Vector analogues of the Maggi-Rubinowicz theory of edge diffraction

The Maggi-Rubinowicz technique for scalar and electromagnetic fields is interpreted as a transformation of an integral over an open surface to a line integral around its rim. Maggi-Rubinowicz analogues are found for several vector physical optics representations. For diffraction from a circular aperture, a numerical comparison between these formulations shows the two methods are in agreement. To circumvent certain convergence difficulties in the Maggi-Rubinowicz integrals that occur as the observer approaches the shadow boundary, a variable mesh integration is used. For the examples considered, where the ratio of the aperture diameter to wavelength is about ten, the Maggi-Rubinowicz formulation yields an 8 to 10 fold decrease in computation time relative to the physical optics formulation

Genetic Toolkit for Assessment and Prediction of Population-Level Impacts of Bridge Construction on Birds

Recent studies have highlighted alarming rates of declines in bird populations across the country. The State of California is home to over 650 resident and migrant avian species. Legislation for protecting these species has existed for over a century now, yet tools for identifying populations and understanding seasonal movement remain limited. Recently, genetic and genomic tools have provided a method for understanding population structure, allowing for more informed delineation of management units. The goal of this project was to create a genetic toolkit for identifying breeding populations and assigning individuals to those populations. Ultimately, such tools could be used to assess population-level impacts when there are conflicts with birds at infrastructure construction sites. As a test case, we sequenced entire genomes for 40 individual Anna’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna) from across the state. Based on this initial data, we found low levels of differentiation between sampled locations, suggesting that C. anna in California are not subdivided into different population units. However, there was a weak signal of geography suggesting there may be localized genetic differences in a small proportion of the genome. Follow-up work will focus on a broader sampling across the state of California to clarify any possible population subdivision or geographical patterns of differentiation.View the NCST Project Webpag

Malingerer or Maligned: A Comparative Study of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity Case Law

People with invisible illnesses are challenged both by their impairments and the additional hurdles they face when it comes to being believed by others. This presents particular difficulties when seeking to convince those with the authority to make legal findings of discrimination or entitlement to accommodation. By focusing on the historically contested diagnosis of multiple chemical sensitivities (“MCS”), this paper examines the outer limits of how disability is defined and the legal rights given to people whose claims are viewed as suspect. Specifically, comparison is made between MCS employment cases in the United States and Canada.In both jurisdictions, plaintiffs face challenges related to findings of credibility, a prioritization of scientific evidence over experiential knowledge, and efforts to rule out accommodation measures by exaggerating disabilities. In the end result, people with MCS are statistically more likely to succeed in Canada; but, the tide is turning. Twenty-five years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, American courts are becoming more receptive to a plaintiff’s lived experience of MCS as a disability. At the same time, Canadian tribunals are increasingly looking to scientific and medical validation at the expense of a claimant’s lived reality.As new diseases emerge, the law in both countries must progress to allow medical and scientific evidence to follow, not lead, experiential accounts of disablement in the workplace. Otherwise, the result will be to create a class of people with invisible disabilities who have no hope of being rendered visible by our courts and tribunals

Analysis of multi-sensor data, 12 September - 11 December 1968

Analysis of multi-sensor data obtained by Earth Resources Aircraft Progra

Multi-layer Architecture For Storing Visual Data Based on WCF and Microsoft SQL Server Database

In this paper we present a novel architecture for storing visual data. Effective storing, browsing and searching collections of images is one of the most important challenges of computer science. The design of architecture for storing such data requires a set of tools and frameworks such as SQL database management systems and service-oriented frameworks. The proposed solution is based on a multi-layer architecture, which allows to replace any component without recompilation of other components. The approach contains five components, i.e. Model, Base Engine, Concrete Engine, CBIR service and Presentation. They were based on two well-known design patterns: Dependency Injection and Inverse of Control. For experimental purposes we implemented the SURF local interest point detector as a feature extractor and $K$-means clustering as indexer. The presented architecture is intended for content-based retrieval systems simulation purposes as well as for real-world CBIR tasks.Comment: Accepted for the 14th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence and Soft Computing, ICAISC, June 14-18, 2015, Zakopane, Polan

Fluxes of microbes, organic aerosols, dust, sea-salt Na ions, non-sea-salt Ca ions, and methanesulfonate onto Greenland and Antarctic ice

Using a spectrofluorimeter with 224-nm laser excitation and six emission bands from 300 to 420 nm to measure fluorescence intensities at 0.3-mm depth intervals in ice cores, we report results of the first comparative study of concentrations of microbial cells (using the spectrum of protein-bound tryptophan (Trp) as a proxy) and of aerosols with autofluorescence spectra different from Trp (denoted "non-Trp") as a function of depth in ice cores from West Antarctica (WAIS Divide and Siple Dome) and Greenland (GISP2). The ratio of fluxes of microbial cells onto West Antarctic (WAIS Divide) versus Greenland sites is 0.13±0.06; the ratio of non-Trp aerosols onto WAIS Divide versus Greenland sites is 0.16±0.08; and the ratio of non-sea-salt Ca<sup>2+</sup> ions (a proxy for dust grains) onto WAIS Divide versus Greenland sites is 0.06±0.03. All of these are roughly comparable to the ratio of fluxes of dust onto Antarctic versus Greenland sites (0.08±0.05). By contrast to those values, which are considerably lower than unity, the ratio of fluxes of methanesulfonate (MSA) onto Antarctic versus Greenland sites is 1.9±0.4 and the ratio of sea-salt Na<sup>2+</sup> ions onto WAIS Divide versus Greenland sites is 3.0±2. These ratios are more than an order of magnitude higher than those in the first grouping. We infer that the correlation of microbes and non-Trp aerosols with non-sea-salt Ca and dust suggests a largely terrestrial rather than marine origin. The lower fluxes of microbes, non-Trp aerosols, non-sea-salt Ca and dust onto WAIS Divide ice than onto Greenland ice may be due to the smaller areas of their source regions and less favorable wind patterns for transport onto Antarctic ice than onto Greenland ice. The correlated higher relative fluxes of MSA and marine Na onto Antarctic versus Greenland ice is consistent with the view that both originate largely on or around sea ice, with the Antarctic sea ice being far more extensive than that around Greenland

Normative Grip Strength Values in Males and Females, ages 50 to 89 years old

Purpose. To develop normative reference values for grip strength of males and females between the ages of 50 and 89 years old that can be used by health care professionals in clinical settings. Methods. This study assessed data from a sample of males and females between the ages of 50 and 89 years old who participated in the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) sponsored by the National Institute on Aging. The Health and Retirement Study collected data from 6,266 participants in a physical measures sub-study. Grip strength was assessed in a standing position with the shoulder adducted and elbow flexed to 90 degrees. One practice trial was allowed and then the participant performed 2 maximal effort trials using each hand. Right and left hand mean scores were calculated. The HRS data were reported in kilograms. Results. Subjects were stratified by sex and age. Each stratum was defined using 5-year intervals, male or female, and by right or left hand. Mean grip strength, standard deviation, sample size, and percentile ranks from 5 to 95 at intervals of 5 are reported for each stratum in both kilograms and pounds. Conclusion. The normative values provided in this report should advance the clinical utility of grip strength as a physical measure. Percentile ranks are easy to determine and interpret for both the patient and clinician. Clinicians will benefit from the results of this study by better assessing the physical status of their patients, developing better goals for their patients, and providing better education to their patients on this aspect of physical health

Scene Coordinate Regression with Angle-Based Reprojection Loss for Camera Relocalization

Image-based camera relocalization is an important problem in computer vision and robotics. Recent works utilize convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to regress for pixels in a query image their corresponding 3D world coordinates in the scene. The final pose is then solved via a RANSAC-based optimization scheme using the predicted coordinates. Usually, the CNN is trained with ground truth scene coordinates, but it has also been shown that the network can discover 3D scene geometry automatically by minimizing single-view reprojection loss. However, due to the deficiencies of the reprojection loss, the network needs to be carefully initialized. In this paper, we present a new angle-based reprojection loss, which resolves the issues of the original reprojection loss. With this new loss function, the network can be trained without careful initialization, and the system achieves more accurate results. The new loss also enables us to utilize available multi-view constraints, which further improve performance.Comment: ECCV 2018 Workshop (Geometry Meets Deep Learning

A Review of Rare Pion and Muon Decays

After a decade of no measurements of pion and muon rare decays, PIBETA, a new experimental program is producing its first results. We report on a new experimental study of the pion beta decay, Pi(+) -> Pi(0) e(+) Nu, the Pi(e2 gamma) radiative decay, Pi(+) -> e(+) Nu Gamma, and muon radiative decay, Mu -> e Nu Gamma. The new results represent four- to six-fold improvements in precision over the previous measurements. Excellent agreement with Standard Model predictions is observed in all channels except for one kinematic region of the Pi(e2 gamma) radiative decay involving energetic photons and lower-energy positrons.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 2 tables, invited talk presented at MESON 2004, 8th Int'l. Workshop on Meson Production, Properties and Interaction, Krakow, Poland 4-8 June 200