IMG 305 - PEMBUNGKUSAN MAKANAN NOV.05.

We discuss the use of Agent-based Modelling for the development and testing of theories about emergent social phenomena in marketing and the social sciences in general. We address both theoretical aspects about the types of phenomena that are suitably addressed with this approach and practical guidelines to help plan and structure the development of a theory about the causes of such a phenomenon in conjunction with a matching ABM. We argue that research about complex social phenomena is still largely fundamental research and therefore an iterative and cyclical development process of both theory and model is to be expected. To better anticipate and manage this process, we provide theoretical and practical guidelines. These may help to identify and structure the domain of candidate explanations for a social phenomenon, and furthermore assist the process of model implementation and subsequent development. The main goal of this paper was to make research on complex social systems more accessible and help anticipate and structure the research process

Optimal placement and selection of camera network nodes for target localization

Abstract. The paper studies the optimal placement of multiple cameras and the selection of the best subset of cameras for single target localization in the framework of sensor networks. The cameras are assumed to be aimed horizontally around a room. To conserve both computation and communication energy, each camera reduces its image to a binary “scan-line ” by performing simple background subtraction followed by vertical summing and thresholding, and communicates only the center of the detected foreground object. Assuming noisy camera measurements and an object prior, the minimum mean squared error of the best linear estimate of the object location in 2-D is used as a metric for placement and selection. The placement problem is shown to be equivalent to a classical inverse kinematics robotics problem, which can be solved efficiently using gradient descent techniques. The selection problem on the other hand is a combinatorial optimization problem and finding the optimal solution can be too costly to implement in an energy-constrained wireless camera network. A semi-definite programming approximation for the problem is shown to achieve close to optimal solutions with much lower computational burden. Simulation and experimental results are presented.

Números cromossômicos em espécies de Acosmium Schott e Leptolobium Vogel (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae) Chromosome numbers in species of Acosmium Schott and Leptolobium Vogel (Leguminosae, Papilionoideae)

O objetivo deste trabalho foi realizar a análise citotaxonômica de espécies de Acosmium Schott e Leptolobium Vogel, através da determinação de seus números cromossômicos. Foram estudadas as três espécies aceitas de Acosmium e cinco espécies de Leptolobium (representando 50% do gênero), a partir de sementes oriundas de diferentes regiões do Brasil. As contagens mitóticas apresentadas para todas as espécies de Acosmium e para quatro espécies de Leptolobium são inéditas. Acosmium cardenasii apresentou uniformemente 2n = 18, enquanto que em A. diffusissimum foram encontradas no mesmo meristema 2n = 18, 24 e 32 e em A. lentiscifolium 2n = 18 e 32. Para Leptolobium, o número cromossômico das espécies estudadas foi de 2n = 18, confirmando uma contagem mitótica anterior para L. dasycarpum. Os resultados obtidos evidenciaram homogeneidade no número cromossômico de Acosmium e Leptolobium, confirmando x = 9 como o número cromossômico básico em ambos os gêneros. Portanto, o número cromossômico não é um caráter taxonômico utilizável na distinção entre Acosmium e Leptolobium.<br>A cytotaxonomic analysis of species of Acosmium Schott e Leptolobium Vogel was carried out, by determining their chromosome numbers. The three species of Acosmium and five species of Leptolobium (representing 50% of the genus) were studied from seeds obtained from different regions of Brazil. Chromosome counts were new for all Acosmium species and for four Leptolobium species. For Acosmium cardenasii, 2n = 18 was constantly observed, while occurring at the same meristem were found 2n = 18, 24 e 32 in A. diffusissimum and 2n = 18 e 32 in A. lentiscifolium. For Leptolobium, all studied species had 2n = 18, confirming a previous count for L. dasycarpum. The results showed that chromosome numbers of Acosmium and Leptolobium species are homogeneous, confirming the basic number x = 9 for both genera. Therefore, chromosome numbers do not provide a useful taxonomic character distinguishing Acosmium from Leptolobium