Active recognition through next view planning: a survey

3-D object recognition involves using image-computable features to identify 3-D object. A single view of a 3-D object may not contain sufficient features to recognize it unambiguously. One needs to plan different views around the given object in order to recognize it. Such a task involves an active sensor—one whose parameters (external and/or internal) can be changed in a purposive manner. In this paper, we review two important applications of an active sensor. We first survey important approaches to active 3-D object recognition. Next, we review existing approaches towards another important application of an active sensor namely, that of scene analysis and interpretation.     

Influence of Precursor Solutions on the Ferroelectric Properties of Sol-Gel-Derived Lanthanum-Modified Lead Titanate (PLT) Thin Films

Precursor chemistry was found to have a dominant effect on the electrical properties of sol-gel-derived Pb_0.85La_0.15TiO₃ (PLT15) thin films prepared using different precursor sources for lanthanum, namely, lanthanum acetate dissolved in acetic acid (LAA) and lanthanum 2-methoxyethoxide in 2-methoxyethanol (LMM). The LMM-derived PLT15 films had lower dielectric constants ( K _LMM= 394, K _LAA= 548, measured at 100 kHz, applying 500 mV oscillation voltage), poorer polarization hysteresis characteristics, and higher leakage current densities ( J _LMM∼ 1.5 × 10⁻⁷ A/cm², J _LAA∼ 2 × 10⁻⁹ A/cm², measured at 10 kV/cm field). Differential thermal analysis (DTA) and thermogravimetric analysis (TGA) measurements in conjunction with Fourier transformed infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analyses indicate that better removal of C–O moieties are the key step to yield improved electrical properties in these films. Possibly, C–O moieties reduce the metallic oxides to their corresponding metals and the presence of the metallic constituent(s) (e.g., lead), in turn deteriorate the electrical properties. In line with these postulations it was found that, when the pyrolysis temperature is increased from 450° to 550°C, the organic contents of LMM-derived films are reduced and their electrical properties are indeed comparable to that of the LAA-derived films.     

Design of efficient stiffened shells of revolution

A method to produce efficient piecewise uniform stiffened shells of revolution is presented. The approach uses a first order differential equation formulation for the shell prebuckling and buckling analyses and the necessary conditions for an optimum design are derived by a variational approach. A variety of local yielding and buckling constraints and the general buckling constraint are included in the design process. The local constraints are treated by means of an interior penalty function and the general buckling load is treated by means of an exterior penalty function. This allows the general buckling constraint to be included in the design process only when it is violated. The self adjoint nature of the prebuckling and buckling formulations is used to reduce the computational effort. Results for four conical shells and one spherical shell are given.     

Olfactory behavior of red flour beetleTribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera,Tenebrionidae) towards natural fatty acid esters

The olfactory responses of red flour beetles,Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), to methyl and ethyl ester of C₁₄–C₁₈ fatty acid prepared from tallow were studied. Methyl octadecanoate and ethyl octadecanoate discouraged aggregation of beetle adults. Ethyl 9.12-octadecadienoate acted as a repellent. Methyl pentadecanoate and ethyl tetradecanoate induced copulation at the level of 5 × 10² and 2 × 10³ g, respectively. The maximum response was observed at the level of 5 × 10² g of the same compounds, and these compounds appear to stimulate males only.     

Application of differential geometry to recognize and locate partially occluded objects

A new method has been proposed to recognize and locate partially occluded two-dimensional rigid objects of a given scene. For this purpose we initially generate a set of local features of the shapes using the concept of differential geometry. Finally a computer vision scheme, based upon matching local features of the objects in a scene and the models which are considered as cognitive database, is described using hypothesis generation and verification of features for the best possible recognition.     

Measurement of optical transport properties of normal and malignant human breast tissue

We report measurement of optical transport parameters of normal and malignant (ductal carcinoma) human breast tissue. A spatially resolved steady-state diffuse reflectance technique was used for measurement of the reduced scattering coefficient (mu(s)?) and the absorption coefficient (mu(a)) of the tissue. The anisotropy parameter of scattering (g) was estimated by goniophotometric measurements of the scattering phase function. The values of mu(s)? and mu(a) for malignant breast tissue were observed to be larger than those for normal breast tissue over the wavelength region investigated (450-650 nm). Further, by using both the diffuse reflectance and the goniophotometric measurements, we estimated the Mie equivalent average radius of tissue scatterers to be larger in malignant tissue than in normal tissue.     

Acetone and ethanol sensing characteristics of magnesium zinc ferrite nano-particulate chemi-resistive sensor

In the present work, acetone and ethanol sensing characteristics of wet chemically prepared magnesium zinc ferrite (MZFO) nano-particles have been investigated. X-ray diffraction and electron microscopy studies are carried out to know the phase formation behaviour and microstructure evolution of the synthesized particles. The gas sensing characteristics (response %, response time, recovery time, etc.) are estimated by varying the operating temperature of the sensor and concentrations of the test vapours. It is observed that the nanocrystalline MZFO-based sensor is more sensitive to acetone than ethanol. In addition, the sensor can detect even 10 ppm of acetone and ethanol vapours. The excellent repeatability of the sensing performances is verified by switching the sensor back and forth between air and test vapours.     

Delay uncertainty in MLGNR interconnects under process induced variations of width,doping, dielectric thickness and mean free path

This paper analyzes the delay performance of multi-layered graphene nanoribbon (MLGNR) interconnect under process induced variations. An equivalent multi-conductor transmission line (MTL) model driven by CMOS gate is employed for the analysis. The propagation delay is analyzed for different interconnect lengths and widths by taking into account the variations in width, dielectric thickness, dielectric constant, interlayer distance and doping concentration of MLGNR. Encouragingly, it is observed that the average deviation in delay is below 3 % for all process induced parameter variations except for the mean free path.     

M-31 mutant (virA::Tn5) of Agrobacterium tumefaciens is capable of transferring its T-DNA into the nucleus of host cell, but incapable of integrating it into the chromosome

An avirulent mutant (M-31 strain) was produced by the transposon (Tn5) mutagenesis of Agrobacterium tumefaciens (A-208 strain). A binary vector, pIG121-Hm, containing a kanamycin resistance gene (nptII) and beta-glucuronidase (GUS) gene with an intron, was introduced into M-31 and A-208 strains. The resultant Agrobacteria were inoculated onto leaves of Kalanchoe daigremontiana and to tobacco BY-2 cells to assay GUS activity to monitor the T-DNA transfer into the nuclei of host cells. The results indicated that T-DNA was transferred into the nuclei of cells of both host plants inoculated with the M-31 mutant. The M-31 mutant strain had an insertion of Tn5 in the virA gene on its Ti plasmid. The introduction of the virA gene in the M-31 mutant complemented its avirulent phenotype. No kanamycin-resistant cells were observed when the M-31 mutant harboring the pIG121-Hm was inoculated to tobacco BY-2 cells. The M-31 mutant (virA::Tn5) seems to transfer T-DNA into the nucleus of the host cell, but is unable to integrate it to the chromosome.