Simulation of Facial Muscle Actions Based on Rational Free Form Deformations

This paper describes interactive facilities for simulating abstract muscle actions using Rational Free Form Deformations (RFFD). The particular muscle action is simulated as the displacement of the control points of the control-unit for an RFFD defined on a region of interest. One or several simulated muscle actions constitute a Minimum Perceptible Action (MPA), which is defined as the atomic action unit, similar to Action Unit (AU) of the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), to build an expression.     

IR spectroscopic study of Pt/Kl zeolites using adsorption of CO as a molecular probe

FTIR spectra of CO adsorbed on Pt/KL catalysts show that the relative band intensities and the total dispersion markedly depend on the catalyst preparation method (ion exchange, incipient wetness impregnation or co-impregnation with KCl). The CO stretching frequency of the dominant band for linear CO is shifted to higher wavenumbers, parallel with the proton concentration in the reduced catalyst, which is derived independently from the intensity of the IR bands of the OH groups. The results are in accordance with the model that electron-deficient platinum particles are platinum-proton adducts.On leave from: N.D. Zelinsky Institute of Organic Chemistry, Academy of Sciences, Moscow, USSR.     

The Road to Next-Generation Broadband

Next-generation broadband promises to usher in a digital future in which it will be possible, for instance, to have a high-definition videoconference examination with your doctor from the comfort of your own home. Japan and Korea in particular are much closer to this sort of digital future than most countries, including the US. Public policy must play an important role in making tomorrow's broadband a reality in America.     

Transmission line analysis of nonlinear slot coupled microstrip antenna

The transmission line method is used for the analysis of microstrip antennas fed by several nonlinear slots with 'H' shapes or new geometries. This analysis allows the input impedance of nonlinear slot coupled microstrip antennas to be calculated for the four different structures.<>     

Isolation of single yeast cells by optical trapping

Individual yeast cells can be successfully isolated and recultured on plates with a new isolation method making use of optical trapping with infrared laser light. The cells can be selected on morphological criteria by high resolution microscopy. The isolation device is constructed from two coverslips separated by spacers, in which selected cells are transferred to a plastic capillary, using the optical trap. To test the procedure, selection experiments were done with a mixture of two Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains, distinguishable both in fluorescence microscopy and on agar plates. These experiments showed that only selected cells were isolated, and close to 100% of the isolated stationary-phase cells formed colonies on agar plates, indicating a high recovery. A lower recovery was obtained with exponential-phase cells, possibly because of a higher sensitivity to laser irradiation. Applications for this method may include the isolation of mutants with altered morphology and the isolation of subpopulations of yeast cultures, for their separate investigation or for the initiation of pure cultures.     

Adaptive covariate acquisition for minimizing total cost of classification

Machine Learning - In some applications, acquiring covariates comes at a cost which is not negligible. For example in the medical domain, in order to classify whether a patient has diabetes or not,...     

Interaction Between a Linearly Polarized Electromagnetic Plane and a Double Spherical Shell

An exact solution inside, outside, and within two arbitrary concentric spherical shells is presented for an impinging monochromatic linearly polarized electromagnetic wave. Specifically, the solution was found for a double-shell spherical acrylic plastic enclosure irradiated with 2450-MHz microwaves. The enclosure is used as an environmentally controlled exposure chamber for experimental animals during microwave irradiation. The analysis shows that an air foamed material, such as styrofoam, would be a better material than either Plexiglas or Teflon, provided it is sufficiently durable.     

ON THE DYNAMICS OF THE COMBUSTION OF SINGLE CHAR PARTICLES

Diffusion and reaction models of varying complexity are used to study the stability of the combustion of single char particles. In contrast to past studies which have considered only the reaction of carbon with oxygen, both the heterogeneous reactions of carbon with oxygen and carbon dioxide and the homogeneous oxidation of carbon monoxide are taken into account in the formulation of the mathematical models. Emphasis is placed on the investigation of the feasibility of occurrence of oscillatory combustion. Our results show that high rates of the C-O₂ reaction and high concentration of O₂ in the ambient favor the occurrence of multiple steady states and oscillatory solutions, but the appearance of oscillatory instability is suppressed by the homogeneous reaction in the gas phase and the presence of CO and CO₂ in the ambient. The parametric investigation of the problem reveals, in agreement with the results of past studies, that the heat capacity of the porous solid, the Lewis number, and the thickness of the stagnant film are three key parameters for the occurrence of the oscillatory response of the system. Reasonably large values of solid heat capacity practically eliminate the possibility of oscillatory combustion, but an appropriate combination of large values of stagnant film thickness and small Lewis numbers may offset the effect of solid heat capacity