A Tensor-Based Dictionary Learning Approach to Tomographic Image Reconstruction

We consider tomographic reconstruction using priors in the form of a dictionary learned from training images. The reconstruction has two stages: first we construct a tensor dictionary prior from our training data, and then we pose the reconstruction problem in terms of recovering the expansion coefficients in that dictionary. Our approach differs from past approaches in that a) we use a third-order tensor representation for our images and b) we recast the reconstruction problem using the tensor formulation. The dictionary learning problem is presented as a non-negative tensor factorization problem with sparsity constraints. The reconstruction problem is formulated in a convex optimization framework by looking for a solution with a sparse representation in the tensor dictionary. Numerical results show that our tensor formulation leads to very sparse representations of both the training images and the reconstructions due to the ability of representing repeated features compactly in the dictionary.Comment: 29 page

Clay: Qualities, Benefits, and Therapeutic Applications A Literature Review

Clay is ubiquitous. It is uniquely durable and plastic. It is a substance sourced from the earth that has been manipulated in numerous ways and used for a variety of purposes for thousands of years. Despite this, art therapy research is heavily focused on art making using two-dimensional materials. Research is lacking regarding the use of clay as a medium in art therapy. This literature review revealed many therapeutic benefits and qualities about clay. These qualities include increasing mood in psychiatric patients, increasing progress in self-development for patients with schizophrenia, increasing self-expression with older adults, and healing from trauma. This literature review intends to present relevant research on the unique characteristics of clay as a material used throughout history, the sensory processing of clay and the various ways clay can be used throughout art therapy as an effective treatment tool

Finding Local Resources: A Network Analysis and Knowledge Map of the Agricultural Sector in Alamance County, NC

Benevolence Farm is a non-profit organization opening a local farm in rural Alamance County, NC that will house and provide career training for women as they transition out of prison. As they enter this new community, they will encounter challenges to finding and accessing local resources - including retail, employment, and local knowledge. For this project, we interviewed 20 local community members to identify and map local agricultural resources. Qualitative and social network analyses identified persistent challenges for the area’s local farms, including marketing, communication, and leveraging local knowledge. We recommended several steps for marketing goods at local retail and wholesale outlets. We identified key individuals the Farm should begin building immediate relationships with in order to access their social capital and local knowledge. We developed a web-based knowledge map to display the location of agricultural resources

Changing Face of the Extrasolar Giant Planet, HD 209458b

High-resolution atmospheric flow simulations of the tidally-locked extrasolar giant planet, HD 209458b, show large-scale spatio-temporal variability. This is in contrast to the simple, permanent day/night (i.e., hot/cold) picture. The planet's global circulation is characterized by a polar vortex in motion around each pole and a banded structure corresponding to ~3 broad zonal (east-west) jets. For very strong jets, the circulation-induced temperature difference between moving hot and cold regions can reach up to ~1000 K, suggesting that atmospheric variability could be observed in the planet's spectral and photometric signatures.Comment: 6 pages, 1 ps figure, 2 low-res color figures (JPEG). Figure 3 updated. Contact authors for hi-res versions of color figures. Accepted for publication in ApJ