An independent component analysis-based approach on ballistocardiogram artifact removing

Interest about simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data acquisition has rapidly increased during the last years because of the possibility that the combined method offers to join temporal and spatial resolution, providing in this way a powerful tool to investigate spontaneous and evoked brain activities. However, several intrinsic features of MRI scanning become sources of artifacts on EEG data. Noise sources of a highly predictable nature such as those related to the pulse MRI sequence and those determined by magnetic gradient switching during scanning do not represent a major problem and can be easily removed. On the contrary, the ballistocardiogram (BCG) artifact, a large signal visible on all EEG traces and related to cardiac activity inside the magnetic field, is determined by sources that are not fully stereotyped and causing important limitations in the use of artifact-removing strategies. Recently, it has been proposed to use independent component analysis (ICA) to remove BCG artifact from EEG signals. ICA is a statistical algorithm that allows blind separation of statistically independent sources when the only available information is represented by their linear combination. An important drawback with most ICA algorithms is that they exhibit a stochastic behavior: each run yields slightly different results such that the reliability of the estimated sources is difficult to assess. In this preliminary report, we present a method based on running the FastICA algorithm many times with slightly different initial conditions. Clustering structure in the signal space of the obtained components provides us with a new way to assess the reliability of the estimated sources.     

Evolution of the Alfvénic correlation in the solar wind

Summary The radial evolution of Alfvénic correlation is such that its value decreases with increasing heliocentric distance. So far this behaviour has been interpreted as an increase in the local production of ?inward? modes interacting destructively with the ?outward? modes. This work, which deals with largescale turbulence, shows that local generation phenomena are not commonly found in the solar wind and that the Alfvénic character of the fluctuations mainly depend on the ?outward? modes alone. The interaction of these modes with density and/or magnetic-field structures convected by the wind causes their destruction and a consequent depletion of the Alfvénic correlation. The same effect would be obtained if ?inward? modes were really present. Our conclusions are that large-scale ?inward? modes are the spectral counterpart of non-propagating field and plasma structures convected by the solar wind and identified as both compression regions and pressure balance structures. Paper presented at the V Cosmic Physics National Conference, S. Miniato, November 27–30, 1990.     

The two-dimensional quantum Euclidean algebra

The algebra dual to Woronowicz's deformation of the two-dimensional Euclidean group is constructed. The same algebra is obtained from SU _q (2) via contraction on both the group and algebra levels.     

Vector fields on complex quantum groups

Using previous results we construct theq-analogues of the left invariant vector fields of the quantum enveloping algebra corresponding to the complex Lie algebras of typeA _n–1 ,B _n ,C _n , andD _n . These quantum vector fields are functionals over the complex quantum groupA. In the special caseA ₁ it is shown that this Hopf algebra coincides withU _q sl(2, ).     

Absence of zero-bias anomaly in spin-polarized vacuum tunneling in Co(0001)

In a joint experimental and theoretical study, we investigate the bias-voltage dependence of the tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) through a vacuum barrier. The TMR observed by spin-polarized scanning tunneling microscopy between an amorphous magnetic tip and a Co(0001) sample is almost independent of the bias voltage at large tip-sample separations. Whereas qualitative understanding is achieved by means of the electronic surface structure of Co, the experimental findings are compared quantitatively with bias-voltage dependent first-principles calculations for ballistic tunneling. At small tip-sample separations, a pronounced minimum in the experimental TMR was found at +200 mV bias.     

Visualization of industrial engineering data in Augmented Reality

This paper presents an innovative application of Augmented Reality (AR) techniques in the field of industrial engineering in which the user explores data from numerical simulations or the results of measurements and experiments, superimposed to the real object that they refer to. The user observes the object through a tablet PC, used as a video see-through handheld display. Data are visualized superimposed to the real object that represents a spatial reference relative to which the user can refer to, so the exploration is more natural compared to a traditional visualization software. Moreover, we have developed a new framework, called VTK4AR, that provides a set of useful software classes for the rapid development of AR applications for scientific visualization. VTK4AR is built on top of VTK (an open source API for scientific visualization), so it will be possible to employ a wide range of visualization techniques in many application fields, and moreover, it is possible to interactively manipulate data-sets in order to achieve a more effective way of visualization.     

Real time ellipsometry for monitoring plasma-assisted epitaxial growth of GaN

GaN is grown on Si-face 4H-SiC(0 0 0 1) substrates using remote plasma-assisted methods including metalorganic chemical vapour deposition (RP-MOCVD) and molecular beam epitaxy (MBE). Real time spectroscopic ellipsometry is used for monitoring all the steps of substrate pre-treatments and the heteroepitaxial growth of GaN on SiC. Our characterization emphasis is on understanding the nucleation mechanism and the GaN growth mode, which depend on the SiC surface preparation.     

Geometry of the quantum complex projective spaceCP q (N)

We study the constraints from theb→sγ decay in the parameter space of effective supergravities from orbifold string theory and with minimal supesymmetric particle content. Both the general dilaton-dominated universal scenario as well as a non-universal scenario for the soft terms are investigated. It is found that the recently reported CLEO upper and lower bounds constrain the parameter space of the models under scrutiny. In particular we find constraints on the values of the parameter tanβ and the gluino masses. In this class of string scenarios the negative sign of the Higgs mixing parameterμ, is phenomenologically preferred.     

DESIRS: a state‐of‐the‐art VUV beamline featuring high resolution and variable polarization for spectroscopy and dichroism at SOLEIL

DESIRS is a new undulator‐based VUV beamline on the 2.75 GeV storage ring SOLEIL (France) optimized for gas‐phase studies of molecular and electronic structures, reactivity and polarization‐dependent photodynamics on model or actual systems encountered in the universe, atmosphere and biosphere. It is equipped with two dedicated endstations: a VUV Fourier‐transform spectrometer (FTS) for ultra‐high‐resolution absorption spectroscopy (resolving power up to 10⁶) and an electron/ion imaging coincidence spectrometer. The photon characteristics necessary to fulfill its scientific mission are: high flux in the 5–40 eV range, high spectral purity, high resolution, and variable and well calibrated polarizations. The photon source is a 10 m‐long pure electromagnetic variable‐polarization undulator producing light from the very near UV up to 40 eV on the fundamental emission with tailored elliptical polarization allowing fully calibrated quasi‐perfect horizontal, vertical and circular polarizations, as measured with an in situ VUV polarimeter with absolute polarization rates close to unity, to be obtained at the sample location. The optical design includes a beam waist allowing the implementation of a gas filter to suppress the undulator high harmonics. This harmonic‐free radiation can be steered toward the FTS for absorption experiments, or go through a highly efficient pre‐focusing optical system, based on a toroidal mirror and a reflective corrector plate similar to a Schmidt plate. The synchrotron radiation then enters a 6.65 m Eagle off‐plane normal‐incidence monochromator equipped with four gratings with different groove densities, from 200 to 4300 lines mm^?1, allowing the flux‐to‐resolution trade‐off to be smoothly adjusted. The measured ultimate instrumental resolving powers are 124000 (174 µeV) around 21 eV and 250000 (54 µeV) around 13 eV, while the typical measured flux is in the 10¹⁰–10¹¹ photons s^?1 range in a 1/50000 bandwidth, and 10¹²–10¹³ photons s^?1 in a 1/1000 bandwidth, which is very satisfactory although slightly below optical simulations. All of these features make DESIRS a state‐of‐the‐art VUV beamline for spectroscopy and dichroism open to a broad scientific community.     

Enclosing a Set of Objects by Two Minimum Area Rectangles

In this paper, we face the problem of computing an enclosing pair of axis-parallel rectangles of a set of polygonal objects in the plane, serving as a simple container. We propose anO(nα(n)log n) worst-case time algorithm, where α( ) is the inverse Ackermann's function, for finding, given a setMof points, segments and polygons defined bynvertices, a pair of axis-parallel rectangles (s, t) such thats∪tencloses all objects inMand area(s)+area(t) is minimum. The algorithm works inO(nα(n) log log n) worst-case space. Moreover, we prove an Ω(n log n) lower bound for the one-dimensional version of the problem. We also show that for the special case of enclosing a set of polygons with axis-parallel sides, our algorithm runs in optimal worst-case timeO(n log n), using worst-case spaceO(n log log n).