Impact of Lighting Arrangements and Illuminances on Different Impressions of a Room

Cataloged from PDF version of article.This study explores whether different lighting arrangements (general lighting, wall washing and cove lighting) and different illuminances (500 and 320 lux) could affect the perception of the same space. An experimental study was conducted to investigate how the qualitative aspects of space (the impressions of a space) could be enhanced with lighting. Hundred participants were first asked to choose the most suitable lighting arrangement for each impression (clarity, spaciousness, relaxation, privacy, pleasantness and order) under the 500 lux illuminance. In the second stage, they were asked to compare the two illuminances (500 and 320 lux) for the lighting arrangement they selected in the first stage. There was a statistically significant relation between impressions and lighting arrangements, also between impressions and lighting levels. Thus, different lighting arrangements and lighting levels could be used to enhance the clarity, spaciousness, relaxation, privacy, pleasantness and order of a room. The results of this study found most suitable lighting arrangements with their illuminances for each impression, which is reported in the paper

Agricultural Academy

Abstract KAYMAK, H. C., I. GUVENC and A. GUROL, 2010. Elemental analysis of different radish (Raphanus sativus L.) Cultivars by using wavelength-dispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (WDXRF). Bulg. J. Agric. Sci., The aim of this work is to study the applicability of a quantitative WDXRF (Wavelength-Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence) method, for determination of minerals in radish specimens. In this study, we have quantitatively and semi-quantitatively analysed the four different radish (Raphanus sativus L.) cultivars (cvs. 'Siyah', 'Beyaz', 'Antep' and 'Iri-Kirimizi'). We have found that major elements; namely N and K; a few minor elements; Na, Mg, P, S, and Ca, and a lot of trace elements; Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Al, Ti, Cr, Br, Rb, Sr, Sn, Ba and La. The obtained trace element concentrations range from 0.01 to 3.24 mg per 100 g. This rapid method has been found to be a reliable technique for analyzing the mineral content in radish. At the end of this work, it was clearly said that Wavelengthdispersive X-ray fluorescence spectrometry (WDXRF) could be used for the analysis of mineral contents of radish and other vegetables

Sector Expansion and Elliptical Modeling of Blue-Gray Ovoids for Basal Cell Carcinoma Discrimination in Dermoscopy Images

Background: Blue-gray ovoids (B-GOs), a critical dermoscopic structure for basal cell carcinoma (BCC), offer an opportunity for automatic detection of BCC. Due to variation in size and color, B-GOs can be easily mistaken for similar structures in benign lesions. Analysis of these structures could afford accurate characterization and automatic recognition of B-GOs, furthering the goal of automatic BCC detection. This study utilizes a novel segmentation method to discriminate B-GOs from their benign mimics. Methods: Contact dermoscopy images of 68 confirmed BCCs with B-GOs were obtained. Another set of 131 contact dermoscopic images of benign lesions possessing B-GO mimics provided a benign competitive set. A total of 22 B-GO features were analyzed for all structures: 21 color features and one size feature. Regarding segmentation, this study utilized a novel sector-based, non-recursive segmentation method to expand the masks applied to the B-GOs and mimicking structures. Results: Logistic regression analysis determined that blue chromaticity was the best feature for discriminating true B-GOs in BCC from benign, mimicking structures. Discrimination of malignant structures was optimal when the final B-GO border was approximated by a best-fit ellipse. Using this optimal configuration, logistic regression analysis discriminated the expanded and fitted malignant structures from similar benign structures with a classification rate as high as 96.5%. Conclusions: Experimental results show that color features allow accurate expansion and localization of structures from seed areas. Modeling these structures as ellipses allows high discrimination of B-GOs in BCCs from similar structures in benign images

A decentralized spectrum allocation and partitioning scheme for a two-tier macro-femtocell network with downlink beamforming

This article examines spectrum allocation and partitioning schemes to mitigate cross-tier interference under downlink beamforming environments. The enhanced SIR owing to beamforming allows more femtocells to share their spectrum with the macrocell and accordingly improves overall spectrum efficiency. We first design a simplified centralized scheme as the optimum and then propose a practical decentralized algorithm that determines which femtocells to use the full or partitioned spectrum with acceptable control overhead. To exploit limited information of the received signal strength efficiently, we consider two types of probabilistic femtocell base station (HeNB) selection policies. They are equal selection and interference weighted selection policies, and we drive their outage probabilities for a macrocell user. Through performance evaluation, we demonstrate that the outage probability and the cell capacity in our decentralized scheme are significantly better than those in a conventional cochannel deployment scheme. Furthermore, we show that the cell utility in our proposed scheme is close to that in the centralized scheme and better than that in the spectrum partitioning scheme with a fixed ratio.open0

Robotic Wireless Sensor Networks

In this chapter, we present a literature survey of an emerging, cutting-edge, and multi-disciplinary field of research at the intersection of Robotics and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) which we refer to as Robotic Wireless Sensor Networks (RWSN). We define a RWSN as an autonomous networked multi-robot system that aims to achieve certain sensing goals while meeting and maintaining certain communication performance requirements, through cooperative control, learning and adaptation. While both of the component areas, i.e., Robotics and WSN, are very well-known and well-explored, there exist a whole set of new opportunities and research directions at the intersection of these two fields which are relatively or even completely unexplored. One such example would be the use of a set of robotic routers to set up a temporary communication path between a sender and a receiver that uses the controlled mobility to the advantage of packet routing. We find that there exist only a limited number of articles to be directly categorized as RWSN related works whereas there exist a range of articles in the robotics and the WSN literature that are also relevant to this new field of research. To connect the dots, we first identify the core problems and research trends related to RWSN such as connectivity, localization, routing, and robust flow of information. Next, we classify the existing research on RWSN as well as the relevant state-of-the-arts from robotics and WSN community according to the problems and trends identified in the first step. Lastly, we analyze what is missing in the existing literature, and identify topics that require more research attention in the future

Interference management for moving networks in ultra-dense urban scenarios

The number of users relying on broadband wireless connectivity while riding public transportation vehicles is increasing significantly. One of the promising solutions is to deploy moving base stations on public transportation vehicles to form moving networks (MNs) that serve these vehicular users inside the vehicles. In this study, we investigated the benefits and challenges in deploying MNs in ultra-dense urban scenarios. We identified that the key challenge limiting the performance of MNs in ultra-dense urban scenarios is inter-cell interference, which is exacerbated by the urban canyon effects. To address this challenge, we evaluated different inter-cell interference coordination and multi-antenna interference suppression techniques for MNs. We showed that in using MNs together with effective interference management approaches, the quality of service for users in vehicles can be significantly improved, with negligible impacts on the performance of regular outdoor users

Vascular smooth muscle cells remodel collagen matrices by long-distance action and anisotropic interaction

While matrix remodeling plays a key role in vascular physiology and pathology, the underlying mechanisms have remained incompletely understood. We studied the remodeling of collagen matrices by individual vascular smooth muscle cells (SMCs), clusters and monolayers. In addition, we focused on the contribution of transglutaminase 2 (TG2), which plays an important role in the remodeling of small arteries. Single SMCs displaced fibers in collagen matrices at distances up to at least 300 μm in the course of 8–12 h. This process involved both ‘hauling up’ of matrix by the cells and local matrix compaction at a distance from the cells, up to 200 μm. This exceeded the distance over which cellular protrusions were active, implicating the involvement of secreted enzymes such as TG2. SMC isolated from TG2 KO mice still showed compaction, with changed dynamics and relaxation. The TG active site inhibitor L682777 blocked local compaction by wild type cells, strongly reducing the displacement of matrix towards the cells. At increasing cell density, cells cooperated to establish compaction. In a ring-shaped collagen matrix, this resulted in preferential displacement in the radial direction, perpendicular to the cellular long axis. This process was unaffected by inhibition of TG2 cross-linking. These results show that SMCs are capable of matrix remodeling by prolonged, gradual compaction along their short axis. This process could add to the 3D organization and remodeling of blood vessels based on the orientation and contraction of SMCs

Quantitative PCR of ear discharge from Indigenous Australian children with acute otitis media with perforation supports a role for Alloiococcus otitidis as a secondary pathogen

Otitis media is endemic in remote Indigenous communities of Australia’s Northern Territory. Alloiococcus otitidis is an outer ear commensal and putative middle ear pathogen that has not previously been described in acute otitis media (AOM) in this population. The aims of this study were to determine the presence, antibiotic susceptibility and bacterial load of A. otitidis in nasopharyngeal and ear discharge swabs collected from Indigenous Australian children with AOM with perforation.Financial support for this study was provided by the Channel 7 Children’s Research Foundation; The Trust Foundation; and the National Health and Medical Research Council (Australia)