From Space to Place and Back Again:Towards an Interface Between Space and Place

Geographic information systems represent and process space whereas people refer to and use place. A question that arises is what are the benefits of introducing a unified data model that combines the rigid representation of space and the information-rich concepts of place. In this work we contribute to this research question by proposing a two-way interface that aims to bridge the notions of space and place. This interface relies on the four conceptions of space and interconnected spatial objects. Step-by-step descriptions as well as examples are provided to illustrate the intended use of the proposed interface

Multi-physics Optimal Transportation and Image Interpolation

International audienceOptimal transportation theory is a powerful tool to deal with image interpolation. This was first investigated by Benamou and Brenier \cite{BB00} where an algorithm based on the minimization of a kinetic energy under a conservation of mass constraint was devised. By structure, this algorithm does not preserve image regions along the optimal interpolation path, and it is actually not very difficult to exhibit test cases where the algorithm produces a path of images where high density regions split at the beginning before merging back at its end. However, in some applications to image interpolation this behaviour is not physically realistic. Hence, this paper aims at studying how some physics can be added to the optimal transportation theory, how to construct algorithms to compute solutions to the corresponding optimization problems and how to apply the proposed methods to image interpolation

From Space to Place and Back Again:Towards an Interface Between Space and Place

Geographic information systems represent and process space whereas people refer to and use place. A question that arises is what are the benefits of introducing a unified data model that combines the rigid representation of space and the information-rich concepts of place. In this work we contribute to this research question by proposing a two-way interface that aims to bridge the notions of space and place. This interface relies on the four conceptions of space and interconnected spatial objects. Step-by-step descriptions as well as examples are provided to illustrate the intended use of the proposed interface

Diagnosing attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) using artificial intelligence: a clinical study in the UK

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting a large percentage of the adult population. A series of ongoing efforts has led to the development of a hybrid AI algorithm (a combination of a machine learning model and a knowledge-based model) for assisting adult ADHD diagnosis, and its clinical trial currently operating in the largest National Health Service (NHS) for adults with ADHD in the UK. Most recently, more data was made available that has lead to a total collection of 501 anonymized records as of 2022 July. This prompted the ongoing research to carefully examine the model by retraining and optimizing the machine learning algorithm in order to update the model with better generalization capability. Based on the large data collection so far, this paper also pilots a study to examine the effectiveness of variables other than the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in adults (DIVA) assessment, which adds considerable cost in the screenining process as it relies on specially trained senior clinicians. Results reported in this paper demonstrate that the newly trained machine learning model reaches an accuracy of 75.03% when all features are used; the hybrid model obtains an accuracy of 93.61%. Exceeding what clinical experts expected in the absence of DIVA, achieving an accuracy of 65.27% using a rule-based machine learning model alone encourages the development of a cost effective model in the future

A Generalised Approach for Encoding and Reasoning with Qualitative Theories in Answer Set Programming

Qualitative reasoning involves expressing and deriving knowledge based on qualitative terms such as natural language expressions, rather than strict mathematical quantities. Well over 40 qualitative calculi have been proposed so far, mostly in the spatial and temporal domains, with several practical applications such as naval traffic monitoring, warehouse process optimisation and robot manipulation. Even if a number of specialised qualitative reasoning tools have been developed so far, an important barrier to the wider adoption of these tools is that only qualitative reasoning is supported natively, when real-world problems most often require a combination of qualitative and other forms of reasoning. In this work, we propose to overcome this barrier by using ASP as a unifying formalism to tackle problems that require qualitative reasoning in addition to non-qualitative reasoning. A family of ASP encodings is proposed which can handle any qualitative calculus with binary relations. These encodings are experimentally evaluated using a real-world dataset based on a case study of determining optimal coverage of telecommunication antennas, and compared with the performance of two well-known dedicated reasoners. Experimental results show that the proposed encodings outperform one of the two reasoners, but fall behind the other, an acceptable trade-off given the added benefits of handling any type of reasoning as well as the interpretability of logic programs. This paper is under consideration for acceptance in TPLP.Comment: Paper presented at the 36th International Conference on Logic Programming (ICLP 2020), University Of Calabria, Rende (CS), Italy, September 2020, 18 pages, 3 figure

The elastic moduli of a thick composite as measured by ultrasonic bulk wave pulse velocity

One thick filament-wound composite in the form of a large thick-walled cylinder with locally orthorhombic symmetry has been measured by ultrasonic velocity to calculate its elastic moduli. The basic assumption was that small sections of the composite could be treated as a homogeneous body analogous to a crystal for ultrasonic propagation. The experimental work and the results as best expressing homogeneous body theory are presented. Because of the high anisotropy with the normal to the layers (the three-direction) much different from the axial and hoop directions, it was necessary to calculate slowness surfaces with approximate values of c13 and c23 in order to find the directions of the Poynting vectors to use in making actual measurements on c12 and c13

Multiphysics optimal transportation and image analysis

Benamou and Brenier formulation of Monge transportation problem has proven to be of great interest in image processing to compute warpings and distances between pair of images. In some applications, however, the built-in minimization of kinetic energy does not give satisfactory results. In particular cases where some specific regions represent physical objects, it does not make sense, as produces genuine optimal transport, to split, merge or arbitrarily deform these regions along the optimal path. The aim of this work is to introduce several extended energies to take care of physical properties of the image in the interpolation process. We present algorithms to compute approximations of the corresponding generalized optimal transportation plans

Ultrasonic NDE of thick composites

A series of ultrasonic techniques being developed for the characterization of thick composites are described. Techniques for the in-situ measurements of elastic constants on thick-walled cylinders based on the times of a variety of ultrasonic modes of propagation are first presented, followed by discussion of the determination of the porosity from measurements of the frequency dependence of the attenuation. Two techniques for imaging delamination are then discussed. The first involves inferring size from plots of reflected signal amplitude versus lateral position of the transducer with a model for beam propagation in anisotropic media used to deconvolve the effects of the distant and direction dependent beam width. The second makes use of synthetic aperture techniques

Prevalence of abnormal cardiovascular magnetic resonance findings in athletes recovered from COVID-19 infection: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Competitive sports and high-level athletic training result in a constellation of changes in the myocardium that comprise the ‘athlete’s heart’. With the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, there have been concerns whether elite athletes would be at higher risk of myocardial involvement after infection with the virus. This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the prevalence of abnormal cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) findings in elite athletes recovered from COVID-19 infection. Methods: The PubMed, Cochrane and Web of Science databases were systematically search from inception to 15 November 2023. The primary endpoint was the prevalence of abnormal cardiovascular magnetic resonance findings, including the pathological presence of late gadolinium enhancement (LGE), abnormal T1 and T2 values and pericardial enhancement, in athletes who had recovered from COVID-19 infection. Results: Out of 3890 records, 18 studies with a total of 4446 athletes were included in the meta-analysis. The pooled prevalence of pathological LGE in athletes recovered from COVID-19 was 2.0% (95% CI 0.9% to 4.4%, I2 90%). The prevalence of elevated T1 and T2 values was 1.2% (95% CI 0.4% to 3.6%, I2 87%) and 1.2% (95% CI 0.4% to 3.7%, I2 89%), respectively, and the pooled prevalence of pericardial involvement post COVID-19 infection was 1.1% (95% CI 0.5% to 2.5%, I2 85%). The prevalence of all abnormal CMR findings was much higher among those who had a clinical indication of CMR. Conclusions: Among athletes who have recently recovered from COVID-19 infection, there is a low prevalence of abnormal CMR findings. However, the prevalence is much higher among athletes with symptoms and/or abnormal initial cardiac screening. Further studies and longer follow up are needed to evaluate the clinical relevance of these findings and to ascertain if they are associated with adverse events