Fast edge-based stereo matching approach for road applications

Several vision-based road applications use stereo vision algorithms, and they generally must be fast to be applied in real time. The main problem in stereo vision is the stereo matching problem, which consists in finding correspondences between two stereo images. In this paper, we present a new fast edge-based stereo matching approach devoted to road applications. Two passes of the dynamic programming algorithm are applied to estimate the final disparity map. The matching results of the first pass are only exploited to compute an initial disparity map (IDM). The so-called guiding edge points (GEPs) together with disparity ranges, i.e., possible matches, are derived from the IDM. In the second pass, the disparity ranges are used to reduce the search space as well as the mismatches and the GEPs to control and guide the matching process to the optimal solution. The proposed method has been tested on both real and virtual stereo images, it has been compared to a recently proposed method, and the results are satisfactory.     

Recent seismicity of Central High Atlas and Ouarzazate basin (Morocco)

The paper describes the tectonic evolution of the Central High Atlas and the Ouarzazate basin in Morocco, noting that many of the tectonic phenomena follow the previous structural lines. Although the area is one of relatively low seismicity, its location in an intra plate part of the African Plate and its high morphology, the effects of an earthquake could be considerable. This study combines seismic records from 1900 to 2007 with the integration of existing tectonic and structural information to better define the seismogenic zones. A newly identified cluster of epicenters in a NNW-SSE linear zone may be related to the Imilchil fault, where the earthquakes with magnitudes of 4–5 at depths of 5–20 km have been identified. Recent work in the Ouarzazate basin indicated that the Amekchoud fault ramp could generate seismic events with magnitudes as large as 6.4 Mw.     

Design of circular patch antenna with a high gain by using a novel artificial planar dual‐layer metamaterial superstrate

This study presents a new dual‐layer metasurface structure proposed to enhance the performance of a circular patch antenna. A novel unit cell planar metasurface is characterized by nearly equal enhanced effective permeability and permittivity ε_r ? μ_r > 1 at the resonant frequency. In addition, a 5*5 array of these unit cells are used as a superstrate over a circular patch antenna which is fed by 50 Ω microstrip line and operating at 2.45 GHz for improving the antenna performance. The patch antenna gain is increased by creating an in‐phase electric field area on the top surface of the metasurface. The obtained results showed that the maximum gain of the antenna increased from 2.31 dBi to 7.5 dBi. A 30% increase in the bandwidth is also remarked. The proposed antenna with metasurface occupies an overall volume of 1.01λ_g ×1.01λ_g ×0.025λ_g . The simulation analysis and measured results were performed using the microwave studio, high frequency structure simulator software, and vector network analyzer. The proposed antenna prototype has been fabricated. The measured results indicate that the antenna has a good impedance matching in the desired operating band (2.37‐2.49 GHz) with the resonant frequency of 2.44 GHz which make the proposed antenna appropriate for microwave applications.     

ECG signal filtering based on CEEMDAN with hybrid interval thresholding and higher order statistics to select relevant modes

Multimedia Tools and Applications - In this paper, we propose a novel ECG signal enhancement method based on Complete Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition with Adaptive Noise (CEEMDAN) and Higher...     

A non-standard semantics for program slicing and dependence analysis

We introduce a new non-strict semantics for a simple while language. We demonstrate that this semantics allows us to give a denotational definition of variable dependence and neededness, which is consistent with program slicing. Unlike other semantics used in variable dependence, our semantics is substitutive. We prove that our semantics is preserved by traditional slicing algorithms.     

RHO1 (YlRHO1) is a non-essential gene in Yarrowia lipolytica and complements rho1Delta lethality in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

The synthesis of beta-1,3-glucan, the structural component of the yeast cell wall that gives shape to the cell, occurs at the plasma membrane and is the result of the activity of at least a two-component complex. Fks1p is the catalytic subunit directly responsible for the synthesis of beta-1,3-glucan, whilst the second subunit, Rho1p, has a GTP-dependent regulatory role (Yamochi et al., 1994). RHO1 has been characterized in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Yamochi et al., 1994), and in several other fungal species. In this work, we have used degenerate oligonucleotides derived from the conserved regions of Rho1ps to isolate the RHO1 gene of Yarrowia lipolytica. The gene isolated in this way, which we have named YlRHO1, encodes a 204 amino acid protein that shows a high degree of homology with other Rho1ps. However, unlike S. cerevisiae, the ylrho1Delta disruptant strain in Y. lipolytica is viable, although it exhibits an increased sensitivity to Calcofluor white and Congo red. Also, YlRHO1 complements rho1 lethality in S. cerevisiae at both 28 degrees C and 37 degrees C. The complete sequence of YlRHO1 can be obtained from GenBank under Accession No. AF279915.     

Characterization of a disulphide-bound Pir-cell wall protein (Pir-CWP) of Yarrowia lipolytica

In this work we have studied the disulphide-bound group of cell wall mannoproteins of Yarrowia lipolytica and Candida albicans. In the case of Y. lipolytica, SDS-PAGE analysis of the beta-mercaptoethanol-extracted material from the purified cell walls of the yeast form, showed the presence of a main polypeptide of 45 kDa and some minor bands in the 100-200 kDa range. This pattern of bands is similar to that obtained in identical extracts in Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Moukadiri et al., 1999), and besides, all these bands cross-react with an antibody raised against beta-mercaptoethanol-extracted material from the purified cell walls of S. cerevisiae, suggesting that the 45 kDa band could be the homologue of Pir4 of S. cerevisiae in Y. lipolytica. To confirm this possibility, the amino-terminal sequences of two internal regions of the 45 kDa protein were determined, and degenerate oligonucleotides were used to clone the gene. The gene isolated in this way codes a 286 amino acid polypeptide that shows homology with the Pir family of proteins of S. cerevisiae (Russo et al., 1992; Toh-e et al., 1993), accordingly we have named this gene YlPIR1. Disruption of YlPIR1 led to a slight increase in the resistance of the cells to calcofluor white, Congo red and zymolyase, but did not cause changes in cell morphology, growth rate or morphological transition.     

Natural convection coupled to surface radiation in an air-filled square cavity containing two heat-generating bodies

The present numerical study focuses on the cooling by natural convection and surface radiation of two electronic components generating two different and uniform volumetric powers. These components are modeled by two square bodies placed inside a closed square cavity with a cold straight wall. Two configurations are analyzed based on the position of the two heat-generating bodies. In the first one (horizontal position configuration), the two bodies are located at the same height of the cavity, while they are placed at different heights in the second case (vertical position configuration). The effects of two Rayleigh numbers ($0\le ({\mathit{Ra}}_1,{\mathit{Ra}}_2)\le {10}^6$), the conductivity ratio ($0.01\le K\le 100$), and the emissivity ($0\le \epsilon \le 1$) on the heat transfer characteristics and the flow structure are analyzed. The data is displayed as streamlines, isotherms, velocity, and maximum temperature profiles, and local heat transfer on the active wall. The obtained results indicate that the choice of the appropriate configuration depends mainly on the deviation between the two Rayleigh numbers. Furthermore, the maximum temperature of a specific block decreases as the quantity of heat generated by the other block rises. We can also see that the maximum temperature of the two blocks decreases by about $50\%$ with the increase in the emissivity (from $0$ to $1$) or the conductivity ratio (from $0.1$ to $1$).