Feasibility of Electromagnetic Transponder Use to Monitor Inter- and Intrafractional Motion in Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer Patients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Shinohara, Eric T.; Kassaee, Alireza; Mitra, Nandita; Vapiwala, Neha; Plastaras, John P.; Drebin, Jeff; Wan, Fei; Metz, James M.

2012-01-01

Purpose: The primary objective of this study was to determine the feasibility of electromagnetic transponder implantation in patients with locally advanced unresectable pancreatic cancer. Secondarily, the use of transponders to monitor inter- and intrafractional motion, and the efficacy of breath holding for limiting target motion, were examined. Methods and Materials: During routine screening laparoscopy, 5 patients without metastatic disease were implanted with transponders peri-tumorally. The Calypso System’s localization and tracking modes were used to monitor inter- and intrafractional motion, respectively. Intrafractional motion, with and without breath holding, was also examined using Calypso tracking mode. Results: Transponder implantation was well tolerated in all patients, with minimal migration, aside from 1 patient who expulsed a single transponder. Interfractional motion based on mean shifts from setup using tattoos/orthogonal imaging to transponder based localization from 164 treatments was significant in all dimensions. Mean shift (in millimeters), followed by the standard deviation and p value, were as follows: X-axis: 4.5 mm (1.0, p = 0.01); Y axis: 6.4 mm (1.9, p = 0.03); and Z-axis 3.9 mm (0.6, p = 0.002). Mean intrafractional motion was also found to be significant in all directions: superior, 7.2 mm (0.9, p = 0.01); inferior, 11.9 mm (0.9, p < 0.01); anterior: 4.9 mm (0.5, p = 0.01); posterior, 2.9 mm (0.5, p = 0.02); left, 2.2 mm (0.4, p = 0.02); and right, 3.1 mm (0.6, p = 0.04). Breath holding during treatment significantly decreased tumor motion in all directions. Conclusions: Electromagnetic transponder implantation appears to be safe and effective for monitoring inter- and intrafractional motion. Based on these results a larger clinical trial is underway.

One dimensional motion of interstitial clusters and void growth in Ni and Ni alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Yoshiie, T.; Ishizaki, T.; Xu, Q.; Satoh, Y.; Kiritani, M.

2002-12-01

One dimensional (1-D) motion of interstitial clusters is important for the microstructural evolution in metals. In this paper, the effect of 2 at.% alloying with elements Si (volume size factor to Ni: -5.81%), Cu (7.18%), Ge (14.76%) and Sn (74.08%) in Ni on 1-D motion of interstitial clusters and void growth was studied. In neutron irradiated pure Ni, Ni-Cu and Ni-Ge, well developed dislocation networks and voids in the matrix, and no defects near grain boundaries were observed at 573 K to a dose of 0.4 dpa by transmission electron microscopy. No voids were formed and only interstitial type dislocation loops were observed near grain boundaries in Ni-Si and Ni-Sn. The reaction kinetics analysis which included the point defect flow into planar sink revealed the existence of 1-D motion of interstitial clusters in Ni, Ni-Cu and Ni-Ge, and lack of such motion in Ni-Si and Ni-Sn. In Ni-Sn and Ni-Si, the alloying elements will trap interstitial clusters and thereby reduce the cluster mobility, which lead to the reduction in void growth.

Equation-of-motion coupled cluster perturbation theory revisited

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eriksen, Janus Juul; Jørgensen, Poul; Olsen, Jeppe

2014-01-01

The equation-of-motion coupled cluster (EOM-CC) framework has been used for deriving a novel series of perturbative corrections to the coupled cluster singles and doubles energy that formally con- verges towards the full configuration interaction energy limit. The series is based on a Møller-Ples......-Plesset partitioning of the Hamiltonian and thus size extensive at any order in the perturbation, thereby rem- edying the major deficiency inherent to previous perturbation series based on the EOM-CC ansatz. © 2014 AIP Publishing LLC. [http://dx.doi.org/10.1063/1.4873138]...

Proportional lumbar spine inter-vertebral motion patterns: a comparison of patients with chronic, non-specific low back pain and healthy controls.

Science.gov (United States)

Mellor, Fiona E; Thomas, Peter W; Thompson, Paul; Breen, Alan C

2014-10-01

Identifying biomechanical subgroups in chronic, non-specific low back pain (CNSLBP) populations from inter-vertebral displacements has proven elusive. Quantitative fluoroscopy (QF) has excellent repeatability and provides continuous standardised inter-vertebral kinematic data from fluoroscopic sequences allowing assessment of mid-range motion. The aim of this study was to determine whether proportional continuous IV rotational patterns were different in patients and controls. A secondary aim was to update the repeatability of QF measurement of range of motion (RoM) for inter-vertebral (IV) rotation. Fluoroscopic sequences were recorded of passive, recumbent coronal and sagittal motion, which was controlled for range and velocity. Segments L2-5 in 40 primary care CNSLBP patients and 40 matched controls were compared. Patients also completed the von Korff Chronic Pain Grade and Roland and Morris Disability Questionnaire. Sequences were processed using automated image tracking algorithms to extract continuous inter-vertebral rotation data. These were converted to continuous proportional ranges of rotation (PR). The continuous proportional range variances were calculated for each direction and combined to produce a single variable representing their fluctuation (CPRV). Inter- and intra-rater repeatability were also calculated for the maximum IV-RoM measurements obtained during controlled trunk motion to provide an updated indication of the reliability and agreement of QF for measuring spine kinematics. CPRV was significantly higher in patients (0.011 vs. 0.008, Mann-Whitney two-sided p = 0.008), implying a mechanical subgroup. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis found its sensitivity and specificity to be 0.78 % (60-90) and 0.55 % (37-73), respectively (area under the curve 0.672). CPRV was not correlated with pain severity or disability. The repeatability of maximum inter-vertebral range was excellent, but range was only significantly greater in patients

Study of two-dimensional Debye clusters using Brownian motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sheridan, T.E.; Theisen, W.L.

2006-01-01

A two-dimensional Debye cluster is a system of n identical particles confined in a parabolic well and interacting through a screened Coulomb (i.e., a Debye-Hueckel or Yukawa) potential with a Debye length λ. Experiments were performed for 27 clusters with n=3-63 particles (9 μm diam) in a capacitively coupled 9 W rf discharge at a neutral argon pressure of 13.6 mTorr. In the strong-coupling regime each particle exhibits small amplitude Brownian motion about its equilibrium position. These motions were projected onto the center-of-mass and breathing modes and Fourier analyzed to give resonance curves from which the mode frequencies, amplitudes, and damping rates were determined. The ratio of the breathing frequency to the center-of-mass frequency was compared with theory to self-consistently determine the Debye shielding parameter κ, Debye length λ, particle charge q, and mode temperatures. It is found that 1 < or approx. κ < or approx. 2, and κ decreases weakly with n. The particle charge averaged over all measurements is -14 200±200 e, and q decreases slightly with n. The two center-of-mass modes and the breathing mode are found to have the same temperature, indicating that the clusters are in thermal equilibrium with the neutral gas. The average cluster temperature is 399±5 K

Inter-examiner reliability of passive assessment of intervertebral motion in the cervical and lumbar spine: A systematic review

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Trijffel, E.; Anderegg, Q.; Bossuyt, P. M. M.; Lucas, C.

2005-01-01

A systematic review was conducted to determine inter-examiner reliability of passive assessment of segmental intervertebral motion in the cervical and lumbar spine as well as to explore sources of heterogeneity. Passive assessment of motion is used to decide on treatments for neck and low-back pain

Relationships between lumbar inter-vertebral motion and lordosis in healthy adult males: a cross sectional cohort study.

OpenAIRE

du Rose, A.; Breen, Alan C.

2016-01-01

Background Intervertebral motion impairment is widely thought to be related to chronic back disability, however, the movements of inter-vertebral pairs are not independent of each other and motion may also be related to morphology. Furthermore, maximum intervertebral range of motion (IV-RoMmax) is difficult to measure accurately in living subjects. The purpose of this study was to explore possible relationships between (IV-RoMmax) and lordosis, initial attainment rate and IV-RoMmax at other l...

TH-CD-207A-12: Impacts of Inter- and Intra-Fractional Organ Motion for High-Risk Prostate Cancer Stereotactic Body Radiation Therapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hassan Rezaeian, N; Chi, Y; Zhou, Y; Tian, Z; Jiang, S; Hannan, R; Jia, X [UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, TX (United States)

2016-06-15

Purpose: We are conducting a clinical trial on stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT) for high-risk prostate cancer. Doses to three targets, prostate, intra-prostatic lesion, and pelvic lymph node (PLN) region, are escalated to three different levels via simultaneous integrated boost technique. Inter-/intra-fractional organ motions deteriorate planned dose distribution. This study aims at developing a dose reconstruction system to comprehensively understand the impacts of organ motion in our clinical trial. Methods: A 4D dose reconstruction system has been developed for this study. Using a GPU-based Monte-Carlo dose engine and delivery log file, the system is able to reconstruct dose on static or dynamic anatomy. For prostate and intra-prostatic targets, intra-fractional motion is the main concern. Motion trajectory acquired from Calypso in previously treated SBRT patients were used to perform 4D dose reconstructions. For pelvic target, inter-fractional motion is one concern. Eight patients, each with four cone beam CTs, were used to derive fractional motion. The delivered dose was reconstructed on the deformed anatomy. Dosimetric parameters for delivered dose distributions of the three targets were extracted and compared with planned levels. Results: For prostate intra-fractional motion, the mean 3D motion amplitude during beam delivery ranged from 1.5mm to 5.0mm and the average among all patients was 2.61mm. Inter-fractional motion for the PLN target was more significant. The average amplitude among patients was 4mm with the largest amplitude up to 9.6mm. The D95% deviation from planned level for prostate PTVs and GTVs are on average less than<0.1% and this deviation for intra-prostatic lesion PTVs and GTVs were more prominent. The dose at PLN was significantly affected with D{sub 95}% reduced by up to 44%. Conclusion: Intra-/inter-fractional organ motion is a concern for high-risk prostate SBRT, particularly for the PLN target. Our dose reconstruction

Relationships between Paraspinal Muscle Activity and Lumbar Inter-Vertebral Range of Motion

OpenAIRE

du Rose, Alister; Breen, Alan

2016-01-01

Abstract: Control of the lumbar spine requires contributions from both the active and passive sub-systems. Identifying interactions between these systems may provide insight into the mechanisms of low back pain. However, as a first step it is important to investigate what is normal. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between the lumbar inter-vertebral range of motion and paraspinal muscle activity during weight-bearing flexion in healthy controls using quantitative flu...

Validity and inter-rater reliability of medio-lateral knee motion observed during a single-limb mini squat

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ageberg, Eva; Bennell, Kim L; Hunt, Michael A

2010-01-01

Muscle function may influence the risk of knee injury and outcomes following injury. Clinical tests, such as a single-limb mini squat, resemble conditions of daily life and are easy to administer. Fewer squats per 30 seconds indicate poorer function. However, the quality of movement, such as the ......, such as the medio-lateral knee motion may also be important. The aim was to validate an observational clinical test of assessing the medio-lateral knee motion, using a three-dimensional (3-D) motion analysis system. In addition, the inter-rater reliability was evaluated....

A method for determining the radius of an open cluster from stellar proper motions

Science.gov (United States)

Sánchez, Néstor; Alfaro, Emilio J.; López-Martínez, Fátima

2018-04-01

We propose a method for calculating the radius of an open cluster in an objective way from an astrometric catalogue containing, at least, positions and proper motions. It uses the minimum spanning tree in the proper motion space to discriminate cluster stars from field stars and it quantifies the strength of the cluster-field separation by means of a statistical parameter defined for the first time in this paper. This is done for a range of different sampling radii from where the cluster radius is obtained as the size at which the best cluster-field separation is achieved. The novelty of this strategy is that the cluster radius is obtained independently of how its stars are spatially distributed. We test the reliability and robustness of the method with both simulated and real data from a well-studied open cluster (NGC 188), and apply it to UCAC4 data for five other open clusters with different catalogued radius values. NGC 188, NGC 1647, NGC 6603, and Ruprecht 155 yielded unambiguous radius values of 15.2 ± 1.8, 29.4 ± 3.4, 4.2 ± 1.7, and 7.0 ± 0.3 arcmin, respectively. ASCC 19 and Collinder 471 showed more than one possible solution, but it is not possible to know whether this is due to the involved uncertainties or due to the presence of complex patterns in their proper motion distributions, something that could be inherent to the physical object or due to the way in which the catalogue was sampled.

Modeling of 1D motion of interstitial clusters in iron under HVEM irradiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Satoh, Y.; Hamaoka, T.; Matsui, H.

2007-01-01

Full text of publication follows: We examined 1D motion of interstitial clusters in Fe under electron irradiation at room temperature using high voltage electron microscopy (HVEM). We found that some impurities have essential effects on the experimental 1D motion behavior. The characteristics of experimental 1D motion were obtained as follows: 1) 1D motion appears as discrete jumps (namely, stepwise positional changes) at irregular intervals. 2) Sometimes a set of several successive jumps occurs between certain two points (back and forth motion). 3) The frequency of 1D jumps is almost proportional to the electron beam intensity, while the distribution of 1D jump distance does not change much with the intensity. Very few 1D jumps are observed with a 200 kV TEM at room temperature. 4) The distance and the frequency of 1D jumps are greatly reduced in a specimen of low purities. Taking account for effects of impurities, we propose a mechanism of the experimental 1D jumps, as follows. Small interstitial clusters are regarded to be essentially mobile as crowdion bundles. Then interstitial clusters in a stationary state are trapped by impurity atom(s), due to elastic interactions between impurities and crowdion bundle. The electron irradiation changes the cluster into a mobile state by a detrapping: for example, the impurity atom is displaced to apart from the crowdion bundle. Then the crowdion bundle makes a free 1D migration until it is trapped by another impurity atom. Because of small activation energy for 1D migration, we cannot observe the detailed 1D random walk process, but a stepwise positional change from an impurity to another impurity. The average size of interstitial clusters observed in the present experiments was around 5 nm, corresponding to a bundle of 300 crowdions. In a rough estimate assuming that an impurity atom on any crowdion in the crowdion bundle prevent the migration of the bundle, the mean free path is about 75 nm and 7.5 nm at the impurity

RESIDUAL GAS MOTIONS IN THE INTRACLUSTER MEDIUM AND BIAS IN HYDROSTATIC MEASUREMENTS OF MASS PROFILES OF CLUSTERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lau, Erwin T.; Kravtsov, Andrey V.; Nagai, Daisuke

2009-01-01

We present analysis of bulk and random gas motions in the intracluster medium using high-resolution Eulerian cosmological simulations of 16 simulated clusters, including both very relaxed and unrelaxed systems and spanning a virial mass range of 5 x 10 13 - 2 x 10 15 h -1 M-odot. We investigate effects of the residual subsonic gas motions on the hydrostatic estimates of mass profiles and concentrations of galaxy clusters. In agreement with previous studies, we find that the gas motions contribute up to ∼5%-15% of the total pressure support in relaxed clusters with contribution increasing with the cluster-centric radius. The fractional pressure support is higher in unrelaxed systems. This contribution would not be accounted for in hydrostatic estimates of the total mass profile and would lead to systematic underestimate of mass. We demonstrate that total mass can be recovered accurately if pressure due to gas motions measured in simulations is explicitly taken into account in the equation of hydrostatic equilibrium. Given that the underestimate of mass is increasing at larger radii, where gas is less relaxed and contribution of gas motions to pressure is larger, the total density profile derived from hydrostatic analysis is more concentrated than the true profile. This may at least partially explain some high values of concentrations of clusters estimated from hydrostatic analysis of X-ray data.

Asymptotical approximation of interconnection of nucleons' quadrupole and cluster motion in atomic nucleus

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kabulov, A.B.

2003-01-01

Atomic nuclei display different kinds of collective motion. The well known example - is the collective model arising from valent nucleons motion. The other a special kind of collective motion is cluster mode. If a collective model has quadrupole character, then cluster one has dipole character. In the boson formalism this model is describing by dynamic symmetry U(6) direct X U(4). The common Hamiltonian symmetrical to U(6) direct X U(4) group has a form H=H d +H p +V pd . In the paper the asymptotical wave function for dipole states connected with (N-1) bosons of s- and d-types is presented. In this case the problem for Hamiltonian eigenvalues is solving by analytical way. With use Elliot method and wave functions asymptotical form the operators for matrix elements of E2-, E1-, M1-transitions are cited

Alpha condensates and nonlocalized cluster structures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Funaki, Yasuro

2014-01-01

We discuss a container structure for non-gaslike cluster states, in which single Tohsaki-Horiuchi-Schuck-ROpke (THSR) wave functions are shown to be almost 100% equivalent to the full solutions of the corresponding RGM/GCM equations, for the inversion doublet band states in 20 Ne, α-linear-chain states, and α + α + A cluster states in 9 Λ Be. The recognition of the fact that the THSR wave function describes well not only gaslike cluster states but also non-gaslike cluster states is a recent remarkable development of nuclear cluster physics. This fact tells us that the cluster structure is composed of cluster-mean-field motion under the constraint of inter-cluster Pauli repulsion, in which we call the cluster-mean-field potential the container. We demonstrate that the evolution of the cluster structure of a nucleus is governed by the size parameter of the cluster-mean-field potential (container), for 16 O nucleus

Quasi-free experiments as a tool for the study of 6Li cluster structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lattuada, M.; Riggi, F.; Spitaleri, C.; Vinciguerra, D.

1984-01-01

The value of the α-d clustering probability in 6 Li deduced from quasi-free experiments may be influenced by the choice of the inter-cluster wave function. Several functional forms usually taken to describe the relative motion of the two clusters have been examined. The effect of the choice of the intercluster wave function on the information deduced by analysing quasi-free data in the plane-wave impulse approximation was investigated

Motion Tree Delineates Hierarchical Structure of Protein Dynamics Observed in Molecular Dynamics Simulation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kei Moritsugu

Full Text Available Molecular dynamics (MD simulations of proteins provide important information to understand their functional mechanisms, which are, however, likely to be hidden behind their complicated motions with a wide range of spatial and temporal scales. A straightforward and intuitive analysis of protein dynamics observed in MD simulation trajectories is therefore of growing significance with the large increase in both the simulation time and system size. In this study, we propose a novel description of protein motions based on the hierarchical clustering of fluctuations in the inter-atomic distances calculated from an MD trajectory, which constructs a single tree diagram, named a "Motion Tree", to determine a set of rigid-domain pairs hierarchically along with associated inter-domain fluctuations. The method was first applied to the MD trajectory of substrate-free adenylate kinase to clarify the usefulness of the Motion Tree, which illustrated a clear-cut dynamics picture of the inter-domain motions involving the ATP/AMP lid and the core domain together with the associated amplitudes and correlations. The comparison of two Motion Trees calculated from MD simulations of ligand-free and -bound glutamine binding proteins clarified changes in inherent dynamics upon ligand binding appeared in both large domains and a small loop that stabilized ligand molecule. Another application to a huge protein, a multidrug ATP binding cassette (ABC transporter, captured significant increases of fluctuations upon binding a drug molecule observed in both large scale inter-subunit motions and a motion localized at a transmembrane helix, which may be a trigger to the subsequent structural change from inward-open to outward-open states to transport the drug molecule. These applications demonstrated the capabilities of Motion Trees to provide an at-a-glance view of various sizes of functional motions inherent in the complicated MD trajectory.

Measurement of inter and intra fraction organ motion in radiotherapy using cone beam CT projection images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Marchant, T E; Amer, A M; Moore, C J

2008-01-01

A method is presented for extraction of intra and inter fraction motion of seeds/markers within the patient from cone beam CT (CBCT) projection images. The position of the marker is determined on each projection image and fitted to a function describing the projection of a fixed point onto the imaging panel at different gantry angles. The fitted parameters provide the mean marker position with respect to the isocentre. Differences between the theoretical function and the actual projected marker positions are used to estimate the range of intra fraction motion and the principal motion axis in the transverse plane. The method was validated using CBCT projection images of a static marker at known locations and of a marker moving with known amplitude. The mean difference between actual and measured motion range was less than 1 mm in all directions, although errors of up to 5 mm were observed when large amplitude motion was present in an orthogonal direction. In these cases it was possible to calculate the range of motion magnitudes consistent with the observed marker trajectory. The method was shown to be feasible using clinical CBCT projections of a pancreas cancer patient

Proportional lumbar spine inter-vertebral motion patterns: a comparison of patients with chronic, non-specific low back pain and healthy controls

OpenAIRE

Mellor, Fiona E.; Thomas, Peter; Thompson, Paul W.; Breen, Alan C.

2014-01-01

Introduction: Identifying biomechanical subgroups in chronic, non-specific low back pain (CNSLBP) populations from inter-vertebral displacements has proven elusive. Quantitative fluoroscopy (QF) has excellent repeatability and provides continuous standardised inter-vertebral kinematic data from fluoroscopic sequences allowing assessment of mid-range motion. The aim of this study was to determine whether proportional continuous IV rotational patterns were different in patients and controls. A ...

Study of Inter- and Intra-fraction Motion in Brain Tumor Patients Undergoing VMAT Treatment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ascencion Ybarra, Y.; Alfonso Laguardia, R.; Yartsev, S.

2015-01-01

Conforming dose to the tumor and sparing normal tissue can be challenging for brain tumors with complex shapes in close proximity to critical structures. The goal of this study was to evaluate the inter- and intra-fraction motion in brain tumor patients undergoing volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT). The image matching software was found to be very sensitive to the choice of the region of matching. It is recommended to use the same region of interest for comparing the image sets and perform the automatic matching based on bony landmarks in brain tumor cases. (Author)

SU-G-JeP4-14: Assessment of Inter- and Intra-Fractional Motion for Extremity Soft Tissue Sarcoma Patients by Using In-House Real-Time Optical Image-Based Monitoring System

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, H [Interdisciplinary Program in Radiation Applied Life Science, College of Medicine, Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, I [Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Ye, S [Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Seoul National University Hospital, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Program in Biomedical Radiation Sciences, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

2016-06-15

Purpose: This study aimed to assess inter- and intra-fractional motion for extremity Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS) patients, by using in-house real-time optical image-based monitoring system (ROIMS) with infra-red (IR) external markers. Methods: Inter- and intra-fractional motions for five extremity (1 upper, 4 lower) STS patients received postoperative 3D conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) were measured by registering the image acquired by ROIMS with the planning CT image (REG-ROIMS). To compare with the X-ray image-based monitoring, pre- and post-treatment cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were performed once per week and registered with planning CT image as well (REG-CBCT). If the CBCT scan is not feasible due to the large couch shift, AP and LR on-board imager (OBI) images were acquired. The comparison was done by calculating mutual information (MI) of those registered images. Results: The standard deviation (SD) of the inter-fractional motion was 2.6 mm LR, 2.8 mm SI, and 2.0 mm AP, and the SD of the intra-fractional motion was 1.4 mm, 2.1 mm, and 1.3 mm in each axis, respectively. The SD of rotational inter-fractional motion was 0.6° pitch, 0.9° yaw, and 0.8° roll and the SD of rotational intra-fractional motion was 0.4° pitch, 0.9° yaw, and 0.7° roll. The derived averaged MI values were 0.83, 0.92 for REG-CBCT without rotation and REG-ROIMS with rotation, respectively. Conclusion: The in-house real-time optical image-based monitoring system was implemented clinically and confirmed the feasibility to assess inter- and intra-fractional motion for extremity STS patients while the daily basis and real-time CBCT scan is not feasible in clinic.

SU-G-JeP4-14: Assessment of Inter- and Intra-Fractional Motion for Extremity Soft Tissue Sarcoma Patients by Using In-House Real-Time Optical Image-Based Monitoring System

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, H; Kim, I; Ye, S

2016-01-01

Purpose: This study aimed to assess inter- and intra-fractional motion for extremity Soft Tissue Sarcoma (STS) patients, by using in-house real-time optical image-based monitoring system (ROIMS) with infra-red (IR) external markers. Methods: Inter- and intra-fractional motions for five extremity (1 upper, 4 lower) STS patients received postoperative 3D conformal radiotherapy (3D-CRT) were measured by registering the image acquired by ROIMS with the planning CT image (REG-ROIMS). To compare with the X-ray image-based monitoring, pre- and post-treatment cone beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were performed once per week and registered with planning CT image as well (REG-CBCT). If the CBCT scan is not feasible due to the large couch shift, AP and LR on-board imager (OBI) images were acquired. The comparison was done by calculating mutual information (MI) of those registered images. Results: The standard deviation (SD) of the inter-fractional motion was 2.6 mm LR, 2.8 mm SI, and 2.0 mm AP, and the SD of the intra-fractional motion was 1.4 mm, 2.1 mm, and 1.3 mm in each axis, respectively. The SD of rotational inter-fractional motion was 0.6° pitch, 0.9° yaw, and 0.8° roll and the SD of rotational intra-fractional motion was 0.4° pitch, 0.9° yaw, and 0.7° roll. The derived averaged MI values were 0.83, 0.92 for REG-CBCT without rotation and REG-ROIMS with rotation, respectively. Conclusion: The in-house real-time optical image-based monitoring system was implemented clinically and confirmed the feasibility to assess inter- and intra-fractional motion for extremity STS patients while the daily basis and real-time CBCT scan is not feasible in clinic.

SU-D-207A-07: The Effects of Inter-Cycle Respiratory Motion Variation On Dose Accumulation in Single Fraction MR-Guided SBRT Treatment of Renal Cell Carcinoma

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stemkens, B; Glitzner, M; Kontaxis, C; Prins, F; Crijns, SPM; Kerkmeijer, L; Lagendijk, J; Berg, CAT van den; Tijssen, RHN [Department of Radiotherapy, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht (Netherlands); Denis de Senneville, B [Imaging Division, University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht (Netherlands); IMB, UMR 5251 CNRS/University of Bordeaux (France)

2016-06-15

Purpose: To assess the dose deposition in simulated single-fraction MR-Linac treatments of renal cell carcinoma, when inter-cycle respiratory motion variation is taken into account using online MRI. Methods: Three motion characterization methods, with increasing complexity, were compared to evaluate the effect of inter-cycle motion variation and drifts on the accumulated dose for an SBRT kidney MR-Linac treatment: 1) STATIC, in which static anatomy was assumed, 2) AVG-RESP, in which 4D-MRI phase-volumes were time-weighted, based on the respiratory phase and 3) PCA, in which 3D volumes were generated using a PCA-model, enabling the detection of inter-cycle variations and drifts. An experimental ITV-based kidney treatment was simulated in a 1.5T magnetic field on three volunteer datasets. For each volunteer a retrospectively sorted 4D-MRI (ten respiratory phases) and fast 2D cine-MR images (temporal resolution = 476ms) were acquired to simulate MR-imaging during radiation. For each method, the high spatio-temporal resolution 3D volumes were non-rigidly registered to obtain deformation vector fields (DVFs). Using the DVFs, pseudo-CTs (generated from the 4D-MRI) were deformed and the dose was accumulated for the entire treatment. The accuracies of all methods were independently determined using an additional, orthogonal 2D-MRI slice. Results: Motion was most accurately estimated using the PCA method, which correctly estimated drifts and inter-cycle variations (RMSE=3.2, 2.2, 1.1mm on average for STATIC, AVG-RESP and PCA, compared to the 2DMRI slice). Dose-volume parameters on the ITV showed moderate changes (D99=35.2, 32.5, 33.8Gy for STATIC, AVG-RESP and PCA). AVG-RESP showed distinct hot/cold spots outside the ITV margin, which were more distributed for the PCA scenario, since inter-cycle variations were not modeled by the AVG-RESP method. Conclusion: Dose differences were observed when inter-cycle variations were taken into account. The increased inter

Similarity transformed coupled cluster response (ST-CCR) theory--a time-dependent similarity transformed equation-of-motion coupled cluster (STEOM-CC) approach.

Science.gov (United States)

Landau, Arie

2013-07-07

This paper presents a new method for calculating spectroscopic properties in the framework of response theory utilizing a sequence of similarity transformations (STs). The STs are preformed using the coupled cluster (CC) and Fock-space coupled cluster operators. The linear and quadratic response functions of the new similarity transformed CC response (ST-CCR) method are derived. The poles of the linear response yield excitation-energy (EE) expressions identical to the ones in the similarity transformed equation-of-motion coupled cluster (STEOM-CC) approach. ST-CCR and STEOM-CC complement each other, in analogy to the complementarity of CC response (CCR) and equation-of-motion coupled cluster (EOM-CC). ST-CCR/STEOM-CC and CCR/EOM-CC yield size-extensive and size-intensive EEs, respectively. Other electronic-properties, e.g., transition dipole strengths, are also size-extensive within ST-CCR, in contrast to STEOM-CC. Moreover, analysis suggests that in comparison with CCR, the ST-CCR expressions may be confined to a smaller subspace, however, the precise scope of the truncation can only be determined numerically. In addition, reformulation of the time-independent STEOM-CC using the same parameterization as in ST-CCR, as well as an efficient truncation scheme, is presented. The shown convergence of the time-dependent and time-independent expressions displays the completeness of the presented formalism.

Similarity-transformed equation-of-motion vibrational coupled-cluster theory

Science.gov (United States)

Faucheaux, Jacob A.; Nooijen, Marcel; Hirata, So

2018-02-01

A similarity-transformed equation-of-motion vibrational coupled-cluster (STEOM-XVCC) method is introduced as a one-mode theory with an effective vibrational Hamiltonian, which is similarity transformed twice so that its lower-order operators are dressed with higher-order anharmonic effects. The first transformation uses an exponential excitation operator, defining the equation-of-motion vibrational coupled-cluster (EOM-XVCC) method, and the second uses an exponential excitation-deexcitation operator. From diagonalization of this doubly similarity-transformed Hamiltonian in the small one-mode excitation space, the method simultaneously computes accurate anharmonic vibrational frequencies of all fundamentals, which have unique significance in vibrational analyses. We establish a diagrammatic method of deriving the working equations of STEOM-XVCC and prove their connectedness and thus size-consistency as well as the exact equality of its frequencies with the corresponding roots of EOM-XVCC. We furthermore elucidate the similarities and differences between electronic and vibrational STEOM methods and between STEOM-XVCC and vibrational many-body Green's function theory based on the Dyson equation, which is also an anharmonic one-mode theory. The latter comparison inspires three approximate STEOM-XVCC methods utilizing the common approximations made in the Dyson equation: the diagonal approximation, a perturbative expansion of the Dyson self-energy, and the frequency-independent approximation. The STEOM-XVCC method including up to the simultaneous four-mode excitation operator in a quartic force field and its three approximate variants are formulated and implemented in computer codes with the aid of computer algebra, and they are applied to small test cases with varied degrees of anharmonicity.

Motion control in double-walled carbon nanotube systems using a Stone-Thrower-Wales defect cluster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Ping; Zhang Yongwei

2010-01-01

The ability to control the motion of a single molecule will have an important impact in nano-mechanical systems. Multi-walled carbon nanotube systems, which have extremely low intertube friction and strong motion confinement, can form the basis for mechanically based motion control. We devise two molecular motion control units based on double-walled carbon nanotubes embedded with a Stone-Thrower-Wales defect cluster, and perform molecular dynamics simulations to determine the characteristics of these two control units. We show that one of the molecular control units is able to perform a logic operation on one logic input and produce three logic outputs, while the other is able to produce two logic outputs. Potential applications of the motion control units include molecular switches, shuttles and mechanically based logic devices.

Giant magnetoresistance in cluster-assembled nanostructures: on the influence of inter-particle interactions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oyarzún, Simón; Domingues Tavares de Sa, Artur; Tuaillon-Combes, Juliette; Tamion, Alexandre; Hillion, Arnaud; Boisron, Olivier; Mosset, Alexis; Pellarin, Michel; Dupuis, Véronique; Hillenkamp, Matthias

2013-01-01

The giant magnetoresistance response of granular systems has since its discovery been described by a simple model based on the geometric orientation of the magnetic moments of adjacent nanoparticles. This model has been proven quite successful in many cases but its being based on decoupled neighboring grains has never been verified as all available studies rely on samples with too high concentration. Here we report on magnetic and magnetotransport measurements of cluster-assembled nanostructures with cobalt clusters around 2.3 nm diameter embedded in copper matrices at different concentrations. The thorough magnetic characterization based on the recently developed “triple fit” method allows the detection of measurable inter-particle interactions and thus assures true superparamagnetic behavior in the most dilute sample. The spintronic response is compared to theory and we show that only at low concentration (0.5 at.% Co) all experiments are consistent and the common theoretical description is appropriate. Increasing the concentration to 2.5 and 5 at.% implies deviations between magnetometry and magnetotransport

A VLT/MUSE galaxy survey towards QSO Q1410: looking for a WHIM traced by BLAs in inter-cluster filaments†

Science.gov (United States)

Pessa, Ismael; Tejos, Nicolas; Barrientos, L. Felipe; Werk, Jessica; Bielby, Richard; Padilla, Nelson; Morris, Simon L.; Prochaska, J. Xavier; Lopez, Sebastian; Hummels, Cameron

2018-03-01

Cosmological simulations predict that a significant fraction of the low-z baryon budget resides in large-scale filaments in the form of a diffuse plasma at temperatures T ˜ 105 - 107 K. However, direct observation of this so-called warm-hot intergalactic medium (WHIM) has been elusive. In the ΛCDM paradigm, galaxy clusters correspond to the nodes of the cosmic web at the intersection of several large-scale filamentary threads. In previous work, we used HST/COS data to conduct the first survey of broad H I Lyα absorbers (BLAs) potentially produced by WHIM in inter-cluster filaments. We targeted a single QSO, namely Q1410, whose sight-line intersects 7 independent inter-cluster axes at impact parameters cluster axes, we found 3 without any galaxy counterpart to stringent luminosity limits (˜4 × 108 L⊙ ˜0.01 L*), providing further evidence that these BLAs may represent genuine WHIM detections. We combined this sample with other suitable BLAs from the literature and inferred the corresponding baryon mean density for these filaments in the range Ω ^fil_bar= 0.02-0.04. Our rough estimates are consistent with the predictions from numerical simulations but still subject to large systematic uncertainties, mostly from the adopted geometry, ionization corrections and density profile.

The potential for expanding inter-cluster cooperation between the ship-building industries of Estonia, Finland, and North-West Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laaksonen Eini

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The shipbuilding industry clusters in the Eastern Baltic Sea region, i. e. Estonia, Finland and North-West Russia, may benefit significantly from increased mutual cooperation; however, the international networks between the clusters are still poorly developed. The aim of this article is to analyse the preconditions for cluster internationalization between these clusters, which are rather different but complementary in terms of skills. The research material for this desk study was collected from various sources, including journal articles, media, research reports, and other publications. The results of the study indicate that the increasing cooperation within the triangle of these clusters has a significant potential in terms of combining different areas of expertise and creating a multidimensional maritime industry hub in the region. However, differences in the cluster structure and development stages lead to certain difficulties in achieving these objectives. In conclusion, the authors identify the factors both facilitating and inhibiting networking between the three clusters. This study provides a platform for further research focusing on the factors identified and gives ideas for public discussion on increased inter-cluster cooperation.

The potential for expanding inter-cluster cooperation between the ship-building industries of Estonia, Finland, and North-West Russia

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Laaksonen Eini

2013-12-01

Full Text Available The shipbuilding industry clusters in the Eastern Baltic Sea region, i. e. Estonia, Finland and North-West Russia, may benefit significantly from increased mutual cooperation; however, the international networks between the clusters are still poorly developed. The aim of this article is to analyse the preconditions for cluster internationalization between these clusters, which are rather different but complementary in terms of skills. The research material for this desk study was collected from various sources, including journal articles, media, research reports, and other publications. The results of the study indicate that the increasing cooperation within the triangle of these clusters has a significant potential in terms of combining different areas of expertise and creating a multidimensional maritime industry hub in the region. However, differences in the cluster structure and development stages lead to certain difficulties in achieving these objectives. In conclusion, the authors identify the factors both facilitating and inhibiting networking between the three clusters. This study provides a platform for further research focusing on the factors identified and gives ideas for public discussion on increased inter-cluster cooperation.

Calculating the Motion and Direction of Flux Transfer Events with Cluster

Science.gov (United States)

Collado-Vega, Y. M.; Sibeck, D. G.

2012-01-01

For many years now, the interactions of the solar wind plasma with the Earth's magnetosphere has been one of the most important problems for Space Physics. It is very important that we understand these processes because the high-energy particles and also the solar wind energy that cross the magneto sphere could be responsible for serious damage to our technological systems. The solar wind is inherently a dynamic medium, and the particles interaction with the Earth's magnetosphere can be steady or unsteady. Unsteady interaction include transient processes like bursty magnetic reconnection. Flux Transfer Events (FTEs) are magnetopause signatures that usually occur during transient times of reconnection. They exhibit bipolar signatures in the normal component of the magnetic field. We use multi-point timing analysis to determine the orientation and motion of ux transfer events (FTEs) detected by the four Cluster spacecraft on the high-latitude dayside and flank magnetopause during 2002 and 2003. During these years, the distances between the Cluster spacecraft were greater than 1000 km, providing the tetrahedral configuration needed to select events and determine velocities. Each velocity and location will be examined in detail and compared to the velocities and locations determined by the predictions of the component and antiparallel reconnection models for event formation, orientation, motion, and acceleration for a wide range of spacecraft locations and solar wind conditions.

New 40Ar/39Ar age progression for the Louisville hot spot trail and implications for inter-hot spot motion

Science.gov (United States)

Koppers, Anthony A. P.; Gowen, Molly D.; Colwell, Lauren E.; Gee, Jeffrey S.; Lonsdale, Peter F.; Mahoney, John J.; Duncan, Robert A.

2011-12-01

In this study we present 42 new 40Ar/39Ar incremental heating age determinations that contribute to an updated age progression for the Louisville seamount trail. Louisville is the South Pacific counterpart to the Hawaiian-Emperor seamount trail, both trails representing intraplate volcanism over the same time interval (˜80 Ma to present) and being examples of primary hot spot lineaments. Our data provide evidence for an age-progressive trend from 71 to 21 Ma. Assuming fixed hot spots, this makes possible a direct comparison to the Hawaiian-Emperor age progression and the most recent absolute plate motion (APM) model (WK08G) of Wessel and Kroenke (2008). We observe that for the Louisville seamount trail the measured ages are systematically older relative to both the WK08G model predictions and Hawaiian seamount ages, with offsets ranging up to 6 Myr. Taking into account the uncertainty about the duration of eruption and magmatic succession at individual Louisville volcanoes, these age offsets should be considered minimum estimates, as our sampling probably tended to recover the youngest lava flows. These large deviations point to either a contribution of inter-hot spot motion between the Louisville and Hawaiian hot spots or to a more easterly location of the Louisville hot spot than the one inferred in the WK08G model. Both scenarios are investigated in this paper, whereby the more eastern hot spot location (52.0°S, 134.5°W versus 52.4°S, 137.2°W) reduces the average age offset, but still results in a relatively large maximum offset of 3.7 Myr. When comparing the new ages to the APM models (S04P, S04G) by Steinberger et al. (2004) that attempt to compensate for the motion of hot spots in the Pacific (Hawaii) or globally (Hawaii, Louisville, Reunion and Walvis), the measured and predicted ages are more in agreement, showing only a maximum offset of 2.3 Myr with respect to the S04G model. At face value these more advanced APM models, which consider both plate and

Rapid and coordinated processing of global motion images by local clusters of retinal ganglion cells.

Science.gov (United States)

Matsumoto, Akihiro; Tachibana, Masao

2017-01-01

Even when the body is stationary, the whole retinal image is always in motion by fixational eye movements and saccades that move the eye between fixation points. Accumulating evidence indicates that the brain is equipped with specific mechanisms for compensating for the global motion induced by these eye movements. However, it is not yet fully understood how the retina processes global motion images during eye movements. Here we show that global motion images evoke novel coordinated firing in retinal ganglion cells (GCs). We simultaneously recorded the firing of GCs in the goldfish isolated retina using a multi-electrode array, and classified each GC based on the temporal profile of its receptive field (RF). A moving target that accompanied the global motion (simulating a saccade following a period of fixational eye movements) modulated the RF properties and evoked synchronized and correlated firing among local clusters of the specific GCs. Our findings provide a novel concept for retinal information processing during eye movements.

The VMC survey. XXVIII. Improved measurements of the proper motion of the Galactic globular cluster 47 Tucanae

Science.gov (United States)

Niederhofer, Florian; Cioni, Maria-Rosa L.; Rubele, Stefano; Schmidt, Thomas; Bekki, Kenji; de Grijs, Richard; Emerson, Jim; Ivanov, Valentin D.; Oliveira, Joana M.; Petr-Gotzens, Monika G.; Ripepi, Vincenzo; Sun, Ning-Chen; van Loon, Jacco Th.

2018-05-01

We use deep multi-epoch point-spread function (PSF) photometry taken with the Visible and Infrared Survey Telescope for Astronomy (VISTA) to measure and analyze the proper motions of stars within the Galactic globular cluster 47 Tucanae (47 Tuc, NGC 104). The observations are part of the ongoing near-infrared VISTA survey of the Magellanic Cloud system (VMC). The data analyzed in this study correspond to one VMC tile, which covers a total sky area of 1.77 deg2. Absolute proper motions with respect to 9070 background galaxies are calculated from a linear regression model applied to the positions of stars in 11 epochs in the Ks filter. The data extend over a total time baseline of about 17 months. We found an overall median proper motion of the stars within 47 Tuc of (μαcos(δ), μδ) = (+5.89 ± 0.02 (statistical) ± 0.13 (systematic), -2.14 ± 0.02 (statistical) ± 0.08 (systematic)) mas yr-1, based on the measurements of 35 000 individual sources between 5' and 42' from the cluster center. We compared our result to the proper motions from the newest US Naval Observatory CCD Astrograph Catalog (UCAC5), which includes data from the Gaia data release 1. Selecting cluster members ( 2700 stars), we found a median proper motion of (μαcos(δ), μδ) = (+5.30 ± 0.03 (statistical) ± 0.70 (systematic), -2.70 ± 0.03 (statistical) ± 0.70 (systematic)) mas yr-1. Comparing the results with measurements in the literature, we found that the values derived from the VMC data are consistent with the UCAC5 result, and are close to measurements obtained using the Hubble Space Telescope. We combined our proper motion results with radial velocity measurements from the literature and reconstructed the orbit of 47 Tuc, finding that the cluster is on an orbit with a low ellipticity and is confined within the inner 7.5 kpc of the Galaxy. We show that the use of an increased time baseline in combination with PSF-determined stellar centroids in crowded regions significantly improves

Motions in Nearby Galaxy Cluster Reveal Presence of Hidden Superstructure

Science.gov (United States)

2004-09-01

A nearby galaxy cluster is facing an intergalactic headwind as it is pulled by an underlying superstructure of dark matter, according to new evidence from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. Astronomers think that most of the matter in the universe is concentrated in long large filaments of dark matter and that galaxy clusters are formed where these filaments intersect. A Chandra survey of the Fornax galaxy cluster revealed a vast, swept-back cloud of hot gas near the center of the cluster. This geometry indicates that the hot gas cloud, which is several hundred thousand light years in length, is moving rapidly through a larger, less dense cloud of gas. The motion of the core gas cloud, together with optical observations of a group of galaxies racing inward on a collision course with it, suggests that an unseen, large structure is collapsing and drawing everything toward a common center of gravity. X-ray Image of Fornax with labels X-ray Image of Fornax with labels "At a relatively nearby distance of about 60 million light years, the Fornax cluster represents a crucial laboratory for studying the interplay of galaxies, hot gas and dark matter as the cluster evolves." said Caleb Scharf of Columbia University in New York, NY, lead author of a paper describing the Chandra survey that was presented at an American Astronomical Society meeting in New Orleans, LA. "What we are seeing could be associated directly with the intergalactic gas surrounding a very large scale structure that stretches over millions of light years." The infalling galaxy group, whose motion was detected by Michael Drinkwater of the University of Melbourne in Australia, and colleagues, is about 3 million light years from the cluster core, so a collision with the core will not occur for a few billion years. Insight as to how this collision will look is provided by the elliptical galaxy NGC 1404 that is plunging into the core of the cluster for the first time. As discussed by Scharf and another group

Toward enabling large-scale open-shell equation-of-motion coupled cluster calculations: triplet states of β-carotene

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Hu, Hanshi; Bhaskaran-Nair, Kiran; Apra, Edoardo; Govind, Niranjan; Kowalski, Karol

2014-10-02

In this paper we discuss the application of novel parallel implementation of the coupled cluster (CC) and equation-of-motion coupled cluster methods (EOMCC) in calculations of excitation energies of triplet states in beta-carotene. Calculated excitation energies are compared with experimental data, where available. We also provide a detailed description of the new parallel algorithms for iterative CC and EOMCC models involving single and doubles excitations.

Relationships between lumbar inter-vertebral motion and lordosis in healthy adult males: a cross sectional cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

du Rose, Alister; Breen, Alan

2016-03-10

Intervertebral motion impairment is widely thought to be related to chronic back disability, however, the movements of inter-vertebral pairs are not independent of each other and motion may also be related to morphology. Furthermore, maximum intervertebral range of motion (IV-RoMmax) is difficult to measure accurately in living subjects. The purpose of this study was to explore possible relationships between (IV-RoMmax) and lordosis, initial attainment rate and IV-RoMmax at other levels during weight-bearing flexion using quantitative fluoroscopy (QF). Continuous QF motion sequences were recorded during controlled active sagittal flexion of 60° in 18 males (mean age 27.6 SD 4.4) with no history of low back pain in the previous year. IV-RoMmax, lordotic angle, and initial attainment rate at all inter-vertebral levels from L2-S1 were extracted. Relationships between IV-RoMmax and the other variables were explored using correlation coefficients, and simple linear regression was used to determine the effects of any significant relationships. Within and between observer repeatability of IV-RoMmax and initial attainment rate measurements were assessed in a sub-set of ten participants, using the intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) and standard error of measurement (SEM). QF measurements were highly repeatable, the lowest ICC for IV-RoMmax, being 0.94 (0.80-0.99) and highest SEM (0.76°). For initial attainment rate the lowest ICC was 0.84 (0.49-0.96) and the highest SEM (0.036). The results also demonstrated significant positive and negative correlations between IV-RoMmax and IV-RoMmax at other lumbar levels (r = -0.64-0.65), lordosis (r = -0.52-0.54), and initial attainment rate (r = -0.64-0.73). Simple linear regression analysis of all significant relationships showed that these predict between 28 and 42 % of the variance in IV-RoMmax. This study found weak to moderate effects of individual kinematic variables and lumbar lordosis on IV-RoMmax at

Motion estimation using point cluster method and Kalman filter.

Science.gov (United States)

Senesh, M; Wolf, A

2009-05-01

The most frequently used method in a three dimensional human gait analysis involves placing markers on the skin of the analyzed segment. This introduces a significant artifact, which strongly influences the bone position and orientation and joint kinematic estimates. In this study, we tested and evaluated the effect of adding a Kalman filter procedure to the previously reported point cluster technique (PCT) in the estimation of a rigid body motion. We demonstrated the procedures by motion analysis of a compound planar pendulum from indirect opto-electronic measurements of markers attached to an elastic appendage that is restrained to slide along the rigid body long axis. The elastic frequency is close to the pendulum frequency, as in the biomechanical problem, where the soft tissue frequency content is similar to the actual movement of the bones. Comparison of the real pendulum angle to that obtained by several estimation procedures--PCT, Kalman filter followed by PCT, and low pass filter followed by PCT--enables evaluation of the accuracy of the procedures. When comparing the maximal amplitude, no effect was noted by adding the Kalman filter; however, a closer look at the signal revealed that the estimated angle based only on the PCT method was very noisy with fluctuation, while the estimated angle based on the Kalman filter followed by the PCT was a smooth signal. It was also noted that the instantaneous frequencies obtained from the estimated angle based on the PCT method is more dispersed than those obtained from the estimated angle based on Kalman filter followed by the PCT method. Addition of a Kalman filter to the PCT method in the estimation procedure of rigid body motion results in a smoother signal that better represents the real motion, with less signal distortion than when using a digital low pass filter. Furthermore, it can be concluded that adding a Kalman filter to the PCT procedure substantially reduces the dispersion of the maximal and minimal

Structure and Spectrum of Dust Coulomb Clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheung, F.M.H.; Ford, C.; Barkby, S.; Samarian, A.A.; Vladimirov, S.V.

2005-01-01

In our study, the dynamics of Coulomb cluster systems were simulated for different number of particles. The spectra of energy states of dust Coulomb clusters corresponding to various packing sequences were obtained. The broadening of the spectrum due to inter-ring twist was discovered. It was found that the inter-ring twist will lead to a change in the energy spectrum of Coulomb cluster. This change was accompanied by a distortion of stable shells such that particles are able to compensate for any additional Coulomb energy (owing to the inter-ring twist) by further reducing their radial distance as much as possible. The overall effect is a change in the shape of the outer-shell from circular to elliptical

Proper Motions and Structural Parameters of the Galactic Globular Cluster M71

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cadelano, M.; Dalessandro, E.; Ferraro, F. R.; Miocchi, P.; Lanzoni, B.; Pallanca, C. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 6/2, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Massari, D. [INAF—Osservatorio Astronomico di Bologna, Via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy)

2017-02-20

By exploiting two ACS/ HST data sets separated by a temporal baseline of ∼7 years, we have determined the relative stellar proper motions (PMs; providing membership) and the absolute PM of the Galactic globular cluster M71. The absolute PM has been used to reconstruct the cluster orbit within a Galactic, three-component, axisymmetric potential. M71 turns out to be in a low-latitude disk-like orbit inside the Galactic disk, further supporting the scenario in which it lost a significant fraction of its initial mass. Since large differential reddening is known to affect this system, we took advantage of near-infrared, ground-based observations to re-determine the cluster center and density profile from direct star counts. The new structural parameters turn out to be significantly different from the ones quoted in the literature. In particular, M71 has a core and a half-mass radii almost 50% larger than previously thought. Finally, we estimate that the initial mass of M71 was likely one order of magnitude larger than its current value, thus helping to solve the discrepancy with the observed number of X-ray sources.

Peculiar motions of galaxy clusters in the regions of the Corona Borealis, Bootes, Z 5029/A 1424, A 1190, A 1750/A 1809 superclusters of galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

Kopylova, F. G.; Kopylov, A. I.

2017-10-01

We present results of the study of peculiar motions of 57 clusters and groups of galaxies in the regions of the Corona Borealis (CrB), Bootes (Boo), Z5029/A1424, A1190, A1750/A1809 superclusters of galaxies and the galaxy clusters located beyond massive structures (0.05 Boo. In the most massive A2065 cluster in the CrB supercluster, no peculiar velocity was found. Peculiar motions of the other galaxy clusters can be caused by their gravitational interaction both with A2065 and with the A2142 supercluster. It has been found that there are two superclusters projected onto each other in the region of the Bootes supercluster with a radial velocity difference of about 4000 kms-1. In the Z 5029/A1424 supercluster near the rich Z5029 cluster, the most considerable peculiar motions with a rms deviations of 1366 ± 170 kms-1 are observed. The rms deviations of peculiar velocities of 20 clusters that do not belong to large-scale structures is equal to 0 ± 20 kms-1. The whole sample of the clusters under study has the mean peculiar velocity equal to 83 ± 130 kms-1 relative to the cosmic microwave background.

Tracking using motion estimation with physically motivated inter-region constraints

KAUST Repository

Arif, Omar

2014-09-01

We propose a method for tracking structures (e.g., ventricles and myocardium) in cardiac images (e.g., magnetic resonance) by propagating forward in time a previous estimate of the structures using a new physically motivated motion estimation scheme. Our method estimates motion by regularizing only within structures so that differing motions among different structures are not mixed. It simultaneously satisfies the physical constraints at the interface between a fluid and a medium that the normal component of the fluid\\'s motion must match the normal component of the medium\\'s motion and the No-Slip condition, which states that the tangential velocity approaches zero near the interface. We show that these conditions lead to partial differential equations with Robin boundary conditions at the interface, which couple the motion between structures. We show that propagating a segmentation across frames using our motion estimation scheme leads to more accurate segmentation than traditional motion estimation that does not use physical constraints. Our method is suited to interactive segmentation, prominently used in commercial applications for cardiac analysis, where segmentation propagation is used to predict a segmentation in the next frame. We show that our method leads to more accurate predictions than a popular and recent interactive method used in cardiac segmentation. © 2014 IEEE.

Denoising Algorithm for CFA Image Sensors Considering Inter-Channel Correlation.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Min Seok; Park, Sang Wook; Kang, Moon Gi

2017-05-28

In this paper, a spatio-spectral-temporal filter considering an inter-channel correlation is proposed for the denoising of a color filter array (CFA) sequence acquired by CCD/CMOS image sensors. Owing to the alternating under-sampled grid of the CFA pattern, the inter-channel correlation must be considered in the direct denoising process. The proposed filter is applied in the spatial, spectral, and temporal domain, considering the spatio-tempo-spectral correlation. First, nonlocal means (NLM) spatial filtering with patch-based difference (PBD) refinement is performed by considering both the intra-channel correlation and inter-channel correlation to overcome the spatial resolution degradation occurring with the alternating under-sampled pattern. Second, a motion-compensated temporal filter that employs inter-channel correlated motion estimation and compensation is proposed to remove the noise in the temporal domain. Then, a motion adaptive detection value controls the ratio of the spatial filter and the temporal filter. The denoised CFA sequence can thus be obtained without motion artifacts. Experimental results for both simulated and real CFA sequences are presented with visual and numerical comparisons to several state-of-the-art denoising methods combined with a demosaicing method. Experimental results confirmed that the proposed frameworks outperformed the other techniques in terms of the objective criteria and subjective visual perception in CFA sequences.

Similarity transformed equation of motion coupled-cluster theory based on an unrestricted Hartree-Fock reference for applications to high-spin open-shell systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Huntington, Lee M J; Krupička, Martin; Neese, Frank; Izsák, Róbert

2017-11-07

The similarity transformed equation of motion coupled-cluster approach is extended for applications to high-spin open-shell systems, within the unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) formalism. An automatic active space selection scheme has also been implemented such that calculations can be performed in a black-box fashion. It is observed that both the canonical and automatic active space selecting similarity transformed equation of motion (STEOM) approaches perform about as well as the more expensive equation of motion coupled-cluster singles doubles (EOM-CCSD) method for the calculation of the excitation energies of doublet radicals. The automatic active space selecting UHF STEOM approach can therefore be employed as a viable, lower scaling alternative to UHF EOM-CCSD for the calculation of excited states in high-spin open-shell systems.

Similarity transformed equation of motion coupled-cluster theory based on an unrestricted Hartree-Fock reference for applications to high-spin open-shell systems

Science.gov (United States)

Huntington, Lee M. J.; Krupička, Martin; Neese, Frank; Izsák, Róbert

2017-11-01

The similarity transformed equation of motion coupled-cluster approach is extended for applications to high-spin open-shell systems, within the unrestricted Hartree-Fock (UHF) formalism. An automatic active space selection scheme has also been implemented such that calculations can be performed in a black-box fashion. It is observed that both the canonical and automatic active space selecting similarity transformed equation of motion (STEOM) approaches perform about as well as the more expensive equation of motion coupled-cluster singles doubles (EOM-CCSD) method for the calculation of the excitation energies of doublet radicals. The automatic active space selecting UHF STEOM approach can therefore be employed as a viable, lower scaling alternative to UHF EOM-CCSD for the calculation of excited states in high-spin open-shell systems.

Diversity among galaxy clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Struble, M.F.; Rood, H.J.

1988-01-01

The classification of galaxy clusters is discussed. Consideration is given to the classification scheme of Abell (1950's), Zwicky (1950's), Morgan, Matthews, and Schmidt (1964), and Morgan-Bautz (1970). Galaxies can be classified based on morphology, chemical composition, spatial distribution, and motion. The correlation between a galaxy's environment and morphology is examined. The classification scheme of Rood-Sastry (1971), which is based on clusters's morphology and galaxy population, is described. The six types of clusters they define include: (1) a cD-cluster dominated by a single large galaxy, (2) a cluster dominated by a binary, (3) a core-halo cluster, (4) a cluster dominated by several bright galaxies, (5) a cluster appearing flattened, and (6) an irregularly shaped cluster. Attention is also given to the evolution of cluster structures, which is related to initial density and cluster motion

Ionospheric plasma density structures associated with magnetopause motion: a case study using the Cluster spacecraft and the EISCAT Svalbard Radar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Pitout

2004-07-01

Full Text Available On 5 January 2003, the footprint of the Cluster spacecraft, then orbiting in the dayside magnetosphere near the magnetopause, was in the close vicinity of the EISCAT Svalbard Radar (ESR in the dayside afternoon sector. This configuration made possible the study of the magnetopause motion and its direct consequences on the ionospheric plasma at high latitude. Cluster observed multiple magnetopause crossings despite its high latitude, while on the ground the magnetic activity was very low, whereas the ionospheric plasma sounded by the ESR exhibited poleward moving plasma density structures. In this paper, we compare the satellite and radar data, in order to show that the plasma density structures are directly related to the magnetopause motion and its associated pulsed ionospheric flow. We propose that the variations in electric field make the convection velocity vary enough to alter the electron population by accelerating the chemistry in the F-region and act as a source of electron depletion. The magnetopause motion is in this case, a source of plasma density structures in the polar dayside ionosphere.

A novel representation of inter-site tumour heterogeneity from pre-treatment computed tomography textures classifies ovarian cancers by clinical outcome

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Vargas, Hebert Alberto; Micco, Maura; Lakhman, Yulia; Meier, Andreas A.; Sosa, Ramon; Hricak, Hedvig; Sala, Evis [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Veeraraghavan, Harini; Deasy, Joseph [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Medical Physics, New York, NY (United States); Nougaret, Stephanie [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Radiology, New York, NY (United States); Service de Radiologie, Institut Regional du Cancer de Montpellier, Montpellier (France); INSERM, U1194, Institut de Recherche en Cancerologie de Montpellier (IRCM), Montpellier (France); Soslow, Robert A.; Weigelt, Britta [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Pathology, New York, NY (United States); Levine, Douglas A. [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Surgery, New York, NY (United States); Aghajanian, Carol; Snyder, Alexandra [Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, Department of Medicine, New York, NY (United States)

2017-09-15

To evaluate the associations between clinical outcomes and radiomics-derived inter-site spatial heterogeneity metrics across multiple metastatic lesions on CT in patients with high-grade serous ovarian cancer (HGSOC). IRB-approved retrospective study of 38 HGSOC patients. All sites of suspected HGSOC involvement on preoperative CT were manually segmented. Gray-level correlation matrix-based textures were computed from each tumour site, and grouped into five clusters using a Gaussian Mixture Model. Pairwise inter-site similarities were computed, generating an inter-site similarity matrix (ISM). Inter-site texture heterogeneity metrics were computed from the ISM and compared to clinical outcomes. Of the 12 inter-site texture heterogeneity metrics evaluated, those capturing the differences in texture similarities across sites were associated with shorter overall survival (inter-site similarity entropy, similarity level cluster shade, and inter-site similarity level cluster prominence; p ≤ 0.05) and incomplete surgical resection (similarity level cluster shade, inter-site similarity level cluster prominence and inter-site cluster variance; p ≤ 0.05). Neither the total number of disease sites per patient nor the overall tumour volume per patient was associated with overall survival. Amplification of 19q12 involving cyclin E1 gene (CCNE1) predominantly occurred in patients with more heterogeneous inter-site textures. Quantitative metrics non-invasively capturing spatial inter-site heterogeneity may predict outcomes in patients with HGSOC. (orig.)

A system for learning statistical motion patterns.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Weiming; Xiao, Xuejuan; Fu, Zhouyu; Xie, Dan; Tan, Tieniu; Maybank, Steve

2006-09-01

Analysis of motion patterns is an effective approach for anomaly detection and behavior prediction. Current approaches for the analysis of motion patterns depend on known scenes, where objects move in predefined ways. It is highly desirable to automatically construct object motion patterns which reflect the knowledge of the scene. In this paper, we present a system for automatically learning motion patterns for anomaly detection and behavior prediction based on a proposed algorithm for robustly tracking multiple objects. In the tracking algorithm, foreground pixels are clustered using a fast accurate fuzzy K-means algorithm. Growing and prediction of the cluster centroids of foreground pixels ensure that each cluster centroid is associated with a moving object in the scene. In the algorithm for learning motion patterns, trajectories are clustered hierarchically using spatial and temporal information and then each motion pattern is represented with a chain of Gaussian distributions. Based on the learned statistical motion patterns, statistical methods are used to detect anomalies and predict behaviors. Our system is tested using image sequences acquired, respectively, from a crowded real traffic scene and a model traffic scene. Experimental results show the robustness of the tracking algorithm, the efficiency of the algorithm for learning motion patterns, and the encouraging performance of algorithms for anomaly detection and behavior prediction.

Figure-ground segregation modulates apparent motion.

Science.gov (United States)

Ramachandran, V S; Anstis, S

1986-01-01

We explored the relationship between figure-ground segmentation and apparent motion. Results suggest that: static elements in the surround can eliminate apparent motion of a cluster of dots in the centre, but only if the cluster and surround have similar "grain" or texture; outlines that define occluding surfaces are taken into account by the motion mechanism; the brain uses a hierarchy of precedence rules in attributing motion to different segments of the visual scene. Being designated as "figure" confers a high rank in this scheme of priorities.

An objective spinal motion imaging assessment (OSMIA): reliability, accuracy and exposure data.

Science.gov (United States)

Breen, Alan C; Muggleton, Jennifer M; Mellor, Fiona E

2006-01-04

Minimally-invasive measurement of continuous inter-vertebral motion in clinical settings is difficult to achieve. This paper describes the reliability, validity and radiation exposure levels in a new Objective Spinal Motion Imaging Assessment system (OSMIA) based on low-dose fluoroscopy and image processing. Fluoroscopic sequences in coronal and sagittal planes were obtained from 2 calibration models using dry lumbar vertebrae, plus the lumbar spines of 30 asymptomatic volunteers. Calibration model 1 (mobile) was screened upright, in 7 inter-vertebral positions. The volunteers and calibration model 2 (fixed) were screened on a motorized table comprising 2 horizontal sections, one of which moved through 80 degrees. Model 2 was screened during motion 5 times and the L2-S1 levels of the volunteers twice. Images were digitised at 5fps. Inter-vertebral motion from model 1 was compared to its pre-settings to investigate accuracy. For volunteers and model 2, the first digitised image in each sequence was marked with templates. Vertebrae were tracked throughout the motion using automated frame-to-frame registration. For each frame, vertebral angles were subtracted giving inter-vertebral motion graphs. Volunteer data were acquired twice on the same day and analysed by two blinded observers. The root-mean-square (RMS) differences between paired data were used as the measure of reliability. RMS difference between reference and computed inter-vertebral angles in model 1 was 0.32 degrees for side-bending and 0.52 degrees for flexion-extension. For model 2, X-ray positioning contributed more to the variance of range measurement than did automated registration. For volunteer image sequences, RMS inter-observer variation in intervertebral motion range in the coronal plane was 1.86 degrees and intra-subject biological variation was between 2.75 degrees and 2.91 degrees. RMS inter-observer variation in the sagittal plane was 1.94 degrees. Radiation dosages in each view were below

A scalable method for parallelizing sampling-based motion planning algorithms

KAUST Repository

Jacobs, Sam Ade; Manavi, Kasra; Burgos, Juan; Denny, Jory; Thomas, Shawna; Amato, Nancy M.

2012-01-01

This paper describes a scalable method for parallelizing sampling-based motion planning algorithms. It subdivides configuration space (C-space) into (possibly overlapping) regions and independently, in parallel, uses standard (sequential) sampling-based planners to construct roadmaps in each region. Next, in parallel, regional roadmaps in adjacent regions are connected to form a global roadmap. By subdividing the space and restricting the locality of connection attempts, we reduce the work and inter-processor communication associated with nearest neighbor calculation, a critical bottleneck for scalability in existing parallel motion planning methods. We show that our method is general enough to handle a variety of planning schemes, including the widely used Probabilistic Roadmap (PRM) and Rapidly-exploring Random Trees (RRT) algorithms. We compare our approach to two other existing parallel algorithms and demonstrate that our approach achieves better and more scalable performance. Our approach achieves almost linear scalability on a 2400 core LINUX cluster and on a 153,216 core Cray XE6 petascale machine. © 2012 IEEE.

A scalable method for parallelizing sampling-based motion planning algorithms

KAUST Repository

Jacobs, Sam Ade

2012-05-01

This paper describes a scalable method for parallelizing sampling-based motion planning algorithms. It subdivides configuration space (C-space) into (possibly overlapping) regions and independently, in parallel, uses standard (sequential) sampling-based planners to construct roadmaps in each region. Next, in parallel, regional roadmaps in adjacent regions are connected to form a global roadmap. By subdividing the space and restricting the locality of connection attempts, we reduce the work and inter-processor communication associated with nearest neighbor calculation, a critical bottleneck for scalability in existing parallel motion planning methods. We show that our method is general enough to handle a variety of planning schemes, including the widely used Probabilistic Roadmap (PRM) and Rapidly-exploring Random Trees (RRT) algorithms. We compare our approach to two other existing parallel algorithms and demonstrate that our approach achieves better and more scalable performance. Our approach achieves almost linear scalability on a 2400 core LINUX cluster and on a 153,216 core Cray XE6 petascale machine. © 2012 IEEE.

HST Proper Motions of Distant Globular Clusters: Constraining the Formation & Mass of the Milky Way

Science.gov (United States)

Sohn, S. Tony; van der Marel, Roeland P.; Deason, Alis; Bellini, Andrea; Besla, Gurtina; Watkins, Laura

2018-04-01

Proper motions (PMs) are required to calculate accurate orbits of globular clusters (GCs) in the Milky Way (MW) halo. We present our HST program to create a PM database for 20 GCs at distances of R GC = 10-100 kpc. Targets are discussed along with PM measurement methods. We also describe how our PM results can be used for Gaia as an external check, and discuss the synergy between HST and Gaia as astrometric instruments in the coming years.

Motion and shape change when using an endorectal balloon during prostate radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Court, Laurence E.; D'Amico, Anthony V.; Kadam, Dnyanesh; Cormack, Robert

2006-01-01

Purpose: To investigate motion and shape change when using an endorectal balloon (ERB) in patients receiving radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Methods: In nine patients treated for prostate cancer using an ERB, the anterior wall of the ERB was contoured on right lateral images taken immediately before irradiation, and on left lateral images taken immediately after irradiation. Changes in the contours were used to calculate inter-fraction shape change and inter-imaging motion and shape change. Inter-imaging motion describes changes that occur after the right lateral image is taken that are seen in the left lateral image. Results: Eighty-six percent of all inter-imaging shifts of the anterior wall of the ERB were in the posterior direction (mean: 1.8 mm, 1 SD: 1.8 mm, maximum posterior shift: 2.8-7.2 mm). The inter-fraction shape change (1 SD) of the anterior wall was equivalent to a change in the angle of the balloon of 2.5-5.7 deg., with a range of 8-20 deg., depending on the patient. Inter-imaging shape changes were similar in size. Conclusions: The inter-imaging motion and shape changes may be explained by the patient relaxing some time after insertion of the ERB, indicating that it could be reduced by a waiting period after insertion before irradiation. Development of image-guided localization strategies should consider intra-fraction motion and also inter- and intra-fraction shape change

Spin-orbit splitted excited states using explicitly-correlated equation-of-motion coupled-cluster singles and doubles eigenvectors

Science.gov (United States)

Bokhan, Denis; Trubnikov, Dmitrii N.; Perera, Ajith; Bartlett, Rodney J.

2018-04-01

An explicitly-correlated method of calculation of excited states with spin-orbit couplings, has been formulated and implemented. Developed approach utilizes left and right eigenvectors of equation-of-motion coupled-cluster model, which is based on the linearly approximated explicitly correlated coupled-cluster singles and doubles [CCSD(F12)] method. The spin-orbit interactions are introduced by using the spin-orbit mean field (SOMF) approximation of the Breit-Pauli Hamiltonian. Numerical tests for several atoms and molecules show good agreement between explicitly-correlated results and the corresponding values, calculated in complete basis set limit (CBS); the highly-accurate excitation energies can be obtained already at triple- ζ level.

Inter-observer reliability assessments in time motion studies: the foundation for meaningful clinical workflow analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Lopetegui, Marcelo A; Bai, Shasha; Yen, Po-Yin; Lai, Albert; Embi, Peter; Payne, Philip R O

2013-01-01

Understanding clinical workflow is critical for researchers and healthcare decision makers. Current workflow studies tend to oversimplify and underrepresent the complexity of clinical workflow. Continuous observation time motion studies (TMS) could enhance clinical workflow studies by providing rich quantitative data required for in-depth workflow analyses. However, methodological inconsistencies have been reported in continuous observation TMS, potentially reducing the validity of TMS' data and limiting their contribution to the general state of knowledge. We believe that a cornerstone in standardizing TMS is to ensure the reliability of the human observers. In this manuscript we review the approaches for inter-observer reliability assessment (IORA) in a representative sample of TMS focusing on clinical workflow. We found that IORA is an uncommon practice, inconsistently reported, and often uses methods that provide partial and overestimated measures of agreement. Since a comprehensive approach to IORA is yet to be proposed and validated, we provide initial recommendations for IORA reporting in continuous observation TMS.

Catalogue of Positions and Proper Motions of Stars in the Vicinity of Open Clusters

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Protsyuk, Yu.I.

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In the Research Institute Mykolaiv Astronomical Observatory (MAO the catalogue of position and proper motions of stars in the 544 square areas of nearly (1×1°around the Galactic open clusters was created using photographic and CCD observations. 293 plates of (5×5°obtained with the MAO Zonal Astrograph (D=116 mm, F=2040 mm in 1962-1993 and more than 20 thousands CCD frames (0.7×0.7° obtained with KT-50 telescope (D=500 mm, F=3000 mm in 2011-2015 were used. Almost 270 thousands FITS files from the IVOA image archives with observational epoch from 1953 to 2010 were downloaded and processed. The created catalogue contains more than 2.3 million stars (7.5-18.5m in the ICRS system with the accuracy of positions on both coordinates ranged from 0.02" to 0.05". Inner accuracy of proper motions is ~0.004"/year.

Catalogue of positions and proper motions of stars in the vicinity of open clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Protsyuk, Yu. I.; Kovalchuk, O. M.; Mazhaev, O. E.

2017-02-01

A catalog of positions and proper motions of stars in 544 square areas of nearly (1 × 1)° around the Galactic open clusters has been created using photographic and CCD observations, at Research Institute "Mykolaiv Astronomical Observatory" (RI "MAO"). To this end, 293 plates of (5 × 5)° obtained with the MAO Zonal Astrograph (D=116 mm, F=2040 mm) in 1962-1993 and more than 20 thousand CCD frames (0.7 × 0.7)° obtained with KT-50 telescope (D=500 mm, F=3000 mm) in 2011-2015 have been used. Almost 270 thousand FITS files from the IVOA image archives with observational epoch from 1953 to 2010 have been downloaded and processed. The created catalogue contains more than 2.3 million stars having a magnitude of (7.5-18.5)m in the ICRS system, with accuracy of positions for both coordinates ranging from 0.02" to 0.05". Internal accuracy of proper motions is estimated as ~0.004"/year.

Microassembly using a Cluster of Paramagnetic Microparticles

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Khalil, I.S.M.; Brink, F.V; Sardan Sukas, Ö.; Misra, Sarthak

2013-01-01

We use a cluster of paramagnetic microparticles to carry out a wireless two-dimensional microassembly operation. A magnetic-based manipulation system is used to control the motion of the cluster under the influence of the applied magnetic fields. Wireless motion control of the cluster is implemented

Tycho- Gaia Astrometric Solution Parallaxes and Proper Motions for Five Galactic Globular Clusters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Watkins, Laura L.; Van der Marel, Roeland P., E-mail: lwatkins@stsci.edu [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore MD 21218 (United States)

2017-04-20

We present a pilot study of Galactic globular cluster (GC) proper motion (PM) determinations using Gaia data. We search for GC stars in the Tycho- Gaia Astrometric Solution (TGAS) catalog from Gaia Data Release 1 (DR1), and identify five members of NGC 104 (47 Tucanae), one member of NGC 5272 (M3), five members of NGC 6121 (M4), seven members of NGC 6397, and two members of NGC 6656 (M22). By taking a weighted average of member stars, fully accounting for the correlations between parameters, we estimate the parallax (and, hence, distance) and PM of the GCs. This provides a homogeneous PM study of multiple GCs based on an astrometric catalog with small and well-controlled systematic errors and yields random PM errors similar to existing measurements. Detailed comparison to the available Hubble Space Telescope ( HST ) measurements generally shows excellent agreement, validating the astrometric quality of both TGAS and HST . By contrast, comparison to ground-based measurements shows that some of those must have systematic errors exceeding the random errors. Our parallax estimates have uncertainties an order of magnitude larger than previous studies, but nevertheless imply distances consistent with previous estimates. By combining our PM measurements with literature positions, distances, and radial velocities, we measure Galactocentric space motions for the clusters and find that these also agree well with previous analyses. Our analysis provides a framework for determining more accurate distances and PMs of Galactic GCs using future Gaia data releases. This will provide crucial constraints on the near end of the cosmic distance ladder and provide accurate GC orbital histories.

Double cusp encounter by Cluster: double cusp or motion of the cusp?

Science.gov (United States)

Escoubet, C. P.; Berchem, J.; Trattner, K. J.; Pitout, F.; Richard, R.; Taylor, M. G. G. T.; Soucek, J.; Grison, B.; Laakso, H.; Masson, A.; Dunlop, M.; Dandouras, I.; Reme, H.; Fazakerley, A.; Daly, P.

2013-04-01

Modelling plasma entry in the polar cusp has been successful in reproducing ion dispersions observed in the cusp at low and mid-altitudes. The use of a realistic convection pattern, when the IMF-By is large and stable, allowed Wing et al. (2001) to predict double cusp signatures that were subsequently observed by the DMSP spacecraft. In this paper we present a cusp crossing where two cusp populations are observed, separated by a gap around 1° Invariant Latitude (ILAT) wide. Cluster 1 (C1) and Cluster 2 (C2) observed these two cusp populations with a time delay of 3 min, and about 15 and 42 min later Cluster 4 (C4) and Cluster 3 (C3) observed, respectively, a single cusp population. A peculiarity of this event is the fact that the second cusp population seen on C1 and C2 was observed at the same time as the first cusp population on C4. This would tend to suggest that the two cusp populations had spatial features similar to the double cusp. Due to the nested crossing of C1 and C2 through the gap between the two cusp populations, C2 being first to leave the cusp and last to re-enter it, these observations are difficult to be explained by two distinct cusps with a gap in between. However, since we observe the cusp in a narrow area of local time post-noon, a second cusp may have been present in the pre-noon sector but could not be observed. On the other hand, these observations are in agreement with a motion of the cusp first dawnward and then back duskward due to the effect of the IMF-By component.

Double cusp encounter by Cluster: double cusp or motion of the cusp?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

C. P. Escoubet

2013-04-01

Full Text Available Modelling plasma entry in the polar cusp has been successful in reproducing ion dispersions observed in the cusp at low and mid-altitudes. The use of a realistic convection pattern, when the IMF-By is large and stable, allowed Wing et al. (2001 to predict double cusp signatures that were subsequently observed by the DMSP spacecraft. In this paper we present a cusp crossing where two cusp populations are observed, separated by a gap around 1° Invariant Latitude (ILAT wide. Cluster 1 (C1 and Cluster 2 (C2 observed these two cusp populations with a time delay of 3 min, and about 15 and 42 min later Cluster 4 (C4 and Cluster 3 (C3 observed, respectively, a single cusp population. A peculiarity of this event is the fact that the second cusp population seen on C1 and C2 was observed at the same time as the first cusp population on C4. This would tend to suggest that the two cusp populations had spatial features similar to the double cusp. Due to the nested crossing of C1 and C2 through the gap between the two cusp populations, C2 being first to leave the cusp and last to re-enter it, these observations are difficult to be explained by two distinct cusps with a gap in between. However, since we observe the cusp in a narrow area of local time post-noon, a second cusp may have been present in the pre-noon sector but could not be observed. On the other hand, these observations are in agreement with a motion of the cusp first dawnward and then back duskward due to the effect of the IMF-By component.

An objective spinal motion imaging assessment (OSMIA: reliability, accuracy and exposure data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mellor Fiona E

2006-01-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Minimally-invasive measurement of continuous inter-vertebral motion in clinical settings is difficult to achieve. This paper describes the reliability, validity and radiation exposure levels in a new Objective Spinal Motion Imaging Assessment system (OSMIA based on low-dose fluoroscopy and image processing. Methods Fluoroscopic sequences in coronal and sagittal planes were obtained from 2 calibration models using dry lumbar vertebrae, plus the lumbar spines of 30 asymptomatic volunteers. Calibration model 1 (mobile was screened upright, in 7 inter-vertebral positions. The volunteers and calibration model 2 (fixed were screened on a motorised table comprising 2 horizontal sections, one of which moved through 80 degrees. Model 2 was screened during motion 5 times and the L2-S1 levels of the volunteers twice. Images were digitised at 5fps. Inter-vertebral motion from model 1 was compared to its pre-settings to investigate accuracy. For volunteers and model 2, the first digitised image in each sequence was marked with templates. Vertebrae were tracked throughout the motion using automated frame-to-frame registration. For each frame, vertebral angles were subtracted giving inter-vertebral motion graphs. Volunteer data were acquired twice on the same day and analysed by two blinded observers. The root-mean-square (RMS differences between paired data were used as the measure of reliability. Results RMS difference between reference and computed inter-vertebral angles in model 1 was 0.32 degrees for side-bending and 0.52 degrees for flexion-extension. For model 2, X-ray positioning contributed more to the variance of range measurement than did automated registration. For volunteer image sequences, RMS inter-observer variation in intervertebral motion range in the coronal plane was 1.86 degreesand intra-subject biological variation was between 2.75 degrees and 2.91 degrees. RMS inter-observer variation in the sagittal plane was 1

Lane Detection in Video-Based Intelligent Transportation Monitoring via Fast Extracting and Clustering of Vehicle Motion Trajectories

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianqiang Ren

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Lane detection is a crucial process in video-based transportation monitoring system. This paper proposes a novel method to detect the lane center via rapid extraction and high accuracy clustering of vehicle motion trajectories. First, we use the activity map to realize automatically the extraction of road region, the calibration of dynamic camera, and the setting of three virtual detecting lines. Secondly, the three virtual detecting lines and a local background model with traffic flow feedback are used to extract and group vehicle feature points in unit of vehicle. Then, the feature point groups are described accurately by edge weighted dynamic graph and modified by a motion-similarity Kalman filter during the sparse feature point tracking. After obtaining the vehicle trajectories, a rough k-means incremental clustering with Hausdorff distance is designed to realize the rapid online extraction of lane center with high accuracy. The use of rough set reduces effectively the accuracy decrease, which results from the trajectories that run irregularly. Experimental results prove that the proposed method can detect lane center position efficiently, the affected time of subsequent tasks can be reduced obviously, and the safety of traffic surveillance systems can be enhanced significantly.

A Kondo cluster-glass model for spin glass Cerium alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zimmer, F M; Magalhaes, S G; Coqblin, B

2011-01-01

There are clear indications that the presence of disorder in Ce alloys, such as Ce(Ni,Cu) or Ce(Pd,Rh), is responsible for the existence of a cluster spin glass state which changes continuously into inhomogeneous ferromagnetism at low temperatures. We present a study of the competition between magnetism and Kondo effect in a cluster-glass model composed by a random inter-cluster interaction term and an intra-cluster one, which contains an intra-site Kondo interaction J k and an inter-site ferromagnetic one J 0 . The random interaction is given by the van Hemmen type of randomness which allows to solve the problem without the use of the replica method. The inter-cluster term is solved within the cluster mean-field theory and the remaining intra-cluster interactions can be treated by exact diagonalization. Results show the behavior of the cluster glass order parameter and the Kondo correlation function for several sizes of the clusters, J k , J 0 and values of the ferromagnetic inter-cluster average interaction I 0 . Particularly, for small J k , the magnetic solution is strongly dependent on I 0 and J 0 and a Kondo cluster-glass or a mixed phase can be obtained, while, for large J k , the Kondo effect is still dominant, both in good agreement with experiment in Ce(Ni,Cu) or Ce(Pd,Rh) alloys.

Cluster observations of two separated cusp populations: double cusp or motion of the cusp?

Science.gov (United States)

Escoubet, C.-Philippe; Berchem, Jean; Trattner, Karlheinz; Pitout, Frederic; Richard, Robert; Taylor, Matt; Soucek, Jan; Grison, Benjamin; Laakso, Harri; Masson, Arnaud; Dunlop, Malcolm; Dandouras, Iannis; Reme, Henri; Fazakerley, Andrew; Daly, Patrick

2013-04-01

Modelling plasma entry in the polar cusp has been successful in reproducing ion dispersions observed in the cusp at low and mid-altitudes. The use of a realistic convection pattern allowed Wing et al. (2001) to predict double cusp signatures that were subsequently observed by the DMSP spacecraft. In this paper, we present a cusp crossing where two cusp populations are observed, separated by a gap around 1° ILAT wide. Cluster 1 (C1) and Cluster 2 (C2) observed these two cusp populations with a time delay of three minutes and about 15 and 42 minutes later, Cluster 4 (C4) and Cluster 3 (C3) observed, respectively, a single cusp population. A peculiarity of this event is the fact that the second cusp population seen on C1 and C2 was observed at the same time as the first cusp population on C4. This would tend to suggest that the two cusp populations were spatial features similar to the double cusp. Due to the nested crossing of C1 and C2 through the gap between the two cusp encounters, C2 being first to leave the cusp and last to re-enter it, these observations cannot be explained by two stable cusps with a gap of precipitation in between. On the other hand these observations are in agreement with a motion of the cusp first dawnward and then back duskward due to the effect of the IMF-By component.

Cluster-cluster aggregation of Ising dipolar particles under thermal noise

KAUST Repository

Suzuki, Masaru

2009-08-14

The cluster-cluster aggregation processes of Ising dipolar particles under thermal noise are investigated in the dilute condition. As the temperature increases, changes in the typical structures of clusters are observed from chainlike (D1) to crystalline (D2) through fractal structures (D1.45), where D is the fractal dimension. By calculating the bending energy of the chainlike structure, it is found that the transition temperature is associated with the energy gap between the chainlike and crystalline configurations. The aggregation dynamics changes from being dominated by attraction to diffusion involving changes in the dynamic exponent z=0.2 to 0.5. In the region of temperature where the fractal clusters grow, different growth rates are observed between charged and neutral clusters. Using the Smoluchowski equation with a twofold kernel, this hetero-aggregation process is found to result from two types of dynamics: the diffusive motion of neutral clusters and the weak attractive motion between charged clusters. The fact that changes in structures and dynamics take place at the same time suggests that transitions in the structure of clusters involve marked changes in the dynamics of the aggregation processes. © 2009 The American Physical Society.

Validity and inter-rater reliability of medio-lateral knee motion observed during a single-limb mini squat

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simic Milena

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Muscle function may influence the risk of knee injury and outcomes following injury. Clinical tests, such as a single-limb mini squat, resemble conditions of daily life and are easy to administer. Fewer squats per 30 seconds indicate poorer function. However, the quality of movement, such as the medio-lateral knee motion may also be important. The aim was to validate an observational clinical test of assessing the medio-lateral knee motion, using a three-dimensional (3-D motion analysis system. In addition, the inter-rater reliability was evaluated. Methods Twenty-five (17 women non-injured participants (mean age 25.6 years, range 18-37 were included. Visual analysis of the medio-lateral knee motion, scored as knee-over-foot or knee-medial-to-foot by two raters, and 3-D kinematic data were collected simultaneously during a single-limb mini squat. Frontal plane 2-D peak tibial, thigh, and knee varus-valgus angles, and 3-D peak hip internal-external rotation, and knee varus-valgus angles were calculated. Results Ten subjects were scored as having a knee-medial-to-foot position and 15 subjects a knee-over-foot position assessed by visual inspection. In 2-D, the peak tibial angle (mean 89.0 (SE 0.7 vs mean 86.3 (SE 0.4 degrees, p = 0.001 and peak thigh angle (mean 77.4 (SE 1.0 vs mean 81.2 (SE 0.5 degrees, p = 0.001 with respect to the horizontal, indicated that the knee was more medially placed than the ankle and thigh, respectively. Thus, the knee was in more valgus (mean 11.6 (SE 1.5 vs 5.0 (SE 0.8 degrees, p 0.90 and 96 between raters. Conclusions Medio-lateral motion of the knee can reliably be assessed during a single-leg mini-squat. The test is valid in 2-D, while the actual movement, in 3-D, is mainly exhibited as increased internal hip rotation. The single-limb mini squat is feasible and easy to administer in the clinical setting and in research to address lower extremity movement quality.

Intermittent thermal plasma acceleration linked to sporadic motions of the magnetopause, first Cluster results

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J.-A. Sauvaud

Full Text Available This paper presents the first observations with Cluster of a very dense population of thermal ionospheric ions (H⁺, He⁺, O⁺ locally "accelerated" perpendicularly to the local magnetic field in a region adjacent to the magnetopause and on its magnetospheric side. The observation periods follow a long period of very weak magnetic activity. Recurrent motions of the magnetopause are, in the presented cases, unexpectedly associated with the appearance inside closed field lines of recurrent energy structures of ionospheric ions with energies in the 5 eV to  ~1000 eV range. The heaviest ions were detected with the highest energies. Here, the ion behaviour is interpreted as resulting from local electric field enhancements/decreases which adiabatically enhance/lower the bulk energy of a local dense thermal ion population. This drift effect, which is directly linked to magnetopause motions caused by pressure changes, allows for the thermal ions to overcome the satellite potential and be detected by the suprathermal CIS Cluster experiment. When fast flowing, i.e. when detectable, the density (~ 1 cm^-3 of these ions from a terrestrial origin is (in the cases presented here largely higher than the local density of ions from magnetospheric/plasma sheet origin which poses again the question of the relative importance of solar and ionospheric sources for the magnetospheric plasma even during very quiet magnetic conditions.

Key words. Ionosphere (planetary ionosphere; plasma convection Magnetospheric physics (magnetopause, cusp and boundary layers

Motion-encoded dose calculation through fluence/sinogram modification

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lu, Weiguo; Olivera, Gustavo H.; Mackie, Thomas R.

2005-01-01

Conventional radiotherapy treatment planning systems rely on a static computed tomography (CT) image for planning and evaluation. Intra/inter-fraction patient motions may result in significant differences between the planned and the delivered dose. In this paper, we develop a method to incorporate the knowledge of intra/inter-fraction patient motion directly into the dose calculation. By decomposing the motion into a parallel (to beam direction) component and perpendicular (to beam direction) component, we show that the motion effects can be accounted for by simply modifying the fluence distribution (sinogram). After such modification, dose calculation is the same as those based on a static planning image. This method is superior to the 'dose-convolution' method because it is not based on 'shift invariant' assumption. Therefore, it deals with material heterogeneity and surface curvature very well. We test our method using extensive simulations, which include four phantoms, four motion patterns, and three plan beams. We compare our method with the 'dose-convolution' and the 'stochastic simulation' methods (gold standard). As for the homogeneous flat surface phantom, our method has similar accuracy as the 'dose-convolution' method. As for all other phantoms, our method outperforms the 'dose-convolution'. The maximum motion encoded dose calculation error using our method is within 4% of the gold standard. It is shown that a treatment planning system that is based on 'motion-encoded dose calculation' can incorporate random and systematic motion errors in a very simple fashion. Under this approximation, in principle, a planning target volume definition is not required, since it already accounts for the intra/inter-fraction motion variations and it automatically optimizes the cumulative dose rather than the single fraction dose

LCoMotion - Learning, Cognition and Motion; a multicomponent cluster randomized school-based intervention aimed at increasing learning and cognition - rationale, design and methods.

Science.gov (United States)

Bugge, Anna; Tarp, Jakob; Østergaard, Lars; Domazet, Sidsel Louise; Andersen, Lars Bo; Froberg, Karsten

2014-09-18

The aim of the study; LCoMotion - Learning, Cognition and Motion was to develop, document, and evaluate a multi-component physical activity (PA) intervention in public schools in Denmark. The primary outcome was cognitive function. Secondary outcomes were academic skills, body composition, aerobic fitness and PA. The primary aim of the present paper was to describe the rationale, design and methods of the LCoMotion study. LCoMotion was designed as a cluster-randomized controlled study. Fourteen schools from all five regions in Denmark participated. All students from 6th and 7th grades were invited to participate (n = 869) and consent was obtained for 87% (n = 759). Baseline measurements were obtained in November/December 2013 and follow-up measurements in May/June 2014. The intervention lasted five months and consisted of a "package" of three main components: PA during academic lessons, PA during recess and PA homework. Furthermore a cycling campaign was conducted during the intervention period. Intervention schools should endeavor to ensure that students were physically active for at least 60 min every school day. Cognitive function was measured by a modified Eriksen flanker task and academic skills by a custom made mathematics test. PA was objectively measured by accelerometers (ActiGraph, GT3X and GT3X+) and aerobic fitness assessed by an intermittent shuttle-run test (the Andersen intermittent running test). Furthermore, compliance with the intervention was assessed by short message service (SMS)-tracking and questionnaires were delivered to students, parents and teachers. LCoMotion has ability to provide new insights on the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention on cognitive function and academic skills in 6th and 7th grade students. Clinicaltrials.gov: NCT02012881 (10/10/2013).

Cervical motion assessment using virtual reality.

Science.gov (United States)

Sarig-Bahat, Hilla; Weiss, Patrice L; Laufer, Yocheved

2009-05-01

Repeated measures of cervical motion in asymptomatic subjects. To introduce a virtual reality (VR)-based assessment of cervical range of motion (ROM); to establish inter and intratester reliability of the VR-based assessment in comparison with conventional assessment in asymptomatic individuals; and to evaluate the effect of a single VR session on cervical ROM. Cervical ROM and clinical issues related to neck pain is frequently studied. A wide variety of methods is available for evaluation of cervical motion. To date, most methods rely on voluntary responses to an assessor's instructions. However, in day-to-day life, head movement is generally an involuntary response to multiple stimuli. Therefore, there is a need for a more functional assessment method, using sensory stimuli to elicit spontaneous neck motion. VR attributes may provide a methodology for achieving this goal. A novel method was developed for cervical motion assessment utilizing an electromagnetic tracking system and a VR game scenario displayed via a head mounted device. Thirty asymptomatic participants were assessed by both conventional and VR-based methods. Inter and intratester repeatability analyses were performed. The effect of a single VR session on ROM was evaluated. Both assessments showed non-biased results between tests and between testers (P > 0.1). Full-cycle repeatability coefficients ranged between 15.0 degrees and 29.2 degrees with smaller values for rotation and for the VR assessment. A single VR session significantly increased ROM, with largest effect found in the rotation direction. Inter and intratester reliability was supported for both the VR-based and the conventional methods. Results suggest better repeatability for the VR method, with rotation being more precise than flexion/extension. A single VR session was found to be effective in increasing cervical motion, possibly due to its motivating effect.

Seismotectonic Implications Of Clustered Regional GPS Velocities In The San Francisco Bay Region, California

Science.gov (United States)

Graymer, R. W.; Simpson, R.

2012-12-01

We have used a hierarchical agglomerative clustering algorithm with Euclidean distance and centroid linkage, applied to continuous GPS observations for the Bay region available from the U.S. Geological Survey website. This analysis reveals 4 robust, spatially coherent clusters that coincide with 4 first-order structural blocks separated by 3 major fault systems: San Andreas (SA), Southern/Central Calaveras-Hayward-Rodgers Creek-Maacama (HAY), and Northern Calaveras-Concord-Green Valley-Berryessa-Bartlett Springs (NCAL). Because observations seaward of the San Gregorio (SG) fault are few in number, the cluster to the west of SA may actually contain 2 major structural blocks not adequately resolved: the Pacific plate to the west of the northern SA and a Peninsula block between the Peninsula SA and the SG fault. The average inter-block velocities are 11, 10, and 9 mm/yr across SA, HAY, and NCAL respectively. There appears to be a significant component of fault-normal compression across NCAL, whereas SA and HAY faults appear to be, on regional average, purely strike-slip. The velocities for the Sierra Nevada - Great Valley (SNGV) block to the west of NCAL are impressive in their similarity. The cluster of these velocities in a velocity plot forms a tighter grouping compared with the groupings for the other cluster blocks, suggesting a more rigid behavior for this block than the others. We note that for 4 clusters, none of the 3 cluster boundaries illuminate geologic structures other than north-northwest trending dominantly strike-slip faults, so plate motion is not accommodated by large-scale fault-parallel compression or extension in the region or by significant plastic deformation , at least over the time span of the GPS observations. Complexities of interseismic deformation of the upper crust do not allow simple application of inter-block velocities as long-term slip rates on bounding faults. However, 2D dislocation models using inter-block velocities and typical

Cluster magnetic field observations of the bowshock: Orientation, motion and structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. S. Horbury

Full Text Available Four spacecraft Cluster magnetic field observations of the low quasi-perpendicular terrestrial bowshock are presented for the first time. Multiple quasi-perpendicular crossings on 25 December 2000 are analysed. By combining data from the four spacecraft, bowshock orientations and velocities can be calculated. It is shown that, even while in rapid motion, the bowshock normal direction remains remarkably constant, and that coplanarity estimates are accurate to, typically, around 20°. Magnetic field magnitude profiles are shown to be very well correlated between spacecraft although downstream waves with fluctuations perpendicular to the local field, while statistically similar at all four spacecraft, are poorly correlated on separation scales of several hundred km. Examples are shown of a number of bowshock phenomena, including non-standing fluctuations in the shock foot and the shock interacting with changing solar wind conditions.

Key words. Interplanetary physics (planetary bow shocks Space plasma physics (shock waves; waves and instabilities

Cluster magnetic field observations of the bowshock: Orientation, motion and structure

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. S. Horbury

2001-09-01

Full Text Available Four spacecraft Cluster magnetic field observations of the low quasi-perpendicular terrestrial bowshock are presented for the first time. Multiple quasi-perpendicular crossings on 25 December 2000 are analysed. By combining data from the four spacecraft, bowshock orientations and velocities can be calculated. It is shown that, even while in rapid motion, the bowshock normal direction remains remarkably constant, and that coplanarity estimates are accurate to, typically, around 20°. Magnetic field magnitude profiles are shown to be very well correlated between spacecraft although downstream waves with fluctuations perpendicular to the local field, while statistically similar at all four spacecraft, are poorly correlated on separation scales of several hundred km. Examples are shown of a number of bowshock phenomena, including non-standing fluctuations in the shock foot and the shock interacting with changing solar wind conditions.Key words. Interplanetary physics (planetary bow shocks Space plasma physics (shock waves; waves and instabilities

Internal Motion Estimation by Internal-external Motion Modeling for Lung Cancer Radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Haibin; Zhong, Zichun; Yang, Yiwei; Chen, Jiawei; Zhou, Linghong; Zhen, Xin; Gu, Xuejun

2018-02-27

The aim of this study is to develop an internal-external correlation model for internal motion estimation for lung cancer radiotherapy. Deformation vector fields that characterize the internal-external motion are obtained by respectively registering the internal organ meshes and external surface meshes from the 4DCT images via a recently developed local topology preserved non-rigid point matching algorithm. A composite matrix is constructed by combing the estimated internal phasic DVFs with external phasic and directional DVFs. Principle component analysis is then applied to the composite matrix to extract principal motion characteristics, and generate model parameters to correlate the internal-external motion. The proposed model is evaluated on a 4D NURBS-based cardiac-torso (NCAT) synthetic phantom and 4DCT images from five lung cancer patients. For tumor tracking, the center of mass errors of the tracked tumor are 0.8(±0.5)mm/0.8(±0.4)mm for synthetic data, and 1.3(±1.0)mm/1.2(±1.2)mm for patient data in the intra-fraction/inter-fraction tracking, respectively. For lung tracking, the percent errors of the tracked contours are 0.06(±0.02)/0.07(±0.03) for synthetic data, and 0.06(±0.02)/0.06(±0.02) for patient data in the intra-fraction/inter-fraction tracking, respectively. The extensive validations have demonstrated the effectiveness and reliability of the proposed model in motion tracking for both the tumor and the lung in lung cancer radiotherapy.

Non-convex polygons clustering algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kruglikov Alexey

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A clustering algorithm is proposed, to be used as a preliminary step in motion planning. It is tightly coupled to the applied problem statement, i.e. uses parameters meaningful only with respect to it. Use of geometrical properties for polygons clustering allows for a better calculation time as opposed to general-purpose algorithms. A special form of map optimized for quick motion planning is constructed as a result.

Cooperation and Competition among Clustered MSEs in East Java

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arif Hoetoro

2014-12-01

Full Text Available There has been a common picture in economic development that micro and small enterprises (MSEs tend to conglomerate in various clusters for the sake of gaining location advantages. These MSEs then create inter-firm linkages and business strategies as the two play an important role in their performance. By taking selected manufacturing MSEs that operate in various small industrial clusters in East Java, Indonesia, this research examined the relationships between the inter-firm linkages and business strategies applied simultaneously by MSEs and their impacts on the firm’s performance. Viewed from the perspective of a co-opetition strategy, the results of this study revealed that some types of inter-firm linkages and business strategies matter for the MSEs’ performance. However, within small industrial clusters, inter-firm linkages seem to be less effective compared to business strategies in affecting a firm’s performance.

Characterization of the Praesepe star cluster by photometry and proper motions with 2MASS, PPMXL, and Pan-STARRS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Wang, P. F.; Chen, W. P. [Department of Physics, National Central University, 300 Jhongda Road, Jhongli 32001, Taiwan (China); Lin, C. C.; Huang, C. K.; Panwar, N.; Lee, C. H. [Graduate Institute of Astronomy, National Central University, 300 Jhongda Road, Jhongli 32001, Taiwan (China); Pandey, A. K. [Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences, Manora Peak, Nainital 263129 (India); Tsai, M. F.; Tang, C.-H. [Department of Computer Science and Information Engineering, National Central University, 300 Jhongda Road, Jhongli 32001, Taiwan (China); Goldman, B. [Max-Planck-Institut für Astronomie, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Burgett, W. S.; Chambers, K. C.; Flewelling, H.; Heasley, J. N.; Hodapp, K. W.; Huber, M. E.; Jedicke, R.; Kaiser, N. [Institute for Astronomy, University of Hawai' i, 2680 Woodlawn Drive, Honolulu, HI 96822 (United States); Draper, P. W. [Department of Physics, Durham University, South Road, Durham DH1 3LE (United Kingdom); Grav, T. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); and others

2014-03-20

Membership identification is the first step in determining the properties of a star cluster. Low-mass members in particular could be used to trace the dynamical history, such as mass segregation, stellar evaporation, or tidal stripping, of a star cluster in its Galactic environment. We identified member candidates of the intermediate-age Praesepe cluster (M44) with stellar masses ∼0.11-2.4 M {sub ☉}, using Panoramic Survey Telescope And Rapid Response System and Two Micron All Sky Survey photometry, and PPMXL proper motions. Within a sky area of 3° radius, 1040 candidates are identified, of which 96 are new inclusions. Using the same set of selection criteria on field stars, an estimated false positive rate of 16% was determined, suggesting that 872 of the candidates are true members. This most complete and reliable membership list allows us to favor the BT-Settl model over other stellar models. The cluster shows a distinct binary track above the main sequence, with a binary frequency of 20%-40%, and a high occurrence rate of similar mass pairs. The mass function is consistent with that of the disk population but shows a deficit of members below 0.3 solar masses. A clear mass segregation is evidenced, with the lowest-mass members in our sample being evaporated from this disintegrating cluster.

A method for evaluation of proton plan robustness towards inter-fractional motion applied to pelvic lymph node irradiation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Andreas G; Casares-Magaz, Oscar; Muren, Ludvig P

2015-01-01

of the pelvic lymph nodes (LNs) from different beam angles. Patient- versus population-specific patterns in dose deterioration were explored. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Patient data sets consisting of a planning computed tomography (pCT) as well as multiple repeat CT (rCT) scans for three patients were used......BACKGROUND: The benefit of proton therapy may be jeopardized by dose deterioration caused by water equivalent path length (WEPL) variations. In this study we introduced a method to evaluate robustness of proton therapy with respect to inter-fractional motion and applied it to irradiation...... in deterioration patterns were found for the investigated patients, with beam angles delivering less dose to rectum, bladder and overall normal tissue identified around 40° and around 150°-160° for the left LNs, and corresponding angles for the right LNs. These angles were also associated with low values of WEPL...

Quantifying motion for pancreatic radiotherapy margin calculation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Whitfield, Gillian; Jain, Pooja; Green, Melanie; Watkins, Gillian; Henry, Ann; Stratford, Julie; Amer, Ali; Marchant, Thomas; Moore, Christopher; Price, Patricia

2012-01-01

Background and purpose: Pancreatic radiotherapy (RT) is limited by uncertain target motion. We quantified 3D patient/organ motion during pancreatic RT and calculated required treatment margins. Materials and methods: Cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) and orthogonal fluoroscopy images were acquired post-RT delivery from 13 patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer. Bony setup errors were calculated from CBCT. Inter- and intra-fraction fiducial (clip/seed/stent) motion was determined from CBCT projections and orthogonal fluoroscopy. Results: Using an off-line CBCT correction protocol, systematic (random) setup errors were 2.4 (3.2), 2.0 (1.7) and 3.2 (3.6) mm laterally (left–right), vertically (anterior–posterior) and longitudinally (cranio-caudal), respectively. Fiducial motion varied substantially. Random inter-fractional changes in mean fiducial position were 2.0, 1.6 and 2.6 mm; 95% of intra-fractional peak-to-peak fiducial motion was up to 6.7, 10.1 and 20.6 mm, respectively. Calculated clinical to planning target volume (CTV–PTV) margins were 1.4 cm laterally, 1.4 cm vertically and 3.0 cm longitudinally for 3D conformal RT, reduced to 0.9, 1.0 and 1.8 cm, respectively, if using 4D planning and online setup correction. Conclusions: Commonly used CTV–PTV margins may inadequately account for target motion during pancreatic RT. Our results indicate better immobilisation, individualised allowance for respiratory motion, online setup error correction and 4D planning would improve targeting.

Equation-of-motion coupled cluster method for high spin double electron attachment calculations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Musiał, Monika, E-mail: musial@ich.us.edu.pl; Lupa, Łukasz; Kucharski, Stanisław A. [Institute of Chemistry, University of Silesia, Szkolna 9, 40-006 Katowice (Poland)

2014-03-21

The new formulation of the equation-of-motion (EOM) coupled cluster (CC) approach applicable to the calculations of the double electron attachment (DEA) states for the high spin components is proposed. The new EOM equations are derived for the high spin triplet and quintet states. In both cases the new equations are easier to solve but the substantial simplification is observed in the case of quintets. Out of 21 diagrammatic terms contributing to the standard DEA-EOM-CCSDT equations for the R{sub 2} and R{sub 3} amplitudes only four terms survive contributing to the R{sub 3} part. The implemented method has been applied to the calculations of the excited states (singlets, triplets, and quintets) energies of the carbon and silicon atoms and potential energy curves for selected states of the Na{sub 2} (triplets) and B{sub 2} (quintets) molecules.

Inter-joint coordination between hips and trunk during downswings: Effects on the clubhead speed.

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Ahnryul; Lee, In-Kwang; Choi, Mun-Taek; Mun, Joung Hwan

2016-10-01

Understanding of the inter-joint coordination between rotational movement of each hip and trunk in golf would provide basic knowledge regarding how the neuromuscular system organises the related joints to perform a successful swing motion. In this study, we evaluated the inter-joint coordination characteristics between rotational movement of the hips and trunk during golf downswings. Twenty-one right-handed male professional golfers were recruited for this study. Infrared cameras were installed to capture the swing motion. The axial rotation angle, angular velocity and inter-joint coordination were calculated by the Euler angle, numerical difference method and continuous relative phase, respectively. A more typical inter-joint coordination demonstrated in the leading hip/trunk than trailing hip/trunk. Three coordination characteristics of the leading hip/trunk reported a significant relationship with clubhead speed at impact (r joint coordination strategies have the great potential to use a biomechanical guideline to improve the golf swing performance of unskilled golfers.

Entropy-Based Video Steganalysis of Motion Vectors

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Elaheh Sadat Sadat

2018-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, a new method is proposed for motion vector steganalysis using the entropy value and its combination with the features of the optimized motion vector. In this method, the entropy of blocks is calculated to determine their texture and the precision of their motion vectors. Then, by using a fuzzy cluster, the blocks are clustered into the blocks with high and low texture, while the membership function of each block to a high texture class indicates the texture of that block. These membership functions are used to weight the effective features that are extracted by reconstructing the motion estimation equations. Characteristics of the results indicate that the use of entropy and the irregularity of each block increases the precision of the final video classification into cover and stego classes.

Investigating the significance of zero-point motion in small molecular clusters of sulphuric acid and water

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stinson, Jake L.; Ford, Ian J.; Kathmann, Shawn M.

2014-01-01

The nucleation of particles from trace gases in the atmosphere is an important source of cloud condensation nuclei, and these are vital for the formation of clouds in view of the high supersaturations required for homogeneous water droplet nucleation. The methods of quantum chemistry have increasingly been employed to model nucleation due to their high accuracy and efficiency in calculating configurational energies; and nucleation rates can be obtained from the associated free energies of particle formation. However, even in such advanced approaches, it is typically assumed that the nuclei have a classical nature, which is questionable for some systems. The importance of zero-point motion (also known as quantum nuclear dynamics) in modelling small clusters of sulphuric acid and water is tested here using the path integral molecular dynamics method at the density functional level of theory. The general effect of zero-point motion is to distort the mean structure slightly, and to promote the extent of proton transfer with respect to classical behaviour. In a particular configuration of one sulphuric acid molecule with three waters, the range of positions explored by a proton between a sulphuric acid and a water molecule at 300 K (a broad range in contrast to the confinement suggested by geometry optimisation at 0 K) is clearly affected by the inclusion of zero point motion, and similar effects are observed for other configurations

Inter frame motion estimation and its application to image sequence compression: an introduction; Estimacion del movimiento Interframe y su aplicacion a la compresion de secuencias de imagenes: una introduccion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Cremy, C

1996-12-01

With the constant development of new communication technologies like, digital TV, teleconference, and the development of image analysis applications, there is a growing volume of data to manage. Compression techniques are required for the transmission and storage of these data. Dealing with original images would require the use of expansive high bandwidth communication devices and huge storage media. Image sequence compression can be achieved by means of inter frame estimation that consists in retrieving redundant information relative to zones where there is little motion between two frames. This paper is an introduction to some motion estimation techniques like gradient techniques, pel-recursive, block-matching, and its application to image sequence compression. (Author)

Relative Proper Motions in the Rho Ophiuchi Cluster

Science.gov (United States)

2016-01-06

identified as YSOs and may be newly identified cluster members. Key words: ISM: individual objects (Rho Ophiuchi cloud) – stars: formation – stars: pre-main...sequence 1. INTRODUCTION The majority of stars in the Galaxy form in clusters that once the binding mass of the molecular gas is removed, disperse into

Characterization of the Praesepe Star Cluster by Photometry and Proper Motions With 2MASS, PPMXL, and Pan-STARRS

Science.gov (United States)

2014-03-20

reserved. Printed in the U.S.A. CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PRAESEPE STAR CLUSTER BY PHOTOMETRY AND PROPER MOTIONS WITH 2MASS , PPMXL, AND Pan-STARRS P. F. Wang1... 2MASS ) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) data, covering a sky area of 100 deg2, Adams et al. (2002) extended the lower main sequence to 0.1M, and...incompleteness is caused by the detection limits of USNO-B1 and 2MASS . Recently, Khalaj & Baumgardt (2013) used SDSS and PPMXL data to characterize

N-body modeling of globular clusters: detecting intermediate-mass black holes by non-equipartition in HST proper motions

Science.gov (United States)

Trenti, Michele

2010-09-01

Intermediate Mass Black Holes {IMBHs} are objects of considerable astrophysical significance. They have been invoked as possible remnants of Population III stars, precursors of supermassive black holes, sources of ultra-luminous X-ray emission, and emitters of gravitational waves. The centers of globular clusters, where they may have formed through runaway collapse of massive stars, may be our best chance of detecting them. HST studies of velocity dispersions have provided tentative evidence, but the measurements are difficult and the results have been disputed. It is thus important to explore and develop additional indicators of the presence of an IMBH in these systems. In a Cycle 16 theory project we focused on the fingerprints of an IMBH derived from HST photometry. We showed that an IMBH leads to a detectable quenching of mass segregation. Analysis of HST-ACS data for NGC 2298 validated the method, and ruled out an IMBH of more than 300 solar masses. We propose here to extend the search for IMBH signatures from photometry to kinematics. The velocity dispersion of stars in collisionally relaxed stellar systems such as globular clusters scales with main sequence mass as sigma m^alpha. A value alpha = -0.5 corresponds to equipartition. Mass-dependent kinematics can now be measured from HST proper motion studies {e.g., alpha = -0.21 for Omega Cen}. Preliminary analysis shows that the value of alpha can be used as indicator of the presence of an IMBH. In fact, the quenching of mass segregation is a result of the degree of equipartition that the system attains. However, detailed numerical simulations are required to quantify this. Therefore we propose {a} to carry out a new, larger set of realistic N-body simulations of star clusters with IMBHs, primordial binaries and stellar evolution to predict in detail the expected kinematic signatures and {b} to compare these predictions to datasets that are {becoming} available. Considerable HST resources have been invested in

Multi-temporal clustering of continental floods and associated atmospheric circulations

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Jianyu; Zhang, Yongqiang

2017-12-01

Investigating clustering of floods has important social, economic and ecological implications. This study examines the clustering of Australian floods at different temporal scales and its possible physical mechanisms. Flood series with different severities are obtained by peaks-over-threshold (POT) sampling in four flood thresholds. At intra-annual scale, Cox regression and monthly frequency methods are used to examine whether and when the flood clustering exists, respectively. At inter-annual scale, dispersion indices with four-time variation windows are applied to investigate the inter-annual flood clustering and its variation. Furthermore, the Kernel occurrence rate estimate and bootstrap resampling methods are used to identify flood-rich/flood-poor periods. Finally, seasonal variation of horizontal wind at 850 hPa and vertical wind velocity at 500 hPa are used to investigate the possible mechanisms causing the temporal flood clustering. Our results show that: (1) flood occurrences exhibit clustering at intra-annual scale, which are regulated by climate indices representing the impacts of the Pacific and Indian Oceans; (2) the flood-rich months occur from January to March over northern Australia, and from July to September over southwestern and southeastern Australia; (3) stronger inter-annual clustering takes place across southern Australia than northern Australia; and (4) Australian floods are characterised by regional flood-rich and flood-poor periods, with 1987-1992 identified as the flood-rich period across southern Australia, but the flood-poor period across northern Australia, and 2001-2006 being the flood-poor period across most regions of Australia. The intra-annual and inter-annual clustering and temporal variation of flood occurrences are in accordance with the variation of atmospheric circulation. These results provide relevant information for flood management under the influence of climate variability, and, therefore, are helpful for developing

Exploring the Internal Dynamics of Globular Clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Watkins, Laura L.; van der Marel, Roeland; Bellini, Andrea; Luetzgendorf, Nora; HSTPROMO Collaboration

2018-01-01

Exploring the Internal Dynamics of Globular ClustersThe formation histories and structural properties of globular clusters are imprinted on their internal dynamics. Energy equipartition results in velocity differences for stars of different mass, and leads to mass segregation, which results in different spatial distributions for stars of different mass. Intermediate-mass black holes significantly increase the velocity dispersions at the centres of clusters. By combining accurate measurements of their internal kinematics with state-of-the-art dynamical models, we can characterise both the velocity dispersion and mass profiles of clusters, tease apart the different effects, and understand how clusters may have formed and evolved.Using proper motions from the Hubble Space Telescope Proper Motion (HSTPROMO) Collaboration for a set of 22 Milky Way globular clusters, and our discrete dynamical modelling techniques designed to work with large, high-quality datasets, we are studying a variety of internal cluster properties. We will present the results of theoretical work on simulated clusters that demonstrates the efficacy of our approach, and preliminary results from application to real clusters.

Impact of subject head motion on quantitative brain 15O PET and its correction by image-based registration algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Matsubara, Keisuke; Ibaraki, Masanobu; Nakamura, Kazuhiro; Yamaguchi, Hiroshi; Umetsu, Atsushi; Kinoshita, Fumiko; Kinoshita, Toshibumi

2013-01-01

Subject head motion during sequential 15 O positron emission tomography (PET) scans can result in artifacts in cerebral blood flow (CBF) and oxygen metabolism maps. However, to our knowledge, there are no systematic studies examining this issue. Herein, we investigated the effect of head motion on quantification of CBF and oxygen metabolism, and proposed an image-based motion correction method dedicated to 15 O PET study, correcting for transmission-emission mismatch and inter-scan mismatch of emission scans. We analyzed 15 O PET data for patients with major arterial steno-occlusive disease (n=130) to determine the occurrence frequency of head motion during 15 O PET examination. Image-based motion correction without and with realignment between transmission and emission scans, termed simple and 2-step method, respectively, was applied to the cases that showed severe inter-scan motion. Severe inter-scan motion (>3 mm translation or >5deg rotation) was observed in 27 of 520 adjacent scan pairs (5.2%). In these cases, unrealistic values of oxygen extraction fraction (OEF) or cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) were observed without motion correction. Motion correction eliminated these artifacts. The volume-of-interest (VOI) analysis demonstrated that the motion correction changed the OEF on the middle cerebral artery territory by 17.3% at maximum. The inter-scan motion also affected cerebral blood volume (CBV), cerebral metabolism rate of oxygen (CMRO 2 ) and CBF, which were improved by the motion correction. A difference of VOI values between the simple and 2-step method was also observed. These data suggest that image-based motion correction is useful for accurate measurement of CBF and oxygen metabolism by 15 O PET. (author)

An organisational perspective on the cluster paradox : exploring how members of a cluster manage the tension between continuity and renewal

OpenAIRE

Pinkse, Jonatan; Vernay, Anne-Lorene; D'Ippolito, Beatrice

2018-01-01

Clusters face what has been referred to as a 'cluster paradox'; a situation in which a collective identity breeds cohesion and efficiency in inter-organisational collaboration, yet it hinders the variety needed to adapt to disruptive change and prevent lock-in situations. Accordingly, a recurring theme in the literature on cluster evolution and cluster life-cycles is the need for constant renewal to allow clusters to adapt to a changing environment. However, how individual firms enact a proce...

Tracking using motion estimation with physically motivated inter-region constraints

KAUST Repository

Arif, Omar; Sundaramoorthi, Ganesh; Hong, Byungwoo; Yezzi, Anthony J.

2014-01-01

We propose a method for tracking structures (e.g., ventricles and myocardium) in cardiac images (e.g., magnetic resonance) by propagating forward in time a previous estimate of the structures using a new physically motivated motion estimation scheme

Giant Radio Halos in Galaxy Clusters as Probes of Particle ...

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

2016-01-27

Jan 27, 2016 ... Giant radio halos in galaxy clusters probe mechanisms of particle acceleration connected with cluster merger events. Shocks and turbulence are driven in the inter-galactic medium (IGM) during clusters mergers and may have a deep impact on the non-thermal properties of galaxy clusters. Models of ...

INTER-JOINT COORDINATION IN PRODUCING KICKING VELOCITY OF TAEKWONDO KICKS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Young Kwan Kim

2011-03-01

Full Text Available The purpose of this study was to investigate joint kinematics of the kicking leg in Taekwondo and to examine the role of inter-joint coordination of the leg in producing the kicking velocity. A new inter-joint coordination index that encompasses three- dimensional hip and knee motions, was defined and applied to the joint kinematic results. Twelve elite Taekwondo athletes participated in this study and performed the back kick, thrashing kick, turning-back kick and roundhouse kick. Our results indicate that the back kick utilized a combination of hip and knee extension to produce the kicking velocity, and was characterized by a pushlike movement. The thrashing kick and turning-back kick utilized a greater degree of hip abduction than the roundhouse kick and back kick, and included complicated knee motions. The new index successfully categorized the thrashing kick and turning-back kick into a push-throw continuum, indicating a change from negative index (opposite direction to positive index (same direction of hip and knee motions at the end of the movement. This strategy of push-throw continuum increases the kicking velocity at the moment of impact by applying a throwlike movement pattern

Inter-rater reliability of three musculoskeletal physical examination techniques used to assess motion in three planes while standing.

Science.gov (United States)

Prather, Heidi; Hunt, Devyani; Steger-May, Karen; Hayes, Marcie Harris; Knaus, Evan; Clohisy, John

2009-07-01

The objective of the study was to measure the reliability between examiners of 3 basic maneuvers of the Total Body Functional Profile physical examination test. The hypothesis was musculoskeletal health care providers of different disciplines could reliably use the 3 basic maneuvers as part of the musculoskeletal physical examination. A prospective observational study was conducted. Twenty-eight adult volunteers were measured on both the left and right side by 2 independent raters on a single occasion. The subjects were recruited through advertisements placed by the orthopedic department at a tertiary university. Twenty-eight volunteers were recruited and completed the study. The volunteers were between the ages of 18 and 51 years of age, had no symptoms in the lower extremity or spine, had no previous history of surgery or tumor involving the lower extremity, and no medical conditions that would preclude participation. On a single occasion, 2 examiners per 1 volunteer were blinded to their own and each others' measurements. Each examiner assessed the distance of frontal and sagittal plane lunge and angle of motion for transverse plane testing. Inter-rater agreement is expressed with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) and corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). The difference between raters is reported with 95% CIs. Baseline demographics, University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), and Harris hip questionnaires were completed by all participants. The UCLA and Harris hip scores showed no significant activity restrictions or pain limitations in all participants. The inter-rater reliability for sagittal, frontal, and transverse plane matrix testing was good with ICCs of 0.86 (95% CI 0.77-0.91), 0.90 (95% CI 0.84-0.94), and 0.85 (95% CI 0.75-0.91), respectively. The rater reliability between disciplines for transverse, sagittal, and frontal plane matrix testing was good with ICCs of 0.89 (95% CI 0.80-0.94), 0.88 (95% CI 0.79-0.94), and 0.90 (95% CI 0

Inter-practice variation in diagnosing hypertension and diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study in general practice

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nielen, M.M.J.; Schellevis, F.G.; Verheij, R.A.

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: Previous studies of inter-practice variation of the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus showed wide variations between practices. However, in these studies inter-practice variation was calculated without controlling for clustering of patients within practices and without

Inter-practice variation in diagnosing hypertension and diabetes mellitus: a cross-sectional study in general practice.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nielen, M.M.J.; Schellevis, F.G.; Verheij, R.A.

2009-01-01

BACKGROUND: Previous studies of inter-practice variation of the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes mellitus showed wide variations between practices. However, in these studies inter-practice variation was calculated without controlling for clustering of patients within practices and without

Transport, dissociation and rotation of small self-interstitial atom clusters in tungsten

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhou, W.H.; Zhang, C.G.; Li, Y.G.; Zeng, Z.

2014-01-01

Numerical calculations have been performed to study the thermal motion of self-interstitial atom (SIA) clusters in tungsten (W). Molecular dynamics simulations show that SIA clusters exhibit a fast one-dimensional (1D) motion along the close packed 〈1 1 1〉 direction accompanied by a significant mass transport in this direction. A low frequency vibration mode is identified and considered to assist the motion of SIAs. The migration energy of SIA clusters are weakly dependent on their size in the average value of 0.019 eV, which is due to the strong interaction between SIAs revealed by calculating the potential energy curve of artificially moving the SIAs along 〈1 1 1〉 direction as well as nudged elastic band (NEB) method. The rotation process of SIA cluster is studied by activation–relaxation technique and the results show that SIA cluster presents complex rotation process. Our results on the motion SIA cluster may provide updated understanding on the performance decay of materials related to SIA defects

The young star cluster population of M51 with LEGUS - II. Testing environmental dependences

Science.gov (United States)

Messa, Matteo; Adamo, A.; Calzetti, D.; Reina-Campos, M.; Colombo, D.; Schinnerer, E.; Chandar, R.; Dale, D. A.; Gouliermis, D. A.; Grasha, K.; Grebel, E. K.; Elmegreen, B. G.; Fumagalli, M.; Johnson, K. E.; Kruijssen, J. M. D.; Östlin, G.; Shabani, F.; Smith, L. J.; Whitmore, B. C.

2018-06-01

It has recently been established that the properties of young star clusters (YSCs) can vary as a function of the galactic environment in which they are found. We use the cluster catalogue produced by the Legacy Extragalactic UV Survey (LEGUS) collaboration to investigate cluster properties in the spiral galaxy M51. We analyse the cluster population as a function of galactocentric distance and in arm and inter-arm regions. The cluster mass function exhibits a similar shape at all radial bins, described by a power law with a slope close to -2 and an exponential truncation around 105 M⊙. While the mass functions of the YSCs in the spiral arm and inter-arm regions have similar truncation masses, the inter-arm region mass function has a significantly steeper slope than the one in the arm region, a trend that is also observed in the giant molecular cloud mass function and predicted by simulations. The age distribution of clusters is dependent on the region considered, and is consistent with rapid disruption only in dense regions, while little disruption is observed at large galactocentric distances and in the inter-arm region. The fraction of stars forming in clusters does not show radial variations, despite the drop in the H2 surface density measured as a function of galactocentric distance. We suggest that the higher disruption rate observed in the inner part of the galaxy is likely at the origin of the observed flat cluster formation efficiency radial profile.

Performance assessment of a programmable five degrees-of-freedom motion platform for quality assurance of motion management techniques in radiotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Chen-Yu; Keall, Paul; Rice, Adam; Colvill, Emma; Ng, Jin Aun; Booth, Jeremy T

2017-09-01

Inter-fraction and intra-fraction motion management methods are increasingly applied clinically and require the development of advanced motion platforms to facilitate testing and quality assurance program development. The aim of this study was to assess the performance of a 5 degrees-of-freedom (DoF) programmable motion platform HexaMotion (ScandiDos, Uppsala, Sweden) towards clinically observed tumor motion range, velocity, acceleration and the accuracy requirements of SABR prescribed in AAPM Task Group 142. Performance specifications for the motion platform were derived from literature regarding the motion characteristics of prostate and lung tumor targets required for real time motion management. The performance of the programmable motion platform was evaluated against (1) maximum range, velocity and acceleration (5 DoF), (2) static position accuracy (5 DoF) and (3) dynamic position accuracy using patient-derived prostate and lung tumor motion traces (3 DoF). Translational motion accuracy was compared against electromagnetic transponder measurements. Rotation was benchmarked with a digital inclinometer. The static accuracy and reproducibility for translation and rotation was quality assurance and commissioning of motion management systems in radiation oncology.

Evolution of the spherical clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Surdin, V.G.

1978-01-01

The possible processes of the Galaxy spherical clusters formation and evolution are described on a popular level. The orbits of spherical cluster motion and their spatial velocities are determined. Given are the distrbutions of spherical cluster stars according to their velocities and the observed distribution of spherical clusters in the area of the Galaxy slow evolution. The dissipation and dynamic friction processes destructing clusters with the mass less than 10 4 of solar mass and bringing about the reduction of clusters in the Galaxy are considered. The paradox of forming mainly X-ray sources in spherical clusters is explained. The schematic image of possible ways of forming X-ray sources in spherical clusters is given

HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE PROPER MOTION (HSTPROMO) CATALOGS OF GALACTIC GLOBULAR CLUSTERS. I. SAMPLE SELECTION, DATA REDUCTION, AND NGC 7078 RESULTS

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bellini, A.; Anderson, J.; Van der Marel, R. P.; Watkins, L. L. [Space Telescope Science Institute, 3700 San Martin Drive, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States); King, I. R. [Department of Astronomy, University of Washington, Box 351580, Seattle, WA 98195 (United States); Bianchini, P. [Max Planck Institute for Astronomy, Königstuhl 17, D-69117 Heidelberg (Germany); Chanamé, J. [Instituto de Astrofísica, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Av. Vicuña Mackenna 4860, Macul 782-0436, Santiago (Chile); Chandar, R. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Toledo, 2801 West Bancroft Street, Toledo, OH 43606 (United States); Cool, A. M. [Department of Physics and Astronomy, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94132 (United States); Ferraro, F. R.; Massari, D. [Dipartimento di Fisica e Astronomia, Università di Bologna, via Ranzani 1, I-40127 Bologna (Italy); Ford, H., E-mail: bellini@stsci.edu [Department of Physics and Astronomy, The Johns Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218 (United States)

2014-12-20

We present the first study of high-precision internal proper motions (PMs) in a large sample of globular clusters, based on Hubble Space Telescope (HST) data obtained over the past decade with the ACS/WFC, ACS/HRC, and WFC3/UVIS instruments. We determine PMs for over 1.3 million stars in the central regions of 22 clusters, with a median number of ∼60,000 stars per cluster. These PMs have the potential to significantly advance our understanding of the internal kinematics of globular clusters by extending past line-of-sight (LOS) velocity measurements to two- or three-dimensional velocities, lower stellar masses, and larger sample sizes. We describe the reduction pipeline that we developed to derive homogeneous PMs from the very heterogeneous archival data. We demonstrate the quality of the measurements through extensive Monte Carlo simulations. We also discuss the PM errors introduced by various systematic effects and the techniques that we have developed to correct or remove them to the extent possible. We provide in electronic form the catalog for NGC 7078 (M 15), which consists of 77,837 stars in the central 2.'4. We validate the catalog by comparison with existing PM measurements and LOS velocities and use it to study the dependence of the velocity dispersion on radius, stellar magnitude (or mass) along the main sequence, and direction in the plane of the sky (radial or tangential). Subsequent papers in this series will explore a range of applications in globular-cluster science and will also present the PM catalogs for the other sample clusters.

Reproducibility of cervical range of motion in patients with neck pain

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hoving, Jan Lucas; Pool, Jan J. M.; van Mameren, Henk; Devillé, Walter J. L. M.; Assendelft, Willem J. J.; de Vet, Henrica C. W.; de Winter, Andrea F.; Koes, Bart W.; Bouter, Lex M.

2005-01-01

BACKGROUND: Reproducibility measurements of the range of motion are an important prerequisite for the interpretation of study results. The aim of the study is to assess the intra-rater and inter-rater reproducibility of the measurement of active Range of Motion (ROM) in patients with neck pain using

Biological Motion Perception in Autism

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

J Cusack

2011-04-01

Full Text Available Typically developing adults can readily recognize human actions, even when conveyed to them via point-like markers placed on the body of the actor (Johansson, 1973. Previous research has suggested that children affected by autism spectrum disorder (ASD are not equally sensitive to this type of visual information (Blake et al, 2003, but it remains unknown why ASD would impact the ability to perceive biological motion. We present evidence which looks at how adolescents and adults with autism are affected by specific factors which are important in biological motion perception, such as (eg, inter-agent synchronicity, upright/inverted, etc.

Classical plasma dynamics of Mie-oscillations in atomic clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Kull, H.-J.; El-Khawaldeh, A.

2018-04-01

Mie plasmons are of basic importance for the absorption of laser light by atomic clusters. In this work we first review the classical Rayleigh-theory of a dielectric sphere in an external electric field and Thomson’s plum-pudding model applied to atomic clusters. Both approaches allow for elementary discussions of Mie oscillations, however, they also indicate deficiencies in describing the damping mechanisms by electrons crossing the cluster surface. Nonlinear oscillator models have been widely studied to gain an understanding of damping and absorption by outer ionization of the cluster. In the present work, we attempt to address the issue of plasmon relaxation in atomic clusters in more detail based on classical particle simulations. In particular, we wish to study the role of thermal motion on plasmon relaxation, thereby extending nonlinear models of collective single-electron motion. Our simulations are particularly adopted to the regime of classical kinetics in weakly coupled plasmas and to cluster sizes extending the Debye-screening length. It will be illustrated how surface scattering leads to the relaxation of Mie oscillations in the presence of thermal motion and of electron spill-out at the cluster surface. This work is intended to give, from a classical perspective, further insight into recent work on plasmon relaxation in quantum plasmas [1].

Evaluation of Vocal Fold Motion Abnormalities: Are We All Seeing the Same Thing?

Science.gov (United States)

Madden, Lyndsay L; Rosen, Clark A

2017-01-01

Flexible laryngoscopy is the principle tool for the evaluation of vocal fold motion. As of yet, no consistent, unified outcome metric has been developed for vocal fold paralysis/immobility research. The goal of this study was to evaluate vocal fold motion assessment (inter- and intra-rater reliability) among general otolaryngologists and fellowship-trained laryngologists. Prospective video perceptual analysis study. Flexible laryngoscopic examinations, with sound, of 15 unique patient cases (20 seconds each) were sent to 10 general otolaryngologists and 10 fellowship-trained laryngologists blinded to clinical history. Reviewers were given written definitions of vocal fold mobility and immobility and two video examples. The cases included bilateral vocal fold mobility (six), unilateral vocal fold immobility (five), and unilateral vocal fold hypomobility (four). Five examinations were repeated to determine intra-rater reliability. Participants were asked to judge if there was or there was no purposeful motion, as described by written definitions, for each vocal fold (800 tokens in total). Twenty reviewers (100%) replied. Both general otolaryngologists and fellowship-trained laryngologists had an overall inter-rater reliability of 95%. Difference in inter-rater reliability between the two groups of raters was negligible: 95% for general otolaryngologists and 97.5% for fellowship-trained laryngologists. There was no variability in intra-rater reliability within either rater group (99%). Intra- and inter-rater agreement in determining whether the patient had purposeful vocal fold motion on flexible laryngoscopic examination was excellent in both groups. This study demonstrates that otolaryngologists can consistently and accurately judge the presence and the absence of vocal fold motion. Copyright © 2017 The Voice Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Membership determination of open clusters based on a spectral clustering method

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Xin-Hua

2018-06-01

We present a spectral clustering (SC) method aimed at segregating reliable members of open clusters in multi-dimensional space. The SC method is a non-parametric clustering technique that performs cluster division using eigenvectors of the similarity matrix; no prior knowledge of the clusters is required. This method is more flexible in dealing with multi-dimensional data compared to other methods of membership determination. We use this method to segregate the cluster members of five open clusters (Hyades, Coma Ber, Pleiades, Praesepe, and NGC 188) in five-dimensional space; fairly clean cluster members are obtained. We find that the SC method can capture a small number of cluster members (weak signal) from a large number of field stars (heavy noise). Based on these cluster members, we compute the mean proper motions and distances for the Hyades, Coma Ber, Pleiades, and Praesepe clusters, and our results are in general quite consistent with the results derived by other authors. The test results indicate that the SC method is highly suitable for segregating cluster members of open clusters based on high-precision multi-dimensional astrometric data such as Gaia data.

Two- and three-cluster decays of light nuclei within a hyperspherical harmonics approach

Science.gov (United States)

Vasilevsky, V. S.; Lashko, Yu. A.; Filippov, G. F.

2018-06-01

We consider a set of three-cluster systems (4He, 7Li, 7Be, 8Be, 10Be) within a microscopic model which involves hyperspherical harmonics to represent intercluster motion. We selected three-cluster systems which have at least one binary channel. Our aim is to study whether hyperspherical harmonics are able, and under what conditions, to describe two-body channel(s) (nondemocratic motion) or if they are suitable for describing the three-cluster continuum only (democratic motion). It is demonstrated that a rather restricted number of hyperspherical harmonics allows us to describe bound states and scattering states in the two-body continuum for a three-cluster system.

Reliability and validity of CODA motion analysis system for measuring cervical range of motion in patients with cervical spondylosis and anterior cervical fusion.

Science.gov (United States)

Gao, Zhongyang; Song, Hui; Ren, Fenggang; Li, Yuhuan; Wang, Dong; He, Xijing

2017-12-01

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the reliability of the Cartesian Optoelectronic Dynamic Anthropometer (CODA) motion system in measuring the cervical range of motion (ROM) and verify the construct validity of the CODA motion system. A total of 26 patients with cervical spondylosis and 22 patients with anterior cervical fusion were enrolled and the CODA motion analysis system was used to measure the three-dimensional cervical ROM. Intra- and inter-rater reliability was assessed by interclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), standard error of measurement (SEm), Limits of Agreements (LOA) and minimal detectable change (MDC). Independent samples t-tests were performed to examine the differences of cervical ROM between cervical spondylosis and anterior cervical fusion patients. The results revealed that in the cervical spondylosis group, the reliability was almost perfect (intra-rater reliability: ICC, 0.87-0.95; LOA, -12.86-13.70; SEm, 2.97-4.58; inter-rater reliability: ICC, 0.84-0.95; LOA, -13.09-13.48; SEm, 3.13-4.32). In the anterior cervical fusion group, the reliability was high (intra-rater reliability: ICC, 0.88-0.97; LOA, -10.65-11.08; SEm, 2.10-3.77; inter-rater reliability: ICC, 0.86-0.96; LOA, -10.91-13.66; SEm, 2.20-4.45). The cervical ROM in the cervical spondylosis group was significantly higher than that in the anterior cervical fusion group in all directions except for left rotation. In conclusion, the CODA motion analysis system is highly reliable in measuring cervical ROM and the construct validity was verified, as the system was sufficiently sensitive to distinguish between the cervical spondylosis and anterior cervical fusion groups based on their ROM.

Short Paper: Towards Data-similarity-based Clustering for Inter-vehicle Communication

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dietzel, Stefan; Balanici, Mihail; Kargl, Frank

2013-01-01

Many applications of inter-vehicle communication networks (IVC) rely on multi-hop dissemination of information using vehicle-to-vehicle communication. An example are traffic information systems, which aim to provide up-to-date information about traffic jams to drivers. Due to the large amount of

The Impact of Motion Induced Interruptions on Cognitive Performance

Science.gov (United States)

2014-07-23

found that even participants presenting with minor physiological effects of motion experienced a decline in multitasking performance. Further, Yu...literature has investigated the impact of task based interruptions such as being inter- rupted by a phone call or writing an email . In these...Engineers Journal. 102 (2) 65-72. Matsangas, P. (2013). The Effect of Mild Motion Sickness and Sopite Syndrome on Multitasking Cognitive Performance

MotionFlow: Visual Abstraction and Aggregation of Sequential Patterns in Human Motion Tracking Data.

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Sujin; Elmqvist, Niklas; Ramani, Karthik

2016-01-01

Pattern analysis of human motions, which is useful in many research areas, requires understanding and comparison of different styles of motion patterns. However, working with human motion tracking data to support such analysis poses great challenges. In this paper, we propose MotionFlow, a visual analytics system that provides an effective overview of various motion patterns based on an interactive flow visualization. This visualization formulates a motion sequence as transitions between static poses, and aggregates these sequences into a tree diagram to construct a set of motion patterns. The system also allows the users to directly reflect the context of data and their perception of pose similarities in generating representative pose states. We provide local and global controls over the partition-based clustering process. To support the users in organizing unstructured motion data into pattern groups, we designed a set of interactions that enables searching for similar motion sequences from the data, detailed exploration of data subsets, and creating and modifying the group of motion patterns. To evaluate the usability of MotionFlow, we conducted a user study with six researchers with expertise in gesture-based interaction design. They used MotionFlow to explore and organize unstructured motion tracking data. Results show that the researchers were able to easily learn how to use MotionFlow, and the system effectively supported their pattern analysis activities, including leveraging their perception and domain knowledge.

Inter operability studies between the GTRS and EUMEDGRID e-Infrastructures

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Abbes, H.; Jemni, M.; Barbera, R.

2007-01-01

Grid computing enables sharing, selection, and aggregation of a wide variety of geographically distributed computational resources such as supercomputers, clusters, storage systems and data sources. A grid presents them as one unified resource for solving large scale and data intensive computing applications. A middle ware supports applications in distributed computing environments by providing services that enable the inter connectivity and inter operability of applications, systems and machines. Considering the evolution of this type of middle ware, it is important to regroup several national and international grids, by creating a gateway between middle wares, to gather more power and resources. In this setting, our work consists on making the Tunisian national grid GTRS inter operable with the grid infrastructure of EU funded project EUMEDGRID. A new concept of Super Worker Node is proposed in this work to reach the inter operability between the two grids of GTRS and EUMEDGRID. (Author)

Evaluation of inter-fraction error during prostate radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Komiyama, Takafumi; Nakamura, Koji; Motoyama, Tsuyoshi; Onishi, Hiroshi; Sano, Naoki

2008-01-01

The purpose of this study was to evaluate inter-fraction error (inter-fraction set-up error+inter-fraction internal organ motion) between treatment planning and delivery during radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer. Twenty three prostate cancer patients underwent image-guided radical irradiation with the CT-linac system. All patients were treated in the supine position. After set-up with external skin markers, using CT-linac system, pretherapy CT images were obtained and isocenter displacement was measured. The mean displacement of the isocenter was 1.8 mm, 3.3 mm, and 1.7 mm in the left-right, ventral-dorsal, and cranial-caudal directions, respectively. The maximum displacement of the isocenter was 7 mm, 12 mm, and 9 mm in the left-right, ventral-dorsal, and cranial-caudal directions, respectively. The mean interquartile range of displacement of the isocenter was 1.8 mm, 3.7 mm, and 2.0 mm in the left-right, ventral-dorsal, and cranial-caudal directions, respectively. In radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer, inter-fraction error was largest in the ventral-dorsal directions. Errors in the ventral-dorsal directions influence both local control and late adverse effects. Our study suggested the set-up with external skin markers was not enough for radical radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer, thereby those such as a CT-linac system for correction of inter-fraction error being required. (author)

A survey for low-mass stellar and substellar members of the Hyades open cluster

Science.gov (United States)

Melnikov, Stanislav; Eislöffel, Jochen

2018-03-01

Context. Unlike young open clusters (with ages 2MASS JHKs photometry Results: We present a photometric and proper motion survey covering 23.4 deg2 in the Hyades cluster core region. Using optical/IR colour-magnitude diagrams, we identify 66 photometric cluster member candidates in the magnitude range 14.m7 < I < 20.m5. The proper motion measurements are based on several all-sky surveys with an epoch difference of 60-70 yr for the bright objects. The proper motions allowed us to discriminate the cluster members from field objects and resulted in 14 proper motion members of the Hyades. We rediscover Hy 6 as a proper motion member and classify it as a substellar object candidate (BD) based on the comparison of the observed colour-magnitude diagram with theoretical model isochrones. Conclusions: With our results, the mass function of the Hyades continues to be shallow below 0.15 M⊙ indicating that the Hyades have probably lost their lowest mass members by means of dynamical evolution. We conclude that the Hyades core represents the "VLM/BD desert" and that most of the substeller objects may have already left the volume of the cluster.

Clinical significance of perceptible fetal motion.

Science.gov (United States)

Rayburn, W F

1980-09-15

The monitoring of fetal activity during the last trimester of pregnancy has been proposed to be useful in assessing fetal welfare. The maternal perception of fetal activity was tested among 82 patients using real-time ultrasonography. All perceived fetal movements were visualized on the scanner and involved motion of the lower limbs. Conversely, 82% of all visualized motions of fetal limbs were perceived by the patients. All combined motions of fetal trunk with limbs were preceived by the patients and described as strong movements, whereas clusters of isolated, weak motions of the fetal limbs were less accurately perceived (56% accuracy). The number of fetal movements perceived during the 15-minute test period was significantly (p fetal motion was present (44 of 45 cases) than when it was absent (five of 10 cases). These findings reveal that perceived fetal motion is: (1) reliable; (2) related to the strength of lower limb motion; (3) increased with ruptured amniotic membranes; and (4) reassuring if considered to be active.

Cranked cluster wave function for molecular states

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Horiuchi, Hisashi; Yabana, Kazuhiro; Wada, Takahiro.

1986-01-01

Construction of the cranked cluster wave function is discussed by focussing on three problems; the self-consistency between the potential and the density distribution, the properties of the rotational angular frequency which is strongly influenced by the inter-cluster Pauli principle and by the parity projection, and the spin alignment along the rotation axis with the resulting structure-change of the molecular state. (author)

Higher-order equation-of-motion coupled-cluster methods for ionization processes.

Science.gov (United States)

Kamiya, Muneaki; Hirata, So

2006-08-21

Compact algebraic equations defining the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster (EOM-CC) methods for ionization potentials (IP-EOM-CC) have been derived and computer implemented by virtue of a symbolic algebra system largely automating these processes. Models with connected cluster excitation operators truncated after double, triple, or quadruple level and with linear ionization operators truncated after two-hole-one-particle (2h1p), three-hole-two-particle (3h2p), or four-hole-three-particle (4h3p) level (abbreviated as IP-EOM-CCSD, CCSDT, and CCSDTQ, respectively) have been realized into parallel algorithms taking advantage of spin, spatial, and permutation symmetries with optimal size dependence of the computational costs. They are based on spin-orbital formalisms and can describe both alpha and beta ionizations from open-shell (doublet, triplet, etc.) reference states into ionized states with various spin magnetic quantum numbers. The application of these methods to Koopmans and satellite ionizations of N2 and CO (with the ambiguity due to finite basis sets eliminated by extrapolation) has shown that IP-EOM-CCSD frequently accounts for orbital relaxation inadequately and displays errors exceeding a couple of eV. However, these errors can be systematically reduced to tenths or even hundredths of an eV by IP-EOM-CCSDT or CCSDTQ. Comparison of spectroscopic parameters of the FH+ and NH+ radicals between IP-EOM-CC and experiments has also underscored the importance of higher-order IP-EOM-CC treatments. For instance, the harmonic frequencies of the A 2Sigma- state of NH+ are predicted to be 1285, 1723, and 1705 cm(-1) by IP-EOM-CCSD, CCSDT, and CCSDTQ, respectively, as compared to the observed value of 1707 cm(-1). The small adiabatic energy separation (observed 0.04 eV) between the X 2Pi and a 4Sigma- states of NH+ also requires IP-EOM-CCSDTQ for a quantitative prediction (0.06 eV) when the a 4Sigma- state has the low-spin magnetic quantum number (s(z) = 1/2). When the

EVOLUTION OF THE MERGER-INDUCED HYDROSTATIC MASS BIAS IN GALAXY CLUSTERS

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, Kaylea; Nagai, Daisuke; Rudd, Douglas H.; Shaw, Laurie

2012-01-01

In this work, we examine the effects of mergers on the hydrostatic mass estimate of galaxy clusters using high-resolution Eulerian cosmological simulations. We utilize merger trees to isolate the last merger for each cluster in our sample and follow the time evolution of the hydrostatic mass bias as the systems relax. We find that during a merger, a shock propagates outward from the parent cluster, resulting in an overestimate in the hydrostatic mass bias. After the merger, as a cluster relaxes, the bias in hydrostatic mass estimate decreases but remains at a level of –5%-10% with 15%-20% scatter within r 500 . We also investigate the post-merger evolution of the pressure support from bulk motions, a dominant cause of this residual mass bias. At r 500 , the contribution from random motions peaks at 30% of the total pressure during the merger and quickly decays to ∼10%-15% as a cluster relaxes. Additionally, we use a measure of the random motion pressure to correct the hydrostatic mass estimate. We discover that 4 Gyr after mergers, the direct effects of the merger event on the hydrostatic mass bias have become negligible. Thereafter, the mass bias is primarily due to residual bulk motions in the gas which are not accounted for in the hydrostatic equilibrium equation. We present a hydrostatic mass bias correction method that can recover the unbiased cluster mass for relaxed clusters with 9% scatter at r 500 and 11% scatter in the outskirts, within r 200 .

Respiratory lung motion analysis using a nonlinear motion correction technique for respiratory-gated lung perfusion SPECT images

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ue, Hidenori; Haneishi, Hideaki; Iwanaga, Hideyuki; Suga, Kazuyoshi

2007-01-01

This study evaluated the respiratory motion of lungs using a nonlinear motion correction technique for respiratory-gated single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) images. The motion correction technique corrects the respiratory motion of the lungs nonlinearly between two-phase images obtained by respiratory-gated SPECT. The displacement vectors resulting from respiration can be computed at every location of the lungs. Respiratory lung motion analysis is carried out by calculating the mean value of the body axis component of the displacement vector in each of the 12 small regions into which the lungs were divided. In order to enable inter-patient comparison, the 12 mean values were normalized by the length of the lung region along the direction of the body axis. This method was applied to 25 Technetium (Tc)-99m-macroaggregated albumin (MAA) perfusion SPECT images, and motion analysis results were compared with the diagnostic results. It was confirmed that the respiratory lung motion reflects the ventilation function. A statistically significant difference in the amount of the respiratory lung motion was observed between the obstructive pulmonary diseases and other conditions, based on an unpaired Student's t test (P<0.0001). A difference in the motion between normal lungs and lungs with a ventilation obstruction was detected by the proposed method. This method is effective for evaluating obstructive pulmonary diseases such as pulmonary emphysema and diffuse panbronchiolitis. (author)

On small clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bernardes, N.

1984-01-01

A discussion is presented of zero-point motion effects on the binding energy of a small cluster of identical particles interacting through short range attractive-repulsive forces. The model is appropriate to a discussion of both Van der Waals as well as nuclear forces. (Author) [pt

Collective motion in behaviorally heterogeneous systems

OpenAIRE

Copenhagen, Katherine

2017-01-01

Collective motion is a widespread phenomenon in nature where individuals actively propel themselves, gather together and move as a group. Some examples of collective motion are bird flocks, fish schools, bacteria swarms, cell clusters, and crowds of people. Many models seek to understand the effects of activity in collective systems including things such as environmental disorder, density, and interaction details primarily at infinite size limits and with uniform populations. In this disserta...

Cluster-guided imaging-based CFD analysis of airflow and particle deposition in asthmatic human lungs

Science.gov (United States)

Choi, Jiwoong; Leblanc, Lawrence; Choi, Sanghun; Haghighi, Babak; Hoffman, Eric; Lin, Ching-Long

2017-11-01

The goal of this study is to assess inter-subject variability in delivery of orally inhaled drug products to small airways in asthmatic lungs. A recent multiscale imaging-based cluster analysis (MICA) of computed tomography (CT) lung images in an asthmatic cohort identified four clusters with statistically distinct structural and functional phenotypes associating with unique clinical biomarkers. Thus, we aimed to address inter-subject variability via inter-cluster variability. We selected a representative subject from each of the 4 asthma clusters as well as 1 male and 1 female healthy controls, and performed computational fluid and particle simulations on CT-based airway models of these subjects. The results from one severe and one non-severe asthmatic cluster subjects characterized by segmental airway constriction had increased particle deposition efficiency, as compared with the other two cluster subjects (one non-severe and one severe asthmatics) without airway constriction. Constriction-induced jets impinging on distal bifurcations led to excessive particle deposition. The results emphasize the impact of airway constriction on regional particle deposition rather than disease severity, demonstrating the potential of using cluster membership to tailor drug delivery. NIH Grants U01HL114494 and S10-RR022421, and FDA Grant U01FD005837. XSEDE.

Symmetry-adapted-cluster configuration-interaction and equation-of-motion coupled-cluster studies of electronically excited states of copper tetrachloride and copper tetrabromide dianions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ehara, Masahiro; Piecuch, Piotr; Lutz, Jesse J.; Gour, Jeffrey R.

2012-01-01

Graphical abstract: Electronically excited states of CuCl 4 2- and CuBr 4 2- are determined using the scalar relativistic symmetry-adapted-cluster configuration-interaction and equation-of-motion coupled-cluster calculations. The results are compared with experimental spectra. Highlights: ► Electronic spectra of CuCl 4 2- and CuBr 4 2- are examined by SAC-CI and EOMCC methods. ► Relativistic SAC-CI and EOMCC results are compared with experimental spectra. ► An assignment of bands in the CuCl 4 2- and CuBr 4 2- absorption spectra is obtained. ► Relativistic effects affect excitation energies and ground-state geometries. ► The effect of relativity on the oscillator strengths is generally small. - Abstract: The valence excitation spectra of the copper tetrachloride and copper tetrabromide open-shell dianions, CuCl 4 2- and CuBr 4 2- , respectively, are investigated by a variety of symmetry-adapted-cluster configuration-interaction (SAC-CI) and equation-of-motion coupled-cluster (EOMCC) methods. The valence excited states of the CuCl 4 2- and CuBr 4 2- species that correspond to transitions from doubly occupied molecular orbitals (MOs) to a singly occupied MO (SOMO), for which experimental spectra are available, are examined with the ionized (IP) variants of the SAC-CI and EOMCC methods. The higher-energy excited states of CuCl 4 2- and CuBr 4 2- that correspond to transitions from SOMO to unoccupied MOs, which have not been characterized experimentally, are determined using the electron-attached (EA) SAC-CI and EOMCC approaches. An emphasis is placed on the scalar relativistic SAC-CI and EOMCC calculations based on the spin-free part of the second-order Douglass–Kroll–Hess Hamiltonian (DKH2) and on a comparison of the results of the IP and EA SAC-CI and EOMCC calculations with up to 2-hole-1-particle (2h-1p) and 2-particle-1-hole (2p-1h) excitations, referred to as the IP-SAC-CI SD-R and IP-EOMCCSD(2h-1p) methods in the IP case and EA-SAC-CI SD-R and EA

Supersymmetry for nuclear cluster systems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Levai, G.; Cseh, J.; Van Isacker, P.

2001-01-01

A supersymmetry scheme is proposed for nuclear cluster systems. The bosonic sector of the superalgebra describes the relative motion of the clusters, while its fermionic sector is associated with their internal structure. An example of core+α configurations is discussed in which the core is a p-shell nucleus and the underlying superalgebra is U(4/12). The α-cluster states of the nuclei 20 Ne and 19 F are analysed and correlations between their spectra, electric quadrupole transitions, and one-nucleon transfer reactions are interpreted in terms of U(4/12) supersymmetry. (author)

Running and rotating: modelling the dynamics of migrating cell clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Copenhagen, Katherine; Gov, Nir; Gopinathan, Ajay

Collective motion of cells is a common occurrence in many biological systems, including tissue development and repair, and tumor formation. Recent experiments have shown cells form clusters in a chemical gradient, which display three different phases of motion: translational, rotational, and random. We present a model for cell clusters based loosely on other models seen in the literature that involves a Vicsek-like alignment as well as physical collisions and adhesions between cells. With this model we show that a mechanism for driving rotational motion in this kind of system is an increased motility of rim cells. Further, we examine the details of the relationship between rim and core cells, and find that the phases of the cluster as a whole are correlated with the creation and annihilation of topological defects in the tangential component of the velocity field.

Constraining hydrostatic mass bias of galaxy clusters with high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Ota, Naomi; Nagai, Daisuke; Lau, Erwin T.

2018-04-01

Gas motions in galaxy clusters play important roles in determining the properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) and in the constraint of cosmological parameters via X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect observations of galaxy clusters. The Hitomi measurements of gas motions in the core of the Perseus Cluster have provided new insights into the physics in galaxy clusters. The XARM mission, equipped with the Resolve X-ray micro-calorimeter, will continue Hitomi's legacy by measuring ICM motions through Doppler shifting and broadening of emission lines in a larger number of galaxy clusters, and at larger radii. In this work, we investigate how well we can measure bulk and turbulent gas motions in the ICM with XARM, by analyzing mock XARM simulations of galaxy clusters extracted from cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. We assess how photon counts, spectral fitting methods, multiphase ICM structure, deprojections, and region selection affect the measurements of gas motions. We first show that XARM is capable of recovering the underlying spherically averaged turbulent and bulk velocity profiles for dynamically relaxed clusters to within ˜50% with a reasonable amount of photon counts in the X-ray emission lines. We also find that there are considerable azimuthal variations in the ICM velocities, where the velocities measured in a single azimuthal direction can significantly deviate from the true value even in dynamically relaxed systems. Such variation must be taken into account when interpreting data and developing observing strategies. We will discuss the prospect of using the upcoming XARM mission to measure non-thermal pressure and to correct for the hydrostatic mass bias of galaxy clusters. Our results are broadly applicable for future X-ray missions, such as Athena and Lynx.

Constraining hydrostatic mass bias of galaxy clusters with high-resolution X-ray spectroscopy

Science.gov (United States)

Ota, Naomi; Nagai, Daisuke; Lau, Erwin T.

2018-06-01

Gas motions in galaxy clusters play important roles in determining the properties of the intracluster medium (ICM) and in the constraint of cosmological parameters via X-ray and Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect observations of galaxy clusters. The Hitomi measurements of gas motions in the core of the Perseus Cluster have provided new insights into the physics in galaxy clusters. The XARM mission, equipped with the Resolve X-ray micro-calorimeter, will continue Hitomi's legacy by measuring ICM motions through Doppler shifting and broadening of emission lines in a larger number of galaxy clusters, and at larger radii. In this work, we investigate how well we can measure bulk and turbulent gas motions in the ICM with XARM, by analyzing mock XARM simulations of galaxy clusters extracted from cosmological hydrodynamic simulations. We assess how photon counts, spectral fitting methods, multiphase ICM structure, deprojections, and region selection affect the measurements of gas motions. We first show that XARM is capable of recovering the underlying spherically averaged turbulent and bulk velocity profiles for dynamically relaxed clusters to within ˜50% with a reasonable amount of photon counts in the X-ray emission lines. We also find that there are considerable azimuthal variations in the ICM velocities, where the velocities measured in a single azimuthal direction can significantly deviate from the true value even in dynamically relaxed systems. Such variation must be taken into account when interpreting data and developing observing strategies. We will discuss the prospect of using the upcoming XARM mission to measure non-thermal pressure and to correct for the hydrostatic mass bias of galaxy clusters. Our results are broadly applicable for future X-ray missions, such as Athena and Lynx.

Cluster-based upper body marker models for three-dimensional kinematic analysis: Comparison with an anatomical model and reliability analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Boser, Quinn A; Valevicius, Aïda M; Lavoie, Ewen B; Chapman, Craig S; Pilarski, Patrick M; Hebert, Jacqueline S; Vette, Albert H

2018-04-27

Quantifying angular joint kinematics of the upper body is a useful method for assessing upper limb function. Joint angles are commonly obtained via motion capture, tracking markers placed on anatomical landmarks. This method is associated with limitations including administrative burden, soft tissue artifacts, and intra- and inter-tester variability. An alternative method involves the tracking of rigid marker clusters affixed to body segments, calibrated relative to anatomical landmarks or known joint angles. The accuracy and reliability of applying this cluster method to the upper body has, however, not been comprehensively explored. Our objective was to compare three different upper body cluster models with an anatomical model, with respect to joint angles and reliability. Non-disabled participants performed two standardized functional upper limb tasks with anatomical and cluster markers applied concurrently. Joint angle curves obtained via the marker clusters with three different calibration methods were compared to those from an anatomical model, and between-session reliability was assessed for all models. The cluster models produced joint angle curves which were comparable to and highly correlated with those from the anatomical model, but exhibited notable offsets and differences in sensitivity for some degrees of freedom. Between-session reliability was comparable between all models, and good for most degrees of freedom. Overall, the cluster models produced reliable joint angles that, however, cannot be used interchangeably with anatomical model outputs to calculate kinematic metrics. Cluster models appear to be an adequate, and possibly advantageous alternative to anatomical models when the objective is to assess trends in movement behavior. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

MRI-based measurements of respiratory motion variability and assessment of imaging strategies for radiotherapy planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Blackall, J M; Ahmad, S; Miquel, M E; McClelland, J R; Landau, D B; Hawkes, D J

2006-01-01

Respiratory organ motion has a significant impact on the planning and delivery of radiotherapy (RT) treatment for lung cancer. Currently widespread techniques, such as 4D-computed tomography (4DCT), cannot be used to measure variability of this motion from one cycle to the next. In this paper, we describe the use of fast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to investigate the intra- and inter-cycle reproducibility of respiratory motion and also to estimate the level of errors that may be introduced into treatment delivery by using various breath-hold imaging strategies during lung RT planning. A reference model of respiratory motion is formed to enable comparison of different breathing cycles at any arbitrary position in the respiratory cycle. This is constructed by using free-breathing images from the inhale phase of a single breathing cycle, then co-registering the images, and thereby tracking landmarks. This reference model is then compared to alternative models constructed from images acquired during the exhale phase of the same cycle and the inhale phase of a subsequent cycle, to assess intra- and inter-cycle variability ('hysteresis' and 'reproducibility') of organ motion. The reference model is also compared to a series of models formed from breath-hold data at exhale and inhale. Evaluation of these models is carried out on data from ten healthy volunteers and five lung cancer patients. Free-breathing models show good levels of intra- and inter-cycle reproducibility across the tidal breathing range. Mean intra-cycle errors in the position of organ surface landmarks of 1.5(1.4)-3.5(3.3) mm for volunteers and 2.8(1.8)-5.2(5.2) mm for patients. Equivalent measures of inter-cycle variability across this range are 1.7(1.0)-3.9(3.3) mm for volunteers and 2.8(1.8)-3.3(2.2) mm for patients. As expected, models based on breath-hold sequences do not represent normal tidal motion as well as those based on free-breathing data, with mean errors of 4

Distributed Similarity based Clustering and Compressed Forwarding for wireless sensor networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Arunraja, Muruganantham; Malathi, Veluchamy; Sakthivel, Erulappan

2015-11-01

Wireless sensor networks are engaged in various data gathering applications. The major bottleneck in wireless data gathering systems is the finite energy of sensor nodes. By conserving the on board energy, the life span of wireless sensor network can be well extended. Data communication being the dominant energy consuming activity of wireless sensor network, data reduction can serve better in conserving the nodal energy. Spatial and temporal correlation among the sensor data is exploited to reduce the data communications. Data similar cluster formation is an effective way to exploit spatial correlation among the neighboring sensors. By sending only a subset of data and estimate the rest using this subset is the contemporary way of exploiting temporal correlation. In Distributed Similarity based Clustering and Compressed Forwarding for wireless sensor networks, we construct data similar iso-clusters with minimal communication overhead. The intra-cluster communication is reduced using adaptive-normalized least mean squares based dual prediction framework. The cluster head reduces the inter-cluster data payload using a lossless compressive forwarding technique. The proposed work achieves significant data reduction in both the intra-cluster and the inter-cluster communications, with the optimal data accuracy of collected data. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

On the relative motions of long-lived Pacific mantle plumes.

Science.gov (United States)

Konrad, Kevin; Koppers, Anthony A P; Steinberger, Bernhard; Finlayson, Valerie A; Konter, Jasper G; Jackson, Matthew G

2018-02-27

Mantle plumes upwelling beneath moving tectonic plates generate age-progressive chains of volcanos (hotspot chains) used to reconstruct plate motion. However, these hotspots appear to move relative to each other, implying that plumes are not laterally fixed. The lack of age constraints on long-lived, coeval hotspot chains hinders attempts to reconstruct plate motion and quantify relative plume motions. Here we provide 40 Ar/ 39 Ar ages for a newly identified long-lived mantle plume, which formed the Rurutu hotspot chain. By comparing the inter-hotspot distances between three Pacific hotspots, we show that Hawaii is unique in its strong, rapid southward motion from 60 to 50 Myrs ago, consistent with paleomagnetic observations. Conversely, the Rurutu and Louisville chains show little motion. Current geodynamic plume motion models can reproduce the first-order motions for these plumes, but only when each plume is rooted in the lowermost mantle.

Cluster as a Service for Disaster Recovery in Intercloud Systems: Design and Modeling

OpenAIRE

Mohammad Ali Khoshkholghi

2014-01-01

Nowadays, all modern IT technologies aim to create dynamic and flexible environments. For this reason, InterCloud has been designed to provide a vast and flexible virtualized environment in which many clouds can interact with one another in a dynamic way. Disaster recovery is one of the main applications of InterCloud which can be supported by Cluster as a Service. However, the previous studies addressed disaster recovery and Cluster as a Service separately. In addition, system backup and dis...

Symptom clusters and quality of life in China patients with lung ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Identifying symptom clusters helped clarify possible inter-relationships which may lead to the establishment of more effective symptom management interventions for patients with lung cancer in order to improve the quality of life. Keywords: symptom clusters, lung cancer, factor analysis, symptom management, quality of life

Sources of inter-firm heterogeneity in accessing knowledge-creation benefits within technology clusters

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Arikan, A.; Knoben, J.

2014-01-01

We build on recent literature to highlight the distinction between knowledge-diffusion and knowledge-creation benefits of technology clustering and argue that firms located in technology clusters will have differential access to the latter. To explain the antecedents of such differential access, we

Inter-firm relations in SME clusters and the link to marketing performance

OpenAIRE

Lamprinopoulou, C.; Tregear, A.

2011-01-01

Purpose – Networks are increasingly recognised as being important to successful marketing amongst small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Thepurpose of this study is to investigate the structure and content of network relations amongst SME clusters, and explore the link to marketing performance.Design/methodology/approach – Following a review of the literature on SME networks and marketing performance, case study analysis isperformed on four SME clusters in the Greek agrifood sector.Findin...

Motion monitoring during a course of lung radiotherapy with anchored electromagnetic transponders. Quantification of inter- and intrafraction motion and variability of relative transponder positions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schmitt, Daniela [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Division of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology, Heidelberg (Germany); National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology (NCRO), Heidelberg Institute for Radiation Oncology (HIRO), Heidelberg (Germany); Heidelberg University Hospital, Department of Radiation Oncology, Heidelberg (Germany); Nill, Simeon; Oelfke, Uwe [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Division of Medical Physics in Radiation Oncology, Heidelberg (Germany); National Center for Radiation Research in Oncology (NCRO), Heidelberg Institute for Radiation Oncology (HIRO), Heidelberg (Germany); The Institute of Cancer Research and The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, Joint Department of Physics, London (United Kingdom); Roeder, Falk [German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), Clinical Cooperation Unit Molecular Radiooncology, Heidelberg (Germany); University of Munich (LMU), Department of Radiation Oncology, Munich (Germany); Gompelmann, Daniela; Herth, Felix [University of Heidelberg, Pneumology and Critical Care Medicine, Thoraxklinik, Heidelberg (Germany); German Center for Lung Research, Translational Lung Research Center Heidelberg (TLRC), Heidelberg (Germany)

2017-10-15

Anchored electromagnetic transponders for tumor motion monitoring during lung radiotherapy were clinically evaluated. First, intrafractional motion patterns were analyzed as well as their interfractional variations. Second, intra- and interfractional changes of the geometric transponder positions were investigated. Intrafractional motion data from 7 patients with an upper or middle lobe tumor and three implanted transponders each was used to calculate breathing amplitudes, overall motion amount and motion midlines in three mutual perpendicular directions and three-dimensionally (3D) for 162 fractions. For 6 patients intra- and interfractional variations in transponder distances and in the size of the triangle defined by the transponder locations over the treatment course were determined. Mean 3D values of all fractions were up to 4.0, 4.6 and 3.4 mm per patient for amplitude, overall motion amount and midline deviation, respectively. Intrafractional transponder distances varied with standard deviations up to 3.2 mm, while a maximal triangle shrinkage of 36.5% over 39 days was observed. Electromagnetic real-time motion monitoring was feasible for all patients. Detected respiratory motion was on average modest in this small cohort without lower lobe tumors, but changes in motion midline were of the same size as the amplitudes and greater midline motion can be observed in some fractions. Intra- and interfractional variations of the geometric transponder positions can be large, so for reliable motion management correlation between transponder and tumor motion needs to be evaluated per patient. (orig.) [German] Verankerte, elektromagnetische Transponder fuer die Bewegungserkennung des Tumors waehrend der Strahlentherapie der Lunge wurden klinisch evaluiert. Dafuer wurden intrafraktionelle Bewegungsmuster und ihre interfraktionellen Variationen analysiert und intra- und interfraktionelle Veraenderungen der geometrischen Transponderpositionen untersucht. Intrafraktionelle

Evaluating the Efficacy of the Cloud for Cluster Computation

Science.gov (United States)

Knight, David; Shams, Khawaja; Chang, George; Soderstrom, Tom

2012-01-01

Computing requirements vary by industry, and it follows that NASA and other research organizations have computing demands that fall outside the mainstream. While cloud computing made rapid inroads for tasks such as powering web applications, performance issues on highly distributed tasks hindered early adoption for scientific computation. One venture to address this problem is Nebula, NASA's homegrown cloud project tasked with delivering science-quality cloud computing resources. However, another industry development is Amazon's high-performance computing (HPC) instances on Elastic Cloud Compute (EC2) that promises improved performance for cluster computation. This paper presents results from a series of benchmarks run on Amazon EC2 and discusses the efficacy of current commercial cloud technology for running scientific applications across a cluster. In particular, a 240-core cluster of cloud instances achieved 2 TFLOPS on High-Performance Linpack (HPL) at 70% of theoretical computational performance. The cluster's local network also demonstrated sub-100 ?s inter-process latency with sustained inter-node throughput in excess of 8 Gbps. Beyond HPL, a real-world Hadoop image processing task from NASA's Lunar Mapping and Modeling Project (LMMP) was run on a 29 instance cluster to process lunar and Martian surface images with sizes on the order of tens of gigapixels. These results demonstrate that while not a rival of dedicated supercomputing clusters, commercial cloud technology is now a feasible option for moderately demanding scientific workloads.

Clustering correlations and triaxiality in the sd-shell region

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taniguchi, Yasutaka; Kimura, Masaaki; Kanada-En'yo, Yoshiko; Horiuchi, Hisashi

2011-01-01

Effects of cluster correlations on triaxiality have been studied using the antisymmetrized molecular dynamics. Low-lying states in 28 Si and 40 Ca are obtained by the generator coordinate method (GCM), and the GCM basis are calculated by energy variations with constraints on quadrupole deformation parameter β and inter-cluster distance. The GCM obtain prolate superdeformed (SD) states in 28 Si and triaxial normal-deformed (ND) states in 40 Ca, which contain prolate α- 24 Mg and triaxial α- 36 Ar cluster structure components, respectively. Different shapes of prolate 24 Mg and oblate 36 Ar clusters cause difference of triaxiality of total systems. Cluster correlations which have oblate cluster enhance triaxiality in excited states. (author)

Mass functions for eight galactic clusters in the solar neighborhood

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Francic, S.P.

1989-01-01

Mass functions for eight galactic clusters in the solar neighborhood have been obtained. The mass functions have been determined from proper motion membership probabilities and unlike similar investigations, corrected for outlying cluster stars. The membership probabilities have been determined from the joint proper motion and surface density distributions for the field and clusters stars. They have also been corrected for any magnitude dependences. Comparison of the mass functions with the Salpeter IMF shows that the older clusters tend to be deficient in the number of low mass stars, while the younger clusters tend to have more. Analysis of the relaxation times shows that the deficiency of faint stars in the older clusters is likely due to their evaporation from the cluster. The combined mass function for six of the cluster results in a power law with a power law index of -1.97 ± 0.17 for 1.1 < M/Mass of sun < 2.5. This agrees with a recent determination of the field star IMF where the power law index is -2.00 ± 0.18 for 0.8 < M/Mass of sun < 18. If the older clusters are not considered, then comparison of the combined mass function with the individual cluster mass functions shows that the universality hypothesis cannot be denied

Evaluating Combinations of Ranked Lists and Visualizations of Inter-Document Similarity.

Science.gov (United States)

Allan, James; Leuski, Anton; Swan, Russell; Byrd, Donald

2001-01-01

Considers how ideas from document clustering can be used to improve retrieval accuracy of ranked lists in interactive systems and how to evaluate system effectiveness. Describes a TREC (Text Retrieval Conference) study that constructed and evaluated systems that present the user with ranked lists and a visualization of inter-document similarities.…

Stereoscopic motion analysis in densely packed clusters: 3D analysis of the shimmering behaviour in Giant honey bees.

Science.gov (United States)

Kastberger, Gerald; Maurer, Michael; Weihmann, Frank; Ruether, Matthias; Hoetzl, Thomas; Kranner, Ilse; Bischof, Horst

2011-02-08

The detailed interpretation of mass phenomena such as human escape panic or swarm behaviour in birds, fish and insects requires detailed analysis of the 3D movements of individual participants. Here, we describe the adaptation of a 3D stereoscopic imaging method to measure the positional coordinates of individual agents in densely packed clusters. The method was applied to study behavioural aspects of shimmering in Giant honeybees, a collective defence behaviour that deters predatory wasps by visual cues, whereby individual bees flip their abdomen upwards in a split second, producing Mexican wave-like patterns. Stereoscopic imaging provided non-invasive, automated, simultaneous, in-situ 3D measurements of hundreds of bees on the nest surface regarding their thoracic position and orientation of the body length axis. Segmentation was the basis for the stereo matching, which defined correspondences of individual bees in pairs of stereo images. Stereo-matched "agent bees" were re-identified in subsequent frames by the tracking procedure and triangulated into real-world coordinates. These algorithms were required to calculate the three spatial motion components (dx: horizontal, dy: vertical and dz: towards and from the comb) of individual bees over time. The method enables the assessment of the 3D positions of individual Giant honeybees, which is not possible with single-view cameras. The method can be applied to distinguish at the individual bee level active movements of the thoraces produced by abdominal flipping from passive motions generated by the moving bee curtain. The data provide evidence that the z-deflections of thoraces are potential cues for colony-intrinsic communication. The method helps to understand the phenomenon of collective decision-making through mechanoceptive synchronization and to associate shimmering with the principles of wave propagation. With further, minor modifications, the method could be used to study aspects of other mass phenomena that

Stereoscopic motion analysis in densely packed clusters: 3D analysis of the shimmering behaviour in Giant honey bees

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hoetzl Thomas

2011-02-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background The detailed interpretation of mass phenomena such as human escape panic or swarm behaviour in birds, fish and insects requires detailed analysis of the 3D movements of individual participants. Here, we describe the adaptation of a 3D stereoscopic imaging method to measure the positional coordinates of individual agents in densely packed clusters. The method was applied to study behavioural aspects of shimmering in Giant honeybees, a collective defence behaviour that deters predatory wasps by visual cues, whereby individual bees flip their abdomen upwards in a split second, producing Mexican wave-like patterns. Results Stereoscopic imaging provided non-invasive, automated, simultaneous, in-situ 3D measurements of hundreds of bees on the nest surface regarding their thoracic position and orientation of the body length axis. Segmentation was the basis for the stereo matching, which defined correspondences of individual bees in pairs of stereo images. Stereo-matched "agent bees" were re-identified in subsequent frames by the tracking procedure and triangulated into real-world coordinates. These algorithms were required to calculate the three spatial motion components (dx: horizontal, dy: vertical and dz: towards and from the comb of individual bees over time. Conclusions The method enables the assessment of the 3D positions of individual Giant honeybees, which is not possible with single-view cameras. The method can be applied to distinguish at the individual bee level active movements of the thoraces produced by abdominal flipping from passive motions generated by the moving bee curtain. The data provide evidence that the z-deflections of thoraces are potential cues for colony-intrinsic communication. The method helps to understand the phenomenon of collective decision-making through mechanoceptive synchronization and to associate shimmering with the principles of wave propagation. With further, minor modifications, the method

Infall of galaxies into the Virgo Cluster and some cosmological constraints

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tully, R.B.; Shaya, E.J.

1984-01-01

A family of mass models have been developed to describe the observed infall of galaxies in the Virgo Southern Extension toward the Virgo Cluster. The requirement that the mass models also explain the motion of our Galaxy with respect to the Virgo Cluster provides some constraints of cosmological interest. If the age of the universe is 10 0 0 0 >15 Gyr, there is already (too much) much mass at small radii, as implied both by the virial analysis of the cluster and the infall model for the galaxies close to the cluster, to explain the motion of our Galaxy. If it is insisted that the universe is older than this limit, then a tractable conclusion is that the cosmological constant is positive. With the mass-age models and a census of the distribution of galaxies near the Virgo Cluster, it is possible to estimate the near-future accretion rate of galaxies into the central cluster

Inter frame motion estimation and its application to image sequence compression: an introduction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cremy, C.

1996-01-01

With the constant development of new communication technologies like, digital TV, teleconference, and the development of image analysis applications, there is a growing volume of data to manage. Compression techniques are required for the transmission and storage of these data. Dealing with original images would require the use of expansive high bandwidth communication devices and huge storage media. Image sequence compression can be achieved by means of interframe estimation that consists in retrieving redundant information relative to zones where there is little motion between two frames. This paper is an introduction to some motion estimation techniques like gradient techniques, pel-recursive, block-matching, and its application to image sequence compression. (Author) 17 refs

Reliability and responsiveness of a goniometric device for measuring the range of motion in the dart-throwing motion plane.

Science.gov (United States)

Kasubuchi, Kenji; Dohi, Yoshihiro; Fujita, Hiroyuki; Fukumoto, Takahiko

2018-02-26

Dart-throwing motion (DTM) is an important component of wrist function and, consequently, has the potential to become an evaluation tool in rehabilitation. However, no measurement method is currently available to reliably measure range of motion (ROM) of the wrist in the DTM plane. To determine the reliability and responsiveness of a goniometric device to measure wrist ROM in the DTM plane. ROM of the wrist in the DTM plane was measured in 70 healthy participants. The intra-class correlation coefficient (ICC) was used to evaluate the relative reliability of measurement, and a Bland-Altman analysis conducted to establish its absolute reliability, including the 95% limits of agreement (95% LOA). The standard error of the measurement (SEM) and minimal detectable change at the 95% confidence level (MDC 95 ) were calculated as measures of responsiveness. The intra-rater ICC was 0.87, and an inter-rater ICC of 0.71. There was no evidence of a fixed or proportional bias. For intra- and inter-rater reliability, 95% LOA ranged from -13.83 to 11.12 and from -17.75 to 16.19, respectively. The SEM and MDC 95 were 4.5° and 12.4°, respectively, for intra-rater reliability, and 6.0° and 16.6°, respectively, for inter-rater reliability. The ROM of the wrist in the DTM plane was measured with fair-to-good reliability and responsiveness and, therefore, has the potential to become an evaluation tool for rehabilitation.

Infrared spectroscopy of ionic clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Price, J.M.

1990-11-01

This thesis describes new experiments wherein the infrared vibrational predissociation spectra of a number of mass-selected ionic cluster systems have been obtained and analyzed in the 2600 to 4000 cm -1 region. The species studied include: the hydrated hydronium ions, H 3 O + (H 2 O) 3 -10 , ammoniated ammonium ions, NH 4 + (NH 3 ) 1 -10 and cluster ions involving both water and ammonia around an ammonium ion core, (mixed clusters) NH 4 + (NH 3 ) n (H 2 O) m (n+m=4). In each case, the spectra reveal well resolved structures that can be assigned to transitions arising from the vibrational motions of both the ion core of the clusters and the surrounding neutral solvent molecules. 154 refs., 19 figs., 8 tabs

Investigation of patient, tumour and treatment variables affecting residual motion for respiratory-gated radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

George, R; Ramakrishnan, V; Siebers, J V; Chung, T D; Keall, P J

2006-01-01

Respiratory gating can reduce the apparent respiratory motion during imaging and treatment; however, residual motion within the gating window remains. Respiratory training can improve respiratory reproducibility and, therefore, the efficacy of respiratory-gated radiotherapy. This study was conducted to determine whether residual motion during respiratory gating is affected by patient, tumour or treatment characteristics. The specific aims of this study were to: (1) identify significant characteristics affecting residual motion, (2) investigate time trends of residual motion over a period of days (inter-session) and (3) investigate time trends of residual motion within the same day (intra-session). Twenty-four lung cancer patients were enrolled in an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved protocol. For approximately five sessions, 331 four-minute, respiratory motion traces were acquired with free breathing, audio instructions and audio-visual biofeedback for each patient. The residual motion was quantified by the standard deviation of the displacement within the gating window. The generalized linear model was used to obtain coefficients for each variable within the model and to evaluate the clinical and statistical significance. The statistical significance was determined by a p-value <0.05, while effect sizes of ≥0.1 cm (one standard deviation) were considered clinically significant. This data analysis was applied to patient, tumour and treatment variables. Inter- and intra-session variations were also investigated. The only variable that was significant for both inhale- and exhale-based gating was disease type. In addition, visual-training displacement, breathing type and Karnofsky performance status (KPS) values were significant for inhale-based gating, and dose-per-fraction was significant for exhale-based gating. Temporal respiratory variations within and between sessions were observed for individual patients. However inter- and intra-session analyses did

Investigation of patient, tumour and treatment variables affecting residual motion for respiratory-gated radiotherapy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

George, R [Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (United States); Ramakrishnan, V [Department of Biostatistics, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (United States); Siebers, J V [Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (United States); Chung, T D [Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (United States); Keall, P J [Department of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA (United States)

2006-10-21

Respiratory gating can reduce the apparent respiratory motion during imaging and treatment; however, residual motion within the gating window remains. Respiratory training can improve respiratory reproducibility and, therefore, the efficacy of respiratory-gated radiotherapy. This study was conducted to determine whether residual motion during respiratory gating is affected by patient, tumour or treatment characteristics. The specific aims of this study were to: (1) identify significant characteristics affecting residual motion, (2) investigate time trends of residual motion over a period of days (inter-session) and (3) investigate time trends of residual motion within the same day (intra-session). Twenty-four lung cancer patients were enrolled in an Institutional Review Board (IRB)-approved protocol. For approximately five sessions, 331 four-minute, respiratory motion traces were acquired with free breathing, audio instructions and audio-visual biofeedback for each patient. The residual motion was quantified by the standard deviation of the displacement within the gating window. The generalized linear model was used to obtain coefficients for each variable within the model and to evaluate the clinical and statistical significance. The statistical significance was determined by a p-value <0.05, while effect sizes of {>=}0.1 cm (one standard deviation) were considered clinically significant. This data analysis was applied to patient, tumour and treatment variables. Inter- and intra-session variations were also investigated. The only variable that was significant for both inhale- and exhale-based gating was disease type. In addition, visual-training displacement, breathing type and Karnofsky performance status (KPS) values were significant for inhale-based gating, and dose-per-fraction was significant for exhale-based gating. Temporal respiratory variations within and between sessions were observed for individual patients. However inter- and intra-session analyses did

Chapter two: Phenomenology of tsunamis II: scaling, event statistics, and inter-event triggering

Science.gov (United States)

Geist, Eric L.

2012-01-01

Observations related to tsunami catalogs are reviewed and described in a phenomenological framework. An examination of scaling relationships between earthquake size (as expressed by scalar seismic moment and mean slip) and tsunami size (as expressed by mean and maximum local run-up and maximum far-field amplitude) indicates that scaling is significant at the 95% confidence level, although there is uncertainty in how well earthquake size can predict tsunami size (R2 ~ 0.4-0.6). In examining tsunami event statistics, current methods used to estimate the size distribution of earthquakes and landslides and the inter-event time distribution of earthquakes are first reviewed. These methods are adapted to estimate the size and inter-event distribution of tsunamis at a particular recording station. Using a modified Pareto size distribution, the best-fit power-law exponents of tsunamis recorded at nine Pacific tide-gauge stations exhibit marked variation, in contrast to the approximately constant power-law exponent for inter-plate thrust earthquakes. With regard to the inter-event time distribution, significant temporal clustering of tsunami sources is demonstrated. For tsunami sources occurring in close proximity to other sources in both space and time, a physical triggering mechanism, such as static stress transfer, is a likely cause for the anomalous clustering. Mechanisms of earthquake-to-earthquake and earthquake-to-landslide triggering are reviewed. Finally, a modification of statistical branching models developed for earthquake triggering is introduced to describe triggering among tsunami sources.

Inter-cluster coupling effects in high-spin molecular magnets

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Affronte, M.; Lasjaunias, J.C.; Wernsdorfer, W.; Sessoli, R.; Gatteschi, D.; Heath, S.L.; Fort, A.; Rettori, A.

2004-01-01

We report evidences of antiferromagnetic (AF) transition in Fe 19 metheidi, a new molecular nanomagnet with a total spin S=((33)/(2)), among the highest known so far. The temperature (T) dependence of specific heat (C) shows a λ-anomaly at 1.19 K and at the same temperature an anomaly is also observed in the low field (B<0.12 T) magnetization M-vs.-T curves. Since the dipolar interaction between clusters is estimated to be ∼190 mK, the origin of the AF transition is probably due to superexchange

Inter-cluster coupling effects in high-spin molecular magnets

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Affronte, M.; Lasjaunias, J.C.; Wernsdorfer, W.; Sessoli, R.; Gatteschi, D.; Heath, S.L.; Fort, A. E-mail: fort@fi.infn.it; Rettori, A

2004-05-01

We report evidences of antiferromagnetic (AF) transition in Fe{sub 19}metheidi, a new molecular nanomagnet with a total spin S=((33)/(2)), among the highest known so far. The temperature (T) dependence of specific heat (C) shows a {lambda}-anomaly at 1.19 K and at the same temperature an anomaly is also observed in the low field (B<0.12 T) magnetization M-vs.-T curves. Since the dipolar interaction between clusters is estimated to be {approx}190 mK, the origin of the AF transition is probably due to superexchange.

Yellow supergiants in open clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sowell, J.R.

1986-01-01

Superluminous giant stars (SLGs) have been reported in young globular clusters in the Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC). These stars appear to be in the post-asymptotic-giant-branch phase of evolution. This program was an investigation of galactic SLG candidates in open clusters, which are more like the LMC young globular clusters. These were chosen because luminosity, mass, and age determinations can be made for members since cluster distances and interstellar reddenings are known. Color magnitude diagrams were searched for candidates, using the same selection criteria as for SLGs in the LMC. Classification spectra were obtained of 115 program stars from McGraw-Hill Observatory and of 68 stars from Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory Chile. These stars were visually classified on the MK system using spectral scans of standard stars taken at the respective observations. Published information was combined with this program's data for 83 stars in 30 clusters. Membership probabilities were assigned to these stars, and the clusters were analyzed according to age. It was seen that the intrinsically brightest supergiants are found in the youngest clusters. With increasing cluster age, the absolute luminosities attained by the supergiants decline. Also, it appears that the evolutionary tracks of luminosity class II stars are more similar to those of class I than of class III

An objective spinal motion imaging assessment (OSMIA): reliability, accuracy and exposure data.

OpenAIRE

Breen, Alan C.; Muggleton, J.M.; Mellor, F.E.

2006-01-01

Abstract Background Minimally-invasive measurement of continuous inter-vertebral motion in clinical settings is difficult to achieve. This paper describes the reliability, validity and radiation exposure levels in a new Objective Spinal Motion Imaging Assessment system (OSMIA) based on low-dose fluoroscopy and image processing. Methods Fluoroscopic sequences in coronal and sagittal planes were obtained from 2 calibration models using dry lumbar vertebrae, plus the lumbar spines of 30 asymptom...

The cluster model and the generalized Brody-Moshinsky coefficients

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silvestre-Brac, B.

1985-01-01

Cluster theories, which rigorously eliminate the centre of mass motion, need intrinsic cluster coordinates. It is shown that the Jacobi coordinates of the various clusters are related by an orthogonal transformation and that the use of generalized Brody-Moshinsky coefficients allows an exact calculation of the exchange kernels. This procedure is illustrated by the description of nucleon-nucleon interaction in terms of constituent quarks

A four-dimensional motion field atlas of the tongue from tagged and cine magnetic resonance imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Fangxu; Prince, Jerry L.; Stone, Maureen; Wedeen, Van J.; El Fakhri, Georges; Woo, Jonghye

2017-02-01

Representation of human tongue motion using three-dimensional vector fields over time can be used to better understand tongue function during speech, swallowing, and other lingual behaviors. To characterize the inter-subject variability of the tongue's shape and motion of a population carrying out one of these functions it is desirable to build a statistical model of the four-dimensional (4D) tongue. In this paper, we propose a method to construct a spatio-temporal atlas of tongue motion using magnetic resonance (MR) images acquired from fourteen healthy human subjects. First, cine MR images revealing the anatomical features of the tongue are used to construct a 4D intensity image atlas. Second, tagged MR images acquired to capture internal motion are used to compute a dense motion field at each time frame using a phase-based motion tracking method. Third, motion fields from each subject are pulled back to the cine atlas space using the deformation fields computed during the cine atlas construction. Finally, a spatio-temporal motion field atlas is created to show a sequence of mean motion fields and their inter-subject variation. The quality of the atlas was evaluated by deforming cine images in the atlas space. Comparison between deformed and original cine images showed high correspondence. The proposed method provides a quantitative representation to observe the commonality and variability of the tongue motion field for the first time, and shows potential in evaluation of common properties such as strains and other tensors based on motion fields.

Observation of isolated carbon atoms and the study of their mobility on Pt clusters by NMR

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, P.; Ansermet, J.; Slichter, C.P.; Sinfelt, J.H.

1985-01-01

The authors have used NMR to determine the structure of surface species after the C-C bond scission of adsorbed acetylene and ethylene on Pt clusters produced by heating the samples to 690 K. They have found the species to be predominantly isolated carbon atoms adsorbed on Pt surfaces. They have studied the mobility of adsorbed carbon atoms from motional narrowing of the 13 C line shapes and motion-induced shortening of the spin-lattice relaxation times. They have found that the carbon atoms on Pt clusters are very mobile, their activation energy of 7 +- 1 kcal/mole for translational motion being less than half that of CO on Pt clusters

Membership, binarity, and rotation of F-G-K stars in the open cluster Blanco 1

Science.gov (United States)

Mermilliod, J.-C.; Platais, I.; James, D. J.; Grenon, M.; Cargile, P. A.

2008-07-01

Context: The nearby open cluster Blanco 1 is of considerable astrophysical interest for formation and evolution studies of open clusters because it is the third highest Galactic latitude cluster known. It has been observed often, but so far no definitive and comprehensive membership determination is readily available. Aims: An observing programme was carried out to study the stellar population of Blanco 1, and especially the membership and binary frequency of the F5-K0 dwarfs. Methods: We obtained radial-velocities with the CORAVEL spectrograph in the field of Blanco 1 for a sample of 148 F-G-K candidate stars in the magnitude range 10 rate reaches 40% (27/68) if one includes the photometric binaries. The cluster mean heliocentric radial velocity is +5.53 ± 0.11 km s-1 based on the most reliable 49 members. The V sin i distribution is similar to that of the Pleiades, confirming the age similarities between the two clusters. Conclusions: This study clearly demonstrates that, in spite of the cluster's high Galactic latitude, three membership criteria - radial velocity, proper motion, and photometry - are necessary for performing a reliable membership selection. Furthermore, even with accurate and extensive data, ambiguous cases still remain. Based on observations collected with the Danish 1.54-m and the Swiss telescopes at the European Southern Observatory, La Silla, Chile, and with the old YALO 1-m telescope at the Cerro Tololo InterAmerican Observatory, Chile. Table [see full textsee full textsee full textsee full textsee full textsee full text] is also available in electronic form at the CDS via anonymous ftp to cdsarc.u-strasbg.fr (130.79.128.5) or via http://cdsweb.u-strasbg.fr/cgi-bin/qcat?J/A+A/485/95

Clustering of housing and household patterns using 2011 population census

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Dudeni-Tlhone, N

2013-11-01

Full Text Available the clusters to measure the effects of urban growth boundaries on land development patterns. Vickers and Rees (2007) clustered the 2001 census data from the UK National Statistics Office to provide area classifications that could be distributed by the Office... of National Statistics via their website. Cluster analysis is also commonly applied inter- nationally to land-use data for many different types of studies, including: to derive landscape ty- pologies (Van Eetvelde and Antrop, 2009), to differentiate between...

Double Star/Cluster observation of neutral sheet oscillations on 5 August 2004

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

T. L. Zhang

2005-11-01

Full Text Available Previous Cluster observations have shown that the flapping motions of the Earth's magnetotail are of internal origin and that kink-like waves are emitted from the central part of the tail and propagate toward the tail flanks. The newly launched Double Star Program (DSP TC-1 satellite allows us to investigate neutral sheet at 10-13 Re in the tail. Using conjunctions with Cluster we will have simultaneous observations at 10-13 and 16-19 Re of these flapping motions. In this paper, we present the first results of neutral sheet oscillations observed by the Cluster and Double Star satellites on 5 August 2004.

S4-3: Spatial Processing of Visual Motion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shin'ya Nishida

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Local motion signals are extracted in parallel by a bank of motion detectors, and their spatiotemporal interactions are processed in subsequent stages. In this talk, I will review our recent studies on spatial interactions in visual motion processing. First, we found two types of spatial pooling of local motion signals. Directionally ambiguous 1D local motion signals are pooled across orientation and space for solution of the aperture problem, while 2D local motion signals are pooled for estimation of global vector average (e.g., Amano et al., 2009 Journal of Vision 9(3:4 1–25. Second, when stimulus presentation is brief, coherent motion detection of dynamic random-dot kinematogram is not efficient. Nevertheless, it is significantly improved by transient and synchronous presentation of a stationary surround pattern. This suggests that centre-surround spatial interaction may help rapid perception of motion (Linares et al., submitted. Third, to know how the visual system encodes pairwise relationships between remote motion signals, we measured the temporal rate limit for perceiving the relationship of two motion directions presented at the same time at different spatial locations. Compared with similar tasks with luminance or orientation signals, motion comparison was more rapid and hence efficient. This high performance was affected little by inter-element separation even when it was increased up to 100 deg. These findings indicate the existence of specialized processes to encode long-range relationships between motion signals for quick appreciation of global dynamic scene structure (Maruya et al., in preparation.

GALAXY CLUSTER BULK FLOWS AND COLLISION VELOCITIES IN QUMOND

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Katz, Harley; McGaugh, Stacy; Teuben, Peter [Department of Astronomy, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742 (United States); Angus, G. W., E-mail: hkatz@astro.umd.edu, E-mail: stacy.mcgaugh@case.edu, E-mail: teuben@astro.umd.edu, E-mail: angus.gz@gmail.com [Astrophysics, Cosmology and Gravity Centre, University of Cape Town, Private Bag X3, Rondebosch 7700 (South Africa)

2013-07-20

We examine the formation of clusters of galaxies in numerical simulations of a QUMOND cosmogony with massive sterile neutrinos. Clusters formed in these exploratory simulations develop higher velocities than those found in {Lambda}CDM simulations. The bulk motions of clusters attain {approx}1000 km s{sup -1} by low redshift, comparable to observations whereas {Lambda}CDM simulated clusters tend to fall short. Similarly, high pairwise velocities are common in cluster-cluster collisions like the Bullet Cluster. There is also a propensity for the most massive clusters to be larger in QUMOND and to appear earlier than in {Lambda}CDM, potentially providing an explanation for ''pink elephants'' like El Gordo. However, it is not obvious that the cluster mass function can be recovered.

GALAXY CLUSTER BULK FLOWS AND COLLISION VELOCITIES IN QUMOND

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Katz, Harley; McGaugh, Stacy; Teuben, Peter; Angus, G. W.

2013-01-01

We examine the formation of clusters of galaxies in numerical simulations of a QUMOND cosmogony with massive sterile neutrinos. Clusters formed in these exploratory simulations develop higher velocities than those found in ΛCDM simulations. The bulk motions of clusters attain ∼1000 km s –1 by low redshift, comparable to observations whereas ΛCDM simulated clusters tend to fall short. Similarly, high pairwise velocities are common in cluster-cluster collisions like the Bullet Cluster. There is also a propensity for the most massive clusters to be larger in QUMOND and to appear earlier than in ΛCDM, potentially providing an explanation for ''pink elephants'' like El Gordo. However, it is not obvious that the cluster mass function can be recovered.

Searching remote homology with spectral clustering with symmetry in neighborhood cluster kernels.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ujjwal Maulik

Full Text Available Remote homology detection among proteins utilizing only the unlabelled sequences is a central problem in comparative genomics. The existing cluster kernel methods based on neighborhoods and profiles and the Markov clustering algorithms are currently the most popular methods for protein family recognition. The deviation from random walks with inflation or dependency on hard threshold in similarity measure in those methods requires an enhancement for homology detection among multi-domain proteins. We propose to combine spectral clustering with neighborhood kernels in Markov similarity for enhancing sensitivity in detecting homology independent of "recent" paralogs. The spectral clustering approach with new combined local alignment kernels more effectively exploits the unsupervised protein sequences globally reducing inter-cluster walks. When combined with the corrections based on modified symmetry based proximity norm deemphasizing outliers, the technique proposed in this article outperforms other state-of-the-art cluster kernels among all twelve implemented kernels. The comparison with the state-of-the-art string and mismatch kernels also show the superior performance scores provided by the proposed kernels. Similar performance improvement also is found over an existing large dataset. Therefore the proposed spectral clustering framework over combined local alignment kernels with modified symmetry based correction achieves superior performance for unsupervised remote homolog detection even in multi-domain and promiscuous domain proteins from Genolevures database families with better biological relevance. Source code available upon request.sarkar@labri.fr.

Experimental evaluation of a co-operative driving setup based on inter-vehicle communication.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Hallouzi, R.; Verdult, V.; Hellendoorn, H.; Ploeg, J.

2004-01-01

This paper presents the design and evaluation of a co-operative longitudinal controller for a cluster of vehicles with inter-vehicle communication (IVC). By applying IVC a smooth traffic flow can be realized. The proposed controller can actively control the throttle, the brake and the gears of the

The peculiar velocities of rich clusters in the hot and cold dark matter scenarios

Science.gov (United States)

Rhee, George F.; West, Michael J.; Villumsen, Jens V.

1993-01-01

We present the results of a study of the peculiar velocities of rich clusters of galaxies. The peculiar motion of rich clusters in various cosmological scenarios is of interest for a number of reasons. Observationally, one can measure the peculiar motion of clusters to greater distances than galaxies because cluster peculiar motions can be determined to greater accuracy. One can also test the slope of distance indicator relations using clusters to see if galaxy properties vary with environment. We have used N-body simulations to measure the amplitude and rms cluster peculiar velocity as a function of bias parameter in the hot and cold dark matter scenarios. In addition to measuring the mean and rms peculiar velocity of clusters in the two models, we determined whether the peculiar velocity vector of a given cluster is well aligned with the gravity vector due to all the particles in the simulation and the gravity vector due to the particles present only in the clusters. We have investigated the peculiar velocities of rich clusters of galaxies in the cold dark matter and hot dark matter galaxy formation scenarios. We have derived peculiar velocities and associated errors for the scenarios using four values of the bias parameter ranging from b = 1 to b = 2.5. The growth of the mean peculiar velocity with scale factor has been determined and compared to that predicted by linear theory. In addition, we have compared the orientation of force and velocity in these simulations to see if a program such as that proposed by Bertschinger and Dekel (1989) for elliptical galaxy peculiar motions can be applied to clusters. The method they describe enables one to recover the density field from large scale redshift distance samples. The method makes it possible to do this when only radial velocities are known by assuming that the velocity field is curl free. Our analysis suggests that this program if applied to clusters is only realizable for models with a low value of the bias

Medizinbibliotheken: inter:disziplinär – inter:national –inter:aktiv

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bauer, Bruno

2017-12-01

Full Text Available The focus of the current issue 3/2017 of GMS Medizin – Bibliothek – Information is the annual conference 2017 of the German Medical Libraries Association in Vienna. The motto of the conference was “Medical Libraries: inter:disciplinary – inter:national – inter:active”. The authors in this issue are Bruno Bauer (Austrian Transition to Open Access 2017–2020, Beata Górczynska (Development and structure of Polish veterinary school system and its libraries, Katharina Heldt, Henriette Senst & Jessica Riedel (Salon on the institute’s history: outstanding artifacts. 28.01.2016 to 15.12.2016, Jutta Matrisciano, Martina Semmler-Schmetz & Saskia Rohmer (Advice – From info snack to special menu: Solutions of the MedMA-Bib, Stefan Nortmann (The ‘Ersti-Café’ of the Medical Branch Library Münster, Sandra Rümmele (Toolbox: The new teaching library project of the Central Medical Library of the University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Eva Seidlmayer & Christoph Poley (One Health – Transdisciplinarity at ZB MED and Heike Andermann (“Medical Libraries: inter:disciplinary – inter:national – inter:active”. Annual Meeting of the German Medical Library Association (AGMB, September 25 to 27, 2017 in Vienna. Furthermore this focus issue features articles from Stefan Grün & Christoph Poley (Statistical evaluation of semantic entities from metadata and full text on German Medical Science corpora and Iris Reimann (German MLA News; Competition of the German MLA Pioneer projects in medical libraries 2017: Introduction of the winners; Competition of the German MLA (AGMB Pioneer projects in medical libraries 2018 – Announcement.

Statistical discovery of site inter-dependencies in sub-molecular hierarchical protein structuring.

Science.gov (United States)

Durston, Kirk K; Chiu, David Ky; Wong, Andrew Kc; Li, Gary Cl

2012-07-13

Much progress has been made in understanding the 3D structure of proteins using methods such as NMR and X-ray crystallography. The resulting 3D structures are extremely informative, but do not always reveal which sites and residues within the structure are of special importance. Recently, there are indications that multiple-residue, sub-domain structural relationships within the larger 3D consensus structure of a protein can be inferred from the analysis of the multiple sequence alignment data of a protein family. These intra-dependent clusters of associated sites are used to indicate hierarchical inter-residue relationships within the 3D structure. To reveal the patterns of associations among individual amino acids or sub-domain components within the structure, we apply a k-modes attribute (aligned site) clustering algorithm to the ubiquitin and transthyretin families in order to discover associations among groups of sites within the multiple sequence alignment. We then observe what these associations imply within the 3D structure of these two protein families. The k-modes site clustering algorithm we developed maximizes the intra-group interdependencies based on a normalized mutual information measure. The clusters formed correspond to sub-structural components or binding and interface locations. Applying this data-directed method to the ubiquitin and transthyretin protein family multiple sequence alignments as a test bed, we located numerous interesting associations of interdependent sites. These clusters were then arranged into cluster tree diagrams which revealed four structural sub-domains within the single domain structure of ubiquitin and a single large sub-domain within transthyretin associated with the interface among transthyretin monomers. In addition, several clusters of mutually interdependent sites were discovered for each protein family, each of which appear to play an important role in the molecular structure and/or function. Our results

Hydrodynamic clustering of droplets in turbulence

Science.gov (United States)

Kunnen, Rudie; Yavuz, Altug; van Heijst, Gertjan; Clercx, Herman

2017-11-01

Small, inertial particles are known to cluster in turbulent flows: particles are centrifuged out of eddies and gather in the strain-dominated regions. This so-called preferential concentration is reflected in the radial distribution function (RDF; a quantitative measure of clustering). We study clustering of water droplets in a loudspeaker-driven turbulence chamber. We track the motion of droplets in 3D and calculate the RDF. At moderate scales (a few Kolmogorov lengths) we find the typical power-law scaling of preferential concentration in the RDF. However, at even smaller scales (a few droplet diameters), we encounter a hitherto unobserved additional clustering. We postulate that the additional clustering is due to hydrodynamic interactions, an effect which is typically disregarded in modeling. Using a perturbative expansion of inertial effects in a Stokes-flow description of two interacting spheres, we obtain an expression for the RDF which indeed includes the additional clustering. The additional clustering enhances the collision probability of droplets, which enhances their growth rate due to coalescence. The additional clustering is thus an essential effect in precipitation modeling.

Infrared spectroscopy of ionic clusters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Price, J.M. (California Univ., Berkeley, CA (USA). Dept. of Chemistry Lawrence Berkeley Lab., CA (USA))

1990-11-01

This thesis describes new experiments wherein the infrared vibrational predissociation spectra of a number of mass-selected ionic cluster systems have been obtained and analyzed in the 2600 to 4000 cm{sup {minus}1} region. The species studied include: the hydrated hydronium ions, H{sub 3}O{sup +} (H{sub 2}O){sub 3 {minus}10}, ammoniated ammonium ions, NH{sub 4}{sup +}(NH{sub 3}){sub 1 {minus}10} and cluster ions involving both water and ammonia around an ammonium ion core, (mixed clusters) NH{sub 4}{sup +}(NH{sub 3}){sub n}(H{sub 2}O){sub m} (n+m=4). In each case, the spectra reveal well resolved structures that can be assigned to transitions arising from the vibrational motions of both the ion core of the clusters and the surrounding neutral solvent molecules. 154 refs., 19 figs., 8 tabs.

Speeding up equation of motion coupled cluster theory with the chain of spheres approximation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dutta, Achintya Kumar; Neese, Frank; Izsák, Róbert

2016-01-01

In the present paper, the chain of spheres exchange (COSX) approximation is applied to the highest scaling terms in the equation of motion (EOM) coupled cluster equations with single and double excitations, in particular, the terms involving integrals with four virtual labels. It is found that even the acceleration of this single term yields significant computational gains without compromising the desired accuracy of the method. For an excitation energy calculation on a cluster of five water molecules using 585 basis functions, the four virtual term is 9.4 times faster using COSX with a loose grid than using the canonical implementation, which yields a 2.6 fold acceleration for the whole of the EOM calculation. For electron attachment calculations, the four virtual term is 15 times and the total EOM calculation is 10 times faster than the canonical calculation for the same system. The accuracy of the new method was tested using Thiel’s test set for excited states using the same settings and the maximum absolute deviation over the whole test set was found to be 12.945 cm −1 (59 μHartree) for excitation energies and 6.799 cm −1 (31 μHartree) for electron attachments. Using MP2 amplitudes for the ground state in combination with the parallel evaluation of the full EOM equations in the manner discussed in this paper enabled us to perform calculations for large systems. Electron affinity values for the two lowest states of a Zn protoporphyrine model compound (224 correlated electrons and 1120 basis functions) were obtained in 3 days 19 h using 4 cores of a Xeon E5-2670 processor allocating 10 GB memory per core. Calculating the lowest two excitation energies for trans-retinal (114 correlated electrons and 539 basis functions) took 1 day 21 h using eight cores of the same processor and identical memory allocation per core

Speeding up equation of motion coupled cluster theory with the chain of spheres approximation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dutta, Achintya Kumar; Neese, Frank, E-mail: frank.neese@cec.mpg.de; Izsák, Róbert, E-mail: robert.izsak@cec.mpg.de [Max-Planck-Institut für Chemische Energiekonversion, Stiftstr. 34-36, 45470 Mülheim an der Ruhr (Germany)

2016-01-21

In the present paper, the chain of spheres exchange (COSX) approximation is applied to the highest scaling terms in the equation of motion (EOM) coupled cluster equations with single and double excitations, in particular, the terms involving integrals with four virtual labels. It is found that even the acceleration of this single term yields significant computational gains without compromising the desired accuracy of the method. For an excitation energy calculation on a cluster of five water molecules using 585 basis functions, the four virtual term is 9.4 times faster using COSX with a loose grid than using the canonical implementation, which yields a 2.6 fold acceleration for the whole of the EOM calculation. For electron attachment calculations, the four virtual term is 15 times and the total EOM calculation is 10 times faster than the canonical calculation for the same system. The accuracy of the new method was tested using Thiel’s test set for excited states using the same settings and the maximum absolute deviation over the whole test set was found to be 12.945 cm{sup −1} (59 μHartree) for excitation energies and 6.799 cm{sup −1} (31 μHartree) for electron attachments. Using MP2 amplitudes for the ground state in combination with the parallel evaluation of the full EOM equations in the manner discussed in this paper enabled us to perform calculations for large systems. Electron affinity values for the two lowest states of a Zn protoporphyrine model compound (224 correlated electrons and 1120 basis functions) were obtained in 3 days 19 h using 4 cores of a Xeon E5-2670 processor allocating 10 GB memory per core. Calculating the lowest two excitation energies for trans-retinal (114 correlated electrons and 539 basis functions) took 1 day 21 h using eight cores of the same processor and identical memory allocation per core.

Concentration dependence of solute atoms on vacancy cluster formation in neutron irradiated Ni alloy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sato, K.; Itoh, D.; Yoshiie, T.; Xu, Q.

2007-01-01

Full text of publication follows: One dimensional (1-D) motion of interstitial clusters is important for the microstructural evolution in metals. The movement of interstitial clusters was often observed in neutron irradiated metals by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Alloying elements are expected to affect the motion of interstitial clusters. Yoshiie et al. have studied the effect of alloying elements in Ni. For example, in neutron irradiated pure Ni, well-developed dislocation networks and voids were observed at 573 K at a dose of 0.026 dpa by TEM. After the addition of 2at.%Si (-5.81% volume size factor to Ni) and Sn (74.08% volume size factor), no voids were detected by TEM observation and positron lifetime measurement. Alloying elements of Si and Sn were expected to prevent the 1-D motion of the interstitial clusters. In this study, the concentration dependence of alloying elements on the 1-D motion of the interstitial clusters was investigated by positron annihilation lifetime measurements, and the microstructural evolution was discussed. Specimens irradiated were 99.99 pure Ni (Johnson Matthey) and Ni based binary alloys, which contain Si, Cu, Ge and Sn as solute atoms. The concentration of solute atoms was 0.05at.%o, 0.3at.% and 2at.%. Neutron irradiation was performed with the Kyoto University Reactor (KUR) and Japan materials testing reactor (JMTR) at Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Neutron dose was 6x10 -5 -1x10 -2 dpa at KUR, and 8x10 -3 -0.3 dpa at JMTR. Irradiation temperature was 573 K at KUR and 563 K at JMTR. After the neutron irradiation, positron annihilation lifetime measurements were performed at room temperature. Microvoids were detected in pure Ni, Ni-0.05%Si, Ni-0.05%Sn, Ni-Cu and Ni-Ge alloys. In Ni-Si and Ni-Sn alloys, the size of microvoids decreased as the concentration of solute atoms increased. This is because the frequency of 1-D motion of the interstitial clusters depends on the alloy concentration. High concentration of alloying

Concentration dependence of solute atoms on vacancy cluster formation in neutron irradiated Ni alloy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Sato, K.; Itoh, D.; Yoshiie, T.; Xu, Q. [Kyoto Univ., Research Reactor Institute, Osaka (Japan)

2007-07-01

Full text of publication follows: One dimensional (1-D) motion of interstitial clusters is important for the microstructural evolution in metals. The movement of interstitial clusters was often observed in neutron irradiated metals by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Alloying elements are expected to affect the motion of interstitial clusters. Yoshiie et al. have studied the effect of alloying elements in Ni. For example, in neutron irradiated pure Ni, well-developed dislocation networks and voids were observed at 573 K at a dose of 0.026 dpa by TEM. After the addition of 2at.%Si (-5.81% volume size factor to Ni) and Sn (74.08% volume size factor), no voids were detected by TEM observation and positron lifetime measurement. Alloying elements of Si and Sn were expected to prevent the 1-D motion of the interstitial clusters. In this study, the concentration dependence of alloying elements on the 1-D motion of the interstitial clusters was investigated by positron annihilation lifetime measurements, and the microstructural evolution was discussed. Specimens irradiated were 99.99 pure Ni (Johnson Matthey) and Ni based binary alloys, which contain Si, Cu, Ge and Sn as solute atoms. The concentration of solute atoms was 0.05at.%o, 0.3at.% and 2at.%. Neutron irradiation was performed with the Kyoto University Reactor (KUR) and Japan materials testing reactor (JMTR) at Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Neutron dose was 6x10{sup -5}-1x10{sup -2} dpa at KUR, and 8x10{sup -3} -0.3 dpa at JMTR. Irradiation temperature was 573 K at KUR and 563 K at JMTR. After the neutron irradiation, positron annihilation lifetime measurements were performed at room temperature. Microvoids were detected in pure Ni, Ni-0.05%Si, Ni-0.05%Sn, Ni-Cu and Ni-Ge alloys. In Ni-Si and Ni-Sn alloys, the size of microvoids decreased as the concentration of solute atoms increased. This is because the frequency of 1-D motion of the interstitial clusters depends on the alloy concentration. High

Genetic Diversity and Relationships of Neolamarckia cadamba (Roxb. Bosser progenies through cluster analysis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Preethi Shree

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Genetic diversity analysis was conducted for biometric attributes in 20 progenies of Neolamarckia cadamba. The application of D2 clustering technique in Neolamarckia cadamba genetic resources resolved the 20 progenies into five clusters. The maximum intra cluster distance was shown by the cluster II. The maximum inter cluster distance was recorded between cluster III and V which indicated the presence of wider genetic distance between Neolamarckia cadamba progenies. Among the growth attributes, volume (36.84 % contributed maximum towards genetic divergence followed by bole height, basal diameter, tree height, number of branches in Neolamarckia cadamba progenies.

Coma cluster of galaxies

Science.gov (United States)

1999-01-01

Atlas Image mosaic, covering 34' x 34' on the sky, of the Coma cluster, aka Abell 1656. This is a particularly rich cluster of individual galaxies (over 1000 members), most prominently the two giant ellipticals, NGC 4874 (right) and NGC 4889 (left). The remaining members are mostly smaller ellipticals, but spiral galaxies are also evident in the 2MASS image. The cluster is seen toward the constellation Coma Berenices, but is actually at a distance of about 100 Mpc (330 million light years, or a redshift of 0.023) from us. At this distance, the cluster is in what is known as the 'Hubble flow,' or the overall expansion of the Universe. As such, astronomers can measure the Hubble Constant, or the universal expansion rate, based on the distance to this cluster. Large, rich clusters, such as Coma, allow astronomers to measure the 'missing mass,' i.e., the matter in the cluster that we cannot see, since it gravitationally influences the motions of the member galaxies within the cluster. The near-infrared maps the overall luminous mass content of the member galaxies, since the light at these wavelengths is dominated by the more numerous older stellar populations. Galaxies, as seen by 2MASS, look fairly smooth and homogeneous, as can be seen from the Hubble 'tuning fork' diagram of near-infrared galaxy morphology. Image mosaic by S. Van Dyk (IPAC).

X-ray and optical study of seven clusters of galaxies

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Maccagni, D; Tarenghi, M [Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Milan (Italy). Lab. di Fisica Cosmica e Tecnologie Relative; Cooke, B A; Maccacaro, T; Pye, J P; Ricketts, M J [Leicester Univ. (UK). X-Ray Astronomy Group; Chincarini, G [Oklahoma Univ., Norman (USA). Dept. of Physics; Bologna Univ. (Italy). Istituto di Astronomia)

1978-01-01

In this paper we present observations of seven clusters of galaxies associated with X-ray sources detected by the Sky Survey Instrument (SSI) of the University of Leicester on the satellite Ariel V. Three are new X-ray sources and there are four new identifications with clusters of galaxies. All error boxes have an area less than about 1/3 square degree. All clusters have been classified according to the Rood and Sastry and the Bautz and Morgan systems. The new optical material obtained at the 4 m telescope of the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory has been used to give the morphological description of some of the clusters.

Inter-segment foot motion in girls using a three-dimensional multi-segment foot model.

Science.gov (United States)

Jang, Woo Young; Lee, Dong Yeon; Jung, Hae Woon; Lee, Doo Jae; Yoo, Won Joon; Choi, In Ho

2018-05-06

Several multi-segment foot models (MFMs) have been introduced for in vivo analyses of dynamic foot kinematics. However, the normal gait patterns of healthy children and adolescents remain uncharacterized. We sought to determine normal foot kinematics according to age in clinically normal female children and adolescents using a Foot 3D model. Fifty-eight girls (age 7-17 years) with normal function and without radiographic abnormalities were tested. Three representative strides from five separate trials were analyzed. Kinematic data of foot segment motion were tracked and evaluated using an MFM with a 15-marker set (Foot 3D model). As controls, 50 symptom-free female adults (20-35 years old) were analyzed. In the hindfoot kinematic analysis, plantar flexion motion in the pre-swing phase was significantly greater in girls aged 11 years or older than in girls aged foot progression angle showed mildly increased internal rotation in the loading response phase and the swing phase in girls aged foot motion in girls aged 11 years or older showed low-arch kinematic characteristics, whereas those in girls aged 11 years or older were more similar to the patterns in young adult women. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Assessment of otolith function using cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in individuals with motion sickness.

Science.gov (United States)

Singh, Niraj Kumar; Pandey, Preeti; Mahesh, Soumya

2014-01-01

The involvement of otolith organs in motion sickness has long been debated; however, equivocal findings exist in literature. The present study thus aimed at evaluating the otolith functioning in individuals with motion sickness. Cervical and ocular vestibular evoked myogenic potentials were recorded from 30 individuals with motion sickness, 30 professional drivers and 30 healthy individuals. The results revealed no significant difference in latencies and amplitudes between the groups (p>0.05). Nonetheless, thresholds were significantly elevated and inter-aural asymmetry ratio significantly higher in motion sickness susceptible group (p otolithic function seem the likely reasons behind motion sickness susceptibility.

Impacts of clustering on noise-induced spiking regularity in the excitatory neuronal networks of subnetworks.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Huiyan; Sun, Xiaojuan; Xiao, Jinghua

2015-01-01

In this paper, we investigate how clustering factors influent spiking regularity of the neuronal network of subnetworks. In order to do so, we fix the averaged coupling probability and the averaged coupling strength, and take the cluster number M, the ratio of intra-connection probability and inter-connection probability R, the ratio of intra-coupling strength and inter-coupling strength S as controlled parameters. With the obtained simulation results, we find that spiking regularity of the neuronal networks has little variations with changing of R and S when M is fixed. However, cluster number M could reduce the spiking regularity to low level when the uniform neuronal network's spiking regularity is at high level. Combined the obtained results, we can see that clustering factors have little influences on the spiking regularity when the entire energy is fixed, which could be controlled by the averaged coupling strength and the averaged connection probability.

Cosmology with clusters in the CMB

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majumdar, Subhabrata

2008-01-01

Ever since the seminal work by Sunyaev and Zel'dovich describing the distortion of the CMB spectrum, due to photons passing through the hot inter cluster gas on its way to us from the surface of last scattering (the so called Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect (SZE)), small scale distortions of the CMB by clusters has been used to detect clusters as well as to do cosmology with clusters. Cosmology with clusters in the CMB can be divided into three distinct regimes: a) when the clusters are completely unresolved and contribute to the secondary CMB distortions power spectrum at small angular scales; b) when we can just about resolve the clusters so as to detect the clusters through its total SZE flux such that the clusters can be tagged and counted for doing cosmology and c) when we can completely resolve the clusters so as to measure their sizes and other cluster structural properties and their evolution with redshift. In this article, we take a look at these three aspects of SZE cluster studies and their implication for using clusters as cosmological probes. We show that clusters can be used as effective probes of cosmology, when in all of these three cases, one explores the synergy between cluster physics and cosmology as well take clues about cluster physics from the latest high precision cluster observations (for example, from Chandra and XMM - Newton). As a specific case, we show how an observationally motivated cluster SZ template can explain the CBI-excess without the need for a high σ 8 . We also briefly discuss 'self-calibration' in cluster surveys and the prospect of using clusters as an ensemble of cosmic rulers to break degeneracies arising in cluster cosmology.

Optimizing Instruction Scheduling and Register Allocation for Register-File-Connected Clustered VLIW Architectures

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Haijing; Wang, Siye; Zhang, Yanjun

2013-01-01

Clustering has become a common trend in very long instruction words (VLIW) architecture to solve the problem of area, energy consumption, and design complexity. Register-file-connected clustered (RFCC) VLIW architecture uses the mechanism of global register file to accomplish the inter-cluster data communications, thus eliminating the performance and energy consumption penalty caused by explicit inter-cluster data move operations in traditional bus-connected clustered (BCC) VLIW architecture. However, the limit number of access ports to the global register file has become an issue which must be well addressed; otherwise the performance and energy consumption would be harmed. In this paper, we presented compiler optimization techniques for an RFCC VLIW architecture called Lily, which is designed for encryption systems. These techniques aim at optimizing performance and energy consumption for Lily architecture, through appropriate manipulation of the code generation process to maintain a better management of the accesses to the global register file. All the techniques have been implemented and evaluated. The result shows that our techniques can significantly reduce the penalty of performance and energy consumption due to access port limitation of global register file. PMID:23970841

Optimizing Instruction Scheduling and Register Allocation for Register-File-Connected Clustered VLIW Architectures

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haijing Tang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Clustering has become a common trend in very long instruction words (VLIW architecture to solve the problem of area, energy consumption, and design complexity. Register-file-connected clustered (RFCC VLIW architecture uses the mechanism of global register file to accomplish the inter-cluster data communications, thus eliminating the performance and energy consumption penalty caused by explicit inter-cluster data move operations in traditional bus-connected clustered (BCC VLIW architecture. However, the limit number of access ports to the global register file has become an issue which must be well addressed; otherwise the performance and energy consumption would be harmed. In this paper, we presented compiler optimization techniques for an RFCC VLIW architecture called Lily, which is designed for encryption systems. These techniques aim at optimizing performance and energy consumption for Lily architecture, through appropriate manipulation of the code generation process to maintain a better management of the accesses to the global register file. All the techniques have been implemented and evaluated. The result shows that our techniques can significantly reduce the penalty of performance and energy consumption due to access port limitation of global register file.

Ages of the Bulge Globular Clusters NGC 6522 and NGC 6626 (M28) from HST Proper-motion-cleaned Color–Magnitude Diagrams

Science.gov (United States)

Kerber, L. O.; Nardiello, D.; Ortolani, S.; Barbuy, B.; Bica, E.; Cassisi, S.; Libralato, M.; Vieira, R. G.

2018-01-01

Bulge globular clusters (GCs) with metallicities [Fe/H] ≲ ‑1.0 and blue horizontal branches are candidates to harbor the oldest populations in the Galaxy. Based on the analysis of HST proper-motion-cleaned color–magnitude diagrams in filters F435W and F625W, we determine physical parameters for the old bulge GCs NGC 6522 and NGC 6626 (M28), both with well-defined blue horizontal branches. We compare these results with similar data for the inner halo cluster NGC 6362. These clusters have similar metallicities (‑1.3 ≤ [Fe/H] ≤ ‑1.0) obtained from high-resolution spectroscopy. We derive ages, distance moduli, and reddening values by means of statistical comparisons between observed and synthetic fiducial lines employing likelihood statistics and the Markov chain Monte Carlo method. The synthetic fiducial lines were generated using α-enhanced BaSTI and Dartmouth stellar evolutionary models, adopting both canonical (Y ∼ 0.25) and enhanced (Y ∼ 0.30–0.33) helium abundances. RR Lyrae stars were employed to determine the HB magnitude level, providing an independent indicator to constrain the apparent distance modulus and the helium enhancement. The shape of the observed fiducial line could be compatible with some helium enhancement for NGC 6522 and NGC 6626, but the average magnitudes of RR Lyrae stars tend to rule out this hypothesis. Assuming canonical helium abundances, BaSTI and Dartmouth models indicate that all three clusters are coeval, with ages between ∼12.5 and 13.0 Gyr. The present study also reveals that NGC 6522 has at least two stellar populations, since its CMD shows a significantly wide subgiant branch compatible with 14% ± 2% and 86% ± 5% for first and second generations, respectively. Based on observations with the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope, obtained at the Space Telescope Science Institute.

Dual Sticky Hierarchical Dirichlet Process Hidden Markov Model and Its Application to Natural Language Description of Motions.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Weiming; Tian, Guodong; Kang, Yongxin; Yuan, Chunfeng; Maybank, Stephen

2017-09-25

In this paper, a new nonparametric Bayesian model called the dual sticky hierarchical Dirichlet process hidden Markov model (HDP-HMM) is proposed for mining activities from a collection of time series data such as trajectories. All the time series data are clustered. Each cluster of time series data, corresponding to a motion pattern, is modeled by an HMM. Our model postulates a set of HMMs that share a common set of states (topics in an analogy with topic models for document processing), but have unique transition distributions. For the application to motion trajectory modeling, topics correspond to motion activities. The learnt topics are clustered into atomic activities which are assigned predicates. We propose a Bayesian inference method to decompose a given trajectory into a sequence of atomic activities. On combining the learnt sources and sinks, semantic motion regions, and the learnt sequence of atomic activities, the action represented by the trajectory can be described in natural language in as automatic a way as possible. The effectiveness of our dual sticky HDP-HMM is validated on several trajectory datasets. The effectiveness of the natural language descriptions for motions is demonstrated on the vehicle trajectories extracted from a traffic scene.

Calculations of non-adiabatic couplings within equation-of-motion coupled-cluster framework: Theory, implementation, and validation against multi-reference methods

Science.gov (United States)

Faraji, Shirin; Matsika, Spiridoula; Krylov, Anna I.

2018-01-01

We report an implementation of non-adiabatic coupling (NAC) forces within the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster with single and double excitations (EOM-CCSD) framework via the summed-state approach. Using illustrative examples, we compare NAC forces computed with EOM-CCSD and multi-reference (MR) wave functions (for selected cases, we also consider configuration interaction singles). In addition to the magnitude of the NAC vectors, we analyze their direction, which is important for the calculations of the rate of non-adiabatic transitions. Our benchmark set comprises three doublet radical-cations (hexatriene, cyclohexadiene, and uracil), neutral uracil, and sodium-doped ammonia clusters. When the characters of the states agree among different methods, we observe good agreement between the respective NAC vectors, both in the Franck-Condon region and away. In the cases of large discrepancies between the methods, the disagreement can be attributed to the difference in the states' character, which, in some cases, is very sensitive to electron correlation, both within single-reference and multi-reference frameworks. The numeric results confirm that the accuracy of NAC vectors depends critically on the quality of the underlying wave functions. Within their domain of applicability, EOM-CC methods provide a viable alternative to MR approaches.

Locality-Aware CTA Clustering For Modern GPUs

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Li, Ang; Song, Shuaiwen; Liu, Weifeng; Liu, Xu; Kumar, Akash; Corporaal, Henk

2017-04-08

In this paper, we proposed a novel clustering technique for tapping into the performance potential of a largely ignored type of locality: inter-CTA locality. We first demonstrated the capability of the existing GPU hardware to exploit such locality, both spatially and temporally, on L1 or L1/Tex unified cache. To verify the potential of this locality, we quantified its existence in a broad spectrum of applications and discussed its sources of origin. Based on these insights, we proposed the concept of CTA-Clustering and its associated software techniques. Finally, We evaluated these techniques on all modern generations of NVIDIA GPU architectures. The experimental results showed that our proposed clustering techniques could significantly improve on-chip cache performance.

Cohesive motion in one-dimensional flocking

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dossetti, V

2012-01-01

A one-dimensional rule-based model for flocking, which combines velocity alignment and long-range centering interactions, is presented and studied. The induced cohesion in the collective motion of the self-propelled agents leads to unique group behavior that contrasts with previous studies. Our results show that the largest cluster of particles, in the condensed states, develops a mean velocity slower than the preferred one in the absence of noise. For strong noise, the system also develops a non-vanishing mean velocity, alternating its direction of motion stochastically. This allows us to address the directional switching phenomenon. The effects of different sources of stochasticity on the system are also discussed. (paper)

Dynamics of rich clusters of galaxies. I. The Coma cluster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kent, S.M.; Gunn, J.E.

1982-01-01

The structure and dynamics of the Coma cluster are analyzed using self-consistent equilibrium dynamical models. Observational material for Coma is culled from a variety of sources. Projected surface, density, and velocity-dispersion profiles are derived extending out to a radius of 3 0 from the cluster center, which are essentially free from field contamination. Segregation of galaxies by luminosity and morphology are discussed and a quantitative estimate of the latter is made. The method of constructing self-consistent dynamical models is discussed. Four different forms of the distribution function are analyzed allowing for different possible dependences of f on energy and angular momentum. Properties of typical models that might resemble actual clusters are presented, and the importance of having velocity-dispersion information is empha sized. The effect of a central massive object such as a cD galaxy on the core structure is illustrated. A comparison of these models with Coma reveals that only models with a distribution function in which the ratio of tangential to radial velocity dispersions is everywhere constant give acceptable fits. In particular, it is possible to rule out models that have isotropic motions in the core and predominantly radial motions in the halo. For H 0 = 50, the best-fitting models give a total projected mass inside 3 0 of 2.9 x 10 15 M/sub sun/ , a core radius of 340--400 kpc (8.5'--10'), an upper limit to any central massive object of approx.10 13 M/sub sun/ , and a mass-to-blue-light ratio of M/L = 181. From cosmological considerations the cluster ''edge'' is determined to lie at rapprox.5 0 --6 0 . The possible distribution of ''dark matter'' in Coma is discussed and it is argued that this distribution cannot be significantly different from that of the galaxies. The dynamics of morphological segregation are examined quantitatively, and are explained at least qualitatively

Dividing traffic cluster into parts by signal control

Science.gov (United States)

Nagatani, Takashi

2018-02-01

When a cluster of vehicles with various speeds moves through the series of signals, the cluster breaks down by stopping at signals and results in smaller groups of vehicles. We present the nonlinear-map model of the motion of vehicles controlled by the signals. We study the breakup of a cluster of vehicles through the series of signals. The cluster of vehicles is divided into various groups by controlling the cycle time of signals. The vehicles within each group move with the same mean velocity. The breakup of the traffic cluster depends highly on the signal control. The dependence of dividing on both cycle time and vehicular speed is clarified. Also, we investigate the effect of the irregular interval between signals on dividing.

Inter-subject FDG PET Brain Networks Exhibit Multi-scale Community Structure with Different Normalization Techniques.

Science.gov (United States)

Sperry, Megan M; Kartha, Sonia; Granquist, Eric J; Winkelstein, Beth A

2018-07-01

Inter-subject networks are used to model correlations between brain regions and are particularly useful for metabolic imaging techniques, like 18F-2-deoxy-2-(18F)fluoro-D-glucose (FDG) positron emission tomography (PET). Since FDG PET typically produces a single image, correlations cannot be calculated over time. Little focus has been placed on the basic properties of inter-subject networks and if they are affected by group size and image normalization. FDG PET images were acquired from rats (n = 18), normalized by whole brain, visual cortex, or cerebellar FDG uptake, and used to construct correlation matrices. Group size effects on network stability were investigated by systematically adding rats and evaluating local network connectivity (node strength and clustering coefficient). Modularity and community structure were also evaluated in the differently normalized networks to assess meso-scale network relationships. Local network properties are stable regardless of normalization region for groups of at least 10. Whole brain-normalized networks are more modular than visual cortex- or cerebellum-normalized network (p network resolutions where modularity differs most between brain and randomized networks. Hierarchical analysis reveals consistent modules at different scales and clustering of spatially-proximate brain regions. Findings suggest inter-subject FDG PET networks are stable for reasonable group sizes and exhibit multi-scale modularity.

Atomic cluster physics: new challenges for theory and experiment

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Greiner, Walter [Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Max-von-Laue Str. 1, Frankfurt am Main 60438 (Germany); Solov' yov, Andrey [Frankfurt Institute for Advanced Studies, Max-von-Laue Str. 1, Frankfurt am Main 60438 (Germany)

2005-08-01

A brief introduction to atomic cluster physics, the inter-disciplinary field, which developed fairly successfully during last years, is presented. A review of recent achievements in the detailed ab initio description of structure and properties of atomic clusters and complex molecules is given. The main trends of development in the field are discussed and some of its new focuses are outlined. Particular attention is devoted to the role of quantum and many-body phenomena in the formation of complex multi-atomic systems and the methods of theoretical investigation of their specific properties. The role of the simplified model approaches accurately developed from the fundamental physical principles is stressed. Various illustrations are made for sodium, magnesium clusters, fullerenes and clusters of noble gas atoms.

Complexity Control of Fast Motion Estimation in H.264/MPEG-4 AVC with Rate-Distortion-Complexity optimization

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wu, Mo; Forchhammer, Søren; Aghito, Shankar Manuel

2007-01-01

A complexity control algorithm for H.264 advanced video coding is proposed. The algorithm can control the complexity of integer inter motion estimation for a given target complexity. The Rate-Distortion-Complexity performance is improved by a complexity prediction model, simple analysis of the pa...... statistics and a control scheme. The algorithm also works well for scene change condition. Test results for coding interlaced video (720x576 PAL) are reported.......A complexity control algorithm for H.264 advanced video coding is proposed. The algorithm can control the complexity of integer inter motion estimation for a given target complexity. The Rate-Distortion-Complexity performance is improved by a complexity prediction model, simple analysis of the past...

Simulation of Near-Edge X-ray Absorption Fine Structure with Time-Dependent Equation-of-Motion Coupled-Cluster Theory.

Science.gov (United States)

Nascimento, Daniel R; DePrince, A Eugene

2017-07-06

An explicitly time-dependent (TD) approach to equation-of-motion (EOM) coupled-cluster theory with single and double excitations (CCSD) is implemented for simulating near-edge X-ray absorption fine structure in molecular systems. The TD-EOM-CCSD absorption line shape function is given by the Fourier transform of the CCSD dipole autocorrelation function. We represent this transform by its Padé approximant, which provides converged spectra in much shorter simulation times than are required by the Fourier form. The result is a powerful framework for the blackbox simulation of broadband absorption spectra. K-edge X-ray absorption spectra for carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen in several small molecules are obtained from the real part of the absorption line shape function and are compared with experiment. The computed and experimentally obtained spectra are in good agreement; the mean unsigned error in the predicted peak positions is only 1.2 eV. We also explore the spectral signatures of protonation in these molecules.

Consensus of satellite cluster flight using an energy-matching optimal control method

Science.gov (United States)

Luo, Jianjun; Zhou, Liang; Zhang, Bo

2017-11-01

This paper presents an optimal control method for consensus of satellite cluster flight under a kind of energy matching condition. Firstly, the relation between energy matching and satellite periodically bounded relative motion is analyzed, and the satellite energy matching principle is applied to configure the initial conditions. Then, period-delayed errors are adopted as state variables to establish the period-delayed errors dynamics models of a single satellite and the cluster. Next a novel satellite cluster feedback control protocol with coupling gain is designed, so that the satellite cluster periodically bounded relative motion consensus problem (period-delayed errors state consensus problem) is transformed to the stability of a set of matrices with the same low dimension. Based on the consensus region theory in the research of multi-agent system consensus issues, the coupling gain can be obtained to satisfy the requirement of consensus region and decouple the satellite cluster information topology and the feedback control gain matrix, which can be determined by Linear quadratic regulator (LQR) optimal method. This method can realize the consensus of satellite cluster period-delayed errors, leading to the consistency of semi-major axes (SMA) and the energy-matching of satellite cluster. Then satellites can emerge the global coordinative cluster behavior. Finally the feasibility and effectiveness of the present energy-matching optimal consensus for satellite cluster flight is verified through numerical simulations.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD as a Systemic Disease: Whole Body Autoregulation and Inter-Organ Cross-Talk

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmine Zoccali

2014-07-01

Full Text Available The inter-organ cross-talk and the functional integration of organ systems is an exceedingly complex process which until now has been investigated with a reductionist approach. CKD perturbs the inter-organ cross-talk and demands central resetting of autonomic (nervous control of organ systems. Due to limitations inherent to the reductionist approach, we currently identify CKD-related pseudo-syndromes and largely fail at describing the complex systemic inter-relationships set into motion by renal damage and renal dysfunction. A mature technology for a system-analysis approach to physiology and pathophysiology of CKD now exists. System biology will allow in depth understanding of complex diseases like CKD and will set the stage for predictive, preventive and personalized medicine, a long-standing dream of doctors and patients alike.

Computer simulation of defect cluster

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kuramoto, Eiichi [Kyushu Univ., Kasuga, Fukuoka (Japan). Research Inst. for Applied Mechanics

1996-04-01

In order to elucidate individual element process of various defects and defect clusters of used materials under irradiation environments, interatomic potential with reliability was investigated. And for comparison with experimental results, it is often required to adopt the temperature effect and to investigate in details mechanism of one dimensional motion of micro conversion loop and so forth using the molecular dynamic (MD) method. Furthermore, temperature effect is also supposed for stable structure of defects and defect clusters, and many problems relating to alloy element are also remained. And, simulation on photon life at the defects and defect clusters thought to be important under comparison with equipment can also be supposed an improvement of effectiveness due to relation to theses products. In this paper, some topics in such flow was extracted to explain them. In particular, future important problems will be potential preparation of alloy, structure, dynamic behavior and limited temperature of intralattice atomic cluster. (G.K.)

Intra- and interfractional patient motion for a variety of immobilization devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Engelsman, Martijn; Rosenthal, Stanley J.; Michaud, Susan L.; Adams, Judith A.; Schneider, Robert J.; Bradley, Stephen G.; Flanz, Jacob B.; Kooy, Hanne M.

2005-01-01

The magnitude of inter- and intrafractional patient motion has been assessed for a broad set of immobilization devices. Data was analyzed for the three ordinal directions - left-right (x), sup-inf (y), and ant-post (z) - and the combined spatial displacement. We have defined 'rigid' and 'nonrigid' immobilization devices depending on whether they could be rigidly and reproducibly connected to the treatment couch or not. The mean spatial displacement for intrafractional motion for rigid devices is 1.3 mm compared to 1.9 mm for nonrigid devices. The modified Gill-Thomas-Cosman frame performed best at controlling intrafractional patient motion, with a 95% probability of observing a three-dimensional (3D) vector length of motion (v 95 ) of less than 1.8 mm, but could not be evaluated for interfractional motion. All other rigid and nonrigid immobilization devices had a v 95 of more than 3 mm for intrafractional patient motion. Interfractional patient motion was only evaluated for the rigid devices. The mean total interfractional displacement was at least 3.0 mm for these devices while v 95 was at least 6.0 mm

Roles of dynamical symmetry breaking in driving oblate-prolate transitions of atomic clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Oka, Yurie; Yanao, Tomohiro; Koon, Wang Sang

2015-01-01

This paper explores the driving mechanisms for structural transitions of atomic clusters between oblate and prolate isomers. We employ the hyperspherical coordinates to investigate structural dynamics of a seven-atom cluster at a coarse-grained level in terms of the dynamics of three gyration radii and three principal axes, which characterize overall mass distributions of the cluster. Dynamics of gyration radii is governed by two kinds of forces. One is the potential force originating from the interactions between atoms. The other is the dynamical forces called the internal centrifugal forces, which originate from twisting and shearing motions of the system. The internal centrifugal force arising from twisting motions has an effect of breaking the symmetry between two gyration radii. As a result, in an oblate isomer, activation of the internal centrifugal force that has the effect of breaking the symmetry between the two largest gyration radii is crucial in triggering structural transitions into prolate isomers. In a prolate isomer, on the other hand, activation of the internal centrifugal force that has the effect of breaking the symmetry between the two smallest gyration radii is crucial in triggering structural transitions into oblate isomers. Activation of a twisting motion that switches the movement patterns of three principal axes is also important for the onset of structural transitions between oblate and prolate isomers. Based on these trigger mechanisms, we finally show that selective activations of specific gyration radii and twisting motions, depending on the isomer of the cluster, can effectively induce structural transitions of the cluster. The results presented here could provide further insights into the control of molecular reactions

The structure of rotational bands in alpha-cluster nuclei

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Bijker Roelof

2015-01-01

Full Text Available In this contribution, I discuss an algebraic treatment of alpha-cluster nuclei based on the introduction of a spectrum generating algebra for the relative motion of the alpha-clusters. Particular attention is paid to the discrete symmetry of the geometric arrangement of the α-particles, and the consequences for the structure of the rotational bands in the 12C and 16O nuclei.

Constrained motion estimation-based error resilient coding for HEVC

Science.gov (United States)

Guo, Weihan; Zhang, Yongfei; Li, Bo

2018-04-01

Unreliable communication channels might lead to packet losses and bit errors in the videos transmitted through it, which will cause severe video quality degradation. This is even worse for HEVC since more advanced and powerful motion estimation methods are introduced to further remove the inter-frame dependency and thus improve the coding efficiency. Once a Motion Vector (MV) is lost or corrupted, it will cause distortion in the decoded frame. More importantly, due to motion compensation, the error will propagate along the motion prediction path, accumulate over time, and significantly degrade the overall video presentation quality. To address this problem, we study the problem of encoder-sider error resilient coding for HEVC and propose a constrained motion estimation scheme to mitigate the problem of error propagation to subsequent frames. The approach is achieved by cutting off MV dependencies and limiting the block regions which are predicted by temporal motion vector. The experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively suppress the error propagation caused by bit errors of motion vector and can improve the robustness of the stream in the bit error channels. When the bit error probability is 10-5, an increase of the decoded video quality (PSNR) by up to1.310dB and on average 0.762 dB can be achieved, compared to the reference HEVC.

Motion depending on the strategies of players enhances cooperation in a co-evolutionary prisoner's dilemma game

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Cheng Hongyan; Li Haihong; Dai Qionglin; Zhu Yun; Yang Junzhong

2010-01-01

In the evolution of cooperation, the motion of players plays an important role. In this paper, we incorporate, into an evolutionary prisoner dilemma's game on networks, a new factor that cooperators and defectors move with different probabilities. By investigating the dependence of the cooperator frequency on the moving probabilities of cooperators and defectors, μ c and μ d , we find that cooperation is greatly enhanced in the parameter regime of μ c d . The snapshots of strategy pattern and the evolutions of cooperator clusters and defector clusters reveal that either the fast motion of defectors or the slow motion of cooperators always favors the formation of large cooperator clusters. The model is investigated on different types of networks such as square lattices, Erdoes-Renyi networks and scale-free networks and with different types of strategy-updating rules such as the richest-following rule and the Fermi rule. The numerical results show that the observed phenomena are robust to different networks and to different strategy-updating rules.

Burst firing in a motion-sensitive neural pathway correlates with expansion properties of looming objects that evoke avoidance behaviours

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Glyn Allan McMillan

2015-12-01

Full Text Available The locust visual system contains a well-defined motion-sensitive pathway that transfers visual input to motor centers involved in predator evasion and collision avoidance. One interneuron in this pathway, the descending contralateral movement detector (DCMD, is typically described as using rate coding; edge expansion of approaching objects causes an increased rate of neuronal firing that peaks after a certain retinal threshold angle is exceeded. However, evidence of intrinsic DCMD bursting properties combined with observable oscillations in mean firing rates and tight clustering of spikes in raw traces, suggest that bursting may be important for motion detection. Sensory neuron bursting provides important timing information about dynamic stimuli in many model systems, yet no studies have rigorously investigated if bursting occurs in the locust DCMD during object approach. We presented repetitions of 30 looming stimuli known to generate behavioural responses to each of 20 locusts in order to identify and quantify putative bursting activity in the DCMD. Overall, we found a bimodal distribution of inter-spike intervals (ISI with peaks of more frequent and shorter ISIs occurring from 1-8 ms and longer less frequent ISIs occurring from 40-50 ms. Subsequent analysis identified bursts and isolated single spikes from the responses. Bursting frequency increased in the latter phase of an approach and peaked at the time of collision, while isolated spiking was predominant during the beginning of stimulus approach. We also found that the majority of inter-burst intervals occurred at 40-50 ms (or 20-25 bursts/s. Bursting also occurred across varied stimulus parameters and suggests that burst timing may be a key component of looming detection. Our findings suggest that the DCMD uses two modes of coding to transmit information about looming stimuli and that these modes change dynamically with a changing stimulus at a behaviourally-relevant time.

Multifractal Approach to Time Clustering of Earthquakes. Application to Mt. Vesuvio Seismicity

Science.gov (United States)

Codano, C.; Alonzo, M. L.; Vilardo, G.

The clustering structure of the Vesuvian earthquakes occurring is investigated by means of statistical tools: the inter-event time distribution, the running mean and the multifractal analysis. The first cannot clearly distinguish between a Poissonian process and a clustered one due to the difficulties of clearly distinguishing between an exponential distribution and a power law one. The running mean test reveals the clustering of the earthquakes, but looses information about the structure of the distribution at global scales. The multifractal approach can enlighten the clustering at small scales, while the global behaviour remains Poissonian. Subsequently the clustering of the events is interpreted in terms of diffusive processes of the stress in the earth crust.

Structures of 38-atom gold-platinum nanoalloy clusters

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Ong, Yee Pin; Yoon, Tiem Leong [School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia, 11800 USM, Penang (Malaysia); Lim, Thong Leng [Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Multimedia University, Melaka Campus, 75450 Melaka (Malaysia)

2015-04-24

Bimetallic nanoclusters, such as gold-platinum nanoclusters, are nanomaterials promising wide range of applications. We perform a numerical study of 38-atom gold-platinum nanoalloy clusters, Au{sub n}Pt{sub 38−n} (0 ≤ n ≤ 38), to elucidate the geometrical structures of these clusters. The lowest-energy structures of these bimetallic nanoclusters at the semi-empirical level are obtained via a global-minimum search algorithm known as parallel tempering multi-canonical basin hopping plus genetic algorithm (PTMBHGA), in which empirical Gupta many-body potential is used to describe the inter-atomic interactions among the constituent atoms. The structures of gold-platinum nanoalloy clusters are predicted to be core-shell segregated nanoclusters. Gold atoms are observed to preferentially occupy the surface of the clusters, while platinum atoms tend to occupy the core due to the slightly smaller atomic radius of platinum as compared to gold’s. The evolution of the geometrical structure of 38-atom Au-Pt clusters displays striking similarity with that of 38-atom Au-Cu nanoalloy clusters as reported in the literature.

Dynamic Time Warping Distance Method for Similarity Test of Multipoint Ground Motion Field

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yingmin Li

2010-01-01

Full Text Available The reasonability of artificial multi-point ground motions and the identification of abnormal records in seismic array observations, are two important issues in application and analysis of multi-point ground motion fields. Based on the dynamic time warping (DTW distance method, this paper discusses the application of similarity measurement in the similarity analysis of simulated multi-point ground motions and the actual seismic array records. Analysis results show that the DTW distance method not only can quantitatively reflect the similarity of simulated ground motion field, but also offers advantages in clustering analysis and singularity recognition of actual multi-point ground motion field.

A multimembership catalogue for 1876 open clusters using UCAC4 data

Science.gov (United States)

Sampedro, L.; Dias, W. S.; Alfaro, E. J.; Monteiro, H.; Molino, A.

2017-10-01

The main objective of this work is to determine the cluster members of 1876 open clusters, using positions and proper motions of the astrometric fourth United States Naval Observatory (USNO) CCD Astrograph Catalog (UCAC4). For this purpose, we apply three different methods, all based on a Bayesian approach, but with different formulations: a purely parametric method, another completely non-parametric algorithm and a third, recently developed by Sampedro & Alfaro, using both formulations at different steps of the whole process. The first and second statistical moments of the members' phase-space subspace, obtained after applying the three methods, are compared for every cluster. Although, on average, the three methods yield similar results, there are also specific differences between them, as well as for some particular clusters. The comparison with other published catalogues shows good agreement. We have also estimated, for the first time, the mean proper motion for a sample of 18 clusters. The results are organized in a single catalogue formed by two main files, one with the most relevant information for each cluster, partially including that in UCAC4, and the other showing the individual membership probabilities for each star in the cluster area. The final catalogue, with an interface design that enables an easy interaction with the user, is available in electronic format at the Stellar Systems Group (SSG-IAA) web site (http://ssg.iaa.es/en/content/sampedro-cluster-catalog).

The initial safe range of motion of the ankle joint after three methods of internal fixation of simulated fractures of the medial malleolus.

Science.gov (United States)

Shimamura, Yoshio; Kaneko, Kazuo; Kume, Kazuhiko; Maeda, Mutsuhiro; Iwase, Hideaki

2006-07-01

Previous studies have demonstrated the safe passive range of ankle motion for inter-bone stiffness after internal fixation under load but there is a lack of information about the safe range of ankle motion for early rehabilitation in the absence of loading. The present study was designed to assess the effect of ankle movement on inter-bone displacement characteristics of medial malleolus fractures following three types of internal fixation to determine the safe range of motion. Five lower legs obtained during autopsy were used to assess three types of internal fixation (two with Kirschner-wires alone; two with Kirschner-wires plus tension band wiring; and, one with an AO/ASIF malleolar screw alone). Following a simulated fracture by sawing through the medial malleolus the displacement between the fractured bone ends was measured during a passive range of movement with continuous monitoring using omega (Omega) shaped transducers and a biaxial flexible goniometer. Statistical analysis was performed with repeated measures analysis of variance. Inter-bone displacement was not proportional to the magnitude of movement throughout the range of ankle motion as, when separation exceeded 25 microm, there was increasingly wide separation as plantar-flexion or dorsal-flexion was increased. There was no statistical significant difference between the small amount of inter-bone displacement observed with three types of fixation within the safe range of dorsal-flexion and plantar-flexion for early rehabilitation. However the inter-bone separation when fixation utilized two Kirschner-wires alone tended to be greater than when using the other two types of fixation during dorsal-flexion and eversion. The present study revealed a reproducible range of ankle motion for early rehabilitation which was estimated to be within the range of 20 degrees of dorsal-flexion and 10 degrees of plantar-flexion without eversion. Also, internal fixation with two Kirschner-wires alone does not seem to

Relative tracking control of constellation satellites considering inter-satellite link

Science.gov (United States)

Fakoor, M.; Amozegary, F.; Bakhtiari, M.; Daneshjou, K.

2017-11-01

In this article, two main issues related to the large-scale relative motion of satellites in the constellation are investigated to establish the Inter Satellite Link (ISL) which means the dynamic and control problems. In the section related to dynamic problems, a detailed and effective analytical solution is initially provided for the problem of satellite relative motion considering perturbations. The direct geometric method utilizing spherical coordinates is employed to achieve this solution. The evaluation of simulation shows that the solution obtained from the geometric method calculates the relative motion of the satellite with high accuracy. Thus, the proposed analytical solution will be applicable and effective. In the section related to control problems, the relative tracking control system between two satellites will be designed in order to establish a communication link between the satellites utilizing analytical solution for relative motion of satellites with respect to the reference trajectory. Sliding mode control approach is employed to develop the relative tracking control system for body to body and payload to payload tracking control. Efficiency of sliding mode control approach is compared with PID and LQR controllers. Two types of payload to payload tracking control considering with and without payload degree of freedom are designed and suitable one for practical ISL applications is introduced. Also, Fuzzy controller is utilized to eliminate the control input in the sliding mode controller.

Clusters - Tourism Activity Increase Competitiveness Support

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Carmen IORDACHE

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Tourism represents one of those areas with the greatest potential of global expansion. Tourism development strategy in terms of maximizing its positive effects on regional economic increase and implicitly on the national one starts from the premise that in global economy value is created in regions which are defined as particular geographical entities, separated by geographical reasons and not as political-administrative structures, and economic increase is centrally cumulated and valued according to the economic policy and the national legal system.Regional economic system approach based on “cluster” concept is explained by the fact that the regional activities portfolio is based on an inter and intra-industry networking grouped by cluster, in which is created the value that increases as the activity results are leading to the final consumers.This type of communication aims to highlight the tourism role as a factor in regional development, the clustering process significance in obtaining some competitiveness advantages, clusters development in tourism beginnings, and also the identification methodology used to select one touristic area to create the cluster.

High-Performance Motion Estimation for Image Sensors with Video Compression

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Weizhi Xu

2015-08-01

Full Text Available It is important to reduce the time cost of video compression for image sensors in video sensor network. Motion estimation (ME is the most time-consuming part in video compression. Previous work on ME exploited intra-frame data reuse in a reference frame to improve the time efficiency but neglected inter-frame data reuse. We propose a novel inter-frame data reuse scheme which can exploit both intra-frame and inter-frame data reuse for ME in video compression (VC-ME. Pixels of reconstructed frames are kept on-chip until they are used by the next current frame to avoid off-chip memory access. On-chip buffers with smart schedules of data access are designed to perform the new data reuse scheme. Three levels of the proposed inter-frame data reuse scheme are presented and analyzed. They give different choices with tradeoff between off-chip bandwidth requirement and on-chip memory size. All three levels have better data reuse efficiency than their intra-frame counterparts, so off-chip memory traffic is reduced effectively. Comparing the new inter-frame data reuse scheme with the traditional intra-frame data reuse scheme, the memory traffic can be reduced by 50% for VC-ME.

Schedulability-Driven Frame Packing for Multi-Cluster Distributed Embedded Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pop, Paul; Eles, Petru; Peng, Zebo

2003-01-01

We present an approach to frame packing for multi-cluster distributed embedded systems consisting of time-triggered and event-triggered clusters, interconnected via gateways. In our approach, the application messages are packed into frames such that the application is schedulable. Thus, we have...... also proposed a schedulability analysis for applications consisting of mixed event-triggered and time-triggered processes and messages, and a worst case queuing delay analysis for the gateways, responsible for routing inter-cluster traffic. Optimization heuristics for frame packing aiming at producing...... a schedulable system have been proposed. Extensive experiments and a real-life example show the efficiency of our frame-packing approach....

[Pharmacological prophylaxis of vestibulo-autonomous syndrome (motion sickness) in model investigations].

Science.gov (United States)

Shashkov, V S; Iasnetsov, V V; Shashkov, A V; Il'ina, S L; Galle, R R; Sabaev, V V; Potapov, M G

2000-01-01

The authors summarize results of multiyear investigations at the Institute of Biomedical Problems of induced motion sickness and development of prophylactic medicaments representing various classes of biologically active substances (choline blocking agents, sympathomimetics, antihistamines etc.) prescribed singularly or in an combination based on the knowledge of MS-provoking inter-receptor interactions and therapeutic effects of drugs.

Relating lateralization of eye use to body motion in the avoidance behavior of the chameleon (Chamaeleo chameleon).

Science.gov (United States)

Lustig, Avichai; Ketter-Katz, Hadas; Katzir, Gadi

2013-01-01

Lateralization is mostly analyzed for single traits, but seldom for two or more traits while performing a given task (e.g. object manipulation). We examined lateralization in eye use and in body motion that co-occur during avoidance behaviour of the common chameleon, Chamaeleo chameleon. A chameleon facing a moving threat smoothly repositions its body on the side of its perch distal to the threat, to minimize its visual exposure. We previously demonstrated that during the response (i) eye use and body motion were, each, lateralized at the tested group level (N = 26), (ii) in body motion, we observed two similar-sized sub-groups, one exhibiting a greater reduction in body exposure to threat approaching from the left and one--to threat approaching from the right (left- and right-biased subgroups), (iii) the left-biased sub-group exhibited weak lateralization of body exposure under binocular threat viewing and none under monocular viewing while the right-biased sub-group exhibited strong lateralization under both monocular and binocular threat viewing. In avoidance, how is eye use related to body motion at the entire group and at the sub-group levels? We demonstrate that (i) in the left-biased sub-group, eye use is not lateralized, (ii) in the right-biased sub-group, eye use is lateralized under binocular, but not monocular viewing of the threat, (iii) the dominance of the right-biased sub-group determines the lateralization of the entire group tested. We conclude that in chameleons, patterns of lateralization of visual function and body motion are inter-related at a subtle level. Presently, the patterns cannot be compared with humans' or related to the unique visual system of chameleons, with highly independent eye movements, complete optic nerve decussation and relatively few inter-hemispheric commissures. We present a model to explain the possible inter-hemispheric differences in dominance in chameleons' visual control of body motion during avoidance.

Relating lateralization of eye use to body motion in the avoidance behavior of the chameleon (Chamaeleo chameleon.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Avichai Lustig

Full Text Available Lateralization is mostly analyzed for single traits, but seldom for two or more traits while performing a given task (e.g. object manipulation. We examined lateralization in eye use and in body motion that co-occur during avoidance behaviour of the common chameleon, Chamaeleo chameleon. A chameleon facing a moving threat smoothly repositions its body on the side of its perch distal to the threat, to minimize its visual exposure. We previously demonstrated that during the response (i eye use and body motion were, each, lateralized at the tested group level (N = 26, (ii in body motion, we observed two similar-sized sub-groups, one exhibiting a greater reduction in body exposure to threat approaching from the left and one--to threat approaching from the right (left- and right-biased subgroups, (iii the left-biased sub-group exhibited weak lateralization of body exposure under binocular threat viewing and none under monocular viewing while the right-biased sub-group exhibited strong lateralization under both monocular and binocular threat viewing. In avoidance, how is eye use related to body motion at the entire group and at the sub-group levels? We demonstrate that (i in the left-biased sub-group, eye use is not lateralized, (ii in the right-biased sub-group, eye use is lateralized under binocular, but not monocular viewing of the threat, (iii the dominance of the right-biased sub-group determines the lateralization of the entire group tested. We conclude that in chameleons, patterns of lateralization of visual function and body motion are inter-related at a subtle level. Presently, the patterns cannot be compared with humans' or related to the unique visual system of chameleons, with highly independent eye movements, complete optic nerve decussation and relatively few inter-hemispheric commissures. We present a model to explain the possible inter-hemispheric differences in dominance in chameleons' visual control of body motion during avoidance.

Inter-tester reliability of selected clinical tests for long-lasting temporomandibular disorders.

Science.gov (United States)

Julsvoll, Elisabeth Heggem; Vøllestad, Nina Køpke; Opseth, Gro; Robinson, Hilde Stendal

2017-09-01

Clinical tests used to examine patients with temporomandibular disorders vary in methodological quality, and some are not tested for reliability. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to evaluate inter-tester reliability of clinical tests and a cluster of tests used to examine patients with long-lasting temporomandibular disorders. Forty patients with pain in the temporomandibular area treated by health-professionals were included. They were between 18-70 years, had 65 symptomatic (33 right/32 left) and 15 asymptomatic joints. Two manual therapists examined all participants with selected tests. Percentage agreement and the kappa coefficient ( k ) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were used to evaluate the tests with categorical outcomes. For tests with continuous outcomes, the relative inter-tester reliability was assessed by the intraclass-correlation-coefficient (ICC 3,1 , 95% CI) and the absolute reliability was calculated by the smallest detectable change (SDC). The best reliability among single tests was found for the dental stick test, the joint-sound test ( k  = 0.80-1.0) and range of mouth-opening (ICC 3,1 (95% CI) = 0.97 (0.95-0.98) and SDC = 4 mm). The reliability of cluster of tests was excellent with both four and five positive tests out of seven. The reliability was good to excellent for the clinical tests and the cluster of tests when performed by experienced therapists. The tests are feasible for use in the clinical setting. They require no advanced equipment and are easy to perform.

Mass estimates from stellar proper motions: the mass of ω Centauri

Science.gov (United States)

D'Souza, Richard; Rix, Hans-Walter

2013-03-01

We lay out and apply methods to use proper motions of individual kinematic tracers for estimating the dynamical mass of star clusters. We first describe a simple projected mass estimator and then develop an approach that evaluates directly the likelihood of the discrete kinematic data given the model predictions. Those predictions may come from any dynamical modelling approach, and we implement an analytic King model, a spherical isotropic Jeans equation model and an axisymmetric, anisotropic Jeans equation model. This maximum likelihood modelling (MLM) provides a framework for a model-data comparison, and a resulting mass estimate, which accounts explicitly for the discrete nature of the data for individual stars, the varying error bars for proper motions of differing signal-to-noise ratio, and for data incompleteness. Both of these two methods are evaluated for their practicality and are shown to provide an unbiased and robust estimate of the cluster mass. We apply these approaches to the enigmatic globular cluster ω Centauri, combining the proper motion from van Leeuwen et al. with improved photometric cluster membership probabilities. We show that all mass estimates based on spherical isotropic models yield (4.55 ± 0.1) × 106 M⊙[D/5.5 ± 0.2 kpc]3, where our modelling allows us to show how the statistical precision of this estimate improves as more proper motion data of lower signal-to-noise ratio are included. MLM predictions, based on an anisotropic axisymmetric Jeans model, indicate for ω Cen that the inclusion of anisotropies is not important for the mass estimates, but that accounting for the flattening is: flattened models imply (4.05 ± 0.1) × 106 M⊙[D/5.5 ± 0.2 kpc]3, 10 per cent lower than when restricting the analysis to a spherical model. The best current distance estimates imply an additional uncertainty in the mass estimate of 12 per cent.

Trend-Centric Motion Visualization: Designing and Applying a New Strategy for Analyzing Scientific Motion Collections.

Science.gov (United States)

Schroeder, David; Korsakov, Fedor; Knipe, Carissa Mai-Ping; Thorson, Lauren; Ellingson, Arin M; Nuckley, David; Carlis, John; Keefe, Daniel F

2014-12-01

In biomechanics studies, researchers collect, via experiments or simulations, datasets with hundreds or thousands of trials, each describing the same type of motion (e.g., a neck flexion-extension exercise) but under different conditions (e.g., different patients, different disease states, pre- and post-treatment). Analyzing similarities and differences across all of the trials in these collections is a major challenge. Visualizing a single trial at a time does not work, and the typical alternative of juxtaposing multiple trials in a single visual display leads to complex, difficult-to-interpret visualizations. We address this problem via a new strategy that organizes the analysis around motion trends rather than trials. This new strategy matches the cognitive approach that scientists would like to take when analyzing motion collections. We introduce several technical innovations making trend-centric motion visualization possible. First, an algorithm detects a motion collection's trends via time-dependent clustering. Second, a 2D graphical technique visualizes how trials leave and join trends. Third, a 3D graphical technique, using a median 3D motion plus a visual variance indicator, visualizes the biomechanics of the set of trials within each trend. These innovations are combined to create an interactive exploratory visualization tool, which we designed through an iterative process in collaboration with both domain scientists and a traditionally-trained graphic designer. We report on insights generated during this design process and demonstrate the tool's effectiveness via a validation study with synthetic data and feedback from expert musculoskeletal biomechanics researchers who used the tool to analyze the effects of disc degeneration on human spinal kinematics.

Complex scaling in the cluster model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kruppa, A.T.; Lovas, R.G.; Gyarmati, B.

1987-01-01

To find the positions and widths of resonances, a complex scaling of the intercluster relative coordinate is introduced into the resonating-group model. In the generator-coordinate technique used to solve the resonating-group equation the complex scaling requires minor changes in the formulae and code. The finding of the resonances does not need any preliminary guess or explicit reference to any asymptotic prescription. The procedure is applied to the resonances in the relative motion of two ground-state α clusters in 8 Be, but is appropriate for any systems consisting of two clusters. (author) 23 refs.; 5 figs

Schedulability Analysis and Optimization for the Synthesis of Multi-Cluster Distributed Embedded Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pop, Paul; Eles, Petru; Peng, Zebo

2003-01-01

We present an approach to schedulability analysis for the synthesis of multi-cluster distributed embedded systems consisting of time-triggered and event-triggered clusters, interconnected via gateways. We have also proposed a buffer size and worst case queuing delay analysis for the gateways......, responsible for routing inter-cluster traffic. Optimization heuristics for the priority assignment and synthesis of bus access parameters aimed at producing a schedulable system with minimal buffer needs have been proposed. Extensive experiments and a real-life example show the efficiency of our approaches....

Schedulability Analysis and Optimization for the Synthesis of Multi-Cluster Distributed Embedded Systems

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pop, Paul; Eles, Petru; Peng, Zebo

2003-01-01

An approach to schedulability analysis for the synthesis of multi-cluster distributed embedded systems consisting of time-triggered and event-triggered clusters, interconnected via gateways, is presented. A buffer size and worst case queuing delay analysis for the gateways, responsible for routing...... inter-cluster traffic, is also proposed. Optimisation heuristics for the priority assignment and synthesis of bus access parameters aimed at producing a schedulable system with minimal buffer needs have been proposed. Extensive experiments and a real-life example show the efficiency of the approaches....

FPGA-Based Real-Time Motion Detection for Automated Video Surveillance Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjay Singh

2016-03-01

Full Text Available Design of automated video surveillance systems is one of the exigent missions in computer vision community because of their ability to automatically select frames of interest in incoming video streams based on motion detection. This research paper focuses on the real-time hardware implementation of a motion detection algorithm for such vision based automated surveillance systems. A dedicated VLSI architecture has been proposed and designed for clustering-based motion detection scheme. The working prototype of a complete standalone automated video surveillance system, including input camera interface, designed motion detection VLSI architecture, and output display interface, with real-time relevant motion detection capabilities, has been implemented on Xilinx ML510 (Virtex-5 FX130T FPGA platform. The prototyped system robustly detects the relevant motion in real-time in live PAL (720 × 576 resolution video streams directly coming from the camera.

Inter-rater reliability of shoulder measurements in middle-aged women.

Science.gov (United States)

De Groef, A; Van Kampen, M; Vervloesem, N; Clabau, E; Christiaens, M-R; Neven, P; Geraerts, I; Struyf, F; Devoogdt, N

2017-06-01

To investigate inter-rater reliability of a set of shoulder measurements including inclinometry [shoulder range of motion (ROM)], acromion-table distance and pectoralis minor muscle length (static scapular positioning), upward rotation with two inclinometers (scapular kinematics) and pain pressure thresholds (muscle tenderness) in middle-aged women. Observational study. Thirty symptom-free middle-aged women (first cohort) were measured by two raters. All measurements with an intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) below 0.75 were retested after an additional training period in a second cohort of 30 symptom-free middle-aged women. Inter-rater reliability of all variables was measured with the ICC (95% confidence interval) and standard error of measurement (SEM). Acromion-table distance (ICC=0.91, SEM 0.22 to 0.28% of body length), pectoralis minor muscle length (ICC=0.91, SEM 0.16% of body length), pain pressure thresholds (ICC=0.78 to 0.85, SEM 0.39 to 0.70kg) and abduction ROM (ICC=0.77, SEM 5°) showed good to excellent inter-rater reliability in the first cohort. After an additional training period, forward flexion ROM showed good inter-rater reliability (ICC=0.83, SEM 5°), scapular upward rotation in resting position showed moderate reliability (ICC=0.52, SEM 2°), and other scaption angles showed weak reliability (ICC=0.26 to 0.43, SEM 3 to 8°). In a battery of clinical tools to evaluate factors contributing to shoulder pain, static scapular positioning and pressure pain thresholds were found to have good to excellent inter-rater reliability in middle-aged women. Additional training is recommended for measurements with a gravity inclinometer. Copyright © 2016 Chartered Society of Physiotherapy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Quantifying skin motion artifact error of the hindfoot and forefoot marker clusters with the optical tracking of a multi-segment foot model using single-plane fluoroscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Shultz, R; Kedgley, A E; Jenkyn, T R

2011-05-01

The trajectories of skin-mounted markers tracked with optical motion capture are assumed to be an adequate representation of the underlying bone motions. However, it is well known that soft tissue artifact (STA) exists between marker and bone. This study quantifies the STA associated with the hindfoot and midfoot marker clusters of a multi-segment foot model. To quantify STA of the hindfoot and midfoot marker clusters with respect to the calcaneus and navicular respectively, fluoroscopic images were collected on 27 subjects during four quasi-static positions, (1) quiet standing (non-weight bearing), (2) at heel strike (weight-bearing), (3) at midstance (weight-bearing) and (4) at toe-off (weight-bearing). The translation and rotation components of STA were calculated in the sagittal plane. Translational STA at the calcaneus varied from 5.9±7.3mm at heel-strike to 12.1±0.3mm at toe-off. For the navicular the translational STA ranged from 7.6±7.6mm at heel strike to 16.4±16.7mm at toe-off. Rotational STA was relatively smaller for both bones at all foot positions. For the calcaneus they varied between 0.1±2.2° at heel-strike to 0.2±0.6° at toe-off. For the navicular, the rotational STA ranged from 0.6±0.9° at heel-strike to 0.7±0.7° at toe-off. The largest translational STA found in this study (16mm for the navicular) was smaller than those reported in the literature for the thigh and the lower leg, but was larger than the STA of individual spherical markers affixed to the foot. The largest errors occurred at toe-off position for all subjects for both the hindfoot and midfoot clusters. Future studies are recommended to quantify true three-dimensional STA of the entire foot during gait. Copyright © 2011. Published by Elsevier B.V.

LCoMotion - Learning, Cognition and Motion; a multicomponent cluster randomized school-based intervention aimed at increasing learning and cognition - rationale, design and methods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bugge, Anna; Tarp, Jakob; Ostergaard, Lars

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND: The aim of the study; LCoMotion - Learning, Cognition and Motion was to develop, document, and evaluate a multi-component physical activity (PA) intervention in public schools in Denmark. The primary outcome was cognitive function. Secondary outcomes were academic skills, body composi...

Modelling large motion events in fMRI studies of patients with epilepsy

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lemieux, Louis; Salek-Haddadi, Afraim; Lund, Torben E

2007-01-01

-positive activation. Head motion can lead to severe image degradation and result in false-positive activation and is usually worse in patients than in healthy subjects. We performed general linear model fMRI data analysis on simultaneous EEG-fMRI data acquired in 34 cases with focal epilepsy. Signal changes...... associated with large inter-scan motion events (head jerks) were modelled using modified design matrices that include 'scan nulling' regressors. We evaluated the efficacy of this approach by mapping the proportion of the brain for which F-tests across the additional regressors were significant. In 95......% of cases, there was a significant effect of motion in 50% of the brain or greater; for the scan nulling effect, the proportion was 36%; this effect was predominantly in the neocortex. We conclude that careful consideration of the motion-related effects in fMRI studies of patients with epilepsy is essential...

Bursting synchronization in clustered neuronal networks

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Hai-Tao; Wang Jiang; Deng Bin; Wei Xi-Le

2013-01-01

Neuronal networks in the brain exhibit the modular (clustered) property, i.e., they are composed of certain subnetworks with differential internal and external connectivity. We investigate bursting synchronization in a clustered neuronal network. A transition to mutual-phase synchronization takes place on the bursting time scale of coupled neurons, while on the spiking time scale, they behave asynchronously. This synchronization transition can be induced by the variations of inter- and intracoupling strengths, as well as the probability of random links between different subnetworks. Considering that some pathological conditions are related with the synchronization of bursting neurons in the brain, we analyze the control of bursting synchronization by using a time-periodic external signal in the clustered neuronal network. Simulation results show a frequency locking tongue in the driving parameter plane, where bursting synchronization is maintained, even in the presence of external driving. Hence, effective synchronization suppression can be realized with the driving parameters outside the frequency locking region. (interdisciplinary physics and related areas of science and technology)

Management of Energy Consumption on Cluster Based Routing Protocol for MANET

Science.gov (United States)

Hosseini-Seno, Seyed-Amin; Wan, Tat-Chee; Budiarto, Rahmat; Yamada, Masashi

The usage of light-weight mobile devices is increasing rapidly, leading to demand for more telecommunication services. Consequently, mobile ad hoc networks and their applications have become feasible with the proliferation of light-weight mobile devices. Many protocols have been developed to handle service discovery and routing in ad hoc networks. However, the majority of them did not consider one critical aspect of this type of network, which is the limited of available energy in each node. Cluster Based Routing Protocol (CBRP) is a robust/scalable routing protocol for Mobile Ad hoc Networks (MANETs) and superior to existing protocols such as Ad hoc On-demand Distance Vector (AODV) in terms of throughput and overhead. Therefore, based on this strength, methods to increase the efficiency of energy usage are incorporated into CBRP in this work. In order to increase the stability (in term of life-time) of the network and to decrease the energy consumption of inter-cluster gateway nodes, an Enhanced Gateway Cluster Based Routing Protocol (EGCBRP) is proposed. Three methods have been introduced by EGCBRP as enhancements to the CBRP: improving the election of cluster Heads (CHs) in CBRP which is based on the maximum available energy level, implementing load balancing for inter-cluster traffic using multiple gateways, and implementing sleep state for gateway nodes to further save the energy. Furthermore, we propose an Energy Efficient Cluster Based Routing Protocol (EECBRP) which extends the EGCBRP sleep state concept into all idle member nodes, excluding the active nodes in all clusters. The experiment results show that the EGCBRP decreases the overall energy consumption of the gateway nodes up to 10% and the EECBRP reduces the energy consumption of the member nodes up to 60%, both of which in turn contribute to stabilizing the network.

InterProSurf: a web server for predicting interacting sites on protein surfaces

Science.gov (United States)

Negi, Surendra S.; Schein, Catherine H.; Oezguen, Numan; Power, Trevor D.; Braun, Werner

2009-01-01

Summary A new web server, InterProSurf, predicts interacting amino acid residues in proteins that are most likely to interact with other proteins, given the 3D structures of subunits of a protein complex. The prediction method is based on solvent accessible surface area of residues in the isolated subunits, a propensity scale for interface residues and a clustering algorithm to identify surface regions with residues of high interface propensities. Here we illustrate the application of InterProSurf to determine which areas of Bacillus anthracis toxins and measles virus hemagglutinin protein interact with their respective cell surface receptors. The computationally predicted regions overlap with those regions previously identified as interface regions by sequence analysis and mutagenesis experiments. PMID:17933856

Flowrate behavior and clustering of self-driven robots in a channel

Science.gov (United States)

Tian, Bo; Sun, Wang-Ping; Li, Ming; Jiang, Rui; Hu, Mao-Bin

2018-03-01

In this paper, the collective motion of self-driven robots is studied experimentally and theoretically. In the channel, the flowrate of robots increases with the density linearly, even if the density of the robots tends to 1.0. There is no abrupt drop in the flowrate, similar to the collective motion of ants. We find that the robots will adjust their velocities by a serial of tiny collisions. The speed-adjustment will affect both robots involved in the collision, and will help to maintain a nearly uniform velocity for the robots. As a result, the flowrate drop will disappear. In the motion, the robots neither gather together nor scatter completely. Instead, they form some clusters to move together. These clusters are not stable during the moving process, but their sizes follow a power-law-alike distribution. We propose a theoretical model to simulate this collective motion process, which can reproduce these behaviors well. Analytic results about the flowrate behavior are also consistent with experiments. Project supported by the Key Research and Development Program, China (Grant No. 2016YFC0802508) and the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 11672289 and 11422221).

Evaluation of intra- and inter-fraction movement of the cervix during intensity modulated radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haripotepornkul, Nora H.; Nath, Sameer K.; Scanderbeg, Daniel; Saenz, Cheryl; Yashar, Catheryn M.

2011-01-01

Background and purpose: To assess the degree of intra- and inter-fraction cervical motion throughout a course of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) for cervical cancer patients. Materials and methods: A retrospective study of 10 women with stage 1B1-3B cervical cancer diagnosed from September 2007 to July 2008 was conducted. All patients were treated with chemoradiation using IMRT followed by intracavitary brachytherapy. Pretreatment, patients had 2 seeds placed at a depth of 10 mm into the cervix. On-Board Imaging (OBI) was used to obtain anterior/posterior (AP) and lateral X-rays before and after each treatment. OBI images were rigidly aligned to baseline digitally reconstructed radiographs (DRRs), and movement of cervical seeds was determined in the lateral, vertical, and AP directions. Mean differences in cervical seed position and standard error of the mean (SEM) were calculated. Results: A total of 922 images were reviewed, with approximately 90 images per patient. The mean intra-fractional movement in cervical seed position in the lateral, vertical, and AP directions were 1.6 mm (SD ± 2.0), 2.6 mm (SD ± 2.4), and 2.9 mm (SD ± 2.7), respectively, with a range from 0 to 15 mm for each direction. The mean inter-fractional movement in the lateral, vertical, and AP directions were 1.9 mm (SD ± 1.9), 4.1 mm (SD ± 3.2), and 4.2 mm (SD ± 3.5), respectively, with a range from 0 to 18 mm for each direction. Conclusions: This is the first study to assess intra- and inter-fractional movement of the cervix using daily imaging before and after each fraction. Within and between radiation treatments, cervical motion averages approximately 3 mm in any given direction. However, maximal movement of the cervix can be as far as 18 mm from baseline. This wide range of motion needs to be accounted for when generating planning treatment volumes.

Motion or activity: their role in intra- and inter-subject variation in fMRI

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, Torben E; Nørgaard, Minna D; Rostrup, Egill

2005-01-01

MRI to pre-surgical planning because of a higher requirement for intra-subject precision. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of residual movement artefacts on intra-subject and inter-subject variability in the observed fMRI activation. Ten subjects were examined using three different...... word-generation tasks. Two of the subjects were examined 10 times on 10 different days using the same paradigms. We systematically investigated one approach of correcting for residual movement effects: the inclusion of regressors describing movement-related effects in the design matrix of a General...

Weighing galaxy clusters with gas. II. On the origin of hydrostatic mass bias in ΛCDM galaxy clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nelson, Kaylea; Nagai, Daisuke; Yu, Liang; Lau, Erwin T.; Rudd, Douglas H.

2014-01-01

The use of galaxy clusters as cosmological probes hinges on our ability to measure their masses accurately and with high precision. Hydrostatic mass is one of the most common methods for estimating the masses of individual galaxy clusters, which suffer from biases due to departures from hydrostatic equilibrium. Using a large, mass-limited sample of massive galaxy clusters from a high-resolution hydrodynamical cosmological simulation, in this work we show that in addition to turbulent and bulk gas velocities, acceleration of gas introduces biases in the hydrostatic mass estimate of galaxy clusters. In unrelaxed clusters, the acceleration bias is comparable to the bias due to non-thermal pressure associated with merger-induced turbulent and bulk gas motions. In relaxed clusters, the mean mass bias due to acceleration is small (≲ 3%), but the scatter in the mass bias can be reduced by accounting for gas acceleration. Additionally, this acceleration bias is greater in the outskirts of higher redshift clusters where mergers are more frequent and clusters are accreting more rapidly. Since gas acceleration cannot be observed directly, it introduces an irreducible bias for hydrostatic mass estimates. This acceleration bias places limits on how well we can recover cluster masses from future X-ray and microwave observations. We discuss implications for cluster mass estimates based on X-ray, Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effect, and gravitational lensing observations and their impact on cluster cosmology.

Semi-automated vectorial analysis of anorectal motion by magnetic resonance defecography in healthy subjects and fecal incontinence.

Science.gov (United States)

Noelting, J; Bharucha, A E; Lake, D S; Manduca, A; Fletcher, J G; Riederer, S J; Joseph Melton, L; Zinsmeister, A R

2012-10-01

Inter-observer variability limits the reproducibility of pelvic floor motion measured by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Our aim was to develop a semi-automated program measuring pelvic floor motion in a reproducible and refined manner. Pelvic floor anatomy and motion during voluntary contraction (squeeze) and rectal evacuation were assessed by MRI in 64 women with fecal incontinence (FI) and 64 age-matched controls. A radiologist measured anorectal angles and anorectal junction motion. A semi-automated program did the same and also dissected anorectal motion into perpendicular vectors representing the puborectalis and other pelvic floor muscles, assessed the pubococcygeal angle, and evaluated pelvic rotation. Manual and semi-automated measurements of anorectal junction motion (r = 0.70; P controls. This semi-automated program provides a reproducible, efficient, and refined analysis of pelvic floor motion by MRI. Puborectalis injury is independently associated with impaired motion of puborectalis, not other pelvic floor muscles in controls and women with FI. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

THE PROPER MOTION OF PALOMAR 5

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fritz, T. K.; Kallivayalil, N., E-mail: tkf4w@astro.virginia.edu [Department of Astronomy, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 3530 McCormick Road, VA 22904-4325 (United States)

2015-10-01

Palomar 5 (Pal 5) is a faint halo globular cluster associated with narrow tidal tails. It is a useful system to understand the process of tidal dissolution, as well as to constrain the potential of the Milky Way. A well-determined orbit for Pal 5 would enable detailed study of these open questions. We present here the first CCD-based proper motion measurement of Pal 5 obtained using SDSS as a first epoch and new Large Binocular Telescope/Large Binocular Camera (LBC) images as a second, giving a baseline of 15 years. We perform relative astrometry, using SDSS as a distortion-free reference, and images of the cluster and also of the Pal 5 stream for the derivation of the distortion correction for LBC. The reference frame is made up of background galaxies. We correct for differential chromatic refraction using relations obtained from SDSS colors as well as from flux-calibrated spectra, finding that the correction relations for stars and for galaxies are different. We obtain μ{sub α} = −2.296 ± 0.186 mas yr{sup −1} and μ{sub δ} = −2.257 ± 0.181 mas yr{sup −1} for the proper motion of Pal 5. We use this motion, and the publicly available code galpy, to model the disruption of Pal 5 in different Milky Way models consisting of a bulge, a disk, and a spherical dark matter halo. Our fits to the observed stream properties (streak and radial velocity gradient) result in a preference for a relatively large Pal 5 distance of around 24 kpc. A slightly larger absolute proper motion than what we measure also results in better matches but the best solutions need a change in distance. We find that a spherical Milky Way model, with V{sub 0} = 220 km s{sup −1} and V{sub 20} {sub kpc}, i.e., approximately at the apocenter of Pal 5, of 218 km s{sup −1}, can match the data well, at least for our choice of disk and bulge parametrization.

Does inter-vertebral range of motion increase after spinal manipulation? A prospective cohort study.

Science.gov (United States)

Branney, Jonathan; Breen, Alan C

2014-01-01

Spinal manipulation for nonspecific neck pain is thought to work in part by improving inter-vertebral range of motion (IV-RoM), but it is difficult to measure this or determine whether it is related to clinical outcomes. This study undertook to determine whether cervical spine flexion and extension IV-RoM increases after a course of spinal manipulation, to explore relationships between any IV-RoM increases and clinical outcomes and to compare palpation with objective measurement in the detection of hypo-mobile segments. Thirty patients with nonspecific neck pain and 30 healthy controls matched for age and gender received quantitative fluoroscopy (QF) screenings to measure flexion and extension IV-RoM (C1-C6) at baseline and 4-week follow-up between September 2012-13. Patients received up to 12 neck manipulations and completed NRS, NDI and Euroqol 5D-5L at baseline, plus PGIC and satisfaction questionnaires at follow-up. IV-RoM accuracy, repeatability and hypo-mobility cut-offs were determined. Minimal detectable changes (MDC) over 4 weeks were calculated from controls. Patients and control IV-RoMs were compared at baseline as well as changes in patients over 4 weeks. Correlations between outcomes and the number of manipulations received and the agreement (Kappa) between palpated and QF-detected of hypo-mobile segments were calculated. QF had high accuracy (worst RMS error 0.5o) and repeatability (highest SEM 1.1o, lowest ICC 0.90) for IV-RoM measurement. Hypo-mobility cut offs ranged from 0.8o to 3.5o. No outcome was significantly correlated with increased IV-RoM above MDC and there was no significant difference between the number of hypo-mobile segments in patients and controls at baseline or significant increases in IV-RoMs in patients. However, there was a modest and significant correlation between the number of manipulations received and the number of levels and directions whose IV-RoM increased beyond MDC (Rho=0.39, p=0.043). There was also no agreement

Children's Brain Responses to Optic Flow Vary by Pattern Type and Motion Speed.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rick O Gilmore

Full Text Available Structured patterns of global visual motion called optic flow provide crucial information about an observer's speed and direction of self-motion and about the geometry of the environment. Brain and behavioral responses to optic flow undergo considerable postnatal maturation, but relatively little brain imaging evidence describes the time course of development in motion processing systems in early to middle childhood, a time when psychophysical data suggest that there are changes in sensitivity. To fill this gap, electroencephalographic (EEG responses were recorded in 4- to 8-year-old children who viewed three time-varying optic flow patterns (translation, rotation, and radial expansion/contraction at three different speeds (2, 4, and 8 deg/s. Modulations of global motion coherence evoked coherent EEG responses at the first harmonic that differed by flow pattern and responses at the third harmonic and dot update rate that varied by speed. Pattern-related responses clustered over right lateral channels while speed-related responses clustered over midline channels. Both children and adults show widespread responses to modulations of motion coherence at the second harmonic that are not selective for pattern or speed. The results suggest that the developing brain segregates the processing of optic flow pattern from speed and that an adult-like pattern of neural responses to optic flow has begun to emerge by early to middle childhood.

Evolution of low-mass stars in the alpha persei cluster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stauffer, J.R.; Hartmann, L.W.; Burnham, J.N.; Jones, B.F.

1985-01-01

We present a photometric and spectroscopic study of low-mass members of the α Persei cluster. Now relative proper motions have been obtained for 4000 stars in a 1X2 x 1X2 region of the α Persei open cluster. The survey extends to Vroughly-equal16.5 mag, much fainter than the previous proper motion surveys. Optical photometry and high-dispersion spectroscopy of the possible cluster members from our survey, as well as a set of 10th to 12th magnitude stars from previous surveys, have also been obtained. The new photometry shows an apparent pre-main sequence (PMS), but we cannot yet accurately determine the PMS turn-on point. The faint stars in the cluster have positions in a V versus V-I diagram that are roughly in accord with the 5 x 10 7 yr isochrone derived by VandenBerg et al. In agreement with previous results for the Pleiades cluster, some of the late-type α Persei members are photometric variables, with periods of 1 day or less. Light curves and estimated periods are presented for six of the G and K dwarf members of the cluster. We attribute the periodic light variations to spots on the surfaces of these stars, which are carried around the visible hemisphere by rapid rotation. The photometric periods are consistent with rotational broadening measurements when available. Projected rotational velocities derived from the echelle spectra indicate that nearly 50% of the stars observed that are later than G2 have 25 km s -1 -1 . The large rotational velocities among low-mass stars in young clusters are ascribed to spin-up during contraction to the main sequence

EERA-DTOC Project: Design Tools for Offshore Wind Farm Clusters; Proyecto EERA-DTOC: herramientas para el diseno de clusters de Parques Eolicos Marinos

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palomares, A. M.

2015-07-01

In the EERA-DTOC Project an integrated and validated software design tool for the optimization of offshore wind farms and wind farm clusters has been developed. The CIEMAT contribution to this project has change the view on mesoscale wind forecasting models, which were not so far considered capable of modeling wind farm scale phenomena. It has been shown the ability of the WRF model to simulate the wakes caused by the wind turbines on the downwind ones (inter-turbine wakes within a wind farm) as well as the wakes between wind farms within a cluster. (Author)

New distances to and peculiar motions of two Abell clusters -evidence for spurious motions?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lucey, J.R.; Terlevich, R.J.

1991-01-01

We present redshifts and central velocity dispersions (σ) from observations with the FLEX-based multi-object system on the William Herschel 4.2-m telescope for early-type galaxies in three rich clusters, Abell 194, Abell 2199 and Abell 2634. For Abell 194, the new measurements are in excellent agreement with those previously derived with the AAT's FOCAP multi-object system. Photometric diameters (D) derived from CCD observations made with the Isaac Newton 2.5-m telescope and Jacobus Kapteyn 1.0-m telescope are also presented. Relative distances to Abell 2199 and Abell 2634 are derived via the application of the D-σ relation. (author)

Analysis of plasmaspheric plumes: CLUSTER and IMAGE observations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Darrouzet

2006-07-01

Full Text Available Plasmaspheric plumes have been routinely observed by CLUSTER and IMAGE. The CLUSTER mission provides high time resolution four-point measurements of the plasmasphere near perigee. Total electron density profiles have been derived from the electron plasma frequency identified by the WHISPER sounder supplemented, in-between soundings, by relative variations of the spacecraft potential measured by the electric field instrument EFW; ion velocity is also measured onboard these satellites. The EUV imager onboard the IMAGE spacecraft provides global images of the plasmasphere with a spatial resolution of 0.1 RE every 10 min; such images acquired near apogee from high above the pole show the geometry of plasmaspheric plumes, their evolution and motion. We present coordinated observations of three plume events and compare CLUSTER in-situ data with global images of the plasmasphere obtained by IMAGE. In particular, we study the geometry and the orientation of plasmaspheric plumes by using four-point analysis methods. We compare several aspects of plume motion as determined by different methods: (i inner and outer plume boundary velocity calculated from time delays of this boundary as observed by the wave experiment WHISPER on the four spacecraft, (ii drift velocity measured by the electron drift instrument EDI onboard CLUSTER and (iii global velocity determined from successive EUV images. These different techniques consistently indicate that plasmaspheric plumes rotate around the Earth, with their foot fully co-rotating, but with their tip rotating slower and moving farther out.

Cluster Optimization and Parallelization of Simulations with Dynamically Adaptive Grids

KAUST Repository

Schreiber, Martin; Weinzierl, Tobias; Bungartz, Hans-Joachim

2013-01-01

The present paper studies solvers for partial differential equations that work on dynamically adaptive grids stemming from spacetrees. Due to the underlying tree formalism, such grids efficiently can be decomposed into connected grid regions (clusters) on-the-fly. A graph on those clusters classified according to their grid invariancy, workload, multi-core affinity, and further meta data represents the inter-cluster communication. While stationary clusters already can be handled more efficiently than their dynamic counterparts, we propose to treat them as atomic grid entities and introduce a skip mechanism that allows the grid traversal to omit those regions completely. The communication graph ensures that the cluster data nevertheless are kept consistent, and several shared memory parallelization strategies are feasible. A hyperbolic benchmark that has to remesh selected mesh regions iteratively to preserve conforming tessellations acts as benchmark for the present work. We discuss runtime improvements resulting from the skip mechanism and the implications on shared memory performance and load balancing. © 2013 Springer-Verlag.

Concept design and cluster control of advanced space connectable intelligent microsatellite

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Xiaohui; Li, Shuang; She, Yuchen

2017-12-01

In this note, a new type of advanced space connectable intelligent microsatellite is presented to extend the range of potential application of microsatellite and improve the efficiency of cooperation. First, the overall concept of the micro satellite cluster is described, which is characterized by autonomously connecting with each other and being able to realize relative rotation through the external interfaces. Second, the multi-satellite autonomous assembly algorithm and control algorithm of the cluster motion are developed to make the cluster system combine into a variety of configurations in order to achieve different types of functionality. Finally, the design of the satellite cluster system is proposed, and the possible applications are discussed.

Equation of motion coupled cluster methods for electron attachment and ionization potential in fullerenes C{sub 60} and C{sub 70}

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bhaskaran-Nair, Kiran [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 (United States); Center for Computation and Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 (United States); Cain Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 (United States); Kowalski, Karol, E-mail: karol.kowalski@pnnl.gov [William R. Wiley Environmental Molecular Sciences Laboratory, Battelle, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, K8-91, P.O.Box 999, Richland, Washington 99352 (United States); Moreno, Juana; Jarrell, Mark [Department of Physics and Astronomy, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70802 (United States); Center for Computation and Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 (United States); Shelton, William A. [Center for Computation and Technology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 (United States); Cain Department of Chemical Engineering, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803 (United States)

2014-08-21

In both molecular and periodic solid-state systems there is a need for the accurate determination of the ionization potential and the electron affinity for systems ranging from light harvesting polymers and photocatalytic compounds to semiconductors. The development of a Green's function approach based on the coupled cluster (CC) formalism would be a valuable tool for addressing many properties involving many-body interactions along with their associated correlation functions. As a first step in this direction, we have developed an accurate and parallel efficient approach based on the equation of motion-CC technique. To demonstrate the high degree of accuracy and numerical efficiency of our approach we calculate the ionization potential and electron affinity for C{sub 60} and C{sub 70}. Accurate predictions for these molecules are well beyond traditional molecular scale studies. We compare our results with experiments and both quantum Monte Carlo and GW calculations.

Protogalaxy interactions in newly formed clusters: Galaxy luminosities, colors, and intergalactic gas

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Silk, J.

1978-01-01

The role of protogalaxy interactions in galactic evolution is studied during the formation of galaxy clusters. In the early stages of the collapse, coalescent encounters of protogalaxies lead to the development of a galactic luminosity function. Once galaxies acquire appreciable random motions, mutual collisions between galaxies in rich clusters will trigger the collapse of interstellar clouds to form stars. This provides both a source for enriched intracluster gas and an interpretation of the correlation between luminosity and color for cluster elliptical galaxies. Other observational consequences that are considered include optical, X-ray, and diffuse nonthermal radio emission from newly formed clusters of galaxies

Collective Motion in Behaviorally Heterogeneous Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Copenhagen, Katherine

Collective motion is a widespread phenomenon in nature where individuals actively propel themselves, gather together and move as a group. Some examples of collective motion are bird flocks, fish schools, bacteria swarms, cell clusters, and crowds of people. Many models seek to understand the effects of activity in collective systems including things such as environmental disorder, density, and interaction details primarily at infinite size limits and with uniform populations. In this dissertation I investigate the effects of finite sizes and behavioral heterogeneity as it exists in nature. Behavioral heterogeneity can originate from several different sources. Mixed populations of individuals can have inherently different behaviors such as mutant bacteria, injured fish, or agents that prefer individualistic behavior over coordinated motion. Alternatively, agents may modify their own behavior based on some local environmental dependency, such as local substrate, or density. In cases such as mutant cheaters in bacteria or malfunctioning drones in swarms, mixed populations of behaviorally heterogeneous agents can be modelled as arising in the form of aligning and non-aligning agents. When this kind of heterogeneity is introduced, there is a critical carrying capacity of non-aligners above which the system is unable to form a cohesive ordered group. However, if the cohesion of the group is relaxed to allow for fracture, the system will actively sort out non-aligning agents the system will exist at a critical non-aligner fraction. A similar heterogeneity could result in a mixture of high and low noise individuals. In this case there is also a critical carry capacity beyond which the system is unable to reach an ordered state, however the nature of this transition depends on the model details. Agents which are part of an ordered collective may vary their behavior as the group changes environments such as a flock of birds flying into a cloud. Using a unique model of a

INTER- AND INTRAFRACTION MOTION FOR STEREOTACTIC RADIOSURGERY IN DOGS AND CATS USING A MODIFIED BRAINLAB FRAMELESS STEREOTACTIC MASK SYSTEM.

Science.gov (United States)

Dieterich, Sonja; Zwingenberger, Allison; Hansen, Katherine; Pfeiffer, Isabella; Théon, Alain; Kent, Michael S

2015-01-01

Precise and accurate patient positioning is necessary when doing stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) to ensure adequate dosing to the tumor and sparing of normal tissues. This prospective cross-sectional study aimed to assess feasibility of a commercially available modified frameless SRS positioning system for use in veterinary radiotherapy patients with brain tumors. Fifty-one dogs and 12 cats were enrolled. Baseline and verification CT images were acquired. The verification CT images from 32 dogs and five cats had sufficient images for fusion to baseline CT images. A rigid box-based fusion was performed to determine interfraction motion. Forty-eight dogs and 11 cats were assessed for intrafraction motion by cine CT. Seventy percent of dogs and 60% of cats had interfraction 3D vector translational shifts >1 mm, with mean values of 1.9 mm in dogs, and 1.8 mm in cats. In dogs muscle wasting was weakly correlated with translational shifts. The maximum angular interfraction motion observed was 6.3° (roll), 3.5° (pitch), and 3.3° (yaw). There was no correlation between angular interfraction motion and weight, brachycephaly, or muscle wasting. Fifty-seven percent of dogs and 50% of cats had respiration-related intrafraction motion. Of these, 4.5% of dogs and 10% of cats had intrafraction motion >1 mm. This study demonstrates the modified Brainlab system is feasible for SRS in dogs and cats. The smaller cranial size and difference in anatomy increases setup uncertainty in some animals beyond limits usually accepted in SRS. Image-guided positioning is recommended to achieve clinically acceptable setup accuracy (<1 mm) for SRS. © 2015 American College of Veterinary Radiology.

A Cluster-Based Dual-Adaptive Topology Control Approach in Wireless Sensor Networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Gui, Jinsong; Zhou, Kai; Xiong, Naixue

2016-09-25

Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) can improve wireless network performance. Sensors are usually single-antenna devices due to the high hardware complexity and cost, so several sensors are used to form virtual MIMO array, which is a desirable approach to efficiently take advantage of MIMO gains. Also, in large Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), clustering can improve the network scalability, which is an effective topology control approach. The existing virtual MIMO-based clustering schemes do not either fully explore the benefits of MIMO or adaptively determine the clustering ranges. Also, clustering mechanism needs to be further improved to enhance the cluster structure life. In this paper, we propose an improved clustering scheme for virtual MIMO-based topology construction (ICV-MIMO), which can determine adaptively not only the inter-cluster transmission modes but also the clustering ranges. Through the rational division of cluster head function and the optimization of cluster head selection criteria and information exchange process, the ICV-MIMO scheme effectively reduces the network energy consumption and improves the lifetime of the cluster structure when compared with the existing typical virtual MIMO-based scheme. Moreover, the message overhead and time complexity are still in the same order of magnitude.

Merging Galaxy Clusters: Analysis of Simulated Analogs

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Jayke; Wittman, David; Cornell, Hunter

2018-01-01

The nature of dark matter can be better constrained by observing merging galaxy clusters. However, uncertainty in the viewing angle leads to uncertainty in dynamical quantities such as 3-d velocities, 3-d separations, and time since pericenter. The classic timing argument links these quantities via equations of motion, but neglects effects of nonzero impact parameter (i.e. it assumes velocities are parallel to the separation vector), dynamical friction, substructure, and larger-scale environment. We present a new approach using n-body cosmological simulations that naturally incorporate these effects. By uniformly sampling viewing angles about simulated cluster analogs, we see projected merger parameters in the many possible configurations of a given cluster. We select comparable simulated analogs and evaluate the likelihood of particular merger parameters as a function of viewing angle. We present viewing angle constraints for a sample of observed mergers including the Bullet cluster and El Gordo, and show that the separation vectors are closer to the plane of the sky than previously reported.

Arm Motion Recognition and Exercise Coaching System for Remote Interaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hong Zeng

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Arm motion recognition and its related applications have become a promising human computer interaction modal due to the rapid integration of numerical sensors in modern mobile-phones. We implement a mobile-phone-based arm motion recognition and exercise coaching system that can help people carrying mobile-phones to do body exercising anywhere at any time, especially for the persons that have very limited spare time and are constantly traveling across cities. We first design improved k-means algorithm to cluster the collecting 3-axis acceleration and gyroscope data of person actions into basic motions. A learning method based on Hidden Markov Model is then designed to classify and recognize continuous arm motions of both learners and coaches, which also measures the action similarities between the persons. We implement the system on MIUI 2S mobile-phone and evaluate the system performance and its accuracy of recognition.

Non-thermal Hard X-Ray Emission from Coma and Several Abell Clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Correa, C

2004-01-01

We report results of hard X-Ray observations of the clusters Coma, Abell 496, Abell754, Abell 1060, Abell 1367, Abell2256 and Abell3558 using RXTE data from the NASA HEASARC public archive. Specifically we searched for clusters with hard x-ray emission that can be fitted by a power law because this would indicate that the cluster is a source of non-thermal emission. We are assuming the emission mechanism proposed by Vahk Petrosian where the inter cluster space contains clouds of relativistic electrons that by themselves create a magnetic field and emit radio synchrotron radiation. These relativistic electrons Inverse-Compton scatter Microwave Background photons up to hard x-ray energies. The clusters that were found to be sources of non-thermal hard x-rays are Coma, Abell496, Abell754 and Abell 1060

The Stormy Life of Galaxy Clusters

Science.gov (United States)

Rudnick, Lawrence

2018-01-01

Galaxy clusters, the largest gravitationally bound structures, hold the full history of their baryonic evolution, serve as important cosmological tools and allow us to probe unique physical regimes in their diffuse plasmas. With characteristic dynamical timescales of 107-109 years, these diffuse thermal and relativistic media continue to evolve, as dark matter drives major mergers and more gentle continuing accretion. The history of this assembly is encoded in the plasmas, and a wide range of observational and theoretical investigations are aimed at decoding their signatures. X-ray temperature and density variations, low Mach number shocks, and "cold front" discontinuities all illuminate clusters' continued evolution. Radio structures and spectra are passive indicators of merger shocks, while radio galaxy distortions reveal the complex motions in the intracluster medium. Deep in cluster cores, AGNs associated with brightest cluster galaxies provide ongoing energy, and perhaps even stabilize the intracluster medium. In this talk, we will recount this evolving picture of the stormy ICM, and suggest areas of likely advance in the coming years.

Improved motion contrast and processing efficiency in OCT angiography using complex-correlation algorithm

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo, Li; Li, Pei; Pan, Cong; Cheng, Yuxuan; Ding, Zhihua; Li, Peng; Liao, Rujia; Hu, Weiwei; Chen, Zhong

2016-01-01

The complex-based OCT angiography (Angio-OCT) offers high motion contrast by combining both the intensity and phase information. However, due to involuntary bulk tissue motions, complex-valued OCT raw data are processed sequentially with different algorithms for correcting bulk image shifts (BISs), compensating global phase fluctuations (GPFs) and extracting flow signals. Such a complicated procedure results in massive computational load. To mitigate such a problem, in this work, we present an inter-frame complex-correlation (CC) algorithm. The CC algorithm is suitable for parallel processing of both flow signal extraction and BIS correction, and it does not need GPF compensation. This method provides high processing efficiency and shows superiority in motion contrast. The feasibility and performance of the proposed CC algorithm is demonstrated using both flow phantom and live animal experiments. (paper)

A PSF-Shape-Based Beamforming Strategy for Robust 2D Motion Estimation in Ultrafast Data

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Anne E. C. M. Saris

2018-03-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a framework for motion estimation in ultrafast ultrasound data. It describes a novel approach for determining the sampling grid for ultrafast data based on the system’s point-spread-function (PSF. As a consequence, the cross-correlation functions (CCF used in the speckle tracking (ST algorithm will have circular-shaped peaks, which can be interpolated using a 2D interpolation method to estimate subsample displacements. Carotid artery wall motion and parabolic blood flow simulations together with rotating disk experiments using a Verasonics Vantage 256 are used for performance evaluation. Zero-degree plane wave data were acquired using an ATL L5-12 (fc = 9 MHz transducer for a range of pulse repetition frequencies (PRFs, resulting in 0–600 µm inter-frame displacements. The proposed methodology was compared to data beamformed on a conventionally spaced grid, combined with the commonly used 1D parabolic interpolation. The PSF-shape-based beamforming grid combined with 2D cubic interpolation showed the most accurate and stable performance with respect to the full range of inter-frame displacements, both for the assessment of blood flow and vessel wall dynamics. The proposed methodology can be used as a protocolled way to beamform ultrafast data and obtain accurate estimates of tissue motion.

SU(3) techniques for angular momentum projected matrix elements in multi-cluster problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hecht, K.T.; Zahn, W.

1978-01-01

In the theory of integral transforms for the evaluation of the resonating group kernels needed for cluster model calculations, the evaluation of matrix elements in an angular momentum coupled basis has proved to be difficult for cluster problems involving more than two fragments. For multi-cluster wave functions SU(3) coupling and recoupling techniques can furnish a tool for the practical evaluation matrix elements in an angular momentum coupled basis if the several relative motion harmonic oscillator functions in Bargmann space have simple SU(3) coupling properties. The method is illustrated by a three-cluster problem, such as 12 C = α + α + α, involving three 1 S clusters. 2 references

The Teleconnection of the Tropical Atlantic to Indo-Pacific Sea Surface Temperatures on Inter-Annual to Centennial Time Scales: A Review of Recent Findings

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Fred Kucharski

2016-02-01

Full Text Available In this paper, the teleconnections from the tropical Atlantic to the Indo-Pacific region from inter-annual to centennial time scales will be reviewed. Identified teleconnections and hypotheses on mechanisms at work are reviewed and further explored in a century-long pacemaker coupled ocean-atmosphere simulation ensemble. There is a substantial impact of the tropical Atlantic on the Pacific region at inter-annual time scales. An Atlantic Niño (Niña event leads to rising (sinking motion in the Atlantic region, which is compensated by sinking (rising motion in the central-western Pacific. The sinking (rising motion in the central-western Pacific induces easterly (westerly surface wind anomalies just to the west, which alter the thermocline. These perturbations propagate eastward as upwelling (downwelling Kelvin-waves, where they increase the probability for a La Niña (El Niño event. Moreover, tropical North Atlantic sea surface temperature anomalies are also able to lead La Niña/El Niño development. At multidecadal time scales, a positive (negative Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation leads to a cooling (warming of the eastern Pacific and a warming (cooling of the western Pacific and Indian Ocean regions. The physical mechanism for this impact is similar to that at inter-annual time scales. At centennial time scales, the Atlantic warming induces a substantial reduction of the eastern Pacific warming even under CO2 increase and to a strong subsurface cooling.

RapidRMSD: Rapid determination of RMSDs corresponding to motions of flexible molecules.

Science.gov (United States)

Neveu, Emilie; Popov, Petr; Hoffmann, Alexandre; Migliosi, Angelo; Besseron, Xavier; Danoy, Grégoire; Bouvry, Pascal; Grudinin, Sergei

2018-03-15

The root mean square deviation (RMSD) is one of the most used similarity criteria in structural biology and bioinformatics. Standard computation of the RMSD has a linear complexity with respect to the number of atoms in a molecule, making RMSD calculations time-consuming for the large-scale modeling applications, such as assessment of molecular docking predictions or clustering of spatially proximate molecular conformations. Previously we introduced the RigidRMSD algorithm to compute the RMSD corresponding to the rigid-body motion of a molecule. In this study we go beyond the limits of the rigid-body approximation by taking into account conformational flexibility of the molecule. We model the flexibility with a reduced set of collective motions computed with e.g. normal modes or principal component analysis. The initialization of our algorithm is linear in the number of atoms and all the subsequent evaluations of RMSD values between flexible molecular conformations depend only on the number of collective motions that are selected to model the flexibility. Therefore, our algorithm is much faster compared to the standard RMSD computation for large-scale modeling applications. We demonstrate the efficiency of our method on several clustering examples, including clustering of flexible docking results and molecular dynamics (MD) trajectories. We also demonstrate how to use the presented formalism to generate pseudo-random constant-RMSD structural molecular ensembles and how to use these in cross-docking. We provide the algorithm written in C ++ as the open-source RapidRMSD library governed by the BSD-compatible license, which is available at http://team.inria.fr/nano-d/software/RapidRMSD/. The constant-RMSD structural ensemble application and clustering of MD trajectories is available at http://team.inria.fr/nano-d/software/nolb-normal-modes/. sergei.grudinin@inria.fr. Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics.

SU-C-210-07: Assessment of Intra-/Inter-Fractional Internal Tumor and Organ Movement in Radiotherapy of Head and Neck Cancer Using On-Board Cine MRI

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Chen, H; Dolly, S; Anastasio, M; Fischer-Valuck, B; Kashani, R; Green, O; Rodriguez, V; Mutic, S; Gay, H; Thorstad, W; Li, H [Washington University School of Medicine, Saint Louis, MO (United States); Victoria, J; Dempsey, J [ViewRay Incorporated, Oakwood Village, OH (United States); Ruan, S [University of Rouen, QuantIF - EA 4108 LITIS, Rouen (France); Low, D [University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA (United States)

2015-06-15

Purpose: Head and neck (H&N) internal organ motion has previously been determined with low frequency and temporary nature based on population-based pre- and post-treatment studies. Using immobilization masks and adding a 4–6 mm planning-tumor-volume margin, geometric uncertainties of patients are routinely considered clinically inconsequential in H&N radiotherapy. Using the first commercially-available MR-IGRT system, we conducted the first quantitative study on inter-patient, intra- and inter-fractional H&N internal motion patterns to evaluate the necessity of individualized asymmetric internal margins. Methods: Ninety cine sagittal MR image sequences were acquired during the entire treatment course (6–7 weeks) of three H&N cancer patients using the ViewRay™ MR-IGRT system. The images were 5 mm thick and acquired at 4 frames/per second. One of the patients had a tracheostomy tube. The cross-sectional H&N airway (nasopharynx, oropharynx, and laryngopharynx portions) movement was analyzed comprehensively using in-house developed motion detection software. Results: Large inter-patient variations of swallowing frequency (0–1 times/per fraction), swallowing duration (1–3 seconds), and pharyngeal cross-sectional area (238–2516 mm2) were observed. Extensive pharyngeal motion occurred during swallowing, while nonzero and periodic change of airway geometry was observed in resting. For patient 1 with tracheostomy tube replacement, 30.3%, 30.0%, 48.7% and 0.3% of total frames showed ≥ 4 mm displacements in the anterior, posterior, inferior, and superior airway boundaries, respectively; similarly, (5.7%, 0.0%, 0.0%, 0.3%) and (23.3%, 0.0%, 35.7%, 1.7%) occurred for patients 2 and 3. Area overlapping coefficients with respect to the first frame were 76.3+/−6.4%, 90.3+/−0.6%, and 92.3+/−1.2% for the three patients, respectively. Conclusion: Both the resting and swallowing motions varied in frequency and amplitude among the patients and across fractions of a

SU-C-210-07: Assessment of Intra-/Inter-Fractional Internal Tumor and Organ Movement in Radiotherapy of Head and Neck Cancer Using On-Board Cine MRI

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, H; Dolly, S; Anastasio, M; Fischer-Valuck, B; Kashani, R; Green, O; Rodriguez, V; Mutic, S; Gay, H; Thorstad, W; Li, H; Victoria, J; Dempsey, J; Ruan, S; Low, D

2015-01-01

Purpose: Head and neck (H&N) internal organ motion has previously been determined with low frequency and temporary nature based on population-based pre- and post-treatment studies. Using immobilization masks and adding a 4–6 mm planning-tumor-volume margin, geometric uncertainties of patients are routinely considered clinically inconsequential in H&N radiotherapy. Using the first commercially-available MR-IGRT system, we conducted the first quantitative study on inter-patient, intra- and inter-fractional H&N internal motion patterns to evaluate the necessity of individualized asymmetric internal margins. Methods: Ninety cine sagittal MR image sequences were acquired during the entire treatment course (6–7 weeks) of three H&N cancer patients using the ViewRay™ MR-IGRT system. The images were 5 mm thick and acquired at 4 frames/per second. One of the patients had a tracheostomy tube. The cross-sectional H&N airway (nasopharynx, oropharynx, and laryngopharynx portions) movement was analyzed comprehensively using in-house developed motion detection software. Results: Large inter-patient variations of swallowing frequency (0–1 times/per fraction), swallowing duration (1–3 seconds), and pharyngeal cross-sectional area (238–2516 mm2) were observed. Extensive pharyngeal motion occurred during swallowing, while nonzero and periodic change of airway geometry was observed in resting. For patient 1 with tracheostomy tube replacement, 30.3%, 30.0%, 48.7% and 0.3% of total frames showed ≥ 4 mm displacements in the anterior, posterior, inferior, and superior airway boundaries, respectively; similarly, (5.7%, 0.0%, 0.0%, 0.3%) and (23.3%, 0.0%, 35.7%, 1.7%) occurred for patients 2 and 3. Area overlapping coefficients with respect to the first frame were 76.3+/−6.4%, 90.3+/−0.6%, and 92.3+/−1.2% for the three patients, respectively. Conclusion: Both the resting and swallowing motions varied in frequency and amplitude among the patients and across fractions of a

Nano-motion dynamics are determined by surface-tethered selectin mechanokinetics and bond formation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Brian J Schmidt

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The interaction of proteins at cellular interfaces is critical for many biological processes, from intercellular signaling to cell adhesion. For example, the selectin family of adhesion receptors plays a critical role in trafficking during inflammation and immunosurveillance. Quantitative measurements of binding rates between surface-constrained proteins elicit insight into how molecular structural details and post-translational modifications contribute to function. However, nano-scale transport effects can obfuscate measurements in experimental assays. We constructed a biophysical simulation of the motion of a rigid microsphere coated with biomolecular adhesion receptors in shearing flow undergoing thermal motion. The simulation enabled in silico investigation of the effects of kinetic force dependence, molecular deformation, grouping adhesion receptors into clusters, surface-constrained bond formation, and nano-scale vertical transport on outputs that directly map to observable motions. Simulations recreated the jerky, discrete stop-and-go motions observed in P-selectin/PSGL-1 microbead assays with physiologic ligand densities. Motion statistics tied detailed simulated motion data to experimentally reported quantities. New deductions about biomolecular function for P-selectin/PSGL-1 interactions were made. Distributing adhesive forces among P-selectin/PSGL-1 molecules closely grouped in clusters was necessary to achieve bond lifetimes observed in microbead assays. Initial, capturing bond formation effectively occurred across the entire molecular contour length. However, subsequent rebinding events were enhanced by the reduced separation distance following the initial capture. The result demonstrates that vertical transport can contribute to an enhancement in the apparent bond formation rate. A detailed analysis of in silico motions prompted the proposition of wobble autocorrelation as an indicator of two-dimensional function. Insight into two

Distributed controller clustering in software defined networks.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Ahmed Abdelaziz

Full Text Available Software Defined Networking (SDN is an emerging promising paradigm for network management because of its centralized network intelligence. However, the centralized control architecture of the software-defined networks (SDNs brings novel challenges of reliability, scalability, fault tolerance and interoperability. In this paper, we proposed a novel clustered distributed controller architecture in the real setting of SDNs. The distributed cluster implementation comprises of multiple popular SDN controllers. The proposed mechanism is evaluated using a real world network topology running on top of an emulated SDN environment. The result shows that the proposed distributed controller clustering mechanism is able to significantly reduce the average latency from 8.1% to 1.6%, the packet loss from 5.22% to 4.15%, compared to distributed controller without clustering running on HP Virtual Application Network (VAN SDN and Open Network Operating System (ONOS controllers respectively. Moreover, proposed method also shows reasonable CPU utilization results. Furthermore, the proposed mechanism makes possible to handle unexpected load fluctuations while maintaining a continuous network operation, even when there is a controller failure. The paper is a potential contribution stepping towards addressing the issues of reliability, scalability, fault tolerance, and inter-operability.

Distributed controller clustering in software defined networks.

Science.gov (United States)

Abdelaziz, Ahmed; Fong, Ang Tan; Gani, Abdullah; Garba, Usman; Khan, Suleman; Akhunzada, Adnan; Talebian, Hamid; Choo, Kim-Kwang Raymond

2017-01-01

Software Defined Networking (SDN) is an emerging promising paradigm for network management because of its centralized network intelligence. However, the centralized control architecture of the software-defined networks (SDNs) brings novel challenges of reliability, scalability, fault tolerance and interoperability. In this paper, we proposed a novel clustered distributed controller architecture in the real setting of SDNs. The distributed cluster implementation comprises of multiple popular SDN controllers. The proposed mechanism is evaluated using a real world network topology running on top of an emulated SDN environment. The result shows that the proposed distributed controller clustering mechanism is able to significantly reduce the average latency from 8.1% to 1.6%, the packet loss from 5.22% to 4.15%, compared to distributed controller without clustering running on HP Virtual Application Network (VAN) SDN and Open Network Operating System (ONOS) controllers respectively. Moreover, proposed method also shows reasonable CPU utilization results. Furthermore, the proposed mechanism makes possible to handle unexpected load fluctuations while maintaining a continuous network operation, even when there is a controller failure. The paper is a potential contribution stepping towards addressing the issues of reliability, scalability, fault tolerance, and inter-operability.

Cluster-based Data Gathering in Long-Strip Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

FANG, W.

2012-02-01

Full Text Available This paper investigates a special class of wireless sensor networks that are different from traditional ones in that the sensor nodes in this class of networks are deployed along narrowly elongated geographical areas and form a long-strip topology. According to hardware capabilities of current sensor nodes, a cluster-based protocol for reliable and efficient data gathering in long-strip wireless sensor networks (LSWSN is proposed. A well-distributed cluster-based architecture is first formed in the whole network through contention-based cluster head election. Cluster heads are responsible for coordination among the nodes within their clusters and aggregation of their sensory data, as well as transmission the data to the sink node on behalf of their own clusters. The intra-cluster coordination is based on the traditional TDMA schedule, in which the inter-cluster interference caused by the border nodes is solved by the multi-channel communication technique. The cluster reporting is based on the CSMA contention, in which a connected overlay network is formed by relay nodes to forward the data from the cluster heads through multi-hops to the sink node. The relay nodes are non-uniformly deployed to resolve the energy-hole problem which is extremely serious in the LSWSN. Extensive simulation results illuminate the distinguished performance of the proposed protocol.

Los cluster tecnológicos en México y Argentina: una estrategia para el desarrollo local

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Prudencio Mochi Alemu00E1n

2009-01-01

Full Text Available El objetivo de este trabajo es, por una parte, darle continuidad a la línea de trabajo anterior sobre la industria de software y servicios informáticos, pero en esta oportunidad centrada en el estudio de la dinámica de los cluster tecnológicos en experiencias locales. Para ello se indagará esta dinámica en dos ciudades: Mérida (Yucatán-México y Rosario (Santa Fe-Argentina. El objetivo de enfocar estos dos casos de estudio se fundamenta en el interés por estas dos ciudades, ya que presentan un perfil productivo innovador, con tasas de crecimiento importante y que además esta estrategia se suma a otras actividades de alto valor agregado. En este sentido la producción de software y de nuevas tecnologías, están creando un clima propicio de desarrollo local. En este trabajo se analiza el contexto socio económico de cada ciudad, los antecedentes de la creación del cluster tecnológico, la cooperación inter empresarial e inter institucional, las políticas públicas territorializadas en el cluster, el perfil y las actividades de las empresas que conforman el mismo, así como las características de sus recursos humanos.

Group-based Motion Detection for Energy-Efficient Localisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alban Cotillon

2012-10-01

Full Text Available Long-term outdoor localization remains challenging due to the high energy profiles of GPS modules. Duty cycling the GPS module combined with inertial sensors can improve energy consumption. However, inertial sensors that are kept active all the time can also drain mobile node batteries. This paper proposes duty cycling strategies for inertial sensors to maintain a target position accuracy and node lifetime. We present a method for duty cycling motion sensors according to features of movement events, and evaluate its energy and accuracy profile for an empirical data trace of cattle movement. We further introduce the concept of group-based duty cycling, where nodes that cluster together can share the burden of motion detection to reduce their duty cycles. Our evaluation shows that both variants of motion sensor duty cycling yield up to 78% improvement in overall node power consumption, and that the group-based method yields an additional 20% power reduction during periods of low mobility.

Clustering aspects in nuclear structure functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hirai, M.; Saito, K.; Watanabe, T.; Kumano, S.

2011-01-01

For understanding an anomalous nuclear effect experimentally observed for the beryllium-9 nucleus at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, clustering aspects are studied in structure functions of deep inelastic lepton-nucleus scattering by using momentum distributions calculated in antisymmetrized (or fermionic) molecular dynamics (AMD) and also in a simple shell model for comparison. According to AMD, the 9 Be nucleus consists of two α-like clusters with a surrounding neutron. The clustering produces high-momentum components in nuclear wave functions, which affects nuclear modifications of the structure functions. We investigated whether clustering features could appear in the structure function F 2 of 9 Be along with studies for other light nuclei. We found that nuclear modifications of F 2 are similar in both AMD and shell models within our simple convolution description although there are slight differences in 9 Be. It indicates that the anomalous 9 Be result should be explained by a different mechanism from the nuclear binding and Fermi motion. If nuclear-modification slopes d(F 2 A /F 2 D )/dx are shown by the maximum local densities, the 9 Be anomaly can be explained by the AMD picture, namely by the clustering structure, whereas it certainly cannot be described in the simple shell model. This fact suggests that the large nuclear modification in 9 Be should be explained by large densities in the clusters. For example, internal nucleon structure could be modified in the high-density clusters. The clustering aspect of nuclear structure functions is an unexplored topic which is interesting for future investigations.

What Do the Hitomi Observations Tell Us About the Turbulent Velocities in the Perseus Cluster? Probing the Velocity Field with Mock Observations

Science.gov (United States)

ZuHone, J. A.; Miller, E. D.; Bulbul, E.; Zhuravleva, I.

2018-02-01

Hitomi made the first direct measurements of galaxy cluster gas motions in the Perseus cluster, which implied that its core is fairly “quiescent,” with velocities less than ∼200 km s‑1, despite the presence of an active galactic nucleus and sloshing cold fronts. Building on previous work, we use synthetic Hitomi/X-ray Spectrometer (SXS) observations of the hot plasma of a simulated cluster with sloshing gas motions and varying viscosity to analyze its velocity structure in a similar fashion. We find that sloshing motions can produce line shifts and widths similar to those measured by Hitomi. We find these measurements are unaffected by the value of the gas viscosity, since its effects are only manifested clearly on angular scales smaller than the SXS ∼1‧ PSF. The PSF biases the line shift of regions near the core as much as ∼40–50 km s‑1, so it is crucial to model this effect carefully. We also infer that if sloshing motions dominate the observed velocity gradient, Perseus must be observed from a line of sight that is somewhat inclined from the plane of these motions, but one that still allows the spiral pattern to be visible. Finally, we find that assuming isotropy of motions can underestimate the total velocity and kinetic energy of the core in our simulation by as much as ∼60%. However, the total kinetic energy in our simulated cluster core is still less than 10% of the thermal energy in the core, in agreement with the Hitomi observations.

SPACE VELOCITIES OF SOUTHERN GLOBULAR CLUSTERS. VII. NGC 6397, NGC 6626 (M28), AND NGC 6656 (M22)

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Casetti-Dinescu, Dana I.; Girard, Terrence M.; Van Altena, William F. [Astronomy Department, Yale University, P.O. Box 208101, New Haven, CT 06520-8101 (United States); Jilkova, Lucie [Department of Theoretical Physics and Astrophysics, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlarska 2, CZ-61137 Brno (Czech Republic); Podesta, Federico; Lopez, Carlos E., E-mail: dana.casetti@yale.edu, E-mail: terry.girard@yale.edu, E-mail: william.vanaltena@yale.edu, E-mail: jilkoval@physics.muni.cz [Universidad National de San Juan, Observatorio Astronomico ' ' Felix Aguilar' ' and Yale Southern Observatory, Chimbas, 5413 San Juan (Argentina)

2013-08-01

We have measured the absolute proper motions of globular clusters NGC 6397, NGC 6626 (M22), and NGC 6656 (M28) as part of our ongoing Southern Proper-Motion Program. The reference system is the ICRS via Hipparcos stars for these three low-Galactic-latitude clusters. Formal errors range between {approx}0.3 and 0.7 mas yr{sup -1}. Notable is the result for NGC 6397, which differs by 2.5 mas yr{sup -1} from two Hubble Space Telescope determinations while agreeing with previous ground-based ones. We determine orbits for all three clusters in an axisymmetric and barred model of the Galaxy and discuss these in the context of globular-cluster formation. M22 is a well-known cluster with an iron abundance spread; such clusters are now believed to have formed in massive parent systems that can retain ejecta of core-collapsed supernovae. We find that the five currently accepted globular clusters with iron/calcium abundance spread show orbits unrelated to each other, thus suggesting at least five independent, massive progenitors that have contributed to the build-up of the Milky-Way halo.

Improving the Accuracy of Laplacian Estimation with Novel Variable Inter-Ring Distances Concentric Ring Electrodes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oleksandr Makeyev

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Noninvasive concentric ring electrodes are a promising alternative to conventional disc electrodes. Currently, the superiority of tripolar concentric ring electrodes over disc electrodes, in particular, in accuracy of Laplacian estimation, has been demonstrated in a range of applications. In our recent work, we have shown that accuracy of Laplacian estimation can be improved with multipolar concentric ring electrodes using a general approach to estimation of the Laplacian for an (n + 1-polar electrode with n rings using the (4n + 1-point method for n ≥ 2. This paper takes the next step toward further improving the Laplacian estimate by proposing novel variable inter-ring distances concentric ring electrodes. Derived using a modified (4n + 1-point method, linearly increasing and decreasing inter-ring distances tripolar (n = 2 and quadripolar (n = 3 electrode configurations are compared to their constant inter-ring distances counterparts. Finite element method modeling and analytic results are consistent and suggest that increasing inter-ring distances electrode configurations may decrease the truncation error resulting in more accurate Laplacian estimates compared to respective constant inter-ring distances configurations. For currently used tripolar electrode configuration, the truncation error may be decreased more than two-fold, while for the quadripolar configuration more than a six-fold decrease is expected.

Improving the Accuracy of Laplacian Estimation with Novel Variable Inter-Ring Distances Concentric Ring Electrodes

Science.gov (United States)

Makeyev, Oleksandr; Besio, Walter G.

2016-01-01

Noninvasive concentric ring electrodes are a promising alternative to conventional disc electrodes. Currently, the superiority of tripolar concentric ring electrodes over disc electrodes, in particular, in accuracy of Laplacian estimation, has been demonstrated in a range of applications. In our recent work, we have shown that accuracy of Laplacian estimation can be improved with multipolar concentric ring electrodes using a general approach to estimation of the Laplacian for an (n + 1)-polar electrode with n rings using the (4n + 1)-point method for n ≥ 2. This paper takes the next step toward further improving the Laplacian estimate by proposing novel variable inter-ring distances concentric ring electrodes. Derived using a modified (4n + 1)-point method, linearly increasing and decreasing inter-ring distances tripolar (n = 2) and quadripolar (n = 3) electrode configurations are compared to their constant inter-ring distances counterparts. Finite element method modeling and analytic results are consistent and suggest that increasing inter-ring distances electrode configurations may decrease the truncation error resulting in more accurate Laplacian estimates compared to respective constant inter-ring distances configurations. For currently used tripolar electrode configuration, the truncation error may be decreased more than two-fold, while for the quadripolar configuration more than a six-fold decrease is expected. PMID:27294933

Setup error and motion during deep inspiration breath-hold breast radiotherapy measured with continuous portal imaging

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lutz, Christina Maria; Poulsen, Per Rugaard; Fledelius, Walther

2016-01-01

BACKGROUND: The position and residual motion of the chest wall of breast cancer patients during treatment in deep inspiration breath-hold (DIBH) were investigated. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study included 58 left-sided breast cancer patients treated with DIBH three-dimensional (3D) conformal......). At every third treatment fraction, continuous portal images were acquired. The time-resolved chest wall position during treatment was compared with the planned position to determine the inter-fraction setup errors and the intra-fraction motion of the chest wall. RESULTS: The DIBH compliance was 95% during...

A Cluster-Based Dual-Adaptive Topology Control Approach in Wireless Sensor Networks

Science.gov (United States)

Gui, Jinsong; Zhou, Kai; Xiong, Naixue

2016-01-01

Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO) can improve wireless network performance. Sensors are usually single-antenna devices due to the high hardware complexity and cost, so several sensors are used to form virtual MIMO array, which is a desirable approach to efficiently take advantage of MIMO gains. Also, in large Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs), clustering can improve the network scalability, which is an effective topology control approach. The existing virtual MIMO-based clustering schemes do not either fully explore the benefits of MIMO or adaptively determine the clustering ranges. Also, clustering mechanism needs to be further improved to enhance the cluster structure life. In this paper, we propose an improved clustering scheme for virtual MIMO-based topology construction (ICV-MIMO), which can determine adaptively not only the inter-cluster transmission modes but also the clustering ranges. Through the rational division of cluster head function and the optimization of cluster head selection criteria and information exchange process, the ICV-MIMO scheme effectively reduces the network energy consumption and improves the lifetime of the cluster structure when compared with the existing typical virtual MIMO-based scheme. Moreover, the message overhead and time complexity are still in the same order of magnitude. PMID:27681731

A Cluster-Based Dual-Adaptive Topology Control Approach in Wireless Sensor Networks

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jinsong Gui

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Multi-Input Multi-Output (MIMO can improve wireless network performance. Sensors are usually single-antenna devices due to the high hardware complexity and cost, so several sensors are used to form virtual MIMO array, which is a desirable approach to efficiently take advantage of MIMO gains. Also, in large Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs, clustering can improve the network scalability, which is an effective topology control approach. The existing virtual MIMO-based clustering schemes do not either fully explore the benefits of MIMO or adaptively determine the clustering ranges. Also, clustering mechanism needs to be further improved to enhance the cluster structure life. In this paper, we propose an improved clustering scheme for virtual MIMO-based topology construction (ICV-MIMO, which can determine adaptively not only the inter-cluster transmission modes but also the clustering ranges. Through the rational division of cluster head function and the optimization of cluster head selection criteria and information exchange process, the ICV-MIMO scheme effectively reduces the network energy consumption and improves the lifetime of the cluster structure when compared with the existing typical virtual MIMO-based scheme. Moreover, the message overhead and time complexity are still in the same order of magnitude.

A research on motion design for APP's loading pages based on time perception

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Huai; Hu, Xiaoyun

2018-04-01

Due to restrictions caused by objective reasons like network bandwidth, hardware performance and etc., waiting is still an inevitable phenomenon that appears in our using mobile-terminal products. Relevant researches show that users' feelings in a waiting scenario can affect their evaluations on the whole product and services the product provides. With the development of user experience and inter-facial design subjects, the role of motion effect in the interface design has attracted more and more scholars' attention. In the current studies, the research theory of motion design in a waiting scenario is imperfect. This article will use the basic theory and experimental research methods of cognitive psychology to explore the motion design's impact on user's time perception when users are waiting for loading APP pages. Firstly, the article analyzes the factors that affect waiting experience of loading APP pages based on the theory of time perception, and then discusses motion design's impact on the level of time-perception when loading pages and its design strategy. Moreover, by the operation analysis of existing loading motion designs, the article classifies the existing loading motions and designs an experiment to verify the impact of different types of motions on the user's time perception. The result shows that the waiting time perception of mobile's terminals' APPs is related to the loading motion types, the combination type of loading motions can effectively shorten the waiting time perception as it scores a higher mean value in the length of time perception.

Hydrological excitation of polar motion by different variables from the GLDAS models

Science.gov (United States)

Winska, Malgorzata; Nastula, Jolanta; Salstein, David

2017-12-01

Continental hydrological loading by land water, snow and ice is a process that is important for the full understanding of the excitation of polar motion. In this study, we compute different estimations of hydrological excitation functions of polar motion (as hydrological angular momentum, HAM) using various variables from the Global Land Data Assimilation System (GLDAS) models of the land-based hydrosphere. The main aim of this study is to show the influence of variables from different hydrological processes including evapotranspiration, runoff, snowmelt and soil moisture, on polar motion excitations at annual and short-term timescales. Hydrological excitation functions of polar motion are determined using selected variables of these GLDAS realizations. Furthermore, we use time-variable gravity field solutions from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) to determine the hydrological mass effects on polar motion excitation. We first conduct an intercomparison of the maps of variations of regional hydrological excitation functions, timing and phase diagrams of different regional and global HAMs. Next, we estimate the hydrological signal in geodetically observed polar motion excitation as a residual by subtracting the contributions of atmospheric angular momentum and oceanic angular momentum. Finally, the hydrological excitations are compared with those hydrological signals determined from residuals of the observed polar motion excitation series. The results will help us understand the relative importance of polar motion excitation within the individual hydrological processes, based on hydrological modeling. This method will allow us to estimate how well the polar motion excitation budget in the seasonal and inter-annual spectral ranges can be closed.

The threshold bootstrap clustering: a new approach to find families or transmission clusters within molecular quasispecies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mattia C F Prosperi

2010-10-01

Full Text Available Phylogenetic methods produce hierarchies of molecular species, inferring knowledge about taxonomy and evolution. However, there is not yet a consensus methodology that provides a crisp partition of taxa, desirable when considering the problem of intra/inter-patient quasispecies classification or infection transmission event identification. We introduce the threshold bootstrap clustering (TBC, a new methodology for partitioning molecular sequences, that does not require a phylogenetic tree estimation.The TBC is an incremental partition algorithm, inspired by the stochastic Chinese restaurant process, and takes advantage of resampling techniques and models of sequence evolution. TBC uses as input a multiple alignment of molecular sequences and its output is a crisp partition of the taxa into an automatically determined number of clusters. By varying initial conditions, the algorithm can produce different partitions. We describe a procedure that selects a prime partition among a set of candidate ones and calculates a measure of cluster reliability. TBC was successfully tested for the identification of type-1 human immunodeficiency and hepatitis C virus subtypes, and compared with previously established methodologies. It was also evaluated in the problem of HIV-1 intra-patient quasispecies clustering, and for transmission cluster identification, using a set of sequences from patients with known transmission event histories.TBC has been shown to be effective for the subtyping of HIV and HCV, and for identifying intra-patient quasispecies. To some extent, the algorithm was able also to infer clusters corresponding to events of infection transmission. The computational complexity of TBC is quadratic in the number of taxa, lower than other established methods; in addition, TBC has been enhanced with a measure of cluster reliability. The TBC can be useful to characterise molecular quasipecies in a broad context.

The threshold bootstrap clustering: a new approach to find families or transmission clusters within molecular quasispecies.

Science.gov (United States)

Prosperi, Mattia C F; De Luca, Andrea; Di Giambenedetto, Simona; Bracciale, Laura; Fabbiani, Massimiliano; Cauda, Roberto; Salemi, Marco

2010-10-25

Phylogenetic methods produce hierarchies of molecular species, inferring knowledge about taxonomy and evolution. However, there is not yet a consensus methodology that provides a crisp partition of taxa, desirable when considering the problem of intra/inter-patient quasispecies classification or infection transmission event identification. We introduce the threshold bootstrap clustering (TBC), a new methodology for partitioning molecular sequences, that does not require a phylogenetic tree estimation. The TBC is an incremental partition algorithm, inspired by the stochastic Chinese restaurant process, and takes advantage of resampling techniques and models of sequence evolution. TBC uses as input a multiple alignment of molecular sequences and its output is a crisp partition of the taxa into an automatically determined number of clusters. By varying initial conditions, the algorithm can produce different partitions. We describe a procedure that selects a prime partition among a set of candidate ones and calculates a measure of cluster reliability. TBC was successfully tested for the identification of type-1 human immunodeficiency and hepatitis C virus subtypes, and compared with previously established methodologies. It was also evaluated in the problem of HIV-1 intra-patient quasispecies clustering, and for transmission cluster identification, using a set of sequences from patients with known transmission event histories. TBC has been shown to be effective for the subtyping of HIV and HCV, and for identifying intra-patient quasispecies. To some extent, the algorithm was able also to infer clusters corresponding to events of infection transmission. The computational complexity of TBC is quadratic in the number of taxa, lower than other established methods; in addition, TBC has been enhanced with a measure of cluster reliability. The TBC can be useful to characterise molecular quasipecies in a broad context.

Investigation of the molecular motions in Cd(NH/sub 3/)/sub 6/Cl/sub 2/ by NMR spectroscopy

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pislewski, N [Polska Akademia Nauk, Poznan. Inst. Fizyki Molekularnej; Ferris, L T.H. [University Coll., London (UK). Dept. of Chemistry

1981-07-01

NMR results are reported for intramolecular motion in Cd(NH/sub 3/)/sub 6/Cl/sub 2/. Below the 180 K phase transition, the motion of the NH/sub 3/ groups is well described by the Hilt-Hubbard theory with an activation energy of 9.63 kJ/mol. The inter-proton distance in NH/sub 3/ determined from relaxational measurements is 0.161 nm. Several K below and above the transition point, two phases with different spin-lattice relaxation times coexist.

On development and improvement of evaluation techniques for strong ground motion

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsutsumi, Hideaki; Wu, Changjiang; Kobayashi, Genyu; Mamada, Yutaka

2011-01-01

The NSC regulatory guide for reviewing seismic design, revised in September 2006 requires revision of evaluation method for design seismic ground motion. The new design seismic ground motion must be evaluated based on not only response spectra method but also fault model method. In the case of evaluation method using fault model, factors which affect ground motion (heterogeneous fault rupture, frequency dependence of radiation pattern on seismic waves and high-frequency reduction on observed spectrum (fmax)) were studied in order to apply the models to actual phenomenon. In the case of response spectra, attenuation relationships for earthquake response spectra on seismic basement, considering the earthquake source types (e.g. inter-plate, intra-plate and crustal types), were developed. In addition, in coping with the problems on evaluating ground motion amplification and attenuation in deep underground, JNES drills 3000 m deep boring and acquires the data for verification of new evaluation methods at deep borehole locating on sedimentary rock site in the Niigata Institute of Technology. Moreover JNES develops borehole seismometer enduring high temperature and high pressure and enabling multi-depth seismic observation system to perform vertical seismic array observation. (author)

Bio-inspired motion detection in an FPGA-based smart camera module

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Koehler, T; Roechter, F; Moeller, R; Lindemann, J P

2009-01-01

Flying insects, despite their relatively coarse vision and tiny nervous system, are capable of carrying out elegant and fast aerial manoeuvres. Studies of the fly visual system have shown that this is accomplished by the integration of signals from a large number of elementary motion detectors (EMDs) in just a few global flow detector cells. We developed an FPGA-based smart camera module with more than 10 000 single EMDs, which is closely modelled after insect motion-detection circuits with respect to overall architecture, resolution and inter-receptor spacing. Input to the EMD array is provided by a CMOS camera with a high frame rate. Designed as an adaptable solution for different engineering applications and as a testbed for biological models, the EMD detector type and parameters such as the EMD time constants, the motion-detection directions and the angle between correlated receptors are reconfigurable online. This allows a flexible and simultaneous detection of complex motion fields such as translation, rotation and looming, such that various tasks, e.g., obstacle avoidance, height/distance control or speed regulation can be performed by the same compact device

An extended two-lane car-following model accounting for inter-vehicle communication

Science.gov (United States)

Ou, Hui; Tang, Tie-Qiao

2018-04-01

In this paper, we develop a novel car-following model with inter-vehicle communication to explore each vehicle's movement in a two-lane traffic system when an incident occurs on a lane. The numerical results show that the proposed model can perfectly describe each vehicle's motion when an incident occurs, i.e., no collision occurs while the classical full velocity difference (FVD) model produces collision on each lane, which shows the proposed model is more reasonable. The above results can help drivers to reasonably adjust their driving behaviors when an incident occurs in a two-lane traffic system.

Inter-observer and inter-examination variability of manual vertebral bone attenuation measurements on computed tomography

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pompe, Esther; Lammers, Jan-Willem J.; Jong, Pim A. de; Jong, Werner U. de; Takx, Richard A.P.; Eikendal, Anouk L.M.; Willemink, Martin J.; Mohamed Hoesein, Firdaus A.A.; Oudkerk, Matthijs; Budde, Ricardo P.J.

2016-01-01

To determine inter-observer and inter-examination variability of manual attenuation measurements of the vertebrae in low-dose unenhanced chest computed tomography (CT). Three hundred and sixty-seven lung cancer screening trial participants who underwent baseline and repeat unenhanced low-dose CT after 3 months because of an indeterminate lung nodule were included. The CT attenuation value of the first lumbar vertebrae (L1) was measured in all CTs by one observer to obtain inter-examination reliability. Six observers performed measurements in 100 randomly selected CTs to determine agreement with limits of agreement and Bland-Altman plots and reliability with intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs). Reclassification analyses were performed using a threshold of 110 HU to define osteoporosis. Inter-examination reliability was excellent with an ICC of 0.92 (p < 0.001). Inter-examination limits of agreement ranged from -26 to 28 HU with a mean difference of 1 ± 14 HU. Inter-observer reliability ICCs ranged from 0.70 to 0.91. Inter-examination variability led to 11.2 % reclassification of participants and inter-observer variability led to 22.1 % reclassification. Vertebral attenuation values can be manually quantified with good to excellent inter-examination and inter-observer reliability on unenhanced low-dose chest CT. This information is valuable for early detection of osteoporosis on low-dose chest CT. (orig.)

Dating the Tidal Disruption of Globular Clusters with GAIA Data on Their Stellar Streams

Science.gov (United States)

Bose, Sownak; Ginsburg, Idan; Loeb, Abraham

2018-05-01

The Gaia mission promises to deliver precision astrometry at an unprecedented level, heralding a new era for discerning the kinematic and spatial coordinates of stars in our Galaxy. Here, we present a new technique for estimating the age of tidally disrupted globular cluster streams using the proper motions and parallaxes of tracer stars. We evolve the collisional dynamics of globular clusters within the evolving potential of a Milky Way-like halo extracted from a cosmological ΛCDM simulation and analyze the resultant streams as they would be observed by Gaia. The simulations sample a variety of globular cluster orbits, and account for stellar evolution and the gravitational influence of the disk of the Milky Way. We show that a characteristic timescale, obtained from the dispersion of the proper motions and parallaxes of stars within the stream, is a good indicator for the time elapsed since the stream has been freely expanding away due to the tidal disruption of the globular cluster. This timescale, in turn, places a lower limit on the age of the cluster. The age can be deduced from astrometry using a modest number of stars, with the error on this estimate depending on the proximity of the stream and the number of tracer stars used.

Interring Gas Dynamic Analysis of Piston in a Diesel Engine considering the Thermal Effect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wanyou Li

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Understanding the interaction between ring dynamics and gas transport in ring pack systems is crucial and needs to be imperatively studied. The present work features detailed interring gas dynamics of piston ring pack behavior in internal combustion engines. The model is developed for a ring pack with four rings. The dynamics of ring pack are simulated. Due to the fact that small changes in geometry of the grooves and lands would have a significant impact on the interring gas dynamics, the thermal deformation of piston has been considered during the ring pack motion analysis in this study. In order to get the temperature distribution of piston head more quickly and accurately, an efficient method utilizing the concept of inverse heat conduction is presented. Moreover, a sensitive analysis based on the analysis of partial regression coefficients is presented to investigate the effect of groove parameters on blowby.

Structural, magnetic and electronic properties of FexCoyIrz (x + y + z = 5, 6) clusters: an ab initio study

KAUST Repository

Devi, Assa Aravindh Sasikala

2014-05-01

Investigations on freestanding binary and ternary clusters of Fe (x) Co (y) Ir (z) (x + y + z = 5, 6) are carried out using ab initio density functional theory techniques. The geometry, chemical order, binding energy, magnetic moment and electronic structure of the clusters are analyzed for the entire range of composition. Composition dependent structural transition is observed in the five atom clusters, while octahedral geometry prevailed in clusters with six atoms. Both the clusters show increment in binding energy with the increase in number of heterogeneous bonds. Analysis based on the chemical order parameter indicates that clusters favor mixing rather than segregation. The clusters exhibit ferromagnetic ordering and the inter-dependence of optimal cluster geometry to the magnetic moments and electronic structure is observed.

Modeling Photoelectron Spectra of CuO, Cu2O, and CuO2 Anions with Equation-of-Motion Coupled-Cluster Methods: An Adventure in Fock Space.

Science.gov (United States)

Orms, Natalie; Krylov, Anna I

2018-04-12

The experimental photoelectron spectra of di- and triatomic copper oxide anions have been reported previously. We present an analysis of the experimental spectra of the CuO - , Cu 2 O - , and CuO 2 - anions using equation-of-motion coupled-cluster (EOM-CC) methods. The open-shell electronic structure of each molecule demands a unique combination of EOM-CC methods to achieve an accurate and balanced representation of the multiconfigurational anionic- and neutral-state manifolds. Analysis of the Dyson orbitals associated with photodetachment from CuO - reveals the strong non-Koopmans character of the CuO states. For the lowest detachment energy, a good agreement between theoretical and experimental values is obtained with CCSD(T) (coupled-cluster with single and double excitations and perturbative account of triple excitations). The (T) correction is particularly important for Cu 2 O - . Use of a relativistic pseudopotential and matching basis set improves the quality of results in most cases. EOM-DIP-CCSD analysis of the low-lying states of CuO 2 - reveals multiple singlet and triplet anionic states near the triplet ground state, adding an extra layer of complexity to the interpretation of the experimental CuO 2 - photoelectron spectrum.

CellPilot: Seamless communication within Cell BE and heterogeneous clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Girard, N; Carter, J; Gardner, W B; Grewal, G

2010-01-01

The Pilot library is targeted to novice scientific programmers within High Performance Computing. The CellPilot library extends the Pilot library to the Cell Broadband Engine processor and heterogeneous clusters. Using Pilot's process and channel abstractions, the CellPilot library can create a process on any of the processor types, both PPEs and SPEs, across the cluster. Communication is achieved by creating a channel between any two processes, and using the write/read channel functions in the participating processes. The CellPilot library uses MPI for the inter-node communication and the Cell SDK within a Cell node. All the architecture specific details of Cell communications are hidden from the user.

Motion-compensation of Cardiac Perfusion MRI using a Statistical Texture Ensemble

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stegmann, Mikkel Bille; Larsson, Henrik B. W.

2003-01-01

.g. analysis of large image databases or for live motion-compensation in modern MR scanners. Changes in image intensity during the bolus passage is modelled by an Active Appearance Model is augmented with a cluster analysis of the training set and priors on pose and shape. Preliminary validation of the method...

Clusters of Galaxies and the Cosmic Web with Square Kilometre Array

Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

The intra-cluster and inter-galactic media that pervade the large scale structure of the Universe are known to be magnetized at sub-micro Gauss to micro Gauss levels and to contain cosmic rays. The acceleration of cosmic rays and their evolution along with that of magnetic fields in these media is still not well understood.

Inter-Dye Distance Distributions Studied by a Combination of Single-Molecule FRET-Filtered Lifetime Measurements and a Weighted Accessible Volume (wAV Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Henning Höfig

2014-11-01

Full Text Available Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET is an important tool for studying the structural and dynamical properties of biomolecules. The fact that both the internal dynamics of the biomolecule and the movements of the biomolecule-attached dyes can occur on similar timescales of nanoseconds is an inherent problem in FRET studies. By performing single-molecule FRET-filtered lifetime measurements, we are able to characterize the amplitude of the motions of fluorescent probes attached to double-stranded DNA standards by means of flexible linkers. With respect to previously proposed experimental approaches, we improved the precision and the accuracy of the inter-dye distance distribution parameters by filtering out the donor-only population with pulsed interleaved excitation. A coarse-grained model is employed to reproduce the experimentally determined inter-dye distance distributions. This approach can easily be extended to intrinsically flexible proteins allowing, under certain conditions, to decouple the macromolecule amplitude of motions from the contribution of the dye linkers.

Modeling of earthquake ground motion in the frequency domain

Science.gov (United States)

Thrainsson, Hjortur

model is assessed using data from the SMART-1 array in Taiwan. The interpolation model provides an effective method to estimate ground motion at a site using recordings from stations located up to several kilometers away. Reliable estimates of differential ground motion are restricted to relatively limited ranges of frequencies and inter-station spacings.

Effect of solute atom concentration on vacancy cluster formation in neutron-irradiated Ni alloys

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Koichi; Itoh, Daiki; Yoshiie, Toshimasa; Xu, Qiu; Taniguchi, Akihiro; Toyama, Takeshi

2011-10-01

The dependence of microstructural evolution on solute atom concentration in Ni alloys was investigated by positron annihilation lifetime measurements. The positron annihilation lifetimes in pure Ni, Ni-0.05 at.%Si, Ni-0.05 at.%Sn, Ni-Cu, and Ni-Ge alloys were about 400 ps even at a low irradiation dose of 3 × 10 -4 dpa, indicating the presence of microvoids in these alloys. The size of vacancy clusters in Ni-Si and Ni-Sn alloys decreased with an increase in the solute atom concentration at irradiation doses less than 0.1 dpa; vacancy clusters started to grow at an irradiation dose of about 0.1 dpa. In Ni-2 at.%Si, irradiation-induced segregation was detected by positron annihilation coincidence Doppler broadening measurements. This segregation suppressed one-dimensional (1-D) motion of the interstitial clusters and promoted mutual annihilation of point defects. The frequency and mean free path of the 1-D motion depended on the solute atom concentration and the amount of segregation.

Smartphone photography utilized to measure wrist range of motion.

Science.gov (United States)

Wagner, Eric R; Conti Mica, Megan; Shin, Alexander Y

2018-02-01

The purpose was to determine if smartphone photography is a reliable tool in measuring wrist movement. Smartphones were used to take digital photos of both wrists in 32 normal participants (64 wrists) at extremes of wrist motion. The smartphone measurements were compared with clinical goniometry measurements. There was a very high correlation between the clinical goniometry and smartphone measurements, as the concordance coefficients were high for radial deviation, ulnar deviation, wrist extension and wrist flexion. The Pearson coefficients also demonstrated the high precision of the smartphone measurements. The Bland-Altman plots demonstrated 29-31 of 32 smartphone measurements were within the 95% confidence interval of the clinical measurements for all positions of the wrists. There was high reliability between the photography taken by the volunteer and researcher, as well as high inter-observer reliability. Smartphone digital photography is a reliable and accurate tool for measuring wrist range of motion. II.

Using the structure of social networks to map inter-agency relationships in public health services.

Science.gov (United States)

West, Robert M; House, Allan O; Keen, Justin; Ward, Vicky L

2015-11-01

This article investigates network governance in the context of health and wellbeing services in England, focussing on relationships between managers in a range of services. There are three aims, namely to investigate, (i) the configurations of networks, (ii) the stability of network relationships over time and, (iii) the balance between formal and informal ties that underpin inter-agency relationships. Latent position cluster network models were used to characterise relationships. Managers were asked two questions, both designed to characterise informal relationships. The resulting networks differed substantially from one another in membership. Managers described networks of relationships that spanned organisational boundaries, and that changed substantially over time. The findings suggest that inter-agency co-ordination depends more on informal than on formal relationships. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Electric dipole moments of nanosolvated acid molecules in water clusters.

Science.gov (United States)

Guggemos, Nicholas; Slavíček, Petr; Kresin, Vitaly V

2015-01-30

The electric dipole moments of (H2O)nDCl (n=3-9) clusters have been measured by the beam-deflection method. Reflecting the (dynamical) charge distribution within the system, the dipole moment contributes information about the microscopic structure of nanoscale solvation. The addition of a DCl molecule to a water cluster results in a strongly enhanced susceptibility. There is evidence for a noticeable rise in the dipole moment occurring at n≈5-6. This size is consistent with predictions for the onset of ionic dissociation. Additionally, a molecular-dynamics model suggests that even with a nominally bound impurity an enhanced dipole moment can arise due to the thermal and zero-point motion of the proton and the water molecules. The experimental measurements and the calculations draw attention to the importance of fluctuations in defining the polarity of water-based nanoclusters and generally to the essential role played by motional effects in determining the response of fluxional nanoscale systems under realistic conditions.

Satellite cluster flight using on-off cyclic control

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Hao; Gurfil, Pini

2015-01-01

Nano-satellite clusters and disaggregated satellites are new concepts in the realm of distributed satellite systems, which require complex cluster management - mainly regulating the maximal and minimal inter-satellite distances on time scales of years - while utilizing simple on-off propulsion systems. The simple actuators and long time scales require judicious astrodynamical modeling coupled with specialized orbit control. This paper offers a satellite cluster orbit control law which works for long time scales in a perturbed environment while utilizing fixed-magnitude thrusters. The main idea is to design a distributed controller which balances the fuel consumption among the satellites, thus mitigating the effect of differential drag perturbations. The underlying methodology utilizes a cyclic control algorithm based on a mean orbital elements feedback. Stability properties of the closed-loop cyclic control system do not adhere to the classical Lyapunov stability theory, so an effort is made to define and implement a suitable stability theory of noncompact equilibria sets. A state selection scheme is proposed for efficiently establishing a low Earth orbit cluster. Several simulations, including a real mission study, and several comparative investigations, are performed to show the strengths of the proposed control law.

Correction of gene expression data: Performance-dependency on inter-replicate and inter-treatment biases.

Science.gov (United States)

Darbani, Behrooz; Stewart, C Neal; Noeparvar, Shahin; Borg, Søren

2014-10-20

This report investigates for the first time the potential inter-treatment bias source of cell number for gene expression studies. Cell-number bias can affect gene expression analysis when comparing samples with unequal total cellular RNA content or with different RNA extraction efficiencies. For maximal reliability of analysis, therefore, comparisons should be performed at the cellular level. This could be accomplished using an appropriate correction method that can detect and remove the inter-treatment bias for cell-number. Based on inter-treatment variations of reference genes, we introduce an analytical approach to examine the suitability of correction methods by considering the inter-treatment bias as well as the inter-replicate variance, which allows use of the best correction method with minimum residual bias. Analyses of RNA sequencing and microarray data showed that the efficiencies of correction methods are influenced by the inter-treatment bias as well as the inter-replicate variance. Therefore, we recommend inspecting both of the bias sources in order to apply the most efficient correction method. As an alternative correction strategy, sequential application of different correction approaches is also advised. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Energy Efficient Clustering in Multi-hop Wireless Sensor Networks Using Differential Evolutionary MOPSO

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. Rajendra Prasad

Full Text Available ABSTRACT The primary challenge in organizing sensor networks is energy efficacy. This requisite for energy efficacy is because sensor nodes capacities are limited and replacing them is not viable. This restriction further decreases network lifetime. Node lifetime varies depending on the requisites expected of its battery. Hence, primary element in constructing sensor networks is resilience to deal with decreasing lifetime of all sensor nodes. Various network infrastructures as well as their routing protocols for reduction of power utilization as well as to prolong network lifetime are studied. After analysis, it is observed that network constructions that depend on clustering are the most effective methods in terms of power utilization. Clustering divides networks into inter-related clusters such that every cluster has several sensor nodes with a Cluster Head (CH at its head. Sensor gathered information is transmitted to data processing centers through CH hierarchy in clustered environments. The current study utilizes Multi-Objective Particle Swarm Optimization (MOPSO-Differential Evolution (DE (MOPSO-DE technique for optimizing clustering.

Shape-correlated deformation statistics for respiratory motion prediction in 4D lung

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Xiaoxiao; Oguz, Ipek; Pizer, Stephen M.; Mageras, Gig S.

2010-02-01

4D image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) for free-breathing lungs is challenging due to the complicated respiratory dynamics. Effective modeling of respiratory motion is crucial to account for the motion affects on the dose to tumors. We propose a shape-correlated statistical model on dense image deformations for patient-specic respiratory motion estimation in 4D lung IGRT. Using the shape deformations of the high-contrast lungs as the surrogate, the statistical model trained from the planning CTs can be used to predict the image deformation during delivery verication time, with the assumption that the respiratory motion at both times are similar for the same patient. Dense image deformation fields obtained by diffeomorphic image registrations characterize the respiratory motion within one breathing cycle. A point-based particle optimization algorithm is used to obtain the shape models of lungs with group-wise surface correspondences. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) is adopted in training to maximize the linear correlation between the shape variations of the lungs and the corresponding dense image deformations. Both intra- and inter-session CT studies are carried out on a small group of lung cancer patients and evaluated in terms of the tumor location accuracies. The results suggest potential applications using the proposed method.

VizieR Online Data Catalog: Proper motions in M 11 (Su+ 1998)

Science.gov (United States)

Su, C.-G.; Zhao, J.-L.; Tian, K.-P.

1997-07-01

Relative proper motions of 872 stars in the open cluster M 11 region are reduced using 10 plate pairs taken over time baselines of 16~70 years with the double astrograph telescope of Shanghai Observatory. The scale is 30"/mm. The plates were measured with the PDS machines in the Purple Mountain Observatory in Nanjing and the Institute of Technology and Communication in Luoyang, China. The average proper motion accuracy is about 1.1mas/yr with 85% of the data better than 1mas/yr. Membership probabilities of 785 stars within 25' centred on M 11 are determined based on their proper motions. The method used is suggested by Su et al. (1995AcApS..15..217S) with some improvements of Zhao & He (1990A&A...237...54Z), in which the space distribution and magnitude dependencies for cluster stars are taken into account. The results are significantly good. The total integrated membership probabilities for all these stars is 547 and the number of stars with probabilities higher than 0.7 is 541. It can be found after the membership determination that there exists mass segregation in M 11. Some comparisons and discussion are also given. (1 data file).

Analytical Energy Gradients for Excited-State Coupled-Cluster Methods

Science.gov (United States)

Wladyslawski, Mark; Nooijen, Marcel

The equation-of-motion coupled-cluster (EOM-CC) and similarity transformed equation-of-motion coupled-cluster (STEOM-CC) methods have been firmly established as accurate and routinely applicable extensions of single-reference coupled-cluster theory to describe electronically excited states. An overview of these methods is provided, with emphasis on the many-body similarity transform concept that is the key to a rationalization of their accuracy. The main topic of the paper is the derivation of analytical energy gradients for such non-variational electronic structure approaches, with an ultimate focus on obtaining their detailed algebraic working equations. A general theoretical framework using Lagrange's method of undetermined multipliers is presented, and the method is applied to formulate the EOM-CC and STEOM-CC gradients in abstract operator terms, following the previous work in [P.G. Szalay, Int. J. Quantum Chem. 55 (1995) 151] and [S.R. Gwaltney, R.J. Bartlett, M. Nooijen, J. Chem. Phys. 111 (1999) 58]. Moreover, the systematics of the Lagrange multiplier approach is suitable for automation by computer, enabling the derivation of the detailed derivative equations through a standardized and direct procedure. To this end, we have developed the SMART (Symbolic Manipulation and Regrouping of Tensors) package of automated symbolic algebra routines, written in the Mathematica programming language. The SMART toolkit provides the means to expand, differentiate, and simplify equations by manipulation of the detailed algebraic tensor expressions directly. The Lagrangian multiplier formulation establishes a uniform strategy to perform the automated derivation in a standardized manner: A Lagrange multiplier functional is constructed from the explicit algebraic equations that define the energy in the electronic method; the energy functional is then made fully variational with respect to all of its parameters, and the symbolic differentiations directly yield the explicit

Dynamic stabilities of icosahedral-like clusters and their ability to form quasicrystals

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liang, Xiaogang; Hamid, Ilyar; Duan, Haiming, E-mail: dhm@xju.edu.cn [College of Physics Science and Technology. Xinjiang University, Urumqi 830046 (China)

2016-06-15

The dynamic stabilities of the icosahedral-like clusters containing up to 2200 atoms are investigated for 15 metal elements. The clusters originate from five different initial structures (icosahedron, truncated decahedron, octahedron, closed-shell fragment of an HCP structure, and non-closed-shell fragment of an HCP structure). The obtained order of the dynamic stabilities of the icosahedral-like clusters can be assigned to three groups, from stronger to weaker, according to the size ranges involved: (Zr, Al, Ti) > (Cu, Fe, Co, Ni, Mg, Ag) > (Pb, Au, Pd, Pt, Rh, Ir), which correspond to the predicted formation ability of the quasicrystals. The differences of the sequences can be explained by analyzing the parameters of the Gupta-type many-body inter-atomic potentials.

Hypervelocity stars from young stellar clusters in the Galactic Centre

Science.gov (United States)

Fragione, G.; Capuzzo-Dolcetta, R.; Kroupa, P.

2017-05-01

The enormous velocities of the so-called hypervelocity stars (HVSs) derive, likely, from close interactions with massive black holes, binary stars encounters or supernova explosions. In this paper, we investigate the origin of HVSs as consequence of the close interaction between the Milky Way central massive black hole and a passing-by young stellar cluster. We found that both single and binary HVSs may be generated in a burst-like event, as the cluster passes near the orbital pericentre. High-velocity stars will move close to the initial cluster orbital plane and in the direction of the cluster orbital motion at the pericentre. The binary fraction of these HVS jets depends on the primordial binary fraction in the young cluster. The level of initial mass segregation determines the value of the average mass of the ejected stars. Some binary stars will merge, continuing their travel across and out of the Galaxy as blue stragglers.

An incremental DPMM-based method for trajectory clustering, modeling, and retrieval.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Weiming; Li, Xi; Tian, Guodong; Maybank, Stephen; Zhang, Zhongfei

2013-05-01

Trajectory analysis is the basis for many applications, such as indexing of motion events in videos, activity recognition, and surveillance. In this paper, the Dirichlet process mixture model (DPMM) is applied to trajectory clustering, modeling, and retrieval. We propose an incremental version of a DPMM-based clustering algorithm and apply it to cluster trajectories. An appropriate number of trajectory clusters is determined automatically. When trajectories belonging to new clusters arrive, the new clusters can be identified online and added to the model without any retraining using the previous data. A time-sensitive Dirichlet process mixture model (tDPMM) is applied to each trajectory cluster for learning the trajectory pattern which represents the time-series characteristics of the trajectories in the cluster. Then, a parameterized index is constructed for each cluster. A novel likelihood estimation algorithm for the tDPMM is proposed, and a trajectory-based video retrieval model is developed. The tDPMM-based probabilistic matching method and the DPMM-based model growing method are combined to make the retrieval model scalable and adaptable. Experimental comparisons with state-of-the-art algorithms demonstrate the effectiveness of our algorithm.

Clustering of near clusters versus cluster compactness

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yu Gao; Yipeng Jing

1989-01-01

The clustering properties of near Zwicky clusters are studied by using the two-point angular correlation function. The angular correlation functions for compact and medium compact clusters, for open clusters, and for all near Zwicky clusters are estimated. The results show much stronger clustering for compact and medium compact clusters than for open clusters, and that open clusters have nearly the same clustering strength as galaxies. A detailed study of the compactness-dependence of correlation function strength is worth investigating. (author)

A triboelectric motion sensor in wearable body sensor network for human activity recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Hui Huang; Xian Li; Ye Sun

2016-08-01

The goal of this study is to design a novel triboelectric motion sensor in wearable body sensor network for human activity recognition. Physical activity recognition is widely used in well-being management, medical diagnosis and rehabilitation. Other than traditional accelerometers, we design a novel wearable sensor system based on triboelectrification. The triboelectric motion sensor can be easily attached to human body and collect motion signals caused by physical activities. The experiments are conducted to collect five common activity data: sitting and standing, walking, climbing upstairs, downstairs, and running. The k-Nearest Neighbor (kNN) clustering algorithm is adopted to recognize these activities and validate the feasibility of this new approach. The results show that our system can perform physical activity recognition with a successful rate over 80% for walking, sitting and standing. The triboelectric structure can also be used as an energy harvester for motion harvesting due to its high output voltage in random low-frequency motion.

Auditory motion capturing ambiguous visual motion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arjen eAlink

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this study, it is demonstrated that moving sounds have an effect on the direction in which one sees visual stimuli move. During the main experiment sounds were presented consecutively at four speaker locations inducing left- or rightwards auditory apparent motion. On the path of auditory apparent motion, visual apparent motion stimuli were presented with a high degree of directional ambiguity. The main outcome of this experiment is that our participants perceived visual apparent motion stimuli that were ambiguous (equally likely to be perceived as moving left- or rightwards more often as moving in the same direction than in the opposite direction of auditory apparent motion. During the control experiment we replicated this finding and found no effect of sound motion direction on eye movements. This indicates that auditory motion can capture our visual motion percept when visual motion direction is insufficiently determinate without affecting eye movements.

IDENTIFICATION OF A NEW RELATIVELY OLD STAR CLUSTER IN THE SMALL MAGELLANIC CLOUD

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Piatti, Andres E., E-mail: andres@iafe.uba.ar [Instituto de Astronomia y Fisica del Espacio, CC 67, Suc. 28, 1428 Ciudad de Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2012-09-10

We present results on the age and metallicity estimates of the astonishingly unstudied Small Magellanic Cloud (SMC) cluster (ESO 51-SC09), from CCD BVI photometry obtained at the ESO NTT with the EMMI attached. ESO 51-SC09 turns out to be a relatively small cluster (FWHM = 10 {+-} 1 pc) located {approx}4 Degree-Sign northward from the galaxy center. We report for the first time a mean cluster age of 7.0 {+-} 1.3 Gyr and a mean cluster metallicity of [Fe/H] = -1.00 {+-} 0.15 dex, concluding that ESO 51-SC09 belongs to the group of the oldest SMC clusters. We found that the cluster is projected onto an older (age {approx}10-13 Gyr) and more metal-poor ([Fe/H] = -1.3 {+-} 0.2 dex) dominant field stellar population, so that the cluster could have reached its current location because of its orbital motion.

New Cepheid variables in the young open clusters Berkeley 51 and Berkeley 55

Science.gov (United States)

Lohr, M. E.; Negueruela, I.; Tabernero, H. M.; Clark, J. S.; Lewis, F.; Roche, P.

2018-05-01

As part of a wider investigation of evolved massive stars in Galactic open clusters, we have spectroscopically identified three candidate classical Cepheids in the little-studied clusters Berkeley 51, Berkeley 55 and NGC 6603. Using new multi-epoch photometry, we confirm that Be 51 #162 and Be 55 #107 are bona fide Cepheids, with pulsation periods of 9.83±0.01 d and 5.850±0.005 d respectively, while NGC 6603 star W2249 does not show significant photometric variability. Using the period-luminosity relationship for Cepheid variables, we determine a distance to Be 51 of 5.3^{+1.0}_{-0.8} kpc and an age of 44^{+9}_{-8} Myr, placing it in a sparsely-attested region of the Perseus arm. For Be 55, we find a distance of 2.2±0.3 kpc and age of 63^{+12}_{-11} Myr, locating the cluster in the Local arm. Taken together with our recent discovery of a long-period Cepheid in the starburst cluster VdBH222, these represent an important increase in the number of young, massive Cepheids known in Galactic open clusters. We also consider new Gaia (data release 2) parallaxes and proper motions for members of Be 51 and Be 55; the uncertainties on the parallaxes do not allow us to refine our distance estimates to these clusters, but the well-constrained proper motion measurements furnish further confirmation of cluster membership. However, future final Gaia parallaxes for such objects should provide valuable independent distance measurements, improving the calibration of the period-luminosity relationship, with implications for the distance ladder out to cosmological scales.

Sub-nanometer distances and cluster shapes in dense hydrogen and in higher levels of hydrogen Rydberg matter by phase-delay spectroscopy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Holmlid, Leif

2011-01-01

The inter-atomic distances in potassium clusters of Rydberg matter (RM) at excitation levels n B = 4–8 were recently measured by phase-delay spectroscopy (Holmlid, J Nanopart Res 12: 273, 2010). Excitation levels n B B = 1, 2, and 3 is found. Close-packing is the main structure both in planar and 3D clusters. Planar clusters are only observed for n B = 1 and 3, while 3D clusters are found in excitation levels n B = 1, 2 and 3. The cluster–cluster distance in stacks of planar clusters for n B = 2 and 3 is now observed for the first time.

Cluster-cluster clustering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Barnes, J.; Dekel, A.; Efstathiou, G.; Frenk, C.S.; Yale Univ., New Haven, CT; California Univ., Santa Barbara; Cambridge Univ., England; Sussex Univ., Brighton, England)

1985-01-01

The cluster correlation function xi sub c(r) is compared with the particle correlation function, xi(r) in cosmological N-body simulations with a wide range of initial conditions. The experiments include scale-free initial conditions, pancake models with a coherence length in the initial density field, and hybrid models. Three N-body techniques and two cluster-finding algorithms are used. In scale-free models with white noise initial conditions, xi sub c and xi are essentially identical. In scale-free models with more power on large scales, it is found that the amplitude of xi sub c increases with cluster richness; in this case the clusters give a biased estimate of the particle correlations. In the pancake and hybrid models (with n = 0 or 1), xi sub c is steeper than xi, but the cluster correlation length exceeds that of the points by less than a factor of 2, independent of cluster richness. Thus the high amplitude of xi sub c found in studies of rich clusters of galaxies is inconsistent with white noise and pancake models and may indicate a primordial fluctuation spectrum with substantial power on large scales. 30 references

The Globular Cluster NGC 6402 (M14). II. Variable Stars

Science.gov (United States)

Contreras Peña, C.; Catelan, M.; Grundahl, F.; Stephens, A. W.; Smith, H. A.

2018-03-01

We present time-series BVI photometry for the Galactic globular cluster NGC 6402 (M14). The data consist of ∼137 images per filter, obtained using the 0.9 and 1.0 m SMARTS telescopes at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory. The images were obtained during two observing runs in 2006–2007. The image-subtraction package ISIS, along with DAOPHOT II/ALLFRAME, was used to perform crowded-field photometry and search for variable stars. We identified 130 variables, eight of which are new discoveries. The variable star population is comprised of 56 ab-type RR Lyrae stars, 54 c-type RR Lyrae, 6 type II Cepheids, 1 W UMa star, 1 detached eclipsing binary, and 12 long-period variables. We provide Fourier decomposition parameters for the RR Lyrae, and discuss the physical parameters and photometric metallicity derived therefrom. The M14 distance modulus is also discussed, based on different approaches for the calibration of the absolute magnitudes of RR Lyrae stars. The possible presence of second-overtone RR Lyrae in M14 is critically addressed, with our results arguing against this possibility. By considering all of the RR Lyrae stars as members of the cluster, we derive =0.589 {{d}}{{a}}{{y}}{{s}}. This, together with the position of the RR Lyrae stars of both Bailey types in the period–amplitude diagram, suggests an Oosterhoff-intermediate classification for the cluster. Such an intermediate Oosterhoff type is much more commonly found in nearby extragalactic systems, and we critically discuss several other possible indications that may point to an extragalactic origin for this cluster. Based on observations obtained with the 0.9 m and 1 m telescopes at the Cerro Tololo Inter-American Observatory, Chile, operated by the SMARTS consortium.

Inter-operator and inter-device agreement and reliability of the SEM Scanner.

Science.gov (United States)

Clendenin, Marta; Jaradeh, Kindah; Shamirian, Anasheh; Rhodes, Shannon L

2015-02-01

The SEM Scanner is a medical device designed for use by healthcare providers as part of pressure ulcer prevention programs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the inter-rater and inter-device agreement and reliability of the SEM Scanner. Thirty-one (31) volunteers free of pressure ulcers or broken skin at the sternum, sacrum, and heels were assessed with the SEM Scanner. Each of three operators utilized each of three devices to collect readings from four anatomical sites (sternum, sacrum, left and right heels) on each subject for a total of 108 readings per subject collected over approximately 30 min. For each combination of operator-device-anatomical site, three SEM readings were collected. Inter-operator and inter-device agreement and reliability were estimated. Over the course of this study, more than 3000 SEM Scanner readings were collected. Agreement between operators was good with mean differences ranging from -0.01 to 0.11. Inter-operator and inter-device reliability exceeded 0.80 at all anatomical sites assessed. The results of this study demonstrate the high reliability and good agreement of the SEM Scanner across different operators and different devices. Given the limitations of current methods to prevent and detect pressure ulcers, the SEM Scanner shows promise as an objective, reliable tool for assessing the presence or absence of pressure-induced tissue damage such as pressure ulcers. Copyright © 2015 Bruin Biometrics, LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Determining inter-fractional motion of the uterus using 3D ultrasound imaging during radiotherapy for cervical cancer

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Baker, Mariwan; Jensen, Jørgen Arendt; Behrens, Claus F.

2014-01-01

Uterine positional changes can reduce the accuracy of radiotherapy for cervical cancer patients. The purpose of this study was to; 1) Quantify the inter-fractional uterine displacement using a novel 3D ultrasound (US) imaging system, and 2) Compare the result with the bone match shift determined ...... uterus. Uterine shifts based on US imaging contains relative uterus-bone displacement, which is not taken into consideration using CBCT bone match....

Morphology of clusters of attractive dry and wet self-propelled spherical particle suspensions.

Science.gov (United States)

Alarcón, Francisco; Valeriani, Chantal; Pagonabarraga, Ignacio

2017-01-25

In order to assess the effect of hydrodynamics in the assembly of active attractive spheres, we simulate a semi-dilute suspension of attractive self-propelled spherical particles in a quasi-two dimensional geometry comparing the case with and without hydrodynamics interactions. To start with, independent of the presence of hydrodynamics, we observe that depending on the ratio between attraction and propulsion, particles either coarsen or aggregate forming finite-size clusters. Focusing on the clustering regime, we characterize two different cluster parameters, i.e. their morphology and orientational order, and compare the case when active particles behave either as pushers or pullers (always in the regime where inter-particle attractions compete with self-propulsion). Studying cluster phases for squirmers with respect to those obtained for active Brownian disks (indicated as ABPs), we have shown that hydrodynamics alone can sustain a cluster phase of active swimmers (pullers), while ABPs form cluster phases due to the competition between attraction and self-propulsion. The structural properties of the cluster phases of squirmers and ABPs are similar, although squirmers show sensitivity to active stresses. Active Brownian disks resemble weakly pusher squirmer suspensions in terms of cluster size distribution, structure of the radius of gyration on the cluster size and degree of cluster polarity.

Inter-Rifting and Inter-Seismic Strain Accumulation in a Propagating Ridge System: A Geodetic Study from South Iceland

Science.gov (United States)

Travis, M. E.; La Femina, P. C.; Geirsson, H.

2012-12-01

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a slow spreading (~19 mm/yr) mid-ocean ridge boundary between the North American and Eurasian plates, is exposed subaerially in Iceland as the result of ridge-hotspot interaction. Plate spreading in Iceland is accommodated along neovolcanic zones comprised of central volcanoes and their fissure swarms. In south Iceland plate motion is partitioned between the Western Volcanic Zone (WVZ) and Eastern Volcanic Zone (EVZ). The EVZ is propagating to the southwest, while the WVZ is dying out from the northeast. Plate motion across both systems has been accommodated by repeated rifting events and fissure eruptions. In this study we investigate whether the WVZ is active and accumulating strain, and how strain is partitioned between the WVZ and EVZ. We also test how strain is accumulating along fissure swarms within the EVZ (i.e. is strain accumulation localized to one fissure swarm, or are multiple systems active?). We use GPS data and elastic block models run using the program DEFNODE to investigate these issues. GPS data are processed using the GIPSY-OASIS II software, and have been truncated to the 2000.5-2011 time period to avoid co-seismic displacement from the two June 2000 South Iceland Seismic Zone earthquakes. We also truncate the time series for sites within 20 km of Eyjafjallajökull to the beginning of 2010 to eliminate deformation associated with the March 2010 eruption of that volcano. We correct for co-seismic displacement from the two May 2008 SISZ earthquakes, inflation at Hekla volcano and the horizontal component of glacial isostatic rebound (GIA). Our best-fit model for inter-rifting and inter-seismic elastic strain accumulation suggests 80-90% of spreading is accommodated in the EVZ with the other 10-20% accommodated by the WVZ. The best-fit location of the EVZ is between Veidivotn and Lakigigar in an area of no Holocene volcanic activity. We suggest the WVZ is only active at Hengill and its associated fissure swarm. Geologic and

Spin-orbit couplings within the equation-of-motion coupled-cluster framework: Theory, implementation, and benchmark calculations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Epifanovsky, Evgeny [Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0482 (United States); Department of Chemistry, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720 (United States); Q-Chem Inc., 6601 Owens Drive, Suite 105, Pleasanton, California 94588 (United States); Klein, Kerstin; Gauss, Jürgen [Institut für Physikalische Chemie, Universität Mainz, D-55099 Mainz (Germany); Stopkowicz, Stella [Department of Chemistry, Centre for Theoretical and Computational Chemistry, University of Oslo, N-0315 Oslo (Norway); Krylov, Anna I. [Department of Chemistry, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-0482 (United States)

2015-08-14

We present a formalism and an implementation for calculating spin-orbit couplings (SOCs) within the EOM-CCSD (equation-of-motion coupled-cluster with single and double substitutions) approach. The following variants of EOM-CCSD are considered: EOM-CCSD for excitation energies (EOM-EE-CCSD), EOM-CCSD with spin-flip (EOM-SF-CCSD), EOM-CCSD for ionization potentials (EOM-IP-CCSD) and electron attachment (EOM-EA-CCSD). We employ a perturbative approach in which the SOCs are computed as matrix elements of the respective part of the Breit-Pauli Hamiltonian using zeroth-order non-relativistic wave functions. We follow the expectation-value approach rather than the response-theory formulation for property calculations. Both the full two-electron treatment and the mean-field approximation (a partial account of the two-electron contributions) have been implemented and benchmarked using several small molecules containing elements up to the fourth row of the periodic table. The benchmark results show the excellent performance of the perturbative treatment and the mean-field approximation. When used with an appropriate basis set, the errors with respect to experiment are below 5% for the considered examples. The findings regarding basis-set requirements are in agreement with previous studies. The impact of different correlation treatment in zeroth-order wave functions is analyzed. Overall, the EOM-IP-CCSD, EOM-EA-CCSD, EOM-EE-CCSD, and EOM-SF-CCSD wave functions yield SOCs that agree well with each other (and with the experimental values when available). Using an EOM-CCSD approach that provides a more balanced description of the target states yields more accurate results.

LogDet Rank Minimization with Application to Subspace Clustering

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhao Kang

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Low-rank matrix is desired in many machine learning and computer vision problems. Most of the recent studies use the nuclear norm as a convex surrogate of the rank operator. However, all singular values are simply added together by the nuclear norm, and thus the rank may not be well approximated in practical problems. In this paper, we propose using a log-determinant (LogDet function as a smooth and closer, though nonconvex, approximation to rank for obtaining a low-rank representation in subspace clustering. Augmented Lagrange multipliers strategy is applied to iteratively optimize the LogDet-based nonconvex objective function on potentially large-scale data. By making use of the angular information of principal directions of the resultant low-rank representation, an affinity graph matrix is constructed for spectral clustering. Experimental results on motion segmentation and face clustering data demonstrate that the proposed method often outperforms state-of-the-art subspace clustering algorithms.

Thermal motion of carbon clusters and production of carbon nanotubes by gravity-free arc discharge

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mieno, T.; Takeguchi, M.

2006-01-01

Thermal and diffusion properties of hot gas around a dc arc discharge under a gravity-free condition are investigated using a jet plane in order to improve the arc production of carbon clusters. Spherically symmetric temperature distribution of He gas around the arc plasma and monotonic slow expansion of the high-temperature region are observed. By means of the passive-type Mie scattering method, random slow diffusion of carbon clusters around the arc plasma is clearly observed under the gravity-free condition. This indicates that carbon clusters including single-walled carbon nanotubes are synthesized around the arc plasma where the He temperature is higher than 1000 K. It is confirmed that large bundles of fatter single-walled carbon nanotubes are produced under the gravity-free condition

Do protein crystals nucleate within dense liquid clusters?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Maes, Dominique; Vorontsova, Maria A.; Potenza, Marco A. C.; Sanvito, Tiziano; Sleutel, Mike; Giglio, Marzio; Vekilov, Peter G.

2015-01-01

The evolution of protein-rich clusters and nucleating crystals were characterized by dynamic light scattering (DLS), confocal depolarized dynamic light scattering (cDDLS) and depolarized oblique illumination dark-field microscopy. Newly nucleated crystals within protein-rich clusters were detected directly. These observations indicate that the protein-rich clusters are locations for crystal nucleation. Protein-dense liquid clusters are regions of high protein concentration that have been observed in solutions of several proteins. The typical cluster size varies from several tens to several hundreds of nanometres and their volume fraction remains below 10 −3 of the solution. According to the two-step mechanism of nucleation, the protein-rich clusters serve as locations for and precursors to the nucleation of protein crystals. While the two-step mechanism explained several unusual features of protein crystal nucleation kinetics, a direct observation of its validity for protein crystals has been lacking. Here, two independent observations of crystal nucleation with the proteins lysozyme and glucose isomerase are discussed. Firstly, the evolutions of the protein-rich clusters and nucleating crystals were characterized simultaneously by dynamic light scattering (DLS) and confocal depolarized dynamic light scattering (cDDLS), respectively. It is demonstrated that protein crystals appear following a significant delay after cluster formation. The cDDLS correlation functions follow a Gaussian decay, indicative of nondiffusive motion. A possible explanation is that the crystals are contained inside large clusters and are driven by the elasticity of the cluster surface. Secondly, depolarized oblique illumination dark-field microscopy reveals the evolution from liquid clusters without crystals to newly nucleated crystals contained in the clusters to grown crystals freely diffusing in the solution. Collectively, the observations indicate that the protein-rich clusters in

Molecular clouds toward the super star cluster NGC 3603; possible evidence for a cloud-cloud collision in triggering the cluster formation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Fukui, Y.; Ohama, A.; Hanaoka, N.; Furukawa, N.; Torii, K.; Hasegawa, K.; Fukuda, T.; Soga, S.; Moribe, N.; Kuroda, Y.; Hayakawa, T.; Kuwahara, T.; Yamamoto, H.; Okuda, T. [Department of Astrophysics, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8602 (Japan); Dawson, J. R. [School of Mathematics and Physics, University of Tasmania, Sandy Bay Campus, Churchill Avenue, Sandy Bay, TAS 7005 (Australia); Mizuno, N.; Kawamura, A. [National Astronomical Observatory of Japan, Mitaka, Tokyo 181-8588 (Japan); Onishi, T.; Maezawa, H. [Department of Astrophysics, Graduate School of Science, Osaka Prefecture University, 1-1 Gakuen-cho, Sakai, Osaka 599-8531 (Japan); Mizuno, A., E-mail: fukui@a.phys.nagoya-u.ac.jp [Solar-terrestrial Environment Laboratory, Nagoya University, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya 464-8601 (Japan)

2014-01-01

We present new large field observations of molecular clouds with NANTEN2 toward the super star cluster NGC 3603 in the transitions {sup 12}CO(J = 2-1, J = 1-0) and {sup 13}CO(J = 2-1, J = 1-0). We suggest that two molecular clouds at 13 km s{sup –1} and 28 km s{sup –1} are associated with NGC 3603 as evidenced by higher temperatures toward the H II region, as well as morphological correspondence. The mass of the clouds is too small to gravitationally bind them, given their relative motion of ∼20 km s{sup –1}. We suggest that the two clouds collided with each other 1 Myr ago to trigger the formation of the super star cluster. This scenario is able to explain the origin of the highest mass stellar population in the cluster, which is as young as 1 Myr and is segregated within the central sub-pc of the cluster. This is the second super star cluster along with Westerlund 2 where formation may have been triggered by a cloud-cloud collision.

Cluster dynamics models of irradiation damage accumulation in ferritic iron. I. Trap mediated interstitial cluster diffusion

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kohnert, Aaron A.; Wirth, Brian D. [University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996-2300 (United States)

2015-04-21

The microstructure that develops under low temperature irradiation in ferritic alloys is dominated by a high density of small (2–5 nm) defects. These defects have been widely observed to move via occasional discrete hops during in situ thin film irradiation experiments. Cluster dynamics models are used to describe the formation of these defects as an aggregation process of smaller clusters created as primary damage. Multiple assumptions regarding the mobility of these damage features are tested in the models, both with and without explicit consideration of such irradiation induced hops. Comparison with experimental data regarding the density of these defects demonstrates the importance of including such motions in a valid model. In particular, discrete hops inform the limited dependence of defect density on irradiation temperature observed in experiments, which the model was otherwise incapable of producing.

Nuclear markers reveal that inter-lake cichlids' similar morphologies do not reflect similar genealogy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kassam, Daud; Seki, Shingo; Horic, Michio; Yamaoka, Kosaku

2006-08-01

The apparent inter-lake morphological similarity among East African Great Lakes' cichlid species/genera has left evolutionary biologists asking whether such similarity is due to sharing of common ancestor or mere convergent evolution. In order to answer such question, we first used Geometric Morphometrics, GM, to quantify morphological similarity and then subsequently used Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism, AFLP, to determine if similar morphologies imply shared ancestry or convergent evolution. GM revealed that not all presumed morphological similar pairs were indeed similar, and the dendrogram generated from AFLP data indicated distinct clusters corresponding to each lake and not inter-lake morphological similar pairs. Such results imply that the morphological similarity is due to convergent evolution and not shared ancestry. The congruency of GM and AFLP generated dendrograms imply that GM is capable of picking up phylogenetic signal, and thus GM can be potential tool in phylogenetic systematics.

Activity-induced clustering in model dumbbell swimmers: the role of hydrodynamic interactions.

Science.gov (United States)

Furukawa, Akira; Marenduzzo, Davide; Cates, Michael E

2014-08-01

Using a fluid-particle dynamics approach, we numerically study the effects of hydrodynamic interactions on the collective dynamics of active suspensions within a simple model for bacterial motility: each microorganism is modeled as a stroke-averaged dumbbell swimmer with prescribed dipolar force pairs. Using both simulations and qualitative arguments, we show that, when the separation between swimmers is comparable to their size, the swimmers' motions are strongly affected by activity-induced hydrodynamic forces. To further understand these effects, we investigate semidilute suspensions of swimmers in the presence of thermal fluctuations. A direct comparison between simulations with and without hydrodynamic interactions shows these to enhance the dynamic clustering at a relatively small volume fraction; with our chosen model the key ingredient for this clustering behavior is hydrodynamic trapping of one swimmer by another, induced by the active forces. Furthermore, the density dependence of the motility (of both the translational and rotational motions) exhibits distinctly different behaviors with and without hydrodynamic interactions; we argue that this is linked to the clustering tendency. Our study illustrates the fact that hydrodynamic interactions not only affect kinetic pathways in active suspensions, but also cause major changes in their steady state properties.

Spin-glass-like dynamics of ferromagnetic clusters in La0.75Ba0.25CoO3

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kumar, Devendra

2014-01-01

We report a magnetization study of the compound La 0.75 Ba 0.25 CoO 3 where the Ba 2+ doping is just above the critical limit for percolation of ferromagnetic clusters. The field cooled and zero-field cooled (ZFC) magnetization exhibit thermomagnetic irreversibility and the ac susceptibility shows a frequency dependent peak at the ferromagnetic ordering temperature (T C  ≈ 203 K) of the clusters. These features indicate the presence of a non-equilibrium state below T C . For the non-equilibrium state, the dynamic scaling of the imaginary part of the ac susceptibility and the static scaling of the nonlinear susceptibility clearly establish a spin-glass-like cooperative freezing of ferromagnetic clusters at 200.9(2) K. The assertion of the occurrence of spin-glass-like freezing of ferromagnetic clusters is further substantiated by ZFC ageing and memory experiments. We also observe certain dynamical features which are not present in a typical spin glass, such as: the initial magnetization after ZFC ageing first increases and then decreases with the waiting time; and there is an imperfect recovery of relaxation in negative temperature cycling experiments. This imperfect recovery transforms to perfect recovery for concurrent field cycling. Our analysis suggests that these additional dynamical features have their origin in the inter-cluster exchange interaction and cluster size distribution. The inter-cluster exchange interaction above the magnetic percolation level gives a superferromagnetic state in some granular thin films, but our results show the absence of a typical superferromagnetic-like state in La 0.75 Ba 0.25 CoO 3 . (paper)

Feasibility study of patient motion monitoring using tactile array sensor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kim, Tae Ho; Kang, Seong Hee; Kim, Dong Su; Cho, Min Seok; Kim, Kyeong Hyeon; Suh, Tae Suk; Kim, Si Yong

2014-01-01

The aim of this study is to evaluate patient pretreatment set-up error and intra-fraction motion using the tactile array sensors (Pressure Profile Systems Inc, Los Angeles, CA) which could measure distributed pressure profiles along the contacting surface and to check a feasibility of the sensor (tactile array sensor) in the patient motion monitoring. Laser alignment and optical camera based monitoring system are very useful for reduce patient set-up error but these systems could not monitor the blind area like patient's back position. Actually after patient alignment using laser or optical monitoring system, it was assumed that there is no error in the patient's back position (pressure profile distribution). But if an error occurs in the patient's back position, it will affect the radiation therapy accuracy. In spite of optical motion monitoring or using the immobilization tool, distributed pressure profiles of patient's back position was changed during inter and intra-fraction. For more accurate patient set-up, blind area (patient's back) monitoring was necessary. We expect that the proposed method will be very useful for make up for the weakness of optical monitoring method

Feasibility study of patient motion monitoring using tactile array sensor

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Tae Ho; Kang, Seong Hee; Kim, Dong Su; Cho, Min Seok; Kim, Kyeong Hyeon; Suh, Tae Suk [Dept. of Biomedical Engineering, Research Institute of Biomedical Engineering, the Catholic University of Korea, Seoul (Korea, Republic of); Kim, Si Yong [Dept. of Radiation Oncology, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond (United States)

2014-11-15

The aim of this study is to evaluate patient pretreatment set-up error and intra-fraction motion using the tactile array sensors (Pressure Profile Systems Inc, Los Angeles, CA) which could measure distributed pressure profiles along the contacting surface and to check a feasibility of the sensor (tactile array sensor) in the patient motion monitoring. Laser alignment and optical camera based monitoring system are very useful for reduce patient set-up error but these systems could not monitor the blind area like patient's back position. Actually after patient alignment using laser or optical monitoring system, it was assumed that there is no error in the patient's back position (pressure profile distribution). But if an error occurs in the patient's back position, it will affect the radiation therapy accuracy. In spite of optical motion monitoring or using the immobilization tool, distributed pressure profiles of patient's back position was changed during inter and intra-fraction. For more accurate patient set-up, blind area (patient's back) monitoring was necessary. We expect that the proposed method will be very useful for make up for the weakness of optical monitoring method.

Cloud Motion in the GOCI COMS Ocean Colour Data

Science.gov (United States)

Robinson, Wayne D.; Franz, Bryan A.; Mannino, Antonio; Ahn, Jae-Hyun

2016-01-01

The Geostationary Ocean Colour Imager (GOCI) instrument, on Koreas Communications, Oceans, and Meteorological Satellite (COMS), can produce a spectral artefact arising from the motion of clouds the cloud is spatially shifted and the amount of shift varies by spectral band. The length of time it takes to acquire all eight GOCI bands for a given slot (portion of a scene) is sucient to require that cloud motion be taken into account to fully mask or correct the eects of clouds in all bands. Inter-band correlations can be used to measure the amount of cloud shift, which can then be used to adjust the cloud mask so that the union of all shifted masks can act as a mask for all bands. This approach reduces the amount of masking required versus a simple expansion of the mask in all directions away from clouds. Cloud motion can also aect regions with unidentied clouds thin or fractional clouds that evade the cloud identication process yielding degraded quality in retrieved ocean colour parameters. Areas with moving and unidentied clouds require more elaborate masking algo-rithms to remove these degraded retrievals. Correction for the eects of moving fractional clouds may also be possible. The cloud shift information can be used to determine cloud motion and thus wind at the cloud levels on sub-minute timescales. The benecial and negative eects of moving clouds should be con-sidered for any ocean colour instrument design and associated data processing plans.

EISCAT and Cluster observations in the vicinity of the dynamical polar cap boundary

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. T. Aikio

2008-02-01

Full Text Available The dynamics of the polar cap boundary and auroral oval in the nightside ionosphere are studied during late expansion and recovery of a substorm from the region between Tromsø (66.6° cgmLat and Longyearbyen (75.2° cgmLat on 27 February 2004 by using the coordinated EISCAT incoherent scatter radar, MIRACLE magnetometer and Cluster satellite measurements. During the late substorm expansion/early recovery phase, the polar cap boundary (PCB made zig-zag-type motion with amplitude of 2.5° cgmLat and period of about 30 min near magnetic midnight. We suggest that the poleward motions of the PCB were produced by bursts of enhanced reconnection at the near-Earth neutral line (NENL. The subsequent equatorward motions of the PCB would then represent the recovery of the merging line towards the equilibrium state (Cowley and Lockwood, 1992. The observed bursts of enhanced westward electrojet just equatorward of the polar cap boundary during poleward expansions were produced plausibly by particles accelerated in the vicinity of the neutral line and thus lend evidence to the Cowley-Lockwood paradigm.

During the substorm recovery phase, the footpoints of the Cluster satellites at a geocentric distance of 4.4 R_E mapped in the vicinity of EISCAT measurements. Cluster data indicate that outflow of H⁺ and O⁺ ions took place within the plasma sheet boundary layer (PSBL as noted in some earlier studies as well. We show that in this case the PSBL corresponded to a region of enhanced electron temperature in the ionospheric F region. It is suggested that the ion outflow originates from the F region as a result of increased ambipolar diffusion. At higher altitudes, the ions could be further energized by waves, which at Cluster altitudes were observed as BBELF (broad band extra low frequency fluctuations.

The four-satellite configuration of Cluster revealed a sudden poleward expansion of the PSBL by 2° during

Conceptualizing inter-organizational triads

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vedel, Mette; Holma, Anne-Maria; Havila, Virpi

2016-01-01

of inter-organizational phenomena. However, not all studies involving a context of three actors are actually examining triads. This paper offers a robust definition of three-actor constellations qualifying as triads. Moreover, it elaborates on different types of inter-organizational triads, based on two...... aspects of collectivity; cohesion and the ability to act as a single entity. The definition of inter-organizational triads and the categorization of different types of triads will hopefully encourage further studies of triads; the smallest and simplest network which offers insights, which cannot...

Interaction of a bubble and a bubble cluster in an ultrasonic field

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Cheng-Hui; Cheng Jian-Chun

2013-01-01

Using an appropriate approximation, we have formulated the interacting equation of multi-bubble motion for a system of a single bubble and a spherical bubble cluster. The behavior of the bubbles is observed in coupled and uncoupled states. The oscillation of bubbles inside the cluster is in a coupled state. The numerical simulation demonstrates that the secondary Bjerknes force can be influenced by the number density, initial radius, distance, driving frequency, and amplitude of ultrasound. However, if a bubble approaches a bubble cluster of the same initial radii, coupled oscillation would be induced and a repulsive force is evoked, which may be the reason why the bubble cluster can exist steadily. With the increment of the number density of the bubble cluster, a secondary Bjerknes force acting on the bubbles inside the cluster decreases due to the strong suppression of the coupled bubbles. It is shown that there may be an optimal number density for a bubble cluster which can generate an optimal cavitation effect in liquid for a stable driving ultrasound. (electromagnetism, optics, acoustics, heat transfer, classical mechanics, and fluid dynamics)

Towards a comprehensive knowledge of the open cluster Haffner 9

Science.gov (United States)

Piatti, Andrés E.

2017-03-01

We turn our attention to Haffner 9, a Milky Way open cluster whose previous fundamental parameter estimates are far from being in agreement. In order to provide with accurate estimates, we present high-quality Washington CT1 and Johnson BVI photometry of the cluster field. We put particular care in statistically cleaning the colour-magnitude diagrams (CMDs) from field star contamination, which was found a common source in previous works for the discordant fundamental parameter estimates. The resulting cluster CMD fiducial features were confirmed from a proper motion membership analysis. Haffner 9 is a moderately young object (age ∼350 Myr), placed in the Perseus arm - at a heliocentric distance of ∼3.2 kpc - , with a lower limit for its present mass of ∼160 M⊙ and of nearly metal solar content. The combination of the cluster structural and fundamental parameters suggest that it is in an advanced stage of internal dynamical evolution, possibly in the phase typical of those with mass segregation in their core regions. However, the cluster still keeps its mass function close to that of the Salpeter's law.

Crouch gait patterns defined using k-means cluster analysis are related to underlying clinical pathology.

Science.gov (United States)

Rozumalski, Adam; Schwartz, Michael H

2009-08-01

In this study a gait classification method was developed and applied to subjects with Cerebral palsy who walk with excessive knee flexion at initial contact. Sagittal plane gait data, simplified using the gait features method, is used as input into a k-means cluster analysis to determine homogeneous groups. Several clinical domains were explored to determine if the clusters are related to underlying pathology. These domains included age, joint range-of-motion, strength, selective motor control, and spasticity. Principal component analysis is used to determine one overall score for each of the multi-joint domains (strength, selective motor control, and spasticity). The current study shows that there are five clusters among children with excessive knee flexion at initial contact. These clusters were labeled, in order of increasing gait pathology: (1) mild crouch with mild equinus, (2) moderate crouch, (3) moderate crouch with anterior pelvic tilt, (4) moderate crouch with equinus, and (5) severe crouch. Further analysis showed that age, range-of-motion, strength, selective motor control, and spasticity were significantly different between the clusters (p<0.001). The general tendency was for the clinical domains to worsen as gait pathology increased. This new classification tool can be used to define homogeneous groups of subjects in crouch gait, which can help guide treatment decisions and outcomes assessment.

Auditory Motion Elicits a Visual Motion Aftereffect.

Science.gov (United States)

Berger, Christopher C; Ehrsson, H Henrik

2016-01-01

The visual motion aftereffect is a visual illusion in which exposure to continuous motion in one direction leads to a subsequent illusion of visual motion in the opposite direction. Previous findings have been mixed with regard to whether this visual illusion can be induced cross-modally by auditory stimuli. Based on research on multisensory perception demonstrating the profound influence auditory perception can have on the interpretation and perceived motion of visual stimuli, we hypothesized that exposure to auditory stimuli with strong directional motion cues should induce a visual motion aftereffect. Here, we demonstrate that horizontally moving auditory stimuli induced a significant visual motion aftereffect-an effect that was driven primarily by a change in visual motion perception following exposure to leftward moving auditory stimuli. This finding is consistent with the notion that visual and auditory motion perception rely on at least partially overlapping neural substrates.

Auditory Motion Elicits a Visual Motion Aftereffect

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christopher C. Berger

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The visual motion aftereffect is a visual illusion in which exposure to continuous motion in one direction leads to a subsequent illusion of visual motion in the opposite direction. Previous findings have been mixed with regard to whether this visual illusion can be induced cross-modally by auditory stimuli. Based on research on multisensory perception demonstrating the profound influence auditory perception can have on the interpretation and perceived motion of visual stimuli, we hypothesized that exposure to auditory stimuli with strong directional motion cues should induce a visual motion aftereffect. Here, we demonstrate that horizontally moving auditory stimuli induced a significant visual motion aftereffect—an effect that was driven primarily by a change in visual motion perception following exposure to leftward moving auditory stimuli. This finding is consistent with the notion that visual and auditory motion perception rely on at least partially overlapping neural substrates.

On dynamical evolution of the bright star subsystem in the Orion Sword cluster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dolgachev, V.P.; Kalinina, E.P.; Kholopov, P.N.

1989-01-01

With the help of numerical integration of the system of ordinary differential equations of the 102nd order, a possible dynamical evolution of the subsystem of 17 brightest stars in the Orion Sword open cluster has been examined in the interval of 20,1x10 6 years. In the process of transition through the region occupied by the cluster core taking place with a ''cycle'' of about 7 million years, the brightest stars of the cluster begin to concentrate mostly in the core region. Some of them acquire motions along elongated orbits, remaining during a long time in the limits of the cluster's corona, while one of stars is thrown away from the cluster with the hyperbolic velocity. Moreover, two wide pairs of stars are originating, which are analogous to those observed in the galactic field

Euler-Vector Clustering of GPS Velocities Defines Microplate Geometry in Southwest Japan

Science.gov (United States)

Savage, J. C.

2018-02-01

I have used Euler-vector clustering to assign 469 GEONET stations in southwest Japan to k clusters (k = 2, 3,..., 9) so that, for any k, the velocities of stations within each cluster are most consistent with rigid-block motion on a sphere. That is, I attempt to explain the raw (i.e., uncorrected for strain accumulation), 1996-2006 velocities of those 469 Global Positioning System stations by rigid motion of k clusters on the surface of a spherical Earth. Because block geometry is maintained as strain accumulates, Euler-vector clustering may better approximate the block geometry than the values of the associated Euler vectors. The microplate solution for each k is constructed by merging contiguous clusters that have closely similar Euler vectors. The best solution consists of three microplates arranged along the Nankaido Trough-Ryukyu Trench between the Amurian and Philippine Sea Plates. One of these microplates, the South Kyushu Microplate (an extension of the Ryukyu forearc into the southeast corner of Kyushu), had previously been identified from paleomagnetic rotations. Relative to ITRF2000 the three microplates rotate at different rates about neighboring poles located close to the northwest corner of Shikoku. The microplate model is identical to that proposed in the block model of Wallace et al. (2009, https://doi.org/10.1130/G2522A.1) except in southernmost Kyushu. On Shikoku and Honshu, but not Kyushu, the microplate model is consistent with that proposed in the block models of Nishimura and Hashimoto (2006, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tecto.2006.04.017) and Loveless and Meade (2010, https://doi.org/10.1029/2008JB006248) without the low-slip-rate boundaries proposed in the latter.

Effects of Superparamagnetic Nanoparticle Clusters on the Polymerase Chain Reaction

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Toshiaki Higashi

2012-04-01

Full Text Available The polymerase chain reaction (PCR method is widely used for the reproduction and amplification of specific DNA segments, and a novel PCR method using nanomaterials such as gold nanoparticles has recently been reported. This paper reports on the effects of superparamagnetic nanoparticles on PCR amplification without an external magnetic field, and clarifies the mechanism behind the effects of superparamagnetic particle clusters on PCR efficiency by estimating the structures of such clusters in PCR. It was found that superparamagnetic nanoparticles tend to inhibit PCR amplification depending on the structure of the magnetic nanoparticle clusters. The paper also clarifies that Taq polymerase is captured in the spaces formed among magnetic nanoparticle clusters, and that it is captured more efficiently as a result of their motion from heat treatment in PCR thermal cycles. Consequently, Taq polymerase that should be used in PCR is reduced in the PCR solution. These outcomes will be applied to novel PCR techniques using magnetic particles in an external magnetic field.

Parameters of oscillation generation regions in open star cluster models

Science.gov (United States)

Danilov, V. M.; Putkov, S. I.

2017-07-01

We determine the masses and radii of central regions of open star cluster (OCL) models with small or zero entropy production and estimate the masses of oscillation generation regions in clustermodels based on the data of the phase-space coordinates of stars. The radii of such regions are close to the core radii of the OCL models. We develop a new method for estimating the total OCL masses based on the cluster core mass, the cluster and cluster core radii, and radial distribution of stars. This method yields estimates of dynamical masses of Pleiades, Praesepe, and M67, which agree well with the estimates of the total masses of the corresponding clusters based on proper motions and spectroscopic data for cluster stars.We construct the spectra and dispersion curves of the oscillations of the field of azimuthal velocities v φ in OCL models. Weak, low-amplitude unstable oscillations of v φ develop in cluster models near the cluster core boundary, and weak damped oscillations of v φ often develop at frequencies close to the frequencies of more powerful oscillations, which may reduce the non-stationarity degree in OCL models. We determine the number and parameters of such oscillations near the cores boundaries of cluster models. Such oscillations points to the possible role that gradient instability near the core of cluster models plays in the decrease of the mass of the oscillation generation regions and production of entropy in the cores of OCL models with massive extended cores.

Memory Efficient VLSI Implementation of Real-Time Motion Detection System Using FPGA Platform

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sanjay Singh

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Motion detection is the heart of a potentially complex automated video surveillance system, intended to be used as a standalone system. Therefore, in addition to being accurate and robust, a successful motion detection technique must also be economical in the use of computational resources on selected FPGA development platform. This is because many other complex algorithms of an automated video surveillance system also run on the same platform. Keeping this key requirement as main focus, a memory efficient VLSI architecture for real-time motion detection and its implementation on FPGA platform is presented in this paper. This is accomplished by proposing a new memory efficient motion detection scheme and designing its VLSI architecture. The complete real-time motion detection system using the proposed memory efficient architecture along with proper input/output interfaces is implemented on Xilinx ML510 (Virtex-5 FX130T FPGA development platform and is capable of operating at 154.55 MHz clock frequency. Memory requirement of the proposed architecture is reduced by 41% compared to the standard clustering based motion detection architecture. The new memory efficient system robustly and automatically detects motion in real-world scenarios (both for the static backgrounds and the pseudo-stationary backgrounds in real-time for standard PAL (720 × 576 size color video.

A Review on Block Matching Motion Estimation and Automata Theory based Approaches for Fractal Coding

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shailesh Kamble

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Fractal compression is the lossy compression technique in the field of gray/color image and video compression. It gives high compression ratio, better image quality with fast decoding time but improvement in encoding time is a challenge. This review paper/article presents the analysis of most significant existing approaches in the field of fractal based gray/color images and video compression, different block matching motion estimation approaches for finding out the motion vectors in a frame based on inter-frame coding and intra-frame coding i.e. individual frame coding and automata theory based coding approaches to represent an image/sequence of images. Though different review papers exist related to fractal coding, this paper is different in many sense. One can develop the new shape pattern for motion estimation and modify the existing block matching motion estimation with automata coding to explore the fractal compression technique with specific focus on reducing the encoding time and achieving better image/video reconstruction quality. This paper is useful for the beginners in the domain of video compression.

Revealing the cluster of slow transients behind a large slow slip event.

Science.gov (United States)

Frank, William B; Rousset, Baptiste; Lasserre, Cécile; Campillo, Michel

2018-05-01

Capable of reaching similar magnitudes to large megathrust earthquakes [ M w (moment magnitude) > 7], slow slip events play a major role in accommodating tectonic motion on plate boundaries through predominantly aseismic rupture. We demonstrate here that large slow slip events are a cluster of short-duration slow transients. Using a dense catalog of low-frequency earthquakes as a guide, we investigate the M w 7.5 slow slip event that occurred in 2006 along the subduction interface 40 km beneath Guerrero, Mexico. We show that while the long-period surface displacement, as recorded by Global Positioning System, suggests a 6-month duration, the motion in the direction of tectonic release only sporadically occurs over 55 days, and its surface signature is attenuated by rapid relocking of the plate interface. Our proposed description of slow slip as a cluster of slow transients forces us to re-evaluate our understanding of the physics and scaling of slow earthquakes.

WIYN Open Cluster Study. XXXII. Stellar Radial Velocities in the Old Open Cluster NGC 188

Science.gov (United States)

Geller, Aaron M.; Mathieu, Robert D.; Harris, Hugh C.; McClure, Robert D.

2008-06-01

We present the results of our ongoing radial-velocity (RV) survey of the old (7 Gyr) open cluster NGC 188. Our WIYN 3.5 m data set spans a time baseline of 11 years, a magnitude range of 12 =3 measurements, finding 473 to be likely cluster members. We detect 124 velocity-variable cluster members, all of which are likely to be dynamically hard-binary stars. Using our single member stars, we find an average cluster radial velocity of -42.36 ± 0.04 km s-1. We use our precise RV and proper-motion membership data to greatly reduce field-star contamination in our cleaned color-magnitude diagram, from which we identify six stars of note that lie far from a standard single-star isochrone. We present a detailed study of the spatial distribution of cluster-member populations, and find the binaries to be centrally concentrated, providing evidence for the presence of mass segregation in NGC 188. We observe the BSs to populate a bimodal spatial distribution that is not centrally concentrated, suggesting that we may be observing two populations of BSs in NGC 188, including a centrally concentrated distribution as well as a halo population. Finally, we find NGC 188 to have a global RV dispersion of 0.64 ± 0.04 km s-1, which may be inflated by up to 0.23 km s-1 from unresolved binaries. When corrected for unresolved binaries, the NGC 188 RV dispersion has a nearly isothermal radial distribution. We use this mean-corrected velocity dispersion to derive a virial mass of 2300 ± 460 M sun .

El interés procesal

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Juan Carlos Riofrío Martínez-Villalba

2008-01-01

Full Text Available El presente trabajo pretende esclarecer el concepto de interés procesal y de sistematizar los diferentes tipos de interés requeridos por las leyes de nuestro ordenamiento jurídico (interés legítimo, directo, serio, difuso, colectivo, mutuo, general, público, etc., a fin de facilitarle al operador de la ley la determinación de la existencia de éste.

Software refactoring at the package level using clustering techniques

KAUST Repository

Alkhalid, A.

2011-01-01

Enhancing, modifying or adapting the software to new requirements increases the internal software complexity. Software with high level of internal complexity is difficult to maintain. Software refactoring reduces software complexity and hence decreases the maintenance effort. However, software refactoring becomes quite challenging task as the software evolves. The authors use clustering as a pattern recognition technique to assist in software refactoring activities at the package level. The approach presents a computer aided support for identifying ill-structured packages and provides suggestions for software designer to balance between intra-package cohesion and inter-package coupling. A comparative study is conducted applying three different clustering techniques on different software systems. In addition, the application of refactoring at the package level using an adaptive k-nearest neighbour (A-KNN) algorithm is introduced. The authors compared A-KNN technique with the other clustering techniques (viz. single linkage algorithm, complete linkage algorithm and weighted pair-group method using arithmetic averages). The new technique shows competitive performance with lower computational complexity. © 2011 The Institution of Engineering and Technology.

Reversible wall motion abnormality on adenosine stress/rest thallium-201 gated myocardial SPECT is an independent predictor of coronary artery disease

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Park, Eun Kyung; Lee, Won Woo; So, Young; Eo, Jae Seon; Lee, Dong Soo; Chung, June Key; Lee, Myung Chul; Kim, Sang Eun; Kim, Cheol Ho; Lee, Sang Woo

2004-01-01

As early as 10 minutes after adenosine stress, immediate post-stress wall motion (ipsWM) can be evaluated on adenosine stress/rest TI-201 gated SPECT (gSPECT). To widen application of TI-201 in gated SPECT, we investigated image quality, LV parameters (EF, EDV, and ESV) reproducibility, and diagnostic competency of gSPECT regarding ipsWM evaluation Myocardial perfusion and wall motion were evaluated by 5-point scoring system in 20-segment model. Image quality was assessed using weighted Kappa (Kw) for inter-and intra-observer agreements of wall motion scores (n=49). Reproducibility was examined through repeated acquisition (n=31). Diagnostic competency was evaluated versus coronary angiography (CAG) and multivariate logistic regression analysis was performed to identify significant predictors of coronary artery disease (CAD) among stress abnormal perfusion (SSSp), stress abnormal wall motion (SSSwm), and reversible abnormal wall motion (SDSwm) (n=60). Kw for ipsWM was significantly better than that for rest regarding inter- (0.717 vs 0.489) and intra-observer agreements (0.792 vs 0.688) (p<0.05). 2SD for ipsWM was smaller than that for rest at EF (8.6% vs 10.7%) and ESV (6.0ml vs 8.4ml). Sensitivities of SSSp, SSSwm, and SDSwm were 63.3% (19/30), 63.3% (19/30), and 43.3% (13/30) and specificities 83.3% (25/30), 83.3% (25/30), and 86.7% (26/30), respectively. By multivariate analysis, SSSp (p=0.013) and SDSwm (p=0.039) remained significant predictors. Additionally, SSSwm or SDSwm could find undetected CAD in 54.5% (6/11) of patients with normal perfusion. TI-201 can be successfully applied to gated SPECT for ipsWM evaluation. Moreover, reversible wall motion abnormality on gSPECT is an independent predictor of significant CAD

2012 Gordon Research Conference On Molecular And Ionic Clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McCoy, Anne

2012-01-01

The Gordon Research Conference on 'Molecular and Ionic Clusters' focuses on clusters, which are the initial molecular species found in gases when condensation begins to occur. Condensation can take place solely from molecules interacting with each other, mostly at low temperatures, or when molecules condense around charged particles (electrons, protons, metal cations, molecular ions), producing ion molecule clusters. These clusters provide models for solvation, allow a pristine look at geometric as well as electronic structures of molecular complexes or matter in general, their interaction with radiation, their reactivity, their thermodynamic properties and, in particular, the related dynamics. This conference focuses on new ways to make clusters composed of different kinds of molecules, new experimental techniques to investigate the properties of the clusters and new theoretical methods with which to calculate the structures, dynamical motions and energetics of the clusters. Some of the main experimental methods employed include molecular beams, mass spectrometry, laser spectroscopy (from infrared to XUV; in the frequency as well as the time domain) and photoelectron spectroscopy. Techniques include laser absorption spectroscopy, laser induced fluorescence, resonance enhanced photoionization, mass-selected photodissociation, photofragment imaging, ZEKE photoelectron spectroscopy, etc. From the theoretical side, this conference highlights work on potential surfaces and measurable properties of the clusters. The close ties between experiment, theory and computation have been a hallmark of the Gordon Research Conference on Molecular and Ionic Clusters. In the 2012 meeting, we plan to have sessions that will focus on topics including: (1) The use of cluster studies to probe fundamental phenomena; (2) Finite size effects on structure and thermodynamics; (3) Intermolecular forces and cooperative effects; (4) Molecular clusters as models for solvation; and (5) Studies of

A KINEMATIC AND PHOTOMETRIC STUDY OF THE GALACTIC YOUNG STAR CLUSTER NGC 7380

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, W. P.; Chen, C. W.; Pandey, A. K.; Sharma, Saurabh; Chen Li; Sperauskas, J.; Ogura, K.; Chuang, R. J.; Boyle, R. P.

2011-01-01

We present proper motions, radial velocities, and a photometric study of the Galactic open cluster NGC 7380, which is associated with prominent emission nebulosity and dark molecular clouds. On the basis of the sample of highly probable member stars, the star cluster is found to be at a distance of 2.6 ± 0.4 kpc, has an age of around 4 Myr, and a physical size of ∼6 pc across with a tidal structure. The binary O-type star DH Cep is a member of the cluster in its late stage of clearing the surrounding material, and may have triggered the ongoing star formation in neighboring molecular clouds which harbor young stars that are coeval and comoving with, but not gravitationally bound by, the star cluster.

Symptom clustering and quality of life in patients with ovarian cancer undergoing chemotherapy.

Science.gov (United States)

Nho, Ju-Hee; Reul Kim, Sung; Nam, Joo-Hyun

2017-10-01

The symptom clusters in patients with ovarian cancer undergoing chemotherapy have not been well evaluated. We investigated the symptom clusters and effects of symptom clusters on the quality of life of patients with ovarian cancer. We recruited 210 ovarian cancer patients being treated with chemotherapy and used a descriptive cross-sectional study design to collect information on their symptoms. To determine inter-relationships among symptoms, a principal component analysis with varimax rotation was performed based on the patient's symptoms (fatigue, pain, sleep disturbance, chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy, anxiety, depression, and sexual dysfunction). All patients had experienced at least two domains of concurrent symptoms, and there were two types of symptom clusters. The first symptom cluster consisted of anxiety, depression, fatigue, and sleep disturbance symptoms, while the second symptom cluster consisted of pain and chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy symptoms. Our subgroup cluster analysis showed that ovarian cancer patients with higher-scoring symptoms had significantly poorer quality of life in both symptom cluster 1 and 2 subgroups, with subgroup-specific patterns. The symptom clusters were different depending on age, age at disease onset, disease duration, recurrence, and performance status of patients with ovarian cancer. In addition, ovarian cancer patients experienced different symptom clusters according to cancer stage. The current study demonstrated that there is a specific pattern of symptom clusters, and symptom clusters negatively influence the quality of life in patients with ovarian cancer. Identifying symptom clusters of ovarian cancer patients may have clinical implications in improving symptom management. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Molecular dynamics simulation of nanoscale surface diffusion of heterogeneous adatoms clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Imran, Muhammad; Hussain, Fayyaz; Ullah, Hafeez; Ahmad, Ejaz; Rashid, Muhammad; Ismail, Muhammad; Cai, Yongqing; Javid, M Arshad; Ahmad, S A

2016-01-01

Molecular dynamics simulation employing the embedded atom method potential is utilized to investigate nanoscale surface diffusion mechanisms of binary heterogeneous adatoms clusters at 300 K, 500 K, and 700 K. Surface diffusion of heterogeneous adatoms clusters can be vital for the binary island growth on the surface and can be useful for the formation of alloy-based thin film surface through atomic exchange process. The results of the diffusion process show that at 300 K, the diffusion of small adatoms clusters shows hopping, sliding, and shear motion; whereas for large adatoms clusters (hexamer and above), the diffusion is negligible. At 500 K, small adatoms clusters, i.e., dimer, show almost all possible diffusion mechanisms including the atomic exchange process; however no such exchange is observed for adatoms clusters greater than dimer. At 700 K, the exchange mechanism dominates for all types of clusters, where Zr adatoms show maximum tendency and Ag adatoms show minimum or no tendency toward the exchange process. Separation and recombination of one or more adatoms are also observed at 500 K and 700 K. The Ag adatoms also occupy pop-up positions over the adatoms clusters for short intervals. At 700 K, the vacancies are also generated in the vicinity of the adatoms cluster, vacancy formation, filling, and shifting can be observed from the results. (paper)

The Inter-Firm Leadership of Knowledge Gatekeepers and Upgrading of Industrial Cluster——A Case Study of Hunan New Material Industrial Cluster%知识守门者企业间领导力与产业集群升级——来自湖南新材料产业集群的案例

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

郑准; 唐靖; 王国顺

2016-01-01

作为产业集群中的核心异质性主体,知识守门者对于产业集群的知识更新和开放式升级至关重要.结合联盟管理中的企业间领导力理论,从知识守门者自身知识基础、网络能力和网络位置优势探讨了其在集群中的企业间领导力形成机理.在此基础上,将知识守门者在产业集群中的领导力划分为技术领导力、平台领导力和制度领导力3个维度.此外,结合湖南新材料产业集群案例,探讨了该集群中知识守门者科力远公司的技术领导力、平台领导力和制度领导力构建途径及其对集群升级的影响,研究结果证明了理论的合理性.最后,基于理论与案例结论,提出了促进我国集群开放式升级的若干政策建议.%As the core heterogeneous actors in industrial clusters ,the knowledge gatekeepers are very important for the knowledge updating and open upgrading of the clusters .The article combines the inter-firm leadership theory in alliance management ,studies the formation mechanism of knowledge gatekeeper's inter-firm leadership from the perspective of its know base ,network capabilities and network positions ;so we can divide the knowledge gatekeeper's inter-firm leadership into three dimensions such as technology leadership ,platform leadership and institution leadership .Then we take the new material industrial cluster as case ,analyzes the Hunan CORUN Corp .'s building of technology leadership ,platform leader-ship and institution leadership and their influence on the whole cluster ,the case study improves the rightness of the theo-ry .Finally ,we put some suggestions for upgrading Chinese industrial cluster according to our theory .

Dispersion and Cluster Scales in the Ocean

Science.gov (United States)

Kirwan, A. D., Jr.; Chang, H.; Huntley, H.; Carlson, D. F.; Mensa, J. A.; Poje, A. C.; Fox-Kemper, B.

2017-12-01

Ocean flow space scales range from centimeters to thousands of kilometers. Because of their large Reynolds number these flows are considered turbulent. However, because of rotation and stratification constraints they do not conform to classical turbulence scaling theory. Mesoscale and large-scale motions are well described by geostrophic or "2D turbulence" theory, however extending this theory to submesoscales has proved to be problematic. One obvious reason is the difficulty in obtaining reliable data over many orders of magnitude of spatial scales in an ocean environment. The goal of this presentation is to provide a preliminary synopsis of two recent experiments that overcame these obstacles. The first experiment, the Grand LAgrangian Deployment (GLAD) was conducted during July 2012 in the eastern half of the Gulf of Mexico. Here approximately 300 GPS-tracked drifters were deployed with the primary goal to determine whether the relative dispersion of an initially densely clustered array was driven by processes acting at local pair separation scales or by straining imposed by mesoscale motions. The second experiment was a component of the LAgrangian Submesoscale Experiment (LASER) conducted during the winter of 2016. Here thousands of bamboo plates were tracked optically from an Aerostat. Together these two deployments provided an unprecedented data set on dispersion and clustering processes from 1 to 106 meter scales. Calculations of statistics such as two point separations, structure functions, and scale dependent relative diffusivities showed: inverse energy cascade as expected for scales above 10 km, a forward energy cascade at scales below 10 km with a possible energy input at Langmuir circulation scales. We also find evidence from structure function calculations for surface flow convergence at scales less than 10 km that account for material clustering at the ocean surface.

Molecular Characterization of Cultivated Bromeliad Accessions with Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat (ISSR Markers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Yongming Yu

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Bromeliads are of great economic importance in flower production; however little information is available with respect to genetic characterization of cultivated bromeliads thus far. In the present study, a selection of cultivated bromeliads was characterized via inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR markers with an emphasis on genetic diversity and population structure. Twelve ISSR primers produced 342 bands, of which 287 (~84% were polymorphic, with polymorphic bands per primer ranging from 17 to 34. The Jaccard’s similarity ranged from 0.08 to 0.89 and averaged ~0.30 for the investigated bromeliads. The Bayesian-based approach, together with the un-weighted paired group method with arithmetic average (UPGMA-based clustering and the principal coordinate analysis (PCoA, distinctly grouped the bromeliads from Neoregelia, Guzmania, and Vriesea into three separately clusters, well corresponding with their botanical classifications; whereas the bromeliads of Aechmea other than the recently selected hybrids were not well assigned to a cluster. Additionally, ISSR marker was proven efficient for the identification of hybrids and bud sports of cultivated bromeliads. The findings achieved herein will further our knowledge about the genetic variability within cultivated bromeliads and therefore facilitate breeding for new varieties of cultivated bromeliads in future as well.

Motion of the esophagus due to cardiac motion.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jacob Palmer

Full Text Available When imaging studies (e.g. CT are used to quantify morphological changes in an anatomical structure, it is necessary to understand the extent and source of motion which can give imaging artifacts (e.g. blurring or local distortion. The objective of this study was to assess the magnitude of esophageal motion due to cardiac motion. We used retrospective electrocardiogram-gated contrast-enhanced computed tomography angiography images for this study. The anatomic region from the carina to the bottom of the heart was taken at deep-inspiration breath hold with the patients' arms raised above their shoulders, in a position similar to that used for radiation therapy. The esophagus was delineated on the diastolic phase of cardiac motion, and deformable registration was used to sequentially deform the images in nearest-neighbor phases among the 10 cardiac phases, starting from the diastolic phase. Using the 10 deformation fields generated from the deformable registration, the magnitude of the extreme displacements was then calculated for each voxel, and the mean and maximum displacement was calculated for each computed tomography slice for each patient. The average maximum esophageal displacement due to cardiac motion for all patients was 5.8 mm (standard deviation: 1.6 mm, maximum: 10.0 mm in the transverse direction. For 21 of 26 patients, the largest esophageal motion was found in the inferior region of the heart; for the other patients, esophageal motion was approximately independent of superior-inferior position. The esophagus motion was larger at cardiac phases where the electrocardiogram R-wave occurs. In conclusion, the magnitude of esophageal motion near the heart due to cardiac motion is similar to that due to other sources of motion, including respiratory motion and intra-fraction motion. A larger cardiac motion will result into larger esophagus motion in a cardiac cycle.

FTUC: A Flooding Tree Uneven Clustering Protocol for a Wireless Sensor Network.

Science.gov (United States)

He, Wei; Pillement, Sebastien; Xu, Du

2017-11-23

Clustering is an efficient approach in a wireless sensor network (WSN) to reduce the energy consumption of nodes and to extend the lifetime of the network. Unfortunately, this approach requires that all cluster heads (CHs) transmit their data to the base station (BS), which gives rise to the long distance communications problem, and in multi-hop routing, the CHs near the BS have to forward data from other nodes that lead those CHs to die prematurely, creating the hot zones problem. Unequal clustering has been proposed to solve these problems. Most of the current algorithms elect CH only by considering their competition radius, leading to unevenly distributed cluster heads. Furthermore, global distances values are needed when calculating the competition radius, which is a tedious task in large networks. To face these problems, we propose a flooding tree uneven clustering protocol (FTUC) suited for large networks. Based on the construction of a tree type sub-network to calculate the minimum and maximum distances values of the network, we then apply the unequal cluster theory. We also introduce referenced position circles to evenly elect cluster heads. Therefore, cluster heads are elected depending on the node's residual energy and their distance to a referenced circle. FTUC builds the best inter-cluster communications route by evaluating a cluster head cost function to find the best next hop to the BS. The simulation results show that the FTUC algorithm decreases the energy consumption of the nodes and balances the global energy consumption effectively, thus extending the lifetime of the network.

Influence of Visual Motion, Suggestion, and Illusory Motion on Self-Motion Perception in the Horizontal Plane.

Science.gov (United States)

Rosenblatt, Steven David; Crane, Benjamin Thomas

2015-01-01

A moving visual field can induce the feeling of self-motion or vection. Illusory motion from static repeated asymmetric patterns creates a compelling visual motion stimulus, but it is unclear if such illusory motion can induce a feeling of self-motion or alter self-motion perception. In these experiments, human subjects reported the perceived direction of self-motion for sway translation and yaw rotation at the end of a period of viewing set visual stimuli coordinated with varying inertial stimuli. This tested the hypothesis that illusory visual motion would influence self-motion perception in the horizontal plane. Trials were arranged into 5 blocks based on stimulus type: moving star field with yaw rotation, moving star field with sway translation, illusory motion with yaw, illusory motion with sway, and static arrows with sway. Static arrows were used to evaluate the effect of cognitive suggestion on self-motion perception. Each trial had a control condition; the illusory motion controls were altered versions of the experimental image, which removed the illusory motion effect. For the moving visual stimulus, controls were carried out in a dark room. With the arrow visual stimulus, controls were a gray screen. In blocks containing a visual stimulus there was an 8s viewing interval with the inertial stimulus occurring over the final 1s. This allowed measurement of the visual illusion perception using objective methods. When no visual stimulus was present, only the 1s motion stimulus was presented. Eight women and five men (mean age 37) participated. To assess for a shift in self-motion perception, the effect of each visual stimulus on the self-motion stimulus (cm/s) at which subjects were equally likely to report motion in either direction was measured. Significant effects were seen for moving star fields for both translation (p = 0.001) and rotation (pperception was shifted in the direction consistent with the visual stimulus. Arrows had a small effect on self-motion

Rigid-body motion correction of the liver in image reconstruction for golden-angle stack-of-stars DCE MRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Johansson, Adam; Balter, James; Cao, Yue

2018-03-01

Respiratory motion can affect pharmacokinetic perfusion parameters quantified from liver dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI. Image registration can be used to align dynamic images after reconstruction. However, intra-image motion blur remains after alignment and can alter the shape of contrast-agent uptake curves. We introduce a method to correct for inter- and intra-image motion during image reconstruction. Sixteen liver dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI examinations of nine subjects were performed using a golden-angle stack-of-stars sequence. For each examination, an image time series with high temporal resolution but severe streak artifacts was reconstructed. Images were aligned using region-limited rigid image registration within a region of interest covering the liver. The transformations resulting from alignment were used to correct raw data for motion by modulating and rotating acquired lines in k-space. The corrected data were then reconstructed using view sharing. Portal-venous input functions extracted from motion-corrected images had significantly greater peak signal enhancements (mean increase: 16%, t-test, P <  0.001) than those from images aligned using image registration after reconstruction. In addition, portal-venous perfusion maps estimated from motion-corrected images showed fewer artifacts close to the edge of the liver. Motion-corrected image reconstruction restores uptake curves distorted by motion. Motion correction also reduces motion artifacts in estimated perfusion parameter maps. Magn Reson Med 79:1345-1353, 2018. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine. © 2017 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.

Inter-Industry and Inter-Firm Wage and Hours Differentials in Switzerland

OpenAIRE

José V. Ramirez

2000-01-01

In the present paper, we analyse the role of demand factors on wages and hours in Switzerland. To accomplish this task, we used the 1996 Swiss Wage Structure Survey, a large employee-employer survey. Results indicate that capital intensity appears to have a certain impact on the relation between wages and hours: the "inter-industry wage-hours differentials line" we inferred is clearly positive. Further, an analysis of the determinants of inter-firm wage differentials shows that the internal o...

Functional brain segmentation using inter-subject correlation in fMRI.

Science.gov (United States)

Kauppi, Jukka-Pekka; Pajula, Juha; Niemi, Jari; Hari, Riitta; Tohka, Jussi

2017-05-01

The human brain continuously processes massive amounts of rich sensory information. To better understand such highly complex brain processes, modern neuroimaging studies are increasingly utilizing experimental setups that better mimic daily-life situations. A new exploratory data-analysis approach, functional segmentation inter-subject correlation analysis (FuSeISC), was proposed to facilitate the analysis of functional magnetic resonance (fMRI) data sets collected in these experiments. The method provides a new type of functional segmentation of brain areas, not only characterizing areas that display similar processing across subjects but also areas in which processing across subjects is highly variable. FuSeISC was tested using fMRI data sets collected during traditional block-design stimuli (37 subjects) as well as naturalistic auditory narratives (19 subjects). The method identified spatially local and/or bilaterally symmetric clusters in several cortical areas, many of which are known to be processing the types of stimuli used in the experiments. The method is not only useful for spatial exploration of large fMRI data sets obtained using naturalistic stimuli, but also has other potential applications, such as generation of a functional brain atlases including both lower- and higher-order processing areas. Finally, as a part of FuSeISC, a criterion-based sparsification of the shared nearest-neighbor graph was proposed for detecting clusters in noisy data. In the tests with synthetic data, this technique was superior to well-known clustering methods, such as Ward's method, affinity propagation, and K-means ++. Hum Brain Mapp 38:2643-2665, 2017. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2017 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Foot segmental motion and coupling in stage II and III tibialis posterior tendon dysfunction.

Science.gov (United States)

Van de Velde, Maarten; Matricali, Giovanni Arnoldo; Wuite, Sander; Roels, Charlotte; Staes, Filip; Deschamps, Kevin

2017-06-01

Classification systems developed in the field of posterior tibialis tendon dysfunction omit to include dynamic measurements. Since this may negatively affect the selection of the most appropriate treatment modality, studies on foot kinematics are highly recommended. Previous research characterised the foot kinematics in patients with posterior tibialis tendon dysfunction. However, none of the studies analysed foot segmental motion synchrony during stance phase, nor compared the kinematic behaviour of the foot in presence of different posterior tibialis tendon dysfunction stages. Therefore, we aimed at comparing foot segmental motion and coupling in patients with posterior tibialis tendon dysfunction grade 2 and 3 to those of asymptomatic subjects. Foot segmental motion of 11 patients suffering from posterior tibialis tendon dysfunction stage 2, 4 patients with posterior tibialis tendon dysfunction stage 3 and 15 asymptomatic subjects was objectively quantified with the Rizzoli foot model using an instrumented walkway and a 3D passive motion capture system. Dependent variables were the range of motion occurring at the different inter-segment angles during subphases of stance and swing phase as well as the cross-correlation coefficient between a number of segments. Significant differences in range of motion were predominantly found during the forefoot push off phase and swing phase. In general, both patient cohorts demonstrated a reduced range of motion compared to the control group. This hypomobility occurred predominantly in the rearfoot and midfoot (pfoot which should be considered in the decision making process since it may help explaining the success and failure of certain conservative and surgical interventions. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

CCS-DTN: clustering and network coding-based efficient routing in social DTNs.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Zhenjing; Ma, Maode; Jin, Zhigang

2014-12-25

With the development of mobile Internet, wireless communication via mobile devices has become a hot research topic, which is typically in the form of Delay Tolerant Networks (DTNs). One critical issue in the development of DTNs is routing. Although there is a lot research work addressing routing issues in DTNs, they cannot produce an advanced solution to the comprehensive challenges since only one or two aspects (nodes' movements, clustering, centricity and so on) are considered when the routing problem is handled. In view of these defects in the existing works, we propose a novel solution to address the routing issue in social DTNs. By this solution, mobile nodes are divided into different clusters. The scheme, Spray and Wait, is used for the intra-cluster communication while a new forwarding mechanism is designed for the inter-cluster version. In our solution, the characteristics of nodes and the relation between nodes are fully considered. The simulation results show that our proposed scheme can significantly improve the performance of the routing scheme in social DTNs.

Oriented cluster perforating technology and its application in horizontal wells

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Huabin Chen

2016-11-01

Full Text Available An oriented cluster perforating technology, which integrates both advantages of cluster and oriented perforating, will help solve a series of technical complexities in horizontal well drilling. For realizing its better application in oil and gas development, a series of technologies were developed including perforator self-weight eccentricity, matching of the electronic selective module codes with the surface program control, axial centralized contact signal transmission, and post-perforation intercluster sealing insulation. In this way, the following functions could be realized, such as cable-transmission horizontal well perforator self-weight orientation, dynamic signal transmission, reliable addressing & selective perforation and post-perforation intercluster sealing. The combined perforation and bridge plug or the multi-cluster perforation can be fulfilled in one trip of perforation string. As a result, the horizontal-well oriented cluster perforating technology based on cable conveying was developed. This technology was successfully applied in unconventional gas reservoir exploitation, such as shale gas and coalbed methane, with accurate orientation, reliable selective perforation and satisfactory inter-cluster sealing. The horizontal-well oriented cluster perforating technology benefits the orientation of horizontal well drilling with a definite target and direction, which provides a powerful support for the subsequent reservoir stimulation. It also promotes the fracturing fluid to sweep the principal pay zones to the maximum extent. Moreover, it is conductive to the formation of complex fracture networks in the reservoirs, making quality and efficient development of unconventional gas reservoirs possible.

Cataloging the Praesepe Cluster: Identifying Interlopers and Binary Systems

Science.gov (United States)

Lucey, Madeline R.; Gosnell, Natalie M.; Mann, Andrew; Douglas, Stephanie

2018-01-01

We present radial velocity measurements from an ongoing survey of the Praesepe open cluster using the WIYN 3.5m Telescope. Our target stars include 229 early-K to mid-M dwarfs with proper motion memberships that have been observed by the repurposed Kepler mission, K2. With this survey, we will provide a well-constrained membership list of the cluster. By removing interloping stars and determining the cluster binary frequency we can avoid systematic errors in our analysis of the K2 findings and more accurately determine exoplanet properties in the Praesepe cluster. Obtaining accurate exoplanet parameters in open clusters allows us to study the temporal dimension of exoplanet parameter space. We find Praesepe to have a mean radial velocity of 34.09 km/s and a velocity dispersion of 1.13 km/s, which is consistent with previous studies. We derive radial velocity membership probabilities for stars with ≥3 radial velocity measurements and compare against published membership probabilities. We also identify radial velocity variables and potential double-lined spectroscopic binaries. We plan to obtain more observations to determine the radial velocity membership of all the stars in our sample, as well as follow up on radial velocity variables to determine binary orbital solutions.

Repeated stimulation, inter-stimulus interval and inter-electrode distance alters muscle contractile properties as measured by Tensiomyography.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hannah V Wilson

Full Text Available The influence of methodological parameters on the measurement of muscle contractile properties using Tensiomyography (TMG has not been published.To investigate the; (1 reliability of stimulus amplitude needed to elicit maximum muscle displacement (Dm, (2 effect of changing inter-stimulus interval on Dm (using a fixed stimulus amplitude and contraction time (Tc, (3 the effect of changing inter-electrode distance on Dm and Tc.Within subject, repeated measures.10 participants for each objective.Dm and Tc of the rectus femoris, measured using TMG.The coefficient of variance (CV and the intra-class correlation (ICC of stimulus amplitude needed to elicit maximum Dm was 5.7% and 0.92 respectively. Dm was higher when using an inter-electrode distance of 7cm compared to 5cm [P = 0.03] and when using an inter-stimulus interval of 10s compared to 30s [P = 0.017]. Further analysis of inter-stimulus interval data, found that during 10 repeated stimuli Tc became faster after the 5th measure when compared to the second measure [P<0.05]. The 30s inter-stimulus interval produced the most stable Tc over 10 measures compared to 10s and 5s respectively.Our data suggest that the stimulus amplitude producing maximum Dm of the rectus femoris is reliable. Inter-electrode distance and inter-stimulus interval can significantly influence Dm and/ or Tc. Our results support the use of a 30s inter-stimulus interval over 10s or 5s. Future studies should determine the influence of methodological parameters on muscle contractile properties in a range of muscles.

Repeated stimulation, inter-stimulus interval and inter-electrode distance alters muscle contractile properties as measured by Tensiomyography

Science.gov (United States)

Johnson, Mark I.; Francis, Peter

2018-01-01

Context The influence of methodological parameters on the measurement of muscle contractile properties using Tensiomyography (TMG) has not been published. Objective To investigate the; (1) reliability of stimulus amplitude needed to elicit maximum muscle displacement (Dm), (2) effect of changing inter-stimulus interval on Dm (using a fixed stimulus amplitude) and contraction time (Tc), (3) the effect of changing inter-electrode distance on Dm and Tc. Design Within subject, repeated measures. Participants 10 participants for each objective. Main outcome measures Dm and Tc of the rectus femoris, measured using TMG. Results The coefficient of variance (CV) and the intra-class correlation (ICC) of stimulus amplitude needed to elicit maximum Dm was 5.7% and 0.92 respectively. Dm was higher when using an inter-electrode distance of 7cm compared to 5cm [P = 0.03] and when using an inter-stimulus interval of 10s compared to 30s [P = 0.017]. Further analysis of inter-stimulus interval data, found that during 10 repeated stimuli Tc became faster after the 5th measure when compared to the second measure [P<0.05]. The 30s inter-stimulus interval produced the most stable Tc over 10 measures compared to 10s and 5s respectively. Conclusion Our data suggest that the stimulus amplitude producing maximum Dm of the rectus femoris is reliable. Inter-electrode distance and inter-stimulus interval can significantly influence Dm and/ or Tc. Our results support the use of a 30s inter-stimulus interval over 10s or 5s. Future studies should determine the influence of methodological parameters on muscle contractile properties in a range of muscles. PMID:29451885

Influence of Visual Motion, Suggestion, and Illusory Motion on Self-Motion Perception in the Horizontal Plane.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Steven David Rosenblatt

Full Text Available A moving visual field can induce the feeling of self-motion or vection. Illusory motion from static repeated asymmetric patterns creates a compelling visual motion stimulus, but it is unclear if such illusory motion can induce a feeling of self-motion or alter self-motion perception. In these experiments, human subjects reported the perceived direction of self-motion for sway translation and yaw rotation at the end of a period of viewing set visual stimuli coordinated with varying inertial stimuli. This tested the hypothesis that illusory visual motion would influence self-motion perception in the horizontal plane. Trials were arranged into 5 blocks based on stimulus type: moving star field with yaw rotation, moving star field with sway translation, illusory motion with yaw, illusory motion with sway, and static arrows with sway. Static arrows were used to evaluate the effect of cognitive suggestion on self-motion perception. Each trial had a control condition; the illusory motion controls were altered versions of the experimental image, which removed the illusory motion effect. For the moving visual stimulus, controls were carried out in a dark room. With the arrow visual stimulus, controls were a gray screen. In blocks containing a visual stimulus there was an 8s viewing interval with the inertial stimulus occurring over the final 1s. This allowed measurement of the visual illusion perception using objective methods. When no visual stimulus was present, only the 1s motion stimulus was presented. Eight women and five men (mean age 37 participated. To assess for a shift in self-motion perception, the effect of each visual stimulus on the self-motion stimulus (cm/s at which subjects were equally likely to report motion in either direction was measured. Significant effects were seen for moving star fields for both translation (p = 0.001 and rotation (p0.1 for both. Thus, although a true moving visual field can induce self-motion, results of this

MANAGING THE DEVELOPMENT OF AGRO-INDUSTRIAL CLUSTERS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

D. V. Zavyalov

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Purpose: the purpose of the research is to design a concept of management system for agro-industrial clusters as self-organizing systems. The transition to a new technological way was marked not only by breakthrough solutions in the organization of production of goods, works and services, but also by the emergence of new (in some cases unique forms of inter-firm cooperation and interaction of economic agents in the real and financial sector of the economy. The concept of "digital economy" becomes the most important in economic research, and moreover - from a practical point of view, modern digitalization technologies in managing the activities of economic entities form new information and communication platforms for economic and scientific exchange. The penetration of digital technologies into life is one of the characteristic features of the future world. Not an exception is the agro-industrial sector, which is both strategically important for ensuring food security and has a high export potential. The article presents the concept of managing the development of agro-industrial clusters as self-organizing systems capable of integrating the activities of small and medium-sized businesses into the value-added chain based on modern information technologies. The obligatory and providing tools, mechanisms for implementing the concept, aimed at eliminating existing problems on the way of forming agro-industrial clusters, are disclosed.Methods: the agro-industrial cluster management model is developed using the methods of economic analysis and synthesis, and functional modelling.Results: conceptual model of cluster development management is presented to be used for the nascent clusters and the development of existing agro-industrial clusters.Conclusions and Relevance: as a result of the conducted research the reasons interfering development of cluster approach in the agroindustrial sector of economy are defined. Among them the main are: lack of

Component Energy Efficiencies in a Novel Linear to Rotary Motion Inter-conversion Hydro-mechanism Running a Solar Tracker

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kant Eliab Kanyarusoke

2018-01-01

Full Text Available A new mechanism interconverting linear and rotary motion was investigated for energy transfers among its components. It employed a gear-rack set, a Hooke coupling and a specially designed bladder-valve system that regulated the motion. The purpose was to estimate individual component mechanical efficiencies as they existed in the prototype so that future reengineering of the mechanism could be properly targeted. Theoretical modelling of the mechanism was first done to obtain equations for efficiencies of the key components. Two-stage experimentation followed when running a solar tracker. The first stage produced data for inputting into the model to determine the efficiencies’ theoretical variation with the Hooke coupling shaft angle. The second one verified results of the Engineering Equation Solver (EES software solutions of the model. It was found that the energy transfer to focus on was that between the Hooke coupling and the output shaft because its efficiency was below 4%

Reference geometry-based detection of (4D-)CT motion artifacts: a feasibility study

Science.gov (United States)

Werner, René; Gauer, Tobias

2015-03-01

Respiration-correlated computed tomography (4D or 3D+t CT) can be considered as standard of care in radiation therapy treatment planning for lung and liver lesions. The decision about an application of motion management devices and the estimation of patient-specific motion effects on the dose distribution relies on precise motion assessment in the planning 4D CT data { which is impeded in case of CT motion artifacts. The development of image-based/post-processing approaches to reduce motion artifacts would benefit from precise detection and localization of the artifacts. Simple slice-by-slice comparison of intensity values and threshold-based analysis of related metrics suffer from- depending on the threshold- high false-positive or -negative rates. In this work, we propose exploiting prior knowledge about `ideal' (= artifact free) reference geometries to stabilize metric-based artifact detection by transferring (multi-)atlas-based concepts to this specific task. Two variants are introduced and evaluated: (S1) analysis and comparison of warped atlas data obtained by repeated non-linear atlas-to-patient registration with different levels of regularization; (S2) direct analysis of vector field properties (divergence, curl magnitude) of the atlas-to-patient transformation. Feasibility of approaches (S1) and (S2) is evaluated by motion-phantom data and intra-subject experiments (four patients) as well as - adopting a multi-atlas strategy- inter-subject investigations (twelve patients involved). It is demonstrated that especially sorting/double structure artifacts can be precisely detected and localized by (S1). In contrast, (S2) suffers from high false positive rates.

Density-functional investigations on the neutral and charged Cun (n = 2 ∼ 12) clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jiang Yuanqi; Duan Haiming

2011-01-01

Combined with the semi-empirical inter-atomic potential, the geometrical and electronic properties of the ground- and low-lying states of Cu n (n = 2 ∼ 12) and Cu n ± (n = 2 ∼ 12) clusters are investigated systematically by density-functional calculations. Our results show that: the ground-state geometries prefer to linear or planar structures for the Cu n (n = 2 ∼ 6) and Cu n ± (n = 2 ∼ 5) clusters and the planar structures are all base on triangles, while for the larger clusters, the pentagonal bi-pyramids are the basic units to form the ground-state geometries, and the traditional high-symmetric structures do not dominate to the ground-states for these small copper clusters. The calculated binding energies of Cu n (n = 2 ∼ 12) clusters are in very good agreement with the experimental results, and the obtained ionization potentials (IPs) and electron affinities (EAs) are also in agreement with the observations; Several electronic properties (such as the IPs, EAs and the second-order energy differences) all exhibit oscillations, which can be due to the relatively high stabilities of the copper clusters containing even number electrons. (authors)

Genetic Diversity of Pinus nigra Arn. Populations in Southern Spain and Northern Morocco Revealed By Inter-Simple Sequence Repeat Profiles

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oussama Ahrazem

2012-05-01

Full Text Available Eight Pinus nigra Arn. populations from Southern Spain and Northern Morocco were examined using inter-simple sequence repeat markers to characterize the genetic variability amongst populations. Pair-wise population genetic distance ranged from 0.031 to 0.283, with a mean of 0.150 between populations. The highest inter-population average distance was between PaCU from Cuenca and YeCA from Cazorla, while the lowest distance was between TaMO from Morocco and MA Sierra Mágina populations. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA and Nei’s genetic diversity analyses revealed higher genetic variation within the same population than among different populations. Genetic differentiation (Gst was 0.233. Cuenca showed the highest Nei’s genetic diversity followed by the Moroccan region, Sierra Mágina, and Cazorla region. However, clustering of populations was not in accordance with their geographical locations. Principal component analysis showed the presence of two major groups—Group 1 contained all populations from Cuenca while Group 2 contained populations from Cazorla, Sierra Mágina and Morocco—while Bayesian analysis revealed the presence of three clusters. The low genetic diversity observed in PaCU and YeCA is probably a consequence of inappropriate management since no estimation of genetic variability was performed before the silvicultural treatments. Data indicates that the inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR method is sufficiently informative and powerful to assess genetic variability among populations of P. nigra.

Workload Characterization of a Leadership Class Storage Cluster

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kim, Youngjae [ORNL; Gunasekaran, Raghul [ORNL; Shipman, Galen M [ORNL; Dillow, David A [ORNL; Zhang, Zhe [ORNL; Settlemyer, Bradley W [ORNL

2010-01-01

Understanding workload characteristics is critical for optimizing and improving the performance of current systems and software, and architecting new storage systems based on observed workload patterns. In this paper, we characterize the scientific workloads of the world s fastest HPC (High Performance Computing) storage cluster, Spider, at the Oak Ridge Leadership Computing Facility (OLCF). Spider provides an aggregate bandwidth of over 240 GB/s with over 10 petabytes of RAID 6 formatted capacity. OLCFs flagship petascale simulation platform, Jaguar, and other large HPC clusters, in total over 250 thousands compute cores, depend on Spider for their I/O needs. We characterize the system utilization, the demands of reads and writes, idle time, and the distribution of read requests to write requests for the storage system observed over a period of 6 months. From this study we develop synthesized workloads and we show that the read and write I/O bandwidth usage as well as the inter-arrival time of requests can be modeled as a Pareto distribution.

Molecular diversity analysis of Tetradium ruticarpum (WuZhuYu) in China based on inter-primer binding site (iPBS) markers and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers.

Science.gov (United States)

Xu, Jing-Yuan; Zhu, Yan; Yi, Ze; Wu, Gang; Xie, Guo-Yong; Qin, Min-Jian

2018-01-01

"Wu zhu yu", which is obtained from the dried unripe fruits of Tetradium ruticarpum (A. Jussieu) T. G. Hartley, has been used as a traditional Chinese medicine for treatment of headaches, abdominal colic, and hypertension for thousands of years. The present study was designed to assess the molecular genetic diversity among 25 collected accessions of T. ruticarpum (Wu zhu yu in Chinese) from different areas of China, based on inter-primer binding site (iPBS) markers and inter-simple sequence repeat (ISSR) markers. Thirteen ISSR primers generated 151 amplification bands, of which 130 were polymorphic. Out of 165 bands that were amplified using 10 iPBS primers, 152 were polymorphic. The iPBS markers displayed a higher proportion of polymorphic loci (PPL = 92.5%) than the ISSR markers (PPL = 84.9%). The results showed that T. ruticarpum possessed high loci polymorphism and genetic differentiation occurred in this plant. The combined data of iPBS and ISSR markers scored on 25 accessions produced five clusters that approximately matched the geographic distribution of the species. The results indicated that both iPBS and ISSR markers were reliable and effective tools for analyzing the genetic diversity in T. ruticarpum. Copyright © 2018 China Pharmaceutical University. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Intra- and inter-multiplet neutron transitions in an Fe4 magnetic cluster

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amoretti, G.; Carretta, S.; Liviotti, E.; Caciuffo, R.; Cornia, A.; Gatteschi, D.; Kulda, J.

2002-01-01

We report the results of neutron spectroscopy for a tetranuclear iron cluster, Fe 4 (OCH 3 ) 6 (dpm) 6 (Hdpm=dipivaloylmethane), having an S=5 spin ground state. The experiments were carried out on a deuterated powder sample at ILL, Grenoble. The transitions within the ground multiplet, below 0.3 meV, were measured with a high-resolution time-of-flight spectrometer. Taking into account the presence of three different isomers, the parameters of the zero-field-splitting Hamiltonian have been determined. The results are discussed with reference to high-field electron paramagnetic resonance data. A non-dispersive peak at 7.8 meV, detected at T=1.4 K using a three-axis spectrometer with polarization analysis, is interpreted as the transition between the S=5 ground state and the two degenerate S=4 excited multiplets. The Q dependence of the cross section is discussed in comparison with the theoretical model. (orig.)

Communication: Time-dependent optimized coupled-cluster method for multielectron dynamics

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Takeshi; Pathak, Himadri; Orimo, Yuki; Ishikawa, Kenichi L.

2018-02-01

Time-dependent coupled-cluster method with time-varying orbital functions, called time-dependent optimized coupled-cluster (TD-OCC) method, is formulated for multielectron dynamics in an intense laser field. We have successfully derived the equations of motion for CC amplitudes and orthonormal orbital functions based on the real action functional, and implemented the method including double excitations (TD-OCCD) and double and triple excitations (TD-OCCDT) within the optimized active orbitals. The present method is size extensive and gauge invariant, a polynomial cost-scaling alternative to the time-dependent multiconfiguration self-consistent-field method. The first application of the TD-OCC method of intense-laser driven correlated electron dynamics in Ar atom is reported.

A scalable distributed RRT for motion planning

KAUST Repository

Jacobs, Sam Ade

2013-05-01

Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT), like other sampling-based motion planning methods, has been very successful in solving motion planning problems. Even so, sampling-based planners cannot solve all problems of interest efficiently, so attention is increasingly turning to parallelizing them. However, one challenge in parallelizing RRT is the global computation and communication overhead of nearest neighbor search, a key operation in RRTs. This is a critical issue as it limits the scalability of previous algorithms. We present two parallel algorithms to address this problem. The first algorithm extends existing work by introducing a parameter that adjusts how much local computation is done before a global update. The second algorithm radially subdivides the configuration space into regions, constructs a portion of the tree in each region in parallel, and connects the subtrees,i removing cycles if they exist. By subdividing the space, we increase computation locality enabling a scalable result. We show that our approaches are scalable. We present results demonstrating almost linear scaling to hundreds of processors on a Linux cluster and a Cray XE6 machine. © 2013 IEEE.

A scalable distributed RRT for motion planning

KAUST Repository

Jacobs, Sam Ade; Stradford, Nicholas; Rodriguez, Cesar; Thomas, Shawna; Amato, Nancy M.

2013-01-01

Rapidly-exploring Random Tree (RRT), like other sampling-based motion planning methods, has been very successful in solving motion planning problems. Even so, sampling-based planners cannot solve all problems of interest efficiently, so attention is increasingly turning to parallelizing them. However, one challenge in parallelizing RRT is the global computation and communication overhead of nearest neighbor search, a key operation in RRTs. This is a critical issue as it limits the scalability of previous algorithms. We present two parallel algorithms to address this problem. The first algorithm extends existing work by introducing a parameter that adjusts how much local computation is done before a global update. The second algorithm radially subdivides the configuration space into regions, constructs a portion of the tree in each region in parallel, and connects the subtrees,i removing cycles if they exist. By subdividing the space, we increase computation locality enabling a scalable result. We show that our approaches are scalable. We present results demonstrating almost linear scaling to hundreds of processors on a Linux cluster and a Cray XE6 machine. © 2013 IEEE.

Galaxy Clusters: Substructure and Mass Systematics

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yu-Ying

2010-07-01

We calibrate the X-ray measured hydrostatic equilibrium (H.E.) mass and assess the origin of the H.E. mass systematics using 2-D spectrally measured X-ray properties. We obtained that the average X-ray mass derived from H.E. using XMM-Newton data is lower compared to the weak lensing mass from Subaru data for relaxed clusters in a sample of 12 clusters at z~0.2. This is comparable to the expectation of numerical simulations because of the non-thermal pressure support due to turbulence and bulk motions. The gas mass to weak lensing mass ratio shows no dependence on the cluster morphology, which indicates that the gas mass may be a good mass proxy regardless of the cluster dynamical state. To understand the origin of the systematics of the H.E. mass, we investigated 4 nearby clusters, for which the substructure is quantified by the radial fluctuations in the spectrally measured 2-D maps by a cumulative/differential scatter profile relative to the mean profile within/at a given radius. The amplitude of and the discontinuity in the scatter complements 2-D substructure diagnostics, e.g. indicating the most disturbed radial range. There is a tantalizing link between the substructure identified using the scatter of the entropy and pressure fluctuations and the deviation of the H.E. mass relative to the expected mass based on the representative scaling relation, e.g., M-Mgas, particularly at r500-the radius within which the over-density, Δ, is 500 with respect to the critical density. This indicates that at larger radii, the systematic error of the H.E. mass may well be caused by substructure.

Large-Scale Processes Associated with Inter-Decadal and Inter-Annual Early Spring Rainfall Variability in Taiwan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jau-Ming Chen

2016-02-01

Full Text Available Early spring (March - April rainfall in Taiwan exhibits evident and distinct inter-annual and inter-decadal variability. The inter-annual varibility has a positive correlation with the El Niño/Southern Oscillation while the inter-decadal variability features a phase change beginning in the late 1970s, coherent with the major phase change in the Pacific decadal oscillation. Rainfall variability in both timescales is regulated by large-scale processes showing consistent dynamic features. Rainfall increases are associated with positive sea surface temperature (SST anomalies in the tropical eastern Pacific and negative SST anomalies in the tropical central Pacific. An anomalous lower-level divergent center appears in the tropical central Pacific. Via a Rossby-wave-like response, an anomalous lower-level anticyclone appears to the southeast of Taiwan over the Philippine Sea-tropical western Pacific region, which is accompanied by an anomalous cyclone to the north-northeast of Taiwan. Both circulation anomalies induce anomalous southwesterly flows to enhance moisture flux from the South China Sea onto Taiwan, resulting in significant moisture convergence nearby Taiwan. With enhanced moisture supplied by anomalous southwesterly flows, significant rainfall increases occur in both inter-annual and inter-decadal timescales in early spring rainfall on Taiwan.

Gravitational microlensing by low-mass objects in the globular cluster M22.

Science.gov (United States)

Sahu, K C; Casertano, S; Livio, M; Gilliland, R L; Panagia, N; Albrow, M D; Potter, M

2001-06-28

Gravitational microlensing offers a means of determining directly the masses of objects ranging from planets to stars, provided that the distances and motions of the lenses and sources can be determined. A globular cluster observed against the dense stellar field of the Galactic bulge presents ideal conditions for such observations because the probability of lensing is high and the distances and kinematics of the lenses and sources are well constrained. The abundance of low-mass objects in a globular cluster is of particular interest, because it may be representative of the very early stages of star formation in the Universe, and therefore indicative of the amount of dark baryonic matter in such clusters. Here we report a microlensing event associated with the globular cluster M22. We determine the mass of the lens to be 0.13(+0.03)(-0.02) solar masses. We have also detected six events that are unresolved in time. If these are also microlensing events, they imply that a non-negligible fraction of the cluster mass resides in the form of free-floating planetary-mass objects.

Migration mechanisms of self-interstitial atoms and their clusters in Fe-Cr alloys

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Terentyev, D.; Malerba, L.

2006-06-01

The mobility of self-interstitial atoms (SIAs) and their clusters in pure iron and iron-chromium alloys was studied by atomic scale modelling techniques. Molecular dynamics (MD) was used to simulate thermally activated motion, i.e. diffusion, and its mechanisms whereas molecular statics was used to estimate energies of interactions of SIA and SIA clusters with Cr-impurities. It is shown that the presence of Cr atoms reduces the diffusivity of SIAs and their clusters in a non monotonic way with increasing Cr concentration. The main reason for this reduction is the presence of a long-range attractive interaction between self-interstitials in the crowdion configuration and Cr atoms. The migration mechanisms behind this effect are discussed relying on the results obtained from the MD simulations. (author)

TU-AB-BRB-02: Stochastic Programming Methods for Handling Uncertainty and Motion in IMRT Planning

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Unkelbach, J. [Massachusetts General Hospital (United States)

2015-06-15

The accepted clinical method to accommodate targeting uncertainties inherent in fractionated external beam radiation therapy is to utilize GTV-to-CTV and CTV-to-PTV margins during the planning process to design a PTV-conformal static dose distribution on the planning image set. Ideally, margins are selected to ensure a high (e.g. >95%) target coverage probability (CP) in spite of inherent inter- and intra-fractional positional variations, tissue motions, and initial contouring uncertainties. Robust optimization techniques, also known as probabilistic treatment planning techniques, explicitly incorporate the dosimetric consequences of targeting uncertainties by including CP evaluation into the planning optimization process along with coverage-based planning objectives. The treatment planner no longer needs to use PTV and/or PRV margins; instead robust optimization utilizes probability distributions of the underlying uncertainties in conjunction with CP-evaluation for the underlying CTVs and OARs to design an optimal treated volume. This symposium will describe CP-evaluation methods as well as various robust planning techniques including use of probability-weighted dose distributions, probability-weighted objective functions, and coverage optimized planning. Methods to compute and display the effect of uncertainties on dose distributions will be presented. The use of robust planning to accommodate inter-fractional setup uncertainties, organ deformation, and contouring uncertainties will be examined as will its use to accommodate intra-fractional organ motion. Clinical examples will be used to inter-compare robust and margin-based planning, highlighting advantages of robust-plans in terms of target and normal tissue coverage. Robust-planning limitations as uncertainties approach zero and as the number of treatment fractions becomes small will be presented, as well as the factors limiting clinical implementation of robust planning. Learning Objectives: To understand

Tri-Clustered Tensor Completion for Social-Aware Image Tag Refinement.

Science.gov (United States)

Tang, Jinhui; Shu, Xiangbo; Qi, Guo-Jun; Li, Zechao; Wang, Meng; Yan, Shuicheng; Jain, Ramesh

2017-08-01

Social image tag refinement, which aims to improve tag quality by automatically completing the missing tags and rectifying the noise-corrupted ones, is an essential component for social image search. Conventional approaches mainly focus on exploring the visual and tag information, without considering the user information, which often reveals important hints on the (in)correct tags of social images. Towards this end, we propose a novel tri-clustered tensor completion framework to collaboratively explore these three kinds of information to improve the performance of social image tag refinement. Specifically, the inter-relations among users, images and tags are modeled by a tensor, and the intra-relations between users, images and tags are explored by three regularizations respectively. To address the challenges of the super-sparse and large-scale tensor factorization that demands expensive computing and memory cost, we propose a novel tri-clustering method to divide the tensor into a certain number of sub-tensors by simultaneously clustering users, images and tags into a bunch of tri-clusters. And then we investigate two strategies to complete these sub-tensors by considering (in)dependence between the sub-tensors. Experimental results on a real-world social image database demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method compared with the state-of-the-art methods.

Inelastic electron scattering as an indicator of clustering in wave functions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

1998-01-01

While the shell model is the most fundamental of nuclear structure models, states in light nuclei also have been described successfully in terms of clusters. Indeed, Wildemuth and Tang have shown a correspondence between the cluster and shell models, the clusters arising naturally as correlations out of the shell model Hamiltonian. For light nuclei, the cluster model reduces the many-body problem to a few-body one, with interactions occurring between the clusters. These interactions involve particle exchanges, since the nucleons may still be considered somewhat freely moving, with their motion not strictly confined to the clusters themselves. Such is the relation of the cluster model to the shell model. For a realistic shell model then, one may expect some evidence of clustering in the wave functions for those systems in which the cluster model is valid. The results obtained using the multi-ℎωshell model wave functions are closer in agreement with experiment than the results obtained using the 0ℎωwave functions. Yet in all cases, that level of agreement is not good, with the calculations underpredicting the measured values by at least a factor of two. This indicates that the shell model wave functions do not exhibit clustering behavior, which is expected to manifest itself at small momentum transfer. The exception is the transition to the 7 - /2 state in 7 Li, for which the value obtained from the γ-decay width is in agreement with the value obtained from the MK3W and (0 + 2 + 4)ℎωshell model calculations

Inter- and Intra-individual Variability in Response to Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) at Varying Current Intensities.

Science.gov (United States)

Chew, Taariq; Ho, Kerrie-Anne; Loo, Colleen K

2015-01-01

Translation of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) from research to clinical practice is hindered by a lack of consensus on optimal stimulation parameters, significant inter-individual variability in response, and in sufficient intra-individual reliability data. Inter-individual differences in response to anodal tDCS at a range of current intensities were explored. Intra-individual reliability in response to anodal tDCS across two identical sessions was also investigated. Twenty-nine subjects participated in a crossover study. Anodal-tDCS using four different current intensities (0.2, 0.5, 1 and 2 mA), with an anode size of 16 cm2, was tested. The 0.5 mA condition was repeated to assess intra-individual variability. TMS was used to elicit 40 motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) before 10 min of tDCS, and 20 MEPs at four time-points over 30 min following tDCS. ANOVA revealed no main effect of TIME for all conditions except the first 0.5 mA condition, and no differences in response between the four current intensities. Cluster analysis identified two clusters for the 0.2 and 2 mA conditions only. Frequency distributions based on individual subject responses (excitatory, inhibitory or no response) to each condition indicate possible differential responses between individuals to different current intensities. Test-retest reliability was negligible (ICC(2,1) = -0.50). Significant inter-individual variability in response to tDCS across a range of current intensities was found. 2 mA and 0.2 mA tDCS were most effective at inducing a distinct response. Significant intra-individual variability in response to tDCS was also found. This has implications for interpreting results of single-session tDCS experiments. Crown Copyright © 2015. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Role of Motion Concepts in Understanding Non-Motion Concepts

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Omid Khatin-Zadeh

2017-12-01

Full Text Available This article discusses a specific type of metaphor in which an abstract non-motion domain is described in terms of a motion event. Abstract non-motion domains are inherently different from concrete motion domains. However, motion domains are used to describe abstract non-motion domains in many metaphors. Three main reasons are suggested for the suitability of motion events in such metaphorical descriptions. Firstly, motion events usually have high degrees of concreteness. Secondly, motion events are highly imageable. Thirdly, components of any motion event can be imagined almost simultaneously within a three-dimensional space. These three characteristics make motion events suitable domains for describing abstract non-motion domains, and facilitate the process of online comprehension throughout language processing. Extending the main point into the field of mathematics, this article discusses the process of transforming abstract mathematical problems into imageable geometric representations within the three-dimensional space. This strategy is widely used by mathematicians to solve highly abstract and complex problems.

Whole-body intravoxel incoherent motion imaging

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Filli, Lukas; Wurnig, Moritz C.; Eberhardt, Christian; Guggenberger, Roman; Boss, Andreas [University Hospital Zurich, Department of Radiology, Zurich (Switzerland); Luechinger, Roger [University and ETH Zurich, Institute of Biomedical Technology, Zurich (Switzerland)

2015-07-15

To investigate the technical feasibility of whole-body intravoxel incoherent motion (IVIM) imaging. Whole-body MR images of eight healthy volunteers were acquired at 3T using a spin-echo echo-planar imaging sequence with eight b-values. Coronal parametrical whole-body maps of diffusion (D), pseudodiffusion (D*), and the perfusion fraction (F{sub p}) were calculated. Image quality was rated qualitatively by two independent radiologists, and inter-reader reliability was tested with intra-class correlation coefficients (ICCs). Region of interest (ROI) analysis was performed in the brain, liver, kidney, and erector spinae muscle. Depiction of anatomic structures was rated as good on D maps and good to fair on D* and F{sub p} maps. Exemplary mean D (10{sup -3} mm{sup 2}/s), D* (10{sup -3} mm{sup 2}/s) and F{sub p} (%) values (± standard deviation) of the renal cortex were as follows: 1.7 ± 0.2; 15.6 ± 6.5; 20.9 ± 4.4. Inter-observer agreement was ''substantial'' to ''almost perfect'' (ICC = 0.80 - 0.92). The coefficient of variation of D* was significantly lower with the proposed algorithm compared to the conventional algorithm (p < 0.001), indicating higher stability. The proposed IVIM protocol allows computation of parametrical maps with good to fair image quality. Potential future clinical applications may include characterization of widespread disease such as metastatic tumours or inflammatory myopathies. (orig.)

Energy Efficient Medium Access Control Protocol for Clustered Wireless Sensor Networks with Adaptive Cross-Layer Scheduling.

Science.gov (United States)

Sefuba, Maria; Walingo, Tom; Takawira, Fambirai

2015-09-18

This paper presents an Energy Efficient Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol for clustered wireless sensor networks that aims to improve energy efficiency and delay performance. The proposed protocol employs an adaptive cross-layer intra-cluster scheduling and an inter-cluster relay selection diversity. The scheduling is based on available data packets and remaining energy level of the source node (SN). This helps to minimize idle listening on nodes without data to transmit as well as reducing control packet overhead. The relay selection diversity is carried out between clusters, by the cluster head (CH), and the base station (BS). The diversity helps to improve network reliability and prolong the network lifetime. Relay selection is determined based on the communication distance, the remaining energy and the channel quality indicator (CQI) for the relay cluster head (RCH). An analytical framework for energy consumption and transmission delay for the proposed MAC protocol is presented in this work. The performance of the proposed MAC protocol is evaluated based on transmission delay, energy consumption, and network lifetime. The results obtained indicate that the proposed MAC protocol provides improved performance than traditional cluster based MAC protocols.

Off-lattice self-learning kinetic Monte Carlo: application to 2D cluster diffusion on the fcc(111) surface

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Kara, Abdelkader; Yildirim, Handan; Rahman, Talat S; Trushin, Oleg

2009-01-01

We report developments of the kinetic Monte Carlo (KMC) method with improved accuracy and increased versatility for the description of atomic diffusivity on metal surfaces. The on-lattice constraint built into our recently proposed self-learning KMC (SLKMC) (Trushin et al 2005 Phys. Rev. B 72 115401) is released, leaving atoms free to occupy 'off-lattice' positions to accommodate several processes responsible for small-cluster diffusion, periphery atom motion and heteroepitaxial growth. This technique combines the ideas embedded in the SLKMC method with a new pattern-recognition scheme fitted to an off-lattice model in which relative atomic positions are used to characterize and store configurations. Application of a combination of the 'drag' and the repulsive bias potential (RBP) methods for saddle point searches allows the treatment of concerted cluster, and multiple- and single-atom, motions on an equal footing. This tandem approach has helped reveal several new atomic mechanisms which contribute to cluster migration. We present applications of this off-lattice SLKMC to the diffusion of 2D islands of Cu (containing 2-30 atoms) on Cu and Ag(111), using the interatomic potential from the embedded-atom method. For the hetero-system Cu/Ag(111), this technique has uncovered mechanisms involving concerted motions such as shear, breathing and commensurate-incommensurate occupancies. Although the technique introduces complexities in storage and retrieval, it does not introduce noticeable extra computational cost.

The LADM based on INTERLIS

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Germann, M.; Kaufmann, J.; Lemmen, C.H.J.; Van Oosterom, P.J.M.; De Zeeuw, K.

2015-01-01

Both the conceptual schema language INTERLIS and the land administration domain model (LADM) share the same model driven architecture (MDA) principles. In this paper we explore how INTERLIS and LADM complement each other in actual implementation of land administration system based on the LADM using

Cavilaciones sobre el interés simple

OpenAIRE

Leonor Cabeza de Vergara

2010-01-01

Como producto de las reflexiones sobre la conceptualización del interés simple surgieron dos preguntas a nivel de clase: ¿Por qué, bajo la modalidad del interés simple, el presente de cada una de las cuotas constantes vencidas no es igual al presente de la anualidad vencida?, y ¿Qué porción de una cuota vencida bajo el interés simple se asigna a interés y a capital? Para trabajar estos interrogantes se partió de un caso práctico y con el soporte conceptual de interés simple, series, serie arm...

Modelling the variation in rectal dose due to inter-fraction rectal wall deformation in external beam prostate treatments

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Booth, Jeremy; Zavgorodni, Sergei

2005-01-01

Prostate radiotherapy inevitably deposits radiation dose in the rectal wall, and the dose delivered to prostate is limited by the expected rectal complications. Accurate evaluation of the rectal dose is non-trivial due to a number of factors. One of these is variation of the shape and position of the rectal wall (with respect to the clinical target volume (CTV)), which may differ daily from that taken during planning CT acquisition. This study uses data currently available in the literature on rectal wall motion to provide estimates of mean population rectal wall dose. The rectal wall geometry is characterized by a population mean radius of the rectum as well as inter-patient and inter-fraction standard deviations in rectum radius. The model is used to evaluate the range of inter-fraction and inter-patient rectal dose variations. The simulation of individual patients with full and empty rectum in the planning CT scan showed that large variations in rectal dose (>15 Gy) are possible. Mean calculated dose accounting for treatment and planning uncertainties in the rectal wall surface was calculated as well as the map of planning dose over/underpredictions. It was found that accuracy of planning dose is dependent on the CTV-PTV margin size with larger margins producing more accurate estimates. Over a patient population, the variation in rectal dose is reduced by increasing the number of pre-treatment CT scans

Search and characterization of T-type planetary mass candidates in the σ Orionis cluster

Science.gov (United States)

Peña Ramírez, K.; Zapatero Osorio, M. R.; Béjar, V. J. S.; Rebolo, R.; Bihain, G.

2011-08-01

Context. The proper characterization of the least massive population of the young σ Orionis star cluster is required to understand the form of the cluster mass function and its impact on our comprehension of the substellar formation processes. S Ori 70 (T5.5 ± 1) and 73, two T-type cluster member candidates, are likely to have masses between 3 and 7 MJup if their age is 3 Myr. It awaits confirmation whether S Ori 73 has a methane atmosphere. Aims: We aim to: i) confirm the presence of methane absorption in S Ori 73 by performing methane imaging; ii) study S Ori 70 and 73 cluster membership via photometric colors and accurate proper motion analysis; and iii) perform a new search to identify additional T-type σ Orionis member candidates. Methods: We obtained HAWK-I (VLT) J, H, and CH4off photometry of an area of 119.15 arcmin2 in σ Orionis down to Jcomp = 21.7 and Hcomp = 21 mag. S Ori 70 and 73 are contained in the explored area. Near-infrared data were complemented with optical photometry using images acquired with OSIRIS (GTC) and VISTA as part of the VISTA Orion survey. Color-magnitude and color-color diagrams were constructed to characterize S Ori 70 and 73 photometrically, and to identify new objects with methane absorption and masses below 7 MJup. We derived proper motions by comparing of the new HAWK-I and VISTA images with published near-infrared data taken 3.4 - 7.9 yr ago. Results.S Ori 73 has a red H - CH4off color indicating methane absorption in the H-band and a spectral type of T4 ± 1. S Ori 70 displays a redder methane color than S Ori 73 in agreement with its latter spectral classification. Our proper motion measurements (μα cos δ = 26.7 ± 6.1, μδ = 21.3 ± 6.1 mas yr-1 for S Ori 70, and μα cos δ = 46.7 ± 4.9, μδ = -6.3 ± 4.7 mas yr-1 for S Ori 73) are larger than the motion of σ Orionis, rendering S Ori 70 and 73 cluster membership uncertain. From our survey, we identified one new photometric candidate with J = 21.69 ± 0.12 mag

New Target for an Old Method: Hubble Measures Globular Cluster Parallax

Science.gov (United States)

Hensley, Kerry

2018-05-01

Measuring precise distances to faraway objects has long been a challenge in astrophysics. Now, one of the earliest techniques used to measure the distance to astrophysical objects has been applied to a metal-poor globular cluster for the first time.A Classic TechniqueAn artists impression of the European Space Agencys Gaia spacecraft. Gaia is on track to map the positions and motions of a billion stars. [ESA]Distances to nearby stars are often measured using the parallax technique tracing the tiny apparent motion of a target star against the background of more distant stars as Earth orbits the Sun. This technique has come a long way since it was first used in the 1800s to measure the distance to stars a few tens of light-years away; with the advent of space observatories like Hipparcos and Gaia, parallax can now be used to map the positions of stars out to thousands of light-years.Precise distance measurements arent only important for setting the scale of the universe, however; they can also help us better understand stellar evolution over the course of cosmic history. Stellar evolution models are often anchored to a reference star cluster, the properties of which must be known precisely. These precise properties can be readily determined for young, nearby open clusters using parallax measurements. But stellar evolution models that anchor on themore-distant, ancient, metal-poor globular clusters have been hampered by theless-precise indirect methods used tomeasure distance to these faraway clusters until now.Top: An image of NGC 6397 overlaid with the area scanned by Hubble (dashed green) and the footprint of the camera (solid green). The blue ellipse represents the parallax motion of a star in the cluster, exaggerated by a factor of ten thousand. Bottom: An example scan from this field. [Adapted from Brown et al. 2018]New Measurement to an Old ClusterThomas Brown (Space Telescope Science Institute) and collaborators used the Hubble Space Telescope todetermine the

Theory of small atomic-like 2D dust clusters

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Amiranashvili, Sh.G.; Gousein-zade, N.G.; Tsytovich, V.N.

2002-01-01

In several experiments atom-like dust clusters with parabolic confining potential were observed [1-3]. Here we present a general theory of 2D clusters confined by (1/2)m dω 0 2 r2 potential with arbitrary pair interaction potential depending on the inter-dust distance. It describes the equilibrium conditions, normal modes, their frequencies and possible instabilities of clusters with arbitrary N number of grains. The mono-layer clusters can have 2N frequencies of oscillations in the cluster plane among which 3 modes are trivial (ω = 0 and double degenerate frequency of oscillation in the potential well). The 2N - 3 non-trivial modes are considered. For example, for square dust cluster with potential V(r) the equilibrium is described by ω 0 2 = -(4/m) [V'(√(2)R) + V'(2R)], the frequency of radial oscillations is ω2 = (16R2/m) [V''(√(2)R) + 2V''(2R)], the two single modes frequencies are ω2 (32R2/m)V''(2R); ω2 = (16R2/m)V''(√(2)r) and one double degenerated mode frequency is ω2 = (1/m) [V'√(2)R) - V'(2R) + 4R2V''(√(2)R)] where ' corresponds to the differentiation of the potential V(r) with respect to √(r). The general stability criterion was found and investigated for N ≥ 4. The pair interaction potential V(r) is considered as a sum of different attraction and repulsion terms , including that which describe the non-screened collective and non collective attraction, the screened non-Coulomb interaction and the non-screened repulsion. The collective non-screened potential causes the absence of equilibria at certain dust cluster sizes. For screened Coulomb potential Vc(r) = (Z d 2 e2αscr/r)exp(-r/λscr) the clusters with the size R are considered. The pentagon cluster is found to be stable for R < 3.3λscr and the clusters with N ≥ 6 are found to be always unstable. The measurements of the frequencies of the cluster modes, the thresholds of cluster equilibria and the stability of the clusters can be used for detection of the dust

Factors Predicting Inter-Ethnic Friendships at the Workplace

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Intan H. M. Hashim

2012-12-01

Full Text Available This study explored factors that may contribute to inter-ethnic friendships, both in terms of quantity and satisfaction with those friendships. Participants were 200 working adults who were studying part-time in a long-distance program in a university in Malaysia. In general, demographic factors (gender, ethnicity, education, and income had no significant relationships with number of inter-ethnic friends and satisfaction people had with inter-ethnic friendships. Ethnic identity and stress at work also did not have significant relationships with number of inter-ethnic friends. However, they were significantly related to satisfaction with inter-ethnic friendships. People with higher ethnic identification were more satisfied with inter-ethnic friendships whereas people with more stress at work reported lower satisfaction with inter-ethnic friendships.

Evaluation equivalent pulse of pulse-like ground motion to estimate the response of RC moment-resisting frames

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seyed Rohollah Hosseini Vaez

2017-08-01

Full Text Available In this study the ability of equivalent pulse extracted by a mathematical model from pulse-like ground motion is investigated in order to estimate the response of RC moment-resisting frames. By examining the mathematical model, it is obvious that the model-based elastic response spectra are compatible with the actual pulse-like record. Also, the model simulates the long-period portion of actual pulse-like records by a high level of precision. The results indicate that the model adequately simulates the components of time histories. In order to investigate the ability of equivalent pulse of pulse-like ground motion in estimating the response of RC moment-resisting frames, five frame models including 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 stories analyzed under actual record and simulated one. The results of the base shear demand, the maximum value of the inter-story drift and the distribution of inter-story drift along the height of the structures in three levels of design ductility is investigated. According to the results of this study, the equivalent pulses can predict accurately the response of regular RC moment-resisting frames when the fundamental period of the structure is equal to or greater than the equivalent pulse of the record. For the ground motion with high-frequency content the difference is high; but with increasing the number of stories and approaching pulse period to the fundamental period of the structure and increasing the level of design ductility of structure, more accurately predict the structural response.

The Open Cluster Chemical Abundances and Mapping (OCCAM) Survey: Galactic Neutron CaptureAbundance Gradients

Science.gov (United States)