A Lite Fireworks Algorithm with Fractal Dimension Constraint for Feature Selection

As the use of robotics becomes more widespread, the huge amount of vision data leads to a dramatic increase in data dimensionality. Although deep learning methods can effectively process these high-dimensional vision data. Due to the limitation of computational resources, some special scenarios still rely on traditional machine learning methods. However, these high-dimensional visual data lead to great challenges for traditional machine learning methods. Therefore, we propose a Lite Fireworks Algorithm with Fractal Dimension constraint for feature selection (LFWA+FD) and use it to solve the feature selection problem driven by robot vision. The "LFWA+FD" focuses on searching the ideal feature subset by simplifying the fireworks algorithm and constraining the dimensionality of selected features by fractal dimensionality, which in turn reduces the approximate features and reduces the noise in the original data to improve the accuracy of the model. The comparative experimental results of two publicly available datasets from UCI show that the proposed method can effectively select a subset of features useful for model inference and remove a large amount of noise noise present in the original data to improve the performance.Comment: International Conference on Pharmaceutical Sciences 202

A novel automated approach of multi-modality retinal image registration and fusion

Biomedical image registration and fusion are usually scene dependent, and require intensive computational effort. A novel automated approach of feature-based control point detection and area-based registration and fusion of retinal images has been successfully designed and developed. The new algorithm, which is reliable and time-efficient, has an automatic adaptation from frame to frame with few tunable threshold parameters. The reference and the to-be-registered images are from two different modalities, i.e. angiogram grayscale images and fundus color images. The relative study of retinal images enhances the information on the fundus image by superimposing information contained in the angiogram image. Through the thesis research, two new contributions have been made to the biomedical image registration and fusion area. The first contribution is the automatic control point detection at the global direction change pixels using adaptive exploratory algorithm. Shape similarity criteria are employed to match the control points. The second contribution is the heuristic optimization algorithm that maximizes Mutual-Pixel-Count (MPC) objective function. The initially selected control points are adjusted during the optimization at the sub-pixel level. A global maxima equivalent result is achieved by calculating MPC local maxima with an efficient computation cost. The iteration stops either when MPC reaches the maximum value, or when the maximum allowable loop count is reached. To our knowledge, it is the first time that the MPC concept has been introduced into biomedical image fusion area as the measurement criteria for fusion accuracy. The fusion image is generated based on the current control point coordinates when the iteration stops. The comparative study of the presented automatic registration and fusion scheme against Centerline Control Point Detection Algorithm, Genetic Algorithm, RMSE objective function, and other existing data fusion approaches has shown the advantage of the new approach in terms of accuracy, efficiency, and novelty

Virtual Reality Games for Motor Rehabilitation

This paper presents a fuzzy logic based method to track user satisfaction without the need for devices to monitor users physiological conditions. User satisfaction is the key to any product’s acceptance; computer applications and video games provide a unique opportunity to provide a tailored environment for each user to better suit their needs. We have implemented a non-adaptive fuzzy logic model of emotion, based on the emotional component of the Fuzzy Logic Adaptive Model of Emotion (FLAME) proposed by El-Nasr, to estimate player emotion in UnrealTournament 2004. In this paper we describe the implementation of this system and present the results of one of several play tests. Our research contradicts the current literature that suggests physiological measurements are needed. We show that it is possible to use a software only method to estimate user emotion

Inside the Politics of Technology

Man is the measure of all things, an old saying goes. But it is a bad guide for understanding scientific and technological culture. Science and technology are not simply the means to reach human ends; they also actively shape human beings, their goals, meanings and social relations. This volume discusses the implications of this so-called 'co-production' of science, technology and society for our analytical as well as normative ideas about humanity, technology and the relations between both. Addressing issues such as cancer genetics, prenatal screening and ecological consequences of traffic and transport, contributors argue that technology has its own kind of sub-politics, which in turn calls for policies of technology: from steering and regulation to scenario studies, in order to achieve democratisation of technology

DNA double-strand break repair and the termination of replication in Escherichia coli

Faithful DNA replication is essential for the maintenance of genetic information. This complex process consists of 3 steps: initiation, elongation and termination. Although the first two steps are quite well understood in both eukaryotes and prokaryotes, many aspects of the termination of replication remain unclear. Escherichia coli is an ideal organism to study termination of DNA replication. In E. coli, DNA replication starts by bidirectional firing of two replication forks from a unique origin and terminates when those forks collide in the terminus region of the circular chromosome. The terminus region is flanked by specific ter sequences, which ensure that termination of replication occurs within specific boundaries. Due to the circularity of the E. coli chromosome, once the replication is finished the dimers can be formed. To resolve the dimers, the dif sequences are aligned together and two chromosomes are then separated into two daughter cells. Previous members of Prof. Leach laboratory have observed a stimulation of both double-strand break repair (DSBR) and DNA over-replication in the terminus region when DSBR was induced in the lacZ locus, half way between the origin and the terminus. In this work, I propose that these two phenomena, elevated levels of DSBR and DNA over-replication, are linked to each other. I confirm that the DSBs arise from the dif site and that the dif site is the source of DNA over-replication in the terminus. My results suggest that an attempted DSBR at dif leads to over-replication between terA and terB. Here, using next generation sequencing methods, I show that TopoIV and TopoIII topoisomerases introduce breaks in chromosome dimers that were not resolved by the XerCD/dif system, leading to DSBR and DNA over-replication

Extensive Behavioral Phenotyping of Williams Syndrome Locus Relevant Mouse Models to Assess Contributions of Oxytocin and Gtf2ird1

The Williams Syndrome Critical Region (WSCR) at chromosome 7q11.23 provides a unique opportunity to untangle the relationship between genotype and phenotype in complex behaviors, from fear and anxiety to sociability and sensorimotor processing. Copy number variations (CNVs) in this region result in two syndromes, Williams Syndrome (WS) and Duplication 7q11.23 Syndrome (Dup7), which display phenotypes that may align, indicating a common disruption of a system, or diverge, reflecting an underlying gene dosage-dependent effect. While case studies of atypical deletions resulting in WS have implicated telomeric genes Gtf2ird1 and Gtf2i in the cognitive and behavioral profiles of WS, proving causation requires utilizing mouse models. Thus, I leveraged the construct validity of a mouse line modeling the most common deletion in WS to assess pharmacological and genetic interventions in an attempt to ameliorate deficits caused by CNVs in the WSCR. I assessed the role of oxytocin in fear conditioning deficits observed in the Complete Deletion (CD) mice and show that an oxytocin antagonist delivered to the central nervous system does not rescue the contextual and cued recall impairments, suggesting no direct role for oxytocin dysregulation in these features of the CD model. No significant differences in oxytocin receptor density or distribution were found either. I then present a novel transgenic model designed to overexpress Gtf2ird1, one of the genes implicated in the hallmark cognitive and behavioral features of WS and characterize the effect of its overexpression on a C57BL/6J wild type background and its molecular rescue of Gtf2ird1 expression on the CD background in a comprehensive assessment of sensorimotor, anxiety, fear, and social behaviors. Deficits in the CD model are shown in all of these domains to various degrees and while Gtf2ird1 did not play a role in the enhanced social approach or motivation observed in the CD line, it did ameliorate deficits in three tasks (Platform, Rotarod and Light/Dark box). These results may support the idea that Gtf2ird1 is involved in sensory processing, which has been suggested particularly regarding the visuospatial deficits seen in WS

The Machine as Art/ The Machine as Artist

The articles collected in this volume from the two companion Arts Special Issues, “The Machine as Art (in the 20th Century)” and “The Machine as Artist (in the 21st Century)”, represent a unique scholarly resource: analyses by artists, scientists, and engineers, as well as art historians, covering not only the current (and astounding) rapprochement between art and technology but also the vital post-World War II period that has led up to it; this collection is also distinguished by several of the contributors being prominent individuals within their own fields, or as artists who have actually participated in the still unfolding events with which it is concerne

Proceedings of the 7th Sound and Music Computing Conference

Proceedings of the SMC2010 - 7th Sound and Music Computing Conference, July 21st - July 24th 2010