Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

About: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a education organization based out in Troy, New York, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Terahertz radiation & Population. The organization has 19024 authors who have published 39922 publications receiving 1414699 citations. The organization is also known as: RPI & Rensselaer Institute.

New thermodynamic models and revised calibrations for the Ti-in-zircon and Zr-in-rutile thermometers

Abstract: The models recognize that ZrSiO4, ZrTiO4, and TiSiO4, but not ZrO2 or TiO2, are independently variable phase components in zircon. Accordingly, the equilibrium controlling the Zr content of rutile coexisting with zircon is ZrSiO4 = ZrO2 (in rutile) + SiO2. The equilibrium controlling the Ti content of zircon is either ZrSiO4 + TiO2 = ZrTiO4 + SiO2 or TiO2 + SiO2 = TiSiO4, depending whether Ti substitutes for Si or Zr. The Zr content of rutile thus depends on the activity of SiO2 $$(a_{\text{SiO}_{2}})$$ as well as T, and the Ti content of zircon depends on $$a_{\text{SiO}_{2}}$$ and $$a_{\text{TiO}_{2}}$$ as well as T. New and published experimental data confirm the predicted increase in the Zr content of rutile with decreasing $$a_{\text{SiO}_{2}},$$ and unequivocally demonstrate that the Ti content of zircon increases with decreasing $$a_{\text{SiO}_{2}}$$ . The substitution of Ti in zircon therefore is primarily for Si. Assuming a constant effect of P, unit $$a_{\text{ZrSiO}_{4}},$$ and that $$a_{\text{ZrO}_{2}}$$ and $$a_{\text{ZrTiO}_{4}}$$ are proportional to ppm Zr in rutile and ppm Ti in zircon, [log(ppm Zr-in-rutile) + log $$a_{\text{SiO}_{2}}$$ ] = A1 + B1/T(K) and [log(ppm Ti-in-zircon) + log $$a_{\text{SiO}_{2}}$$ − log $$a_{\text{TiO}_{2}}$$ ] = A2 + B2/T, where the A and B are constants. The constants were derived from published and new data from experiments with $$a_{\text{SiO}_{2}}$$ buffered by either quartz or zircon + zirconia, from experiments with $$a_{\text{SiO}_{2}}$$ defined by the Zr content of rutile, and from well-characterized natural samples. Results are A1 = 7.420 ± 0.105; B1 = −4,530 ± 111; A2 = 5.711 ± 0.072; B2 = −4,800 ± 86 with activity referenced to α-quartz and rutile at P and T of interest. The zircon thermometer may now be applied to rocks without quartz and/or rutile, and the rutile thermometer applied to rocks without quartz, provided that $$a_{\text{SiO}_{2}}$$ and $$a_{\text{TiO}_{2}}$$ are estimated. Maximum uncertainties introduced to zircon and rutile thermometry by unconstrained $$a_{\text{SiO}_{2}}$$ and $$a_{\text{TiO}_{2}}$$ can be quantitatively assessed and are ≈60 to 70°C at 750°C. A preliminary assessment of the dependence of the two thermometers on P predicts that an uncertainty of ±1 GPa introduces an additional uncertainty at 750°C of ≈50°C for the Ti-in-zircon thermometer and of ≈70 to 80°C for the Zr-in-rutile thermometer.

In the Eye of the Beholder: A Survey of Models for Eyes and Gaze

Abstract: Despite active research and significant progress in the last 30 years, eye detection and tracking remains challenging due to the individuality of eyes, occlusion, variability in scale, location, and light conditions. Data on eye location and details of eye movements have numerous applications and are essential in face detection, biometric identification, and particular human-computer interaction tasks. This paper reviews current progress and state of the art in video-based eye detection and tracking in order to identify promising techniques as well as issues to be further addressed. We present a detailed review of recent eye models and techniques for eye detection and tracking. We also survey methods for gaze estimation and compare them based on their geometric properties and reported accuracies. This review shows that, despite their apparent simplicity, the development of a general eye detection technique involves addressing many challenges, requires further theoretical developments, and is consequently of interest to many other domains problems in computer vision and beyond.

Crystallization thermometers for zircon and rutile

Abstract: Zircon and rutile are common accessory minerals whose essential structural constituents, Zr, Ti, and Si can replace one another to a limited extent. Here we present the combined results of high pressure–temperature experiments and analyses of natural zircons and rutile crystals that reveal systematic changes with temperature in the uptake of Ti in zircon and Zr in rutile. Detailed calibrations of the temperature dependencies are presented as two geothermometers—Ti content of zircon and Zr content of rutile—that may find wide application in crustal petrology. Synthetic zircons were crystallized in the presence of rutile at 1–2 GPa and 1,025–1,450°C from both silicate melts and hydrothermal solutions, and the resulting crystals were analyzed for Ti by electron microprobe (EMP). To augment and extend the experimental results, zircons hosted by five natural rocks of well-constrained but diverse origin (0.7–3 GPa; 580–1,070°C) were analyzed for Ti, in most cases by ion microprobe (IMP). The combined experimental and natural results define a log-linear dependence of equilibrium Ti content (expressed in ppm by weight) upon reciprocal temperature: $$\log ({\text{Ti}}_{{{\text{zircon}}}}) = (6.01 \pm 0.03) - \frac{{5080 \pm 30}}{{T\;(\hbox{K})}}.$$ In a strategy similar to that used for zircon, rutile crystals were grown in the presence of zircon and quartz (or hydrous silicic melt) at 1–1.4 GPa and 675–1,450°C and analyzed for Zr by EMP. The experimental results were complemented by EMP analyses of rutile grains from six natural rocks of diverse origin spanning 0.35–3 GPa and 470–1,070°C. The concentration of Zr (ppm by weight) in the synthetic and natural rutiles also varies in log-linear fashion with T −1: $$\log ({\text{Zr}}_{{{\text{rutile}}}}) = (7.36 \pm 0.10) - \frac{{4470 \pm 120}}{{T\;(\hbox{K})}}.$$ The zircon and rutile calibrations are consistent with one another across both the synthetic and natural samples, and are relatively insensitive to changes in pressure, particularly in the case of Ti in zircon. Applied to natural zircons and rutiles of unknown provenance and/or growth conditions, the thermometers have the potential to return temperatures with an estimated uncertainty of ±10 ° or better in the case of zircon and ±20° or better in the case of rutile over most of the temperature range of interest (∼400–1,000°C). Estimates of relative temperature or changes in temperature (e.g., from zoning profiles in a single mineral grain) made with these thermometers are subject to analytical uncertainty only, which can be better than ±5° depending on Ti or Zr concentration (i.e., temperature), and also upon the analytical instrument (e.g., IMP or EMP) and operating conditions.

Incorporating chemical modification constraints into a dynamic programming algorithm for prediction of RNA secondary structure

Abstract: A dynamic programming algorithm for prediction of RNA secondary structure has been revised to accommodate folding constraints determined by chemical modification and to include free energy increments for coaxial stacking of helices when they are either adjacent or separated by a single mismatch. Furthermore, free energy parameters are revised to account for recent experimental results for terminal mismatches and hairpin, bulge, internal, and multibranch loops. To demonstrate the applicability of this method, in vivo modification was performed on 5S rRNA in both Escherichia coli and Candida albicans with 1-cyclohexyl-3-(2-morpholinoethyl) carbodiimide metho-p-toluene sulfonate, dimethyl sulfate, and kethoxal. The percentage of known base pairs in the predicted structure increased from 26.3% to 86.8% for the E. coli sequence by using modification constraints. For C. albicans, the accuracy remained 87.5% both with and without modification data. On average, for these sequences and a set of 14 sequences with known secondary structure and chemical modification data taken from the literature, accuracy improves from 67% to 76%. This enhancement primarily reflects improvement for three sequences that are predicted with <40% accuracy on the basis of energetics alone. For these sequences, inclusion of chemical modification constraints improves the average accuracy from 28% to 78%. For the 11 sequences with <6% pseudoknotted base pairs, structures predicted with constraints from chemical modification contain on average 84% of known canonical base pairs.