The development of two-dimensional object identification techniques

This report marks the end of the first year of an anticipated three year effort to study methods for numerically identifying objects according to shape in two dimensions. The method is based upon comparing the unit gradient of an observed object and the unit gradient of a standard object over a specified range of points. The manner in which the gradients are compared forms the basis of a shape recognition scheme, which is then applied to simple closed plane figures. The gradient based method is calibrated by using various distorted objects in comparison with a set of standard reference objects. The use of pattern recognition techniques for computer identification of two-dimensional figures will be investigated during the second and third years of this project

Eyes Of Blue

There’s never a day that’s gray, my dear, Never a sky that’s gray; There’s ever a flower in the way, my dear, And the Winter dreams of May. There’s ever a flower, my dear, for you, And the morning bright in your eyes of blue! There’s never a sigh in the world, my dear, Never a solemn sigh; Singing I go, for I love you so, Under a cloudless sky; There’s ever a song, my dear, for you, Where the skies are bright as your eyes of blue! Where the skies are bright as your eyes of blue

Advances in small lasers

M.T.H was supported by an Australian Research council Future Fellowship research grant for this work. M.C.G. is grateful to the Scottish Funding Council (via SUPA) for financial support.Small lasers have dimensions or modes sizes close to or smaller than the wavelength of emitted light. In recent years there has been significant progress towards reducing the size and improving the characteristics of these devices. This work has been led primarily by the innovative use of new materials and cavity designs. This Review summarizes some of the latest developments, particularly in metallic and plasmonic lasers, improvements in small dielectric lasers, and the emerging area of small bio-compatible or bio-derived lasers. We examine the different approaches employed to reduce size and how they result in significant differences in the final device, particularly between metal- and dielectric-cavity lasers. We also present potential applications for the various forms of small lasers, and indicate where further developments are required.PostprintPeer reviewe

Morning

Never star was in the sky, Winter winds went wailing by, Not a violet was in bloom, Not a rainbow rimm’d the gloom. But the light’s on cot and clod, Earth is happy, and, thank God, It’s morning, it’s morning, it’s morning! Morning on the holly hills, Meadows that enfold the rills, Morning in the heav’ns of blue, Morning in the eyes of you: In the dear and dreaming eyes Where the kind God made my skies, It’s morning, it’s morning, it’s morning

Electro-Optic Slot Waveguide Phase Modulator on the InP Membrane on Silicon Platform

For the first time, we present an electro-optic slot waveguide phase modulator on the InP membrane on Silicon (IMOS) platform. Low-frequency characterization of this modulator shows that it can achieve a {V}-{ {pi }} {L}-{ {pi }} product as low as 4.5 V.mm and an extinction ratio equal to 10.6 dB. The 3-dB optical bandwidth of this modulator is measured to be 10.5 GHz. Here, working principles, design, fabrication, measurements, analysis of the electrical and electro-optic performance and prospects of this modulator are presented.</p

Transplacental transmission: A rare case of Ebola virus transmission

During the mid-transmission period of the Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreak in Sierra Leone, a 19-year-old pregnant woman, who was a petty trader in a health facility in Freetown, noticing no fetal movement for the past 3 days, reported to a health facility. Medical history and laboratory testing showed no abnormalities except that she was positive for sickle cell. She was not known to any surveillance team of having any epidemiological link to EVD case. She was induced with oral medications as well as IV infusion. EVD test showed that the fetus was positive to EVD with a high threshold value of 21, while the woman was negative for EVD with a threshold value of 42. The woman was positive to EVD IgG but negative to EVD IgM by ELISA technique. This is a rare EVD case in the period of medium transmission. We conclude that the woman may have come into contact with a low dose of virus not enough to cause a full blown EVD and that her immune system was able to stop the virus from further replication

High‐resolution multiparametric MRI of contemporary and waterlogged archaeological wood

High‐resolution NMR images on three different present‐day wood samples and an archaeological wood specimen were presented and discussed. Although the spatial resolution is still low to perform dendrology for the exact identification of the wooden species, the T2‐spin‐density weighted images exhibit contrasts that are in excellent agreement with optical histological images. On the other hand, T2* and T1‐weighted images provide physiological information that is not obtainable by the usual light microscopic investigations. Moreover, the diffusion‐weighted images show the anisotropic behavior of the water diffusion coefficient quantified along and perpendicularly to vascular bundles (vessels and tracheids), which can be related to the morphology and size of wooden microstructure. This work suggests that high‐resolution multiparametric MRI may be a useful tool to increase the information obtainable from the waterlogged archaeological wood remains in a completely non‐invasive and non‐destructive approach. Therefore, it would be desirable to further develop the hardware and functional characteristics of MRI scanners to improve their potential application in the field of wooden cultural heritage