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#youareunique #except Your #brainwave #patterns Are also found in the center of stars. Perhaps black holes too. We are #photons #light #true-Mq6ujuiv1ar.mp4 youareunique except Your brainwave patterns Are also found in the center of stars Perhaps black holes too We are photons light true Mq6ujuiv1ar mp4 youareunique except brainwave patterns photons light true

This work examines the angular correlation of speckle patterns produced by the coherent illumination of random rough surfaces. Speckle patterns are produced when coherent light is scattered by a rough surface or other random medium. As the angle of illumination changes, the speckle pattern changes at a rate determined by geometry and by the details of the scattering process. It is this angular change that is studied in this thesis by means of the correlation coefficient. Experimental studies are made of the angular change of speckle patterns from low and high sloped Gaussian random rough surfaces. They are illuminated with a linearly polarised laser beam, and the correlation coefficient of speckle patterns observed with a CCD camera then being determined by computational analysis. The Kirchhoff approximation is applied to the Helmholtz-Kirchhoff integral to obtain a two-dimensional analytical solution for the correlation produced by a low slope, single scattering, Gaussian surface. The results are compared with the experimental measurements

Mariners frequently have trouble picking out lighted aids to navigation in harbors and other areas that have a high density of background lights. The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking ways to enhance the conspicuity, or likelihood of being noticed, of these aids. Literature has shown that a flashing light is more conspicuous than a light that is not flashing. This investigation sought to improve conspicuity by finding the optimal flash characteristics for a light on a background of steady lights. Twenty observers searched for a flashing point source of light among backgrounds of steady lights of various numerosities on a computer controlled CRT screen. They indicated which of the five screen sectors contained the flashing target, and the computer recorded the accuracy and response time. Targets were flashed at the rates of 1, 2, and 3.85 Hz, each at duty cycles of .3, .5, and .8 (proportion of total time on). After a brief practice period, each observer completed 360 trials in a single one-hour session. An ANOVA showed significant effects of frequency, duty cycle, and background light density. Search time increased as the number of background lights increased. Conspicuity improved as frequency increased and as duty cycle decreased. The flash pattern that provides the greatest conspicuity consumes the least amount of electrical energy, an important consideration for an aid to navigation. The results can be used as guidelines for the flash characteristics of lighted aids to navigation.

Jeremy Duperteis Bangs, a leading expert in the history of the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony, overturns stereotypes with exciting new analyses of colonial and Native life in Plymouth Colony, of religious toleration, and of historical memory. New Light on the Old Colony: Plymouth, the Dutch Context of Toleration, and Patterns of Pilgrim Commemoration (Brill, 2019) brings together a wealth of insights that will surely benefit anyone interested in the origins of New England's first colony. Your host, Ryan Shelton (@_ryanshelton) is a social historian of British and American Protestantism and a PhD researcher at Queen's University Belfast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoicesSupport our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/native-american-studies

This article is from Biological Procedures Online , volume 15 . Abstract Background: With the prompt developments of regenerative medicine, the potential clinical applications of human embryonic stem cells have attracted intense attention. However, the labor-intensive and complex manual cell selection processes required during embryonic stem cell culturing have seriously limited large-scale production and broad applications. Thus, availability of a label-free, non-invasive platform to replace the current cumbersome manual selection has become a critical need. Results: A non-invasive, label-free, and time-efficient optical platform for determining the quality of human embryonic stem cell colonies was developed by analyzing the scattering signals from those stem cell colonies. Additionally, confocal microscopy revealed that the cell colony morphology and surface structures were correlated with the resulting characteristic light scattering patterns. Standard immunostaining assay (Oct-4) was also utilized to validate the quality-determination from this light scattering protocol. The platform developed here can therefore provide identification accuracy of up to 87% for colony determination. Conclusions: Our study here demonstrated that light scattering patterns can serve as a feasible alternative approach to replace conventional manual selection for human embryonic stem cell cultures.

A technique, associated system and program code, for retrieving depth information about at least one surface of an object, such as an anatomical feature. Core features include: projecting a composite image comprising a plurality of modulated structured light patterns, at the anatomical feature; capturing an image reflected from the surface; and recovering pattern information from the reflected image, for each of the modulated structured light patterns. Pattern information is preferably recovered for each modulated structured light pattern used to create the composite, by performing a demodulation of the reflected image. Reconstruction of the surface can be accomplished by using depth information from the recovered patterns to produce a depth map/mapping thereof. Each signal waveform used for the modulation of a respective structured light pattern, is distinct from each of the other signal waveforms used for the modulation of other structured light patterns of a composite image; these signal waveforms may be selected from suitable types in any combination of distinct signal waveforms, provided the waveforms used are uncorrelated with respect to each other. The depth map/mapping to be utilized in a host of applications, for example: displaying a 3-D view of the object; virtual reality user-interaction interface with a computerized device; face--or other animal feature or inanimate object--recognition and comparison techniques for security or identification purposes; and 3-D video teleconferencing/telecollaboration.

xiv, 305 pages ; 24 cm

xiv, 305 pages ; 24 cm

The modern 24-hour society poses challenges for adhering to a healthy sleep regime and light exposure pattern that can have implications for the development of employee mental health complaints such as burnout. In the Netherlands, one in five people report experiencing sleep-related problems, 41% of which indicated consequent impaired functioning at work (CBS and TNO, 2018). Several studies have already indicated that sleep may be an important mechanism for recovery from daily work demands, contributing to the restoration of energetic and motivational resources depleted throughout the day (Ekstedt et al., 2009; Geurts & Sonnentag, 2006; Sonnenschein et al., 2007). Good sleep could thus greatly support the ability to recover from daily demands at work by restoring psycho-physiological systems. On the other hand, daily sleep disruptions may impair the ability to recover from daily work demands and cause a depletion of energic and motivational resources (i.e., burnout-related symptoms) over time. Daily disruptions in sleep risk becoming chronic, potentially resulting in an erosion of energic and motivational resources (i.e. burnout). Furthermore, as one of the main indicators of solar time, light largely regulates the phase of our biological clock. Depending on the time of exposure, light can advance or delay circadian phase, impacting the regulation of a number of psychological and physiological processes during the 24-h day, including the timing of sleep on- and off-set (Baron & Reid, 2014). Electrical indoor lighting has allowed humans to extend their workday late into the night, threatening circadian phase delay (Wright et al., 2013) and increasing the potential to induce circadian misalignment (i.e., a mismatch between an individual’s circadian phase and actual sleep-wake timing). Moreover, persons are generally exposed to relatively low light levels during daytime (Smolders et al., 2013), especially compared to light levels outdoors, resulting in a weak signal for the biological clock. Therefore, inadequate light regimes during the workweek may negatively affect sleep-wake patterns and thus the ability to recover adequately from daily (work-related) demands. In addition, luminous exposure can also induce more acute effects on one’s daytime functioning such as enhancing alertness, vitality, and positive mood and reducing fatigue and sleepiness (Beute & de Kort, 2018; Smolders et al., 2012, 2013; Smolders & de Kort, 2014). On the other hand, a lack of energy and motivation may also disrupt sleep (possibly due to increased job stressors impairing recovery processes, i.e., the recovery paradox (Sonnentag, 2018) or due to the disruptive effect of stress on sleep (Åkerstedt et al., 2009)), and potentially disturb light exposure patterns in return by exerting additional strain on the recovery mechanism (Meijman & Mulder, 1998). As sleep disruptions contribute to a lack of energy and motivation (Åkerstedt et al., 2009), and a lack of energy and motivation may potentially disrupt sleep, a vicious cycle is triggered causing a progressive depletion of energy and motivation over time. Nevertheless, how and to what extent disturbances in sleep and light exposure regimes contribute to this downward spiral of energy and motivation erosion (i.e. development of burnout-related complaints over time) is largely unknown. Additionally, the role that a depletion of energy and motivation plays in the temporal development of sleep disturbances is similarly unclear. This study aims to investigate how and to what extent sleep (disturbances) (Part A) covary with markers of burnout (i.e., depletion of energy and motivation levels; Demerouti et al., 2001) over a long time period, and whether the degree of disturbances in a healthy sleep regime can predict the depletion of energy and motivation (burnout) at a later stage and vice versa. To clarify these relationships across different timeframes (ranging from days to months, seasons and a year), we take a longitudinal approach. We complement longitudinal with daily measures to also account for and assess the daily relationship between sleep and energy and motivation. This provides insights regarding daily mechanisms, allowing for the assessment of possible changes in the daily relationship between sleep, energy and motivation over time (i.e. throughout burnout development). Thereby we gain insights into the stability of these daily relationships and can assess whether the development of sleep (disturbances) and/or the depletion of energy and motivation is reflected within days as well. Additionally, we consider the role of daily light exposure patterns (Part B) in sleep and daily energy and motivation. As a secondary objective, we aim to explore (Part C) several work-related mechanisms (job demands, perseverative cognition, recovery, need for recovery/fatigue at the end of the workday) that have implications for sleep, energy and motivation, and may thus contribute to the downward spiral of energy and motivation erosion over time.

The performance and serviceability of asphalt pavements have a direct influence on people's daily lives. Timely detection of pavement cracks is crucial in the task of periodic pavement survey. This paper proposes and verifies a novel computer vision-based method for recognizing pavement crack patterns. Image processing techniques, including Gaussian steerable filters, projection integrals, and image texture analyses, are employed to characterize the surface condition of asphalt pavement roads. Light Gradient Boosting Machine, Deep Neural Network, and Convolutional Neural Network are employed to recognize various patterns including longitudinal, transverse, diagonal, minor fatigue, and severe fatigue cracks. A dataset, including 12,000 samples, has been collected to construct and verify the computer vision-based approaches. Based on experiments, it can be found that all three machine learning models are capable of delivering good categorization results with an accuracy rate > 0.93 and Cohen's Kappa coefficient > 0.76. Notably, the Light Gradient Boosting Machine has achieved the most desired performance with an accuracy rate > 0.96 and Cohen's Kappa coefficient > 0.88.

This article is from Scientific Reports , volume 4 . Abstract Light beams with extraordinary spatial structures, such as the Airy beam (AB), the Bessel-Gaussian beam (BGB) and the Laguerre-Gaussian beam (LGB), are widely studied and applied in many optical scenarios. We report on preparation of light beams with controllable spatial structures through sum frequency generation (SFG) using two Gaussian pump beams in a quasi-phase matching (QPM) crystal. The spatial structures, including multi-ring-like BGB, donut-like LGB, and super-Gaussian-like beams, can be controlled periodically via crystal phase mismatching by tuning the pump frequency or crystal temperature. This phenomenon has not been reported or discussed previously. Additionally, we present numerical simulations of the phenomenon, which agree very well with the experimental observations. Our findings give further insight into the SFG process in QPM crystals, provide a new way to generate light with unusual spatial structures, and may find applications in the fields of laser optics, all-optical switching, and optical manipulation and trapping.

This study examined the effects of noise, temperature, humidity, motion and light on the sleep patterns of the crew of the HSV-2 SWIFT during Gulf of Mexico Exercise (GOMEX) 05-1. HSV-2 SWIFT was chosen for this study to examine crew sleep on an unconventional hull type manned with a small crew. Noise dosimeters, temperature and humidity monitors, actiwatches and questionnaires were used to quantify the data. With the exception of light, the independent variables did not have significant effect upon participant sleep. This is likely due to the limited range of the independent variables and the small number of participants in this study. There were two findings in this study; the relationship between the demographic variable sea time and participant sleep and the relationship between the independent variable light and participant sleep. Due to the limitations in the current study, it is recommended that further studies be conducted in more extreme operational environments. Additionally, studies such as the one discussed in this thesis, should be completed on different platforms to determine the differences in environmental factors that affect sleep between hull types so that the results can be applied to future vessel design.

Two luminaires were evaluated to determine the light flux density pattern on a horizontal plane surface. NASA supplied both luminaires; one was made by NASA and the other is commercially available. Tests were made for three combinations of luminaire height and luminaire lens material using the NASA luminaire; only one configuration of the commercial luminaire was tested. Measurements were made using four sensors with different wavelength range capabilities. The data are presented in graphical and tabular formats.

Two luminaires were evaluated to determine the light flux density pattern on a horizontal plane surface. NASA supplied both luminaires; one was made by NASA and the other is commercially available. Tests were made for three combinations of luminaire height and luminaire lens material using the NASA luminaire; only one configuration of the commercial luminaire was tested. Measurements were made using four sensors with different wavelength range capabilities. The data are presented in graphical and tabular formats.

Zoomable full resolution image available at davidrumsey.com . This image 10830.000 is a part of image group 10830.000 . Map given to the collection by Glenn Bachmann.

Zoomable full resolution image available at davidrumsey.com . This image 10830.000 is a part of image group 10830.000 . Map given to the collection by Glenn Bachmann.

Zoomable full resolution image available at davidrumsey.com . This image 10830.000 is a part of image group 10830.000 . Map given to the collection by Glenn Bachmann.

Source: Digital Library of India Scanning Centre: C-DAC, Noida Source Library: Ncert Date Accessioned: 6/24/2015 2:38 The Digital Library of India was a project under the auspices of the Government of India.

Source: Digital Library of India Scanning Centre: C-DAC, Noida Source Library: Ncert Date Accessioned: 6/24/2015 2:38 The Digital Library of India was a project under the auspices of the Government of India.

ix, 60 pages ; 23 cm

This article is from PLoS ONE , volume 9 . Abstract While photosynthetic microalgae, such as Chlorella, serve as feedstocks for nutritional oils and biofuels, heterotrophic cultivation can augment growth rates, support high cell densities, and increase triacylglycerol (TAG) lipid content. However, these species differ significantly in their photoautotrophic and heterotrophic characteristics. In this study, the phylogeny of thirty Chlorella strains was determined in order to inform bioprospecting efforts and detailed physiological assessment of three species. The growth kinetics and lipid biochemistry of C. protothecoides UTEX 411, C. vulgaris UTEX 265, and C. sorokiniana UTEX 1230 were quantified during photoautotrophy in Bold's basal medium (BBM) and heterotrophy in BBM supplemented with glucose (10 g L−1). Heterotrophic growth rates of UTEX 411, 265, and 1230 were found to be 1.5-, 3.7-, and 5-fold higher than their respective autotrophic rates. With a rapid nine-hour heterotrophic doubling time, Chlorella sorokiniana UTEX 1230 maximally accumulated 39% total lipids by dry weight during heterotrophy compared to 18% autotrophically. Furthermore, the discrete fatty acid composition of each strain was examined in order to elucidate lipid accumulation patterns under the two trophic conditions. In both modes of growth, UTEX 411 and 265 produced 18∶1 as the principal fatty acid while UTEX 1230 exhibited a 2.5-fold enrichment in 18∶2 relative to 18∶1. Although the total lipid content was highest in UTEX 411 during heterotrophy, UTEX 1230 demonstrated a two-fold increase in its heterotrophic TAG fraction at a rate of 28.9 mg L−1 d−1 to reach 22% of the biomass, corresponding to as much as 90% of its total lipids. Interestingly, UTEX 1230 growth was restricted during mixotrophy and its TAG production rate was suppressed to 18.2 mg L−1 d−1. This constraint on carbon flow raises intriguing questions about the impact of sugar and light on the metabolic regulation of microalgal lipid biosynthesis.

This article is from PLoS ONE , volume 9 . Abstract The principal goal of this study was to determine the effect of the photoperiod on oxidative damage biomarkers in rats submitted to different light/darkness patterns, in a hyperlipidemic nephropathy model (induced by adriamycin), as well as its possible relationship with melatonin and leptin secretion rhythms. To test this hypothesis, six different groups were used (N = 6 rats per group): control (12 h/12h light:dark); exposure to permanent illumination (24 h light); exposure to darkness (22 h dark); injected with adriamycin, 12h/12h light:dark; injected with adriamycin + exposure to permanent illumination and injected with adriamycin + exposure to darkness (22 h dark). The different photoperiods were begun two weeks prior to medication and were maintained up to the day of the animal's sacrifice, ten days after medication. The following parameters were analysed: i) weight evolution; ii) in plasma: urea, creatinine, uric acid, total proteins, albumen, lactate dehydrogenase, creatinine-quinase, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase and total cholesterol; iii) in urine: urea, creatinine, total proteins and microalbumen; iv) biomarkers of oxidative damage in kidneys, heart, liver and brain: lipoperoxides, total glutathione, reduced glutathione, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and glutathione transferase; v) melatonin (pineal gland tissue and plasma) and leptin (plasma). From the results obtained it was concluded that the administration of adriamycin generated oxidative stress in renal, cerebral, hepatic and cardiac tissue. Additionally, in the healthy animal, but of a lesser relevance in the adriamycin animal, permanent light worsened the oxidative stress, whereas darkness improved it. This could be related to the circadian rhythm of the inverse release shown by melatonin and leptin, accentuating the release of melatonin in the darkness phase and that of leptin in the light phase. The correlation between melatonin and leptin in the healthy animal seemed to confirm the relationship between both variables and their influence on oxidative damage biomarkers.

This study analyzed the textbooks titled "Arabic for Non-native Speaking Children", Level I by Zakirov, Mingazova, and Mukhametzyanov (2011), and "Arabic for Non-Native Speaking Children", Level II by Mingazova, Zakirov, and Mukhametzyanov (2013) which are used to teach Arabic as a foreign language (AFL) to elementary school children in Tatarstan. The textbooks were then evaluated in the light of the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) criteria. Results showed that the textbooks do not meet the CEFR language teaching and learning criteria, as they focus on the reading and writing skills, not oral skills and communication. They focus on the Arabic alphabet letters and basic Arabic grammatical structures and categories. The words taught are selected based on whether they contain the alphabet letter under study, not on the basis of belonging to a certain semantic category. In addition, the textbooks have adopted a grammar-translation approach, not a communicative, functional approach. The study recommends restructuring the textbook aims, skills and subskills taught, language elements selected, syllabus design adopted, and language teaching approach followed so that focus is on learning Arabic for communication. The whole Arabic lesson should be conducted in Arabic (L2). The students should practice oral skills before they move on to reading and writing sentences and paragraphs. The form and meaning of the words and grammatical patterns should be taught together using real objects, drawings, gestures and dramatization. The textbooks should adopt a functional situational syllabus design and follow a communicative language teaching approach. [This paper was published in: "Proceedings IFTE-2020" (pp. 101-129). Kazan Federal University.]

In traditional Hanbury Brown and Twiss (HBT) schemes, the thermal intensity-intensity correlations are phase insensitive. Here we propose a modified HBT scheme with phase conjugation to demonstrate the phase-sensitive and nonfactorizable features for thermal intensity-intensity correlation speckle. Our scheme leads to results that are similar to those of the two-photon speckle. We discuss the possibility of the experimental realization. The results provide us a deeper insight of the thermal correlations and may lead to more significant applications in imaging and speckle technologies.

A technique, associated system and program code, for retrieving depth information about at least one surface of an object. Core features include: projecting a composite image comprising a plurality of modulated structured light patterns, at the object; capturing an image reflected from the surface; and recovering pattern information from the reflected image, for each of the modulated structured light patterns. Pattern information is preferably recovered for each modulated structured light pattern used to create the composite, by performing a demodulation of the reflected image. Reconstruction of the surface can be accomplished by using depth information from the recovered patterns to produce a depth map/mapping thereof. Each signal waveform used for the modulation of a respective structured light pattern, is distinct from each of the other signal waveforms used for the modulation of other structured light patterns of a composite image; these signal waveforms may be selected from suitable types in any combination of distinct signal waveforms, provided the waveforms used are uncorrelated with respect to each other. The depth map/mapping to be utilized in a host of applications, for example: displaying a 3-D view of the object; virtual reality user-interaction interface with a computerized device; face--or other animal feature or inanimate object--recognition and comparison techniques for security or identification purposes; and 3-D video teleconferencing/telecollaboration.

We study the emission patterns and light curves of gamma-rays in the pulsar magnetosphere with a current-induced magnetic field perturbation. Based on the solution of a static dipole with the magnetic field induced by some currents (perturbation field), we derive the solutions of a static as well as a retarded dipole with the perturbation field in the Cartesian coordinates. The static (retarded) magnetic field can be expressed as the sum of pure static (retarded) dipolar magnetic field and the static (retarded) perturbation field. We use the solution of the retarded magnetic field to investigate the influence of the perturbation field on the emission patterns and light curves, and we apply the perturbed solutions to calculate the gamma-ray light curves for the case of the Vela pulsar. We find out that the perturbation field induced by the currents will change the emission patterns and then light curves of gamma-rays, especially for a larger perturbation field. Our results indicate that the perturbation field created by the outward-flowing (inward-flowing) electrons (positrons) can decrease the rotation effect on the magnetosphere and makes emission pattern appear to be more smooth relative to that of the pure retarded dipole, but the perturbation field created by the outward-flowing (inward-flowing) positrons (electrons) can make the emission pattern less smooth.

This study examined the effects of noise, temperature, humidity, motion, and light on the sleep patterns of the crew of HSV-2 SWIFT during Gulf of Mexico Exercise (GOMEX) 05-1. HSV-2 SWIFT was chosen for this study to examine crew sleep on an unconventional hull-type vessel manned with a small crew. Noise dosimeters, temperature and humidity monitors, actiwatches, and questionnaires were used to quantify the data. With the exception of light, the independent variables did not have a significant effect on participants' sleep. This is likely due to the limited range of the independent variables and the small number of participants in the study (21 sailors). There were two major findings: the relationship between the demographic variable sea time and participant sleep, and the relationship between the independent variable of light and participant sleep. Due to the limitations of the current study, it is recommended that further studies be conducted in more extreme operational environments. Additionally, studies such as the one discussed in this thesis should be completed on different platforms to determine the differences in environmental factors that affect sleep between hull types so that the results can be applied to future vessel design.

The $b\to s\ell^+\ell^-$ processes observed by the LHCb collaboration at 1 and 3 fb$^{-1}$ have exhibited a coherent set of deviations from the Standard Model (SM) predictions, i.e., anomalies, most remarkably in the angular analysis of the $B\to K^*\mu^+\mu^-$ decay and in the Lepton Flavour Universality (LFU) violating ratios $R_{K}$ and (very recently) $R_{K^*}$. All these anomalies are analysed consistently by fitting the Wilson coefficients of effective operators which encode the short-distance contributions to $b\to s\ell^+\ell^-$ transitions, pointing towards specific patterns of New Physics (NP). We include recent data presented by LHCb, CMS, ATLAS and Belle in our framework, finding several hypotheses with NP in one and two Wilson coefficients preferred at the 5$\sigma$ level compared to the SM. One of the most prominent patterns consist of large contributions to the coefficients ${\cal C}_{9\mu}$ (${\cal C}_{10\mu}$) involving a left-handed quark current and a vector (axial) muon current while the effect in electrons is small, confirming the indications for LFU violation. We also perform an analysis allowing for New Physics in six Wilson coefficients (SM-like and chirally flipped), obtaining a pull for the SM at the level of 5 $\sigma$. Dedicated fits restricted to LFU-violating observables are also presented. We find that LFU violation is favoured with respect to LFU at 3.3$\sigma$ level in the case of NP contributions to ${\cal C}_{9e}$ and ${\cal C}_{9\mu}$. Finally, we consider the implications of these results for specific models of NP and we discuss possible correlations to the LFU-violating ratios $R_D$ and $R_{D^*}$.

We determine the abundances of neutron-capture elements from Sr to Eu for five very-metal-poor stars (-3

Rigorous electromagnetic field simulations are an essential part for scatterometry and mask pattern design. Today mainly periodic structures are considered in simulations. Non-periodic structures are typically modeled by large, artificially periodified computational domains. For systems with a large radius of influence this leads to very large computational domains to keep the error sufficiently small. In this paper we review recent advances in the rigorous simulation of isolated structures embedded into a surrounding media. We especially address the situation of a layered surrounding media (mask or wafer) with additional infinite inhomogeneities such as resist lines. Further we detail how to extract the far field information needed for the aerial image computation in the non-periodic setting.

Rigorous electromagnetic field simulations are an essential part for scatterometry and mask pattern design. Today mainly periodic structures are considered in simulations. Non-periodic structures are typically modeled by large, artificially periodified computational domains. For systems with a large radius of influence this leads to very large computational domains to keep the error sufficiently small. In this paper we review recent advances in the rigorous simulation of isolated structures embedded into a surrounding media. We especially address the situation of a layered surrounding media (mask or wafer) with additional infinite inhomogeneities such as resist lines. Further we detail how to extract the far field information needed for the aerial image computation in the non-periodic setting.

Rigorous electromagnetic field simulations are an essential part for scatterometry and mask pattern design. Today mainly periodic structures are considered in simulations. Non-periodic structures are typically modeled by large, artificially periodified computational domains. For systems with a large radius of influence this leads to very large computational domains to keep the error sufficiently small. In this paper we review recent advances in the rigorous simulation of isolated structures embedded into a surrounding media. We especially address the situation of a layered surrounding media (mask or wafer) with additional infinite inhomogeneities such as resist lines. Further we detail how to extract the far field information needed for the aerial image computation in the non-periodic setting.

The Seyfert galaxy NGC 6814 is known to show periodic variation of its X-ray luminosity. We found that the sequences of peaks (variability patterns) in the folded X-ray light curves constructed from the {\it Exosat} and {\it Ginga} data are remarkably similar when one ignores amplitudes of the peaks and considers only their phases. The stable pattern consists of five peaks which are present in the both curves. The phases of the corresponding peaks coincide with an accuracy of about 10 degrees. The probability that this coincidence occurs by chance is less than about 1\% according to the most conservative estimate. The observed stable pattern of peaks may be produced by a stable distribution of ``bright spots'' on the accretion disk surface, {\it e.g.} by strong vortices or magnetic flux tubes.

The boron abundances for two young solar-type members of the Orion association, BD -6 1250 and HD 294297, are derived from HST STIS spectra of the B I transition at 2496.771 A. The best-fit boron abundances for the target stars are 0.13 and 0.44 dex lower than the solar meteoritic value of log e(B)=2.78. An anticorrelation of boron and oxygen is found for Orion when these results are added to previous abundances obtained for 4 B-type stars and the G-type star BD -5 1317. An analysis of the uncertainties in the abundance calculations indicates that the observed anticorrelation is probably real. The B versus O relation observed in the Orion association does not follow the positive correlation of boron versus oxygen which is observed for the field stars with roughly solar metallicity. The observed anticorrelation can be accounted for by a simple model in which two poorly mixed components of gas (supernova ejecta and boron-enriched ambient medium) contribute to the new stars that form within the lifetime of the association. This model predicts an anticorrelation for Be as well, at least as strong as for boron.

The Delta I = 1 staggering (odd--even staggering) in octupole bands of light actinides is found to exhibit a ``beat'' behaviour as a function of the angular momentum I, forcing us to revise the traditional belief that this staggering decreases gradually to zero and then remains at this zero value. Various algebraic models (spf-Interacting Boson Model, spdf-IBM, Vector Boson Model, Nuclear Vibron Model) are shown to predict in their su(3) limits constant staggering for this case, being thus unable to describe the ``beat'' behaviour. An explanation of the ``beat'' behaviour is given in terms of two Dunham expansions (expansions in terms of powers of I(I+1)) with slightly different sets of coefficients for the ground state band and the negative parity band, the difference in the values of the coefficients being attributed to Coriolis couplings to other negative parity bands. Similar ``beat'' patterns have already been seen in rotational bands of some diatomic molecules, like AgH.

Bulk and decay properties, including deformation energy curves, charge mean square radii, Gamow-Teller (GT) strength distributions, and beta-decay half-lives, are studied in neutron-deficient even-even and odd-A Hg and Pt isotopes. The nuclear structure is described microscopically from deformed quasiparticle random-phase approximation calculations with residual interactions in both particle-hole and particle-particle channels, performed on top of a self-consistent deformed quasiparticle Skyrme Hartree-Fock basis. The observed sensitivity of the, not yet measured, GT strength distributions to deformation is proposed as an additional complementary signature of the nuclear shape. The $\beta$-decay half-lives resulting from these distributions are compared to experiment to demonstrate the ability of the method.

The ZZ Ceti star KUV 02464+3239 was observed over a whole season at the mountain station of Konkoly Observatory. A rigorous frequency analysis revealed 6 certain periods between 619 and 1250 seconds, with no shorter period modes present. We use the observed periods, published effective temperature and surface gravity, along with the model grid code of Bischoff-Kim, Montgomery and Winget (2008) to perform a seismological analysis. We find acceptable model fits with masses between 0.60 and 0.70 M_Sun. The hydrogen layer mass of the acceptable models are almost always between 10^-4 and 10^-6 M_*. In addition to our seismological results, we also show our analysis of individual light curve segments. Considering the non-sinusoidal shape of the light curve and the Fourier spectra of segments showing large amplitude variations, the importance of non-linear effects in the pulsation is clearly seen.