Fractal rotation isolates mechanisms for form-dependent motion in human vision

Here, we describe a motion stimulus in which the quality of rotation is fractal. This makes its motion unavailable to the translationbased motion analysis known to underlie much of our motion perception. In contrast, normal rotation can be extracted through the aggregation of the outputs of translational mechanisms. Neural adaptation of these translation-based motion mechanisms is thought to drive the motion after-effect, a phenomenon in which prolonged viewing of motion in one direction leads to a percept of motion in the opposite direction. We measured the motion after-effects induced in static and moving stimuli by fractal rotation. The after-effects found were an order of magnitude smaller than those elicited by normal rotation. Our findings suggest that the analysis of fractal rotation involves different neural processes than those for standard translational motion. Given that the percept of motion elicited by fractal rotation is a clear example of motion derived from form analysis, we propose that the extraction of fractal rotation may reflect the operation of a general mechanism for inferring motion from changes in form.

Application to argon ions of a new technique to measure the two-electron contribution to the ground state energy of helium-like ions

We have measured the two-electron contribution of the ground state energy of helium-like argon ions using an electron beam ion trap (EBIT). A two-dimensional map was measured showing the intensity of x-rays from the trap passing through a krypton-filled absorption cell. The independent axes of this map were electron beam energy and x-ray energy. From this map, we deduced the two-electron contribution of the ground state of helium-like argon. This experimentally determined Value (312.4 +/- 9.5 eV) was found to be in good agreement with our calculated values (about 303.35 eV) and previous calculations of the same quantity. Based on these measurements, we have shown that a ten-day absorption spectroscopy run with a super-EBIT should be sufficient to provide a new benchmark value for the two-electron contribution to the ground state of helium-like krypton. Such a measurement would then constitute a test of quantum electrodynamics to second order.

Environmental Value Added - Ein neues Maß zur Messung der Öko-Effizienz. (Environmental Value Added. A new measure for the measurement of eco-efficiency)

To increase eco-efficiency environmental information needs to be integrated into corporate decision making. For decision makers the interpretation of eco-efficiency as a ratio can however be quite difficult in practice. One of the reasons for this is, that eco-efficiency as a ratio is measured in a unit, that is difficult to interpret. This article therefore suggests an alternative measure for eco-efficiency. The Environmental Value Added, the measure proposed in this paper, reflects the excess economic benefit, resulting from the difference between the eco-efficiency under consideration and a benchmark eco-efficiency. It is measured in a purely monetary unit and is thus easier to interpret and integrate than eco-efficiency as a ratio.

Kinematic Design of a 6-DOF Parallel Manipulator with Decoupled Translation and Rotation

A new three-limb, six-degree-of-freedom (DOF) parallel manipulator (PM), termed a selectively actuated PM (SA-PM), is proposed. The end-effector of the manipulator can produce 3-DOF spherical motion, 3-DOF translation, 3-DOF hybrid motion, or complete 6-DOF spatial motion, depending on the types of the actuation (rotary or linear) chosen for the actuators. The manipulator architecture completely decouples translation and rotation of the end-effector for individual control. The structure synthesis of SA-PM is achieved using the line geometry. Singularity analysis shows that the SA-PM is an isotropic translation PM when all the actuators are in linear mode. Because of the decoupled motion structure, a decomposition method is applied for both the displacement analysis and dimension optimization. With the index of maximal workspace satisfying given global conditioning requirements, the geometrical parameters are optimized. As a result, the translational workspace is a cube, and the orientation workspace is nearly unlimited.

Electronic cell counting to measure total cell numbers in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid

Cell counting of bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid is performed manually in routine practice. This has both methodological and inherent errors; however, the accuracy and suitability of automated counting devices have been questioned. In this study, a Coulter(R) Counter D Industrial model was calibrated and then used to measure the total cell count in unprocessed bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, and compared to a standard manual method.

Small volume laboratory on a chip measurements incorporating the quartz crystal microbalance to measure the viscosity-density product of room temperature ionic liquids

A microfluidic glass chip system incorporating a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) to measure the square root of the viscosity-density product of room temperature ionic liquids (RTILs) is presented. The QCM covers a central recess on a glass chip, with a seal formed by tightly clamping from above outside the sensing region. The change in resonant frequency of the QCM allows for the determination of the square root viscosity-density product of RTILs to a limit of similar to 10 kg m(-2) s(-0.5). This method has reduced the sample size needed for characterization from 1.5 ml to only 30 mu l and allows the measurement to be made in an enclosed system.