An alternative formulation for guided electromagnetic fields in grounded chiral slabs - Summary

An alternative formulation for guided electromagnetic fields in grounded chiral slabs is presented. This formulation is formally equivalent to the double Fourier transform method used by the authors to calculate the spectral fields in open chirostrip structures. In this paper, we have addressed the behavior of the electromagnetic fields in the vicinity of the ground plane and at the interface between the chiral substrate and the free space region. It was found that the boundary conditions for the magnetic field, valid for achiral media, are not completely satisfied when we deal with chiral material. Effects of chirality on electromagnetic field distributions and on surface wave dispersion curves were also analyzed.

Georeferenced road extraction and formulation of hypotheses for new road segments

The acquisition and update of Geographic Information System (GIS) data are typically carried out using aerial or satellite imagery. Since new roads are usually linked to georeferenced pre-existing road network, the extraction of pre-existing road segments may provide good hypotheses for the updating process. This paper addresses the problem of extracting georeferenced roads from images and formulating hypotheses for the presence of new road segments. Our approach proceeds in three steps. First, salient points are identified and measured along roads from a map or GIS database by an operator or an automatic tool. These salient points are then projected onto the image-space and errors inherent in this process are calculated. In the second step, the georeferenced roads are extracted from the image using a dynamic programming (DP) algorithm. The projected salient points and corresponding error estimates are used as input for this extraction process. Finally, the road center axes extracted in the previous step are analyzed to identify potential new segments attached to the extracted, pre-existing one. This analysis is performed using a combination of edge-based and correlation-based algorithms. In this paper we present our approach and early implementation results.

Duality in a fermionlike formulation for the electromagnetic field

We employ the Dirac-like equation for the gauge field proposed by Majorana to obtain an action that is symmetric under duality transformation. We also use the equivalence between duality and chiral symmetry in this fermionlike formulation to show how the Maxwell action can be seen as a mass term. ©2000 The American Physical Society.

Different criteria for feed formulation based on digestible amino acids for broilers

An experiment was carried out to evaluate different criteria in feed formulation based on digestible amino acids for broilers during the grower phase. Diets were formulated according to the recommendations for digestible methionine, methionine + cysteine, lysine, and threonine. A total number of six hundred Cobb 500 male day-old chicks were distributed in a completely randomized experimental design, with three formulation criteria supplying the recommendations established by Baker & Chung (1992), Degussa (1997), and Rostagno et al. (2000), with 4 replicates of 50 birds each. No significant differences were observed for weight gain and feed intake. However, feed conversion ratio improved when birds were fed the diets containing the profiles recommended by Baker & Chung (1992) and Degussa (1997). No difference was observed in terms of leg, wings, back, and head yields. Broilers fed with the profile of Baker & Chung (1992) presented worst breast yield, whereas those fed the Degussa (1997) standard had better carcass yield.

Path analysis and expected response in indirect selection for grain yield in soybean

This study aimed to determine the best auxiliary trait for indirect selection of soybean grain yield, through path analysis and in avoidance of the adverse effects of multicollinearity and expected response. Seventy-nine F5 soybean genotypes from the cross FT-Cometa x Bossier were used. The populations were distributed on the field was the families inserted with replicated controls. Primary and secondary traits of grain yield were evaluated in four phenotypically superior plants per family. The traits number of pods, height and number of nodes were considered as the most important, showing the best combination of direct effect and genotypic correlation. The number of pods achieved the highest expected gain through the estimation method based on the selection differential. On the other hand, plant height, by the method based on selection intensity, was not a good indicator of the most productive plants.

Oropharyngeal dysphagia identification using wavelets and optimum path forest

The swallowing disturbers are defined as oropharyngeal dysphagia when present specifies signals and symptoms that are characterized for alterations in any phases of swallowing. Early diagnosis is crucial for the prognosis of patients with dysphagia and the potential to diagnose dysphagia in a noninvasive manner by assessing the sounds of swallowing is a highly attractive option for the dysphagia clinician. This study proposes a new framework for oropharyngeal dysphagia identification, having two main contributions: a new set of features extract from swallowing signal by discrete wavelet transform and the dysphagia classification by a novel pattern classifier called OPF. We also employed the well known SVM algorithm in the dysphagia identification task, for comparison purposes. We performed the experiments in two sub-signals: the first was the moment of the maximal peak (MP) of the signal and the second is the swallowing apnea period (SAP). The OPF final accuracy obtained were 85.2% and 80.2% for the analyzed signals MP and SAP, respectively, outperforming the SVM results. ©2008 IEEE.

Dual path: A concept to improve the esthetic replacement of missing anterior teeth with a removable partial denture

The dual path of insertion concept for removable partial denture (RPD) design may be used in esthetically demanding situations. When compared to conventional RPDs, the main advantage of this design is the minimal use of clasps. This clinical report describes the treatment of a patient with an anterior maxillary edentulous area using a dual path RPD. The diagnostic cast was surveyed to ensure the adequacy of the undercuts on the mesial surfaces of the anterior abutments, where rigid minor connectors were placed. Inverted V-shaped canine cingulum rest seats were prepared to provide resistance to tooth movement during function. The dual path RPD concept allows excellent esthetic results, minimizes tooth preparation, and reduces the tendency toward plaque accumulation in a Kennedy class IV partially edentulous arch. © 2008 by The American College of Prosthodontists.

Infrared face recogniton by optimum-path forest

This paper presents a novel, fast and accurate appearance-based method for infrared face recognition. By introducing the Optimum-Path Forest classifier, our objective is to get good recognition rates and effectively reduce the computational effort. The feature extraction procedure is carried out by PCA, and the results are compared to two other well known supervised learning classifiers; Artificial Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines. The achieved performance asserts the promise of the proposed framework. ©2009 IEEE.

Methodology of the project Enhancement of citizen awareness for the formulation of air pollution control policies in three metropolitan areas of Latin America: Mexico City, Santiago and São Paulo

Includes bibliography

Fast non-technical losses identification through Optimum-Path Forest

Fraud detection in energy systems by illegal consumers is the most actively pursued study in non-technical losses by electric power companies. Commonly used supervised pattern recognition techniques, such as Artificial Neural Networks and Support Vector Machines have been applied for automatic commercial frauds identification, however they suffer from slow convergence and high computational burden. We introduced here the Optimum-Path Forest classifier for a fast non-technical losses recognition, which has been demonstrated to be superior than neural networks and similar to Support Vector Machines, but much faster. Comparisons among these classifiers are also presented. © 2009 IEEE.

Structural change and productivity growth, 20 years later: old problems, new opportunities

Includes bibliography

Fast automatic microstructural segmentation of ferrous alloy samples using optimum-path forest

In this work we propose a novel automatic cast iron segmentation approach based on the Optimum-Path Forest classifier (OPF). Microscopic images from nodular, gray and malleable cast irons are segmented using OPF, and Support Vector Machines (SVM) with Radial Basis Function and SVM without kernel mapping. Results show accurate and fast segmented images, in which OPF outperformed SVMs. Our work is the first into applying OPF for automatic cast iron segmentation. © 2010 Springer-Verlag.

Robust and fast vowel recognition using optimum-path forest

The applications of Automatic Vowel Recognition (AVR), which is a sub-part of fundamental importance in most of the speech processing systems, vary from automatic interpretation of spoken language to biometrics. State-of-the-art systems for AVR are based on traditional machine learning models such as Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) and Support Vector Machines (SVMs), however, such classifiers can not deal with efficiency and effectiveness at the same time, existing a gap to be explored when real-time processing is required. In this work, we present an algorithm for AVR based on the Optimum-Path Forest (OPF), which is an emergent pattern recognition technique recently introduced in literature. Adopting a supervised training procedure and using speech tags from two public datasets, we observed that OPF has outperformed ANNs, SVMs, plus other classifiers, in terms of training time and accuracy. ©2010 IEEE.

Optimizing optimum-path forest classification for huge datasets

Traditional pattern recognition techniques can not handle the classification of large datasets with both efficiency and effectiveness. In this context, the Optimum-Path Forest (OPF) classifier was recently introduced, trying to achieve high recognition rates and low computational cost. Although OPF was much faster than Support Vector Machines for training, it was slightly slower for classification. In this paper, we present the Efficient OPF (EOPF), which is an enhanced and faster version of the traditional OPF, and validate it for the automatic recognition of white matter and gray matter in magnetic resonance images of the human brain. © 2010 IEEE.

Optimization of a synbiotic formulation of soy yoghurt containing yacon extract by response surface methodology

A synbiotic yoghurt based on a combination of soymilk and yacon water extract (from yacon root tubers) was developed as a novel food product fermented with a probiotic culture of Enterococcus faecium CRL 183 and Lactobacillus helveticus ssp jugurti 4l6. Response surface methodology (RSM) was used to optimize the independent variables soymilk protein concentration and percentage of yacon extract in the formulation through a Central Composite Rotatable Design (CCRD), consisting of a 22 factorial design with two levels (-1, +1), two central points (0) and four axial points (± a, 0) (0, ± α). The responses were assessed by consumer acceptance tests. The optimization indicated that a formulation with a soymilk protein concentration of 1.74g/L and 25.86% of yacon extract gave the best average values, 5.91 for the taste and 6.00 for the overall impression responses. The formulation with 40% of yacon extract and the same concentration of soymilk protein achieved similar acceptance values: taste (5.94) and overall impression (5.87), however, with the extra yacon, it probably had a greater content of prebiotic fructooligosaccharides. Consequently, both formulations may give useful functional foods, with sensory properties comparable with those of soy yoghurt (control formulation). Copyright © 2010 by New Century Health Publishers.