Incremental spectral clustering and its application to topological mapping

This paper presents a novel use of spectral clustering algorithms to support cases where the entries in the affinity matrix are costly to compute. The method is incremental – the spectral clustering algorithm is applied to the affinity matrix after each row/column is added – which makes it possible to inspect the clusters as new data points are added. The method is well suited to the problem of appearance-based, on-line topological mapping for mobile robots. In this problem domain, we show that we can reduce environment-dependent parameters of the clustering algorithm to just a single, intuitive parameter. Experimental results in large outdoor and indoor environments show that we can close loops correctly by computing only a fraction of the entries in the affinity matrix. The accompanying video clip shows how an example map is produced by the algorithm

Incremental topological mapping using omnidirectional vision

This paper presents an algorithm that builds topological maps, using omnidirectional vision as the only sensor modality. Local features are extracted from images obtained in sequence, and are used both to cluster the images into nodes and to detect links between the nodes. The algorithm is incremental, reducing the computational requirements of the corresponding batch algorithm. Experimental results in a complex, indoor environment show that the algorithm produces topologically correct maps, closing loops without suffering from perceptual aliasing or false links. Robustness to lighting variations was further demonstrated by building correct maps from combined multiple datasets collected over a period of 2 month

Crop Insurance: Risks, Losses, and Principles of Protection

Contents: The Farmer’s “Independence” --- Meaning of “Loss” and “Damage” in Connection with Growing Crops --- Quantitative Importance of Annual Damage to Farm Crops --- Elimination or Reduction of Risk (Self-Insurance – Insurance by Contract) --- Principles of Crop Insurance --- Summary

Concentration of birch sap using MF, RO and DCMD

Natural birch sap contains around 1% of sugars, mainly glucose and fructose and a relatively high concentration of amino acids. The sap has been used in Russia and the Baltics for centuries as a food additive and in resent years has experienced a renaissance as an additive in high quality beers and as sweetener in ice cream (Skarø Is). It has been claimed to have a flavour enhancing effect when combined with fresh fruit thereby reducing the need for sugar additionto sorbets and other fruit containing ice creams. One of the main problems when using birch sap in industrial productions is storage. Birch sap can only be drawn during the period from spring thaw to the birch come into leaf, roughly from March to late April. Ice cream production on the other hand peak from late May through August. As birch sap besides a perfect blend of sugars and amino acids also contains micronutrients it is a perfect medium for many microorganisms like different strains of lactobacillus and can thus only be stored in frozen condition. This adds to the cost of using birch sap in industry. Two possible solutions to reduce storage costs seem viable if addition of preservatives is tobe avoided. One is to reduce the birch sap volume by concentrating the sap with reverse osmosis (RO) to around 15%.thus reducing the frozen storage volume. The other is to increase the sugar concentration to around 60-70% making thesap self-preserving as done with birch syrup. Concentration of birch sap to birch syrup is traditionally carried out asevaporation at around 106 ºC giving an undesirable dark brown syrup due to Maillard reactions [4]. This is notacceptable in an additive for ice cream production both because of the colour but also because of the change in flavour.The aim of the work presented here was to produce a 60% birch sap concentrate using low temperature direct contactmembrane distillation (DCMD) combined with microfiltration (MF) and reverse osmosis (RO

Concentration of birch sap using MF, RO and DCMD

Natural birch sap contains around 1% of sugars, mainly glucose and fructose and a relatively high concentration of amino acids. The sap has been used in Russia and the Baltics for centuries as a food additive and in resent years has experienced a renaissance as an additive in high quality beers and as sweetener in ice cream (Skarø Is). It has been claimed to have a flavour enhancing effect when combined with fresh fruit thereby reducing the need for sugar additionto sorbets and other fruit containing ice creams. One of the main problems when using birch sap in industrial productions is storage. Birch sap can only be drawn during the period from spring thaw to the birch come into leaf, roughly from March to late April. Ice cream production on the other hand peak from late May through August. As birch sap besides a perfect blend of sugars and amino acids also contains micronutrients it is a perfect medium for many microorganisms like different strains of lactobacillus and can thus only be stored in frozen condition. This adds to the cost of using birch sap in industry. Two possible solutions to reduce storage costs seem viable if addition of preservatives is tobe avoided. One is to reduce the birch sap volume by concentrating the sap with reverse osmosis (RO) to around 15%.thus reducing the frozen storage volume. The other is to increase the sugar concentration to around 60-70% making thesap self-preserving as done with birch syrup. Concentration of birch sap to birch syrup is traditionally carried out asevaporation at around 106 ºC giving an undesirable dark brown syrup due to Maillard reactions [4]. This is notacceptable in an additive for ice cream production both because of the colour but also because of the change in flavour.The aim of the work presented here was to produce a 60% birch sap concentrate using low temperature direct contactmembrane distillation (DCMD) combined with microfiltration (MF) and reverse osmosis (RO

Concentration of birch sap using MF, RO and DCMD

Natural birch sap contains around 1% of sugars, mainly glucose and fructose and a relatively high concentration of amino acids. The sap has been used in Russia and the Baltics for centuries as a food additive and in resent years has experienced a renaissance as an additive in high quality beers and as sweetener in ice cream (Skarø Is). It has been claimed to have a flavour enhancing effect when combined with fresh fruit thereby reducing the need for sugar additionto sorbets and other fruit containing ice creams. One of the main problems when using birch sap in industrial productions is storage. Birch sap can only be drawn during the period from spring thaw to the birch come into leaf, roughly from March to late April. Ice cream production on the other hand peak from late May through August. As birch sap besides a perfect blend of sugars and amino acids also contains micronutrients it is a perfect medium for many microorganisms like different strains of lactobacillus and can thus only be stored in frozen condition. This adds to the cost of using birch sap in industry. Two possible solutions to reduce storage costs seem viable if addition of preservatives is tobe avoided. One is to reduce the birch sap volume by concentrating the sap with reverse osmosis (RO) to around 15%.thus reducing the frozen storage volume. The other is to increase the sugar concentration to around 60-70% making thesap self-preserving as done with birch syrup. Concentration of birch sap to birch syrup is traditionally carried out asevaporation at around 106 ºC giving an undesirable dark brown syrup due to Maillard reactions [4]. This is notacceptable in an additive for ice cream production both because of the colour but also because of the change in flavour.The aim of the work presented here was to produce a 60% birch sap concentrate using low temperature direct contactmembrane distillation (DCMD) combined with microfiltration (MF) and reverse osmosis (RO

Map Building and Monte Carlo Localization Using Global Appearance of Omnidirectional Images

In this paper we deal with the problem of map building and localization of a mobile robot in an environment using the information provided by an omnidirectional vision sensor that is mounted on the robot. Our main objective consists of studying the feasibility of the techniques based in the global appearance of a set of omnidirectional images captured by this vision sensor to solve this problem. First, we study how to describe globally the visual information so that it represents correctly locations and the geometrical relationships between these locations. Then, we integrate this information using an approach based on a spring-mass-damper model, to create a topological map of the environment. Once the map is built, we propose the use of a Monte Carlo localization approach to estimate the most probable pose of the vision system and its trajectory within the map. We perform a comparison in terms of computational cost and error in localization. The experimental results we present have been obtained with real indoor omnidirectional images

Markerless monocular tracking system for guided external eye surgery

This paper presents a novel markerless monocular tracking system aimed at guiding ophthalmologists during external eye surgery. This new tracking system performs a very accurate tracking of the eye by detecting invariant points using only textures that are present in the sclera, i.e., without using traditional features like the pupil and/or cornea reflections, which remain partially or totally occluded in most surgeries. Two known algorithms that compute invariant points and correspondences between pairs of images were implemented in our system: Scalable Invariant Feature Transforms (SIFT) and Speed Up Robust Features (SURF). The results of experiments performed on phantom eyes show that, with either algorithm, the developed system tracks a sphere at a 360◦ rotation angle with an error that is lower than 0.5%. Some experiments have also been carried out on images of real eyes showing promising behavior of the system in the presence of blood or surgical instruments during real eye surgery. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Monserrat Aranda, C.; Rupérez Moreno, MJ.; Alcañiz Raya, ML.; Mataix, J. (2014). Markerless monocular tracking system for guided external eye surgery. Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics. 38(8):785-792. doi:10.1016/j.compmedimag.2014.08.001S78579238

Molecular genetic identification of skeletal remains from the Second World War Konfin I mass grave in Slovenia

This paper describes molecular genetic identification of one third of the skeletal remains of 88 victims of postwar (June 1945) killings found in the Konfin I mass grave in Slovenia. Living relatives were traced for 36 victims. We analyzed 84 right femurs and compared their genetic profiles to the genetic material of living relatives. We cleaned the bones, removed surface contamination, and ground the bones into powder. Prior to DNA isolation using Biorobot EZ1 (Qiagen), the powder was decalcified. The nuclear DNA of the samples was quantified using the real-time polymerase chain reaction method. We extracted 0.8 to 100 ng DNA/g of bone powder from 82 bones. Autosomal genetic profiles and Y-chromosome haplotypes were obtained from 98% of the bones, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotypes from 95% of the bones for the HVI region and from 98% of the bones for the HVII region. Genetic profiles of the nuclear and mtDNA were determined for reference persons. For traceability in the event of contamination, we created an elimination database including genetic profiles of the nuclear and mtDNA of all persons that had been in contact with the skeletal remains. When comparing genetic profiles, we matched 28 of the 84 bones analyzed with living relatives (brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, nephews, or cousins). The statistical analyses showed a high confidence of correct identification for all 28 victims in the Konfin I mass grave (posterior probability ranged from 99.9% to more than 99.999999%)