2,254 research outputs found
Block-run run-length coding of handwriting and bilevel graphics based on quadtree segmentation
UWB Radar SLAM: an Anchorless Approach in Vision Denied Indoor Environments
LiDAR and cameras are frequently used as sensors for simultaneous
localization and mapping (SLAM). However, these sensors are prone to failure
under low visibility (e.g. smoke) or places with reflective surfaces (e.g.
mirrors). On the other hand, electromagnetic waves exhibit better penetration
properties when the wavelength increases, thus are not affected by low
visibility. Hence, this paper presents ultra-wideband (UWB) radar as an
alternative to the existing sensors. UWB is generally known to be used in
anchor-tag SLAM systems. One or more anchors are installed in the environment
and the tags are attached to the robots. Although this method performs well
under low visibility, modifying the existing infrastructure is not always
feasible. UWB has also been used in peer-to-peer ranging collaborative SLAM
systems. However, this requires more than a single robot and does not include
mapping in the mentioned environment like smoke. Therefore, the presented
approach in this paper solely depends on the UWB transceivers mounted on-board.
In addition, an extended Kalman filter (EKF) SLAM is used to solve the SLAM
problem at the back-end. Experiments were conducted and demonstrated that the
proposed UWB-based radar SLAM is able to map natural point landmarks inside an
indoor environment while improving robot localization
A Replicating Modified Vaccinia Tiantan Strain Expressing an Avian-Derived Influenza H5N1 Hemagglutinin Induce Broadly Neutralizing Antibodies and Cross-Clade Protective Immunity in Mice
published_or_final_versio
Continuous Non-Malleable Key Derivation and Its Application to Related-Key Security
Related-Key Attacks (RKAs) allow an adversary to observe the outcomes of a cryptographic primitive under not only its original secret key e.g., , but also a sequence of modified keys , where is specified by the adversary from a class of so-called Related-Key Derivation (RKD) functions. This paper extends the notion of non-malleable Key Derivation Functions (nm-KDFs), introduced by Faust et al. (EUROCRYPT\u2714), to \emph{continuous} nm-KDFs. Continuous nm-KDFs have the ability to protect against any a-priori \emph{unbounded} number of RKA queries, instead of just a single time tampering attack as in the definition of nm-KDFs. Informally, our continuous non-malleability captures the scenario where the adversary can tamper with the original secret key repeatedly and adaptively. We present a novel construction of continuous nm-KDF for any polynomials of bounded degree over a finite field. Essentially, our result can be extended to richer RKD function classes possessing properties of \emph{high output entropy and input-output collision resistance}. The technical tool employed in the construction is the one-time lossy filter (Qin et al. ASIACRYPT\u2713) which can be efficiently obtained under standard assumptions, e.g., DDH and DCR. We propose a framework for constructing -RKA-secure IBE, PKE and signature schemes, using a continuous nm-KDF for the same -class of RKD functions. Applying our construction of continuous nm-KDF to this framework, we obtain the first RKA-secure IBE, PKE and signature schemes for a class of polynomial RKD functions of bounded degree under \emph{standard} assumptions. While previous constructions for the same class of RKD functions all rely on non-standard assumptions, e.g., -extended DBDH assumption
Electrical Control of Plasmon Resonance with Graphene
Surface plasmon, with its unique capability to concentrate light into
sub-wavelength volume, has enabled great advances in photon science, ranging
from nano-antenna and single-molecule Raman scattering to plasmonic waveguide
and metamaterials. In many applications it is desirable to control the surface
plasmon resonance in situ with electric field. Graphene, with its unique
tunable optical properties, provides an ideal material to integrate with
nanometallic structures for realizing such control. Here we demonstrate
effective modulation of the plasmon resonance in a model system composed of
hybrid graphene-gold nanorod structure. Upon electrical gating the strong
optical transitions in graphene can be switched on and off, which leads to
significant modulation of both the resonance frequency and quality factor of
plasmon resonance in gold nanorods. Hybrid graphene-nanometallic structures, as
exemplified by this combination of graphene and gold nanorod, provide a general
and powerful way for electrical control of plasmon resonances. It holds promise
for novel active optical devices and plasmonic circuits at the deep
subwavelength scale
Update on the Risk of Hepatocellular Carcinoma in Chronic Hepatitis B Virus Infection
Chronic hepatitis B virus infection is an important cause of liver-related morbidity and mortality, with hepatocellular carcinoma being the most life-threatening complication. Because of the highly variable clinical course of the disease, enormous research efforts have been made with the aim of revealing the factors in the natural history that are relevant to hepatocarcinogenesis. These include epidemiological studies of predisposing risk groups, viral studies of mutations within the hepatitis B viral genome, and clinical correlation of these risk factors in predicting the likelihood of development of hepatocellular cancer in susceptible hosts. This update addresses these risks, with emphasis on the latest research relevant to hepatocarcinogenesis
A novel peptide with potent and broad-spectrum antiviral activities against multiple respiratory viruses
published_or_final_versio
Discovery of a Novel Prolactin in Non-Mammalian Vertebrates: Evolutionary Perspectives and Its Involvement in Teleost Retina Development
BACKGROUND:The three pituitary hormones, viz. prolactin (PRL), growth hormone (GH) and somatolactin (SL), together with the mammalian placental lactogen (PL), constitute a gene family of hormones with similar gene structure and encoded protein sequences. These hormones are believed to have evolved from a common ancestral gene through several rounds of gene duplication and subsequent divergence. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:In this study, we have identified a new PRL-like gene in non-mammalian vertebrates through bioinformatics and molecular cloning means. Phylogenetic analyses showed that this novel protein is homologous to the previously identified PRL. A receptor transactivation assay further showed that this novel protein could bind to PRL receptor to trigger the downstream post-receptor event, indicating that it is biologically active. In view of its close phylogenetic relationship with PRL and also its ability to activate PRL receptor, we name it as PRL2 and the previously identified PRL as PRL1. All the newly discovered PRL2 sequences possess three conserved disulfide linkages with the exception of the shark PRL2 which has only two. In sharp contrast to the classical PRL1 which is predominantly expressed in the pituitary, PRL2 was found to be mainly expressed in the eye and brain of the zebrafish but not in the pituitary. A largely reduced inner nuclear layer of the retina was observed after morpholino knockdown of zebrafish PRL2, indicating its role on retina development in teleost. SIGNIFICANCE:The discovery of this novel PRL has revitalized our understanding on the evolution of the GH/PRL/SL/PL gene family. Its unique expression and functions in the zebrafish eye also provide a new avenue of research on the neuroendocrine control of retina development in vertebrates
Nonlocal observables and lightcone-averaging in relativistic thermodynamics
The unification of relativity and thermodynamics has been a subject of
considerable debate over the last 100 years. The reasons for this are twofold:
(i) Thermodynamic variables are nonlocal quantities and, thus, single out a
preferred class of hyperplanes in spacetime. (ii) There exist different,
seemingly equally plausible ways of defining heat and work in relativistic
systems. These ambiguities led, for example, to various proposals for the
Lorentz transformation law of temperature. Traditional 'isochronous'
formulations of relativistic thermodynamics are neither theoretically
satisfactory nor experimentally feasible. Here, we demonstrate how these
deficiencies can be resolved by defining thermodynamic quantities with respect
to the backward-lightcone of an observation event. This approach yields novel,
testable predictions and allows for a straightforward-extension of
thermodynamics to General Relativity. Our theoretical considerations are
illustrated through three-dimensional relativistic many-body simulations.Comment: typos in Eqs. (12) and (14) corrected, minor additions in the tex
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