Salient Local 3D Features for 3D Shape Retrieval

In this paper we describe a new formulation for the 3D salient local features based on the voxel grid inspired by the Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT). We use it to identify the salient keypoints (invariant points) on a 3D voxelized model and calculate invariant 3D local feature descriptors at these keypoints. We then use the bag of words approach on the 3D local features to represent the 3D models for shape retrieval. The advantages of the method are that it can be applied to rigid as well as to articulated and deformable 3D models. Finally, this approach is applied for 3D Shape Retrieval on the McGill articulated shape benchmark and then the retrieval results are presented and compared to other methods.Comment: Three-Dimensional Imaging, Interaction, and Measurement. Edited by Beraldin, J. Angelo; Cheok, Geraldine S.; McCarthy, Michael B.; Neuschaefer-Rube, Ulrich; Baskurt, Atilla M.; McDowall, Ian E.; Dolinsky, Margaret. Proceedings of the SPIE, Volume 7864, pp. 78640S-78640S-8 (2011). Conference Location: San Francisco Airport, California, USA ISBN: 9780819484017 Date: 10 March 201

View subspaces for indexing and retrieval of 3D models

View-based indexing schemes for 3D object retrieval are gaining popularity since they provide good retrieval results. These schemes are coherent with the theory that humans recognize objects based on their 2D appearances. The viewbased techniques also allow users to search with various queries such as binary images, range images and even 2D sketches. The previous view-based techniques use classical 2D shape descriptors such as Fourier invariants, Zernike moments, Scale Invariant Feature Transform-based local features and 2D Digital Fourier Transform coefficients. These methods describe each object independent of others. In this work, we explore data driven subspace models, such as Principal Component Analysis, Independent Component Analysis and Nonnegative Matrix Factorization to describe the shape information of the views. We treat the depth images obtained from various points of the view sphere as 2D intensity images and train a subspace to extract the inherent structure of the views within a database. We also show the benefit of categorizing shapes according to their eigenvalue spread. Both the shape categorization and data-driven feature set conjectures are tested on the PSB database and compared with the competitor view-based 3D shape retrieval algorithmsComment: Three-Dimensional Image Processing (3DIP) and Applications (Proceedings Volume) Proceedings of SPIE Volume: 7526 Editor(s): Atilla M. Baskurt ISBN: 9780819479198 Date: 2 February 201

Catastrophic Cardiac Complications of Takayasu\u27s Arteritis.

Takayasu\u27s arteritis (TA) causes inflammation and necrosis of vessel walls, leading to aneurysm formation, extensive coronary damage and valvular abnormalities. We review a case of recurrent coronary, aortic and mitral valve involvement in a patient with TA and discuss the various treatment options available for such patients

Retrieval and Clustering from a 3D Human Database based on Body and Head Shape

In this paper, we describe a framework for similarity based retrieval and clustering from a 3D human database. Our technique is based on both body and head shape representation and the retrieval is based on similarity of both of them. The 3D human database used in our study is the CAESAR anthropometric database which contains approximately 5000 bodies. We have developed a web-based interface for specifying the queries to interact with the retrieval system. Our approach performs the similarity based retrieval in a reasonable amount of time and is a practical approach.Comment: Published in Proceedings of the 2006 Digital Human Modeling for Design and Engineering Conference, July 2006, Lyon, FRANCE, Session: Advanced Size/Shape Analysis Paper Number: 2006-01-2355 http://papers.sae.org/2006-01-235

Narrowing Interjurisdictional Immunity

The doctrine of “interjurisdictional immunity” is part of the framework of principles of Canadian federalism aimed at reconciling federal values with the reality that laws enacted by one level of government will inevitably have an impact on matters within the jurisdiction of the other level of government. The law on interjurisdictional immunity has undergone considerable evolution in the last few decades, with the most recent development being the Supreme Court of Canada’s decisions in Canadian Western Bank and Lafarge, which were decided in 2007. Historically, the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity was narrowly applied and the issue was whether a provincial law sterilized, paralyzed or impaired a federal undertaking or subject. This strict test was relaxed by the Supreme Court of Canada in the seminal cases of Bell 1966 and Bell 1988, which held that provincial legislation was inapplicable to federal undertakings whenever it “affected” a vital part of a federal undertaking or core of federal jurisdiction. In Canadian Western Bank and Lafarge, the Supreme Court shifted the balance of federalism in the direction of the provinces by reverting back to a more restrictive approach to interjurisdictional immunity. In the first part of this paper, the authors describe the interjurisdictional immunity doctrine and distinguish it from the doctrines of pith and substance and paramountcy. In the second part, the authors discuss the history and development of interjurisdictional immunity, and in the last part, they provide comments on the wisdom of the Supreme Court’s move to a more restrictive application of interjurisdictional immunity in Canadian Western Bank and Lafarge

Narrowing Interjurisdictional Immunity

The doctrine of “interjurisdictional immunity” is part of the framework of principles of Canadian federalism aimed at reconciling federal values with the reality that laws enacted by one level of government will inevitably have an impact on matters within the jurisdiction of the other level of government. The law on interjurisdictional immunity has undergone considerable evolution in the last few decades, with the most recent development being the Supreme Court of Canada’s decisions in Canadian Western Bank and Lafarge, which were decided in 2007. Historically, the doctrine of interjurisdictional immunity was narrowly applied and the issue was whether a provincial law sterilized, paralyzed or impaired a federal undertaking or subject. This strict test was relaxed by the Supreme Court of Canada in the seminal cases of Bell 1966 and Bell 1988, which held that provincial legislation was inapplicable to federal undertakings whenever it “affected” a vital part of a federal undertaking or core of federal jurisdiction. In Canadian Western Bank and Lafarge, the Supreme Court shifted the balance of federalism in the direction of the provinces by reverting back to a more restrictive approach to interjurisdictional immunity. In the first part of this paper, the authors describe the interjurisdictional immunity doctrine and distinguish it from the doctrines of pith and substance and paramountcy. In the second part, the authors discuss the history and development of interjurisdictional immunity, and in the last part, they provide comments on the wisdom of the Supreme Court’s move to a more restrictive application of interjurisdictional immunity in Canadian Western Bank and Lafarge

Face Recognition using 3D Facial Shape and Color Map Information: Comparison and Combination

In this paper, we investigate the use of 3D surface geometry for face recognition and compare it to one based on color map information. The 3D surface and color map data are from the CAESAR anthropometric database. We find that the recognition performance is not very different between 3D surface and color map information using a principal component analysis algorithm. We also discuss the different techniques for the combination of the 3D surface and color map information for multi-modal recognition by using different fusion approaches and show that there is significant improvement in results. The effectiveness of various techniques is compared and evaluated on a dataset with 200 subjects in two different positions.Comment: Proceedings of SPIE Vol. 5404 Biometric Technology for Human Identification, Anil K. Jain; Nalini K. Ratha, Editors, pp.351-361, ISBN: 9780819453273 Date: 25 August 200

Relationship of working capital management and profitability of the firms - an application of unit root and co-integration test on the various corporate sectors of Pakistan stock exchange

The main purpose of this research is to find the impact and the long-run relationship of working capital, and profitability in different major sectors of Pakistan stock exchange; for this purpose eight sectors with 95 listed companies selected that can be representative of the Pakistani mindset and practices of the corporate world. For this reason, ROA used as the dependent variable and CCC, CR, QR, WCT ART, APD, ROCE, DR to check the long-run relationship with Firm Performance. OLS is not possible due to the trend in data. In this research unit root test and Penal Co-integration test used for finding the long-run relationship equilibrium. This research paper provides guidelines to corporate practitioners and academia to understand and focus on working capital to improve profitability in the organization. Findings revealed that different sectors have different characteristics of working capital in the long-run equilibrium. This research intends to give future direction for the researcher to develop theories of liquidity and working capital

The Impact of Governance Quality in Stock Selection of Professional Investors.

We study the impact of governance quality as a criterion in the stock selection process of actual portfolio managers. We assess the extent to which portfolio managers’ current holdings are consistent with their governance policy guidelines. We also examine the extent to which governance quality guidelines impact manager performance relative to country specific benchmarks as well as the MSCI World Index. Companies which get a higher grade based on our new index of governance quality outperform the benchmarks, and are low risk, when compared to a basket of randomly selected companies. Key components of the new governance index include factors reflecting board structure and voting, skills and experience, stock ownership and conflicts of interest and compensation. The two criteria which are statistically significant out of the eleven criteria are director independence and metrics used in rewarding compensation. Respondents do take into account the governance variables they consider essential in their investment decisions, and such variables serve to enhance performance

Knowledge, attitude and perception survey of doctors regarding antibiotic use and resistance in Karachi, Pakistan

Objective: To establish a better understanding of physicians\u27 knowledge and beliefs, and to compare distinctions in knowledge, attitude and perception of junior and senior doctors regarding rational use of antibiotics.Methods: The cross-sectional study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in Karachi, from June 1 to July 31, 2016, and comprised senior and junior doctors. A 26-item questionnaire divided in three sections was used to test knowledge, attitude and perception of the subjects regarding rational use of antibiotics. Data was analysed using SPSS 23.Results: Of the 200 subjects, 132(66%) were senior doctors; 68(34%) were junior; 116(58%) were females; 84(42%) were males; and the highest number of respondents were from General Medicine 65(32.5%). While 182(91%) doctors realised that antibiotic resistance was a pressing issue, only 131(65.5%) felt confident about their prescriptions and 94(47%) admitted that they over-prescribed antibiotics. Among young physicians, 13(19.1%) believed that antibiotics did not cause side effects even when prescribed unnecesarily. Also, 47(69.1%) junior doctors felt that patients\u27 demands influenced their prescriptions compared to 66(50%) senior doctors (p=0.01).Conclusion: Although physicians were found to be knowledgeable about rational use of antibiotics, there were gaps in knowledge and perception