Edge Potential Functions (EPF) and Genetic Algorithms (GA) for Edge-Based Matching of Visual Objects

Edges are known to be a semantically rich representation of the contents of a digital image. Nevertheless, their use in practical applications is sometimes limited by computation and complexity constraints. In this paper, a new approach is presented that addresses the problem of matching visual objects in digital images by combining the concept of Edge Potential Functions (EPF) with a powerful matching tool based on Genetic Algorithms (GA). EPFs can be easily calculated starting from an edge map and provide a kind of attractive pattern for a matching contour, which is conveniently exploited by GAs. Several tests were performed in the framework of different image matching applications. The results achieved clearly outline the potential of the proposed method as compared to state of the art methodologies. (c) 2007 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other users, including reprinting/ republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted components of this work in other works

Chapter Rappresentare il paesaggio urbano: segni per un’identità dinamica

The 43rd UID conference, held in Genova, takes up the theme of ‘Dialogues’ as practice and debate on many fundamental topics in our social life, especially in these complex and not yet resolved times. The city of Genova offers the opportunity to ponder on the value of comparison and on the possibilities for the community, naturally focused on the aspects that concern us, as professors, researchers, disseminators of knowledge, or on all the possibile meanings of the discipline of representation and its dialogue with ‘others’, which we have broadly catalogued in three macro areas: History, Semiotics, Science / Technology. Therefore, “dialogue” as a profitable exchange based on a common language, without which it is impossible to comprehend and understand one another; and the graphic sign that connotes the conference is the precise transcription of this concept: the title ‘translated’ into signs, derived from the visual alphabet designed for the visual identity of the UID since 2017. There are many topics which refer to three macro sessions: - Witnessing (signs and history) - Communicating (signs and semiotics) - Experimenting (signs and sciences) Thanks to the different points of view, an exceptional resource of our disciplinary area, we want to try to outline the prevailing theoretical-operational synergies, the collaborative lines of an instrumental nature, the recent updates of the repertoires of images that attest and nourish the relations among representation, history, semiotics, sciences

An atypical case of trigeminal trophic syndrome: a legal medicine perspective in medical responsibility

BACKGROUND: Trigeminal trophic syndrome is a rare complication of peripheral or central damage to the trigeminal nerve characterized by anesthesia, paresthesia and a secondary persistent facial ulceration. METHODS: We describe the case of a 40-year-old woman with previous history of Le Fort I osteotomy for a class III malocclusion who developed trigeminal trophic syndrome. Atypically, the cutaneous symptoms appeared bilaterally and 8 years after surgery. RESULTS: Differential diagnosis was based on clinical history, tissue biopsy and serologic evaluation. Atypical findings could be linked to the surgical burdens of Le Fort I osteotomy, a procedure characterized by a bilateral incision on the maxillofacial bones with a reasonable probability of causing a bilateral injury of the peripheral branches of the trigeminal nerve. CONCLUSION: Although the long delay between trigeminal trophic syndrome onset and surgery and the absence of adequate medical evidence cannot confirm a link with previous surgery in this case, the increasing number of maxillofacial surgery cases suggests that this complication may be more frequent in the next decades, and thus, involved specialists should be aware of this condition as a possible complication of maxillofacial surgery procedures

Bow-Tie Cavity for Terahertz Radiation

We report on the development, testing, and performance analysis of a bow-tie resonant cavity for terahertz (THz) radiation, injected with a continuous-wave 2.55 THz quantum cascade laser. The bow-tie cavity employs a wire-grid polarizer as input/output coupler and a pair of copper spherical mirrors coated with an unprotected 500 nm thick gold layer. The improvements with respect to previous setups have led to a measured finesse value F=123, and a quality factor Q = 5.1x10^5. The resonator performances and the relevant parameters are theoretically predicted and discussed, and a comparison among simulated and experimental spectra is given

A forgotten collection: the Libyan ethnobotanical exhibits (1912-14) by A. Trotter at the Museum O. Comes at the University Federico II in Naples, Italy

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Ethnobotanical Collection from the Libyan territories of the botanist Alessandro Trotter is included in the Oratio Comes Botanical Museum at the Faculty of Agraria at the University Federico II in Naples. Trotter explored different territories of Libya, mainly Tripolitania, between 1912-1924, collecting plant specimens and the drugs most frequently sold in the markets. The Libyan herbarium currently includes over 2300 sheets of mounted and accessioned plants. The drugs, mostly acquired by Trotter from Tripolitanian markets, were identified and packed in 87 paper sheets or boxes. Trotter added ethnobotanical information for each species when available.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A database of the herbarium species and the drugs has been carried out, after a taxonomic update. Nomenclature has been revised according to the African flowering plants database and the World Checklist of selected plant families, and a comparison with currently available ethnopharmacological data from North African has been attempted.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In this study, ethnopharmacological data related to about 80 species of flowering plants and to 4 lichens are presented. The plants are mainly from Mediterranean or Sub-Saharan habitats and belong to 37 different families; Lamiaceae was the most cited family, with 10 accessions. Generally, the aerial parts of the plants are the most frequently used (28 species), followed by leaves (15 species), flowers and seeds (9 species), fruits (7 species) and hypogean organs (roots, rhizomes, tubers: 5 species). Plants were generally processed in very simple ways: infusion or decoction of the plants were prepared and orally administered or used for topical applications. A wide range of conditions was treated, ranging from mental disorders to skin affections. All the organs of human body are considered, but the pathologies of gastro-intestinal tract, respiratory system and those related to traumatic accidents were the most frequently mentioned. The comparison with the recent ethnopharmacological research in Maghreb and its neighboring countries reveals a high correspondence; almost all the plants cited by Trotter are still used in the folk medicine of at least one of the North African countries, and the therapeutic uses of each plant appear consistent over time.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The information collected by Trotter is an important contribution to tracing plant utilization in Libyan folk medicine over the last century.</p

Ganciclovir penetrates into the cerebrospinal fluid of an infant with congenital cytomegalovirus infection

Currently, there is no evidence whether ganciclovir, or its oral prodrug valganciclovir, penetrates into the cerebrospinal fluid of human infants treated for congenital cytomegalovirus infection. Here we report a case study providing evidence that ganciclovir, administered as valganciclovir, reaches the infant's cerebrospinal fluid when used at the currently recommended dose for congenital cytomegalovirus infection