Non-invasive investigations of a wall painting using optical coherence tomography and hyperspectral imaging

Multispectral and hyperspectral imaging are efficient methods of measuring spectral reflectance at high spatial resolution. This non-invasive technique has been applied to the imaging of paintings over the last 20 years. PRISMS (Portable Remote Imaging System for Multispectral Scanning) was designed specifically for imaging wall paintings. Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) is a low coherence interferometric technique capable of fast non-invasive imaging of subsurface microstructure. This paper shows the first application of in situ OCT imaging of a wall painting. The combination of PRISMS and OCT gives information on the varnish and paint layer structure, pigment identification, the state of degradation of the paint and varnish layers and informing curators on the painting schemes and techniques

Land use determination by remote sensor analysis

A land use analysis of 18 selected census tracts in the Metropolitan Washington area using aerial photography was undertaken. A comparison of the results was made with comparable land use data from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments' Parcel File, and the results reported. Summary conclusions and recommendations for the use of photo-derived data in land use studies by COG are made

Benefits from remote sensing data utilization in urban planning processes and system recommendations

The benefits of utilizing remote sensor data in the urban planning process of the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments are investigated. An evaluation of sensor requirements, a description/ comparison of costs, benefits, levels of accuracy, ease of attainment, and frequency of update possible using sensor versus traditional data acquisition techniques are discussed

An assessment of remote sensor imagery in the determination of housing quality data

Selected census tracts in the metropolitan Washington area were examined using varying scales of aerial photography. Observable characteristics of housing and neighborhoods were assessed to determine feasibility of providing data on housing stock and quality and neighborhood condition from the imagery. Small scale imagery is shown to be of relatively marginal value in providing much of the data in the detail required, but can be useful for general survey purposes

Remote sensing project

The accomplishments and publications developed during the study are summarized. They illustrated a series of practical applications of remote sensing data to the urban-regional planning processes in the metropolitan Washington area

Generalizations of the St\"ormer Problem for Dust Grain Orbits

We consider the generalized St\"ormer Problem that includes the electromagnetic and gravitational forces on a charged dust grain near a planet. For dust grains a typical charge to mass ratio is such that neither force can be neglected. Including the gravitational force gives rise to stable circular orbits that encircle that plane entirely above/below the equatorial plane. The effects of the different forces are discussed in detail. A modified 3rd Kepler's law is found and analyzed for dust grains.Comment: 21 pages LaTeX, 12 figure

Clinostomum marginatum metacercaria: Incidence in Smallmouth Bass from a North Arkansas Stream and in vitro Oxygen Consumption Studies

Small mouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) captured from Crooked Creek (Marion Co., Arkansas) in the summers of 1977 and 1987 were found to have a high incidence of infection with the metacercaria of Clinostomum marginatum (yellow grub). Of 41 fish collected in 1977, 32 (78%) were found infected with metacercariae with some fish containing large numbers of parasites. The number of larvae per fish ranged from 1 to 184, with an average of 23.2 ± 38 per smallmouth. Eighty-six percent of the bass collected in 1987 were found positive for C. marginatum. The number of metacercariae per fish ranged from 1 to 227 with an average of 32.7 ± 54 per fish. Fish from both collection groups ranged in size from 12 to 34 cm. No significant correlation could be found between the number of metacercariae per fish and the length of the host. Using metacercariae removed from host tissue, the effect on oxygen consumption by glucose, serotonin and insulin, singularly or in combination, was measured by manometric methods. Glucose alone did not stimulate oxygen utilization, serotonin alone and with glucose was stimulatory, and insulin with glucose also increased oxygen consumption

Pure-state quantum trajectories for general non-Markovian systems do not exist

Since the first derivation of non-Markovian stochastic Schr\"odinger equations, their interpretation has been contentious. In a recent Letter [Phys. Rev. Lett. 100, 080401 (2008)], Di\'osi claimed to prove that they generate "true single system trajectories [conditioned on] continuous measurement". In this Letter we show that his proof is fundamentally flawed: the solution to his non-Markovian stochastic Schr\"odinger equation at any particular time can be interpreted as a conditioned state, but joining up these solutions as a trajectory creates a fiction.Comment: 4 page

Approaches to Faith, Guest Editorial Preface

Springer. We find in contemporary culture starkly contrasting estimates of the value of faith. On the one hand, for many people, faith is a virtue or positive human value, something associated with understanding, hope, and love, something to be inculcated, maintained, and cherished. On the other hand, for many people, faith is a vice, something associated with dogmatism, arrogance, and close-mindedness, something to be avoided at all costs. The papers included in this special (double) issue on approaches to faith explore questions about faith in a variety of settings through a diverse range of examples, both secular and religious. The attempt to deepen our understanding of faith in the context of ordinary human relationships (e.g., between parents and children, friends, generals and their armies, business partners, citizens and the state), a commitment to ideals, or the pursuit of significant goals is clearly of general philosophical interest, as is the examination of potential connections between faith and topics such as trust or reliance

The unreasonable effectiveness of equilibrium-like theory for interpreting non-equilibrium experiments

There has been great interest in applying the results of statistical mechanics to single molecule experiements. Recent work has highlighted so-called non-equilibrium work-energy relations and Fluctuation Theorems which take on an equilibrium-like (time independent) form. Here I give a very simple heuristic example where an equilibrium result (the barometric law for colloidal particles) arises from theory describing the {\em thermodynamically} non-equilibrium phenomenon of a single colloidal particle falling through solution due to gravity. This simple result arises from the fact that the particle, even while falling, is in {\em mechanical} equilibrium (gravitational force equal the viscous drag force) at every instant. The results are generalized by appeal to the central limit theorem. The resulting time independent equations that hold for thermodynamically non-equilibrium (and even non-stationary) processes offer great possibilities for rapid determination of thermodynamic parameters from single molecule experiments.Comment: 6 page