of fabricating any one specific device but can be tweaked to satisfy individual needs depending on the application. The fabrication process uses Polyimide as the structural material and three separated metallization layers that can be interconnected depending on the desired application. The technology allows the development of out-of-plane compliant mechanisms, which can be combined with six variations of different physical principles for actuation and sensing on a single processed silicon wafer. These variations are: electrostatic motion, thermal bimorph actuation, capacitive sensing, magnetic sensing, thermocouple-based sensing and radio frequency transmission and reception.

  5. Semiclassical expanding discrete space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cobb, W.K.; Smalley, L.L.

    1981-01-01

    Given the close ties between general relativity and geometry one might reasonably expect that quantum effects associated with gravitation might also be tied to the geometry of space-time, namely, to some sort of discreteness in space-time itself. In particular it is supposed that space-time consists of a discrete lattice of points rather than the usual continuum. Since astronomical evidence seems to suggest that the universe is expanding, the lattice must also expand. Some of the implications of such a model are that the proton should presently be stable, and the universe should be closed although the mechanism for closure is quantum mechanical. (author)

  6. Hybrid Augmented Reality for Participatory Learning: The Hidden Efficacy of Multi-User Game-Based Simulation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oh, Seungjae; So, Hyo-Jeong; Gaydos, Matthew

    2018-01-01

    The goal for this research is to articulate and test a new hybrid Augmented Reality (AR) environment for conceptual understanding. From the theoretical lens of embodied interaction, we have designed a multi-user participatory simulation called ARfract where visitors in a science museum can learn about complex scientific concepts on the refraction…

  7. Authenticated multi-user quantum key distribution with single particles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Song; Wang, Hui; Guo, Gong-De; Ye, Guo-Hua; Du, Hong-Zhen; Liu, Xiao-Fen

    2016-03-01

    Quantum key distribution (QKD) has been growing rapidly in recent years and becomes one of the hottest issues in quantum information science. During the implementation of QKD on a network, identity authentication has been one main problem. In this paper, an efficient authenticated multi-user quantum key distribution (MQKD) protocol with single particles is proposed. In this protocol, any two users on a quantum network can perform mutual authentication and share a secure session key with the assistance of a semi-honest center. Meanwhile, the particles, which are used as quantum information carriers, are not required to be stored, therefore the proposed protocol is feasible with current technology. Finally, security analysis shows that this protocol is secure in theory.

  8. A primer on Hilbert space theory linear spaces, topological spaces, metric spaces, normed spaces, and topological groups

    CERN Document Server

    Alabiso, Carlo

    2015-01-01

    This book is an introduction to the theory of Hilbert space, a fundamental tool for non-relativistic quantum mechanics. Linear, topological, metric, and normed spaces are all addressed in detail, in a rigorous but reader-friendly fashion. The rationale for an introduction to the theory of Hilbert space, rather than a detailed study of Hilbert space theory itself, resides in the very high mathematical difficulty of even the simplest physical case. Within an ordinary graduate course in physics there is insufficient time to cover the theory of Hilbert spaces and operators, as well as distribution theory, with sufficient mathematical rigor. Compromises must be found between full rigor and practical use of the instruments. The book is based on the author's lessons on functional analysis for graduate students in physics. It will equip the reader to approach Hilbert space and, subsequently, rigged Hilbert space, with a more practical attitude. With respect to the original lectures, the mathematical flavor in all sub...

  9. Compressive Sensing for Feedback Reduction in Wireless Multiuser Networks

    KAUST Repository

    Elkhalil, Khalil

    2015-05-01

    User/relay selection is a simple technique that achieves spatial diversity in multiuser networks. However, for user/relay selection algorithms to make a selection decision, channel state information (CSI) from all cooperating users/relays is usually required at a central node. This requirement poses two important challenges. Firstly, CSI acquisition generates a great deal of feedback overhead (air-time) that could result in significant transmission delays. Secondly, the fed-back channel information is usually corrupted by additive noise. This could lead to transmission outages if the central node selects the set of cooperating relays based on inaccurate feedback information. Motivated by the aforementioned challenges, we propose a limited feedback user/relay selection scheme that is based on the theory of compressed sensing. Firstly, we introduce a limited feedback relay selection algorithm for a multicast relay network. The proposed algorithm exploits the theory of compressive sensing to first obtain the identity of the “strong” relays with limited feedback air-time. Following that, the CSI of the selected relays is estimated using minimum mean square error estimation without any additional feedback. To minimize the effect of noise on the fed-back CSI, we introduce a back-off strategy that optimally backs-off on the noisy received CSI. In the second part of the thesis, we propose a feedback reduction scheme for full-duplex relay-aided multiuser networks. The proposed scheme permits the base station (BS) to obtain channel state information (CSI) from a subset of strong users under substantially reduced feedback overhead. More specifically, we cast the problem of user identification and CSI estimation as a block sparse signal recovery problem in compressive sensing (CS). Using existing CS block recovery algorithms, we first obtain the identity of the strong users and then estimate their CSI using the best linear unbiased estimator (BLUE). Moreover, we derive the

  10. Fermion systems in discrete space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Finster, Felix

    2007-01-01

    Fermion systems in discrete space-time are introduced as a model for physics on the Planck scale. We set up a variational principle which describes a non-local interaction of all fermions. This variational principle is symmetric under permutations of the discrete space-time points. We explain how for minimizers of the variational principle, the fermions spontaneously break this permutation symmetry and induce on space-time a discrete causal structure

  11. Fermion systems in discrete space-time

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Finster, Felix [NWF I - Mathematik, Universitaet Regensburg, 93040 Regensburg (Germany)

    2007-05-15

    Fermion systems in discrete space-time are introduced as a model for physics on the Planck scale. We set up a variational principle which describes a non-local interaction of all fermions. This variational principle is symmetric under permutations of the discrete space-time points. We explain how for minimizers of the variational principle, the fermions spontaneously break this permutation symmetry and induce on space-time a discrete causal structure.

  12. Fermion Systems in Discrete Space-Time

    OpenAIRE

    Finster, Felix

    2006-01-01

    Fermion systems in discrete space-time are introduced as a model for physics on the Planck scale. We set up a variational principle which describes a non-local interaction of all fermions. This variational principle is symmetric under permutations of the discrete space-time points. We explain how for minimizers of the variational principle, the fermions spontaneously break this permutation symmetry and induce on space-time a discrete causal structure.

  13. Fermion systems in discrete space-time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finster, Felix

    2007-05-01

    Fermion systems in discrete space-time are introduced as a model for physics on the Planck scale. We set up a variational principle which describes a non-local interaction of all fermions. This variational principle is symmetric under permutations of the discrete space-time points. We explain how for minimizers of the variational principle, the fermions spontaneously break this permutation symmetry and induce on space-time a discrete causal structure.

  14. Shape Perception and Navigation in Blind Adults

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gori, Monica; Cappagli, Giulia; Baud-Bovy, Gabriel; Finocchietti, Sara

    2017-01-01

    Different sensory systems interact to generate a representation of space and to navigate. Vision plays a critical role in the representation of space development. During navigation, vision is integrated with auditory and mobility cues. In blind individuals, visual experience is not available and navigation therefore lacks this important sensory signal. In blind individuals, compensatory mechanisms can be adopted to improve spatial and navigation skills. On the other hand, the limitations of these compensatory mechanisms are not completely clear. Both enhanced and impaired reliance on auditory cues in blind individuals have been reported. Here, we develop a new paradigm to test both auditory perception and navigation skills in blind and sighted individuals and to investigate the effect that visual experience has on the ability to reproduce simple and complex paths. During the navigation task, early blind, late blind and sighted individuals were required first to listen to an audio shape and then to recognize and reproduce it by walking. After each audio shape was presented, a static sound was played and the participants were asked to reach it. Movements were recorded with a motion tracking system. Our results show three main impairments specific to early blind individuals. The first is the tendency to compress the shapes reproduced during navigation. The second is the difficulty to recognize complex audio stimuli, and finally, the third is the difficulty in reproducing the desired shape: early blind participants occasionally reported perceiving a square but they actually reproduced a circle during the navigation task. We discuss these results in terms of compromised spatial reference frames due to lack of visual input during the early period of development. PMID:28144226

  15. Psychologica and social adjustment to blindness: Understanding ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Psychologica and social adjustment to blindness: Understanding from two groups of blind people in Ilorin, Nigeria. ... Background: Blindness can cause psychosocial distress leading to maladjustment if not mitigated. Maladjustment is a secondary burden that further reduces quality of life of the blind. Adjustment is often ...

  16. A Suboptimal Scheme for Multi-User Scheduling in Gaussian Broadcast Channels

    KAUST Repository

    Zafar, Ammar; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim; Shaqfeh, Mohammad

    2014-01-01

    This work proposes a suboptimal multi-user scheduling scheme for Gaussian broadcast channels which improves upon the classical single user selection, while considerably reducing complexity as compared to the optimal superposition coding with successful interference cancellation. The proposed scheme combines the two users with the maximum weighted instantaneous rate using superposition coding. The instantaneous rate and power allocation are derived in closed-form, while the long term rate of each user is derived in integral form for all channel distributions. Numerical results are then provided to characterize the prospected gains of the proposed scheme.

  17. A Suboptimal Scheme for Multi-User Scheduling in Gaussian Broadcast Channels

    KAUST Repository

    Zafar, Ammar

    2014-05-28

    This work proposes a suboptimal multi-user scheduling scheme for Gaussian broadcast channels which improves upon the classical single user selection, while considerably reducing complexity as compared to the optimal superposition coding with successful interference cancellation. The proposed scheme combines the two users with the maximum weighted instantaneous rate using superposition coding. The instantaneous rate and power allocation are derived in closed-form, while the long term rate of each user is derived in integral form for all channel distributions. Numerical results are then provided to characterize the prospected gains of the proposed scheme.

  18. Blind MuseumTourer: A System for Self-Guided Tours in Museums and Blind Indoor Navigation

    OpenAIRE

    Apostolos Meliones; Demetrios Sampson

    2018-01-01

    Notably valuable efforts have focused on helping people with special needs. In this work, we build upon the experience from the BlindHelper smartphone outdoor pedestrian navigation app and present Blind MuseumTourer, a system for indoor interactive autonomous navigation for blind and visually impaired persons and groups (e.g., pupils), which has primarily addressed blind or visually impaired (BVI) accessibility and self-guided tours in museums. A pilot prototype has been developed and is curr...

  19. Professional Discussion Groups: Informal Learning in a Third Space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jordan, Robert A.

    2013-01-01

    In this ethnographic study, I explored two discussion groups and discovered Third Space elements such as cultural hybridity, counterscript, and sharing of experiences and resources contributed to a safe learning environment existing at the boundaries between participant personal and professional spaces. The groups operated under the auspices of a…

  20. Multi-User Domain Object Oriented (MOO) as a High School Procedure for Foreign Language Acquisition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Backer, James A.

    Foreign language students experience added difficulty when they are isolated from native speakers and from the culture of the target language. It has been posited that MOO (Multi-User Domain Object Oriented) may help overcome the geographical isolation of these students. MOOs are Internet-based virtual worlds in which people from all over the real…

  1. Performances of Hybrid Amplitude Shape Modulation for UWB Communications Systems over AWGN Channel in a Single and Multi-User Environment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Herceg

    2009-09-01

    Full Text Available This paper analyzes the performance of the hybrid Amplitude Shape Modulation (h-ASM scheme for the time-hopping ultra-wideband (TH-UWB communication systems in the single and multi-user environment. h-ASM is the combination of Pulse Amplitude Modulation (PAM and Pulse Shape Modulation (PSM based on modified Hermite pulses (MHP. This scheme is suitable for high rate data transmission applications because b = log2(MN bits can be mapped with one waveform. The channel capacity and error probability over AWGN channel are derived and compared with other modulation schemes.

  2. Power-Controlled CDMA Cell Sectorization with Multiuser Detection: A Comprehensive Analysis on Uplink and Downlink

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aylin Yener

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available We consider the joint optimization problem of cell sectorization, transmit power control and multiuser detection for a CDMA cell. Given the number of sectors and user locations, the cell is appropriately sectorized such that the total transmit power, as well as the receiver filters, is optimized. We formulate the corresponding joint optimization problems for both the uplink and the downlink and observe that in general, the resulting optimum transmit and receive beamwidth values for the directional antennas at the base station are different. We present the optimum solution under a general setting with arbitrary signature sets, multipath channels, realistic directional antenna responses and identify its complexity. We propose a low-complexity sectorization algorithm that performs near optimum and compare its performance with that of optimum solution. The results suggest that by intelligently combining adaptive cell sectorization, power control, and linear multiuser detection, we are able to increase the user capacity of the cell. Numerical results also indicate robustness of optimum sectorization against Gaussian channel estimation error.

  3. Power-Controlled CDMA Cell Sectorization with Multiuser Detection: A Comprehensive Analysis on Uplink and Downlink

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Oh Changyoon

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available We consider the joint optimization problem of cell sectorization, transmit power control and multiuser detection for a CDMA cell. Given the number of sectors and user locations, the cell is appropriately sectorized such that the total transmit power, as well as the receiver filters, is optimized. We formulate the corresponding joint optimization problems for both the uplink and the downlink and observe that in general, the resulting optimum transmit and receive beamwidth values for the directional antennas at the base station are different. We present the optimum solution under a general setting with arbitrary signature sets, multipath channels, realistic directional antenna responses and identify its complexity. We propose a low-complexity sectorization algorithm that performs near optimum and compare its performance with that of optimum solution. The results suggest that by intelligently combining adaptive cell sectorization, power control, and linear multiuser detection, we are able to increase the user capacity of the cell. Numerical results also indicate robustness of optimum sectorization against Gaussian channel estimation error.

  4. Light Water Reactor Pressure Vessel Surveillance Dosimetry Improvement Program. PSF Blind Test workshop minutes. Summary

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guthrie, G.L.; Lippincott, E.P.; McGarry, E.D.

    1984-01-01

    A ''Blind Test'' workshop was held on April 9-11, 1984, at the Holiday Inn in Richland, WA. At the workshop, participant groups compared ''Blind'' calculations with existing data which was unavailable to them at the time the calculations were made. The purpose of the exercise was to allow each participant group to test the group's ability to predict ''in-wall'' mechanical property degradation for a simulated nuclear reactor pressure vessel irradiation

  5. Transferring an educational board game to a multi-user mobile learning game to increase shared situational awareness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klemke, Roland; Kurapati, Shalini; Kolfschoten, Gwendolyn

    2013-01-01

    Klemke, R., Kurapati, S., & Kolfschoten, G. (2013, 6 June). Transferring an educational board game to a multi-user mobile learning game to increase shared situational awareness. Presentation at the 3rd Irish Symposium on Game Based Learning, Dublin, Ireland. Please see also

  6. Multi-user quantum key distribution based on Bell states with mutual authentication

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lin Song; Huang Chuan; Liu Xiaofen

    2013-01-01

    A new multi-user quantum key distribution protocol with mutual authentication is proposed on a star network. Here, two arbitrary users are able to perform key distribution with the assistance of a semi-trusted center. Bell states are used as information carriers and transmitted in a quantum channel between the center and one user. A keyed hash function is utilized to ensure the identities of three parties. Finally, the security of this protocol with respect to various kinds of attacks is discussed. (paper)

  7. Possibility of extending space-time coordinates

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang Yongcheng.

    1993-11-01

    It has been shown that one coordinate system can describe a whole space-time region except some supersurfaces on which there are coordinate singularities. The conditions of extending a coordinate from real field to complex field are studied. It has been shown that many-valued coordinate transformations may help us to extend space-time regions and many-valued metric functions may make one coordinate region to describe more than one space-time regions. (author). 11 refs

  8. Some Peculiarities of Newton-Hooke Space-Times

    OpenAIRE

    Tian, Yu

    2011-01-01

    Newton-Hooke space-times are the non-relativistic limit of (anti-)de Sitter space-times. We investigate some peculiar facts about the Newton-Hooke space-times, among which the "extraordinary Newton-Hooke quantum mechanics" and the "anomalous Newton-Hooke space-times" are discussed in detail. Analysis on the Lagrangian/action formalism is performed in the discussion of the Newton-Hooke quantum mechanics, where the path integral point of view plays an important role, and the physically measurab...

  9. Leisure time activities in space: A survey of astronauts and cosmonauts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Alan D.; Kanas, Nick

    Questionnaires were returned from 54 astronauts and cosmonauts which addressed preferences for media and media-generated subjects that could be used to occupy leisure time in space. Ninety-three percent of the respondents had access to records or audio cassettes, and cosmonauts had greater access than astronauts to multiple media. Cosmonauts and long-duration space travelers reported that they missed various media more than their astronaut and short-duration counterparts. Media subjects that related to international events, national events and historical topics were rated as most preferable by all respondents and by several of the respondent groups. The findings are discussed in terms of their relevance for occupying free time during future long-duration manned space missions.

  10. Tunneling time in space fractional quantum mechanics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hasan, Mohammad; Mandal, Bhabani Prasad

    2018-02-01

    We calculate the time taken by a wave packet to travel through a classically forbidden region of space in space fractional quantum mechanics. We obtain the close form expression of tunneling time from a rectangular barrier by stationary phase method. We show that tunneling time depends upon the width b of the barrier for b → ∞ and therefore Hartman effect doesn't exist in space fractional quantum mechanics. Interestingly we found that the tunneling time monotonically reduces with increasing b. The tunneling time is smaller in space fractional quantum mechanics as compared to the case of standard quantum mechanics. We recover the Hartman effect of standard quantum mechanics as a special case of space fractional quantum mechanics.

  11. Finiteness principle and the concept of space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tati, T.

    1984-01-01

    It is shown that the non-space-time description can be given by a system of axioms under the postulate of a certain number of pre-supposed physical concepts in which space-time is not included. It is found that space-time is a compound concept of presupposed concepts of non-space-time description connected by an additional condition called 'space-time condition'. (L.C.) [pt

  12. Robust Transceiver Design for Multiuser MIMO Downlink with Channel Uncertainties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miao, Wei; Li, Yunzhou; Chen, Xiang; Zhou, Shidong; Wang, Jing

    This letter addresses the problem of robust transceiver design for the multiuser multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) downlink where the channel state information at the base station (BS) is imperfect. A stochastic approach which minimizes the expectation of the total mean square error (MSE) of the downlink conditioned on the channel estimates under a total transmit power constraint is adopted. The iterative algorithm reported in [2] is improved to handle the proposed robust optimization problem. Simulation results show that our proposed robust scheme effectively reduces the performance loss due to channel uncertainties and outperforms existing methods, especially when the channel errors of the users are different.

  13. Building a future full of opportunity for blind youths in science

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck-Winchatz, B.; Riccobono, M. A.

    Like their sighted peers many blind students in elementary middle and high school are naturally interested in space This interest can motivate them to learn fundamental scientific quantitative and critical thinking skills and sometimes even lead to careers in SMET disciplines However these students are often at a disadvantage in science because of the ubiquity of important graphical information that is generally not available in accessible formats the unfamiliarity of teachers with non-visual teaching methods lack of access to blind role models and the low expectations of their teachers and parents In this presentation we will describe joint efforts by NASA and the National Federation of the Blind s NFB Center for Blind Youth in Science to develop and implement strategies to promote opportunities for blind youth in science These include the development of tactile space science books and curriculum materials science academies for blind middle school and high school students internship and mentoring programs as well as research on non-visual learning techniques This partnership with the NFB exemplifies the effectiveness of collaborations between NASA and consumer-directed organizations to improve opportunities for underserved and underrepresented individuals Session participants will also have the opportunity to examine some of the recently developed tactile space science education materials themselves

  14. Antimicrobial efficacy assessment of multi-use solution to disinfect hydrophilic contact lens, in vitro

    OpenAIRE

    Lui,Aline Cristina Fioravanti; Netto,Adamo Lui; Silva,Cely Barreto da; Hida,Richard; Mendes,Thais Sousa; Lui,Giovana Arlene Fioravanti; Gemperli,Daniela Barbosa; Vital,Enderson Dantas

    2009-01-01

    PURPOSE: To evaluate the efficacy of disinfecting solutions in hydrophilic contact lenses (CL). METHODS: Two multi-use solutions denominated solution A (0.001% polyquaternium-1 and 0.0005% myristamidopropyl dimethylamine) and solution B (0.0001% polyaminopropyl biguanide) were used. The solutions were tested in hydrophilic contact lenses infected with Pseudomonas aeruginosa (ATCC27583), Staphylococcus epidermidis (ATCC1226), Klebsiella pneumoniae (ATCC13883), Staphylococcus aureus (ATCC25923)...

  15. Barriers to first time parent groups: A qualitative descriptive study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, Norma; Hanna, Lisa; Fitzpatrick, Owen Vincent

    2018-06-19

    First-time parents' groups are offered to new parents in Australia to support their transition to parenthood. Not all parents avail of the service, some cease attendance, and fathers are under-represented. In the present descriptive, qualitative study, we examined first-time mothers' perspectives on the barriers to parental participation in the groups. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with a sample of eight first-time mothers in a regional city in Victoria, Australia. Interviews revealed groups were perceived as sites strongly reinforcing traditional social norms of parenting. From this central theme, six gendered subthemes emerged as barriers to attendance. Barriers to mothers included non-normative mothering narratives, such as experiencing stillbirth or having a disabled child, perceived dissonance in parenting ethos, and group size. Barriers to fathers, as perceived by mothers, included groups as female spaces, dads as a minority, and female gatekeeping. A multi-faceted approach is required to change the common perception that groups are for mothers only. Groups need to be more inclusive of different parenting experiences and philosophies. Segregated groups might better address the needs of both parents. Further research is required to capture fathers' perspectives. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  16. Causal boundary for stably causal space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Racz, I.

    1987-12-01

    The usual boundary constructions for space-times often yield an unsatisfactory boundary set. This problem is reviewed and a new solution is proposed. An explicit identification rule is given on the set of the ideal points of the space-time. This construction leads to a satisfactory boundary point set structure for stably causal space-times. The topological properties of the resulting causal boundary construction are examined. For the stably causal space-times each causal curve has a unique endpoint on the boundary set according to the extended Alexandrov topology. The extension of the space-time through the boundary is discussed. To describe the singularities the defined boundary sets have to be separated into two disjoint sets. (D.Gy.) 8 refs

  17. Stochastic quantization of geometrodynamic curved space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prugovecki, E.

    1981-01-01

    It is proposed that quantum rather than classical test particles be used in recent operational definitions of space-time. In the resulting quantum space-time the role of test particle trajectories is taken over by propagators. The introduced co-ordinate values are stochastic rather than deterministic, the afore-mentioned propagators providing probability amplitudes describing fluctuations of measured co-ordinates around their mean values. It is shown that, if a geometrodynamic point of view based on 3 + 1 foliations of space-time is adopted, self-consistent families of propagators for quantum test particles in free fall can be constructed. The resulting formalism for quantum space-time is outlined and the quantization of spatially flat Robertson-Walker space-times is provided as an illustration. (author)

  18. State Space Methods for Timed Petri Nets

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Søren; Jensen, Kurt; Mailund, Thomas

    2001-01-01

    it possible to condense the usually infinite state space of a timed Petri net into a finite condensed state space without loosing analysis power. The second method supports on-the-fly verification of certain safety properties of timed systems. We discuss the application of the two methods in a number......We present two recently developed state space methods for timed Petri nets. The two methods reconciles state space methods and time concepts based on the introduction of a global clock and associating time stamps to tokens. The first method is based on an equivalence relation on states which makes...

  19. R-102, 1 Group Space-Independent Inverse Reactor Kinetics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kaganove, J.J.

    1966-01-01

    1 - Description of problem or function: Given the space-independent, one energy group reactor kinetics equations and the initial conditions, this program determines the time variation of reactivity required to produce the given input of flux-time data. 2 - Method of solution: Time derivatives of neutron density are obtained by application of (a) five-point quartic, (b) three-point parabolic, (c) five-point least-mean-square cubic, (d) five-point least-mean-square parabolic, or (e) five-point least-mean-square linear formulae to the neutron density or to the natural logarithm of the neutron density. Between each data point the neutron density is assumed to be (a) exponential*(third-order polynomial), (b) exponential, or (c) linear. Changes in reactivity between data points are obtained algebraically from the kinetics equations, neutron density derivatives, and the algebraic representation of neutron density. First and second time derivatives of the reactivity are obtained by use of any of the formulae applicable to the neutron density. 3 - Restrictions on the complexity of the problem: Maxima of - 50 delay groups; 1000 data points; 99 data blocks (A data block is a sequence of input points characterized by a fixed time-interval between points, a smoothing option, and a number of repetitions of the smoothing option)

  20. N=4 supersymmetry on a space-time lattice

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Catterall, Simon; Schaich, David; Damgaard, Poul H.

    2014-01-01

    Maximally supersymmetric Yang–Mills theory in four dimensions can be formulated on a space-time lattice while exactly preserving a single supersymmetry. Here we explore in detail this lattice theory, paying particular attention to its strongly coupled regime. Targeting a theory with gauge group SU...... behind a lattice formulation based on the SU(N) gauge group with the expected apparently conformal behavior at both weak and strong coupling....

  1. Structure of the gravitational field at spatial infinity. II. Asymptotically Minkowskian space--times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Persides, S.

    1980-01-01

    A new formulation is established for the study of the asymptotic structure at spatial infinity of asymptotically Minkowskian space--times. First, the concept of an asymptotically simple space--time at spatial infinity is defined. This is a (physical) space--time (M,g) which can be imbedded in an unphysical space--time (M,g) with a boundary S, a C/sup infinity/ metric g and a C/sup infinity/ scalar field Ω such that Ω=0 on S, Ω>0 on M-S, and g/sup munu/ + g/sup mulambda/ g/sup nurho/ Ω/sub vertical-barlambda/ Ω/sub vertical-barrho/=Ω -2 g/sup murho/ +Ω -4 g/sup mulambda/ g/sup nurho/ Ω/sub ;/lambda Ω/sub ;/rho on M. Then an almost asymptotically flat space--time (AAFS) is defined as an asymptotically simple space--time for which S is isometric to the unit timelike hyperboloid and g/sup munu/ Ω/sub vertical-barmu/ Ω/sub vertical-barnu/ =Ω -4 g/sup munu/ Ω/sub ;/μΩ/sub ;/ν=-1 on S. Equivalent definitions are given in terms of the existence of coordinate systems in which g/sub munu/ or g/sub munu/ have simple explicitly given forms. The group of asymptotic symmetries of (M,g) is studied and is found to be isomorphic to the Lorentz group. The asymptotic behavior of an AAFS is studied. It is proven that the conformal metric g/sub munu/=Ω 2 g/sub munu/ gives C/sup lambdamurhonu/=0, Ω -1 C/sup lambdamurhonu/ Ω/sub ;/μ =0, Ω -2 C/sup lambdamurhonu/ Ω/sub ;/μ Ω/sub ;/ν=0 on S

  2. Quantum relativity theory and quantum space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Banai, M.

    1984-01-01

    A quantum relativity theory formulated in terms of Davis' quantum relativity principle is outlined. The first task in this theory as in classical relativity theory is to model space-time, the arena of natural processes. It is shown that the quantum space-time models of Banai introduced in another paper is formulated in terms of Davis's quantum relativity. The recently proposed classical relativistic quantum theory of Prugovecki and his corresponding classical relativistic quantum model of space-time open the way to introduce, in a consistent way, the quantum space-time model (the quantum substitute of Minkowski space) of Banai proposed in the paper mentioned. The goal of quantum mechanics of quantum relativistic particles living in this model of space-time is to predict the rest mass system properties of classically relativistic (massive) quantum particles (''elementary particles''). The main new aspect of this quantum mechanics is that it provides a true mass eigenvalue problem, and that the excited mass states of quantum relativistic particles can be interpreted as elementary particles. The question of field theory over quantum relativistic model of space-time is also discussed. Finally it is suggested that ''quarks'' should be considered as quantum relativistic particles. (author)

  3. [Orbital compartment syndrome. The most frequent cause of blindness following facial trauma].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klenk, Gusztáv; Katona, József; Kenderfi, Gábor; Lestyán, János; Gombos, Katalin; Hirschberg, Andor

    2017-09-01

    Although orbital compartment syndrome is a rare condition, it is still the most common cause of blindness following simple or complicated facial fractures. Its pathomechanism is similar to the compartment syndrome in the limb. Little extra fluid (blood, oedema, brain, foreign body) in a non-space yielding space results with increasingly higher pressures within a short period of time. Unless urgent surgical intervention is performed the blocked circulation of the central retinal artery will result irreversible ophthalmic nerve damage and blindness. Aim, material and method: A retrospective analysis of ten years, 2007-2017, in our hospital among those patients referred to us with facial-head trauma combined with blindness. 571 patients had fractures involving the orbit. 23 patients become blind from different reasons. The most common cause was orbital compartment syndrome in 17 patients; all had retrobulbar haematomas as well. 6 patients with retrobulbar haematoma did not develop compartment syndrome. Compartment syndrome was found among patient with extensive and minimal fractures such as with large and minimal haematomas. Early lateral canthotomy and decompression saved 7 patients from blindness. We can not predict and do not know why some patients develop orbital compartment syndrome. Compartment syndrome seems independent from fracture mechanism, comminution, dislocation, amount of orbital bleeding. All patients are in potential risk with midface fractures. We have a high suspicion that orbital compartment syndrome has been somehow missed out in the recommended textbooks of our medical universities and in the postgraduate trainings. Thus compartment syndrome is not recognized. Teaching, training and early surgical decompression is the only solution to save the blind eye. Orv Hetil. 2017; 158(36): 1410-1420.

  4. Lexical references to sensory modalities in verbal descriptions of people and objects by congenitally blind, late blind and sighted adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chauvey, Valérie; Hatwell, Yvette; Verine, Bertrand; Kaminski, Gwenael; Gentaz, Edouard

    2012-01-01

    Some previous studies have revealed that while congenitally blind people have a tendency to refer to visual attributes ('verbalism'), references to auditory and tactile attributes are scarcer. However, this statement may be challenged by current theories claiming that cognition is linked to the perceptions and actions from which it derives. Verbal productions by the blind could therefore differ from those of the sighted because of their specific perceptual experience. The relative weight of each sense in oral descriptions was compared in three groups with different visual experience Congenitally blind (CB), late blind (LB) and blindfolded sighted (BS) adults. Participants were asked to give an oral description of their mother and their father, and of four familiar manually-explored objects. The number of visual references obtained when describing people was relatively high, and was the same in the CB and BS groups ("verbalism" in the CB). While references to touch were scarce in all groups, the CB referred to audition more frequently than the LB and the BS groups. There were, by contrast, no differences between groups in descriptions of objects, and references to touch dominated the other modalities. The relative weight of each modality varies according to the cognitive processes involved in each task. Long term memory, internal representations and information acquired through social communication, are at work in the People task, seem to favour visual references in both the blind and the sighted, whereas the congenitally blind also refer often to audition. By contrast, the perceptual encoding and working memory at work in the Objects task enhance sensory references to touch in a similar way in all groups. These results attenuate the impact of verbalism in blindness, and support (albeit moderately) the idea that the perceptual experience of the congenitally blind is to some extent reflected in their cognition.

  5. Lexical references to sensory modalities in verbal descriptions of people and objects by congenitally blind, late blind and sighted adults.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Valérie Chauvey

    Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Some previous studies have revealed that while congenitally blind people have a tendency to refer to visual attributes ('verbalism', references to auditory and tactile attributes are scarcer. However, this statement may be challenged by current theories claiming that cognition is linked to the perceptions and actions from which it derives. Verbal productions by the blind could therefore differ from those of the sighted because of their specific perceptual experience. The relative weight of each sense in oral descriptions was compared in three groups with different visual experience Congenitally blind (CB, late blind (LB and blindfolded sighted (BS adults. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Participants were asked to give an oral description of their mother and their father, and of four familiar manually-explored objects. The number of visual references obtained when describing people was relatively high, and was the same in the CB and BS groups ("verbalism" in the CB. While references to touch were scarce in all groups, the CB referred to audition more frequently than the LB and the BS groups. There were, by contrast, no differences between groups in descriptions of objects, and references to touch dominated the other modalities. CONCLUSION/SIGNIFICANCE: The relative weight of each modality varies according to the cognitive processes involved in each task. Long term memory, internal representations and information acquired through social communication, are at work in the People task, seem to favour visual references in both the blind and the sighted, whereas the congenitally blind also refer often to audition. By contrast, the perceptual encoding and working memory at work in the Objects task enhance sensory references to touch in a similar way in all groups. These results attenuate the impact of verbalism in blindness, and support (albeit moderately the idea that the perceptual experience of the congenitally blind is to some extent

  6. On the performance of two-way multiuser mixed RF/FSO relay networks with opportunistic scheduling & asymmetric channel gains

    KAUST Repository

    Al-Eryani, Yasser F.; Salhab, Anas M.; Zummo, Salam A.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, the performance of two-way relaying (TWR) multiuser mixed radio frequency/free space optical (RF/FSO) relay networks with opportunistic user scheduling and asymmetric channel fading is studied. First, closed-form expressions for the exact outage probability, asymptotic (high signal-to-noise ration (SNR)) outage probability, and average ergodic channel capacity are derived assuming heterodyne detection (HD) scheme. Additionally, impacts of several system parameters including number of users, pointing errors, and atmospheric turbulence conditions on the overall network performance are investigated. All the theoretical results are validated by Monte-Carlo simulations. The results show that the TWR scheme almost doubles the network ergodic capacity compared to that of one-way relaying (OWR) scheme with the same outage performance. Additionally, the overall diversity order of the network is shown to be affected not only by the number of users, but it is also a function of the pointing error and atmospheric turbulence conditions.

  7. On the performance of two-way multiuser mixed RF/FSO relay networks with opportunistic scheduling & asymmetric channel gains

    KAUST Repository

    Al-Eryani, Yasser F.

    2017-07-20

    In this paper, the performance of two-way relaying (TWR) multiuser mixed radio frequency/free space optical (RF/FSO) relay networks with opportunistic user scheduling and asymmetric channel fading is studied. First, closed-form expressions for the exact outage probability, asymptotic (high signal-to-noise ration (SNR)) outage probability, and average ergodic channel capacity are derived assuming heterodyne detection (HD) scheme. Additionally, impacts of several system parameters including number of users, pointing errors, and atmospheric turbulence conditions on the overall network performance are investigated. All the theoretical results are validated by Monte-Carlo simulations. The results show that the TWR scheme almost doubles the network ergodic capacity compared to that of one-way relaying (OWR) scheme with the same outage performance. Additionally, the overall diversity order of the network is shown to be affected not only by the number of users, but it is also a function of the pointing error and atmospheric turbulence conditions.

  8. Advancing participation of blind students in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck-Winchatz, Bernhard; Riccobono, Mark A.

    2008-12-01

    Like their sighted peers, many blind students in elementary, middle, and high school are naturally interested in space. This interest can motivate them to learn fundamental scientific, quantitative, and critical thinking skills, and sometimes even lead to careers in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) disciplines. However, these students are often at a disadvantage in science because of the ubiquity of important graphical information that is generally not available in accessible formats, the unfamiliarity of teachers with non-visual teaching methods, lack of access to blind role models, and the low expectations of their teachers and parents. We discuss joint efforts by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Federation of the Blind’s (NFB) National Center for Blind Youth in Science (NCBYS) to develop and implement strategies to promote opportunities for blind youth in science. These include the development of tactile space science books and curriculum materials, science academies for blind middle school and high school students, and college-level internship and mentoring programs. The partnership with the NFB exemplifies the effectiveness of collaborations between NASA and consumer-directed organizations to improve opportunities for underserved and underrepresented individuals.

  9. The equivalence of perfect fluid space-times and viscous magnetohydrodynamic space-times in general relativity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tupper, B.O.J.

    1983-01-01

    The work of a previous article is extended to show that space-times which are the exact solutions of the field equations for a perfect fluid also may be exact solutions of the field equations for a viscous magnetohydrodynamic fluid. Conditions are found for this equivalence to exist and viscous magnetohydrodynamic solutions are found for a number of known perfect fluid space-times. (author)

  10. Robots, multi-user virtual environments and healthcare: synergies for future directions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moon, Ajung; Grajales, Francisco J; Van der Loos, H F Machiel

    2011-01-01

    The adoption of technology in healthcare over the last twenty years has steadily increased, particularly as it relates to medical robotics and Multi-User Virtual Environments (MUVEs) such as Second Life. Both disciplines have been shown to improve the quality of care and have evolved, for the most part, in isolation from each other. In this paper, we present four synergies between medical robotics and MUVEs that have the potential to decrease resource utilization and improve the quality of healthcare delivery. We conclude with some foreseeable barriers and future research directions for researchers in these fields.

  11. A Reparametrization Approach for Dynamic Space-Time Models

    OpenAIRE

    Lee, Hyeyoung; Ghosh, Sujit K.

    2008-01-01

    Researchers in diverse areas such as environmental and health sciences are increasingly working with data collected across space and time. The space-time processes that are generally used in practice are often complicated in the sense that the auto-dependence structure across space and time is non-trivial, often non-separable and non-stationary in space and time. Moreover, the dimension of such data sets across both space and time can be very large leading to computational difficulties due to...

  12. Path integration on space times with symmetry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Low, S.G.

    1985-01-01

    Path integration on space times with symmetry is investigated using a definition of path integration of Gaussian integrators. Gaussian integrators, systematically developed using the theory of projective distributions, may be defined in terms of a Jacobi operator Green function. This definition of the path integral yields a semiclassical expansion of the propagator which is valid on caustics. The semiclassical approximation to the free particle propagator on symmetric and reductive homogeneous spaces is computed in terms of the complete solution of the Jacobi equation. The results are used to test the validity of using the Schwinger-DeWitt transform to compute an approximation to the coincidence limit of a field theory Green function from a WKB propagator. The method is found not to be valid except for certain special cases. These cases include manifolds constructed from the direct product of flat space and group manifolds, on which the free particle WKB approximation is exact and two sphere. The multiple geodesic contribution to 2 > on Schwarzschild in the neighborhood of rho = 3M is computed using the transform

  13. Environment and Blindness Situation in Iran

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soraya Askari

    2010-04-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: The purpose of this study is to describe the experiences of adults with acquired blindness while performing the daily activities of normal life and to investigated the role of environmental factors in this process. Methods: A qualitative phenomenological method has been designed for this study. A sample of 22 adults with acquired blindness who were blind for more than 5 years of life were purposefully selected and semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with them. The interviews were transcribed verbatim, coded and analyzed using van Manen’s method. Results: The five clustered themes that emerged from the interviews included: 1 Products and technology-discusses the benefits and drawbacks of using advanced technology to promote independence, 2 Physical environment-“The streets are like an obstacle course”, 3 Support and relationships-refers to the assistance that blind people receive from family, friends, and society, 4 Attitudes-includes family and social attitudes toward blind people, 5 Services and policies-social security, supportive acts, economic factors, educational problems and providing services. Discusion: Findings identify how the daily living activities of blind people are affected by environmental factors and what those factors are. The results will enable occupational therapists and other health care professionals who are involved with blind people to become more competent during assessment, counseling, teaching, giving support, or other interventions as needed to assist blind people. Recommendations for further research include more studies of this population to identify other challenges over time. This would facilitate long-term goals in the care. Studies that include more diversity in demographic characteristics would provide greater generalization. Some characteristics such as adolescent age group, married and single, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status are particularly important to target.

  14. Advancing MEMS Technology Usage through the MUMPS (Multi-User MEMS Processes) Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koester, D. A.; Markus, K. W.; Dhuler, V.; Mahadevan, R.; Cowen, A.

    1995-01-01

    In order to help provide access to advanced micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technologies and lower the barriers for both industry and academia, the Microelectronic Center of North Carolina (MCNC) and ARPA have developed a program which provides users with access to both MEMS processes and advanced electronic integration techniques. The four distinct aspects of this program, the multi-user MEMS processes (MUMP's), the consolidated micro-mechanical element library, smart MEMS, and the MEMS technology network are described in this paper. MUMP's is an ARPA-supported program created to provide inexpensive access to MEMS technology in a multi-user environment. It is both a proof-of-concept and educational tool that aids in the development of MEMS in the domestic community. MUMP's technologies currently include a 3-layer poly-silicon surface micromachining process and LIGA (lithography, electroforming, and injection molding) processes that provide reasonable design flexibility within set guidelines. The consolidated micromechanical element library (CaMEL) is a library of active and passive MEMS structures that can be downloaded by the MEMS community via the internet. Smart MEMS is the development of advanced electronics integration techniques for MEMS through the application of flip chip technology. The MEMS technology network (TechNet) is a menu of standard substrates and MEMS fabrication processes that can be purchased and combined to create unique process flows. TechNet provides the MEMS community greater flexibility and enhanced technology accessibility.

  15. Use of bibloc and monobloc oral appliances in obstructive sleep apnoea: a multicentre, randomized, blinded, parallel-group equivalence trial.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isacsson, Göran; Nohlert, Eva; Fransson, Anette M C; Bornefalk-Hermansson, Anna; Wiman Eriksson, Eva; Ortlieb, Eva; Trepp, Livia; Avdelius, Anna; Sturebrand, Magnus; Fodor, Clara; List, Thomas; Schumann, Mohamad; Tegelberg, Åke

    2018-05-16

    The clinical benefit of bibloc over monobloc appliances in treating obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) has not been evaluated in randomized trials. We hypothesized that the two types of appliances are equally effective in treating OSA. To compare the efficacy of monobloc versus bibloc appliances in a short-term perspective. In this multicentre, randomized, blinded, controlled, parallel-group equivalence trial, patients with OSA were randomly assigned to use either a bibloc or a monobloc appliance. One-night respiratory polygraphy without respiratory support was performed at baseline, and participants were re-examined with the appliance in place at short-term follow-up. The primary outcome was the change in the apnoea-hypopnea index (AHI). An independent person prepared a randomization list and sealed envelopes. Evaluating dentist and the biomedical analysts who evaluated the polygraphy were blinded to the choice of therapy. Of 302 patients, 146 were randomly assigned to use the bibloc and 156 the monobloc device; 123 and 139 patients, respectively, were analysed as per protocol. The mean changes in AHI were -13.8 (95% confidence interval -16.1 to -11.5) in the bibloc group and -12.5 (-14.8 to -10.3) in the monobloc group. The difference of -1.3 (-4.5 to 1.9) was significant within the equivalence interval (P = 0.011; the greater of the two P values) and was confirmed by the intention-to-treat analysis (P = 0.001). The adverse events were of mild character and were experienced by similar percentages of patients in both groups (39 and 40 per cent for the bibloc and monobloc group, respectively). The study shows short-term results with a median time from commencing treatment to the evaluation visit of 56 days and long-term data on efficacy and harm are needed to be fully conclusive. In a short-term perspective, both appliances were equivalent in terms of their positive effects for treating OSA and caused adverse events of similar magnitude. Registered with Clinical

  16. A double blind, randomised, parallel group study on the efficacy and safety of treating acute lateral ankle sprain with oral hydrolytic enzymes

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kerkhoffs, G. M. M. J.; Struijs, P. A. A.; de Wit, C.; Rahlfs, V. W.; Zwipp, H.; van Dijk, C. N.

    2004-01-01

    Objective: To compare the effectiveness and safety of the triple combination Phlogenzym ( rutoside, bromelain, and trypsin) with double combinations, the single substances, and placebo. Design: Multinational, multicentre, double blind, randomised, parallel group design with eight groups structured

  17. Automatic postural response systems in individuals with congenital total blindness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nakata, H; Yabe, K

    2001-07-01

    This study examined the effects of the absence of vision from birth on automatic postural responses to platform displacements during stance. Postural responses were induced by producing randomly four types of perturbations which consisted of forward and backward translations, and toe up and down rotations. Nine congenitally totally blind and nine sighted adults served as subjects. EMG signals were recorded from four muscles in the right leg, and reaction time to somatosensory stimuli generated by platform displacements was measured by pushing a hand-held button. To assess the ability to control postural balance, the root mean square (RMS) values for lateral and antero-posterior sway before, during, and after perturbations were calculated. The EMG amplitude in the gastrocnemius muscle of a blind subject was smaller than that of a sighted subject with eyes closed. No significant differences were found between blind and sighted subjects in EMG latencies of the lower extremity muscles in response to perturbations. The blind subjects had significantly faster reaction times to somatosensory stimuli triggered by platform displacements, but in toe down rotations no significant difference was found between blind and sighted subjects. The difference in the EMG latencies and reaction times between the two groups suggests that blindness from birth may not affect the spinal stretch reflex, but may affect a volitional act mediated through the motor cortex. There were also no significant differences in the RMS values for postural sway between blind and sighted subjects with eyes open or closed, although blind subjects swayed more after backward translations than did sighted subjects with eyes open. Results suggest that the ability to control postural balance during perturbations was not affected by vision loss from birth. Our findings suggest that the automatic postural response systems of humans are unaffected by the absence of vision from birth and are rather hard wired.

  18. Transferring an educational board game to a multi-user mobile learning game to increase shared situational awareness

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Klemke, Roland; Kurapati, Shalini; Kolfschoten, Gwendolyn

    2013-01-01

    Klemke, R., Kurapati, S., & Kolfschoten, G. (2013, 6 June). Transferring an educational board game to a multi-user mobile learning game to increase shared situational awareness. In P. Rooney (Ed.), Proceedings of the 3rd Irish Symposium on Game Based Learning (pp. 8-9). Dublin, Ireland. Please see

  19. Support vector machine multiuser receiver for DS-CDMA signals in multipath channels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, S; Samingan, A K; Hanzo, L

    2001-01-01

    The problem of constructing an adaptive multiuser detector (MUD) is considered for direct sequence code division multiple access (DS-CDMA) signals transmitted through multipath channels. The emerging learning technique, called support vector machines (SVM), is proposed as a method of obtaining a nonlinear MUD from a relatively small training data block. Computer simulation is used to study this SVM MUD, and the results show that it can closely match the performance of the optimal Bayesian one-shot detector. Comparisons with an adaptive radial basis function (RBF) MUD trained by an unsupervised clustering algorithm are discussed.

  20. Temperature and entropy of Schwarzschild-de Sitter space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shankaranarayanan, S.

    2003-01-01

    In the light of recent interest in quantum gravity in de Sitter space, we investigate semiclassical aspects of four-dimensional Schwarzschild-de Sitter space-time using the method of complex paths. The standard semiclassical techniques (such as Bogoliubov coefficients and Euclidean field theory) have been useful to study quantum effects in space-times with single horizons; however, none of these approaches seem to work for Schwarzschild-de Sitter space-time or, in general, for space-times with multiple horizons. We extend the method of complex paths to space-times with multiple horizons and obtain the spectrum of particles produced in these space-times. We show that the temperature of radiation in these space-times is proportional to the effective surface gravity--the inverse harmonic sum of surface gravity of each horizon. For the Schwarzschild-de Sitter space-time, we apply the method of complex paths to three different coordinate systems--spherically symmetric, Painleve, and Lemaitre. We show that the equilibrium temperature in Schwarzschild-de Sitter space-time is the harmonic mean of cosmological and event horizon temperatures. We obtain Bogoliubov coefficients for space-times with multiple horizons by analyzing the mode functions of the quantum fields near the horizons. We propose a new definition of entropy for space-times with multiple horizons, analogous to the entropic definition for space-times with a single horizon. We define entropy for these space-times to be inversely proportional to the square of the effective surface gravity. We show that this definition of entropy for Schwarzschild-de Sitter space-time satisfies the D-bound conjecture

  1. Space-time design of the public city

    CERN Document Server

    Thomaier, Susanne; Könecke, Benjamin; Zedda, Roberto; Stabilini, Stefano

    2013-01-01

    Time has become an increasingly important topic in urban studies and urban planning. The spatial-temporal interplay is not only of relevance for the theory of urban development and urban politics, but also for urban planning and governance. The space-time approach focuses on the human being with its various habits and routines in the city. Understanding and taking those habits into account in urban planning and public policies offers a new way to improve the quality of life in our cities. Adapting the supply and accessibility of public spaces and services to the inhabitants’ space-time needs calls for an integrated approach to the physical design of urban space and to the organization of cities. In the last two decades the body of practical and theoretical work on urban space-time topics has grown substantially. The book offers a state of the art overview of the theoretical reasoning, the development of new analytical tools, and practical experience of the space-time design of public cities in major Europea...

  2. Time and Space in Digital Game Storytelling

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Huaxin Wei

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The design and representation of time and space are important in any narrative form. Not surprisingly there is an extensive literature on specific considerations of space or time in game design. However, there is less attention to more systematic analyses that examine both of these key factors—including their dynamic interrelationship within game storytelling. This paper adapts critical frameworks of narrative space and narrative time drawn from other media and demonstrates their application in the understanding of game narratives. In order to do this we incorporate fundamental concepts from the field of game studies to build a game-specific framework for analyzing the design of narrative time and narrative space. The paper applies this framework against a case analysis in order to demonstrate its operation and utility. This process grounds the understanding of game narrative space and narrative time in broader traditions of narrative discourse and analysis.

  3. The space-time of dark-matter

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dey, Dipanjan

    2015-01-01

    Dark-matter is a hypothetical matter which can't be seen but around 27% of our universe is made of it. Its distribution, evolution from early stage of our universe to present stage, its particle constituents all these are great unsolved mysteries of modern Cosmology and Astrophysics. In this talk I will introduce a special kind of space-time which is known as Bertrand Space-time (BST). I will show this space-time interestingly shows some dark-matter properties like- flat velocity curve, density profile of Dark-matter, total mass of Dark matter-halo, gravitational lensing etc, for that reason we consider BST is seeded by Dark-matter or it is a space-time of Dark-matter. At last I will show using modified gravity formalism the behaviour of the equation of state parameter of Dark-matter and the behaviour of the Newton's gravitational constant in the vicinity of the singularity. (author)

  4. Deaf-Blind Perspectives, 2000-2001.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Malloy, Peggy, Ed.

    2001-01-01

    These three issues of "Deaf-Blind Perspectives" feature the following articles: (1) "A Group for Students with Usher Syndrome in South Louisiana" (Faye Melancon); (2) "Simply Emily," which discusses a budding friendship between a girl with deaf-blindness and a peer; (3) "Intervener Update" (Peggy Malloy and…

  5. Multiuser detection and channel estimation: Exact and approximate methods

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Fabricius, Thomas

    2003-01-01

    subtractive interference cancellation with hyperbolic tangent tentative decision device, in statistical mechanics and machine learning called the naive mean field approach. The differences between the proposed algorithms lie in how the bias is estimated/approximated. We propose approaches based on a second...... propose here to use accurate approximations borrowed from statistical mechanics and machine learning. These give us various algorithms that all can be formulated in a subtractive interference cancellation formalism. The suggested algorithms can e ectively be seen as bias corrections to standard...... of the Junction Tree Algorithm, which is a generalisation of Pearl's Belief Propagation, the BCJR, sum product, min/max sum, and Viterbi's algorithm. Although efficient algoithms, they have an inherent exponential complexity in the number of users when applied to CDMA multiuser detection. For this reason we...

  6. Sum Rate Maximization using Linear Precoding and Decoding in the Multiuser MIMO Downlink

    OpenAIRE

    Tenenbaum, Adam J.; Adve, Raviraj S.

    2008-01-01

    We propose an algorithm to maximize the instantaneous sum data rate transmitted by a base station in the downlink of a multiuser multiple-input, multiple-output system. The transmitter and the receivers may each be equipped with multiple antennas and each user may receive more than one data stream. We show that maximizing the sum rate is closely linked to minimizing the product of mean squared errors (PMSE). The algorithm employs an uplink/downlink duality to iteratively design transmit-recei...

  7. From Discrete Space-Time to Minkowski Space: Basic Mechanisms, Methods and Perspectives

    Science.gov (United States)

    Finster, Felix

    This survey article reviews recent results on fermion systems in discrete space-time and corresponding systems in Minkowski space. After a basic introduction to the discrete setting, we explain a mechanism of spontaneous symmetry breaking which leads to the emergence of a discrete causal structure. As methods to study the transition between discrete space-time and Minkowski space, we describe a lattice model for a static and isotropic space-time, outline the analysis of regularization tails of vacuum Dirac sea configurations, and introduce a Lorentz invariant action for the masses of the Dirac seas. We mention the method of the continuum limit, which allows to analyze interacting systems. Open problems are discussed.

  8. Quantum space-time: a review

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Namsrai, K.

    1988-01-01

    The review presents systematically the results of studies which develop an idea of quantum properties of space-time in the microworld or near exotic objects (black holes, magnetic monopoles and others). On the basis of this idea motion equations of nonrelativistic and relativistic particles are studied. It is shown that introducing concept of quantum space-time at small distances (or near superdense matter) leads to an additional force giving rise to appearance of spiral-like behaviour of a particle along its classical trajectory. Given method is generalized to nonrelativistic quantum mechanics and to motion of a particle in gravitational force. In the latter case, there appears to be an antigravitational effect in the motion of a particle leading to different value of free-fall time (at least for gravitational force of exotic objects) for particles with different masses. Gravitational consequences of quantum space-time and tensor structures of physical quantities are investigated in detail. From experimental data on testing relativity and anisotropy of inertia estimation L ≤ 10 -22 cm on the value of the fundamental length is obtained. (author)

  9. A Note on the Problem of Proper Time in Weyl Space-Time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Avalos, R.; Dahia, F.; Romero, C.

    2018-02-01

    We discuss the question of whether or not a general Weyl structure is a suitable mathematical model of space-time. This is an issue that has been in debate since Weyl formulated his unified field theory for the first time. We do not present the discussion from the point of view of a particular unification theory, but instead from a more general standpoint, in which the viability of such a structure as a model of space-time is investigated. Our starting point is the well known axiomatic approach to space-time given by Elhers, Pirani and Schild (EPS). In this framework, we carry out an exhaustive analysis of what is required for a consistent definition for proper time and show that such a definition leads to the prediction of the so-called "second clock effect". We take the view that if, based on experience, we were to reject space-time models predicting this effect, this could be incorporated as the last axiom in the EPS approach. Finally, we provide a proof that, in this case, we are led to a Weyl integrable space-time as the most general structure that would be suitable to model space-time.

  10. Optical Fiber Assemblies for Space Flight from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Photonics Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ott, Melanie N.; Thoma, William Joe; LaRocca, Frank; Chuska, Richard; Switzer, Robert; Day, Lance

    2009-01-01

    The Photonics Group at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in the Electrical Engineering Division of the Advanced Engineering and Technologies Directorate has been involved in the design, development, characterization, qualification, manufacturing, integration and anomaly analysis of optical fiber subsystems for over a decade. The group supports a variety of instrumentation across NASA and outside entities that build flight systems. Among the projects currently supported are: The Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, the Mars Science Laboratory, the James Webb Space Telescope, the Express Logistics Carrier for the International Space Station and the NASA Electronic Parts. and Packaging Program. A collection of the most pertinent information gathered during project support over the past year in regards to space flight performance of optical fiber components is presented here. The objective is to provide guidance for future space flight designs of instrumentation and communication systems.

  11. The active blind spot camera: hard real-time recognition of moving objects from a moving camera

    OpenAIRE

    Van Beeck, Kristof; Goedemé, Toon; Tuytelaars, Tinne

    2014-01-01

    This PhD research focuses on visual object recognition under specific demanding conditions. The object to be recognized as well as the camera move, and the time available for the recognition task is extremely short. This generic problem is applied here on a specific problem: the active blind spot camera. Statistics show a large number of accidents with trucks are related to the so-called blind spot, the area around the vehicle in which vulnerable road users are hard to perceive by the truck d...

  12. Non-Supramenable Groups Acting on Locally Compact Spaces

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kellerhals, Julian; Monod, Nicolas; Rørdam, Mikael

    2013-01-01

    Supramenability of groups is characterised in terms of invariant measures on locally compact spaces. This opens the door to constructing interesting crossed product $C^*$-algebras for non-supramenable groups. In particular, stable Kirchberg algebras in the UCT class are constructed using crossed ...

  13. Black Hole Space-time In Dark Matter Halo

    OpenAIRE

    Xu, Zhaoyi; Hou, Xian; Gong, Xiaobo; Wang, Jiancheng

    2018-01-01

    For the first time, we obtain the analytical form of black hole space-time metric in dark matter halo for the stationary situation. Using the relation between the rotation velocity (in the equatorial plane) and the spherical symmetric space-time metric coefficient, we obtain the space-time metric for pure dark matter. By considering the dark matter halo in spherical symmetric space-time as part of the energy-momentum tensors in the Einstein field equation, we then obtain the spherical symmetr...

  14. A Real-Time Apple Grading System Using Multicolor Space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hayrettin Toylan

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available This study was focused on the multicolor space which provides a better specification of the color and size of the apple in an image. In the study, a real-time machine vision system classifying apples into four categories with respect to color and size was designed. In the analysis, different color spaces were used. As a result, 97% identification success for the red fields of the apple was obtained depending on the values of the parameter “a” of CIE L*a*b*color space. Similarly, 94% identification success for the yellow fields was obtained depending on the values of the parameter y of CIE XYZ color space. With the designed system, three kinds of apples (Golden, Starking, and Jonagold were investigated by classifying them into four groups with respect to two parameters, color and size. Finally, 99% success rate was achieved in the analyses conducted for 595 apples.

  15. On imitation among young and blind children

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Maria Rita Campello Rodrigues

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available This article investigates the imitation among young and blind children. The survey was conducted as a mosaic in the time since the field considerations were taken from two areas: a professional experience with early stimulation of blind babies and a workshop with blind and low vision young between 13-18 years. By statingthe situated trace of knowledge, theresearch indicates that imitation among blind young people can be one of the ways of creating a common world among young blind and sighted people. Imitation among blind young is a multi-sensory process that requires a body experience, including both blind and people who see. The paper concludes with an indication of the unique character of imitation and at the same time, with the affirmation of its relevance to the development and inclusion process of both the child and the young blind.

  16. A multi-user selective undo/redo approach for collaborative CAD systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yuan Cheng

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available The engineering design process is a creative process, and the designers must repeatedly apply Undo/Redo operations to modify CAD models to explore new solutions. Undo/Redo has become one of most important functions in interactive graphics and CAD systems. Undo/Redo in a collaborative CAD system is also very helpful for collaborative awareness among a group of cooperative designers to eliminate misunderstanding and to recover from design error. However, Undo/Redo in a collaborative CAD system is much more complicated. This is because a single erroneous operation is propagated to other remote sites, and operations are interleaved at different sites. This paper presents a multi-user selective Undo/Redo approach in full distributed collaborative CAD systems. We use site ID and State Vectors to locate the Undo/Redo target at each site. By analyzing the composition of the complex CAD model, a tree-like structure called Feature Combination Hierarchy is presented to describe the decomposition of a CAD model. Based on this structure, the dependency relationship among features is clarified. B-Rep re-evaluation is simplified with the assistance of the Feature Combination Hierarchy. It can be proven that the proposed Undo/Redo approach satisfies the intention preservation and consistency maintenance correctness criteria for collaborative systems.

  17. LOSS OF SPACE ACCORDING TO THE TIME AND THE TYPE OF THE PREMATURE EXTRACTED DECIDUOUS TEETH

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Radosveta S. Andreeva

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available There is a difference of space loss depending on the time of premature extraction and the type of the prematurely extracted teeth. The aim of the study is to determine the space loss according to the time and the type of the extracted teeth. Material and methods: We studied 90 children 6 to 9 years old with premature loss of one or more primary teeth divided into three groups according to the severity of the orthodontic deformation. We used two biometric methods – the Moyers method and measured the mesial and distal movement of the adjustment teeth by drawing perpendicular lines towards the middle line. Results: The average amount of space lost is 0,033 mm for the first group, 2,2 for the second and 3,16 for the third group. The lack of space when the first primary molars are extracted is 0,37 mm in the upper jaw and is due to medicalization of the second primary molar. In the lower jaw the loss of space is – 1,12mm. The lack of space when the second primary molars are prematurely extracted is 1,2 for the upper and 1,45 for the lower jaw. Conclusion: The time is a significant factor for the loss of space. The reduction of space increases when the premature extraction is done before more than two months and when second primary molars are extracted.

  18. Relativistic positioning in Schwarzschild space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Puchades, Neus; Sáez, Diego

    2015-01-01

    In the Schwarzschild space-time created by an idealized static spherically symmetric Earth, two approaches -based on relativistic positioning- may be used to estimate the user position from the proper times broadcast by four satellites. In the first approach, satellites move in the Schwarzschild space-time and the photons emitted by the satellites follow null geodesics of the Minkowski space-time asymptotic to the Schwarzschild geometry. This assumption leads to positioning errors since the photon world lines are not geodesics of any Minkowski geometry. In the second approach -the most coherent one- satellites and photons move in the Schwarzschild space-time. This approach is a first order one in the dimensionless parameter GM/R (with the speed of light c=1). The two approaches give different inertial coordinates for a given user. The differences are estimated and appropriately represented for users located inside a great region surrounding Earth. The resulting values (errors) are small enough to justify the use of the first approach, which is the simplest and the most manageable one. The satellite evolution mimics that of the GALILEO global navigation satellite system. (paper)

  19. Outage Analysis of Cooperative Transmission with Energy Harvesting Relay: Time Switching versus Power Splitting

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Guanyao Du

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper investigates the multiuser transmission network with an energy harvesting (EH cooperative relay, where a source transmits independent information to multiple destinations with the help of an energy constrained relay. The relay can harvest energy from the radio frequency (RF signals transmitted from the source, and it helps the multiuser transmission only by consuming the harvested energy. By adopting the time switching and the power splitting relay receiver architectures, we firstly propose two protocols, the time switching cooperative multiuser transmission (TSCMT protocol and the power splitting cooperative multiuser transmission (PSCMT protocol, to enable the simultaneous information processing and EH at the relay for the system. To evaluate the system performance, we theoretically analyze the system outage probability for the two proposed protocols and then derive explicit expressions for each of them, respectively. Numerical results are provided to demonstrate the accuracy of our analytical results and reveal that compared with traditional noncooperative scheme our proposed protocols are green solutions to offer reliable communication and lower system outage probability without consuming additional energy. In particular, for the same transmit power at the source, the PSCMT protocol is superior to the TSCMT protocol to obtain lower system outage probability.

  20. Introducing the Dimensional Continuous Space-Time Theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martini, Luiz Cesar

    2013-01-01

    This article is an introduction to a new theory. The name of the theory is justified by the dimensional description of the continuous space-time of the matter, energy and empty space, that gathers all the real things that exists in the universe. The theory presents itself as the consolidation of the classical, quantum and relativity theories. A basic equation that describes the formation of the Universe, relating time, space, matter, energy and movement, is deduced. The four fundamentals physics constants, light speed in empty space, gravitational constant, Boltzmann's constant and Planck's constant and also the fundamentals particles mass, the electrical charges, the energies, the empty space and time are also obtained from this basic equation. This theory provides a new vision of the Big-Bang and how the galaxies, stars, black holes and planets were formed. Based on it, is possible to have a perfect comprehension of the duality between wave-particle, which is an intrinsic characteristic of the matter and energy. It will be possible to comprehend the formation of orbitals and get the equationing of atomics orbits. It presents a singular comprehension of the mass relativity, length and time. It is demonstrated that the continuous space-time is tridimensional, inelastic and temporally instantaneous, eliminating the possibility of spatial fold, slot space, worm hole, time travels and parallel universes. It is shown that many concepts, like dark matter and strong forces, that hypothetically keep the cohesion of the atomics nucleons, are without sense.

  1. Space-time and matter in 'prephysics'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Terazawa, Hidezumi.

    1985-05-01

    Many fundamental questions concerning the space-time and matter are asked and answered in ''prephysics'', a new line of physics (or philosophy but not metaphysics). They include the following: 1) ''Why is our space-time of 4 dimensions.'', 2) ''What is the ultimate form of matter.'' and 3) ''How was our universe created.''. (author)

  2. On static and radiative space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Friedrich, H.

    1988-01-01

    The conformal constraint equations on space-like hypersurfaces are discussed near points which represent either time-like or spatial infinity for an asymptotically flat solution of Einstein's vacuum field equations. In the case of time-like infinity a certain 'radiativity condition' is derived which must be satisfied by the data at that point. The case of space-like infinity is analysed in detail for static space-times with non-vanishing mass. It is shown that the conformal structure implied here on a slice of constant Killing time, which extends analytically through infinity, satisfies at spatial infinity the radiativity condition. Thus to any static solution exists a certain 'radiative solution' which has a smooth structure at past null infinity and is regular at past time-like infinity. A characterization of these solutions by their 'free data' is given and non-symmetry properties are discussed. (orig.)

  3. The Dirac equation in the Lobachevsky space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Paramonov, D.V.; Paramonova, N.N.; Shavokhina, N.S.

    2000-01-01

    The product of the Lobachevsky space and the time axis is termed the Lobachevsky space-time. The Lobachevsky space is considered as a hyperboloid's sheet in the four-dimensional pseudo-Euclidean space. The Dirac-Fock-Ivanenko equation is reduced to the Dirac equation in two special forms by passing from Lame basis in the Lobachevsky space to the Cartesian basis in the enveloping pseudo-Euclidean space

  4. Efficacy of treatment of insomnia in migraineurs with eszopiclone (Lunesta®) and its effect on total sleep time, headache frequency, and daytime functioning: A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spierings, Egilius L H; McAllister, Peter J; Bilchik, Tanya R

    2015-04-01

    A review on headache and insomnia revealed that insomnia is a risk factor for increased headache frequency and headache intensity in migraineurs. The authors designed a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, pilot study in which migraineurs who also had insomnia were enrolled, to test this observation. In the study, the authors treated 79 subjects with IHS-II migraine with and/or without aura and with DSM-IV primary insomnia for 6 weeks with 3 mg eszopiclone (Lunesta(®)) or placebo at bedtime. The treatment was preceded by a 2-week baseline period and followed by a 2-week run-out period. Of the 79 subjects treated, 75 were evaluable, 35 in the eszopiclone group, and 40 in the placebo group. At baseline, the groups were comparable except for sleep latency. Of the three remaining sleep variables, total sleep time, nighttime awakenings, and sleep quality, the number of nighttime awakenings during the 6-week treatment period was significantly lower in the eszopiclone group than in the placebo group (P = 0.03). Of the three daytime variables, alertness, fatigue, and functioning, this was also the case for fatigue (P = 005). The headache variables, frequency, duration, and intensity, did not show a difference from placebo during the 6-week treatment period. The study did not meet primary endpoint, that is, the difference in total sleep time during the 6-week treatment period between eszopiclone and placebo was less than 40 minutes. Therefore, it failed to answer the question as to whether insomnia is, indeed, a risk factor for increased headache frequency and headache intensity in migraineurs.

  5. About the coordinate time for photons in Lifshitz space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villanueva, J.R.; Vasquez, Yerko

    2013-01-01

    In this paper we studied the behavior of radial photons from the point of view of the coordinate time in (asymptotically) Lifshitz space-times, and we found a generalization to the result reported in previous works by Cruz et al. (Eur. Phys. J. C 73:7, 2013), Olivares et al. (Astrophys. Space Sci. 347:83-89, 2013), and Olivares et al. arXiv:1306.5285. We demonstrate that all asymptotically Lifshitz space-times characterized by a lapse function f(r) which tends to one when r→∞, present the same behavior, in the sense that an external observer will see that photons arrive at spatial infinity in a finite coordinate time. Also, we show that radial photons in the proper system cannot determine the presence of the black hole in the region r + < r<∞, because the proper time as a result is independent of the lapse function f(r). (orig.)

  6. The Space-Time Topography of English Speakers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duman, Steve

    2016-01-01

    English speakers talk and think about Time in terms of physical space. The past is behind us, and the future is in front of us. In this way, we "map" space onto Time. This dissertation addresses the specificity of this physical space, or its topography. Inspired by languages like Yupno (Nunez, et al., 2012) and Bamileke-Dschang (Hyman,…

  7. Distributed Model Predictive Control over Multiple Groups of Vehicles in Highway Intelligent Space for Large Scale System

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tang Xiaofeng

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The paper presents the three time warning distances for solving the large scale system of multiple groups of vehicles safety driving characteristics towards highway tunnel environment based on distributed model prediction control approach. Generally speaking, the system includes two parts. First, multiple vehicles are divided into multiple groups. Meanwhile, the distributed model predictive control approach is proposed to calculate the information framework of each group. Each group of optimization performance considers the local optimization and the neighboring subgroup of optimization characteristics, which could ensure the global optimization performance. Second, the three time warning distances are studied based on the basic principles used for highway intelligent space (HIS and the information framework concept is proposed according to the multiple groups of vehicles. The math model is built to avoid the chain avoidance of vehicles. The results demonstrate that the proposed highway intelligent space method could effectively ensure driving safety of multiple groups of vehicles under the environment of fog, rain, or snow.

  8. Blind Measurement Selection: A Random Matrix Theory Approach

    KAUST Repository

    Elkhalil, Khalil

    2016-12-14

    This paper considers the problem of selecting a set of $k$ measurements from $n$ available sensor observations. The selected measurements should minimize a certain error function assessing the error in estimating a certain $m$ dimensional parameter vector. The exhaustive search inspecting each of the $n\\\\choose k$ possible choices would require a very high computational complexity and as such is not practical for large $n$ and $k$. Alternative methods with low complexity have recently been investigated but their main drawbacks are that 1) they require perfect knowledge of the measurement matrix and 2) they need to be applied at the pace of change of the measurement matrix. To overcome these issues, we consider the asymptotic regime in which $k$, $n$ and $m$ grow large at the same pace. Tools from random matrix theory are then used to approximate in closed-form the most important error measures that are commonly used. The asymptotic approximations are then leveraged to select properly $k$ measurements exhibiting low values for the asymptotic error measures. Two heuristic algorithms are proposed: the first one merely consists in applying the convex optimization artifice to the asymptotic error measure. The second algorithm is a low-complexity greedy algorithm that attempts to look for a sufficiently good solution for the original minimization problem. The greedy algorithm can be applied to both the exact and the asymptotic error measures and can be thus implemented in blind and channel-aware fashions. We present two potential applications where the proposed algorithms can be used, namely antenna selection for uplink transmissions in large scale multi-user systems and sensor selection for wireless sensor networks. Numerical results are also presented and sustain the efficiency of the proposed blind methods in reaching the performances of channel-aware algorithms.

  9. The birth of NASA the work of the Space Task Group, America's first true space pioneers

    CERN Document Server

    von Ehrenfried, Dutch

    2016-01-01

    This is the story of the work of the original NASA space pioneers; men and women who were suddenly organized in 1958 from the then National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) into the Space Task Group. A relatively small group, they developed the initial mission concept plans and procedures for the U. S. space program. Then they boldly built hardware and facilities to accomplish those missions. The group existed only three years before they were transferred to the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, Texas, in 1962, but their organization left a large mark on what would follow. Von Ehrenfried's personal experience with the STG at Langley uniquely positions him to describe the way the group was structured and how it reacted to the new demands of a post-Sputnik era. He artfully analyzes how the growing space program was managed and what techniques enabled it to develop so quickly from an operations perspective. The result is a fascinating window into history, amply backed up by first person documentation ...

  10. Physical models on discrete space and time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lorente, M.

    1986-01-01

    The idea of space and time quantum operators with a discrete spectrum has been proposed frequently since the discovery that some physical quantities exhibit measured values that are multiples of fundamental units. This paper first reviews a number of these physical models. They are: the method of finite elements proposed by Bender et al; the quantum field theory model on discrete space-time proposed by Yamamoto; the finite dimensional quantum mechanics approach proposed by Santhanam et al; the idea of space-time as lattices of n-simplices proposed by Kaplunovsky et al; and the theory of elementary processes proposed by Weizsaecker and his colleagues. The paper then presents a model proposed by the authors and based on the (n+1)-dimensional space-time lattice where fundamental entities interact among themselves 1 to 2n in order to build up a n-dimensional cubic lattice as a ground field where the physical interactions take place. The space-time coordinates are nothing more than the labelling of the ground field and take only discrete values. 11 references

  11. Geometro-stochastic quantization of gauge fields in curved space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Prugovecki, E.

    1988-01-01

    It is shown that the geometro-stochastic method of quantization of massive fields in curved space-time can be extended to the massless cases of electromagnetic fields and general Yang-Mills fields. The Fock fibres of the massive case are replaced in the present context by fibres with indefinite inner products, such as Gupta-Bleuler fibres in the electromagnetic case. The quantum space-time form factor used in the massive case gives rise in the present case to quantum gauge frames whose elements are generalized coherent states corresponding to pseudounitary spin-one representations of direct products of the Poincare group with the U(1), SU(N) or other internal gauge groups. Quantum connections are introduced on bundles of second-quantized frames, and the corresponding parallel transport is expressed in terms of path integrals for quantum frame propagators. In the Yang-Mills case, these path integral make use of Faddeev-Popov quantum frames. It is shown, however, that in the present framework the ghost fields that give rise to these frames possess a geometric interpretation related to the presence of a super-gauge group that, in addition to the external Poincare and Yang-Mills gauge degrees of freedom, involves also the internal ones related to choices of gauge bases within the quantum fibres

  12. Characterizing Student Navigation in Educational Multiuser Virtual Environments: A Case Study Using Data from the River City Project

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dukas, Georg

    2009-01-01

    Though research in emerging technologies is vital to fulfilling their incredible potential for educational applications, it is often fraught with analytic challenges related to large datasets. This thesis explores these challenges in researching multiuser virtual environments (MUVEs). In a MUVE, users assume a persona and traverse a virtual space…

  13. The space shuttle payload planning working groups: Volume 9: Materials processing and space manufacturing

    Science.gov (United States)

    1973-01-01

    The findings and recommendations of the Materials Processing and Space Manufacturing group of the space shuttle payload planning activity are presented. The effects of weightlessness on the levitation processes, mixture stability, and control over heat and mass transport in fluids are considered for investigation. The research and development projects include: (1) metallurgical processes, (2) electronic materials, (3) biological applications, and (4)nonmetallic materials and processes. Additional recommendations are provided concerning the allocation of payload space, acceptance of experiments for flight, flight qualification, and private use of the space shuttle.

  14. On black holes, space-time foam and the nature of time in string theory

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mavromatos, N.E.; Grenoble-1 Univ., 74 - Annecy

    1993-04-01

    It is shown that the light particles in string theory obey an effective quantum mechanics modified by the inclusion of a quantum-gravitational friction term, induced by unavoidable couplings to unobserved massive string states in the space-time foam. This term is related to the W-symmetries that couple light particles to massive solitonic string states in black hole backgrounds, and has a formal similarity to simple models of environmental quantum friction. All properties follow from a definition of target-time as a Renormalization Group scale parameter and the associated (generic) properties of the renormalization group flow. Some experimental consequences, concerning CPT violation detectable in systems that are generally considered as sensitive probes of quantum mechanics (e.g. neutral kaons), are briefly discussed. (author). 52 refs., 1 fig

  15. Acute effect of whole body vibration on postural control in congenitally blind subjects: a preliminary evidence.

    Science.gov (United States)

    di Cagno, Alessandra; Giombini, Arrigo; Iuliano, Enzo; Moffa, Stefano; Caliandro, Tiziana; Parisi, Attilio; Borrione, Paolo; Calcagno, Giuseppe; Fiorilli, Giovanni

    2017-07-11

    The purpose of this study was to investigate the acute effects of whole body vibration at optimal frequency, on postural control in blind subjects. Twenty-four participants, 12 congenital blind males (Experimental Group), and 12 non-disabled males with no visual impairment (Control Groups) were recruited. The area of the ellipse and the total distance of the center of pressure displacements, as postural control parameters, were evaluated at baseline (T0), immediately after the vibration (T1), after 10 min (T10) and after 20 min (T20). Whole body vibration protocol consisted into 5 sets of 1 min for each vibration, with 1 min rest between each set on a vibrating platform. The total distance of center of pressure showed a significant difference (p < 0.05) amongst groups, while the area remained constant. No significant differences were detected among times of assessments, or in the interaction group × time. No impairments in static balance were found after an acute bout of whole body vibration at optimal frequency in blind subjects and, consequently, whole body vibration may be considered as a safe application in individuals who are blind.

  16. Statistical geometry and space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grauert, H.

    1976-01-01

    In this paper I try to construct a mathematical tool by which the full structure of Lorentz geometry to space time can be given, but beyond that the background - to speak pictorially - the subsoil for electromagnetic and matter waves, too. The tool could be useful to describe the connections between various particles, electromagnetism and gravity and to compute observables which were not theoretically related, up to now. Moreover, the tool is simpler than the Riemann tensor: it consists just of a set S of line segments in space time, briefly speaking. (orig.) [de

  17. The standard model on non-commutative space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Calmet, X.; Jurco, B.; Schupp, P.; Wohlgenannt, M.; Wess, J.

    2002-01-01

    We consider the standard model on a non-commutative space and expand the action in the non-commutativity parameter θ μν . No new particles are introduced; the structure group is SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1). We derive the leading order action. At zeroth order the action coincides with the ordinary standard model. At leading order in θ μν we find new vertices which are absent in the standard model on commutative space-time. The most striking features are couplings between quarks, gluons and electroweak bosons and many new vertices in the charged and neutral currents. We find that parity is violated in non-commutative QCD. The Higgs mechanism can be applied. QED is not deformed in the minimal version of the NCSM to the order considered. (orig.)

  18. The sensory construction of dreams and nightmare frequency in congenitally blind and late blind individuals

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Meaidi, Amani; Jennum, Poul; Ptito, Maurice

    2014-01-01

    and anxiety levels. RESULTS: All blind participants had fewer visual dream impressions compared to SC participants. In LB participants, duration of blindness was negatively correlated with duration, clarity, and color content of visual dream impressions. CB participants reported more auditory, tactile......OBJECTIVES: We aimed to assess dream content in groups of congenitally blind (CB), late blind (LB), and age- and sex-matched sighted control (SC) participants. METHODS: We conducted an observational study of 11 CB, 14 LB, and 25 SC participants and collected dream reports over a 4-week period......, gustatory, and olfactory dream components compared to SC participants. In contrast, LB participants only reported more tactile dream impressions. Blind and SC participants did not differ with respect to emotional and thematic dream content. However, CB participants reported more aggressive interactions...

  19. Spinor Field Nonlinearity and Space-Time Geometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saha, Bijan

    2018-03-01

    Within the scope of Bianchi type VI,VI0,V, III, I, LRSBI and FRW cosmological models we have studied the role of nonlinear spinor field on the evolution of the Universe and the spinor field itself. It was found that due to the presence of non-trivial non-diagonal components of the energy-momentum tensor of the spinor field in the anisotropic space-time, there occur some severe restrictions both on the metric functions and on the components of the spinor field. In this report we have considered a polynomial nonlinearity which is a function of invariants constructed from the bilinear spinor forms. It is found that in case of a Bianchi type-VI space-time, depending of the sign of self-coupling constants, the model allows either late time acceleration or oscillatory mode of evolution. In case of a Bianchi VI 0 type space-time due to the specific behavior of the spinor field we have two different scenarios. In one case the invariants constructed from bilinear spinor forms become trivial, thus giving rise to a massless and linear spinor field Lagrangian. This case is equivalent to the vacuum solution of the Bianchi VI 0 type space-time. The second case allows non-vanishing massive and nonlinear terms and depending on the sign of coupling constants gives rise to accelerating mode of expansion or the one that after obtaining some maximum value contracts and ends in big crunch, consequently generating space-time singularity. In case of a Bianchi type-V model there occur two possibilities. In one case we found that the metric functions are similar to each other. In this case the Universe expands with acceleration if the self-coupling constant is taken to be a positive one, whereas a negative coupling constant gives rise to a cyclic or periodic solution. In the second case the spinor mass and the spinor field nonlinearity vanish and the Universe expands linearly in time. In case of a Bianchi type-III model the space-time remains locally rotationally symmetric all the time

  20. Feynman propagator and space-time transformation technique

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nassar, A.B.

    1987-01-01

    We evaluate the exact propagator for the time-dependent two-dimensional charged harmonic oscillator in a time-varying magnetic field, by taking direct recourse to the corresponding Schroedinger equation. Through the usage of an appropriate space-time transformation, we show that such a propagator can be obtained from the free propagator in the new space-time coordinate system. (orig.)

  1. Space-Time Disarray and Visual Awareness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jan Koenderink

    2012-04-01

    Full Text Available Local space-time scrambling of optical data leads to violent jerks and dislocations. On masking these, visual awareness of the scene becomes cohesive, with dislocations discounted as amodally occluding foreground. Such cohesive space-time of awareness is technically illusory because ground truth is jumbled whereas awareness is coherent. Apparently the visual field is a construction rather than a (veridical perception.

  2. An Overwhelming Desire to Be Blind: Similarities and Differences between Body Integrity Identity Disorder and the Wish for Blindness.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gutschke, Katja; Stirn, Aglaja; Kasten, Erich

    2017-01-01

    The urge to be permanently blind is an extremely rare mental health disturbance. The underlying cause of this desire has not been determined yet, and it is uncertain whether the wish for blindness is a condition that can be included in the context of body integrity identity disorder, a condition where people feel an overwhelming need to be disabled, in many cases by amputation of a limb or through paralysis. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that people with a desire for blindness suffer from a greater degree of visual stress in daily activities than people in a healthy visual control group. We created a Likert scale questionnaire to measure visual stress, covering a wide range of everyday situations. The wish for blindness is extremely rare and worldwide only 5 people with an urge to be blind were found to participate in the study (4 female, 1 male). In addition, a control group of 35 (28 female, 7 male) visually healthy people was investigated. Questions addressing issues that may be experienced by participants with a desire to be blind were integrated into the questionnaire. The hypothesis that people with a desire for blindness suffer from a significantly higher visual overload in activities of daily living than visually healthy subjects was confirmed; the significance of visual stress between these groups was p < 0.01. In addition, an interview with the 5 affected participants supported the causal role of visual overload. The desire for blindness seems to originate from visual overload caused by either ophthalmologic or organic brain disturbances. In addition, psychological reasons such as certain personal character traits may play an active role in developing, maintaining, and reinforcing one's desire to be blind.

  3. An Overwhelming Desire to Be Blind: Similarities and Differences between Body Integrity Identity Disorder and the Wish for Blindness

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katja Gutschke

    2017-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: The urge to be permanently blind is an extremely rare mental health disturbance. The underlying cause of this desire has not been determined yet, and it is uncertain whether the wish for blindness is a condition that can be included in the context of body integrity identity disorder, a condition where people feel an overwhelming need to be disabled, in many cases by amputation of a limb or through paralysis. Objective: The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that people with a desire for blindness suffer from a greater degree of visual stress in daily activities than people in a healthy visual control group. Method: We created a Likert scale questionnaire to measure visual stress, covering a wide range of everyday situations. The wish for blindness is extremely rare and worldwide only 5 people with an urge to be blind were found to participate in the study (4 female, 1 male. In addition, a control group of 35 (28 female, 7 male visually healthy people was investigated. Questions addressing issues that may be experienced by participants with a desire to be blind were integrated into the questionnaire. Results: The hypothesis that people with a desire for blindness suffer from a significantly higher visual overload in activities of daily living than visually healthy subjects was confirmed; the significance of visual stress between these groups was p < 0.01. In addition, an interview with the 5 affected participants supported the causal role of visual overload. Conclusions: The desire for blindness seems to originate from visual overload caused by either ophthalmologic or organic brain disturbances. In addition, psychological reasons such as certain personal character traits may play an active role in developing, maintaining, and reinforcing one’s desire to be blind.

  4. About the coordinate time for photons in Lifshitz space-times

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Villanueva, J.R. [Universidad de Valparaiso, Departamento de Fisica y Astronomia, Facultad de Ciencias, Valparaiso (Chile); Centro de Astrofisica de Valparaiso, Valparaiso (Chile); Vasquez, Yerko [Universidad de La Frontera, Departamento de Ciencias Fisicas, Facultad de Ingenieria, Ciencias y Administracion, Temuco (Chile); Universidad de La Serena, Departamento de Fisicas, Facultad de Ciencias, La Serena (Chile)

    2013-10-15

    In this paper we studied the behavior of radial photons from the point of view of the coordinate time in (asymptotically) Lifshitz space-times, and we found a generalization to the result reported in previous works by Cruz et al. (Eur. Phys. J. C 73:7, 2013), Olivares et al. (Astrophys. Space Sci. 347:83-89, 2013), and Olivares et al. arXiv:1306.5285. We demonstrate that all asymptotically Lifshitz space-times characterized by a lapse function f(r) which tends to one when r{yields}{infinity}, present the same behavior, in the sense that an external observer will see that photons arrive at spatial infinity in a finite coordinate time. Also, we show that radial photons in the proper system cannot determine the presence of the black hole in the region r{sub +}time as a result is independent of the lapse function f(r). (orig.)

  5. Quantum space-time and gravitational consequences

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Namsrai, K.

    1986-01-01

    Relativistic particle dynamics and basic physical quantities for the general theory of gravity are reconstructed from a quantum space-time point of view. An additional force caused by quantum space-time appears in the equation of particle motion, giving rise to a reformulation of the equivalence principle up to values of O(L 2 ), where L is the fundamental length. It turns out that quantum space-time leads to quantization of gravity, i.e. the metric tensor g/sub uv/ (/ZETA/) becomes operator-valued and is not commutative at different points x/sup micro/ and y/sup micro/ in usual space-time on a large scale, and its commutator depending on the ''vielbein'' field (gaugelike graviton field) is proportional to L 2 multiplied by a translationinvariant wave function propagated between points x/sup micro/ and y/sup micro/. In the given scheme, there appears to be an antigravitational effect in the motion of a particle in the gravitational force. This effect depends on the value of particle mass; when a particle is heavy its free-fall time is long compared to that for a light-weight particle. The problem of the change of time scale and the anisotropy of inertia are discussed. From experimental data from testing of the latter effect it follows that L ≤ 10 -22 cm

  6. Considerations in the Treatment of the Adult Blind Patient.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shulman, Dennis G.

    1986-01-01

    Contends that blindness is not a single clinical determinant, but, rather, that two groups of blind people exist. For those congenitally blind, lack of vision can cause developmental difficulties. For those who later acquire blindness, the premorbid psychodynamics and object relationships are most important in understanding the persons' reactions…

  7. A Chip-Level BSOR-Based Linear GSIC Multiuser Detector for Long-Code CDMA Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Benyoucef M

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available We introduce a chip-level linear group-wise successive interference cancellation (GSIC multiuser structure that is asymptotically equivalent to block successive over-relaxation (BSOR iteration, which is known to outperform the conventional block Gauss-Seidel iteration by an order of magnitude in terms of convergence speed. The main advantage of the proposed scheme is that it uses directly the spreading codes instead of the cross-correlation matrix and thus does not require the calculation of the cross-correlation matrix (requires floating point operations (flops, where is the processing gain and is the number of users which reduces significantly the overall computational complexity. Thus it is suitable for long-code CDMA systems such as IS-95 and UMTS where the cross-correlation matrix is changing every symbol. We study the convergence behavior of the proposed scheme using two approaches and prove that it converges to the decorrelator detector if the over-relaxation factor is in the interval ]0, 2[. Simulation results are in excellent agreement with theory.

  8. A Chip-Level BSOR-Based Linear GSIC Multiuser Detector for Long-Code CDMA Systems

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Benyoucef

    2008-01-01

    Full Text Available We introduce a chip-level linear group-wise successive interference cancellation (GSIC multiuser structure that is asymptotically equivalent to block successive over-relaxation (BSOR iteration, which is known to outperform the conventional block Gauss-Seidel iteration by an order of magnitude in terms of convergence speed. The main advantage of the proposed scheme is that it uses directly the spreading codes instead of the cross-correlation matrix and thus does not require the calculation of the cross-correlation matrix (requires 2NK2 floating point operations (flops, where N is the processing gain and K is the number of users which reduces significantly the overall computational complexity. Thus it is suitable for long-code CDMA systems such as IS-95 and UMTS where the cross-correlation matrix is changing every symbol. We study the convergence behavior of the proposed scheme using two approaches and prove that it converges to the decorrelator detector if the over-relaxation factor is in the interval ]0, 2[. Simulation results are in excellent agreement with theory.

  9. Contaminations of inner surface of magnesium fluoride windows in the `Expose-R' experiment on the International Space Station

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skurat, V. E.

    2017-10-01

    A series of experiments was carried out previously on board of the International Space Station in `EXPOSE-R', a multi-user expose facility, provided by European Space Agency attached to the external surface of the Russian Segment. In one experiment, spores of microorganisms and species of higher plant seeds, in heat-sealed polymer bags were irradiated by solar radiation passed through MgF2 windows in a high space vacuum. After sample exposure, it was found that in many cases the inner surfaces of windows were contaminated. Analysis of the contamination revealed the presence of chemical groups CH2, CH3, NH, OH, C═O, Si-CH3 (Demets et al. in 2015). Their presence in deposits was explained by photofixation of gaseous precursors - some of the vapours of glues and additives in polymeric materials in the core facility of `Expose-R'. Carbon-, oxygen- and silicon-containing groups may be deposited from outer intrinsic atmosphere. This atmosphere is connected with sample compartments and core facility. However, the presence of NH groups on inner surfaces of windows was not expected. This paper shows that the process responsible for carbon-, nitrogen- and oxygen-containing group formation can be a photopolymerization of caprolactam, which is released from the outer Nylon 6 layer of polymer bags under Solar vacuum ultraviolet radiation.

  10. Space time problems and applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Dethlefsen, Claus

    models, cubic spline models and structural time series models. The development of state space theory has interacted with the development of other statistical disciplines.   In the first part of the Thesis, we present the theory of state space models, including Gaussian state space models, approximative...... analysis of non-Gaussian models, simulation based techniques and model diagnostics.   The second part of the Thesis considers Markov random field models. These are spatial models applicable in e.g. disease mapping and in agricultural experiments. Recently, the Gaussian Markov random field models were...... techniques with importance sampling.   The third part of the Thesis contains applications of the theory. First, a univariate time series of count data is analysed. Then, a spatial model is used to compare wheat yields. Weed count data in connection with a project in precision farming is analysed using...

  11. Projective unitary-antiunitary representations of the Shubnikov space groups

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Broek, P.M. van den.

    1979-01-01

    Some mathematical aspects of the symmetry of a physical system in quantum mechanics are examined with special emphasis on the symmetry groups of charged particles in crystalline solids, the Shuknikov space groups. (Auth.)

  12. Space-time structure

    CERN Document Server

    Schrödinger, Erwin

    1985-01-01

    In response to repeated requests this classic book on space-time structure by Professor Erwin Schrödinger is now available in the Cambridge Science Classics series. First published in 1950, and reprinted in 1954 and 1960, this lucid and profound exposition of Einstein's 1915 theory of gravitation still provides valuable reading for students and research workers in the field.

  13. Collision-free gases in spatially homogeneous space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Maartens, R.; Maharaj, S.D.

    1985-01-01

    The kinematical and dynamical properties of one-component collision-free gases in spatially homogeneous, locally rotationally symmetric (LRS) space-times are analyzed. Following Ray and Zimmerman [Nuovo Cimento B 42, 183 (1977)], it is assumed that the distribution function f of the gas inherits the symmetry of space-time, in order to construct solutions of Liouville's equation. The redundancy of their further assumption that f be based on Killing vector constants of the motion is shown. The Ray and Zimmerman results for Kantowski--Sachs space-time are extended to all spatially homogeneous LRS space-times. It is shown that in all these space-times the kinematic average four-velocity u/sup i/ can be tilted relative to the homogeneous hypersurfaces. This differs from the perfect fluid case, in which only one space-time admits tilted u/sup i/, as shown by King and Ellis [Commun. Math. Phys. 31, 209 (1973)]. As a consequence, it is shown that all space-times admit nonzero acceleration and heat flow, while a subclass admits nonzero vorticity. The stress π/sub i/j is proportional to the shear sigma/sub i/j by virtue of the invariance of the distribution function. The evolution of tilt and the existence of perfect fluid solutions is also discussed

  14. Rapid Eye Movements (REMs) and visual dream recall in both congenitally blind and sighted subjects

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bértolo, Helder; Mestre, Tiago; Barrio, Ana; Antona, Beatriz

    2017-08-01

    Our objective was to evaluate rapid eye movements (REMs) associated with visual dream recall in sighted subjects and congenital blind. During two consecutive nights polysomnographic recordings were performed at subjects home. REMs were detected by visual inspection on both EOG channels (EOG-H, EOG-V) and further classified as occurring isolated or in bursts. Dream recall was defined by the existence of a dream report. The two groups were compared using t-test and also the two-way ANOVA and a post-hoc Fisher test (for the features diagnosis (blind vs. sighted) and dream recall (yes or no) as a function of time). The average of REM awakenings per subject and the recall ability were identical in both groups. CB had a lower REM density than CS; the same applied to REM bursts and isolated eye movements. In the two-way ANOVA, REM bursts and REM density were significantly different for positive dream recall, mainly for the CB group and for diagnosis; furthermore for both features significant results were obtained for the interaction of time, recall and diagnosis; the interaction of recall and time was however, stronger. In line with previous findings the data show that blind have lower REMs density. However the ability of dream recall in congenitally blind and sighted controls is identical. In both groups visual dream recall is associated with an increase in REM bursts and density. REM bursts also show differences in the temporal profile. REM visual dream recall is associated with increased REMs activity.

  15. Just in Time in Space or Space Based JIT

    Science.gov (United States)

    VanOrsdel, Kathleen G.

    1995-01-01

    Our satellite systems are mega-buck items. In today's cost conscious world, we need to reduce the overall costs of satellites if our space program is to survive. One way to accomplish this would be through on-orbit maintenance of parts on the orbiting craft. In order to accomplish maintenance at a low cost I advance the hypothesis of having parts and pieces (spares) waiting. Waiting in the sense of having something when you need it, or just-in-time. The JIT concept can actually be applied to space processes. Its definition has to be changed just enough to encompass the needs of space. Our space engineers tell us which parts and pieces the satellite systems might be needing once in orbit. These items are stored in space for the time of need and can be ready when they are needed -- or Space Based JIT. When a system has a problem, the repair facility is near by and through human or robotics intervention, it can be brought back into service. Through a JIT process, overall system costs could be reduced as standardization of parts is built into satellite systems to facilitate reduced numbers of parts being stored. Launch costs will be contained as fewer spare pieces need to be included in the launch vehicle and the space program will continue to thrive even in this era of reduced budgets. The concept of using an orbiting parts servicer and human or robotics maintenance/repair capabilities would extend satellite life-cycle and reduce system replacement launches. Reductions of this nature throughout the satellite program result in cost savings.

  16. Minkowski space-time is locally extendible

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Beem, J.K.

    1980-01-01

    An example of a real analytic local extension of Minkowski space-time is given in this note. This local extension is not across points of the b-boundary since Minkowski space-time has an empty b-boundary. Furthermore, this local extension is not across points of the causal boundary. The example indicates that the concept of local inextendibility may be less useful than originally envisioned. (orig.)

  17. On discrete models of space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Horzela, A.; Kempczynski, J.; Kapuscik, E.; Georgia Univ., Athens, GA; Uzes, Ch.

    1992-02-01

    Analyzing the Einstein radiolocation method we come to the conclusion that results of any measurement of space-time coordinates should be expressed in terms of rational numbers. We show that this property is Lorentz invariant and may be used in the construction of discrete models of space-time different from the models of the lattice type constructed in the process of discretization of continuous models. (author)

  18. Analysis of multiuser mixed RF/FSO relay networks for performance improvements in Cloud Computing-Based Radio Access Networks (CC-RANs)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alimi, Isiaka A.; Monteiro, Paulo P.; Teixeira, António L.

    2017-11-01

    The key paths toward the fifth generation (5G) network requirements are towards centralized processing and small-cell densification systems that are implemented on the cloud computing-based radio access networks (CC-RANs). The increasing recognitions of the CC-RANs can be attributed to their valuable features regarding system performance optimization and cost-effectiveness. Nevertheless, realization of the stringent requirements of the fronthaul that connects the network elements is highly demanding. In this paper, considering the small-cell network architectures, we present multiuser mixed radio-frequency/free-space optical (RF/FSO) relay networks as feasible technologies for the alleviation of the stringent requirements in the CC-RANs. In this study, we use the end-to-end (e2e) outage probability, average symbol error probability (ASEP), and ergodic channel capacity as the performance metrics in our analysis. Simulation results show the suitability of deployment of mixed RF/FSO schemes in the real-life scenarios.

  19. Coupling gravity, electromagnetism and space-time for space propulsion breakthroughs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Millis, Marc G.

    1994-01-01

    spaceflight would be revolutionized if it were possible to propel a spacecraft without rockets using the coupling between gravity, electromagnetism, and space-time (hence called 'space coupling propulsion'). New theories and observations about the properties of space are emerging which offer new approaches to consider this breakthrough possibility. To guide the search, evaluation, and application of these emerging possibilities, a variety of hypothetical space coupling propulsion mechanisms are presented to highlight the issues that would have to be satisfied to enable such breakthroughs. A brief introduction of the emerging opportunities is also presented.

  20. Space-Time Discrete KPZ Equation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cannizzaro, G.; Matetski, K.

    2018-03-01

    We study a general family of space-time discretizations of the KPZ equation and show that they converge to its solution. The approach we follow makes use of basic elements of the theory of regularity structures (Hairer in Invent Math 198(2):269-504, 2014) as well as its discrete counterpart (Hairer and Matetski in Discretizations of rough stochastic PDEs, 2015. arXiv:1511.06937). Since the discretization is in both space and time and we allow non-standard discretization for the product, the methods mentioned above have to be suitably modified in order to accommodate the structure of the models under study.

  1. Pre-Big Bang, space-time structure, asymptotic Universe. Spinorial space-time and a new approach to Friedmann-like equations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gonzalez-Mestres, Luis

    2014-04-01

    Planck and other recent data in Cosmology and Particle Physics can open the way to controversial analyses concerning the early Universe and its possible ultimate origin. Alternatives to standard cosmology include pre-Big Bang approaches, new space-time geometries and new ultimate constituents of matter. Basic issues related to a possible new cosmology along these lines clearly deserve further exploration. The Planck collaboration reports an age of the Universe t close to 13.8 Gyr and a present ratio H between relative speeds and distances at cosmic scale around 67.3 km/s/Mpc. The product of these two measured quantities is then slightly below 1 (about 0.95), while it can be exactly 1 in the absence of matter and cosmological constant in patterns based on the spinorial space-time we have considered in previous papers. In this description of space-time we first suggested in 1996-97, the cosmic time t is given by the modulus of a SU(2) spinor and the Lundmark-Lemaître-Hubble (LLH) expansion law turns out to be of purely geometric origin previous to any introduction of standard matter and relativity. Such a fundamental geometry, inspired by the role of half-integer spin in Particle Physics, may reflect an equilibrium between the dynamics of the ultimate constituents of matter and the deep structure of space and time. Taking into account the observed cosmic acceleration, the present situation suggests that the value of 1 can be a natural asymptotic limit for the product H t in the long-term evolution of our Universe up to possible small corrections. In the presence of a spinorial space-time geometry, no ad hoc combination of dark matter and dark energy would in any case be needed to get an acceptable value of H and an evolution of the Universe compatible with observation. The use of a spinorial space-time naturally leads to unconventional properties for the space curvature term in Friedmann-like equations. It therefore suggests a major modification of the standard

  2. Gallium nitride nanoparticles for solar-blind detectors

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Unknown

    potential candidate for photodetection in the solar-blind region. ... engine monitoring, water purification, UV radiation dosimetry, pollution monitoring, .... rated current in the bulk and depletion region, surface leakage currents and the space-.

  3. International Space Station Earth Observations Working Group

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stefanov, William L.; Oikawa, Koki

    2015-01-01

    The multilateral Earth Observations Working Group (EOWG) was chartered in May 2012 in order to improve coordination and collaboration of Earth observing payloads, research, and applications on the International Space Station (ISS). The EOWG derives its authority from the ISS Program Science Forum, and a NASA representative serves as a permanent co-chair. A rotating co-chair position can be occupied by any of the international partners, following concurrence by the other partners; a JAXA representative is the current co-chair. Primary functions of the EOWG include, 1) the exchange of information on plans for payloads, from science and application objectives to instrument development, data collection, distribution and research; 2) recognition and facilitation of opportunities for international collaboration in order to optimize benefits from different instruments; and 3) provide a formal ISS Program interface for collection and application of remotely sensed data collected in response to natural disasters through the International Charter, Space and Major Disasters. Recent examples of EOWG activities include coordination of bilateral data sharing protocols between NASA and TsNIIMash for use of crew time and instruments in support of ATV5 reentry imaging activities; discussion of continued use and support of the Nightpod camera mount system by NASA and ESA; and review and revision of international partner contributions on Earth observations to the ISS Program Benefits to Humanity publication.

  4. A higher order space-time Galerkin scheme for time domain integral equations

    KAUST Repository

    Pray, Andrew J.

    2014-12-01

    Stability of time domain integral equation (TDIE) solvers has remained an elusive goal formany years. Advancement of this research has largely progressed on four fronts: 1) Exact integration, 2) Lubich quadrature, 3) smooth temporal basis functions, and 4) space-time separation of convolutions with the retarded potential. The latter method\\'s efficacy in stabilizing solutions to the time domain electric field integral equation (TD-EFIE) was previously reported for first-order surface descriptions (flat elements) and zeroth-order functions as the temporal basis. In this work, we develop the methodology necessary to extend the scheme to higher order surface descriptions as well as to enable its use with higher order basis functions in both space and time. These basis functions are then used in a space-time Galerkin framework. A number of results are presented that demonstrate convergence in time. The viability of the space-time separation method in producing stable results is demonstrated experimentally for these examples.

  5. A higher order space-time Galerkin scheme for time domain integral equations

    KAUST Repository

    Pray, Andrew J.; Beghein, Yves; Nair, Naveen V.; Cools, Kristof; Bagci, Hakan; Shanker, Balasubramaniam

    2014-01-01

    Stability of time domain integral equation (TDIE) solvers has remained an elusive goal formany years. Advancement of this research has largely progressed on four fronts: 1) Exact integration, 2) Lubich quadrature, 3) smooth temporal basis functions, and 4) space-time separation of convolutions with the retarded potential. The latter method's efficacy in stabilizing solutions to the time domain electric field integral equation (TD-EFIE) was previously reported for first-order surface descriptions (flat elements) and zeroth-order functions as the temporal basis. In this work, we develop the methodology necessary to extend the scheme to higher order surface descriptions as well as to enable its use with higher order basis functions in both space and time. These basis functions are then used in a space-time Galerkin framework. A number of results are presented that demonstrate convergence in time. The viability of the space-time separation method in producing stable results is demonstrated experimentally for these examples.

  6. Non-sectarian scenario experiments in socio-ecological knowledge building for multi-use marine environments: Insights from New Zealand's Marine Futures project

    KAUST Repository

    Le Heron, Richard; Lewis, Nick; Fisher, Karen; Thrush, Simon; Lundquist, Carolyn; Hewitt, Judi; Ellis, Joanne

    2016-01-01

    of trust and collective organisation, showing the importance of values-means-ends pathways, developing facilitative legislation to enable initiatives, and the utility of the NSSEs in informing new governance and management directions in multi-use marine

  7. Alteration and Implementation of the CP/M-86 Operating System for a Multi-User Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1982-12-01

    THE CP/M-86 OPERATING SYSTEM FOR A MULTI-USER ENVIRONMENT by Thomas V. Almquist and David S. Stevens C-, December 1982 ,LU Thesis Advisor : U. R. Kodres...tool$ 044, robo O0eA 6^900091 Approved for public release; distribution unlimited Alteration and Implementation of the CP/M-86 Operating System for a...SCIENCE IN COMPUTER SCIENCE from the NAVAL POSTGRADUATE SCHOOL December 1982 Authors: Approved by: ..... .. . . . . . . . . Thesis Advisor Second

  8. Trimesic acid dimethyl sulfoxide solvate: space group revision

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sylvain Bernès

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available The structure of the title solvate, C9H6O6·C2H6OS, was determined 30 years ago [Herbstein, Kapon & Wasserman (1978. Acta Cryst. B34, 1613–1617], with data collected at room temperature, and refined in the space group P21. The present redetermination, based on high-resolution diffraction data, shows that the actual space group is more likely to be P21/m. The crystal structure contains layers of trimesic acid molecules lying on mirror planes. A mirror plane also passes through the S and O atoms of the solvent molecule. The molecules in each layer are interconnected through strong O—H...O hydrogen bonds, forming a two-dimensional supramolecular network within each layer. The donor groups are the hydroxyls of the trimesic acid molecules, while the acceptors are the carbonyl or the sulfoxide O atoms.

  9. Time Narrative Discourse in the Novel: The Blind Owl (Bofe Kor

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zeinab Alavi

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Narratology is relatively a new science that took on the scientific aspects by the structuralist studies. There are different, similar and even contradictory, ideas rose in this regard. Gérard Genette’s view of time is considered as one of the most significant elements of the narrative discourse in the review on the narrative in literature. The modern novel-in failing to comply with chronological time-is dramatically receptive to this type of criticism. This analytical research paper examines the novel The Blind Owl (Bofe Kor by Sadeq Hedayat with the aim of helping to read and understand the novel approach according to narrative discourse. The results show that the time in this novel does not follow the chronographic rules; in other words, the time fluctuates under the influence of the retrospective and prospective time disorder and thus, the time disorders and other factors such as repetition, redundancy and etc. cause the slow acceleration in narrative that led to more prolong the narrative text than the story.

  10. Newly blind persons using virtual environment system in a traditional orientation and mobility rehabilitation program: a case study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lahav, Orly; Schloerb, David W; Srinivasan, Mandayam A

    2012-09-01

    This paper presents a virtual reality system (the BlindAid) developed for orientation and mobility training of people who are newly blind. The BlindAid allows users to interact with different virtual structures and objects via auditory and haptic feedback. This case study aims to examine if and how the BlindAid, in conjunction with a traditional rehabilitation programme, can help people who are newly blind develop new orientation and mobility methods. Follow-up research based on this study, with a large experiment and control group, could contribute to the area of orientation and mobility rehabilitation training for the newly blind. The case study research focused on A., a woman who is newly blind, for 17 virtual sessions spanning ten weeks, during the 12 weeks of her traditional orientation and mobility rehabilitation programme. The research was implemented by using virtual environment (VE) exploration and orientation tasks in VE and physical spaces. The research methodology used both qualitative and quantitative methods, including interviews, questionnaire, videotape recording, and user computer logs. The results of this study helped elucidate several issues concerning the contribution of the BlindAid system to the exploration strategies and learning processes experienced by the participant in her encounters with familiar and unfamiliar physical surroundings. [Box: see text].

  11. The Cauchy problem for space-time monopole equations in Sobolev spaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huh, Hyungjin; Yim, Jihyun

    2018-04-01

    We consider the initial value problem of space-time monopole equations in one space dimension with initial data in Sobolev space Hs. Observing null structures of the system, we prove local well-posedness in almost critical space. Unconditional uniqueness and global existence are proved for s ≥ 0. Moreover, we show that the H1 Sobolev norm grows at a rate of at most c exp(ct2).

  12. The standard model on non-commutative space-time

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Calmet, X.; Jurco, B.; Schupp, P.; Wohlgenannt, M. [Sektion Physik, Universitaet Muenchen (Germany); Wess, J. [Sektion Physik, Universitaet Muenchen (Germany); Max-Planck-Institut fuer Physik, Muenchen (Germany)

    2002-03-01

    We consider the standard model on a non-commutative space and expand the action in the non-commutativity parameter {theta}{sup {mu}}{sup {nu}}. No new particles are introduced; the structure group is SU(3) x SU(2) x U(1). We derive the leading order action. At zeroth order the action coincides with the ordinary standard model. At leading order in {theta}{sup {mu}}{sup {nu}} we find new vertices which are absent in the standard model on commutative space-time. The most striking features are couplings between quarks, gluons and electroweak bosons and many new vertices in the charged and neutral currents. We find that parity is violated in non-commutative QCD. The Higgs mechanism can be applied. QED is not deformed in the minimal version of the NCSM to the order considered. (orig.)

  13. On Yang's Noncommutative Space Time Algebra, Holography, Area Quantization and C-space Relativity

    CERN Document Server

    Castro, C

    2004-01-01

    An isomorphism between Yang's Noncommutative space-time algebra (involving two length scales) and the holographic-area-coordinates algebra of C-spaces (Clifford spaces) is constructed via an AdS_5 space-time which is instrumental in explaining the origins of an extra (infrared) scale R in conjunction to the (ultraviolet) Planck scale lambda characteristic of C-spaces. Yang's space-time algebra allowed Tanaka to explain the origins behind the discrete nature of the spectrum for the spatial coordinates and spatial momenta which yields a minimum length-scale lambda (ultraviolet cutoff) and a minimum momentum p = (\\hbar / R) (maximal length R, infrared cutoff). The double-scaling limit of Yang's algebra : lambda goes to 0, and R goes to infinity, in conjunction with the large n infinity limit, leads naturally to the area quantization condition : lambda R = L^2 = n lambda^2 (in Planck area units) given in terms of the discrete angular-momentum eigenvalues n . The generalized Weyl-Heisenberg algebra in C-spaces is ...

  14. Retrieval and phenomenology of autobiographical memories in blind individuals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tekcan, Ali Í; Yılmaz, Engin; Kızılöz, Burcu Kaya; Karadöller, Dilay Z; Mutafoğlu, Merve; Erciyes, Aslı Aktan

    2015-01-01

    Although visual imagery is argued to be an essential component of autobiographical memory, there have been surprisingly few studies on autobiographical memory processes in blind individuals, who have had no or limited visual input. The purpose of the present study was to investigate how blindness affects retrieval and phenomenology of autobiographical memories. We asked 48 congenital/early blind and 48 sighted participants to recall autobiographical memories in response to six cue words, and to fill out the Autobiographical Memory Questionnaire measuring a number of variables including imagery, belief and recollective experience associated with each memory. Blind participants retrieved fewer memories and reported higher auditory imagery at retrieval than sighted participants. Moreover, within the blind group, participants with total blindness reported higher auditory imagery than those with some light perception. Blind participants also assigned higher importance, belief and recollection ratings to their memories than sighted participants. Importantly, these group differences remained the same for recent as well as childhood memories.

  15. Space, Time, and Spacetime Physical and Philosophical Implications of Minkowski's Unification of Space and Time

    CERN Document Server

    Petkov, Vesselin

    2010-01-01

    This volume is dedicated to the centennial anniversary of Minkowski's discovery of spacetime. It contains selected papers by physicists and philosophers on the Nature and Ontology of Spacetime. The first six papers, comprising Part I of the book, provide examples of the impact of Minkowski's spacetime representation of special relativity on the twentieth century physics. Part II also contains six papers which deal with implications of Minkowski's ideas for the philosophy of space and time. The last part is represented by two papers which explore the influence of Minkowski's ideas beyond the philosophy of space and time.

  16. Student "Facebook" Groups as a Third Space: Between Social Life and Schoolwork

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aaen, Janus; Dalsgaard, Christian

    2016-01-01

    The paper examines educational potentials of "Facebook" groups that are created and managed by students without any involvement from teachers. The objective is to study student-managed "Facebook" groups as a "third space" between the institutional space of teacher-managed "Facebook" groups and the…

  17. Time-space noncommutativity: quantised evolutions

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Balachandran, Aiyalam P.; Govindarajan, Thupil R.; Teotonio-Sobrinho, Paulo; Martins, Andrey Gomes

    2004-01-01

    In previous work, we developed quantum physics on the Moyal plane with time-space noncommutativity, basing ourselves on the work of Doplicher et al. Here we extend it to certain noncommutative versions of the cylinder, R 3 and Rx S 3 . In all these models, only discrete time translations are possible, a result known before in the first two cases. One striking consequence of quantised time translations is that even though a time independent hamiltonian is an observable, in scattering processes, it is conserved only modulo 2π/θ, where θ is the noncommutative parameter. (In contrast, on a one-dimensional periodic lattice of lattice spacing a and length L = Na, only momentum mod 2π/L is observable (and can be conserved).) Suggestions for further study of this effect are made. Scattering theory is formulated and an approach to quantum field theory is outlined. (author)

  18. The LLNL Multiuser Tandem Laboratory computer-controlled radiation monitoring system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Homann, S.G.

    1992-01-01

    The Physics Department of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) recently constructed a Multiuser Tandem Laboratory (MTL) to perform a variety of basic and applied measurement programs. The laboratory and its research equipment were constructed with support from a consortium of LLNL Divisions, Sandia National Laboratories Livermore, and the University of California. Primary design goals for the facility were inexpensive construction and operation, high beam quality at a large number of experimental stations, and versatility in adapting to new experimental needs. To accomplish these goals, our main design decisions were to place the accelerator in an unshielded structure, to make use of reconfigured cyclotrons as effective switching magnets, and to rely on computer control systems for both radiological protection and highly reproducible and well-characterized accelerator operation. This paper addresses the radiological control computer system

  19. Renormalization group in statistical physics - momentum and real spaces

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yukalov, V.I.

    1988-01-01

    Two variants of the renormalization group approach in statistical physics are considered, the renormalization group in the momentum and the renormalization group in the real spaces. Common properties of these methods and their differences are cleared up. A simple model for investigating the crossover between different universality classes is suggested. 27 refs

  20. Quaternion wave equations in curved space-time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Edmonds, J. D., Jr.

    1974-01-01

    The quaternion formulation of relativistic quantum theory is extended to include curvilinear coordinates and curved space-time in order to provide a framework for a unified quantum/gravity theory. Six basic quaternion fields are identified in curved space-time, the four-vector basis quaternions are identified, and the necessary covariant derivatives are obtained. Invariant field equations are derived, and a general invertable coordinate transformation is developed. The results yield a way of writing quaternion wave equations in curvilinear coordinates and curved space-time as well as a natural framework for solving the problem of second quantization for gravity.

  1. Time as a geometric property of space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James Michael Chappell

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available The proper description of time remains a key unsolved problem in science. Newton conceived of time as absolute and universal which it `flows equably without relation to anything external'}. In the nineteenth century, the four-dimensional algebraic structure of the quaternions developed by Hamilton, inspired him to suggest that they could provide a unified representation of space and time. With the publishing of Einstein's theory of special relativity these ideas then lead to the generally accepted Minkowski spacetime formulation in 1908. Minkowski, though, rejected the formalism of quaternions suggested by Hamilton and adopted rather an approach using four-vectors. The Minkowski framework is indeed found to provide a versatile formalism for describing the relationship between space and time in accordance with Einstein's relativistic principles, but nevertheless fails to provide more fundamental insights into the nature of time itself. In order to answer this question we begin by exploring the geometric properties of three-dimensional space that we model using Clifford geometric algebra, which is found to contain sufficient complexity to provide a natural description of spacetime. This description using Clifford algebra is found to provide a natural alternative to the Minkowski formulation as well as providing new insights into the nature of time. Our main result is that time is the scalar component of a Clifford space and can be viewed as an intrinsic geometric property of three-dimensional space without the need for the specific addition of a fourth dimension.

  2. Sit-to-stand ground reaction force characteristics in blind and sighted female children.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Faraji Aylar, Mozhgan; Jafarnezhadgero, Amir Ali; Salari Esker, Fatemeh

    2018-03-05

    The association between visual sensory and sit-to-stand ground reaction force characteristics is not clear. Impulse is the amount of force applied over a period of time. Also, free moment represents the vertical moment applied in the center of pressure (COP). How the ground reaction force components, vertical loading rate, impulses and free moment respond to long and short term restricted visual information? Fifteen female children with congenital blindness and 45 healthy girls with no visual impairments participated in this study. The girls with congenital blindness were placed in one group and the 45 girls with no visual impairments were randomly divided into three groups of 15; eyes open, permanently eyes closed, and temporary eyes closed. The participants in the permanently eyes closed group closed their eyes for 20 min before the test, whereas temporary eyes closed group did tests with their eyes closed throughout, and those in the eyes open group kept their eyes open. Congenital blindness was associated with increased vertical loading rate, range of motion of knee and hip in the medio-lateral plane. Also, medio-lateral and vertical ground reaction force impulses. Similar peak negative and positive free moments were observed in three groups. In conclusion, the results reveal that sit-to-stand ground reaction force components in blind children may have clinical importance for improvement of balance control of these individuals. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  3. Tactile spatial resolution in blind braille readers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Boven, R W; Hamilton, R H; Kauffman, T; Keenan, J P; Pascual-Leone, A

    2000-06-27

    To determine if blind people have heightened tactile spatial acuity. Recently, studies using magnetic source imaging and somatosensory evoked potentials have shown that the cortical representation of the reading fingers of blind Braille readers is expanded compared to that of fingers of sighted subjects. Furthermore, the visual cortex is activated during certain tactile tasks in blind subjects but not sighted subjects. The authors hypothesized that the expanded cortical representation of fingers used in Braille reading may reflect an enhanced fidelity in the neural transmission of spatial details of a stimulus. If so, the quantitative limit of spatial acuity would be superior in blind people. The authors employed a grating orientation discrimination task in which threshold performance is accounted for by the spatial resolution limits of the neural image evoked by a stimulus. The authors quantified the psychophysical limits of spatial acuity at the middle and index fingers of 15 blind Braille readers and 15 sighted control subjects. The mean grating orientation threshold was significantly (p = 0.03) lower in the blind group (1.04 mm) compared to the sighted group (1.46 mm). The self-reported dominant reading finger in blind subjects had a mean grating orientation threshold of 0.80 mm, which was significantly better than other fingers tested. Thresholds at non-Braille reading fingers in blind subjects averaged 1.12 mm, which were also superior to sighted subjects' performances. Superior tactile spatial acuity in blind Braille readers may represent an adaptive, behavioral correlate of cortical plasticity.

  4. Equity and Blindness: Closing Evidence Gaps to Support Universal Eye Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramke, Jacqueline; Zwi, Anthony B; Palagyi, Anna; Blignault, Ilse; Gilbert, Clare E

    2015-01-01

    The World Health Organization Program for the Prevention of Blindness adopted the principles of universal health coverage (UHC) in its latest plan, Universal Eye Health: A Global Action Plan, 2014-2019. This plan builds on the achievements of Vision 2020, which aimed to reduce the global prevalence of avoidable blindness, and its unequal distribution, by the year 2020. We reviewed the literature on health equity and the generation and use of evidence to promote equity, particularly in eye health. We describe the nature and extent of the equity-focused evidence to support and inform eye health programs on the path to universal eye health, and propose ways to improve the collection and reporting of this evidence. Blindness prevalence decreased in all regions of the world between 1990 and 2010, albeit not at the same rate or to the same extent. In 2010, the prevalence of blindness in West Africa (6.0%) remained 15 times higher than in high-income regions (0.4%); within all regions, women had a higher prevalence of blindness than men. Beyond inter-regional and sex differences, there is little comparable data on the distribution of blindness across social groups within regions and countries, or on whether this distribution has changed over time. Similarly, interventions known to address inequity in blindness are few, and equity-relevant goals, targets and indicators for eye health programs are scarce. Equity aims of eye health programs can benefit from the global momentum towards achieving UHC, and the progress being made on collecting, communicating and using equity-focused evidence.

  5. Space-time of class one

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Villasenor, R.F.; Bonilla, J.L.L.; Zuniga, G.O.; Matos, T.

    1989-01-01

    The authors study space-times embedded in E 5 (that means, pseudo-euclidean five-dimensional spaces) in the intrinsic rigidity case, i.e., when the second fundamental form b if can be determined by the internal geometry of the four-dimensional Riemannian space R 4 . They write down the Gauss and Codazzi equations determining the local isometric embedding of R 4 in E 5 and give some consequences of it. They prove that when there exists intrinsic rigidity, then b if is a linear combination of the metric and Ricci tensor; it is given some applications for the de Sitter and Einstein models

  6. Enhancing Physical Layer Security of Multiuser SIMO Mixed RF/FSO Relay Networks with Multi-Eavesdroppers

    KAUST Repository

    El-Malek, Ahmed H. Abd

    2017-02-09

    In this paper, we investigate the secrecy performance of multiuser (MU) single-input multiple-output (SIMO) mixed radio frequency (RF)/free space optical (FSO) relay network with opportunistic user scheduling and multiple eavesdropping attacks. The considered system includes multiple users, one amplify-and-froward (AF) relay, one destination and multiple eavesdroppers. The users are connected with a multi-antenna relay through RF links and the relay is connected with the destination through an FSO link. Maximal ratio combining (MRC) scheme is used at the relay node to combine the received signals at its different antennas. The RF/FSO channels are assumed to follow Nakagami-m/Gamma-Gamma fading models with considering the effect of pointing errors. In particular, we derive closed- form expressions for the exact and asymptotic outage probabilities. The asymptotic outage results are then used to obtain the optimal RF transmission power based on the dominant link between the RF and FSO links. Then, the considered system secrecy performance is investigated in the presence of multi- eavesdroppers where exact closed-form expression for the intercept probability is derived. Finally, a cooperative jamming model is proposed along with power allocation to enhance the system secrecy performance. Monte-Carlo simulations are provided to validate the achieved exact and asymptotic results.

  7. Aging in a Relativistic Biological Space-Time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Davide Maestrini

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Here we present a theoretical and mathematical perspective on the process of aging. We extend the concepts of physical space and time to an abstract, mathematically-defined space, which we associate with a concept of “biological space-time” in which biological dynamics may be represented. We hypothesize that biological dynamics, represented as trajectories in biological space-time, may be used to model and study different rates of biological aging. As a consequence of this hypothesis, we show how dilation or contraction of time analogous to relativistic corrections of physical time resulting from accelerated or decelerated biological dynamics may be used to study precipitous or protracted aging. We show specific examples of how these principles may be used to model different rates of aging, with an emphasis on cancer in aging. We discuss how this theory may be tested or falsified, as well as novel concepts and implications of this theory that may improve our interpretation of biological aging.

  8. Natural world physical, brain operational, and mind phenomenal space-time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fingelkurts, Andrew A.; Fingelkurts, Alexander A.; Neves, Carlos F. H.

    2010-06-01

    Concepts of space and time are widely developed in physics. However, there is a considerable lack of biologically plausible theoretical frameworks that can demonstrate how space and time dimensions are implemented in the activity of the most complex life-system - the brain with a mind. Brain activity is organized both temporally and spatially, thus representing space-time in the brain. Critical analysis of recent research on the space-time organization of the brain's activity pointed to the existence of so-called operational space-time in the brain. This space-time is limited to the execution of brain operations of differing complexity. During each such brain operation a particular short-term spatio-temporal pattern of integrated activity of different brain areas emerges within related operational space-time. At the same time, to have a fully functional human brain one needs to have a subjective mental experience. Current research on the subjective mental experience offers detailed analysis of space-time organization of the mind. According to this research, subjective mental experience (subjective virtual world) has definitive spatial and temporal properties similar to many physical phenomena. Based on systematic review of the propositions and tenets of brain and mind space-time descriptions, our aim in this review essay is to explore the relations between the two. To be precise, we would like to discuss the hypothesis that via the brain operational space-time the mind subjective space-time is connected to otherwise distant physical space-time reality.

  9. The Effect of Blindness on Long-Term Episodic Memory for Odors and Sounds

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stina Cornell Kärnekull

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available We recently showed that compared with sighted, early blind individuals have better episodic memory for environmental sounds, but not odors, after a short retention interval (∼ 8 – 9 min. Few studies have investigated potential effects of blindness on memory across long time frames, such as months or years. Consequently, it was unclear whether compensatory effects may vary as a function of retention interval. In this study, we followed-up participants (N = 57 out of 60 approximately 1 year after the initial testing and retested episodic recognition for environmental sounds and odors, and identification ability. In contrast to our previous findings, the early blind participants (n = 14 performed at a similar level as the late blind (n = 13 and sighted (n = 30 participants for sound recognition. Moreover, the groups had similar recognition performance of odors and identification ability of odors and sounds. These findings suggest that episodic odor memory is unaffected by blindness after both short and long retention intervals. However, the effect of blindness on episodic memory for sounds may vary as a function of retention interval, such that early blind individuals have an advantage over sighted across short but not long time frames. We speculate that the finding of a differential effect of blindness on auditory episodic memory across retention intervals may be related to different memory strategies at initial and follow-up assessments. In conclusion, this study suggests that blindness does not influence auditory or olfactory episodic memory as assessed after a long retention interval.

  10. Quantum Space-Time Deformed Symmetries Versus Broken Symmetries

    CERN Document Server

    Amelino-Camelia, G

    2002-01-01

    Several recent studies have concerned the faith of classical symmetries in quantum space-time. In particular, it appears likely that quantum (discretized, noncommutative,...) versions of Minkowski space-time would not enjoy the classical Lorentz symmetries. I compare two interesting cases: the case in which the classical symmetries are "broken", i.e. at the quantum level some classical symmetries are lost, and the case in which the classical symmetries are "deformed", i.e. the quantum space-time has as many symmetries as its classical counterpart but the nature of these symmetries is affected by the space-time quantization procedure. While some general features, such as the emergence of deformed dispersion relations, characterize both the symmetry-breaking case and the symmetry-deformation case, the two scenarios are also characterized by sharp differences, even concerning the nature of the new effects predicted. I illustrate this point within an illustrative calculation concerning the role of space-time symm...

  11. Groups, matrices, and vector spaces a group theoretic approach to linear algebra

    CERN Document Server

    Carrell, James B

    2017-01-01

    This unique text provides a geometric approach to group theory and linear algebra, bringing to light the interesting ways in which these subjects interact. Requiring few prerequisites beyond understanding the notion of a proof, the text aims to give students a strong foundation in both geometry and algebra. Starting with preliminaries (relations, elementary combinatorics, and induction), the book then proceeds to the core topics: the elements of the theory of groups and fields (Lagrange's Theorem, cosets, the complex numbers and the prime fields), matrix theory and matrix groups, determinants, vector spaces, linear mappings, eigentheory and diagonalization, Jordan decomposition and normal form, normal matrices, and quadratic forms. The final two chapters consist of a more intensive look at group theory, emphasizing orbit stabilizer methods, and an introduction to linear algebraic groups, which enriches the notion of a matrix group. Applications involving symm etry groups, determinants, linear coding theory ...

  12. Space-Time Diffeomorphisms in Noncommutative Gauge Theories

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Román Juarez

    2008-07-01

    Full Text Available In previous work [Rosenbaum M. et al., J. Phys. A: Math. Theor. 40 (2007, 10367–10382] we have shown how for canonical parametrized field theories, where space-time is placed on the same footing as the other fields in the theory, the representation of space-time diffeomorphisms provides a very convenient scheme for analyzing the induced twisted deformation of these diffeomorphisms, as a result of the space-time noncommutativity. However, for gauge field theories (and of course also for canonical geometrodynamics where the Poisson brackets of the constraints explicitely depend on the embedding variables, this Poisson algebra cannot be connected directly with a representation of the complete Lie algebra of space-time diffeomorphisms, because not all the field variables turn out to have a dynamical character [Isham C.J., Kuchar K.V., Ann. Physics 164 (1985, 288–315, 316–333]. Nonetheless, such an homomorphic mapping can be recuperated by first modifying the original action and then adding additional constraints in the formalism in order to retrieve the original theory, as shown by Kuchar and Stone for the case of the parametrized Maxwell field in [Kuchar K.V., Stone S.L., Classical Quantum Gravity 4 (1987, 319–328]. Making use of a combination of all of these ideas, we are therefore able to apply our canonical reparametrization approach in order to derive the deformed Lie algebra of the noncommutative space-time diffeomorphisms as well as to consider how gauge transformations act on the twisted algebras of gauge and particle fields. Thus, hopefully, adding clarification on some outstanding issues in the literature concerning the symmetries for gauge theories in noncommutative space-times.

  13. Blind Measurement Selection: A Random Matrix Theory Approach

    KAUST Repository

    Elkhalil, Khalil; Kammoun, Abla; Al-Naffouri, Tareq Y.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2016-01-01

    -aware fashions. We present two potential applications where the proposed algorithms can be used, namely antenna selection for uplink transmissions in large scale multi-user systems and sensor selection for wireless sensor networks. Numerical results are also

  14. The philosophy of space and time

    CERN Document Server

    Reichenbach, Hans

    1958-01-01

    With unusual depth and clarity, the author covers the problem of the foundations of geometry, the theory of time, the theory and consequences of Einstein's relativity including: relations between theory and observations, coordinate definitions, relations between topological and metrical properties of space, the psychological problem of the possibility of a visual intuition of non-Euclidean structures, and many other important topics in modern science and philosophy. While some of the book utilizes mathematics of a somewhat advanced nature, the exposition is so careful and complete that most people familiar with the philosophy of science or some intermediate mathematics will understand the majority of the ideas and problems discussed. Partial contents: I. The Problem of Physical Geometry. Universal and Differential Forces. Visualization of Geometries. Spaces with non-Euclidean Topological Properties. Geometry as a Theory of Relations. II. The Difference between Space and Time. Simultaneity. Time Order. Unreal ...

  15. SCOTCH: a program for solution of the one-dimensional, two-group, space-time neutron diffusion equations with temperature feedback of multi-channel fluid dynamics for HTGR cores

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ezaki, Masahiro; Mitake, Susumu; Ozawa, Tamotsu

    1979-06-01

    The SCOTCH program solves the one-dimensional (R or Z), two-group reactor kinetics equations with multi-channel temperature transients and fluid dynamics. Sub-program SCOTCH-RX simulates the space-time neutron diffusion in radial direction, and sub-program SCOTCH-AX simulates the same in axial direction. The program has about 8,000 steps of FORTRAN statement and requires about 102 kilo-words of computer memory. (author)

  16. Color blindness among multiple sclerosis patients in Isfahan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shaygannejad, Vahid; Golabchi, Khodayar; Dehghani, Alireza; Ashtari, Fereshteh; Haghighi, Sepehr; Mirzendehdel, Mahsa; Ghasemi, Majid

    2012-03-01

    Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease of young and middle aged individuals with a demyelinative axonal damage nature in central nervous system that causes various signs and symptoms. As color vision needs normal function of optic nerve and macula, it is proposed that MS can alter it via influencing optic nerve. In this survey, we evaluated color vision abnormalities and its relationship with history of optic neuritis and abnormal visual evoked potentials (VEPs) among MS patients. The case group was included of clinically definitive MS patients and the same number of normal population was enrolled as the control group. Color vision of all the participants was evaluated by Ishihara test and then visual evoked potential (VEPs) and history of optic neuritis (ON) was assessed among them. Then, frequency of color blindness was compared between the case and the control group. Finally, color blinded patients were compared to those with the history of ON and abnormal VEPs. 63 MS patients and the same number of normal populations were enrolled in this study. 12 patients had color blindness based on the Ishihara test; only 3 of them were among the control group, which showed a significant different between the two groups (P = 0.013). There was a significant relationship between the color blindness and abnormal VEP (R = 0.53, P = 0.023) but not for the color blindness and ON (P = 0.67). This study demonstrates a significant correlation between color blindness and multiple sclerosis including ones with abnormal prolonged VEP latencies. Therefore, in individuals with acquired color vision impairment, an evaluation for potentially serious underlying diseases like MS is essential.

  17. Color blindness among multiple sclerosis patients in Isfahan

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vahid Shaygannejad

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS is a disease of young and middle aged individuals with a demyelinative axonal damage nature in central nervous system that causes various signs and symptoms. As color vision needs normal function of optic nerve and macula, it is proposed that MS can alter it via influencing optic nerve. In this survey, we evaluated color vision abnormalities and its relationship with history of optic neuritis and abnormal visual evoked potentials (VEPs among MS patients. Materials and Methods: The case group was included of clinically definitive MS patients and the same number of normal population was enrolled as the control group. Color vision of all the participants was evaluated by Ishihara test and then visual evoked potential (VEPs and history of optic neuritis (ON was assessed among them. Then, frequency of color blindness was compared between the case and the control group. Finally, color blinded patients were compared to those with the history of ON and abnormal VEPs. Results: 63 MS patients and the same number of normal populations were enrolled in this study. 12 patients had color blindness based on the Ishihara test; only 3 of them were among the control group, which showed a significant different between the two groups (P = 0.013. There was a significant relationship between the color blindness and abnormal VEP (R = 0.53, P = 0.023 but not for the color blindness and ON (P = 0.67. Conclusions: This study demonstrates a significant correlation between color blindness and multiple sclerosis including ones with abnormal prolonged VEP latencies. Therefore, in individuals with acquired color vision impairment, an evaluation for potentially serious underlying diseases like MS is essential.

  18. Zeta-function regularization approach to finite temperature effects in Kaluza-Klein space-times

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bytsenko, A.A.; Vanzo, L.; Zerbini, S.

    1992-01-01

    In the framework of heat-kernel approach to zeta-function regularization, in this paper the one-loop effective potential at finite temperature for scalar and spinor fields on Kaluza-Klein space-time of the form M p x M c n , where M p is p-dimensional Minkowski space-time is evaluated. In particular, when the compact manifold is M c n = H n /Γ, the Selberg tracer formula associated with discrete torsion-free group Γ of the n-dimensional Lobachevsky space H n is used. An explicit representation for the thermodynamic potential valid for arbitrary temperature is found. As a result a complete high temperature expansion is presented and the roles of zero modes and topological contributions is discussed

  19. Comparison of Quality of Life and Social Skills between Students with Visual Problems (Blind and Partially Blind) and Normal Students

    OpenAIRE

    Fereshteh Kordestani; Azam Daneshfar; Davood Roustaee

    2014-01-01

    This study aimed to compare the quality of life and social skills between students who are visually impaired (blind and partially blind) and normal students. The population consisted of all students with visual problems (blind and partially blind) and normal students in secondary schools in Tehran in the academic year 2013-2014. Using a multi-stage random sampling method, 40 students were selected from each group. The SF-36s quality of life questionnaire and Foster and Inderbitzen social skil...

  20. Improved Interference-Free Channel Allocation in Coordinated Multiuser Multi-Antenna Open-Access Small Cells

    KAUST Repository

    Radaydeh, Redha; Zafar, Ammar; Al-Qahtani, Fawaz; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2016-01-01

    This paper investigates low-complexity joint interference avoidance and desired link improvement for single channel allocation in multiuser multi-antenna access points (APs) for open-access small cells. It is considered that an active user is equipped with an atenna array that can be used to suppress interference sources but not to provide spatial diversity. On the other hand, the operation of APs can be coordinated to meet design requirements, and each of which can unconditionally utilize assigned physical channels. Moreover, each AP is equipped with uncorrelated antennas that can be reused simultaneously to serve many active users. The analysis provides new approaches to exploit physical channels, transmit antennas, and APs to mitigate interference, while providing the best possible link gain to an active user through the most suitable interference-free channel. The event of concurrent service requests placed by active users on a specific interference-free channel is discussed for either interference avoidance through identifying unshared channels or desired link improvement via multiuser scheduling. The applicability of the approaches to balance downlink loads is explained, and practical scenarios due to imperfect identification of interference-free channels and/or scheduled user are thoroughly investigated. The developed results are applicable for any statistical and geometric models of the allocated channel to an active user as well as channel conditions of interference users. They can be used to study various performance measures. Numerical and simulation results are presented to explain some outcomes of this work.

  1. Improved Interference-Free Channel Allocation in Coordinated Multiuser Multi-Antenna Open-Access Small Cells

    KAUST Repository

    Radaydeh, Redha

    2016-02-16

    This paper investigates low-complexity joint interference avoidance and desired link improvement for single channel allocation in multiuser multi-antenna access points (APs) for open-access small cells. It is considered that an active user is equipped with an atenna array that can be used to suppress interference sources but not to provide spatial diversity. On the other hand, the operation of APs can be coordinated to meet design requirements, and each of which can unconditionally utilize assigned physical channels. Moreover, each AP is equipped with uncorrelated antennas that can be reused simultaneously to serve many active users. The analysis provides new approaches to exploit physical channels, transmit antennas, and APs to mitigate interference, while providing the best possible link gain to an active user through the most suitable interference-free channel. The event of concurrent service requests placed by active users on a specific interference-free channel is discussed for either interference avoidance through identifying unshared channels or desired link improvement via multiuser scheduling. The applicability of the approaches to balance downlink loads is explained, and practical scenarios due to imperfect identification of interference-free channels and/or scheduled user are thoroughly investigated. The developed results are applicable for any statistical and geometric models of the allocated channel to an active user as well as channel conditions of interference users. They can be used to study various performance measures. Numerical and simulation results are presented to explain some outcomes of this work.

  2. Kurtosis based blind source extraction of complex noncircular signals with application in EEG artifact removal in real-time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soroush eJavidi

    2011-10-01

    Full Text Available A new class of complex domain blind source extraction (BSE algorithms suitable for the extraction of both circular and noncircular complex signals is proposed. This is achieved through sequential extraction based on the degree of kurtosis and in the presence of noncircular measurement noise. The existence and uniqueness analysis of the solution is followed by a study of fast converging variants of the algorithm. The performance is first assessed through simulations on well understood benchmark signals, followed by a case study on real-time artifact removal from EEG signals, verified using both qualitative and quantitative metrics. The results illustrate the power of the proposed approach in real-time blind extraction of general complex-valued sources.

  3. Multi-user distribution of polarization entangled photon pairs

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Trapateau, J.; Orieux, A.; Diamanti, E.; Zaquine, I., E-mail: isabelle.zaquine@telecom-paristech.fr [LTCI, CNRS, Télécom ParisTech, Université Paris-Saclay, 75013 Paris (France); Ghalbouni, J. [Applied Physics Laboratory, Faculty of Sciences 2, Lebanese University, Campus Fanar, BP 90656 Jdeidet (Lebanon)

    2015-10-14

    We experimentally demonstrate multi-user distribution of polarization entanglement using commercial telecom wavelength division demultiplexers. The entangled photon pairs are generated from a broadband source based on spontaneous parametric down conversion in a periodically poled lithium niobate crystal using a double path setup employing a Michelson interferometer and active phase stabilisation. We test and compare demultiplexers based on various technologies and analyze the effect of their characteristics, such as losses and polarization dependence, on the quality of the distributed entanglement for three channel pairs of each demultiplexer. In all cases, we obtain a Bell inequality violation, whose value depends on the demultiplexer features. This demonstrates that entanglement can be distributed to at least three user pairs of a network from a single source. Additionally, we verify for the best demultiplexer that the violation is maintained when the pairs are distributed over a total channel attenuation corresponding to 20 km of optical fiber. These techniques are therefore suitable for resource-efficient practical implementations of entanglement-based quantum key distribution and other quantum communication network applications.

  4. Can a Blind Person Play Dodge Ball? Enacting Body and Cognition with a Group of Youths with Visual Disabilities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moraes, Marcia

    2012-01-01

    This paper presents some results of research carried out with a group of blind and partially sighted youths who are enrolled in a school for people with visual disabilities in Brazil. This research aims to promote different articulations between the body and cognition. Based on actor-network theory, it considers that having a body means learning…

  5. Physical Layer Security Enhancement in Multiuser Mixed RF#x002F;FSO Relay Networks under RF Interference

    KAUST Repository

    El-Malek, Ahmed H. Abd; Salhab, Anas M.; Zummo, Salam A.; Alouini, Mohamed-Slim

    2017-01-01

    In this paper, the impact of radio frequency (RF) co-channel interference (CCI) on the performance of multiuser (MU) mixed RF#x002F;free space optical (FSO) relay network with opportunistic user scheduling is studied. In the considered system, a user is opportunistically selected to communicate with a single destination through an amplify-and- forward (AF) relay in the presence of a single passive eavesdropper. The RF#x002F;FSO channel models are assumed to follow Rayleigh#x002F;Gamma-Gamma fading models, respectively with pointing errors and identical RF CCI signals. Exact closed-form expression for the system outage probability is derived. Then, an asymptotic expression for the outage probability is obtained at the high signal- to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) regime. The asymptotic results are used to formulate a power allocation problem to obtain optimal RF transmission power. Then, the secrecy performance is studied in the presence of CCI at both the authorized relay and eavesdropper by obtaining exact and asymptotic closed-form expressions for the intercept probability. The derived analytical formulas herein are supported by numerical and simulation results to clarify the main contributions of the work.

  6. Physical Layer Security Enhancement in Multiuser Mixed RF#x002F;FSO Relay Networks under RF Interference

    KAUST Repository

    El-Malek, Ahmed H. Abd

    2017-05-12

    In this paper, the impact of radio frequency (RF) co-channel interference (CCI) on the performance of multiuser (MU) mixed RF#x002F;free space optical (FSO) relay network with opportunistic user scheduling is studied. In the considered system, a user is opportunistically selected to communicate with a single destination through an amplify-and- forward (AF) relay in the presence of a single passive eavesdropper. The RF#x002F;FSO channel models are assumed to follow Rayleigh#x002F;Gamma-Gamma fading models, respectively with pointing errors and identical RF CCI signals. Exact closed-form expression for the system outage probability is derived. Then, an asymptotic expression for the outage probability is obtained at the high signal- to-interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) regime. The asymptotic results are used to formulate a power allocation problem to obtain optimal RF transmission power. Then, the secrecy performance is studied in the presence of CCI at both the authorized relay and eavesdropper by obtaining exact and asymptotic closed-form expressions for the intercept probability. The derived analytical formulas herein are supported by numerical and simulation results to clarify the main contributions of the work.

  7. Adaptive Transmitter Optimization in Multiuser Multiantenna Systems: Theoretical Limits, Effect of Delays, and Performance Enhancements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Samardzija Dragan

    2005-01-01

    Full Text Available The advances in programmable and reconfigurable radios have rendered feasible transmitter optimization schemes that can greatly improve the performance of multiple-antenna multiuser systems. Reconfigurable radio platforms are particularly suitable for implementation of transmitter optimization at the base station. We consider the downlink of a wireless system with multiple transmit antennas at the base station and a number of mobile terminals (i.e., users each with a single receive antenna. Under an average transmit power constraint, we consider the maximum achievable sum data rates in the case of (1 zero-forcing (ZF spatial prefilter, (2 modified zero-forcing (MZF spatial prefilter, and (3 triangularization spatial prefilter coupled with dirty-paper coding (DPC transmission scheme. We show that the triangularization with DPC approaches the closed-loop MIMO rates (upper bound for higher SNRs. Further, the MZF solution performs very well for lower SNRs, while for higher SNRs, the rates for the ZF solution converge to the MZF rates. An important impediment that degrades the performance of such transmitter optimization schemes is the delay in channel state information (CSI. We characterize the fundamental limits of performance in the presence of delayed CSI and then propose performance enhancements using a linear MMSE predictor of the CSI that can be used in conjunction with transmitter optimization in multiple-antenna multiuser systems.

  8. Space-time reference with an optical link

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Berceau, P; Hollberg, L; Taylor, M; Kahn, J

    2016-01-01

    We describe a concept for realizing a high performance space-time reference using a stable atomic clock in a precisely defined orbit and synchronizing the orbiting clock to high-accuracy atomic clocks on the ground. The synchronization would be accomplished using a two-way lasercom link between ground and space. The basic approach is to take advantage of the highest-performance cold-atom atomic clocks at national standards laboratories on the ground and to transfer that performance to an orbiting clock that has good stability and that serves as a ‘frequency-flywheel’ over time-scales of a few hours. The two-way lasercom link would also provide precise range information and thus precise orbit determination. With a well-defined orbit and a synchronized clock, the satellite could serve as a high-accuracy space-time reference, providing precise time worldwide, a valuable reference frame for geodesy, and independent high-accuracy measurements of GNSS clocks. Under reasonable assumptions, a practical system would be able to deliver picosecond timing worldwide and millimeter orbit determination, and could serve as an enabling subsystem for other proposed space-gravity missions, which are briefly reviewed. (paper)

  9. System theory on group manifolds and coset spaces.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brockett, R. W.

    1972-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to study questions regarding controllability, observability, and realization theory for a particular class of systems for which the state space is a differentiable manifold which is simultaneously a group or, more generally, a coset space. We show that it is possible to give rather explicit expressions for the reachable set and the set of indistinguishable states in the case of autonomous systems. We also establish a type of state space isomorphism theorem. Our objective is to reduce all questions about the system to questions about Lie algebras generated from the coefficient matrices entering in the description of the system and in that way arrive at conditions which are easily visualized and tested.

  10. Power efficient dynamic resource scheduling algorithms for LTE

    OpenAIRE

    Han, C; Beh, KC; Nicolaou, M; Armour, SMD; Doufexi, A

    2010-01-01

    This paper presents a link level analysis of the rate and energy efficiency performance of the LTE downlink considering the unitary codebook based precoding scheme. In a multi-user environment, appropriate radio resource management strategies can be applied to the system to improve the performance gain by exploiting multi-user diversity in the time, frequency and space domains and the gains can be translated to energy reduction at the base station. Several existing and novel resource scheduli...

  11. Quantum space-times in the year 2002

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    These ideas of space-time are suggested from developments in fuzzy physics, string theory, and deformation quantization. The review focuses on the ideas coming from fuzzy physics. We find models of quantum space-time like fuzzy 4 on which states cannot be localized, but which fluctuate into other manifolds like CP3.

  12. Derivation of space groups in mm2, 222 and mmm crystal classes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nigam, G.D.

    1987-08-01

    An algebraic approach is developed to derive space groups using 4x4 Seitz matrices for the crystal classes mm2, 222 and mmm in the orthorhombic system. The advantage of the present method is that it is relatively simple and can be adapted to introduce space groups to beginners. One of the advantages of the present method is that it admits a geometrical visualization of the symmetry elements of space group. The method can easily be extended to other crystal classes in a straightforward way. 16 refs, 1 fig., 2 tabs

  13. Improved system blind identification based on second-order ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    An improved system blind identification method based on second- order cyclostationary statistics and the properties of group delay, has been ... In the last decade, there has been considerable research on achieving blind identification.

  14. A short history of fractal-Cantorian space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Marek-Crnjac, L.

    2009-01-01

    The article attempts to give a short historical overview of the discovery of fractal-Cantorian space-time starting from the 17th century up to the present. In the last 25 years a great number of scientists worked on fractal space-time notably Garnet Ord in Canada, Laurent Nottale in France and Mohamed El Naschie in England who gave an exact mathematical procedure for the derivation of the dimensionality and curvature of fractal space-time fuzzy manifold.

  15. “History is not linear … it zigzags”: The Perception of Time in Magris' novel Blindly

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Irena Prosenc Šegula

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available In his novel Blindly Claudio Magris develops a complex perception of time. This perception is intertwined with reflections on history, identity and the status of the narrative voice. History, which “is not linear” but “zigzags” is presented as a continuously repetitive phenomenon, while temporal time is impossible to measure. The status of the autodiegetic narrator becomes highly problematic as the narrative voice assumes identities belonging to various historical periods ranging from the late 18th to the 20th centuries. The novel focuses on repressive historical periods which deform the protagonists' identities, thereby conveying an image of history as a blind and violent force. Fragmentation, one of the basic narrative techniques in the novel, concerns time sequences as well as the protagonists' identities and the narrative voice itself. As the protagonists' lives can only be narrated as fragments, there are frequent passages between different time periods. These merge into extratemporality, which is associated with eternal suffering stemming from the repetitive, oppressive nature of history. The historical events depicted in the novel are interpreted through the extratemporal dimension of the Argonaut myth.

  16. On multiuser switched diversity transmission for spectrum sharing systems

    KAUST Repository

    Qaraqe, Marwa

    2012-01-01

    In this paper, we develop multiuser access schemes for spectrum sharing systems whereby secondary users share the spectrum with primary users. In particular, we devise two schemes for selecting the user among those that satisfy the interference constraints and achieve an acceptable signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) level. The first scheme selects the user with the maximum SNR at the receiver, whereas in the second scheme the users are scanned in a sequential manner until an acceptable user is found. In addition, we consider two power adaptive settings. In the on/off power adaptive setting, the users transmit based on whether the interference constraint is met or not while in the full power adaptive setting, the users vary their transmission power to satisfy the interference constraint. Finally, we present numerical results of our proposed algorithms where we show the trade-off between the average spectral efficiency and average feedback load of both schemes. © 2012 ICST.

  17. Greater vertical spot spacing to improve femtosecond laser capsulotomy quality.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schultz, Tim; Joachim, Stephanie C; Noristani, Rozina; Scott, Wendell; Dick, H Burkhard

    2017-03-01

    To evaluate the effect of adapted capsulotomy laser settings on the cutting quality in femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery. Ruhr-University Eye Clinic, Bochum, Germany. Prospective randomized case series. Eyes were treated with 1 of 2 laser settings. In Group 1, the regular standard settings were used (incisional depth 600 μm, pulse energy 4 μJ, horizontal spot spacing 5 μm, vertical spot spacing 10 μm, treatment time 1.2 seconds). In Group 2, vertical spot spacing was increased to 15 μm and the treatment time was 1.0 seconds. Light microscopy was used to evaluate the cut quality of the capsule edge. The size and number of tags (misplaced laser spots, which form a second cut of the capsule with high tear risk) were evaluated in a blinded manner. Groups were compared using the Mann-Whitney U test. The study comprised 100 eyes (50 eyes in each group). Cataract surgery was successfully completed in all eyes, and no anterior capsule tear occurred during the treatment. Histologically, significant fewer tags were observed with the new capsulotomy laser setting. The mean score for the number and size of free tags was significantly lower in this group than with the standard settings (P laser settings improved cut quality and reduced the number of tags. The modification has the potential to reduce the risk for radial capsule tears in femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery. With the new settings, no tags and no capsule tears were observed under the operating microscope in any eye. Copyright © 2017 ASCRS and ESCRS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. The algebraic approach to space-time geometry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heller, M.; Multarzynski, P.; Sasin, W.

    1989-01-01

    A differential manifold can be defined in terms of smooth real functions carried by it. By rejecting the postulate, in such a definition, demanding the local diffeomorphism of a manifold to the Euclidean space, one obtains the so-called differential space concept. Every subset of R n turns out to be a differential space. Extensive parts of differential geometry on differential spaces, developed by Sikorski, are reviewed and adapted to relativistic purposes. Differential space as a new model of space-time is proposed. The Lorentz structure and Einstein's field equations on differential spaces are discussed. 20 refs. (author)

  19. Experimental Contact Lens to Prevent Glaucoma-Induced Blindness

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... An Experimental Contact Lens to Prevent Glaucoma-Induced Blindness By Sharon Reynolds Posted January 23, 2014 An ... group of conditions that can result in irreversible blindness. This vision loss can be reduced if glaucoma ...

  20. Blindness enhances auditory obstacle circumvention: Assessing echolocation, sensory substitution, and visual-based navigation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kolarik, Andrew J; Scarfe, Amy C; Moore, Brian C J; Pardhan, Shahina

    2017-01-01

    Performance for an obstacle circumvention task was assessed under conditions of visual, auditory only (using echolocation) and tactile (using a sensory substitution device, SSD) guidance. A Vicon motion capture system was used to measure human movement kinematics objectively. Ten normally sighted participants, 8 blind non-echolocators, and 1 blind expert echolocator navigated around a 0.6 x 2 m obstacle that was varied in position across trials, at the midline of the participant or 25 cm to the right or left. Although visual guidance was the most effective, participants successfully circumvented the obstacle in the majority of trials under auditory or SSD guidance. Using audition, blind non-echolocators navigated more effectively than blindfolded sighted individuals with fewer collisions, lower movement times, fewer velocity corrections and greater obstacle detection ranges. The blind expert echolocator displayed performance similar to or better than that for the other groups using audition, but was comparable to that for the other groups using the SSD. The generally better performance of blind than of sighted participants is consistent with the perceptual enhancement hypothesis that individuals with severe visual deficits develop improved auditory abilities to compensate for visual loss, here shown by faster, more fluid, and more accurate navigation around obstacles using sound.

  1. Blindness enhances auditory obstacle circumvention: Assessing echolocation, sensory substitution, and visual-based navigation.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrew J Kolarik

    Full Text Available Performance for an obstacle circumvention task was assessed under conditions of visual, auditory only (using echolocation and tactile (using a sensory substitution device, SSD guidance. A Vicon motion capture system was used to measure human movement kinematics objectively. Ten normally sighted participants, 8 blind non-echolocators, and 1 blind expert echolocator navigated around a 0.6 x 2 m obstacle that was varied in position across trials, at the midline of the participant or 25 cm to the right or left. Although visual guidance was the most effective, participants successfully circumvented the obstacle in the majority of trials under auditory or SSD guidance. Using audition, blind non-echolocators navigated more effectively than blindfolded sighted individuals with fewer collisions, lower movement times, fewer velocity corrections and greater obstacle detection ranges. The blind expert echolocator displayed performance similar to or better than that for the other groups using audition, but was comparable to that for the other groups using the SSD. The generally better performance of blind than of sighted participants is consistent with the perceptual enhancement hypothesis that individuals with severe visual deficits develop improved auditory abilities to compensate for visual loss, here shown by faster, more fluid, and more accurate navigation around obstacles using sound.

  2. Occupy: New Pedagogy of Space and Time?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sarah Amsler

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper forms the first part of a project of inquiry to understand the theoretical and practical potentials of Occupy through the recent wave of occupations that have emerged in response to the politics of austerity and precarity around the world. We do this as educators who are seeking to ‘occupy’ spaces of higher education inside and outside of the institutions in which we work. Occupy points to the centrality of space and time as practical concepts through which it is possible to reconfigure revolutionary activity. By dealing with the concept (Occupy at this fundamental level of space and time through a critical engagement with Henri Lefebvre’s notion of ‘a new pedagogy of space and time’, we hope to open spaces for further revolutionary transformation by extending a critique of the politics of space and time into the institutions and idea of education itself. Lefebvre considers the ‘pedagogy of space and time’ as a basis for a new form of ‘counter-space’. He suggests that ‘deviant or diverted spaces, though initially subordinate, show distinct evidence of a true productive capacity’ (2008: 383, and in doing so reveal the breaking points of everyday life and the ways in which it might be appropriated as exuberant spaces full of enjoyment and hope. In the Production of Space, he identifies the space of leisure as a site within which such a resistance might be contemplated and activated. In our work we replace the principle of leisure with the concept of Occupy. We consider here how attempts to occupy the university curriculum, not as a programme of education but as the production of critical knowledge, may also constitute ‘a new pedagogy of space and time’. We will describe this occupation of higher education with reference to two projects with which we are involved Student as Producer and the Social Science Centre, the former at the University of Lincoln, and the latter across the city of Lincoln.

  3. Convexity and the Euclidean Metric of Space-Time

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikolaos Kalogeropoulos

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available We address the reasons why the “Wick-rotated”, positive-definite, space-time metric obeys the Pythagorean theorem. An answer is proposed based on the convexity and smoothness properties of the functional spaces purporting to provide the kinematic framework of approaches to quantum gravity. We employ moduli of convexity and smoothness which are eventually extremized by Hilbert spaces. We point out the potential physical significance that functional analytical dualities play in this framework. Following the spirit of the variational principles employed in classical and quantum Physics, such Hilbert spaces dominate in a generalized functional integral approach. The metric of space-time is induced by the inner product of such Hilbert spaces.

  4. An Outdoor Navigation System for Blind Pedestrians Using GPS and Tactile-Foot Feedback

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ramiro Velázquez

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a novel, wearable navigation system for visually impaired and blind pedestrians that combines a global positioning system (GPS for user outdoor localization and tactile-foot stimulation for information presentation. Real-time GPS data provided by a smartphone are processed by dedicated navigation software to determine the directions to a destination. Navigational directions are then encoded as vibrations and conveyed to the user via a tactile display that inserts into the shoe. The experimental results showed that users were capable of recognizing with high accuracy the tactile feedback provided to their feet. The preliminary tests conducted in outdoor locations involved two blind users who were guided along 380–420 m predetermined pathways, while sharing the space with other pedestrians and facing typical urban obstacles. The subjects successfully reached the target destinations. The results suggest that the proposed system enhances independent, safe navigation of blind pedestrians and show the potential of tactile-foot stimulation in assistive devices.

  5. Spontaneous symmetry breaking in curved space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toms, D.J.

    1982-01-01

    An approach dealing with some of the complications which arise when studying spontaneous symmetry breaking beyond the tree-graph level in situations where the effective potential may not be used is discussed. These situations include quantum field theory on general curved backgrounds or in flat space-times with non-trivial topologies. Examples discussed are a twisted scalar field in S 1 xR 3 and instabilities in an expanding universe. From these it is seen that the topology and curvature of a space-time may affect the stability of the vacuum state. There can be critical length scales or times beyond which symmetries may be broken or restored in certain cases. These features are not present in Minkowski space-time and so would not show up in the usual types of early universe calculations. (U.K.)

  6. Choice blindness in financial decision making

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Owen McLaughlin

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Choice Blindness is an experimental paradigm that examines the interplay between individuals' preferences, decisions, and expectations by manipulating the relationship between intention and choice. This paper expands upon the existing Choice Blindness framework by investigating the presence of the effect in an economically significant decision context, specifically that of pension choice. In addition, it investigates a number of secondary factors hypothesized to modulate Choice Blindness, including reaction time, risk preference, and decision complexity, as well as analysing the verbal reports of non-detecting participants. The experiment was administered to 100 participants of mixed age and educational attainment. The principal finding was that no more than 37.2% of manipulated trials were detected over all conditions, a result consistent with previous Choice Blindness research. Analysis of secondary factors found that reaction time, financial sophistication and decision complexity were significant predictors of Choice Blindness detection, while content analysis of non-detecting participant responses found that 20% implied significant preference changes and 62% adhered to initial preferences. Implications of the Choice Blindness effect in the context of behavioural economics are discussed, and an agenda for further investigation of the paradigm in this context is outlined.

  7. The blind leading the blind: use and misuse of blinding in randomized controlled trials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miller, Larry E; Stewart, Morgan E

    2011-03-01

    The use of blinding strengthens the credibility of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) by minimizing bias. However, there is confusion surrounding the definition of blinding as well as the terms single, double, and triple blind. It has been suggested that these terms should be discontinued due to their broad misinterpretation. We recommend that, instead of abandoning the use of these terms, explicit definitions of blinding should be adopted. We address herein the concept of blinding, propose standard definitions for the consistent use of these terms, and detail when different types of blinding should be utilized. Standardizing the definition of blinding and utilizing proper blinding methods will improve the quality and clarity of reporting in RCTs. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  8. Embodied Space in Early Blind Individuals

    OpenAIRE

    Crollen, Virginie; Collignon, Olivier

    2012-01-01

    The impact of sensory experience during early life on space perception and control of action has only been scarcely studied. The visual system typically provides the more accurate and reliable spatial information of our surrounding and is then usually considered as the frontrunner sense when spatial processing is at play. The study of visually deprived individual therefore offers a unique opportunity to investigate the role that vision plays in shaping how we process our surrounding space. Ho...

  9. Sequential vs simultaneous encoding of spatial information: a comparison between the blind and the sighted.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruotolo, Francesco; Ruggiero, Gennaro; Vinciguerra, Michela; Iachini, Tina

    2012-02-01

    The aim of this research is to assess whether the crucial factor in determining the characteristics of blind people's spatial mental images is concerned with the visual impairment per se or the processing style that the dominant perceptual modalities used to acquire spatial information impose, i.e. simultaneous (vision) vs sequential (kinaesthesis). Participants were asked to learn six positions in a large parking area via movement alone (congenitally blind, adventitiously blind, blindfolded sighted) or with vision plus movement (simultaneous sighted, sequential sighted), and then to mentally scan between positions in the path. The crucial manipulation concerned the sequential sighted group. Their visual exploration was made sequential by putting visual obstacles within the pathway in such a way that they could not see simultaneously the positions along the pathway. The results revealed a significant time/distance linear relation in all tested groups. However, the linear component was lower in sequential sighted and blind participants, especially congenital. Sequential sighted and congenitally blind participants showed an almost overlapping performance. Differences between groups became evident when mentally scanning farther distances (more than 5m). This threshold effect could be revealing of processing limitations due to the need of integrating and updating spatial information. Overall, the results suggest that the characteristics of the processing style rather than the visual impairment per se affect blind people's spatial mental images. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  10. The Group Evacuation Behavior Based on Fire Effect in the Complicated Three-Dimensional Space

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Hu

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available In order to effectively depict the group evacuation behavior in the complicated three-dimensional space, a novel pedestrian flow model is proposed with three-dimensional cellular automata. In this model the calculation methods of floor field and fire gain are elaborated at first, and the transition gain of target position at the next moment is defined. Then, in consideration of pedestrian intimacy and velocity change, the group evacuation strategy and evolution rules are given. Finally, the experiments were conducted with the simulation platform to study the relationships of evacuation time, pedestrian density, average system velocity, and smoke spreading velocity. The results had shown that large-scale group evacuation should be avoided, and in case of large pedestrian density, the shortest route of evacuation strategy would extend system evacuation time.

  11. Pre-Big Bang, space-time structure, asymptotic Universe

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gonzalez-Mestres Luis

    2014-04-01

    Full Text Available Planck and other recent data in Cosmology and Particle Physics can open the way to controversial analyses concerning the early Universe and its possible ultimate origin. Alternatives to standard cosmology include pre-Big Bang approaches, new space-time geometries and new ultimate constituents of matter. Basic issues related to a possible new cosmology along these lines clearly deserve further exploration. The Planck collaboration reports an age of the Universe t close to 13.8 Gyr and a present ratio H between relative speeds and distances at cosmic scale around 67.3 km/s/Mpc. The product of these two measured quantities is then slightly below 1 (about 0.95, while it can be exactly 1 in the absence of matter and cosmological constant in patterns based on the spinorial space-time we have considered in previous papers. In this description of space-time we first suggested in 1996-97, the cosmic time t is given by the modulus of a SU(2 spinor and the Lundmark-Lemaître-Hubble (LLH expansion law turns out to be of purely geometric origin previous to any introduction of standard matter and relativity. Such a fundamental geometry, inspired by the role of half-integer spin in Particle Physics, may reflect an equilibrium between the dynamics of the ultimate constituents of matter and the deep structure of space and time. Taking into account the observed cosmic acceleration, the present situation suggests that the value of 1 can be a natural asymptotic limit for the product H t in the long-term evolution of our Universe up to possible small corrections. In the presence of a spinorial space-time geometry, no ad hoc combination of dark matter and dark energy would in any case be needed to get an acceptable value of H and an evolution of the Universe compatible with observation. The use of a spinorial space-time naturally leads to unconventional properties for the space curvature term in Friedmann-like equations. It therefore suggests a major modification of

  12. Extended Cellular Automata Models of Particles and Space-Time

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beedle, Michael

    2005-04-01

    Models of particles and space-time are explored through simulations and theoretical models that use Extended Cellular Automata models. The expanded Cellular Automata Models consist go beyond simple scalar binary cell-fields, into discrete multi-level group representations like S0(2), SU(2), SU(3), SPIN(3,1). The propagation and evolution of these expanded cellular automatas are then compared to quantum field theories based on the "harmonic paradigm" i.e. built by an infinite number of harmonic oscillators, and with gravitational models.

  13. Quantum field theory in curved space-time

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Najmi, A.-H.

    1982-09-01

    The problem of constructing states for quantum field theories in nonstationary background space-times is set out. A formalism in which the problem of constructing states can be attacked more easily than at present is presented. The ansatz of energy-minimization as a means of constructing states is formulated in this formalism and its general solution for the free scalar field is found. It has been known, in specific cases, that such states suffer from the problem of unitary inequivalence (the pathology). An example in Minowski space-time is presented in which global operators, such as the particle-number operator, do not exist but all physical observables, such as the renormalized energy density are finite. This model has two Fock-sectors as its space of physical states. A simple extension of this model, i.e. enlarging the Fock-space of states is found not to remedy the pathology: in a Robertson-Walker space-time the quantum field acquires an infinite amount of renormalized energy density to the future of the hypersurface on which the energy density is minimized. Finally, the solution of the ansatz of energy minimization for the free, massive Hermitian fermion field is presented. (author)

  14. Semi-blind sparse image reconstruction with application to MRFM.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Park, Se Un; Dobigeon, Nicolas; Hero, Alfred O

    2012-09-01

    We propose a solution to the image deconvolution problem where the convolution kernel or point spread function (PSF) is assumed to be only partially known. Small perturbations generated from the model are exploited to produce a few principal components explaining the PSF uncertainty in a high-dimensional space. Unlike recent developments on blind deconvolution of natural images, we assume the image is sparse in the pixel basis, a natural sparsity arising in magnetic resonance force microscopy (MRFM). Our approach adopts a Bayesian Metropolis-within-Gibbs sampling framework. The performance of our Bayesian semi-blind algorithm for sparse images is superior to previously proposed semi-blind algorithms such as the alternating minimization algorithm and blind algorithms developed for natural images. We illustrate our myopic algorithm on real MRFM tobacco virus data.

  15. A composite model of the space-time and 'colors'

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Terazawa, Hidezumi.

    1987-03-01

    A pregeometric and pregauge model of the space-time and ''colors'' in which the space-time metric and ''color'' gauge fields are both composite is presented. By the non-triviality of the model, the number of space-time dimensions is restricted to be not larger than the number of ''colors''. The long conjectured space-color correspondence is realized in the model action of the Nambu-Goto type which is invariant under both general-coordinate and local-gauge transformations. (author)

  16. Electrophysiological correlates of mental navigation in blind and sighted people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kober, Silvia Erika; Wood, Guilherme; Kampl, Christiane; Neuper, Christa; Ischebeck, Anja

    2014-10-15

    The aim of the present study was to investigate functional reorganization of the occipital cortex for a mental navigation task in blind people. Eight completely blind adults and eight sighted matched controls performed a mental navigation task, in which they mentally imagined to walk along familiar routes of their hometown during a multi-channel EEG measurement. A motor imagery task was used as control condition. Furthermore, electrophysiological activation patterns during a resting measurement with open and closed eyes were compared between blind and sighted participants. During the resting measurement with open eyes, no differences in EEG power were observed between groups, whereas sighted participants showed higher alpha (8-12Hz) activity at occipital sites compared to blind participants during an eyes-closed resting condition. During the mental navigation task, blind participants showed a stronger event-related desynchronization in the alpha band over the visual cortex compared to sighted controls indicating a stronger activation in this brain region in the blind. Furthermore, groups showed differences in functional brain connectivity between fronto-central and parietal-occipital brain networks during mental navigation indicating stronger visuo-spatial processing in sighted than in blind people during mental navigation. Differences in electrophysiological parameters between groups were specific for mental navigation since no group differences were observed during motor imagery. These results indicate that in the absence of vision the visual cortex takes over other functions such as spatial navigation. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  17. Representations of classical groups on the lattice and its application to the field theory on discrete space-time

    OpenAIRE

    Lorente, M.

    2003-01-01

    We explore the mathematical consequences of the assumption of a discrete space-time. The fundamental laws of physics have to be translated into the language of discrete mathematics. We find integral transformations that leave the lattice of any dimension invariant and apply these transformations to field equations.

  18. Comparison of Static Balance among Blind, Deaf and Normal Children in Different Conditions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Aidin Vali-Zadeh

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Objective: Sensory systems including proprioceptive, vestibular and visual network play an important role in motor control. Loss of information from each sensory channel can cause body sway on static positions. Materials & Methods: Seventeen blind children (9 girls, 8 boys and 30 deaf children (14 girls, 16 boys participated as the sample groups in Ardabil city. Sixteen normal children (30 girls and 30 boys also selected as the control group. One leg standing and tandem stance tests (reliability=0.87-0.99 in two condition (eyes open and closed was used for static balance evaluation. One-Way ANOVA and LSD post hoc test was used to compare groups, and independent t-test was used for comparing sexes in each group by using SPSS (16 version software. Results: results showed there is no significant difference between blind, deaf and normal girls in any of the balance tasks (p>0.05. While the balance function of deaf and normal boys was better than blind boys in all balance tasks except for tandem stance with eyes closed (p=0.507. Blind girls were better than blind boys in all balance tasks (p=0.05, p=0.02, p=0.02. Deaf boys were better than girls with deafness in one leg stance and tandem stance (eyes open tasks (p=0.04, p=0.02, p=0.04 but there was no significant different between deaf boys and girls in any other tasks (p=0.63, p=0.29, p=0.89. Normal boys have better performance than girls and only in tandem stance (eyes closed (p=0.21 and one leg stance (left foot eyes open (p=0.99 there was no significant difference between normal boys and girls. Conclusion: findings showed that static balance in deaf and normal children were better than the blinds. Since persons with blindness are not able to compensate the visual loss for postural stability, they show decreased postural stability in static conditions. Inclusive identifying effective factors on balance and its weakness and problems in appropriate time, attention to this factors in training

  19. Space-Time Code Designs for Broadband Wireless Communications

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Xia, Xiang-Gen

    2005-01-01

    The goal of this research is to design new space AND time codes, such as complex orthogonal space AND time block codes with rate above 1/2 from complex orthogonal designs for QAM, PSK, and CPM signals...

  20. Exploring space-time structure of human mobility in urban space

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sun, J. B.; Yuan, J.; Wang, Y.; Si, H. B.; Shan, X. M.

    2011-03-01

    Understanding of human mobility in urban space benefits the planning and provision of municipal facilities and services. Due to the high penetration of cell phones, mobile cellular networks provide information for urban dynamics with a large spatial extent and continuous temporal coverage in comparison with traditional approaches. The original data investigated in this paper were collected by cellular networks in a southern city of China, recording the population distribution by dividing the city into thousands of pixels. The space-time structure of urban dynamics is explored by applying Principal Component Analysis (PCA) to the original data, from temporal and spatial perspectives between which there is a dual relation. Based on the results of the analysis, we have discovered four underlying rules of urban dynamics: low intrinsic dimensionality, three categories of common patterns, dominance of periodic trends, and temporal stability. It implies that the space-time structure can be captured well by remarkably few temporal or spatial predictable periodic patterns, and the structure unearthed by PCA evolves stably over time. All these features play a critical role in the applications of forecasting and anomaly detection.