An implementation of storage management in capability environments

The exploitation of the salient features of capability-based addressing environments leads to a high number of small objects existing in memory at the same time. It is thus necessary to enhance the efficiency of the mechanisms for object relocation, and to avoid congestion of input/output devices due to swapping. In this paper, we present an approach to the management of a large virtual memory space aimed at solving these problems. We insert partial information concerning the physical allocation of each object into the virtual identifier of this object. Objects are grouped into large swapping units, called pages. The page size is independent of the average object size. This results in enhanced efficiency in managing the relocation information both with regard to memory requirements and access times. The allocation of objects into pages, and the movement of pages through the memory hierarchy, are controlled by user processes. This means that programs which have knowledge of their own use of virtual memory can increase their locality of reference, diminish the number of swap operations and reduce fragmentation.     

Transporting Deformations of Face Emotions in the Shape Spaces: A Comparison of Different Approaches

Studying the changes of shape is a common concern in many scientific fields. We address here two problems: (1) quantifying the deformation between two given shapes and (2) transporting this deformation to morph a third shape. These operations can be done with or without point correspondence, depending on the availability of a surface matching algorithm, and on the type of mathematical procedure adopted. In computer vision, the re-targeting of emotions mapped on faces is a common application. We contrast here four different methods used for transporting the deformation toward a target once it was estimated upon the matching of two shapes. These methods come from very different fields such as computational anatomy, computer vision and biology. We used the large diffeomorphic deformation metric mapping and thin plate spline, in order to estimate deformations in a deformational trajectory of a human face experiencing different emotions. Then we use naive transport (NT), linear shift (LS), direct transport (DT) and fanning scheme (FS) to transport the estimated deformations toward four alien faces constituted by 240 homologous points and identifying a triangulation structure of 416 triangles. We used both local and global criteria for evaluating the performance of the 4 methods, e.g., the maintenance of the original deformation. We found DT, LS and FS very effective in recovering the original deformation while NT fails under several aspects in transporting the shape change. As the best method may differ depending on the application, we recommend carefully testing different methods in order to choose the best one for any specific application.

     

Flow-based local optimization for image-to-geometry projection

The projection of a photographic data set on a 3D model is a robust and widely applicable way to acquire appearance information of an object. The first step of this procedure is the alignment of the images on the 3D model. While any reconstruction pipeline aims at avoiding misregistration by improving camera calibrations and geometry, in practice a perfect alignment cannot always be reached. Depending on the way multiple camera images are fused on the object surface, remaining misregistrations show up either as ghosting or as discontinuities at transitions from one camera view to another. In this paper we propose a method, based on the computation of Optical Flow between overlapping images, to correct the local misalignment by determining the necessary displacement. The goal is to correct the symptoms of misregistration, instead of searching for a globally consistent mapping, which might not exist. The method scales up well with the size of the data set (both photographic and geometric) and is quite independent of the characteristics of the 3D model (topology cleanliness, parametrization, density). The method is robust and can handle real world cases that have different characteristics: low level geometric details and images that lack enough features for global optimization or manual methods. It can be applied to different mapping strategies, such as texture or per-vertex attribute encoding.     

Steel-to-concrete bond after concrete splitting: test results

The definite trend towards the use of large-diameter rebars and the introduction of high-strength steels (f _y=500 to 600 MPa) make it necessary to study the effects of longitudinal splitting on the steel-to-concrete bond. The study of splitting effects requires firstly basic tests to be performed in order to gather experimental information on bond and confinement stresses acting at the bar-to-concrete interface. For this purpose, three series of tests were recently carried out at the Politecnico di Milano. The results make it possible to ascertain a few basic properties of the bond after concrete splitting, and to formulate empirical constitutive laws regarding the stresses and the displacements (bar slip and opening of the splitting crack). All specimens consisted of a short deformed bar embedded in a concrete block, which had a preformed splitting crack in the plane passing through the bar axis: twelve specimens (Tests A and C) were fitted up with a round deformed bar having crescent-shaped lugs (D_b=18 mm); seven specimens (Tests B) were fitted up with a specially machined deformed bar having a rectangular cross-section and straigth, lugs, so that concrete deterioration close to the bar could be investigated at the surface of the specimen, by means of the moiré technique. The tests were carried out at constant slip rate, up to very large slip values ( ); both the ascending and the descending branches of the stress-slip curves were measured, for four different values of the opening of the splitting crack. The agreement among the results of the three series is generally satisfactory and often very good: consequently, constitutive laws regarding the four main variables (crack opening and bar slip, shear and confinement stresses) can be worked out, as will be shown in a companion paper on constitutive relationships and on concrete deterioration at the bar-to-concrete interface.     

Neuroprotective Effects of Testosterone in the Hypothalamus of an Animal Model of Metabolic Syndrome

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is known to be associated to inflammation and alteration in the hypothalamus, a brain region implicated in the control of several physiological functions, including energy homeostasis and reproduction. Previous studies demonstrated the beneficial effects of testosterone treatment (TTh) in counteracting some MetS symptoms in both animal models and clinical studies. This study investigated the effect of TTh (30 mg/kg/week for 12 weeks) on the hypothalamus in a high-fat diet (HFD)-induced animal model of MetS, utilizing quantitative RT-PCR and immunohistochemical analyses. The animal model recapitulates the human MetS features, including low testosterone/gonadotropin plasma levels. TTh significantly improved MetS-induced hypertension, visceral adipose tissue accumulation, and glucose homeostasis derangements. Within hypothalamus, TTh significantly counteracted HFD-induced inflammation, as detected in terms of expression of inflammatory markers and microglial activation. Moreover, TTh remarkably reverted the HFD-associated alterations in the expression of important regulators of energy status and reproduction, such as the melanocortin and the GnRH-controlling network. Our results suggest that TTh may exert neuroprotective effects on the HFD-related hypothalamic alterations, with positive outcomes on the circuits implicated in the control of energy metabolism and reproductive tasks, thus supporting a possible role of TTh in the clinical management of MetS.     

Structural Investigation and Molecular Modeling Studies of Strobilurin-Based Fungicides Active against the Rice Blast Pathogen Pyricularia oryzae

The increasing emergence of fungicide-resistant pathogens requires urgent solutions for crop disease management. Here, we describe a structural investigation of new fungicides obtained by combining strobilurin and succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor pharmacophores. We identified compounds endowed with very good activity against wild-type Pyricularia oryzae, combined in some cases with promising activity against strobilurin-resistant strains. The first three-dimensional model of P. oryzae cytochrome bc1 complex containing azoxystrobin as a ligand was developed. The model was validated with a set of commercially available strobilurins, and it well explains both the resistance mechanism to strobilurins mediated by the mutation G143A and the activity of metyltetraprole against strobilurin-resistant strains. The obtained results shed light on the key recognition determinants of strobilurin-like derivatives in the cytochrome bc1 active site and will guide the further rational design of new fungicides able to overcome resistance caused by G143A mutation in the rice blast pathogen.