Collisional Effects in Isovector Response Function of Nuclear Matter at Finite Temperature

The dipole response function of nuclear matter at zero and finite temperatures is investigated by employing the linearized version of the extended TDHF theory with a non-Markovian binary collision term. Calculations are carried out for nuclear dipole vibrations by employing the Steinwedel-Jensen model and compared with experimental results for $^{120}Sn$ and $^{208}Pb$.Comment: 14 pages, RevTex, 3 PS figure

Multi-scale directional-filtering-based method for follicular lymphoma grading

Cataloged from PDF version of article.Follicular lymphoma (FL) is a group of malignancies of lymphocyte origin that arise from lymph nodes, spleen, and bone marrow in the lymphatic system. It is the second most common non-Hodgkins lymphoma. Characteristic of FL is the presence of follicle center B cells consisting of centrocytes and centroblasts. Typically, FL images are graded by an expert manually counting the centroblasts in an image. This is time consuming. In this paper, we present a novel multi-scale directional filtering scheme and utilize it to classify FL images into different grades. Instead of counting the centroblasts individually, we classify the texture formed by centroblasts. We apply our multi-scale directional filtering scheme in two scales and along eight orientations, and use the mean and the standard deviation of each filter output as feature parameters. For classification, we use support vector machines with the radial basis function kernel. We map the features into two dimensions using linear discriminant analysis prior to classification. Experimental results are presented

Approximate Computation of DFT without Performing Any Multiplications: Applications to Radar Signal Processing

In many practical problems it is not necessary to compute the DFT in a perfect manner including some radar problems. In this article a new multiplication free algorithm for approximate computation of the DFT is introduced. All multiplications $(a\times b)$ in DFT are replaced by an operator which computes $sign(a\times b)(|a|+|b|)$. The new transform is especially useful when the signal processing algorithm requires correlations. Ambiguity function in radar signal processing requires high number of multiplications to compute the correlations. This new additive operator is used to decrease the number of multiplications. Simulation examples involving passive radars are presented

Has Capitalism Lost its Puritan Spirit? What do Recent WVS Data Say about Religiosity and Work Values?

This paper tests the arguments of social theorists about the changing spirit of capitalism in countries with different levels of economic development using the recent World Values Survey (WVS). Max Weber claimed that the Protestant Ethic was the spirit of capitalism for salvation and improved economic development in Europe. During the last 40 years, sociologists, such as Bell and Bauman, have claimed that capitalism has started to lose its puritan spirit and a new secular/hedonist personality type has emerged as the new characteristic of post-industrial/ consumer capitalism. The data show that religiosity and work values decline but leisure and self-expression values increase in knowledge economy-based post-industrial societies and late consumer capitalism has a new spirit which is the polar opposite of the Protestant ethic. However, the puritan spirit has not totally disappeared from the world but has migrated to newly industrializing societies

Restoration of error-diffused images using projection onto convex sets

Cataloged from PDF version of article.In this paper, a novel inverse halftoning method is proposed to restore a continuous tone image from a given half-tone image. A set theoretic formulation is used where three sets are defined using the prior information about the problem. A new spacedomain projection is introduced assuming the halftoning is performed using error diffusion, and the error diffusion filter kernel is known. The space-domain, frequency-domain, and space-scale domain projections are used alternately to obtain a feasible solution for the inverse halftoning problem which does not have a unique solution

Projections Onto Convex Sets (POCS) Based Optimization by Lifting

Two new optimization techniques based on projections onto convex space (POCS) framework for solving convex and some non-convex optimization problems are presented. The dimension of the minimization problem is lifted by one and sets corresponding to the cost function are defined. If the cost function is a convex function in R^N the corresponding set is a convex set in R^(N+1). The iterative optimization approach starts with an arbitrary initial estimate in R^(N+1) and an orthogonal projection is performed onto one of the sets in a sequential manner at each step of the optimization problem. The method provides globally optimal solutions in total-variation, filtered variation, l1, and entropic cost functions. It is also experimentally observed that cost functions based on lp, p<1 can be handled by using the supporting hyperplane concept

The effect of dietary inclusion of meat and bone meal on the performance of laying hens at old age

The effect of the inclusion of meat and bone meal (MBM) in the diet of old laying hens on their egg production and the quality of their eggs was investigated. Meat and bone meal containing a high concentration of ash and a low concentration of crude protein was included at levels of 2.0, 4.0 and 6.0% in the diets and fed for 20 weeks. Forced moulted 84-week old laying hens (Brown-Nick) were divided randomly into four treatment groups of 120 hens each. The inclusion of 2.0% MBM to the layer diet increased hen-day egg production significantly, whereas inclusion in excess of 2.0% MBM had no additional beneficial effect on egg production. However, the inclusion of dietary MBM at all three levels depressed egg weight. There were no significant effects of dietary treatments on egg weight, feed intake and feed conversion ratio of the hens. The specific gravity of the eggs from hens fed the control diet was significantly lower than from those receiving the diets containing 2.0 and 4.0% MBM. The Haugh Unit value of eggs in the 6.0% MBM treatment was significantly higher than the other treatments. There were no significant effects of MBM inclusion on yolk colour score, yolk height, eggshell thickness, eggshell weight and eggshell strength. However, MBM inclusion in a diet had a significant beneficial effect on eggshell quality. The eggshell ratios of the 2.0, 4.0 and 6.0% MBM treatments were significantly higher than in the control diet, while the cracked/broken egg ratio was significantly lower. In conclusion, inclusion of MBM containing a high ash and low crude protein content to conventional maize-soya bean diet improved egg production performance of laying hens. The dicalcium phosphate level in the diet could also be reduced without any adverse effects on egg production and egg quality. Key Words: Meat and bone meal, Egg production, Egg quality, Laying hens SA Jnl Animal Sci Vol.34(1) 2004: 31-3