Showing papers by "Karlsruhe Institute of Technology published in 2010"
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors considered the Standard Model as an effective low-energy theory, higher dimensional interaction terms appear in the Lagrangian and performed their classification once again from the outset.
Abstract: When the Standard Model is considered as an effective low-energy theory, higher dimensional interaction terms appear in the Lagrangian. Dimension-six terms have been enumerated in the classical article by Buchmuller and Wyler [3]. Although redundance of some of those operators has been already noted in the literature, no updated complete list has been published to date. Here we perform their classification once again from the outset. Assuming baryon number conservation, we find 15 + 19 + 25 = 59 independent operators (barring flavour structure and Hermitian conjugations), as compared to 16 + 35 + 29 = 80 in ref. [3]. The three summed numbers refer to operators containing 0, 2 and 4 fermion fields. If the assumption of baryon number conservation is relaxed, 5 new operators arise in the four-fermion sector.
2,090 citations
15 May 2010
TL;DR: Medical application of rapid prototyping is feasible for specialized surgical planning and prosthetics applications and has significant potential for development of new medical applications.
Abstract: Generation of graspable three-dimensional objects applied for surgical planning, prosthetics and related applications using 3D printing or rapid prototyping is summarized and evaluated. Graspable 3D objects overcome the limitations of 3D visualizations which can only be displayed on flat screens. 3D objects can be produced based on CT or MRI volumetric medical images. Using dedicated post-processing algorithms, a spatial model can be extracted from image data sets and exported to machine-readable data. That spatial model data is utilized by special printers for generating the final rapid prototype model. Patient–clinician interaction, surgical training, medical research and education may require graspable 3D objects. The limitations of rapid prototyping include cost and complexity, as well as the need for specialized equipment and consumables such as photoresist resins. Medical application of rapid prototyping is feasible for specialized surgical planning and prosthetics applications and has significant potential for development of new medical applications.
1,362 citations
TL;DR: A three-dimensional invisibility-cloaking structure operating at optical wavelengths based on transformation optics is designed and realized and uses a woodpile photonic crystal with a tailored polymer filling fraction to hide a bump in a gold reflector.
Abstract: We have designed and realized a three-dimensional invisibility-cloaking structure operating at optical wavelengths based on transformation optics. Our blueprint uses a woodpile photonic crystal with a tailored polymer filling fraction to hide a bump in a gold reflector. We fabricated structures and controls by direct laser writing and characterized them by simultaneous high-numerical-aperture, far-field optical microscopy and spectroscopy. A cloaking operation with a large bandwidth of unpolarized light from 1.4 to 2.7 micrometers in wavelength is demonstrated for viewing angles up to 60 degrees.
1,141 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a review of nonlinear effects in silicon and highlights the important applications and technological solutions in nonlinear silicon photonics is presented. But the authors do not discuss the nonlinearities in silicon.
Abstract: The nonlinearities in silicon are diverse. This Review covers the wealth of nonlinear effects in silicon and highlights the important applications and technological solutions in nonlinear silicon photonics. The increasing capability for manufacturing a wide variety of optoelectronic devices from polymer and polymer–silicon hybrids, including transmission fibre, modulators, detectors and light sources, suggests that organic photonics has a promising future in communications and other applications.
1,123 citations
TL;DR: The theory of Markov Decision Processes is the theory of controlled Markov chains as mentioned in this paper, which has found applications in various areas like e.g. computer science, engineering, operations research, biology and economics.
Abstract: The theory of Markov Decision Processes is the theory of controlled Markov chains. Its origins can be traced back to R. Bellman and L. Shapley in the 1950’s. During the decades of the last century this theory has grown dramatically. It has found applications in various areas like e.g. computer science, engineering, operations research, biology and economics. In this article we give a short introduction to parts of this theory. We treat Markov Decision Processes with finite and infinite time horizon where we will restrict the presentation to the so-called (generalized) negative case. Solution algorithms like Howard’s policy improvement and linear programming are also explained. Various examples show the application of the theory. We treat stochastic linear-quadratic control problems, bandit problems and dividend pay-out problems.
961 citations
TL;DR: In conclusion, oxidative and thermal stresses are relieved in the presence of volatile terpenes and C6 compounds, and methyl salicylate are thought to promote direct and indirect defence by modulating the signalling that biochemically activate defence pathways.
823 citations
08 Nov 2010
TL;DR: A novel approach to binocular stereo for fast matching of high-resolution images by building a prior on the disparities by forming a triangulation on a set of support points which can be robustly matched, reducing the matching ambiguities of the remaining points.
Abstract: In this paper we propose a novel approach to binocular stereo for fast matching of high-resolution images. Our approach builds a prior on the disparities by forming a triangulation on a set of support points which can be robustly matched, reducing the matching ambiguities of the remaining points. This allows for efficient exploitation of the disparity search space, yielding accurate dense reconstruction without the need for global optimization. Moreover, our method automatically determines the disparity range and can be easily parallelized. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our approach on the large-scale Middlebury benchmark, and show that state-of-the-art performance can be achieved with significant speedups. Computing the left and right disparity maps for a one Megapixel image pair takes about one second on a single CPU core.
818 citations
TL;DR: This paper brings an introductional review on the Cloud computing and provides the state-of-the-art of Cloud computing technologies.
Abstract: The Cloud computing emerges as a new computing paradigm which aims to provide reliable, customized and QoS guaranteed dynamic computing environments for end-users. In this paper, we study the Cloud computing paradigm from various aspects, such as definitions, distinct features, and enabling technologies. This paper brings an introductional review on the Cloud computing and provides the state-of-the-art of Cloud computing technologies.
766 citations
TL;DR: The progress in the development and understanding of interfacial materials for organic photovoltaics (OPV) is reviewed in this article, where both inorganic and organic interface materials are discussed with respect to their function in the OPV device.
Abstract: The progress in the development and understanding of interfacial materials for organic photovoltaics (OPV) is reviewed. The proper choice of interface materials is a must for highly efficient and stable OPV devices and has become a significant part of the OPV research today. Interface materials are either non-conducting, semiconducting or conducting layers which not only provide selective contacts for carriers of one sort, but can also determine the polarity of OPV devices, affect the open-circuit voltage, and act as optical spacers or protective layers. In this review both inorganic and organic interface materials are discussed with respect to their function in the OPV device.
729 citations
Vardan Khachatryan, Albert M. Sirunyan, Armen Tumasyan, Wolfgang Adam1 +2197 more•Institutions (149)
TL;DR: The pre-print version of the Published Article can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 Springer Verlag as discussed by the authors, which can be viewed as a preprint of the published article.
Abstract: This is the pre-print version of the Published Article, which can be accessed from the link below - Copyright @ 2010 Springer Verlag
717 citations
TL;DR: The addition of inorganic spherical nanoparticles to polymers allows the modification of the polymers physical properties as well as the implementation of new features in the polymer matrix as mentioned in this paper, and typical existing and potential applications are shown with the focus on new and innovative applications, like in energy storage systems.
Abstract: The addition of inorganic spherical nanoparticles to polymers allows the modification of the polymers physical properties as well as the implementation of new features in the polymer matrix. This review article covers considerations on special features of inorganic nanoparticles, the most important synthesis methods for ceramic nanoparticles and nanocomposites, nanoparticle surface modification, and composite formation, including drawbacks. Classical nanocomposite properties, as thermomechanical, dielectric, conductive, magnetic, as well as optical properties, will be summarized. Finally, typical existing and potential applications will be shown with the focus on new and innovative applications, like in energy storage systems.
TL;DR: The dispersive energy-level shift of an LC resonator magnetically coupled to a superconducting qubit is measured, which clearly shows that the system operates in the ultrastrong coupling regime.
Abstract: We measure the dispersive energy-level shift of an LC resonator magnetically coupled to a superconducting qubit, which clearly shows that our system operates in the ultrastrong coupling regime. The large mutual kinetic inductance provides a coupling energy of ?0.82??GHz, requiring the addition of counter-rotating-wave terms in the description of the Jaynes-Cummings model. We find a 50 MHz Bloch-Siegert shift when the qubit is in its symmetry point, fully consistent with our analytical model.
TL;DR: Nanoparticulate functional materials offer manifold perspectives for the increasing miniaturization and complexity of technical developments, and fundamentally novel forms and structures of materials, such as nanocontainers and supercrystals.
Abstract: Nanoparticulate functional materials offer manifold perspectives for the increasing miniaturization and complexity of technical developments. Nanoparticles also make a major contribution to utilization of materials that is sparing of natural resources. Besides these obvious aspects, however, the importance of nanoparticles is due to their fundamentally novel properties and functions. These include photonic crystals and efficient luminophors, single particles and thin films for electronic storage media and switching elements, magnetic fluids and highly selective catalysts, a wide variety of possibilities for surface treatments, novel materials and concepts for energy conversion and storage, contrast agents for molecular biology and medical diagnosis, and fundamentally novel forms and structures of materials, such as nanocontainers and supercrystals. Creating high-quality nanoparticles requires that numerous parameters, involving the particle core and surface, colloidal properties, and particle deposition, are taken into consideration during synthesis of the material. An appropriate characterization and evaluation of the properties requires the incorporation of a wide range of expertise from widely differing areas. These circumstances are what challenges and appeals to the nanoscientist.
03 May 2010
TL;DR: A semi-reactive trajectory generation method, which can be tightly integrated into the behavioral layer of the holistic autonomous system, that realizes long-term objectives such as velocity keeping, merging, following, stopping, in combination with a reactive collision avoidance by means of optimal-control strategies within the Frenét-Frame of the street.
Abstract: Safe handling of dynamic highway and inner city scenarios with autonomous vehicles involves the problem of generating traffic-adapted trajectories. In order to account for the practical requirements of the holistic autonomous system, we propose a semi-reactive trajectory generation method, which can be tightly integrated into the behavioral layer. The method realizes long-term objectives such as velocity keeping, merging, following, stopping, in combination with a reactive collision avoidance by means of optimal-control strategies within the Frenet-Frame [12] of the street. The capabilities of this approach are demonstrated in the simulation of a typical high-speed highway scenario.
National Technological University1, Technical University of Lisbon2, University of Turin3, University of Paris4, National Scientific and Technical Research Council5, New York University6, University of Naples Federico II7, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee8, INAF9, Complutense University of Madrid10, University of California, Los Angeles11, Pierre-and-Marie-Curie University12, University of Chicago13, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology14, National University of La Plata15, Ohio State University16, Colorado State University17, Joseph Fourier University18, University of Alcalá19, University of Salento20, Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare21, University of Rome Tor Vergata22, Polish Academy of Sciences23, University of Leeds24, University of Siegen25, University of Granada26, Max Planck Society27, University of Catania28, Fermilab29, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic30, Radboud University Nijmegen31, University of Paris-Sud32, Pennsylvania State University33
TL;DR: The measurement of the depth of maximum, X{max}, of the longitudinal development of air showers induced by cosmic rays is described and the interpretation of these results in terms of the cosmic ray mass composition is briefly discussed.
Abstract: We describe the measurement of the depth of maximum, Xmax, of the longitudinal development of air showers induced by cosmic rays. Almost four thousand events above 10^18 eV observed by the fluorescence detector of the Pierre Auger Observatory in coincidence with at least one surface detector station are selected for the analysis. The average shower maximum was found to evolve with energy at a rate of (106 +35/-21) g/cm^2/decade below 10^(18.24 +/- 0.05) eV and (24 +/- 3) g/cm^2/decade above this energy. The measured shower-to-shower fluctuations decrease from about 55 to 26 g/cm^2. The interpretation of these results in terms of the cosmic ray mass composition is briefly discussed.
TL;DR: This method discriminates the specimen-related scattered background from signal fluorescence, thereby removing out-of-focus light and optimizing the contrast of in-focus structures, and provides rapid control of the illumination pattern, exceptional imaging quality and high imaging speeds.
Abstract: The combination of digital scanned laser light sheet microscopy and incoherent structured illumination allows intrinsic removal of scattered background fluorescence from the desired fluorescent signal. This provides substantial advantages for imaging nontransparent organisms and allowed reconstruction of a fly digital embryo from a developing Drosophila embryo.
TL;DR: It is shown that the mitochondria are removed through autophagy system and that changes in mitochondrial network occur in atrophying muscles, indicating that disruption of the mitochondrial network is an essential amplificatory loop of the muscular atrophy programme.
Abstract: Mitochondria are crucial organelles in the production of energy and in the control of signalling cascades. A machinery of pro-fusion and fission proteins regulates their morphology and subcellular localization. In muscle this results in an orderly pattern of intermyofibrillar and subsarcolemmal mitochondria. Muscular atrophy is a genetically controlled process involving the activation of the autophagy-lysosome and the ubiquitin–proteasome systems. Whether and how the mitochondria are involved in muscular atrophy is unknown. Here, we show that the mitochondria are removed through autophagy system and that changes in mitochondrial network occur in atrophying muscles. Expression of the fission machinery is per se sufficient to cause muscle wasting in adult animals, by triggering organelle dysfunction and AMPK activation. Conversely, inhibition of the mitochondrial fission inhibits muscle loss during fasting and after FoxO3 overexpression. Mitochondrial-dependent muscle atrophy requires AMPK activation as inhibition of AMPK restores muscle size in myofibres with altered mitochondria. Thus, disruption of the mitochondrial network is an essential amplificatory loop of the muscular atrophy programme.
30 May 2010
TL;DR: A new lattice-based cryptographic structure called a bonsai tree is introduced, and it is used to resolve some important open problems in the area of number-theoretic cryptography.
Abstract: We introduce a new lattice-based cryptographic structure called a bonsai tree, and use it to resolve some important open problems in the area. Applications of bonsai trees include:
An efficient, stateless ‘hash-and-sign’ signature scheme in the standard model (i.e., no random oracles), and
The first hierarchical identity-based encryption (HIBE) scheme (also in the standard model) that does not rely on bilinear pairings.
Interestingly, the abstract properties of bonsai trees seem to have no known realization in conventional number-theoretic cryptography.
TL;DR: In this paper, three porous polymer networks (PPNs) have been synthesized by the homocoupling of tetrahedral monomers and their porosity was confirmed by N2 sorption isotherms at 77 K. PPN-3 has the highest H2 uptake capacity among these three (4.28 wt %, 77 K).
Abstract: Three porous polymer networks (PPNs) have been synthesized by the homocoupling of tetrahedral monomers. Like other hyper-cross-linked polymer networks, these materials are insoluble in conventional solvents and exhibit high thermal and chemical stability. Their porosity was confirmed by N2 sorption isotherms at 77 K. One of these materials, PPN-3, has a Langmuir surface area of 5323 m2 g−1. Their clean energy applications, especially in H2, CH4, and CO2 storage, as well as CO2/CH4 separation, have been carefully investigated. Although PPN-1 has the highest gas affinity because of its smaller pore size, the maximal gas uptake capacity is directly proportional to their surface area. PPN-3 has the highest H2 uptake capacity among these three (4.28 wt %, 77 K). Although possessing the lowest surface area, PPN-1 shows the best CO2/CH4 selectivity among them.
TL;DR: The World Stress Map (WSM) project is a global compilation of information on the contemporary crustal stress field from a wide range of stress indicators as mentioned in this paper, and the WSM database release 2008 contains 21,750 stress data records that are quality-ranked using an updated and refined quality ranking scheme.
Vardan Khachatryan, Albert M. Sirunyan, Armen Tumasyan, Wolfgang Adam1 +2087 more•Institutions (132)
TL;DR: In this article, the authors measured the transverse momentum and pseudorapidity distributions in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV with the inner tracking system of the CMS detector at the LHC.
Abstract: Charged-hadron transverse-momentum and pseudorapidity distributions in proton-proton collisions at root s = 7 TeV are measured with the inner tracking system of the CMS detector at the LHC. The charged-hadron yield is obtained by counting the number of reconstructed hits, hit pairs, and fully reconstructed charged-particle tracks. The combination of the three methods gives a charged-particle multiplicity per unit of pseudorapidity dN(ch)/d eta vertical bar(vertical bar eta vertical bar<0.5) = 5.78 +/- 0.01(stat) +/- 0.23(stat) for non-single-diffractive events, higher than predicted by commonly used models. The relative increase in charged-particle multiplicity from root s = 0.9 to 7 TeV is [66.1 +/- 1.0(stat) +/- 4.2(syst)]%. The mean transverse momentum is measured to be 0.545 +/- 0.005(stat) +/- 0.015(syst) GeV/c. The results are compared with similar measurements at lower energies.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reported a measurement of the flux of cosmic rays with unprecedented precision and statistics using the Pierre Auger Observatory based on fluorescence observations in coincidence with at least one surface detector.
21 Jun 2010
TL;DR: This paper proposes a novel approach for estimating the egomotion of the vehicle from a sequence of stereo images which is directly based on the trifocal geometry between image triples, thus no time expensive recovery of the 3-dimensional scene structure is needed.
Abstract: A common prerequisite for many vision-based driver assistance systems is the knowledge of the vehicle's own movement. In this paper we propose a novel approach for estimating the egomotion of the vehicle from a sequence of stereo images. Our method is directly based on the trifocal geometry between image triples, thus no time expensive recovery of the 3-dimensional scene structure is needed. The only assumption we make is a known camera geometry, where the calibration may also vary over time. We employ an Iterated Sigma Point Kalman Filter in combination with a RANSAC-based outlier rejection scheme which yields robust frame-to-frame motion estimation even in dynamic environments. A high-accuracy inertial navigation system is used to evaluate our results on challenging real-world video sequences. Experiments show that our approach is clearly superior compared to other filtering techniques in terms of both, accuracy and run-time.
TL;DR: Alternative strategies targeting CD44 functions include the binding to hyaluronan (HA), the collaboration with osteopontin and the contribution of CD44 isoforms to receptor tyrosine kinase (RTKs) activation.
TL;DR: To evaluate claims and provide an accurate analysis of the potential of microalgal biofuel systems, industrial feasibility studies and sensitivity analyses based on peer-reviewed data and industrial expertise are conducted.
Abstract: In her News Feature “Biotech’s green gold”, Emily Waltz details the ‘hype’ being propagated around emerging microalgal biofuel technologies, which often exceeds the physical and thermodynamic constraints that ultimately define their economic viability. Our calculations counter such excessive claims and demonstrate that 22 MJ m−2 d−1 solar radiation supports practical yield maxima of ∼60 to 100 kl oil ha−1 y−1 (∼6,600 to 10,800 gal ac−1 y−1) and an absolute theoretical ceiling of ∼94 to 155 kl oil ha−1 y−1, assuming a maximum photosynthetic conversion efficiency of 10%. To evaluate claims and provide an accurate analysis of the potential of microalgal biofuel systems, we have conducted industrial feasibility studies and sensitivity analyses based on peer-reviewed data and industrial expertise. Given that microalgal biofuel research is still young and its development still in flux, we anticipate that the stringent assessment of the technology's economic potential presented below will assist R&D investment and policy development in the area going forward.
Nagoya University1, Budker Institute of Nuclear Physics2, Novosibirsk State University3, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne4, University of Sydney5, Panjab University, Chandigarh6, Nara Women's University7, Polish Academy of Sciences8, University of Maribor9, Fu Jen Catholic University10, National Taiwan University11, National Central University12, Hanyang University13, Yonsei University14, Sungkyunkwan University15, Max Planck Society16, University of Cincinnati17, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology18, University of Ljubljana19, Korea University20, Tohoku Gakuin University21, Kyungpook National University22, University of Tokyo23, Niigata University24, Seoul National University25, Graduate University for Advanced Studies26, Charles University in Prague27, Tokyo Metropolitan University28, University of Giessen29, University of Science and Technology of China30, Osaka City University31, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology32, Toho University33, Kanagawa University34, Virginia Tech35, Austrian Academy of Sciences36, University of Melbourne37, National United University38
TL;DR: In this paper, a search for lepton-flavor-violating τ decays into three leptons (electrons or muons) using 782 fb-1 of data collected with the Belle detector at the KEKB asymmetric-energy e+ e- collider is presented.
TL;DR: The article first outlines the emergence of the silent speech interface from the fields of speech production, automatic speech processing, speech pathology research, and telecommunications privacy issues, and then follows with a presentation of demonstrator systems based on seven different types of technologies.
TL;DR: A large part of this chapter is devoted to modeling principles of VISSIM, core traffic flow models consisting of longitudinal and lateral movements of vehicles on multilane streets, a conflict resolution model at areas with overlapping trajectories, dynamic assignment and the social force model applied to pedestrians.
Abstract: After two decades of academic research the microscopic, behavior-based multi-purpose traffic flow simulator VISSIM had been introduced in 1994 to analyze and optimize traffic flows. It offers a wide variety of urban and highway applications, integrating public and private transportation. A large part of this chapter is devoted to modeling principles of VISSIM, core traffic flow models consisting of longitudinal and lateral movements of vehicles on multilane streets, a conflict resolution model at areas with overlapping trajectories, dynamic assignment and the social force model applied to pedestrians. Techniques to calibrate the core traffic flow models are discussed briefly.
TL;DR: This review will discuss the latest advancements in phosphorus containing flame retardants for electrical and electronic (EE) applications and compare them with commercially available ones.
Abstract: The recent implementation of new environmental legislations led to a change in the manufacturing of composites that has repercussions on printed wiring boards (PWB). This in turn led to alternate processing methods (e.g., lead-free soldering), which affected the required physical and chemical properties of the additives used to impart flame retardancy. This review will discuss the latest advancements in phosphorus containing flame retardants for electrical and electronic (EE) applications and compare them with commercially available ones. The mechanism of degradation and flame retardancy of phosphorus flame retardants in epoxy resins will also be discussed.
TL;DR: The results demonstrate that both TEM and SEM, as well as appropriate sample preparation protocols, are needed to obtain detailed mechanistic insights into peptide function.
Abstract: Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) were used to examine the ultrastructural changes in bacteria induced by antimicrobial peptides (AMPs). Both the β-stranded gramicidin S and the α-helical peptidyl-glycylleucine-carboxyamide (PGLa) are cationic amphiphilic AMPs known to interact with bacterial membranes. One representative Gram-negative strain, Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, and one representative Gram-positive strain, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 25923, were exposed to the AMPs at sub-MICs and supra-MICs in salt-free medium. SEM revealed a shortening and swelling of the E. coli cells, and multiple blisters and bubbles formed on their surface. The S. aureus cells seemed to burst upon AMP exposure, showing open holes and deep craters in their envelope. TEM revealed the formation of intracellular membranous structures in both strains, which is attributed to a lateral expansion of the lipid membrane upon peptide insertion. Also, some morphological alterations in the DNA region were detected for S. aureus. After E. coli was incubated with AMPs in medium with low ionic strength, the cells appeared highly turgid compared to untreated controls. This observation suggests that the AMPs enhance osmosis through the inner membrane, before they eventually cause excessive leakage of the cellular contents. The adverse effect on the osmoregulatory capacity of the bacteria is attributed to the membrane-permeabilizing action of the amphiphilic peptides, even at low (sub-MIC) AMP concentrations. Altogether, the results demonstrate that both TEM and SEM, as well as appropriate sample preparation protocols, are needed to obtain detailed mechanistic insights into peptide function.