Measurement of sensitivities for the thermal recording of laser beams

A simple technique for determining the energy sensitivities for the thermographic recording of laser beams is described. The principle behind this technique is that, if a laser beam with a known spatial distribution such as a Gaussian profile is used for imaging, the radius of the thermal image formed depends uniquely on the intensity of the impinging beam. Thus by measuring the radii of the images produced for different incident beam intensities the minimum intensity necessary (that is, the threshold) for thermographic imaging is found. The diameter of the laser beam can also be found from this measurement. A simple analysis based on the temperature distribution in the laser heated material shows that there is an inverse square root dependence on pulse duration or period of exposure for the energy fluence of the laser beam required, both for the threshold and the subsequent increase in the size of the recording. It has also been shown that except for low intensity, long duration exposure on very low conductivity materials, heat losses are not very significant.

Quantization noise in binary holograms

The signal-to-noise (S/N) ratio in the reconstructed image from a binary hologram has been quantitatively related to the amplitude and phase quantization levels. The S/N ratio increases monotonically with increasing number of quantization levels. This observation is further supported by experimental results.

Nanoindentation study on germania-doped silica glass preforms: evidence for the compaction-densification model of photosensitivity

Nanoindentation technique was employed to measure the changes in mechanical properties of a glass preform subjected to different levels of UV exposure. The results reveal that short-term exposure leads to an appreciable increase in the Young's modulus (E), suggesting the densification of the glass, confirming the compaction-densification model. However, on prolonged exposure, E decreases, which provides what we believe to be the first direct evidence of dilation in the glass leading into the Type IIA regime. The present results rule out the hypothesis that continued exposure leads to an irreversible compaction and prove that index modulation regimes are intrinsic to the glass matrix.

Resistance Minimum in Dilute Magnetic Alloys in the Absence of Impurity Moments

A possible mechanism for the resistance minimum in dilute alloys in which the localized impurity states are non-magnetic is suggested. The fact is considered that what is essential to the Kondo-like behaviour is the interaction of the conduction electron spin s with the internal dynamical degrees of freedom of the impurity centre. The necessary internal dynamical degrees of freedom are provided by the dynamical Jahn-Teller effect associated with the degenerate 3d-orbitals of the transition-metal impurities interacting with the surrounding (octahedral) complex of the nearest-neighbour atoms. The fictitious spin I characterizing certain low-lying vibronic states of the system is shown to couple with the conduction electron spin s via s-d mixing and spin-orbit coupling, giving rise to a singular temperature-dependent exchange-like interaction. The resistivity so calculated is in fair agreement with the experimental results of Cape and Hake for Ti containing 0.2 at% of Fe.

Effect of fourier domain quantization on matched filtering

It is shown that the use of a coarsely quantized binary digital hologram as a matched filter on an optical computer does not degrade signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) appreciably.

The jump in vorticity across a shock wave in relativistic hydrodynamics

Using the singular surface theory, an expression for the jump in vorticity across a shock wave of arbitrary shape propagating in a uniform, perfect fluid occupying the space-time of special relativity, has been derived. It has been shown that the jump in vorticity across a shock of given strength and curvature depends only on the velocity of the medium ahead of the shock.

An algebraic approach to the restoration of images

Two different matrix algorithms are described for the restoration of blurred pictures. These are illustrated by numerical examples.

Symmetries and constraints in generalized Hamiltonian dynamics

A general analysis of symmetries and constraints for singular Lagrangian systems is given. It is shown that symmetry transformations can be expressed as canonical transformations in phase space, even for such systems. The relation of symmetries to generators, constraints, commutators, and Dirac brackets is clarified.

Pimeä hehku : Satanismi ja saatananpalvonta 1990-luvun suomalaisessa nuorisokulttuurissa

Satanism in the Finnish Youth Culture of the 1990s The aim of this study was to investigate Satanism among Finnish youth in the 1990s. Thematic interviews of young Finnish Satanists are the basic material of this study. The research employs a theoretical framework derived from narrative psychology and the role-theoretical thinking of Dan P. McAdams. The young Satanists in Finland have been divided into two different groups: the criminal and drug using "devil-worshipping gangs"; and the more educated and philosophically oriented "Satanists" (Heino 1993). What can we say about this division? In the 1990s around Finland, there were young people calling themselves as devil- worshippers (either singular or in groups). They were strongly committed to a mythical devilish and cosmic battle, which they believed was going on in this world. They had problems with their mental health, also in their family socialization and peer groups. In their personal attitudes they were either active fighters or passive tramps. There were also rationally oriented young Satanists, that were ritually active and mainly atheistic. They strongly expressed their personal experiences of being individual and of being different than others. In their personal attitudes they were critical fighters and active survivors. They saw their lives through the satanistic 'finding-oneself experience'. They understood themselves as a "postmodern tribe" (Michel Maffesoli's sosiocultural concept): their sense of themselves was that of a dynamic collectivity which is social, dynamic, nonlocal and mythically historical. Death and black metal culture in the 1990s formed a common space for youth culture, where young individuals could work out their feelings and express their attitudes to life using dark satanic themes and symbols. The sense of "otherness" (also other than satanic) and collective demands for authenticity were essential tools that were used for identity work here. Personal disengagement from satanic/satanistic groups were observed to be gradual or quite rapid. Religious conversions back-and-forth also accured. At the end of the 1990s all off satanism in Finland bore a negative devil-worshipping stigma. Ritual homicide in South-Finland (Kerava/Hyvinkää) was connected to Satanism, which then became unpopular both in the personal life stories and alternative youth cultural circles at the beginning of the 2000s.

Automatic detection of diabetic foot complications with infrared thermography by asymmetric analysis

Early identification of diabetic foot complications and their precursors is essential in preventing their devastating consequences, such as foot infection and amputation. Frequent, automatic risk assessment by an intelligent telemedicine system might be feasible and cost effective. Infrared thermography is a promising modality for such a system. The temperature differences between corresponding areas on contralateral feet are the clinically significant parameters. This asymmetric analysis is hindered by (1) foot segmentation errors, especially when the foot temperature and the ambient temperature are comparable, and by (2) different shapes and sizes between contralateral feet due to deformities or minor amputations. To circumvent the first problem, we used a color image and a thermal image acquired synchronously. Foot regions, detected in the color image, were rigidly registered to the thermal image. This resulted in 97.8% ± 1.1% sensitivity and 98.4% ± 0.5% specificity over 76 high-risk diabetic patients with manual annotation as a reference. Nonrigid landmark-based registration with Bsplines solved the second problem. Corresponding points in the two feet could be found regardless of the shapes and sizes of the feet. With that, the temperature difference of the left and right feet could be obtained.

Statistical analysis of spectral data: A methodology for designing an intelligent monitoring system for the diabetic foot

Early detection of (pre-)signs of ulceration on a diabetic foot is valuable for clinical practice. Hyperspectral imaging is a promising technique for detection and classification of such (pre-)signs. However, the number of the spectral bands should be limited to avoid overfitting, which is critical for pixel classification with hyperspectral image data. The goal was to design a detector/classifier based on spectral imaging (SI) with a small number of optical bandpass filters. The performance and stability of the design were also investigated. The selection of the bandpass filters boils down to a feature selection problem. A dataset was built, containing reflectance spectra of 227 skin spots from 64 patients, measured with a spectrometer. Each skin spot was annotated manually by clinicians as "healthy" or a specific (pre-)sign of ulceration. Statistical analysis on the data set showed the number of required filters is between 3 and 7, depending on additional constraints on the filter set. The stability analysis revealed that shot noise was the most critical factor affecting the classification performance. It indicated that this impact could be avoided in future SI systems with a camera sensor whose saturation level is higher than 106, or by postimage processing.

Diurnal variation of anterior scleral and conjunctival thickness

Purpose To examine whether anterior scleral and conjunctival thickness undergoes significant diurnal variation over a 24-hour period. Methods Nineteen healthy young adults (mean age 22 ± 2 years) with minimal refractive error (mean spherical equivalent refraction -0.08 ± 0.39 D), had measures of anterior scleral and conjunctival thickness collected using anterior segment optical coherence tomography (AS-OCT) at seven measurement sessions over a 24-hour period. The thickness of the temporal anterior sclera and conjunctiva were determined at 6 locations (each separated by 0.5 mm) at varying distances from the scleral spur for each subject at each measurement session. Results Both the anterior sclera and conjunctiva were found to undergo significant diurnal variations in thickness over a 24-hour period (both p <0.01). The sclera and conjunctiva exhibited a similar pattern of diurnal change, with a small magnitude thinning observed close to midday, and a larger magnitude thickening observed in the early morning immediately after waking. The amplitude of diurnal thickness change was larger in the conjunctiva (mean amplitude 69 ± 29 μm) compared to the sclera (21 ± 8 μm). The conjunctiva exhibited its smallest magnitude of change at the scleral spur location (mean amplitude 56 ± 17 μm) whereas the sclera exhibited its largest magnitude of change at this location (52 ± 21 μm). Conclusions This study provides the first evidence of diurnal variations occurring in the thickness of the anterior sclera and conjunctiva. Studies requiring precise measures of these anatomical layers should therefore take time of day into consideration. The majority of the observed changes occurred in the early morning immediately after waking and were of larger magnitude in the conjunctiva compared to the sclera. Thickness changes at other times of the day were of smaller magnitude and generally not statistically significant.

Tissue thickness calculation in ocular optical coherence tomography

Thickness measurements derived from optical coherence tomography (OCT) images of the eye are a fundamental clinical and research metric, since they provide valuable information regarding the eye’s anatomical and physiological characteristics, and can assist in the diagnosis and monitoring of numerous ocular conditions. Despite the importance of these measurements, limited attention has been given to the methods used to estimate thickness in OCT images of the eye. Most current studies employing OCT use an axial thickness metric, but there is evidence that axial thickness measures may be biased by tilt and curvature of the image. In this paper, standard axial thickness calculations are compared with a variety of alternative metrics for estimating tissue thickness. These methods were tested on a data set of wide-field chorio-retinal OCT scans (field of view (FOV) 60° x 25°) to examine their performance across a wide region of interest and to demonstrate the potential effect of curvature of the posterior segment of the eye on the thickness estimates. Similarly, the effect of image tilt was systematically examined with the same range of proposed metrics. The results demonstrate that image tilt and curvature of the posterior segment can affect axial tissue thickness calculations, while alternative metrics, which are not biased by these effects, should be considered. This study demonstrates the need to consider alternative methods to calculate tissue thickness in order to avoid measurement error due to image tilt and curvature.

Discontinuities in an arbitrarily moving gas in special relativity

Singular surface theory and ray theory are used to study the propagation of a weak discontinuity in an arbitrarily moving gas within the framework of special relativity. A differential equation is obtained describing the variation of the strength of the discontinuity along rays.

Korteweg-De Vries Equation for Non-Linear Ion-Acoustic Waves in a Plasma with Negative Ions

The theoretical analysis, based on the perturbation technique, of ion-acoustic waves in the vicinity of a Korteweg-de Vries (K-dV) equation derived in a plasma with some negative ions has been made. The investigation shows that the negative ions in plasma with isothermal electrons introduced a critical concentration at which the ion-acoustic wave plays an important role of wave-breaking and forming a precursor while the plasma with non-isothermal electrons has no such singular behaviour of the wave. These two distinct features of ion waves lead to an overall different approach of present study of ion-waves. A distinct feature of non-uniform transition from the nonisothermal case to isothermal case has been shown. Few particular plasma models have been chosen to show the characteristics behaviour of the ion-waves existing in different cases