Robust Detection of Point Correspondences in Stereo Images

A major challenge in 3D reconstruction is the computation of the fundamental matrix. Automatic computation from uncalibrated image pairs is performed from point correspondences. Due to imprecision and wrong correspondences, only an approximation of the true fundamental matrix can be computed. The quality of the fundamental matrix strongly depends on the location and number of point correspondences.Furthermore, the fundamental matrix is the only geometric constraint between two uncalibrated views, and hence it can be used for the detection of wrong point correspondences. This property is used by current algorithms like RANSAC, which computes the fundamental matrix from a restricted set of point correspondences. In most cases, not only wrong correspondences are disregarded, but also correct ones, which is due to the criterion used to eliminate outliers. In this context, a new criterion preserving a maximum of correct correspondences would be useful.In this paper we introduce a novel criterion for outlier elimination based on a probabilistic approach. The enhanced set of correspondences may be important for further computation towards a 3D reconstruction of the scene.

Scalable, Time-Responsive, Digital, Energy-Efficient Molecular Circuits using DNA Strand Displacement

We propose a novel theoretical biomolecular design to implement any Boolean circuit using the mechanism of DNA strand displacement. The design is scalable: all species of DNA strands can in principle be mixed and prepared in a single test tube, rather than requiring separate purification of each species, which is a barrier to large-scale synthesis. The design is time-responsive: the concentration of output species changes in response to the concentration of input species, so that time-varying inputs may be continuously processed. The design is digital: Boolean values of wires in the circuit are represented as high or low concentrations of certain species, and we show how to construct a single-input, single-output signal restoration gate that amplifies the difference between high and low, which can be distributed to each wire in the circuit to overcome signal degradation. This means we can achieve a digital abstraction of the analog values of concentrations. Finally, the design is energy-efficient: if input species are specified ideally (meaning absolutely 0 concentration of unwanted species), then output species converge to their ideal concentrations at steady-state, and the system at steady-state is in (dynamic) equilibrium, meaning that no energy is consumed by irreversible reactions until the input again changes. Drawbacks of our design include the following. If input is provided non-ideally (small positive concentration of unwanted species), then energy must be continually expended to maintain correct output concentrations even at steady-state. In addition, our fuel species - those species that are permanently consumed in irreversible reactions - are not "generic"; each gate in the circuit is powered by its own specific type of fuel species. Hence different circuits must be powered by different types of fuel. Finally, we require input to be given according to the dual-rail convention, so that an input of 0 is specified not only by the absence of a certain species, but by the presence of another. That is, we do not construct a "true NOT gate" that sets its output to high concentration if and only if its input's concentration is low. It remains an open problem to design scalable, time-responsive, digital, energy-efficient molecular circuits that additionally solve one of these problems, or to prove that some subset of their resolutions are mutually incompatible.Comment: version 2: the paper itself is unchanged from version 1, but the arXiv software stripped some asterisk characters out of the abstract whose purpose was to highlight words. These characters have been replaced with underscores in version 2. The arXiv software also removed the second paragraph of the abstract, which has been (attempted to be) re-inserted. Also, although the secondary subject is "Soft Condensed Matter", this classification was chosen by the arXiv moderators after submission, not chosen by the authors. The authors consider this submission to be a theoretical computer science paper

Supplementary Feeding of Grazing Dairy Cows

The objective of this paper was to consider the effect of supplementary feeding of grazing dairy cows on dry matter intake (DMI), milk production and milk composition. Accurate estimations of total DMI and pasture DMI are important to the management of dairy grazing systems. The intakes of dry matter (DM) and net energy-NEL are lower on the pasture-only diet compared with cows supplementary fed with concentrate. Many pasture factors affect DMI, including pregrazing pasture mass and pasture allowance. Milk production of high producing grazing dairy cows in early lactation increases linearly as the amount of concentrate increases to 10 kg DM/day with a milk response of 1 kg milk/kg concentrate. In late lactation, increases are with a lower milk response per kilogram of supplemented concentrate. With the amount of concentrate supplementation, milk fat and protein yield increase while milk fat percentage decreases. Supplementation with rumen undegradable protein (RUP) is important for meeting requirements of grazing dairy cows, because the pasture has high ruminal crude protein (CP) degradability. Corn silage supplementation to grazing cows may increase milk production if pasture offered is restricted, but if pasture is offered ad libitum milk production does not change or can decrease. Supplementation of ruminally inert fat could have positive effect on milk production with concentrate supplemented at a lower rate

Medical data processing and analysis for remote health and activities monitoring

Recent developments in sensor technology, wearable computing, Internet of Things (IoT), and wireless communication have given rise to research in ubiquitous healthcare and remote monitoring of human\u2019s health and activities. Health monitoring systems involve processing and analysis of data retrieved from smartphones, smart watches, smart bracelets, as well as various sensors and wearable devices. Such systems enable continuous monitoring of patients psychological and health conditions by sensing and transmitting measurements such as heart rate, electrocardiogram, body temperature, respiratory rate, chest sounds, or blood pressure. Pervasive healthcare, as a relevant application domain in this context, aims at revolutionizing the delivery of medical services through a medical assistive environment and facilitates the independent living of patients. In this chapter, we discuss (1) data collection, fusion, ownership and privacy issues; (2) models, technologies and solutions for medical data processing and analysis; (3) big medical data analytics for remote health monitoring; (4) research challenges and opportunities in medical data analytics; (5) examples of case studies and practical solutions

A GIS-based Approach for Modeling the Spatial and Temporal Development of Night-time Lights

One of the few directly observable indicators of human activity in spatially explicit form are night-time satellite imagery data. Nocturnal lighting can be regarded as one of the defining features of concentrated human activity, such as flaring of natural gas in oil field

Entanglement dynamics of two qubits under the influence of external kicks and Gaussian pulses

We have investigated the dynamics of entanglement between two spin-1/2 qubits that are subject to independent kick and Gaussian pulse type external magnetic fields analytically as well as numerically. Dyson time ordering effect on the dynamics is found to be important for the sequence of kicks. We show that "almost-steady" high entanglement can be created between two initially unentangled qubits by using carefully designed kick or pulse sequences

Adaptive OFDM Modulation for Underwater Acoustic Communications: Design Considerations and Experimental Results

Cataloged from PDF version of article.In this paper, we explore design aspects of adaptive modulation based on orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM) for underwater acoustic (UWA) communications, and study its performance using real-time at-sea experiments. Our design criterion is to maximize the system throughput under a target average bit error rate (BER). We consider two different schemes based on the level of adaptivity: in the first scheme, only the modulation levels are adjusted while the power is allocated uniformly across the subcarriers, whereas in the second scheme, both the modulation levels and the power are adjusted adaptively. For both schemes we linearly predict the channel one travel time ahead so as to improve the performance in the presence of a long propagation delay. The system design assumes a feedback link from the receiver that is exploited in two forms: one that conveys the modulation alphabet and quantized power levels to be used for each subcarrier, and the other that conveys a quantized estimate of the sparse channel impulse response. The second approach is shown to be advantageous, as it requires significantly fewer feedback bits for the same system throughput. The effectiveness of the proposed adaptive schemes is demonstrated using computer simulations, real channel measurements recorded in shallow water off the western coast of Kauai, HI, USA, in June 2008, and real-time at-sea experiments conducted at the same location in July 2011. We note that this is the first paper that presents adaptive modulation results for UWA links with real-time at-sea experiments. © 2013 IEEE

Payment Systems Reforms

The nineties were a hectic period for many policy makers around the world in respect-of payment systems reforms. The increased attention to payment system issues was brought about by the following trends: (i) increased cross-border competition, innovations, and new communication and information technologies; (ii) the financial and political integration and changing processes in European Union and Countries in Transition. The purpose of this thesis is threefold. Firstly, it seeks to define and critically assess the major payment system developments and problems around the world with a view of advancing the understanding of the payment system matters. Secondly, it presents empirical evidence on payment systems similarities, and differences, across countries. This serves as a basis for recommendations about payment system reforms in Countries in Transition. Thirdly, it emphasises and investigates the institutional aspects of payment systems in different groups of countries. The research finds that payment systems around the world are different, but there are some universal themes and values that can serve as a basis for countries that are reforming their payment systems. The particular recommendations for public policy relate to need for greater: (i) payment system providers and instruments competition; (ii) payment system and monetary policy co-ordination; (iii) emphasis on financial stability