Perceptual primitives from an extended 4D Hough transform

Directional features extracted from Gabor wavelets responses were used to train a structure of self-organising maps, thus classifying each pixel in the image within a neuron-map. Resulting directional primitives were grouped into perceptual primitives introducing an extended 4D Hough transform to group pixels with similar directional features. These can then be used as perceptual primitives to detect salient structures. The proposed method has independently fixed parameters that do not need to be tuned for different kind or quality of images. We present results in application to noisy FLIR images and show that line primitives for complex structures, such as bridges, or simple structures, such as runways, can be found by this approach. We compare and demonstrate the quality of our results with those obtained through a parameter-dependent traditional Canny edge detector and Hough line finding process.     

Multiplexed biochemical assays with biological chips

High density peptide and oligonucleotide chips are fabricated using semiconductor-based technologies. These chips have a variety of biological applications.     

Study on percutaneous rate of P-aminobenzoates using molecular orbital method

The use of a dome osteotomy in the treatment of infantile tibia vara is reportedly associated with insufficient intraoperative assessment of the correction achieved. This article discusses a method to overcome this problem and the long-term advantages of using a dome osteotomy in the treatment of this disease.     

Evaluation of in-air hand gestures interaction for older people

Universal Access in the Information Society - In-air gestural interfaces are gaining popularity due to the increasing availability and low cost of gesture recognition hardware. However, the current...     

LA NOUVELLE FEMME： PHOEBE PHILO CHEZ CELINE

Meme si elle se tient a I＇ecart des journalistes et des photographes, Phoebe Philo a su hisser, en cinq ans, la maison Celine au sommet. Elle a aussi impose un nouveau regard sur I＇elegance feminine. Au point que CNN considere que la styliste britannique fait aujourd＇hui partie des dix femmes les plus puissantes de I＇industrie de la mode. C＇est la consecration de la 《 reine du nouveau minimalisme 》.     

Combined costimulation blockade plus rapamycin but not cyclosporine produces permanent engraftment

BACKGROUND: Combined treatment of allograft recipients with anti-CD40 ligand and CTLA-4Ig (costimulation blockade) is a powerful promising albeit not consistently tolerizing therapy. It would be desirable to use an effective conventional immunosuppressive regimen in low doses or for a short course as an adjunct; however, cyclosporine treatment drastically blunts the ability of costimulation blockade to produce long-term engraftment. METHODS: Short courses of cyclosporine or rapamycin were compared as adjuncts to costimulation blockade in the murine BALB/c to C3H/He heterotopic cardiac allograft model. RESULTS: Although cyclosporine therapy blocked the capacity of costimulation blockade to produce permanent engraftment, combined rapamycin and costimulation blockade treatment produced permanent engraftment. CONCLUSION: A theoretical basis for the differing effects of cyclosporine and rapamycin upon the outcome of costimulation blockade is forwarded. Combined use of costimulation blockade and rapamycin may provide a means to bring costimulation blockade into the clinic.     

Shelf life extension of beef retail cuts subjected to an advanced vacuum skin packaging system

Vacuum skin packaging (VSP) is a new and promising technology that includes the instantaneous heating of the upper packaging film immediately before its descent over the meat surface. In the present paper we evaluated this technology for the packaging of a wide variety of beef retail cuts and compared this with traditional vacuum packaging (TVP) performed in parallel. Shelf-life and quality evolution was estimated by analysing three spoilage bacterial groups, an ubiquitous psychrotrophic food pathogen, and three biochemical and physico-chemical attributes throughout 40 days of storage at 4 °C. Statistically-significant lower microbial counts were obtained for all microbial parameters and meat types. The VSP lot exhibited lower pH. This, however, involved a lower water holding capacity and a higher degree of firmness, the latter indicating a limited tenderisation process in the VSP batch. Extended aging times in the carcasses were studied to improving the tenderness of VSP samples. The extension of the aging process prior to VSP may be useful for improving the tenderness of certain meat types and to improve the sensory quality of meat cuts processed under this system.     

Agmatine selectively blocks the N-methyl-D-aspartate subclass of glutamate receptor channels in rat hippocampal neurons

We investigated in rat hippocampus neurons whether 4-(aminobutyl)guanidine (agmatine), formed by decarboxylation of L-arginine by arginine decarboxylase and metabolized to urea and putrescine, can modulate the function of N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor channels. In cultured hippocampal neurons studied by whole-cell patch clamp, extracellular-applied agmatine produced a voltage- and concentration-dependent block of NMDA but not alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid nor kainate currents. Analysis of the voltage dependence of the block suggests that agmatine binds at a site located within the NMDA channel pore with a dissociation constant of 952 microM at 0 mV and an electric distance of 0.62. We also tested effects of several agmatine analogs. Arcaine (1,4-butyldiguanidine) also produced a similar voltage-dependent block of the NMDA current, whereas putrescine (1, 4-butyldiamine) had little effect, suggesting that the guanidine group of agmatine is the active moiety when blocking the NMDA channel. Moreover, spermine (an endogenous polyamine) potentiated the NMDA current even in the presence of blocker agmatine or arcaine, suggesting that the guanidine-containing compounds agmatine and arcaine interact with the NMDA channel at a binding site different from that of spermine. Our results indicate that in hippocampal neurons agmatine selectively modulates the NMDA subclass of glutamate receptor channels mediated by the interaction between the guanidine group and the channel pore. The results support other data that agmatine may function as an endogenous neurotransmitter/neuromodulator in brain.