On surface completion and image inpainting by biharmonic functions: Numerical aspects

Numerical experiments with smooth surface extension and image inpainting using harmonic and biharmonic functions are carried out. The boundary data used for constructing biharmonic functions are the values of the Laplacian and normal derivatives of the functions on the boundary. Finite difference schemes for solving these harmonic functions are discussed in detail.Comment: Revised 21 July, 2017. Revised 12 January, 2018. To appear in International Journal of Mathematics and Mathematical Science

Linewidth characteristics of Raman-shifted dye laser output at 720 and 940 nm

Existing DIAL systems for water vapor measurements in the troposphere operate at wavelengths near 720 nm. The use of stronger water vapor absorption lines in the range 930 to 960 nm will significantly improve DIAL measurements in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere where water vapor concentrations are low. The generation of light at 940 nm using a frequency doubled Nd:YAG pumped dye laser is inefficient due to the small absorption if infrared dyes at the pump wavelength. However, 940 nm generation utilizing stimulated Raman scattering of dye lasers is attractive because of a potentially high conversion efficiency plus the possibility of retaining the narrow linewidth available from some dye lasers. The Raman conversion efficiency and line broadening are presented for first Stokes operation at 720 and 940 nm using hydrogen and deuterium as the Raman media

Multiple colliding electromagnetic pulses: a way to lower the threshold of e+e−e^+e^- pair production from vacuum

The scheme of simultaneous multiple pulse focusing on one spot naturally arises from the structural features of projected new laser systems, such as ELI and HiPER. It is shown that the multiple pulse configuration is beneficial for observing $e^+e^-$ pair production from vacuum under the action of sufficiently strong electromagnetic fields. The field of the focused pulses is described using a realistic three-dimensional model based on an exact solution of the Maxwell equations. The $e^+e^-$ pair production threshold in terms of electromagnetic field energy can be substantially lowered if, instead of one or even two colliding pulses, multiple pulses focused on one spot are used. The multiple pulse interaction geometry gives rise to subwavelength field features in the focal region. These features result in the production of extremely short $e^+e^-$ bunches.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure

Effects of dietary salbutamol on growth and carcass composition in rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus Mykiss) (Walbaum) : a thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science (Physiology) at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Salbutamol, a β2 adrenergic agonist, has been shown to reduce carcass fat and increase muscle mass and improve feed conversion efficiency in pigs. In the present study, the effects of dietary salbutamol at 20 ppm on growth, feed conversion efficiency, carcass recovery, visceral organ weight, and whole carcass composition of rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were studied. Rainbow trout (eighteen months old; average initial weight 324.0±0.4 g) were fed either the control or control + 20 ppm salbutamol diet for four weeks in a completely randomized design. Fish were weighed at the start and termination of the study, and records of feed intake were maintained. Carcasses were analyzed for protein, fat and ash at the start and completion of the four weeks feeding period. Dietary salbutamol had no adverse effect on fish mortality, health or feed intake. Dietary salbutamol had no effect (p>0.10) on growth, feed intake or feed conversion efficiency of rainbow trout. Internal organ weights such as liver, heart, gonads and viscero-somatic index and hepato-somatic index were also not affected (p>0.10) by dietary salbutamol. Interestingly, kidney weight was significantly (p<0.01) increased by salbutamol. However, it is unlikely that salbutamol directly increased the kidney weight. Increased metabolic load on kidney and blood flow to the kidney could be reasons for increased kidney weight. Although the final weight and the growth rate were not affected by salbutamol, the carcass recovery was significantly higher (p<0.01) in salbutamol treated trout. Whole carcass protein content of both treated and control fish showed no significant differences and clearly reflected the normal allometric growth and body composition. It was concluded that dietary salbutamol at 20 ppm level had no repartitioning effect in growing rainbow trout. The effects of salbutamol at various doses in more mature rainbow trout need to be studied in future studies

Scoping Review of the development of artificial eyes throughout the years

Losing an eye following trauma can lead to profound psychosocial difficulties making it imperative for the wearer to be fitted with an aesthetically pleasing custom-made artificial eye. Despite recent technological advancements, current design and manufacturing processes have remained unchanged in over 55 years. With the aim of portraying current knowledge regarding the development of artificial eyes in order to aid future development, a scooping review was conducted. Six online search engines were used: Scopus, PubMed, MedLine Complete, Web of Science, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Thirty-eight articles met the inclusion criteria and underwent numerical and thematic analysis with three thematic themes emerging. History and the current process of artificial eyes has been well documented, however, the impact of wearing artificial eyes is sparse. On-going research and development into the design and manufacturing processes of artificial eyes and the psychosocial impact of wearing an artificial eye is needed

Density Matrix Renormalization Group study of 48^{48}Cr and 56^{56}Ni

We discuss the development of an angular-momentum-conserving variant of the Density Matrix Renormalization Group (DMRG) method for use in large-scale shell-model calculations of atomic nuclei and report a first application of the method to the ground state of $^{56}$Ni and improved results for $^{48}$Cr. In both cases, we see a high level of agreement with the exact results. A comparison of the two shows a dramatic reduction in the fraction of the space required to achieve accuracy as the size of the problem grows.Comment: 4 pages. Published in PRC Rapi