1.0 Introduction The contrast of a given feature at a specific wavelength of light is determined by the radiance of that feature and the radiance of the background or adjacent feature against which it is viewed. Target/Sky contrast (C) is defined as the ratio of the difference between the feature (target) and the background sky radiance to the background sky radiance: where N stands for radianc...

The etiology of mental retardation (MR), often presenting as developmental delay in childhood, is unknown in approximately one-half of cases. G-banding is the standard method for investigating those suspected of having a chromosomal etiology; however, detection of structural abnormalities is limited by the size and pattern of the G-bands involved. Rearrangements involving subtelomeric regions h...

Clouds reduce the degree of linear polarization (DOLP) of skylight relative to that of a clear sky. Even thin subvisual clouds in the "twilight zone" between clouds and aerosols produce a drop in skylight DOLP long before clouds become visible in the sky. In contrast, the angle of polarization (AOP) of light scattered by a cloud in a partly cloudy sky remains the same as in the clear sky for mo...

Automatic cloud classification has attracted more and more attention with the increasing development of whole sky imagers, but it is still in progress for ground-based cloud observation. This paper proposes a new cloud classification method, named bag of micro-structures (BoMS). This method treats an all-sky image as a collection of microstructures mapped from image patches, rather than a colle...

We present a project to map the artificial sky brightness in Europe in the main astronomical photometrical bands with a resolution better than 3 km. The aim is to understand the state of night sky pollution in Europe, to quantify the present situation and to allow future monitoring of trends. The artificial sky brightness in each site at a given position on the sky is obtained by the integratio...

OBJECTIVE The prenatal detection of de novo extra structurally abnormal chromosomes (ESACs) presents a challenge because the associated risk for congenital anomaly ranges from 100% to practically none, depending on the chromosomal origin. Despite the use of standard cytogenetic techniques and even fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), the origin of some ESACs often remains elusive. Spectra...

Distributed network management systems (NMS) have become a crucial necessity, especially for overcoming centralized NMS restrictions such as scalability and inefficient use of network resources. Such systems will also be instrumental in meeting the need for high-power computers and storage capabilities on the NMS platform. Modern technologies used in distributed NMS include management by delega...

The uniqueness of the antebellum South continues to challenge the imagination of Americans, who, despite persistent attempts, cannot divert their attention from slavery. Nor should they, for slavery provided the foundation on which the South rose and grew. The master-slave relationship permeated Southern life and influenced relationships among free men. A full history would have to treat the im...

We present results of a study of very low mass halo stars. Using a sample of proper motion stars identified from plate material taken as part of the first and second Palomar Sky Surveys, we measure the space density, metallicity distribution, and kinematics of the Population II M subdwarfs. Our overall luminosity function is in good agreement with previous analyses of the space density of nearb...