The illumination of the environment undergoes both intensity and spectral changes during the 24 h cycle of a day. Daylight spectral power distributions are well described by low-dimensional models such as the CIE (Commission Internationale de l'Éclairage) daylight model, but the performance of this model in non-daylight regimes is not characterised. We measured downwelling spectral irradiance a...

This paper presents a new method for real-time modelling soft tissue deformation. It improves the traditional mass-spring model with conical springs to deal with nonlinear mechanical behaviours of soft tissues. A conical spring model is developed to predict soft tissue deformation with reference to deformation patterns. The model parameters are formulated according to tissue deformation pattern...

We consider grand unified theories with superconducting cosmic strings and which admit the mechanism for generating primordial magnetic fields recently discussed by Vachaspati. We show that these models are severely constrained by cosmological arguments. Quite generically, either stable springs or vortons will form. Provided the mass per unit length of the strings is sufficiently large, these s...

Multiscale modeling is emerging as one of the key challenges in mathematical biology. However, the recent rapid increase in the number of modeling methodologies being used to describe cell populations has raised a number of interesting questions. For example, at the cellular scale, how can the appropriate discrete cell-level model be identified in a given context? Additionally, how can the many...

BACKGROUND Prior research suggests that arrest, compared with no police detection, of some types of offenders does not decrease the chances they will reoffend. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS We assessed the specific deterrent effect of arrest for patronizing a street prostitute in Colorado Springs by comparing the incidence of arrest for clients of prostitutes first detected through public he...

Resonance is an important phenomenon in vibrating systems and, in systems of nonlinear coupled oscillators, resonant interactions can occur between constituent parts of the system. In this paper, out-of-unison resonance is defined as a solution in which components of the response are 90° out-of-phase, in contrast to the in-unison responses that are normally considered. A well-known physical exa...

The island of Pithecusa (Ischia) is a volcanic island in the Tyrrhenian Sea in the north end of the Gulf of Naples at about 30 kilometers from the same city. Pithecusa is very popular for its hot springs which even the ancients used. This report aims to analyze the renal therapeutic benefits of the Pithacusa thermal mineral spring through a review of two different manuscripts: i) "Di Napoli il ...

To survive cold winter periods most, if not all, Florida manatees rely on warm-water refuges in the southern two-thirds of the Florida peninsula. Most refuges are either warm-water discharges from power plant and natural springs, or passive thermal basins that temporarily trap relatively warm water for a week or more. Strong fidelity to one or more refuges has created four relatively discrete F...