A New Sidelobe Correction Algorithm for Microwave Radiometers: Application to the Envisat Instrument

The antenna temperature measured by a microwave radiometer is converted in brightness temperature (TB) by removing the different contributions that do not come from the main lobe of the antenna. Among them, the Earth contribution in the sidelobes may be significant as for the Environmental Satellite mission due to the antenna position on the platform. In such a case, simple corrections commonly applied on previous altimetry missions are inadequate, and a more accurate correction should be determined. We propose in this paper a new method based on global seasonal tables of contamination. This allows application of an accurate sidelobe correction in space and time in the retrieved TB computation     

成功变革的关键战胜心中的"洞中人"

任何新事物都会遇到抵抗.事情总是这样.每个组织都有一种免疫系统,具备自动袭击任何变化的抗体.     

In vivo Cellular Uptake,Degradation, and Biocompatibility of Polyelectrolyte Microcapsules

Polyelectrolyte microcapsules are made by layer‐by‐layer (LbL) coating of a sacrificial template, followed by decomposition of the template, to produce hollow microcapsules. In this paper, we report on the in vivo cellular uptake, degradation and biocompatibility of polyelectrolyte microcapsules produced from alternating dextran sulphate and poly‐L‐arginine layers on a template of calcium carbonate microparticles. We show that a moderate tissue reaction is observed after subcutaneous injection of polyelectrolyte microcapsules in mice. Within sixteen days after subcutaneous injection, most of the microcapsules are internalized by the cells and start to get degraded. The number of polyelectrolyte layers determines the stability of the microcapsules after cellular uptake.     

Design and implementation of a trusted monitoring framework for cloud platforms

Virtualization is a pillar technology in cloud computing for multiplexing computing resources on a single cloud platform for multiple cloud tenants. Monitoring the behavior of virtual machines (VMs) on a cloud platform is a critical requirement for cloud tenants. Existing monitoring mechanisms on virtualized platforms either takes a complete VM as the monitoring granularity, such that they cannot capture the malicious behaviors within individual VMs, or they focus on specific monitoring functions that cannot be used for heterogeneous VMs concurrently running on a single cloud node. Furthermore, the existing monitoring mechanisms have made an assumption that the privileged domain is trusted to act as expected, which causes the cloud tenants’ concern about security because the privileged domain in fact could not act as the tenants’ expectation. We design a trusted monitoring framework, which provides a chain of trust that excludes the untrusted privileged domain, by deploying an independent guest domain for the monitoring purpose, as well as utilizing the trusted computing technology to ensure the integrity of the monitoring environment. Moreover, the feature of fine-grained and general monitoring is also provided. We have implemented the proposed monitoring framework on Xen, and integrated it into OpenNebula. Our experimental results show that it can offer expected functionality, and bring moderate performance overhead.     

A sub‐pixel mapping algorithm based on sub‐pixel/pixel spatial attraction models

Soft classification techniques avoid the loss of information characteristic to hard classification techniques when handling mixed pixels. Sub‐pixel mapping is a method incorporating benefits of both hard and soft classification techniques. In this paper an algorithm is developed based on sub‐pixel/pixel attractions. The design of the algorithm is accomplished using artificial imagery but testing is done on artificial as well as real synthetic imagery. The algorithm is evaluated both visually and quantitatively using established classification accuracy indices. The resulting images show increased accuracy when compared to hardened soft classifications.     

Virtual learning environments as sociomaterial agents in the network of teaching practice

This article presents findings related to the sociomaterial agency of educators and their practice in Norwegian education. Using actor-network theory, we ask how Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) negotiate the agency of educators and how they shape their teaching practice. Since the same kinds of VLE tools have been widely implemented throughout Norwegian education, it is interesting to study how practices are formed in different parts of the educational system. This research is therefore designed as a case study of two different teaching contexts representing lecturers from a higher education institution and teachers from primary schools. Data are collected by means of interviews, online logging of VLE activities and self-reported personal logs. From the analysis of the data, three main networks of aligned interests can be identified. In each of those, the sociomaterial agency of the teaching practice with VLE is crucial in shaping and consolidating the network.     

THE USE OF A GAS CHROMATOGRAPH TO OBTAIN DRYING RATES DATA THROUGH SIMPLE LABORATORY EXPERIMENTS

Abstract

A method making use of a gas chromatograph was investigated to acquire bound solvent drying rates. The solid to be dried was used as stationary phase in a chromatographic column, and the TCD detector was used to follow the decrease of solvent content of the effluent as inert gas was flown through the column. The measurement of the break-through curve allows the evolution of drying rate with time or solvent content to be obtained. The comparison of the experimental results with numerical simulation leads to the determination, through parametric adjustment, of the internal mass-transfer coefficient as a function of the solvent content during the second stage of bound solvent drying period. This parameter can lead to the value of the diffusivity as a function of solvent content.