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Separating the effects of waves and turbulence in oceanographic time series is an ongoing challenge because surface wave motion and turbulence fluctuations can occur at overlapping frequencies. As a result, simple bandpass filters cannot effectively separate their dynamics. While more advanced decomposition techniques have been developed, they often entail restrictive assumptions about the wave and turbulence interactions, require synchronized measurements, and/or only decompose the signal spectrally without a time-series reconstruction. To overcome these restrictions, we aim to apply modern data-driven methods to this classical problem by using dynamic mode decomposition (DMD). In this study, we present our new wave-turbulence decomposition technique which uses DMD. The technique is designed to be signal-agnostic such that it can be applied to any generic time series. Our approach requires minimal tuning, where the main user input is the wave frequency range of interest. To demonstrate the method, we apply it to synthetic, field, and laboratory data, and compare the results to other published methods in the literature. We conduct a sensitivity analysis on the synthetic data and find that the most sensitive parameter to the accuracy is the rank truncation in the DMD. Additionally, because of the accuracy of our decomposition technique, we demonstrate how we are able to analyze the velocity autocorrelation of the separated turbulence time series with minimal contamination by the waves. Overall, we find that our decomposition method outperforms the other time-series decomposition methods and provides for robust separation of the waves and turbulence, demonstrating that it is a promising technique with wide application to ocean signal processing., Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures

The emission of hard X-rays associated with white dwarfs (WD) can be generated by the presence of a stellar companion either by the companion's coronal emission or by an accretion disk formed by material stripped from the companion. Recent studies have suggested that a Jupiter-like planet can also be donor of material whose accretion onto the WD can generate hard X-rays. We use the {\sc guacho} code to reproduce the conditions of this WD-planet scenario. With the example of the hard X-ray WD KPD\,0005+5106, we explore different terminal wind velocities and mass-loss rates of a donor planet for a future network of simulations to investigate the luminosity and the spectral and temporal properties of the hard X-ray emission in WD-planet systems. Our simulations show that the material stripped from the planet forms a disk and accretes onto the WD to reach temperatures high enough to generate hard X-rays as usually seen in X-ray binaries with low-mass companions. For high terminal wind velocities, the planet material does not form a disk, but it rather accretes directly onto the WD surface. The simulations reproduce the X-ray luminosity of another X-ray accreting WD (G\,29$-$38), and only for some times reaches the hard X-ray luminosity of KPD\,0005+5106. The X-ray variability is stochastic and does not reproduce the period of KPD\,0005+5106, suggesting that additional physical processes (e.g., hot spots resulting from magnetic channelling of the accreting material) need to be explored., Comment: 16 pages, 13 figures

A recent analysis of Chandra X-ray data of the metal-polluted white dwarf (WD) G29-38 has revealed X-ray emission that can be attributed to the accretion of debris from a planetary body. In the light of this detection we revisit here archival XMM-Newton observations of G29-38 from which only an upper limit was derived in the past due to the presence of a relatively bright nearby X-ray source. An analysis of these data in multiple energy bands allows disentangling the X-ray emission at the location of G29-38 from that of the nearby source. The similar spectral properties of the source in the XMM-Newton and Chandra observations and their spatial shift, consistent with the proper motion of G29-38 between these observations, strengthen the origin of that X-ray emission from G29-38. The X-ray luminosities from both observations are consistent within 1-$\sigma$ uncertainties, so too are the best-fit plasma temperatures. Although the count number is small, there is tantalizing evidence for line emission in the 0.7-0.8 keV energy band from an optically-thin hot plasma. The most likely candidate for this line emission would be the Fe complex at 16 \r{A}., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures, 1 table; accepted to ApJL

We present a comprehensive study of the ionization structure and kinematics of the planetary nebula (PN) NGC40 (a.k.a. the Bow-tie Nebula). A set of narrow-band images obtained with the ALhambra Faint Object Spectrograph and Camera (ALFOSC) at the Nordic Optical Telescope (NOT) are used to study the turbulent distribution of gas in the main cavity, the ionization stratification and the density of this PN. High-resolution Manchester Echelle Spectrograph (MES) observations obtained at 2.1m telescope of the San Pedro M\'{a}rtir (SPM) Observatory are used to unveil in great detail the kinematic signatures of all morphological features in NGC40. The images and spectra suggest that NGC40 had multiple mass ejections in its recent formation history. We found 4 jet-like ejections not aligned with the main axis of NGC40 (PA=20$^{\circ}$), some of them having pierced the main cavity along the SW-NE direction as well as the southern lobe. Using a tailor-made morpho-kinematic model of NGC40 produced with SHAPE we found that the main cavity has a kinematic age of 6,500 yr and the two pairs of lobes expanding towards the N and S directions have an averaged age of 4,100$\pm$550 yr. NGC40 thus adds to the group of PNe with multiple ejections along different axes that challenge the models of PN formation., Comment: 11 pages, 9 figures, 3 tables; Accepted to MNRAS

We present the analysis of the optical variability of the early, nitrogen-rich Wolf-Rayet (WR) star WR7. The analysis of multi-sector Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS) light curves and high-resolution spectroscopic observations confirm multi-periodic variability that is modulated on time-scales of years. We detect a dominant period of $2.6433 \pm 0.0005$ d in the TESS sectors 33 and 34 light curves in addition to the previously reported high-frequency features from sector 7. We discuss the plausible mechanisms that may be responsible for such variability in WR7, including pulsations, binarity, co-rotating interacting regions (CIRs) and clumpy winds. Given the lack of strong evidence for the presence of a stellar or compact companion, we suggest that WR7 may pulsate in quasi-coherent modes in addition to wind variability likely caused by CIRs on top of stochastic low-frequency variability. WR7 is certainly a worthy target for future monitoring in both spectroscopy and photometry to sample both the short ($\lesssim 1$ d) and long ($\gtrsim 1000$ d) variability time scales., Comment: 9 pages, 5 Figures, 1 Table; Accepted to MNRAS

We present an infrared (IR) characterization of the born-again planetary nebulae (PNe) A30 and A78 using IR images and spectra. We demonstrate that the carbon-rich dust in A30 and A78 is spatially coincident with the H-poor ejecta and coexists with hot X-ray-emitting gas up to distances of 50$''$ from the central stars (CSPNs). Dust forms immediately after the born-again event and survives for 1000 yr in the harsh environment around the CSPN as it is destroyed and pushed away by radiation pressure and dragged by hydrodynamical effects. Spitzer IRS spectral maps showed that the broad spectral features at 6.4 and 8.0 $\mu$m, attributed to amorphous carbon formed in H-deficient environments, are associated with the disrupted disk around their CSPN, providing an optimal environment for charge exchange reactions with the stellar wind that produces the soft X-ray emission of these sources. Nebular and dust properties are modeled for A30 with Cloudy taking into account different carbonaceous dust species. Our models predict dust temperatures in the 40-230 K range, five times lower than predicted by previous works. Gas and dust masses for the born-again ejecta in A30 are estimated to be $M_\mathrm{gas}=(4.41^{+0.55}_{-0.14})\times10^{-3}$ M$_\odot$ and $M_\mathrm{dust}=(3.20^{+3.21}_{-2.06})\times10^{-3}$ M$_\odot$, which can be used to estimate a total ejected mass and mass-loss rate for the born-again event of $(7.61^{+3.76}_{-2.20})\times10^{-3}$ M$_{\odot}$ and $\dot{M}=[5-60]\times10^{-5}$ M$_{\odot}$ yr$^{-1}$, respectively. Taking into account the carbon trapped into dust grains, we estimate that the C/O mass ratio of the H-poor ejecta of A30 is larger than 1, which favors the very late thermal pulse model over the alternate hypothesis of a nova-like event., Comment: 14 pages, 11 Figures, 1 Table; Accepted to MNRAS

We present the analysis of XMM-Newton European Photon Imaging Camera (EPIC) observations of the nova shell IPHASX J210204.7$+$471015. We detect X-ray emission from the progenitor binary star with properties that resemble those of underluminous intermediate polars such as DQ Her: an X-ray-emitting plasma with temperature of $T_\mathrm{X}=(6.4\pm3.1)\times10^{6}$ K, a non-thermal X-ray component, and an estimated X-ray luminosity of $L_\mathrm{X}=10^{30}$ erg s$^{-1}$. Time series analyses unveil the presence of two periods, the dominant with a period of $2.9\pm0.2$ hr, which might be attributed to the spin of the white dwarf, and a secondary of $4.5\pm0.6$ hr that is in line with the orbital period of the binary system derived from optical observations. We do not detect extended X-ray emission as in other nova shells probably due to its relatively old age (130-170 yr) or to its asymmetric disrupted morphology which is suggestive of explosion scenarios different to the symmetric ones assumed in available numerical simulations of nova explosions., Comment: 6 pages and 5 Figures; Accepted to MNRAS

We present a highly efficient blind restoration method to remove mild blur in natural images. Contrary to the mainstream, we focus on removing slight blur that is often present, damaging image quality and commonly generated by small out-of-focus, lens blur, or slight camera motion. The proposed algorithm first estimates image blur and then compensates for it by combining multiple applications of the estimated blur in a principled way. To estimate blur we introduce a simple yet robust algorithm based on empirical observations about the distribution of the gradient in sharp natural images. Our experiments show that, in the context of mild blur, the proposed method outperforms traditional and modern blind deblurring methods and runs in a fraction of the time. Our method can be used to blindly correct blur before applying off-the-shelf deep super-resolution methods leading to superior results than other highly complex and computationally demanding techniques. The proposed method estimates and removes mild blur from a 12MP image on a modern mobile phone in a fraction of a second.

Understanding the role of disorder and the correlations that exist within it, is one of the defining challenges in contemporary materials science. However, there are few material systems, devoid of other complex interactions, which can be used to systematically study the effects of crystallographic conflict on correlated disorder. Here, we report extensive diffuse x-ray scattering studies on the epitaxially stabilised alloy $\mbox{U}_{1-x}\mbox{Mo}_x$, showing that a new form of intrinsically tuneable correlated disorder arises from a mismatch between the preferred symmetry of a crystallographic basis and the lattice upon which it is arranged. Furthermore, combining grazing incidence inelastic x-ray scattering and state-of-the-art ab initio molecular dynamics simulations we discover strong disorder-phonon coupling. This breaks global symmetry and dramatically suppresses phonon-lifetimes compared to alloying alone, providing an additional design strategy for phonon engineering. These findings have implications wherever crystallographic conflict can be accommodated and may be exploited in the development of future functional materials., Comment: V3: Some supplementary content moved into main text and manuscript structure reformatted to accommodate. No substantive change to transferred material but linking statements added. Section III discussion expanded by one paragraph. No change to results, figures, or conclusions in either the main manuscript or supplementary material. Main text: 10 pg, 7 figs. SM: 14 pg, 5 figs, 1 table

Deep learning has the potential to automate echocardiogram analysis for early detection of heart disease. Based on a qualitative analysis of design concerns, this study suggests that predicting normal heart function instead of disease accounts for data quality bias and significantly increases efficiency in cardiologists' workflows., Comment: 2.5 pages, ICML 2020 Machine Learning for Global Health Workshop

We present a framework for interactive design of new image stylizations using a wide range of predefined filter blocks. Both novel and off-the-shelf image filtering and rendering techniques are extended and combined to allow the user to unleash their creativity to intuitively invent, modify, and tune new styles from a given set of filters. In parallel to this manual design, we propose a novel procedural approach that automatically assembles sequences of filters, leading to unique and novel styles. An important aim of our framework is to allow for interactive exploration and design, as well as to enable videos and camera streams to be stylized on the fly. In order to achieve this real-time performance, we use the \textit{Best Linear Adaptive Enhancement} (BLADE) framework -- an interpretable shallow machine learning method that simulates complex filter blocks in real time. Our representative results include over a dozen styles designed using our interactive tool, a set of styles created procedurally, and new filters trained with our BLADE approach., Comment: 14 pages, 22 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:1712.06654

Could we compress images via standard codecs while avoiding visible artifacts? The answer is obvious -- this is doable as long as the bit budget is generous enough. What if the allocated bit-rate for compression is insufficient? Then unfortunately, artifacts are a fact of life. Many attempts were made over the years to fight this phenomenon, with various degrees of success. In this work we aim to break the unholy connection between bit-rate and image quality, and propose a way to circumvent compression artifacts by pre-editing the incoming image and modifying its content to fit the given bits. We design this editing operation as a learned convolutional neural network, and formulate an optimization problem for its training. Our loss takes into account a proximity between the original image and the edited one, a bit-budget penalty over the proposed image, and a no-reference image quality measure for forcing the outcome to be visually pleasing. The proposed approach is demonstrated on the popular JPEG compression, showing savings in bits and/or improvements in visual quality, obtained with intricate editing effects.

This paper provides an overview of the current and near-future applications of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in Medicine and Health Care and presents a classification according to their ethical and societal aspects, potential benefits and pitfalls, and issues that can be considered controversial and are not deeply discussed in the literature. This work is based on an analysis of the state of the art of research and technology, including existing software, personal monitoring devices, genetic tests and editing tools, personalized digital models, online platforms, augmented reality devices, and surgical and companion robotics. Motivated by our review, we present and describe the notion of 'extended personalized medicine', we then review existing applications of AI in medicine and healthcare and explore the public perception of medical AI systems, and how they show, simultaneously, extraordinary opportunities and drawbacks that even question fundamental medical concepts. Many of these topics coincide with urgent priorities recently defined by the World Health Organization for the coming decade. In addition, we study the transformations of the roles of doctors and patients in an age of ubiquitous information, identify the risk of a division of Medicine into 'fake-based', 'patient-generated', and 'scientifically tailored', and draw the attention of some aspects that need further thorough analysis and public debate.

Compared to DSLR cameras, smartphone cameras have smaller sensors, which limits their spatial resolution; smaller apertures, which limits their light gathering ability; and smaller pixels, which reduces their signal-to noise ratio. The use of color filter arrays (CFAs) requires demosaicing, which further degrades resolution. In this paper, we supplant the use of traditional demosaicing in single-frame and burst photography pipelines with a multiframe super-resolution algorithm that creates a complete RGB image directly from a burst of CFA raw images. We harness natural hand tremor, typical in handheld photography, to acquire a burst of raw frames with small offsets. These frames are then aligned and merged to form a single image with red, green, and blue values at every pixel site. This approach, which includes no explicit demosaicing step, serves to both increase image resolution and boost signal to noise ratio. Our algorithm is robust to challenging scene conditions: local motion, occlusion, or scene changes. It runs at 100 milliseconds per 12-megapixel RAW input burst frame on mass-produced mobile phones. Specifically, the algorithm is the basis of the Super-Res Zoom feature, as well as the default merge method in Night Sight mode (whether zooming or not) on Google's flagship phone., Comment: 24 pages, accepted to Siggraph 2019 Technical Papers program

Traditionally, signal classification is a process in which previous knowledge of the signals is needed. Human experts decide which features are extracted from the signals, and used as inputs to the classification system. This requirement can make significant unknown information of the signal be missed by the experts and not be included in the features. This paper proposes a new method that automatically analyses the signals and extracts the features without any human participation. Therefore, there is no need for previous knowledge about the signals to be classified. The proposed method is based on Genetic Programming and, in order to test this method, it has been applied to a well-known EEG database related to epilepsy, a disease suffered by millions of people. As the results section shows, high accuracies in classification are obtained, Comment: Conference paper, doble-column, 7 pages, 1 figure, 3 tables

Signaling proteins are an important topic in drug development due to the increased importance of finding fast, accurate and cheap methods to evaluate new molecular targets involved in specific diseases. The complexity of the protein structure hinders the direct association of the signaling activity with the molecular structure. Therefore, the proposed solution involves the use of protein star graphs for the peptide sequence information encoding into specific topological indices calculated with S2SNet tool. The Quantitative Structure-Activity Relationship classification model obtained with Machine Learning techniques is able to predict new signaling peptides. The best classification model is the first signaling prediction model, which is based on eleven descriptors and it was obtained using the Support Vector Machines - Recursive Feature Elimination (SVM-RFE) technique with the Laplacian kernel (RFE-LAP) and an AUROC of 0.961. Testing a set of 3114 proteins of unknown function from the PDB database assessed the prediction performance of the model. Important signaling pathways are presented for three UniprotIDs (34 PDBs) with a signaling prediction greater than 98.0%., Comment: 19 pages, 6 figures, 3 tables

Data mining and data classification over biomedical data are two of the most important research fields in computer science. Among the great diversity of techniques that can be used for this purpose, Artifical Neural Networks (ANNs) is one of the most suited. One of the main problems in the development of this technique is the slow performance of the full process. Traditionally, in this development process, human experts are needed to experiment with different architectural procedures until they find the one that presents the correct results for solving a specific problem. However, many studies have emerged in which different ANN developmental techniques, more or less automated, are described. In this paper, the authors have focused on developing a new technique to perform this process over biomedical data. The new technique is described in which two Evolutionary Computation (EC) techniques are mixed to automatically develop ANNs. These techniques are Genetic Algorithms and Genetic Programming. The work goes further, and the system described here allows to obtain simplified networks with a low number of neurons to resolve the problems. The system is compared with the already existent system which also uses EC over a set of well-known problems. The conclusions reached from these comparisons indicate that this new system produces very good results, which in the worst case are at least comparable to existing techniques and in many cases are substantially better., Comment: 48 pages, 9 figures, 17 tables

We formulate and prove a criterion for reducibility of a quadratic polynomial over the integers. The main theorem was suggested by the teaching experience with the concrete material called "the polynomial box". Through the corollaries we relate our theorem and the use of concrete material with some well know factoring methods for quadratic polynomial with integer coeficients.

For $p$ a prime number and $\mathscr{P}$ a $p$-equipped finite partially ordered set we construct two different right-peak algebras (in the sense of \cite{KS}) $\Lambda^{(r)}$ and $\Lambda^{(c)}$. We consider the category $\mathcal{U}^{(r)}$ $\left(\mathcal{U}^{(c)}\right)$ consisting of the finitely generated right $\Lambda^{(r)}$-modules ($\Lambda^{(c)}$-modules) which are socle-projective. The categories $\mathcal{U}^{(r)}$ and $\mathcal{U}^{(c)}$ have almost split sequences. We describe he Auslander-Reiten components $\mathcal{C}_{\mathcal{U}}^{(r)}$ and $\mathcal{C}_{\mathcal{U}}^{(c)}$ of the corresponding simple projective modules in $\mathcal{U}^{(r)}$ and $\mathcal{U}^{(c)}$. Then we prove that there is a bijective correspondence between $\mathcal{C}_{\mathcal{U}}^{(r)}$ and $\mathcal{C}_{\mathcal{U}}^{(c)}$, although the corresponding almost split sequences have different shapes.

Integrating land use, travel demand, and traffic models represents a gold standard for regional planning, but is rarely achieved in a meaningful way, especially at the scale of disaggregate data. In this paper, we present a new architecture for modular microsimulation of urban land use, travel demand, and traffic assignment. UrbanSim is an open-source microsimulation platform used by metropolitan planning organizations worldwide for modeling the growth and development of cities over long (~30 year) time horizons. ActivitySim is an agent-based modeling platform that produces synthetic origin-destination travel demand data, developed from the UrbanSim model and software framework. For traffic assignment, we have integrated two approaches. The first is a static user equilibrium approach that is used as a benchmark. The second is a traffic microsimulation approach that we have highly parallelized to run on a GPU in order to enable full-model microsimulation of agents through the entire modeling workflow. This paper introduces this research agenda, describes this project's achievements so far in developing this modular platform, and outlines further research., Comment: Paper presented at the Symposium on Applied Urban Modelling. Cambridge, England. June 27-29, 2018. arXiv admin note: substantial text overlap with arXiv:1802.09335

We present a system to convert any set of images (e.g., a video clip or a photo album) into a storyboard. We aim to create multiple pleasing graphic representations of the content at interactive rates, so the user can explore and find the storyboard (images, layout, and stylization) that best suits their needs and taste. The main challenges of this work are: selecting the content images, placing them into panels, and applying a stylization. For the latter, we propose an interactive design tool to create new stylizations using a wide range of filter blocks. This approach unleashes the creativity by allowing the user to tune, modify, and intuitively design new sequences of filters. In parallel to this manual design, we propose a novel procedural approach that automatically assembles sequences of filters for innovative results. We aim to keep the algorithm complexity as low as possible such that it can run interactively on a mobile device. Our results include examples of styles designed using both our interactive and procedural tools, as well as their final composition into interesting and appealing storyboards., Comment: 10 pages, 12 figures

The Rapid and Accurate Image Super Resolution (RAISR) method of Romano, Isidoro, and Milanfar is a computationally efficient image upscaling method using a trained set of filters. We describe a generalization of RAISR, which we name Best Linear Adaptive Enhancement (BLADE). This approach is a trainable edge-adaptive filtering framework that is general, simple, computationally efficient, and useful for a wide range of problems in computational photography. We show applications to operations which may appear in a camera pipeline including denoising, demosaicing, and stylization.

Recent enhancements of deep convolutional neural networks (ConvNets) empowered by enormous amounts of labeled data have closed the gap with human performance for many object recognition tasks. These impressive results have generated interest in understanding and visualization of ConvNets. In this work, we study the effect of background in the task of image classification. Our results show that changing the backgrounds of the training datasets can have drastic effects on testing accuracies. Furthermore, we enhance existing augmentation techniques with the foreground segmented objects. The findings of this work are important in increasing the accuracies when only a small dataset is available, in creating datasets, and creating synthetic images., Comment: 8 pages, 7 figures

The seek for the best quality of service has led Cloud infrastructure clients to disseminate their services, contents and data over multiple cloud data-centers often involving several Cloud Service Providers (CSPs). The consequence of this is that a large amount of bytes must be transmitted across the public Cloud. However, very little is known about its bandwidth dynamics. To address this, we have conducted a measurement campaign for bandwidth between eighteen data-centers of four major CSPs. Such extensive campaign allowed us to characterize the resulting time series of bandwidth as the addition of a stationary component and some infrequent excursions (typically, downtimes). While the former provides a description of the bandwidth users can expect in the Cloud, the latter is closely related to the robustness of the Cloud (i.e., the occurrence of downtimes is correlated). Both components have been studied further by applying a factor analysis, specifically ANOVA, as a mechanism to formally compare data-centers' behaviors and extract generalities. The results show that the stationary process is closely related to data-center locations and CSPs involved in transfers, which fortunately makes both the Cloud more predictable and the set of reported measurements extrapolate. On the other hand, although the correlation in the Cloud is low, i.e., only 10% of the measured pair of paths showed some correlation, we have found evidence that such correlation depends on the particular relationships between pairs of data-centers with little link to more general factors. Positively, this implies that data-centers either at the same area or CSP do not show qualitatively more correlation than others data-centers, which eases the deployment of robust infrastructures. On the downside, this metric is barely generalizable and, consequently, calls for exhaustive monitoring.

We introduce partially ordered sets (posets) with an additional structure given by a collection of vector subspaces of an algebra $A$. We call them algebraically equipped posets. Some particular cases of these, are generalized equipped posets and $p$-equipped posets, for a prime number $p$. We study their categories of representations and establish equivalences with some module categories, categories of morphisms and a subcategory of representations of a differential tensor algebra. Through this, we obtain matrix representations and its corresponding matrix classification problem.

During the last years some interesting experimental results have been reported for experiments in N20, N0 , N0 dimer , H2 , Toluene and BaFCH3 cluster. The main result consists in the observation of molecular beam depletion when the molecules of a pulsed beam interact with a static electric or magnetic field and an oscillating field (RF). In these cases, and as a main difference, instead of using four fields as in the original technique developed by I.I. Rabi and others, only two fields, those which configure the resonant unit, are used. That is, without using the nonhomogeneous magnetic fields. The depletion explanation for I.I. Rabi and others is based in the interaction between the molecular electric or magnetic dipole moment and the non-homogeneous fields. But, obviously, the change in the molecules trajectories observed on these new experiments has to be explained without considering the force provided by the field gradient because it happens without using non-homogeneous fields. In this paper a theoretical way for the explanation of these new experimental results is presented. One important point emerges as a result of this development, namely, the existence of an until now unknown, spin-dependent force, which would be responsible of the aforementioned deviation of the molecules

It has been observed that the trajectory of a H2 molecular beam is modified as it passes through a homogeneous magnetic field and an oscillating magnetic field. Based on this observation, this work describes a new method to determine the magnetic moment of atoms and molecules with internal angular momentum. This new method is similar to that used in the Molecular Beam Magnetic Resonance (MBMR) but 'it does not employ' the inhomogeneous fields A and B. Results shown here are in agreement with the theory of the motion of systems with internal angular momentum developed by M.Dorado. Furthermore, in this work the transition mechanism given by I.I. Rabi and N.F. Ramsey is reviewed and completed with the introduction of nutation frequency and shaking effect., Comment: PACS number(s): 32.60.+i, 33.55.Be

An analysis of the optical response of periodically arrayed monolayers composed of dielectric spheres with low refractive index is herein presented. The reflectance spectra of two-dimensional square and triangular lattices are obtained by means of the vector Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method, both spectra showing very similar qualitative features for photon energies below the onset of diffraction spots. In this energy region, the same number of peaks of unitary amplitude in the reflectance spectra are predicted for both kinds of monolayers, suggesting that this must be a universal feature independent of the particular geometry of the lattice. The origin of these high reflectance peaks is investigated. It is found that the resonances of TM and TE modes due to dipolar, quadrupolar and octupolar interaction inside the monolayer are largely responsible for the peak structure observed in the reflectance spectra., Comment: 22 pages, 7 figures

Using the Hamiltonian formulation, we have attempted to obtain the equations of motion of systems with internal angular momentum that are moving with respect to a reference system when subjected to an interaction. This interaction involves the application of a torque that is permanently perpendicular to the internal angular momentum vector., Comment: 15 pages

In this work, we put forward a theoretical explanation of a peculiar effect found very recently (A. Gonzalez Urena et al., Chem. Phys. Lett. 341 (2001) 495). They have observed the deflection of a beam of molecules posessing a permanent electric dipole moment by a homogeneous electric field when a resonant oscillating field is superposed transverse to the static one., Comment: Latex, 2 ps figures, corrected some typos, reference added

Using Euler's equations of motion and the Hamiltonian formulation, we obtain the equations of motion of systems with internal angular momentum that are moving with respect to a given reference frame, when subjected to a torque which is permanently perpendicular to the angular momentum vector., Comment: Latex, 15 postscript figures

A free-parameter linear-combination-of-atomic-orbitals approach is presented for analyzing the stopping power of slow ions moving in a metal. The method is applied to the case of He moving in alkali metals. Mean stopping powers for He present a good agreement with local-density-approximation calculations. Our results show important variations in the stopping power of channeled atoms with respect to their mean values., Comment: LATEX, 3 PostScript Figures attached. Total size 0.54 M

The National Council for Occupational Education (NCOE) and the Community College Humanities Association established the Shared Vision Task Force to examine the potential contributions of the humanities to occupational degree programs. In an effort to implement Task Force findings, NCOE selected the following five institutions to plan and implement model integrated humanities and occupational curricula: Clackamas Community College, in Oregon; Eastern Iowa Community College; El Paso Community College, in Texas; Seminole Community College, in Florida; and Southern Maine Technical College. The first year of the two-year project focused on planning and revising curricula for both humanities and occupational courses, while the second year focused on implementing and evaluating the curricula. Each site determined which occupational program it would revise and received funds for two semesters of release time for two faculty members, one from the humanities and one from a technical program. Evaluations were conducted of both project implementations through site visits and student outcomes via skills assessment instruments. Findings indicated that Southern Maine and Eastern Iowa were the most successful at integrating technical and humanities curricula, and that institutions with successful integration had increases in student performance. A handbook for Task Force consultants, a report of the contributions of the humanities to education, Task Force recommendations, a model site evaluation checklist, and a student awareness and skill assessment instrument are appended. (MAB)

Historically, spacecraft reaction control systems have primarily utilized cold gas thrusters because of their inherent simplicity and reliability. However, cold gas thrusters typically have a low specific impulse. It has been determined that a higher specific impulse can be achieved by passing a monopropellant fluid mixture through a catalyst bed prior to expulsion through the thruster nozzle. This research analyzes the potential efficiency improvements from using tri-gas, a mixture of hydrogen, oxygen, and an inert gas, which in this case is helium. Passing tri-gas through a catalyst causes the hydrogen and oxygen to react and form water vapor, ultimately heating the exiting fluid and generating a higher specific impulse. The goal of this project was to optimize the thruster performance by characterizing the effects of varying several system components including catalyst types, catalyst lengths, and initial catalyst temperatures.

Designed to assist adult basic education (ABE) teachers and administrators in coping with learning disabled adults, Project BEST (Better Educational Services through Testing) centered on training selected Kansas adult educators in the use of a prescriptive-diagnostic tool for evaluating adults, on providing these teachers with the most current research and theory on adult learning disabilities, and on providing Kansas with lead instructors and resource specialists in the area of adult learning disabilities. These objectives were reached through several activities, including two training sessions conducted by an adult learning specialist; hands-on training experience with the London Procedure (Weisel 1979); provision of practice in field testing, profile analysis, and written individual education programs (IEPs); and programs providing exposure to a wide variety of information on adult learning disabilities. The results of the training efforts were measured by a pre-test and post-test questionnaire designed to measure trainees' knowledge of learning disabilities as well as clues to visual and auditory problems. Project BEST has laid the groundwork for a statewide learning disabilities awareness program. Furthermore, the project participants are now able to serve as lead instructors and resource personnel for a statewide instructional program. (MN)

A multimedia, self-paced, individualized instructional program was designed to meet the needs of students in air conditioning, refrigeration, and heating programs at Oil Belt Vocational Technical School (Arkansas). The multimedia approach provided for video-based presentations to meet the needs for visual contact with the classroom and for efficient presentation of visual resources. Self-paced learning packets were developed using a 16-step process, beginning with the acquisition of equipment, identification of resources, taping of presentations, identification of step-by-step procedures to be followed by students, and monitoring and evaluation of use of materials developed. Two complete courses were developed in the self-paced, individualized format, but use of the courses has been limited. The procedure identified for developing learning materials and for managing the learning process serves as a guide for other instructors. The equipment and expertise developed through the project has benefited instructors in creating lessons for reinforcement and for more challenge to students. Although learning materials developed are expected to be helpful, the project was not as successful as expected because of the quality of instructors used as presenters, the time required of the instructors to plan and produce visual materials, and the difficulty encountered in transferring one-on-one training to a written, individualized program. (Two thirds of the document consists of appendices containing written materials for the self-paced learning program, such as job sheets, tests, and answer sheets, and program budget.) (KC)

Although the completion of an associate degree at a public community college in Kansas fulfills the lower division requirements for universities in the state, transfer students frequently encounter deficits in requirements for specific baccalaureate degrees and/or programs due to the lack of program integration and problems of transferability of credit. At Butler County Community College (BCCC), a project was developed to clarify some of these problems and to alleviate student fears. First, a contact person was located at each of the state-supported universities to serve as a communications link with BCCC project staff. Next, a complete evaluation by the universities of BCCC catalog listings was requested. Then, program sheets were prepared listing university program requirements and BCCC equivalencies, and copies were sent to the university contact person for correction and approval. Additionally, contacts were asked for general information on transfer requirements and admissions procedures. Finally, the information and program sheets were compiled in a notebook and distributed to appropriate advisors and administrators, as well as made available to students and high school counselors. Although several difficulties were encountered in establishing communications and preparing the program sheets, the project has great potential for helping students reach specific goals and for recruitment. Sample program sheets are included. (HB)

Developed as part of an evaluation of the feasibility of establishing a continuing education program for nursing home staff at Butler County Community College (BCCC), this report provides an overview of continuing education in the field at national, state, and local levels. Section I introduces the demographic, social, and economic trends that necessitate improved and extended continuing education for nursing home staff. Section II examines the status of nursing home continuing education on a national level, pointing to three types of staffing problems: insufficient staff-to-patient ratio, high turnover, and lack of training. Section III provides a statewide focus on nursing homes in Kansas; recent state regulations for the certification of nursing home personnel; statewide program offerings for various job categories; procedures for developing approved courses; and initial training programs and continuing education opportunities. Section IV presents findings from studies to assess the need for a continuing education program at BCCC, based on survey responses from nursing homes in the catchment area. Information is provided on: (1) the responsibilities and educational needs of nursing home administrators, directors of nursing, activity directors, dietitians, registered and licensed practical nurses, nurses aides, medication aides, restorative aides, and social service designees; (2) jobs in which turnover was of most concern; (3) staffing patterns; and (4) recommended emphases of a continuing education program at BCCC. (LAL)