Poloidal Magnetic Field Measurements in a Reversed Field Pinch Plasma by a Far‐Infrared Polarimeter

A multichannel far‐infrared (FIR) polarimeter has been installed in RFX, a Reversed Field Pinch (RFP) plasma experiment, to measure the poloidal magnetic field profile. The polarimeter uses a CH₃OH FIR laser operating at λ=118.8 μm. Faraday rotation measurements on five of six parallel diagnostic chords are used in preliminary investigations of poloidal field profiles. The experimental results are generally found in good agreement with the μ&p model predictions. The choice of the profile of μ = μ₀j·B/B² is discussed. For the reconstruction of the magnetic field profiles a numerical filamentary current equilibrium code is described, where polarimetric data are included as constraints. An alternative method based on the best‐fit of a three‐parameter μ profile to the polarimetric data is also reported. Both methods provide reliable reconstructions of the plasma magnetic field and the results indicate the existence in RFX of hollow μ profiles.     

Performance optimization of spectroscopic process analyzers

To increase the power and the robustness of spectroscopic process analyzers, methods are needed that suppress the spectral variation that is not related to the property of interest in the process stream. An approach for the selection of a suitable method is presented. The approach uses the net analyte signal (NAS) to analyze the situation and to select methods to suppress the nonrelevant spectral variation. The empirically determined signal-to-noise of the NAS is used as a figure of merit. The advantages of the approach are (i). that the error of the reference method does not affect method selection and (ii). that only a few spectral measurements are needed. A diagnostic plot is proposed that guides the user in the evaluation of the particular suppression method. As an example, NIR spectroscopic monitoring of a mol-sieve separation process is used.     

Imaginary refractive-index effects on desert-aerosol extinction versus backscatter relationships at 351 nm: numerical computations and comparison with Raman lidar measurements

A numerical model is used to investigate the dependence at 351 nm of desert-aerosol extinction and backscatter coefficients on particle imaginary refractive index (mi). Three ranges (-0.005 < or = mi < or = -0.001, -0.01 < or = mi < or = -0.001, and -0.02 < or = mi < or = -0.001) are considered, showing that backscatter coefficients are reduced as /mi/ increases, whereas extinction coefficients are weakly dependent on mi. Numerical results are compared with extinction and backscatter coefficients retrieved by elastic Raman lidar measurements performed during Saharan dust storms over the Mediterranean Sea. The comparison indicates that a range of -0.01 to -0.001 can be representative of Saharan dust aerosols and that the nonsphericity of mineral particles must be considered.     

Aerosol lidar intercomparison in the framework of the EARLINET project. 1. Instruments

In the framework of the European Aerosol Research Lidar Network to Establish an Aerosol Climatology (EARLINET), 19 aerosol lidar systems from 11 European countries were compared. Aerosol extinction or backscatter coefficient profiles were measured by at least two systems for each comparison. Aerosol extinction coefficients were derived from Raman lidar measurements in the UV (351 or 355 nm), and aerosol backscatter profiles were calculated from pure elastic backscatter measurements at 351 or 355, 532, or 1064 nm. The results were compared for height ranges with high and low aerosol content. Some systems were additionally compared with sunphotometers and starphotometers. Predefined maximum deviations were used for quality control of the results. Lidar systems with results outside those limits could not meet the quality assurance criterion. The algorithms for deriving aerosol backscatter profiles from elastic lidar measurements were tested separately, and the results are described in Part 2 of this series of papers [Appl. Opt. 43, 977-989 (2004)]. In the end, all systems were quality assured, although some had to be modified to improve their performance. Typical deviations between aerosol backscatter profiles were 10% in the planetary boundary layer and 0.1 x 10(-6) m(-1) sr(-1) in the free troposphere.     

Contribution of semi-quantum dielectric function models to the analysis of infrared spectra

A new approach to modeling using semi-quantum dielectric function models is proposed for the retrieval of the optical functions from infrared spectra. The powerful points of the method are shown throughout the analysis of two semitransparent materials, MgO and KBr. All the results are discussed in light of those obtained with classical techniques. This type of model is able to retrieve, for example, the extinction index in a range that covers at least six orders of magnitude and gives access to highly valuable information about high-order phonon processes.     

Selective refinement queries for volume visualization of unstructured tetrahedral meshes

We address the problem of the efficient visualization of large irregular volume data sets by exploiting a multiresolution model based on tetrahedral meshes. Multiresolution models, also called Level-Of-Detail (LOD) models, allow encoding the whole data set at a virtually continuous range of different resolutions. We have identified a set of queries for extracting meshes at variable resolution from a multiresolution model, based on field values, domain location, or opacity of the transfer function. Such queries allow trading off between resolution and speed in visualization. We define a new compact data structure for encoding a multiresolution tetrahedral mesh built through edge collapses to support selective refinement efficiently and show that such a structure has a storage cost from 3 to 5.5 times lower than standard data structures used for tetrahedral meshes. The data structures and variable resolution queries have been implemented together with state-of-the art visualization techniques in a system for the interactive visualization of three-dimensional scalar fields defined on tetrahedral meshes. Experimental results show that selective refinement queries can support interactive visualization of large data sets.     

Combining experts for anchorperson shot detection in news videos

Automatic classification of shots extracted by news videos plays an important role in the context of news video segmentation, which is an essential step towards effective indexing of broadcasters digital databases. In spite of the efforts reported by the researchers involved in this field, no techniques providing fully satisfactory performance have been presented until now. In this paper, we propose a multi-expert approach for unsupervised shot classification. The proposed multi-expert system (MES) combines three algorithms that are model-free and do not require a specific training phase. In order to assess the performance of the MES, we built up a database significantly wider than those typically used in the field. Experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approach both in terms of shot classification and of news story detection capability.     

Structure-based design of inhibitors of NS3 serine protease of hepatitis C virus

We have designed small focused combinatorial library of hexapeptide inhibitors of NS3 serine protease of the hepatitis C virus (HCV) by structure-based molecular design complemented by combinatorial optimisation of the individual residues. Rational residue substitutions were guided by the structure and properties of the binding pockets of the enzyme's active site. The inhibitors were derived from peptides known to inhibit the NS3 serine protease by using unusual amino acids and alpha-ketocysteine or difluoroaminobutyric acid, which are known to bind to the S1 pocket of the catalytic site. Inhibition constants (Ki) of the designed library of inhibitors were predicted from a QSAR model that correlated experimental Ki of known peptidic inhibitors of NS3 with the enthalpies of enzyme-inhibitor interaction computed via molecular mechanics and the solvent effect contribution to the binding affinity derived from the continuum model of solvation. The library of the optimised inhibitors contains promising drug candidates-water-soluble anionic hexapeptides with predicted Ki* in the picomolar range.