A Surface Relief Meter Based on Trinocular Vision

The concept for the relief meter being developed, appears to function well, when used with the artificial images. The described matching criterion leads to high matching percentages, and accurate results. The percentage of mismatches is reduced to practically zero for the tested scenes. Future work will involve evaluation of the algorithm with real agricultural scenes (soil images) and implementation of special hardware for fast execution of the algorith

High-throughput mapping of protein occupancy identifies functional elements without the restriction of a candidate factor approach

There are a variety of in vivo and in vitro methods to determine the genome-wide specificity of a particular trans-acting factor. However there is an inherent limitation to these candidate approaches. Most biological studies focus on the regulation of particular genes, which are bound by numerous unknown trans-acting factors. Therefore, most biological inquiries would be better addressed by a method that maps all trans-acting factors that bind particular regions rather than identifying all regions bound by a particular trans-acting factor. Here, we present a high-throughput binding assay that returns thousands of unbiased measurements of complex formation on nucleic acid. We applied this method to identify transcriptional complexes that form on DNA regions upstream of genes involved in pluripotency in embryonic stem cells (ES cells) before and after differentiation. The raw binding scores, motif analysis and expression data are used to computationally reconstruct remodeling events returning the identity of the transcription factor(s) most likely to comprise the complex. The most significant remodeling event during ES cell differentiation occurred upstream of the REST gene, a transcriptional repressor that blocks neurogenesis. We also demonstrate how this method can be used to discover RNA elements and discuss applications of screening polymorphisms for allelic differences in binding

On a functional equation involving iterates and powers

We present a complete list of all continuous solutions f : (0,+∞)→(0,+∞) of the equation f 2(x) = γ [f (x)]αxβ, where α, β and γ > 0 are given real numbers

Inconsistent language lateralisation - testing the dissociable language laterality hypothesis using behaviour and lateralised cerebral blood flow

Background Most people have strong left-brain lateralisation for language, with a minority showing right- or bilateral language representation. On some receptive language tasks, however, lateralisation appears to be reduced or absent. This contrasting pattern raises the question of whether and how language laterality may fractionate within individuals. Building on our prior work, we postulated (a) that there can be dissociations in lateralisation of different components of language, and (b) these would be more common in left-handers. A subsidiary hypothesis was that laterality indices will cluster according to two underlying factors corresponding to whether they involve generation of words or sentences, vs. receptive language. Methods We tested these predictions in two stages: At Step 1 an online laterality battery (Dichotic listening, Rhyme Decision and Word Comprehension) was given to 621 individuals (56% left-handers); At Step 2, functional transcranial Doppler ultrasound (fTCD) was used with 230 of these individuals (51% left-handers). 108 left-handers and 101 right-handers gave usable data on a battery of three language generation and three receptive language tasks. Results Neither the online nor fTCD measures supported the notion of a single language laterality factor. In general, for both online and fTCD measures, tests of language generation were left-lateralised. In contrast, the receptive tasks were at best weakly left-lateralised or, in the case of Word Comprehension, slightly right-lateralised. The online measures were only weakly correlated, if at all, with fTCD measures. Most of the fTCD measures had split-half reliabilities of at least .7, and showed a distinctive pattern of intercorrelation, supporting a modified two-factor model in which Phonological Decision (generation) and Sentence Decision (reception) loaded on both factors. The same factor structure fitted data from left- and right-handers, but mean scores on the two factors were lower (less left-lateralised) in left-handers. Conclusions There are at least two factors influencing language lateralization in individuals, but they do not correspond neatly to language generation and comprehension. Future fMRI studies could help clarify how far they reflect activity in specific brain regions

Remarks on the Cauchy functional equation and variations of it

This paper examines various aspects related to the Cauchy functional equation $f(x+y)=f(x)+f(y)$, a fundamental equation in the theory of functional equations. In particular, it considers its solvability and its stability relative to subsets of multi-dimensional Euclidean spaces and tori. Several new types of regularity conditions are introduced, such as a one in which a complex exponent of the unknown function is locally measurable. An initial value approach to analyzing this equation is considered too and it yields a few by-products, such as the existence of a non-constant real function having an uncountable set of periods which are linearly independent over the rationals. The analysis is extended to related equations such as the Jensen equation, the multiplicative Cauchy equation, and the Pexider equation. The paper also includes a rather comprehensive survey of the history of the Cauchy equation.Comment: To appear in Aequationes Mathematicae (important remark: the acknowledgments section in the official paper exists, but it appears before the appendix and not before the references as in the arXiv version); correction of a minor inaccuracy in Lemma 3.2 and the initial value proof of Theorem 2.1; a few small improvements in various sections; added thank

Detection of Creep in CR-MO Steel by Magnetic Hysteresis Measurements

Creep damage is the slow plastic flow of metal under stress and at high temperature, typically about 50% of the absolute melting temperature. The result is a very slow viscous flow of the metal which ends in sudden failure. This problem occurs in alloy steels that have been used in steam generators, turbines, and pipelines in power plants operating at high temperatures, typically in the range 500°–600°C, and under stress for an extended period of time. Creep failure occurs by a process of cumulative damage which involves plastic deformation, nucleation and growth of cavities at the grain boundaries, subsequent linkage of these cavities to form microcracks, and the propagation of these microcracks until failure.</p