Localizing overlapping parts by searching the interpretation tree

This paper discusses how local measurements of positions and surface normals may be used to identify and locate overlapping objects. The objects are modeled as polyhedra (or polygons) having up to six degrees of positional freedom relative to the sensors. The approach operates by examining all hypotheses about pairings between sensed data and object surfaces and efficiently discarding inconsistent ones by using local constraints on: distances between faces, angles between face normals, and angles (relative to the surface normals) of vectors between sensed points. The method described here is an extension of a method for recognition and localization of nonoverlapping parts previously described in [18] and [15].     

Peer-to-peer bichromatic reverse nearest neighbours in mobile ad-hoc networks

The increasing use of mobile communications has raised many issues of decision support and resource allocation. A crucial problem is how to solve queries of Reverse Nearest Neighbour (RNN). An RNN query returns all objects that consider the query object as their nearest neighbour. Existing methods mostly rely on a centralised base station. However, mobile P2P systems offer many benefits, including self-organisation, fault-tolerance and load-balancing. In this study, we propose and evaluate 3 distinct P2P algorithms focusing on bichromatic RNN queries, in which mobile query peers and static objects of interest are of two different categories, based on a time-out mechanism and a boundary polygon around the mobile query peers. The Brute-Force Search Algorithm provides a naive approach to exploit shared information among peers whereas two other Boundary Search Algorithms filter a number of peers involved in query processing. The algorithms are evaluated in the MiXiM simulation framework with both real and synthetic datasets. The results show the practical feasibility of the P2P approach for solving bichromatic RNN queries for mobile networks.     

Remote sensing of wetlands in South America: status and challenges

South America has a large proportion of wetlands compared with other continents. While most of these wetlands were conserved in a relatively good condition until a few decades ago, pressures brought about by land use and climate change have threaten their integrity in recent years. The aim of this article is to provide a bibliometric analysis of the available scientific literature relating to the remote sensing of wetlands in South America. From 1960 to 2015, 153 articles were published in 63 different journals, with the number of articles published per year increasing progressively since 1990. This rise is also paralleled by an increase in the contribution of local authors. The most intensively studied regions are the wetland macrosystems of South American mega-rivers: the Amazon and Paraná Rivers, along with the Pantanal at the headwaters of Paraguay River. Few studies spanned more than two countries. The most frequent objectives were mapping, covering all types of wetlands with optical data, and hydrology, focusing on floodplain wetlands with microwave data as the preferred data source. The last decade substantial growth reflects an increase in technological and scientific capacities. Nevertheless, the state of the art regarding the remote sensing of wetlands in South America remains enigmatic. Fundamental questions and guidelines which may contribute to the understanding of the functioning of these ecosystems are yet to be fully defined and there is considerable dispersion in the use of data and remote-sensing approaches.     

Superload Evaluation of the Bonnet Carré Spillway Bridge

The passage of overloads that require special permitting is a common occurrence. Prior to the passage of such an overload, a simplified computer analysis is generally conducted to predict the expected behavior of the bridge. This paper addresses the field evaluation of three superloads that crossed the Bonnet Carré Spillway Bridge in Louisiana. Emphasis is placed on comparisons between the expected and actual behavior due to rotational restraint, live load distribution, the stiffening effect of bridge rails, and other factors. Finite-element modeling was conducted and the approach taken along with the results obtained are described. One important conclusion was that the longitudinal configuration of the axle loads supplied by the hauler was configured differently than indicated on the permit. While the gross load was accurate, the distribution between sets of axles varied considerably from those assumed in the permitting process. To minimize the potential for damage to bridges it is therefore recommended that axle loads be weighed prior to the passage of such overloads.     

On the formal semantics of IF-like logics

In classical logics, the meaning of a formula is invariant with respect to the renaming of bound variables. This property, normally taken for granted, has been shown not to hold in the case of Independence Friendly (IF) logics. In this paper we argue that this is not an inherent characteristic of these logics but a defect in the way in which the compositional semantics given by Hodges for the regular fragment was generalized to arbitrary formulas. We fix this by proposing an alternative formalization, based on a variation of the classical notion of valuation. Basic metatheoretical results are proven. We present these results for Hodges' slash logic (from which these can be easily transferred to other IF-like logics) and we also consider the flattening operator, for which we give novel game-theoretical semantics.     

Introduction: Object Recognition Research at MIT

This special issue of the International Journal of Computer Vision contains five articles from the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Each one is based on a Ph.D. Thesis that was completed during the 1992–1993 academic year. This introduction provides an overview of these articles, and shows how they fit within a coherent framework for understanding the process of object recognition and localization.     

Disease clusters in structured environments

This paper discusses the distributions of several cluster statistics and illustrates their utility in the analysis of disease incidence or prevalence data arising in organized or structured environments. Such environments involve primary inhabitant locations in office buildings, manufacturing plants, apartment complexes and communities of homes, for example. The methods, which include some generalizations of some existing methods as well as some new ones, will be used to test for household clustering of Trypanosoma cruzi seropositivity data.     

Activation of the cloned human NK3 receptor in Chinese Hamster Ovary cells characterized by the cellular acidification response using the Cytosensor microphysiometer

1. The aim of the present study was to validate the Cytosensor microphysiometer, a novel system that measures the extracellular acidification rate as a reliable index of the integrated functional response to receptor activation, as a method for studying NK3 receptor pharmacology, and then to use this system to assess the functional activity of novel compounds at this receptor. 2. The selective NK3 agonist senktide caused reproducible, concentration-related increases in acidification ratein CHO-NK3 cells, with a pEC50 value of 8.72+/-0.11 (n=15). [Beta-Ala8]NKA(4-10), the selective NK2 agonist, elicited a much weaker response (pEC50=6.68+/-0.08, n=4), while the NK1-selective agonist substance P methylester only caused a very weak response at concentrations > or =3 microM (n=2). The rank order of potency for the endogenous tachykinins NKB>NKA>substance P (n=3) confirmed the response was mediated by the NK3 receptor. Moreover, the actual potencies obtained were consistent with affinities measured in radioligand binding studies. 3. The novel compounds PD156319-121 (0.3-1 microM), PD161182 (10-300 nM), PD168001 (10-100 nM) and PD168073 (10-100 nM) all acted as surmountable antagonists of the senktide-induced acidification response, with pA2 values of 7.49, 8.67, 9.17 and 9.25 respectively (n=3-5). In comparison the known NK3 antagonist SR142801 (10-100 nM) had a pA2 value of 8.83 (n=8) for the interaction with senktide. Again, these values are consistent with the radioligand binding data. 4. Amiloride (1 mM) inhibited the senktide-induced acidification response by 68.3+/-3.3 (n=4), indicating that the Na+/H+ antiporter plays an important role in this response, and this is consistent with the importance of this antiporter in other acidification responses. 5. Inhibition of protein kinase C with staurosporine (0.1 microM), or depletion of the intracellular Ca2+ stores with thapsigargin (1 microM), both resulted in a reduction in the maximum response to senktide (63.3+/-1.7 and 68.9+/-3.2% respectively, n=3-5), and co-application of these inhibitors abolished the response (n=3). This strongly suggested that the NK3 receptor was coupling via phospholipase C (PLC), as would be expected, although this could not be confirmed by the use of the putative PLC/PLA2 inhibitor U73122. 6. In conclusion, we have demonstrated the utility of the Cytosensor in the characterization of functional responses to agonists, and assessment of the affinities of antagonists in CHO cells expressing the human NK3, and have shown that our series of novel compounds are non-peptide NK3 antagonists of high affinity, as exemplified by PD168073.     

Impact of noise and nonlinear distortion due to clipping on the BERperformance of a 64-QAM signal in hybrid AM-VSB/QAM optical fibertransmission system

Experimental BER measurements of a 64-QAM signal in a hybrid AM-VSB/QAM optical fiber transmission system are shown to be in good agreement with a corrected and reinterpreted theory of impulsive and Gaussian noise based on Middleton's class B impulsive noise model. Fiber dispersion induced distortion of the chirped laser output is also shown to adversely affect the QAM signal     

Federated healthcare record server--the Synapses paradigm

Sulfation and sulfate conjugate hydrolysis play an important role in metabolism, and are catalysed by members of the sulfotransferase and sulfatase enzyme super-families. In general, sulfation is a deactivating, detoxication pathway, but for some chemicals the sulfate conjugates are much more reactive than the parent compound. The range of compounds which are sulfated is enormous, yet we still understand relatively little of the function of this pathway. This review summarises current knowledge of the sulfation system and the enzymes involved, and illustrates how heterologous expression of sulfotransferases (SULTs) and sulfatases is aiding our appreciation of the properties of these important proteins. The role of sulfation in the bioactivation of procarcinogens and promutagens is discussed, and new data on the inhibition of the sulfotransferase(s) involved by common dietary components such as tea and coffee are presented. The genetic and environmental factors which are known to influence the activity and expression of human SULTs and sulfatases are also reviewed.