Iris Image Recognition using Optimized Kohonen Self Organizing Neural Network

The pursuit to develop an effective people management system has widened over the years to manage the enormous increase in population. Any management system includes identification, verification and recognition stages. Iris recognition has become notable biometrics to support the management system due to its versatility and non-invasive approach. These systems help to identify the individual with the texture information distributed around the iris region. Many classification algorithms are available to help in iris recognition. But those are very sophisticated and require heavy computation. In this paper, an improved Kohonen self-organizing neural network (KSONN) is used to boost the performance of existing KSONN. This improvement is brought by the introduction of optimization technique into the learning phase of the KSONN. The proposed method shows improved accuracy of the recognition. Moreover, it also reduces the iterations required to train the network. From the experimental results, it is observed that the proposed method achieves a maximum accuracy of 98% in 85 iterations

Proactive modulation of long-interval intracortical inhibition during response inhibition

Daily activities often require sudden cancellation of preplanned movement, termed response inhibition. When only a subcomponent of a whole response must be suppressed (required here on Partial trials), the ensuing component is markedly delayed. The neural mechanisms underlying partial response inhibition remain unclear. We hypothesized that Partial trials would be associated with nonselective corticomotor suppression and that GABA(B) receptor-mediated inhibition within primary motor cortex might be responsible for the nonselective corticomotor suppression contributing to Partial trial response delays. Sixteen right-handed participants performed a bimanual anticipatory response inhibition task while single- and paired-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation was delivered to elicit motor evoked potentials in the left first dorsal interosseous muscle. Lift times, amplitude of motor evoked potentials, and long-interval intracortical inhibition were examined across the different trial types (Go, Stop-Left, Stop-Right, Stop-Both). Go trials produced a tight distribution of lift times around the target, whereas those during Partial trials (Stop-Left and Stop-Right) were substantially delayed. The modulation of motor evoked potential amplitude during Stop-Right trials reflected anticipation, suppression, and subsequent reinitiation of movement. Importantly, suppression was present across all Stop trial types, indicative of a “default” nonselective inhibitory process. Compared with blocks containing only Go trials, inhibition increased when Stop trials were introduced but did not differ between trial types. The amount of inhibition was positively correlated with lift times during Stop-Right trials. Tonic levels of inhibition appear to be proactively modulated by task context and influence the speed at which unimanual responses occur after a nonselective “brake” is applied

Distribution and Environmental Tolerances of Aquatic Macroinvertebrate Families in the Agricultural Zone of Southwestern Australia

The agricultural zone of southwestern Australia is an extensively modified landscape. Ninety percent of the perennial native vegetation has been cleared and replaced by annual cereal crops and pasture. Consequently, groundwater has risen and much of the region is affected by dryland salinity. River geomorphology and water quality have been severely impacted by land clearing, anthropogenic patterns of land use, and secondary salinization. The objectives of this study were to determine patterns of distribution of aquatic macroinvertebrates in the region, and to identify environmental variables influencing these patterns. Aquatic macroinvertebrates were sampled at 176 river sites during spring 1997 and a range of environmental data were collected at each site. Eighty-one families were collected, with the fauna being dominated by insects. At the family level, macroinvertebrate communities were homogeneous and depauperate, and consisted of families that tolerated a broad range of environmental conditions. The fauna was particularly resilient to high salinities, with some families tolerating salinities orders of magnitude greater than previously reported for lotic waters. The most significant environmental factors influencing the distribution of aquatic invertebrates were rainfall, salinity, land use, and instream habitat

Satellite laser ranging work at the Goddard Space Flight Center

Laser ranging systems, their range and accuracy capabilities, and planned improvements for future systems are discussed, the systems include one fixed and two mobile lasers ranging systems. They have demonstrated better than 10 cm accuracy both on a carefully surveyed ground range and in regular satellite ranging operations. They are capable of ranging to all currently launched retroreflector equipped satellites with the exception of Timation III. A third mobile system is discussed which will be accurate to better than 5 cm and will be capable of ranging to distant satellites such as Timation III and LAGEOS

Optimal Scheduling Using Branch and Bound with SPIN 4.0

The use of model checkers to solve discrete optimisation problems is appealing. A model checker can first be used to verify that the model of the problem is correct. Subsequently, the same model can be used to find an optimal solution for the problem. This paper describes how to apply the new PROMELA primitives of SPIN 4.0 to search effectively for the optimal solution. We show how Branch-and-Bound techniques can be added to the LTL property that is used to find the solution. The LTL property is dynamically changed during the verification. We also show how the syntactical reordering of statements and/or processes in the PROMELA model can improve the search even further. The techniques are illustrated using two running examples: the Travelling Salesman Problem and a job-shop scheduling problem

Closing in on the picture : analyzing interactions in video recordings

This paper provides a detailed account of the processing and analysing of data, obtained through video recording during reflective practitioner research. It sets out five stages in the analysis of video recordings of classroom interactions during a series of educational drama lessons: from decisions relating to the selection of data for close analysis, to the seeking of themes, and finally to the presentation of conclusions. The researcher adapted and synthesised several processes derived from discourse analysis (Wells, 2001; Spiers, 2004; Gee, 2005) to produce a range of instruments for use in transcription and analysis of verbal and non-verbal discourse. These include: a simple transcription key; classifications for verbal and non-verbal discourse; and a template for a transcription and analysis matrix