A texture based approach to reconstruction of archaeological finds

Reconstruction of archaeological finds from fragments, is a tedious task requiring many hours of work from the archaeologists and restoration personnel. In this paper we present a framework for the full reconstruction of the original objects using texture and surface design information on the sherd. The texture of a band outside the border of pieces is predicted by inpainting and texture synthesis methods. The confidence of this process is also defined. Feature values are derived from these original and predicted images of pieces. A combination of the feature and confidence values is used to generate an affinity measure of corresponding pieces. The optimization of total affinity gives the best assembly of the piece. Experimental results are presented on real and artificial data

On Fuzzy Length Spaces and Fuzzy Geodesics

In this paper, the notion of a fuzzy length space is introduced, and the definition of a fuzzy geodesic in a fuzzy metric space is given. Some properties of these new concepts are studied and the relation between them is revealed

Evaluation of physical and physiological parameters of the elite underwater rugby players

Underwater rugby (UWR) is a developing sport which is organised under umbrella of Confédération Mondiale des Activités Subaquatiques. Although this sports has over than 50 years history, very few studies have so far been published in the sports literature.  This research reveals physical and physiological profiles of UWR players in Turkey. Eleven male athletes participated to this study. Their body weight, height, body fat proportion, skinfold thicknesses, length and girth measurements, strength, flexibility, respiratory functions, anaerobic capacities, aerobic capacities were measured. In pool tests, 50 m crawl style, 50 m apnea, 8x25m apnea and 400 m crawl style with UWR equipments were done. Body mass index, body fat proportion, skinfold thickness of the underwater rugby players were higher compared to swimming and water polo literature. A positive correlation was found both between the 50 m apnea times and body fat proportions of the players and also among the 400 m crawl style with ABC equipments and body fat proportions and body weights of the players. A significant positive correlation was detected among skinfold thickness and the 50 m crawl style times with UWR equipments, 50 m apnea times, 8x25 m apnea times and 400 m crawl style times. Pulmonary volumes and capacities of the athletes were found higher than those of the water polo players and swimmers. This increase in the work of breathing muscles might be caused by hyperventilation of the underwater players before and after breathholding and blowing out the water in the snorkel after diving. In conclusion, more comparative data from UWR players is strongly warranted to define the physical and physiological features of UWR players

Locomotor demands of 30-15 Intermittent Fitness Test, Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test, and VAMEVAL test and comparisons with regular locomotor demands in training sessions and matches: a study conducted in youth male soccer players

Purpose. The study aim was 2-fold: (i) characterize and compare the locomotor demands of 30-15 Intermittent Fitness Test (30-15IFT), Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery Test level 1 (YYIRT), and VAMEVAL test; (ii) compare the locomotor demands of these progressive multistage tests with those of training sessions and matches in youth soccer players. Methods. A descriptive case study lasting 3 weeks was performed to implement the tests once and to monitor the locomotor demands in training sessions and matches. Overall, 12 soccer players (age: 18.21 ± 0.34 years) from the same team partici pated after consideration of inclusion criteria. A Global Positioning System unit was used for each player over the training sessions, matches, and multistage tests to monitor locomotor demands. The following outcomes were extracted: total distance; peak speed; distances covered at 3.00–6.99 km/h (Z1), 7.00–10.99 km/h (Z2), 11.00–14.99 km/h (Z3), 15.00–18.99 km/h (Z4), and 19.00 km/h (Z5); accelerations at 0.50 to 0.99 m/s2 and 1.00 to 1.99 m/s2 ; and decelerations at –0.99 to –0.50 m/s2 and –1.99 to –1.00 m/s2 . Results. Significant differences between progressive multistage tests were found in total distance (p = 0.028); distances covered at Z1 (p < 0.001), Z2 (p < 0.001), Z3 (p < 0.001), Z4 (p = 0.009), and Z5 (p = 0.044); accelerations at 0.50 to 0.99 m/s2 (p < 0.001) and 1.00 to 1.99 m/s2 (p < 0.001); and decelerations at –0.99 to –0.50 m/s2 (p < 0.001) and –1.99 to –1.00 m/s2 (p < 0.001). The total distance of the 3 progressive multistage tests may vary between 39% and 49% of a middle training session (match-day 3). However, as for intense locomotor demands at distance covered at Z4, 2 of the field-based tests ex ceeded a typical match-day 3 between 308 m (+83%) in 30-15IFT and 112 m (+30%) in YYIRT. Conclusions. The results suggests that 30-15IFT is more demanding considering high-intensity locomotor activities, while YYIRT and VAMEVAL are more demanding considering moderate locomotor demands. Moreover, specific adjustments in training sessions must be conducted, especially when introducing 30-15IFT and YYIRT since they may exceed the typical doses of distances covered at 11.00–14.99 km/h and 15.00–18.99 km/h.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Solar Energy Validation for Strategic Investment Planning via Comparative Data Mining Methods: An Expanded Example within the Cities of Turkey

Energy supply together with the data management is one of the key challenges of our century. Specifically, to decrease the climate change effects as energy requirement increases day by day poses a serious dilemma. It can be adequately reconciled with innovative data management in (renewable) energy technologies. The new environmental-friendly planning methods and investments that are discussed by researchers, governments, NGOs, and companies will give the basic and most important variables in shaping the future. We use modern data mining methods (SOM and K-Means) and official governmental statistics for clustering cities according to their consumption similarities, the level of welfare, and growth rate and compare them with their potential of renewable resources with the help of Rapid Miner 5.1 and MATLAB software. The data mining was chosen to make the possible secret relations visible within the variables that can be unpredictable at first sight. Here, we aim to see the success level of the chosen algorithms in validation process simultaneously with the utilized software. Additionally, we aim to improve innovative approach for decision-makers and stakeholders about which renewable resource is the most suitable for an exact region by taking care of different variables at the same time

The effects of cadmium on the biochemical and physiological parameters of Eruca sativa

In this study, Eruca sativa (Rocket) seedlings were treated with different cadmium (Cd) concentrations (0, 150, 300 and 450 μg ∙ g−1). The effects of Cd on lipid peroxidation, enzymatic (APx, CAT, GPX, SOD) and non-enzymatic antioxidants (total ascorbate, dehydroascorbate, ascorbate, non-protein thiol), fresh and dry masses, water content were determined. Also, Cd content of the leaves and the roots were analysed. The highest cadmium accumulation of leaves was at 450 μg ∙ g−1 Cd treatment and the accumulation was 2.62 times greater than those in the roots. The translocation factor was 3.89 at 300 μg ∙ g−1 Cd treatment. Cd treatments caused decreases of fresh, dry mass and water content of leaves and roots. Malondialdehyde content, which is an index of lipid peroxidation, was increased in proportion with the increase in Cd. While there was not change in the activity of GPX according to control, a decrease in activities of SOD, CAT and APX were observed with the increase of cadmium concentration. Although a significant increase in the amounts of non-protein thiol groups and proline were observed in 450 μg ∙ g−1 Cd treated plants, Cd did not lead to a significant change in AsA, DHA and total AsA contents. According to the results of the research, E. sativa may be a Cd hyperaccumulator plant and we suggest that the plant may be a candidate plant for remediation of Cd-contaminated soil

A comparison of thoracic or lumbar patient-controlled epidural analgesia methods after thoracic surgery

BACKGROUND: We aimed to compare patient-controlled thoracic or lumbar epidural analgesia methods after thoracotomy operations. METHODS: One hundred and twenty patients were prospectively randomized to receive either thoracic epidural analgesia (TEA group) or lumbar epidural analgesia (LEA group). In both groups, epidural catheters were administered. Hemodynamic measurements, visual analog scale scores at rest (VAS-R) and after coughing (VAS-C), analgesic consumption, and side effects were compared at 0, 2, 4, 8, 16, and 24 hours postoperatively. RESULTS: The VAS-R and VAS-C values were lower in the TEA group in comparison to the LEA group at 2, 4, 8, and 16 hours after surgery (for VAS-R, P = 0.001, P = 0.01, P = 0.008, and P = 0.029, respectively; and for VAS-C, P = 0.035, P = 0.023, P = 0.002, and P = 0.037, respectively). Total 24-hour analgesic consumption was different between groups (175 +/- 20 mL versus 185 +/- 31 mL; P = 0.034). The comparison of postoperative complications revealed that the incidence of hypotension (21/57, 36.8% versus 8/63, 12.7%; P = 0.002), bradycardia (9/57, 15.8% versus 2/63, 3.2%; P = 0.017), atelectasis (1/57, 1.8% versus 7/63, 11.1%; P = 0.04), and the need for intensive care unit (ICU) treatment (0/57, 0% versus 5/63, 7.9%; P = 0.03) were lower in the TEA group in comparison to the LEA group. CONCLUSIONS: TEA has beneficial hemostatic effects in comparison to LEA after thoracotomies along with more satisfactory pain relief profile

Computer aided puzzle assembly based on shape and texture information /

Puzzle assembly’s importance lies into application in many areas such as restoration and reconstruction of archeological findings, the repairing of broken objects, solving of the jigsaw type puzzles, molecular docking problem, etc. Puzzle pieces usually include not only geometrical shape information but also visual information of texture, color, continuity of lines, and so on. Moreover, textural information is mainly used to assembly pieces in some cases, such as classic jigsaw puzzles. This research presents a new approach in that pictorial assembly, in contrast to previous curve matching methods, uses texture information as well as geometric shape. The assembly in this study is performed using textural features and geometrical constraints. First, the texture of a band outside the border of pieces is predicted by inpainting and texture synthesis methods. The feature values are derived by these original and predicted images of pieces. A combination of the feature and confidence values is used to generate an affinity measure of corresponding pieces. Two new algorithms using Fourier based image registration techniques are developed to optimize the affinity. The algorithms for inpainting, affinity and Fourier based assembly are explained with experimental results on real and artificial data. The main contributions of this research are: The development of a performance measure that indicates the level of success of assembly of pieces based on textural features and geometrical shape. Solution of the assembly problem by using of the Fourier based methods