People counting with stereo cameras:two template-based solutions

People counting is a challenging task with many applications. We propose a method with a fixed stereo camera that is based on projecting a template onto the depth image. The method was tested on a challenging outdoor dataset with good results and runs in real time

Infinite factorization of multiple non-parametric views

Combined analysis of multiple data sources has increasing application interest, in particular for distinguishing shared and source-specific aspects. We extend this rationale of classical canonical correlation analysis into a flexible, generative and non-parametric clustering setting, by introducing a novel non-parametric hierarchical mixture model. The lower level of the model describes each source with a flexible non-parametric mixture, and the top level combines these to describe commonalities of the sources. The lower-level clusters arise from hierarchical Dirichlet Processes, inducing an infinite-dimensional contingency table between the views. The commonalities between the sources are modeled by an infinite block model of the contingency table, interpretable as non-negative factorization of infinite matrices, or as a prior for infinite contingency tables. With Gaussian mixture components plugged in for continuous measurements, the model is applied to two views of genes, mRNA expression and abundance of the produced proteins, to expose groups of genes that are co-regulated in either or both of the views. Cluster analysis of co-expression is a standard simple way of screening for co-regulation, and the two-view analysis extends the approach to distinguishing between pre- and post-translational regulation

Identification of sex hormone-binding globulin in the human hypothalamus

Gonadal steroids are known to influence hypothalamic functions through both genomic and non-genomic pathways. Sex hormone-binding globulin ( SHBG) may act by a non-genomic mechanism independent of classical steroid receptors. Here we describe the immunocytochemical mapping of SHBG-containing neurons and nerve fibers in the human hypothalamus and infundibulum. Mass spectrometry and Western blot analysis were also used to characterize the biochemical characteristics of SHBG in the hypothalamus and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of humans. SHBG-immunoreactive neurons were observed in the supraoptic nucleus, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, paraventricular nucleus, arcuate nucleus, the perifornical region and the medial preoptic area in human brains. There were SHBG-immunoreactive axons in the median eminence and the infundibulum. A partial colocalization with oxytocin could be observed in the posterior pituitary lobe in consecutive semithin sections. We also found strong immunoreactivity for SHBG in epithelial cells of the choroid plexus and in a portion of the ependymal cells lining the third ventricle. Mass spectrometry showed that affinity-purified SHBG from the hypothalamus and choroid plexus is structurally similar to the SHBG identified in the CSF. The multiple localizations of SHBG suggest neurohypophyseal and neuroendocrine functions. The biochemical data suggest that CSF SHBG is of brain rather than blood origin. Copyright (c) 2005 S. Karger AG, Base

Thin films of fluorinated 3d-metal phthalocyanines as chemical sensors of ammonia: an optical spectroscopy study

A comparative study of the sensor response toward gaseous ammonia of hexadecafluorinated 3d-metal phthalocyanine (MPcF16, MCu(II), Co(II), Zn(II), Ni(II)) thin films was performed using complementary experimental (viz., surface plasmon resonance, SPR, and IR absorption spectroscopy) along with theoretical (density functional theory calculations, DFT) techniques. SPR measurements revealed changes of both thickness and optical parameters (refraction indices and extinction coefficients) of the MPcF16 films caused by adsorption of NH3. The MPcF16 species studied exhibited the following order of sensor response: ZnPcF16>CoPcF16≥CuPcF16>NiPcF16. A good correlation was found between the DFT calculated (B3LYP/6-311++G(2df,p)) binding energies, experimentally measured shift of the selected IR bands, and the optical sensor response. Apart from this, we performed a detailed assignment of all intense..