Generation and selection of likely interpretations during plan recognition in task-oriented consultation systems

This paper presents a mechanism which infers a user's plans from his/her utterances by directing the inference process towards the more likely interpretations of a speaker's statements among many possible interpretations. Our mechanism uses Bayesian theory of probability to assess the likelihood of an interpretation, and it complements this assessment by taking into consideration two aspects of an interpretation: its coherence and its information content. The coherence of an interpretation is determined by the relationships between the different statements in the discourse. The information content of an interpretation is a measure of how well defined the interpretation is in terms of the actions to be performed on the basis of this interpretation. This measure is used to guide the inference process towards interpretations with higher information content. The information content of an interpretation depends on the specificity and the certainty of the inferences in it, where the certainty of an inference depends on the knowledge on which the inference is based. Our mechanism has been developed for use in task-oriented consultation systems. The particular domain that we have chosen for exploration is that of travel booking.     

Detection of failure sites by focused ion beam and nano-probing in the interconnect of three-dimensional stacked circuit structures

Focused ion beam (FIB) and nano-probing were applied for failure analysis of three-dimensional stacked circuits with copper through-silicon-vias between the stacked chips. The failure analysis was done after high temperature storage and thermal cycling tests. Passive voltage contrast in FIB allowed to pinpoint the open sites. FIB cross-sections showed the presence of opens at the bottom of the copper vias. The failure cause was suspected to be an interlayer particle, which was confirmed by optical profilometry. Nano-probing was used on another sample to pinpoint the failure location through the measurement of the local resistance within the daisy chains. The failure was traced out to be related with surface contamination.     

The effect of Cu-rich sub-layer on the increased corrosion resistance of Cu-xZn alloys in chloride containing borate buffer

The electrochemical behaviour of Cu-xZn alloys, as well as their constituent metals, in a borate buffer containing chloride ions in the molar range from 0.01 to 1 M are studied. Characteristics of these materials under anodic polarization are compared and the composition and morphology of the corrosion products formed in the course of polarization experiment are analysed by SEM and EDS. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and electrochemical impedance measurements are used for characterization of the surface layers formed on Cu, Zn and Cu-40Zn alloy during 2-h immersion at E_oc in a borate buffer containing two different concentrations of chloride ions. New aspects of the behaviour of brass under E_oc condition are revealed. The improved corrosion resistance of brass in chloride media, if compared to zinc metal, is attributed to a Cu-rich layer formed by the selective dissolution of zinc. Based on the results, a structural model describing the improved corrosion resistance of Cu-40Zn alloy with respect to Zn metal is proposed.     

Adaptive infill sampling criterion for multi-fidelity optimization based on Gappy-POD

This paper presents a reformulation of the “Gappy Proper Orthogonal Decomposition” (Gappy-POD) multi-fidelity modeling approach and proposes an enrichment criterion associated with an adaptive infill algorithm. The latter is here applied to the study of the flight domain of the RAE-2822 transonic airfoil at two different levels of accuracy to demonstrate its ability to detect areas in a two-dimensional design space where the surrogate model needs improvement to better drive the optimization process.     

Cross‐talk acceptability in natural still images for different (auto)stereoscopic display technologies

Abstract— One of the most annoying distortions in (auto)stereoscopic displays is probably cross‐talk, visible as double edges, which is mainly caused by an imperfect separation of left‐ and right‐eye images. For different types of three‐dimensional (3‐D) displays, cross‐talk is caused by different origins, which could result in different levels of perceived image distortion. To evaluate the influence of (auto)stereoscopic display technology on cross‐talk perception, optical measurements and subjective assessments were performed with three different types of 3‐D displays. It is shown with natural still images that the 3‐D display technology with the lowest luminance and contrast level tolerates the highest level of cross‐talk, while still maintaining an acceptable image‐quality level.     

Chemical correlates of α-tocopherol (Vitamin E) alteredMalacosoma disstria herbivory inFraxinus pennsylvanica var.Subintegerrinia,green ash

The antioxidant -tocopherol (vitamin E), applied in a basal trunk band to the green ash tree,Fraxinus pennsylvanica var.subintergerrinia, elicited an alteration of foliar feeding byMalacosoma disstria larvae (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae). The bioassayed effects were dependent on the dosage of elicitor, the time after elicitation, and the position in the tree. Leaves for chemical analysis were collected from trees receiving two dosages and at two intervals after elicitation. Compounds in the ethyl acetate extractables from the ash tree leaves were separated by TLC and HPLC. TLC separations showed differences in the nonhydrolyzed extractables attributable to elicitor dosage and time after elicitation. TLC-resolved differences were also evident among acid-hydrolyzed samples. HPLC-resolved profiles revealed eight peaks in the nonhydrolyzed extractables that were quantitatively negatively correlated with larval feeding preference between elicited versus control foliage on at least one of the two sampling dates. Results from this study and other investigations reported in the literature indicate that the antioxidant-tocopherol (vitamin E) can function as an environmental-stress elicitor of alterable defensive chemistry in green ash and other plants.     

Associative Learning Improves Visual Working Memory Performance.

The ability to remember visual stimuli over a short delay period is limited by the small capacity of visual working memory (VWM). Here the authors investigate the role of learning in enhancing VWM. Participants saw 2 spatial arrays separated by a 1-s interval. The 2 arrays were identical except for 1 location. Participants had to detect the difference. Unknown to the participants, some spatial arrays would repeat once every dozen trials or so for up to 32 repetitions. Spatial VWM performance increased significantly when the same location changed across display repetitions, but not at all when different locations changed from one display repetition to another. The authors suggest that a major role of learning in VWM is to mediate which information gets retained, rather than to directly increase VWM capacity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visibility threshold in sharpness for people with different regional backgrounds

Abstract— The influence of regional background on the visibility of sharpness differences has been investigated by blurring various still images to different extents. The assessment of sharpness has been performed both in China by Chinese people and in the Netherlands by European people. The results showed that both Chinese characters and Roman text were clearly more critical image material for judging sharpness than natural images. Independent on whether the image contained Chinese characters or Roman text, the visibility threshold for a difference in sharpness was the same for both the Chinese and European people. When related to a diagonal step response, the threshold on average equaled an angular resolution of 5 arcsec.     

Adiponectin Deficiency Alters Placenta Function but Does Not Affect Fetal Growth in Mice

Adiponectin administration to pregnant mice decreases nutrient transport and fetal growth. An adiponectin deficiency, on the other hand, as seen in obese women during pregnancy, alters fetal growth; however, the mechanism is unclear. To determine the role of adiponectin on placenta function and fetal growth, we used adiponectin knockout, adiponectin heterozygote that displays reduced adiponectin levels, and wild-type mice on a control diet or high fat/high sucrose (HF/HS) diet. Triglycerides (TGs) in the serum, liver, and placenta were measured using colorimetric assays. Gene expression was measured using quantitative RT-PCR. Adiponectin levels did not affect fetal weight, but it reduced adiponectin levels, increased fetal serum and placenta TG content. Wildtype dams on a HF/HS diet protected the fetuses from fatty acid overload as judged by increased liver TGs in dams and normal serum and liver TG levels in fetuses, while low adiponectin was associated with increased fetal liver TGs. Low maternal adiponectin increased the expression of genes involved in fatty acid transport; Lpl and Cd36 in the placenta. Adiponectin deficiency does not affect fetal growth but induces placental dysfunction and increases fetal TG load, which is enhanced with obesity. This could lead to imprinting effects on the fetus and the development of metabolic dysfunction in the offspring.