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Specific Tasks (specific + task)
Selected AbstractsIndependent comparative study of PCA, ICA, and LDA on the FERET data setINTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF IMAGING SYSTEMS AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2005Kresimir Delac Abstract Face recognition is one of the most successful applications of image analysis and understanding and has gained much attention in recent years. Various algorithms were proposed and research groups across the world reported different and often contradictory results when comparing them. The aim of this paper is to present an independent, comparative study of three most popular appearance-based face recognition projection methods (PCA, ICA, and LDA) in completely equal working conditions regarding preprocessing and algorithm implementation. We are motivated by the lack of direct and detailed independent comparisons of all possible algorithm implementations (e.g., all projection,metric combinations) in available literature. For consistency with other studies, FERET data set is used with its standard tests (gallery and probe sets). Our results show that no particular projection,metric combination is the best across all standard FERET tests and the choice of appropriate projection,metric combination can only be made for a specific task. Our results are compared to other available studies and some discrepancies are pointed out. As an additional contribution, we also introduce our new idea of hypothesis testing across all ranks when comparing performance results. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Int J Imaging Syst Technol, 15, 252,260, 2005 [source] Formation of a geometric pattern with a mobile wireless sensor networkJOURNAL OF FIELD ROBOTICS (FORMERLY JOURNAL OF ROBOTIC SYSTEMS), Issue 10 2004Justin Lee Mobile wireless sensor networks (MWSNs) will enable information systems to gather detailed information about the environment on an unprecedented scale. These self-organizing, distributed networks of sensors, processors, and actuators that are capable of movement have a broad range of potential applications, including military reconnaissance, surveillance, planetary exploration, and geophysical mapping. In many of the foreseen applications, the MWSN will need to form a geometric pattern without assistance from the user. In military reconnaissance, for example, the nodes will be dropped onto the battlefield from a plane and land at random positions. The nodes will be expected to arrange themselves into a predetermined formation in order to perform a specific task. Thus, we present algorithms for forming a line, circle, and regular polygon from a given set of random positions. The algorithms are distributed and use no communication between the nodes to minimize energy consumption. Unlike past studies of geometric problems where algorithms are either tested in simulations where each node has global knowledge of all the other nodes or implemented on a small number of robots, the robustness of our algorithms has been studied with simulations that model the sensor system in detail. The simulations demonstrate that the algorithms are robust against random errors in the sensors and actuators. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. [source] Advances in solid lubrication with MoS2 multilayered coatingsLUBRICATION SCIENCE, Issue 2 2001P. Voumard Abstract The general classification of solid lubricant types is reviewed, along with the reasons for choosing and methods of depositing solid lubricants, in particular MoS2. The best-performing and most flexible technique for making MoS2 films is by physical vapour deposition (PVD), and the variants of that technology are considered. The intrinsically-lubricating, lamellar structure of pure MoS2 is described, along with a brief summary of the wear and failure modes. Present applications for lubrication by MoS2 in spacecraft and dry machining are described. Anti-adhesion uses in extruding and moulding are also mentioned. The current modification of MoS2 films is by addition of dopants (co-sputtering), by multilayering as a series of films each fulfilling a specific task, or by stacking repeating nanometre-scale films. Composite films of MoS2 islands in a hard film matrix are also being developed. [source] The cosmopolitan imagination: critical cosmopolitanism and social theoryTHE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 1 2006Gerard Delanty Abstract Critical cosmopolitanism is an emerging direction in social theory and reflects both an object of study and a distinctive methodological approach to the social world. It differs from normative political and moral accounts of cosmopolitanism as world polity or universalistic culture in its conception of cosmopolitanism as socially situated and as part of the self-constituting nature of the social world itself. It is an approach that shifts the emphasis to internal developmental processes within the social world rather than seeing globalization as the primary mechanism. This signals a post-universalistic kind of cosmopolitanism, which is not merely a condition of diversity but is articulated in cultural models of world openness through which societies undergo transformation. The cosmopolitan imagination is articulated in framing processes and cultural models by which the social world is constituted; it is therefore not reducible to concrete identities, but should be understood as a form of cultural contestation in which the logic of translation plays a central role. The cosmopolitan imagination can arise in any kind of society and at any time but it is integral to modernity, in so far as this is a condition of self-problematization, incompleteness and the awareness that certainty can never be established once and for all. As a methodologically grounded approach, critical cosmopolitan sociology has a very specific task: to discern or make sense of social transformation by identifying new or emergent social realities. [source] 3423: Measurement of straylightACTA OPHTHALMOLOGICA, Issue 2010HS GINIS Purpose Straylight in the human eye is associated with low light intensities scattered at angles large compared to the part of the Point Spread Function that is governed by refractive error and aberrations. It is the purpose of this talk to summarise existing methods for the measurement of straylight in the human eye and to discuss new developments. Methods Among psychophysical techniques are the most well-established and studied methods. Optical techniques to date are limited by signal to noise as well as dynamic range considerations. Results Improvements in optical techniques involve the creation of the appropriate imaging conditions where scattered light intensity can be calculated based on the effects of scatter on the acquired image. Conclusion Psychophysical methods, that have been particularly successful, require specially designed optical schemes (for the presentation of the stimulus), a specific task and a suitable data analysis method. Optical techniques may benefit from refinements in these directions also. [source] Using Data from Hospital Information Systems to Improve Emergency Department CareACADEMIC EMERGENCY MEDICINE, Issue 11 2004Gregg Husk MD Abstract The ubiquity of computerized hospital information systems, and of inexpensive computing power, has led to an unprecedented opportunity to use electronic data for quality improvement projects and for research. Although hospitals and emergency departments vary widely in their degree of integration of information technology into clinical operations, most have computer systems that manage emergency department registration, admission,discharge,transfer information, billing, and laboratory and radiology data. These systems are designed for specific tasks, but contain a wealth of detail that can be used to educate staff and improve the quality of care emergency physicians offer their patients. In this article, the authors describe five such projects that they have performed and use these examples as a basis for discussion of some of the methods and logistical challenges of undertaking such projects. [source] Examining Contextual Effects in a Practice Analysis: An Application of Dual ScalingEDUCATIONAL MEASUREMENT: ISSUES AND PRACTICE, Issue 3 2007André F. De Champlain Practice analyses are routinely used in support of the development of occupational and professional certification and licensure examinations. These analyses usually survey incumbents to obtain importance ratings of (1) specific tasks and (2) knowledge, skill, and ability (KSA) statements deemed by subject matter experts as essential to safe and effective practice. Several researchers have made important criticisms of traditional practice analysis procedures, particularly the lack of attention to contextual constructs and the resulting problematic interpretation of mean importance ratings. The present study provides a framework for assessing the impact of context in practice analysis studies. It focuses on a practice analysis of a health profession that sought to enhance the meaning of incumbents' importance ratings by embedding the statements in the context of patient acuities. Results indicate that incumbents' importance ratings varied as a function of patient acuity. Dual scaling analysis was used to obtain a multidimensional visual representation of the associations between importance ratings and contextual content. The implications of the contextual component of the study design for future practice analysis studies are discussed as well as possible applications of this approach to professions in education. [source] Daily jaw muscle activity in freely moving rats measured with radio-telemetryEUROPEAN JOURNAL OF ORAL SCIENCES, Issue 1 2007Nobuhiko Kawai The jaw muscle activity of rats has been investigated for specific tasks. However, the daily jaw muscle use remains unclear. The purpose of the present study was to examine daily jaw muscle activity, and its variability over time, in the rat (n = 12) by the use of radio-telemetry. A telemetric device was implanted for the continuous recording of masseter muscle and digastric muscle activity. Daily muscle use was characterized by calculating the total time that each muscle was active (duty time), the number of bursts, and the average length of bursts. All parameters were estimated for activities exceeding various levels (5,90%) of the day's peak activity. Daily muscle use remained constant for 4 wk. At the low-activity level, the duty time and burst number of the digastric muscle were significantly (P < 0.01) higher than those of the masseter muscle, whereas the opposite was true at the high-activity level (P < 0.05). No significant intermuscular correlation was observed between the number of bursts of the masseter and digastric muscles, but the interindividual variation of both muscles changed, depending on the level of activation. These findings suggest that the masseter muscle and the digastric muscle show a differential active pattern, depending on the activity level. [source] Personality Judgments in Adolescents' Families: The Perceiver, the Target, Their Relationship, and the FamilyJOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 1 2003Susan J. T. Branje The present study investigated whether personality judgments involve different processes in a family setting than in a nonfamily setting. We used the Social Relations Model to distinguish the effects of perceiver, target, perceiver-target relationship, and family on personality judgments. Family members of families with adolescents judged their own and the other members' Big Five factors. Judgments were found to depend on the relevance of personality factors within the family setting: Agreeableness and Conscientiousness were judged most consistently. Large relationship variance indicated that parents adjust their judgments to the target family member; large perceiver variance indicated that adolescents judge family members' personalities rather similarly. However, a comparison of self- and other-judgments showed adolescents' judgments to be no more related to their self-perceptions than parents' judgments. We concluded that the relevance of personality factors may differ on specific tasks within a setting. [source] Information problems in molecular biology and bioinformaticsJOURNAL OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR INFORMATION SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, Issue 5 2005W. John MacMullen In this article we provide an overview of opportunities for research and practice in the domain of molecular biology by information and library scientists. We introduce the changing role of data and information in molecular biology, and how molecular biology is evolving from a technique- and technology-driven science to an information-driven science. We then describe the high-level objectives of molecular biology and some broad classes of problems from an information perspective. We illustrate the high-level objectives with examples of specific tasks performed by biologists. Finally, we provide some programmatic direction for information and library science research streams and insertion points. [source] Finnish Allergy Programme 2008,2018 , time to act and change the courseALLERGY, Issue 6 2008T. Haahtela Background:, The prevalence of allergic diseases has grown in Finland, similarly to many other western countries. Although the origin of allergy remains unresolved, increasing body of evidence indicates that the modern man living in urban built environment is deprived from environmental protective factors (e.g. soil microorganisms) that are fundamental for normal tolerance development. The current dogma of allergen avoidance has not proved effective in halting the ,epidemic', and it is the Finnish consensus that restoring and strengthening tolerance should more be in focus. Aim:, The national 10-year programme is aimed to reduce burden of allergies. The main goals are to (i) prevent the development of allergic symptoms; (ii) increase tolerance against allergens; (iii) improve the diagnostics; (iv) decrease work-related allergies; (v) allocate resources to manage and prevent exacerbations of severe allergies and (vi) decrease costs caused by allergic diseases. Methods:, For each goal, specific tasks, tools and evaluation methods are defined. Nationwide implementation acts through the network of local co-ordinators (primary care physicians, nurses, pharmacists). In addition, three nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) take care of the programme implementation. The 21 central hospital districts carry out a three step educational process: (i) healthcare personnel; (ii) representatives and educators of NGOs and (iii) patients and the general population. For outcome evaluation, repeated surveys are performed and healthcare registers employed at the beginning, at 5 years, and at the end of the programme. The process will be evaluated by an independent external body. Conclusion:, The Finnish initiative is a comprehensive plan to reduce burden of allergies. The aim is to increase immunological tolerance and change attitudes to support health instead of medicalizing common and mild allergy symptoms. It is time to act, when allergic individuals are becoming a majority of western populations and their numbers are in rapid increase worldwide. The Programme is associated with the Global Alliance of Chronic Respiratory Diseases (GARD), WHO. [source] | |||||||||||||