Occlusion-resistant camera design for acquiring active environments.

In this article, we present a detailed theoretical analysis and a prototype implementation of a family of cameras designed with the explicit goal of detecting and removing interfering dynamic occluders in real time, during live capture, as opposed to fixing the resulting artifacts a posteriori. Such an early-acquisition approach improves efficiency: more valid samples are acquired faster without worrying about moving occluders. One option for designing a camera to be unaffected by moving occluders is to sample through the occluder, but true x-ray-like vision is technically impractical. Another option is to sample around the occluder using a camera with a large effective aperture, but such an approach requires a bulky acquisition device. Yet another possibility of sampling around an occluder is to rely on second and higher order reflected rays that indirectly sample surfaces not directly visible. However, devising an acquisition device sufficiently sensitive and efficient to capture large environments using reflected rays will remain challenging for the foreseeable future.     

Etude des ondes rampantes sur un corps convexe vérifiant une condition ďimpédance par une méthode de développement asymptotique

We study the creeping waves propagating on a convex object, whose surface impedance is Z. To this end, we seek, by using an asymptotic expansion method, a solution of Maxwell equations, propagating along a geode sic, and satisfying Silver-Müller radiation condition at infinity, and the impedance boundary condition at the surface of the body. By using a geodesic coordinate system suited to the problem, we obtain a closed form solution. The electric and magnetic fields are given in term of the components of these fields along the binormal to the geodesic. We show that two types of creeping waves exist: the electric (resp. magnetic) type, with a non zero binormal component of the electric (resp magnetic) field. They are uncoupled, except in the vicinity of Z = 1, where a rotation of the polarization, similar to Rytov’s law, is evidenced.     

Hemispheric contributions to nonverbal abstract reasoning and problem solving.

Hemispheric involvement in reasoning abilities has been debated for some time, and it remains unclear whether the right hemisphere's involvement in problem solving is modality specific or dependent on the type of spatial reasoning required. In the current study, 2 types of nonverbal reasoning abilities were examined, spatial reasoning and proportional reasoning, in 109 patients with cerebrovascular disease that was confined to either the right or the left hemisphere or was diffuse in nature. Results indicated that no lateralizing effects were present based on type of spatial reasoning. Findings are consistent with the suggestion that higher order cognitive processes involved in nonverbal abstraction and problem solving are not strongly lateralized to the right hemisphere but rather are more generally distributed throughout the cortex. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

First-class extents

Adding environments as first-class entities to a language can greatly enhance its expressiveness. But first-class environments rely on identifiers, the syntax of variables, and thus do not mesh well with lexically-scoped languages. We present first-class extents as an alternative. First-class extents are founded upon lexical variables with dynamic extent. They are defined directly on the variables themselves rather than on their syntax. They therefore do not cause variable name capturing problems that plague first-class environments. Moreover, distinguishing variables from locations allows first-class extents to be orthogonal to imperative and control features.     

Electronic properties of CuO2 planes

We study a 3-band model of CuO₂ with “bare bones” interactions: hopping from copper ions to nearest-neighbor oxygenst _pd only, a two-body interaction on the copper ionsU _dd only, and an overlap copper-oxygen parameter λ_pd. In the limitt _pd ∝U _dd ^1/2→∞, t^*=t _pd ²/2U _dd is the unit of energy with 8λ_pd ² as the only parameter of significance. If the two-body interaction is invariant under particle-hole interchange, the low-lying states (energy O(t^*)) can be described by conserved particles and can all be classified. They are quite distinct from the high-lying states (energies O(U _dd)). The dynamics of the conserved fermion-like elementary particles are well described by a modifiedt-J model with extended hopping and nearest-neighbor superexchange attraction. This is a scenario known to be favorable to high-temperature superconductivity, but it must be noted that both the hopping range and the exchange are functions of 8λ_pd ². Moreover, if the Hamiltonian isnot invariant under particle-hole interchange the dynamics becomes much more complex and possibly more inimical to high-temperature superconductivity. This may provide an explanation for the deleterious effect on superconductivity of very small concentrations of certain impurities.     

Analysis of aperture-coupled microstrip antenna using thesegmentation method

The authors present an original analysis of an aperture-coupled microstrip antenna. The theory is based on the segmentation method, which considers the patch as a multiport network whose impedance matrix is deduced from a hybrid matrix, and the use of analytical expressions of the cavity admittance at the slot centre. The theory is presented for the first time, and the theoretical results are in good agreement with previous published measurements     

Extrusion-rotomolding of plasticized PVC formulations

In this work, we present a novel process to produce plasticized PVC articles. Plasticized PVC dispersion resin (dry blend) was extruded and poured into a hot mold. The mold was transferred to a rotomolding machine, where the final geometry was obtained. Formulations using commercial PVC suspension resin and three different types of plasticizers were prepared under different processing conditions. The physical appearance of the articles and the tensile properties of the materials were evaluated.     

Liver glutathione content and glutathione-dependent enzymes of two species of freshwater fish as bioindicators of chemical pollution

Glutathione content and glutathione-dependent enzymes were measured in the liver of two fish species, gudgeon (Gobio gobio) and roach (Rutilus arcasii), from the river Bernesga (Spain) caught downstream and upstream of the waste site of several chemical industries. Animals from contaminated sites display a reduced glutathione concentration and a tendency to the decrease of glutathione S-transferase activity. Glutathione peroxidase activity was significantly elevated only in the liver of Gobio gobio and glutathione reductase activity in that of Rutilus arcasii. Our data indicate that the glutathione system constitutes a sensitive biochemical indicator of chemical pollution. Relative changes of glutathione and glutathione-dependent enzymes in both fish species suggest a different susceptibility to toxins.