70 research outputs found
Measuring belief in conspiracy theories: Validation of a French and English single-item scale
Full text linkWe designed, in French and in English, a single-item scale to measure people’s general tendency to believe in conspiracy theories. The validity and reliability of this scale was assessed in 3 studies (total N = 555). In Study 1 (N = 152), positive correlations between the single-item scale and 3 other conspiracy belief scales on a French student sample suggested good concurrent validity. In Study 2 (N = 292), we replicated these results on a larger and more heterogeneous Internet American sample. Moreover, the scale showed good predictive validity—responses predicted participants’ willingness to receive a bi-monthly newsletter about alleged conspiracy theories. Finally, in Study 3 (N = 111), we observed good test-retest reliability and demonstrated both convergent and discriminant validity of the single-item scale. Overall these results suggest that the single-item conspiracy belief scale has good validity and reliability and may be used to measure conspiracy belief in favor of lengthier existing scales. In addition, the validation of the single-item scale led us to develop and start validating French versions of the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs scale, the Conspiracy Mentality Questionnaire, and a 10-item version (instead of the 15-item original version) of the Belief in Conspiracy Theories Inventory
Asian Monsoon variation over the late Neogene-early Quaternary recorded by Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) from Chinese loess
No full textThis paper discusses the Anisotropy of Magnetic Susceptibility (AMS) records during late Neogene to early Quaternary from the Lantian loess section near the southern margin of the Chinese Loess Plateau. The AMS results for this site are shown to reflect variations in the direction of the paleomonsoon. The Lantian loess sediments are largely aeolian in origin, but also include a thin layer that exhibits secondary aqueous depositional features. The major ellipsoid axis AMS orientations in the loess samples indicate a pervasive Northwest-Southeast directional component since the late Neogene. Since that time, the W-E component gradually overtakes the N-S component, which may explain the trend toward increased aridity during that time. Finally, a local heavy rainfall event seemingly occurred in the Lantian region about 2.6 Ma, which may have been responsible for the aqueous redeposition of sediments observed in L-33 layer in this study. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved
Chip Based Common-path Swept-source Optical Coherence Tomography Device
Full text linkOptical coherence tomography (OCT) is an optical imaging technique which provides three-dimensional images with micrometer-resolution. OCT has been extensively used for disease diagnostics, treatment planning, and surgical guidance. Currently, most of the OCT systems are based on discrete free-space optical components and optical fibers. These discrete components keep these instruments costly and bulky. The development in integrated optical circuit technology provides the opportunity to develop miniaturized, stable and maintenance-free OCT systems. The goal of this study is developing an OCT chip with external light source and detector. The developed chip is intended to be used in a hand-held OCT probe for skin applications. In this study, a literature survey summarized the achievements and limitations of current chip-based OCT systems. Our common-path design uses the end facet of the waveguide as the reference plane, thus eliminating the need for a space-consuming and dispersive on-chip loop reference arm, thereby reducing the chip size and obviating the need for dispersion compensation. Our on-chip micro-ball lens eliminates the need of external optical elements for coupling the light between the chip and the sample, thereby further reducing the size and the complexity of the system. The signal to noise ratio (SNR) of our system was measured to be 71 dB with 2.6 mW of power on a mirror sample at a distance of 0.3 mm from the waveguide end facet. At this moment, the SNR of our chip system is slightly lower (11 dB lower) than a fiber-based system under the same experimental condition. The suggestions for improving the SNR of our chip system were discussed. Multiple ghost images caused by additional reference planes (originating from the lens surface) could be largely suppressed using a deconvolution scheme. Finally, we presented the design and fabrication results of a common-path parallel SS-OCT (PSS-OCT) chip followed by suggestions for characterization measurements and for possible improvements in the parallel chip design. We believe that by integrating a micro-ball lens onto the chip and using a common-path configuration we have moved a significant step forward in the development of on-chip SS-OCT systems
N, S-doped carbon quantum dots/TiO₂ nanocomposites for visible-light-driven photocatalytic degradation of water pollutants
No full textThis thesis presents the synthesis and application of a novel carbon quantum dots (CQDs) sensitized TiO₂ composite in the treatment of water pollutants. Firstly, nitrogen and sulfur co-doped carbon quantum dots (N, S-CQDs) were synthesized from citric acid and thiourea through hydrothermal method. The as-prepared N, S-CQDs demonstrated strong visible-light absorption and green-light emission. By incorporating N, S-CQDs into TiO₂, a composite (N, S-CQDs/TiO₂) with great improvement in visible-light-harvesting and reduced band gap were obtained, which was subsequently used as a visible-light-responsive catalyst for the photocatalytic reduction of Cr (VI) from water. Experimental results from batch reaction processes indicated that the composite was able to completely reduce Cr (VI) to Cr (III) at pH2.0 after 3 hours’ exposure to visible light with the initial Cr (VI) concentration being 20.0 mg/L and a catalyst dosage of 1.0g/L. It was also found that lower pH and lower initial concentration of Cr (VI) led to high reduction efficiency. Compare with pure TiO₂, a four-fold increase in reduction efficiency of Cr (VI) was achieved by the N, S-CQDs/TiO₂ composite under the same reaction conditions.
The N, S-CQDs/TiO₂ nanocomposite was also applied for synergistic photocatalytic reduction of Cr (VI) and degradation of erythromycin (ERY) from water under visible light irradiation. Because of the instant consumptions of photo-generated electrons and holes at conduction and valence bands, the composite exhibited improved Cr (VI) reduction efficiency in the binary Cr (VI)-ERY system compared to single Cr (VI) system, leading to complete reduction of Cr (VI) and 96.0% degradation of ERY with the increased initial concentration (c0 = 30.0 mg/L for each and catalyst dosage being 1.0 g/L). Moreover, the composite also exhibited very high chemical stability, and less than 10% decrease in Cr (VI) reduction rate and ERY degradation efficiency were achieved
after four sequential runs. The results from radical trapping experiments proved that hole (h⁺) and hydroxyl radical (•OH) were the major active species for ERY degradation, whereas photo-generated electrons (e⁻) reduced Cr (VI) to Cr (III). Results from this study reveals that sensitization of TiO₂ with CQDs is efficient in broadening the light absorption range of TiO₂, expanding its application in visible-light-driven photocatalysis.Includes bibliographical reference
从跨⽂化视⻆⽐较中国和⻄班⽛“新冠”流⾏期间语⾔服务的作⽤
Full text linkEn el trabajo de traducción durante la pandemia, los traductores enfrentaron numerosos
desafíos, incluyendo la aparición de nuevos términos, la urgencia de la información y la
necesidad de precisión técnica. El impacto de la pandemia no se limitó a la salud y la economía,
sino que también involucró estrategias interculturales en los niveles social y cultural. Este
estudio se centra en comparar los diferentes métodos de gestión de servicios de traducción en
China y España durante la pandemia de COVID-19, destacando sus similitudes y diferencias
estratégicas.
China mostró un enfoque gubernamental en la organización y movilización de servicios
lingüísticos, asegurando la rápida difusión y comunicación precisa de información multilingüe
a través de plataformas digitales y redes sociales. En contraste, España dependió de la
participación de gobiernos locales y organizaciones no gubernamentales para crear y promover
materiales multilingües. Ambos países hicieron un gran esfuerzo para garantizar que todos los
ciudadanos tuvieran acceso a información clave, proporcionando valiosas experiencias sobre
cómo gestionar eficazmente los servicios de traducción e información durante una crisisDuring the pandemic, translators faced numerous challenges, including the emergence of
new terms, the urgency of information, and the need for technical accuracy. The impact of the
pandemic was not limited to health and the economy but also involved intercultural strategies
at the social and cultural levels. This study focuses on comparing the different methods of
managing translation services in China and Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic, highlighting
their strategic similarities and differences.
China adopted a governmental approach in organizing and mobilizing linguistic services,
ensuring the rapid dissemination and accurate communication of multilingual information
through digital platforms and social networks. In contrast, Spain relied on the participation of
local governments and non-governmental organizations to create and promote multilingual
materials. Both countries made significant efforts to ensure that all citizens had access to key
information, providing valuable experiences on how to effectively manage translation and
information services during a crisis在疫情下的翻译⼯作中，翻译员⾯临诸多挑战，包括新术语的出现、信息的紧迫性和
技术准确性的要求。疫情的影响不仅限于健康和经济，还涉及社会和⽂化层⾯的跨⽂化
策略。本研究重点⽐较了中国和⻄班⽛在COVID-19疫情期间管理翻译服务的不同⽅法，
突出它们在策略上的异同。
中国在组织和动员语⾔服务⽅⾯显示出政府主导的特点，并通过数字平台和社交媒体
确保多语种信息的快速传播和准确传达。相⽐之下，⻄班⽛依赖地⽅政府和⾮政府组织
的参与来创建和宣传多语种材料。两个国家都在保障所有公⺠获取关键信息⽅⾯做出了
⾮常多的努⼒，提供了关于如何在危机中有效管理翻译和信息服务的宝贵经验Máster Universitario en Comunicación Intercultural, Interpretación y Traducción en los Servicios Públicos. Especialidad en Chino-Español (M196
Particle Filter based Speaker Tracking in Distributed Pairwise Microphone Networks
No full textThe particle filter (PF) algorithm is appropriate to solve the problem of speaker tracking in a reverberant and noisy environment using distributed pairwise microphone networks. First, complete the tracking task based on PF algorithm in centralized manner, a processing center is required to collect the signal from all microphones to carry out the PF processing. The computation complexity and time consumption of the particle filter algorithm are relatively high, mainly because of the large number of particles exploited in the filtering process since the effectiveness and accuracy of the particle filter particularly rely on the sample set size. However, almost all the existing particle filtering algorithms exploit the fixed number of particles, especially in the field of acoustic source tracking. To deal with this matter, Kullback-Leibler distance (KLD) sampling method was utilized as an adaptation technique to adjust the sample size instead of setting fixed number. Two approaches based on particle filter algorithm for tracking speaker in distributed way are proposed. Compared to the centralized scheme, each microphone pair in the distributed network executes the local PF individually and exchanges local weights or posterior parameters among neighboring nodes to efficiently achieve the global estimate of the sound source position. Finally, simulation experiments demonstrate these two methods are feasible to track the speaker in distributed microphone networks with a variable number of particles.Electrical Engineering | Circuits and System
Non-traditional whispering gallery modes inside microspheres visualized with Fourier analysis
Full text linkNon-traditional whispering gallery modes are studied in a glass microsphere. Geometrical ray tracing is used to explain and calculate these modes. Thermal emission and Raman scattering are used as an internal light source to excite these modes inside the glass microsphere. The thermal and Raman emission spectra are modified due to the existence of these modes. Fourier analysis is then used to distinguish the individual modes. The understanding of these non-traditional WGM may lead to alternative design strategies for sensor applications or laser cavity configurations
Integration on a microchip: A glimpse into the future of optical coherence tomography
Full text linkOptical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive, three-dimensional imaging technique that offers close-to-histology-level image quality. Based on broadband spectral interferometry, OCT has enabled clinical applications ranging from ophthalmology to cardiology that revolutionized in vivo medical diagnostics. Considering the size and cost of a commercial OCT system, it is essential to investigate different approaches for realizing a compact and low-cost OCT system in order to make it accessible to a significantly larger group of applications and users. Exploiting integrated optics, several central components of an OCT system have been assembled on a microchip so far. Silicon based designs have the advantage of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) compatible high-volume production while indium phosphate (InP) based designs have the possibility of monolithic integration of the light source and the detector with other components. In this chapter, the design considerations, theoretical analysis and experimental results of the passive integrated optical components of an on-chip OCT system including interferometer, spectrometer, reference arm, and sample arm will be presented. Active components (light source and detectors) are beyond the scope of this chapter
Polymer microlenses for collimating light from single-mode silicon oxynitride optical waveguides
Full text linkWe propose a novel technique for microlens fabrication which is compatible with silicon oxynitride technology, and enables the collimation of light exiting the waveguides into beams with divergence angles of ~0.52°
Polarization-independent enhanced-resolution arrayed-waveguide grating used in spectral-domain optical low-coherence reflectometry
Full text linkThe performance of an arrayed-waveguide grating (AWG) as an integrated spectrometer in spectral-domain optical low-coherence reflectometry (SD-OLCR) is significantly improved. By removing the output waveguides of the AWG, the depth range is enhanced from 1 to 3.3 mm at 800 nm and 4.6 mm at 1300 nm. Periodic signal fading, that was previously observed in the sensitivity roll-off curve in depth ranging measurements, is shown to be evoked by beat-frequency generation between the two polarizations of partially polarized signal light in a birefringent AWG. By carefully controlling the polarization state-of-light, the signal fading is eliminated. As a permanent solution to this problem, a polarization-independent AWG is demonstrated, which can reduce the size and cost of OCLR and optical coherence tomography systems further by eliminating the components for polarization control
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