Deployment of a cloud pipeline for real-time visual inspection using fast streaming high-definition images

We investigate the challenges of building an end-to-end cloud pipeline for real-time intelligent visual inspection system for use in automotive manufacturing. Current methods of visual detection in automotive assembly are highly labor intensive, and thus prone to errors. An automated process is sought that can operate within the real-time constraints of the assembly line and can reduce errors. Components of the cloud pipeline include capture of a large set of high-definition images from a camera setup at the assembly location, transfer and storage of the images as needed, execution of object detection, and notification to a human operator when a fault is detected. The end-to-end execution must complete within a fixed time frame before the next car arrives in the assembly line. In this article, we report the design, development, and experimental evaluation of the tradeoffs of performance, accuracy, and scalability for a cloud system.     

Joint Degeneration in a Mouse Model of Pseudoachondroplasia: ER Stress,Inflammation, and Block of Autophagy

Pseudoachondroplasia (PSACH), a short limb skeletal dysplasia associated with premature joint degeneration, is caused by misfolding mutations in cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP). Here, we define mutant-COMP-induced stress mechanisms that occur in articular chondrocytes of MT-COMP mice, a murine model of PSACH. The accumulation of mutant-COMP in the ER occurred early in MT-COMP articular chondrocytes and stimulated inflammation (TNFα) at 4 weeks, and articular chondrocyte death increased at 8 weeks while ER stress through CHOP was elevated by 12 weeks. Importantly, blockage of autophagy (pS6), the major mechanism that clears the ER, sustained cellular stress in MT-COMP articular chondrocytes. Degeneration of MT-COMP articular cartilage was similar to that observed in PSACH and was associated with increased MMPs, a family of degradative enzymes. Moreover, chronic cellular stresses stimulated senescence. Senescence-associated secretory phenotype (SASP) may play a role in generating and propagating a pro-degradative environment in the MT-COMP murine joint. The loss of CHOP or resveratrol treatment from birth preserved joint health in MT-COMP mice. Taken together, these results indicate that ER stress/CHOP signaling and autophagy blockage are central to mutant-COMP joint degeneration, and MT-COMP mice joint health can be preserved by decreasing articular chondrocyte stress. Future joint sparing therapeutics for PSACH may include resveratrol.     

Strain sensing based on coherent Rayleigh scattering in an opticalfibre

A fibre optic strain sensor based on Rayleigh backscatter using a time division multiplexing scheme with an optical pulse is presented. The sensor has a gauge length of <0.5 m and a strain sensitivity of <1 nϵ/√Hz at 2 kHz     

Electron Beam Simulation of Pulsed Photon Effects in Electronic Devices at Very High Doses and Dose Rates

Large high-energy flash X-ray simulation facilities are expensive to build and operate. As a result, the radiation effects community has at it's disposal a limited number of X-ray sources with the capability of providing the very high levels of radiation (hundreds of k rad(Si)) required for R and D. Because of the inefficiency of bremsstrahlung production, an accelerator which provides only small doses in the X-ray mode could readily provide the very high total doses and associated dose rates via direct electron irradiation. A prerequisite for electron beam testing is a satisfactory demonstration of the fidelity of the simulation. This paper presents the experimental details and results of such an assessment. It was demonstrated in this work that electron beams do simulate the effects of high-energy bremsstrahlung X-rays when testing semiconductor devices for very high dose and dose rate effects. However, it was also found that the effects of charge deposition from the electron beam can dramatically perturb the nominal irradiation bias conditions. In electronic devices where radiation induced degradation is a function of applied potentials (e.g., MOS devices), this charge capture can totally invalidate the simulation unless the experimenter is aware of and compensates for the effect.     

Simulation fidelity issues in reactor irradiation ofelectronics-reactor environments

Fast burst reactors, such as SPR III, and pool-type reactors, such as the University of Illinois TRIGA and the Sandia Annular Core Research Reactor, are used as sources of neutrons and/or gamma rays in transient radiation effects in electronics research and testing. The authors identify the important simulation fidelity issues, compare radiation environments produced in representative reactors, and describe custom environments that have been achieved to better meet experimenter requirements     

Retrospection in social dilemmas: How thinking about the past affects future cooperation.

This article reports 2 studies investigating the effects of retrospective thought on future cooperation in social dilemmas. Some general theories of cooperation presume, but have not tested, whether retrospection has impact: People may think about the choices they could have made instead, realize that cooperation would have produced larger outcomes, and change their strategy as a result. Across both studies, the authors show that rate of future cooperation is directly related to the number of best-case scenarios and inversely related to the number of worst-case scenarios generated. The 2nd study also shows that the number and type of retrospective thoughts generated can be predicted from the person's social value orientation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dichotic listening in college students who report auditory hallucinations.

College students were placed in 2 groups, hallucinators and nonhallucinators, on the basis of their responses to a verbal hallucinations questionnaire. Both groups were given a consonant-vowel version of a Dichotic Listening Test under 3 conditions: nonforced, forced-right, and forced-left. When hallucinators were instructed to attend to the left ear stimuli (forced-left condition), they had fewer correct responses to right ear syllables than did nonhallucinators. This resulted in a left ear advantage for hallucinators. When nonhallucinators were instructed to attend to the left ear, they maintained a right ear advantage. Results suggest that auditory hallucinations in college students are associated with differences in hemispheric functioning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Insiders’ Adaptations to Security-Based Demands in the Workplace: An Examination of Security Behavioral Complexity

Information Systems Frontiers - The protection of organizational information and information systems (IS) is a socio-technical issue and requires insiders take on a more proactive set of security...     

Proposing the online community self-disclosure model: the case of working professionals in France and the U.K. who use online communities

The global use of online communities has exploded to involve hundreds of millions of users. Despite the tremendous social impact and business opportunities afforded by these communities, little information systems (IS) research has addressed them – especially in a cross-cultural context. Our research proposes an online community self-disclosure model, tested in a cross-cultural setting using data provided by French and British working professionals. Our model is based on social exchange theory (SET) and social penetration theory (SPT), as well as on cross-cultural theory related to individualism-collectivism. SET explains that individuals engage in relationships when the perceived costs associated with the relationship are less than the expected benefits. SPT extends SET to explain that individuals participate in self-disclosure to foster relationships – reciprocation is the primary benefit of self-disclosure, whereas risk is the foundational cost of self-disclosure. Our study established several important findings: positive social influence to use an online community increases online community self-disclosure; reciprocity increases self-disclosure; online community trust increases self-disclosure; and privacy risk beliefs decrease self-disclosure. Meanwhile, a tendency toward collectivism increases self-disclosure. We further found that French participants had higher scores on horizontal individualism than British participants. Several other findings and their implications for practice are also discussed.