A Reliable Open-Source System Architecture for the Fast Designing and Prototyping of Autonomous Multi-UAV Systems: Simulation and Experimentation

During the process of design and development of an autonomous Multi-UAV System, two main problems appear. The first one is the difficulty of designing all the modules and behaviors of the aerial multi-robot system. The second one is the difficulty of having an autonomous prototype of the system for the developers that allows to test the performance of each module even in an early stage of the project. These two problems motivate this paper. A multipurpose system architecture for autonomous multi-UAV platforms is presented. This versatile system architecture can be used by the system designers as a template when developing their own systems. The proposed system architecture is general enough to be used in a wide range of applications, as demonstrated in the paper. This system architecture aims to be a reference for all designers. Additionally, to allow for the fast prototyping of autonomous multi-aerial systems, an Open Source framework based on the previously defined system architecture is introduced. It allows developers to have a flight proven multi-aerial system ready to use, so that they can test their algorithms even in an early stage of the project. The implementation of this framework, introduced in the paper with the name of “CVG Quadrotor Swarm”, which has also the advantages of being modular and compatible with different aerial platforms, can be found at https://​github.​com/​Vision4UAV/​cvg_​quadrotor_​swarm with a consistent catalog of available modules. The good performance of this framework is demonstrated in the paper by choosing a basic instance of it and carrying out simulation and experimental tests whose results are summarized and discussed in this paper.

Deformable templates for tracking and analysis of intravascular ultrasound sequences

Deformable Template models are first applied to track the inner wall of coronary arteries in intravascular ultrasound sequences, mainly in the assistance to angioplasty surgery. A circular template is used for initializing an elliptical deformable model to track wall deformation when inflating a balloon placed at the tip of the catheter. We define a new energy function for driving the behavior of the template and we test its robustness both in real and synthetic images. Finally we introduce a framework for learning and recognizing spatio-temporal geometric constraints based on Principal Component Analysis (eigenconstraints).

Proposta de framework para cloud computing em dispositivos móveis

Dissertação apresentada ao Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Mestre em Desenvolvimento de Software e Sistemas Interactivos, realizada sob a orientação científica do Doutor Osvaldo Arede dos Santos, Professor Adjunto da Unidade Técnico Científica de Informática da Escola Superior de Tecnologia do Instituto Politécnico de Castelo Branco.

The Arab Spring: A Litmus Test for the EU’s Women’s Rights Policy in the Euro-Mediterranean Area? Bruges Regional Integration & Global Governance Paper 1/2013

The promotion of women’s rights is described as a priority within the external action of the European Union (EU). As a result of the Arab Spring uprisings which have been ongoing since 2011, democracy and human rights have been pushed to the forefront of European policy towards the Euro-Mediterranean region. The EU could capitalise on these transformations to help positively reshape gender relations or it could fail to adapt. Thus, the Arab Spring can be seen to serve as a litmus test for the EU’s women’s rights policy. This paper examines how and to what extent the EU diffuses women’s rights in this region, by using Ian Manners’ ‘Normative Power Europe’ as the conceptual framework. It argues that while the EU tries to behave as a normative force for women’s empowerment by way of ‘informational diffusion’, ‘transference’ ‘procedural diffusion’ and ‘overt diffusion’; its efforts could, and should, be strengthened. There are reservations over the EU’s credibility, choice of engagement and its commitment in the face of security and ideological concerns. Moreover, it seems that the EU focuses more intently on women’s political rights than on their social and economic freedoms.

The New EU Climate and Energy Package: Passing the test? CEPS Commentary, 6 January 2014

On 22 January 2014, the European Commission is expected to publish the proposals for the 2030 Framework for Climate and Energy Policies, which will be discussed and possibly – or maybe, partly – agreed during the 20-21 March 2014 European Council. This is the first comprehensive review of the 2007-09 Climate and Energy Package, which resulted in the so-called ‘20-20-20’ targets by 2020. The principal intention is to define the EU’s climate change and energy policy framework for the next decade and beyond to give investors an adequate amount of predictability if not certainty. This Commentary argues, however, that the ‘2030 Framework’ is not just about predictability; it is also about making the proper adjustments based on the lessons learned and also in response to new issues that have emerged in the interim. The authors ask what the main lessons are and how they should influence the 2030 Framework. Or put differently, what are the conditions that the “2030 Framework” will need to meet in order to offer a viable package for discussion?

Morphometric measurements throughout ontogeny of selected planktic foraminiferal test species

Development plays an important part in shaping adult morphology and morphological disparity, yet its influence on evolutionary processes is seldom explored because of a lack of preservation of ontogenetic stages in the fossil record. By preserving their entire ontogenetic history within their test, and with the advent of high-resolution imaging techniques, planktic foraminifera allow us to investigate the influence of developmental constraints on disparity. Using Synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy (SRXTM), we reconstruct the ontogenetic progression of seven species across several of the major morphotypic groups of planktic foraminifera, including morphotypes of a species exhibiting high phenotypic plasticity and closely related pseudo-cryptic sister-taxa. We show differences in growth patterns between the globigerinid species, which appear more tightly regulated within the framework of isometry from the neanic stage, and the globorotaliid species, whose adult stages present allometric trends. Morphological change through ontogeny results in a change in surface area to volume ratios. Different metabolic processes therefore dominate at different stages of ontogeny, changing the vulnerability of the organism to environmental influences over growth, from factors affecting diffusion rates in the juvenile to those affecting energy supply in the adult. These findings identify some of the parameters within which evolutionary mechanisms have to act.

A framework and tool support for the systematic testing of model-based specifications

Formal specifications can precisely and unambiguously define the required behavior of a software system or component. However, formal specifications are complex artifacts that need to be verified to ensure that they are consistent, complete, and validated against the requirements. Specification testing or animation tools exist to assist with this by allowing the specifier to interpret or execute the specification. However, currently little is known about how to do this effectively. This article presents a framework and tool support for the systematic testing of formal, model-based specifications. Several important generic properties that should be satisfied by model-based specifications are first identified. Following the idea of mutation analysis, we then use variants or mutants of the specification to check that these properties are satisfied. The framework also allows the specifier to test application-specific properties. All properties are tested for a range of states that are defined by the tester in the form of a testgraph, which is a directed graph that partially models the states and transitions of the specification being tested. Tool support is provided for the generation of the mutants, for automatically traversing the testgraph and executing the test cases, and for reporting any errors. The framework is demonstrated on a small specification and its application to three larger specifications is discussed. Experience indicates that the framework can be used effectively to test small to medium-sized specifications and that it can reveal a significant number of problems in these specifications.

The template: A cooperative approach to evaluating community rehabilitation services

This article describes a workshop and consultation process utilized by four community rehabilitation services and other stakeholders. This process led to the development of an evaluation Template upon which to plan a service evaluation. The Template comprises a number of guiding questions within three broad domains. These are, the people domain (pertaining to the client, their disability, their family and service context), the program domain (pertaining to the service and its activities), and the perspective domain (pertaining to the broader social and community context). It is suggested that the Template, the process by which it was developed, and the guidelines for its use will have relevance to rehabilitation managers, administrators, and others involved in evaluation of community rehabilitation services.

A simplified PCR test for early detection of dwarf off-types in micropropagated Cavendish bananas (Musa spp. AAA)

The dwarf somaclonal variant is a major problem affecting micropropagation of the banana cultivar Williams (Musa spp. AAA; subgroup Cavendish). This problem arises from genetic changes that occur during the tissue culture process. Early identification of this problem is difficult and propagators must wait until plants are ex vitro in order to visualise the dwarfism phenotype. In this study, we have improved a SCAR-based molecular diagnostic technique, developed by Damasco et al. [Acta Hortic. 461 (1997) 157], for the early identification of dwarf off-types. We have included a positive internal control in a multiplex PCR and adapted the technique for use with small amounts of fresh in vitro leaf material as PCR template. The control product is a 500 bp fragment from 18S rRNA and is amplified in all tissues irrespective of phenotype. The use of small in vitro leaf material removing the need for genomic DNA extraction. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The Mental Health Policy Template: Domains and elements for mental health policy formulation

Mental disorders are a major and rising cause of disease burden in all countries. Even when resources are available, many countries do not have the policy and planning frameworks in place to identify and deliver effective interventions. The World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank have emphasized the need for ready access to the basic tools for mental health policy formulation, implementation and sustained development. The Analytical Studies on Mental Health Policy and Service Project, undertaken in 1999-2001 by the International Consortium for Mental Health Services and funded by the Global Forum for Health Research aims to address this need through the development of a template for mental health policy formulation. A mental health policy template has been developed based on an inventory of the key elements of a successful mental health policy. These elements have been validated against a review of international literature, a study of existing mental health policies and the results of extensive consultations with experts in the six WHO regions of the world. The Mental Health Policy Template has been revised and its applicability will be tested in a number of developing countries during 2001-2002. The Mental Health Policy Template and the work of the Consortium for Mental Health Services will be presented and the future role of the template in mental health policy development and reform in developing countries will be discussed.

Trait physiology and crop modelling as a framework to link phenotypic complexity to underlying genetic systems

New tools derived from advances in molecular biology have not been widely adopted in plant breeding for complex traits because of the inability to connect information at gene level to the phenotype in a manner that is useful for selection. In this study, we explored whether physiological dissection and integrative modelling of complex traits could link phenotype complexity to underlying genetic systems in a way that enhanced the power of molecular breeding strategies. A crop and breeding system simulation study on sorghum, which involved variation in 4 key adaptive traits-phenology, osmotic adjustment, transpiration efficiency, stay-green-and a broad range of production environments in north-eastern Australia, was used. The full matrix of simulated phenotypes, which consisted of 547 location-season combinations and 4235 genotypic expression states, was analysed for genetic and environmental effects. The analysis was conducted in stages assuming gradually increased understanding of gene-to-phenotype relationships, which would arise from physiological dissection and modelling. It was found that environmental characterisation and physiological knowledge helped to explain and unravel gene and environment context dependencies in the data. Based on the analyses of gene effects, a range of marker-assisted selection breeding strategies was simulated. It was shown that the inclusion of knowledge resulting from trait physiology and modelling generated an enhanced rate of yield advance over cycles of selection. This occurred because the knowledge associated with component trait physiology and extrapolation to the target population of environments by modelling removed confounding effects associated with environment and gene context dependencies for the markers used. Developing and implementing this gene-to-phenotype capability in crop improvement requires enhanced attention to phenotyping, ecophysiological modelling, and validation studies to test the stability of candidate genetic regions.

Dysprosodic speech following basal ganglia insult: Toward a conceptual framework for the study of cerebral representation of prosody

Progress in understanding brain/behavior relationships in adult-acquired dysprosody has led to models of cortical hemispheric representation of prosodic processing based on functional (linguistic vs affective) or physical (timing vs pitch) parameters. These explanatory perspectives have not been reconciled, and also a number of neurobehavior syndromes that include dysprosody among their neurological signs have not yet been integrated. In addition to expanding the functional perspective on prosody, some of these syndromes have implicated a significant role of subcortical nuclei in prosodic competence. In this article, two patients with acquired dysprosodic speech following damage to basal ganglia nuclei were evaluated using behavioral, acoustic, cognitive, and radiographic approaches. Selective quantitative measures were performed on each individual’s performance to provide detailed verification and clarification of clinical observations, and to test hypotheses regarding prosodic function. These studies, combined with a review of related clinical research findings, exemplify the value of a broader perspective on the neurobehavioral dysfunction underlying acquired adult dysprosodic speech, and lead to a new, proposed conceptual framework for the cerebral representation of prosody.

Visible light photocatalyst: Iodine-doped mesoporous titania with a bicrystalline framework

Iodine-doped (I-doped) mesoporous titania with a bicrystalline (anatase and rutile) framework was synthesized by a two-step template hydrothermal synthesis route. I-doped titania with anatase structure was also synthesized without the use of a block copolymer as a template. The resultant titania samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, Fourier transform infrared, nitrogen adsorption, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and UV-visible absorption spectroscopy. Both I-doped titania samples, with and without template, show much better photocatalytic activity than commercial P25 titania in the photodegradation of methylene blue under the irradiation of visible light (> 420 nm) and UV-visible light. Furthermore, I-doped mesoporous titania with a bicrystalline framework exhibits better activity than I-doped titania with anatase structure. The effect of rutile phase in titania on the adsorptive capacity of water and surface hydroxyl, and photocatalytic activity was investigated in detail. The excellent performance of I-doped mesoporous titania under both visible light and UV-visible light can be attributed to the combined effects of bicrystalline framework, high crystallinity, large surface area, mesoporous structure, and high visible light absorption induced by I-doping.

A test of basic assumptions of Affective Events Theory (AET) in call centre work

Based on data from 2091 call centre representatives working in 85 call centres in the UK, central assumptions of affective events theory (AET) are tested. AET predicts that specific features of work (e.g. autonomy) have an impact on the arousal of emotions and moods at work that, in turn, co-determine job satisfaction of employees. AET further proposes that job satisfaction is an evaluative judgement that mainly explains cognitive-based behaviour, whereas emotions and moods better predict affective-based behaviour. The results support these assumptions. A clear separation of key constructs (job satisfaction, positive and negative emotions) was possible. Moreover, correlations between several work features (e.g. supervisory support) and job satisfaction were, in part, mediated by work emotions, even when controlling for gender, age, call centre type (in-house versus outsourced centres) and call centre size. Predictions regarding consequences of satisfaction and affect were partly corroborated as continuance commitment was more strongly related to job satisfaction than to positive emotions. In addition, affective commitment and health complaints were related to both emotions and job satisfaction to the same extent. Thus, AET is a fruitful framework for explaining why and how specific management strategies used for designing work features influence important organizational attitudes and well-being of employees. © 2006 British Academy of Management.

A configuration framework of manufacturing strategy paradigm in state owned enterprises within China's petrochemical industry:building context-embedded configurations for the paradigm of strategic manufacturing management from exploratory case studies

The role of the production system as a key determinant of competitive performance of business operations- has long been the subject of industrial organization research, even predating the .explicit conceptua1isation of manufacturing, strategy in the literature. Particular emergent production issues such as the globalisation of production, global supply chain management, management of integrated manufacturing and a growing e~busjness environment are expected to critically influence the overall competitive performance and therefore the strategic success of the organization. More than ever, there is a critical need to configure and improve production system and operations competence in a strategic way so as to contribute to the long-term competitiveness of the organization. In order to operate competitively and profitably, manufacturing companies, no matter how well managed, all need a long-term 'strategic direction' for the development of operations competence in order to consistently produce more market value with less cost towards a leadership position. As to the long-term competitiveness, it is more important to establish a dynamic 'strategic perspective' for continuous operational improvements in pursuit of this direction, as well as ongoing reviews of the direction in relation to the overall operating context. However, it also clear that the 'existing paradigm of manufacturing strategy development' is incapable of adequately responding to the increasing complexities and variations of contemporary business operations. This has been factually reflected as many manufacturing companies are finding that methodologies advocated in the existing paradigm for developing manufacturing strategy have very limited scale and scope for contextual contingency in empirical application. More importantly, there has also emerged a deficiency in the multidimensional and integrative profile from a theoretical perspective when operationalising the underlying concept of strategic manufacturing management established in the literature. The point of departure for this study was a recognition of such contextual and unitary limitations in the existing paradigm of manufacturing strategy development when applied to contemporary industrial organizations in general, and Chinese State Owned Enterprises (SOEs) in particular. As China gradually becomes integrated into the world economy, the relevance of Western management theory and its paradigm becomes a practical matter as much as a theoretical issue. Since China markedly differs from Western countries in terms of culture, society, and political and economic systems, it presents promising grounds to test and refine existing management theories and paradigms with greater contextual contingency and wider theoretical perspective. Under China's ongoing programmes of SOE reform, there has been an increased recognition that strategy development is the very essence of the management task for managers of manufacturing companies in the same way as it is for their counterparts in Western economies. However, the Western paradigm often displays a rather naive and unitary perspective of the nature of strategic management decision-making, one which largely overlooks context-embedded factors and social/political influences on the development of manufacturing strategy. This thesis studies the successful experiences of developing manufacturing strategy from five high-performing large-scale SOEs within China’s petrochemical industry. China’s petrochemical industry constitutes a basic heavy industrial sector, which has always been a strategic focus for reform and development by the Chinese government. Using a confirmation approach, the study has focused on exploring and conceptualising the empirical paradigm of manufacturing strategy development practiced by management. That is examining the ‘empirical specifics’ and surfacing the ‘managerial perceptions’ of content configuration, context of consideration, and process organization for developing a manufacturing strategy during the practice. The research investigation adopts a qualitative exploratory case study methodology with a semi-structural front-end research design. Data collection follows a longitudinal and multiple-case design and triangulates case evidence from sources including qualitative interviews, direct observation, and a search of documentations and archival records. Data analysis follows an investigative progression from a within-case preliminary interpretation of facts to a cross-case search for patterns through theoretical comparison and analytical generalization. The underlying conceptions in both the literature of manufacturing strategy and related studies in business strategy were used to develop theoretical framework and analytical templates applied during data collection and analysis. The thesis makes both empirical and theoretical contributions to our understanding of 'contemporary management paradigm of manufacturing strategy development'. First, it provides a valuable contextual contingency of the 'subject' using the business setting of China's SOEs in petrochemical industry. This has been unpacked into empirical configurations developed for its context of consideration, its content and process respectively. Of special note, a lean paradigm of business operations and production management discovered at case companies has significant implications as an emerging alternative for high-volume capital intensive state manufacturing in China. Second, it provides a multidimensional and integrative theoretical profile of the 'subject' based upon managerial perspectives conceptualised at case companies when operationalising manufacturing strategy. This has been unpacked into conceptual frameworks developed for its context of consideration, its content constructs, and its process patterns respectively. Notably, a synergies perspective towards the operating context, competitive priorities and competence development of business operations and production management has significant implications for implementing a lean manufacturing paradigm. As a whole, in so doing, the thesis established a theoretical platform for future refinement and development of context-specific methodologies for developing manufacturing strategy.