Mode selective interpolation for stereoscopic 3D video in frame-compatible top-bottom packing

As a transition stage from a conventional 2D TV to a full stereoscopic 3D TV system, a frame-compatible format of fitting stereoscopic left and right images to a single frame of the existing 2D TV is required to utilize existing codec and transmission infrastructure. To meet this requirement, a frame-compatible top-bottom packing with a horizontal line offset is proposed, where the vertical resolutions of the stereoscopic left and right images are reduced by half. Then, the optimal interpolation mode for each line segment of the sub-sampled horizontal line is determined by exploiting parallax-compensated data as well as undeleted neighboring upper and lower horizontal lines. At the receiver, the discarded horizontal lines for the left and right images are reconstructed by the interpolation modes provided by the sender. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm improves the PSNR as much as 1.5–3dB comparing to conventional interpolation filters.     

A Haptic Knob for Rehabilitation of Hand Function

This paper describes a novel two-degree-of-freedom robotic interface to train opening/closing of the hand and knob manipulation. The mechanical design, based on two parallelogram structures holding an exchangeable button, offers the possibility to adapt the interface to various hand sizes and finger orientations, as well as to right-handed or left-handed subjects. The interaction with the subject is measured by means of position encoders and four force sensors located close to the output measuring grasping and insertion forces. Various knobs can be mounted on the interface, including a cone mechanism to train a complete opening movement from a strongly contracted and closed hand to a large opened position. We describe the design based on measured biomechanics, the redundant safety mechanisms as well as the actuation and control architecture. Preliminary experiments show the performance of this interface and some of the possibilities it offers for the rehabilitation of hand function.     

Thermal degradation study of interpenetrating polymer network based on modified bismaleimide resin and cyanate ester

Interpenetrating polymer networks (IPNs) based on different ratios of a modified bismaleimide resin (BMI/DBA) and cyanate ester (b10) have been synthesized via prepolymerization followed by thermal curing. A systematic thermal degradation study of these new BMI/DBA‐CE IPN resin systems was conducted by thermogravimetric analysis at different heating rates both in N₂ (thermal stability) and in air (thermal‐oxidative stability). The cured BMI/DBA‐CE IPN resin systems show excellent thermal stability, which could be demonstrated by 5% weight loss temperature (T_5%) ranging between 409 and 423 °C, maximum decomposition rate temperature (T_max) ranging between 423 and 451 °C, and the char yields at 800 °C ranging from 37% to 41% in nitrogen at a heating rate of 10 °C min^?1. The apparent activation energy associated with the main degradation stage of the cured BMI/DBA‐CE IPN resin systems was determined using the Kissinger method. The obtained results provide useful information in drawing correlation between thermal properties and structure. © 2003 Society of Chemical Industry     

A secure and efficient conference scheme for mobile communications

A growing application area in mobile communications is mobile teleconferencing, in which a group of mobile users collaborate in an interactive procedure, such as a board meeting, a task force, a scientific discussion, or even a virtual classroom. Wireless communications transmit conversations via radio, making them more susceptible to eavesdropping and unauthorized access than are conversations carried via wires. Therefore, it is crucial to ensure confidentiality and authenticity in mobile teleconferencing. When deploying secure services in mobile teleconferences, it has to be taken into account that the mobility of users is usually built on portable devices with limited computing capability. A secure conference scheme for mobile communications needs to be executed efficiently on portable devices. We propose a new secure and efficient conference scheme for mobile communications. Based on a modular square root technique, this scheme is secure against eavesdropping, impersonating, and tracking attacks and allows a participant to join or quit a mobile teleconference dynamically. In addition, the scheme is particularly efficient on the mobile user's portable device because the mobile user needs to perform only single modular multiplication plus encryptions and decryptions of a secret key cryptosystem.     

Effect of curing moisture on the indentation force deflection of flexible polyurethane foam

The moisture effect on the indentation force deflection (IFD) of flexible polyurethane foam was examined through the curing of the foam with different moisture contents. The employed foam was cured at 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, and 80% relative humidity, and the corresponding curing temperature was constant at 23°C. The experiments showed that the measured IFD and support factor of the flexible polyurethane foam decreased, and the hysteresis increased with the curing moisture. A statistical conversion formula was generated experimentally to correct the measured IFD of the flexible polyurethane foam to eliminate the deviation caused by the moisture effect. The measured IFD was inversely exponentially proportional to the curing moisture. The accuracy of the correction formula was verified by the conditioning of the foam again with different moisture contents. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 104: 1679–1682, 2007     

Positive mood and executive function: Evidence from Stroop and fluency tasks.

Contrasting predictions have been made about the effects of positive mood states on the performance of frontal lobe tests that tap executive functions such as inhibition, switching, and strategy use. It has been argued that positive mood is likely to improve some cognitive processes, particularly those dependent on the frontal cortex and anterior cingulate of the brain. However, there is some evidence that happy mood may impair executive functioning. The current experiments investigated the effects of positive mood on Stroop and fluency tests, which are frequently used to assess executive function. Positive mood impaired performance on a switching condition of the Stroop test, but improved performance on a creative uses test of fluency. The effect of positive mood on an executive task may therefore depend on whether a task is inherently motivating or is impaired by diffuse semantic activation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improved Scalar Multiplication on Elliptic Curves Defined over F2mn

We propose two improved scalar multiplication methods on elliptic curves over F_qn where q = 2^m using Frobenius expansion. The scalar multiplication of elliptic curves defined over subfield F_q can be sped up by Frobenius expansion. Previous methods are restricted to the case of a small m. However, when m is small, it is hard to find curves having good cryptographic properties. Our methods are suitable for curves defined over medium‐sized fields, that is, 10 ≤ m ≤ 20. These methods are variants of the conventional multiple‐base binary (MBB) method combined with the window method. One of our methods is for a polynomial basis representation with software implementation, and the other is for a normal basis representation with hardware implementation. Our software experiment shows that it is about 10% faster than the MBB method, which also uses Frobenius expansion, and about 20% faster than the Montgomery method, which is the fastest general method in polynomial basis implementation.     

Design and development of an intelligent controller for a pole-balancing robot

In this paper, an intelligent controller capable of static balancing as well as dynamic balancing of a pole mounted on a motorized robot is designed and developed. The brain of the intelligent controller lies in the Fuzzy Inference System, which receives as its input displacement, velocity and acceleration information. An embedded instrumentation system onboard the robot measures the displacement of the robot and the angle of inclination of the pole from the vertical position. For static balancing, the controller needs to maintain the pole in an upright position while the robot is free to move on a flat surface. For dynamic balancing, the robot needs to balance the pole while performing transitions up and down a ramp. Furthermore, the robot needs to steer itself back to the center to prevent it from falling off the ramp.     

Patterns of psoriatic arthritis in Orientals

OBJECTIVE: To determine the clinical features of psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in a multiethnic Oriental population and to study the effect of ethnicity on disease patterns. METHODS: A retrospective study of 80 patients with PsA seen at either a rheumatology or dermatology referral center. Patients and case records were reviewed and data abstracted according to a standard protocol. Eighty consecutive patients with psoriasis without PsA seen at the dermatology center were recruited as controls. RESULTS: Asymmetric polyarthritis developing in the 4th decade with an equal male to female ratio was the commonest pattern of arthritis among Chinese, Indians, and Malays. Clinically apparent lumbar spondylitis was significantly more common in Indians than Chinese (10/11 vs 11/20, respectively; p = 0.046), although the prevalence of lumbar spondylitis was similar in all ethnic groups. Eighty-nine percent of subjects required nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs and 51% required disease modifying antirheumatic drugs at some time for control of joint disease. PsA was significantly more common among Indians compared to the ethnic distribution of the Singapore population (p < 0.000001). Multiple logistic regression identified Indian ethnicity as a risk factor for the development of PsA (OR 2.39, 95% confidence interval 1.02 to 5.60). CONCLUSION: The commonest pattern of PsA in all ethnic groups was asymmetric polyarthritis. Ethnicity affected the development and presentation of PsA in our series: Indians with psoriasis had double the risk of developing PsA compared to Chinese with psoriasis, and lumbar spondylitis when present in Chinese subjects was asymptomatic in 45%, being detectable only on radiological examination.     

Generic Impedance-Based Model for Structure-Piezoceramic Interacting System

This paper describes a generic impedance-based model for predicting the electromechanical (EM) impedance of one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) structure-piezoceramic (PZT) interacting systems. The vibration of a PZT patch is first analyzed. The effect of the host structure is then represented by its force impedance, which is obtained by a semianalytical method. Finally, experiments are carried out on beams and plates to simulate 1D and 2D problems, respectively. It is found that the predicted EM impedance of the structure-PZT interacting system coincides very well with the experimentally measured data. The results show that the predicted peaks match the natural frequencies of the host structure. The very small shift of the peaks from the natural frequencies caused by the interaction between the host structure and the PZT patch indicates that the small size PZT patch can be permanently bonded to the structure for on-line health monitoring without changing the mechanical properties of the structure too much. It is concluded that the proposed impedance-based model for general structure-PZT interacting systems can be potentially used in structural health monitoring.