Dry weight concentrations of lead in paints on a variety of structures in the urban and suburban environs of a British city (Plymouth, south west England) were determined in situ and ex situ by field-portable X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. Lead was detected in 221 out of 272 analyses, with overall median and mean concentrations of 4180 μg g(-1) and 29,300 μg g(-1), respectively, and a maximum...

Two-component dipolar condensates are now experimentally producible, and we theoretically investigate the nature of supersolidity in this system. We predict existence a binary supersolid state which two components form series alternating domains, producing an immiscible double supersolid. Remarkably, find that component can even induce nondipolar component. In stark contrast to single-component...

A study was undertaken to determine if laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy (LIBS) can be a practical and competitive alternative to X-ray fluorescence (XRF) methods for lead-in-paint inspection. Experiments in the laboratory confirmed that LIBS is suitable for detecting lead in paint at the hazard levels defined by federal agencies. Although we compared speed, function and cost, fundamental di...

The detection of road lane markings has many practical applications, such as advanced driver assistance systems and road maintenance. In this paper we propose an algorithm to detect and recognize road lane markings from panoramic images. Our algorithm consists of four steps. First, an inverse perspective mapping is applied to the image, and the potential road markings are segmented based on the...

A robust and accurate road model estimation algorithm can greatly improve the performance of many Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) applications such as lane detection, obstacle detection and road marking recognition. To estimate the road model, the proposed algorithm employs a stereo vision camera system. In this paper, local planar patches are efficiently estimated in the disparity do...

This article details an investigation into onscreen marking (OSM) in Hong Kong — where paper-based marking (PBM) is being phased out, to be completely superseded by OSM. It is a specific follow-up to a larger study (Coniam, 2009a) involving 30 raters who had previously rated English language essay scripts on screen in the 2007 Hong Kong Certificate of Education Examination (HKCEE). In that stud...

Fourier transform-infrared microspectroscopy (micro-FT-IR) operated in attenuated-total-reflectance (ATR) and transmission modes following stereomicroscopy was used for the purpose of matching known and questioned paint samples in a fatal hit-and-run case. A tiny, thin and smeared dot of red paint sticking on the broken-off cross section of a side-mirror rod was taken from the victim motorcycle...

Information on the productivity, costs and applications of the logging system is a key component in the evaluation of management plans for the rehabilitation and utilization of Caspian forests. Skidding and road construction costs are expensive forest operations. Determining the optimum forest road network density is one of the most important factors in sustainable forest management. Logging me...

Last years witnessed the growth of demand for road monitoring systems based on image or video analysis. These systems usually consist of a survey vehicle equipped with photo and video cameras, laser scanners and other instruments. Sensors mounted on the van collect different types of data while the vehicle goes along the road. Recorded video can be geographically referenced with the help of glo...

Last years witnessed the growth of demand for road monitoring systems based on image or video analysis. These systems usually consist of a survey vehicle equipped with photo and video cameras, laser scanners and other instruments. Sensors mounted on the van collect different types of data while the vehicle goes along the road. Recorded video can be geographically referenced with the help of glo...