Alignment by Maximization of Mutual Information

A new information-theoretic approach is presented for finding the pose of an object in an image. The technique does not require information about the surface properties of the object, besides its shape, and is robust with respect to variations of illumination. In our derivation, few assumptions are made about the nature of the imaging process. As a result the algorithms are quite general and can foreseeably be used in a wide variety of imaging situations. Experiments are presented that demonstrate the approach registering magnetic resonance (MR) images with computed tomography (CT) images, aligning a complex 3D object model to real scenes including clutter and occlusion, tracking a human head in a video sequence and aligning a view-based 2D object model to real images. The method is based on a formulation of the mutual information between the model and the image called EMMA. As applied here the technique is intensity-based, rather than feature-based. It works well in domains where edge or gradient-magnitude based methods have difficulty, yet it is more robust than traditional correlation. Additionally, it has an efficient implementation that is based on stochastic approximation. Finally, we will describe a number of additional real-world applications that can be solved efficiently and reliably using EMMA. EMMA can be used in machine learning to find maximally informative projections of high-dimensional data. EMMA can also be used to detect and correct corruption in magnetic resonance images (MRI).

Segmentation and Alignment of Speech and Sketching in a Design Environment

Sketches are commonly used in the early stages of design. Our previous system allows users to sketch mechanical systems that the computer interprets. However, some parts of the mechanical system might be too hard or too complicated to express in the sketch. Adding speech recognition to create a multimodal system would move us toward our goal of creating a more natural user interface. This thesis examines the relationship between the verbal and sketch input, particularly how to segment and align the two inputs. Toward this end, subjects were recorded while they sketched and talked. These recordings were transcribed, and a set of rules to perform segmentation and alignment was created. These rules represent the knowledge that the computer needs to perform segmentation and alignment. The rules successfully interpreted the 24 data sets that they were given.

Large-Area Photo-Mosaics Using Global Alignment and Navigation Data

Seafloor imagery is a rich source of data for the study of biological and geological processes. Among several applications, still images of the ocean floor can be used to build image composites referred to as photo-mosaics. Photo-mosaics provide a wide-area visual representation of the benthos, and enable applications as diverse as geological surveys, mapping and detection of temporal changes in the morphology of biodiversity. We present an approach for creating globally aligned photo-mosaics using 3D position estimates provided by navigation sensors available in deep water surveys. Without image registration, such navigation data does not provide enough accuracy to produce useful composite images. Results from a challenging data set of the Lucky Strike vent field at the Mid Atlantic Ridge are reported

Laser alignment (NPL)

Short video on laser alignment produced by the National Physical Laboratory

Ontology alignment

Introduction to alignment, mapping,

Attitude in students of Health Sciences toward scientific knowledge

Educating health professionals implies the challenge of creating and developing an inquiring mind, ready to be in a state of permanent questioning. For this purpose, it is fundamental to generate a positive attitude toward the generation of knowledge and science. Objective: to determine the attitude toward science and the scientific method in undergraduate students of health sciences. Materials and methods: a cross-sectional study was made by applying a self-administered survey, excluding those who were transferred from other universities and repeated. The attitude toward science and the scientific method were valued using the scale validated and published by Hren, which contains three domains: value of scientific knowledge, value of scientific methodology, and value of science for health professions. Results: 362 students were included, 86,6% of them graded the attitude toward scientific knowledge above 135 points, neutral scale value. Similar scores were registered in the domains value of scientific knowlede for the human dimension of the students and value of science for health professions. 91,4% of the students graded the value of scientific methodology below 48 points. Conclusions: the favorable attitude of the students can be explained by the contact that they have with the scientific method since the beginning of their studies and its concordance with the evolution of science. The domain value of scientific methodology obtained the lowest grade on the part of the students, which could be related to the lack of knowledge about scientific methodology.

La medida de la eficacia docente. Descripci??n y aplicaci??n del Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory : un instrumento predictor

Ofrecer una panor??mica que pretende incluir el fundamento de la evaluaci??n en general, su concreci??n en el ??mbito de la evaluaci??n del docente, es decir, de su eficacia describiendo modalidades e instrumentos de evaluaci??n y sus agentes. Analizar una de esas modalidades: Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory a partir de una experiencia concreta. Hip??tesis: A) La clasificaci??n ordinal atendiendo a los promedios obtenidos en las calificaciones de las asignaturas cursadas durante la carrera, no guardan correlaci??n significativa con las puntuaciones del Minnesota Teacher Attitude Inventory. B) Las calificaciones en la asignatura de Did??ctica obtenidas por los alumnos de segundo curso guardan correlaci??n con las puntuaciones en el MTAI. C) Las actitudes de los estudiantes de Magisterio frente a la Educaci??n, despu??s de haber realizado su per??odo largo de pr??cticas docentes -3 meses-, se modifican negativamente. Alumnos de los tres cursos de las Escuelas de Formaci??n del Profesorado de EGB de Barcelona y Tarragona (oficiales) y Blanquerna de Barcelona (no oficial), durante el mes de mayo de 1979. Definidos los planteamientos te??ricos se aplica el MTAI despu??s de haberle hecho unas adaptaciones formales para poderlo aplicar a nuestro contexto y confeccionar una hoja de respuestas m??s operativa y ??til para la correcci??n manual con plantilla. En base a unas hip??tesis y disponiendo de unos datos se analizan los resultados y se extraen las conclusiones pertinentes. Consultas personales, textos, documentos y revistas educativas. MTAI (mide las actitudes, prev?? las relaciones que se establecen en la clase y la satisfacci??n que el futuro educador obtendr?? de la Ense??anza como profesi??n). Tabulaci??n de los datos mediante puntuaciones medias globales, pol??gonos de frecuencias, correlaciones graduales y correlaciones lineales. Las puntuaciones obtenidas no se corresponden con las de los baremos americanos, la media en el baremo es de 59.5 y la de nuestros estudiantes apenas sobrepasa el 30. Hay una necesidad de adaptaciones y validaciones completas para pruebas de prestigio en otras ??reas geogr??ficas. El instrumento es ??til para servirse de ??l como referencia, a pesar de las deficiencias que implica la aplicaci??n directa e inmediata tras la traducci??n del original.

Antecedents of the attitude towards inter-group reconciliation in a setting of armed conflict

Resumen tomado de la publicación

Psychometric properties of the Spanish Adaptation of the School Attitude Assessment Survey-Revised

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

Adaptation of the Evidence-Based Practices Attitude Scale in Spanish child welfare professionals

Resumen tomado de la publicaci??n

The effectiveness of directional microphone alignment in the Baha Divino

The primary objective of this research study is to determine if off-vertical directional microphone alignments of the Baha Divino significantly impact the Reception Threshold for Sentences (RTS, in dB) using the Hearing in Noise Test (HINT) in a diffuse listening situation.

Electric field alignment in thin films of cylinder-forming diblock copolymer

We investigate thin films of cylinder-forming diblock copolymer confined between electrically charged parallel plates, using self-consistent-field theory ( SCFT) combined with an exact treatment for linear dielectric materials. Our study focuses on the competition between the surface interactions, which tend to orient cylinder domains parallel to the plates, and the electric field, which favors a perpendicular orientation. The effect of the electric field on the relative stability of the competing morphologies is demonstrated with equilibrium phase diagrams, calculated with the aid of a weak-field approximation. As hoped, modest electric fields are shown to have a significant stabilizing effect on perpendicular cylinders, particularly for thicker films. Our improved SCFT-based treatment removes most of the approximations implemented by previous approaches, thereby managing to resolve outstanding qualitative inconsistencies among different approximation schemes.