Omnidirectional Image Stabilization for Visual Object Recognition

In this paper, we present a pipeline for camera pose and trajectory estimation, and image stabilization and rectification for dense as well as wide baseline omnidirectional images. The proposed pipeline transforms a set of images taken by a single hand-held camera to a set of stabilized and rectified images augmented by the computed camera 3D trajectory and a reconstruction of feature points facilitating visual object recognition. The paper generalizes previous works on camera trajectory estimation done on perspective images to omnidirectional images and introduces a new technique for omnidirectional image rectification that is suited for recognizing people and cars in images. The performance of the pipeline is demonstrated on real image sequences acquired in urban as well as natural environments.     

Pt/TiN electrodes for stacked memory with polysilicon plug utilizing PZT films

Abstract

The mechanism of TiN barrier metal oxidation of Pt/TiN electrodes are investigated for planarized stacked memory utilizing lead zirconate titanate (PZT). Thinner (<100 nm) and highly oriented platinum films are required in gigabit scale ferroelectric nonvolatile memories whose capacitor size is comparable to PZT grain size. Oxygen diffusivity to oxidize TiN is found to depend on the Pt film thickness. In cross-sectional TEM images of PZT/Pt/TiN/Si, titanium oxide is observed beneath the Pt grain boundary. The oxygen is diffused through the Pt grain boundary under heat treatment in an oxygen atmosphere for crystallization of PZT films, and oxidizes the underlying TiN barrier metal.     

A grid-based assessment of global water scarcity including virtual water trading

A 0.5-degree grid-based assessment of the scarcity of global water resources including virtual water trading has been made. The three components of water availability considered for each grid were local runoff, routed flow from upstream and virtual water trading. Several assumptions were postulated to convert country-base estimations of virtual water trading to grid values. The results show that unequal spatial distribution of global water resources had been considerably neutralized by virtual water trading. A large proportion of people in the Middle-East, North-Africa and Sub-Sahara region are able to relieve their water stress through virtual water import. The paper also reports two hypothetical scenarios with extremes of natural flow availability based on the presence and absence of routed upstream flow.     

Fluid–structure interaction modeling of a patient-specific cerebral aneurysm: influence of structural modeling

Fluid–structure interaction (FSI) simulations of a cerebral aneurysm with the linearly elastic and hyper-elastic wall constitutive models are carried out to investigate the influence of the wall-structure model on patient-specific FSI simulations. The maximum displacement computed with the hyper-elastic model is 36% smaller compared to the linearly elastic material model, but the displacement patterns such as the site of local maxima are not sensitive to the wall models. The blood near the apex of an aneurysm is likely to be stagnant, which causes very low wall shear stress and is a factor in rupture by degrading the aneurysmal wall. In this study, however, relatively high flow velocities due to the interaction between the blood flow and aneurysmal wall are seen to be independent of the wall model. The present results indicate that both linearly elastic and hyper-elastic models can be useful to investigate aneurysm FSI.     

Beam test performance of a scintillator-based detector for the charge identification of relativistic ions

We report on the measurements performed with relativistic ions from Be to Fe, at the Fragment Separator (FRS) of the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, to test the performance of charge-sensitive detectors that were designed to separate - via multiple dE/dx measurements - fully stripped nuclei of cosmic origin in the experiment CALET. The latter is a space mission by the Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) scheduled to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) in 2013. The CALET instrument is managed by an international collaboration and it is scheduled to take data for 5 years on the Exposure Facility (JEM-EF) of the Japanese module KIBO on the ISS.The aim of the test was to accurately measure the response of the scintillator to different nuclear species and parametrize the saturation of the scintillation light in order to assess the impact of this effect on the charge resolution of the instrument.     

Purification and characterization of dibenzothiophene (DBT) sulfone monooxygenase, an enzyme involved in DBT desulfurization, from Rhodococcus erythropolis D-1

Dibenzothiophene (DBT), a model of organic sulfur compound in petroleum, is microbially desulfurized to 2-hydroxybiphenyl by Rhodococcus erythropolis D-1. Three desulfurization (Dsz) enzymes--DszC, A, and B--and flavin reductase are involved in sulfur-specific DBT desulfurization. In this study, DszA was purified, characterized, and crystallized from R. erythropolis D-1. DszA, DBT sulfone monooxygenase, is the second enzyme in microbial DBT desulfurization metabolism and catalyzes the conversion of DBT sulfone to 2'-hydroxybiphenyl 2-sulfinic acid in the presence of flavin reductase with cleavage of the carbon-sulfur bond in the DBT skeleton. Using anion-exchange column chromatography, the four enzyme fractions responsible for DBT desulfurization were separated, and DszA was then purified to homogeneity. Polygonal crystals of DszA were observed within a week. DszA was found to have a molecular mass of 97 kDa and to consist of two subunits with identical masses of 50 kDa. The N-terminal amino acid sequence of the purified DszA completely coincided with the deduced amino acid sequence for dszA of R. erythropolis IGTS8 except for a methionine residue at the latter N-terminal. The optimal temperature and pH for DszA activity were 35 degrees C and about 7.5. The activity of the enzyme was inhibited by Mn2+, Ni2+, 2,2'-bipyridine, and 8-quinolinol, suggesting that a metal might be involved in its activity. DszA acted on not only DBT sulfone but also on dibenz[c,e][1,2]oxathiin 6-oxide and dibenz[c,e][1,2]oxathiin 6,6-dioxide. Dihydroxybiphenyl was formed from the latter two substrates.     

Cobalt‐containing smectite‐like mesoporous material as a new type of catalyst for hydrodesulfurization of thiophene

Cobalt‐containing mesoporous smectite‐like material (SM(Co)) was prepared by a hydrothermal method and used as a catalyst for hydrodesulfurization (HDS) of thiophene. It is active by itself and produces mainly butenes and a small amount of n-butane. When platinum is added to this material, the HDS activity is enhanced by 50%, while the product distribution does not change so much. The platinum‐loaded sample should have two types of active sites, one originally present in the smectite‐like material and the other with platinum, the latter being different in nature from a sample of platinum supported on silica gel. Thus, the SM(Co) and Pt/SM(Co) samples are new types of HDS catalysts. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.