Low Resolution Face Recognition Across Variations in Pose and Illumination

We propose a completely automatic approach for recognizing low resolution face images captured in uncontrolled environment. The approach uses multidimensional scaling to learn a common transformation matrix for the entire face which simultaneously transforms the facial features of the low resolution and the high resolution training images such that the distance between them approximates the distance had both the images been captured under the same controlled imaging conditions. Stereo matching cost is used to obtain the similarity of two images in the transformed space. Though this gives very good recognition performance, the time taken for computing the stereo matching cost is significant. To overcome this limitation, we propose a reference-based approach in which each face image is represented by its stereo matching cost from a few reference images. Experimental evaluation on the real world challenging databases and comparison with the state-of-the-art super-resolution, classifier based and cross modal synthesis techniques show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.

The ensemble statistics of the band-averaged energy of a random system

This paper is concerned with the response statistics of a dynamic system that has random properties. The frequency-band-averaged energy of the system is considered, and a closed form expression is derived for the relative variance of this quantity. The expression depends upon three parameters: the modal overlap factor m, a bandwidth parameter B, and a parameter α that defines the nature of the loading (for example single point forcing or rain-on-the-roof loading). The result is applicable to any single structural component or acoustic volume, and a comparison is made here with simulation results for a mass loaded plate. Good agreement is found between the simulations and the theory. © 2003 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Sound transmission in strongly-curved slowly-varying cylindrical and annular lined ducts with flow

In this paper we consider the propagation of acoustic waves along a curved hollow or annular duct with lined walls. The curvature of the duct centreline and the wall radii vary slowly along the duct, allowing application of an asymptotic multiple scales analysis. This generalises Rienstra's analysis of a straight duct of varying cross-sectional radius. The result of the analysis is that the modal wavenumbers and mode shapes are determined locally as modes of a torus with the same local curvature, while the amplitude of the modes evolves as the mode propagates along the duct. The duct modes are found numerically at each axial location using a pseudo-spectral method. Unlike the case of a straight duct, there is a fundamental asymmetry between upstream and downstream propagating modes, with some mode shapes tending to be concentrated on either the inside or outside of the bend depending on the direction of propagation. The interaction between the presence of wall lining and curvature is investigated in particular; for instance, in a representative case it is found that the curvature causes the first few acoustic modes to be more heavily damped by the duct boundary than would be expected for a straight duct. Analytical progress can be made in the limit of very high mode order, in which case well-known 'whispering gallery' modes, localised close to the wall, can be identified.

Crecimiento y desarrollo juvenil de cinco filiales de pitahaya (Hylocereus undatus Britt et Rose) a partir de semilla botánica

La presente investigación se realizó de febrero a noviembre de 1998, en los campos del Programa Recursos Genéticos Nicaragüenses (REGEN) adscrito a la UNA, ubicado en Managua. Se realizó con el objetivo de obtener y brindar información sobre el crecimiento y desarrollo juvenil de cinco híbridos de pitahaya (Hylocereus undatus) a partir de semilla botánica. El diseño utilizado fue un bifactorial completamente al azar (DCA). Se evaluaron 17 descriptores o variables, de las cuales siete fueron cuantitativas y diez cualitativas. A las variables cuantitativas se les realizó análisis de varianza (ANDEVA) y separación de medias de acuerdo a la prueba de rangos múltiples de Duncan al 5 %; y para las variables cualitativas se utilizó el valor modal en cada una de ellas, como valor predominante en su comportamiento. En general, el comportamiento de las variables cualitativas fue bastante similar entre cada una de ellas, sin embargo hubieron diferencias en cuanto a la germinación y el número de aristas intravainas, influenciados principalmente por el sustrato número dos, dado su alto contenido de materia orgánica. Respecto a las variables cuantitativas, la variable altura de planta o crecimiento presentó un comportamiento bastante similar entre los híbridos, superado ligeramente sólo por el híbrido dos fundamentalmente en la etapa final que resultó ser el mejor de ellos. En cuanto al número de aristas fue evidente que estuvo determinado por efectos genéticos, por cuanto predominaron los de cuatro aristas; finalmente en cuanto al peso fresco y seco el híbrido cinco presentó los mejores valores seguido del híbrido tres.

Instrumentos musicales Guane : música precolombina de Santander, Colombia

Resumen: Los hallazgos de instrumentos musicales en entierros y cuevas de Santanderhan permitido reconstruir algunas de las características del arte musical Guane. El grupo de artefactos estudiado esta compuesto porocho quenas de caña, una quena de hueso, una ocarina de cerámica, una ocarina de caña, una zampoña de hueso y unas maracas; estos instrumentos son la única evidenciaen existencia de la práctica musical Guane más allá de los escritos realizados por los cronistas españoles, por lo que han sido estudiados y consignados aún cuando algunos presentan un avanzado estado de deterioro. El estudio acústico y la observación realizada con la aprobación de las instituciones en las cuales reposan estos artefactos han permitido obtenerinformación acerca de la organología, las técnicas de construcción y organización modal de los instrumentos, con lo cual se diluyen las nociones de una cultura musical caótica para dar paso al encuentro de los sistemas sonoros específicos utilizados por esta comunidad prehispánica.

Estrategias de muestreo para la determinación de las propiedades hidráulicas del suelo en dos unidades cartográficas

Cuando se usan los mapas de suelos para estimar las propiedades hidráulicas del suelo, éstos presentan diversas limitaciones debidas a varios factores, entre los cuales podemos citar, la falta de información a cerca de su variabilidad espacial a escala detallada (finca). En estos casos se hace necesario el muestreo adicional de estas propiedades para obtener una mejor estimación de su variabilidad espacial de cara la planificación y ejecución del riego. Con el objetivo de conocer los requerimientos de muestreo de la conductividad hidráulica saturada y la sorptividad (el horizonte Ap y sobre la superficie del suelo) fueron muestreadas dos unidades cartográficas de suelos a escala 1:25000 del área de influencia del canal Segarra-Garrigues, en Cataluña (NE de España) a través de un muestreo anidado. Los semivariogramas muestran un patrón de variabilidad acorde al tamaño modal de las fincas del área (a nivel de serie) con manejo homogéneo de la superficie del suelo. La sorptividad es la propiedad menos afectada por este factor (manejo del suelo). La distancia optima de muestreo y el número de muestras necesarias para obtener un buen resultado en la estimación de la Ks en el horizonte Ap es impracticable en ambas unidades. Para el resto de las propiedades la distancia de muestreo está dentro del tamaño modal de las fincas (100 m). Únicamente se puede obtener una buena estimación de la Ks y la sorptividad en el orden de magnitud del logaritmo de los datos obtenidos con un número de muestras considerablemente baja.

Crack propagation in structures subjected to periodic excitation

In the present paper, a simple mechanical model is developed to predict the dynamic response of a cracked structure subjected to periodic excitation, which has been used to identify the physical mechanisms in leading the growth or arrest of cracking. The structure under consideration consists of a beam with a crack along the axis, and thus, the crack may open in Mode I and in the axial direction propagate when the beam vibrates. In this paper, the system is modeled as a cantilever beam lying on a partial elastic foundation, where the portion of the beam on the foundation represents the intact portion of the beam. Modal analysis is employed to obtain a closed form solution for the structural response. Crack propagation is studied by allowing the elastic foundation to shorten (mimicking crack growth) if a displacement criterion, based on the material toughness, is met. As the crack propagates, the structural model is updated using the new foundation length and the response continues. From this work, two mechanisms for crack arrest are identified. It is also shown that the crack propagation is strongly influenced by the transient response of the structure.

Nonlinear dynamics of atomic force microscopy with intermittent contact

When the atomic force microscopy (AFM) in tapping mode is in intermittent contact with a soft substrate, the contact time can be a significant portion of a cycle, resulting in invalidity of the impact oscillator model, where the contact time is assumed to be infinitely small. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the AFM intermittent contact with soft substrate can induce the motion of higher modes in the AFM dynamic response. Traditional ways of modeling AFM (one degree of freedom (DOF) system or single mode analysis) are shown to have serious mistakes when applied to this kind of problem. A more reasonable displacement criterion on contact is proposed, where the contact time is a function of the mechanical properties of AFM and substrate, driving frequencies/amplitude, initial conditions, etc. Multi-modal analysis is presented and mode coupling is also shown. (c) 2006 Published by Elsevier Ltd.

A finite-element analysis of viscoelastically damped sandwich plates

A finite element analysis associated with an asymptotic solution method for the harmonic flexural vibration of viscoelastically damped unsymmetrical sandwich plates is given. The element formulation is based on generalization of the discrete Kirchhoff theory (DKT) element formulation. The results obtained with the first order approximation of the asymptotic solution presented here are the same as those obtained by means of the modal strain energy (MSE) method. By taking more terms of the asymptotic solution, with successive calculations and use of the Padé approximants method, accuracy can be improved. The finite element computation has been verified by comparison with an analytical exact solution for rectangular plates with simply supported edges. Results for the same plates with clamped edges are also presented.

Analysis of flexural vibration of viscoelastically damped sandwich plates

The simplified governing equations and corresponding boundary conditions of flexural vibration of viscoelastically damped unsymmetrical sandwich plates are given. The asymptotic solution of the equations is then discussed. If only the first terms of the asymptotic solution of all variables are taken as an approximate solution, the result is identical with that obtained from the Modal Strain Energy (MSE) Method. As more terms of the asymptotic solution are taken, the successive calculations show improved accuracy. With the natural frequencies and the modal loss factors of a damped sandwich plate known, one can calculate the response of the plate to various loads providing a reliable basis for engineering design.

Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics of two-dimensional turbulence

The vorticity dynamics of two-dimensional turbulence are investigated analytically, applying the method of Qian (1983). The vorticity equation and its Fourier transform are presented; a set of modal parameters and a modal dynamic equation are derived; and the corresponding Liouville equation for the probability distribution in phase space is solved using a Langevin/Fokker-Planck approach to obtain integral equations for the enstrophy and for the dynamic damping coefficient eta. The equilibrium spectrum for inviscid flow is found to be a stationary solution of the enstrophy equation, and the inertial-range spectrum is determined by introducing a localization factor in the two integral equations and evaluating the localized versions numerically.

Variational approach to the closure problem of turbulence theory

A new method is proposed to solve the closure problem of turbulence theory and to drive the Kolmogorov law in an Eulerian framework. Instead of using complex Fourier components of velocity field as modal parameters, a complete set of independent real parameters and dynamic equations are worked out to describe the dynamic states of a turbulence. Classical statistical mechanics is used to study the statistical behavior of the turbulence. An approximate stationary solution of the Liouville equation is obtained by a perturbation method based on a Langevin-Fokker-Planck (LFP) model. The dynamic damping coefficient eta of the LFP model is treated as an optimum control parameter to minimize the error of the perturbation solution; this leads to a convergent integral equation for eta to replace the divergent response equation of Kraichnan's direct-interaction (DI) approximation, thereby solving the closure problem without appealing to a Lagrangian formulation. The Kolmogorov constant Ko is evaluated numerically, obtaining Ko = 1.2, which is compatible with the experimental data given by Gibson and Schwartz, (1963).

Diário da Constituinte [gravação de vídeo] : [programa n. 230]

O prazo de entrega do anteprojeto da Constituição acaba amanhã e não há acordo sobre o tema "sistema de governo". O Senador José Richa (PMDB-PR) acredita que a mudança de sistema de governo trará um governo mais eficiente. O Deputado Israel Pinheiro (PMDB-MG) defende a implantação do parlamentarismo gradual. O Líder do Governo, Deputado Carlos Sant'anna (PMDB-BA) considera difícil um acordo relativo ao tema e prevê que deverá haver votação de destaques na Comissão de Sistematização da Assembleia Nacional Constituinte (ANC). O Deputado Osvaldo Coelho (PFL-PE) apresenta na Comissão de Sistematização a ideia do voto ponderado para o cargo de presidente da república. O Deputado Rodrigues Palma (PMDB-MT) discorda da proposta por avaliar que o presidente da república é representante de todo o povo brasileiro. O Deputado Aloísio Vasconcellos (PMDB-MG) aprova a ideia dos Estados menores terem maior participação no voto, como forma de diminuir o domínio dos grandes Estados. O atual projeto de Constituição prevê a criação do Sistema Único de Saúde descentralizado, no qual os Estados e Municípios teriam autonomia para administrar os serviços médicos locais. O Deputado Osvaldo Almeida (PL-RJ) relata sua opinião sobre o Sistema Único de Saúde. O Deputado Naphtali Alves (PMDB-GO) acredita que o Estado deve interferir exclusivamente na medicina preventiva e não na medicina curativa. O Deputado Milton Lima (PMDB-MG) não acredita que a privatização da saúde trará prejuízos aos mais necessitados.