Featureless visual processing for SLAM in changing outdoor environments

Vision-based SLAM is mostly a solved problem providing clear, sharp images can be obtained. However, in outdoor environments a number of factors such as rough terrain, high speeds and hardware limitations can result in these conditions not being met. High speed transit on rough terrain can lead to image blur and under/over exposure, problems that cannot easily be dealt with using low cost hardware. Furthermore, recently there has been a growth in interest in lifelong autonomy for robots, which brings with it the challenge in outdoor environments of dealing with a moving sun and lack of constant artificial lighting. In this paper, we present a lightweight approach to visual localization and visual odometry that addresses the challenges posed by perceptual change and low cost cameras. The approach combines low resolution imagery with the SLAM algorithm, RatSLAM. We test the system using a cheap consumer camera mounted on a small vehicle in a mixed urban and vegetated environment, at times ranging from dawn to dusk and in conditions ranging from sunny weather to rain. We first show that the system is able to provide reliable mapping and recall over the course of the day and incrementally incorporate new visual scenes from different times into an existing map. We then restrict the system to only learning visual scenes at one time of day, and show that the system is still able to localize and map at other times of day. The results demonstrate the viability of the approach in situations where image quality is poor and environmental or hardware factors preclude the use of visual features

The Effect of Alternative Nutrition Menu Labels on Children’s Meals Purchases and Parent-Child Decision-Making

Children are one subpopulation that have seen a threefold increase in obesity over the last two decades but have received no attention in the menu labeling literature. The purpose of this study is to explore the effects of different menu labeling formats on purchases of children’s meals and parent-child decision-making at a family-oriented restaurant. The intervention consists of five children’s menus featuring six bundled, nutritionally diverse, and equally priced combinations that are implemented over about a year. Accompanying each menu is a survey postcard collecting information on the parent-child decision process in choosing the item. This is ongoing research and all data is not in but at this point, the very early evidence points toward child-menu labeling having very little impact on food choices and caloric intake. This result is likely due to low parental involvement in the decision process given that children are the main ones deciding what to eat.Consumer/Household Economics, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety,

EphB signalling in rat prostate development

In male mammals, the formation of the prostate gland is driven by androgens and involves cell-cell signalling between mesenchymal and epithelial cells. Gene profiling studies of prostate mesenchyme, using serial analysis of gene expression (SAGE), identified many transcripts that encode potential regulators of prostate development. The studies identified transcripts expressed in the ventral mesenchymal pad (VMP), a subset of the prostate mesenchyme known to express key growth factors and to regulate prostate organ development. These candidate mRNAs were used in a whole mount in-situ hybridisation (WISH) screen to identify those showing mesenchyme specific expression. The transcripts selected for WISH analysis were placed in three groups. The first group of transcripts were identified as enriched in the VMP based upon statistical analysis of their SAGE tag count. The second group of transcripts shared a SAGE tag count that was not statistically significant, and were a control for the first group. The third group encompassed transcripts that encoded either secretory or transmembrane proteins that were likely mediators of cell-cell communication. From 194 candidates, 30 were analysed by WISH and 13 were identified as mesenchymal. The tyrosine kinase receptor, EphB3, was selected from the WISH analysis and its role in prostate development was examined.EphB signalling has been characterised as a chemotactic guidance cue in neuronal development and has also been implicated in organogenesis of the kidney, lung and colon. The Eph tyrosine kinase family is the largest of its type and is divided into two classes of receptor, Eph A and EphB. The EphB family has five receptors (EphB 1-4, B6) and three ligands (EphrinBl-3) in mammals. The EphrinB ligands are transmembrane proteins.PCR analysis was used to examine the expression of the EphB and EphrinB transcripts in the developing rat prostate. The PCR analysis showed that mRNAs for the EphB2 and EphB3 receptors, and the EphrinB 1 and EphrinB2 ligands, were highly expressed in the rat prostate compared with the other EphB and EphrinB family members. The PCR analysis did not establish whether EphB receptors or EphrinB ligands were expressed in epithelia, mesenchyme or both. The EphB2 and EphB3 receptors, and the EphrinB 1 and EphrinB2 ligands, were further characterised by WISH, quantitative real-time PCR and immunohistochemical analysis during prostate development. At both the mRNA and protein levels, EphB3 and EphrinB 1 were expressed in a restricted area of the prostate mesenchyme, in close association with the developing epithelial buds. The EphB3 and EphrinB 1 transcripts were detected by the SAGE analysis, suggesting that they were expressed in the mesenchyme. The EphB2 and EphrinB2 transcripts were not detected by the SAGE analysis, suggesting that they were expressed in the epithelium. The EphB2 receptor and EphrinB2 ligand were predominantly expressed in the developing epithelial buds, as shown by immunohistochemical analysis. The SAGE analysis of VMP mesenchyme identified EphB3 and EphrinB 1 but not EphB2 and EphrinB2. This was consistent with their expression in mesenchyme or epithelium respectively.The addition of EphB2-Fc and EphB3-Fc to in vitro organ cultures of neonatal prostates, acting as a ligand trap, decreased prostate growth. The addition of EphrinB 1-Fc and EphrinB2-Fc ligands increased prostate organ size. The addition of EphrinB 1-Fc and EphrinB2-Fc produced a significant increase in the mesenchymal and epithelial cell proliferation rates. This increase in cell proliferation in response to EphrinB 1-Fc and EphrinB2-Fc was consistent with the observed increase in prostate organ size. The addition of EphB2-Fc and EphB3-Fc produced no significant increase in the mesenchymal and epithelial cell proliferation rates. This lack of a significant increase in cell proliferation in response to EphB2-Fc and EphB3-Fc was consistent with the observed decrease in prostate organ size. These findings suggest a role for EphB signalling in the regulation of prostate growth.The addition of either EphB-Fc or EphrinB-Fc proteins to in vitro organ cultures resulted in a decrease epithelial branching morphogenesis. Larger epithelial buds were observed in organs treated with EphrinB 1-Fc and EphrinB2-Fc, when compared to control organs. No visible change in the size of the epithelial buds was observed in response to EphB-Fc9 treatment. Furthermore, p63 and Smooth Muscle Actin immunohistochemical analysis of EphrinBl-Fc and EphrinB2-Fc treated organs showed larger epithelial buds, and proliferation analysis showed greater epithelial cell proliferation in EphrinB-Fc treated organs. The increased size of each epithelial bud may be caused by the decreased epithelial branching and the increased epithelial proliferation rate, in response to the addition of EphrinB-Fc proteins. These findings suggest a role for EphB-EphrinB signalling in the regulation of prostate epithelial branching.Collectively, we report the first reported functional link between EphB signalling and prostate development. EphB-EphrinB signalling may act as a novel juxtacrine or autocrine signal within the mesenchyme or as a novel paracrine signalling mechanism during prostate organogenesis

Interview of George B. Stow, Ph.D.

Dr. George B. Stow is the initial and continuing Graduate History Program Director at La Salle University since its inception in 2004. Dr. Stow received his B.A. in Classics from Lehigh University, his M.A. in History from The University of Southern California and his Ph.D. in History from the University of Illinois in 1972. Dr. Stow specializes in English medieval history and his doctoral dissertation Historia Vitae et Regni Ricardi Secundi: A Critical Edition is dedicated to King Richard II of England. In recent years, Dr. Stow has presented papers at the International Congress on Medieval Studies at Western Michigan University, written and published a joint publication, Patterns in World History, a college level textbook, with Dr. Charles Desnoyers of La Salle University and Dr. Peter von Sivers of the University of Utah, and is currently conducting research on the 14th century chronicler Thomas Walsingham. In 1972, Dr. Stow began his career as part of the history faculty at La Salle University and was elected a fellow of the Royal Historical Society in 1988. In 2003, he received the Lindback Teaching Award for excellence. His most notable publications are 2004’s “The Continuation of the Eulogium Historiarum: Some Revisionist Perspectives” in the English Historical Review and 1984’s “Richard II in Thomas Walsingham’s Chronicles,” in Speculum. The interview is intended as an academic interview that spans the breadth of his vast experiences as a scholar, student, teacher, advisor and director at the university level over the last forty years and beyond. Starting with Dr. Stow’s most recent achievements and endeavors, the interview regresses through history, beginning with the last ten years of the Graduate History Program at La Salle University and ending at the beginning of Dr. Stow’s career

Investigating the utilization of silica gel packets in drying research-scale rough rice samples

Rice moisture content (MC) must be reduced to approximately 12.5% MC to prevent spoilage during storage. Desiccants may provide an improved method for drying research-scale rice samples. This study investigated the effects of 1) rice mass to be dried, 2) placement method of silica gel packets in rice samples, 3) regeneration and re-use of the packets, 4) drying temperature, and 5) initial MC on the effectiveness of silica gel packets to dry rough rice samples to the desired 12.5% MC. Multiple masses (200, 500, and 1000 g) of long-grain rice samples were dried using three desiccant placement treatments: 1) intimate mixing (IM) of silica gel packets without agitation, 2) intimate mixing and agitation (IMA), and 3) surface placement (SP) of silica gel packets on top of the rice samples. The IMA treatments produced little variability in final MCs across the three masses used. The adsorptive capacity of silica gel packets in 200-g samples of two rice cultivars was measured. The adsorptive capacity varied from 26 to 35%. Effects of rice initial MC and drying temperature were measured by drying samples at initial MCs from 13 to 18% at 10°C, 20°C, and 30°C for eight days. Increased drying temperatures produced decreased final MCs for both cultivars, which became more pronounced as the initial MCs increased

Change Management And Post-Merger Organizational Outcomes: Four Organizations Merge Into One

Most merger and acquisition literature looks at financial and marketing strategies, while dismissing or ignoring the people-issues. This study examines post-merger employee organizational identification and attitudes about organizational communication relationships