A technique for motion capture of the finger using functional joint centres and the effect of calibration range of motion on its accuracy

A method of kinematic analysis of the fingers using stereo-photogrammetry, referred to as the phalanx transformation technique, has been proposed. Functional methods were used to define the joint axes and subsequently each finger segments' anatomical coordinate system. Thirteen subjects were tested and the accuracy of the technique assessed. The average error across the three joints of the finger was found to be 0.6 mm, which translates to a 2.2% error in predicted joint reaction force when using a biomechanical model. The subjects were required to have sufficient movement in their joints to define the joint axes functionally. Some subjects of clinical interest can have a significantly reduced mobility owing to injury or pathology, therefore, the effect of calibration range of motion on accuracy was analysed. It was found that, for a range of motion typical of a subject with rheumatoid arthritis, the errors in predicted joint reaction force were < 7%. The accuracy of this technique compared favourably with others previously proposed and, considering the other errors inherent in modelling, those found in this study were deemed to be acceptable.     

非规则三维建筑模型的保结构变形

为了快速生成大量与输入风格一致的三维建筑模型,提出一种针对非规则三维建筑模型的保结构交互式变形技术.该技术以一般的三维网格模型作为输入,经过若干预处理操作形成带标记的包围盒层次结构,以此作为变形操作的分析基础.变形算法的核心思想是将原始的复杂结构分解为一组一维的结构序列,然后逐条对一维结构序列施加变形操作.在对一维结构序列的变形过程中尽可能以可重复的元素来填充变形空间,实现对输入结构特点的保持.实验结果表明,该技术可用于各种不同风格的建筑模型.     

Wake up after transmissions and reduced channel contention to alleviate the hidden terminal problem in preamble sampling WSNs

The hidden terminal problem is a well-known problem in wireless networks that degrades the network performance due to collisions between nodes unable to sense each other. Preamble sampling WSNs are more sensitive to that problem than wireless local area networks due to the high vulnerability time caused by the long preamble transmission. This is specially important when the traffic load is high, for instance due to event detection and query dissemination or in regions closer to the sink. Typical mechanisms to reduce the negative effects of hidden terminals, like the use of RTS/CTS messages, cannot alleviate the problem in preamble sampling WSNs as the long preamble is still needed, thus not reducing the high vulnerability time. To alleviate the hidden terminal problem in this kind of networks the LWT-MAC, a new preamble sampling MAC protocol, is presented. The LWT-MAC protocol adapts to the sporadic increases in the network load by waking up sensor nodes at the end of a transmission. At the same time, it reduces the channel contention by implementing a non-aggressive retransmission procedure. In this work, the ability of the LWT-MAC protocol to reduce hidden terminal problems is evaluated and compared to the basic preamble sampling technique. Results show that the LWT-MAC protocol is able to significantly lighten the hidden terminal problem, thus improving the overall system performance.     

The Web in education

The Web has spurred our imagination as to how education could be radically transformed and enhanced through the adoption of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). While there have been many significant innovations and successes over the last decade there have also been many unrealised aims. Beliefs in technology-driven change for education have been countered by shortcomings in technological understanding by educationalists and in turn by shortcomings in the understanding of educational theories and learning concepts by technologists. The use of the Web in education has revealed issues such as the distinction between formal and informal learning; the packaging and formatting of learning materials for online distribution and use; the management of learning materials and processes in virtual and managed learning environments; solutions offered by the semantic Web; and how the quality of experience in interactive learning environments relates to the quality of the Internet infrastructure. A comparison between the performance of early and current Web technologies from a user perspective is given for an interactive learning environment which has been in use for over a decade. Client, server, network and protocol components which contribute to the quality of experience for the end user are presented and analysed. In summary, this paper examines the use of the Web in education to date and looks forward to new challenges and aspirations such as MOOCs (massively online open coursewares) and the immersive 3D Web as the basis for the next generation of learning environments.     

The Charité Grid Portal: User-friendly and Secure Access to Grid-based Resources and Services

The Charité Grid Portal combines portal components from different groups and projects to provide domain researchers a gateway to Grid-based biomedical applications. Trusted users can securely access and employ Grid resources and services. In this paper, five portal components are presented: (1) The credential management administrates the user-credentials and authenticates them to the Grid. (2) The brain imaging data analysis (FSL) submits workflows to the Grid as part of Medical Image processing. (3) The integrated web services of Generic Workflow Execution Service (GWES) manage workflows executed by users in the Grid. (4) The data management component provides secure and efficient data management in a Grid environment, and enables high-speed data transports between user and Grid. (5) The lung sound analysis application provides twofold-pseudonymization before data-transferred to the Grid. The implementation as standardized portlets allows easy integration of specific components into different Grid portals such as the VO specific MediGRID and PneumoGrid portals.     

Ca2+ Signalling Induced by NGF Identifies a Subset of Capsaicin-Excitable Neurons Displaying Enhanced Chemo-Nociception in Dorsal Root Ganglion Explants from Adult pirt-GCaMP3 Mouse

Nociceptors sense hazards via plasmalemmal cation channels, including transient receptor potential vanilloid 1 (TRPV1). Nerve growth factor (NGF) sensitises TRPV1 to capsaicin (CAPS), modulates nociceptor excitability and induces thermal hyperalgesia, but cellular mechanisms remain unclear. Confocal microscopy was used to image changes in intracellular Ca²⁺ concentration ([Ca²⁺]_i) across neuronal populations in dorsal root ganglia (DRG) explants from pirt-GCaMP3 adult mice, which express a fluorescent reporter in their sensory neurons. Raised [Ca²⁺]_i was detected in 84 neurons of three DRG explants exposed to NGF (100 ng/mL) and most (96%) of these were also excited by 1 μM CAPS. NGF elevated [Ca²⁺]_i in about one-third of the neurons stimulated by 1 μM CAPS, whether applied before or after the latter. In neurons excitable by NGF, CAPS-evoked [Ca²⁺]_i signals appeared significantly sooner (e.g., respective lags of 1.0 ± 0.1 and 1.9 ± 0.1 min), were much (>30%) brighter and lasted longer (6.6 ± 0.4 vs. 3.9 ± 0.2 min) relative to those non-responsive to the neurotrophin. CAPS tachyphylaxis lowered signal intensity by ~60% but was largely prevented by NGF. Increasing CAPS from 1 to 10 μM nearly doubled the number of cells activated but only modestly increased the amount co-activated by NGF. In conclusion, a sub-population of the CAPS-sensitive neurons in adult mouse DRG that can be excited by NGF is more sensitive to CAPS, responds with stronger signals and is further sensitised by transient exposure to the neurotrophin.     

Communication contention in task scheduling

Task scheduling is an essential aspect of parallel programming. Most heuristics for this NP-hard problem are based on a simple system model that assumes fully connected processors and concurrent interprocessor communication. Hence, contention for communication resources is not considered in task scheduling, yet it has a strong influence on the execution time of a parallel program. This paper investigates the incorporation of contention awareness into task scheduling. A new system model for task scheduling is proposed, allowing us to capture both end-point and network contention. To achieve this, the communication network is reflected by a topology graph for the representation of arbitrary static and dynamic networks. The contention awareness is accomplished by scheduling the communications, represented by the edges in the task graph, onto the links of the topology graph. Edge scheduling is theoretically analyzed, including aspects like heterogeneity, routing, and causality. The proposed contention-aware scheduling preserves the theoretical basis of task scheduling. It is shown how classic list scheduling is easily extended to this more accurate system model. Experimental results show the significantly improved accuracy and efficiency of the produced schedules.     

Intercomparison of ocean colour band-ratio algorithms for chlorophyll concentration in the Subtropical Front east of New Zealand

This study intercompared the performance of eight band-ratio chlorophyll-a algorithms which together can be used to process measurements from the ocean colour satellite sensors CZCS, OCTS, SeaWiFS, MODIS, MERIS, and GLI. The study area included Subtropical, Subtropical Front and Subantarctic waters east of New Zealand, and Case 1 waters of the New Zealand northeast continental shelf. Over 170 co-incident measurements of spectral normalised water-leaving radiance and near-surface concentration of chlorophyll-a were made on nine research voyages between 1998 and 2000. The studentised bootstrap method was used to identify statistically significant bias in algorithm products relative to in situ measurements. The band-ratio algorithms used by CZCS, OCTS and SeaWiFS missions systematically underestimated chlorophyll-a concentration in the offshore regions by between 21% and 45%, but showed no systematic bias in the continental shelf waters. The band-ratio algorithms applicable to the MODIS and MERIS sensors had no clear bias with respect to in situ measurements in offshore waters, but had a positive bias of 20% over the continental shelf. The proposed GLI band-ratio algorithm led to estimates that were negatively biased with respect to in situ measurement offshore (− 30%), and positively biased over the continental shelf (20%). The results were consistent with unusually high values of absorption in the blue part of the spectrum (443-490 nm) compared to the green part (∼ 550 nm) by phytoplankton pigments in the offshore waters, and high chlorophyll-specific absorption over the continental shelf.     

Representing von Neumann–Morgenstern Games in the Situation Calculus

Sequential von Neumann–Morgernstern (VM) games are a very general formalism for representing multi-agent interactions and planning problems in a variety of types of environments. We show that sequential VM games with countably many actions and continuous utility functions have a sound and complete axiomatization in the situation calculus. This axiomatization allows us to represent game-theoretic reasoning and solution concepts such as Nash equilibrium. We discuss the application of various concepts from VM game theory to the theory of planning and multi-agent interactions, such as representing concurrent actions and using the Baire topology to define continuous payoff functions.