Suitability of non-parametric stereo matching algorithms for mining automation

The mining environment, being complex, irregular and time varying, presents a challenging prospect for stereo vision. For this application, speed, reliability, and the ability to produce a dense depth map are of foremost importance. This paper assesses the suitability of a number of matching techniques for use in a stereo vision sensor for close range scenes consisting primarily of rocks. These include traditional area-based matching metrics, and non-parametric transforms, in particular, the rank and census transforms. Experimental results show that the rank and census transforms exhibit a number of clear advantages over area-based matching metrics, including their low computational complexity, and robustness to certain types of distortion.

Fast and robust stereo matching algorithms for mining automation

The mining environment, being complex, irregular and time varying, presents a challenging prospect for stereo vision. For this application, speed, reliability, and the ability to produce a dense depth map are of foremost importance. This paper evaluates a number of matching techniques for possible use in a stereo vision sensor for mining automation applications. Area-based techniques have been investigated because they have the potential to yield dense maps, are amenable to fast hardware implementation, and are suited to textured scenes. In addition, two non-parametric transforms, namely, the rank and census, have been investigated. Matching algorithms using these transforms were found to have a number of clear advantages, including reliability in the presence of radiometric distortion, low computational complexity, and amenability to hardware implementation.

Bodyweight and other correlates of symptom detected breast cancers in a population offered screening

Objective: To determine factors associated with symptom detected breast cancers in a population offered screening. Methods We interviewed 1,459 Australian women aged 40–69, 946 with symptom detected and 513 with mammogram detected invasive breast cancers ≥1.1 cm in diameter, about their personal, mammogram and breast histories before diagnosis and reviewed medical records for tumour characteristics and mammogram dates, calculating ORs and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for symptom- vs mammogram-detected cancers in logistic regression models. Results: Lack of regular mammograms (<2 mammograms in the 4.5 years before diagnosis) was the strongest correlate of symptom detected breast cancer (OR=3.04 for irregular or no mammograms). In women who had regular mammograms (≥2 mammograms in the 4.5 years before diagnosis), the independent correlates of symptom detected cancers were low BMI (OR <25kg/m2 vs ≥30kg/m2=2.18, 95% CI 1.23-3.84; p=0.008), increased breast density (available in 498 women) (OR highest quarter vs lowest =3.50, 95% CI 1.76-6.97; ptrend=0.004), high grade cancer and a larger cancer (each p<0.01). In women who did not have regular mammograms, the independent correlates were age <50 years, a first cancer and a ≥2cm cancer. Smoking appeared to modify the association of symptom detected cancer with low BMI (higher ORs for low BMI in current smokers) and estrogen receptor (ER) status (higher ORs for low BMI in ER− cancers). Conclusion: Women with low BMI may benefit from a tailored approach to breast cancer detection, particularly if they smoke.

Poly[(mu6-4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropyridine-2-carboxylato)aquacaesium

In the structure of the title complex, [Cs(C6H2Cl3N2O2)(H2O)]n, the caesium salt of the commercial herbicide picloram, the Cs+ cation lies on a crystallographic mirror plane, which also contains the coordinating water molecule and all non-H atoms of the 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinate anion except the carboxylate O-atom donors. The irregular CsCl4O5 coordination polyhedron comprises chlorine donors from the ortho-related ring substituents of the picloramate ligand in a bidentate chelate mode, with a third chlorine bridging [Cs-Cl range 3.6052 (11)-3.7151 (11) Å] as well as a bidentate chelate carboxylate group giving sheets extending parallel to (010). A three-dimensional coordination polymer structure is generated through the carboxylate group, which also bridges the sheets down [010]. Within the structure, there are intra-unit water O-HOcarboxylate and amine N-HNpyridine hydrogen-bonding interactions.

Numerical study of impact forces on railway sleepers under wheel flat

Wheel-rail interaction is one of the most important research topics in railway engineering. It includes track vibration, track impact response and safety of the track. Track structure failures caused by impact forces can lead to significant economic loss for track owners through damage to rails and to the sleepers beneath. The wheel-rail impact forces occur because of imperfections on the wheels or rails such as wheel flats, irregular wheel profile, rail corrugation and differences in the height of rails connected at a welded joint. The vehicle speed and static wheel load are important factors of the track design, because they are related to the impact forces under wheel-rail defects. In this paper, a 3-Dimensional finite element model for the study of wheel flat impact is developed by use of the FEA software package ANSYS. The effects of the wheel flat to impact force on sleepers with various speeds and static wheel loads under a critical wheel flat size are investigated. It has found that both wheel-rail impact force and impact force on sleeper induced by wheel flat are varying nonlinearly by increasing the vehicle speed; both impact forces are nonlinearly and monotonically increasing by increasing the static wheel load. The relationships between both of impact forces induced by wheel flat and vehicles speed or static load are important to the track engineers to improve the design and maintenance methods in railway industry.

A dynamic wheel-rail impact analysis of railway track under wheel flat by Finite Element Analysis

Wheel–rail interaction is one of the most important research topics in railway engineering. It involves track impact response, track vibration and track safety. Track structure failures caused by wheel–rail impact forces can lead to significant economic loss for track owners through damage to rails and to the sleepers beneath. Wheel–rail impact forces occur because of imperfections in the wheels or rails such as wheel flats, irregular wheel profiles, rail corrugations and differences in the heights of rails connected at a welded joint. A wheel flat can cause a large dynamic impact force as well as a forced vibration with a high frequency, which can cause damage to the track structure. In the present work, a three-dimensional (3-D) finite element (FE) model for the impact analysis induced by the wheel flat is developed by use of the finite element analysis (FEA) software package ANSYS and validated by another validated simulation. The effect of wheel flats on impact forces is thoroughly investigated. It is found that the presence of a wheel flat will significantly increase the dynamic impact force on both rail and sleeper. The impact force will monotonically increase with the size of wheel flats. The relationships between the impact force and the wheel flat size are explored from this finite element analysis and they are important for track engineers to improve their understanding of the design and maintenance of the track system.

Dry powder inhaler formulations : effect of carrier size on the drug dispersion

Background: The size of the carrier influences drug aerosolization from a dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulation. Lactose particles with irregular shape and rough surface in a variety of sizes are additionally used as carriers; however, contradictory reports exist regarding the effect of carrier size on the dispersion of drug. We examined the influence of the spherical particle size of the biodegradable polylactide-co-glycolide (PLGA) carrier on the aerosolization of a model drug, salbutamol sulphate (SS). Methods: Four different sizes (20-150 µm) of polymer carriers were fabricated using solvent evaporation technique and the dispersion of SS from these carriers was measured by a Twin Stage Impinger (TSI). The size and morphological properties of polymer carriers were determined by laser diffraction and SEM, respectively. Results: The FPF was found to increase from 5.6% to 21.3% with increasing carrier sizeup to150 µm. Conclusions: The aerosolization of drug increased linearly with the size of polymer carriers. For a fixed mass of drug particles in a formulation, the mass of drug particles per unit area of carriers is higher in formulations containing the larger carriers, which leads to an increase in the dispersion of drug due to the increased mechanical forces occurred between the carriers and the device walls.

Were intercalated komatiites and dacites at the Black Swan nickel sulphide mine, Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia, emplaced as extrusive lavas or intrusive bodies? The significance of breccia textures and contact relationships

Intercalated Archean komatiites and dacites sit above a thick footwall dacite unit in the host rock succession at the Black Swan Nickel Mine, north of Kalgoorlie in the Yilgarn Craton, Western Australia. Both lithofacies occur in units that vary in scale from laterally extensive at the scale of the mine lease to localized, thin, irregular bodies, from > 100 m thick to only centimetres thick. Some dacites are only slightly altered and deformed, and are interpreted to post-date major deformation and alteration (late porphyries). However, the majority of the dacites display evidence of deformation, especially at contacts, and metamorphism, varying from silicification and chlorite alteration at contacts to pervasive low grade regional metamorphic alteration represented by common assemblages of chlorite, sericite and albite. Texturally, the dacites vary from entirely massive and coherent to partially brecciated to totally brecciated. Strangely, some dacites are coherent at the margins and brecciated internally. Breccia textures vary from cryptically defined, to blocky, closely packed, in situ jig-saw fit textures with secondary minerals in fractures between clasts, to more apparent matrix rich textures with round clast forms, giving apparent conglomerate textures. Some clast zones have multi-coloured clasts, giving the impression of varied provenance. Strangely however, all these textural variants have gradational relationships with each other, and no bedding or depositional structures are present. This indicates that all textures have an in situ origin. The komatiites are generally altered and pervasively carbonate veined. Preservation of original textures is patchy and local, but includes coarse adcumulate, mesocumulate, orthocumulate, crescumulate-harrisite and occasionally spinifex textures. Where original contacts between komatiites and dacites are preserved intact (i.e. not sheared or overprinted by alteration), the komatiites have chilled margins, whereas the dacites do not. The margins of the dacites are commonly silicified, and inclusions of dacite occur in komatiite, even at the top contacts of komatiite units, but komatiite clasts do not occur in the dacites. The komatiites therefore were emplaced as sills into the dacites, and the intercalated relationships are interpreted as intrusive. The brecciation and alteration in the dacites are interpreted as being largely due to hydraulic fracturing and alteration induced by contact metamorphic effects and hydrothermal alteration deriving from the intrusion of komatiites into the felsic pile. The absence of autobreccia and hyaloclastite textures in the dacites suggest that they were emplaced as an earlier intrusive (sill?) complex at a high level in the crust.

Conserved and variable features of gag structure and arrangement in immature retrovirus particles

The assembly of retroviruses is driven by oligomerization of the Gag polyprotein. We have used cryo-electron tomography together with subtomogram averaging to describe the three-dimensional structure of in vitro-assembled Gag particles from human immunodeficiency virus, Mason-Pfizer monkey virus, and Rous sarcoma virus. These represent three different retroviral genera: the lentiviruses, betaretroviruses and alpharetroviruses. Comparison of the three structures reveals the features of the supramolecular organization of Gag that are conserved between genera and therefore reflect general principles of Gag-Gag interactions and the features that are specific to certain genera. All three Gag proteins assemble to form approximately spherical hexameric lattices with irregular defects. In all three genera, the N-terminal domain of CA is arranged in hexameric rings around large holes. Where the rings meet, 2-fold densities, assigned to the C-terminal domain of CA, extend between adjacent rings, and link together at the 6-fold symmetry axis with a density, which extends toward the center of the particle into the nucleic acid layer. Although this general arrangement is conserved, differences can be seen throughout the CA and spacer peptide regions. These differences can be related to sequence differences among the genera. We conclude that the arrangement of the structural domains of CA is well conserved across genera, whereas the relationship between CA, the spacer peptide region, and the nucleic acid is more specific to each genus.

Bounded rationality and voting decisions over 160 years : voter behavior and increasing complexity in decision-making

Using a quasi-natural voting experiment encompassing a 160-year period (1848–2009) in Switzerland, we investigate whether a higher level of complexity leads to increased reliance on trusted parliamentary representatives. We find that when more referenda are held on the same day, constituents are more likely to refer to parliamentary recommendations when making their decisions. This finding holds true even when we narrow our focus to referenda with a relatively lower voter turnout on days on which more than one referendum is held. We also demonstrate that when constituents face a higher level of complexity, they follow the parliamentary recommendations rather than those of interest groups. "Viewed as a geometric figure, the ant’s path is irregular, complex, hard to describe. But its complexity is really a complexity in the surface of the beach, not a complexity in the ant." ([1] p. 51)

Footprints to pathways : reconciliation action planning in industry to sustain Indigenous employment in Queensland

This paper provides an introductory discussion to a study focusing on industry Reconciliation Action Plans (RAP) and sustaining Indigenous employment in Queensland. Indigenous people continue to experience deep and persistent disadvantage in employment, which limits their life prospects (McLachlan, Gilgillan & Gordon, 2013). A major contributing factor to this detriment is irregular employment and or unemployment. A reasonable standard of living has been found to be determined by access to economic resources such as income and wealth. Denial of this access, denies access to income streams, social status, and engagement in meaningful activities. Hence, job loss and joblessness are triggers of disadvantage (McLachlan, et al., 2013). For young Indigenous people, lack of access has lasting effects particularly if they have multiple characteristics that place them at risk of disadvantage. The project aims to develop knowledge and understanding of Industry RAPs mediate employment opportunities for Indigenous people and how young Indigenous people conceive of their employment options and the processes by which employers can best support Indigenous people. It adopts two theoretical frameworks to investigate the aim of the study : (1) Lave and Wenger’s (1991) theory of communities of practice and, (2) Sen’s (1993) capability approach which provides a structure for examining individual well-being in the context of societal inequality. This paper discusses the first research question of the study: What are Industry Reconciliation Action Plans? What is included in RAPs? Why do Industries develop RAPs? How do RAPs attract, recruit, retain, and tenure Indigenous people? The project’s significance rests with its focus on Industry, employers, policies and practices that aid the attraction and retention of Indigenous people in employment.

Spatial prediction of N2O emissions in pasture : a Bayesian model averaging analysis

Nitrous oxide (N2O) is one of the greenhouse gases that can contribute to global warming. Spatial variability of N2O can lead to large uncertainties in prediction. However, previous studies have often ignored the spatial dependency to quantify the N2O - environmental factors relationships. Few researches have examined the impacts of various spatial correlation structures (e.g. independence, distance-based and neighbourhood based) on spatial prediction of N2O emissions. This study aimed to assess the impact of three spatial correlation structures on spatial predictions and calibrate the spatial prediction using Bayesian model averaging (BMA) based on replicated, irregular point-referenced data. The data were measured in 17 chambers randomly placed across a 271 m(2) field between October 2007 and September 2008 in the southeast of Australia. We used a Bayesian geostatistical model and a Bayesian spatial conditional autoregressive (CAR) model to investigate and accommodate spatial dependency, and to estimate the effects of environmental variables on N2O emissions across the study site. We compared these with a Bayesian regression model with independent errors. The three approaches resulted in different derived maps of spatial prediction of N2O emissions. We found that incorporating spatial dependency in the model not only substantially improved predictions of N2O emission from soil, but also better quantified uncertainties of soil parameters in the study. The hybrid model structure obtained by BMA improved the accuracy of spatial prediction of N2O emissions across this study region.

Collagen in the scarless fetal skin wound : detection with picrosirius-polarization

Our group has developed an ovine model of deep dermal, partial-thickness burn where the fetus heals scarlessly and the lamb heals with scar. The comparison of collagen structure between these two different mechanisms of healing may elucidate the process of scarless wound healing. Picrosirius staining followed by polarized light microscopy was used to visualize collagen fibers, with digital capture and analysis. Collagen deposition increased with fetal age and the fibers became thicker, changing from green (type III collagen) to yellow/red (type I collagen). The ratio of type III collagen to type I was high in the fetus (166), whereas the lamb had a much lower ratio (0.2). After burn, the ratios of type III to type I collagen did not differ from those in control skin for either fetus or lamb. The fetal tissue maintained normal tissue architecture after burn while the lamb tissue showed irregular collagen organization. In conclusion, the type or amount of collagen does not alter significantly after injury. Tissue architecture differed between fetal and lamb tissue, suggesting that scar development is related to collagen cross-linking or arrangement. This study indicates that healing in the scarless fetal wound is representative of the normal fetal growth pattern, rather than a "response" to burn injury.

Competing together : assessing the dynamics of team-team and player-team synchrony in professional association football

This study investigated movement synchronization of players within and between teams during competitive association football performance. Cluster phase analysis was introduced as a method to assess synchronies between whole teams and between individual players with their team as a function of time, ball possession and field direction. Measures of dispersion (SD) and regularity (sample entropy – SampEn – and cross sample entropy – Cross-SampEn) were used to quantify the magnitude and structure of synchrony. Large synergistic relations within each professional team sport collective were observed, particularly in the longitudinal direction of the field (0.89 ± 0.12) compared to the lateral direction (0.73 ± 0.16, p < .01). The coupling between the group measures of the two teams also revealed that changes in the synchrony of each team were intimately related (Cross-SampEn values of 0.02 ± 0.01). Interestingly, ball possession did not influence team synchronization levels. In player–team synchronization, individuals tended to be coordinated under near in-phase modes with team behavior (mean ranges between −7 and 5° of relative phase). The magnitudes of variations were low, but more irregular in time, for the longitudinal (SD: 18 ± 3°; SampEn: 0.07 ± 0.01), compared to the lateral direction (SD: 28 ± 5°; SampEn: 0.06 ± 0.01, p < .05) on-field. Increases in regularity were also observed between the first (SampEn: 0.07 ± 0.01) and second half (SampEn: 0.06 ± 0.01, p < .05) of the observed competitive game. Findings suggest that the method of analysis introduced in the current study may offer a suitable tool for examining team’s synchronization behaviors and the mutual influence of each team’s cohesiveness in competing social collectives.

A randomized controlled trial of a 10 percent CPP-ACP cream to reduce mutans streptococci colonization

Purpose The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a 10 percent casein phosphopeptide-amorphous calcium phosphate (CPP-ACP) cream to reduce mutans streptococci (MS) colonization and prevent early childhood caries. Methods The cohort was randomized at mean age of 11 days old to receive once-daily CPP-ACP cream (n=102) or no product (comparison group; n=89) from the time of first tooth eruption. All mothers were contacted by telephone at six, 12, and 18 months and advised to brush their children's teeth twice daily with low-dose fluoride toothpaste. At 24 months, all children were examined at a community clinic. Results At 24 months old, one out of 65 (2 percent) children in the CPP-ACP group had caries vs. four out of 58 (seven percent) in the comparison group (difference not statistically significant). There were fewer MS-positive children in the CPP-ACP group (26 percent) vs. the comparison group (47 percent; P=.02). A dose-response effect of CPP-ACP usage on MS was observed, where MS was present in eight percent of regular CPP-ACP users, 28 percent of irregular users, and 47 percent of non-users (P<.02). Conclusions CPP-ACP reduced the percentages of mutans streptococci-positive 24-month-old children, although it did not reduce caries prevalence.