Three Poems

Three Poems by Biljana D. Obradovic Update: January Appointment Postponed I’ve Been Here Before Safe in the US of

Fourier Density Approximation for Belief Propagation in Wireless Sensor Networks

Many distributed inference problems in wireless sensor networks can be represented by probabilistic graphical models, where belief propagation, an iterative message passing algorithm provides a promising solution. In order to make the algorithm efficient and accurate, messages which carry the belief information from one node to the others should be formulated in an appropriate format. This paper presents two belief propagation algorithms where non-linear and non-Gaussian beliefs are approximated by Fourier density approximations, which significantly reduces power consumptions in the belief computation and transmission. We use self-localization in wireless sensor networks as an example to illustrate the performance of this method

Postural stability – a comparison between rowers and field sport athletes

Postural stability (PS) is an important function for maintaining equilibrium during periods of standing still, locomotion, and any motor activities that require high degree of balance. High PS is essential in different sports for the regulation of voluntary movement and for improving athletic physical condition and performance. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to compare the static PS of elite rowing athletes and field sport athletes. Methods: A total of 90 elite athletes (age: 23.9 ± 1.97 years; body height: 174.9 ± 8.9 cm; body weight: 67.7 ± 12.03 kg) were divided into Rowing (N = 47) and Field sport (N = 43) athlete groups. Static PS parameters were assessed with a static double-leg and single-leg standing stability test on a force plate platform. Results: The multivariate analysis of variance showed a general stability difference between the groups (F = 13.255; P ≤ 0.0001), in double leg stability (F = 16.735; P ≤ 0.0001), and left leg (F = 15.097; P ≤ 0.0001) stability parameters. When analyzing variables separately, significant statistical differences were observed in favor of the Rowing group in double leg sway area (p = 0.017; ES = −0.07), double leg center of force (COF) traveled way (p ≤ 0.0001; ES = −27.42), length function of surface (p ≤ 0.0001; ES = −26.86), right leg ML displacement (p = 0.030; ES = −0.46), left leg sway area (p = 0.030; ES = −0.44), left leg COF traveled way (p ≤ 0.0001; ES = −60.63), left leg AP displacement (p = 0.043; ES = −0.44). Conclusion: These results underline the differences in rowing and field sport athletes in terms of static PS. The characteristics of sport and competition may affect PS, and it is important to adjust training modalities for the required level of PS in every sport, especially in rowing

Mechanical Activation and Cation Site Disorder in Mgal2o4

The synthesis and crystallographic site occupancy were investigated for MgAl2O4 with and without mechanical activation of the precursor powders. Heating to 1200 °C or higher resulted in the formation of a single spinel phase regardless of whether the powders were mechanically activated or not. Neutron diffraction analysis was used to determine cation site occupancy and revealed that mechanical activation resulted in a lower degree of cation site inversion compared to the nonactivated materials, which indicated that the powders were closer to thermodynamic equilibrium. This is the first study to characterize the effects of mechanical activation on crystallographic site occupancy in magnesium aluminate spinel using neutron diffraction

Viewing the efficiency of chaos control

This paper aims to cast some new light on controlling chaos using the OGY- and the Zero-Spectral-Radius methods. In deriving those methods we use a generalized procedure differing from the usual ones. This procedure allows us to conveniently treat maps to be controlled bringing the orbit to both various saddles and to sources with both real and complex eigenvalues. We demonstrate the procedure and the subsequent control on a variety of maps. We evaluate the control by examining the basins of attraction of the relevant controlled systems graphically and in some cases analytically

Anatomie chirurgicale de la glande sublinguale

Because of its position, the sublingual gland is clinically important especially in the events of injuries and infections in the anterior part of the sublingual region.The morphology and relationships of this gland were studied by dissection methods applied on 80 fresh or formaldehyde fixed preparations of the mouth floor and of the tongue, which were partly (31 preparations) taken out together with the mandible.As for the shape of the gland, three main types were found: 1° the cuneiform type which was the most frequent (71 %), 2° the pyramidal type which was less frequent (16%) and the fusiform type (13%) which comprised the cases of a very elongated gland (up to 65 mm).The space in which the gland lied had four walls. Its internal wall consisted of the mylohyoid muscle and it comprised the hyoglossus muscle as well when the gland was very elongated. The inferior wall consisted of the mylohyoid muscle and sometimes it comprised also a narrow part of the superior surface of the geniohyoglossus muscle. An osseous depression on the internal side of the mandible represented the external wall of the sublingual gland space. The superior wall is clinically the most significant. It consists of the sublingual mucosa and a sublingual fold. This wall represents a main surgical access to the gland. In edentulous mandibles this mucous fold may be at the level of the upper mandibular border which may hinder the use of the lower dental prosthesis.La morphologie et les rapports de la glande sublinguale ont été étudiés par 80 dissections du plancher de la bouche et de la langue.Trois types différents de glandes ont été définis du point de vue forme: le type cunéiforme (71%), le type pyramidal (16%) et le type fusiforme (13%).La loge de la glande sublinguale possède quatre parois: deux (parois inférieure et interne) de nature musculaire, une (paroi externe) de nature osseuse et une (paroi supérieure) de nature muqueuse

Prosocial and aggressive behavior occurrence in young athletes: Field research results in six European countries

Aggression and violence among youth areresearched as social phenomena in sport. This paper was designed to determine the occurrence of these behaviors as well as prosocial behaviorsamong young athletes. The current paper is a research report aiming to detect the frequency of aggressive behavior, social exclusion, prosocial behavior and cohesion in the youth environment, the frequency of personal experience of peer violence or social exclusion, and to evaluate cross-national differences in terms of occurrence of these phenomena. The field research was conducted in six European countries (Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Italy, Lithuania, and Serbia) on a sample of 482 children aged 6 to 16. The conducted questionnaire consisted of pre-existing scales and measures for specific behaviors and social aspects that formed the Youth Environment Assessment and Youth Characteristics Questionnaire. Previous personal experience of violence and social exclusion determined groups in the sample. One-way ANOVA and discriminant analysis were conducted to compare various variables and groups within the sample. The results have shown that aggressive and social exclusion behaviors are rare or very rare, predominantly in the form of verbal aggression in the sports club environment. The results of the conducted discriminant analysis indicate that prosocial and cohesion behaviors occur "quite often" to "often" among sports club athletes' samples. The percentage of athletes who have had personal experience of violence or social exclusion in the last two years and whose feeling of hurt by that experience was assessed as "a lot" or "fully" on the measurement scale is estimated to be approximately 25%. Mild cross-national differences emerged in the overmentioned variables, probably due to the sample specificity, or to cultural variety. The results indicate the need for longitudinal research on this topic since the sport is an environment in which cohesion can be developed among young athletes, but it is not free from social exclusion or aggression

La structure osseuse de la branche montante de la mandibule

Osseous structure of the ramus of mandible (RM) is of a practical clinical significance. Osteosynthesis of fractured segments and the success of the sagittal or the horizontal ramus split osteotomy depends on the cortical bone disposition and thickness.After morphometric investigations of the RM, conducted on 70 mandibles of adults, consecutive horizontal and frontal sections were made. On these sections, the cortical layer was studied and the cortical bone thickness was measured at four previously marked points.In the regard of morphometry, the significant datum is that nearly half of all the cases is grouped round the mean value of any parameter.Cortical bone is continuous and its two main sheets are the buccal and the lingual cortical plates. In its entirety, the buccal cortical plate is thicker than the lingual. The thickness of both cortical plates increases in the direction from the coronoid process to the angle of mandible.L’ostéosynthèse de la branche montante de la mandibule et le succès de l’ostéotomie sagittale ou horizontale de cette branche dépendent de la disposition et de l’épaisseur de sa couche osseuse compacte. Les examens morphométriques qui ont été faits sur 70 mandibules des sujets adultes montrent que presque la moitié de tous les cas se groupent autour de la valeur moyenne des paramètres mesurés (schéma 1 et tableau I).Sur les coupes horizontales et frontales, l’épaisseur des lames compactes buccale et linguale a été mesurée dans certains points prédéterminés et il a été établi que la lame buccale est toujours plus épaisse (schéma 2 et tableau II)