Detection of circlelike overlapping objects in thermal spray images

In this paper, we present a new algorithm for the detection of distorted and overlapping circlelike objects in noisy grayscale images. Its main step is an edge detection using rotated difference kernel estimators. To the resulting estimated edge points, circles are fitted in an iterative manner using a circular clustering algorithm. A new measure of similarity can assess the performance of algorithms for the detection of circlelike objects, even if the number of detected circles does not coincide with the number of true circles. We apply the algorithm to scanning electron microscope images of a high-velocity oxygen fuel (HVOF) spray process, which is a popular coating technique. There, a metal powder is fed into a jet, gets accelerated and heated up by means of a mixture of oxygen and fuel, and finally deposits as coating upon a substrate. If the process is stopped before a continuous layer is formed, the molten metal powder solidifies in form of small, almost circular so-called splats, which vary with regard to their shape, size, and structure and can overlap each other. As these properties are challenging for existing image processing algorithms, engineers analyze splat images manually up to now. We further compare our new algorithm with a baseline approach that uses the Laplacian of Gaussian blob detection. It turns out that our algorithm performs better on a set of test images of round, spattered, and overlapping circles.     

The most cost-effective ways to maintain public open space with less water: Perth case study

Local governments in Perth, Western Australia, use groundwater to irrigate high value public open space. Due to a sustained decline in rainfall current groundwater extraction rates are unsustainable and are set to be reduced. We investigate the cost-effectiveness of different water efficiency improvement technology solutions. There is significant variation in the cost-effectiveness of different techniques, with the cost of water saved varying from a low of AUD 0.27 per kilolitre to as high as AUD 13.49 per kilolitre. In most cases the water efficiency solutions considered delivered water savings for less than the cost of the backstop technique – scheme water – which costs AUD 2.09 per kilolitre. For the case study area we find that 5, 10, and 15% saving in the volume of water used to irrigate public open space can be achieved for average per kilolitre water costs of: AUD 0.38, AUD 0.43, and AUD 0.62, respectively.     

The Nutrition Attitude Survey: Associations with dietary habits, psychological and physical well-being, and coronary risk factors.

Developed a nutrition attitude survey (NAS) to measure attitudes pertaining to the adoption of a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet. Factor analysis identified 4 primary attitudinal factors: (a) Helpless and Unhealthy, (b) Food Exploration, (c) Meat Preference, and (d) Health Consciousness. For a community sample of 357 healthy men and women, relationships were examined among these attitudinal factors and dietary habits, family food patterns, medical and psychological symptoms (as assessed by the Cornell Medical Index and SCL-90—Revised), and traditional coronary risk factors. Findings provide initial support for the reliability and predictive validity of the NAS and underscore the importance of addressing the attitudes and preferences of participants in dietary intervention programs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Synthesis of a Series of Structurally Diverse MB327 Derivatives and Their Affinity Characterization at the Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptor

A novel series of 30 symmetric bispyridinium and related N‐heteroaromatic bisquaternary salts with a propane‐1,3‐diyl linker was synthesized and characterized for their binding affinity at the MB327 binding site of nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) from Torpedo californica. Compounds targeting this binding site are of particular interest for research into new antidotes against organophosphate poisoning, as therapeutically active 4‐tert‐butyl‐substituted bispyridinium salt MB327 was previously identified as a nAChR re‐sensitizer. Efficient access to the target compounds was provided by newly developed methods enabling N‐alkylation of sterically hindered or electronically deactivated heterocycles exhibiting a wide variety of functional groups. Determination of binding affinities toward the MB327 binding site at the nAChR, using a recently developed mass spectrometry (MS)‐based Binding Assay, revealed that several compounds reached affinities similar to that of MB327 (pK_i=4.73±0.03). Notably, the newly prepared lipophilic 4‐tert‐butyl‐3‐phenyl‐substituted bispyridinium salt PTM0022 ( 3 h ) was found to have significantly higher binding affinity, with a pK_i value of 5.16±0.07, thus representing considerable progress toward the development of more potent nAChR re‐sensitizers.     

The Materiality of Finnish Folk Magic: Objects in the Collections of the National Museum of Finland

Abstract

In Finland the material aspects of magic have long been of marginal interest to scholars. Still, during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries several magical objects were gathered into museums, in addition to the archived vast folklore collections describing magic practices. The latter have been widely discussed, while recently also the material culture of magic is becoming the object of study.

This paper discusses the objects classified as magical in the collections of the National Museum in Helsinki. The collection includes, for example, miniature coffins containing an impaled frog or a wooden stick figure, magic pouches with various contents, animal bones and teeth, “snake’s court stones,” and curious growths of trees. The objects date mainly to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. This collection is briefly presented and the process of ascribing magical meanings to a natural or constructed object is analyzed, both from the viewpoint of practitioners and museum personnel.

From the practitioners’ standpoint a complex combination of analogical thinking, potent agencies, and specific contexts resulted in special qualities of objects. In the museum, specific objects used solely for ritual purposes have attracted more attention than multi-purpose everyday items. Moreover, a foreknowledge of what kinds of objects were used ritually has guided choices of cataloguers. As a result the collection is quite limited.     

Pipette-based Method to Study Embryoid Body Formation Derived from Mouse and Human Pluripotent Stem Cells Partially Recapitulating Early Embryonic Development Under Simulated Microgravity Conditions

The in vitro differentiation of pluripotent stem cells partially recapitulates early in vivo embryonic development. More recently, embryonic development under the influence of microgravity has become a primary focus of space life sciences. In order to integrate the technique of pluripotent stem cell differentiation with simulated microgravity approaches, the 2-D clinostat compatible pipette-based method was experimentally investigated and adapted for investigating stem cell differentiation processes under simulated microgravity conditions. In order to keep residual accelerations as low as possible during clinorotation, while also guaranteeing enough material for further analysis, stem cells were exposed in 1-mL pipettes with a diameter of 3.5 mm. The differentiation of mouse and human pluripotent stem cells inside the pipettes resulted in the formation of embryoid bodies at normal gravity (1 g) after 24 h and 3 days. Differentiation of the mouse pluripotent stem cells on a 2-D pipette-clinostat for 3 days also resulted in the formation of embryoid bodies. Interestingly, the expression of myosin heavy chain was downregulated when cultivation was continued for an additional 7 days at normal gravity. This paper describes the techniques for culturing and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells and exposure to simulated microgravity during culturing or differentiation on a 2-D pipette clinostat. The implementation of these methodologies along with -omics technologies will contribute to understand the mechanisms regulating how microgravity influences early embryonic development.