On-line recognition (OLREC): A novel approach to visual pattern recognition

A pattern recognition system has been developed which is capable of recognizing high contrast two-dimensional visual patterns and which is insensitive to the translation, rotation and size of a pattern. The unique characteristics of the system are its speed, its low cost and the fact that it is completely self-contained.

A new technique for image recognition, suitable for applications such as industrial robotics, is presented. The technique provides invariance to rotation, translation and magnification of the image. An intelligent camera system is used to input an image, to center it, to normalize it with respect to size and to convert it into polar coordinate form. The image is then integrated over r and θ to provide two orthogonal profiles. The input profiles are compared to the reference images using a threshold comparison technique designed to provide a simple hardware implementation. Rotation of the image is handled by a one-dimensional shifting of the radial profile.

Seven experiments were performed to test the system. The results of these experiments are discussed and possible improvements to the system are suggested.     

Knowledge and beliefs regarding the consequences of cigarette smoking and their relationships to smoking status in a biracial sample.

198 men and 413 women responded to random telephone surveys in Fargo, North Dakota and Memphis, Tennessee. Each S was given the Smoking Attitudes Survey, which assesses generalized health beliefs and health-related problems associated with smoking. Ss' knowledge of smoking-associated diseases and diseases not associated with smoking was also assessed. Stepwise regression analysis of composite knowledge scores revealed 4 predictors of the health consequences of smoking: education, race, smoking status, and income. Smokers reported less knowledge and less concern about health consequences of smoking, were more likely to be male, and were more concerned about health consequences of cholesterol. The best predictor of smokers who had never attempted cessation was their greater concern over weight control, compared with smokers with a history of smoking-cessation attempts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Religious life-styles and mental health: An exploratory study.

Conducted an intensive, case-by-case assessment of life-styles of a sample of religious students. We identified differing styles of religiousness and made comparisons by means of tests and interviews between subgroups whose subjects manifested differing religious life-styles. Those subjects with continuous religious development and mild religious experiences appeared to be healthier than those with discontinuous development and intense religious experiences; however, intense religious experiences tended to enhance the adjustment of those who experienced them. There was no evidence in the group as a whole for an overall negative or positive correlation between religiousness and mental health, but some modes of religious involvement appeared to be related to disturbance, whereas other modes appeared to be related to enhanced stability and resilience. Because causality in these relations remains uncertain, we generate hypotheses concerning further studies of life-styles and adjustment. We also discuss implications for student counseling and development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Examining gender differences in drug-abusing adolescents.

This exploratory study examined gender differences among drug-abusing adolescents (N?=?2,281). Overall, male adolescents reported somewhat higher usage levels of various drugs than did female adolescents, and they had an earlier onset of regular marijuana use. In terms of clinical signs of problem severity, female adolescents showed higher scores than male adolescents on Physical Symptoms, Escape (with drugs), and Emotional Consequences (of drug use) scales when drug use levels were controlled. However, the relatively small magnitude of the significant differences, and the fact that many scales did not show group differences, suggest that male and female adolescents attending drug clinics share many similar features of adolescent drug abuse. Implications of these findings for the prevention and treatment of adolescent drug abuse are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is weight gain after smoking cessation inevitable?

Weight gain after smoking cessation was studied in a naturalistic setting where (1) all smokers quit and (2) risk factors for postcessation weight gain were modified. Participants were 332 military recruits (227 men, 105 women), 86 of whom were smokers who quit during 6 weeks of basic training. Results showed no significant weight changes for smokers who quit. Pretest smoking rates and feat of weight gain were unrelated to changes in weight. Results suggest that an intensive program that limits access to alcohol and foods that are high in fat and that increases physical activity can attenuate weight gain after smoking cessation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Database Support for Versions and Alternatives of Large Design Files

We identify the roles played by design versions and alternatives in an engineering database. The obvious way to implement versions is to maintain each in a separate collection of files. Because several versions must be kept on line in a design environment, the approach leads to large disk requirements. We develop B-tree-based storage structures to encode versions as ``negative' differential files. Our objective is to keep the disk requirements small. We discuss the effect of enormous amounts of cheap archival storage (write-once optical digital disks) on the proposed structures. We have implemented versions in the Wisconsin storage system (WiSS), an experimental database component developed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.     

Increased disruption of sperm plasma membrane at sperm immobilization promotes dissociation of perinuclear theca from sperm chromatin after intracytoplasmic sperm injection in pigs

The effects of sperm-immobilization methods on decondensation of sperm chromatin and retention of subacrosomal sperm perinuclear theca (SAR-PT) after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) were examined in pigs. Sperm membrane damage caused by different immobilization methods by rubbing with a micropipette without piezo pulses (R), or with a low (L) or high (H) intensity of piezo pulses while rubbing, was assessed by the time required for staining of sperm heads with eosin Y solution. The average time for staining of sperm heads immobilized by the R, L or H treatments was 76, 41 or 26 s, respectively. The fertilization rate following ICSI was increased by sperm immobilization by piezo pulses compared with R, but increased intensity of pulses from L to H did not cause further improvements (29, 48 and 47%, respectively). An immunofluorescence study revealed that H immobilization promoted the dissociation of SAR-PT from sperm chromatin compared with L and R, and it increased the frequency of male pronuclear formation in which chromatin appeared uniformly decondensed. With in vitro fertilization (IVF), SAR-PT disassembled coordinately with sperm chromatin decondensation and it was not detectable around male pronuclei. This was different from most of the oocytes after ICSI in which remnants SAR-PT were detected adjacent to male pronuclei. We concluded that increased damage on the sperm plasma membrane at immobilization improved fertilization rates and decondensation of sperm chromatin after ICSI due to the accelerated dissociation of SAR-PT from the sperm nucleus. Also, the behavior of SAR-PT after ICSI was different from that observed in oocytes after IVF.     

Approaches to nuclear fuel assurance Balancing nonproliferation with energy security

Nuclear fuel assurances are the formal promises that international suppliers extend to consumers of nuclear fuel for the twin purpose of meeting energy security needs and discouraging the proliferation of nuclear weapons. This article examines various international perspectives on the implementation of fuel assurances and suggests that a supplier's unilateral ability to solve either problem may be far more limited than is commonly believed. The relevance of fuel assurances in future international regimes for nuclear energy will be dependent upon the future structure of the nuclear market and the political linkages that are made between energy security and nonproliferation commitments.