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Desired Goal (desired + goal)
Selected AbstractsA grasp-based motion planning algorithm for character animationCOMPUTER ANIMATION AND VIRTUAL WORLDS (PREV: JNL OF VISUALISATION & COMPUTER ANIMATION), Issue 3 2001Maciej Kalisiak The design of autonomous characters capable of planning their own motions continues to be a challenge for computer animation. We present a novel kinematic motion-planning algorithm for character animation which addresses some of the outstanding problems. The problem domain for our algorithm is as follows: given a constrained environment with designated handholds and footholds, plan a motion through this space towards some desired goal. Our algorithm is based on a stochastic search procedure which is guided by a combination of geometric constraints, posture heuristics, and distance-to-goal metrics. The method provides a single framework for the use of multiple modes of locomotion in planning motions through these constrained, unstructured environments. We illustrate our results with demonstrations of a human character using walking, swinging, climbing, and crawling in order to navigate through various obstacle courses. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Genetic improvement of processes yielding microbial productsFEMS MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS, Issue 2 2006Jose L. Adrio Abstract Although microorganisms are extremely good in presenting us with an amazing array of valuable products, they usually produce them only in amounts that they need for their own benefit; thus, they tend not to overproduce their metabolites. In strain improvement programs, a strain producing a high titer is usually the desired goal. Genetics has had a long history of contributing to the production of microbial products. The tremendous increases in fermentation productivity and the resulting decreases in costs have come about mainly by mutagenesis and screening/selection for higher producing microbial strains and the application of recombinant DNA technology. [source] Interesting properties of Thomas,Fermi kinetic and Parr electron,electron-repulsion DFT energy functional generated compact one-electron density approximation for ground-state electronic energy of molecular systemsJOURNAL OF COMPUTATIONAL CHEMISTRY, Issue 9 2009Sandor Kristyan Abstract The reduction of the electronic Schrodinger equation or its calculating algorithm from 4N -dimensions to a (nonlinear, approximate) density functional of three spatial dimension one-electron density for an N -electron system, which is tractable in the practice, is a long desired goal in electronic structure calculation. If the Thomas-Fermi kinetic energy (,,,5/3dr1) and Parr electron,electron repulsion energy (,,,4/3dr1) main-term functionals are accepted, and they should, the later described, compact one-electron density approximation for calculating ground state electronic energy from the 2nd Hohenberg,Kohn theorem is also noticeable, because it is a certain consequence of the aforementioned two basic functionals. Its two parameters have been fitted to neutral and ionic atoms, which are transferable to molecules when one uses it for estimating ground-state electronic energy. The convergence is proportional to the number of nuclei (M) needing low disc space usage and numerical integration. Its properties are discussed and compared with known ab initio methods, and for energy differences (here atomic ionization potentials) it is comparable or sometimes gives better result than those. It does not reach the chemical accuracy for total electronic energy, but beside its amusing simplicity, it is interesting in theoretical point of view, and can serve as generator function for more accurate one-electron density models. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Comput Chem 2009 [source] The Influence of Local Urban Containment Policies and Statewide Growth Management on the Size of United States Urban Areas,JOURNAL OF REGIONAL SCIENCE, Issue 1 2006Robert W. Wassmer This paper describes a regression-based analysis that finds that different forms of these policies are achieving their desired goal of shrinking the square mile size of an urban area. A comparison of the influence of the various forms of urban containment and growth management policies with other "natural evolution,""flight from blight," and "fiscalization of land use" factors that also influence the square mile size of an urban area is made, and policy implications are offered. [source] A COMPARISON OF THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HEDONIC SCALES AND END-ANCHOR COMPRESSION EFFECTSJOURNAL OF SENSORY STUDIES, Issue 2010HARRY T. LAWLESS ABSTRACT Three experiments were conducted to compare the relative performance of hedonic scaling methods, including the labeled affective magnitude (LAM) scale. In the first study, three versions of the LAM were used to evaluate 20 phrases that described diverse sensory experiences. One scale was anchored to "greatest imaginable like/dislike for any experience" and another used the "greatest imaginable like" phrase of the LAM but with the interior phrases repositioned relative to "any experience." The scale anchored to "any experience" showed a smaller range of scale usage and lower statistical differentiation, relative to the LAM scale, with the repositioned scale intermediate. Two further experiments compared the LAM to the nine-point hedonic scale, an 11-point category scale using the LAM phrases, and to a three-label line scale, a simplified version of the LAM with only the end phrases and the neutral center-point phrase. All scales showed similar differentiation of juices in the second study and sensory experience phrases in the third. A modest advantage for the LAM scale in the second experiment did not extend to the third study. Researchers should be careful in the choice of high end anchors for hedonic scales, as a compressed range of scale usage may result in lower product differentiation. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Hedonic scales for food acceptability are widely used in new product development for consumer testing and in food preference surveys. A desired goal of efficient sensory evaluation testing is the ability of tests to differentiate samples on the basis of scale data, in this case scales commonly used for food acceptability and preference testing. Scales which are able to differentiate products more effectively are less likely to lead to Type II error in experimentation, in which true differences between products are not detected. Such errors can lead to lost opportunities for product improvements or to enhanced chances for taking undetected risks in the case of false parity conclusions. [source] Mycobacterial Hsp65-IgG,expressing tolerogenic B cells confer protection against adjuvant-induced arthritis in Lewis ratsARTHRITIS & RHEUMATISM, Issue 5 2007Shailesh R. Satpute Objective Tolerization of T cells directed against a target autoantigen is a desired goal of experimental approaches for the treatment of autoimmune diseases, and novel and improved methods of tolerance induction are continuously being sought. Because most traditional methods of tolerance induction using soluble antigen are effective in the prevention of autoimmunity but fail to control established disease, this study was carried out to explore an innovative tolerogenic approach for the treatment of ongoing disease, using the rat adjuvant-induced arthritis (AIA) model of human rheumatoid arthritis. Methods Lewis (RT.1l) rats were injected subcutaneously with heat-killed Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Ra to induce AIA. Before or after AIA induction, Lewis rats were treated intraperitoneally (IP) with tolerogenic B cells expressing a fusion construct of mycobacterial 65-kd heat-shock protein (Hsp65) and IgG heavy-chain. For comparison, control rats were treated IP with ovalbumin (OVA),IgG,expressing B cells or soluble mycobacterial Hsp65, and the effects on AIA were observed. We also tested the immune response to mycobacterial Hsp65 in B cell,tolerized rats. Results Administration of tolerogenic mycobacterial Hsp65,expressing B cells as well as soluble mycobacterial Hsp65, but not OVA-expressing B cells, resulted in a significant decrease in the severity of subsequent AIA. However, in rats with established disease, only the B cell regimen of mycobacterial Hsp65, but not the soluble antigen, suppressed ongoing AIA. Conclusion Mycobacterial Hsp65-IgG,expressing B cells can successfully attenuate the progression of AIA. This study introduces a promising approach for the treatment of arthritis that should be further explored. [source] Bridging Patients to Cardiac TransplantationCONGESTIVE HEART FAILURE, Issue 5 2000Michael B. Higginbotham MD Potential recipients of heart transplants have the most advanced form of congestive heart failure, in which standard therapy fails to maintain clinical stability. In the absence of guidelines derived from evidence obtained in clinical trials, caring for these patients becomes a challenge. A successful approach requires the proper coordination of surgical and nonsurgical strategies, including revascularization and valvular surgery as well as mechanical ventricular support and medical strategies. Intensive medical therapy is the most commonly used approach for prolonged bridging to transplantation. Although carefully individualized regimens are necessary to achieve desired goals, most centers adopt a fairly standardized approach involving vasodilators, diuretics, and inotropic support. Bridging patients with cardiac decompensation to transplantation presents a major therapeutic challenge. Appropriate strategies will maximize patients' chances that the bridge from decompensation to transplantation remains intact. [source] Administrative and Court Reform in Central and Eastern EuropeEUROPEAN LAW JOURNAL, Issue 3 2003Frank Emmert Only relatively recently, it was recognised that successful administrative and court reform would be just as necessary in order to achieve the desired goals, namely that the candidates would eventually be able to take on their obligations as new members of the Union. Unfortunately, it has now become evident that it is easier to write new laws than to get them properly applied in every day practice. This article describes a number of cases to illustrate the problem. It shows that administrators and judges in Central and Eastern Europe have significant difficulties with Western working methods, specifically the application of international norms in the national legal order, due process and procedural safeguards, treatment of precedents, resolution of ambiguities and lacunae in the law, etc., which may in turn result in unjust and sometimes absurd application of laws. These difficulties cannot be resolved merely by organising ever more training courses and other theoretical programmes. The author claims that the majority of efforts promoting administrative and court reform applied so far have rendered only meager results. Therefore, additional and more creative measures have to be designed and implemented and have to be continued for years beyond accession of most of these countries to the EU in 2004. Otherwise, rule of law deserving its name will not materialise in the new Member States. The author concludes by offering some ideas based on many years of experience in the region. [source] | |||||||||||||