Robust point correspondence applied to two and three-dimensional image registration

Accurate and robust correspondence calculations are very important in many medical and biological applications. Often, the correspondence calculation forms part of a rigid registration algorithm, but accurate correspondences are especially important for elastic registration algorithms and for quantifying changes over time. In this paper, a new correspondence calculation algorithm, CSM (correspondence by sensitivity to movement), is described. A robust corresponding point is calculated by determining the sensitivity of a correspondence to movement of the point being matched. If the correspondence is reliable, a perturbation in the position of this point should not result in a large movement of the correspondence. A measure of reliability is also calculated. This correspondence calculation method is independent of the registration transformation and has been incorporated into both a 2D elastic registration algorithm for warping serial sections and a 3D rigid registration algorithm for registering pre and postoperative facial range scans. These applications use different methods for calculating the registration transformation and accurate rigid and elastic alignment of images has been achieved with the CSM method. It is expected that this method will be applicable to many different applications and that good results would be achieved if it were to be inserted into other methods for calculating a registration transformation from correspondence

Vehicle improvements to reduce the number and severity of rear end crashes

This report reviews vehicle technology developed to reduce the incidence of rear end crashes and the whiplash injuries that may result. Chapters cover: crash avoidance measures, passive safety measures built into improved seat and head restraint designs, assessment procedures that have been developed to assess the efficacy of various seat and head restraint designs in rear impacts, testing and assessment programs that are used to inform consumers of the relative performance of the seats in different models of vehicle and includes up-to-date information on the recently released EuroNCAP proposal to assess whiplash protection measures, the uptake of both seat-based whiplash countermeasures and also brake assistive technologies in Australia, and research on the costs and benefits of vehicle based measures to reduce rear end crashes and whiplash injury. Commentary is given on the opportunities for increasing the awareness of consumers in relation to vehicle based rear-end crash and whiplash countermeasures.R.W.G. Anderson and M.R.J. Baldoc

Clarification of the relationship between bound and scattering states in quantum mechanics: Application to 12C + alpha

Using phase-equivalent supersymmetric partner potentials, a general result from the inverse problem in quantum scattering theory is illustrated, i.e., that bound-state properties cannot be extracted from the phase shifts of a single partial wave, as a matter of principle. In particular, recent R-matrix analyses of the 12C + alpha system, extracting the asymptotic normalization constant of the 2+ subthreshold state, C12, from the l=2 elastic-scattering phase shifts and bound-state energy, are shown to be unreliable. In contrast, this important constant in nuclear astrophysics can be deduced from the simultaneous analysis of the l=0, 2, 4, 6 partial waves in a simplified potential model. A new supersymmetric inversion potential and existing models give C12=144500+-8500 fm-1/2.Comment: Expanded version (50% larger); three errors corrected (conversion of published reduced widths to ANCs); nine references added, one remove

Financing SME growth in the UK: meeting the challenges after the global financial crisis

In the aftermath of the Global Financial Crisis new forms of SME finance are emerging in the place of traditional banking and equity finance sources. This Special Issue has its origins in a conference organised in June 2014 by the Centre for Enterprise and Economic Development Research (CEEDR) at Middlesex University Business School, where all but the final two papers were presented. The Conference was designed to provide a timely forum for leading academics, practitioners and policy makers to disseminate current research and practitioner knowledge exploring finance gaps and how best to address the financing needs of small high growth potential businesses

Landscape impacts on pollinator communities in temperate systems: evidence and knowledge gaps

Summary 1. This review assesses current knowledge about the interplay between landscape and pollinator communities. Our primary aim is to provide an evidence base, identify key gaps in knowledge and highlight initiatives that will help develop and improve strategies for pollinator conservation. 2. Human-dominated landscapes (such as arable land and urban environments) can have detrimental impacts on pollinator communities but these negative effects can be ameliorated by proximity to semi-natural habitat and habitat corridors. There is also evidence to suggest that increased landscape heterogeneity and landscape configuration can play an important role in the maintenance of diverse pollinator communities. 3. Landscape characteristics have direct impacts on pollinator communities but can also influence abundance and richness through interaction with other drivers such as changing climate or increased chemical inputs in land management. 4. The majority of existing literature focuses on specific hymenopteran groups but there is a lack of information on the impact of landscape changes on non-bee taxa. Research is also needed on the effectiveness of management interventions for pollinators and multiple year observations are required for both urban and rural initiatives. 5. Current policies and monitoring schemes could contribute data that will plug gaps in knowledge, thus enabling greater understanding of relationships between landscapes and pollinator populations. This would in turn help design mitigation and adaptation strategies for pollinator conservation

Disposable electrochemical flow cells for catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry (CAdSV) at a bismuth film electrode (BiFE)

Catalytic adsorptive stripping voltammetry (CAdSV) has been demonstrated at a bismuth film electrode (BiFE) in an injection-moulded electrochemical micro-flow cell. The polystyrene three-electrode flow cell was fabricated with electrodes moulded from a conducting grade of polystyrene containing 40% carbon fibre, one of which was precoated with Ag to enable its use as an on-chip Ag/AgCl reference electrode. CAdSV of Co(II) and Ni(II) in the presence of dimethylglyoxime (DMG) with nitrite employed as the catalyst was performed in order to assess the performance of the flow cell with an in-line plated BiFE. The injection-moulded electrodes were found to be suitable substrates for the formation of BiFEs. Key parameters such as the plating solution matrix, plating flow rate, analysis flow rate, solution composition and square-wave parameters have been characterised and optimal conditions selected for successful and rapid analysis of Co(II) and Ni(II) at the ppb level. The analytical response was linear over the range 1 to 20 ppb and deoxygenation of the sample solution was not required. The successful coupling of a microfluidic flow cell with a BiFE, thereby forming a “mercury-free” AdSV flow analysis sensor, shows promise for industrial and in-the-field applications where inexpensive, compact, and robust instrumentation capable of low-volume analysis is required

Field measurements of bare soil evaporation and crop transpiration, and transpiration efficiency, for rainfed grain crops in Australia - A review

Available online 30 April 2018Australian agriculture is dominated by rainfed cropping in environments where evaporative demand greatly exceeds annual rainfall. In this paper we review field measurements of crop transpiration and bare soil evaporation under rainfed grain crops, and crop transpiration efficiencies. Crop transpiration is typically calculated from the difference between evapotranspiration and bare soil evaporation, however, while the former is readily measured, the latter is difficult to obtain. For wheat we found only 19 studies which measured the critical water balance parameters of bare soil evaporation and crop transpiration in Australia, and very many fewer for other crops. From the studies reported for wheat, on average 38% of evapotranspiration was lost to direct soil evaporation. Data for other crops are insufficient to ascertain whether they are similar or different to wheat in terms of the relative contributions of Es and T to the water balance. Although it may have occurred in practice, we can find no field measurements of the crop water balance to demonstrate an increase in crop transpiration at the expense of bare soil evaporation as a function of improvements in agronomic practices in recent decades. Although it is thought that crop transpiration efficiencies are primarily a function of vapour pressure deficit, transpiration efficiencies reported in the literature vary considerably within crops, even after accounting for vapour pressure deficit. We conclude that more reliable estimates of crop transpiration efficiency would be highly valuable for calculating seasonal transpiration of field grown crops from shoot biomass measurement, and provide an fruitful avenue for exploring water use efficiency of grain crops.Murray Unkovich, Jeff Baldock, Ryan Farquharso