An augmented reality interface to contextual information

In this paper, we report on a prototype augmented reality (AR) platform for accessing abstract information in real-world pervasive computing environments. Using this platform, objects, people, and the environment serve as contextual channels to more information. The user??s interest with respect to the environment is inferred from eye movement patterns, speech, and other implicit feedback signals, and these data are used for information filtering. The results of proactive context-sensitive information retrieval are augmented onto the view of a handheld or head-mounted display or uttered as synthetic speech. The augmented information becomes part of the user??s context, and if the user shows interest in the AR content, the system detects this and provides progressively more information. In this paper, we describe the first use of the platform to develop a pilot application, Virtual Laboratory Guide, and early evaluation results of this application.     

USING A THEOREM PROVER FOR REASONING ON CONSTRAINT PROBLEMS

The efficiency of systems for constraint programming (CP) is currently highly affected by the actual formulation of the input problem. To this end, several choices have to be made by modelers in order to write efficient specifications and handle instances of realistic size, and this, of course, represents a major obstacle to reach full declarativeness. Several structural properties of problem specifications have been investigated in order to provide techniques that reformulate a constraint program into one which is more efficiently evaluable by the solver at hand. In this paper we consider two such properties, symmetries and functional dependencies among variables, and show that, by characterizing problem specifications as logical formulae, the task of deciding whether such properties hold, and consequently that of performing the relevant reformulations, can be practically mechanized by means of automated theorem proving (ATP) technology. In particular, we report the results on using ATP technology for checking the existence of symmetries, checking whether a given constraint is symmetry-breaking, and checking the existence of functional dependencies in a specification. The output of the reasoning phase is a transformed constraint program, consisting in a reformulated specification and, possibly, a search strategy. We show our techniques on problems such as graph coloring, Sailco inventory, and protein folding.     

Visual spatial-context based wildfire smoke sensor

Sensors for early fire detection based on visual analysis have been under constant development and improvement, especially during the last decade. However, there is still a lot of room for advancement to increase the accuracy and reliability of such sensors. In this paper, a novel method for wildfire smoke detection based on spatial context analysis as well as motion detection, chromatic, texture and shape analysis is introduced. Several measures for evaluating quality of smoke detection are used, both on image and pixel scale. Smoke is a semi-transparent and amorphous phenomenon whose boundaries are hard to determine precisely; therefore, fuzzy measures are introduced for assessing the detection error. The proposed method is evaluated using the proposed measures and compared with two existing methods. The results show that the wildfire sensor based on proposed method is capable of detecting fire-smoke accurately and reliably, and in most detection aspects it outperforms the existing methods.     

3‐D crosstalk and luminance uniformity from angular luminance profiles of multiview autostereoscopic 3‐D displays

Abstract— Autostereoscopic 3‐D display technologies enable a more immersive media experience by adding real depth to the visual content. However, the method used for the creation of a sensation of depth or stereo illusion contains several display design and content‐related issues that need to be carefully considered to maintain sufficient image quality. Conventionally, methods used for 3‐D image‐quality evaluations have been based on subjective testing. Optical measurements, in addition to subjective testing, can be used as an efficient tool for 3‐D display characterization. Objective characterization methods for autostereoscopic displays have been developed. How parameters affecting stereo image quality can be defined and measured, and how their effect on the stereo image quality can be evaluated have been investigated. Developed characterization methods are based on empirically gathered data. In this paper, previously presented methodology for two‐view displays is extended to cover autostereoscopic multiview displays. A distinction between displays where the change in content occurs in clear steps when the user moves in front of the display, and displays where the apparent movement of the objects is more continuous as a function of the head movement is made. Definitions for 3‐D luminance and luminance uniformity, which are equally important, as well as 3‐D crosstalk, which is the dominant factor in the evaluations of the perceived 3‐D image quality, is focused upon.     

Fenten chemistry of Fe(III)-exchanged zeolitic minerals treated with antioxidants

Respirable mineral fibers, such as asbestos, are known to cause pleural mesothelioma, pulmonary fibrosis, and bronchial carcinoma, often years after exposure. Erionite and mordenite, two mineral aluminosilicates (zeolites) with different toxicities, can be used as models to help understand asbestos toxicity. Erionite is carcinogenic, while mordenite is relatively benign. No iron is typically present in erionite or mordenite, but because of their ion-exchange properties they can acquire iron after inhalation. The iron is typically in the Fe(III) form and will need to be reduced prior to any Fenton activity. Lung lining fluid contains antioxidants, such as glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid (AA), which can reduce Fe(III) to Fe(II). In this study, we have compared the Fenton reactivity of Fe(III)-exchanged erionite and mordenite after treatment with antioxidants. The Fenton assay involved the reaction of hydroxyl radicals with dimethyl sulfoxide. Fenton reactivity was most marked with AA followed by GSH, and hydrogen peroxide also exhibited minor reactivity. Erionite generated an order of magnitude greater hydroxyl radicals than mordenite, normalized to the surface iron content, providing support for the hypothesis that the iron coordination at the mineral surface plays a significant role in bioactivity.     

Towards a learning networked organisation: human capital, compatibility and usability in e-learning systems

In all parts of organisations there flourish developments of different new subsystems in areas of knowledge and learning. Over recent decades, new systems for classification of jobs have emerged both at the level of organisations and at a macro-labour market level. Recent developments in job evaluation systems make it possible to cope with the new demands for equity at work (between, for example, genders, races, physical abilities). Other systems have emerged to describe job requirements in terms of skills, knowledge and competence. Systems for learning at work and web-based learning have created a demand for new ways to classify and to understand the process of learning. Often these new systems have been taken from other areas of the organisation not directly concerned with facilitating workplace learning. All these new systems are of course closely interrelated but, in most organisations, a major problem is the severe lack of cohesion and compatibility between the different subsystems. The aim of this paper is to propose a basis for how different human resource systems can be integrated into the business development of an organisation. We discuss this problem and develop proposals alternative to integrated macro-systems. A key element in our proposition is a structure for classification of knowledge and skill to be used in all parts of the process. This structure should be used as an added dimension or an overlay on all other subsystems of the total process. This will facilitate a continued use of all existing systems within different organisations. We develop Burge's (personal communication) model for learning to show that learning is not a successive linear process, but rather an iterative process. In this way we emphasise the need for greater involvement of learners in the development of learning systems towards increased usability in a networked system. This paper is divided into two parts which are closely related. The first part gives an overview of the lack of compatibility between the different subsystems. In this first part we note two paradoxes which impact learning and for which we propose solutions. The second part deals with 'usability' aspects of these competency-related systems; in particular, usability in e-learning systems. In this second part we describe an example of a new organisational structure. We conclude by discussing four key concepts that are necessary conditions for organisations to address when developing their human capital. Establishing these conditions helps ensure compatibility and usability in e-learning systems.     

Effects of Insect Herbivory on Bilberry Production and Removal of Berries by Frugivores

The evolutionary purpose of a fleshy fruit is to attract seed dispersers and get the seeds dispersed by frugivorous animals. For this reason, fruits should be highly rewarding to these mutualists. However, insect herbivory can alter plant reproductive success e.g. by decreasing fruit yield or affecting the attractiveness of the fruits to mutualistic seed dispersers. Under natural conditions, we tested the effects of experimental larval-defoliation on berry ripening and consumption of a non-cultivated dwarf shrub, the bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.), which produces animal-dispersed berries with high sugar and anthocyanin concentration. Bilberry ramets with high fruit yield were most likely to have their berries foraged, indicating that frugivores made foraging choices based on the abundance of berries. Moreover, the probability for berries being foraged was the lowest for non-defoliated ramets that grew adjacent to larval-defoliated ramets, even though larval-defoliation did not affect the biochemical composition (total concentrations of anthocyanins, sugars and organic acids) or the probability of ripening of berries. We hypothesise that the lower probability for berries being foraged in these ramets may be a consequence of rhizome- or volatile-mediated communication between ramets, resulting in a priming effect of the herbivore defence and lower attractiveness of the non-defoliated ramets.     

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of two reductively ethylated fuels

A lignite (67.2% C daf) and a coal (89.0% C daf) have been reductively ethylated by Sternberg's procedure⁴ and the spectra, in particular the ¹H and ¹³C n.m.r. spectra, of the products have been obtained. The distribution of hydrogen atoms and, in less detail, of carbon atoms in the reductively ethylated fuels has been determined. It is emphasized that both reductively ethylated fuels contained a variety of structures. The carbon aromaticities of the reductively ethylated lignite and the reductively ethylated coal were 0.41 ± 0.08 and 0.40 ? 0.54 respectively. The aromatic nuclei of the reductively ethylated coal were more highly substituted than those of the reductively ethylated lignite. The ¹H n.m.r. spectra indicate that the reductively ethylated coal and lignite possessed ≈3.5 and ≈2.5 substituents per benzene ring respectively. Resolved absorption in the ¹³C n.m.r. spectra suggests lower figures than these and it was evident that some of the benzene rings in both materials but especially in the reductively ethylated lignite were lightly substituted. The ¹³C n.m.r. spectra show that both materials contained branched and unbranched paraffin chains. Much of the ¹³C n.m.r. spectra however consisted of unresolved absorptions and the ¹³C n.m.r. measurements suggest that the reductively ethylated materials consisted of rigid, relatively immobile molecules of moderate molecular weight. ¹³C n.m.r. absorption by carbon atoms adjacent to aromatic rings was amongst that which was not resolved — though the rings themselves gave resolved absorptions — and this suggests that the aromatic rings were on the periphery of a rigid, perhaps alicyclic, structure.     

Development of a Patient-Derived Xenograft (PDX) of Breast Cancer Bone Metastasis in a Zebrafish Model

Bone metastasis is a complex process that needs to be better understood in order to help clinicians prevent and treat it. Xenografts using patient-derived material (PDX) rather than cancer cell lines are a novel approach that guarantees more clinically realistic results. A primary culture of bone metastasis derived from a 67-year-old patient with breast cancer was cultured and then injected into zebrafish (ZF) embryos to study its metastatic potential. In vivo behavior and results of gene expression analyses of the primary culture were compared with those of cancer cell lines with different metastatic potential (MCF7 and MDA-MB-231). The MCF7 cell line, which has the same hormonal receptor status as the bone metastasis primary culture, did not survive in the in vivo model. Conversely, MDA-MB-231 disseminated and colonized different parts of the ZF, including caudal hematopoietic tissues (CHT), revealing a migratory phenotype. Primary culture cells disseminated and in later stages extravasated from the vessels, engrafting into ZF tissues and reaching the CHT. Primary cell behavior reflected the clinical course of the patient’s medical history. Our results underline the potential for using PDX models in bone metastasis research and outline new methods for the clinical application of this in vivo model.     

Deciphering Specificity Determinants for FR900359‐Derived Gqα Inhibitors Based on Computational and Structure–Activity Studies

Direct targeting of intracellular Gα subunits of G protein‐coupled receptors by chemical tools is a challenging task in current pharmacological studies and in the development of novel therapeutic approaches. In this study we analyzed novel FR900359‐based analogs from natural sources, synthetic cyclic peptides, as well as all so‐far known G_qα inhibitors in a comprehensive study to devise a strategy for the elucidation of characteristics that determine interactions with and inhibition of G_q in the specific FR/YM‐binding pocket. Using 2D NMR spectroscopy and molecular docking we identified unique features in the macrocyclic structures responsible for binding to the target protein correlating with inhibitory activity. While all novel compounds were devoid of effects on G_i and G_s proteins, no inhibitor surpassed the biological activity of FR. This raises the question of whether depsipeptides such as FR already represent valuable chemical tools for specific inhibition of G_q and, at the same time, are suitable natural lead structures for the development of novel compounds to target Gα subunits other than G_q.