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Small Blocks (small + block)
Selected AbstractsA strategy of matching blocks at multi-levelsINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS, Issue 10 2002Seok-Woo Jang We propose a size-variable block-matching algorithm for motion-vector estimation. The proposed algorithm dynamically determines the search area and the size of a block. We exploit the constraint of small velocity changes of a block through time to determine the origin of the search area. The range of the search area is adjusted according to the motion coherency of spatially neighboring blocks. The process of determining the size of a block begins with the matching of a small block. If the matching degree is not good enough, we expand the size of the block slightly and then repeat the matching process until our matching criterion is satisfied. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm can yield very accurate block motion vectors. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] SCHISTOSOMIASIS JAPONICA IDENTIFIED BY LAPAROSCOPIC AND COLONOSCOPIC EXAMINATIONDIGESTIVE ENDOSCOPY, Issue 2 2010Keiko Hosho A 45-year-old Philippine woman who came from Mindanao Island was admitted to our hospital with a complaint of epigastric discomfort. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography demonstrated a network pattern and linear calcification in the liver. Laparoscopic examination showed numerous yellowish, small speckles over the liver surface. The liver surface was separated into many small blocks by groove-like depressions, demonstrating a so-called tortoise shell pattern. Conventional colonoscopy and narrow-band imaging showed irregular areas of yellowish mucosa, and diminished vascular network and increased irregular microvessels extending from the descending colon to the rectum. Liver biopsy showed many Schistosoma japonicum eggs in Glisson's capsule and colon biopsy showed many S. japonicum eggs in the submucosal layer. These findings established a diagnosis of schistosomiasis japonica. The present case is imported schistosomiasis japonica. Even though new cases have not occurred recently in Japan, we should remain aware of schistosomiasis japonica for patients who came from foreign epidemic areas. [source] The piloted transition to flaming in smoldering fire retarded and non-fire retarded polyurethane foamFIRE AND MATERIALS, Issue 8 2008Olivier M. Putzeys Abstract The piloted transition from smoldering to flaming, though a significant fire safety concern, has not been previously extensively studied. Experimental results are presented on the piloted transition from smoldering to flaming in non-fire retarded (NFR) polyurethane foam and the fire retarded polyurethane foam Pyrell®. The samples are small blocks, vertically placed in the wall of an upward wind tunnel. The free surface is exposed to an oxidizer flow and a radiant heat flux. The smolder product gases pass upwards through a pilot. The experiments on NFR foam show that the smolder velocity and peak smolder temperature, which increase with the oxygen concentration and heat flux, are strongly correlated to the transition to flaming event, in that there are minimum values of these parameters for transition to occur. The existence of a minimum smolder velocity for ignition supports the concept of a gaseous mixture reaching a lean flammability limit as the criterion for the transition to flaming. To compensate for the solid- and gas-phase effects of the fire retardants on the piloted transition in Pyrell, it was necessary to increase the oxygen concentration and the power supplied to the smolder igniter and the pilot. The piloted transition is observed in oxygen concentrations above 17% in NFR foam and above 23% in Pyrell. The results show that although Pyrell is less flammable than NFR foam, it is still susceptible to smoldering and the piloted transition to flaming in oxygen-enriched environments, which is of interest for special applications such as future space missions. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Functional segregation of cortical language areas by sentence repetitionHUMAN BRAIN MAPPING, Issue 5 2006Ghislaine Dehaene-Lambertz Abstract The functional organization of the perisylvian language network was examined using a functional MRI (fMRI) adaptation paradigm with spoken sentences. In Experiment 1, a given sentence was presented every 14.4 s and repeated two, three, or four times in a row. The study of the temporal properties of the BOLD response revealed a temporal gradient along the dorsal,ventral and rostral,caudal directions: From Heschl's gyrus, where the fastest responses were recorded, responses became increasingly slower toward the posterior part of the superior temporal gyrus and toward the temporal poles and the left inferior frontal gyrus, where the slowest responses were observed. Repetition induced a decrease in amplitude and a speeding up of the BOLD response in the superior temporal sulcus (STS), while the most superior temporal regions were not affected. In Experiment 2, small blocks of six sentences were presented in which either the speaker voice or the linguistic content of the sentence, or both, were repeated. Data analyses revealed a clear asymmetry: While two clusters in the left superior temporal sulcus showed identical repetition suppression whether the sentences were produced by the same speaker or different speakers, the homologous right regions were sensitive to sentence repetition only when the speaker voice remained constant. Thus, hemispheric left regions encode linguistic content while homologous right regions encode more details about extralinguistic features like speaker voice. The results demonstrate the feasibility of using sentence-level adaptation to probe the functional organization of cortical language areas. Hum Brain Mapp, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source] Size of orchard trees as a factor affecting behavioural control of apple maggot flies (Dipt., Tephritidae) by trapsJOURNAL OF APPLIED ENTOMOLOGY, Issue 7 2001R. J. Prokopy Over a 3-year period (1997,1999), we examined the influence of tree size on effectiveness of traps for behaviourally controlling apple maggot flies, Rhagoletis pomonella (Walsh), in small blocks of trees in Massachusetts commercial apple orchards. Traps were red spheres coated with Tangletrap and baited with an attractive synthetic host fruit odour (butyl hexanoate). Traps were placed 6 m apart on perimeter apple trees of each block and were designed to intercept apple maggot flies immigrating into blocks from unmanaged host trees. Based on captures of adults by unbaited red spheres placed near the centre of each block to monitor degree of adult penetration into the interior and on percentages of fruit injured by apple maggot, traps surrounding blocks of small trees (1.5 m canopy diameter) planted at high density were more effective in controlling apple maggot flies (relative to control obtained by insecticide sprays used in comparison blocks) than were traps surrounding blocks of large trees (3.7 m canopy diameter) planted at low density, with traps surrounding blocks of medium-size trees (2.5 m canopy diameter) planted at medium density generally providing an intermediate level of control. [source] Restoration of a species-rich meadow on arable land by transferring meadow blocksAPPLIED VEGETATION SCIENCE, Issue 4 2010Klime Abstract Question: Does transplantation of small blocks of turfs contribute to restoration of species-rich meadows on fallow land? What is the role of vegetative spread and seedling establishment of meadow plants in the neighbourhood of the transplanted turfs? Location: Bílé Karpaty Mountains, SE Czech Republic. Methods: Twenty-five meadow blocks, 0.4 m × 0.4 m in size, were transplanted to fallow land (unfertile and dry) and species composition was monitored in the source area, in the transferred turfs and in their neighbourhood for 3 yr. Multivariate analyses were used to assess successional trends. Results: The transferred meadow blocks served as a source of diaspores for the seed-limited fallow land. Out of 80 transplanted species 17 species spread to adjacent plots within 3 yr. The frequency of plants expanding from the transferred turfs, either vegetatively or by seeds, was relatively low and from 2002 to 2004 a total of 22 species declined in the transferred turfs before expanding to the neighbourhood. Successional trends in species composition of the plots adjacent to the transferred blocks were strongly significant compared with the vegetation of the source area despite the short-term data used for the evaluation. The role of the seed bank in restoration was negligible. Conclusions: In infertile and dry environments, transplanted turfs may significantly speed up restoration, especially if natural sources of target plant seeds are not available in the neighbourhood. However, the restoration process is long-term and not all transferred plants can be expected to establish in the fallow land. [source] | ||||||||||