A scalable parallel algorithm for multiple objective linear programs

Science.gov (United States)

Wiecek, Malgorzata M.; Zhang, Hong

1994-01-01

This paper presents an ADBASE-based parallel algorithm for solving multiple objective linear programs (MOLP's). Job balance, speedup and scalability are of primary interest in evaluating efficiency of the new algorithm. Implementation results on Intel iPSC/2 and Paragon multiprocessors show that the algorithm significantly speeds up the process of solving MOLP's, which is understood as generating all or some efficient extreme points and unbounded efficient edges. The algorithm gives specially good results for large and very large problems. Motivation and justification for solving such large MOLP's are also included.

A PDP model of the simultaneous perception of multiple objects

Science.gov (United States)

Henderson, Cynthia M.; McClelland, James L.

2011-06-01

Illusory conjunctions in normal and simultanagnosic subjects are two instances where the visual features of multiple objects are incorrectly 'bound' together. A connectionist model explores how multiple objects could be perceived correctly in normal subjects given sufficient time, but could give rise to illusory conjunctions with damage or time pressure. In this model, perception of two objects benefits from lateral connections between hidden layers modelling aspects of the ventral and dorsal visual pathways. As with simultanagnosia, simulations of dorsal lesions impair multi-object recognition. In contrast, a large ventral lesion has minimal effect on dorsal functioning, akin to dissociations between simple object manipulation (retained in visual form agnosia and semantic dementia) and object discrimination (impaired in these disorders) [Hodges, J.R., Bozeat, S., Lambon Ralph, M.A., Patterson, K., and Spatt, J. (2000), 'The Role of Conceptual Knowledge: Evidence from Semantic Dementia', Brain, 123, 1913-1925; Milner, A.D., and Goodale, M.A. (2006), The Visual Brain in Action (2nd ed.), New York: Oxford]. It is hoped that the functioning of this model might suggest potential processes underlying dorsal and ventral contributions to the correct perception of multiple objects.

Temporal brain dynamics of multiple object processing: the flexibility of individuation.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Veronica Mazza

Full Text Available The ability to process concurrently multiple visual objects is fundamental for a coherent perception of the world. A core component of this ability is the simultaneous individuation of multiple objects. Many studies have addressed the mechanism of object individuation but it remains unknown whether the visual system mandatorily individuates all relevant elements in the visual field, or whether object indexing depends on task demands. We used a neural measure of visual selection, the N2pc component, to evaluate the flexibility of multiple object individuation. In three ERP experiments, participants saw a variable number of target elements among homogenous distracters and performed either an enumeration task (Experiment 1 or a detection task, reporting whether at least one (Experiment 2 or a specified number of target elements (Experiment 3 was present. While in the enumeration task the N2pc response increased as a function of the number of targets, no such modulation was found in Experiment 2, indicating that individuation of multiple targets is not mandatory. However, a modulation of the N2pc similar to the enumeration task was visible in Experiment 3, further highlighting that object individuation is a flexible mechanism that binds indexes to object properties and locations as needed for further object processing.

Fuzzy multiple objective decision making methods and applications

CERN Document Server

Lai, Young-Jou

1994-01-01

In the last 25 years, the fuzzy set theory has been applied in many disciplines such as operations research, management science, control theory, artificial intelligence/expert system, etc. In this volume, methods and applications of crisp, fuzzy and possibilistic multiple objective decision making are first systematically and thoroughly reviewed and classified. This state-of-the-art survey provides readers with a capsule look into the existing methods, and their characteristics and applicability to analysis of fuzzy and possibilistic programming problems. To realize practical fuzzy modelling, it presents solutions for real-world problems including production/manufacturing, location, logistics, environment management, banking/finance, personnel, marketing, accounting, agriculture economics and data analysis. This book is a guided tour through the literature in the rapidly growing fields of operations research and decision making and includes the most up-to-date bibliographical listing of literature on the topi...

Studying visual attention using the multiple object tracking paradigm: A tutorial review.

Science.gov (United States)

Meyerhoff, Hauke S; Papenmeier, Frank; Huff, Markus

2017-07-01

Human observers are capable of tracking multiple objects among identical distractors based only on their spatiotemporal information. Since the first report of this ability in the seminal work of Pylyshyn and Storm (1988, Spatial Vision, 3, 179-197), multiple object tracking has attracted many researchers. A reason for this is that it is commonly argued that the attentional processes studied with the multiple object paradigm apparently match the attentional processing during real-world tasks such as driving or team sports. We argue that multiple object tracking provides a good mean to study the broader topic of continuous and dynamic visual attention. Indeed, several (partially contradicting) theories of attentive tracking have been proposed within the almost 30 years since its first report, and a large body of research has been conducted to test these theories. With regard to the richness and diversity of this literature, the aim of this tutorial review is to provide researchers who are new in the field of multiple object tracking with an overview over the multiple object tracking paradigm, its basic manipulations, as well as links to other paradigms investigating visual attention and working memory. Further, we aim at reviewing current theories of tracking as well as their empirical evidence. Finally, we review the state of the art in the most prominent research fields of multiple object tracking and how this research has helped to understand visual attention in dynamic settings.

Modified-hybrid optical neural network filter for multiple object recognition within cluttered scenes

Science.gov (United States)

Kypraios, Ioannis; Young, Rupert C. D.; Chatwin, Chris R.

2009-08-01

Motivated by the non-linear interpolation and generalization abilities of the hybrid optical neural network filter between the reference and non-reference images of the true-class object we designed the modifiedhybrid optical neural network filter. We applied an optical mask to the hybrid optical neural network's filter input. The mask was built with the constant weight connections of a randomly chosen image included in the training set. The resulted design of the modified-hybrid optical neural network filter is optimized for performing best in cluttered scenes of the true-class object. Due to the shift invariance properties inherited by its correlator unit the filter can accommodate multiple objects of the same class to be detected within an input cluttered image. Additionally, the architecture of the neural network unit of the general hybrid optical neural network filter allows the recognition of multiple objects of different classes within the input cluttered image by modifying the output layer of the unit. We test the modified-hybrid optical neural network filter for multiple objects of the same and of different classes' recognition within cluttered input images and video sequences of cluttered scenes. The filter is shown to exhibit with a single pass over the input data simultaneously out-of-plane rotation, shift invariance and good clutter tolerance. It is able to successfully detect and classify correctly the true-class objects within background clutter for which there has been no previous training.

Use of multiple objective evolutionary algorithms in optimizing surveillance requirements

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Martorell, S.; Carlos, S.; Villanueva, J.F.; Sanchez, A.I; Galvan, B.; Salazar, D.; Cepin, M.

2006-01-01

This paper presents the development and application of a double-loop Multiple Objective Evolutionary Algorithm that uses a Multiple Objective Genetic Algorithm to perform the simultaneous optimization of periodic Test Intervals (TI) and Test Planning (TP). It takes into account the time-dependent effect of TP performed on stand-by safety-related equipment. TI and TP are part of the Surveillance Requirements within Technical Specifications at Nuclear Power Plants. It addresses the problem of multi-objective optimization in the space of dependable variables, i.e. TI and TP, using a novel flexible structure of the optimization algorithm. Lessons learnt from the cases of application of the methodology to optimize TI and TP for the High-Pressure Injection System are given. The results show that the double-loop Multiple Objective Evolutionary Algorithm is able to find the Pareto set of solutions that represents a surface of non-dominated solutions that satisfy all the constraints imposed on the objective functions and decision variables. Decision makers can adopt then the best solution found depending on their particular preference, e.g. minimum cost, minimum unavailability

Application of multiple objective models to water resources planning and management

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

North, R.M.

1993-01-01

Over the past 30 years, we have seen the birth and growth of multiple objective analysis from an idea without tools to one with useful applications. Models have been developed and applications have been researched to address the multiple purposes and objectives inherent in the development and management of water resources. A practical approach to multiple objective modelling incorporates macroeconomic-based policies and expectations in order to optimize the results from both engineering (structural) and management (non-structural) alternatives, while taking into account the economic and environmental trade-offs. (author). 27 refs, 4 figs, 3 tabs

Fast, multiple optimizations of quadratic dose objective functions in IMRT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Breedveld, Sebastiaan; Storchi, Pascal R M; Keijzer, Marleen; Heijmen, Ben J M

2006-01-01

Inverse treatment planning for intensity-modulated radiotherapy may include time consuming, multiple minimizations of an objective function. In this paper, methods are presented to speed up the process of (repeated) minimization of the well-known quadratic dose objective function, extended with a smoothing term that ensures generation of clinically acceptable beam profiles. In between two subsequent optimizations, the voxel-dependent importance factors of the quadratic terms will generally be adjusted, based on an intermediate plan evaluation. The objective function has been written in matrix-vector format, facilitating the use of a recently published, fast quadratic minimization algorithm, instead of commonly applied gradient-based methods. This format also reduces the calculation time in between subsequent minimizations, related to adjustment of the voxel-dependent importance factors. Sparse matrices are used to limit the required amount of computer memory. For three patients, comparisons have been made with a gradient method. Mean speed improvements of up to a factor of 37 have been achieved

A Psychoacoustic-Based Multiple Audio Object Coding Approach via Intra-Object Sparsity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maoshen Jia

2017-12-01

Full Text Available Rendering spatial sound scenes via audio objects has become popular in recent years, since it can provide more flexibility for different auditory scenarios, such as 3D movies, spatial audio communication and virtual classrooms. To facilitate high-quality bitrate-efficient distribution for spatial audio objects, an encoding scheme based on intra-object sparsity (approximate k-sparsity of the audio object itself is proposed in this paper. The statistical analysis is presented to validate the notion that the audio object has a stronger sparseness in the Modified Discrete Cosine Transform (MDCT domain than in the Short Time Fourier Transform (STFT domain. By exploiting intra-object sparsity in the MDCT domain, multiple simultaneously occurring audio objects are compressed into a mono downmix signal with side information. To ensure a balanced perception quality of audio objects, a Psychoacoustic-based time-frequency instants sorting algorithm and an energy equalized Number of Preserved Time-Frequency Bins (NPTF allocation strategy are proposed, which are employed in the underlying compression framework. The downmix signal can be further encoded via Scalar Quantized Vector Huffman Coding (SQVH technique at a desirable bitrate, and the side information is transmitted in a lossless manner. Both objective and subjective evaluations show that the proposed encoding scheme outperforms the Sparsity Analysis (SPA approach and Spatial Audio Object Coding (SAOC in cases where eight objects were jointly encoded.

A Collaborative Neurodynamic Approach to Multiple-Objective Distributed Optimization.

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Shaofu; Liu, Qingshan; Wang, Jun

2018-04-01

This paper is concerned with multiple-objective distributed optimization. Based on objective weighting and decision space decomposition, a collaborative neurodynamic approach to multiobjective distributed optimization is presented. In the approach, a system of collaborative neural networks is developed to search for Pareto optimal solutions, where each neural network is associated with one objective function and given constraints. Sufficient conditions are derived for ascertaining the convergence to a Pareto optimal solution of the collaborative neurodynamic system. In addition, it is proved that each connected subsystem can generate a Pareto optimal solution when the communication topology is disconnected. Then, a switching-topology-based method is proposed to compute multiple Pareto optimal solutions for discretized approximation of Pareto front. Finally, simulation results are discussed to substantiate the performance of the collaborative neurodynamic approach. A portfolio selection application is also given.

Electromagnetic imaging of multiple-scattering small objects: non-iterative analytical approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chen, X; Zhong, Y

2008-01-01

Multiple signal classification (MUSIC) imaging method and the least squares method are applied to solve the electromagnetic inverse scattering problem of determining the locations and polarization tensors of a collection of small objects embedded in a known background medium. Based on the analysis of induced electric and magnetic dipoles, the proposed MUSIC method is able to deal with some special scenarios, due to the shapes and materials of objects, to which the standard MUSIC doesn't apply. After the locations of objects are obtained, the nonlinear inverse problem of determining the polarization tensors of objects accounting for multiple scattering between objects is solved by a non-iterative analytical approach based on the least squares method

Efficient Selection of Multiple Objects on a Large Scale

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Stenholt, Rasmus

2012-01-01

The task of multiple object selection (MOS) in immersive virtual environments is important and still largely unexplored. The diffi- culty of efficient MOS increases with the number of objects to be selected. E.g. in small-scale MOS, only a few objects need to be simultaneously selected. This may...... consuming. Instead, we have implemented and tested two of the existing approaches to 3-D MOS, a brush and a lasso, as well as a new technique, a magic wand, which automati- cally selects objects based on local proximity to other objects. In a formal user evaluation, we have studied how the performance...

Electricity supply industry modelling for multiple objectives under demand growth uncertainty

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Heinrich, G.; Basson, L.; Howells, M.; Petrie, J.

2007-01-01

Appropriate energy-environment-economic (E3) modelling provides key information for policy makers in the electricity supply industry (ESI) faced with navigating a sustainable development path. Key challenges include engaging with stakeholder values and preferences, and exploring trade-offs between competing objectives in the face of underlying uncertainty. As a case study we represent the South African ESI using a partial equilibrium E3 modelling approach, and extend the approach to include multiple objectives under selected future uncertainties. This extension is achieved by assigning cost penalties to non-cost attributes to force the model's least-cost objective function to better satisfy non-cost criteria. This paper incorporates aspects of flexibility to demand growth uncertainty into each future expansion alternative by introducing stochastic programming with recourse into the model. Technology lead times are taken into account by the inclusion of a decision node along the time horizon where aspects of real options theory are considered within the planning process. Hedging in the recourse programming is automatically translated from being purely financial, to include the other attributes that the cost penalties represent. From a retrospective analysis of the cost penalties, the correct market signals, can be derived to meet policy goal, with due regard to demand uncertainty. (author)

Multiple-Objective Stepwise Calibration Using Luca

Science.gov (United States)

Hay, Lauren E.; Umemoto, Makiko

2007-01-01

This report documents Luca (Let us calibrate), a multiple-objective, stepwise, automated procedure for hydrologic model calibration and the associated graphical user interface (GUI). Luca is a wizard-style user-friendly GUI that provides an easy systematic way of building and executing a calibration procedure. The calibration procedure uses the Shuffled Complex Evolution global search algorithm to calibrate any model compiled with the U.S. Geological Survey's Modular Modeling System. This process assures that intermediate and final states of the model are simulated consistently with measured values.

Optimization of constrained multiple-objective reliability problems using evolutionary algorithms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Salazar, Daniel; Rocco, Claudio M.; Galvan, Blas J.

2006-01-01

This paper illustrates the use of multi-objective optimization to solve three types of reliability optimization problems: to find the optimal number of redundant components, find the reliability of components, and determine both their redundancy and reliability. In general, these problems have been formulated as single objective mixed-integer non-linear programming problems with one or several constraints and solved by using mathematical programming techniques or special heuristics. In this work, these problems are reformulated as multiple-objective problems (MOP) and then solved by using a second-generation Multiple-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA) that allows handling constraints. The MOEA used in this paper (NSGA-II) demonstrates the ability to identify a set of optimal solutions (Pareto front), which provides the Decision Maker with a complete picture of the optimal solution space. Finally, the advantages of both MOP and MOEA approaches are illustrated by solving four redundancy problems taken from the literature

Optimization of constrained multiple-objective reliability problems using evolutionary algorithms

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Salazar, Daniel [Instituto de Sistemas Inteligentes y Aplicaciones Numericas en Ingenieria (IUSIANI), Division de Computacion Evolutiva y Aplicaciones (CEANI), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Islas Canarias (Spain) and Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Central Venezuela, Caracas (Venezuela)]. E-mail: danielsalazaraponte@gmail.com; Rocco, Claudio M. [Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad Central Venezuela, Caracas (Venezuela)]. E-mail: crocco@reacciun.ve; Galvan, Blas J. [Instituto de Sistemas Inteligentes y Aplicaciones Numericas en Ingenieria (IUSIANI), Division de Computacion Evolutiva y Aplicaciones (CEANI), Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Islas Canarias (Spain)]. E-mail: bgalvan@step.es

2006-09-15

This paper illustrates the use of multi-objective optimization to solve three types of reliability optimization problems: to find the optimal number of redundant components, find the reliability of components, and determine both their redundancy and reliability. In general, these problems have been formulated as single objective mixed-integer non-linear programming problems with one or several constraints and solved by using mathematical programming techniques or special heuristics. In this work, these problems are reformulated as multiple-objective problems (MOP) and then solved by using a second-generation Multiple-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA) that allows handling constraints. The MOEA used in this paper (NSGA-II) demonstrates the ability to identify a set of optimal solutions (Pareto front), which provides the Decision Maker with a complete picture of the optimal solution space. Finally, the advantages of both MOP and MOEA approaches are illustrated by solving four redundancy problems taken from the literature.

Multi-objective optimization of linear multi-state multiple sliding window system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konak, Abdullah; Kulturel-Konak, Sadan; Levitin, Gregory

2012-01-01

This paper considers the optimal element sequencing in a linear multi-state multiple sliding window system that consists of n linearly ordered multi-state elements. Each multi-state element can have different states: from complete failure up to perfect functioning. A performance rate is associated with each state. The failure of type i in the system occurs if for any i (1≤i≤I) the cumulative performance of any r i consecutive elements is lower than w i . The element sequence strongly affects the probability of any type of system failure. The sequence that minimizes the probability of certain type of failure can provide high probability of other types of failures. Therefore the optimization problem for the multiple sliding window system is essentially multi-objective. The paper formulates and solves the multi-objective optimization problem for the multiple sliding window systems. A multi-objective Genetic Algorithm is used as the optimization engine. Illustrative examples are presented.

Multiple Object Tracking Using the Shortest Path Faster Association Algorithm

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Zhenghao Xi

2014-01-01

Full Text Available To solve the persistently multiple object tracking in cluttered environments, this paper presents a novel tracking association approach based on the shortest path faster algorithm. First, the multiple object tracking is formulated as an integer programming problem of the flow network. Then we relax the integer programming to a standard linear programming problem. Therefore, the global optimum can be quickly obtained using the shortest path faster algorithm. The proposed method avoids the difficulties of integer programming, and it has a lower worst-case complexity than competing methods but better robustness and tracking accuracy in complex environments. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm takes less time than other state-of-the-art methods and can operate in real time.

Identifying the Micro-relations Underpinning Familiarity Detection in Dynamic Displays Containing Multiple Objects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jamie S. North

2017-06-01

Full Text Available We identified the important micro-relations that are perceived when attempting to recognize patterns in stimuli consisting of multiple dynamic objects. Skilled and less-skilled participants were presented with point light display sequences representing dynamic patterns in an invasion sport and were subsequently required to make familiarity based recognition judgments in three different conditions, each of which contained only a select number of features that were present at initial viewing. No differences in recognition accuracy were observed between skilled and less-skilled participants when just objects located in the periphery were presented. Yet, when presented with the relative motions of two centrally located attacking objects only, skilled participants were significantly more accurate than less-skilled participants and their recognition accuracy improved further when a target object was included against which these relative motions could be judged. Skilled participants can perceive and recognize global patterns on the basis of centrally located relational information.

Multiple Realities and Hybrid Objects: A Creative Approach of Schizophrenic Delusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Michel Cermolacce

2018-02-01

Full Text Available Delusion is usually considered in DSM 5 as a false belief based on incorrect inference about external reality, but the issue of delusion raises crucial concerns, especially that of a possible (or absent continuity between delusional and normal experiences, and the understanding of delusional experience. In the present study, we first aim to consider delusion from a perspectivist angle, according to the Multiple Reality Theory (MRT. In this model inherited from Alfred Schütz and recently addressed by Gallagher, we are not confronting one reality only, but several (such as the reality of everyday life, of imaginary life, of work, of delusion, etc.. In other terms, the MRT states that our own experience is not drawing its meaning from one reality identified as the outer reality but rather from a multiplicity of realities, each with their own logic and style. Two clinical cases illustrate how the Multiple Realities Theory (MRT may help address the reality of delusion. Everyday reality and the reality of delusion may be articulated under a few conditions, such as compossibility [i.e., Double Book-Keeping (DBK, in Bleulerian terms] or flexibility. There are indeed possible bridges between them. Possible links with neuroscience or psychoanalysis are evoked. As the subject is confronting different realities, so do the objects among and toward which a subject is evolving. We call such objects Hybrid Objects (HO due to their multiple belonging. They can operate as shifters, i.e., as some functional operators letting one switch from one reality to another. In the final section, we will emphasize how delusion flexibility, as a dynamic interaction between Multiple Realities, may offer psychotherapeutic possibilities within some reality shared with others, entailing relocation of the present subjects in regained access to some flexibility via Multiple Realities and perspectivism.

BSDB: A New Consistent Designation Scheme for Identifying Objects in Binary and Multiple Stars

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kovaleva D. A.

2015-06-01

Full Text Available The new consistent scheme for designation of objects in binary and multiple systems, BSDB, is described. It was developed in the frame of the Binary star DataBase, BDB (http://www.inasan.ru, due to necessity of a unified and consistent system for designation of objects in the database, and the name of the designation scheme was derived from that of the database. The BSDB scheme covers all types of observational data. Three classes of objects introduced within the BSDB nomenclature provide correct links between objects and data, what is especially important for complex multiple stellar systems. The final stage of establishing the BSDB scheme is compilation of the Identification List of Binaries, ILB, where all known objects in binary and multiple stars are presented with their BSDB identifiers along with identifiers according to major catalogues and lists.

Layout design of user interface components with multiple objectives

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peer S.K.

2004-01-01

Full Text Available A multi-goal layout problem may be formulated as a Quadratic Assignment model, considering multiple goals (or factors, both qualitative and quantitative in the objective function. The facilities layout problem, in general, varies from the location and layout of facilities in manufacturing plant to the location and layout of textual and graphical user interface components in the human–computer interface. In this paper, we propose two alternate mathematical approaches to the single-objective layout model. The first one presents a multi-goal user interface component layout problem, considering the distance-weighted sum of congruent objectives of closeness relationships and the interactions. The second one considers the distance-weighted sum of congruent objectives of normalized weighted closeness relationships and normalized weighted interactions. The results of first approach are compared with that of an existing single objective model for example task under consideration. Then, the results of first approach and second approach of the proposed model are compared for the example task under consideration.

Visual attention is required for multiple object tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Annie; Hoffman, James E

2016-12-01

In the multiple object tracking task, participants attempt to keep track of a moving set of target objects embedded in an identical set of moving distractors. Depending on several display parameters, observers are usually only able to accurately track 3 to 4 objects. Various proposals attribute this limit to a fixed number of discrete indexes (Pylyshyn, 1989), limits in visual attention (Cavanagh & Alvarez, 2005), or "architectural limits" in visual cortical areas (Franconeri, 2013). The present set of experiments examined the specific role of visual attention in tracking using a dual-task methodology in which participants tracked objects while identifying letter probes appearing on the tracked objects and distractors. As predicted by the visual attention model, probe identification was faster and/or more accurate when probes appeared on tracked objects. This was the case even when probes were more than twice as likely to appear on distractors suggesting that some minimum amount of attention is required to maintain accurate tracking performance. When the need to protect tracking accuracy was relaxed, participants were able to allocate more attention to distractors when probes were likely to appear there but only at the expense of large reductions in tracking accuracy. A final experiment showed that people attend to tracked objects even when letters appearing on them are task-irrelevant, suggesting that allocation of attention to tracked objects is an obligatory process. These results support the claim that visual attention is required for tracking objects. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved).

Multiple time-scale optimization scheduling for islanded microgrids including PV, wind turbine, diesel generator and batteries

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xiao, Zhao xia; Nan, Jiakai; Guerrero, Josep M.

2017-01-01

A multiple time-scale optimization scheduling including day ahead and short time for an islanded microgrid is presented. In this paper, the microgrid under study includes photovoltaics (PV), wind turbine (WT), diesel generator (DG), batteries, and shiftable loads. The study considers the maximum...... efficiency operation area for the diesel engine and the cost of the battery charge/discharge cycle losses. The day-ahead generation scheduling takes into account the minimum operational cost and the maximum load satisfaction as the objective function. Short-term optimal dispatch is based on minimizing...

VNM: An R Package for Finding Multiple-Objective Optimal Designs for the 4-Parameter Logistic Model

OpenAIRE

Hyun, Seung Won; Wong, Weng Kee; Yang, Yarong

2018-01-01

A multiple-objective optimal design is useful for dose-response studies because it can incorporate several objectives at the design stage. Objectives can be of varying interests and a properly constructed multiple-objective optimal design can provide user-specified efficiencies, delivering higher efficiencies for the more important objectives. In this work, we introduce the VNM package written in R for finding 3-objective locally optimal designs for the 4-parameter logistic (4PL) model widely...

A Girl With Multiple Disabilities Increases Object Manipulation and Reduces Hand Mouthing Through a Microswitch-Based Program

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lancioni, G.E.; Singh, N.N.; O'Reilly, M.F.; Sigafoos, J.; Didden, H.C.M.; Oliva, D.; Cingolani, E.

2008-01-01

The study was an effort to help a girl with multiple disabilities increase object manipulation responses and reduce hand mouthing, carried out according to an ABAB sequence (in which A represented baseline phases; B, treatment phases) and including a 3-month follow-up. During the baseline phases, a

First Simulations of Designing Stratospheric Sulfate Aerosol Geoengineering to Meet Multiple Simultaneous Climate Objectives

Science.gov (United States)

Kravitz, Ben; MacMartin, Douglas G.; Mills, Michael J.; Richter, Jadwiga H.; Tilmes, Simone; Lamarque, Jean-Francois; Tribbia, Joseph J.; Vitt, Francis

2017-12-01

We describe the first simulations of stratospheric sulfate aerosol geoengineering using multiple injection locations to meet multiple simultaneous surface temperature objectives. Simulations were performed using CESM1(WACCM), a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model with fully interactive stratospheric chemistry, dynamics (including an internally generated quasi-biennial oscillation), and a sophisticated treatment of sulfate aerosol formation, microphysical growth, and deposition. The objectives are defined as maintaining three temperature features at their 2020 levels against a background of the RCP8.5 scenario over the period 2020-2099. These objectives are met using a feedback mechanism in which the rate of sulfur dioxide injection at each of the four locations is adjusted independently every year of simulation. Even in the presence of uncertainties, nonlinearities, and variability, the objectives are met, predominantly by SO2 injection at 30°N and 30°S. By the last year of simulation, the feedback algorithm calls for a total injection rate of 51 Tg SO2 per year. The injections are not in the tropics, which results in a greater degree of linearity of the surface climate response with injection amount than has been found in many previous studies using injection at the equator. Because the objectives are defined in terms of annual mean temperature, the required geongineering results in "overcooling" during summer and "undercooling" during winter. The hydrological cycle is also suppressed as compared to the reference values corresponding to the year 2020. The demonstration we describe in this study is an important step toward understanding what geoengineering can do and what it cannot do.

Short-term scheduling of an open-pit mine with multiple objectives

Science.gov (United States)

Blom, Michelle; Pearce, Adrian R.; Stuckey, Peter J.

2017-05-01

This article presents a novel algorithm for the generation of multiple short-term production schedules for an open-pit mine, in which several objectives, of varying priority, characterize the quality of each solution. A short-term schedule selects regions of a mine site, known as 'blocks', to be extracted in each week of a planning horizon (typically spanning 13 weeks). Existing tools for constructing these schedules use greedy heuristics, with little optimization. To construct a single schedule in which infrastructure is sufficiently utilized, with production grades consistently close to a desired target, a planner must often run these heuristics many times, adjusting parameters after each iteration. A planner's intuition and experience can evaluate the relative quality and mineability of different schedules in a way that is difficult to automate. Of interest to a short-term planner is the generation of multiple schedules, extracting available ore and waste in varying sequences, which can then be manually compared. This article presents a tool in which multiple, diverse, short-term schedules are constructed, meeting a range of common objectives without the need for iterative parameter adjustment.

A Mobile Service Oriented Multiple Object Tracking Augmented Reality Architecture for Education and Learning Experiences

Science.gov (United States)

Rattanarungrot, Sasithorn; White, Martin; Newbury, Paul

2014-01-01

This paper describes the design of our service-oriented architecture to support mobile multiple object tracking augmented reality applications applied to education and learning scenarios. The architecture is composed of a mobile multiple object tracking augmented reality client, a web service framework, and dynamic content providers. Tracking of…

Tracking of multiple objects with time-adjustable composite correlation filters

Science.gov (United States)

Ruchay, Alexey; Kober, Vitaly; Chernoskulov, Ilya

2017-09-01

An algorithm for tracking of multiple objects in video based on time-adjustable adaptive composite correlation filtering is proposed. For each frame a bank of composite correlation filters are designed in such a manner to provide invariance to pose, occlusion, clutter, and illumination changes. The filters are synthesized with the help of an iterative algorithm, which optimizes the discrimination capability for each object. The filters are adapted to the objects changes online using information from the current and past scene frames. Results obtained with the proposed algorithm using real-life scenes are presented and compared with those obtained with state-of-the-art tracking methods in terms of detection efficiency, tracking accuracy, and speed of processing.

Interviewing Objects: Including Educational Technologies as Qualitative Research Participants

Science.gov (United States)

Adams, Catherine A.; Thompson, Terrie Lynn

2011-01-01

This article argues the importance of including significant technologies-in-use as key qualitative research participants when studying today's digitally enhanced learning environments. We gather a set of eight heuristics to assist qualitative researchers in "interviewing" technologies-in-use (or other relevant objects), drawing on concrete…

Integrated conservation planning for coral reefs: Designing conservation zones for multiple conservation objectives in spatial prioritisation

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rafael A. Magris

2017-07-01

Full Text Available Decision-makers focus on representing biodiversity pattern, maintaining connectivity, and strengthening resilience to global warming when designing marine protected area (MPA systems, especially in coral reef ecosystems. The achievement of these broad conservation objectives will likely require large areas, and stretch limited funds for MPA implementation. We undertook a spatial prioritisation of Brazilian coral reefs that considered two types of conservation zones (i.e. no-take and multiple use areas and integrated multiple conservation objectives into MPA planning, while assessing the potential impact of different sets of objectives on implementation costs. We devised objectives for biodiversity, connectivity, and resilience to global warming, determined the extent to which existing MPAs achieved them, and designed complementary zoning to achieve all objectives combined in expanded MPA systems. In doing so, we explored interactions between different sets of objectives, determined whether refinements to the existing spatial arrangement of MPAs were necessary, and tested the utility of existing MPAs by comparing their cost effectiveness with an MPA system designed from scratch. We found that MPAs in Brazil protect some aspects of coral reef biodiversity pattern (e.g. threatened fauna and ecosystem types more effectively than connectivity or resilience to global warming. Expanding the existing MPA system was as cost-effective as designing one from scratch only when multiple objectives were considered and management costs were accounted for. Our approach provides a comprehensive assessment of the benefits of integrating multiple objectives in the initial stages of conservation planning, and yields insights for planners of MPAs tackling multiple objectives in other regions.

MOTION PLANNING OF MULTIPLE MOBILE ROBOTS COOPERATIVELY TRANSPORTING A COMMON OBJECT

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

无

2000-01-01

Many applications above the capability of a single robot need the cooperation of multiple mobile robots, but effective cooperation is hard to achieve. In this paper, a master-slave method is proposed to control the motions of multiple mobile robots that cooperatively transport a common object from a start point to a goal point. A noholonomic kinematic model to constrain the motions of multiple mobile robots is built in order to achieve cooperative motions of them, and a "Dynamic Coordinator" strategy is used to deal with the collision-avoidance of the master robot and slave robot individually. Simulation results show the robustness and effectiveness of the method.

Hierarchical Robot Control System and Method for Controlling Select Degrees of Freedom of an Object Using Multiple Manipulators

Science.gov (United States)

Abdallah, Muhammad E. (Inventor); Platt, Robert (Inventor); Wampler, II, Charles W. (Inventor)

2013-01-01

A robotic system includes a robot having manipulators for grasping an object using one of a plurality of grasp types during a primary task, and a controller. The controller controls the manipulators during the primary task using a multiple-task control hierarchy, and automatically parameterizes the internal forces of the system for each grasp type in response to an input signal. The primary task is defined at an object-level of control, e.g., using a closed-chain transformation, such that only select degrees of freedom are commanded for the object. A control system for the robotic system has a host machine and algorithm for controlling the manipulators using the above hierarchy. A method for controlling the system includes receiving and processing the input signal using the host machine, including defining the primary task at the object-level of control, e.g., using a closed-chain definition, and parameterizing the internal forces for each of grasp type.

A study on software-based sensing technology for multiple object control in AR video.

Science.gov (United States)

Jung, Sungmo; Song, Jae-Gu; Hwang, Dae-Joon; Ahn, Jae Young; Kim, Seoksoo

2010-01-01

Researches on Augmented Reality (AR) have recently received attention. With these, the Machine-to-Machine (M2M) market has started to be active and there are numerous efforts to apply this to real life in all sectors of society. To date, the M2M market has applied the existing marker-based AR technology in entertainment, business and other industries. With the existing marker-based AR technology, a designated object can only be loaded on the screen from one marker and a marker has to be added to load on the screen the same object again. This situation creates a problem where the relevant marker'should be extracted and printed in screen so that loading of the multiple objects is enabled. However, since the distance between markers will not be measured in the process of detecting and copying markers, the markers can be overlapped and thus the objects would not be augmented. To solve this problem, a circle having the longest radius needs to be created from a focal point of a marker to be copied, so that no object is copied within the confines of the circle. In this paper, software-based sensing technology for multiple object detection and loading using PPHT has been developed and overlapping marker control according to multiple object control has been studied using the Bresenham and Mean Shift algorithms.

A Study on Software-based Sensing Technology for Multiple Object Control in AR Video

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Seoksoo Kim

2010-11-01

Full Text Available Researches on Augmented Reality (AR have recently received attention. With these, the Machine-to-Machine (M2M market has started to be active and there are numerous efforts to apply this to real life in all sectors of society. To date, the M2M market has applied the existing marker-based AR technology in entertainment, business and other industries. With the existing marker-based AR technology, a designated object can only be loaded on the screen from one marker and a marker has to be added to load on the screen the same object again. This situation creates a problem where the relevant marker should be extracted and printed in screen so that loading of the multiple objects is enabled. However, since the distance between markers will not be measured in the process of detecting and copying markers, the markers can be overlapped and thus the objects would not be augmented. To solve this problem, a circle having the longest radius needs to be created from a focal point of a marker to be copied, so that no object is copied within the confines of the circle. In this paper, software-based sensing technology for multiple object detection and loading using PPHT has been developed and overlapping marker control according to multiple object control has been studied using the Bresenham and Mean Shift algorithms.

Position Affects Performance in Multiple-Object Tracking in Rugby Union Players

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Andrés Martín

2017-09-01

Full Text Available We report an experiment that examines the performance of rugby union players and a control group composed of graduate student with no sport experience, in a multiple-object tracking task. It compares the ability of 86 high level rugby union players grouped as Backs and Forwards and the control group, to track a subset of randomly moving targets amongst the same number of distractors. Several difficulties were included in the experimental design in order to evaluate possible interactions between the relevant variables. Results show that the performance of the Backs is better than that of the other groups, but the occurrence of interactions precludes an isolated groups analysis. We interpret the results within the framework of visual attention and discuss both, the implications of our results and the practical consequences.

Detection and Classification of Multiple Objects using an RGB-D Sensor and Linear Spatial Pyramid Matching

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dimitriou, Michalis; Kounalakis, Tsampikos; Vidakis, Nikolaos

2013-01-01

, connected components detection and filtering approaches, in order to design a complete image processing algorithm for efficient object detection of multiple individual objects in a single scene, even in complex scenes with many objects. Besides, we apply the Linear Spatial Pyramid Matching (LSPM) [1] method......This paper presents a complete system for multiple object detection and classification in a 3D scene using an RGB-D sensor such as the Microsoft Kinect sensor. Successful multiple object detection and classification are crucial features in many 3D computer vision applications. The main goal...... is making machines see and understand objects like humans do. To this goal, the new RGB-D sensors can be utilized since they provide real-time depth map which can be used along with the RGB images for our tasks. In our system we employ effective depth map processing techniques, along with edge detection...

Reallocating attention during multiple object tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Ericson, Justin M; Christensen, James C

2012-07-01

Wolfe, Place, and Horowitz (Psychonomic Bulletin & Review 14:344-349, 2007) found that participants were relatively unaffected by selecting and deselecting targets while performing a multiple object tracking task, such that maintaining tracking was possible for longer durations than the few seconds typically studied. Though this result was generally consistent with other findings on tracking duration (Franconeri, Jonathon, & Scimeca Psychological Science 21:920-925, 2010), it was inconsistent with research involving cuing paradigms, specifically precues (Pylyshyn & Annan Spatial Vision 19:485-504, 2006). In the present research, we broke down the addition and removal of targets into separate conditions and incorporated a simple performance model to evaluate the costs associated with the selection and deselection of moving targets. Across three experiments, we demonstrated evidence against a cost being associated with any shift in attention, but rather that varying the type of cue used for target deselection produces no additional cost to performance and that hysteresis effects are not induced by a reduction in tracking load.

A Model for the Design of Puzzle-Based Games Including Virtual and Physical Objects

Science.gov (United States)

Melero, Javier; Hernandez-Leo, Davinia

2014-01-01

Multiple evidences in the Technology-Enhanced Learning domain indicate that Game-Based Learning can lead to positive effects in students' performance and motivation. Educational games can be completely virtual or can combine the use of physical objects or spaces in the real world. However, the potential effectiveness of these approaches…

Single and multiple objective biomass-to-biofuel supply chain optimization considering environmental impacts

Science.gov (United States)

Valles Sosa, Claudia Evangelina

Bioenergy has become an important alternative source of energy to alleviate the reliance on petroleum energy. Bioenergy offers diminishing climate change by reducing Green House Gas Emissions, as well as providing energy security and enhancing rural development. The Energy Independence and Security Act mandate the use of 21 billion gallons of advanced biofuels including 16 billion gallons of cellulosic biofuels by the year 2022. It is clear that Biomass can make a substantial contribution to supply future energy demand in a sustainable way. However, the supply of sustainable energy is one of the main challenges that mankind will face over the coming decades. For instance, many logistical challenges will be faced in order to provide an efficient and reliable supply of quality feedstock to biorefineries. 700 million tons of biomass will be required to be sustainably delivered to biorefineries annually to meet the projected use of biofuels by the year of 2022. Approaching this complex logistic problem as a multi-commodity network flow structure, the present work proposes the use of a genetic algorithm as a single objective optimization problem that considers the maximization of profit and the present work also proposes the use of a Multiple Objective Evolutionary Algorithm to simultaneously maximize profit while minimizing global warming potential. Most transportation optimization problems available in the literature have mostly considered the maximization of profit or the minimization of total travel time as potential objectives to be optimized. However, on this research work, we take a more conscious and sustainable approach for this logistic problem. Planners are increasingly expected to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach, especially due to the rising importance of environmental stewardship. The role of a transportation planner and designer is shifting from simple economic analysis to promoting sustainability through the integration of environmental objectives. To

Imaging moving objects from multiply scattered waves and multiple sensors

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Miranda, Analee; Cheney, Margaret

2013-01-01

In this paper, we develop a linearized imaging theory that combines the spatial, temporal and spectral components of multiply scattered waves as they scatter from moving objects. In particular, we consider the case of multiple fixed sensors transmitting and receiving information from multiply scattered waves. We use a priori information about the multipath background. We use a simple model for multiple scattering, namely scattering from a fixed, perfectly reflecting (mirror) plane. We base our image reconstruction and velocity estimation technique on a modification of a filtered backprojection method that produces a phase-space image. We plot examples of point-spread functions for different geometries and waveforms, and from these plots, we estimate the resolution in space and velocity. Through this analysis, we are able to identify how the imaging system depends on parameters such as bandwidth and number of sensors. We ultimately show that enhanced phase-space resolution for a distribution of moving and stationary targets in a multipath environment may be achieved using multiple sensors. (paper)

Calculation of Pareto-optimal solutions to multiple-objective problems using threshold-of-acceptability constraints

Science.gov (United States)

Giesy, D. P.

1978-01-01

A technique is presented for the calculation of Pareto-optimal solutions to a multiple-objective constrained optimization problem by solving a series of single-objective problems. Threshold-of-acceptability constraints are placed on the objective functions at each stage to both limit the area of search and to mathematically guarantee convergence to a Pareto optimum.

Sensing Strategies for Disambiguating among Multiple Objects in Known Poses.

Science.gov (United States)

1985-08-01

ELEMENT. PROIECT. TASK Artificial Inteligence Laboratory AE OKUI UBR 545 Technology Square Cambridge, MA 021.39 11. CONTROLLING OFFICE NAME AND ADDRESS 12...AD-Ali65 912 SENSING STRATEGIES FOR DISAMBIGURTING MONG MULTIPLE 1/1 OBJECTS IN KNOWN POSES(U) MASSACHUSETTS INST OF TECH CAMBRIDGE ARTIFICIAL ...or Dist Special 1 ’ MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE LABORATORY A. I. Memo 855 August, 1985 Sensing Strategies for

Multiplicative mixing of object identity and image attributes in single inferior temporal neurons.

Science.gov (United States)

Ratan Murty, N Apurva; Arun, S P

2018-04-03

Object recognition is challenging because the same object can produce vastly different images, mixing signals related to its identity with signals due to its image attributes, such as size, position, rotation, etc. Previous studies have shown that both signals are present in high-level visual areas, but precisely how they are combined has remained unclear. One possibility is that neurons might encode identity and attribute signals multiplicatively so that each can be efficiently decoded without interference from the other. Here, we show that, in high-level visual cortex, responses of single neurons can be explained better as a product rather than a sum of tuning for object identity and tuning for image attributes. This subtle effect in single neurons produced substantially better population decoding of object identity and image attributes in the neural population as a whole. This property was absent both in low-level vision models and in deep neural networks. It was also unique to invariances: when tested with two-part objects, neural responses were explained better as a sum than as a product of part tuning. Taken together, our results indicate that signals requiring separate decoding, such as object identity and image attributes, are combined multiplicatively in IT neurons, whereas signals that require integration (such as parts in an object) are combined additively. Copyright © 2018 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.

Plasma Cell Neoplasms (Including Multiple Myeloma)—Health Professional Version

Science.gov (United States)

There are several types of plasma cell neoplasms, including monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), isolated plasmacytoma of the bone, extramedullary plasmacytoma, and multiple myeloma. Find evidence-based information on plasma cell neoplasms treatment, research, and statistics.

Automatic feature-based grouping during multiple object tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Erlikhman, Gennady; Keane, Brian P; Mettler, Everett; Horowitz, Todd S; Kellman, Philip J

2013-12-01

Contour interpolation automatically binds targets with distractors to impair multiple object tracking (Keane, Mettler, Tsoi, & Kellman, 2011). Is interpolation special in this regard or can other features produce the same effect? To address this question, we examined the influence of eight features on tracking: color, contrast polarity, orientation, size, shape, depth, interpolation, and a combination (shape, color, size). In each case, subjects tracked 4 of 8 objects that began as undifferentiated shapes, changed features as motion began (to enable grouping), and returned to their undifferentiated states before halting. We found that intertarget grouping improved performance for all feature types except orientation and interpolation (Experiment 1 and Experiment 2). Most importantly, target-distractor grouping impaired performance for color, size, shape, combination, and interpolation. The impairments were, at times, large (>15% decrement in accuracy) and occurred relative to a homogeneous condition in which all objects had the same features at each moment of a trial (Experiment 2), and relative to a "diversity" condition in which targets and distractors had different features at each moment (Experiment 3). We conclude that feature-based grouping occurs for a variety of features besides interpolation, even when irrelevant to task instructions and contrary to the task demands, suggesting that interpolation is not unique in promoting automatic grouping in tracking tasks. Our results also imply that various kinds of features are encoded automatically and in parallel during tracking.

Additivity of Feature-based and Symmetry-based Grouping Effects in Multiple Object Tracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chundi eWang

2016-05-01

Full Text Available Multiple object tracking (MOT is an attentional process wherein people track several moving targets among several distractors. Symmetry, an important indicator of regularity, is a general spatial pattern observed in natural and artificial scenes. According to the laws of perceptual organization proposed by Gestalt psychologists, regularity is a principle of perceptual grouping, such as similarity and closure. A great deal of research reported that feature-based similarity grouping (e.g., grouping based on color, size, or shape among targets in MOT tasks can improve tracking performance. However, no additive feature-based grouping effects have been reported where the tracking objects had two or more features. Additive effect refers to a greater grouping effect produced by grouping based on multiple cues instead of one cue. Can spatial symmetry produce a similar grouping effect similar to that of feature similarity in MOT tasks? Are the grouping effects based on symmetry and feature similarity additive? This study includes four experiments to address these questions. The results of Experiments 1 and 2 demonstrated the automatic symmetry-based grouping effects. More importantly, an additive grouping effect of symmetry and feature similarity was observed in Experiments 3 and 4. Our findings indicate that symmetry can produce an enhanced grouping effect in MOT and facilitate the grouping effect based on color or shape similarity. The where and what pathways might have played an important role in the additive grouping effect.

Detection and Classification of Multiple Objects using an RGB-D Sensor and Linear Spatial Pyramid Matching

OpenAIRE

Dimitriou, Michalis; Kounalakis, Tsampikos; Vidakis, Nikolaos; Triantafyllidis, Georgios

2013-01-01

This paper presents a complete system for multiple object detection and classification in a 3D scene using an RGB-D sensor such as the Microsoft Kinect sensor. Successful multiple object detection and classification are crucial features in many 3D computer vision applications. The main goal is making machines see and understand objects like humans do. To this goal, the new RGB-D sensors can be utilized since they provide real-time depth map which can be used along with the RGB images for our ...

Bilevel formulation of a policy design problem considering multiple objectives and incomplete preferences

Science.gov (United States)

Hawthorne, Bryant; Panchal, Jitesh H.

2014-07-01

A bilevel optimization formulation of policy design problems considering multiple objectives and incomplete preferences of the stakeholders is presented. The formulation is presented for Feed-in-Tariff (FIT) policy design for decentralized energy infrastructure. The upper-level problem is the policy designer's problem and the lower-level problem is a Nash equilibrium problem resulting from market interactions. The policy designer has two objectives: maximizing the quantity of energy generated and minimizing policy cost. The stakeholders decide on quantities while maximizing net present value and minimizing capital investment. The Nash equilibrium problem in the presence of incomplete preferences is formulated as a stochastic linear complementarity problem and solved using expected value formulation, expected residual minimization formulation, and the Monte Carlo technique. The primary contributions in this article are the mathematical formulation of the FIT policy, the extension of computational policy design problems to multiple objectives, and the consideration of incomplete preferences of stakeholders for policy design problems.

Application of In-Segment Multiple Sampling in Object-Based Classification

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nataša Đurić

2014-12-01

Full Text Available When object-based analysis is applied to very high-resolution imagery, pixels within the segments reveal large spectral inhomogeneity; their distribution can be considered complex rather than normal. When normality is violated, the classification methods that rely on the assumption of normally distributed data are not as successful or accurate. It is hard to detect normality violations in small samples. The segmentation process produces segments that vary highly in size; samples can be very big or very small. This paper investigates whether the complexity within the segment can be addressed using multiple random sampling of segment pixels and multiple calculations of similarity measures. In order to analyze the effect sampling has on classification results, statistics and probability value equations of non-parametric two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test and parametric Student’s t-test are selected as similarity measures in the classification process. The performance of both classifiers was assessed on a WorldView-2 image for four land cover classes (roads, buildings, grass and trees and compared to two commonly used object-based classifiers—k-Nearest Neighbor (k-NN and Support Vector Machine (SVM. Both proposed classifiers showed a slight improvement in the overall classification accuracies and produced more accurate classification maps when compared to the ground truth image.

Dual-Layer Density Estimation for Multiple Object Instance Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Qiang Zhang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available This paper introduces a dual-layer density estimation-based architecture for multiple object instance detection in robot inventory management applications. The approach consists of raw scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT feature matching and key point projection. The dominant scale ratio and a reference clustering threshold are estimated using the first layer of the density estimation. A cascade of filters is applied after feature template reconstruction and refined feature matching to eliminate false matches. Before the second layer of density estimation, the adaptive threshold is finalized by multiplying an empirical coefficient for the reference value. The coefficient is identified experimentally. Adaptive threshold-based grid voting is applied to find all candidate object instances. Error detection is eliminated using final geometric verification in accordance with Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC. The detection results of the proposed approach are evaluated on a self-built dataset collected in a supermarket. The results demonstrate that the approach provides high robustness and low latency for inventory management application.

Vanpool trip planning based on evolutionary multiple objective optimization

Science.gov (United States)

Zhao, Ming; Yang, Disheng; Feng, Shibing; Liu, Hengchang

2017-08-01

Carpool and vanpool draw a lot of researchers’ attention, which is the emphasis of this paper. A concrete vanpool operation definition is given, based on the given definition, this paper tackles vanpool operation optimization using user experience decline index(UEDI). This paper is focused on making each user having identical UEDI and the system having minimum sum of all users’ UEDI. Three contributions are made, the first contribution is a vanpool operation scheme diagram, each component of the scheme is explained in detail. The second contribution is getting all customer’s UEDI as a set, standard deviation and sum of all users’ UEDI set are used as objectives in multiple objective optimization to decide trip start address, trip start time and trip destination address. The third contribution is a trip planning algorithm, which tries to minimize the sum of all users’ UEDI. Geographical distribution of the charging stations and utilization rate of the charging stations are considered in the trip planning process.

Tracking Multiple Statistics: Simultaneous Learning of Object Names and Categories in English and Mandarin Speakers.

Science.gov (United States)

Chen, Chi-Hsin; Gershkoff-Stowe, Lisa; Wu, Chih-Yi; Cheung, Hintat; Yu, Chen

2017-08-01

Two experiments were conducted to examine adult learners' ability to extract multiple statistics in simultaneously presented visual and auditory input. Experiment 1 used a cross-situational learning paradigm to test whether English speakers were able to use co-occurrences to learn word-to-object mappings and concurrently form object categories based on the commonalities across training stimuli. Experiment 2 replicated the first experiment and further examined whether speakers of Mandarin, a language in which final syllables of object names are more predictive of category membership than English, were able to learn words and form object categories when trained with the same type of structures. The results indicate that both groups of learners successfully extracted multiple levels of co-occurrence and used them to learn words and object categories simultaneously. However, marked individual differences in performance were also found, suggesting possible interference and competition in processing the two concurrent streams of regularities. Copyright © 2016 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Video based object representation and classification using multiple covariance matrices.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yurong; Liu, Quan

2017-01-01

Video based object recognition and classification has been widely studied in computer vision and image processing area. One main issue of this task is to develop an effective representation for video. This problem can generally be formulated as image set representation. In this paper, we present a new method called Multiple Covariance Discriminative Learning (MCDL) for image set representation and classification problem. The core idea of MCDL is to represent an image set using multiple covariance matrices with each covariance matrix representing one cluster of images. Firstly, we use the Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (NMF) method to do image clustering within each image set, and then adopt Covariance Discriminative Learning on each cluster (subset) of images. At last, we adopt KLDA and nearest neighborhood classification method for image set classification. Promising experimental results on several datasets show the effectiveness of our MCDL method.

Object-Based Change Detection in Urban Areas from High Spatial Resolution Images Based on Multiple Features and Ensemble Learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xin Wang

2018-02-01

Full Text Available To improve the accuracy of change detection in urban areas using bi-temporal high-resolution remote sensing images, a novel object-based change detection scheme combining multiple features and ensemble learning is proposed in this paper. Image segmentation is conducted to determine the objects in bi-temporal images separately. Subsequently, three kinds of object features, i.e., spectral, shape and texture, are extracted. Using the image differencing process, a difference image is generated and used as the input for nonlinear supervised classifiers, including k-nearest neighbor, support vector machine, extreme learning machine and random forest. Finally, the results of multiple classifiers are integrated using an ensemble rule called weighted voting to generate the final change detection result. Experimental results of two pairs of real high-resolution remote sensing datasets demonstrate that the proposed approach outperforms the traditional methods in terms of overall accuracy and generates change detection maps with a higher number of homogeneous regions in urban areas. Moreover, the influences of segmentation scale and the feature selection strategy on the change detection performance are also analyzed and discussed.

First Simulations of Designing Stratospheric Sulfate Aerosol Geoengineering to Meet Multiple Simultaneous Climate Objectives: DESIGNING STRATOSPHERIC GEOENGINEERING

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kravitz, Ben [Atmospheric Sciences and Global Change Division, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Richland WA USA; MacMartin, Douglas G. [Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Cornell University, Ithaca NY USA; Department of Computing and Mathematical Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena CA USA; Mills, Michael J. [Atmospheric Chemistry, Observations, and Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder CO USA; Richter, Jadwiga H. [Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder CO USA; Tilmes, Simone [Atmospheric Chemistry, Observations, and Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder CO USA; Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder CO USA; Lamarque, Jean-Francois [Atmospheric Chemistry, Observations, and Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder CO USA; Tribbia, Joseph J. [Climate and Global Dynamics Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder CO USA; Vitt, Francis [Atmospheric Chemistry, Observations, and Modeling Laboratory, National Center for Atmospheric Research, Boulder CO USA

2017-12-07

We describe the first simulations of stratospheric sulfate aerosol geoengineering using multiple injection locations to meet multiple simultaneous surface temperature objectives. Simulations were performed using CESM1(WACCM), a coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation model with fully interactive stratospheric chemistry, dynamics (including an internally generated quasi-biennial oscillation), and a sophisticated treatment of sulfate aerosol formation, microphysical growth, and deposition. The objectives are defined as maintaining three temperature features at their 2020 levels against a background of the RCP8.5 scenario over the period 2020-2099. These objectives are met using a feedback mechanism in which the rate of sulfur dioxide injection at each of the four locations is adjusted independently every year of simulation. Even in the presence of uncertainties, nonlinearities, and variability, the objectives are met, predominantly by SO2 injection at 30°N and 30°S. By the last year of simulation, the feedback algorithm calls for a total injection rate of 51 Tg SO2 per year. The injections are not in the tropics, which results in a greater degree of linearity of the surface climate response with injection amount than has been found in many previous studies using injection at the equator. Because the objectives are defined in terms of annual mean temperature, the required geeongineering results in "overcooling" during summer and "undercooling" during winter. The hydrological cycle is also suppressed as compared to the reference values corresponding to the year 2020. The demonstration we describe in this study is an important step toward understanding what geoengineering can do and what it cannot do.

Multi-Objective Dynamic Economic Dispatch of Microgrid Systems Including Vehicle-to-Grid

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Haitao Liu

2015-05-01

Full Text Available Based on the characteristics of electric vehicles (EVs, this paper establishes the load models of EVs under the autonomous charging mode and the coordinated charging and discharging mode. Integrating the EVs into a microgrid system which includes wind turbines (WTs, photovoltaic arrays (PVs, diesel engines (DEs, fuel cells (FCs and a storage battery (BS, this paper establishes multi-objective economic dispatch models of a microgrid, including the lowest operating cost, the least carbon dioxide emissions, and the lowest pollutant treatment cost. After converting the multi-objective functions to a single objective function by using the judgment matrix method, we analyze the dynamic economic dispatch of the microgrid system including vehicle-to-grid (V2G with an improved particle swarm optimization algorithm under different operation control strategies. With the example system, the proposed models and strategies are verified and analyzed. Simulation results show that the microgrid system with EVs under the coordinated charging and discharging mode has better operation economics than the autonomous charging mode. Meanwhile, the greater the load fluctuation is, the higher the operating cost of the microgrid system is.

Logarithmic r-θ mapping for hybrid optical neural network filter for multiple objects recognition within cluttered scenes

Science.gov (United States)

Kypraios, Ioannis; Young, Rupert C. D.; Chatwin, Chris R.; Birch, Phil M.

2009-04-01

θThe window unit in the design of the complex logarithmic r-θ mapping for hybrid optical neural network filter can allow multiple objects of the same class to be detected within the input image. Additionally, the architecture of the neural network unit of the complex logarithmic r-θ mapping for hybrid optical neural network filter becomes attractive for accommodating the recognition of multiple objects of different classes within the input image by modifying the output layer of the unit. We test the overall filter for multiple objects of the same and of different classes' recognition within cluttered input images and video sequences of cluttered scenes. Logarithmic r-θ mapping for hybrid optical neural network filter is shown to exhibit with a single pass over the input data simultaneously in-plane rotation, out-of-plane rotation, scale, log r-θ map translation and shift invariance, and good clutter tolerance by recognizing correctly the different objects within the cluttered scenes. We record in our results additional extracted information from the cluttered scenes about the objects' relative position, scale and in-plane rotation.

A Case Study of Resources Management Planning with Multiple Objectives and Projects

Science.gov (United States)

David L. Peterson; David G. Silsbee; Daniel L. Schmoldt

1995-01-01

Each National Park Service unit in the United States produces a resources management plan (RMP) every four years or less. The plans commit budgets and personnel to specific projects for four years, but they are prepared with little quantitative and analytical rigor and without formal decisionmaking tools. We have previously described a multiple objective planning...

Opposition multiple objective symbiotic organisms search (OMOSOS for time, cost, quality and work continuity tradeoff in repetitive projects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Duc-Hoc Tran

2018-04-01

Full Text Available Construction managers often face with projects containing multiple units wherein activities repeat from unit to unit. Therefore effective resource management is crucial in terms of project duration, cost and quality. Accordingly, researchers have developed several models to aid planners in developing practical and near-optimal schedules for repetitive projects. Despite their undeniable benefits, such models lack the ability of pure simultaneous optimization because existing methodologies optimize the schedule with respect to a single factor, to achieve minimum duration, total cost, resource work breaks or various combinations, respectively. This study introduces a novel approach called “opposition multiple objective symbiotic organisms search” (OMOSOS for scheduling repetitive projects. The proposed algorithm used an opposition-based learning technique for population initialization and for generation jumping. Further, this study integrated a scheduling module (M1 to determine all project objectives including time, cost, quality and interruption. The proposed algorithm was implemented on two application examples in order to demonstrate its capabilities in optimizing the scheduling of repetitive construction projects. The results indicate that the OMOSOS approach is a powerful optimization technique and can assist project managers in selecting appropriate plan for project. Keywords: Symbiotic organisms search, Multi-objective analysis, Resource tradeoff, Schedules, Repetitive

A Multi-Objective Learning to re-Rank Approach to Optimize Online Marketplaces for Multiple Stakeholders

OpenAIRE

Nguyen, Phong; Dines, John; Krasnodebski, Jan

2017-01-01

Multi-objective recommender systems address the difficult task of recommending items that are relevant to multiple, possibly conflicting, criteria. However these systems are most often designed to address the objective of one single stakeholder, typically, in online commerce, the consumers whose input and purchasing decisions ultimately determine the success of the recommendation systems. In this work, we address the multi-objective, multi-stakeholder, recommendation problem involving one or ...

Exact multiple scattering theory of two-nucleus collisions including the Pauli principle

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gurvitz, S.A.

1981-01-01

Exact equations for two-nucleus scattering are derived in which the effects of the Pauli principle are fully included. Our method exploits a modified equation for the scattering of two identical nucleons, which is obtained at the beginning. Considering proton-nucleus scattering we found that the resulting amplitude has two components, one resembling a multiple scattering series for distinguishable particles, and the other a distorted (A-1) nucleon cluster exchange. For elastic pA scattering the multiple scattering amplitude is found in the form of an optical potential expansion. We show that the Kerman-McManus-Thaler theory of the optical potential could be easily modified to include the effects of antisymmetrization of the projectile with the target nucleons. Nucleus-nucleus scattering is studied first for distinguishable target and beam nucleus. Afterwards the Pauli principle is included, where only the case of deuteron-nucleus scattering is discussed in detail. The resulting amplitude has four components. Two of them correspond to modified multiple scattering expansions and the others are distorted (A-1)- and (A-2)- nucleon cluster exchange. The result for d-A scattering is extended to the general case of nucleus-nucleus scattering. The equations are simple to use and as such constitute an improvement over existing schemes

Step wise, multiple objective calibration of a hydrologic model for a snowmelt dominated basin

Science.gov (United States)

Hay, L.E.; Leavesley, G.H.; Clark, M.P.; Markstrom, S.L.; Viger, R.J.; Umemoto, M.

2006-01-01

The ability to apply a hydrologic model to large numbers of basins for forecasting purposes requires a quick and effective calibration strategy. This paper presents a step wise, multiple objective, automated procedure for hydrologic model calibration. This procedure includes the sequential calibration of a model's simulation of solar radiation (SR), potential evapotranspiration (PET), water balance, and daily runoff. The procedure uses the Shuffled Complex Evolution global search algorithm to calibrate the U.S. Geological Survey's Precipitation Runoff Modeling System in the Yampa River basin of Colorado. This process assures that intermediate states of the model (SR and PET on a monthly mean basis), as well as the water balance and components of the daily hydrograph are simulated, consistently with measured values.

Single versus Multiple Objective(s) Decision Making: An Application ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Rahel

rather than exception in many real life decision-making circumstances. For example ...... stakeholders' relative importance of various attributes in the utility function. (Steuer 1986). ..... Multiple Criteria Optimization: Theory, Computation and.

Eye movements in Multiple Object Tracking systematically lagging behind the scene content

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Lukavský, Jiří

2013-01-01

Roč. 42, Suppl (2013), s. 42-43 ISSN 0301-0066. [36th European Conference on Visual Perception . 25.08.2013.-29.08.2013, Brémy] R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-28709S Institutional support: RVO:68081740 Keywords : eye movements * attention * multiple object tracking Subject RIV: AN - Psychology http://www. perception web.com/abstract.cgi?id=v130146

Symmetric caging formation for convex polygonal object transportation by multiple mobile robots based on fuzzy sliding mode control.

Science.gov (United States)

Dai, Yanyan; Kim, YoonGu; Wee, SungGil; Lee, DongHa; Lee, SukGyu

2016-01-01

In this paper, the problem of object caging and transporting is considered for multiple mobile robots. With the consideration of minimizing the number of robots and decreasing the rotation of the object, the proper points are calculated and assigned to the multiple mobile robots to allow them to form a symmetric caging formation. The caging formation guarantees that all of the Euclidean distances between any two adjacent robots are smaller than the minimal width of the polygonal object so that the object cannot escape. In order to avoid collision among robots, the parameter of the robots radius is utilized to design the caging formation, and the A⁎ algorithm is used so that mobile robots can move to the proper points. In order to avoid obstacles, the robots and the object are regarded as a rigid body to apply artificial potential field method. The fuzzy sliding mode control method is applied for tracking control of the nonholonomic mobile robots. Finally, the simulation and experimental results show that multiple mobile robots are able to cage and transport the polygonal object to the goal position, avoiding obstacles. Copyright © 2015 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Design and selection of load control strategies using a multiple objective model and evolutionary algorithms

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gomes, Alvaro; Antunes, Carlos Henggeler; Martins, Antonio Gomes

2005-01-01

This paper aims at presenting a multiple objective model to evaluate the attractiveness of the use of demand resources (through load management control actions) by different stakeholders and in diverse structure scenarios in electricity systems. For the sake of model flexibility, the multiple (and conflicting) objective functions of technical, economical and quality of service nature are able to capture distinct market scenarios and operating entities that may be interested in promoting load management activities. The computation of compromise solutions is made by resorting to evolutionary algorithms, which are well suited to tackle multiobjective problems of combinatorial nature herein involving the identification and selection of control actions to be applied to groups of loads. (Author)

42 CFR 137.327 - May multiple projects be included in a single construction project agreement?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-10-01

... 42 Public Health 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false May multiple projects be included in a single construction project agreement? 137.327 Section 137.327 Public Health PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF...-GOVERNANCE Construction Project Assumption Process § 137.327 May multiple projects be included in a single...

RTDB: A memory resident real-time object database

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nogiec, Jerzy M.; Desavouret, Eugene

2003-01-01

RTDB is a fast, memory-resident object database with built-in support for distribution. It constitutes an attractive alternative for architecting real-time solutions with multiple, possibly distributed, processes or agents sharing data. RTDB offers both direct and navigational access to stored objects, with local and remote random access by object identifiers, and immediate direct access via object indices. The database supports transparent access to objects stored in multiple collaborating dispersed databases and includes a built-in cache mechanism that allows for keeping local copies of remote objects, with specifiable invalidation deadlines. Additional features of RTDB include a trigger mechanism on objects that allows for issuing events or activating handlers when objects are accessed or modified and a very fast, attribute based search/query mechanism. The overall architecture and application of RTDB in a control and monitoring system is presented

Category-based attentional guidance can operate in parallel for multiple target objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Jenkins, Michael; Grubert, Anna; Eimer, Martin

2018-04-30

The question whether the control of attention during visual search is always feature-based or can also be based on the category of objects remains unresolved. Here, we employed the N2pc component as an on-line marker for target selection processes to compare the efficiency of feature-based and category-based attentional guidance. Two successive displays containing pairs of real-world objects (line drawings of kitchen or clothing items) were separated by a 10 ms SOA. In Experiment 1, target objects were defined by their category. In Experiment 2, one specific visual object served as target (exemplar-based search). On different trials, targets appeared either in one or in both displays, and participants had to report the number of targets (one or two). Target N2pc components were larger and emerged earlier during exemplar-based search than during category-based search, demonstrating the superior efficiency of feature-based attentional guidance. On trials where target objects appeared in both displays, both targets elicited N2pc components that overlapped in time, suggesting that attention was allocated in parallel to these target objects. Critically, this was the case not only in the exemplar-based task, but also when targets were defined by their category. These results demonstrate that attention can be guided by object categories, and that this type of category-based attentional control can operate concurrently for multiple target objects. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Defining ecological and economical hydropoweroperations: a framework for managing dam releasesto meet multiple conflicting objectives

Science.gov (United States)

Irwin, Elise R.

2014-01-01

Hydroelectric dams are a flexible source of power, provide flood control, and contribute to the economic growth of local communities through real-estate and recreation. Yet the impoundment of rivers can alter and fragment miles of critical riverine habitat needed for other competing needs such as downstream consumptive water use, fish and wildlife population viability, or other forms of recreation. Multiple conflicting interests can compromise progressive management especially with recognized uncertainties related to whether management actions will fulfill the objectives of policy makers, resource managers and/or facility owners. Decision analytic tools were used in a stakeholder-driven process to develop and implement a template for evaluation and prediction of the effects of water resource management of multiple-use systems under the context provided by R.L. Harris Dam on the Tallapoosa River, Alabama, USA. The approach provided a transparent and structured framework for decision-making and incorporated both existing and new data to meet multiple management objectives. Success of the template has been evaluated by the stakeholder governing body in an adaptive resource management framework since 2005 and is ongoing. Consequences of management of discharge at the dam were evaluated annually relative to stakeholder satisfaction to allow for adjustment of both management scenarios and objectives. This template can be applied to attempt to resolve conflict inherent in many dam-regulated systems where management decisions impact diverse values of stakeholders.

Managing forest and marginal agricultural land for multiple tradeoffs : compromising on economic, carbon and structural biodiversity objectives

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Krcmar, E.; Kooten, van G.C.; Vertinsky, I.

2005-01-01

In this paper, we use compromise programming to solve a multiple-objective land use and forest management planning model. Long- and short- (`fast¿) term carbon uptake, maintenance of structural diversity, and economic (net returns to forestry and agriculture) objectives are simultaneously achieved

Cortical mechanisms for trans-saccadic memory and integration of multiple object features

Science.gov (United States)

Prime, Steven L.; Vesia, Michael; Crawford, J. Douglas

2011-01-01

Constructing an internal representation of the world from successive visual fixations, i.e. separated by saccadic eye movements, is known as trans-saccadic perception. Research on trans-saccadic perception (TSP) has been traditionally aimed at resolving the problems of memory capacity and visual integration across saccades. In this paper, we review this literature on TSP with a focus on research showing that egocentric measures of the saccadic eye movement can be used to integrate simple object features across saccades, and that the memory capacity for items retained across saccades, like visual working memory, is restricted to about three to four items. We also review recent transcranial magnetic stimulation experiments which suggest that the right parietal eye field and frontal eye fields play a key functional role in spatial updating of objects in TSP. We conclude by speculating on possible cortical mechanisms for governing egocentric spatial updating of multiple objects in TSP. PMID:21242142

Comparison of multiple linear regression and artificial neural network in developing the objective functions of the orthopaedic screws.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsu, Ching-Chi; Lin, Jinn; Chao, Ching-Kong

2011-12-01

Optimizing the orthopaedic screws can greatly improve their biomechanical performances. However, a methodical design optimization approach requires a long time to search the best design. Thus, the surrogate objective functions of the orthopaedic screws should be accurately developed. To our knowledge, there is no study to evaluate the strengths and limitations of the surrogate methods in developing the objective functions of the orthopaedic screws. Three-dimensional finite element models for both the tibial locking screws and the spinal pedicle screws were constructed and analyzed. Then, the learning data were prepared according to the arrangement of the Taguchi orthogonal array, and the verification data were selected with use of a randomized selection. Finally, the surrogate objective functions were developed by using either the multiple linear regression or the artificial neural network. The applicability and accuracy of those surrogate methods were evaluated and discussed. The multiple linear regression method could successfully construct the objective function of the tibial locking screws, but it failed to develop the objective function of the spinal pedicle screws. The artificial neural network method showed a greater capacity of prediction in developing the objective functions for the tibial locking screws and the spinal pedicle screws than the multiple linear regression method. The artificial neural network method may be a useful option for developing the objective functions of the orthopaedic screws with a greater structural complexity. The surrogate objective functions of the orthopaedic screws could effectively decrease the time and effort required for the design optimization process. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Fast automated segmentation of multiple objects via spatially weighted shape learning

Science.gov (United States)

Chandra, Shekhar S.; Dowling, Jason A.; Greer, Peter B.; Martin, Jarad; Wratten, Chris; Pichler, Peter; Fripp, Jurgen; Crozier, Stuart

2016-11-01

Active shape models (ASMs) have proved successful in automatic segmentation by using shape and appearance priors in a number of areas such as prostate segmentation, where accurate contouring is important in treatment planning for prostate cancer. The ASM approach however, is heavily reliant on a good initialisation for achieving high segmentation quality. This initialisation often requires algorithms with high computational complexity, such as three dimensional (3D) image registration. In this work, we present a fast, self-initialised ASM approach that simultaneously fits multiple objects hierarchically controlled by spatially weighted shape learning. Prominent objects are targeted initially and spatial weights are progressively adjusted so that the next (more difficult, less visible) object is simultaneously initialised using a series of weighted shape models. The scheme was validated and compared to a multi-atlas approach on 3D magnetic resonance (MR) images of 38 cancer patients and had the same (mean, median, inter-rater) Dice’s similarity coefficients of (0.79, 0.81, 0.85), while having no registration error and a computational time of 12-15 min, nearly an order of magnitude faster than the multi-atlas approach.

A multiple objective test assembly approach for exposure control problems in Computerized Adaptive Testing

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Theo J.H.M. Eggen

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Overexposure and underexposure of items in the bank are serious problems in operational computerized adaptive testing (CAT systems. These exposure problems might result in item compromise, or point at a waste of investments. The exposure control problem can be viewed as a test assembly problem with multiple objectives. Information in the test has to be maximized, item compromise has to be minimized, and pool usage has to be optimized. In this paper, a multiple objectives method is developed to deal with both types of exposure problems. In this method, exposure control parameters based on observed exposure rates are implemented as weights for the information in the item selection procedure. The method does not need time consuming simulation studies, and it can be implemented conditional on ability level. The method is compared with Sympson Hetter method for exposure control, with the Progressive method and with alphastratified testing. The results show that the method is successful in dealing with both kinds of exposure problems.

The multiplicity of the digital textbook as design object

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Riis Ebbesen, Toke

2015-01-01

Building on a preliminary case study of the Danish educational publisher Systime A/S and its flagship product, the web-based ‘iBog’/‘iBook’, this article explores how digital textbooks can be understood as design. The shaping of digital books is seen as being intertwined in a wider circuit...... reorganization of the publishing company, web-based user interfaces, and ultimately the branding, which market these new digital objects, are building power- ful discourses around the product. Thus it is suggested that the design process of the iBog case can be understood in a model of database-based publishing...... with multiple levels. In the final analysis, the iBog is much more than a product and a technology. It is a brand that goes beyond what can be studied by looking at the digital textbook as a singular artefact....

A Single Unexpected Change in Target- but Not Distractor Motion Impairs Multiple Object Tracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hauke S. Meyerhoff

2013-02-01

Full Text Available Recent research addresses the question whether motion information of multiple objects contributes to maintaining a selection of objects across a period of motion. Here, we investigate whether target and/or distractor motion information is used during attentive tracking. We asked participants to track four objects and changed either the motion direction of targets, the motion direction of distractors, neither, or both during a brief flash in the middle of a tracking interval. We observed that a single direction change of targets is sufficient to impair tracking performance. In contrast, changing the motion direction of distractors had no effect on performance. This indicates that target- but not distractor motion information is evaluated during tracking.

A multiple ship routing and speed optimization problem under time, cost and environmental objectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Wen, M.; Pacino, Dario; Kontovas, C.A.

2017-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a multiple ship routing and speed optimization problem under time, cost and environmental objectives. A branch and price algorithm as well as a constraint programming model are developed that consider (a) fuel consumption as a function of payload, (b......) fuel price as an explicit input, (c) freight rate as an input, and (d) in-transit cargo inventory costs. The alternative objective functions are minimum total trip duration, minimum total cost and minimum emissions. Computational experience with the algorithm is reported on a variety of scenarios....

A Conceptual Framework for Error Remediation with Multiple External Representations Applied to Learning Objects

Science.gov (United States)

Leite, Maici Duarte; Marczal, Diego; Pimentel, Andrey Ricardo; Direne, Alexandre Ibrahim

2014-01-01

This paper presents the application of some concepts of Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS) to elaborate a conceptual framework that uses the remediation of errors with Multiple External Representations (MERs) in Learning Objects (LO). To this is demonstrated a development of LO for teaching the Pythagorean Theorem through this framework. This…

Single and multiple object tracking using log-euclidean Riemannian subspace and block-division appearance model.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Weiming; Li, Xi; Luo, Wenhan; Zhang, Xiaoqin; Maybank, Stephen; Zhang, Zhongfei

2012-12-01

Object appearance modeling is crucial for tracking objects, especially in videos captured by nonstationary cameras and for reasoning about occlusions between multiple moving objects. Based on the log-euclidean Riemannian metric on symmetric positive definite matrices, we propose an incremental log-euclidean Riemannian subspace learning algorithm in which covariance matrices of image features are mapped into a vector space with the log-euclidean Riemannian metric. Based on the subspace learning algorithm, we develop a log-euclidean block-division appearance model which captures both the global and local spatial layout information about object appearances. Single object tracking and multi-object tracking with occlusion reasoning are then achieved by particle filtering-based Bayesian state inference. During tracking, incremental updating of the log-euclidean block-division appearance model captures changes in object appearance. For multi-object tracking, the appearance models of the objects can be updated even in the presence of occlusions. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed tracking algorithm obtains more accurate results than six state-of-the-art tracking algorithms.

Multiple objective optimization of hydro-thermal systems using Ritz's method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. Bayón Arnáu

2000-01-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the applicability of the Ritz method to multi-objective optimization of hydro-thermal systems. The algorithm proposed is aimed to minimize an objective functional that incorporates the cost of energy losses, the conventional fuel cost and the production of atmospheric emissions such as NOx and SO2 caused by the operation of fossil-fueled thermal generation. The formulation includes a general layout of hydro-plants that may form multi-chains of reservoir network.

Real-time object detection, tracking and occlusion reasoning

Science.gov (United States)

Divakaran, Ajay; Yu, Qian; Tamrakar, Amir; Sawhney, Harpreet Singh; Zhu, Jiejie; Javed, Omar; Liu, Jingen; Cheng, Hui; Eledath, Jayakrishnan

2018-02-27

A system for object detection and tracking includes technologies to, among other things, detect and track moving objects, such as pedestrians and/or vehicles, in a real-world environment, handle static and dynamic occlusions, and continue tracking moving objects across the fields of view of multiple different cameras.

Multiple objective optimization of hydro-thermal systems using Ritz's method

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Arnáu L. Bayón

1999-01-01

Full Text Available This paper examines the applicability of the Ritz method to multi-objective optimization of hydro-thermal systems. The algorithm proposed is aimed to minimize an objective functional that incorporates the cost of energy losses, the conventional fuel cost and the production of atmospheric emissions such as NO x and SO 2 caused by the operation of fossil-fueled thermal generation. The formulation includes a general layout of hydro-plants that may form multi-chains of reservoir network. Time-delays are included and the electric network is considered by using the active power balance equation. The volume of water discharge for each hydro-plant is a given constant amount from the optimization interval. The generic minimization algorithm, which is not difficult to construct on the basis of the Ritz method, has certain advantages in comparison with the conventional methods.

Objective Ratings of Relationship Skills across Multiple Domains as Predictors of Marital Satisfaction Trajectories

OpenAIRE

Lawrence, Erika; Pederson, Ashley; Bunde, Mali; Barry, Robin A.; Brock, Rebecca L.; Fazio, Emily; Mulryan, Lorin; Hunt, Sara; Madsen, Lisa; Dzankovic, Sandra

2008-01-01

Expanding upon social-learning and vulnerability-stress-adaptation approaches to marriage, the impact of multiple dyadic behaviors on marital satisfaction trajectories was examined in 101 couples. Semi-structured interviews were administered separately to husbands and wives at 3 months of marriage. Interviewers generated objective ratings for five domains: emotional closeness/intimacy, sexual intimacy/sensuality, interspousal support, decision-making/relational control, and communication/conf...

Plasma Cell Neoplasms (Including Multiple Myeloma)—Patient Version

Science.gov (United States)

Plasma cell neoplasms occur when abnormal plasma cells form cancerous tumors. When there is only one tumor, the disease is called a plasmacytoma. When there are multiple tumors, it is called multiple myeloma. Start here to find information on plasma cell neoplasms treatment, research, and statistics.

Multiple containment for LSA [low specific activity] and SCO [surface contaminated objects] wastes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Burgess, M.H.

1993-09-01

Radioactive wastes are generally transported in the form of Low Specific Activity (LSA) materials or Surface Contaminated Objects (SCO). This report proposes that a method of acknowledging the beneficial effects of multiple containment for such wastes should be written into the 1996 Edition of the IAEA Transport Regulations. Experience used to assess risks from on-site movements of radioactive material in the UK can be applied to develop safety arguments justifying the alleviation of off-site transport risks. (UK)

Induced Systemic Tolerance to Multiple Stresses Including Biotic and Abiotic Factors by Rhizobacteria

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sung-Je Yoo

2017-06-01

Full Text Available Recently, global warming and drastic climate change are the greatest threat to the world. The climate change can affect plant productivity by reducing plant adaptation to diverse environments including frequent high temperature; worsen drought condition and increased pathogen transmission and infection. Plants have to survive in this condition with a variety of biotic (pathogen/pest attack and abiotic stress (salt, high/low temperature, drought. Plants can interact with beneficial microbes including plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria, which help plant mitigate biotic and abiotic stress. This overview presents that rhizobacteria plays an important role in induced systemic resistance (ISR to biotic stress or induced systemic tolerance (IST to abiotic stress condition; bacterial determinants related to ISR and/or IST. In addition, we describe effects of rhizobacteria on defense/tolerance related signal pathway in plants. We also review recent information including plant resistance or tolerance against multiple stresses (bioticabiotic. We desire that this review contribute to expand understanding and knowledge on the microbial application in a constantly varying agroecosystem, and suggest beneficial microbes as one of alternative environment-friendly application to alleviate multiple stresses.

Multiple objects tracking in fluorescence microscopy.

Science.gov (United States)

Kalaidzidis, Yannis

2009-01-01

Many processes in cell biology are connected to the movement of compact entities: intracellular vesicles and even single molecules. The tracking of individual objects is important for understanding cellular dynamics. Here we describe the tracking algorithms which have been developed in the non-biological fields and successfully applied to object detection and tracking in biological applications. The characteristics features of the different algorithms are compared.

Real-time multiple objects tracking on Raspberry-Pi-based smart embedded camera

Science.gov (United States)

Dziri, Aziz; Duranton, Marc; Chapuis, Roland

2016-07-01

Multiple-object tracking constitutes a major step in several computer vision applications, such as surveillance, advanced driver assistance systems, and automatic traffic monitoring. Because of the number of cameras used to cover a large area, these applications are constrained by the cost of each node, the power consumption, the robustness of the tracking, the processing time, and the ease of deployment of the system. To meet these challenges, the use of low-power and low-cost embedded vision platforms to achieve reliable tracking becomes essential in networks of cameras. We propose a tracking pipeline that is designed for fixed smart cameras and which can handle occlusions between objects. We show that the proposed pipeline reaches real-time processing on a low-cost embedded smart camera composed of a Raspberry-Pi board and a RaspiCam camera. The tracking quality and the processing speed obtained with the proposed pipeline are evaluated on publicly available datasets and compared to the state-of-the-art methods.

A Synthetic Algorithm for Tracking a Moving Object in a Multiple-Dynamic Obstacles Environment Based on Kinematically Planar Redundant Manipulators

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Hongzhe Jin

2017-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a synthetic algorithm for tracking a moving object in a multiple-dynamic obstacles environment based on kinematically planar manipulators. By observing the motions of the object and obstacles, Spline filter associated with polynomial fitting is utilized to predict their moving paths for a period of time in the future. Several feasible paths for the manipulator in Cartesian space can be planned according to the predicted moving paths and the defined feasibility criterion. The shortest one among these feasible paths is selected as the optimized path. Then the real-time path along the optimized path is planned for the manipulator to track the moving object in real-time. To improve the convergence rate of tracking, a virtual controller based on PD controller is designed to adaptively adjust the real-time path. In the process of tracking, the null space of inverse kinematic and the local rotation coordinate method (LRCM are utilized for the arms and the end-effector to avoid obstacles, respectively. Finally, the moving object in a multiple-dynamic obstacles environment is thus tracked via real-time updating the joint angles of manipulator according to the iterative method. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithm is feasible to track a moving object in a multiple-dynamic obstacles environment.

A case study of resources management planning with multiple objectives and projects

Science.gov (United States)

Peterson, David L.; Silsbee, David G.; Schmoldt, Daniel L.

1994-09-01

Each National Park Service unit in the United States produces a resources management plan (RMP) every four years or less. The plans commit budgets and personnel to specific projects for four years, but they are prepared with little quantitative and analytical rigor and without formal decision-making tools. We have previously described a multiple objective planning process for inventory and monitoring programs (Schmoldt and others 1994). To test the applicability of that process for the more general needs of resources management planning, we conducted an exercise on the Olympic National Park (NP) in Washington State, USA. Eight projects were selected as typical of those considered in RMPs and five members of the Olympic NP staff used the analytic hierarchy process (AHP) to prioritize the eight projects with respect to their implicit management objectives. By altering management priorities for the park, three scenarios were generated. All three contained some similarities in rankings for the eight projects, as well as some differences. Mathematical allocations of money and people differed among these scenarios and differed substantially from what the actual 1990 Olympic NP RMP contains. Combining subjective priority measures with budget dollars and personnel time into an objective function creates a subjective economic metric for comparing different RMP’s. By applying this planning procedure, actual expenditures of budget and personnel in Olympic NP can agree more closely with the staff’s management objectives for the park.

Stages of Plasma Cell Neoplasms (Including Multiple Myeloma)

Science.gov (United States)

... cancer treatment is also called biotherapy or immunotherapy. Immunomodulators are a type of biologic therapy. Thalidomide , lenalidomide , and pomalidomide are immunomodulators used to treat multiple myeloma and other plasma ...

Representing uncertainty in objective functions: extension to include the influence of serial correlation

Science.gov (United States)

Croke, B. F.

2008-12-01

The role of performance indicators is to give an accurate indication of the fit between a model and the system being modelled. As all measurements have an associated uncertainty (determining the significance that should be given to the measurement), performance indicators should take into account uncertainties in the observed quantities being modelled as well as in the model predictions (due to uncertainties in inputs, model parameters and model structure). In the presence of significant uncertainty in observed and modelled output of a system, failure to adequately account for variations in the uncertainties means that the objective function only gives a measure of how well the model fits the observations, not how well the model fits the system being modelled. Since in most cases, the interest lies in fitting the system response, it is vital that the objective function(s) be designed to account for these uncertainties. Most objective functions (e.g. those based on the sum of squared residuals) assume homoscedastic uncertainties. If model contribution to the variations in residuals can be ignored, then transformations (e.g. Box-Cox) can be used to remove (or at least significantly reduce) heteroscedasticity. An alternative which is more generally applicable is to explicitly represent the uncertainties in the observed and modelled values in the objective function. Previous work on this topic addressed the modifications to standard objective functions (Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency, RMSE, chi- squared, coefficient of determination) using the optimal weighted averaging approach. This paper extends this previous work; addressing the issue of serial correlation. A form for an objective function that includes serial correlation will be presented, and the impact on model fit discussed.

Multi-objective, multiple participant decision support for water management in the Andarax catchment, Almeria

Science.gov (United States)

van Cauwenbergh, N.; Pinte, D.; Tilmant, A.; Frances, I.; Pulido-Bosch, A.; Vanclooster, M.

2008-04-01

Water management in the Andarax river basin (Almeria, Spain) is a multi-objective, multi-participant, long-term decision-making problem that faces several challenges. Adequate water allocation needs informed decisions to meet increasing socio-economic demands while respecting the environmental integrity of this basin. Key players in the Andarax water sector include the municipality of Almeria, the irrigators involved in the intensive greenhouse agricultural sector, and booming second residences. A decision support system (DSS) is developed to rank different sustainable planning and management alternatives according to their socio-economic and environmental performance. The DSS is intimately linked to sustainability indicators and is designed through a public participation process. Indicators are linked to criteria reflecting stakeholders concerns in the 2005 field survey, such as fulfilling water demand, water price, technical and economical efficiency, social and environmental impacts. Indicators can be partly quantified after simulating the operation of the groundwater reservoir over a 20-year planning period and partly through a parallel expert evaluation process. To predict the impact of future water demand in the catchment, several development scenarios are designed to be evaluated in the DSS. The successive multi-criteria analysis of the performance indicators permits the ranking of the different management alternatives according to the multiple objectives formulated by the different sectors/participants. This allows more informed and transparent decision-making processes for the Andarax river basin, recognizing both the socio-economic and environmental dimensions of water resources management.

Clinical vocabulary as a boundary object in multidisciplinary care management of multiple chemical sensitivity, a complex and chronic condition.

Science.gov (United States)

Sampalli, Tara; Shepherd, Michael; Duffy, Jack

2011-04-14

Research has shown that accurate and timely communication between multidisciplinary clinicians involved in the care of complex and chronic health conditions is often challenging. The domain knowledge for these conditions is heterogeneous, with poorly categorized, unstructured, and inconsistent clinical vocabulary. The potential of boundary object as a technique to bridge communication gaps is explored in this study. A standardized and controlled clinical vocabulary was developed as a boundary object in the domain of a complex and chronic health condition, namely, multiple chemical sensitivity, to improve communication among multidisciplinary clinicians. A convenience sample of 100 patients with a diagnosis of multiple chemical sensitivity, nine multidisciplinary clinicians involved in the care of patients with multiple chemical sensitivity, and 36 clinicians in the community participated in the study. Eighty-two percent of the multidisciplinary and inconsistent vocabulary was standardized using the Systematized Nomenclature of Medicine - Clinical Terms (SNOMED(®) CT as a reference terminology. Over 80% of the multidisciplinary clinicians agreed on the overall usefulness of having a controlled vocabulary as a boundary object. Over 65% of clinicians in the community agreed on the overall usefulness of the vocabulary. The results from this study are promising and will be further evaluated in the domain of another complex chronic condition, ie, chronic pain. The study was conducted as a preliminary analysis for developing a boundary object in a heterogeneous domain of knowledge.

PRIVACY PRESERVING DATA MINING USING MULTIPLE OBJECTIVE OPTIMIZATION

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

V. Shyamala Susan

2016-10-01

Full Text Available Privacy preservation is that the most targeted issue in information publication, because the sensitive data shouldn't be leaked. For this sake, several privacy preservation data mining algorithms are proposed. In this work, feature selection using evolutionary algorithm and data masking coupled with slicing is treated as a multiple objective optimisation to preserve privacy. To start with, Genetic Algorithm (GA is carried out over the datasets to perceive the sensitive attributes and prioritise the attributes for treatment as per their determined sensitive level. In the next phase, to distort the data, noise is added to the higher level sensitive value using Hybrid Data Transformation (HDT method. In the following phase slicing algorithm groups the correlated attributes organized and by this means reduces the dimensionality by retaining the Advanced Clustering Algorithm (ACA. With the aim of getting the optimal dimensions of buckets, tuple segregating is accomplished by Metaheuristic Firefly Algorithm (MFA. The investigational consequences imply that the anticipated technique can reserve confidentiality and therefore the information utility is additionally high. Slicing algorithm allows the protection of association and usefulness in which effects in decreasing the information dimensionality and information loss. Performance analysis is created over OCC 7 and OCC 15 and our optimization method proves its effectiveness over two totally different datasets by showing 92.98% and 96.92% respectively.

Multiple Sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Plummer, Nancy; Michael, Nancy, Ed.

This module on multiple sclerosis is intended for use in inservice or continuing education programs for persons who administer medications in long-term care facilities. Instructor information, including teaching suggestions, and a listing of recommended audiovisual materials and their sources appear first. The module goal and objectives are then…

Design and implementation of the reconstruction software for the photon multiplicity detector in object oriented programming framework

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chattopadhayay, Subhasis; Ghosh, Premomoy; Gupta, R.; Mishra, D.; Phatak, S.C.; Sood, G.

2002-01-01

High granularity photon multiplicity detector (PMD) is scheduled to take data in Relativistic Heavy Ion Collision(RHIC) this year. A detailed scheme has been designed and implemented in object oriented programming framework using C++ for the monitoring and reconstruction job of PMD data

Spatial and visuospatial working memory tests predict performance in classic multiple-object tracking in young adults, but nonspatial measures of the executive do not.

Science.gov (United States)

Trick, Lana M; Mutreja, Rachna; Hunt, Kelly

2012-02-01

An individual-differences approach was used to investigate the roles of visuospatial working memory and the executive in multiple-object tracking. The Corsi Blocks and Visual Patterns Tests were used to assess visuospatial working memory. Two relatively nonspatial measures of the executive were used: operation span (OSPAN) and reading span (RSPAN). For purposes of comparison, the digit span test was also included (a measure not expected to correlate with tracking). The tests predicted substantial amounts of variance (R (2) = .33), and the visuospatial measures accounted for the majority (R (2) = .30), with each making a significant contribution. Although the executive measures correlated with each other, the RSPAN did not correlate with tracking. The correlation between OSPAN and tracking was similar in magnitude to that between digit span and tracking (p < .05 for both), and when regression was used to partial out shared variance between the two tests, the remaining variance predicted by the OSPAN was minimal (sr ( 2 ) = .029). When measures of spatial memory were included in the regression, the unique variance predicted by the OSPAN became negligible (sr ( 2 ) = .000004). This suggests that the executive, as measured by tests such as the OSPAN, plays little role in explaining individual differences in multiple-object tracking.

A Fisher Kernel Approach for Multiple Instance Based Object Retrieval in Video Surveillance

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

MIRONICA, I.

2015-11-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an automated surveillance system that exploits the Fisher Kernel representation in the context of multiple-instance object retrieval task. The proposed algorithm has the main purpose of tracking a list of persons in several video sources, using only few training examples. In the first step, the Fisher Kernel representation describes a set of features as the derivative with respect to the log-likelihood of the generative probability distribution that models the feature distribution. Then, we learn the generative probability distribution over all features extracted from a reduced set of relevant frames. The proposed approach shows significant improvements and we demonstrate that Fisher kernels are well suited for this task. We demonstrate the generality of our approach in terms of features by conducting an extensive evaluation with a broad range of keypoints features. Also, we evaluate our method on two standard video surveillance datasets attaining superior results comparing to state-of-the-art object recognition algorithms.

Spatial-area selective retrieval of multiple object-place associations in a hierarchical cognitive map formed by theta phase coding.

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Naoyuki; Yamaguchi, Yoko

2009-06-01

The human cognitive map is known to be hierarchically organized consisting of a set of perceptually clustered landmarks. Patient studies have demonstrated that these cognitive maps are maintained by the hippocampus, while the neural dynamics are still poorly understood. The authors have shown that the neural dynamic "theta phase precession" observed in the rodent hippocampus may be capable of forming hierarchical cognitive maps in humans. In the model, a visual input sequence consisting of object and scene features in the central and peripheral visual fields, respectively, results in the formation of a hierarchical cognitive map for object-place associations. Surprisingly, it is possible for such a complex memory structure to be formed in a few seconds. In this paper, we evaluate the memory retrieval of object-place associations in the hierarchical network formed by theta phase precession. The results show that multiple object-place associations can be retrieved with the initial cue of a scene input. Importantly, according to the wide-to-narrow unidirectional connections among scene units, the spatial area for object-place retrieval can be controlled by the spatial area of the initial cue input. These results indicate that the hierarchical cognitive maps have computational advantages on a spatial-area selective retrieval of multiple object-place associations. Theta phase precession dynamics is suggested as a fundamental neural mechanism of the human cognitive map.

On the effect of model parameters on forecast objects

Science.gov (United States)

Marzban, Caren; Jones, Corinne; Li, Ning; Sandgathe, Scott

2018-04-01

Many physics-based numerical models produce a gridded, spatial field of forecasts, e.g., a temperature map. The field for some quantities generally consists of spatially coherent and disconnected objects. Such objects arise in many problems, including precipitation forecasts in atmospheric models, eddy currents in ocean models, and models of forest fires. Certain features of these objects (e.g., location, size, intensity, and shape) are generally of interest. Here, a methodology is developed for assessing the impact of model parameters on the features of forecast objects. The main ingredients of the methodology include the use of (1) Latin hypercube sampling for varying the values of the model parameters, (2) statistical clustering algorithms for identifying objects, (3) multivariate multiple regression for assessing the impact of multiple model parameters on the distribution (across the forecast domain) of object features, and (4) methods for reducing the number of hypothesis tests and controlling the resulting errors. The final output of the methodology is a series of box plots and confidence intervals that visually display the sensitivities. The methodology is demonstrated on precipitation forecasts from a mesoscale numerical weather prediction model.

Treatment Options for Plasma Cell Neoplasms (Including Multiple Myeloma)

Science.gov (United States)

... cancer treatment is also called biotherapy or immunotherapy. Immunomodulators are a type of biologic therapy. Thalidomide , lenalidomide , and pomalidomide are immunomodulators used to treat multiple myeloma and other plasma ...

A Case Study of Tack Tiles[R] Literacy Instruction for a Student with Multiple Disabilities Including Congenital Blindness

Science.gov (United States)

Klenk, Jessicia A.; Pufpaff, Lisa A.

2011-01-01

Research on literacy instruction for students with multiple disabilities is limited. Empirical research on braille instruction for students with multiple disabilities that include congenital blindness is virtually nonexistent. This case study offers initial insight into possible methods of early braille literacy instruction for a student with…

Optimizing multiple sequence alignments using a genetic algorithm based on three objectives: structural information, non-gaps percentage and totally conserved columns.

Science.gov (United States)

Ortuño, Francisco M; Valenzuela, Olga; Rojas, Fernando; Pomares, Hector; Florido, Javier P; Urquiza, Jose M; Rojas, Ignacio

2013-09-01

Multiple sequence alignments (MSAs) are widely used approaches in bioinformatics to carry out other tasks such as structure predictions, biological function analyses or phylogenetic modeling. However, current tools usually provide partially optimal alignments, as each one is focused on specific biological features. Thus, the same set of sequences can produce different alignments, above all when sequences are less similar. Consequently, researchers and biologists do not agree about which is the most suitable way to evaluate MSAs. Recent evaluations tend to use more complex scores including further biological features. Among them, 3D structures are increasingly being used to evaluate alignments. Because structures are more conserved in proteins than sequences, scores with structural information are better suited to evaluate more distant relationships between sequences. The proposed multiobjective algorithm, based on the non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm, aims to jointly optimize three objectives: STRIKE score, non-gaps percentage and totally conserved columns. It was significantly assessed on the BAliBASE benchmark according to the Kruskal-Wallis test (P algorithm also outperforms other aligners, such as ClustalW, Multiple Sequence Alignment Genetic Algorithm (MSA-GA), PRRP, DIALIGN, Hidden Markov Model Training (HMMT), Pattern-Induced Multi-sequence Alignment (PIMA), MULTIALIGN, Sequence Alignment Genetic Algorithm (SAGA), PILEUP, Rubber Band Technique Genetic Algorithm (RBT-GA) and Vertical Decomposition Genetic Algorithm (VDGA), according to the Wilcoxon signed-rank test (P 0.05) with the advantage of being able to use less structures. Structural information is included within the objective function to evaluate more accurately the obtained alignments. The source code is available at http://www.ugr.es/~fortuno/MOSAStrE/MO-SAStrE.zip.

34 CFR 364.42 - What objectives and information must be included in the State plan?

Science.gov (United States)

2010-07-01

... 34 Education 2 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false What objectives and information must be included in the State plan? 364.42 Section 364.42 Education Regulations of the Offices of the Department of Education (Continued) OFFICE OF SPECIAL EDUCATION AND REHABILITATIVE SERVICES, DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION STATE...

Detecting multiple moving objects in crowded environments with coherent motion regions

Science.gov (United States)

Cheriyadat, Anil M.; Radke, Richard J.

2013-06-11

Coherent motion regions extend in time as well as space, enforcing consistency in detected objects over long time periods and making the algorithm robust to noisy or short point tracks. As a result of enforcing the constraint that selected coherent motion regions contain disjoint sets of tracks defined in a three-dimensional space including a time dimension. An algorithm operates directly on raw, unconditioned low-level feature point tracks, and minimizes a global measure of the coherent motion regions. At least one discrete moving object is identified in a time series of video images based on the trajectory similarity factors, which is a measure of a maximum distance between a pair of feature point tracks.

Improvement of the R-SWAT-FME framework to support multiple variables and multi-objective functions

Science.gov (United States)

Wu, Yiping; Liu, Shu-Guang

2014-01-01

Application of numerical models is a common practice in the environmental field for investigation and prediction of natural and anthropogenic processes. However, process knowledge, parameter identifiability, sensitivity, and uncertainty analyses are still a challenge for large and complex mathematical models such as the hydrological/water quality model, Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT). In this study, the previously developed R program language-SWAT-Flexible Modeling Environment (R-SWAT-FME) was improved to support multiple model variables and objectives at multiple time steps (i.e., daily, monthly, and annually). This expansion is significant because there is usually more than one variable (e.g., water, nutrients, and pesticides) of interest for environmental models like SWAT. To further facilitate its easy use, we also simplified its application requirements without compromising its merits, such as the user-friendly interface. To evaluate the performance of the improved framework, we used a case study focusing on both streamflow and nitrate nitrogen in the Upper Iowa River Basin (above Marengo) in the United States. Results indicated that the R-SWAT-FME performs well and is comparable to the built-in auto-calibration tool in multi-objective model calibration. Overall, the enhanced R-SWAT-FME can be useful for the SWAT community, and the methods we used can also be valuable for wrapping potential R packages with other environmental models.

Fuzzy Multi-objective Linear Programming Approach

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Amna Rehmat

2007-07-01

Full Text Available Traveling salesman problem (TSP is one of the challenging real-life problems, attracting researchers of many fields including Artificial Intelligence, Operations Research, and Algorithm Design and Analysis. The problem has been well studied till now under different headings and has been solved with different approaches including genetic algorithms and linear programming. Conventional linear programming is designed to deal with crisp parameters, but information about real life systems is often available in the form of vague descriptions. Fuzzy methods are designed to handle vague terms, and are most suited to finding optimal solutions to problems with vague parameters. Fuzzy multi-objective linear programming, an amalgamation of fuzzy logic and multi-objective linear programming, deals with flexible aspiration levels or goals and fuzzy constraints with acceptable deviations. In this paper, a methodology, for solving a TSP with imprecise parameters, is deployed using fuzzy multi-objective linear programming. An example of TSP with multiple objectives and vague parameters is discussed.

Objective lens simultaneously optimized for pupil ghosting, wavefront delivery and pupil imaging

Science.gov (United States)

Olczak, Eugene G (Inventor)

2011-01-01

An objective lens includes multiple optical elements disposed between a first end and a second end, each optical element oriented along an optical axis. Each optical surface of the multiple optical elements provides an angle of incidence to a marginal ray that is above a minimum threshold angle. This threshold angle minimizes pupil ghosts that may enter an interferometer. The objective lens also optimizes wavefront delivery and pupil imaging onto an optical surface under test.

A Comparative Study of Multiple Object Detection Using Haar-Like Feature Selection and Local Binary Patterns in Several Platforms

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Souhail Guennouni

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Object detection has been attracting much interest due to the wide spectrum of applications that use it. It has been driven by an increasing processing power available in software and hardware platforms. In this work we present a developed application for multiple objects detection based on OpenCV libraries. The complexity-related aspects that were considered in the object detection using cascade classifier are described. Furthermore, we discuss the profiling and porting of the application into an embedded platform and compare the results with those obtained on traditional platforms. The proposed application deals with real-time systems implementation and the results give a metric able to select where the cases of object detection applications may be more complex and where it may be simpler.

Multisensory softness perceived compliance from multiple sources of information

CERN Document Server

Luca, Massimiliano Di

2014-01-01

Offers a unique multidisciplinary overview of how humans interact with soft objects and how multiple sensory signals are used to perceive material properties, with an emphasis on object deformability. The authors describe a range of setups that have been employed to study and exploit sensory signals involved in interactions with compliant objects as well as techniques to simulate and modulate softness - including a psychophysical perspective of the field. Multisensory Softness focuses on the cognitive mechanisms underlying the use of multiple sources of information in softness perception. D

Effectiveness of Guided Multiple Choice Objective Questions Test on Students' Academic Achievement in Senior School Mathematics by School Location

Science.gov (United States)

Igbojinwaekwu, Patrick Chukwuemeka

2015-01-01

This study investigated, using pretest-posttest quasi-experimental research design, the effectiveness of guided multiple choice objective questions test on students' academic achievement in Senior School Mathematics, by school location, in Delta State Capital Territory, Nigeria. The sample comprised 640 Students from four coeducation secondary…

The Initial Development of Object Knowledge by a Learning Robot.

Science.gov (United States)

Modayil, Joseph; Kuipers, Benjamin

2008-11-30

We describe how a robot can develop knowledge of the objects in its environment directly from unsupervised sensorimotor experience. The object knowledge consists of multiple integrated representations: trackers that form spatio-temporal clusters of sensory experience, percepts that represent properties for the tracked objects, classes that support efficient generalization from past experience, and actions that reliably change object percepts. We evaluate how well this intrinsically acquired object knowledge can be used to solve externally specified tasks including object recognition and achieving goals that require both planning and continuous control.

Automated pose estimation of objects using multiple ID devices for handling and maintenance task in nuclear fusion reactor

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Umetani, Tomohiro; Morioka, Jun-ichi; Tamura, Yuichi; Inoue, Kenji; Arai, Tatsuo; Mae, Yasusi

2011-01-01

This paper describes a method for the automated estimation of three-dimensional pose (position and orientation) of objects by autonomous robots, using multiple identification (ID) devices. Our goal is to estimate the object pose for assembly or maintenance tasks in a real nuclear fusion reactor system, with autonomous robots cooperating in a virtual assembly system. The method estimates the three-dimensional pose for autonomous robots. This paper discusses a method of motion generation for ID acquisition using the sensory data acquired by the measurement system attached to the robots and from the environment. Experimental results show the feasibility of the proposed method. (author)

A Block-Structure Concurrent Object-Oriented Language

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Madsen, Ole Lehrmann

1998-01-01

The BETA programming language has been developed in the Scandinavian tradition for object-orientation based on Simula. In this tradition, support for modeling and design have been important design goals for programming language design. There has thus been two accompanying design criteria for BETA...... of conceptual means for understanding knowledge abuout the real world. It includes means such as concepts and phenomena, identification of objects, identification of classes, classification, generalization/specialization, multiple classification, refence- and part-of-composition, etc. In this paper we...

Robust multiple cue fusion-based high-speed and nonrigid object tracking algorithm for short track speed skating

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Chenguang; Cheng, Heng-Da; Zhang, Yingtao; Wang, Yuxuan; Xian, Min

2016-01-01

This paper presents a methodology for tracking multiple skaters in short track speed skating competitions. Nonrigid skaters move at high speed with severe occlusions happening frequently among them. The camera is panned quickly in order to capture the skaters in a large and dynamic scene. To automatically track the skaters and precisely output their trajectories becomes a challenging task in object tracking. We employ the global rink information to compensate camera motion and obtain the global spatial information of skaters, utilize random forest to fuse multiple cues and predict the blob of each skater, and finally apply a silhouette- and edge-based template-matching and blob-evolving method to labelling pixels to a skater. The effectiveness and robustness of the proposed method are verified through thorough experiments.

Time and multiple objectives in scheduling and routing problems

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Dabia, S.

2012-01-01

Many optimization problems encountered in practice are multi-objective by nature, i.e., different objectives are conflicting and equally important. Many times, it is not desirable to drop some of them or to optimize them in a composite single objective or hierarchical manner. Furthermore, cost

Spanish Tourist Behaviour: A Specific Objective-base Segmantation

OpenAIRE

González, Pablo Rodríguez; Molina, Oscar

2009-01-01

This work uses data from the Spanish Tourism Demand Segments Survey (N=6900) conducted by the IESA-CSIC for Turismo Andaluz, SA. The objective of the paper is to develop a statistical segmentation or typology of Spanish tourists based on objective aspects of tourist behaviour measured in the survey including destinations visited, theme of the trip, lodging, transportation and travel group. Initial categorical data are reduced using multiple correspondence analysis and grouped through cluster ...

Single and Multiple Object Tracking Using a Multi-Feature Joint Sparse Representation.

Science.gov (United States)

Hu, Weiming; Li, Wei; Zhang, Xiaoqin; Maybank, Stephen

2015-04-01

In this paper, we propose a tracking algorithm based on a multi-feature joint sparse representation. The templates for the sparse representation can include pixel values, textures, and edges. In the multi-feature joint optimization, noise or occlusion is dealt with using a set of trivial templates. A sparse weight constraint is introduced to dynamically select the relevant templates from the full set of templates. A variance ratio measure is adopted to adaptively adjust the weights of different features. The multi-feature template set is updated adaptively. We further propose an algorithm for tracking multi-objects with occlusion handling based on the multi-feature joint sparse reconstruction. The observation model based on sparse reconstruction automatically focuses on the visible parts of an occluded object by using the information in the trivial templates. The multi-object tracking is simplified into a joint Bayesian inference. The experimental results show the superiority of our algorithm over several state-of-the-art tracking algorithms.

Multiple Level Crowding: Crowding at the Object Parts Level and at the Object Configural level.

Science.gov (United States)

Kimchi, Ruth; Pirkner, Yossef

2015-01-01

In crowding, identification of a peripheral target in the presence of nearby flankers is worse than when the target appears alone. Prevailing theories hold that crowding occurs because of integration or "pooling" of low-level features at a single, relatively early stage of visual processing. Recent studies suggest that crowding can occur also between high-level object representations. The most relevant findings come from studies with faces and may be specific to faces. We examined whether crowding can occur at the object configural level in addition to part-level crowding, using nonface objects. Target (a disconnected square or diamond made of four elements) identification was measured at varying eccentricities. The flankers were similar either to the target parts or to the target configuration. The results showed crowding in both cases: Flankers interfered with target identification such that identification accuracy decreased with an increase in eccentricity, and no interference was observed at the fovea. Crowding by object parts, however, was weaker and had smaller spatial extent than crowding by object configurations; we related this finding to the relationship between crowding and perceptual organization. These results provide strong evidence that crowding occurs not only between object parts but also between configural representations of objects. © The Author(s) 2015.

Connecting the Production Multiple

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lichen, Alex Yu; Mouritsen, Jan

&OP process itself is a fluid object, but there is still possibility to organise the messy Production. There are connections between the Production multiple and the managerial technology fluid. The fluid enacted the multiplicity of Production thus making it more difficult to be organised because there were...... in opposite directions. They are all part of the fluid object. There is no single chain of circulating references that makes the object a matter of fact. Accounting fluidity means that references drift back and forth and enact new realities also connected to the chain. In this setting future research may......This paper is about objects. It follows post ANT trajectories and finds that objects are multiple and fluid. Extant classic ANT inspired accounting research largely sees accounting inscriptions as immutable mobiles. Although multiplicity of objects upon which accounting acts has been explored...

Special issue on multi-objective reinforcement learning

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Drugan, Madalina; Wiering, Marco; Vamplew, Peter; Chetty, Madhu

2017-01-01

Many real-life problems involve dealing with multiple objectives. For example, in network routing the criteria may consist of energy consumption, latency, and channel capacity, which are in essence conflicting objectives. As in many problems there may be multiple (conflicting) objectives, there

Coupled orbit-attitude motion of high area-to-mass ratio (HAMR) objects including efficient self-shadowing

Science.gov (United States)

Früh, Carolin; Jah, Moriba K.

2014-02-01

This paper shows the effect of self-shadowing on the coupled attitude-orbit dynamics of objects with high area-to-mass ratios (HAMR) in simulating standard multi layer insulation materials (MLI) as tilted single rigid sheets. Efficient and computationally fast self-shadowing methods have been developed. This includes an approximate self-shadowing method and a rapid exact self-shadowing method. Accuracy considerations are made and the effect of a chosen tessellation is shown. The coupled orbit-attitude perturbations of solar radiation pressure and Earth gravity field are taken into account. The results are compared to the attitude-orbit dynamics, when neglecting self-shadowing effects. An averaged physical shadow-map model is developed and compared to the full self-shadowing simulation. The combined effect of solar radiation pressure and self-shadowing leads to a rapid spin-up of the objects, even though they have uniform reflection properties. As a result, the observed brightness of these objects is subject to rapid changes.

Conditioning 3D object-based models to dense well data

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Yimin C.; Pyrcz, Michael J.; Catuneanu, Octavian; Boisvert, Jeff B.

2018-06-01

Object-based stochastic simulation models are used to generate categorical variable models with a realistic representation of complicated reservoir heterogeneity. A limitation of object-based modeling is the difficulty of conditioning to dense data. One method to achieve data conditioning is to apply optimization techniques. Optimization algorithms can utilize an objective function measuring the conditioning level of each object while also considering the geological realism of the object. Here, an objective function is optimized with implicit filtering which considers constraints on object parameters. Thousands of objects conditioned to data are generated and stored in a database. A set of objects are selected with linear integer programming to generate the final realization and honor all well data, proportions and other desirable geological features. Although any parameterizable object can be considered, objects from fluvial reservoirs are used to illustrate the ability to simultaneously condition multiple types of geologic features. Channels, levees, crevasse splays and oxbow lakes are parameterized based on location, path, orientation and profile shapes. Functions mimicking natural river sinuosity are used for the centerline model. Channel stacking pattern constraints are also included to enhance the geological realism of object interactions. Spatial layout correlations between different types of objects are modeled. Three case studies demonstrate the flexibility of the proposed optimization-simulation method. These examples include multiple channels with high sinuosity, as well as fragmented channels affected by limited preservation. In all cases the proposed method reproduces input parameters for the object geometries and matches the dense well constraints. The proposed methodology expands the applicability of object-based simulation to complex and heterogeneous geological environments with dense sampling.

STakeholder-Objective Risk Model (STORM): Determiningthe aggregated risk of multiple contaminant hazards in groundwater well catchments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Enzenhoefer, R.; Binning, Philip John; Nowak, W.

2015-01-01

Risk is often defined as the product of probability, vulnerability and value. Drinking water supply from groundwater abstraction is often at risk due to multiple hazardous land use activities in the well catchment. Each hazard might or might not introduce contaminants into the subsurface at any......-pathway-receptor concept, mass-discharge-based aggregation of stochastically occuring spill events, accounts for uncertainties in the involved flow and transport models through Monte Carlo simulation, and can address different stakeholder objectives. We illustrate the application of STORM in a numerical test case inspired...

Disability and Fatigue Can Be Objectively Measured in Multiple Sclerosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Caterina Motta

Full Text Available The available clinical outcome measures of disability in multiple sclerosis are not adequately responsive or sensitive.To investigate the feasibility of inertial sensor-based gait analysis in multiple sclerosis.A cross-sectional study of 80 multiple sclerosis patients and 50 healthy controls was performed. Lower-limb kinematics was evaluated by using a commercially available magnetic inertial measurement unit system. Mean and standard deviation of range of motion (mROM, sROM for each joint of lower limbs were calculated in one minute walking test. A motor performance index (E defined as the sum of sROMs was proposed.We established two novel observer-independent measures of disability. Hip mROM was extremely sensitive in measuring lower limb motor impairment, being correlated with muscle strength and also altered in patients without clinically detectable disability. On the other hand, E index discriminated patients according to disability, being altered only in patients with moderate and severe disability, regardless of walking speed. It was strongly correlated with fatigue and patient-perceived health status.Inertial sensor-based gait analysis is feasible and can detect clinical and subclinical disability in multiple sclerosis.

Tracking planets and moons: mechanisms of object tracking revealed with a new paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Tombu, Michael; Seiffert, Adriane E

2011-04-01

People can attend to and track multiple moving objects over time. Cognitive theories of this ability emphasize location information and differ on the importance of motion information. Results from several experiments have shown that increasing object speed impairs performance, although speed was confounded with other properties such as proximity of objects to one another. Here, we introduce a new paradigm to study multiple object tracking in which object speed and object proximity were manipulated independently. Like the motion of a planet and moon, each target-distractor pair rotated about both a common local point as well as the center of the screen. Tracking performance was strongly affected by object speed even when proximity was controlled. Additional results suggest that two different mechanisms are used in object tracking--one sensitive to speed and proximity and the other sensitive to the number of distractors. These observations support models of object tracking that include information about object motion and reject models that use location alone.

Sleep and its associations with perceived and objective cognitive impairment in individuals with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Hughes, Abbey J; Parmenter, Brett A; Haselkorn, Jodie K; Lovera, Jesus F; Bourdette, Dennis; Boudreau, Eilis; Cameron, Michelle H; Turner, Aaron P

2017-08-01

Problems with sleep and cognitive impairment are common among people with multiple sclerosis (MS). The present study examined the relationship between self-reported sleep and both objective and perceived cognitive impairment in MS. Data were obtained from the baseline assessment of a multi-centre intervention trial (NCT00841321). Participants were 121 individuals with MS. Nearly half (49%) of participants met the criteria for objective cognitive impairment; however, cognitively impaired and unimpaired participants did not differ on any self-reported sleep measures. Nearly two-thirds (65%) of participants met the criteria for 'poor' sleep, and poorer sleep was significantly associated with greater levels of perceived cognitive impairment. Moreover, the relationships between self-reported sleep and perceived cognitive impairment were significant beyond the influence of clinical and demographic factors known to influence sleep and cognitive functioning (e.g. age, sex, education level, disability severity, type of MS, disease duration, depression and fatigue). However, self-reported sleep was not associated with any measures of objective cognitive impairment. Among different types of perceived cognitive impairment, poor self-reported sleep was most commonly related to worse perceived executive function (e.g. planning/organization) and prospective memory. Results from the present study emphasize that self-reported sleep is significantly and independently related to perceived cognitive impairment in MS. In terms of clinical implications, interventions focused on improving sleep may help improve perceived cognitive function and quality of life in this population; however, the impact of improved sleep on objective cognitive function requires further investigation. © 2017 European Sleep Research Society.

Uncovering the multiple objectives behind national energy efficiency planning

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Haydt, Gustavo; Leal, Vítor; Dias, Luís

2013-01-01

This work seeks to identify the fundamental objectives behind the development of energy efficiency (EE) plans for countries. It also presents a method to quantify the degree of achievement of each objective, through the identification and operationalization of attributes. This was achieved by applying Keeney's value-focused thinking approach. For that purpose, three key decision makers in EE planning were interviewed along with a bibliographic review on the subject. From this process six fundamental objectives were identified formalizing the problem as a multi-objective one: (i) to minimize the influence of energy use on climate change; (ii) to minimize the financial risk from the investment; (iii) to maximize the security of energy supply; (iv) to minimize investment costs; (v) to minimize the impacts of building new power plants and transmission infrastructures and (vi) to maximize the local air quality. The respective attributes were: (i) CO 2 emissions savings; (ii) payback; (iii) imported energy savings; (iv) investment cost; (v) electricity savings; and (vi) total suspended particles savings. To show the usefulness of the work, the objectives and attributes identified were used to show the possible outcomes from five hypothetical EE plans for Portugal

Method for Statically Checking an Object-oriented Computer Program Module

Science.gov (United States)

Bierhoff, Kevin M. (Inventor); Aldrich, Jonathan (Inventor)

2012-01-01

A method for statically checking an object-oriented computer program module includes the step of identifying objects within a computer program module, at least one of the objects having a plurality of references thereto, possibly from multiple clients. A discipline of permissions is imposed on the objects identified within the computer program module. The permissions enable tracking, from among a discrete set of changeable states, a subset of states each object might be in. A determination is made regarding whether the imposed permissions are violated by a potential reference to any of the identified objects. The results of the determination are output to a user.

Cerebellar abnormalities contribute to disability including cognitive impairment in multiple sclerosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katrin Weier

Full Text Available The cerebellum is known to be involved not only in motor but also cognitive and affective processes. Structural changes in the cerebellum in relation to cognitive dysfunction are an emerging topic in the field of neuro-psychiatric disorders. In Multiple Sclerosis (MS cerebellar motor and cognitive dysfunction occur in parallel, early in the onset of the disease, and the cerebellum is one of the predilection sites of atrophy. This study is aimed at determining the relationship between cerebellar volumes, clinical cerebellar signs, cognitive functioning and fatigue in MS. Cerebellar volumetry was conducted using T1-weighted MPRAGE magnetic resonance imaging of 172 MS patients. All patients underwent a clinical and brief neuropsychological assessment (information processing speed, working memory, including fatigue testing. Patients with and without cerebellar signs differed significantly regarding normalized cerebellar total volume (nTCV, normalized brain volume (nBV and whole brain T2 lesion volume (LV. Patients with cerebellar dysfunction likewise performed worse in cognitive tests. A regression analysis indicated that age and nTCV explained 26.3% of the variance in SDMT (symbol digit modalities test performance. However, only age, T2 LV and nBV remained predictors in the full model (r(2 = 0.36. The full model for the prediction of PASAT (Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test scores (r(2 = 0.23 included age, cerebellar and T2 LV. In the case of fatigue, only age and nBV (r(2 = 0.17 emerged as significant predictors. These data support the view that cerebellar abnormalities contribute to disability, including cognitive impairment in MS. However, this contribution does not seem to be independent of, and may even be dominated by wider spread MS pathology as reflected by nBV and T2 LV.

Collaborative real-time scheduling of multiple PTZ cameras for multiple object tracking in video surveillance

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Yu-Che; Huang, Chung-Lin

2013-03-01

This paper proposes a multi-PTZ-camera control mechanism to acquire close-up imagery of human objects in a surveillance system. The control algorithm is based on the output of multi-camera, multi-target tracking. Three main concerns of the algorithm are (1) the imagery of human object's face for biometric purposes, (2) the optimal video quality of the human objects, and (3) minimum hand-off time. Here, we define an objective function based on the expected capture conditions such as the camera-subject distance, pan tile angles of capture, face visibility and others. Such objective function serves to effectively balance the number of captures per subject and quality of captures. In the experiments, we demonstrate the performance of the system which operates in real-time under real world conditions on three PTZ cameras.

Object-based warping: an illusory distortion of space within objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Vickery, Timothy J; Chun, Marvin M

2010-12-01

Visual objects are high-level primitives that are fundamental to numerous perceptual functions, such as guidance of attention. We report that objects warp visual perception of space in such a way that spatial distances within objects appear to be larger than spatial distances in ground regions. When two dots were placed inside a rectangular object, they appeared farther apart from one another than two dots with identical spacing outside of the object. To investigate whether this effect was object based, we measured the distortion while manipulating the structure surrounding the dots. Object displays were constructed with a single object, multiple objects, a partially occluded object, and an illusory object. Nonobject displays were constructed to be comparable to object displays in low-level visual attributes. In all cases, the object displays resulted in a more powerful distortion of spatial perception than comparable non-object-based displays. These results suggest that perception of space within objects is warped.

Microvascular decompression for trigeminal neuralgia: comments on a series of 250 cases, including 10 patients with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Broggi, G; Ferroli, P; Franzini, A; Servello, D; Dones, I

2000-01-01

To examine surgical findings and results of microvascular decompression (MVD) for trigeminal neuralgia (TN), including patients with multiple sclerosis, to bring new insight about the role of microvascular compression in the pathogenesis of the disorder and the role of MVD in its treatment. Between 1990 and 1998, 250 patients affected by trigeminal neuralgia underwent MVD in the Department of Neurosurgery of the "Istituto Nazionale Neurologico C Besta" in Milan. Limiting the review to the period 1991-6, to exclude the "learning period" (the first 50 cases) and patients with less than 1 year follow up, surgical findings and results were critically analysed in 148 consecutive cases, including 10 patients with multiple sclerosis. Vascular compression of the trigeminal nerve was found in all cases. The recurrence rate was 15.3% (follow up 1-7 years, mean 38 months). In five of 10 patients with multiple sclerosis an excellent result was achieved (follow up 12-39 months, mean 24 months). Patients with TN for more than 84 months did significantly worse than those with a shorter history (p<0.05). There was no mortality and most complications occurred in the learning period. Surgical complications were not related to age of the patients. Aetiopathogenesis of trigeminal neuralgia remains a mystery. These findings suggest a common neuromodulatory role of microvascular compression in both patients with or without multiple sclerosis rather than a direct causal role. MVD was found to be a safe and effective procedure to relieve typical TN in patients of all ages. It should be proposed as first choice surgery to all patients affected by TN, even in selected cases with multiple sclerosis, to give them the opportunity of pain relief without sensory deficits.

On Objects and Events

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eugster, Patrick Thomas; Guerraoui, Rachid; Damm, Christian Heide

2001-01-01

This paper presents linguistic primitives for publish/subscribe programming using events and objects. We integrate our primitives into a strongly typed object-oriented language through four mechanisms: (1) serialization, (2) multiple sub typing, (3) closures, and (4) deferred code evaluation. We...

Pareto-depth for multiple-query image retrieval.

Science.gov (United States)

Hsiao, Ko-Jen; Calder, Jeff; Hero, Alfred O

2015-02-01

Most content-based image retrieval systems consider either one single query, or multiple queries that include the same object or represent the same semantic information. In this paper, we consider the content-based image retrieval problem for multiple query images corresponding to different image semantics. We propose a novel multiple-query information retrieval algorithm that combines the Pareto front method with efficient manifold ranking. We show that our proposed algorithm outperforms state of the art multiple-query retrieval algorithms on real-world image databases. We attribute this performance improvement to concavity properties of the Pareto fronts, and prove a theoretical result that characterizes the asymptotic concavity of the fronts.

A review of multiple stressor studies that include ionising radiation

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Vanhoudt, Nathalie; Vandenhove, Hildegarde; Real, Almudena; Bradshaw, Clare; Stark, Karolina

2012-01-01

Studies were reviewed that investigated the combined effects of ionising radiation and other stressors on non-human biota. The aim was to determine the state of research in this area of science, and determine if a review of the literature might permit a gross generalization as to whether the combined effects of multi-stressors and radiation are fundamentally additive, synergistic or antagonistic. A multiple stressor database was established for different organism groups. Information was collected on species, stressors applied and effects evaluated. Studies were mostly laboratory based and investigated two-component mixtures. Interactions declared positive occurred in 58% of the studies, while 26% found negative interactions. Interactions were dependent on dose/concentration, on organism's life stage and exposure time and differed among endpoints. Except for one study, none of the studies predicted combined effects following Concentration Addition or Independent Action, and hence, no justified conclusions can be made about synergism or antagonism. - This review on multiple stressor studies involving radiation, highlights that most experimental designs used did not allow to deduce the nature of the interactive effects.

Robust video object cosegmentation.

Science.gov (United States)

Wang, Wenguan; Shen, Jianbing; Li, Xuelong; Porikli, Fatih

2015-10-01

With ever-increasing volumes of video data, automatic extraction of salient object regions became even more significant for visual analytic solutions. This surge has also opened up opportunities for taking advantage of collective cues encapsulated in multiple videos in a cooperative manner. However, it also brings up major challenges, such as handling of drastic appearance, motion pattern, and pose variations, of foreground objects as well as indiscriminate backgrounds. Here, we present a cosegmentation framework to discover and segment out common object regions across multiple frames and multiple videos in a joint fashion. We incorporate three types of cues, i.e., intraframe saliency, interframe consistency, and across-video similarity into an energy optimization framework that does not make restrictive assumptions on foreground appearance and motion model, and does not require objects to be visible in all frames. We also introduce a spatio-temporal scale-invariant feature transform (SIFT) flow descriptor to integrate across-video correspondence from the conventional SIFT-flow into interframe motion flow from optical flow. This novel spatio-temporal SIFT flow generates reliable estimations of common foregrounds over the entire video data set. Experimental results show that our method outperforms the state-of-the-art on a new extensive data set (ViCoSeg).

First-Class Object Sets

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ernst, Erik

Typically, objects are monolithic entities with a fixed interface. To increase the flexibility in this area, this paper presents first-class object sets as a language construct. An object set offers an interface which is a disjoint union of the interfaces of its member objects. It may also be used...... for a special kind of method invocation involving multiple objects in a dynamic lookup process. With support for feature access and late-bound method calls object sets are similar to ordinary objects, only more flexible. The approach is made precise by means of a small calculus, and the soundness of its type...

Occlusion Handling in Videos Object Tracking: A Survey

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lee, B Y; Liew, L H; Cheah, W S; Wang, Y C

2014-01-01

Object tracking in video has been an active research since for decades. This interest is motivated by numerous applications, such as surveillance, human-computer interaction, and sports event monitoring. Many challenges related to tracking objects still remain, this can arise due to abrupt object motion, changing appearance patterns of objects and the scene, non-rigid object structures and most significant are occlusion of tracked object be it object-to-object or object-to-scene occlusions. Generally, occlusion in object tracking occur under three situations: self-occlusion, inter-object occlusion by background scene structure. Self-occlusion occurs most frequently while tracking articulated objects when one part of the object occludes another. Inter-object occlusion occurs when two objects being tracked occlude each other whereas occlusion by the background occurs when a structure in the background occludes the tracked objects. Typically, tracking methods handle occlusion by modelling the object motion using linear and non-linear dynamic models. The derived models will be used to continuously predicting the object location when a tracked object is occluded until the object reappears. Example of these method are Kalman filtering and Particle filtering trackers. Researchers have also utilised other features to resolved occlusion, for example, silhouette projections, colour histogram and optical flow. We will present some result from a previously conducted experiment when tracking single object using Kalman filter, Particle filter and Mean Shift trackers under various occlusion situation in this paper. We will also review various other occlusion handling methods that involved using multiple cameras. In a nutshell, the goal of this paper is to discuss in detail the problem of occlusion in object tracking and review the state of the art occlusion handling methods, classify them into different categories, and identify new trends. Moreover, we discuss the important

Occlusion Handling in Videos Object Tracking: A Survey

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, B. Y.; Liew, L. H.; Cheah, W. S.; Wang, Y. C.

2014-02-01

Object tracking in video has been an active research since for decades. This interest is motivated by numerous applications, such as surveillance, human-computer interaction, and sports event monitoring. Many challenges related to tracking objects still remain, this can arise due to abrupt object motion, changing appearance patterns of objects and the scene, non-rigid object structures and most significant are occlusion of tracked object be it object-to-object or object-to-scene occlusions. Generally, occlusion in object tracking occur under three situations: self-occlusion, inter-object occlusion by background scene structure. Self-occlusion occurs most frequently while tracking articulated objects when one part of the object occludes another. Inter-object occlusion occurs when two objects being tracked occlude each other whereas occlusion by the background occurs when a structure in the background occludes the tracked objects. Typically, tracking methods handle occlusion by modelling the object motion using linear and non-linear dynamic models. The derived models will be used to continuously predicting the object location when a tracked object is occluded until the object reappears. Example of these method are Kalman filtering and Particle filtering trackers. Researchers have also utilised other features to resolved occlusion, for example, silhouette projections, colour histogram and optical flow. We will present some result from a previously conducted experiment when tracking single object using Kalman filter, Particle filter and Mean Shift trackers under various occlusion situation in this paper. We will also review various other occlusion handling methods that involved using multiple cameras. In a nutshell, the goal of this paper is to discuss in detail the problem of occlusion in object tracking and review the state of the art occlusion handling methods, classify them into different categories, and identify new trends. Moreover, we discuss the important

8th International Conference on Multi-Objective and Goal Programming

CERN Document Server

Tamiz, Mehrdad; Ries, Jana

2010-01-01

This volume shows the state-of-the-art in both theoretical development and application of multiple objective and goal programming. Applications from the fields of supply chain management, financial portfolio selection, financial risk management, insurance, medical imaging, sustainability, nurse scheduling, project management, water resource management, and the interface with data envelopment analysis give a good reflection of current usage. A pleasing variety of techniques are used including models with fuzzy, group-decision, stochastic, interactive, and binary aspects. Additionally, two papers from the upcoming area of multi-objective evolutionary algorithms are included. The book is based on the papers of the 8th International Conference on Multi-Objective and Goal Programming (MOPGP08) which was held in Portsmouth, UK, in September 2008.

Multi-objective compared to single-objective optimization with application to model validation and uncertainty quantification

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schulze-Riegert, R.; Krosche, M.; Stekolschikov, K. [Scandpower Petroleum Technology GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Fahimuddin, A. [Technische Univ. Braunschweig (Germany)

2007-09-13

History Matching in Reservoir Simulation, well location and production optimization etc. is generally a multi-objective optimization problem. The problem statement of history matching for a realistic field case includes many field and well measurements in time and type, e.g. pressure measurements, fluid rates, events such as water and gas break-throughs, etc. Uncertainty parameters modified as part of the history matching process have varying impact on the improvement of the match criteria. Competing match criteria often reduce the likelihood of finding an acceptable history match. It is an engineering challenge in manual history matching processes to identify competing objectives and to implement the changes required in the simulation model. In production optimization or scenario optimization the focus on one key optimization criterion such as NPV limits the identification of alternatives and potential opportunities, since multiple objectives are summarized in a predefined global objective formulation. Previous works primarily focus on a specific optimization method. Few works actually concentrate on the objective formulation and multi-objective optimization schemes have not yet been applied to reservoir simulations. This paper presents a multi-objective optimization approach applicable to reservoir simulation. It addresses the problem of multi-objective criteria in a history matching study and presents analysis techniques identifying competing match criteria. A Pareto-Optimizer is discussed and the implementation of that multi-objective optimization scheme is applied to a case study. Results are compared to a single-objective optimization method. (orig.)

GWAS of clinically defined gout and subtypes identifies multiple susceptibility loci that include urate transporter genes

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Nakayama, A.; Nakaoka, H.; Yamamoto, K.; Sakiyama, M.; Shaukat, A.; Toyoda, Y.; Okada, Y.; Kamatani, Y.; Nakamura, T.; Takada, T.; Inoue, K.; Yasujima, T.; Yuasa, H.; Shirahama, Y.; Nakashima, H.; Shimizu, S.; Higashino, T.; Kawamura, Y.; Ogata, H.; Kawaguchi, M.; Ohkawa, Y.; Danjoh, I.; Tokumasu, A.; Ooyama, K.; Ito, T.; Kondo, T.; Wakai, K.; Stiburkova, B.; Pavelka, K.; Stamp, L.K.; Dalbeth, N.; Sakurai, Y.; Suzuki, H; Hosoyamada, M.; Fujimori, S.; Yokoo, T.; Hosoya, T.; Inoue, I.; Takahashi, A.; Kubo, M.; Ooyama, H.; Shimizu, T.; Ichida, K.; Shinomiya, N.; Merriman, T.R.; Matsuo, H.; Andres, M; Joosten, L.A.; Janssen, M.C.H.; Jansen, T.L.; Liote, F.; Radstake, T.R.; Riches, P.L.; So, A.; Tauches, A.K.

2017-01-01

OBJECTIVE: A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of gout and its subtypes was performed to identify novel gout loci, including those that are subtype-specific. METHODS: Putative causal association signals from a GWAS of 945 clinically defined gout cases and 1213 controls from Japanese males were

Neurological manifestaions among Sudanese patients with multiple ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Multiple myeloma may involve the nervous system at every level, including the neuromuscular junction, peripheral nerve, plexus, spinal nerve root, spinal cord, meninges, and brain. Such involvement may be primary or secondary, as well as non-invasive paraneoplastic effects. Objective: To find out the ...

Neo: an object model for handling electrophysiology data in multiple formats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Samuel eGarcia

2014-02-01

Full Text Available Neuroscientists use many different software tools to acquire, analyse and visualise electrophysiological signals. However, incompatible data models and file formats make it difficult to exchange data between these tools. This reduces scientific productivity, renders potentially useful analysis methods inaccessible and impedes collaboration between labs.A common representation of the core data would improve interoperability and facilitate data-sharing.To that end, we propose here a language-independent object model, named Neo, suitable for representing data acquired from electroencephalographic, intracellular, or extracellular recordings, or generated from simulations. As a concrete instantiation of this object model we have developed an open source implementation in the Python programming language.In addition to representing electrophysiology data in memory for the purposes of analysis and visualisation, the Python implementation provides a set of input/output (IO modules for reading/writing the data from/to a variety of commonly used file formats.Support is included for formats produced by most of the major manufacturers of electrophysiology recording equipment and also for more generic formats such as MATLAB.Data representation and data analysis are conceptually separate: it is easier to write robust analysis code if it is focused on analysis and relies on an underlying package to handle data representation.For that reason, and also to be as lightweight as possible, the Neo object model and the associated Python package are deliberately limited to representation of data, with no functions for data analysis or visualisation.Software for neurophysiology data analysis and visualisation built on top of Neo automatically gains the benefits of interoperability, easier data sharing and automatic format conversion; there is already a burgeoning ecosystem of such tools. We intend that Neo should become the standard basis for Python tools in

Neural basis for dynamic updating of object representation in visual working memory.

Science.gov (United States)

Takahama, Sachiko; Miyauchi, Satoru; Saiki, Jun

2010-02-15

In real world, objects have multiple features and change dynamically. Thus, object representations must satisfy dynamic updating and feature binding. Previous studies have investigated the neural activity of dynamic updating or feature binding alone, but not both simultaneously. We investigated the neural basis of feature-bound object representation in a dynamically updating situation by conducting a multiple object permanence tracking task, which required observers to simultaneously process both the maintenance and dynamic updating of feature-bound objects. Using an event-related design, we separated activities during memory maintenance and change detection. In the search for regions showing selective activation in dynamic updating of feature-bound objects, we identified a network during memory maintenance that was comprised of the inferior precentral sulcus, superior parietal lobule, and middle frontal gyrus. In the change detection period, various prefrontal regions, including the anterior prefrontal cortex, were activated. In updating object representation of dynamically moving objects, the inferior precentral sulcus closely cooperates with a so-called "frontoparietal network", and subregions of the frontoparietal network can be decomposed into those sensitive to spatial updating and feature binding. The anterior prefrontal cortex identifies changes in object representation by comparing memory and perceptual representations rather than maintaining object representations per se, as previously suggested. Copyright 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Raw material selection for object construction

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Perlow, J

2017-11-01

Full Text Available on their visual appearance. In particular, we present a method for an agent to recognise the required unseen raw material images and link them to corresponding novel object images. This capability provides an agent with an increased degree of resourcefulness... construction from component parts, and in doing so we provide a benchmark for future work to compare against within Minecraft and ShapeNet domains. II. BACKGROUND Our model is inspired by Siamese neural networks, a class of neural network that includes multiple...

STakeholder-Objective Risk Model (STORM): Determining the aggregated risk of multiple contaminant hazards in groundwater well catchments

Science.gov (United States)

Enzenhoefer, R.; Binning, P. J.; Nowak, W.

2015-09-01

Risk is often defined as the product of probability, vulnerability and value. Drinking water supply from groundwater abstraction is often at risk due to multiple hazardous land use activities in the well catchment. Each hazard might or might not introduce contaminants into the subsurface at any point in time, which then affects the pumped quality upon transport through the aquifer. In such situations, estimating the overall risk is not trivial, and three key questions emerge: (1) How to aggregate the impacts from different contaminants and spill locations to an overall, cumulative impact on the value at risk? (2) How to properly account for the stochastic nature of spill events when converting the aggregated impact to a risk estimate? (3) How will the overall risk and subsequent decision making depend on stakeholder objectives, where stakeholder objectives refer to the values at risk, risk attitudes and risk metrics that can vary between stakeholders. In this study, we provide a STakeholder-Objective Risk Model (STORM) for assessing the total aggregated risk. Or concept is a quantitative, probabilistic and modular framework for simulation-based risk estimation. It rests on the source-pathway-receptor concept, mass-discharge-based aggregation of stochastically occuring spill events, accounts for uncertainties in the involved flow and transport models through Monte Carlo simulation, and can address different stakeholder objectives. We illustrate the application of STORM in a numerical test case inspired by a German drinking water catchment. As one may expect, the results depend strongly on the chosen stakeholder objectives, but they are equally sensitive to different approaches for risk aggregation across different hazards, contaminant types, and over time.

Multi-objective Transmission Planning Paper

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Xu, Zhao; Dong, Zhao Yang; Wong, Kit Po

2009-01-01

This paper describes a transmission expansion planning method based on multi-objective optimization (MOOP). The method starts with constructing a candidate pool of feasible expansion plans, followed by selection of the best candidates through MOOP, of which multiple objectives are tackled...

Real Objects Can Impede Conditional Reasoning but Augmented Objects Do Not.

Science.gov (United States)

Sato, Yuri; Sugimoto, Yutaro; Ueda, Kazuhiro

2018-03-01

In this study, Knauff and Johnson-Laird's (2002) visual impedance hypothesis (i.e., mental representations with irrelevant visual detail can impede reasoning) is applied to the domain of external representations and diagrammatic reasoning. We show that the use of real objects and augmented real (AR) objects can control human interpretation and reasoning about conditionals. As participants made inferences (e.g., an invalid one from "if P then Q" to "P"), they also moved objects corresponding to premises. Participants who moved real objects made more invalid inferences than those who moved AR objects and those who did not manipulate objects (there was no significant difference between the last two groups). Our results showed that real objects impeded conditional reasoning, but AR objects did not. These findings are explained by the fact that real objects may over-specify a single state that exists, while AR objects suggest multiple possibilities. Copyright © 2017 Cognitive Science Society, Inc.

Metasurface Cloak Performance Near-by Multiple Line Sources and PEC Cylindrical Objects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Arslanagic, Samel; Yatman, William H.; Pehrson, Signe

2014-01-01

The performance/robustness of metasurface cloaks to a complex field environment which may represent a realistic scenario of radiating sources is presently reported. Attention is devoted to the cloak operation near-by multiple line sources and multiple perfectly electrically conducting cylinders. ...

An object-oriented approach to evaluating multiple spectral models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Majoras, R.E.; Richardson, W.M.; Seymour, R.S.

1995-01-01

A versatile, spectroscopy analysis engine has been developed by using object-oriented design and analysis techniques coupled with an object-oriented language, C++. This engine provides the spectroscopist with the choice of several different peak shape models that are tailored to the type of spectroscopy being performed. It also allows ease of development in adapting the engine to other analytical methods requiring more complex peak fitting in the future. This results in a program that can currently be used across a wide range of spectroscopy applications and anticipates inclusion of future advances in the field. (author) 6 refs.; 1 fig

A Survey of Multi-Objective Sequential Decision-Making

OpenAIRE

Roijers, D.M.; Vamplew, P.; Whiteson, S.; Dazeley, R.

2013-01-01

Sequential decision-making problems with multiple objectives arise naturally in practice and pose unique challenges for research in decision-theoretic planning and learning, which has largely focused on single-objective settings. This article surveys algorithms designed for sequential decision-making problems with multiple objectives. Though there is a growing body of literature on this subject, little of it makes explicit under what circumstances special methods are needed to solve multi-obj...

Objective consensus from decision trees.

Science.gov (United States)

Putora, Paul Martin; Panje, Cedric M; Papachristofilou, Alexandros; Dal Pra, Alan; Hundsberger, Thomas; Plasswilm, Ludwig

2014-12-05

Consensus-based approaches provide an alternative to evidence-based decision making, especially in situations where high-level evidence is limited. Our aim was to demonstrate a novel source of information, objective consensus based on recommendations in decision tree format from multiple sources. Based on nine sample recommendations in decision tree format a representative analysis was performed. The most common (mode) recommendations for each eventuality (each permutation of parameters) were determined. The same procedure was applied to real clinical recommendations for primary radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Data was collected from 16 radiation oncology centres, converted into decision tree format and analyzed in order to determine the objective consensus. Based on information from multiple sources in decision tree format, treatment recommendations can be assessed for every parameter combination. An objective consensus can be determined by means of mode recommendations without compromise or confrontation among the parties. In the clinical example involving prostate cancer therapy, three parameters were used with two cut-off values each (Gleason score, PSA, T-stage) resulting in a total of 27 possible combinations per decision tree. Despite significant variations among the recommendations, a mode recommendation could be found for specific combinations of parameters. Recommendations represented as decision trees can serve as a basis for objective consensus among multiple parties.

Objective consensus from decision trees

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Putora, Paul Martin; Panje, Cedric M; Papachristofilou, Alexandros; Pra, Alan Dal; Hundsberger, Thomas; Plasswilm, Ludwig

2014-01-01

Consensus-based approaches provide an alternative to evidence-based decision making, especially in situations where high-level evidence is limited. Our aim was to demonstrate a novel source of information, objective consensus based on recommendations in decision tree format from multiple sources. Based on nine sample recommendations in decision tree format a representative analysis was performed. The most common (mode) recommendations for each eventuality (each permutation of parameters) were determined. The same procedure was applied to real clinical recommendations for primary radiotherapy for prostate cancer. Data was collected from 16 radiation oncology centres, converted into decision tree format and analyzed in order to determine the objective consensus. Based on information from multiple sources in decision tree format, treatment recommendations can be assessed for every parameter combination. An objective consensus can be determined by means of mode recommendations without compromise or confrontation among the parties. In the clinical example involving prostate cancer therapy, three parameters were used with two cut-off values each (Gleason score, PSA, T-stage) resulting in a total of 27 possible combinations per decision tree. Despite significant variations among the recommendations, a mode recommendation could be found for specific combinations of parameters. Recommendations represented as decision trees can serve as a basis for objective consensus among multiple parties

Multi-Objective Planning Techniques in Distribution Networks: A Composite Review

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Syed Ali Abbas Kazmi

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Distribution networks (DNWs are facing numerous challenges, notably growing load demands, environmental concerns, operational constraints and expansion limitations with the current infrastructure. These challenges serve as a motivation factor for various distribution network planning (DP strategies, such as timely addressing load growth aiming at prominent objectives such as reliability, power quality, economic viability, system stability and deferring costly reinforcements. The continuous transformation of passive to active distribution networks (ADN needs to consider choices, primarily distributed generation (DG, network topology change, installation of new protection devices and key enablers as planning options in addition to traditional grid reinforcements. Since modern DP (MDP in deregulated market environments includes multiple stakeholders, primarily owners, regulators, operators and consumers, one solution fit for all planning scenarios may not satisfy all these stakeholders. Hence, this paper presents a review of several planning techniques (PTs based on mult-objective optimizations (MOOs in DNWs, aiming at better trade-off solutions among conflicting objectives and satisfying multiple stakeholders. The PTs in the paper spread across four distinct planning classifications including DG units as an alternative to costly reinforcements, capacitors and power electronic devices for ensuring power quality aspects, grid reinforcements, expansions, and upgrades as a separate category and network topology alteration and reconfiguration as a viable planning option. Several research works associated with multi-objective planning techniques (MOPT have been reviewed with relevant models, methods and achieved objectives, abiding with system constraints. The paper also provides a composite review of current research accounts and interdependence of associated components in the respective classifications. The potential future planning areas, aiming at

Neural substrates of view-invariant object recognition developed without experiencing rotations of the objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Okamura, Jun-Ya; Yamaguchi, Reona; Honda, Kazunari; Wang, Gang; Tanaka, Keiji

2014-11-05

One fails to recognize an unfamiliar object across changes in viewing angle when it must be discriminated from similar distractor objects. View-invariant recognition gradually develops as the viewer repeatedly sees the objects in rotation. It is assumed that different views of each object are associated with one another while their successive appearance is experienced in rotation. However, natural experience of objects also contains ample opportunities to discriminate among objects at each of the multiple viewing angles. Our previous behavioral experiments showed that after experiencing a new set of object stimuli during a task that required only discrimination at each of four viewing angles at 30° intervals, monkeys could recognize the objects across changes in viewing angle up to 60°. By recording activities of neurons from the inferotemporal cortex after various types of preparatory experience, we here found a possible neural substrate for the monkeys' performance. For object sets that the monkeys had experienced during the task that required only discrimination at each of four viewing angles, many inferotemporal neurons showed object selectivity covering multiple views. The degree of view generalization found for these object sets was similar to that found for stimulus sets with which the monkeys had been trained to conduct view-invariant recognition. These results suggest that the experience of discriminating new objects in each of several viewing angles develops the partially view-generalized object selectivity distributed over many neurons in the inferotemporal cortex, which in turn bases the monkeys' emergent capability to discriminate the objects across changes in viewing angle. Copyright © 2014 the authors 0270-6474/14/3415047-13$15.00/0.

A Real-Time Method to Estimate Speed of Object Based on Object Detection and Optical Flow Calculation

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Kaizhan; Ye, Yunming; Li, Xutao; Li, Yan

2018-04-01

In recent years Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) has been widely used in computer vision field and makes great progress in lots of contents like object detection and classification. Even so, combining Convolutional Neural Network, which means making multiple CNN frameworks working synchronously and sharing their output information, could figure out useful message that each of them cannot provide singly. Here we introduce a method to real-time estimate speed of object by combining two CNN: YOLOv2 and FlowNet. In every frame, YOLOv2 provides object size; object location and object type while FlowNet providing the optical flow of whole image. On one hand, object size and object location help to select out the object part of optical flow image thus calculating out the average optical flow of every object. On the other hand, object type and object size help to figure out the relationship between optical flow and true speed by means of optics theory and priori knowledge. Therefore, with these two key information, speed of object can be estimated. This method manages to estimate multiple objects at real-time speed by only using a normal camera even in moving status, whose error is acceptable in most application fields like manless driving or robot vision.

Plasma Cell Neoplasms (Including Multiple Myeloma) Treatment (PDQ®)—Patient Version

Science.gov (United States)

Plasma cell neoplasms occur when abnormal plasma cells or myeloma cells form tumors in the bones or soft tissues of the body. Multiple myeloma, plasmacytoma, lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma, and monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) are different types of plasma cell neoplasms. Find out about risk factors, symptoms, diagnostic tests, prognosis, and treatment for these diseases.

Salient Object Detection via Structured Matrix Decomposition.

Science.gov (United States)

Peng, Houwen; Li, Bing; Ling, Haibin; Hu, Weiming; Xiong, Weihua; Maybank, Stephen J

2016-05-04

Low-rank recovery models have shown potential for salient object detection, where a matrix is decomposed into a low-rank matrix representing image background and a sparse matrix identifying salient objects. Two deficiencies, however, still exist. First, previous work typically assumes the elements in the sparse matrix are mutually independent, ignoring the spatial and pattern relations of image regions. Second, when the low-rank and sparse matrices are relatively coherent, e.g., when there are similarities between the salient objects and background or when the background is complicated, it is difficult for previous models to disentangle them. To address these problems, we propose a novel structured matrix decomposition model with two structural regularizations: (1) a tree-structured sparsity-inducing regularization that captures the image structure and enforces patches from the same object to have similar saliency values, and (2) a Laplacian regularization that enlarges the gaps between salient objects and the background in feature space. Furthermore, high-level priors are integrated to guide the matrix decomposition and boost the detection. We evaluate our model for salient object detection on five challenging datasets including single object, multiple objects and complex scene images, and show competitive results as compared with 24 state-of-the-art methods in terms of seven performance metrics.

Optimisation of chromatographic resolution using objective functions including both time and spectral information.

Science.gov (United States)

Torres-Lapasió, J R; Pous-Torres, S; Ortiz-Bolsico, C; García-Alvarez-Coque, M C

2015-01-16

The optimisation of the resolution in high-performance liquid chromatography is traditionally performed attending only to the time information. However, even in the optimal conditions, some peak pairs may remain unresolved. Such incomplete resolution can be still accomplished by deconvolution, which can be carried out with more guarantees of success by including spectral information. In this work, two-way chromatographic objective functions (COFs) that incorporate both time and spectral information were tested, based on the peak purity (analyte peak fraction free of overlapping) and the multivariate selectivity (figure of merit derived from the net analyte signal) concepts. These COFs are sensitive to situations where the components that coelute in a mixture show some spectral differences. Therefore, they are useful to find out experimental conditions where the spectrochromatograms can be recovered by deconvolution. Two-way multivariate selectivity yielded the best performance and was applied to the separation using diode-array detection of a mixture of 25 phenolic compounds, which remained unresolved in the chromatographic order using linear and multi-linear gradients of acetonitrile-water. Peak deconvolution was carried out using the combination of orthogonal projection approach and alternating least squares. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Joint Conditional Random Field Filter for Multi-Object Tracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Luo Ronghua

2011-03-01

Full Text Available Object tracking can improve the performance of mobile robot especially in populated dynamic environments. A novel joint conditional random field Filter (JCRFF based on conditional random field with hierarchical structure is proposed for multi-object tracking by abstracting the data associations between objects and measurements to be a sequence of labels. Since the conditional random field makes no assumptions about the dependency structure between the observations and it allows non-local dependencies between the state and the observations, the proposed method can not only fuse multiple cues including shape information and motion information to improve the stability of tracking, but also integrate moving object detection and object tracking quite well. At the same time, implementation of multi-object tracking based on JCRFF with measurements from the laser range finder on a mobile robot is studied. Experimental results with the mobile robot developed in our lab show that the proposed method has higher precision and better stability than joint probabilities data association filter (JPDAF.

Border collie comprehends object names as verbal referents.

Science.gov (United States)

Pilley, John W; Reid, Alliston K

2011-02-01

Four experiments investigated the ability of a border collie (Chaser) to acquire receptive language skills. Experiment 1 demonstrated that Chaser learned and retained, over a 3-year period of intensive training, the proper-noun names of 1022 objects. Experiment 2 presented random pair-wise combinations of three commands and three names, and demonstrated that she understood the separate meanings of proper-noun names and commands. Chaser understood that names refer to objects, independent of the behavior directed toward those objects. Experiment 3 demonstrated Chaser's ability to learn three common nouns--words that represent categories. Chaser demonstrated one-to-many (common noun) and many-to-one (multiple-name) name-object mappings. Experiment 4 demonstrated Chaser's ability to learn words by inferential reasoning by exclusion--inferring the name of an object based on its novelty among familiar objects that already had names. Together, these studies indicate that Chaser acquired referential understanding of nouns, an ability normally attributed to children, which included: (a) awareness that words may refer to objects, (b) awareness of verbal cues that map words upon the object referent, and (c) awareness that names may refer to unique objects or categories of objects, independent of the behaviors directed toward those objects. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A systematic review of the incidence and prevalence of comorbidity in multiple sclerosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marrie, Ruth Ann; Cohen, Jeffrey; Stuve, Olaf

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Comorbidity is an area of increasing interest in multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVE: The objective of this review is to estimate the incidence and prevalence of comorbidity in people with MS and assess the quality of included studies. METHODS: We searched the PubMed, SCOPUS, EMBASE...

Network optimization including gas lift and network parameters under subsurface uncertainty

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Schulze-Riegert, R.; Baffoe, J.; Pajonk, O. [SPT Group GmbH, Hamburg (Germany); Badalov, H.; Huseynov, S. [Technische Univ. Clausthal, Clausthal-Zellerfeld (Germany). ITE; Trick, M. [SPT Group, Calgary, AB (Canada)

2013-08-01

Optimization of oil and gas field production systems poses a great challenge to field development due to complex and multiple interactions between various operational design parameters and subsurface uncertainties. Conventional analytical methods are capable of finding local optima based on single deterministic models. They are less applicable for efficiently generating alternative design scenarios in a multi-objective context. Practical implementations of robust optimization workflows integrate the evaluation of alternative design scenarios and multiple realizations of subsurface uncertainty descriptions. Production or economic performance indicators such as NPV (Net Present Value) are linked to a risk-weighted objective function definition to guide the optimization processes. This work focuses on an integrated workflow using a reservoir-network simulator coupled to an optimization framework. The work will investigate the impact of design parameters while considering the physics of the reservoir, wells, and surface facilities. Subsurface uncertainties are described by well parameters such as inflow performance. Experimental design methods are used to investigate parameter sensitivities and interactions. Optimization methods are used to find optimal design parameter combinations which improve key performance indicators of the production network system. The proposed workflow will be applied to a representative oil reservoir coupled to a network which is modelled by an integrated reservoir-network simulator. Gas-lift will be included as an explicit measure to improve production. An objective function will be formulated for the net present value of the integrated system including production revenue and facility costs. Facility and gas lift design parameters are tuned to maximize NPV. Well inflow performance uncertainties are introduced with an impact on gas lift performance. Resulting variances on NPV are identified as a risk measure for the optimized system design. A

Informed multi-objective decision-making in environmental management using Pareto optimality

Science.gov (United States)

Maureen C. Kennedy; E. David Ford; Peter Singleton; Mark Finney; James K. Agee

2008-01-01

Effective decisionmaking in environmental management requires the consideration of multiple objectives that may conflict. Common optimization methods use weights on the multiple objectives to aggregate them into a single value, neglecting valuable insight into the relationships among the objectives in the management problem.

Comorbidity in multiple sclerosis is associated with diagnostic delays and increased mortality

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Thormann, Anja; Sorensen, Per Soelberg; Koch-Henriksen, Nils

2017-01-01

Objective: To investigate the effect of chronic comorbidity on the time of diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and on mortality in MS. Methods: We conducted a population-based, nationwide cohort study including all incident MS cases in Denmark with first MS symptom between 1980 and 2005. To inve......Objective: To investigate the effect of chronic comorbidity on the time of diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS) and on mortality in MS. Methods: We conducted a population-based, nationwide cohort study including all incident MS cases in Denmark with first MS symptom between 1980 and 2005.......007). Conclusions: An increased awareness of both the necessity of neurologic evaluation of new neurologic symptoms in persons with preexisting chronic disease and of optimum treatment of comorbidity in MS is critical....

Multiple minimally invasive Erbium:YAG laser mini-peels for skin rejuvenation: An objective assessment

Science.gov (United States)

El-Domyati, Moetaz; El-Ammawi, Tarek S.; Medhat, Walid; Moawad, Osama; Mahoney, Mỹ G.; Uitto, Jouni

2012-01-01

Summary Background As the demand for minimally invasive rejuvenation is increasing, micro-peel resurfacing using Erbium:Yttrium Aluminium Garnet (Er:YAG ) laser 2940 nm has been reported for the treatment of photoaged skin without ablation of the epidermis. However, little is known about the efficacy and underlying histologic changes associated with this type of treatment. Aims The purpose of this study is to evaluate the clinical effect and objectively quantify the histological changes in response to multiple sessions of Er:YAG laser 2940 nm mini-peels. Patients and methods Six female volunteers of Fitzpatrick skin type III-IV and Glogau’s class I-III wrinkles were subjected to six microresurfacing peels at 2-week intervals using Er:YAG 2940 nm laser at sub-ablative fluences of 2 - 3 J/cm2 to treat periorbital rhytides. Quantitative evaluation of collagen types I, III and VII, newly synthesized collagen, total elastin and tropoelastin was performed by histochemistry and immunohistochemistry coupled with computerized morphometric analysis at base line, end of treatment, and three months post treatment. Results Compared to the base line, evaluation of volunteers revealed obvious clinical improvement in response to Er:YAG mini-peels. Collagen types I, III, and VII, as well as newly synthesized collagen, together with tropoelastin showed a statistically significant increase in response to treatment, while the mean level of total elastin was significantly decreased in response to treatment. However, this was followed by regression of improvement at 3 months post treatment, but was still better than baseline. Conclusions The present study revealed that multiple Er:YAG mini-peels is a promising treatment option for photoaging as it reverses the signs of photoaged skin with little downtime and side effects. However, to maintain the short term improvement achieved after treatment, continued Er:YAG 2940 nm laser mini-peels is required. PMID:22672276

A Deductive and Typed Object-Oriented Language

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Bal, C.M.R.; Balsters, H.

1993-01-01

In this paper we introduce a logical query language extended with object-oriented typing facilities. This language, called DTL (from DataTypeLog), can be seen as an extension of Datalog equipped with complex objects, object identities, and multiple inheritance based on Cardelli type theory. The

Multi-Objective Optimization of Managed Aquifer Recharge.

Science.gov (United States)

Fatkhutdinov, Aybulat; Stefan, Catalin

2018-04-27

This study demonstrates the utilization of a multi-objective hybrid global/local optimization algorithm for solving managed aquifer recharge (MAR) design problems, in which the decision variables included spatial arrangement of water injection and abstraction wells and time-variant rates of pumping and injection. The objective of the optimization was to maximize the efficiency of the MAR scheme, which includes both quantitative and qualitative aspects. The case study used to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed approach is based on a published report on designing a real MAR site with defined aquifer properties, chemical groundwater characteristics as well as quality and volumes of injected water. The demonstration problems include steady-state and transient scenarios. The steady-state scenario demonstrates optimization of spatial arrangement of multiple injection and recovery wells, whereas the transient scenario was developed with the purpose of finding optimal regimes of water injection and recovery at a single location. Both problems were defined as multi-objective problems. The scenarios were simulated by applying coupled numerical groundwater flow and solute transport models: MODFLOW-2005 and MT3D-USGS. The applied optimization method was a combination of global - the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm (NSGA-2), and local - the Nelder-Mead Downhill Simplex search algorithms. The analysis of the resulting Pareto optimal solutions led to the discovery of valuable patterns and dependencies between the decision variables, model properties and problem objectives. Additionally, the performance of the traditional global and the hybrid optimization schemes were compared. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Multiple-Ring Digital Communication Network

Science.gov (United States)

Kirkham, Harold

1992-01-01

Optical-fiber digital communication network to support data-acquisition and control functions of electric-power-distribution networks. Optical-fiber links of communication network follow power-distribution routes. Since fiber crosses open power switches, communication network includes multiple interconnected loops with occasional spurs. At each intersection node is needed. Nodes of communication network include power-distribution substations and power-controlling units. In addition to serving data acquisition and control functions, each node acts as repeater, passing on messages to next node(s). Multiple-ring communication network operates on new AbNET protocol and features fiber-optic communication.

GWAS of clinically defined gout and subtypes identifies multiple susceptibility loci that include urate transporter genes

OpenAIRE

Nakayama, Akiyoshi; Nakaoka, Hirofumi; Yamamoto, Ken; Sakiyama, Masayuki; Shaukat, Amara; Toyoda, Yu; Okada, Yukinori; Kamatani, Yoichiro; Nakamura, Takahiro; Takada, Tappei; Inoue, Katsuhisa; Yasujima, Tomoya; Yuasa, Hiroaki; Shirahama, Yuko; Nakashima, Hiroshi

2016-01-01

Objective A genome-wide association study (GWAS) of gout and its subtypes was performed to identify novel gout loci, including those that are subtype-specific. Methods Putative causal association signals from a GWAS of 945 clinically defined gout cases and 1213 controls from Japanese males were replicated with 1396 cases and 1268 controls using a custom chip of 1961 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). We also first conducted GWASs of gout subtypes. Replication with Caucasian and New Zeala...

Using reusable learning objects (rlos) in injection skills teaching: Evaluations from multiple user types.

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Julia; O'Connor, Mórna; Windle, Richard; Wharrad, Heather J

2015-12-01

Clinical skills are a critical component of pre-registration nurse education in the United Kingdom, yet there is widespread concern about the clinical skills displayed by newly-qualified nurses. Novel means of supporting clinical skills education are required to address this. A package of Reusable Learning Objects (RLOs) was developed to supplement pre-registration teaching on the clinical skill of administering injection medication. RLOs are electronic resources addressing a single learning objective whose interactivity facilitates learning. This article evaluates a package of five injection RLOs across three studies: (1) questionnaires administered to pre-registration nursing students at University of Nottingham (UoN) (n=46) evaluating the RLO package as a whole; (2) individual RLOs evaluated in online questionnaires by educators and students from UoN; from other national and international institutions; and healthcare professionals (n=265); (3) qualitative evaluation of the RLO package by UoN injection skills tutors (n=6). Data from all studies were assessed for (1) access to, (2) usefulness, (3) impact and (4) integration of the RLOs. Study one found that pre-registration nursing students rate the RLO package highly across all categories, particularly underscoring the value of their self-test elements. Study two found high ratings in online assessments of individual RLOs by multiple users. The global reach is particularly encouraging here. Tutors reported insufficient levels of student-RLO access, which might be explained by the timing of their student exposure. Tutors integrate RLOs into teaching and agree on their use as teaching supplements, not substitutes for face-to-face education. This evaluation encompasses the first years postpackage release. Encouraging data on evaluative categories in this early review suggest that future evaluations are warranted to track progress as the package is adopted and evaluated more widely. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd

Climate change mitigation policy paradigms — national objectives and alignments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Halsnæs, Kirsten; Garg, Amit; Christensen, John M.

2014-01-01

for discussing how a multi objective policy paradigm can contribute to future climate change mitigation. The paper includes country case studies from Brazil, Canada, China, the European Union (EU), India, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa, South Korea and the United States covering renewable energy options......, industry, transportation, the residential sector and cross-sectoral policies. These countries and regions together contribute more than two thirds of global GHG emissions. The paper finds that policies that are nationally driven and that have multiple objectives, including climate-change mitigation, have...... been widely applied for decades in both developing countries and industrialised countries. Many of these policies have a long history, and adjustments have taken place based on experience and cost effectiveness concerns. Various energy and climate-change policy goals have worked together...

Multi-Objective Analysis of a CHP Plant Integrated Microgrid in Pakistan

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Asad Waqar

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In developing countries like Pakistan, the capacity shortage (CS of electricity is a critical problem. The frequent natural gas (NG outages compel consumers to use electricity to fulfill the thermal loads, which ends up as an increase in electrical load. In this scenario, the authors have proposed the concept of a combined heat & power (CHP plant to be a better option for supplying both electrical and thermal loads simultaneously. A CHP plant-based microgrid comprising a PV array, diesel generators and batteries (operating in grid-connected as well as islanded modes has been simulated using the HOMER Pro software. Different configurations of distributed generators (DGs with/without batteries have been evaluated considering multiple objectives. The multiple objectives include the minimization of the total net present cost (TNPC, cost of generated energy (COE and the annual greenhouse gas (GHG emissions, as well as the maximization of annual waste heat recovery (WHR of thermal units and annual grid sales (GS. These objectives are subject to the constraints of power balance, battery operation within state of charge (SOC limits, generator operation within capacity limits and zero capacity shortage. The simulations have been performed on six cities including Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and Gilgit. The simulation results have been analyzed to find the most optimal city for the CHP plant integrated microgrid.

Object-based spatial attention when objects have sufficient depth cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Takeya, Ryuji; Kasai, Tetsuko

2015-01-01

Attention directed to a part of an object tends to obligatorily spread over all of the spatial regions that belong to the object, which may be critical for rapid object-recognition in cluttered visual scenes. Previous studies have generally used simple rectangles as objects and have shown that attention spreading is reflected by amplitude modulation in the posterior N1 component (150-200 ms poststimulus) of event-related potentials, while other interpretations (i.e., rectangular holes) may arise implicitly in early visual processing stages. By using modified Kanizsa-type stimuli that provided less ambiguity of depth ordering, the present study examined early event-related potential spatial-attention effects for connected and separated objects, both of which were perceived in front of (Experiment 1) and in back of (Experiment 2) the surroundings. Typical P1 (100-140 ms) and N1 (150-220 ms) attention effects of ERP in response to unilateral probes were observed in both experiments. Importantly, the P1 attention effect was decreased for connected objects compared to separated objects only in Experiment 1, and the typical object-based modulations of N1 were not observed in either experiment. These results suggest that spatial attention spreads over a figural object at earlier stages of processing than previously indicated, in three-dimensional visual scenes with multiple depth cues.

Multispecies genetic objectives in spatial conservation planning.

Science.gov (United States)

Nielsen, Erica S; Beger, Maria; Henriques, Romina; Selkoe, Kimberly A; von der Heyden, Sophie

2017-08-01

Growing threats to biodiversity and global alteration of habitats and species distributions make it increasingly necessary to consider evolutionary patterns in conservation decision making. Yet, there is no clear-cut guidance on how genetic features can be incorporated into conservation-planning processes, despite multiple molecular markers and several genetic metrics for each marker type to choose from. Genetic patterns differ between species, but the potential tradeoffs among genetic objectives for multiple species in conservation planning are currently understudied. We compared spatial conservation prioritizations derived from 2 metrics of genetic diversity (nucleotide and haplotype diversity) and 2 metrics of genetic isolation (private haplotypes and local genetic differentiation) in mitochondrial DNA of 5 marine species. We compared outcomes of conservation plans based only on habitat representation with plans based on genetic data and habitat representation. Fewer priority areas were selected for conservation plans based solely on habitat representation than on plans that included habitat and genetic data. All 4 genetic metrics selected approximately similar conservation-priority areas, which is likely a result of prioritizing genetic patterns across a genetically diverse array of species. Largely, our results suggest that multispecies genetic conservation objectives are vital to creating protected-area networks that appropriately preserve community-level evolutionary patterns. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Whole brain white matter changes revealed by multiple diffusion metrics in multiple sclerosis: A TBSS study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu, Yaou; Duan, Yunyun; He, Yong; Yu, Chunshui; Wang, Jun; Huang, Jing; Ye, Jing; Parizel, Paul M.; Li, Kuncheng; Shu, Ni

2012-01-01

Objective: To investigate whole brain white matter changes in multiple sclerosis (MS) by multiple diffusion indices, we examined patients with diffusion tensor imaging and utilized tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) method to analyze the data. Methods: Forty-one relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients and 41 age- and gender-matched normal controls were included in this study. Diffusion weighted images were acquired by employing a single-shot echo planar imaging sequence on a 1.5 T MR scanner. Voxel-wise analyses of multiple diffusion metrics, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD) were performed with TBSS. Results: The MS patients had significantly decreased FA (9.11%), increased MD (8.26%), AD (3.48%) and RD (13.17%) in their white matter skeletons compared with the controls. Through TBSS analyses, we found abnormal diffusion changes in widespread white matter regions in MS patients. Specifically, decreased FA, increased MD and increased RD were involved in whole-brain white matter, while several regions exhibited increased AD. Furthermore, white matter regions with significant correlations between the diffusion metrics and the clinical variables (the EDSS scores, disease durations and white matter lesion loads) in MS patients were identified. Conclusion: Widespread white matter abnormalities were observed in MS patients revealed by multiple diffusion metrics. The diffusion changes and correlations with clinical variables were mainly attributed to increased RD, implying the predominant role of RD in reflecting the subtle pathological changes in MS

Whole brain white matter changes revealed by multiple diffusion metrics in multiple sclerosis: A TBSS study

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Liu, Yaou, E-mail: asiaeurope80@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Duan, Yunyun, E-mail: xiaoyun81.love@163.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); He, Yong, E-mail: yong.h.he@gmail.com [State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Yu, Chunshui, E-mail: csyuster@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Wang, Jun, E-mail: jun_wang@bnu.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China); Huang, Jing, E-mail: sainthj@126.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Ye, Jing, E-mail: jingye.2007@yahoo.com.cn [Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Parizel, Paul M., E-mail: paul.parizel@ua.ac.be [Department of Radiology, Antwerp University Hospital and University of Antwerp, Wilrijkstraat 10, 2650 Edegem, 8 Belgium (Belgium); Li, Kuncheng, E-mail: kunchengli55@gmail.com [Department of Radiology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing 100053 (China); Shu, Ni, E-mail: nshu55@gmail.com [State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875 (China)

2012-10-15

Objective: To investigate whole brain white matter changes in multiple sclerosis (MS) by multiple diffusion indices, we examined patients with diffusion tensor imaging and utilized tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) method to analyze the data. Methods: Forty-one relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients and 41 age- and gender-matched normal controls were included in this study. Diffusion weighted images were acquired by employing a single-shot echo planar imaging sequence on a 1.5 T MR scanner. Voxel-wise analyses of multiple diffusion metrics, including fractional anisotropy (FA), mean diffusivity (MD), axial diffusivity (AD) and radial diffusivity (RD) were performed with TBSS. Results: The MS patients had significantly decreased FA (9.11%), increased MD (8.26%), AD (3.48%) and RD (13.17%) in their white matter skeletons compared with the controls. Through TBSS analyses, we found abnormal diffusion changes in widespread white matter regions in MS patients. Specifically, decreased FA, increased MD and increased RD were involved in whole-brain white matter, while several regions exhibited increased AD. Furthermore, white matter regions with significant correlations between the diffusion metrics and the clinical variables (the EDSS scores, disease durations and white matter lesion loads) in MS patients were identified. Conclusion: Widespread white matter abnormalities were observed in MS patients revealed by multiple diffusion metrics. The diffusion changes and correlations with clinical variables were mainly attributed to increased RD, implying the predominant role of RD in reflecting the subtle pathological changes in MS.

Electrophysiological evidence for effects of color knowledge in object recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Lu, Aitao; Xu, Guiping; Jin, Hua; Mo, Lei; Zhang, Jijia; Zhang, John X

2010-01-29

Knowledge about the typical colors associated with familiar everyday objects (i.e., strawberries are red) is well-known to be represented in the conceptual semantic system. Evidence that such knowledge may also play a role in early perceptual processes for object recognition is scant. In the present ERP study, participants viewed a list of object pictures and detected infrequent stimulus repetitions. Results show that shortly after stimulus onset, ERP components indexing early perceptual processes, including N1, P2, and N2, differentiated between objects in their appropriate or congruent color from these objects in an inappropriate or incongruent color. Such congruence effect also occurred in N3 associated with semantic processing of pictures but not in N4 for domain-general semantic processing. Our results demonstrate a clear effect of color knowledge in early object recognition stages and support the following proposal-color as a surface property is stored in a multiple-memory system where pre-semantic perceptual and semantic conceptual representations interact during object recognition. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

Multi-objective convex programming problem arising in multivariate ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

user

Multi-objective convex programming problem arising in ... However, although the consideration of multiple objectives may seem a novel concept, virtually any nontrivial ..... Solving multiobjective programming problems by discrete optimization.

Multiple imaging procedures including MRI for the bladder cancer

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Mikata, Noriharu; Suzuki, Makoto; Takeuchi, Takumi; Kunisawa, Yositaka; Fukutani, Keiko; Kawabe, Kazuki

1986-01-01

Endoscopic photography, double contrast cystography, transurethral echography, X-ray CT scan, and MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) were utilized for the staging diagnosis of the four patients with carcinoma of the bladder. In the first case, a 70-year-old man, since all of the five imaging procedures suggested a superficial and pedunculated tumor, his bladder cancer was considered T1. The classification of stage T3 carcinoma was made for the second 86-year-old male. Because all of his imaging examinations showed a tumor infiltrating deep muscle and penetrating the bladder wall. The third case was a 36-year-old male. His clinical stage was diagnosed as T2 or T3a by cystophotography, double contrast cystogram, ultrasonography, and X-ray CT scan. However, MRI showed only thickened bladder wall and the infiltrating tumor could not be distinguished from the hypertrophic wall. The last patient, a 85-year-old female, had a smaller Ta cancer. Her double contrast cystography revealed the small tumor at the lateral bladder wall. But, the tumor could not be detected by transaxial, sagittal and coronal scans. Multiple imaging procedures combining MRI and staging diagnosis of the bladder carcinoma were discussed. (author)

Model for CO2 leakage including multiple geological layers and multiple leaky wells.

Science.gov (United States)

Nordbotten, Jan M; Kavetski, Dmitri; Celia, Michael A; Bachu, Stefan

2009-02-01

Geological storage of carbon dioxide (CO2) is likely to be an integral component of any realistic plan to reduce anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. In conjunction with large-scale deployment of carbon storage as a technology, there is an urgent need for tools which provide reliable and quick assessments of aquifer storage performance. Previously, abandoned wells from over a century of oil and gas exploration and production have been identified as critical potential leakage paths. The practical importance of abandoned wells is emphasized by the correlation of heavy CO2 emitters (typically associated with industrialized areas) to oil and gas producing regions in North America. Herein, we describe a novel framework for predicting the leakage from large numbers of abandoned wells, forming leakage paths connecting multiple subsurface permeable formations. The framework is designed to exploit analytical solutions to various components of the problem and, ultimately, leads to a grid-free approximation to CO2 and brine leakage rates, as well as fluid distributions. We apply our model in a comparison to an established numerical solverforthe underlying governing equations. Thereafter, we demonstrate the capabilities of the model on typical field data taken from the vicinity of Edmonton, Alberta. This data set consists of over 500 wells and 7 permeable formations. Results show the flexibility and utility of the solution methods, and highlight the role that analytical and semianalytical solutions can play in this important problem.

Methodology for the selection of routes for international cross-border line projects involving multiple objectives and decision-makers in the analyses of restrictions and environmental possibilities

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Angel S, Enrique; Cadena, Luis Fernando

2005-01-01

A scheme was developed and applied to select the optimum environmental route for international cross-border line projects, in a decision making context involving multiple objectives and multiple decision-makers, the project studied was the electricity interconnection for central America (SIEPAC) for which a prospective assessment was carried out regarding the restrictions and possibilities in the light of the Colombian environmental dimensions management model. The methodology proposed followed these stages: Definition and approval of the structure of environmental restriction and criticality variables, sectorization and selection of complex sections, definition of decision-makers for multi-objective analysis; design and application of consultation tool; definition and modeling of options applying SIG; sensitivity analysis of alternative routes and project's environment management. Different options were identified for insertion and permanence of the project according to the criteria of various interest groups and actors consulted: environmental authorities, electricity companies, scientific community and civil society

Multiple-Sensor Discrimination of Closely-Spaced Objects on a Ballistic Trajectory

Science.gov (United States)

2015-05-18

Modeling Two-body orbit dynamics was utilized to generate ballistic trajectories between the desired burnout and reentry points. The dispersion of object...trajectories within the target complex was achieved by varying the velocity of each object at the burnout points. The generated trajectories served...utilized as it removes several limitations associated with using the Euclidean distance mainly that it accounts for the scaling of the coordinate

Rapid top-down control over template-guided attention shifts to multiple objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Grubert, Anna; Fahrenfort, Johannes; Olivers, Christian N L; Eimer, Martin

2017-02-01

Previous research has shown that when observers search for targets defined by a particular colour, attention can be directed rapidly and independently to two target objects that appear in close temporal proximity. We investigated how such rapid attention shifts are modulated by task instructions to selectively attend versus ignore one of these objects. Two search displays that both contained a colour-defined target and a distractor in a different colour were presented in rapid succession, with a stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA) of 100ms. In different blocks, participants were instructed to attend and respond to target-colour objects in the first display and to ignore these objects in the second display, or vice versa. N2pc components were measured to track the allocation of spatial attention to target-colour objects in these two displays. When participants responded to the second display, irrelevant target-colour objects in the first display still triggered N2pc components, demonstrating task-set contingent attentional capture while a feature-specific target template is active. Critically, when participants responded to the first display instead, no N2pc was elicited by target-colour items in the second display, indicating that they no longer rapidly captured attention. However, these items still elicited a longer-latency contralateral negativity (SPCN component), suggesting that attention was oriented towards template-matching objects in working memory. This dissociation between N2pc and SPCN components shows that rapid attentional capture and subsequent attentional selection processes within working memory can be independent. We suggest that early attentional orienting mechanisms can be inhibited when task-set matching objects are no longer task-relevant, and that this type of inhibitory control is a rapid but transient process. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Optimized simultaneous inversion of primary and multiple reflections; Inversion linearisee simultanee des reflexions primaires et des reflexions multiples

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pelle, L.

2003-12-01

The removal of multiple reflections remains a real problem in seismic imaging. Many preprocessing methods have been developed to attenuate multiples in seismic data but none of them is satisfactory in 3D. The objective of this thesis is to develop a new method to remove multiples, extensible in 3D. Contrary to the existing methods, our approach is not a preprocessing step: we directly include the multiple removal in the imaging process by means of a simultaneous inversion of primaries and multiples. We then propose to improve the standard linearized inversion so as to make it insensitive to the presence of multiples in the data. We exploit kinematics differences between primaries and multiples. We propose to pick in the data the kinematics of the multiples we want to remove. The wave field is decomposed into primaries and multiples. Primaries are modeled by the Ray+Born operator from perturbations of the logarithm of impedance, given the velocity field. Multiples are modeled by the Transport operator from an initial trace, given the picking. The inverse problem simultaneously fits primaries and multiples to the data. To solve this problem with two unknowns, we take advantage of the isometric nature of the Transport operator, which allows to drastically reduce the CPU time: this simultaneous inversion is this almost as fast as the standard linearized inversion. This gain of time opens the way to different applications to multiple removal and in particular, allows to foresee the straightforward 3D extension. (author)

Learning models of activities involving interacting objects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Manfredotti, Cristina; Pedersen, Kim Steenstrup; Hamilton, Howard J.

2013-01-01

We propose the LEMAIO multi-layer framework, which makes use of hierarchical abstraction to learn models for activities involving multiple interacting objects from time sequences of data concerning the individual objects. Experiments in the sea navigation domain yielded learned models that were t...

Object instance recognition using motion cues and instance specific appearance models

Science.gov (United States)

Schumann, Arne

2014-03-01

In this paper we present an object instance retrieval approach. The baseline approach consists of a pool of image features which are computed on the bounding boxes of a query object track and compared to a database of tracks in order to find additional appearances of the same object instance. We improve over this simple baseline approach in multiple ways: 1) we include motion cues to achieve improved robustness to viewpoint and rotation changes, 2) we include operator feedback to iteratively re-rank the resulting retrieval lists and 3) we use operator feedback and location constraints to train classifiers and learn an instance specific appearance model. We use these classifiers to further improve the retrieval results. The approach is evaluated on two popular public datasets for two different applications. We evaluate person re-identification on the CAVIAR shopping mall surveillance dataset and vehicle instance recognition on the VIVID aerial dataset and achieve significant improvements over our baseline results.

Wireless Sensor Network Optimization: Multi-Objective Paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Iqbal, Muhammad; Naeem, Muhammad; Anpalagan, Alagan; Ahmed, Ashfaq; Azam, Muhammad

2015-07-20

Optimization problems relating to wireless sensor network planning, design, deployment and operation often give rise to multi-objective optimization formulations where multiple desirable objectives compete with each other and the decision maker has to select one of the tradeoff solutions. These multiple objectives may or may not conflict with each other. Keeping in view the nature of the application, the sensing scenario and input/output of the problem, the type of optimization problem changes. To address different nature of optimization problems relating to wireless sensor network design, deployment, operation, planing and placement, there exist a plethora of optimization solution types. We review and analyze different desirable objectives to show whether they conflict with each other, support each other or they are design dependent. We also present a generic multi-objective optimization problem relating to wireless sensor network which consists of input variables, required output, objectives and constraints. A list of constraints is also presented to give an overview of different constraints which are considered while formulating the optimization problems in wireless sensor networks. Keeping in view the multi facet coverage of this article relating to multi-objective optimization, this will open up new avenues of research in the area of multi-objective optimization relating to wireless sensor networks.

Wireless Sensor Network Optimization: Multi-Objective Paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Iqbal, Muhammad; Naeem, Muhammad; Anpalagan, Alagan; Ahmed, Ashfaq; Azam, Muhammad

2015-01-01

Optimization problems relating to wireless sensor network planning, design, deployment and operation often give rise to multi-objective optimization formulations where multiple desirable objectives compete with each other and the decision maker has to select one of the tradeoff solutions. These multiple objectives may or may not conflict with each other. Keeping in view the nature of the application, the sensing scenario and input/output of the problem, the type of optimization problem changes. To address different nature of optimization problems relating to wireless sensor network design, deployment, operation, planing and placement, there exist a plethora of optimization solution types. We review and analyze different desirable objectives to show whether they conflict with each other, support each other or they are design dependent. We also present a generic multi-objective optimization problem relating to wireless sensor network which consists of input variables, required output, objectives and constraints. A list of constraints is also presented to give an overview of different constraints which are considered while formulating the optimization problems in wireless sensor networks. Keeping in view the multi facet coverage of this article relating to multi-objective optimization, this will open up new avenues of research in the area of multi-objective optimization relating to wireless sensor networks. PMID:26205271

Orienting Attention to Sound Object Representations Attenuates Change Deafness

Science.gov (United States)

Backer, Kristina C.; Alain, Claude

2012-01-01

According to the object-based account of attention, multiple objects coexist in short-term memory (STM), and we can selectively attend to a particular object of interest. Although there is evidence that attention can be directed to visual object representations, the assumption that attention can be oriented to sound object representations has yet…

INCORPORATING MULTIPLE OBJECTIVES IN PLANNING MODELS OF LOW-RESOURCE FARMERS

OpenAIRE

Flinn, John C.; Jayasuriya, Sisira; Knight, C. Gregory

1980-01-01

Linear goal programming provides a means of formally incorporating the multiple goals of a household into the analysis of farming systems. Using this approach, the set of plans which come as close as possible to achieving a set of desired goals under conditions of land and cash scarcity are derived for a Filipino tenant farmer. A challenge in making LGP models empirically operational is the accurate definition of the goals of the farm household being modelled.

Application of the 2012 revised diagnostic definitions for paediatric multiple sclerosis and immune-mediated central nervous system demyelination disorders

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Pelt, E. Danielle; Neuteboom, Rinze F.; Ketelslegers, Immy A.; Boon, Maartje; Catsman-Berrevoets, Coriene E.; Hintzen, Rogier Q.

Background Recently, the International Paediatric Multiple Sclerosis Study Group (IPMSSG) definitions for the diagnosis of immune-mediated acquired demyelinating syndromes (ADS) of the central nervous system, including paediatric multiple sclerosis (MS), have been revised. Objective To evaluate the

A guide to multi-objective optimization for ecological problems with an application to cackling goose management

Science.gov (United States)

Williams, Perry J.; Kendall, William L.

2017-01-01

Choices in ecological research and management are the result of balancing multiple, often competing, objectives. Multi-objective optimization (MOO) is a formal decision-theoretic framework for solving multiple objective problems. MOO is used extensively in other fields including engineering, economics, and operations research. However, its application for solving ecological problems has been sparse, perhaps due to a lack of widespread understanding. Thus, our objective was to provide an accessible primer on MOO, including a review of methods common in other fields, a review of their application in ecology, and a demonstration to an applied resource management problem.A large class of methods for solving MOO problems can be separated into two strategies: modelling preferences pre-optimization (the a priori strategy), or modelling preferences post-optimization (the a posteriori strategy). The a priori strategy requires describing preferences among objectives without knowledge of how preferences affect the resulting decision. In the a posteriori strategy, the decision maker simultaneously considers a set of solutions (the Pareto optimal set) and makes a choice based on the trade-offs observed in the set. We describe several methods for modelling preferences pre-optimization, including: the bounded objective function method, the lexicographic method, and the weighted-sum method. We discuss modelling preferences post-optimization through examination of the Pareto optimal set. We applied each MOO strategy to the natural resource management problem of selecting a population target for cackling goose (Branta hutchinsii minima) abundance. Cackling geese provide food security to Native Alaskan subsistence hunters in the goose's nesting area, but depredate crops on private agricultural fields in wintering areas. We developed objective functions to represent the competing objectives related to the cackling goose population target and identified an optimal solution

Validity of multiple stress creep recovery test for LADOTD asphalt binder specification.

Science.gov (United States)

2010-09-01

The objectives of this research are to characterize the elastic response of various binders used by LADOTD to determine the feasibility of the Multiple Stress Creep Recovery (MSCR) test to be included in the LADOTD asphalt binder specification and to...

Can dentists detect multiple myeloma through oral manifestations?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Thaís Miranda Xavier de Almeida

2018-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: To review published data on oral manifestations of multiple myeloma. Methods: An electronic database search was performed of articles published from 1971 to November 2016 in order to identify studies that reported oral manifestations of patients with multiple myeloma. Case reports and case series with oral manifestations of multiple myeloma in English were included in the study. An additional search was performed of the references of the selected articles. Results: Thirty-seven articles that reported 81 patients with oral manifestations of multiple myeloma were selected: 30 case reports (82% and seven case series (18%. The most common clinical features in the dental cavity were swelling (65.4%, bone pain (33.3%, paresthesia (27.1% and amyloidosis lesions (11.1%. Osteolytic lesions detected on imaging exams were reported in the majority of the patients (90.1% as plasmacytomas or ‘punched-out’ lesions. Conclusions: Swelling and osteolytic lesions represent the most common clinical and radiographic signs of the jaws relating to multiple myeloma, respectively. Keywords: Multiple Myeloma, Oral Manifestations, Mouth, Jaws

Utilization-based object recognition in confined spaces

Science.gov (United States)

Shirkhodaie, Amir; Telagamsetti, Durga; Chan, Alex L.

2017-05-01

Recognizing substantially occluded objects in confined spaces is a very challenging problem for ground-based persistent surveillance systems. In this paper, we discuss the ontology inference of occluded object recognition in the context of in-vehicle group activities (IVGA) and describe an approach that we refer to as utilization-based object recognition method. We examine the performance of three types of classifiers tailored for the recognition of objects with partial visibility, namely, (1) Hausdorff Distance classifier, (2) Hamming Network classifier, and (3) Recurrent Neural Network classifier. In order to train these classifiers, we have generated multiple imagery datasets containing a mixture of common objects appearing inside a vehicle with full or partial visibility and occultation. To generate dynamic interactions between multiple people, we model the IVGA scenarios using a virtual simulation environment, in which a number of simulated actors perform a variety of IVGA tasks independently or jointly. This virtual simulation engine produces the much needed imagery datasets for the verification and validation of the efficiency and effectiveness of the selected object recognizers. Finally, we improve the performance of these object recognizers by incorporating human gestural information that differentiates various object utilization or handling methods through the analyses of dynamic human-object interactions (HOI), human-human interactions (HHI), and human-vehicle interactions (HVI) in the context of IVGA.

Recent advances in evolutionary multi-objective optimization

CERN Document Server

Datta, Rituparna; Gupta, Abhishek

2017-01-01

This book covers the most recent advances in the field of evolutionary multiobjective optimization. With the aim of drawing the attention of up-andcoming scientists towards exciting prospects at the forefront of computational intelligence, the authors have made an effort to ensure that the ideas conveyed herein are accessible to the widest audience. The book begins with a summary of the basic concepts in multi-objective optimization. This is followed by brief discussions on various algorithms that have been proposed over the years for solving such problems, ranging from classical (mathematical) approaches to sophisticated evolutionary ones that are capable of seamlessly tackling practical challenges such as non-convexity, multi-modality, the presence of multiple constraints, etc. Thereafter, some of the key emerging aspects that are likely to shape future research directions in the field are presented. These include:< optimization in dynamic environments, multi-objective bilevel programming, handling high ...

Multi-period multi-objective electricity generation expansion planning problem with Monte-Carlo simulation

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Tekiner, Hatice [Industrial Engineering, College of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Istanbul Sehir University, 2 Ahmet Bayman Rd, Istanbul (Turkey); Coit, David W. [Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, Rutgers University, 96 Frelinghuysen Rd., Piscataway, NJ (United States); Felder, Frank A. [Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ (United States)

2010-12-15

A new approach to the electricity generation expansion problem is proposed to minimize simultaneously multiple objectives, such as cost and air emissions, including CO{sub 2} and NO{sub x}, over a long term planning horizon. In this problem, system expansion decisions are made to select the type of power generation, such as coal, nuclear, wind, etc., where the new generation asset should be located, and at which time period expansion should take place. We are able to find a Pareto front for the multi-objective generation expansion planning problem that explicitly considers availability of the system components over the planning horizon and operational dispatching decisions. Monte-Carlo simulation is used to generate numerous scenarios based on the component availabilities and anticipated demand for energy. The problem is then formulated as a mixed integer linear program, and optimal solutions are found based on the simulated scenarios with a combined objective function considering the multiple problem objectives. The different objectives are combined using dimensionless weights and a Pareto front can be determined by varying these weights. The mathematical model is demonstrated on an example problem with interesting results indicating how expansion decisions vary depending on whether minimizing cost or minimizing greenhouse gas emissions or pollutants is given higher priority. (author)

3D Space Shift from CityGML LoD3-Based Multiple Building Elements to a 3D Volumetric Object

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Shen Ying

2017-01-01

Full Text Available In contrast with photorealistic visualizations, urban landscape applications, and building information system (BIM, 3D volumetric presentations highlight specific calculations and applications of 3D building elements for 3D city planning and 3D cadastres. Knowing the precise volumetric quantities and the 3D boundary locations of 3D building spaces is a vital index which must remain constant during data processing because the values are related to space occupation, tenure, taxes, and valuation. To meet these requirements, this paper presents a five-step algorithm for performing a 3D building space shift. This algorithm is used to convert multiple building elements into a single 3D volumetric building object while maintaining the precise volume of the 3D space and without changing the 3D locations or displacing the building boundaries. As examples, this study used input data and building elements based on City Geography Markup Language (CityGML LoD3 models. This paper presents a method for 3D urban space and 3D property management with the goal of constructing a 3D volumetric object for an integral building using CityGML objects, by fusing the geometries of various building elements. The resulting objects possess true 3D geometry that can be represented by solid geometry and saved to a CityGML file for effective use in 3D urban planning and 3D cadastres.

Statin treatment in multiple sclerosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pihl-Jensen, Gorm; Tsakiri, Anna; Frederiksen, Jette Lautrup

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease that leads to progressive disability. Statins [hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitors] are widely prescribed drugs in hypercholesterolemia. They exert immunomodulatory and neurotrophic effects and are attractive...... candidates for MS treatment due to reliable safety profiles and favorable costs. Studies of statins in a murine MS model and in open-label trials in MS have shown decreased disease severity. OBJECTIVE: Our objective was to assess current evidence to support statin treatment in MS and clinically isolated......)-β treatment in RRMS, one of statin monotherapy in CIS, one of statin monotherapy in optic neuritis (ON)/CIS, and one of statin monotherapy in secondary progressive MS (SPMS)]. Three trials with eligible characteristics had not been published in peer-reviewed journals and were therefore not included. Due...

Conservative two-step procedure including uterine artery embolization with embosphere and surgical myomectomy for the treatment of multiple fibroids: Preliminary experience

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Malartic, Cécile; Morel, Olivier; Fargeaudou, Yann; Le Dref, Olivier; Fazel, Afchine; Barranger, Emmanuel; Soyer, Philippe

2012-01-01

Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and safety of combined uterine artery embolization (UAE) using embosphere and surgical myomectomy as an alternative to radical hysterectomy in premenopausal women with multiple fibroids. Materials and methods: Mid-term clinical outcome (mean, 25 months) of 12 premenopausal women (mean age, 38 years) with multiple and large symptomatic fibroids who desired to retain their uterus and who were treated using combined UAE and surgical myomectomy were retrospectively analyzed. In all women, UAE alone was contraindicated because of large (>10 cm) or subserosal or submucosal fibroids and myomectomy alone was contraindicated because of too many (>10) fibroids. Results: UAE and surgical myomectomy were successfully performed in all women. Myomectomy was performed using laparoscopy (n = 6), open laparotomy (n = 3), hysteroscopy (n = 2), or laparoscopy and hysteroscopy (n = 1). Mean serum hemoglobin level drop was 0.97 g/dL and no blood transfusion was needed. No immediate complications were observed and all women reported resumption of normal menses. During a mean follow-up period of 25 months (range, 14–37 months), complete resolution of initial symptoms along with decrease in uterine volume (mean, 48%) was observed in all women. No further hysterectomy was required in any woman. Conclusion: In premenopausal women with multiple fibroids, the two-step procedure is safe and effective alternative to radical hysterectomy, which allows preserving the uterus. Further prospective studies, however, should be done to determine the actual benefit of this combined approach on the incidence of subsequent pregnancies.

Integrated production planning and control: A multi-objective optimization model

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Cheng Wang

2013-09-01

Full Text Available Purpose: Production planning and control has crucial impact on the production and business activities of enterprise. Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP is the most popular resources planning and management system, however there are some shortcomings and deficiencies in the production planning and control because its core component is still the Material Requirements Planning (MRP. For the defects of ERP system, many local improvement and optimization schemes have been proposed, and improve the feasibility and practicality of the plan in some extent, but study considering the whole planning system optimization in the multiple performance management objectives and achieving better application performance is less. The purpose of this paper is to propose a multi-objective production planning optimization model Based on the point of view of the integration of production planning and control, in order to achieve optimization and control of enterprise manufacturing management. Design/methodology/approach: On the analysis of ERP planning system’s defects and disadvantages, and related research and literature, a multi-objective production planning optimization model is proposed, in addition to net demand and capacity, multiple performance management objectives, such as on-time delivery, production balance, inventory, overtime production, are considered incorporating into the examination scope of the model, so that the manufacturing process could be management and controlled Optimally between multiple objectives. The validity and practicability of the model will be verified by the instance in the last part of the paper. Findings: The main finding is that production planning management of manufacturing enterprise considers not only the capacity and materials, but also a variety of performance management objectives in the production process, and building a multi-objective optimization model can effectively optimize the management and control of enterprise

Probabilistic active recognition of multiple objects using Hough-based geometric matching features

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Govender, N

2015-01-01

Full Text Available be recognized simultaneously, and occlusion and clutter (through distracter objects) is common. We propose a representation for object viewpoints using Hough transform based geometric matching features, which are robust in such circumstances. We show how...

Multiple Moving Object Detection for Fast Video Content Description in Compressed Domain

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Boris Mansencal

2007-11-01

Full Text Available Indexing deals with the automatic extraction of information with the objective of automatically describing and organizing the content. Thinking of a video stream, different types of information can be considered semantically important. Since we can assume that the most relevant one is linked to the presence of moving foreground objects, their number, their shape, and their appearance can constitute a good mean for content description. For this reason, we propose to combine both motion information and region-based color segmentation to extract moving objects from an MPEG2 compressed video stream starting only considering low-resolution data. This approach, which we refer to as “rough indexing,” consists in processing P-frame motion information first, and then in performing I-frame color segmentation. Next, since many details can be lost due to the low-resolution data, to improve the object detection results, a novel spatiotemporal filtering has been developed which is constituted by a quadric surface modeling the object trace along time. This method enables to effectively correct possible former detection errors without heavily increasing the computational effort.

Optimizing Placement of Weather Stations: Exploring Objective Functions of Meaningful Combinations of Multiple Weather Variables

Science.gov (United States)

Snyder, A.; Dietterich, T.; Selker, J. S.

2017-12-01

Many regions of the world lack ground-based weather data due to inadequate or unreliable weather station networks. For example, most countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have unreliable, sparse networks of weather stations. The absence of these data can have consequences on weather forecasting, prediction of severe weather events, agricultural planning, and climate change monitoring. The Trans-African Hydro-Meteorological Observatory (TAHMO.org) project seeks to address these problems by deploying and operating a large network of weather stations throughout Sub-Saharan Africa. To design the TAHMO network, we must determine where to place weather stations within each country. We should consider how we can create accurate spatio-temporal maps of weather data and how to balance the desired accuracy of each weather variable of interest (precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, etc.). We can express this problem as a joint optimization of multiple weather variables, given a fixed number of weather stations. We use reanalysis data as the best representation of the "true" weather patterns that occur in the region of interest. For each possible combination of sites, we interpolate the reanalysis data between selected locations and calculate the mean average error between the reanalysis ("true") data and the interpolated data. In order to formulate our multi-variate optimization problem, we explore different methods of weighting each weather variable in our objective function. These methods include systematic variation of weights to determine which weather variables have the strongest influence on the network design, as well as combinations targeted for specific purposes. For example, we can use computed evapotranspiration as a metric that combines many weather variables in a way that is meaningful for agricultural and hydrological applications. We compare the errors of the weather station networks produced by each optimization problem formulation. We also compare these

Cognitive deficits in multiple sclerosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lund, H; Jønsson, A; Andresen, Jesper Graubæk

2012-01-01

of the cognitive impairment seen in MS and constitute a supplement to traditional measurement of T2 lesion volume. Materials and Methods - Fifty patients with clinically definite MS were included (38 women, 12 men). Patients were MR scanned, neuropsychologically tested, and evaluated clinically with the Kurtzke......Objectives - Although disease load in multiple sclerosis (MS) often is based on T2 lesion volumes, the changes in T2 of normal appearing brain tissue (NABT) are rarely considered. By means of magnetic resonance, (MR) we retrospectively investigated whether T2 changes in NABT explain part...... Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) and the Multiple Sclerosis Impairment Scale (MSIS). Voxel-wise T2 estimates and total T2 lesion volume were tested for correlations with eight cognitive domains, a general cognitive dysfunction factor (CDF), and the two clinical scales. Results - We found distinct...

Correlation Matrix Of Farmers Perceived Objectives In Crop ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

The study examined the correlation matrix of farmers perceived objectives in crop production in Emohua and Etche local government areas of Rivers State, Nigeria. ... It was found that small holder farmers have multiple objectives which were ...

No Evidence for Phase-Specific Effects of 40 Hz HD–tACS on Multiple Object Tracking

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nicholas S. Bland

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Phase synchronization drives connectivity between neural oscillators, providing a flexible mechanism through which information can be effectively and selectively routed between task-relevant cortical areas. The ability to keep track of objects moving between the left and right visual hemifields, for example, requires the integration of information between the two cerebral hemispheres. Both animal and human studies have suggested that coherent (or phase-locked gamma oscillations (30–80 Hz might underlie this ability. While most human evidence has been strictly correlational, high-density transcranial alternating current stimulation (HD-tACS has been used to manipulate ongoing interhemispheric gamma phase relationships. Previous research showed that 40 Hz tACS delivered bilaterally over human motion complex could bias the perception of a bistable ambiguous motion stimulus (Helfrich et al., 2014. Specifically, this work showed that in-phase (0° offset stimulation boosted endogenous interhemispheric gamma coherence and biased perception toward the horizontal (whereby visual tokens moved between visual hemifields—requiring interhemispheric integration. By contrast, anti-phase (180° offset stimulation decreased interhemispheric gamma coherence and biased perception toward the vertical (whereby tokens moved within separate visual hemifields. Here we devised a multiple object tracking arena comprised of four quadrants whereby discrete objects moved either entirely within the left and right visual hemifields, or could cross freely between visual hemifields, thus requiring interhemispheric integration. Using the same HD-tACS montages as Helfrich et al. (2014, we found no phase-specific effect of 40 Hz stimulation on overall tracking performance. While tracking performance was generally lower during between-hemifield trials (presumably reflecting a cost of integration, this difference was unchanged by in- vs. anti-phase stimulation. Our null results

A Survey of Multi-Objective Sequential Decision-Making

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Roijers, D.M.; Vamplew, P.; Whiteson, S.; Dazeley, R.

2013-01-01

Sequential decision-making problems with multiple objectives arise naturally in practice and pose unique challenges for research in decision-theoretic planning and learning, which has largely focused on single-objective settings. This article surveys algorithms designed for sequential

Thermoelectric material including a multiple transition metal-doped type I clathrate crystal structure

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Jihui [Lakeshore, CA; Shi, Xun [Troy, MI; Bai, Shengqiang [Shanghai, CN; Zhang, Wenqing [Shanghai, CN; Chen, Lidong [Shanghai, CN; Yang, Jiong [Shanghai, CN

2012-01-17

A thermoelectric material includes a multiple transition metal-doped type I clathrate crystal structure having the formula A.sub.8TM.sub.y.sub.1.sup.1TM.sub.y.sub.2.sup.2 . . . TM.sub.y.sub.n.sup.nM.sub.zX.sub.46-y.sub.1.sub.-y.sub.2.sub.- . . . -y.sub.n.sub.-z. In the formula, A is selected from the group consisting of barium, strontium, and europium; X is selected from the group consisting of silicon, germanium, and tin; M is selected from the group consisting of aluminum, gallium, and indium; TM.sup.1, TM.sup.2, and TM.sup.n are independently selected from the group consisting of 3d, 4d, and 5d transition metals; and y.sub.1, y.sub.2, y.sub.n and Z are actual compositions of TM.sup.1, TM.sup.2, TM.sup.n, and M, respectively. The actual compositions are based upon nominal compositions derived from the following equation: z=8q.sub.A-|.DELTA.q.sub.1|y.sub.1-|.DELTA.q.sub.2|y.sub.2- . . . -|.DELTA.q.sub.n|y.sub.n, wherein q.sub.A is a charge state of A, and wherein .DELTA.q.sub.1, .DELTA.q.sub.2, .DELTA.q.sub.n are, respectively, the nominal charge state of the first, second, and n-th TM.

Compound K, a Ginsenoside Metabolite, Inhibits Colon Cancer Growth via Multiple Pathways Including p53-p21 Interactions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eugene B. Chang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available Compound K (20-O-beta-D-glucopyranosyl-20(S-protopanaxadiol, CK, an intestinal bacterial metabolite of ginseng protopanaxadiol saponins, has been shown to inhibit cell growth in a variety of cancers. However, the mechanisms are not completely understood, especially in colorectal cancer (CRC. A xenograft tumor model was used first to examine the anti-CRC effect of CK in vivo. Then, multiple in vitro assays were applied to investigate the anticancer effects of CK including antiproliferation, apoptosis and cell cycle distribution. In addition, a qPCR array and western blot analysis were executed to screen and validate the molecules and pathways involved. We observed that CK significantly inhibited the growth of HCT-116 tumors in an athymic nude mouse xenograft model. CK significantly inhibited the proliferation of human CRC cell lines HCT-116, SW-480, and HT-29 in a dose- and time-dependent manner. We also observed that CK induced cell apoptosis and arrested the cell cycle in the G1 phase in HCT-116 cells. The processes were related to the upregulation of p53/p21, FoxO3a-p27/p15 and Smad3, and downregulation of cdc25A, CDK4/6 and cyclin D1/3. The major regulated targets of CK were cyclin dependent inhibitors, including p21, p27, and p15. These results indicate that CK inhibits transcriptional activation of multiple tumor-promoting pathways in CRC, suggesting that CK could be an active compound in the prevention or treatment of CRC.

Object width modulates object-based attentional selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Nah, Joseph C; Neppi-Modona, Marco; Strother, Lars; Behrmann, Marlene; Shomstein, Sarah

2018-04-24

Visual input typically includes a myriad of objects, some of which are selected for further processing. While these objects vary in shape and size, most evidence supporting object-based guidance of attention is drawn from paradigms employing two identical objects. Importantly, object size is a readily perceived stimulus dimension, and whether it modulates the distribution of attention remains an open question. Across four experiments, the size of the objects in the display was manipulated in a modified version of the two-rectangle paradigm. In Experiment 1, two identical parallel rectangles of two sizes (thin or thick) were presented. Experiments 2-4 employed identical trapezoids (each having a thin and thick end), inverted in orientation. In the experiments, one end of an object was cued and participants performed either a T/L discrimination or a simple target-detection task. Combined results show that, in addition to the standard object-based attentional advantage, there was a further attentional benefit for processing information contained in the thick versus thin end of objects. Additionally, eye-tracking measures demonstrated increased saccade precision towards thick object ends, suggesting that Fitts's Law may play a role in object-based attentional shifts. Taken together, these results suggest that object-based attentional selection is modulated by object width.

The multiple reals of workplace learning

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kerry Harman

2014-04-01

Full Text Available The multiple reals of workplace learning are explored in this paper. Drawing on a Foucauldian conceptualisation of power as distributed, relational and productive, networks that work to produce particular objects and subjects as seemingly natural and real are examined. This approach enables different reals of workplace learning to be traced. Data from a collaborative industry-university research project is used to illustrate the approach, with a focus on the intersecting practices of a group of professional developers and a group of workplace learning researchers. The notion of multiple reals holds promise for research on workplace learning as it moves beyond a view of reality as fixed and singular to a notion of reality as performed in and through a diversity of practices, including the practices of workplace learning researchers.

On the possibility of study the surface structure of small bio-objects, including fragments of nucleotide chains, by means of electron interference

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Namiot, V.A., E-mail: vnamiot@gmail.co [Institute of Nuclear Physics, Moscow State University, Vorobyovy Gory, 119992 Moscow (Russian Federation)

2009-07-20

We propose a new method to study the surface of small bio-objects, including macromolecules and their complexes. This method is based on interference of low-energy electrons. Theoretically, this type of interference may allow to construct a hologram of the biological object, but, unlike an optical hologram, with the spatial resolution of the order of inter-atomic distances. The method provides a possibility to construct a series of such holograms at various levels of electron energies. In theory, obtaining such information would be enough to identify the types of molecular groups existing on the surface of the studied object. This method could also be used for 'fast reading' of nucleotide chains. It has been shown how to depose a long linear molecule as a straight line on a substrate before carrying out such 'reading'.

A hybrid credibility-based fuzzy multiple objective optimisation to differential pricing and inventory policies with arbitrage consideration

Science.gov (United States)

Ghasemy Yaghin, R.; Fatemi Ghomi, S. M. T.; Torabi, S. A.

2015-10-01

In most markets, price differentiation mechanisms enable manufacturers to offer different prices for their products or services in different customer segments; however, the perfect price discrimination is usually impossible for manufacturers. The importance of accounting for uncertainty in such environments spurs an interest to develop appropriate decision-making tools to deal with uncertain and ill-defined parameters in joint pricing and lot-sizing problems. This paper proposes a hybrid bi-objective credibility-based fuzzy optimisation model including both quantitative and qualitative objectives to cope with these issues. Taking marketing and lot-sizing decisions into account simultaneously, the model aims to maximise the total profit of manufacturer and to improve service aspects of retailing simultaneously to set different prices with arbitrage consideration. After applying appropriate strategies to defuzzify the original model, the resulting non-linear multi-objective crisp model is then solved by a fuzzy goal programming method. An efficient stochastic search procedure using particle swarm optimisation is also proposed to solve the non-linear crisp model.

Prediction of preterm birth in multiple pregnancies: development of a multivariable model including cervical length measurement at 16 to 21 weeks' gestation.

Science.gov (United States)

van de Mheen, Lidewij; Schuit, Ewoud; Lim, Arianne C; Porath, Martina M; Papatsonis, Dimitri; Erwich, Jan J; van Eyck, Jim; van Oirschot, Charlotte M; Hummel, Piet; Duvekot, Johannes J; Hasaart, Tom H M; Groenwold, Rolf H H; Moons, Karl G M; de Groot, Christianne J M; Bruinse, Hein W; van Pampus, Maria G; Mol, Ben W J

2014-04-01

To develop a multivariable prognostic model for the risk of preterm delivery in women with multiple pregnancy that includes cervical length measurement at 16 to 21 weeks' gestation and other variables. We used data from a previous randomized trial. We assessed the association between maternal and pregnancy characteristics including cervical length measurement at 16 to 21 weeks' gestation and time to delivery using multivariable Cox regression modelling. Performance of the final model was assessed for the outcomes of preterm and very preterm delivery using calibration and discrimination measures. We studied 507 women, of whom 270 (53%) delivered models for preterm and very preterm delivery had a c-index of 0.68 (95% CI 0.63 to 0.72) and 0.68 (95% CI 0.62 to 0.75), respectively, and showed good calibration. In women with a multiple pregnancy, the risk of preterm delivery can be assessed with a multivariable model incorporating cervical length and other predictors.

Trajectory Planning of Mobile robot in Unstructured Environment for Multiple Objects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Muhammad Arshad

2012-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we have presented a novel technique for the navigation and path formulation of wheeled mobile robot. In a given environment having obstacles, a path is generated from the given initial and final position of the robot. Based on the global knowledge of the environment a global path is formulated initially. This global path considers all the known obstacles in the environment and must avoid collision with these obstacles, i.e. the formulated path must be safe (collision free. For global path formulation strategic schemes have been employed using the a priori knowledge of the environment. The global path is fed to the robot. When unknown obstacles come in the path of the robot, it must deviate from the given global path and should generate a local path to avoid collision with the new unknown obstacle. By using sensors data the reactive schemes have been implemented for local path formulation. For local path formulation the path has been subdivided into intermediate steps known as sub goals. In the existing approaches known and unknown objects are considered separately. But in some of the practical applications known and unknown objects need to be considered simultaneously. This paper considers the problem of robot motion formulation in an environment having already known obstacles and unknown new moving objects. A Novel algorithm has been developed which incorporates local path planner, optimization and navigation modules. As unknown objects can appear in the environment randomly therefore uncertainty in the environment has been considered.

The Composite OLAP-Object Data Model

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Pourabbas, Elaheh; Shoshani, Arie

2005-12-07

In this paper, we define an OLAP-Object model that combines the main characteristics of OLAP and Object data models in order to achieve their functionalities in a common framework. We classify three different object classes: primitive, regular and composite. Then, we define a query language which uses the path concept in order to facilitate data navigation and data manipulation. The main feature of the proposed language is an anchor. It allows us to fix dynamically an object class (primitive, regular or composite) along the paths over the OLAP-Object data model for expressing queries. The queries can be formulated on objects, composite objects and combination of both. The power of the proposed query language is investigated through multiple query examples. The semantic of different clauses and syntax of the proposed language are investigated.

Neural-adaptive control of single-master-multiple-slaves teleoperation for coordinated multiple mobile manipulators with time-varying communication delays and input uncertainties.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Zhijun; Su, Chun-Yi

2013-09-01

In this paper, adaptive neural network control is investigated for single-master-multiple-slaves teleoperation in consideration of time delays and input dead-zone uncertainties for multiple mobile manipulators carrying a common object in a cooperative manner. Firstly, concise dynamics of teleoperation systems consisting of a single master robot, multiple coordinated slave robots, and the object are developed in the task space. To handle asymmetric time-varying delays in communication channels and unknown asymmetric input dead zones, the nonlinear dynamics of the teleoperation system are transformed into two subsystems through feedback linearization: local master or slave dynamics including the unknown input dead zones and delayed dynamics for the purpose of synchronization. Then, a model reference neural network control strategy based on linear matrix inequalities (LMI) and adaptive techniques is proposed. The developed control approach ensures that the defined tracking errors converge to zero whereas the coordination internal force errors remain bounded and can be made arbitrarily small. Throughout this paper, stability analysis is performed via explicit Lyapunov techniques under specific LMI conditions. The proposed adaptive neural network control scheme is robust against motion disturbances, parametric uncertainties, time-varying delays, and input dead zones, which is validated by simulation studies.

Faster processing of multiple spatially-heterodyned direct to digital holograms

Science.gov (United States)

Hanson, Gregory R [Clinton, TN; Bingham, Philip R [Knoxville, TN

2008-09-09

Systems and methods are described for faster processing of multiple spatially-heterodyned direct to digital holograms. A method includes of obtaining multiple spatially-heterodyned holograms, includes: digitally recording a first spatially-heterodyned hologram including spatial heterodyne fringes for Fourier analysis; digitally recording a second spatially-heterodyned hologram including spatial heterodyne fringes for Fourier analysis; Fourier analyzing the recorded first spatially-heterodyned hologram by shifting a first original origin of the recorded first spatially-heterodyned hologram including spatial heterodyne fringes in Fourier space to sit on top of a spatial-heterodyne carrier frequency defined as a first angle between a first reference beam and a first object beam; applying a first digital filter to cut off signals around the first original origin and performing an inverse Fourier transform on the result; Fourier analyzing the recorded second spatially-heterodyned hologram by shifting a second original origin of the recorded second spatially-heterodyned hologram including spatial heterodyne fringes in Fourier space to sit on top of a spatial-heterodyne carrier frequency defined as a second angle between a second reference beam and a second object beam; and applying a second digital filter to cut off signals around the second original origin and performing an inverse Fourier transform on the result, wherein digitally recording the first spatially-heterodyned hologram is completed before digitally recording the second spatially-heterodyned hologram and a single digital image includes both the first spatially-heterodyned hologram and the second spatially-heterodyned hologram.

REAL-TIME OBJECT DETECTION IN PARALLEL THROUGH ATOMIC TRANSACTIONS

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

K Sivakumar

2016-11-01

Full Text Available Object detection and tracking is important operation involved in embedded systems like video surveillance, Traffic monitoring, campus security system, machine vision applications and other areas. Detecting and tracking multiple objects in a video or image is challenging problem in machine vision and computer vision based embedded systems. Implementation of such a object detection and tracking systems are done in sequential way of processing and also it was implemented using hardware synthesize tools like verilog HDL with FPGA, achieves considerably lesser performance in speed and it does support lesser atomic transactions. There are many object detection and tracking algorithm were proposed and implemented, among them background subtraction is one of them. This paper proposes a implementation of detecting and tracking multiple objects based on background subtraction algorithm using java and .NET and also discuss about the architecture concept for object detection through atomic transactional, modern hardware synthesizes language called Bluespec.

More Than Just Accuracy: A Novel Method to Incorporate Multiple Test Attributes in Evaluating Diagnostic Tests Including Point of Care Tests.

Science.gov (United States)

Thompson, Matthew; Weigl, Bernhard; Fitzpatrick, Annette; Ide, Nicole

2016-01-01

Current frameworks for evaluating diagnostic tests are constrained by a focus on diagnostic accuracy, and assume that all aspects of the testing process and test attributes are discrete and equally important. Determining the balance between the benefits and harms associated with new or existing tests has been overlooked. Yet, this is critically important information for stakeholders involved in developing, testing, and implementing tests. This is particularly important for point of care tests (POCTs) where tradeoffs exist between numerous aspects of the testing process and test attributes. We developed a new model that multiple stakeholders (e.g., clinicians, patients, researchers, test developers, industry, regulators, and health care funders) can use to visualize the multiple attributes of tests, the interactions that occur between these attributes, and their impacts on health outcomes. We use multiple examples to illustrate interactions between test attributes (test availability, test experience, and test results) and outcomes, including several POCTs. The model could be used to prioritize research and development efforts, and inform regulatory submissions for new diagnostics. It could potentially provide a way to incorporate the relative weights that various subgroups or clinical settings might place on different test attributes. Our model provides a novel way that multiple stakeholders can use to visualize test attributes, their interactions, and impacts on individual and population outcomes. We anticipate that this will facilitate more informed decision making around diagnostic tests.

International comparisons of the associations between objective measures of the built environment and transport-related walking and cycling

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Christiansen, Lars B; Cerin, Ester; Badland, Hannah

2016-01-01

with transport-related walking and cycling. METHODS: This cross-sectional study maximized variation of environments and demographics by including multiple countries and by selecting adult participants living in neighborhoods based on higher and lower classifications of objectively measured walkability...

An experimental analysis of design choices of multi-objective ant colony optimization algorithms

OpenAIRE

Lopez-Ibanez, Manuel; Stutzle, Thomas

2012-01-01

There have been several proposals on how to apply the ant colony optimization (ACO) metaheuristic to multi-objective combinatorial optimization problems (MOCOPs). This paper proposes a new formulation of these multi-objective ant colony optimization (MOACO) algorithms. This formulation is based on adding specific algorithm components for tackling multiple objectives to the basic ACO metaheuristic. Examples of these components are how to represent multiple objectives using pheromone and heuris...

Multi-object segmentation framework using deformable models for medical imaging analysis.

Science.gov (United States)

Namías, Rafael; D'Amato, Juan Pablo; Del Fresno, Mariana; Vénere, Marcelo; Pirró, Nicola; Bellemare, Marc-Emmanuel

2016-08-01

Segmenting structures of interest in medical images is an important step in different tasks such as visualization, quantitative analysis, simulation, and image-guided surgery, among several other clinical applications. Numerous segmentation methods have been developed in the past three decades for extraction of anatomical or functional structures on medical imaging. Deformable models, which include the active contour models or snakes, are among the most popular methods for image segmentation combining several desirable features such as inherent connectivity and smoothness. Even though different approaches have been proposed and significant work has been dedicated to the improvement of such algorithms, there are still challenging research directions as the simultaneous extraction of multiple objects and the integration of individual techniques. This paper presents a novel open-source framework called deformable model array (DMA) for the segmentation of multiple and complex structures of interest in different imaging modalities. While most active contour algorithms can extract one region at a time, DMA allows integrating several deformable models to deal with multiple segmentation scenarios. Moreover, it is possible to consider any existing explicit deformable model formulation and even to incorporate new active contour methods, allowing to select a suitable combination in different conditions. The framework also introduces a control module that coordinates the cooperative evolution of the snakes and is able to solve interaction issues toward the segmentation goal. Thus, DMA can implement complex object and multi-object segmentations in both 2D and 3D using the contextual information derived from the model interaction. These are important features for several medical image analysis tasks in which different but related objects need to be simultaneously extracted. Experimental results on both computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging show that the proposed

Frequency bandwidth extension by use of multiple Zeeman field offsets for electron spin-echo EPR oxygen imaging of large objects

Science.gov (United States)

Seifi, Payam; Epel, Boris; Sundramoorthy, Subramanian V.; Mailer, Colin; Halpern, Howard J.

2011-01-01

Purpose: Electron spin-echo (ESE) oxygen imaging is a new and evolving electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) imaging (EPRI) modality that is useful for physiological in vivo applications, such as EPR oxygen imaging (EPROI), with potential application to imaging of multicentimeter objects as large as human tumors. A present limitation on the size of the object to be imaged at a given resolution is the frequency bandwidth of the system, since the location is encoded as a frequency offset in ESE imaging. The authors’ aim in this study was to demonstrate the object size advantage of the multioffset bandwidth extension technique.Methods: The multiple-stepped Zeeman field offset (or simply multi-B) technique was used for imaging of an 8.5-cm-long phantom containing a narrow single line triaryl methyl compound (trityl) solution at the 250 MHz imaging frequency. The image is compared to a standard single-field ESE image of the same phantom.Results: For the phantom used in this study, transverse relaxation (T2e) electron spin-echo (ESE) images from multi-B acquisition are more uniform, contain less prominent artifacts, and have a better signal to noise ratio (SNR) compared to single-field T2e images.Conclusions: The multi-B method is suitable for imaging of samples whose physical size restricts the applicability of the conventional single-field ESE imaging technique. PMID:21815379

Passive Aerial Grasping of Ferrous Objects

KAUST Repository

Fiaz, Usman Amin

2017-10-19

Aerial transportation is probably the most efficient way to supply quick and effective aid especially in cases of emergency like search and rescue operations. Thus the ability to grasp and deliver objects is of vital importance in all sorts of unmanned and autonomous aerial operations. We detail a simple yet novel approach for aerial grasping of ferrous objects using a passive magnetic pickup and an impulse based drop mechanism. The design enables our gripper to grasp ferrous objects using single as well as multiple gripping pads, with visual as well as pickup and drop feedback. We describe the various components of the gripper with emphasis on its low mass and high lift capability since weight is a matter of high consideration in all aerial applications. In addition, we investigate and address the issues that may cause our design to fail. We demonstrate by experiments that the proposed design is robust and effective, based on its high payload capability, its sturdiness against possible slide during aggressive aerial maneuvers, and optimum performance of the drop mechanism for the designed range of payloads. We also show that the gripper is able to pick up and drop a single as well as multiple ferrous objects of different shapes, curvature, and inclination, which also involves picking up an object and then grasping the next, while keeping hold of the previous one.

Passive Aerial Grasping of Ferrous Objects

KAUST Repository

Fiaz, Usman; Toumi, Noureddine; Shamma, Jeff S.

2017-01-01

Aerial transportation is probably the most efficient way to supply quick and effective aid especially in cases of emergency like search and rescue operations. Thus the ability to grasp and deliver objects is of vital importance in all sorts of unmanned and autonomous aerial operations. We detail a simple yet novel approach for aerial grasping of ferrous objects using a passive magnetic pickup and an impulse based drop mechanism. The design enables our gripper to grasp ferrous objects using single as well as multiple gripping pads, with visual as well as pickup and drop feedback. We describe the various components of the gripper with emphasis on its low mass and high lift capability since weight is a matter of high consideration in all aerial applications. In addition, we investigate and address the issues that may cause our design to fail. We demonstrate by experiments that the proposed design is robust and effective, based on its high payload capability, its sturdiness against possible slide during aggressive aerial maneuvers, and optimum performance of the drop mechanism for the designed range of payloads. We also show that the gripper is able to pick up and drop a single as well as multiple ferrous objects of different shapes, curvature, and inclination, which also involves picking up an object and then grasping the next, while keeping hold of the previous one.

BL Lacertae objects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Disney, M.J.; Veron, P.

1977-01-01

The properties of BL Lacertae objects are discussed including their spectra, variability, and brightness. The historical development of observation, and the conclusion that these objects are possibly quasar-related objects rather than variable stars as originally supposed are treated. The possible mechanisms for the unusual luminosity of these objects are considered

Roadside Multiple Objects Extraction from Mobile Laser Scanning Point Cloud Based on DBN

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

LUO Haifeng

2018-02-01

Full Text Available This paper proposed an novel algorithm for exploring deep belief network (DBN architectures to extract and recognize roadside facilities (trees,cars and traffic poles from mobile laser scanning (MLS point cloud.The proposed methods firstly partitioned the raw MLS point cloud into blocks and then removed the ground and building points.In order to partition the off-ground objects into individual objects,off-ground points were organized into an Octree structure and clustered into candidate objects based on connected component.To improve segmentation performance on clusters containing overlapped objects,a refining processing using a voxel-based normalized cut was then implemented.In addition,multi-view features descriptor was generated for each independent roadside facilities based on binary images.Finally,a deep belief network (DBN was trained to extract trees,cars and traffic pole objects.Experiments are undertaken to evaluate the validities of the proposed method with two datasets acquired by Lynx Mobile Mapper System.The precision of trees,cars and traffic poles objects extraction results respectively was 97.31%,97.79% and 92.78%.The recall was 98.30%,98.75% and 96.77% respectively.The quality is 95.70%,93.81% and 90.00%.And the F1 measure was 97.80%,96.81% and 94.73%.

An Evolutionary Approach for Bilevel Multi-objective Problems

Science.gov (United States)

Deb, Kalyanmoy; Sinha, Ankur

Evolutionary multi-objective optimization (EMO) algorithms have been extensively applied to find multiple near Pareto-optimal solutions over the past 15 years or so. However, EMO algorithms for solving bilevel multi-objective optimization problems have not received adequate attention yet. These problems appear in many applications in practice and involve two levels, each comprising of multiple conflicting objectives. These problems require every feasible upper-level solution to satisfy optimality of a lower-level optimization problem, thereby making them difficult to solve. In this paper, we discuss a recently proposed bilevel EMO procedure and show its working principle on a couple of test problems and on a business decision-making problem. This paper should motivate other EMO researchers to engage more into this important optimization task of practical importance.

Method and Apparatus for Virtual Interactive Medical Imaging by Multiple Remotely-Located Users

Science.gov (United States)

Ross, Muriel D. (Inventor); Twombly, Ian Alexander (Inventor); Senger, Steven O. (Inventor)

2003-01-01

A virtual interactive imaging system allows the displaying of high-resolution, three-dimensional images of medical data to a user and allows the user to manipulate the images, including rotation of images in any of various axes. The system includes a mesh component that generates a mesh to represent a surface of an anatomical object, based on a set of data of the object, such as from a CT or MRI scan or the like. The mesh is generated so as to avoid tears, or holes, in the mesh, providing very high-quality representations of topographical features of the object, particularly at high- resolution. The system further includes a virtual surgical cutting tool that enables the user to simulate the removal of a piece or layer of a displayed object, such as a piece of skin or bone, view the interior of the object, manipulate the removed piece, and reattach the removed piece if desired. The system further includes a virtual collaborative clinic component, which allows the users of multiple, remotely-located computer systems to collaboratively and simultaneously view and manipulate the high-resolution, three-dimensional images of the object in real-time.

Generalized internal multiple imaging

KAUST Repository

Zuberi, Mohammad Akbar Hosain

2014-12-04

Various examples are provided for generalized internal multiple imaging (GIMI). In one example, among others, a method includes generating a higher order internal multiple image using a background Green\\'s function and rendering the higher order internal multiple image for presentation. In another example, a system includes a computing device and a generalized internal multiple imaging (GIMI) application executable in the computing device. The GIMI application includes logic that generates a higher order internal multiple image using a background Green\\'s function and logic that renders the higher order internal multiple image for display on a display device. In another example, a non-transitory computer readable medium has a program executable by processing circuitry that generates a higher order internal multiple image using a background Green\\'s function and renders the higher order internal multiple image for display on a display device.

Generalized internal multiple imaging

KAUST Repository

Zuberi, Mohammad Akbar Hosain; Alkhalifah, Tariq

2014-01-01

Various examples are provided for generalized internal multiple imaging (GIMI). In one example, among others, a method includes generating a higher order internal multiple image using a background Green's function and rendering the higher order internal multiple image for presentation. In another example, a system includes a computing device and a generalized internal multiple imaging (GIMI) application executable in the computing device. The GIMI application includes logic that generates a higher order internal multiple image using a background Green's function and logic that renders the higher order internal multiple image for display on a display device. In another example, a non-transitory computer readable medium has a program executable by processing circuitry that generates a higher order internal multiple image using a background Green's function and renders the higher order internal multiple image for display on a display device.

A systematic review of the incidence and prevalence of cancer in multiple sclerosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Marrie, Ruth Ann; Reider, Nadia; Cohen, Jeffrey

2015-01-01

BACKGROUND: Studies of cancer incidence and prevalence in multiple sclerosis (MS) have produced conflicting results. OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incidence and prevalence of cancer in persons with MS and review the quality of included studies. METHODS: We searched the PUBMED, SCOPUS, Web of Knowledge...

Collaborative Workshops for Assessment and Creation of Multi-Objective Decision Support for Multiple Sectors

Science.gov (United States)

Kasprzyk, J. R.; Smith, R.; Raseman, W. J.; DeRousseau, M. A.; Dilling, L.; Ozekin, K.; Summers, R. S.; Balaji, R.; Livneh, B.; Rosario-Ortiz, F.; Sprain, L.; Srubar, W. V., III

2017-12-01

This presentation will report on three projects that used interactive workshops with stakeholders to develop problem formulations for Multi-Objective Evolutionary Algorithm (MOEA)-based decision support in diverse fields - water resources planning, water quality engineering under climate extremes, and sustainable materials design. When combined with a simulation model of a system, MOEAs use intelligent search techniques to provide new plans or designs. This approach is gaining increasing prominence in design and planning for environmental sustainability. To use this technique, a problem formulation - objectives and constraints (quantitative measures of performance) and decision variables (actions that can be modified to improve the system) - must be identified. Although critically important for MOEA effectiveness, the problem formulations are not always developed with stakeholders' interests in mind. To ameliorate this issue, project workshops were organized to improve the tool's relevance as well as collaboratively build problem formulations that can be used in applications. There were interesting differences among the projects, which altered the findings of each workshop. Attendees ranged from a group of water managers on the Front Range of Colorado, to water utility representatives from across the country, to a set of designers, academics, and trade groups. The extent to which the workshop participants were already familiar with simulation tools contributed to their willingness to accept the solutions that were generated using the tool. Moreover, in some instances, brainstorming new objectives to include within the MOEA expanded the scope of the problem formulation, relative to the initial conception of the researchers. Through describing results across a diversity of projects, the goal of this presentation is to report on how our approach may inform future decision support collaboration with a variety of stakeholders and sectors.

Subjective and objective measurement of the intelligibility of synthesized speech impaired by the very low bit rate STANAG 4591 codec including packet loss

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Počta, P.; Beerends, J.G.

2017-01-01

This paper deals with the intelligibility of speech coded by the STANAG 4591 standard codec, including packet loss, using synthesized speech input. Both subjective and objective assessments are used. It is shown that this codec significantly degrades intelligibility when compared to a standard

Integration trumps selection in object recognition

Science.gov (United States)

Saarela, Toni P.; Landy, Michael S.

2015-01-01

Summary Finding and recognizing objects is a fundamental task of vision. Objects can be defined by several “cues” (color, luminance, texture etc.), and humans can integrate sensory cues to improve detection and recognition [1–3]. Cortical mechanisms fuse information from multiple cues [4], and shape-selective neural mechanisms can display cue-invariance by responding to a given shape independent of the visual cue defining it [5–8]. Selective attention, in contrast, improves recognition by isolating a subset of the visual information [9]. Humans can select single features (red or vertical) within a perceptual dimension (color or orientation), giving faster and more accurate responses to items having the attended feature [10,11]. Attention elevates neural responses and sharpens neural tuning to the attended feature, as shown by studies in psychophysics and modeling [11,12], imaging [13–16], and single-cell and neural population recordings [17,18]. Besides single features, attention can select whole objects [19–21]. Objects are among the suggested “units” of attention because attention to a single feature of an object causes the selection of all of its features [19–21]. Here, we pit integration against attentional selection in object recognition. We find, first, that humans can integrate information near-optimally from several perceptual dimensions (color, texture, luminance) to improve recognition. They cannot, however, isolate a single dimension even when the other dimensions provide task-irrelevant, potentially conflicting information. For object recognition, it appears that there is mandatory integration of information from multiple dimensions of visual experience. The advantage afforded by this integration, however, comes at the expense of attentional selection. PMID:25802154

Integration trumps selection in object recognition.

Science.gov (United States)

Saarela, Toni P; Landy, Michael S

2015-03-30

Finding and recognizing objects is a fundamental task of vision. Objects can be defined by several "cues" (color, luminance, texture, etc.), and humans can integrate sensory cues to improve detection and recognition [1-3]. Cortical mechanisms fuse information from multiple cues [4], and shape-selective neural mechanisms can display cue invariance by responding to a given shape independent of the visual cue defining it [5-8]. Selective attention, in contrast, improves recognition by isolating a subset of the visual information [9]. Humans can select single features (red or vertical) within a perceptual dimension (color or orientation), giving faster and more accurate responses to items having the attended feature [10, 11]. Attention elevates neural responses and sharpens neural tuning to the attended feature, as shown by studies in psychophysics and modeling [11, 12], imaging [13-16], and single-cell and neural population recordings [17, 18]. Besides single features, attention can select whole objects [19-21]. Objects are among the suggested "units" of attention because attention to a single feature of an object causes the selection of all of its features [19-21]. Here, we pit integration against attentional selection in object recognition. We find, first, that humans can integrate information near optimally from several perceptual dimensions (color, texture, luminance) to improve recognition. They cannot, however, isolate a single dimension even when the other dimensions provide task-irrelevant, potentially conflicting information. For object recognition, it appears that there is mandatory integration of information from multiple dimensions of visual experience. The advantage afforded by this integration, however, comes at the expense of attentional selection. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Development of an object-oriented simulation code for repository performance assessment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tsujimoto, Keiichi; Ahn, J.

1999-01-01

As understanding for mechanisms of radioactivity confinement by a deep geologic repository improves at the individual process level, it has become imperative to evaluate consequences of individual processes to the performance of the whole repository system. For this goal, the authors have developed a model for radionuclide transport in, and release from, the repository region by incorporating multiple-member decay chains and multiple waste canisters. A computer code has been developed with C++, an object-oriented language. By utilizing the feature that a geologic repository consists of thousands of objects of the same kind, such as the waste canister, the repository region is divided into multiple compartments and objects for simulation of radionuclide transport. Massive computational tasks are distributed over, and executed by, multiple networked workstations, with the help of parallel virtual machine (PVM) technology. Temporal change of the mass distribution of 28 radionuclides in the repository region for the time period of 100 million yr has been successfully obtained by the code

An integrated probabilistic risk analysis decision support methodology for systems with multiple state variables

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sen, P.; Tan, John K.G.; Spencer, David

1999-01-01

Probabilistic risk analysis (PRA) methods have been proven to be valuable in risk and reliability analysis. However, a weak link seems to exist between methods for analysing risks and those for making rational decisions. The integrated decision support system (IDSS) methodology presented in this paper attempts to address this issue in a practical manner. In consists of three phases: a PRA phase, a risk sensitivity analysis (SA) phase and an optimisation phase, which are implemented through an integrated computer software system. In the risk analysis phase the problem is analysed by the Boolean representation method (BRM), a PRA method that can deal with systems with multiple state variables and feedback loops. In the second phase the results obtained from the BRM are utilised directly to perform importance and risk SA. In the third phase, the problem is formulated as a multiple objective decision making problem in the form of multiple objective reliability optimisation. An industrial example is included. The resultant solutions of a five objective reliability optimisation are presented, on the basis of which rational decision making can be explored

From Lobster Shells to Plastic Objects: A Bioplastics Activity

Science.gov (United States)

Hudson, Reuben; Glaisher, Samuel; Bishop, Alexandra; Katz, Jeffrey L.

2015-01-01

A multiple day activity for students to create large-scale plastic objects from the biopolymer chitin (major component of lobster, crab, and shrimp shells) is described. The plastic objects created are durable and made from benign materials, making them suitable for students to take home to play with. Since the student-created plastic objects are…

Ego, drives, and the dynamics of internal objects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Simon eBoag

2014-07-01

Full Text Available This paper addresses the relationship between the ego, id, and internal objects. While ego psychology views the ego as autonomous of the drives, a less well-known alternative position views the ego as constituted by the drives. Based on Freud’s ego-instinct account, this position has developed into a school of thought which postulates that the drives act as knowers. Given that there are multiple drives, this position proposes that personality is constituted by multiple knowers. Following on from Freud, the ego is viewed as a composite sub-set of the instinctual drives (ego-drives, whereas those drives cut off from expression form the id. The nature of the ‘self’ is developed in terms of identification and the possibility of multiple personalities is also established. This account is then extended to object-relations and the explanatory value of the ego-drive account is discussed in terms of the addressing the nature of ego-structures and the dynamic nature of internal objects. Finally, the impact of psychological conflict and the significance of repression for understanding the nature of splits within the psyche are also discussed.

The computer-aided design of a servo system as a multiple-criteria decision problem

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Udink ten Cate, A.J.

1986-01-01

This paper treats the selection of controller gains of a servo system as a multiple-criteria decision problem. In contrast to the usual optimization-based approaches to computer-aided design, inequality constraints are included in the problem as unconstrained objectives. This considerably simplifies

A multi-objective decision-making approach to the journal submission problem.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tony E Wong

Full Text Available When researchers complete a manuscript, they need to choose a journal to which they will submit the study. This decision requires to navigate trade-offs between multiple objectives. One objective is to share the new knowledge as widely as possible. Citation counts can serve as a proxy to quantify this objective. A second objective is to minimize the time commitment put into sharing the research, which may be estimated by the total time from initial submission to final decision. A third objective is to minimize the number of rejections and resubmissions. Thus, researchers often consider the trade-offs between the objectives of (i maximizing citations, (ii minimizing time-to-decision, and (iii minimizing the number of resubmissions. To complicate matters further, this is a decision with multiple, potentially conflicting, decision-maker rationalities. Co-authors might have different preferences, for example about publishing fast versus maximizing citations. These diverging preferences can lead to conflicting trade-offs between objectives. Here, we apply a multi-objective decision analytical framework to identify the Pareto-front between these objectives and determine the set of journal submission pathways that balance these objectives for three stages of a researcher's career. We find multiple strategies that researchers might pursue, depending on how they value minimizing risk and effort relative to maximizing citations. The sequences that maximize expected citations within each strategy are generally similar, regardless of time horizon. We find that the "conditional impact factor"-impact factor times acceptance rate-is a suitable heuristic method for ranking journals, to strike a balance between minimizing effort objectives and maximizing citation count. Finally, we examine potential co-author tension resulting from differing rationalities by mapping out each researcher's preferred Pareto front and identifying compromise submission strategies

Generalized framework for the parallel semantic segmentation of multiple objects and posterior manipulation

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Llopart, Adrian; Ravn, Ole; Andersen, Nils Axel

2017-01-01

The end-to-end approach presented in this paper deals with the recognition, detection, segmentation and grasping of objects, assuming no prior knowledge of the environment nor objects. The proposed pipeline is as follows: 1) Usage of a trained Convolutional Neural Net (CNN) that recognizes up to 80...... different classes of objects in real time and generates bounding boxes around them. 2) An algorithm to derive in parallel the pointclouds of said regions of interest (ROI). 3) Eight different segmentation methods to remove background data and noise from the pointclouds and obtain a precise result...

Interactive density maps for moving objects

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Scheepens, R.J.; Willems, C.M.E.; Wetering, van de H.M.M.; Wijk, van J.J.

2012-01-01

Trajectories capture the movements of objects with multiple attributes. A visualization method called density maps shows trends in these trajectories. Density map creation involves aggregating smoothed trajectories in a density field and then visualizing the field. Users can explore attributes along

Magnesium Object Manager Sandbox, A More Effective Sandbox Method for Windows 7

Science.gov (United States)

2012-03-01

keys, synchronization primitives , etc.). The object body is specific to, and the same for, each object type; it contains information common to each...the Object Directory Specific Rights Synchronization Object (Event, Mutex, Semaphore , Timer) Synchronization objects allow multiple threads to... Synchronization Object Specific Rights . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 2.5 File Object Specific Rights

Metrology test object for dimensional verification in additive manufacturing of metals for biomedical applications.

Science.gov (United States)

Teeter, Matthew G; Kopacz, Alexander J; Nikolov, Hristo N; Holdsworth, David W

2015-01-01

Additive manufacturing continues to increase in popularity and is being used in applications such as biomaterial ingrowth that requires sub-millimeter dimensional accuracy. The purpose of this study was to design a metrology test object for determining the capabilities of additive manufacturing systems to produce common objects, with a focus on those relevant to medical applications. The test object was designed with a variety of features of varying dimensions, including holes, cylinders, rectangles, gaps, and lattices. The object was built using selective laser melting, and the produced dimensions were compared to the target dimensions. Location of the test objects on the build plate did not affect dimensions. Features with dimensions less than 0.300 mm did not build or were overbuilt to a minimum of 0.300 mm. The mean difference between target and measured dimensions was less than 0.100 mm in all cases. The test object is applicable to multiple systems and materials, tests the effect of location on the build, uses a minimum of material, and can be measured with a variety of efficient metrology tools (including measuring microscopes and micro-CT). Investigators can use this test object to determine the limits of systems and adjust build parameters to achieve maximum accuracy. © IMechE 2014.

Objectives and configuration of the Multiple Pulse Propagation Experiment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Orzechowski, T.J.; Caporaso, G.J.; Chamber, F.W.; Chong, Y.P.; Deadrick, F.J.; Guethlein, G.; Fawley, W.M.; Renbarger, V.L.; Rogers, D. Jr.; Weir, J.T.; Eckstrom, D.; Stalder, K.; Hubbard, R.; Lee, P.

1990-01-01

The Multiple Pulse Propagation Experiment (MPPE) was designed to determine the hose stability properties of an intense relativistic electron beam in a beam generated density channel and to investigate range extension with increasing pulse number in the burst. This experiment used a 10-MeV electron beam generated by the Advanced Test Accelerator (ATA). The electron beam current was expected to be at least 6-kA with an equilibrium radius of 0.5 cm (RMS) in the gas. This last constraint implied an unnormalized, RMS beam emittance of 20 mrad-cm. In order to achieve beam stability against hose, each electron beam pulse had to be tailored in emittance in order to phase mix damp the instability. The initial offsets of the beam were to be kept small in order to prevent a large saturated amplitude. Numerical simulations determined the initial criteria for the emittance profile and initial beam displacements. In order to demonstrate a final density depression of 25% of ambient pressure, at least five pulses with interpulse separation of 1- to 2-ms were specified

Auditory memory can be object based.

Science.gov (United States)

Dyson, Benjamin J; Ishfaq, Feraz

2008-04-01

Identifying how memories are organized remains a fundamental issue in psychology. Previous work has shown that visual short-term memory is organized according to the object of origin, with participants being better at retrieving multiple pieces of information from the same object than from different objects. However, it is not yet clear whether similar memory structures are employed for other modalities, such as audition. Under analogous conditions in the auditory domain, we found that short-term memories for sound can also be organized according to object, with a same-object advantage being demonstrated for the retrieval of information in an auditory scene defined by two complex sounds overlapping in both space and time. Our results provide support for the notion of an auditory object, in addition to the continued identification of similar processing constraints across visual and auditory domains. The identification of modality-independent organizational principles of memory, such as object-based coding, suggests possible mechanisms by which the human processing system remembers multimodal experiences.

Bi-objective optimization of a multiple-target active debris removal mission

Science.gov (United States)

Bérend, Nicolas; Olive, Xavier

2016-05-01

The increasing number of space debris in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) raises the question of future Active Debris Removal (ADR) operations. Typical ADR scenarios rely on an Orbital Transfer Vehicle (OTV) using one of the two following disposal strategies: the first one consists in attaching a deorbiting kit, such as a solid rocket booster, to the debris after rendezvous; with the second one, the OTV captures the debris and moves it to a low-perigee disposal orbit. For multiple-target ADR scenarios, the design of such a mission is very complex, as it involves two optimization levels: one for the space debris sequence, and a second one for the "elementary" orbit transfer strategy from a released debris to the next one in the sequence. This problem can be seen as a Time-Dependant Traveling Salesman Problem (TDTSP) with two objective functions to minimize: the total mission duration and the total propellant consumption. In order to efficiently solve this problem, ONERA has designed, under CNES contract, TOPAS (Tool for Optimal Planning of ADR Sequence), a tool that implements a Branch & Bound method developed in previous work together with a dedicated algorithm for optimizing the "elementary" orbit transfer. A single run of this tool yields an estimation of the Pareto front of the problem, which exhibits the trade-off between mission duration and propellant consumption. We first detail our solution to cope with the combinatorial explosion of complex ADR scenarios with 10 debris. The key point of this approach is to define the orbit transfer strategy through a small set of parameters, allowing an acceptable compromise between the quality of the optimum solution and the calculation cost. Then we present optimization results obtained for various 10 debris removal scenarios involving a 15-ton OTV, using either the deorbiting kit or the disposal orbit strategy. We show that the advantage of one strategy upon the other depends on the propellant margin, the maximum duration allowed

Normalized Metadata Generation for Human Retrieval Using Multiple Video Surveillance Cameras

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jaehoon Jung

2016-06-01

Full Text Available Since it is impossible for surveillance personnel to keep monitoring videos from a multiple camera-based surveillance system, an efficient technique is needed to help recognize important situations by retrieving the metadata of an object-of-interest. In a multiple camera-based surveillance system, an object detected in a camera has a different shape in another camera, which is a critical issue of wide-range, real-time surveillance systems. In order to address the problem, this paper presents an object retrieval method by extracting the normalized metadata of an object-of-interest from multiple, heterogeneous cameras. The proposed metadata generation algorithm consists of three steps: (i generation of a three-dimensional (3D human model; (ii human object-based automatic scene calibration; and (iii metadata generation. More specifically, an appropriately-generated 3D human model provides the foot-to-head direction information that is used as the input of the automatic calibration of each camera. The normalized object information is used to retrieve an object-of-interest in a wide-range, multiple-camera surveillance system in the form of metadata. Experimental results show that the 3D human model matches the ground truth, and automatic calibration-based normalization of metadata enables a successful retrieval and tracking of a human object in the multiple-camera video surveillance system.

An object model for beamline descriptions

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Hill, B.W.; Martono, H.; Gillespie, J.S.

1997-01-01

Translation of beamline model descriptions between different accelerator codes presents a unique challenge due to the different representations used for various elements and subsystems. These differences range from simple units conversions to more complex translations involving multiple beamline components. A representation of basic accelerator components is being developed in order to define a meta-structure from which beamline models, in different codes, can be described and to facilitate the translation of models between these codes. Sublines of basic components will be used to represent more complex beamline descriptions and bridge the gap between codes which may represent a beamline element as a single entity, and those which use multiple elements to describe the same physical device. A C++ object model for supporting this beamline description and a grammar for describing beamlines in terms of these components is being developed. The object model will support a common graphic user interface and translation filters for representing native beamline descriptions for a variety of accelerator codes. An overview of our work on the object model for beamline descriptions is presented here. copyright 1997 American Institute of Physics

Identification of uncommon objects in containers

Science.gov (United States)

Bremer, Peer-Timo; Kim, Hyojin; Thiagarajan, Jayaraman J.

2017-09-12

A system for identifying in an image an object that is commonly found in a collection of images and for identifying a portion of an image that represents an object based on a consensus analysis of segmentations of the image. The system collects images of containers that contain objects for generating a collection of common objects within the containers. To process the images, the system generates a segmentation of each image. The image analysis system may also generate multiple segmentations for each image by introducing variations in the selection of voxels to be merged into a segment. The system then generates clusters of the segments based on similarity among the segments. Each cluster represents a common object found in the containers. Once the clustering is complete, the system may be used to identify common objects in images of new containers based on similarity between segments of images and the clusters.

Cognitive object recognition system (CORS)

Science.gov (United States)

Raju, Chaitanya; Varadarajan, Karthik Mahesh; Krishnamurthi, Niyant; Xu, Shuli; Biederman, Irving; Kelley, Troy

2010-04-01

We have developed a framework, Cognitive Object Recognition System (CORS), inspired by current neurocomputational models and psychophysical research in which multiple recognition algorithms (shape based geometric primitives, 'geons,' and non-geometric feature-based algorithms) are integrated to provide a comprehensive solution to object recognition and landmarking. Objects are defined as a combination of geons, corresponding to their simple parts, and the relations among the parts. However, those objects that are not easily decomposable into geons, such as bushes and trees, are recognized by CORS using "feature-based" algorithms. The unique interaction between these algorithms is a novel approach that combines the effectiveness of both algorithms and takes us closer to a generalized approach to object recognition. CORS allows recognition of objects through a larger range of poses using geometric primitives and performs well under heavy occlusion - about 35% of object surface is sufficient. Furthermore, geon composition of an object allows image understanding and reasoning even with novel objects. With reliable landmarking capability, the system improves vision-based robot navigation in GPS-denied environments. Feasibility of the CORS system was demonstrated with real stereo images captured from a Pioneer robot. The system can currently identify doors, door handles, staircases, trashcans and other relevant landmarks in the indoor environment.

Neural Networks for Segregation of Multiple Objects: Visual Figure-Ground Separation and Auditory Pitch Perception.

Science.gov (United States)

Wyse, Lonce

An important component of perceptual object recognition is the segmentation into coherent perceptual units of the "blooming buzzing confusion" that bombards the senses. The work presented herein develops neural network models of some key processes of pre-attentive vision and audition that serve this goal. A neural network model, called an FBF (Feature -Boundary-Feature) network, is proposed for automatic parallel separation of multiple figures from each other and their backgrounds in noisy images. Figure-ground separation is accomplished by iterating operations of a Boundary Contour System (BCS) that generates a boundary segmentation of a scene, and a Feature Contour System (FCS) that compensates for variable illumination and fills-in surface properties using boundary signals. A key new feature is the use of the FBF filling-in process for the figure-ground separation of connected regions, which are subsequently more easily recognized. The new CORT-X 2 model is a feed-forward version of the BCS that is designed to detect, regularize, and complete boundaries in up to 50 percent noise. It also exploits the complementary properties of on-cells and off -cells to generate boundary segmentations and to compensate for boundary gaps during filling-in. In the realm of audition, many sounds are dominated by energy at integer multiples, or "harmonics", of a fundamental frequency. For such sounds (e.g., vowels in speech), the individual frequency components fuse, so that they are perceived as one sound source with a pitch at the fundamental frequency. Pitch is integral to separating auditory sources, as well as to speaker identification and speech understanding. A neural network model of pitch perception called SPINET (SPatial PItch NETwork) is developed and used to simulate a broader range of perceptual data than previous spectral models. The model employs a bank of narrowband filters as a simple model of basilar membrane mechanics, spectral on-center off-surround competitive

General object recognition is specific: Evidence from novel and familiar objects.

Science.gov (United States)

Richler, Jennifer J; Wilmer, Jeremy B; Gauthier, Isabel

2017-09-01

In tests of object recognition, individual differences typically correlate modestly but nontrivially across familiar categories (e.g. cars, faces, shoes, birds, mushrooms). In theory, these correlations could reflect either global, non-specific mechanisms, such as general intelligence (IQ), or more specific mechanisms. Here, we introduce two separate methods for effectively capturing category-general performance variation, one that uses novel objects and one that uses familiar objects. In each case, we show that category-general performance variance is unrelated to IQ, thereby implicating more specific mechanisms. The first approach examines three newly developed novel object memory tests (NOMTs). We predicted that NOMTs would exhibit more shared, category-general variance than familiar object memory tests (FOMTs) because novel objects, unlike familiar objects, lack category-specific environmental influences (e.g. exposure to car magazines or botany classes). This prediction held, and remarkably, virtually none of the substantial shared variance among NOMTs was explained by IQ. Also, while NOMTs correlated nontrivially with two FOMTs (faces, cars), these correlations were smaller than among NOMTs and no larger than between the face and car tests themselves, suggesting that the category-general variance captured by NOMTs is specific not only relative to IQ, but also, to some degree, relative to both face and car recognition. The second approach averaged performance across multiple FOMTs, which we predicted would increase category-general variance by averaging out category-specific factors. This prediction held, and as with NOMTs, virtually none of the shared variance among FOMTs was explained by IQ. Overall, these results support the existence of object recognition mechanisms that, though category-general, are specific relative to IQ and substantially separable from face and car recognition. They also add sensitive, well-normed NOMTs to the tools available to study

Assessment and Instruction of Object Permanence in Children with Blindness and Multiple Disabilities

Science.gov (United States)

Bruce, Susan M.; Vargas, Claudia

2012-01-01

Introduction: This article discusses the impact of blindness and low vision on the development of object permanence and provides suggestions for assessment and instruction. Methods: The reviewed literature was identified by searching both ERIC and Psych Info using combinations of search terms such as "object permanence" and "visual…

Comparison and clinical utility evaluation of four multiple allergen simultaneous tests including two newly introduced fully automated analyzers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

John Hoon Rim

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Background: We compared the diagnostic performances of two newly introduced fully automated multiple allergen simultaneous tests (MAST analyzers with two conventional MAST assays. Methods: The serum samples from a total of 53 and 104 patients were tested for food panels and inhalant panels, respectively, in four analyzers including AdvanSure AlloScreen (LG Life Science, Korea, AdvanSure Allostation Smart II (LG Life Science, PROTIA Allergy-Q (ProteomeTech, Korea, and RIDA Allergy Screen (R-Biopharm, Germany. We compared not only the total agreement percentages but also positive propensities among four analyzers. Results: Evaluation of AdvanSure Allostation Smart II as upgraded version of AdvanSure AlloScreen revealed good concordance with total agreement percentages of 93.0% and 92.2% in food and inhalant panel, respectively. Comparisons of AdvanSure Allostation Smart II or PROTIA Allergy-Q with RIDA Allergy Screen also showed good concordance performance with positive propensities of two new analyzers for common allergens (Dermatophagoides farina and Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. The changes of cut-off level resulted in various total agreement percentage fluctuations among allergens by different analyzers, although current cut-off level of class 2 appeared to be generally suitable. Conclusions: AdvanSure Allostation Smart II and PROTIA Allergy-Q presented favorable agreement performances with RIDA Allergy Screen, although positive propensities were noticed in common allergens. Keywords: Multiple allergen simultaneous test, Automated analyzer

Multi-objective optimization using genetic algorithms: A tutorial

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Konak, Abdullah; Coit, David W.; Smith, Alice E.

2006-01-01

Multi-objective formulations are realistic models for many complex engineering optimization problems. In many real-life problems, objectives under consideration conflict with each other, and optimizing a particular solution with respect to a single objective can result in unacceptable results with respect to the other objectives. A reasonable solution to a multi-objective problem is to investigate a set of solutions, each of which satisfies the objectives at an acceptable level without being dominated by any other solution. In this paper, an overview and tutorial is presented describing genetic algorithms (GA) developed specifically for problems with multiple objectives. They differ primarily from traditional GA by using specialized fitness functions and introducing methods to promote solution diversity

Least squares reverse time migration of controlled order multiples

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Y.

2016-12-01

Imaging using the reverse time migration of multiples generates inherent crosstalk artifacts due to the interference among different order multiples. Traditionally, least-square fitting has been used to address this issue by seeking the best objective function to measure the amplitude differences between the predicted and observed data. We have developed an alternative objective function by decomposing multiples into different orders to minimize the difference between Born modeling predicted multiples and specific-order multiples from observational data in order to attenuate the crosstalk. This method is denoted as the least-squares reverse time migration of controlled order multiples (LSRTM-CM). Our numerical examples demonstrated that the LSRTM-CM can significantly improve image quality compared with reverse time migration of multiples and least-square reverse time migration of multiples. Acknowledgments This research was funded by the National Nature Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 41430321 and 41374138).

Alignment of learning objectives and assessments in therapeutics courses to foster higher-order thinking.

Science.gov (United States)

FitzPatrick, Beverly; Hawboldt, John; Doyle, Daniel; Genge, Terri

2015-02-17

To determine whether national educational outcomes, course objectives, and classroom assessments for 2 therapeutics courses were aligned for curricular content and cognitive processes, and if they included higher-order thinking. Document analysis and student focus groups were used. Outcomes, objectives, and assessment tasks were matched for specific therapeutics content and cognitive processes. Anderson and Krathwohl's Taxonomy was used to define higher-order thinking. Students discussed whether assessments tested objectives and described their thinking when responding to assessments. There were 7 outcomes, 31 objectives, and 412 assessment tasks. The alignment for content and cognitive processes was not satisfactory. Twelve students participated in the focus groups. Students thought more short-answer questions than multiple choice questions matched the objectives for content and required higher-order thinking. The alignment analysis provided data that could be used to reveal and strengthen the enacted curriculum and improve student learning.

Label-free, single-object sensing with a microring resonator: FDTD simulation.

Science.gov (United States)

Nguyen, Dan T; Norwood, Robert A

2013-01-14

Label-free, single-object sensing with a microring resonator is investigated numerically using the finite difference time-domain (FDTD) method. A pulse with ultra-wide bandwidth that spans over several resonant modes of the ring and of the sensing object is used for simulation, enabling a single-shot simulation of the microring sensing. The FDTD simulation not only can describe the circulation of the light in a whispering-gallery-mode (WGM) microring and multiple interactions between the light and the sensing object, but also other important factors of the sensing system, such as scattering and radiation losses. The FDTD results show that the simulation can yield a resonant shift of the WGM cavity modes. Furthermore, it can also extract eigenmodes of the sensing object, and therefore information from deep inside the object. The simulation method is not only suitable for a single object (single molecule, nano-, micro-scale particle) but can be extended to the problem of multiple objects as well.

Multi-Feature Based Multiple Landmine Detection Using Ground Penetration Radar

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

S. Park

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper presents a novel method for detection of multiple landmines using a ground penetrating radar (GPR. Conventional algorithms mainly focus on detection of a single landmine, which cannot linearly extend to the multiple landmine case. The proposed algorithm is composed of four steps; estimation of the number of multiple objects buried in the ground, isolation of each object, feature extraction and detection of landmines. The number of objects in the GPR signal is estimated by using the energy projection method. Then signals for the objects are extracted by using the symmetry filtering method. Each signal is then processed for features, which are given as input to the support vector machine (SVM for landmine detection. Three landmines buried in various ground conditions are considered for the test of the proposed method. They demonstrate that the proposed method can successfully detect multiple landmines.

Naturalist Intelligence Among the Other Multiple Intelligences [In Bulgarian

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

R. Genkov

2007-09-01

Full Text Available The theory of multiple intelligences was presented by Gardner in 1983. The theory was revised later (1999 and among the other intelligences a naturalist intelligence was added. The criteria for distinguishing of the different types of intelligences are considered. While Gardner restricted the analysis of the naturalist intelligence with examples from the living nature only, the present paper considered this problem on wider background including objects and persons of the natural sciences.

Subjective, but not objective, lingering effects of multiple past concussions in adolescents.

Science.gov (United States)

Brooks, Brian L; McKay, Carly D; Mrazik, Martin; Barlow, Karen M; Meeuwisse, Willem H; Emery, Carolyn A

2013-09-01

The existing literature on lingering effects from concussions in children and adolescents is limited and mixed, and there are no clear answers for patients, clinicians, researchers, or policy makers. The purpose of this study was to examine whether there are lingering effects of past concussions in adolescent athletes. Participants in this study included 643 competitive Bantam and Midget hockey players (most elite 20% by division of play) between 13 and 17 years of age (mean age=15.5, SD=1.2). Concussion history at baseline assessment was retrospectively documented using a pre-season questionnaire (PSQ), which was completed at home by parents and players in advance of baseline testing. Players with English as a second language, self-reported attention or learning disorders, a concussion within 6 months of baseline, or suspected invalid test profiles were excluded from these analyses. Demographically adjusted standard scores for the five composites/domains and raw symptom ratings from the brief Immediate Post-Concussion Assessment and Cognitive Testing (ImPACT) computerized battery were analyzed. Adolescent athletes with one or two or more prior concussions did not have significantly worse neurocognitive functioning on ImPACT than did those with no previous concussions. There were significantly more symptoms reported in those with two or more prior concussions than in those with no or one prior concussion. Adolescents with multiple previous concussions had higher levels of baseline symptoms, but there were not group differences in neurocognitive functioning using this brief computerized battery.

Apparatus including concave reflectors and a line of optical fibers

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dolan, J.T.

1992-01-01

This patent describes an apparatus including a radiation source which emits in a multiplicity of directions for focusing radiation on an object which may receive radiation within a certain solid angle. It comprises a first reflector and a second reflector, the first reflector being elliptical in cross section and having a first focus and a second focus, the second reflector being circular in cross section and having a center, and a radius equal to the distance between the second reflector and the first focus, the first reflector and the second reflector being arranged so that a concave reflecting surface of the first reflector faces a concave reflecting surface of the second reflector, and so arranged that the first focus of the first reflector corresponds to the center of the second reflector, the radiation source being an elongated discharge bulb, the object being a group of two or more optical fibers defining at least one line of optical fibers which are located at the second focus of the first reflector

A multi-objective approach to the assignment of stock keeping units to unidirectional picking lines

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Le Roux, G. J.

2017-05-01

Full Text Available An order picking system in a distribution centre consisting of parallel unidirectional picking lines is considered. The objectives are to minimise the walking distance of the pickers, the largest volume of stock on a picking line over all picking lines, the number of small packages, and the total penalty incurred for late distributions. The problem is formulated as a multi-objective multiple knapsack problem that is not solvable in a realistic time. Population-based algorithms, including the artificial bee colony algorithm and the genetic algorithm, are also implemented. The results obtained from all algorithms indicate a substantial improvement on all objectives relative to historical assignments. The genetic algorithm delivers the best performance.

Decision Support for Planning of Multimodal Transportation with Multiple Objectives

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Petersen, Hanne Løhmann

phase, and considers passenger inconvenience at transfers at the same time. The paper presents a mathematical model of the problem, and the implementation of a large neighbourhood search solution procedure. The problem is solved for a real-life based problem instance, containing eight bus lines......-known issues. They both originate in the world of multimodality, and deal with problems that arise as a consequence of the combined use of several modes. The thesis introduces the Double Travelling Salesman Problem with Multiple Stacks (DTSPMS), which is a problem that combines routing and last...... compare to solutions of the regular Travelling Salesman Problem. Next, two papers are presented, introducing respectively heuristic and exact solution procedures for the problem. The heuristic approach tests a variety of metaheuristic solution approaches, of which a large neighbourhood search obtains...

Intelligent fault recognition strategy based on adaptive optimized multiple centers

Science.gov (United States)

Zheng, Bo; Li, Yan-Feng; Huang, Hong-Zhong

2018-06-01

For the recognition principle based optimized single center, one important issue is that the data with nonlinear separatrix cannot be recognized accurately. In order to solve this problem, a novel recognition strategy based on adaptive optimized multiple centers is proposed in this paper. This strategy recognizes the data sets with nonlinear separatrix by the multiple centers. Meanwhile, the priority levels are introduced into the multi-objective optimization, including recognition accuracy, the quantity of optimized centers, and distance relationship. According to the characteristics of various data, the priority levels are adjusted to ensure the quantity of optimized centers adaptively and to keep the original accuracy. The proposed method is compared with other methods, including support vector machine (SVM), neural network, and Bayesian classifier. The results demonstrate that the proposed strategy has the same or even better recognition ability on different distribution characteristics of data.

Attention should be given to multiplicity issues in systematic reviews

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bender, R.; Bunce, C.; Clarke, M.

2008-01-01

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this paper is to describe the problem of multiple comparisons in systematic reviews and to provide some guidelines on how to deal with it in practice. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: We describe common reasons for multiplicity in systematic reviews, and present some examples...

Multiple Grammars and the Logic of Learnability in L2

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Tom W Roeper

2016-02-01

Full Text Available The goal of this article is to enhance the technical description of multi-lingual speakers in terms of a theoryof Multiple Grammars where more than one language utilizes a grammar. The challenge of V2 and itsimplications for interfaces from the perspective of the L2 learner is the focus. A number of constructionsare considered including: Quotation, Topicaliation, Empty subjects and Objects, Expletives, and Subject-auxiliary inversoni.

A novel approach for multiple mobile objects path planning: Parametrization method and conflict resolution strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ma, Yong; Wang, Hongwei; Zamirian, M.

2012-01-01

We present a new approach containing two steps to determine conflict-free paths for mobile objects in two and three dimensions with moving obstacles. Firstly, the shortest path of each object is set as goal function which is subject to collision-avoidance criterion, path smoothness, and velocity and acceleration constraints. This problem is formulated as calculus of variation problem (CVP). Using parametrization method, CVP is converted to time-varying nonlinear programming problems (TNLPP) and then resolved. Secondly, move sequence of object is assigned by priority scheme; conflicts are resolved by multilevel conflict resolution strategy. Approach efficiency is confirmed by numerical examples. -- Highlights: ► Approach with parametrization method and conflict resolution strategy is proposed. ► Approach fits for multi-object paths planning in two and three dimensions. ► Single object path planning and multi-object conflict resolution are orderly used. ► Path of each object obtained with parameterization method in the first phase. ► Conflict-free paths gained by multi-object conflict resolution in the second phase.

Random clustering ferns for multimodal object recognition

OpenAIRE

Villamizar Vergel, Michael Alejandro; Garrell Zulueta, Anais; Sanfeliu Cortés, Alberto; Moreno-Noguer, Francesc

2017-01-01

The final publication is available at link.springer.com We propose an efficient and robust method for the recognition of objects exhibiting multiple intra-class modes, where each one is associated with a particular object appearance. The proposed method, called random clustering ferns, combines synergically a single and real-time classifier, based on the boosted assembling of extremely randomized trees (ferns), with an unsupervised and probabilistic approach in order to recognize efficient...

Neural dynamics of object-based multifocal visual spatial attention and priming: object cueing, useful-field-of-view, and crowding.

Science.gov (United States)

Foley, Nicholas C; Grossberg, Stephen; Mingolla, Ennio

2012-08-01

How are spatial and object attention coordinated to achieve rapid object learning and recognition during eye movement search? How do prefrontal priming and parietal spatial mechanisms interact to determine the reaction time costs of intra-object attention shifts, inter-object attention shifts, and shifts between visible objects and covertly cued locations? What factors underlie individual differences in the timing and frequency of such attentional shifts? How do transient and sustained spatial attentional mechanisms work and interact? How can volition, mediated via the basal ganglia, influence the span of spatial attention? A neural model is developed of how spatial attention in the where cortical stream coordinates view-invariant object category learning in the what cortical stream under free viewing conditions. The model simulates psychological data about the dynamics of covert attention priming and switching requiring multifocal attention without eye movements. The model predicts how "attentional shrouds" are formed when surface representations in cortical area V4 resonate with spatial attention in posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and prefrontal cortex (PFC), while shrouds compete among themselves for dominance. Winning shrouds support invariant object category learning, and active surface-shroud resonances support conscious surface perception and recognition. Attentive competition between multiple objects and cues simulates reaction-time data from the two-object cueing paradigm. The relative strength of sustained surface-driven and fast-transient motion-driven spatial attention controls individual differences in reaction time for invalid cues. Competition between surface-driven attentional shrouds controls individual differences in detection rate of peripheral targets in useful-field-of-view tasks. The model proposes how the strength of competition can be mediated, though learning or momentary changes in volition, by the basal ganglia. A new explanation of

Coding Transparency in Object-Based Video

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Aghito, Shankar Manuel; Forchhammer, Søren

2006-01-01

A novel algorithm for coding gray level alpha planes in object-based video is presented. The scheme is based on segmentation in multiple layers. Different coders are specifically designed for each layer. In order to reduce the bit rate, cross-layer redundancies as well as temporal correlation are...

Multi-objective optimisation of aircraft flight trajectories in the ATM and avionics context

Science.gov (United States)

Gardi, Alessandro; Sabatini, Roberto; Ramasamy, Subramanian

2016-05-01

The continuous increase of air transport demand worldwide and the push for a more economically viable and environmentally sustainable aviation are driving significant evolutions of aircraft, airspace and airport systems design and operations. Although extensive research has been performed on the optimisation of aircraft trajectories and very efficient algorithms were widely adopted for the optimisation of vertical flight profiles, it is only in the last few years that higher levels of automation were proposed for integrated flight planning and re-routing functionalities of innovative Communication Navigation and Surveillance/Air Traffic Management (CNS/ATM) and Avionics (CNS+A) systems. In this context, the implementation of additional environmental targets and of multiple operational constraints introduces the need to efficiently deal with multiple objectives as part of the trajectory optimisation algorithm. This article provides a comprehensive review of Multi-Objective Trajectory Optimisation (MOTO) techniques for transport aircraft flight operations, with a special focus on the recent advances introduced in the CNS+A research context. In the first section, a brief introduction is given, together with an overview of the main international research initiatives where this topic has been studied, and the problem statement is provided. The second section introduces the mathematical formulation and the third section reviews the numerical solution techniques, including discretisation and optimisation methods for the specific problem formulated. The fourth section summarises the strategies to articulate the preferences and to select optimal trajectories when multiple conflicting objectives are introduced. The fifth section introduces a number of models defining the optimality criteria and constraints typically adopted in MOTO studies, including fuel consumption, air pollutant and noise emissions, operational costs, condensation trails, airspace and airport operations

Sustainable national transport planning: Managing multiple objectives and criteria

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Jensen, Anders Vestergaard; Salling, Kim Bang; Leleur, Steen

not included in the CBA. One important part of the assessment is the selection of criteria to be included and this aspect will be examined by an appraisal study of the Rail Baltica corridor. In the study various alternatives are appraised with an explicit consideration of each alternative’s sustainability...... performance....

Multiple constant multiplication optimizations for field programmable gate arrays

CERN Document Server

Kumm, Martin

2016-01-01

This work covers field programmable gate array (FPGA)-specific optimizations of circuits computing the multiplication of a variable by several constants, commonly denoted as multiple constant multiplication (MCM). These optimizations focus on low resource usage but high performance. They comprise the use of fast carry-chains in adder-based constant multiplications including ternary (3-input) adders as well as the integration of look-up table-based constant multipliers and embedded multipliers to get the optimal mapping to modern FPGAs. The proposed methods can be used for the efficient implementation of digital filters, discrete transforms and many other circuits in the domain of digital signal processing, communication and image processing. Contents Heuristic and ILP-Based Optimal Solutions for the Pipelined Multiple Constant Multiplication Problem Methods to Integrate Embedded Multipliers, LUT-Based Constant Multipliers and Ternary (3-Input) Adders An Optimized Multiple Constant Multiplication Architecture ...

Efficient Time-Domain Ray-Tracing Technique for the Analysis of Ultra-Wideband Indoor Environments including Lossy Materials and Multiple Effects

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

F. Saez de Adana

2009-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an efficient application of the Time-Domain Uniform Theory of Diffraction (TD-UTD for the analysis of Ultra-Wideband (UWB mobile communications for indoor environments. The classical TD-UTD formulation is modified to include the contribution of lossy materials and multiple-ray interactions with the environment. The electromagnetic analysis is combined with a ray-tracing acceleration technique to treat realistic and complex environments. The validity of this method is tested with measurements performed inside the Polytechnic building of the University of Alcala and shows good performance of the model for the analysis of UWB propagation.

Object similarity affects the perceptual strategy underlying invariant visual object recognition in rats

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Federica Bianca Rosselli

2015-03-01

Full Text Available In recent years, a number of studies have explored the possible use of rats as models of high-level visual functions. One central question at the root of such an investigation is to understand whether rat object vision relies on the processing of visual shape features or, rather, on lower-order image properties (e.g., overall brightness. In a recent study, we have shown that rats are capable of extracting multiple features of an object that are diagnostic of its identity, at least when those features are, structure-wise, distinct enough to be parsed by the rat visual system. In the present study, we have assessed the impact of object structure on rat perceptual strategy. We trained rats to discriminate between two structurally similar objects, and compared their recognition strategies with those reported in our previous study. We found that, under conditions of lower stimulus discriminability, rat visual discrimination strategy becomes more view-dependent and subject-dependent. Rats were still able to recognize the target objects, in a way that was largely tolerant (i.e., invariant to object transformation; however, the larger structural and pixel-wise similarity affected the way objects were processed. Compared to the findings of our previous study, the patterns of diagnostic features were: i smaller and more scattered; ii only partially preserved across object views; and iii only partially reproducible across rats. On the other hand, rats were still found to adopt a multi-featural processing strategy and to make use of part of the optimal discriminatory information afforded by the two objects. Our findings suggest that, as in humans, rat invariant recognition can flexibly rely on either view-invariant representations of distinctive object features or view-specific object representations, acquired through learning.

Acoustic features of objects matched by an echolocating bottlenose dolphin.

Science.gov (United States)

Delong, Caroline M; Au, Whitlow W L; Lemonds, David W; Harley, Heidi E; Roitblat, Herbert L

2006-03-01

The focus of this study was to investigate how dolphins use acoustic features in returning echolocation signals to discriminate among objects. An echolocating dolphin performed a match-to-sample task with objects that varied in size, shape, material, and texture. After the task was completed, the features of the object echoes were measured (e.g., target strength, peak frequency). The dolphin's error patterns were examined in conjunction with the between-object variation in acoustic features to identify the acoustic features that the dolphin used to discriminate among the objects. The present study explored two hypotheses regarding the way dolphins use acoustic information in echoes: (1) use of a single feature, or (2) use of a linear combination of multiple features. The results suggested that dolphins do not use a single feature across all object sets or a linear combination of six echo features. Five features appeared to be important to the dolphin on four or more sets: the echo spectrum shape, the pattern of changes in target strength and number of highlights as a function of object orientation, and peak and center frequency. These data suggest that dolphins use multiple features and integrate information across echoes from a range of object orientations.

Multiple purpose electrical profit; Emprendimiento electrico de prestacion multiple

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Assennato, H. [Electrica de Azul Ltda., Buenos Aires (Argentina)

1986-12-31

This paper shows the multiple purpose aspects of electrification projects in rural and isolated areas. The multiple aspects involved in the electrification process may include, over electric power supply: improvement of life quality, irrigation and rural mechanization. 4 figs., 6 tabs., 4 refs.

Effect of objective function on multi-objective inverse planning of radiation therapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Guoli; Wu Yican; Song Gang; Wang Shifang

2006-01-01

There are two kinds of objective functions in radiotherapy inverse planning: dose distribution-based and Dose-Volume Histogram (DVH)-based functions. The treatment planning in our days is still a trial and error process because the multi-objective problem is solved by transforming it into a single objective problem using a specific set of weights for each object. This work investigates the problem of objective function setting based on Pareto multi-optimization theory, and compares the effect on multi-objective inverse planning of those two kinds of objective functions including calculation time, converge speed, etc. The basis of objective function setting on inverse planning is discussed. (authors)

The rank-heat plot is a novel way to present the results from a network meta-analysis including multiple outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Veroniki, Areti Angeliki; Straus, Sharon E; Fyraridis, Alexandros; Tricco, Andrea C

2016-08-01

To present a novel and simple graphical approach to improve the presentation of the treatment ranking in a network meta-analysis (NMA) including multiple outcomes. NMA simultaneously compares many relevant interventions for a clinical condition from a network of trials, and allows ranking of the effectiveness and/or safety of each intervention. There are numerous ways to present the NMA results, which can challenge their interpretation by research users. The rank-heat plot is a novel graph that can be used to quickly recognize which interventions are most likely the best or worst interventions with respect to their effectiveness and/or safety for a single or multiple outcome(s) and may increase interpretability. Using empirical NMAs, we show that the need for a concise and informative presentation of results is imperative, particularly as the number of competing treatments and outcomes in an NMA increases. The rank-heat plot is an efficient way to present the results of ranking statistics, particularly when a large amount of data is available, and it is targeted to users from various backgrounds. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A nonlinear model for fluid flow in a multiple-zone composite reservoir including the quadratic gradient term

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Xiao-Lu; Fan, Xiang-Yu; Nie, Ren-Shi; Huang, Quan-Hua; He, Yong-Ming

2013-01-01

Based on material balance and Darcy's law, the governing equation with the quadratic pressure gradient term was deduced. Then the nonlinear model for fluid flow in a multiple-zone composite reservoir including the quadratic gradient term was established and solved using a Laplace transform. A series of standard log–log type curves of 1-zone (homogeneous), 2-zone and 3-zone reservoirs were plotted and nonlinear flow characteristics were analysed. The type curves governed by the coefficient of the quadratic gradient term (β) gradually deviate from those of a linear model with time elapsing. Qualitative and quantitative analyses were implemented to compare the solutions of the linear and nonlinear models. The results showed that differences of pressure transients between the linear and nonlinear models increase with elapsed time and β. At the end, a successful application of the theoretical model data against the field data shows that the nonlinear model will be a good tool to evaluate formation parameters more accurately. (paper)

Removing defocused objects from single focal plane scans of cytological slides

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

David Friedrich

2016-01-01

Full Text Available Background: Virtual microscopy and automated processing of cytological slides are more challenging compared to histological slides. Since cytological slides exhibit a three-dimensional surface and the required microscope objectives with high resolution have a low depth of field, these cannot capture all objects of a single field of view in focus. One solution would be to scan multiple focal planes; however, the increase in processing time and storage requirements are often prohibitive for clinical routine. Materials and Methods: In this paper, we show that it is a reasonable trade-off to scan a single focal plane and automatically reject defocused objects from the analysis. To this end, we have developed machine learning solutions for the automated identification of defocused objects. Our approach includes creating novel features, systematically optimizing their parameters, selecting adequate classifier algorithms, and identifying the correct decision boundary between focused and defocused objects. We validated our approach for computer-assisted DNA image cytometry. Results and Conclusions: We reach an overall sensitivity of 96.08% and a specificity of 99.63% for identifying defocused objects. Applied on ninety cytological slides, the developed classifiers automatically removed 2.50% of the objects acquired during scanning, which otherwise would have interfered the examination. Even if not all objects are acquired in focus, computer-assisted DNA image cytometry still identified more diagnostically or prognostically relevant objects compared to manual DNA image cytometry. At the same time, the workload for the expert is reduced dramatically.

Evolution of binaries with compact objects in globular clusters

OpenAIRE

Ivanova, Natalia

2017-01-01

Dynamical interactions that take place between objects in dense stellar systems lead to frequent formation of exotic stellar objects, unusual binaries, and systems of higher multiplicity. They are most important for the formation of binaries with neutron stars and black holes, which are usually observationally revealed in mass-transferring binaries. Here we review the current understanding of compact object's retention, of the metallicity dependence on the formation of low-mass X-ray binaries...

Clinical results of single-vessel versus multiple-vessel infrapopliteal intervention

OpenAIRE

Darling, Jeremy; McCallum, John C.; Soden, Peter A.; Hon, J.J. (John J.); Guzman, R.J. (Raul J.); Wyers, M.C. (Mark C.); Verhagen, Hence; Schermerhorn, Marc

2016-01-01

textabstractObjective The effects of concomitant endovascular interventions on multiple infrapopliteal vessels are not well known, and the short-term and long-term sequelae of such procedures have not been reported. Methods From 2004 to 2014, 673 limbs in 528 patients underwent an infrapopliteal endovascular intervention for tissue loss (77%), rest pain (13%), stenosis of a previously treated vessel (5%), acute limb ischemia (3%), or claudication (2%). Outcomes included wound healing, RAS eve...

Multiple Ships and Multiple Media: A Flexible Telepresence Program

Science.gov (United States)

Pelz, M.; Hoeberechts, M.; Riddell, D. J.; Ewing, N.

2016-02-01

Ocean Networks Canada (ONC) uses a number of research and exploration vessels equipped with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to maintain the NEPTUNE and VENUS cabled ocean observatories off the west coast of British Columbia, Canada. Maintenance expeditions range from several days to multiple weeks and encompass a range of activities including deploying new instruments, laying cable, recovering platforms, scientific sampling and conducting multibeam and visual surveys. In order to engage the widest possible participation in at-sea work, ONC uses telepresence technology to communicate from ship to shore and back with scientists, students, teachers and online viewers. In this presentation, we explore the challenge of designing a sustainable and flexible telepresence program which can be supported across multiple ship and ROV platforms, sometimes simultaneously. To meet outreach and education objectives, onboard educators conduct presentations to K-12 and post-secondary classrooms, museums and science centres on a daily basis. Online commentary by the educators, dive chief and ROV pilots accompanies the ROV dive footage and is streamed online 24/7 during underwater operations. Sharing the sights and sounds of the expeditions with students and educators ashore, including those in remote and inland communities, creates a unique learning environment for both formal and informal education audiences. As space is always a limiting factor on expeditions, the use of telepresence and other communication media enables ONC to simultaneously achieve engineering and science priorities at sea while communicating the successes and challenges of the expedition back to shore. Scientists and engineers provide guidance for operations from shore using a variety of communication technologies. We give examples from Ocean Networks Canada's most recent expedition, Fall 2015, which involved co-ordinated operations with three vessels - the R/V Thompson, the E/V Nautilus and the C/S Wave

Models for predicting objective function weights in prostate cancer IMRT

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Boutilier, Justin J.; Lee, Taewoo; Craig, Tim; Sharpe, Michael B.; Chan, Timothy C. Y.

2015-01-01

Purpose: To develop and evaluate the clinical applicability of advanced machine learning models that simultaneously predict multiple optimization objective function weights from patient geometry for intensity-modulated radiation therapy of prostate cancer. Methods: A previously developed inverse optimization method was applied retrospectively to determine optimal objective function weights for 315 treated patients. The authors used an overlap volume ratio (OV) of bladder and rectum for different PTV expansions and overlap volume histogram slopes (OVSR and OVSB for the rectum and bladder, respectively) as explanatory variables that quantify patient geometry. Using the optimal weights as ground truth, the authors trained and applied three prediction models: logistic regression (LR), multinomial logistic regression (MLR), and weighted K-nearest neighbor (KNN). The population average of the optimal objective function weights was also calculated. Results: The OV at 0.4 cm and OVSR at 0.1 cm features were found to be the most predictive of the weights. The authors observed comparable performance (i.e., no statistically significant difference) between LR, MLR, and KNN methodologies, with LR appearing to perform the best. All three machine learning models outperformed the population average by a statistically significant amount over a range of clinical metrics including bladder/rectum V53Gy, bladder/rectum V70Gy, and dose to the bladder, rectum, CTV, and PTV. When comparing the weights directly, the LR model predicted bladder and rectum weights that had, on average, a 73% and 74% relative improvement over the population average weights, respectively. The treatment plans resulting from the LR weights had, on average, a rectum V70Gy that was 35% closer to the clinical plan and a bladder V70Gy that was 29% closer, compared to the population average weights. Similar results were observed for all other clinical metrics. Conclusions: The authors demonstrated that the KNN and MLR

Models for predicting objective function weights in prostate cancer IMRT

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Boutilier, Justin J., E-mail: j.boutilier@mail.utoronto.ca; Lee, Taewoo [Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King’s College Road, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8 (Canada); Craig, Tim [Radiation Medicine Program, UHN Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, 610 University of Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5T 2M9, Canada and Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, 148 - 150 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3S2 (Canada); Sharpe, Michael B. [Radiation Medicine Program, UHN Princess Margaret Cancer Centre, 610 University of Avenue, Toronto, Ontario M5T 2M9 (Canada); Department of Radiation Oncology, University of Toronto, 148 - 150 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3S2 (Canada); Techna Institute for the Advancement of Technology for Health, 124 - 100 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1P5 (Canada); Chan, Timothy C. Y. [Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Toronto, 5 King’s College Road, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3G8, Canada and Techna Institute for the Advancement of Technology for Health, 124 - 100 College Street, Toronto, Ontario M5G 1P5 (Canada)

2015-04-15

Purpose: To develop and evaluate the clinical applicability of advanced machine learning models that simultaneously predict multiple optimization objective function weights from patient geometry for intensity-modulated radiation therapy of prostate cancer. Methods: A previously developed inverse optimization method was applied retrospectively to determine optimal objective function weights for 315 treated patients. The authors used an overlap volume ratio (OV) of bladder and rectum for different PTV expansions and overlap volume histogram slopes (OVSR and OVSB for the rectum and bladder, respectively) as explanatory variables that quantify patient geometry. Using the optimal weights as ground truth, the authors trained and applied three prediction models: logistic regression (LR), multinomial logistic regression (MLR), and weighted K-nearest neighbor (KNN). The population average of the optimal objective function weights was also calculated. Results: The OV at 0.4 cm and OVSR at 0.1 cm features were found to be the most predictive of the weights. The authors observed comparable performance (i.e., no statistically significant difference) between LR, MLR, and KNN methodologies, with LR appearing to perform the best. All three machine learning models outperformed the population average by a statistically significant amount over a range of clinical metrics including bladder/rectum V53Gy, bladder/rectum V70Gy, and dose to the bladder, rectum, CTV, and PTV. When comparing the weights directly, the LR model predicted bladder and rectum weights that had, on average, a 73% and 74% relative improvement over the population average weights, respectively. The treatment plans resulting from the LR weights had, on average, a rectum V70Gy that was 35% closer to the clinical plan and a bladder V70Gy that was 29% closer, compared to the population average weights. Similar results were observed for all other clinical metrics. Conclusions: The authors demonstrated that the KNN and MLR

Tracking Object Existence From an Autonomous Patrol Vehicle

Science.gov (United States)

Wolf, Michael; Scharenbroich, Lucas

2011-01-01

An autonomous vehicle patrols a large region, during which an algorithm receives measurements of detected potential objects within its sensor range. The goal of the algorithm is to track all objects in the region over time. This problem differs from traditional multi-target tracking scenarios because the region of interest is much larger than the sensor range and relies on the movement of the sensor through this region for coverage. The goal is to know whether anything has changed between visits to the same location. In particular, two kinds of alert conditions must be detected: (1) a previously detected object has disappeared and (2) a new object has appeared in a location already checked. For the time an object is within sensor range, the object can be assumed to remain stationary, changing position only between visits. The problem is difficult because the upstream object detection processing is likely to make many errors, resulting in heavy clutter (false positives) and missed detections (false negatives), and because only noisy, bearings-only measurements are available. This work has three main goals: (1) Associate incoming measurements with known objects or mark them as new objects or false positives, as appropriate. For this, a multiple hypothesis tracker was adapted to this scenario. (2) Localize the objects using multiple bearings-only measurements to provide estimates of global position (e.g., latitude and longitude). A nonlinear Kalman filter extension provides these 2D position estimates using the 1D measurements. (3) Calculate the probability that a suspected object truly exists (in the estimated position), and determine whether alert conditions have been triggered (for new objects or disappeared objects). The concept of a probability of existence was created, and a new Bayesian method for updating this probability at each time step was developed. A probabilistic multiple hypothesis approach is chosen because of its superiority in handling the

Implementation of an object oriented track reconstruction model into multiple LHC experiments*

Science.gov (United States)

Gaines, Irwin; Gonzalez, Saul; Qian, Sijin

2001-10-01

An Object Oriented (OO) model (Gaines et al., 1996; 1997; Gaines and Qian, 1998; 1999) for track reconstruction by the Kalman filtering method has been designed for high energy physics experiments at high luminosity hadron colliders. The model has been coded in the C++ programming language and has been successfully implemented into the OO computing environments of both the CMS (1994) and ATLAS (1994) experiments at the future Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at CERN. We shall report: how the OO model was adapted, with largely the same code, to different scenarios and serves the different reconstruction aims in different experiments (i.e. the level-2 trigger software for ATLAS and the offline software for CMS); how the OO model has been incorporated into different OO environments with a similar integration structure (demonstrating the ease of re-use of OO program); what are the OO model's performance, including execution time, memory usage, track finding efficiency and ghost rate, etc.; and additional physics performance based on use of the OO tracking model. We shall also mention the experience and lessons learned from the implementation of the OO model into the general OO software framework of the experiments. In summary, our practice shows that the OO technology really makes the software development and the integration issues straightforward and convenient; this may be particularly beneficial for the general non-computer-professional physicists.

Making the Most of Multiple Choice

Science.gov (United States)

Brookhart, Susan M.

2015-01-01

Multiple-choice questions draw criticism because many people perceive they test only recall or atomistic, surface-level objectives and do not require students to think. Although this can be the case, it does not have to be that way. Susan M. Brookhart suggests that multiple-choice questions are a useful part of any teacher's questioning repertoire…

Modifying the Sleep Treatment Education Program for Students to include technology use (STEPS-TECH): Intervention effects on objective and subjective sleep outcomes.

Science.gov (United States)

Barber, Larissa K; Cucalon, Maria S

2017-12-01

University students often have sleep issues that arise from poor sleep hygiene practices and technology use patterns. Yet, technology-related behaviors are often neglected in sleep hygiene education. This study examined whether the Sleep Treatment Education Program for Students-modified to include information regarding managing technology use (STEPS-TECH)-helps improve both subjective and objective sleep outcomes among university students. Results of an experimental study among 78 university students showed improvements in objective indicators of sleep quantity (total sleep time) and sleep quality (less awakenings) during the subsequent week for students in the STEPS-TECH intervention group compared to a control group. Exploratory analyses indicated that effects were driven by improvements in weekend days immediately following the intervention. There were also no intervention effects on subjective sleep quality or quantity outcomes. In terms of self-reported behavioral responses to educational content in the intervention, there were no group differences in sleep hygiene practices or technology use before bedtime. However, the intervention group reported less technology use during sleep periods than the control group. These preliminary findings suggest that STEPS-TECH may be a useful educational tool to help improve objective sleep and reduce technology use during sleep periods among university students. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Multi-Label Object Categorization Using Histograms of Global Relations

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mustafa, Wail; Xiong, Hanchen; Kraft, Dirk

2015-01-01

In this paper, we present an object categorization system capable of assigning multiple and related categories for novel objects using multi-label learning. In this system, objects are described using global geometric relations of 3D features. We propose using the Joint SVM method for learning......). The experiments are carried out on a dataset of 100 objects belonging to 13 visual and action-related categories. The results indicate that multi-label methods are able to identify the relation between the dependent categories and hence perform categorization accordingly. It is also found that extracting...

Multi objective multi refinery optimization with environmental and catastrophic failure effects objectives

Science.gov (United States)

Khogeer, Ahmed Sirag

2005-11-01

Petroleum refining is a capital-intensive business. With stringent environmental regulations on the processing industry and declining refining margins, political instability, increased risk of war and terrorist attacks in which refineries and fuel transportation grids may be targeted, higher pressures are exerted on refiners to optimize performance and find the best combination of feed and processes to produce salable products that meet stricter product specifications, while at the same time meeting refinery supply commitments and of course making profit. This is done through multi objective optimization. For corporate refining companies and at the national level, Intea-Refinery and Inter-Refinery optimization is the second step in optimizing the operation of the whole refining chain as a single system. Most refinery-wide optimization methods do not cover multiple objectives such as minimizing environmental impact, avoiding catastrophic failures, or enhancing product spec upgrade effects. This work starts by carrying out a refinery-wide, single objective optimization, and then moves to multi objective-single refinery optimization. The last step is multi objective-multi refinery optimization, the objectives of which are analysis of the effects of economic, environmental, product spec, strategic, and catastrophic failure. Simulation runs were carried out using both MATLAB and ASPEN PIMS utilizing nonlinear techniques to solve the optimization problem. The results addressed the need to debottleneck some refineries or transportation media in order to meet the demand for essential products under partial or total failure scenarios. They also addressed how importing some high spec products can help recover some of the losses and what is needed in order to accomplish this. In addition, the results showed nonlinear relations among local and global objectives for some refineries. The results demonstrate that refineries can have a local multi objective optimum that does not

Coping strategies and mood profiles in patients with multiple sclerosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aysel Milanlioglu

2014-07-01

Full Text Available Objective: The aim of the present study was to investigate the coping strategies, mood characteristics and the association between these aspects in patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and healthy subjects. Method: Fifty consecutive patients who were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis according to McDonald criteria and thirty-one healthy subjects were included in the study. In addition to the sociodemographic form, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS, Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences Scale (COPE, and Profile of Mood States (POMS tests were applied to the participants. Results: Non-functional coping strategies were significantly higher in the secondary-progressive type (p≤0.05. Depression-dejection, fatigue-inertia and total POMS scores were significantly higher in the secondary-progressive type (p≤0.05. Conclusion: The results of our study demonstrate the importance of rehabilitation programs that encourage exercise among patients with multiple sclerosis to increase vigor-activity levels.

Clinical problems of multiple primary cancers including head and neck cancers. From the viewpoint of radiotherapy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Nishio, Masamichi; Myojin, Miyako; Nishiyama, Noriaki; Taguchi, Hiroshi; Takagi, Masaru; Tanaka, Katsuhiko

2003-01-01

A total of 2144 head and neck cancers were treated by radiotherapy at the National Sapporo Hospital between 1974 and 2001. Of these, 313 (14.6%) were found to have other primary cancers besides head and neck cancer, in which double cancers were 79% and triple or more cancers were 21%. Frequency according to primary site of the first head and neck cancer was oral cavity: 107/603 (17.7%), epipharynx cancer: 7/117 (6.0%), oropharyngeal cancer: 63/257 (24.5%), hypopharyngeal cancer: 65/200 (32.5%), laryngeal cancer: 114/558 (20.4%), and nose/paranasal sinus: 4.9% respectively. Esophageal cancer, head and neck cancer, lung cancer and gastric cancer were very frequent as other primary sites combined with the head and neck. The first onset region was the head and neck in 233 out of 313 cases with multiple primary cancers. The five-year survival rate from the onset of head and neck cancers is 52%, 10-year: 30%, and 5-year cause-specific survival rate 82%, and 10-year: 78%, respectively. The treatment possibilities in multiple primary cancers tend to be limited because the treatment areas are sometimes overlapped. New approaches to the treatment of multiple primary cancers should be considered in the future. (author)

Hemifield effects in multiple identity tracking.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Charlotte Hudson

Full Text Available In everyday life, we often need to attentively track moving objects. A previous study has claimed that this tracking occurs independently in the left and right visual hemifields (Alvarez & Cavanagh, 2005, Psychological Science,16, 637-647. Specifically, it was shown that observers were much more accurate at tracking objects that were spread over both visual hemifields as opposed to when all were confined to a single visual hemifield. In that study, observers were not required to remember the identities of the objects. Conversely, in real life, there is seldom any benefit to tracking an object unless you can also recall its identity. It has been predicted that when observers are required to remember the identities of the tracked objects a bilateral advantage should no longer be observed (Oksama & Hyönä, 2008, Cognitive Psychology, 56, 237-283. We tested this prediction and found that a bilateral advantage still occurred, though it was not as strong as when observers were not required to remember the identities of the targets. Even in the later case we found that tracking was not completely independent in the two visual hemifields. We present a combined model of multiple object tracking and multiple identity tracking that can explain our data.

The clinical impact of cerebellar grey matter pathology in multiple sclerosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Alfredo Damasceno

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: The cerebellum is an important site for cortical demyelination in multiple sclerosis, but the functional significance of this finding is not fully understood. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical and cognitive impact of cerebellar grey-matter pathology in multiple sclerosis patients. METHODS: Forty-two relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients and 30 controls underwent clinical assessment including the Multiple Sclerosis Functional Composite, Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS and cerebellar functional system (FS score, and cognitive evaluation, including the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT and the Symbol-Digit Modalities Test (SDMT. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed with a 3T scanner and variables of interest were: brain white-matter and cortical lesion load, cerebellar intracortical and leukocortical lesion volumes, and brain cortical and cerebellar white-matter and grey-matter volumes. RESULTS: After multivariate analysis high burden of cerebellar intracortical lesions was the only predictor for the EDSS (p<0.001, cerebellar FS (p = 0.002, arm function (p = 0.049, and for leg function (p<0.001. Patients with high burden of cerebellar leukocortical lesions had lower PASAT scores (p = 0.013, while patients with greater volumes of cerebellar intracortical lesions had worse SDMT scores (p = 0.015. CONCLUSIONS: Cerebellar grey-matter pathology is widely present and contributes to clinical dysfunction in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis patients, independently of brain grey-matter damage.

Enhancing cognition with video games: a multiple game training study.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Adam C Oei

Full Text Available Previous evidence points to a causal link between playing action video games and enhanced cognition and perception. However, benefits of playing other video games are under-investigated. We examined whether playing non-action games also improves cognition. Hence, we compared transfer effects of an action and other non-action types that required different cognitive demands.We instructed 5 groups of non-gamer participants to play one game each on a mobile device (iPhone/iPod Touch for one hour a day/five days a week over four weeks (20 hours. Games included action, spatial memory, match-3, hidden- object, and an agent-based life simulation. Participants performed four behavioral tasks before and after video game training to assess for transfer effects. Tasks included an attentional blink task, a spatial memory and visual search dual task, a visual filter memory task to assess for multiple object tracking and cognitive control, as well as a complex verbal span task. Action game playing eliminated attentional blink and improved cognitive control and multiple-object tracking. Match-3, spatial memory and hidden object games improved visual search performance while the latter two also improved spatial working memory. Complex verbal span improved after match-3 and action game training.Cognitive improvements were not limited to action game training alone and different games enhanced different aspects of cognition. We conclude that training specific cognitive abilities frequently in a video game improves performance in tasks that share common underlying demands. Overall, these results suggest that many video game-related cognitive improvements may not be due to training of general broad cognitive systems such as executive attentional control, but instead due to frequent utilization of specific cognitive processes during game play. Thus, many video game training related improvements to cognition may be attributed to near-transfer effects.

Enhancing Cognition with Video Games: A Multiple Game Training Study

Science.gov (United States)

Oei, Adam C.; Patterson, Michael D.

2013-01-01

Background Previous evidence points to a causal link between playing action video games and enhanced cognition and perception. However, benefits of playing other video games are under-investigated. We examined whether playing non-action games also improves cognition. Hence, we compared transfer effects of an action and other non-action types that required different cognitive demands. Methodology/Principal Findings We instructed 5 groups of non-gamer participants to play one game each on a mobile device (iPhone/iPod Touch) for one hour a day/five days a week over four weeks (20 hours). Games included action, spatial memory, match-3, hidden- object, and an agent-based life simulation. Participants performed four behavioral tasks before and after video game training to assess for transfer effects. Tasks included an attentional blink task, a spatial memory and visual search dual task, a visual filter memory task to assess for multiple object tracking and cognitive control, as well as a complex verbal span task. Action game playing eliminated attentional blink and improved cognitive control and multiple-object tracking. Match-3, spatial memory and hidden object games improved visual search performance while the latter two also improved spatial working memory. Complex verbal span improved after match-3 and action game training. Conclusion/Significance Cognitive improvements were not limited to action game training alone and different games enhanced different aspects of cognition. We conclude that training specific cognitive abilities frequently in a video game improves performance in tasks that share common underlying demands. Overall, these results suggest that many video game-related cognitive improvements may not be due to training of general broad cognitive systems such as executive attentional control, but instead due to frequent utilization of specific cognitive processes during game play. Thus, many video game training related improvements to cognition may be

Enhancing cognition with video games: a multiple game training study.

Science.gov (United States)

Oei, Adam C; Patterson, Michael D

2013-01-01

Previous evidence points to a causal link between playing action video games and enhanced cognition and perception. However, benefits of playing other video games are under-investigated. We examined whether playing non-action games also improves cognition. Hence, we compared transfer effects of an action and other non-action types that required different cognitive demands. We instructed 5 groups of non-gamer participants to play one game each on a mobile device (iPhone/iPod Touch) for one hour a day/five days a week over four weeks (20 hours). Games included action, spatial memory, match-3, hidden- object, and an agent-based life simulation. Participants performed four behavioral tasks before and after video game training to assess for transfer effects. Tasks included an attentional blink task, a spatial memory and visual search dual task, a visual filter memory task to assess for multiple object tracking and cognitive control, as well as a complex verbal span task. Action game playing eliminated attentional blink and improved cognitive control and multiple-object tracking. Match-3, spatial memory and hidden object games improved visual search performance while the latter two also improved spatial working memory. Complex verbal span improved after match-3 and action game training. Cognitive improvements were not limited to action game training alone and different games enhanced different aspects of cognition. We conclude that training specific cognitive abilities frequently in a video game improves performance in tasks that share common underlying demands. Overall, these results suggest that many video game-related cognitive improvements may not be due to training of general broad cognitive systems such as executive attentional control, but instead due to frequent utilization of specific cognitive processes during game play. Thus, many video game training related improvements to cognition may be attributed to near-transfer effects.

Solving dynamic multi-objective problems with vector evaluated particle swarm optimisation

CSIR Research Space (South Africa)

Greeff, M

2008-06-01

Full Text Available Many optimisation problems are multi-objective and change dynamically. Many methods use a weighted average approach to the multiple objectives. This paper introduces the usage of the vector evaluated particle swarm optimiser (VEPSO) to solve dynamic...

Pattern of Presentation of Multiple Organ Dysfunction Syndrome in ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Background: Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome is the sequential failure of several organ systems after a trigger event, like sepsis, massive transfusions, burns, trauma and cardiogenic shock. Aim and Objectives- The pattern of presentation of multiple organ dysfunction and the risk factors associated with multiple organ ...

Reliability analysis of the auxiliary feedwater system of Angra-1 including common cause failures using the multiple greek letter model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lapa, Celso Marcelo Franklin.

1996-05-01

The use of redundancy to increase the reliability of industrial systems make them subject to the occurrence of common cause events. The industrial experience and the results of safety analysis studies have indicated that common cause failures are the main contributors to the unreliability of plants that have redundant systems, specially in nuclear power plants. In this Thesis procedures are developed in order to include the impact of common cause failures in the calculation of the top event occurrence probability of the Auxiliary Feedwater System in a typical two-loop Nuclear Power Plant (PWR). For this purpose the Multiple Greek Letter Model is used. (author). 14 refs., 10 figs., 11 tabs

Lung volume recruitment in multiple sclerosis.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Nadim Srour

Full Text Available INTRODUCTION: Pulmonary function abnormalities have been described in multiple sclerosis including reductions in forced vital capacity (FVC and cough but the time course of this impairment is unknown. Peak cough flow (PCF is an important parameter for patients with respiratory muscle weakness and a reduced PCF has a direct impact on airway clearance and may therefore increase the risk of respiratory tract infections. Lung volume recruitment is a technique that improves PCF by inflating the lungs to their maximal insufflation capacity. OBJECTIVES: Our goals were to describe the rate of decline of pulmonary function and PCF in patients with multiple sclerosis and describe the use of lung volume recruitment in this population. METHODS: We reviewed all patients with multiple sclerosis referred to a respiratory neuromuscular rehabilitation clinic from February 1999 until December 2010. Lung volume recruitment was attempted in patients with FVC <80% predicted. Regular twice daily lung volume recruitment was prescribed if it resulted in a significant improvement in the laboratory. RESULTS: There were 79 patients included, 35 of whom were seen more than once. A baseline FVC <80% predicted was present in 82% of patients and 80% of patients had a PCF insufficient for airway clearance. There was a significant decline in FVC (122.6 mL/y, 95% CI 54.9-190.3 and PCF (192 mL/s/y, 95% 72-311 over a median follow-up time of 13.4 months. Lung volume recruitment was associated with a slower decline in FVC (p<0.0001 and PCF (p = 0.042. CONCLUSION: Pulmonary function and cough decline significantly over time in selected patients with multiple sclerosis and lung volume recruitment is associated with a slower rate of decline in lung function and peak cough flow. Given design limitations, additional studies are needed to assess the role of lung volume recruitment in patients with multiple sclerosis.

Assessment level of anxiety and depression in patients with multiple sclerosis

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Kusnetsova D.E.

2012-06-01

Full Text Available

In patients with multiple sclerosis observed polymorphism of the emergency psychiatric disorders with a wide range of psychopathological phenomena — from neurotic and personality disorders to psychotic states and epileptiform syndrome. However, the problems of mental health problems in people with MS for a long time little attention was paid. The aim of our study was to analyze the level of anxiety and depression severity in patients with multiple sclerosis. According to this objective have been identifed objectives of the study: to determine the level of depression and anxiety in MS patients according to sex, age, course, duration of disease. For our work was selected group of patients with documented diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, Charles Poser criteria, consisting of 79 persons, with a disease duration of more than 2 years. We used a specially designed questionnaire, which included a table to assess complaints, anamnesis, the neurological status of the patient, and standard questionnaires (test anxiety, Taylor Depression Scale Research psychoneurology them. Spondylitis, the index of overall psychological well-being. The study found that mood disorders such as anxiety, depression, often occurs in patients with multiple sclerosis. However, they are expressed in groups of patients receiving and not receiving DMD, in many ways. Thus, it should be recommended  Vat practical neurologists in the treatment of multiple sclerosis patients to pay attention to whether or not they have a certain range of mental disorders, and above all, anxious-depressive syndrome, which is in need of medical and non-pharmacological correction.

An object-oriented language-database integration model: The composition filters approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aksit, Mehmet; Bergmans, Lodewijk; Vural, Sinan; Vural, S.

1991-01-01

This paper introduces a new model, based on so-called object-composition filters, that uniformly integrates database-like features into an object-oriented language. The focus is on providing persistent dynamic data structures, data sharing, transactions, multiple views and associative access,

An Object-Oriented Language-Database Integration Model: The Composition-Filters Approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Aksit, Mehmet; Bergmans, Lodewijk; Vural, S.; Vural, Sinan; Lehrmann Madsen, O.

1992-01-01

This paper introduces a new model, based on so-called object-composition filters, that uniformly integrates database-like features into an object-oriented language. The focus is on providing persistent dynamic data structures, data sharing, transactions, multiple views and associative access,

Laser radiography forming bremsstrahlung radiation to image an object

Science.gov (United States)

Perry, Michael D.; Sefcik, Joseph A.

2004-01-13

A method of imaging an object by generating laser pulses with a short-pulse, high-power laser. When the laser pulse strikes a conductive target, bremsstrahlung radiation is generated such that hard ballistic high-energy electrons are formed to penetrate an object. A detector on the opposite side of the object detects these electrons. Since laser pulses are used to form the hard x-rays, multiple pulses can be used to image an object in motion, such as an exploding or compressing object, by using time gated detectors. Furthermore, the laser pulses can be directed down different tubes using mirrors and filters so that each laser pulse will image a different portion of the object.

Representing Objects using Global 3D Relational Features for Recognition Tasks

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mustafa, Wail

2015-01-01

representations. For representing objects, we derive global descriptors encoding shape using viewpoint-invariant features obtained from multiple sensors observing the scene. Objects are also described using color independently. This allows for combining color and shape when it is required for the task. For more...... robust color description, color calibration is performed. The framework was used in three recognition tasks: object instance recognition, object category recognition, and object spatial relationship recognition. For the object instance recognition task, we present a system that utilizes color and scale...

Interactive Preference Learning of Utility Functions for Multi-Objective Optimization

OpenAIRE

Dewancker, Ian; McCourt, Michael; Ainsworth, Samuel

2016-01-01

Real-world engineering systems are typically compared and contrasted using multiple metrics. For practical machine learning systems, performance tuning is often more nuanced than minimizing a single expected loss objective, and it may be more realistically discussed as a multi-objective optimization problem. We propose a novel generative model for scalar-valued utility functions to capture human preferences in a multi-objective optimization setting. We also outline an interactive active learn...

A multiple objective magnet sorting algorithm for the ALS insertion devices

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Humphries, D.; Goetz, F.; Kownacki, P.; Marks, S.; Schlueter, R.

1994-07-01

Insertion devices for the Advanced Light Source (ALS) incorporate large numbers of permanent magnets which have a variety of magnetization orientation errors. These orientation errors can produce field errors which affect both the spectral brightness of the insertion devices and the storage ring electron beam dynamics. A perturbation study was carried out to quantify the effects of orientation errors acting in a hybrid magnetic structure. The results of this study were used to develop a multiple stage sorting algorithm which minimizes undesirable integrated field errors and essentially eliminates pole excitation errors. When applied to a measured magnet population for an existing insertion device, an order of magnitude reduction in integrated field errors was achieved while maintaining near zero pole excitation errors

Practical solutions for multi-objective optimization: An application to system reliability design problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taboada, Heidi A.; Baheranwala, Fatema; Coit, David W.; Wattanapongsakorn, Naruemon

2007-01-01

For multiple-objective optimization problems, a common solution methodology is to determine a Pareto optimal set. Unfortunately, these sets are often large and can become difficult to comprehend and consider. Two methods are presented as practical approaches to reduce the size of the Pareto optimal set for multiple-objective system reliability design problems. The first method is a pseudo-ranking scheme that helps the decision maker select solutions that reflect his/her objective function priorities. In the second approach, we used data mining clustering techniques to group the data by using the k-means algorithm to find clusters of similar solutions. This provides the decision maker with just k general solutions to choose from. With this second method, from the clustered Pareto optimal set, we attempted to find solutions which are likely to be more relevant to the decision maker. These are solutions where a small improvement in one objective would lead to a large deterioration in at least one other objective. To demonstrate how these methods work, the well-known redundancy allocation problem was solved as a multiple objective problem by using the NSGA genetic algorithm to initially find the Pareto optimal solutions, and then, the two proposed methods are applied to prune the Pareto set

Using normalisation process theory to understand barriers and facilitators to implementing mindfulness-based stress reduction for people with multiple sclerosis.

Science.gov (United States)

Simpson, Robert; Simpson, Sharon; Wood, Karen; Mercer, Stewart W; Mair, Frances S

2018-01-01

Objectives To study barriers and facilitators to implementation of mindfulness-based stress reduction for people with multiple sclerosis. Methods Qualitative interviews were used to explore barriers and facilitators to implementation of mindfulness-based stress reduction, including 33 people with multiple sclerosis, 6 multiple sclerosis clinicians and 2 course instructors. Normalisation process theory provided the underpinning conceptual framework. Data were analysed deductively using normalisation process theory constructs (coherence, cognitive participation, collective action and reflexive monitoring). Results Key barriers included mismatched stakeholder expectations, lack of knowledge about mindfulness-based stress reduction, high levels of comorbidity and disability and skepticism about embedding mindfulness-based stress reduction in routine multiple sclerosis care. Facilitators to implementation included introducing a pre-course orientation session; adaptations to mindfulness-based stress reduction to accommodate comorbidity and disability and participants suggested smaller, shorter classes, shortened practices, exclusion of mindful-walking and more time with peers. Post-mindfulness-based stress reduction booster sessions may be required, and objective and subjective reports of benefit would increase clinician confidence in mindfulness-based stress reduction. Discussion Multiple sclerosis patients and clinicians know little about mindfulness-based stress reduction. Mismatched expectations are a barrier to participation, as is rigid application of mindfulness-based stress reduction in the context of disability. Course adaptations in response to patient needs would facilitate uptake and utilisation. Rendering access to mindfulness-based stress reduction rapid and flexible could facilitate implementation. Embedded outcome assessment is desirable.

A Procedure to Determine the Coordinated Chromium and Calcium Isotopic Composition of Astromaterials Including the Chelyabinsk Meteorite

Science.gov (United States)

Tappa, M. J.; Mills, R. D.; Ware, B.; Simon, J. I.

2014-01-01

The isotopic compositions of elements are often used to characterize nucelosynthetic contributions in early Solar System objects. Coordinated multiple middle-mass elements with differing volatilities may provide information regarding the location of condensation of early Solar System solids. Here we detail new procedures that we have developed to make high-precision multi-isotope measurements of chromium and calcium using thermal ionization mass spectrometry, and characterize a suite of chondritic and terrestrial material including two fragments of the Chelyabinsk LL-chondrite.

Design of Xen Hybrid Multiple Police Model

Science.gov (United States)

Sun, Lei; Lin, Renhao; Zhu, Xianwei

2017-10-01

Virtualization Technology has attracted more and more attention. As a popular open-source virtualization tools, XEN is used more and more frequently. Xsm, XEN security model, has also been widespread concern. The safety status classification has not been established in the XSM, and it uses the virtual machine as a managed object to make Dom0 a unique administrative domain that does not meet the minimum privilege. According to these questions, we design a Hybrid multiple police model named SV_HMPMD that organically integrates multiple single security policy models include DTE,RBAC,BLP. It can fullfill the requirement of confidentiality and integrity for security model and use different particle size to different domain. In order to improve BLP’s practicability, the model introduce multi-level security labels. In order to divide the privilege in detail, we combine DTE with RBAC. In order to oversize privilege, we limit the privilege of domain0.

The company objects keep: Linking referents together during cross-situational word learning.

Science.gov (United States)

Zettersten, Martin; Wojcik, Erica; Benitez, Viridiana L; Saffran, Jenny

2018-04-01

Learning the meanings of words involves not only linking individual words to referents but also building a network of connections among entities in the world, concepts, and words. Previous studies reveal that infants and adults track the statistical co-occurrence of labels and objects across multiple ambiguous training instances to learn words. However, it is less clear whether, given distributional or attentional cues, learners also encode associations amongst the novel objects. We investigated the consequences of two types of cues that highlighted object-object links in a cross-situational word learning task: distributional structure - how frequently the referents of novel words occurred together - and visual context - whether the referents were seen on matching backgrounds. Across three experiments, we found that in addition to learning novel words, adults formed connections between frequently co-occurring objects. These findings indicate that learners exploit statistical regularities to form multiple types of associations during word learning.

Multiple player tracking in sports video: a dual-mode two-way bayesian inference approach with progressive observation modeling.

Science.gov (United States)

Xing, Junliang; Ai, Haizhou; Liu, Liwei; Lao, Shihong

2011-06-01

Multiple object tracking (MOT) is a very challenging task yet of fundamental importance for many practical applications. In this paper, we focus on the problem of tracking multiple players in sports video which is even more difficult due to the abrupt movements of players and their complex interactions. To handle the difficulties in this problem, we present a new MOT algorithm which contributes both in the observation modeling level and in the tracking strategy level. For the observation modeling, we develop a progressive observation modeling process that is able to provide strong tracking observations and greatly facilitate the tracking task. For the tracking strategy, we propose a dual-mode two-way Bayesian inference approach which dynamically switches between an offline general model and an online dedicated model to deal with single isolated object tracking and multiple occluded object tracking integrally by forward filtering and backward smoothing. Extensive experiments on different kinds of sports videos, including football, basketball, as well as hockey, demonstrate the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed method.

Effectiveness of meta-models for multi-objective optimization of centrifugal impeller

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Bellary, Sayed Ahmed Imran; Samad, Abdus [Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Chennai (India); Husain, Afzal [Sultan Qaboos University, Al-Khoudh (Oman)

2014-12-15

The major issue of multiple fidelity based analysis and optimization of fluid machinery system depends upon the proper construction of low fidelity model or meta-model. A low fidelity model uses responses obtained from a high fidelity model, and the meta-model is then used to produce population of solutions required for evolutionary algorithm for multi-objective optimization. The Pareto-optimal front which shows functional relationships among the multiple objectives can produce erroneous results if the low fidelity models are not well-constructed. In the present research, response surface approximation and Kriging meta-models were evaluated for their effectiveness for the application in the turbomachinery design and optimization. A high fidelity model such as CFD technique along with the metamodels was used to obtain Pareto-optimal front via multi-objective genetic algorithm. A centrifugal impeller has been considered as case study to find relationship between two conflicting objectives, viz., hydraulic efficiency and head. Design variables from the impeller geometry have been chosen and the responses of the objective functions were evaluated through CFD analysis. The fidelity of each metamodel has been discussed in context of their predictions in entire design space in general and near optimal region in particular. Exploitation of the multiple meta-models enhances the quality of multi-objective optimization and provides the information pertaining to fidelity of optimization model. It was observed that the Kriging meta-model was better suited for this type of problem as it involved less approximation error in the Pareto-optimal front.

Effectiveness of meta-models for multi-objective optimization of centrifugal impeller

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bellary, Sayed Ahmed Imran; Samad, Abdus; Husain, Afzal

2014-01-01

The major issue of multiple fidelity based analysis and optimization of fluid machinery system depends upon the proper construction of low fidelity model or meta-model. A low fidelity model uses responses obtained from a high fidelity model, and the meta-model is then used to produce population of solutions required for evolutionary algorithm for multi-objective optimization. The Pareto-optimal front which shows functional relationships among the multiple objectives can produce erroneous results if the low fidelity models are not well-constructed. In the present research, response surface approximation and Kriging meta-models were evaluated for their effectiveness for the application in the turbomachinery design and optimization. A high fidelity model such as CFD technique along with the metamodels was used to obtain Pareto-optimal front via multi-objective genetic algorithm. A centrifugal impeller has been considered as case study to find relationship between two conflicting objectives, viz., hydraulic efficiency and head. Design variables from the impeller geometry have been chosen and the responses of the objective functions were evaluated through CFD analysis. The fidelity of each metamodel has been discussed in context of their predictions in entire design space in general and near optimal region in particular. Exploitation of the multiple meta-models enhances the quality of multi-objective optimization and provides the information pertaining to fidelity of optimization model. It was observed that the Kriging meta-model was better suited for this type of problem as it involved less approximation error in the Pareto-optimal front.

Treatment planning with intensity modulated particle therapy for multiple targets in stage IV non-small cell lung cancer

Science.gov (United States)

Anderle, Kristjan; Stroom, Joep; Vieira, Sandra; Pimentel, Nuno; Greco, Carlo; Durante, Marco; Graeff, Christian

2018-01-01

Intensity modulated particle therapy (IMPT) can produce highly conformal plans, but is limited in advanced lung cancer patients with multiple lesions due to motion and planning complexity. A 4D IMPT optimization including all motion states was expanded to include multiple targets, where each target (isocenter) is designated to specific field(s). Furthermore, to achieve stereotactic treatment planning objectives, target and OAR weights plus objective doses were automatically iteratively adapted. Finally, 4D doses were calculated for different motion scenarios. The results from our algorithm were compared to clinical stereotactic body radiation treatment (SBRT) plans. The study included eight patients with 24 lesions in total. Intended dose regimen for SBRT was 24 Gy in one fraction, but lower fractionated doses had to be delivered in three cases due to OAR constraints or failed plan quality assurance. The resulting IMPT treatment plans had no significant difference in target coverage compared to SBRT treatment plans. Average maximum point dose and dose to specific volume in OARs were on average 65% and 22% smaller with IMPT. IMPT could also deliver 24 Gy in one fraction in a patient where SBRT was limited due to the OAR vicinity. The developed algorithm shows the potential of IMPT in treatment of multiple moving targets in a complex geometry.

Pupil size signals mental effort deployed during multiple object tracking and predicts brain activity in the dorsal attention network and the locus coeruleus.

Science.gov (United States)

Alnæs, Dag; Sneve, Markus Handal; Espeseth, Thomas; Endestad, Tor; van de Pavert, Steven Harry Pieter; Laeng, Bruno

2014-04-01

Attentional effort relates to the allocation of limited-capacity attentional resources to meet current task demands and involves the activation of top-down attentional systems in the brain. Pupillometry is a sensitive measure of this intensity aspect of top-down attentional control. Studies relate pupillary changes in response to cognitive processing to activity in the locus coeruleus (LC), which is the main hub of the brain's noradrenergic system and it is thought to modulate the operations of the brain's attentional systems. In the present study, participants performed a visual divided attention task known as multiple object tracking (MOT) while their pupil sizes were recorded by use of an infrared eye tracker and then were tested again with the same paradigm while brain activity was recorded using fMRI. We hypothesized that the individual pupil dilations, as an index of individual differences in mental effort, as originally proposed by Kahneman (1973), would be a better predictor of LC activity than the number of tracked objects during MOT. The current results support our hypothesis, since we observed pupil-related activity in the LC. Moreover, the changes in the pupil correlated with activity in the superior colliculus and the right thalamus, as well as cortical activity in the dorsal attention network, which previous studies have shown to be strongly activated during visual tracking of multiple targets. Follow-up pupillometric analyses of the MOT task in the same individuals also revealed that individual differences to cognitive load can be remarkably stable over a lag of several years. To our knowledge this is the first study using pupil dilations as an index of attentional effort in the MOT task and also relating these to functional changes in the brain that directly implicate the LC-NE system in the allocation of processing resources.

Simultaneous reconstruction of multiple depth images without off-focus points in integral imaging using a graphics processing unit.

Science.gov (United States)

Yi, Faliu; Lee, Jieun; Moon, Inkyu

2014-05-01

The reconstruction of multiple depth images with a ray back-propagation algorithm in three-dimensional (3D) computational integral imaging is computationally burdensome. Further, a reconstructed depth image consists of a focus and an off-focus area. Focus areas are 3D points on the surface of an object that are located at the reconstructed depth, while off-focus areas include 3D points in free-space that do not belong to any object surface in 3D space. Generally, without being removed, the presence of an off-focus area would adversely affect the high-level analysis of a 3D object, including its classification, recognition, and tracking. Here, we use a graphics processing unit (GPU) that supports parallel processing with multiple processors to simultaneously reconstruct multiple depth images using a lookup table containing the shifted values along the x and y directions for each elemental image in a given depth range. Moreover, each 3D point on a depth image can be measured by analyzing its statistical variance with its corresponding samples, which are captured by the two-dimensional (2D) elemental images. These statistical variances can be used to classify depth image pixels as either focus or off-focus points. At this stage, the measurement of focus and off-focus points in multiple depth images is also implemented in parallel on a GPU. Our proposed method is conducted based on the assumption that there is no occlusion of the 3D object during the capture stage of the integral imaging process. Experimental results have demonstrated that this method is capable of removing off-focus points in the reconstructed depth image. The results also showed that using a GPU to remove the off-focus points could greatly improve the overall computational speed compared with using a CPU.

Multiple Organ Dysfunction After Cardiosurgical Interventions

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

L. S. Barbarash

2010-01-01

Full Text Available Objective: to study the clinical efficiency of introducing an algorithm for organ-protective intensive care. Materials and methods. 3278 case histories of patients admitted to the clinic in 2000—2009 for surgical treatment (under extracorporeal circulation for coronary heart disease (CHD and acquired heart defects (AHD were retrospectively analyzed. Throughout the analyzed period, the patients operated on for CHD and AHD were 2068 (63.1% and 1210 (36.9%, respectively; the postoperative incidence of multiple organ dysfunction (MOD among all the patients was 11.8% (378 patients; mortality in MOD was 3.75% (n=123 of the operated patients (included into the study or 32.5% of all the patients with MOD. Conclusion. The incidence of MOD is in proportion to the number of surgical interventions and depends on their specific features (recurrence, baseline severity, comorbidity, or multifocal atherosclerosis. Preventive intensive therapy for MOD reduced mortality and altered its syndromic pattern towards a preponderance of pyoseptic complications. Key words: cardiosurgery, extracorporeal circulation, multiple organ dysfunction.

Managing multiple funding streams and agendas to achieve local and global health and research objectives: lessons from the field.

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Charles B; Sikazwe, Izukanji; Raelly, Roselyne L; Freeman, Bethany L; Wambulawae, Inonge; Silwizya, Geoffrey; Topp, Stephanie M; Chilengi, Roma; Henostroza, German; Kapambwe, Sharon; Simbeye, Darius; Sibajene, Sheila; Chi, Harmony; Godfrey, Katy; Chi, Benjamin; Moore, Carolyn Bolton

2014-01-01

Multiple funding sources provide research and program implementation organizations a broader base of funding and facilitate synergy, but also entail challenges that include varying stakeholder expectations, unaligned grant cycles, and highly variable reporting requirements. Strong governance and strategic planning are essential to ensure alignment of goals and agendas. Systems to track budgets and outputs, as well as procurement and human resources are required. A major goal of funders is to transition leadership and operations to local ownership. This article details successful approaches used by the newly independent nongovernmental organization, the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia.

Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis - Towards a new paradigm.

Science.gov (United States)

Blaschke, Thomas; Hay, Geoffrey J; Kelly, Maggi; Lang, Stefan; Hofmann, Peter; Addink, Elisabeth; Queiroz Feitosa, Raul; van der Meer, Freek; van der Werff, Harald; van Coillie, Frieke; Tiede, Dirk

2014-01-01

The amount of scientific literature on (Geographic) Object-based Image Analysis - GEOBIA has been and still is sharply increasing. These approaches to analysing imagery have antecedents in earlier research on image segmentation and use GIS-like spatial analysis within classification and feature extraction approaches. This article investigates these development and its implications and asks whether or not this is a new paradigm in remote sensing and Geographic Information Science (GIScience). We first discuss several limitations of prevailing per-pixel methods when applied to high resolution images. Then we explore the paradigm concept developed by Kuhn (1962) and discuss whether GEOBIA can be regarded as a paradigm according to this definition. We crystallize core concepts of GEOBIA, including the role of objects, of ontologies and the multiplicity of scales and we discuss how these conceptual developments support important methods in remote sensing such as change detection and accuracy assessment. The ramifications of the different theoretical foundations between the ' per-pixel paradigm ' and GEOBIA are analysed, as are some of the challenges along this path from pixels, to objects, to geo-intelligence. Based on several paradigm indications as defined by Kuhn and based on an analysis of peer-reviewed scientific literature we conclude that GEOBIA is a new and evolving paradigm.

Optimization and modeling of spot welding parameters with simultaneous multiple response consideration using multi objective Taguchi method and RSM

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Muhammad, Nora Siah; Manurung Yupiter HP; Hafidzi, Moham Mad; Abas, Sun Haji Kiyai; Tham, Ghalib; Haru Man, Esa [Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Selangor (Malaysia)

2012-08-15

This paper presents an alternative method to optimize process parameters of resistance spot welding (RSW) towards weld zone development. The optimization approach attempts to consider simultaneously the multiple quality characteristics, namely weld nugget and heat affected zone (HAZ), using multi objective Taguchi method (MTM). The experimental study was conducted for plate thickness of 1.5mm under different welding current, weld time and hold time. The optimum welding parameters were investigated using the Taguchi method with L9 orthogonal array. The optimum value was analyzed by means of MTM, which involved the calculation of total normalized quality loss (TNQL) and multi signal to noise ratio (MSNR). A significant level of the welding parameters was further obtained by using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Furthermore, the first order model for predicting the weld zone development is derived by using response surface methodology (RSM). Based on the experimental confirmation test, the proposed method can be effectively applied to estimate the size of weld zone, which can be used to enhance and optimized the welding performance in RSW or other application.

Optimization and modeling of spot welding parameters with simultaneous multiple response consideration using multi objective Taguchi method and RSM

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Muhammad, Nora Siah; Manurung Yupiter HP; Hafidzi, Moham Mad; Abas, Sun Haji Kiyai; Tham, Ghalib; Haru Man, Esa

2012-01-01

This paper presents an alternative method to optimize process parameters of resistance spot welding (RSW) towards weld zone development. The optimization approach attempts to consider simultaneously the multiple quality characteristics, namely weld nugget and heat affected zone (HAZ), using multi objective Taguchi method (MTM). The experimental study was conducted for plate thickness of 1.5mm under different welding current, weld time and hold time. The optimum welding parameters were investigated using the Taguchi method with L9 orthogonal array. The optimum value was analyzed by means of MTM, which involved the calculation of total normalized quality loss (TNQL) and multi signal to noise ratio (MSNR). A significant level of the welding parameters was further obtained by using analysis of variance (ANOVA). Furthermore, the first order model for predicting the weld zone development is derived by using response surface methodology (RSM). Based on the experimental confirmation test, the proposed method can be effectively applied to estimate the size of weld zone, which can be used to enhance and optimized the welding performance in RSW or other application

Multiple Sclerosis After Infectious Mononucleosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nielsen, Trine Rasmussen; Rostgaard, Klaus; Nielsen, Nete Munk

2007-01-01

BACKGROUND: Infectious mononucleosis caused by the Epstein-Barr virus has been associated with increased risk of multiple sclerosis. However, little is known about the characteristics of this association. OBJECTIVE: To assess the significance of sex, age at and time since infectious mononucleosis......, and attained age to the risk of developing multiple sclerosis after infectious mononucleosis. DESIGN: Cohort study using persons tested serologically for infectious mononucleosis at Statens Serum Institut, the Danish Civil Registration System, the Danish National Hospital Discharge Register, and the Danish...... Multiple Sclerosis Registry. SETTING: Statens Serum Institut. PATIENTS: A cohort of 25 234 Danish patients with mononucleosis was followed up for the occurrence of multiple sclerosis beginning on April 1, 1968, or January 1 of the year after the diagnosis of mononucleosis or after a negative Paul...

Assessing the Cartographic Visualization of Moving Objects ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Four representations are considered in this research: the single static map, multiple static maps, animation, and the space-time cube. The study is conducted by considering four movement characteristics (or aspects of moving objects): speed change, returns, stops, and path of movement. The ability of users to perceive and ...

Nuclear Fuel Cycle Objectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2013-01-01

One of the IAEA's statutory objectives is to 'seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world'. One way this objective is achieved is through the publication of a range of technical series. Two of these are the IAEA Nuclear Energy Series and the IAEA Safety Standards Series. According to Article III.A.6 of the IAEA Statute, the safety standards establish 'standards of safety for protection of health and minimization of danger to life and property'. The safety standards include the Safety Fundamentals, Safety Requirements and Safety Guides. These standards are written primarily in a regulatory style, and are binding on the IAEA for its own programmes. The principal users are the regulatory bodies in member States and other national authorities. The IAEA Nuclear Energy Series comprises reports designed to encourage and assist R and D on, and application of, nuclear energy for peaceful uses. This includes practical examples to be used by owners and operators of utilities in member States, implementing organizations, academia and government officials, among others. This information is presented in guides, reports on technology status and advances, and best practices for peaceful uses of nuclear energy based on inputs from international experts. The IAEA Nuclear Energy Series complements the IAEA Safety Standards Series. The Nuclear Energy Basic Principles is the highest level publication in the IAEA Nuclear Energy Series, and describes the rationale and vision for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It presents eight Basic Principles on which nuclear energy systems should be based to fulfil nuclear energy's potential to help meet growing global energy needs. The Nuclear Energy Series Objectives are the second level publications. They describe what needs to be considered and the specific goals to be achieved at different stages of implementation, all of which are consistent with the Basic Principles

Defining active progressive multiple sclerosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sellebjerg, Finn; Börnsen, Lars; Ammitzbøll, Cecilie

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: It is unknown whether disease activity according to consensus criteria (magnetic resonance imaging activity or clinical relapses) associate with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) changes in progressive multiple sclerosis (MS). OBJECTIVE: To compare CSF biomarkers in active and inactive...

Nuclear Energy General Objectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

One of the IAEA's statutory objectives is to 'seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world'. One way it achieves this objective is to issue publications in various series. Two of these series are the IAEA Nuclear Energy Series and the IAEA Safety Standards Series. According to Article III, paragraph A.6, of the IAEA Statute, the IAEA safety standards establish 'standards of safety for protection of health and minimization of danger to life and property.' The safety standards include the Safety Fundamentals, Safety Requirements and Safety Guides. These standards are primarily written in a regulatory style, and are binding on the IAEA for its own activities. The principal users are Member State regulatory bodies and other national authorities. The IAEA Nuclear Energy Series consists of reports designed to encourage and assist research on, and development and practical application of, nuclear energy for peaceful uses. This includes practical examples to be used by owners and operators of utilities in Member States, implementing organizations, academia and politicians, among others. The information is presented in guides, reports on the status of technology and advances, and best practices for peaceful uses of nuclear energy based on inputs from international experts. The series complements the IAEA's safety standards, and provides detailed guidance, experience, good practices and examples on the five areas covered in the IAEA Nuclear Energy Series. The Nuclear Energy Basic Principles is the highest level publication in the IAEA Nuclear Energy Series and describes the rationale and vision for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It presents eight Basic Principles on which nuclear energy systems should be based to fulfil nuclear energy's potential to help meet growing global energy needs. The Nuclear Energy Series Objectives are the second level publications. They describe what needs to be

Reach on sound: a key to object permanence in visually impaired children.

Science.gov (United States)

Fazzi, Elisa; Signorini, Sabrina Giovanna; Bomba, Monica; Luparia, Antonella; Lanners, Josée; Balottin, Umberto

2011-04-01

The capacity to reach an object presented through sound clue indicates, in the blind child, the acquisition of object permanence and gives information over his/her cognitive development. To assess cognitive development in congenitally blind children with or without multiple disabilities. Cohort study. Thirty-seven congenitally blind subjects (17 with associated multiple disabilities, 20 mainly blind) were enrolled. We used Bigelow's protocol to evaluate "reach on sound" capacity over time (at 6, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months), and a battery of clinical, neurophysiological and cognitive instruments to assess clinical features. Tasks n.1 to 5 were acquired by most of the mainly blind children by 12 months of age. Task 6 coincided with a drop in performance, and the acquisition of the subsequent tasks showed a less agehomogeneous pattern. In blind children with multiple disabilities, task acquisition rates were lower, with the curves dipping in relation to the more complex tasks. The mainly blind subjects managed to overcome Fraiberg's "conceptual problem"--i.e., they acquired the ability to attribute an external object with identity and substance even when it manifested its presence through sound only--and thus developed the ability to reach an object presented through sound. Instead, most of the blind children with multiple disabilities presented poor performances on the "reach on sound" protocol and were unable, before 36 months of age, to develop the strategies needed to resolve Fraiberg's "conceptual problem". Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Interactive multi-objective path planning through a palette-based user interface

Science.gov (United States)

Shaikh, Meher T.; Goodrich, Michael A.; Yi, Daqing; Hoehne, Joseph

2016-05-01

n a problem where a human uses supervisory control to manage robot path-planning, there are times when human does the path planning, and if satisfied commits those paths to be executed by the robot, and the robot executes that plan. In planning a path, the robot often uses an optimization algorithm that maximizes or minimizes an objective. When a human is assigned the task of path planning for robot, the human may care about multiple objectives. This work proposes a graphical user interface (GUI) designed for interactive robot path-planning when an operator may prefer one objective over others or care about how multiple objectives are traded off. The GUI represents multiple objectives using the metaphor of an artist's palette. A distinct color is used to represent each objective, and tradeoffs among objectives are balanced in a manner that an artist mixes colors to get the desired shade of color. Thus, human intent is analogous to the artist's shade of color. We call the GUI an "Adverb Palette" where the word "Adverb" represents a specific type of objective for the path, such as the adverbs "quickly" and "safely" in the commands: "travel the path quickly", "make the journey safely". The novel interactive interface provides the user an opportunity to evaluate various alternatives (that tradeoff between different objectives) by allowing her to visualize the instantaneous outcomes that result from her actions on the interface. In addition to assisting analysis of various solutions given by an optimization algorithm, the palette has additional feature of allowing the user to define and visualize her own paths, by means of waypoints (guiding locations) thereby spanning variety for planning. The goal of the Adverb Palette is thus to provide a way for the user and robot to find an acceptable solution even though they use very different representations of the problem. Subjective evaluations suggest that even non-experts in robotics can carry out the planning tasks with a

MONSS: A multi-objective nonlinear simplex search approach

Science.gov (United States)

Zapotecas-Martínez, Saúl; Coello Coello, Carlos A.

2016-01-01

This article presents a novel methodology for dealing with continuous box-constrained multi-objective optimization problems (MOPs). The proposed algorithm adopts a nonlinear simplex search scheme in order to obtain multiple elements of the Pareto optimal set. The search is directed by a well-distributed set of weight vectors, each of which defines a scalarization problem that is solved by deforming a simplex according to the movements described by Nelder and Mead's method. Considering an MOP with n decision variables, the simplex is constructed using n+1 solutions which minimize different scalarization problems defined by n+1 neighbor weight vectors. All solutions found in the search are used to update a set of solutions considered to be the minima for each separate problem. In this way, the proposed algorithm collectively obtains multiple trade-offs among the different conflicting objectives, while maintaining a proper representation of the Pareto optimal front. In this article, it is shown that a well-designed strategy using just mathematical programming techniques can be competitive with respect to the state-of-the-art multi-objective evolutionary algorithms against which it was compared.

Sequential sampling of visual objects during sustained attention.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jianrong Jia

2017-06-01

Full Text Available In a crowded visual scene, attention must be distributed efficiently and flexibly over time and space to accommodate different contexts. It is well established that selective attention enhances the corresponding neural responses, presumably implying that attention would persistently dwell on the task-relevant item. Meanwhile, recent studies, mostly in divided attentional contexts, suggest that attention does not remain stationary but samples objects alternately over time, suggesting a rhythmic view of attention. However, it remains unknown whether the dynamic mechanism essentially mediates attentional processes at a general level. Importantly, there is also a complete lack of direct neural evidence reflecting whether and how the brain rhythmically samples multiple visual objects during stimulus processing. To address these issues, in this study, we employed electroencephalography (EEG and a temporal response function (TRF approach, which can dissociate responses that exclusively represent a single object from the overall neuronal activity, to examine the spatiotemporal characteristics of attention in various attentional contexts. First, attention, which is characterized by inhibitory alpha-band (approximately 10 Hz activity in TRFs, switches between attended and unattended objects every approximately 200 ms, suggesting a sequential sampling even when attention is required to mostly stay on the attended object. Second, the attentional spatiotemporal pattern is modulated by the task context, such that alpha-mediated switching becomes increasingly prominent as the task requires a more uniform distribution of attention. Finally, the switching pattern correlates with attentional behavioral performance. Our work provides direct neural evidence supporting a generally central role of temporal organization mechanism in attention, such that multiple objects are sequentially sorted according to their priority in attentional contexts. The results suggest

Variability in perceived satisfaction of reservoir management objectives

Science.gov (United States)

Owen, W.J.; Gates, T.K.; Flug, M.

1997-01-01

Fuzzy set theory provides a useful model to address imprecision in interpreting linguistically described objectives for reservoir management. Fuzzy membership functions can be used to represent degrees of objective satisfaction for different values of management variables. However, lack of background information, differing experiences and qualifications, and complex interactions of influencing factors can contribute to significant variability among membership functions derived from surveys of multiple experts. In the present study, probabilistic membership functions are used to model variability in experts' perceptions of satisfaction of objectives for hydropower generation, fish habitat, kayaking, rafting, and scenery preservation on the Green River through operations of Flaming Gorge Dam. Degree of variability in experts' perceptions differed among objectives but resulted in substantial uncertainty in estimation of optimal reservoir releases.

Comparative Study of Evolutionary Multi-objective Optimization Algorithms for a Non-linear Greenhouse Climate Control Problem

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ghoreishi, Newsha; Sørensen, Jan Corfixen; Jørgensen, Bo Nørregaard

2015-01-01

Non-trivial real world decision-making processes usually involve multiple parties having potentially conflicting interests over a set of issues. State-of-the-art multi-objective evolutionary algorithms (MOEA) are well known to solve this class of complex real-world problems. In this paper, we...... compare the performance of state-of-the-art multi-objective evolutionary algorithms to solve a non-linear multi-objective multi-issue optimisation problem found in Greenhouse climate control. The chosen algorithms in the study includes NSGAII, eNSGAII, eMOEA, PAES, PESAII and SPEAII. The performance...... of all aforementioned algorithms is assessed and compared using performance indicators to evaluate proximity, diversity and consistency. Our insights to this comparative study enhanced our understanding of MOEAs performance in order to solve a non-linear complex climate control problem. The empirical...

Monocular Depth Perception and Robotic Grasping of Novel Objects

Science.gov (United States)

2009-06-01

obtain its full 3D shape, and applies even to textureless, translucent or reflective objects on which standard stereo 3D reconstruction fares poorly. We...purple) in image A. 3.3.4 Phantom planes This cue enforces occlusion constraints across multiple cameras. Concretely , each small plane (superpixel...needing to obtain its full 3D shape, and applies even to textureless, translucent or reflective objects on which standard stereo 3D reconstruction

Monotone Approximations of Minimum and Maximum Functions and Multi-objective Problems

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Stipanović, Dušan M.; Tomlin, Claire J.; Leitmann, George

2012-01-01

In this paper the problem of accomplishing multiple objectives by a number of agents represented as dynamic systems is considered. Each agent is assumed to have a goal which is to accomplish one or more objectives where each objective is mathematically formulated using an appropriate objective function. Sufficient conditions for accomplishing objectives are derived using particular convergent approximations of minimum and maximum functions depending on the formulation of the goals and objectives. These approximations are differentiable functions and they monotonically converge to the corresponding minimum or maximum function. Finally, an illustrative pursuit-evasion game example with two evaders and two pursuers is provided.

Monotone Approximations of Minimum and Maximum Functions and Multi-objective Problems

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Stipanovic, Dusan M., E-mail: dusan@illinois.edu [University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Coordinated Science Laboratory, Department of Industrial and Enterprise Systems Engineering (United States); Tomlin, Claire J., E-mail: tomlin@eecs.berkeley.edu [University of California at Berkeley, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science (United States); Leitmann, George, E-mail: gleit@berkeley.edu [University of California at Berkeley, College of Engineering (United States)

2012-12-15

In this paper the problem of accomplishing multiple objectives by a number of agents represented as dynamic systems is considered. Each agent is assumed to have a goal which is to accomplish one or more objectives where each objective is mathematically formulated using an appropriate objective function. Sufficient conditions for accomplishing objectives are derived using particular convergent approximations of minimum and maximum functions depending on the formulation of the goals and objectives. These approximations are differentiable functions and they monotonically converge to the corresponding minimum or maximum function. Finally, an illustrative pursuit-evasion game example with two evaders and two pursuers is provided.

Neural Dynamics of Multiple Object Processing in Mild Cognitive Impairment and Alzheimer's Disease: Future Early Diagnostic Biomarkers?

Science.gov (United States)

Bagattini, Chiara; Mazza, Veronica; Panizza, Laura; Ferrari, Clarissa; Bonomini, Cristina; Brignani, Debora

2017-01-01

The aim of this study was to investigate the behavioral and electrophysiological dynamics of multiple object processing (MOP) in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), and to test whether its neural signatures may represent reliable diagnostic biomarkers. Behavioral performance and event-related potentials [N2pc and contralateral delay activity (CDA)] were measured in AD, MCI, and healthy controls during a MOP task, which consisted in enumerating a variable number of targets presented among distractors. AD patients showed an overall decline in accuracy for both small and large target quantities, whereas in MCI patients, only enumeration of large quantities was impaired. N2pc, a neural marker of attentive individuation, was spared in both AD and MCI patients. In contrast, CDA, which indexes visual short term memory abilities, was altered in both groups of patients, with a non-linear pattern of amplitude modulation along the continuum of the disease: a reduction in AD and an increase in MCI. These results indicate that AD pathology shows a progressive decline in MOP, which is associated to the decay of visual short-term memory mechanisms. Crucially, CDA may be considered as a useful neural signature both to distinguish between healthy and pathological aging and to characterize the different stages along the AD continuum, possibly becoming a reliable candidate for an early diagnostic biomarker of AD pathology.

Multi-energy method of digital radiography for imaging of biological objects

Science.gov (United States)

Ryzhikov, V. D.; Naydenov, S. V.; Opolonin, O. D.; Volkov, V. G.; Smith, C. F.

2016-03-01

This work has been dedicated to the search for a new possibility to use multi-energy digital radiography (MER) for medical applications. Our work has included both theoretical and experimental investigations of 2-energy (2E) and 3- energy (3D) radiography for imaging the structure of biological objects. Using special simulation methods and digital analysis based on the X-ray interaction energy dependence for each element of importance to medical applications in the X-ray range of energy up to 150 keV, we have implemented a quasi-linear approximation for the energy dependence of the X-ray linear mass absorption coefficient μm (E) that permits us to determine the intrinsic structure of the biological objects. Our measurements utilize multiple X-ray tube voltages (50, 100, and 150 kV) with Al and Cu filters of different thicknesses to achieve 3-energy X-ray examination of objects. By doing so, we are able to achieve significantly improved imaging quality of the structure of the subject biological objects. To reconstruct and visualize the final images, we use both two-dimensional (2D) and three-dimensional (3D) palettes of identification. The result is a 2E and/or 3E representation of the object with color coding of each pixel according to the data outputs. Following the experimental measurements and post-processing, we produce a 3D image of the biological object - in the case of our trials, fragments or parts of chicken and turkey.

Risks of multiple sclerosis in relatives of patients in Flanders, Belgium

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Carton, H; Vlietinck, R; Debruyne, J; DeKeyser, J; DHooghe, MB; Loos, R; Medaer, R; Truyen, L; Yee, IML; Sadovnick, AD

Objectives - To calculate age adjusted risks for multiple sclerosis in relatives of Flemish patients with multiple sclerosis. Methods - Lifetime risks were calculated using the maximum likelihood approach. Results - Vital information was obtained on 674 probands with multiple sclerosis in Flanders

Radioactive Waste Management Objectives

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

2011-01-01

One of the IAEA's statutory objectives is to 'seek to accelerate and enlarge the contribution of atomic energy to peace, health and prosperity throughout the world'. One way it achieves this objective is to issue publications in various series. Two of these series are the IAEA Nuclear Energy Series and the IAEA Safety Standards Series. According to Article III, paragraph A.6, of the IAEA Statute, the IAEA safety standards establish 'standards of safety for protection of health and minimization of danger to life and property.' The safety standards include the Safety Fundamentals, Safety Requirements and Safety Guides. These standards are primarily written in a regulatory style, and are binding on the IAEA for its own activities. The principal users are Member State regulatory bodies and other national authorities. The IAEA Nuclear Energy Series consists of reports designed to encourage and assist research on, and development and practical application of, nuclear energy for peaceful uses. This includes practical examples to be used by owners and operators of utilities in Member States, implementing organizations, academia and politicians, among others. The information is presented in guides, reports on the status of technology and advances, and best practices for peaceful uses of nuclear energy based on inputs from international experts. The series complements the IAEA's safety standards, and provides detailed guidance, experience, good practices and examples on the five areas covered in the IAEA Nuclear Energy Series. The Nuclear Energy Basic Principles is the highest level publication in the IAEA Nuclear Energy Series and describes the rationale and vision for the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. It presents eight Basic Principles on which nuclear energy systems should be based to fulfil nuclear energy's potential to help meet growing global energy needs. The Nuclear Energy Series Objectives are the second level publications. They describe what needs to be

Quasi-objects, Cult Objects and Fashion Objects

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Bjørn Schiermer

2011-01-01

This article attempts to rehabilitate the concept of fetishism and to contribute to the debate on the social role of objects as well as to fashion theory. Extrapolating from Michel Serres’ theory of the quasi-objects, I distinguish two phenomenologies possessing almost opposite characteristics. T...... as a unique opportunity for studying the interchange between these two forms of fetishism and their respective phenomenologies. Finally, returning to Serres, I briefly consider the theoretical consequences of introducing the fashion object as a quasi-object.......This article attempts to rehabilitate the concept of fetishism and to contribute to the debate on the social role of objects as well as to fashion theory. Extrapolating from Michel Serres’ theory of the quasi-objects, I distinguish two phenomenologies possessing almost opposite characteristics....... These two phenomenologies are, so I argue, essential to quasi-object theory, yet largely ignored by Serres’ sociological interpreters. They correspond with the two different theories of fetishism found in Marx and Durkheim, respectively. In the second half of the article, I introduce the fashion object...

A multi-objective constraint-based approach for modeling genome-scale microbial ecosystems.

Science.gov (United States)

Budinich, Marko; Bourdon, Jérémie; Larhlimi, Abdelhalim; Eveillard, Damien

2017-01-01

Interplay within microbial communities impacts ecosystems on several scales, and elucidation of the consequent effects is a difficult task in ecology. In particular, the integration of genome-scale data within quantitative models of microbial ecosystems remains elusive. This study advocates the use of constraint-based modeling to build predictive models from recent high-resolution -omics datasets. Following recent studies that have demonstrated the accuracy of constraint-based models (CBMs) for simulating single-strain metabolic networks, we sought to study microbial ecosystems as a combination of single-strain metabolic networks that exchange nutrients. This study presents two multi-objective extensions of CBMs for modeling communities: multi-objective flux balance analysis (MO-FBA) and multi-objective flux variability analysis (MO-FVA). Both methods were applied to a hot spring mat model ecosystem. As a result, multiple trade-offs between nutrients and growth rates, as well as thermodynamically favorable relative abundances at community level, were emphasized. We expect this approach to be used for integrating genomic information in microbial ecosystems. Following models will provide insights about behaviors (including diversity) that take place at the ecosystem scale.

Nuclear magnetic resonance relaxation in multiple sclerosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Larsson, H B; Barker, G J; MacKay, A

1998-01-01

OBJECTIVES: The theory of relaxation processes and their measurements are described. An overview is presented of the literature on relaxation time measurements in the normal and the developing brain, in experimental diseases in animals, and in patients with multiple sclerosis. RESULTS...... AND CONCLUSION: Relaxation time measurements provide insight into development of multiple sclerosis plaques, especially the occurrence of oedema, demyelination, and gliosis. There is also evidence that normal appearing white matter in patients with multiple sclerosis is affected. What is now needed are fast...

Object 'Ukryttya' 1986-2006

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Klyuchnikov, A.A.; Krasnov, V.A.; Rud'ko, V.M.; Shcherbin, V.N.

2006-01-01

This monograph summarizes the materials pertaining to 'Ukryttya' Object state. The results of researches of fuel containing materials conditions and of forecast of their future behavior are demonstrated, aerosol characterizations, mechanisms of production of liquid radioactive waste, radiation conditions at SO industrial site and NSC assembly site, as well as analysis of 'Ukryttya' Objects environmental impact, are performed. The conditions of 'Ukryttya' Object building structures are described. Preparation and realization of international projects for conversion of 'Ukryttya' Object into an ecologically safe system, including the 'Ukryttya' Implementation Plan (SIP), are considered

Estimating US federal wildland fire managers' preferences toward competing strategic suppression objectives

Science.gov (United States)

David E. Calkin; Tyron Venn; Matthew Wibbenmeyer; Matthew P. Thompson

2012-01-01

Wildfire management involves significant complexity and uncertainty, requiring simultaneous consideration of multiple, non-commensurate objectives. This paper investigates the tradeoffs fire managers are willing to make among these objectives using a choice experiment methodology that provides three key advancements relative to previous stated-preference studies...

Three-dimensional passive sensing photon counting for object classification

Science.gov (United States)

Yeom, Seokwon; Javidi, Bahram; Watson, Edward

2007-04-01

In this keynote address, we address three-dimensional (3D) distortion-tolerant object recognition using photon-counting integral imaging (II). A photon-counting linear discriminant analysis (LDA) is discussed for classification of photon-limited images. We develop a compact distortion-tolerant recognition system based on the multiple-perspective imaging of II. Experimental and simulation results have shown that a low level of photons is sufficient to classify out-of-plane rotated objects.

Identifying multiple influential spreaders based on generalized closeness centrality

Science.gov (United States)

Liu, Huan-Li; Ma, Chuang; Xiang, Bing-Bing; Tang, Ming; Zhang, Hai-Feng

2018-02-01

To maximize the spreading influence of multiple spreaders in complex networks, one important fact cannot be ignored: the multiple spreaders should be dispersively distributed in networks, which can effectively reduce the redundance of information spreading. For this purpose, we define a generalized closeness centrality (GCC) index by generalizing the closeness centrality index to a set of nodes. The problem converts to how to identify multiple spreaders such that an objective function has the minimal value. By comparing with the K-means clustering algorithm, we find that the optimization problem is very similar to the problem of minimizing the objective function in the K-means method. Therefore, how to find multiple nodes with the highest GCC value can be approximately solved by the K-means method. Two typical transmission dynamics-epidemic spreading process and rumor spreading process are implemented in real networks to verify the good performance of our proposed method.

A framework for multi-object tracking over distributed wireless camera networks

Science.gov (United States)

Gau, Victor; Hwang, Jenq-Neng

2010-07-01

In this paper, we propose a unified framework targeting at two important issues in a distributed wireless camera network, i.e., object tracking and network communication, to achieve reliable multi-object tracking over distributed wireless camera networks. In the object tracking part, we propose a fully automated approach for tracking of multiple objects across multiple cameras with overlapping and non-overlapping field of views without initial training. To effectively exchange the tracking information among the distributed cameras, we proposed an idle probability based broadcasting method, iPro, which adaptively adjusts the broadcast probability to improve the broadcast effectiveness in a dense saturated camera network. Experimental results for the multi-object tracking demonstrate the promising performance of our approach on real video sequences for cameras with overlapping and non-overlapping views. The modeling and ns-2 simulation results show that iPro almost approaches the theoretical performance upper bound if cameras are within each other's transmission range. In more general scenarios, e.g., in case of hidden node problems, the simulation results show that iPro significantly outperforms standard IEEE 802.11, especially when the number of competing nodes increases.

Automatic processing of unattended object features by functional connectivity

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Katja Martina Mayer

2013-05-01

Full Text Available Observers can selectively attend to object features that are relevant for a task. However, unattended task-irrelevant features may still be processed and possibly integrated with the attended features. This study investigated the neural mechanisms for processing both task-relevant (attended and task-irrelevant (unattended object features. The Garner paradigm was adapted for functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI to test whether specific brain areas process the conjunction of features or whether multiple interacting areas are involved in this form of feature integration. Observers attended to shape, colour, or non-rigid motion of novel objects while unattended features changed from trial to trial (change blocks or remained constant (no-change blocks during a given block. This block manipulation allowed us to measure the extent to which unattended features affected neural responses which would reflect the extent to which multiple object features are automatically processed. We did not find Garner interference at the behavioural level. However, we designed the experiment to equate performance across block types so that any fMRI results could not be due solely to differences in task difficulty between change and no-change blocks. Attention to specific features localised several areas known to be involved in object processing. No area showed larger responses on change blocks compared to no-change blocks. However, psychophysiological interaction analyses revealed that several functionally-localised areas showed significant positive interactions with areas in occipito-temporal and frontal areas that depended on block type. Overall, these findings suggest that both regional responses and functional connectivity are crucial for processing multi-featured objects.

Primary progressive multiple sclerosis in the Polish population

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Waldemar Brola

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Objectives: The aim of the study was the epidemiological analysis and evaluation of selected clinical and sociodemographic factors in Polish patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Methods: The study included patients from 7 provinces in central and eastern Poland registered in the Registry of Patients with Multiple Sclerosis on 31 December 2016. The incidence of various forms of the disease was compared, and clinical, demographic and social disparities between relapsing-remitting and primary progressive multiple sclerosis were analysed. Results: Of 3,199 registered patients, 2,188 persons (66.2% had the relapsing-remitting form of multiple sclerosis, 774 (24.2% had the secondary progressive type and 307 (9.6% suffered from primary progressive disease. The first symptoms of primary progressive multiple sclerosis appeared almost 10 years later than in patients with the relapsing-remitting type (39.2 ± 11.4 vs. 29.8 ± 9.8. The period from the first symptoms to diagnosis was more than twice as long in patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis (5.8 ± 3.4 as in those with relapsing-remitting disease (2.4 ± 1.6. The average degree of disability in the Expanded Disability Status Scale was similar and amounted to 3.2 ± 2.1 for relapsing-remitting and 3.6 ± 2.4 for primary progressive multiple sclerosis. The relapsing-remitting form was observed more often in women (2.4:1, and the primary progressive form appeared with equal frequency in both sexes (1:1. Disease-modifying treatment was received by 34% of patients with relapsing-remitting and in only 1.9% of patients with primary progressive multiple sclerosis. Conclusions: The primary progressive form affects approximately 10% of Polish patients with multiple sclerosis. The first symptoms appear at about 40 years of age with equal frequency in both sexes, and its diagnosis takes more than twice as much time as in the case of relapsing-remitting multiple

Can resistance training impact MRI outcomes in relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kjølhede, Tue; Siemonsen, Susanne; Wenzel, Damian

2017-01-01

BACKGROUND: Multiple sclerosis (MS) is characterised by accelerated brain atrophy, which relates to disease progression. Previous research shows that progressive resistance training (PRT) can counteract brain atrophy in other populations. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effects of PRT by magnetic...... lifestyle followed by PRT). Assessments included disability measures and MRI (lesion load, global brain volume, percentage brain volume change (PBVC) and cortical thickness). RESULTS: While the MS Functional Composite score improved, Expanded Disability Status Scale, lesion load and global brain volumes did...

Solving Minimal Covering Location Problems with Single and Multiple Node Coverage

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Darko DRAKULIĆ

2016-12-01

Full Text Available Location science represents a very attractiveresearch field in combinatorial optimization and it is in expansion in last five decades. The main objective of location problems is determining the best position for facilities in a given set of nodes.Location science includes techniques for modelling problemsand methods for solving them. This paper presents results of solving two types of minimal covering location problems, with single and multiple node coverage, by using CPLEX optimizer and Particle Swarm Optimization method.

On Utmost Multiplicity of Hierarchical Stellar Systems

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Gebrehiwot Y. M.

2016-12-01

Full Text Available According to theoretical considerations, multiplicity of hierarchical stellar systems can reach, depending on masses and orbital parameters, several hundred, while observational data confirm the existence of at most septuple (seven-component systems. In this study, we cross-match the stellar systems of very high multiplicity (six and more components in modern catalogues of visual double and multiple stars to find among them the candidates to hierarchical systems. After cross-matching the catalogues of closer binaries (eclipsing, spectroscopic, etc., some of their components were found to be binary/multiple themselves, what increases the system's degree of multiplicity. Optical pairs, known from literature or filtered by the authors, were flagged and excluded from the statistics. We compiled a list of hierarchical systems with potentially very high multiplicity that contains ten objects. Their multiplicity does not exceed 12, and we discuss a number of ways to explain the lack of extremely high multiplicity systems.

Multiple Time-Instances Features of Degraded Speech for Single Ended Quality Measurement

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Rajesh Kumar Dubey

2017-01-01

Full Text Available The use of single time-instance features, where entire speech utterance is used for feature computation, is not accurate and adequate in capturing the time localized information of short-time transient distortions and their distinction from plosive sounds of speech, particularly degraded by impulsive noise. Hence, the importance of estimating features at multiple time-instances is sought. In this, only active speech segments of degraded speech are used for features computation at multiple time-instances on per frame basis. Here, active speech means both voiced and unvoiced frames except silence. The features of different combinations of multiple contiguous active speech segments are computed and called multiple time-instances features. The joint GMM training has been done using these features along with the subjective MOS of the corresponding speech utterance to obtain the parameters of GMM. These parameters of GMM and multiple time-instances features of test speech are used to compute the objective MOS values of different combinations of multiple contiguous active speech segments. The overall objective MOS of the test speech utterance is obtained by assigning equal weight to the objective MOS values of the different combinations of multiple contiguous active speech segments. This algorithm outperforms the Recommendation ITU-T P.563 and recently published algorithms.

Multiple homicides.

Science.gov (United States)

Copeland, A R

1989-09-01

A study of multiple homicides or multiple deaths involving a solitary incident of violence by another individual was performed on the case files of the Office of the Medical Examiner of Metropolitan Dade County in Miami, Florida, during 1983-1987. A total of 107 multiple homicides were studied: 88 double, 17 triple, one quadruple, and one quintuple. The 236 victims were analyzed regarding age, race, sex, cause of death, toxicologic data, perpetrator, locale of the incident, and reason for the incident. This article compares this type of slaying with other types of homicide including those perpetrated by serial killers. Suggestions for future research in this field are offered.

Multiple endocrine diseases in cats: 15 cases (1997-2008).

Science.gov (United States)

Blois, Shauna L; Dickie, Erica L; Kruth, Stephen A; Allen, Dana G

2010-08-01

The objective of this retrospective study was to characterize a population of cats from a tertiary care center diagnosed with multiple endocrine disorders, including the specific disorders and time intervals between diagnosis of each disorder. Medical records of 15 cats diagnosed with more than one endocrine disorder were reviewed. The majority of cats were domestic shorthairs, and the mean age at the time of diagnosis of the first disorder was 10.3 years. The most common combination of disorders was diabetes mellitus and hyperthyroidism. Two cats had concurrent diabetes mellitus and hyperadrenocorticism, one cat had concurrent central diabetes insipidus and diabetes mellitus. A mean of 25.7 months elapsed between diagnoses of the first and second endocrine disorder, but this was variable. This study suggests the occurrence of multiple endocrine disorders is uncommon in cats. Copyright 2010 ISFM and AAFP. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Geographic Object-Based Image Analysis – Towards a new paradigm

Science.gov (United States)

Blaschke, Thomas; Hay, Geoffrey J.; Kelly, Maggi; Lang, Stefan; Hofmann, Peter; Addink, Elisabeth; Queiroz Feitosa, Raul; van der Meer, Freek; van der Werff, Harald; van Coillie, Frieke; Tiede, Dirk

2014-01-01

The amount of scientific literature on (Geographic) Object-based Image Analysis – GEOBIA has been and still is sharply increasing. These approaches to analysing imagery have antecedents in earlier research on image segmentation and use GIS-like spatial analysis within classification and feature extraction approaches. This article investigates these development and its implications and asks whether or not this is a new paradigm in remote sensing and Geographic Information Science (GIScience). We first discuss several limitations of prevailing per-pixel methods when applied to high resolution images. Then we explore the paradigm concept developed by Kuhn (1962) and discuss whether GEOBIA can be regarded as a paradigm according to this definition. We crystallize core concepts of GEOBIA, including the role of objects, of ontologies and the multiplicity of scales and we discuss how these conceptual developments support important methods in remote sensing such as change detection and accuracy assessment. The ramifications of the different theoretical foundations between the ‘per-pixel paradigm’ and GEOBIA are analysed, as are some of the challenges along this path from pixels, to objects, to geo-intelligence. Based on several paradigm indications as defined by Kuhn and based on an analysis of peer-reviewed scientific literature we conclude that GEOBIA is a new and evolving paradigm. PMID:24623958

Multi-sensor Object Recognition: The Case of Electronics Recycling

NARCIS (Netherlands)

van Dop, E.R.

1999-01-01

In automated object recognition systems, measurements from a single source of information do not always suffice for the reconstruction of the underlying scene. Incompleteness, inaccuracy and unreliability of the information often leaves room for multiple interpretations of the world which are

Cervical length measurement for the prediction of preterm birth in multiple pregnancies : a systematic review and bivariate meta-analysis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Lim, A. C.; Hegeman, M. A.; In 't Veld, M. A. Huis; Opmeer, B. C.; Bruinse, H. W.; Mol, B. W. J.

Objectives To review the literature on cervical length as a predictor of preterm birth in asymptomatic women with a multiple pregnancy. Methods We searched MEDLINE, Embase and reference lists of included articles to identify all studies that reported on the accuracy of cervical length for predicting

Linking actions and objects: Context-specific learning of novel weight priors.

Science.gov (United States)

Trewartha, Kevin M; Flanagan, J Randall

2017-06-01

Distinct explicit and implicit memory processes support weight predictions used when lifting objects and making perceptual judgments about weight, respectively. The first time that an object is encountered weight is predicted on the basis of learned associations, or priors, linking size and material to weight. A fundamental question is whether the brain maintains a single, global representation of priors, or multiple representations that can be updated in a context specific way. A second key question is whether the updating of priors, or the ability to scale lifting forces when repeatedly lifting unusually weighted objects requires focused attention. To investigate these questions we compared the adaptability of weight predictions used when lifting objects and judging their weights in different groups of participants who experienced size-weight inverted objects passively (with the objects placed on the hands) or actively (where participants lift the objects) under full or divided attention. To assess weight judgments we measured the size-weight illusion after every 20 trials of experience with the inverted objects both passively and actively. The attenuation of the illusion that arises when lifting inverted object was found to be context-specific such that the attenuation was larger when the mode of interaction with the inverted objects matched the method of assessment of the illusion. Dividing attention during interaction with the inverted objects had no effect on attenuation of the illusion, but did slow the rate at which lifting forces were scaled to the weight inverted objects. These findings suggest that the brain stores multiple representations of priors that are context specific, and that focused attention is important for scaling lifting forces, but not for updating weight predictions used when judging object weight. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

An overview of solution methods for multi-objective mixed integer linear programming programs

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Andersen, Kim Allan; Stidsen, Thomas Riis

Multiple objective mixed integer linear programming (MOMIP) problems are notoriously hard to solve to optimality, i.e. finding the complete set of non-dominated solutions. We will give an overview of existing methods. Among those are interactive methods, the two phases method and enumeration...... methods. In particular we will discuss the existing branch and bound approaches for solving multiple objective integer programming problems. Despite the fact that branch and bound methods has been applied successfully to integer programming problems with one criterion only a few attempts has been made...

Multiple Sex Partner and Risk Behaviour Among Secondary School ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Tanzania is realizing increase in adolescents engaged in multiple sex partner behaviour and premarital sex. The objective of this study was to assess the awareness of multiple sex partner behaviour and risk factors among secondary school students in Moshi, Tanzania. Anonymously, questionnaires were completed by 360 ...

Convergent and invariant object representations for sight, sound, and touch.

Science.gov (United States)

Man, Kingson; Damasio, Antonio; Meyer, Kaspar; Kaplan, Jonas T

2015-09-01

We continuously perceive objects in the world through multiple sensory channels. In this study, we investigated the convergence of information from different sensory streams within the cerebral cortex. We presented volunteers with three common objects via three different modalities-sight, sound, and touch-and used multivariate pattern analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data to map the cortical regions containing information about the identity of the objects. We could reliably predict which of the three stimuli a subject had seen, heard, or touched from the pattern of neural activity in the corresponding early sensory cortices. Intramodal classification was also successful in large portions of the cerebral cortex beyond the primary areas, with multiple regions showing convergence of information from two or all three modalities. Using crossmodal classification, we also searched for brain regions that would represent objects in a similar fashion across different modalities of presentation. We trained a classifier to distinguish objects presented in one modality and then tested it on the same objects presented in a different modality. We detected audiovisual invariance in the right temporo-occipital junction, audiotactile invariance in the left postcentral gyrus and parietal operculum, and visuotactile invariance in the right postcentral and supramarginal gyri. Our maps of multisensory convergence and crossmodal generalization reveal the underlying organization of the association cortices, and may be related to the neural basis for mental concepts. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

How does the brain rapidly learn and reorganize view-invariant and position-invariant object representations in the inferotemporal cortex?

Science.gov (United States)

Cao, Yongqiang; Grossberg, Stephen; Markowitz, Jeffrey

2011-12-01

All primates depend for their survival on being able to rapidly learn about and recognize objects. Objects may be visually detected at multiple positions, sizes, and viewpoints. How does the brain rapidly learn and recognize objects while scanning a scene with eye movements, without causing a combinatorial explosion in the number of cells that are needed? How does the brain avoid the problem of erroneously classifying parts of different objects together at the same or different positions in a visual scene? In monkeys and humans, a key area for such invariant object category learning and recognition is the inferotemporal cortex (IT). A neural model is proposed to explain how spatial and object attention coordinate the ability of IT to learn invariant category representations of objects that are seen at multiple positions, sizes, and viewpoints. The model clarifies how interactions within a hierarchy of processing stages in the visual brain accomplish this. These stages include the retina, lateral geniculate nucleus, and cortical areas V1, V2, V4, and IT in the brain's What cortical stream, as they interact with spatial attention processes within the parietal cortex of the Where cortical stream. The model builds upon the ARTSCAN model, which proposed how view-invariant object representations are generated. The positional ARTSCAN (pARTSCAN) model proposes how the following additional processes in the What cortical processing stream also enable position-invariant object representations to be learned: IT cells with persistent activity, and a combination of normalizing object category competition and a view-to-object learning law which together ensure that unambiguous views have a larger effect on object recognition than ambiguous views. The model explains how such invariant learning can be fooled when monkeys, or other primates, are presented with an object that is swapped with another object during eye movements to foveate the original object. The swapping procedure is

Suicide among Danes with multiple sclerosis

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Brønnum-Hansen, H; Stenager, E; Nylev Stenager, E

2005-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To compare the suicide risk among Danish citizens with multiple sclerosis with that of the general population, and to evaluate changes over 45 years. METHODS: The study was based on linkage of the Danish Multiple Sclerosis Registry to the Cause of Death Registry. It comprised all 10...... taken their own lives, whereas the expected number of suicides was 54.2 (29.1 men, 25.1 women). Thus the suicide risk among persons with multiple sclerosis was more than twice that of the general population (SMR = 2.12). The increased risk was particularly high during the first year after diagnosis (SMR...... = 3.15). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of suicide in multiple sclerosis was almost twice as high as expected more than 20 years after diagnosis. The excess suicide risk has not declined since 1953....

Humanly space objects-Perception and connection with the observer

Science.gov (United States)

Balint, Tibor S.; Hall, Ashley

2015-05-01

Expanding humanity into space is an inevitable step in our quest to explore our world. Yet space exploration is costly, and the awaiting environment challenges us with extreme cold, heat, vacuum and radiation, unlike anything encountered on Earth. Thus, the few pioneers who experience it needed to be well protected throughout their spaceflight. The resulting isolation heightens the senses and increases the desire to make humanly connections with any other perceived manifestation of life. Such connections may occur via sensory inputs, namely vision, touch, sound, smell, and taste. This then follows the process of sensing, interpreting, and recognizing familiar patterns, or learning from new experiences. The desire to connect could even transfer to observed objects, if their movements and characteristics trigger the appropriate desires from the observer. When ordered in a familiar way, for example visual stimuli from lights and movements of an object, it may create a perceived real bond with an observer, and evoke the feeling of surprise when the expected behavior changes to something no longer predictable or recognizable. These behavior patterns can be designed into an object and performed autonomously in front of an observer, in our case an astronaut. The experience may introduce multiple responses, including communication, connection, empathy, order, and disorder. While emotions are clearly evoked in the observer and may seem one sided, in effect the object itself provides a decoupled bond, connectivity and communication between the observer and the artist-designer of the object. In this paper we will discuss examples from the field of arts and other domains, including robotics, where human perception through object interaction was explored, and investigate the starting point for new innovative design concepts and future prototype designs, that extend these experiences beyond the boundaries of Earth, while taking advantage of remoteness and the zero gravity

Extending Data Worth Analyses to Select Multiple Observations Targeting Multiple Forecasts

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Vilhelmsen, Troels Norvin; Ferre, Ty Paul

2017-01-01

. In the present study, we extend previous data worth analyses to include: simultaneous selection of multiple new measurements and consideration of multiple forecasts of interest. We show how the suggested approach can be used to optimize data collection. This can be used in a manner that suggests specific...... measurement sets or that produces probability maps indicating areas likely to be informative for specific forecasts. Moreover, we provide examples documenting that sequential measurement election approaches often lead to suboptimal designs and that estimates of data covariance should be included when...

Automatic treatment of multiple wound coils in 3D finite element problems including multiply connected regions

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Leonard, P.J.; Lai, H.C.; Eastham, J.F.; Al-Akayshee, Q.H. [Univ. of Bath (United Kingdom)

1996-05-01

This paper describes an efficient scheme for incorporating multiple wire wound coils into 3D finite element models. The scheme is based on the magnetic scalar representation with an additional basis for each coil. There are no restrictions on the topology of coils with respect to ferromagnetic and conductor regions. Reduced scalar regions and cuts are automatically generated.

PTSD and Comorbid Disorders in a Representative Sample of Adolescents: The Risk Associated with Multiple Exposures to Potentially Traumatic Events

Science.gov (United States)

Macdonald, Alexandra; Danielson, Carla Kmett; Resnick, Heidi S.; Saunders, Benjamin E.; Kilpatrick, Dean G.

2010-01-01

Objective: This study compared the impact of multiple exposures to potentially traumatic events (PTEs), including sexual victimization, physical victimization, and witnessed violence, on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and comorbid conditions (i.e., major depressive episode [MDE], and substance use [SUD]). Methods: Participants were a…

The implementation of common object request broker architecture (CORBA) for controlling robot arm via web

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Syed Mahamad Zuhdi Amin; Mohd Yazid Idris; Wan Mohd Nasir Wan Kadir

2001-01-01

This paper presents the employment of the Common Object Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) technology in the implementation of our distributed Arm Robot Controller (ARC). CORBA is an industrial standard architecture based on distributed abstract object model, which is developed by Object Management Group (OMG). The architecture consists of five components i.e. Object Request Broker (ORB), Interface Definition Language (IDL), Dynamic Invocation Interface (DII), Interface Repositories (IR) and Object adapter (OA). CORBA objects are different from typical programming objects in three ways i.e. they can be executed on any platform, located anywhere on the network and written in any language that supports IDL mapping. In the implementation of the system, 5 degree of freedom (DOF) arm robot RCS 6.0 and Java as a programming mapping to the CORBA IDL. By implementing this architecture, the objects in the server machine can be distributed over the network in order to run the controller. the ultimate goal for our ARC system is to demonstrate concurrent execution of multiple arm robots through multiple instantiations of distributed object components. (Author)

Characteristics of objective daytime sleep among individuals with earthquake-related posttraumatic stress disorder: A pilot community-based polysomnographic and multiple sleep latency test study.

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Yan; Li, Yun; Zhu, Hongru; Cui, Haofei; Qiu, Changjian; Tang, Xiangdong; Zhang, Wei

2017-01-01

Little is known about the objective sleep characteristics of patients with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The present study examines the association between PTSD symptom severity and objective daytime sleep characteristics measured using the Multiple Sleep Latency Test (MSLT) in therapy-naïve patients with earthquake-related PTSD. A total of 23 PTSD patients and 13 trauma-exposed non-PTSD (TEN-PTSD) subjects completed one-night in-lab polysomnography (PSG) followed by a standard MSLT. 8 of the 23 PTSD patients received paroxetine treatment. Compared to the TEN-PTSD subjects, no significant nighttime sleep disturbances were detected by PSG in the subjects with PTSD; however, a shorter mean MSLT value was found in the subjects with PTSD. After adjustment for age, sex, and body mass index, PTSD symptoms, particularly hyperarousal, were found to be independently associated with a shorter MSLT value. Further, the mean MSLT value increased significantly after therapy in PTSD subjects. A shorter MSLT value may be a reliable index of the medical severity of PTSD, while an improvement in MSLT values might also be a reliable marker for evaluating therapeutic efficacy in PTSD patients. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

Sensory and objective mutton quality characteristics of SA Merino ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Sensory and objective mutton quality characteristics of SA Merino sheep selected ... The effect of divergent selection for ewe multiple-rearing ability over a 15-year ... C22:5n-3 and C22:6n-3 concentrations in comparison with the negative line.

Multi-Objective Parameter Selection for Classifers

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Christoph Mussel

2012-01-01

Full Text Available Setting the free parameters of classifiers to different values can have a profound impact on their performance. For some methods, specialized tuning algorithms have been developed. These approaches mostly tune parameters according to a single criterion, such as the cross-validation error. However, it is sometimes desirable to obtain parameter values that optimize several concurrent - often conflicting - criteria. The TunePareto package provides a general and highly customizable framework to select optimal parameters for classifiers according to multiple objectives. Several strategies for sampling andoptimizing parameters are supplied. The algorithm determines a set of Pareto-optimal parameter configuration and leaves the ultimate decision on the weighting of objectives to the researcher. Decision support is provided by novel visualization techniques.

Solution of neutron slowing down equation including multiple inelastic scattering

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

El-Wakil, S.A.; Saad, A.E.

1977-01-01

The present work is devoted the presentation of an analytical method for the calculation of elastically and inelastically slowed down neutrons in an infinite non absorbing homogeneous medium. On the basis of the Central limit theory (CLT) and the integral transform technique the slowing down equation including inelastic scattering in terms of the Green function of elastic scattering is solved. The Green function is decomposed according to the number of collisions. A formula for the flux at any lethargy O (u) after any number of collisions is derived. An equation for the asymptotic flux is also obtained

Molecular diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A ...

African Journals Online (AJOL)

Molecular diagnosis of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 2A. RJ Pegoraro, DJ Hacking, RH Buck, L Rom, PA Lanning, GMB Berger. Abstract. Objective. To identify by means of genetic analyses individuals who are at risk of developing medullary thyroid cancer that is a component of multiple endocrine neoplasia. Subjects.

User-assisted Object Detection by Segment Based Similarity Measures in Mobile Laser Scanner Data

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Oude Elberink, S.J.; Kemboi, B.J.

2014-01-01

This paper describes a method that aims to find all instances of a certain object in Mobile Laser Scanner (MLS) data. In a userassisted approach, a sample segment of an object is selected, and all similar objects are to be found. By selecting samples from multiple classes, a classification can be

Object feature extraction and recognition model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wan Min; Xiang Rujian; Wan Yongxing

2001-01-01

The characteristics of objects, especially flying objects, are analyzed, which include characteristics of spectrum, image and motion. Feature extraction is also achieved. To improve the speed of object recognition, a feature database is used to simplify the data in the source database. The feature vs. object relationship maps are stored in the feature database. An object recognition model based on the feature database is presented, and the way to achieve object recognition is also explained

Visual awareness of objects and their colour.

Science.gov (United States)

Pilling, Michael; Gellatly, Angus

2011-10-01

At any given moment, our awareness of what we 'see' before us seems to be rather limited. If, for instance, a display containing multiple objects is shown (red or green disks), when one object is suddenly covered at random, observers are often little better than chance in reporting about its colour (Wolfe, Reinecke, & Brawn, Visual Cognition, 14, 749-780, 2006). We tested whether, when object attributes (such as colour) are unknown, observers still retain any knowledge of the presence of that object at a display location. Experiments 1-3 involved a task requiring two-alternative (yes/no) responses about the presence or absence of a colour-defined object at a probed location. On this task, if participants knew about the presence of an object at a location, responses indicated that they also knew about its colour. A fourth experiment presented the same displays but required a three-alternative response. This task did result in a data pattern consistent with participants' knowing more about the locations of objects within a display than about their individual colours. However, this location advantage, while highly significant, was rather small in magnitude. Results are compared with those of Huang (Journal of Vision, 10(10, Art. 24), 1-17, 2010), who also reported an advantage for object locations, but under quite different task conditions.

Database Independent Migration of Objects into an Object-Relational Database

CERN Document Server

Ali, A; Munir, K; Waseem-Hassan, M; Willers, I

2002-01-01

CERN's (European Organization for Nuclear Research) WISDOM project [1] deals with the replication of data between homogeneous sources in a Wide Area Network (WAN) using the extensible Markup Language (XML). The last phase of the WISDOM (Wide-area, database Independent Serialization of Distributed Objects for data Migration) project [2], indicates the future directions for this work to be to incorporate heterogeneous sources as compared to homogeneous sources as described by [3]. This work will become essential for the CERN community once the need to transfer their legacy data to some other source, other then Objectivity [4], arises. Oracle 9i - an Object-Relational Database (including support for abstract data types, ADTs) appears to be a potential candidate for the physics event store in the CERN CMS experiment as suggested by [4] & [5]. Consequently this database has been selected for study. As a result of this work the HEP community will get a tool for migrating their data from Objectivity to Oracle9i.

Clinical Views: Object-Oriented Views for Clinical Databases

Science.gov (United States)

Portoni, Luisa; Combi, Carlo; Pinciroli, Francesco

1998-01-01

We present here a prototype of a clinical information system for the archiving and the management of multimedia and temporally-oriented clinical data related to PTCA patients. The system is based on an object-oriented DBMS and supports multiple views and view schemas on patients' data. Remote data access is supported too.

Characterization of the first symptoms of multiple sclerosis in a Brazilian center: cross-sectional study

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Vitor Breseghello Cavenaghi

Full Text Available ABSTRACT CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Multiple sclerosis (MS is a chronic, immune-mediated and degenerative central nervous system (CNS disease with well-established diagnostic criteria. Treatment can modify the course of the disease. The objective of this study was to describe the initial symptoms of multiple sclerosis in a Brazilian medical center. DESIGN AND SETTING: Descriptive study, conducted in a Brazilian reference center for multiple sclerosis treatment. METHODS: Data on 299 patients with confirmed diagnoses of MS were included in the study. Their medical files were evaluated and the data were analyzed. RESULTS: The most common symptom involved the cranial nerves (50.83% and unifocal manifestation was presented by the majority of this population (73.91%. The mean time between the first symptom and the diagnosis was 2.84 years. Unifocal symptoms correlated with longer time taken to establish the diagnosis, with an average of 3.20 years, while for multifocal symptoms the average time taken for the diagnosis was 1.85 years. Unifocal onset was related to greater diagnostic difficulty. CONCLUSIONS: MS is a heterogeneous disease and its initial clinical manifestation is very variable.

Confidence-Based Data Association and Discriminative Deep Appearance Learning for Robust Online Multi-Object Tracking.

Science.gov (United States)

Bae, Seung-Hwan; Yoon, Kuk-Jin

2018-03-01

Online multi-object tracking aims at estimating the tracks of multiple objects instantly with each incoming frame and the information provided up to the moment. It still remains a difficult problem in complex scenes, because of the large ambiguity in associating multiple objects in consecutive frames and the low discriminability between objects appearances. In this paper, we propose a robust online multi-object tracking method that can handle these difficulties effectively. We first define the tracklet confidence using the detectability and continuity of a tracklet, and decompose a multi-object tracking problem into small subproblems based on the tracklet confidence. We then solve the online multi-object tracking problem by associating tracklets and detections in different ways according to their confidence values. Based on this strategy, tracklets sequentially grow with online-provided detections, and fragmented tracklets are linked up with others without any iterative and expensive association steps. For more reliable association between tracklets and detections, we also propose a deep appearance learning method to learn a discriminative appearance model from large training datasets, since the conventional appearance learning methods do not provide rich representation that can distinguish multiple objects with large appearance variations. In addition, we combine online transfer learning for improving appearance discriminability by adapting the pre-trained deep model during online tracking. Experiments with challenging public datasets show distinct performance improvement over other state-of-the-arts batch and online tracking methods, and prove the effect and usefulness of the proposed methods for online multi-object tracking.

Object-graphs for context-aware visual category discovery.

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Yong Jae; Grauman, Kristen

2012-02-01

How can knowing about some categories help us to discover new ones in unlabeled images? Unsupervised visual category discovery is useful to mine for recurring objects without human supervision, but existing methods assume no prior information and thus tend to perform poorly for cluttered scenes with multiple objects. We propose to leverage knowledge about previously learned categories to enable more accurate discovery, and address challenges in estimating their familiarity in unsegmented, unlabeled images. We introduce two variants of a novel object-graph descriptor to encode the 2D and 3D spatial layout of object-level co-occurrence patterns relative to an unfamiliar region and show that by using them to model the interaction between an image’s known and unknown objects, we can better detect new visual categories. Rather than mine for all categories from scratch, our method identifies new objects while drawing on useful cues from familiar ones. We evaluate our approach on several benchmark data sets and demonstrate clear improvements in discovery over conventional purely appearance-based baselines.

An objective approach to determining criteria weights

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Milić R. Milićević

2012-01-01

Full Text Available This paper presents an objective approach to determining criteria weights that can be successfully used in multiple criteria models. The methods of entropy, CRITIC and FANMA are presented in this paper as well as a possible combination of the methods of objective and subjective approaches. Although based on different theoretical settings, and therefore with different algorithms of realization, all methods have a decision matrix as a starting point. An objective approach to determining the weight of criteria eliminates the negative impacts of a decision maker on criteria weights as well as on the final solution of multicriteria problems. The main aim of this paper is to systematize description procedures as a kind of help when encountering a problem of determining the criteria weights for solving multicriteria tasks. A possibility of the method application is shown in a numerical example.

Multiple-objective optimization in precision laser cutting of different thermoplastics

Science.gov (United States)

Tamrin, K. F.; Nukman, Y.; Choudhury, I. A.; Shirley, S.

2015-04-01

Thermoplastics are increasingly being used in biomedical, automotive and electronics industries due to their excellent physical and chemical properties. Due to the localized and non-contact process, use of lasers for cutting could result in precise cut with small heat-affected zone (HAZ). Precision laser cutting involving various materials is important in high-volume manufacturing processes to minimize operational cost, error reduction and improve product quality. This study uses grey relational analysis to determine a single optimized set of cutting parameters for three different thermoplastics. The set of the optimized processing parameters is determined based on the highest relational grade and was found at low laser power (200 W), high cutting speed (0.4 m/min) and low compressed air pressure (2.5 bar). The result matches with the objective set in the present study. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) is then carried out to ascertain the relative influence of process parameters on the cutting characteristics. It was found that the laser power has dominant effect on HAZ for all thermoplastics.

Diagnosis and endovascular treatment of multiple cerebral venous and venous sinuses thrombosis

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Baomin; Zhang Ji; Yin Ling; Huang Xusheng; Jiang Jinli; Liu Jun; Lang Senyang; Zhou Dingbiao; Zhu Ke

2000-01-01

Objective: Eighty-five cases with multiple cerebral venous and venous sinuses thrombosis including the diagnosis and endovascular therapy were reported. Methods: The long T2 and short T1 signals in the related regions of multiple venous sinuses on MRI and prolonged blood circulation time of the brain with tortuous dilatation of vein in angiography were the important characteristics for the diagnosis. Of the 85 cases, the treatment procedures were consisted of injecting urokinase intermittently via common carotid artery and intra-sinus contact thrombolysis as well as warfarin intake orally. Results: Intracranial pressure of 80 cases reduced down between 230 and 300 mm H 2 O, and clinical deficits were markedly improved within 10 days. Re-angiography of 18 cases revealed recanalization partly in 5 cases and circulation time appeared near normal i 8 cases during one week after therapy. Conclusions: Combined intraarterial thrombolysis consecutively with general anticoagulation for the treatment of multiple thrombosis in cerebral venous sinuses may be one of the effective means

Plasma homocysteine levels in multiple sclerosis

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ramsaransing, G S M; Fokkema, M R; Teelken, A; Arutjunyan, A V; Koch, M; De Keyser, J

Background: There is evidence that homocysteine contributes to various neurodegenerative disorders, and elevated plasma homocysteine levels have been observed in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS). Objective: To investigate if and why plasma homocysteine levels are increased in MS, and whether

Visual Neurons in the Superior Colliculus Discriminate Many Objects by Their Historical Values

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Whitney S. Griggs

2018-06-01

Full Text Available The superior colliculus (SC is an important structure in the mammalian brain that orients the animal toward distinct visual events. Visually responsive neurons in SC are modulated by visual object features, including size, motion, and color. However, it remains unclear whether SC activity is modulated by non-visual object features, such as the reward value associated with the object. To address this question, three monkeys were trained (>10 days to saccade to multiple fractal objects, half of which were consistently associated with large rewards while other half were associated with small rewards. This created historically high-valued (‘good’ and low-valued (‘bad’ objects. During the neuronal recordings from the SC, the monkeys maintained fixation at the center while the objects were flashed in the receptive field of the neuron without any reward. We found that approximately half of the visual neurons responded more strongly to the good than bad objects. In some neurons, this value-coding remained intact for a long time (>1 year after the last object-reward association learning. Notably, the neuronal discrimination of reward values started about 100 ms after the appearance of visual objects and lasted for more than 100 ms. These results provide evidence that SC neurons can discriminate objects by their historical (long-term values. This object value information may be provided by the basal ganglia, especially the circuit originating from the tail of the caudate nucleus. The information may be used by the neural circuits inside SC for motor (saccade output or may be sent to the circuits outside SC for future behavior.

Software Analysis of Mining Images for Objects Detection

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jan Tomecek

2013-11-01

Full Text Available The contribution is dealing with the development of the new module of robust FOTOMNG system for editing images from a video or miningimage from measurements for subsequent improvement of detection of required objects in the 2D image. The generated module allows create a finalhigh-quality picture by combination of multiple images with the search objects. We can combine input data according to the parameters or basedon reference frames. Correction of detected 2D objects is also part of this module. The solution is implemented intoFOTOMNG system and finishedwork has been tested in appropriate frames, which were validated core functionality and usability. Tests confirmed the function of each part of themodule, its accuracy and implications of integration.

Visual Short-Term Memory for Complex Objects in 6- and 8-Month-Old Infants

Science.gov (United States)

Kwon, Mee-Kyoung; Luck, Steven J.; Oakes, Lisa M.

2014-01-01

Infants' visual short-term memory (VSTM) for simple objects undergoes dramatic development: Six-month-old infants can store in VSTM information about only a simple object presented in isolation, whereas 8-month-old infants can store information about simple objects presented in multiple-item arrays. This study extended this work to examine…

Risks and benefits of multiple sexual partnerships: beliefs of rural Nigerian adolescent males.

Science.gov (United States)

Izugbara, Chimaraoke Otutubikey; Nwabuawele Modo, Felicia

2007-09-01

Drawing on interview data from rural Nigeria, the article explores male youth perceptions of the risks and benefits of multiple sexual partnerships. Participants associated having multiple sexual partners with several harmful health and nonhealth outcomes, including sexually transmitted infections, and frequently confirmed that the practice also bolsters their sense of maleness and boosts their acceptance and ranking among peers. Young males' involvement in multiple sexual partnerships should not be seen as always consequent on their ignorance of and/or indifference to the risks inherent in the behavior. It could also result from the integrality of the behavior to the social processes through which male youths validate their masculinity, mark their transition from boyhood to malehood, and configure their identities to gain acceptance into a local male peer community. Sexuality education curricula that ignore adolescents' understandings of the benefits of their sexual practices may not deliver expected objectives.

Definition of a Learning Object from Perspectives of In-Service Teachers (Case of Duzce Province

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Kürşat ARSLAN

2016-08-01

Full Text Available Learning objects, as a relatively new technological concept, have drawn much attention from educators because these dijital resources are easily accessible, relatively easy to use due to their limited size and focus, interactive, and adaptable to many different educational contexts. Despite the fact that learning objects have the great potential to improve teaching and learning experiences by providing teachers reusable learning materials and reducing costs, the lack of a “working and clear” definition of these materials has restricted their effective and efficient use. This study aimed to explore elementary school teacher perceptions of their use of learning objects from a qualitative research paradigm in order to reveal the extent to which teachers understand concept of learning object and its instruction approach. The method of the study was based on descriptive phenomenology. Data were collected using multiple methods, including the semi-structured interview, field observation reports, and photos from nine in-service elementary school teachers from different departments in Duzce, Turkey. Methods of data analysis were based on Giorgi’s method of descriptive phenomenology including four stages of content analysis: data coding, developing themes, organizing code and themes, describing findings. Overall findings of the study indicate that teachers use learning objects in their lesson activities without explicit recognition; however they generally fail to understand the exact meaning of a learning object approach and its applications in the classroom. Participants understood different properties of learning objects. Almost all participants perceive objectivity as the most important characteristic of the learning object.  In addition, a majority of the teachers recognized the value of a learning object’s reusability. In-service teachers’ vague perceptions of the definition and usage of learning objects indicated that they used these

Multiple shooting applied to robust reservoir control optimization including output constraints on coherent risk measures

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Codas, Andrés; Hanssen, Kristian G.; Foss, Bjarne

2017-01-01

The production life of oil reservoirs starts under significant uncertainty regarding the actual economical return of the recovery process due to the lack of oil field data. Consequently, investors and operators make management decisions based on a limited and uncertain description of the reservoir....... In this work, we propose a new formulation for robust optimization of reservoir well controls. It is inspired by the multiple shooting (MS) method which permits a broad range of parallelization opportunities and output constraint handling. This formulation exploits coherent risk measures, a concept...

Auxiliary variables in multiple imputation in regression with missing X: a warning against including too many in small sample research

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Hardt Jochen

2012-12-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Multiple imputation is becoming increasingly popular. Theoretical considerations as well as simulation studies have shown that the inclusion of auxiliary variables is generally of benefit. Methods A simulation study of a linear regression with a response Y and two predictors X1 and X2 was performed on data with n = 50, 100 and 200 using complete cases or multiple imputation with 0, 10, 20, 40 and 80 auxiliary variables. Mechanisms of missingness were either 100% MCAR or 50% MAR + 50% MCAR. Auxiliary variables had low (r=.10 vs. moderate correlations (r=.50 with X’s and Y. Results The inclusion of auxiliary variables can improve a multiple imputation model. However, inclusion of too many variables leads to downward bias of regression coefficients and decreases precision. When the correlations are low, inclusion of auxiliary variables is not useful. Conclusion More research on auxiliary variables in multiple imputation should be performed. A preliminary rule of thumb could be that the ratio of variables to cases with complete data should not go below 1 : 3.

Multi-Modal Inference in Animacy Perception for Artificial Object

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Kohske Takahashi

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Sometimes we feel animacy for artificial objects and their motion. Animals usually interact with environments through multiple sensory modalities. Here we investigated how the sensory responsiveness of artificial objects to the environment would contribute to animacy judgment for them. In a 90-s trial, observers freely viewed four objects moving in a virtual 3D space. The objects, whose position and motion were determined following Perlin-noise series, kept drifting independently in the space. Visual flashes, auditory bursts, or synchronous flashes and bursts appeared with 1–2 s intervals. The first object abruptly accelerated their motion just after visual flashes, giving an impression of responding to the flash. The second object responded to bursts. The third object responded to synchronous flashes and bursts. The forth object accelerated at a random timing independent of flashes and bursts. The observers rated how strongly they felt animacy for each object. The results showed that the object responding to the auditory bursts was rated as having weaker animacy compared to the other objects. This implies that sensory modality through which an object interacts with the environment may be a factor for animacy perception in the object and may serve as the basis of multi-modal and cross-modal inference of animacy.

A multi-objective constraint-based approach for modeling genome-scale microbial ecosystems.

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Marko Budinich

Full Text Available Interplay within microbial communities impacts ecosystems on several scales, and elucidation of the consequent effects is a difficult task in ecology. In particular, the integration of genome-scale data within quantitative models of microbial ecosystems remains elusive. This study advocates the use of constraint-based modeling to build predictive models from recent high-resolution -omics datasets. Following recent studies that have demonstrated the accuracy of constraint-based models (CBMs for simulating single-strain metabolic networks, we sought to study microbial ecosystems as a combination of single-strain metabolic networks that exchange nutrients. This study presents two multi-objective extensions of CBMs for modeling communities: multi-objective flux balance analysis (MO-FBA and multi-objective flux variability analysis (MO-FVA. Both methods were applied to a hot spring mat model ecosystem. As a result, multiple trade-offs between nutrients and growth rates, as well as thermodynamically favorable relative abundances at community level, were emphasized. We expect this approach to be used for integrating genomic information in microbial ecosystems. Following models will provide insights about behaviors (including diversity that take place at the ecosystem scale.

Generation maintenance scheduling based on multiple ob jectives and their relationship analysis

Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

Jun-peng ZHAN; Chuang-xin GUO; Qing-hua WU; Lu-liang ZHANG; Hong-jun FU

2014-01-01

In a market environment of power systems, each producer pursues its maximal profit while the independent system operator is in charge of the system reliability and the minimization of the total generation cost when generating the generation maintenance scheduling (GMS). Thus, the GMS is inherently a multi-objective optimization problem as its objectives usually conflict with each other. This paper proposes a multi-objective GMS model in a market environment which includes three types of objectives, i.e., each producer’s profit, the system reliability, and the total generation cost. The GMS model has been solved by the group search optimizer with multiple producers (GSOMP) on two test systems. The simulation results show that the model is well solved by the GSOMP with a set of evenly distributed Pareto-optimal solutions obtained. The simulation results also illustrate that one producer’s profit conflicts with another one’s, that the total generation cost does not conflict with the profit of the producer possessing the cheapest units while the total generation cost conflicts with the other producers’ profits, and that the reliability objective conflicts with the other objectives.

Towards lexicographic multi-objective linear programming using grossone methodology

Science.gov (United States)

Cococcioni, Marco; Pappalardo, Massimo; Sergeyev, Yaroslav D.

2016-10-01

Lexicographic Multi-Objective Linear Programming (LMOLP) problems can be solved in two ways: preemptive and nonpreemptive. The preemptive approach requires the solution of a series of LP problems, with changing constraints (each time the next objective is added, a new constraint appears). The nonpreemptive approach is based on a scalarization of the multiple objectives into a single-objective linear function by a weighted combination of the given objectives. It requires the specification of a set of weights, which is not straightforward and can be time consuming. In this work we present both mathematical and software ingredients necessary to solve LMOLP problems using a recently introduced computational methodology (allowing one to work numerically with infinities and infinitesimals) based on the concept of grossone. The ultimate goal of such an attempt is an implementation of a simplex-like algorithm, able to solve the original LMOLP problem by solving only one single-objective problem and without the need to specify finite weights. The expected advantages are therefore obvious.

A multi-objective approach for developing national energy efficiency plans