PETS2009 and Winter-PETS 2009 results: a combined evaluation

This paper presents the results of the crowd image analysis challenge of the Winter PETS 2009 workshop. The evaluation is carried out using a selection of the metrics developed in the Video Analysis and Content Extraction (VACE) program and the CLassification of Events, Activities, and Relationships (CLEAR) consortium [13]. The evaluation highlights the detection and tracking performance of the authors’systems in areas such as precision, accuracy and robustness. The performance is also compared to the PETS 2009 submitted results

Dynamic reorganization of the middle fusiform gyrus: long-term bird expertise predicts decreased face selectivity

What is the functional relationship between face-selective and expertise-predicated object-selective regions in the human middle fusiform gyrus? In two separate fMRI experiments, superior behaviorally-measured bird expertise predicts both higher middle fusiform gyrus selectivity for birds and, concomitantly, lower selectivity for faces. This finding suggests a long-term dynamic reorganization of the neural mechanisms underlying the visual recognition of faces and non-face

The atmospheric effects of stratospheric aircraft. Report of the 1992 Models and Measurements Workshop. Volume 1: Workshop objectives and summary

This Workshop on Stratospheric Models and Measurements (M&M) marks a significant expansion in the history of model intercomparisons. It provides a foundation for establishing the credibility of stratospheric models used in environmental assessments of chlorofluorocarbons, aircraft emissions, and climate-chemistry interactions. The core of the M&M comparisons involves the selection of observations of the current stratosphere (i.e., within the last 15 years): these data are believed to be accurate and representative of certain aspects of stratospheric chemistry and dynamics that the models should be able to simulate

Improved techniques for thermomechanical testing in support of deformation modeling

The feasibility of generating precise thermomechanical deformation data to support constitutive model development was investigated. Here, the requirement is for experimental data that is free from anomalies caused by less than ideal equipment and procedures. A series of exploratory tests conducted on Hastelloy X showed that generally accepted techniques for strain controlled tests were lacking in at least three areas. Specifically, problems were encountered with specimen stability, thermal strain compensation, and temperature/mechanical strain phasing. The source of these difficulties was identified and improved thermomechanical testing techniques to correct them were developed. These goals were achieved by developing improved procedures for measuring and controlling thermal gradients and by designing a specimen specifically for thermomechanical testing. In addition, innovative control strategies were developed to correctly proportion and phase the thermal and mechanical components of strain. Subsequently, the improved techniques were used to generate deformation data for Hastelloy X over the temperature range, 200 to 1000 C

Charginos and Neutralinos in the Light of Radiative Corrections: Sealing the Fate of Higgsino Dark Matter

We analyze the LEP constraints from searches for charginos $\chi^{\pm}$ and neutralinos $\chi_i$, taking into account radiative corrections to the relations between their masses and the underlying Higgs-mixing and gaugino-mass parameters $\mu, m_{1/2}$ and the trilinear mass parameter $A_t$. Whilst radiative corrections do not alter the excluded domain in $m_{\chi^{\pm}}$ as a function of $m_{\chi^{\pm}} - m_{\chi}$, its mapping into the $\mu, m_{1/2}$ plane is altered. We update our previous lower limits on the mass of gaugino dark matter and on tan$\beta$, the ratio of Higgs vacuum expectation values, in the light of the latest LEP data and these radiative corrections. We also discuss the viability of Higgsino dark matter, incorporating co-annihilation effects into the calculation of the Higgsino relic abundance. We find that Higgsino dark matter is viable for only a very limited range of $\mu$ and $m_{1/2}$, which will be explored completely by upcoming LEP runs.Comment: Version to appear in Phys. Rev. D., 21 pages in LateX, including 10 encapsulated postscript figures; uses epsf.sty.; Figures modified (one deleted), conclusions unchange

Potentials between D-Branes in a Supersymmetric Model of Space-Time Foam

We study a supersymmetric model of space-time foam with two stacks each of eight D8-branes with equal string tensions, separated by a single bulk dimension containing D0-brane particles that represent quantum fluctuations. The ground-state configuration with static D-branes has zero vacuum energy, but, when they move, the interactions among the D-branes and D-particles due to the exchanges of strings result in a non-trivial, positive vacuum energy. We calculate its explicit form in the limits of small velocities and large or small separations between the D-branes and/or the D-particles. This non-trivial vacuum energy appears as a central charge deficit in the non-critical stringy $\sigma$ model describing perturbative string excitations on a moving D-brane. These calculations enable us to characterise the ground state of the D-brane/D-particle system, and provide a framework for discussing brany inflation and the possibility of residual Dark Energy in the present-day Universe.Comment: 26 pages Latex, four eps figures incorporated, minor typos corrected, no effects on conclusion

Polarized lepton nucleon scattering - summary of the experimental spin sessions at DIS 99

This paper summarizes the contributions to the experimental sessions on polarized lepton nucleon scattering at the DIS 99 workshop. Results are reported about the flavor decomposition of the quark polarization, a first direct measurement of a positive gluon polarization, the observation of a double-spin asymmetry in diffractive rho production, the polarization of lambda hyperons, the observation of transverse single-spin asymmetries and the measurement of the Gerasimov-Drell-Hearn sum rule. Prospects of future fixed target and collider facilities are discussed.Comment: 8 pages, 5 figures, Proc. of the 7th Int. Workshop on Deep Inelastic Scattering and QCD (DIS99), Zeuthen, Germany, April 19-23, 1999, to appear in Nucl. Phys. B (Proc. Suppl.