Tracking multiple people with recovery from partial and total occlusion

Robust tracking of multiple people in video sequences is a challenging task. In this paper, we present an algorithm for tracking faces of multiple people even in cases of total occlusion. Faces are detected first; then a model for each person is built. The models are handed over to the tracking module which is based on the mean shift algorithm, where each face is represented by the non-parametric distribution of the colors in the face region. The mean shift tracking algorithm is robust to partial occlusion and rotation, and is computationally efficient, but it does not deal with the problem of total occlusion. Our algorithm overcomes this problem by detecting the occlusion using an occlusion grid, and uses a non-parametric distribution of the color of the occluded person's cloth to distinguish that person after the occlusion ends. Our algorithm uses the speed and the trajectory of each occluded person to predict the locations that should be searched after occlusion ends. It integrates multiple features to handle tracking multiple people in cases of partial and total occlusion. Experiments on a large set of video clips demonstrate the robustness of the algorithm, and its capability to correctly track multiple people even when faces are temporarily occluded by other faces or by other objects in the scene.     

Flavonol glycosides and flavonol glucoside gallates from Peltophorum africanum

In this study of interactions occurring within the heart, isolated superfused strips of rabbit atria, containing the sinoatrial (s.a.) node, were subjected to sinusoidal subthreshold current pulses of varied frequencies and intensities. A.C. current from an R.C. oscillator was applied through a Grass stimulation isolation unit, push-pull connection, and non-polarizing (Ag-AgCl-KCl-Tyrode Agar-Agar) electrodes. A Grass polygraph and tachometer were used to record the applied pulses and nodal firing rates; simultaneous magnetic tape recordings were obtained and used for data analysis. Suction electrode recordings and oscilloscope displays were used to determine how the cyclic impulses affected cellular activity. The s.a. nodal rhythm was modified by subthreshold A.C. current applications; when frequencies were low, firing rates of the node were modulated by the A.C. and mean rates were reduced. As frequencies were progressively increased, slow waxings and wanings in heart rate were produced. These periodic fluctuations were not readily correlated with either the A.C. frequency nor the intrinsic nodal rate, but were representative of the difference between the two. As applied current frequency neared the pacemaker's intrinsic rate, a synchronization occurred and the discharges locked in at a specific phase of the applied current alternation. This synchronization maintained during slight further increases in A.C. frequency but above a critical rate this relationship broke down and the waxing and wanings in frequency of pacemaker rate again developed. It was concluded that pacemaker action of the s.a. node is effected by integration of cellular activity through electron coupling.     

Proton beam writing: a tool for high-aspect ratio mask production

P-beam writing (proton beam writing), a direct write 3D nano lithographic technique has been employed for the production of X-ray masks in a single step fabrication process, with high aspect ratios and extremely smooth absorber edges. P-beam writing employs a focused MeV proton beam scanned in a predetermined pattern over a resist (e.g. PMMA or SU-8), which is subsequently chemically developed. P-beam writing in combination with electroplating appears ideally suited to directly write X-ray masks with nano sized features, high aspect ratios, small lateral feature sizes, and smooth and vertical sidewalls. Sub 100 nm resist structures with aspect ratios up 160 have been produced, as well as metallic (nickel) structures down to the 100 nm level. Preliminary tests on p-beam written X-ray test masks show that Ni stencils can be fabricated with a thickness of 2–20 μm, smooth side walls, feature details down to 1 μm, and aspect ratios up to 20.     

Reaction of methyltrans-2,3-epoxyhexadecanoate with urea: Synthesis of long chain fatty 2-oxazolidones

Methyltrans-2,3-epoxyhexadecanoate on refluxing with urea in dimethylformamide (DMF) afforded isomeric 4(5)-tridecyl-5(4)-carbomethoxy-cis-2-oxazolidone (II), 5-tridecylmethylene hydantoin (II) and 2-hydroxy-3-carbamidohexadecanoic acid (III). Presented at the 4th Convention of the Indian Council of Chemists at Uttar Pradesh, India, December 1984.     

Iterative compensation schemes for multimedia content authentication

Multimedia content authentication can be achieved by deriving a fragile content-based signature from a media signal and embedding it robustly back into the signal. The perturbation due to embedding needs to be compensated with mechanisms that lead to producing the original signature. Closed form solutions for compensation are not always feasible. In this paper, we propose two iterative compensation schemes to address such scenarios. The first is based on a set-theoretic approach by using projections onto convex sets (POCS), where signature generation and signal fidelity are modeled as convex constraint sets. The other scheme uses an additive iterative approach used in the cases where the POCS approach is not applicable. Examples of successful image authentication are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed schemes over a range of watermark-embedding robustness. A comparison with the closed-form compensation scheme, when feasible, is also presented.     

Multiobjective shape optimization of speed humps

This paper presents a new approach to the shape optimization of road speed humps. The proposed approach is based on multiobjective genetic optimization of the hump profile while taking into account the separation phenomenon, which occurs when the front tires of the vehicle momentarily lose contact with the road surface. The optimization is carried out for speeds up to twice the authorized speed (throughout this article, the term authorized speed refers to speed limits enforced in speed reduction [bump] areas of the roads) rather than for illegally high speeds as adopted by many of the previous works. A 6-degree of freedom non-linear dynamic model is used to identify the speeds at which separation occurs, and hump profiles associated with these speeds are discarded as infeasible solutions. Three independent objective functions are selected for optimization. They include the maximum vertical acceleration experienced by the driver when crossing the hump below the authorized speed limit (to be minimized), the same vertical acceleration at speeds above the authorized speed (to be maximized), and the ascending ratio of the “speed—vertical acceleration” curve (to be maximized). These objective functions are evaluated for more than 10,000 humps of two popular profile types (sinusoidal and flat top with straight ramps) and optimum profiles for three speed limits of 20, 25, and 30km/h are determined using the multiobjective nondominated sorting genetic algorithm II. As a result, a Pareto front of at least ten optimal points is achieved for each of the two hump profile types. Furthermore, to incorporate the economical aspects of the real-world problem, Pareto optimal points for the two profile types were compared based on their lateral section areas (an indication of the manufacturing cost). The comparison shows that sinusoidal humps more often than not outdo their flat top rivals economically.     

The Evolution of Microstructure in Three-Component Granulation and Its Effect on Dissolution

The relationship between microstructure and dissolution rate of three-component granules was investigated. Granules were prepared by fluid bed granulation from sucrose spheres as model excipient, sodium chloride as model active ingredient, and polyethylene glycol (PEG) as in situ melt binder. A novel method for controlling the distribution of active ingredient within the granule was developed, based on suspending its particles in the binder prior to granulation. Granule microstructure was varied by systematically changing the NaCl particle size and the active/excipient ratio in granules. The dissolution rate of granules in water was measured by conductometry. A minimum was found in the functional dependence of dissolution time on NaCl fraction in the granule, in line with earlier computer simulations. The primary particle size was found to influence dissolution time in a nonlinear way depending on the fraction of available particle surface immersed in the binder. The intrinsic binder dissolution can therefore be rate-controlling if primary particles of the active ingredient are totally coated by binder. This was confirmed by comparing the dissolution times of granules prepared with PEGs of different molecular weight.     

Production costing with explicit recognition of unit duty cycleeffects

A novel probabilistic production costing algorithm called the OPCOST method is presented which recognizes the stochastic nature of the duty cycle of a unit and models the generation system with explicit consideration of such operating characteristics as the system generation reserve policy, unit start-up delay, unit start-up failure, unit commitment policy, and unit outage postponability. The OPCOST method has been used to compute production costs for EPRI synthetic generating system E, reduced version. The studies of the sample system have been carried out for two production costing methods, the OPCOST method and a traditional method. A comparison of the results obtained using the traditional method and the OPCOST method shows significant differences in the energies produced by the various categories of units