Research issues in implementing remote presence in teleoperator control

The concept of remote presence in telemanipulation is presented. A conceptual design of a prototype teleoperator system incorporating remote presence is described. The design is presented in functional terms, sensor, display, and control subsystem. An intermediate environment, in which the human operator is made to feel present, is explicated. The intermediate environment differs from the task environment due to the quantity and type of information presented to an operator and due to scaling factors protecting the operator from the hazards of the task environment. Potential benefits of remote presence systems, both for manipulation and for the study of human cognition and preception are discussed

Monetary policy strategies for Latin America

The authors examine possible monetary policy strategies for Latin America that may help lock in the gains the region attained in the fight against inflation in the 1990s. Instead of focusing the debate about the conduct of monetary policy on whether the nominal exchange rate should be fixed or flexible, the focus should be on whether the monetary policy regime appropriately constrains discretion in monetary policymaking. Three basic frameworks deserve serious discussion as possible long-run strategies for monetary policy in Latin America. The authors examine the advantages and disadvantages of a hard exchange-rate peg, monetary targeting, and inflation targeting, in light of monetary policy's recent track record in several Latin American countries, looking for clues about which of the strategies might be best suited to economies in the region. The answer: It depends on the country's institutional environment. Some countries appear not to have the institutions to constrain monetary policy if discretion is allowed. In those countries, there is a strong argument for hard pegs, including full dollarization, that allow little or no discretion to monetary authorities. In countries such as Chile, which can constrain discretion, inflation targeting is likely to produce a monetary policy that keeps inflation low yet appropriately copes with domestic and foreign shocks. Monetary targeting as a strategy for Latin America is not viable because of the likely instability of the relationship between inflation and monetary aggregates, of which there is ample international evidence. No monetary strategy can solve the basic problems that have existed in Latin American economies for a long time. The authors welcome the recent move in Latin American countries toward inflation targeting, but say no policy will succeed unless government policies also create the right institutional environment.Financial Intermediation,Payment Systems&Infrastructure,Fiscal&Monetary Policy,Economic Theory&Research,Banks&Banking Reform,Financial Intermediation,Banks&Banking Reform,Economic Stabilization,Economic Theory&Research,Macroeconomic Management

Path-finding algorithm for the mobile robot

The path-finding algorithm (modified A*) that guaranties the shortest length of trajectory and gives a result with minimum iterations has been developed and realized. The software that implements this routine has been developed. The check of the system has been performed on different samples

EFFECTS OF ASPIRATION VERSUS NEUROTOXIC LESIONS OF THE AMYGDALA ON EMOTIONAL RESPONSES IN MONKEYS

All previous reports describing alterations in emotional reactivity after amygdala damage in monkeys were based on aspiration or radiofrequency lesions which likely disrupted fibers of passage coursing to and from adjacent ventral and medial temporal cortical areas. To determine whether this associated indirect damage was responsible for some or all of the changes described earlier, we compared the changes induced by aspiration of the amygdala to those induced by fiber-sparing neurotoxic lesions. Four different stimuli, two with and two without a social component, were used to evaluate the expression of Defense, Aggression, Submission, and Approach responses. In unoperated controls, Defense and Approach behaviors were elicited by all four stimuli, "social" and inanimate alike, whereas Aggression and Submission responses occurred only in the presence of the two "social" stimuli. Furthermore, all Defense reactions were reduced with an attractive inanimate item, while Freezing was selectively increased with an aversive one. Relative to controls, monkeys with neurotoxic amygdala lesions showed the same array of behavioral changes as those with aspiration lesions, namely reduced fear and aggression, increased submission, and excessive manual and oral exploration. Even partial neurotoxic lesions involving less than two-thirds of the amygdala significantly altered fear and manual exploration. These findings convincingly demonstrate that the amygdala is crucial for the normal regulation of emotions in monkeys. Nevertheless, since some of the symptoms observed after neurotoxic lesions were less marked than those seen after aspiration lesions, the emotional disorders described earlier after amygdalectomy in monkeys were likely exacerbated by the attendant fiber damage

Anatomical pathways for auditory memory II: information from rostral superior temporal gyrus to dorsolateral temporal pole and medial temporal cortex

Auditory recognition memory in non-human primates differs from recognition memory in other sensory systems. Monkeys learn the rule for visual and tactile delayed matching-to-sample within a few sessions, and then show one-trial recognition memory lasting 10–20 min. In contrast, monkeys require hundreds of sessions to master the rule for auditory recognition, and then show retention lasting no longer than 30–40 s. Moreover, unlike the severe effects of rhinal lesions on visual memory, such lesions have no effect on the monkeys' auditory memory performance. The anatomical pathways for auditory memory may differ from those in vision. Long-term visual recognition memory requires anatomical connections from the visual association area TE with areas 35 and 36 of the perirhinal cortex (PRC). We examined whether there is a similar anatomical route for auditory processing, or that poor auditory recognition memory may reflect the lack of such a pathway. Our hypothesis is that an auditory pathway for recognition memory originates in the higher order processing areas of the rostral superior temporal gyrus (rSTG), and then connects via the dorsolateral temporal pole to access the rhinal cortex of the medial temporal lobe. To test this, we placed retrograde (3% FB and 2% DY) and anterograde (10% BDA 10,000 mW) tracer injections in rSTG and the dorsolateral area 38DL of the temporal pole. Results showed that area 38DL receives dense projections from auditory association areas Ts1, TAa, TPO of the rSTG, from the rostral parabelt and, to a lesser extent, from areas Ts2-3 and PGa. In turn, area 38DL projects densely to area 35 of PRC, entorhinal cortex (EC), and to areas TH/TF of the posterior parahippocampal cortex. Significantly, this projection avoids most of area 36r/c of PRC. This anatomical arrangement may contribute to our understanding of the poor auditory memory of rhesus monkeys

Monetary Policy Strategies for Latin America

The paper examines possible monetary policy strategies for Latin America that may help lock-in the gains in the fight against inflation attained by the region during the 1990s. We start by calling for a refocus of the debate about the conduct of monetary policy away from thinking that it is about whether the nominal exchange rate should be fixed or flexible. Instead we argue that the focus should be on whether the monetary policy regime appropriately constrains discretion in monetary policymaking. This focus suggest that there are three basic frameworks that deserve serious discussion as possible, long-run strategies for monetary policy in Latin America: a hard exchange-rate peg, monetary targeting, and inflation targeting. We look at the advantages and disadvantages of each of these strategies and then examine the recent track record of monetary policy in some Latin American countries for clues as to which of the three strategies might be best suited to economies in the region.

Тютютнопаління як соціально-екологічна проблема людства

 The problem of smoking is almost the most common among human addictions, which is very difficult to give up. A person spends a lot of his life neglecting his health to buy cigarettes and get temporary pleasure. The issue of quality and environmental safety of cigarette components – tobacco, tissue paper and filters worries both cigarette consumers and environmentalists, doctors and others. specialists. Of course, the use of low-quality product from cigarette manufacturers harms not only the human body but also the environment.Purpose. Determine the quality and environmental safety (presence of concentrations of heavy metals) of tobacco, cigarette paper and cigarette filters of domestic and foreign brands.Methods. Methods of atomic absorption spectrometry using the atomic absorption spectrometer MGA 915 MD.Results. Experimental studies by atomic absorption analysis on the concentrations of heavy metals in tobacco, cigarette filters and paper showed the presence of heavy metals: Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb. Studies of various tobacco brands have found that the highest concentrations of heavy metals were in the tobacco of the cheapest cigarettes (up to 150 mg / kg), in cigarette paper found only Mn, Zn., When comparing the content of the most toxic heavy metals Cd and Pb in the cigarettes "Parliament" and "Kyiv" and "LM" it was determined that in the tobacco of "Parliament" cigarettes HM concentrations are 7–10 times lower..Conclusions. There is a tendency to decrease the concentration of heavy metals in the components of cigarettes depending on the price category of the tobacco product. Thus, for the most part, the components of cigarettes of domestic brands have tens of times higher concentrations of heavy metals than cigarettes of the American manufacturer.Проблема курения почти самая распространенная среди зависимостей человечества, от которой очень трудно отказаться. Человек всю жизнь, пренебрегая своим здоровьем, тратит значительные средства на приобретение сигарет и получения временного удовольствия. Вопрос качества и экологической безопасности составляющих сигарет – табака, сигаретной бумаги и фильтров беспокоит как самих потребителей сигарет, так и экологов, медиков и других специалистов. Конечно, использование некачественного продукта от производителей сигарет вредит не только организму, но и окружающей среде.Цель. Определить качество и экологическую безопасность (наличие концентраций тяжелых металлов) в табаке, сигаретной бумаге и фильтрах сигарет отечественных и зарубежных брендов.Методы. Методы атомно-абсорбционной спектрометрии с помощью атомно-абсорбционного спектрометра МГА 915 МД.Результаты. Экспериментальные исследования методами атомно-абсорбционного анализа концентраций тяжелых металлов в табаке, сигаретных фильтрах и бумаге показали наличие тяжелых металлов: Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb. Исследование различных табачных брендов определили, что наибольшие концентрации тяжелых металлов обраружены в табаке дешевых сигарет (до 150 мг / кг), в сигаретной бумаге только Mn, Zn. При сравнении содержания наиболее токсичных тяжелых металлов Cd и Pb в сигаретах «Parliament» и «Киев» и «LM» определено, что в табаке сигарет «Parliament» концентрации ВМ в 7–10 раз меньше.Выводы. Выявлена тенденция к уменьшению концентрации тяжелых металлов в составных сигарет в зависимости от ценовой категории табачного продукта. Так по большинству показателей в составляющих сигарет отечественных брендов концентраций тяжелых металлов в десятки раз выше, чем в сигаретах американского производителя.Проблема тютюнопаління є майже найпоширенішою серед залежностей людства, від якої дуже важко відмовитися. Людина все життя, нехтуючи своїм здоров’ям, витрачає значні кошти на придбання цигарок та отримання тимчасового задоволення. Питання якості та екологічної  безпеки складових цигарок – тютюну, цигаркового паперу та фільтрів непокоїть як самих споживачів цигарок, так і екологів, медиків і інших фахівців. Звісно, використання неякісного продукту від виробників цигарок шкодить не тільки організму людини, а й довкіллю.Мета. Визначити якість та екологічну безпеку (наявність концентрацій  важких металів) у тютюні, цигарковому папері та фільтрах цигарок вітчизняних і зарубіжних брендів.Методи. Меоди атомно-абсорбційної спектрометрії за допомогою атомно-абсорбційного спектрометра  МГА 915 МД.Результати. Експериментальні дослідження методами атомно-абсорбційного аналізу щодо концентрацій важких металів у тютюні, цигаркових фільтрах та папері показали наявність важких металів: Mn, Zn, Cu, Cr, Cd, Pb. Дослідження різних тютюнових брендів визначили, що найбільші концентрації важких металів – в тютюні найдешевших цигарок (до 150 мг/кг), у цигарковому  папері виявлено лише Mn, Zn. При порівнянні вмісту найбільш токсичних важких металів Cd та Pb у цигарках «Parliament» та «Київ» і «LM» визначено, що у тютюні цигарок «Parliament» концентрації ВМ у 7–10 разів менші.Висновки. Виявлено тенденцію до зменшення концентрації важких металів у складових цигарок у залежності від цінової категорії тютюнового продукту. За більшістю показників у складових цигарок вітчизняних брендів концентрації важких металів у десятки разів вище, ніж у цигарках американського виробника

Rectification from Radially-Distorted Scales

This paper introduces the first minimal solvers that jointly estimate lens distortion and affine rectification from repetitions of rigidly transformed coplanar local features. The proposed solvers incorporate lens distortion into the camera model and extend accurate rectification to wide-angle images that contain nearly any type of coplanar repeated content. We demonstrate a principled approach to generating stable minimal solvers by the Grobner basis method, which is accomplished by sampling feasible monomial bases to maximize numerical stability. Synthetic and real-image experiments confirm that the solvers give accurate rectifications from noisy measurements when used in a RANSAC-based estimator. The proposed solvers demonstrate superior robustness to noise compared to the state-of-the-art. The solvers work on scenes without straight lines and, in general, relax the strong assumptions on scene content made by the state-of-the-art. Accurate rectifications on imagery that was taken with narrow focal length to near fish-eye lenses demonstrate the wide applicability of the proposed method. The method is fully automated, and the code is publicly available at https://github.com/prittjam/repeats.Comment: pre-prin

Two Mechanisms to Avoid Control Conflicts Resulting from Uncoordinated Intent

This software implements a real-time access control protocol that is intended to make all connected users aware of the presence of other connected users, and which of them is currently in control of the system. Here, "in control" means that a single user is authorized and enabled to issue instructions to the system. The software The software also implements a goal scheduling mechanism that can detect situations where plans for the operation of a target system proposed by different users overlap and interact in conflicting ways. In such situations, the system can either simply report the conflict (rejecting one goal or the entire plan), or reschedule the goals in a way that does not conflict. The access control mechanism (and associated control protocol) is unique. Other access control mechanisms are generally intended to authenticate users, or exclude unauthorized access. This software does neither, and would likely depend on having some other mechanism to support those requirements