Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Musical Actions Of Dihedral Groups, Alissa S. Crans, Thomas M. Fiore, Ramon Satyendra

Alissa Crans

The sequence of pitches which form a musical melody can be transposed or inverted. Since the 1970s, music theorists have modeled musical transposition and inversion in terms of an action of the dihedral group of order 24. More recently music theorists have found an intriguing second way that the dihedral group of order 24 acts on the set of major and minor chords. We illustrate both geometrically and algebraically how these two actions are {\it dual}. Both actions and their duality have been used to analyze works of music as diverse as Hindemith and the Beatles.

Intonation And Compensation Of Fretted String Instruments, Gabriele U. Varieschi, Christina M. Gower

Gabriele Varieschi

We discuss theoretical and physical models that are useful for analyzing the intonation of musical instruments such as guitars and mandolins and can be used to improve the tuning on these instruments. The placement of frets on the fingerboard is designed according to mathematical rules and the assumption of an ideal string. The analysis becomes more complicated when we include the effects of deformation of the string and inharmonicity due to other string characteristics. As a consequence, perfect intonation of all the notes on the instrument cannot be achieved, but complex compensation procedures can be introduced to minimize the problem. …

Static Saliency Vs. Dynamic Saliency: A Comparative Study, Tam Nguyen, Mengdi Xu, Guangyu Gao, Mohan Kankanhalli, Qi Tian, Shuicheng Yan

Tam Nguyen

Recently visual saliency has attracted wide attention of researchers in the computer vision and multimedia field. However, most of the visual saliency-related research was conducted on still images for studying static saliency. In this paper, we give a comprehensive comparative study for the first time of dynamic saliency (video shots) and static saliency (key frames of the corresponding video shots), and two key observations are obtained: 1) video saliency is often different from, yet quite related with, image saliency, and 2) camera motions, such as tilting, panning or zooming, affect dynamic saliency significantly.

Motivated by these observations, we propose a …

Gecka3d: A 3d Game Engine For Commonsense Knowledge Acquisition, Erik Cambria, Tam Nguyen, Brian Cheng, Kenneth Kwok, Jose Sepulveda

Tam Nguyen

Commonsense knowledge representation and reasoning is key for tasks such as artificial intelligence and natural language understanding. Since commonsense consists of information that humans take for granted, gathering it is an extremely difficult task. In this paper, we introduce a novel 3D game engine for commonsense knowledge acquisition (GECKA3D) which aims to collect commonsense from game designers through the development of serious games. GECKA3D integrates the potential of serious games and games with a purpose. This provides a platform for the acquisition of reusable and multi-purpose knowledge and also enables the development of games that can provide entertainment value and …

Hi, Magic Closet, Tell Me What To Wear!, Si Liu, Tam Nguyen, Jiashi Feng, Meng Wang, Shuicheng Yan

Tam Nguyen

In this demo, we present a practical system, "magic closet," for automatic occasion-oriented clothing pairing. Given a user-input occasion, e.g., wedding or shopping, the magic closet intelligently and automatically pairs the user-specified reference clothing (upper body or lower body) with the most suitable one from online shops. Two key criteria are explicitly considered for the magic closet system. One criterion is to dress properly, e.g., compared to suit pants, it is more decent to wear a cocktail dress for a banquet occasion. The other criterion is to dress aesthetically, e.g., a red T-shirt matches better with white pants than with …

A Mini-History Of Computing, George K. Thiruvathukal

George K. Thiruvathukal

This book was produced by George K. Thiruvathukal for the American Institute of Physics to promote interest in the interdisciplinary publication, Computing in Science and Engineering. It accompanied a limited edition set of playing cards that is no longer available (except in PDF). This book features a set of 54 significant computers by era/category, including ancient calculating instruments, pre-electronic mechanical calculators and computers, electronic era computers, and modern computing (minicomputers, maniframes, personal computers, devices, and gaming consoles).

Compassion As A Practical And Evolved Ethic For Conservation, David Ramp, Marc Bekoff

Marc Bekoff, PhD

The ethical position underpinning decisionmaking is an important concern for conservation biologists when setting priorities for interventions. The recent debate on how best to protect nature has centered on contrasting intrinsic and aesthetic values against utilitarian and economic values, driven by an inevitable global rise in conservation conflicts. These discussions have primarily been targeted at species and ecosystems for success, without explicitly expressing concern for the intrinsic value and welfare of individual animals. In part, this is because animal welfare has historically been thought of as an impediment to conservation. However, practical implementations of conservation that provide good welfare outcomes …

Institutional Animal Care And Use Committees: A Flawed Paradigm Or Work In Progress?, John P. Gluck, F. Barbara Orlans

John P. Gluck, PhD

In his challenging article, Steneck (1997) criticized the creation of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) system established by the 1985 amendments to the Animal Welfare Act. He saw the IACUC review and approval of biomedical and behavioral research with animals as an unnecessary "reassignment" of duties from existing animal care programs to IACUC committees. He argued that the committees are unable to do the work expected of them for basically three reasons: (a) the membership lacks the expertise in matters relevant to animal research and care, (b) there exists an inherent and disabling conflict of interest, and …

A New Science, And A New Profession: Sugar Chemistry In Louisiana, 1885-1895, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

Between 1885 and 1895 the Louisiana sugar industry experienced a scientific and technological revolution in methods, process apparatus, and scale of operations. The animal-powered mills and open kettles characteristic of the antebellum period were supplanted by large, technically designed, and scientifically controlled central factories . In 1880 there were approximately 1,000 sugar houses in Louisiana with an average annual production of 110 long tons of sugar per house. By 1900 fewer than 300 factories constituted the state's sugar industry, but yearly production averaged over 980 long tons for each sugar house. One commentator of the period, Mark Twain, described a …

Friedrich Wöhler, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

Friedrich Wöhler synthesized urea in 1828 and thus first demonstrated that organic materials, heretofore believed to possess a vital force, need not be made exclusively within living organisms. He also isolated aluminum metal in 1827 and discovered the elements beryllium and yttrium.

The Early Angling And Hunting Information About Tim Pond, Maine, William B. Krohn

William B. Krohn

The Philosophy Of Mathematics, Erin Wilding-Martin

Erin Wilding-Martin

The philosophy of mathematics considers what is behind the math that we do. What is mathematics? Is it some cosmic truth we discover, or is it created by humans? Do mathematical objects such as numbers and functions really exist, or are they just symbols we have invented? Two of the great debates in the history of mathematical philosophy center around ontology and epistemology. Where did mathematics come from? How do we know that it is true? Where did mathematics come from? Is it discovered or created? Ontological questions are concerned with the nature and status of mathematical objects. Some people …

Doing 'True Science': The Early History Of The 'Institutum Divi Thomae,' 1935-1951, John Alfred Heitmann

John A. Heitmann

This essay focuses on the origins and early history of the Institutum Divi Thomae (hereafter referred to as the IDT or Institutum), thus describing one particularly rich episode illustrating the relationship between American Catholicism and science during the middle of the twentieth century. The IDT was established by the Archdiocese of Cincinnati in 1935; its faculty and students, while working in the area of cancer research, published hundreds of scientific and technical papers, developed a number of commercial products, and received considerable publicity in both the religious and secular press during the first two decades of its existence. However, with …