Spot addressing for microarray images structured in hexagonal grids

In this work, an efficient method for spot addressing in images, which are generated by the scanning of hexagonal structured microarrays, is proposed. Initially, the blocks of the image are separated using the projections of the image. Next, all the blocks of the image are processed separately for the detection of each spot. The spot addressing procedure begins with the detection of the high intensity objects, which are probably the spots of the image. Next, the Growing Concentric Hexagon algorithm, which uses the properties of the hexagonal grid, is introduced for the detection of the non-hybridized spots. Finally, the Voronoi diagram is applied to the centers of the detected spots for the gridding of the image. The method is evaluated using spots generated from the scanning of the Beadchip of Illumina, which is used for the detection of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in the human genome, and uses hexagonal structure for the location of the spots. For the evaluation, the detected centers for each of the spot in the image are compared to the centers of the annotation, obtaining up to 98% accuracy for the spot addressing procedure.     

Ambient wood smoke exposure and respiratory symptoms in Tasmania, Australia

Wood smoke exposure has been associated with adverse respiratory health outcomes, with much of the current research focused on wood smoke from domestic heating and cooking. This study examined the association between respiratory symptoms and outdoor wood smoke in Launceston, Tasmania, where ~ 30% of homes use wood burners for domestic heating. This ecological study examined data from participants of the 2004 Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study postal survey and compared the prevalence of respiratory symptoms in Launceston (n = 601) with that in Hobart (n = 1071), a larger Tasmanian city with much less wood smoke. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to investigate the associations of interest while adjusting for gender, atopy, history of allergic disease and current smoking status. There were no significant differences in symptom prevalence between Launceston and Hobart. Two subgroup analyses, which examined participants with pre-existing chronic respiratory disease, and those who reported actively using a wood burner in their home, also did not find significant differences. Any impact of wood smoke on non-specific respiratory symptoms might have been overshadowed by other important determinants of respiratory health, such as vehicle exhaust and tobacco smoking, or were too small to have been detected. However, the lack of detectable differences in symptom prevalence might also reflect the success of regulatory action by local governments to reduce wood smoke emissions in Launceston. The results of other epidemiological studies support an association between ambient wood smoke exposure and adverse respiratory health. Further investigations of wood smoke exposure in Australian settings are needed to investigate the lack of significant associations found in this study, especially studies of indoor air quality and health impacts in children and elderly populations.     

Management of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia in departments of genitourinary medicine--a national survey

Two hundred thirty-three newly enrolled medical and nursing students at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon, were tested for antibodies to measles and mumps. Antibodies to measles were detected in 95% of the sample, and antibodies to mumps in 84% of the sample. Susceptible individuals were appropriately immunized.     

Large-scale evaluation of splicing localization algorithms for web images

With the proliferation of smartphones and social media, journalistic practices are increasingly dependent on information and images contributed by local bystanders through Internet-based applications and platforms. Verifying the images produced by these sources is integral to forming accurate news reports, given that there is very little or no control over the type of user-contributed content, and hence, images found on the Web are always likely to be the result of image tampering. In particular, image splicing, i.e. the process of taking an area from one image and placing it in another is a typical such tampering practice, often used with the goal of misinforming or manipulating Internet users. Currently, the localization of splicing traces in images found on the Web is a challenging task. In this work, we present the first, to our knowledge, exhaustive evaluation of today’s state-of-the-art algorithms for splicing localization, that is, algorithms attempting to detect which pixels in an image have been tampered with as the result of such a forgery. As our aim is the application of splicing localization on images found on the Web and social media environments, we evaluate a large number of algorithms aimed at this problem on datasets that match this use case, while also evaluating algorithm robustness in the face of image degradation due to JPEG recompressions. We then extend our evaluations to a large dataset we formed by collecting real-world forgeries that have circulated the Web during the past years. We review the performance of the implemented algorithms and attempt to draw broader conclusions with respect to the robustness of splicing localization algorithms for application in Web environments, their current weaknesses, and the future of the field. Finally, we openly share the framework and the corresponding algorithm implementations to allow for further evaluations and experimentation.     

SEGEM: a simulation approach for electric generation management

We present a modeling framework for a robust simulation of multiperiod hydrothermal power management and energy trading under uncertainty in generators availability, fuel procurement, transport and stock costs, exogenous water inflow at river basins and energy demand per subperiod at each time period of a given planning horizon. A deterministic treatment of the problem provides unsatisfactory results for medium term (1-2 years) planning horizon. We use a 2-stage scenario analysis based on a partial recourse approach, where the generation decision policy can be implemented for a given set of initial periods and the solution for the other periods does not need to be anticipated and, then, it depends on the scenario to occur. We have used an augmented Lagrangean decomposition scheme by dualizing the coupling constraints splitting control variables (fuel stock and stored water) for the last implementable period. We present computational results including different simulations of a Spanish generation subsystem composed of 87 thermal generators, 57 hydro plants and reservoirs, 7 fuel types and 5 time periods. 160 scenarios are simultaneously considered     

A black hole novelty detector for video analysis

A black hole is a region of space that has so much mass concentrated in it that there is no way training data for a nearby object to escape its gravitational pull. In this paper we are inspired by this phenomenon to create a new form of novelty detector. We consider the of a given class as a black hole. For multi-class data we are dealing with multiple black holes. A test point is pulled by the centroids of different black holes as well as its K nearest neighbours. The gravitational pull is modelled as an iterative process, where the forces acting on a point are constantly changing with time as the test point moves in multi-dimensional space corresponding to these forces. Once the algorithm has converged, a thresholding scheme is applied to determine whether the test point has been pulled within the boundary of the black hole or not. Any points that lie outside all known black holes are deemed to be novel. We compare this novelty detector with other well-known models of novelty detection on a video analysis application and show very promising results.     

Assessment of the sensory quality and shelf stability of selected Horro beef muscles in Ethiopia

The objective of this work was to assess sensory quality and retail life of Horro beef muscles in Ethiopia. Six muscles: M. rhomboideus (RM), M. infraspinatus (IS), M. longissimus lumborum (LL), M. semimembranosus (SM), M. biceps femoris (BF) and M. rectus femoris (RF) were considered. Sensory quality of the muscles was rated by a 9-member trained panel for palatability, tenderness, juiciness, amount of connective tissue (ACT), lean color and surface discoloration and measured by Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF). Retail life of the six muscles were evaluated for CIE 1976 L^∗a^∗b^∗ color values across 6 days. Significant differences (p < 0.05) between muscles for all sensory attributes and WBSF were found. Significant L^∗a^∗b^∗ color values of muscles and USDA quality grades by retail life were found (p < 0.05). Significant correlations (p < 0.05 or p < 0.01) of key parameters were also identified.     

Bivariate semiparametric control charts for simultaneous monitoring of process mean and variance

In the present article, two semiparametric bivariate control charts are presented, which use order statistics and are effective in jointly monitoring of possible shifts in the process mean and/or variance. To achieve that both the median location (or more generally the location of a specific order statistic) and the number of specific observations of the test sample lying between the control limits are taken into account. The false alarm rate and the in-control average run length are not affected by the marginal distributions, while the effect of the dependence structure on them is negligible; therefore, they can be used as fully nonparametric charts. A performance-comparison study is carried out, and an illustrative example is provided using a real-world data set.     

Adaptive FH optimization in MEC-assisted 5G environments

Photonic Network Communications - To address the limitations of current radio access networks (RANs), centralized RANs adopting the concept of flexible splits of the BBU functions between radio...     

A distributed routing protocol for providing QoS in Wireless Mesh Networks operating above 10 GHz

Wireless Mesh Networks (WMNs) are considered for a plethora of complex applications, where different QoS specifications should be satisfied. In such applications, QoS issues concerning the delay and the reliability of data transmission are of utmost importance. In this paper, a distributed routing protocol for WMNs operating above 10 GHz to support services with distributed QoS is presented. As far as propagation is concerned, the major factor limiting the performance of millimetre wave radio systems is rain attenuation. The routing problem is formulated as a problem of linear programming, where the objective is to determine the path with minimum transmission delay while at the same time, satisfying a given set of constraints. Lagrangian Relaxation and dual decomposition are used to solve the problem in a distributed way. The proposed algorithm exhibits a low computational complexity, it is scalable and guarantees convergence to an optimal routing scheme. Its performance is verified through extended simulations employing an accurate spatial‐temporal channel model. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.