5,951 research outputs found
Comparison of spatial domain optimal trade-off maximum average correlation height (OT-MACH) filter with scale invariant feature transform (SIFT) using images with poor contrast and large illumination gradient
A spatial domain optimal trade-off Maximum Average Correlation Height (OT-MACH) filter has been previously developed and shown to have advantages over frequency domain implementations in that it can be made locally adaptive to spatial variations in the input image background clutter and normalised for local intensity changes. In this paper we compare the performance of the spatial domain (SPOT-MACH) filter to the widely applied data driven technique known as the Scale Invariant Feature Transform (SIFT). The SPOT-MACH filter is shown to provide more robust recognition performance than the SIFT technique for demanding images such as scenes in which there are large illumination gradients. The SIFT method depends on reliable local edge-based feature detection over large regions of the image plane which is compromised in some of the demanding images we examined for this work. The disadvantage of the SPOTMACH filter is its numerically intensive nature since it is template based and is implemented in the spatial domain. © (2015) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only
Statistics and UV-IR Mixing with Twisted Poincare Invariance
We elaborate on the role of quantum statistics in twisted Poincare invariant
theories. It is shown that, in order to have twisted Poincare group as the
symmetry of a quantum theory, statistics must be twisted. It is also confirmed
that the removal of UV-IR mixing (in the absence of gauge fields) in such
theories is a natural consequence.Comment: 13 pages, LaTeX; typos correcte
Motor neuronopathy associated with Adenocarcinoma of Esophagus
Neurologic paraneoplastic syndromes (NPS) are remote neurologic effects, except metastasis, of systemic cancers. These are a rare group of disorders, commonly associated with small cell lung carcinoma (SCLC).1 Various NPS have been described, including motor neuronopathy. The motor neuronopathy has commonly been described with small cell carcinoma of lung, breast cancer and lymphoproliferative disorders.2,3 We report a case of motor neuronopathy in association with large cell adenocarcinoma of esophagus. To our knowledge this is the first reported case of motor neuronopathy associated with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus
Energy-Aware Cloud Management through Progressive SLA Specification
Novel energy-aware cloud management methods dynamically reallocate
computation across geographically distributed data centers to leverage regional
electricity price and temperature differences. As a result, a managed VM may
suffer occasional downtimes. Current cloud providers only offer high
availability VMs, without enough flexibility to apply such energy-aware
management. In this paper we show how to analyse past traces of dynamic cloud
management actions based on electricity prices and temperatures to estimate VM
availability and price values. We propose a novel SLA specification approach
for offering VMs with different availability and price values guaranteed over
multiple SLAs to enable flexible energy-aware cloud management. We determine
the optimal number of such SLAs as well as their availability and price
guaranteed values. We evaluate our approach in a user SLA selection simulation
using Wikipedia and Grid'5000 workloads. The results show higher customer
conversion and 39% average energy savings per VM.Comment: 14 pages, conferenc
Knowledge about hepatitis B and C among patients attending family medicine clinics in Karachi
Knowledge about hepatitis B and C was assessed in a cross-sectional study of 300 adults aged 18 or older attending family medicine clinics at The Aga Khan University Hospital, Karachi. Most knew that hepatitis B and C are viral diseases that primarily affect the liver, but knowledge about risk factors for disease transmission was poor. Approximately 70% knew that hepatitis B is vaccine preventable; 60% had the misconception that hepatitis C is also vaccine preventable. The majority incorrectly believed that people with hepatitis B or C should follow the diet \u27parhaiz\u27. Generally women knew more than men about the diseases. This study suggests that health education about these infections should be provided to the public. Family physicians can play an important role in educating people about the prevention of these diseases
Knowledge and awareness of pregnant women about ultrasounsd scanning and prenatal diagnosis
Objective: Antenatal screening and ultrasound scan has become an integral part of the antenatal care in the present time. The aim of this study is to accurately describe the background knowledge and awareness of pregnant women about ultrasound scan and prenatal diagnosis.Methods: It is a clinic based cross sectional study. Four hundred women, attending the antenatal clinics, were asked to fill in a pre tested structured questionnaire. Different variables of interest were collected. Statistical Program for the social sciences (SPSS) was used for the data management.Results: Over 93.5% of the women were aware that ultrasound examination is an important investigation. They believed that it should be performed at least twice during pregnancy but were not sure about the timing of the test. Most of them felt that it was to check the growth of the baby and 97% of women considered ultrasound to be safe. However, only 26% of women had any knowledge about Down\u27s syndrome or its screening.Conclusion: Pregnant women in our set-up are aware of importance of ultrasound examination during pregnancy. However, there is a need to improve public awareness of problems like Down\u27s syndrome
COX-2 inhibitors: a potential target for drug therapy in the management of colorectal cancer
Colorectal cancer is currently the third most common cancer in Malaysia. Elevated expression of COX-2, an induced cyclooxygenase isoenzyme, has been seen in colonic adenomas and colorectal carcinoma. There is evidence that inhibition of this COX-2 can decrease the risk of colorectal cancer. Selective COX-2 inhibitors may have a role in reducing the risk of colorectal cancer in high-risk individuals
Turbulent transport of material particles: An experimental study of finite size effects
We use an acoustic Lagrangian tracking technique, particularly adapted to
measurements in open flows, and a versatile material particles generator (in
the form of soap bubbles with adjustable size and density) to characterize
Lagrangian statistics of finite sized, neutrally bouyant, particles transported
in an isotropic turbulent flow of air. We vary the size of the particles in a
range corresponding to turbulent inertial scales and explore how the turbulent
forcing experienced by the particles depends on their size. We show that, while
the global shape of the intermittent acceleration probability density function
does not depend significantly on particle size, the acceleration variance of
the particles decreases as they become larger in agreement with the classical
scaling for the spectrum of Eulerian pressure fluctuations in the carrier flow
Prevalence and factors associated with anxiety and depression among family practitioners in Karachi, Pakistan
Objective: We aimed to assess anxiety and depression and to identify the factors associated with these conditions among family practitioners in Karachi, Pakistan.Methods: A self-reported postal survey was conducted among 540 family practitioners in Karachi during the months of July - August 2003. Aga Khan University Anxiety and Depression Scale (AKUADS) was used to assess anxiety and depression. Additional questions were also inquired to get information about socio-demographic, professional and lifestyle characters.Results: Using AKUADS, 155 (39%) family practitioners had anxiety and depression. Mutlivariate analysis disclosed five factors to be significantly associated with anxiety and depression; these were female sex (AOR = 6.4, 95% CI 3.2-12.6); age group of \u3c 35 years (AOR = 23.3, 95% CI 9.0-60.3); lack of regular exercise (AOR = 4.9, 95% CI 2.4-10.2) and working for more than 48 hours per week (AOR = 12.7, 95% CI 6.2-26.2).CONCLUSION: This study reveals that prevalence of anxiety and depression among family practitioners in Karachi is high and higher than general population in Karachi. Further research and intervention studies are required to identify preventive measures in this regard and also to assess the impact of these interventions
Ground state magnetic structure of MnGe
We have used spherical neutron polarimetry to investigate the magnetic
structure of the Mn spins in the hexagonal semimetal MnGe, which exhibits a
large intrinsic anomalous Hall effect. Our analysis of the polarimetric data
finds a strong preference for a spin structure with symmetry relative
to the point group. We show that weak ferromagnetism is an inevitable
consequence of the symmetry of the observed magnetic structure, and that sixth
order anisotropy is needed to select a unique ground state
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