Guaranteed resonance enclosures and exclosures for atoms and molecules

In this paper, we confirm, with absolute certainty, a conjecture on a certain oscillatory behaviour of higher auto-ionizing resonances of atoms and molecules beyond a threshold. These results not only definitely settle a more than 30 year old controversy in Rittby et al. (1981 Phys. Rev. A 24, 1636–1639 (doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.24.1636)) and Korsch et al. (1982 Phys. Rev. A 26, 1802–1803 (doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.26.1802)), but also provide new and reliable information on the threshold. Our interval-arithmetic-based method allows one, for the first time, to enclose and to exclude resonances with guaranteed certainty. The efficiency of our approach is demonstrated by the fact that we are able to show that the approximations in Rittby et al. (1981 Phys. Rev. A 24, 1636–1639 (doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.24.1636)) do lie near true resonances, whereas the approximations of higher resonances in Korsch et al. (1982 Phys. Rev. A 26, 1802–1803 (doi:10.1103/PhysRevA.26.1802)) do not, and further that there exist two new pairs of resonances as suggested in Abramov et al. (2001 J. Phys. A 34, 57–72 (doi:10.1088/0305-4470/34/1/304)).

Synchronization of two independently moving cameras without feature correspondences

In this work, a method that synchronizes two video sequences is proposed. Unlike previous methods, which require the existence of correspondences between features tracked in the two sequences, and/or that the cameras are static or jointly moving, the proposed approach does not impose any of these constraints. It works when the cameras move independently, even if different features are tracked in the two sequences. The assumptions underlying the proposed strategy are that the intrinsic parameters of the cameras are known and that two rigid objects, with independent motions on the scene, are visible in both sequences. The relative motion between these objects is used as clue for the synchronization. The extrinsic parameters of the cameras are assumed to be unknown. A new synchronization algorithm for static or jointly moving cameras that see (possibly) different parts of a common rigidly moving object is also proposed. Proof-of-concept experiments that illustrate the performance of these methods are presented, as well as a comparison with a state-of-the-art approach.

Exploration von Resilienzen und Ressourcen bei Veränderungssprüngen

In Therapien, welche den Behandlungsverlauf präzise aufzeichnen, sind starke und nachhaltige Veränderungssprünge häufig, besonders in der ersten Therapiephase. Veränderungssprünge können sich in den individuellen Symptomen der Patienten, aber auch in allen anderen Lebensbereichen Praxis-Anleitung der WHO-Gesundheitsdefinition (WHO 1948) manifestieren. Die vorliegende Praxisanleitung bietet einen Explorationsleitfaden, wie Veränderungssprünge für die weitere Therapie genutzt werden können. Der Leitfaden umfasst (1) die Exploration der Veränderungssituation, (2) das Herausarbeiten von generalisierter Selbstwirksamkeit und Vertrauensaufbau und (3) den Transfer für die weiterführende Therapie.

Articulated Statistical Shape Model-Based 2D-3D Reconstruction of a Hip Joint

In this paper, reconstruction of three-dimensional (3D) patient-specific models of a hip joint from two-dimensional (2D) calibrated X-ray images is addressed. Existing 2D-3D reconstruction techniques usually reconstruct a patient-specific model of a single anatomical structure without considering the relationship to its neighboring structures. Thus, when those techniques would be applied to reconstruction of patient-specific models of a hip joint, the reconstructed models may penetrate each other due to narrowness of the hip joint space and hence do not represent a true hip joint of the patient. To address this problem we propose a novel 2D-3D reconstruction framework using an articulated statistical shape model (aSSM). Different from previous work on constructing an aSSM, where the joint posture is modeled as articulation in a training set via statistical analysis, here it is modeled as a parametrized rotation of the femur around the joint center. The exact rotation of the hip joint as well as the patient-specific models of the joint structures, i.e., the proximal femur and the pelvis, are then estimated by optimally fitting the aSSM to a limited number of calibrated X-ray images. Taking models segmented from CT data as the ground truth, we conducted validation experiments on both plastic and cadaveric bones. Qualitatively, the experimental results demonstrated that the proposed 2D-3D reconstruction framework preserved the hip joint structure and no model penetration was found. Quantitatively, average reconstruction errors of 1.9 mm and 1.1 mm were found for the pelvis and the proximal femur, respectively.

3D Intervertebral Disc Localization and Segmentation from MR Images by Data-Driven Regression and Classification

In this paper we propose a new fully-automatic method for localizing and segmenting 3D intervertebral discs from MR images, where the two problems are solved in a unified data-driven regression and classification framework. We estimate the output (image displacements for localization, or fg/bg labels for segmentation) of image points by exploiting both training data and geometric constraints simultaneously. The problem is formulated in a unified objective function which is then solved globally and efficiently. We validate our method on MR images of 25 patients. Taking manually labeled data as the ground truth, our method achieves a mean localization error of 1.3 mm, a mean Dice metric of 87%, and a mean surface distance of 1.3 mm. Our method can be applied to other localization and segmentation tasks.

Fully automatic segmentation of AP pelvis X-rays via random forest regression with efficient feature selection and hierarchical sparse shape composition

In clinical practice, traditional X-ray radiography is widely used, and knowledge of landmarks and contours in anteroposterior (AP) pelvis X-rays is invaluable for computer aided diagnosis, hip surgery planning and image-guided interventions. This paper presents a fully automatic approach for landmark detection and shape segmentation of both pelvis and femur in conventional AP X-ray images. Our approach is based on the framework of landmark detection via Random Forest (RF) regression and shape regularization via hierarchical sparse shape composition. We propose a visual feature FL-HoG (Flexible- Level Histogram of Oriented Gradients) and a feature selection algorithm based on trace radio optimization to improve the robustness and the efficacy of RF-based landmark detection. The landmark detection result is then used in a hierarchical sparse shape composition framework for shape regularization. Finally, the extracted shape contour is fine-tuned by a post-processing step based on low level image features. The experimental results demonstrate that our feature selection algorithm reduces the feature dimension in a factor of 40 and improves both training and test efficiency. Further experiments conducted on 436 clinical AP pelvis X-rays show that our approach achieves an average point-to-curve error around 1.2 mm for femur and 1.9 mm for pelvis.

Automatic X-ray landmark detection and shape segmentation via data-driven joint estimation of image displacements

In this paper, we propose a new method for fully-automatic landmark detection and shape segmentation in X-ray images. To detect landmarks, we estimate the displacements from some randomly sampled image patches to the (unknown) landmark positions, and then we integrate these predictions via a voting scheme. Our key contribution is a new algorithm for estimating these displacements. Different from other methods where each image patch independently predicts its displacement, we jointly estimate the displacements from all patches together in a data driven way, by considering not only the training data but also geometric constraints on the test image. The displacements estimation is formulated as a convex optimization problem that can be solved efficiently. Finally, we use the sparse shape composition model as the a priori information to regularize the landmark positions and thus generate the segmented shape contour. We validate our method on X-ray image datasets of three different anatomical structures: complete femur, proximal femur and pelvis. Experiments show that our method is accurate and robust in landmark detection, and, combined with the shape model, gives a better or comparable performance in shape segmentation compared to state-of-the art methods. Finally, a preliminary study using CT data shows the extensibility of our method to 3D data.

The ATHENA experiment for the study of antihydrogen

In 2002, the ATHENA experiment was the first to produce large amounts of antihydrogen atoms at the CERN Antiproton Decelerator (AD). In this review article, we collect and discuss all the relevant results of the experiment: antiproton and positron cooling and their recombination dynamics in the nested Penning trap, the methods used to unambiguously identify the antiatoms as well as the protonium background, the dependence of the antihydrogen formation on mixing time and temperature. An attempt to interpret the results in terms of the two-body and three-body formation reactions, taking into account the complicated nested-trap dynamics, is also made. The relevance of the ATHENA results on future experiments is discussed, together with a short overview of the current antimatter physics at the AD.

Einfluss des Trampolinsprungtuchs und der Sprunghöhe auf die Vertikalbeschleunigung an der Brustwirbelsäule

Die 2011 für das Trampolinturnen eingeführte, instrumentierte Bewertung der Sprunghöhe hatte die Entwicklung wurfstärkerer Sprungtücher und damit eine Zunahme der Sprunghöhen zur Folge. Inwieweit dabei die Beanspruchung des Bewegungsapparates gestiegen ist, wird durch vergleichende biomechanische Analysen verschiedener Sprünge von Athlet/innen des deutschen Nationalkaders auf dem alten 6x4- und dem neuen 4x4 -Sprungtuch untersucht. Erste Analysen zeigten, dass sich die Zunahme der Sprunghöhe auf dem 4x4-Tuch notwendigerweise in einem größeren Kraftstoß begründet, dieser aber nicht durch eine längere Tuchkontaktzeit, sondern durch eine höhere Kraft zustande kommt (Kredel, Eisele, Schweizer, Kuhn & Riehle, 2014). In der Folge soll nun der Einfluss dieser Kraftzunahme auf Bewegungsparameter und Beanspruchung untersucht werden. Kinematische Merkmale von Körper- und Wirbelsäulensegmenten wurden mit einem Vicon-T40s-System aufgezeichnet, während die Bodenreaktionskraftverläufe mit vier Kis t-ler-Kraftmessplatten erfasst wurden. Eine individualisierte, inversdynamische Modellierung der Tuchkontaktphasen soll Aufschluss über die Beanspruchungsunterschiede relevanter Gelenksstrukturen (Sprung-, Knie-, Hüftgelenk, LWS, BWS) geben. Zur Modellvalidierung dient die mittels Beschleunigungssensor erfasste Brustwirbelsäulenkinematik, deren Ausprägung in Bezug zur Sprunghöhe Gegenstand des aktuellen Untersuchungsteils war. Analysen von 102 Standsprüngen zeigen Zusammenhänge zwischen der Sprunghöhe und sowohl der mittleren (4x4: r(44)=.90, p<.001; 6x4: r(54)=.83, p<.001), als auch der maximalen (4x4: r(44)=.65, p<.001; 6x4: r(54)=.80, p<.001) Vertikalbeschleunigung der Brus twirbelsäule während des Tuchkontakts. Sind die Beschleunigungswerte – und damit die Belastungen – im mittleren Sprunghöhenbereich in ähnlichen Größenordnungen, ist festzuhalten, dass die durch das 4x4-Tuch erreichbaren größeren Sprunghöhen nicht nur einen weiteren Anstieg der mittleren, sondern auch eine weitere Erhöhung der maximalen Vertikalbeschleunigung zur Folge haben (Maximum 4x4: 151.4 m/s2 vs. 6x4: 139.6 m/s2) und somit die Maximalbelastung der Athlet/innen zunimmt. Aktuell wird dieser Befund bei den komplexeren Sprungvarianten verifiziert und die Gelenksbeansp.ruchung modelliert

Motivational profiles of sport event volunteers.

Aim of the study Due to the valuable contribution made by volunteers to sporting events, a better understanding of volunteers’ motivation is imperative for event managers in order to develop effective volunteer re-cruitment and retention strategies. The adoption of working conditions and task domains to the mo-tives and needs of volunteers is one of the key challenges in volunteer management. Conversely, an ignorance of the motives and needs of volunteers could negatively affect their performance and attitude, which will have negative consequences for the execution of events (Strigas & Jackson, 2003). In general, the motives of volunteers are located on a continuum between selflessness (e.g. helping others), and self-interest (e.g. pursuing one’s own interests). Furthermore, it should take into account that volunteers may be motivated by more than one need or goal, and therefore, configure different bundles of motives, resulting in heterogeneous types of motives for voluntary engagement (Dolnicar & Randle, 2007). Despite the extensive number of studies on the motives of sport event volunteers, only few studies focus on the analysis of individual motive profiles concerning volun-teering. Accordingly, we will take a closer look at the following questions: To what extent do volun-teers at sporting events differ in the motives of their engagement, and how can the volunteers be ade-quately classified? Theoretical Background According to the functional approach, relevant subjective motives are related to the outcomes and consequences that volunteering is supposed to lead to and to produce. This means, individuals’ mo-tives determine which incentives are anticipated in return for volunteering (e.g. increase in social contacts), and are important for engaging in volunteering, e.g. the choice between different oppor-tunities for voluntary activity, or different tasks (Stukas et al., 2009). Additionally, inter-individual differences of motive structures as well as matching motives in the reflections of voluntary activities will be considered by using a person-oriented approach. In the person-oriented approach, it is not the specific variables that are made the entities of investigation, but rather persons with a certain combination of characteristic features (Bergmann et al., 2003). Person-orientation in the field of sports event volunteers, it is therefore essential to implement an orientation towards people as a unit of analysis. Accordingly, individual motive profiles become the object of investigation. The individ-ual motive profiles permit a glimpse of intra-individual differences in the evaluation of different motive areas, and thus represent the real subjective perspective. Hence, a person will compare the importance of individual motives for his behaviour primarily in relation to other motives (e.g. social contacts are more important to me than material incentives), and make fewer comparisons with the assessments of other people. Methodology, research design and data analysis The motives of sports event volunteers were analysed in the context of the European Athletics Championships 2014 in Zürich. After data cleaning, the study sample contained a total of 1,169 volunteers, surveyed by an online questionnaire. The VMS-ISA scale developed by Bang and Chel-ladurai (2009) was used and replicated successfully by a confirmatory factor analysis. Accordingly, all seven factors of the scale were included in the subsequent cluster analysis to determine typical motive profiles of volunteers. Before proceeding with the cluster analysis, an intra-individual stand-ardization procedure (according to Spiel, 1998) was applied to take advantage of the intra-individual relationships between the motives of the volunteers. Intra-individual standardization means that every value of each motive dimension was related to the average individual level of ex-pectations. In the final step, motive profiles were determined using a hierarchic cluster analysis based on Ward’s method with squared Euclidean distances. Results, discussion and implications The results reveal that motivational processes differ among sports event volunteers, and that volunteers sometimes combine contradictory bundles of motives. In our study, four different volunteer motive profiles were identified and described by their positive levels on the individual motive dimension: the community supporters, the material incentive seekers, the social networkers, and the career and personal growth pursuers. To describe the four identified motive profiles in more detail and to externally validate them, the clusters were analysed in relation to socio-economic, sport-related, and voluntary work characteristics. This motive-based typology of sports event volunteers can provide valuable guidance for event managers in order to create distinctive and designable working conditions and tasks at sporting events that should, in relation to a person-oriented approach, be tailored to a wide range of individ-ual prerequisites. Furthermore, specific recruitment procedures and appropriate communication measures can be defined in order to approach certain groups of potential volunteers more effectively. References Bang, H., & Chelladurai, P. (2009). Development and validation of the volunteer motivations scale for international sporting events (VMS-ISE). International Journal Sport Management and Market-ing, 6, 332-350. Bergmann, L. R., Magnusson, D., & El-Khouri, B. M. (2003). Studying individual development in an interindividual context. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum. Dolnicar, S., & Randle, M. (2007). What motivates which volunteers? Psychographic heterogeneity among volunteers in Australia. Voluntas, 18, 135-155. Spiel, C. (1998). Four methodological approaches to the study of stability and change in develop-ment. Methods of Psychological Research Online, 3, 8-22. Stukas, A. A., Worth, K. A., Clary, E. G., & Snyder, M. (2009). The matching of motivations to affordances in the volunteer environment: an index for assessing the impact of multiple matches on volunteer outcomes. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, 38, 5-28.

Measurement of fecal elastase improves performance of newborn screening for cystic fibrosis.

BACKGROUND The aim of newborn screening (NBS) for CF is to detect children with 'classic' CF where early treatment is possible and improves prognosis. Children with inconclusive CF diagnosis (CFSPID) should not be detected, as there is no evidence for improvement through early treatment. No algorithm in current NBS guidelines explains what to do when sweat test (ST) fails. This study compares the performance of three different algorithms for further diagnostic evaluations when first ST is unsuccessful, regarding the numbers of children detected with CF and CFSPID, and the time until a definite diagnosis. METHODS In Switzerland, CF-NBS was introduced in January 2011 using an IRT-DNA-IRT algorithm followed by a ST. In children, in whom ST was not possible (no or insufficient sweat), 3 different protocols were applied between 2011 and 2014: in 2011, ST was repeated until it was successful (protocol A), in 2012 we proceeded directly to diagnostic DNA testing (protocol B), and 2013-2014, fecal elastase (FE) was measured in the stool, in order to determine a pancreas insufficiency needing immediate treatment (protocol C). RESULTS The ratio CF:CFSPID was 7:1 (27/4) with protocol A, 2:1 (22/10) with protocol B, and 14:1 (54/4) with protocol C. The mean time to definite diagnosis was significantly shorter with protocol C (33days) compared to protocol A or B (42 and 40days; p=0.014 compared to A, and p=0.036 compared to B). CONCLUSIONS The algorithm for the diagnostic part of the newborn screening used in the CF centers is important and affects the performance of a CF-NBS program with regard to the ratio CF:CFSPID and the time until definite diagnosis. Our results suggest to include FE after initial sweat test failure in the CF-NBS guidelines to keep the proportion of CFSPID low and the time until definite diagnosis short.

Physical oceanography and current meter data from mooring and CTD measurements at Fram Strait

Current meters measured temperature and velocity on 12 moorings from 1997 to 2014 in the deep Fram Strait between Svalbard and Greenland at the only deep passage from the Nordic Seas to the Arctic Ocean. The sill depth in Fram Strait is 2545 m. The observed temperatures vary between the colder Greenland Sea Deep Water and the warmer Eurasian Basin Deep Water. Both end members show a linear warming trend of 0.11±0.02°C/decade (GSDW) and 0.05±0.01°C/decade (EBDW) in agreement with the deep water warming observed in the basins to the north and south. At the current warming rates, GSDW and EBDW will reach the same temperature of -0.71°C in 2020. The deep water on the approximately 40 km wide plateau near the sill in Fram Strait is a mixture of the two end members with both contributing similar amounts. This water mass is continuously formed by mixing in Fram Strait and subsequently exported out of Fram Strait. Individual measurements are approximately normally distributed around the average of the two end members. Meridionally, the mixing is confined to the plateau region. Measurements less than 20 km to the north and south have properties much closer to the properties in the respective basins (Eurasian Basin and Greenland Sea) than to the mixed water on the plateau. The temperature distribution around Fram Strait indicates that the mean flow cannot be responsible for the deep water exchange across the sill. Rather, a coherence analysis shows that energetic mesoscale flows with periods of approximately 1-2 weeks advect the deep water masses across Fram Strait. These flows appear to be barotropically forced by upper ocean mesoscale variability. We conclude that these mesoscale flows make Fram Strait a hot spot of deep water mixing in the Arctic Mediterranean. The fate of the mixed water is not clear, but after the 1990s, it does not reflect the properties of Norwegian Sea Deep Water. We propose that it currently mostly fills the deep Greenland Sea.

Gridded bathymetry from multibeam echosounder EM122 data of the cruise MSM34/2 (2013)

Bathymetry based on data recorded during MSM34-2 between 27.12.2013 and 18.01.2014 in the Black Sea. The main objective of this cruise was the mapping and imaging of the gas hydrate distribution and gas accumulations as well as possible gas migration pathways. Objectives of Cruise: Gas hydrates have been the focus of scientific and economic interest for the past 15-20 years, mainly because the amount of carbon stored in gas hydrates is much greater than in other carbon reservoirs. Several countries including Japan, Korea and India have launched vast reasearch programmes dedicated to the exploration for gas hydrate resources and ultimately the exploitation of the gas hydrates for methane. The German SUGAR project that is financed the the Ministry of Education and Research (BmBF) and the Ministry of Economics (BmWi) aims at developing technology to exploit gas hydrate resources by injecting and storing CO2 instead of methane in the hydrates. This approach includes techniques to locate and quantify hydrate reservoirs, drill into the reservoir, extract methane from the hydrates by replacing it with CO2, and monitor the thus formed CO2-hydrate reservoir. Numerical modeling has shown that any exploitation of the gas hydrates can only be succesful, if sufficient hydrate resources are present within permeable reservoirs such as sandy or gravelly deposits. The ultimate goal of the SUGAR project being a field test of the technology developed within the project, knowledge of a suitable test site becomes crucial. Within European waters only the Norwegian margin and the Danube deep-sea fan show clear geophysical evidence for large gas hydrate accumulations, but only the Danube deep-sea fan most likely contains gas hydrates within sandy deposits. The main objective of cruise MSM34 therefore is locating and characterising suitable gas hydrate deposits on the Danube deep-sea fan.

湾岸およびインド洋地域の安全保障と日本

In this paper, first we look back at the activities of the JMSDF in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf for the past 10-20 years from the view-point of contributions to security in the regions, and Japan's defence and diplomatic policies. In addition we would like to consider the situation that Japan has currently been placed in, or the primary factors of the change of power balance caused by China's foreign expansion and US gradual troop reductions, and economic conditions and energy supply problems after the earthquake disaster, as well as the returning of the LDP Administration. Each of these affects Japan's defence and diplomatic policies, and Japanese approach to Gulf countries is to be precisely understood in this context. For Japan, the importance of relationships with Gulf countries will surely increase in the foreseeable future. However the immediate addition of the JMSDF's force in the Indian Ocean and the Gulf Region is difficult. So Japan's role in regional security will probably be depending on the licensing of technology to India and Gulf countries, plus the construction of collaborative systems devoted to the training and support of highly proficient personnel. China will have a competitive relationship with Japan over access to the energy supply sources and the markets in Gulf countries, and it will be necessary to employ such systems for the purpose of international trust building and preventing of any free-ride.

中国と湾岸を結ぶ南アジア -- パキスタン・アフガニスタンの動向と関連させて

Pakistan is geographically situated between China and the Gulf. In order to balance its strategic position against the major security threat of India, Pakistan formed a special and stable strategic alliance with China against common threats since the period of the cold war even though the two countries have neither a political ideology nor political system in common. On the other hand Pakistan established another special relation with Saudi Arabia on the basis of Islamic identity. With its expanding economic capacity, China proposed a project by the name of "new silk road economic corridor" with the intention of expanding and multiplying trade routes with the Middle East and Europe. Within this framework Pakistan is expected to expand the role of an alternative land route that connects the Gulf and China for use if unfavorable emergencies occur in the Malacca route. However, the continuous political uncertainty in Afghanistan after the pullout of US-NATO fighting forces at the end of 2014 and sporadic outbreaks of terrorist acts by Pakistan Taliban in Pakistan have increased China's anxiety regarding Uyghur issues at home. Avoiding military options for the moment, China is trying to find ways to play an active role in the security issues of Afghanistan with help from Pakistan if available. On the other hand, it is noteworthy that the Pakistani government formed in the general election of 2008 completed its full term and transferred authority to the newly elected government in 2013, something never observed before in Pakistan's history. Coincidently, in Afghanistan the presidential election was carried out peacefully in 2014 in spite of the Taliban threat. Although it is too early to make any definite conclusion, constitutional processes, in spite of their defects, reflected to some extent wishes for normal life of the people of Pakistan and Afghanistan who were disgusted with weak governance and the prevalence of terrorism.