Extending parallax parameterised bundle adjustment to stereo

The main contribution of this paper is the extension of the ParllaxBA algorithm proposed by [Zhao et al., 2015] into stereo. Simulated and experimental datasets are used to evaluate Cartesian and parallax angle parameterisation for stereo bundle adjustment. It is demonstrated that, like monocular ParallaxBA, under normal conditions the two algorithms perform similarly. However, when the parallax angle of landmarks is low, parallax parameterisation can converge to a lower cost and in less time than the traditional Cartesian parameterisation

Dietary fat and corticosterone levels are contributing factors to meal anticipation

Daily restricted access to food leads to the development of food anticipatory activity and metabolism, which depends upon an as yet unidentified food-entrainable oscillator(s). A premeal anticipatory peak in circulating hormones, including corticosterone is also elicited by daily restricted feeding. High-fat feeding is associated with elevated levels of corticosterone with disrupted circadian rhythms and a failure to develop robust meal anticipation. It is not clear whether the disrupted corticosterone rhythm, resulting from high-fat feeding contributes to attenuated meal anticipation in high-fat fed rats. Our aim was to better characterize meal anticipation in rats fed a low- or high-fat diet, and to better understand the role of corticosterone in this process. To this end, we utilized behavioral observations, hypothalamic c-Fos expression, and indirect calorimetry to assess meal entrainment. We also used the glucocorticoid receptor antagonist, RU486, to dissect out the role of corticosterone in meal anticipation in rats given daily access to a meal with different fat content. Restricted access to a low-fat diet led to robust meal anticipation, as well as entrainment of hypothalamic c-Fos expression, metabolism, and circulating corticosterone. These measures were significantly attenuated in response to a high-fat diet, and animals on this diet exhibited a postanticipatory rise in corticosterone. Interestingly, antagonism of glucocorticoid activity using RU486 attenuated meal anticipation in low-fat fed rats, but promoted meal anticipation in high-fat-fed rats. These findings suggest an important role for corticosterone in the regulation of meal anticipation in a manner dependent upon dietary fat content

The occurrence of heavy mesons in penetrating showers

In the course of a cloud chamber study of penetrating showers, two events have been observed which probably represent the decay in flight of τ-mesons,(1) and one event which probably represents the decay in flight of a K-meson.(2

Resonance regimes of scattering by small bodies with impedance boundary conditions

The paper concerns scattering of plane waves by a bounded obstacle with complex valued impedance boundary conditions. We study the spectrum of the Neumann-to-Dirichlet operator for small wave numbers and long wave asymptotic behavior of the solutions of the scattering problem. The study includes the case when $k=0$ is an eigenvalue or a resonance. The transformation from the impedance to the Dirichlet boundary condition as impedance grows is described. A relation between poles and zeroes of the scattering matrix in the non-self adjoint case is established. The results are applied to a problem of scattering by an obstacle with a springy coating. The paper describes the dependence of the impedance on the properties of the material, that is on forces due to the deviation of the boundary of the obstacle from the equilibrium position

Pinholes May Mimic Tunneling

Interest in magnetic-tunnel junctions has prompted a re-examination of tunneling measurements through thin insulating films. In any study of metal-insulator-metal trilayers, one tries to eliminate the possibility of pinholes (small areas over which the thickness of the insulator goes to zero so that the upper and lower metals of the trilayer make direct contact). Recently, we have presented experimental evidence that ferromagnet-insulator-normal trilayers that appear from current-voltage plots to be pinhole-free may nonetheless in some cases harbor pinholes. Here, we show how pinholes may arise in a simple but realistic model of film deposition and that purely classical conduction through pinholes may mimic one aspect of tunneling, the exponential decay in current with insulating thickness.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figures, plain TeX; submitted to Journal of Applied Physic

Flux-loss of buoyant ropes interacting with convective flows

We present 3-d numerical magneto-hydrodynamic simulations of a buoyant, twisted magnetic flux rope embedded in a stratified, solar-like model convection zone. The flux rope is given an initial twist such that it neither kinks nor fragments during its ascent. Moreover, its magnetic energy content with respect to convection is chosen so that the flux rope retains its basic geometry while being deflected from a purely vertical ascent by convective flows. The simulations show that magnetic flux is advected away from the core of the flux rope as it interacts with the convection. The results thus support the idea that the amount of toroidal flux stored at or near the bottom of the solar convection zone may currently be underestimated.Comment: 5 pages, 3 figures. Accepted for publication in Astronomy & Astrophysic

The Role of Corpus Callosum Development in Functional Connectivity and Cognitive Processing

The corpus callosum is hypothesized to play a fundamental role in integrating information and mediating complex behaviors. Here, we demonstrate that lack of normal callosal development can lead to deficits in functional connectivity that are related to impairments in specific cognitive domains. We examined resting-state functional connectivity in individuals with agenesis of the corpus callosum (AgCC) and matched controls using magnetoencephalographic imaging (MEG-I) of coherence in the alpha (8–12 Hz), beta (12–30 Hz) and gamma (30–55 Hz) bands. Global connectivity (GC) was defined as synchronization between a region and the rest of the brain. In AgCC individuals, alpha band GC was significantly reduced in the dorsolateral pre-frontal (DLPFC), posterior parietal (PPC) and parieto-occipital cortices (PO). No significant differences in GC were seen in either the beta or gamma bands. We also explored the hypothesis that, in AgCC, this regional reduction in functional connectivity is explained primarily by a specific reduction in interhemispheric connectivity. However, our data suggest that reduced connectivity in these regions is driven by faulty coupling in both inter- and intrahemispheric connectivity. We also assessed whether the degree of connectivity correlated with behavioral performance, focusing on cognitive measures known to be impaired in AgCC individuals. Neuropsychological measures of verbal processing speed were significantly correlated with resting-state functional connectivity of the left medial and superior temporal lobe in AgCC participants. Connectivity of DLPFC correlated strongly with performance on the Tower of London in the AgCC cohort. These findings indicate that the abnormal callosal development produces salient but selective (alpha band only) resting-state functional connectivity disruptions that correlate with cognitive impairment. Understanding the relationship between impoverished functional connectivity and cognition is a key step in identifying the neural mechanisms of language and executive dysfunction in common neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders where disruptions of callosal development are consistently identified

On the Number of Iterations for Dantzig-Wolfe Optimization and Packing-Covering Approximation Algorithms

We give a lower bound on the iteration complexity of a natural class of Lagrangean-relaxation algorithms for approximately solving packing/covering linear programs. We show that, given an input with $m$ random 0/1-constraints on $n$ variables, with high probability, any such algorithm requires $\Omega(\rho \log(m)/\epsilon^2)$ iterations to compute a $(1+\epsilon)$-approximate solution, where $\rho$ is the width of the input. The bound is tight for a range of the parameters $(m,n,\rho,\epsilon)$. The algorithms in the class include Dantzig-Wolfe decomposition, Benders' decomposition, Lagrangean relaxation as developed by Held and Karp [1971] for lower-bounding TSP, and many others (e.g. by Plotkin, Shmoys, and Tardos [1988] and Grigoriadis and Khachiyan [1996]). To prove the bound, we use a discrepancy argument to show an analogous lower bound on the support size of $(1+\epsilon)$-approximate mixed strategies for random two-player zero-sum 0/1-matrix games