Vertical Projection Research Articles

The Reconstruction of Full-thickness Ear Defects Including the Helix Using the Superior Pedicle Postauricular Chondrocutaneous Flap

The ear is a complex structure with specific anatomical landmarks and different surface contour properties. In this article, we present the results that we obtained after reconstruction of full-thickness defects of the upper and middle third of the ear including the helix using a superior auricular artery (SAA) pedicled chondrocutaneous flap.In this study, 8 patients underwent reconstructions with postauricular SAA pedicled chondrocutaneous flaps between March 2009 and May 2011. Seven patients were male (88%), and 1 patient was female (12%). The age range was between 27 and 78 years, with a mean age of 57 years. The causes of the defects were tumor excisions in 6 patients and trauma in 2 patients. No serious postoperative complications such as wound infection, wound dehiscence, or partial or total flap loss were observed in any of the patients. A good cosmetic result was obtained with this technique with maximum preservation of the anatomical landmarks and without an effect on the vertical height or projection of the ear.In our experience, the postauricular SAA pedicled chondrocutaneous flap can be used as an appropriate alternative for the treatment of full-thickness defects of the upper and middle thirds of the ear including the helix.

Study of Highly Efficient Algorithms for the Character Recognition System of Medicine Bottle Label

This paper studied character recognition on medicine bottle label containing batch number, production date and expiry date. It mainly consisted of character location, character segmentation and character recognition. Firstly, it preprocessed the image of medicine bottle label for the following procedures; secondly, it obtained the general character region by contour tracing and realized the precise location by horizontal projection algorithm; then it located character adhesion region by vertical projection algorithm and segmented the merged characters by drop fall algorithm; finally, it adopted Karhunen-Loeve transform to extract character features from the subclasses of coarse classification and accurately recognized characters by the improved BP algorithm. Experiments show that the system can recognize the bottle label characters quickly and accurately, it is of great practical value.

Variation in soil C and microbial functions across tree canopy projection and open grassland microenvironments

Mixtures of grasslands and perennial woody crops or vineyards represent a major source of potential carbon storage or release. Understanding the spatial variability of soil properties in these ecosystems is important in determining soil constraints related to the management of soil resources. The aims of the study were 1) to explore the spatial variability associated to the trees for soil C storage and its components and reactivity; and 2) to assess the similarities between microenvironments in terms of microbial functional diversity. Eight microenvironments characterized by different long-term soil management practices and different positions with respect to woody plant canopy soil vertical projections were selected in a Mediterranean agropastoral system. Four management types were considered: pasture, hay crop, grass-covered vineyard, and tilled vineyard. Soil organic C, microbial biomass, and respiration were measured to assess C storage and dynamics, while functional diversity was determined by means of soil enzyme activities. The results showed that the microenvironmental variation of soil organic C and functional microbial diversity generated by the tree canopies in the wooded grassland can be very relevant for an accurate assessment of soil organic C content and its dynamics. The same was not applicable to vineyards, where the spatial variation of both soil organic C and functional diversity was negligible, independently of the soil management practices. These results suggest that in such systems the microscale spatial variability generated by the trees is worth of further investigation for improving our understanding of the long-term management effects on soil C dynamics.

Static Experimental Study on Flame Retardant and Explosion Suppression Performances of Fire Resistant Diesel Fuel

To assess the flame retardant and explosion suppression performances of fire resistant diesel fuel, static experiments with ordinary diesel fuel (Diesel fuel 1, D1 for short) and fire resistant diesel fuel (Diesel fuel 2, D2 for short) detonated by explosives were performed in this study. The explosion process and surface temperature of the fireballs were recorded using a high-speed camera and an infrared thermal imager. Meanwhile, the overpressures of the explosion shock waves of the two diesels were also recorded using pressure sensors embedded in the ground. The experimental results show that the diesel fuels are dispersed and ignited to produce explosion fireball when explosive is detonated in fuel tank. At the same time, part of diesel fuel produces pool fire on the ground. The pool fire of D1 lasts about 3000ms, while D2 lasting only about 700ms. The maximum temperature and the duration of high temperature of D1 explosion fireball are 1558.8°C and 1392ms respectively, which are 1.11 and 1.29 times those of D2. In the position of 2 m far from the vertical projection point of the explosion center, the overpressure of the explosion shock wave of D1 is 53.30kPa, while that of D2 is 31.60kPa. Moreover, the overpressures of D1 are also higher in the other location of the pressure area. Therefore, it is proved that the explosive power of D2 is significantly lower than that of D1, and the flame retardant and explosion suppression performances of D2 is better than those of D1.

融合多核的目标分块跟踪

目的：准确性和鲁棒性是视觉跟踪的主要挑战，尤其是在遮挡和目标形变的情况下。对目标进行分块跟踪能够保持目标的空间信息，基于此，本文提出一种融合多核的目标分块跟踪方法。方法：算法采用垂直投影法将目标分成若干合适的子块，针对相应子块，选择目标区域内的多个不同位置构建多个核函数加权直方图，以Bhattacharya系数表征目标模版和候选目标模版之间的相似性度量，并进行均值迭代确定目标最终位置。在跟踪过程中，利用分量的反投影运算区分目标发生形变或遮挡，并对目标模板和子块权重进行实时更新。结果：对多个视频序列进行了实验测试，实验表明，该方法几乎不受光照影响，并且在目标大面积遮挡的情况下仍能实现很好的跟踪。结论：通过将分块和多核融合结合起来进行跟踪，不仅对光照不敏感，而且在处理目标大面积遮挡方面鲁棒性很强，利于后续论题的研究。Objective: Accuracy and robustness are the main challenges of the visual tracking, especially in the case of occlusion and target deformation. Target tracking based on fragments will be able to keep the spatial information of the target, and based on this, a fragments-based tracking algorithm with multiple kernels fusion is proposed in this paper. Method: Vertical projection method is used to get proper fragments in the algorithm, and for each corresponding fragment, it selects a plurality of different locations within the target area to build several kernel function weighted histograms, taking the Bhattacharyya coefficient as the similarity measurement between the target template and the candidate template, and making use of the mean shift iteration to determine the final po-sition of the target. In the process of tracking, it takes advantage of the back-projection of the components to distinguish deformation or occlusion, and makes a real-time updates for the target template and fragments weight. Result: According to the results, which are obtained from several testing of video sequence, the method is almost not influenced by illumination, and can still achieve good tracking even in a large area of occlusion. Conclusion: The proposed algorithm, by combining fragments and multiple kernels to tracking, is not only insensitive to illumination, but also has a good performance in dealing with a large area of occlusion, which is beneficial to the research of next stage.

Car license plate recognition based on EKE-poisson transform

In this paper, a car license plate recognition (CLPR) system is presented. A CLPR system has three main subsystems such as; localization of the license plate in a given image; character segmentation of the license plate; recognition of the detected characters. Firstly, fuzzy c-means clustering is employed to determine the location of the license plate. Secondly, smearing algorithms (namely horizontal and vertical projections of the pixels of the license plate image) is used to carry out character segmentation. Finally, a novel Equipartition of Kinetic Energy (EKE)-Poisson transform is developed to recognize the characters. According to results, the proposed CLPR system is capable of supplying more than 92% of overall success rate.

Crustal velocity structure associated with the eastern Tennessee seismic zone: Vp and Vs images based upon local earthquake tomography

AbstractWe present three‐dimensional P and S wave velocity models for the active eastern Tennessee seismic zone (ETSZ) using arrival time data from more than 1000 local earthquakes. A nonlinear tomography method is used that involves sequential inversion for model and hypocenter parameters. We image several velocity anomalies that persist through most of the inversion volume. Some anomalies support the presence of known features such as an ancient rift zone in northern Tennessee. Other anomalies reveal the presence of basement features that can be correlated with regional gravity and magnetic anomalies. We image a narrow, NE‐SW trending, steeply dipping zone of low velocities that extends to a depth of at least 24 km and is associated with the vertical projection of the prominent New York‐Alabama magnetic lineament. The low‐velocity zone may have an apparent dip to the SE at depths exceeding 15 km. The low‐velocity zone is interpreted as a major basement fault juxtaposing Granite‐Rhyolite basement to the NW from Grenville southern Appalachian basement to the SE. Relocated hypocenters align in near‐vertical segments suggesting reactivation of a distributed zone of deformation associated with a major strike‐slip fault. We suggest that the ETSZ represents reactivation of an ancient shear zone established during formation of the super continent Rodinia.

Projection profile analysis for skew angle estimation of woven fabric images

In this paper, a skew angle detection method based on projection profile analysis is introduced for woven fabric images. The horizontal or vertical projection profiles (VPPs) of woven fabrics tend to fluctuate in bigger magnitudes as the skewed image rotation approaches to the aligned position of the horizontal or vertical yarns in respect of the image edges. The image is rotated through a range of angles and horizontal or VPPs are computed at each angle. In order to detect the skew angle, difference values are computed from adjacent elements of projection profiles. Standard deviation of the difference values for each angle is used as a criterion of the tested skew angles. Experimental results show that the projection profile analysis is suitable for skew angle estimation of woven fabric images.

Absence of lateral gastrocnemius activity and differential motor unit behavior in soleus and medial gastrocnemius during standing balance

In a standing position, the vertical projection of the center of mass passes in front of the ankle, which requires active plantar-flexor torque from the triceps surae to maintain balance. We recorded motor unit (MU) activity in the medial (MG) and lateral (LG) gastrocnemius muscle and the soleus (SOL) in standing balance and voluntary isometric contractions to understand the effect of functional requirements and descending drive from different neural sources on motoneuron behavior. Single MU activity was recorded in seven subjects with wire electrodes in the triceps surae. Two 3-min standing balance trials and several ramp-and-hold contractions were performed. Lateral gastrocnemius MU activity was rarely observed in standing. The lowest thresholds for LG MUs in ramp contractions were 20-35 times higher than SOL and MG MUs (P < 0.001). Compared with MUs from the SOL, MG MUs were intermittently active (P < 0.001), had higher recruitment thresholds (P = 0.022), and greater firing rate variability (P < 0.001); this difference in firing rate variability was present in standing balance and isometric contractions. In SOL and MG MUs, both recruitment of new MUs (R(2) = 0.59-0.79, P < 0.01) and MU firing rates (R(2) = 0.05-0.40, P < 0.05) were associated with anterior-posterior and medio-lateral torque in standing. Our results suggest that the two heads of the gastrocnemius may operate in different ankle ranges with the larger MG being of primary importance when standing, likely due to its fascicle orientation. These differences in MU discharge behavior were independent of the type of descending neural drive, which points to a muscle-specific optimization of triceps surae motoneurons.

Geophysical Anomalies Associated with Uranium Mineralization from Beldih Mine, South Purulia Shear Zone, India

Abstract Beldih mine at the central part of the South Purulia Shear Zone (SPSZ) has been reported with low grade uranium-bearing formation within quartz-magnetite-apatite host in kaolinized formation. Therefore, the present integrated geophysical study with gravity, magnetic, radiometric, very low frequency electromagnetic (VLF) and gradient resistivity profiling methods around the known mineralized zones aimed at identifying the exact geophysical signatures and lateral extent of these uranium mineralization bands. The closely spaced gravity-magnetic contours over the low to high anomaly transition zones of Bouguer, reduced-to-pole magnetic, and trend surface separated residual gravity-magnetic anomaly maps indicate the possibility of high altered zone(s) along NW–SE direction at the central part of the study area. High current density plots of VLF method and the low resistive zones in gradient resistivity study depict the coincidence with low gravity, moderately high magnetic and low resistivity anomalies at the same locations. Moderate high radioactive zones have also been observed over these locations. This also suggests the existence of radioactive mineralization over this region. Along profile P2, drilled borehole data revealed the presence of uranium mineralization at a depth of ∼100 m. The vertical projection of this mineralization band also identified as low gravity, low resistivity and high magnetic anomaly zone. Thus, the application of integrated geophysical techniques supported by geological information successfully recognized the nature of geophysical signatures associated with the uranium mineralization of this region. This enhances the scope of further integrated geophysical investigations in the unexplored regions of SPSZ.

Heritability of face shape in twins: a preliminary study using 3D stereophotogrammetry and geometric morphometrics

Previous research suggests that aspects of facial surface morphology are heritable. Traditionally, heritability studies have used a limited set of linear distances to quantify facial morphology and often employ statistical methods poorly designed to deal with biological shape. In this preliminary report, we use a combination of 3D photogrammetry and landmark-based morphometrics to explore which aspects of face shape show the strongest evidence of heritability in a sample of twins. 3D surface images were obtained from 21 twin pairs (10 monozygotic, 11 same-sex dizygotic). Thirteen 3D landmarks were collected from each facial surface and their coordinates subjected to geometric morphometric analysis. This involved superimposing the individual landmark configurations and then subjecting the resulting shape coordinates to a principal components analysis. The resulting PC scores were then used to calculate rough narrow-sense heritability estimates. Three principal components displayed evidence of moderate to high heritability and were associated with variation in the breadth of orbital and nasal structures, upper lip height and projection, and the vertical and forward projection of the root of the nose due to variation in the position of nasion. Aspects of facial shape, primarily related to variation in length and breadth of central midfacial structures, were shown to demonstrate evidence of strong heritability. An improved understanding of which facial features are under strong genetic control is an important step in the identification of specific genes that underlie normal facial variation.

Static and dynamic control of emission beamwidth in horseshoe bats

Horseshoe bats (family Rhinolophidae) emit their ultrasonic biosonar pulses nasally with their nostrils surrounded by baffle structures known as “noseleaves.” The noseleaves are often characterized by intricate local shape details such as flaps, ridges, or furrows. Furthermore, some of these structures are capable of undergoing non-rigid shape changes over time. One part of the horseshoe bat noseleaf that has both static local shape features as well as a time dynamics is the lancet, a vertical projection on the top of the noseleaf. The most striking static shape features of the lancet are half-open cavities (furrows) and the most obvious in-vivo motion of the lancet is a rotation in the distal-proximal about the base of the lancet. In the present work, the acoustic effects of the furrows and the distal-proximal rotation of the lancet were studied in three individuals of the Greater Horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) using numerical methods. The lancet furrows were always found to act as beam-focusing devices irrespective of lancet rotation. The acoustic effect of forward lancet rotation within the range seen in bats (tested angles 0°, 5°, 10°) was always a significant widening of the beam.

The Wide Partition Conjecture and the Atom Problem in Discrete Tomography

The Wide Partition Conjecture (WPC) was introduced by Chow and B. Taylor as an attempt to prove inductively Rotaʼs Basis Conjecture, and in the simplest case tries to characterize partitions whose Young diagram admits a “Latin” filling. Chow et al. [T. Chow, C. K. Fan, M. Goemans, and J. Vondrak. Wide partitions, latin tableaux, and rotaʼs basis conjecture. Adv. in Appl. Math., 31(2):334–358, 2003] showed how the WPC is related to problems such as edge-list coloring and multi commodity flow. As far as we know, the conjecture remains widely open.We show that the WPC can be formulated using the k-atom problem in Discrete Tomography [C. Dürr, F. Guíñez, and M. Matamala. Reconstructing 3-Colored Grids from Horizontal and Vertical Projections is NP-Hard: A Solution to the 2-Atom Problem in Discrete Tomography. SIAM J Discrete Math, 26(1):330, 2012.]. In this approach, the WPC states that the sequences arising from partitions admit disjoint realizations if and only if any combination of them can be realizable independently. This realizability condition is not sufficient in general. A stronger condition, the saturation condition, was used in [F. Guíñez, M. Matamala, and S. Thomassé. Realizing disjoint degree sequences of span at most two: A tractable discrete tomography problem. Discrete Appl.Math., 159(1):23–30, 2011] to solve instances were the realizability condition fails. We prove that in our case, the saturation condition is satisfied providing the realizability condition does. Moreover, we show that the saturation condition can be obtained from the Langrangean dual of a natural LP formulation of the k-atom problem.

A heuristic approach for the positioning of elevator hoistways based on the utilization intensity index

In modern buildings, the position(s) of elevator system(s) tends to be a crucial factor for the unimpeded vertical and on-floor circulation of their residents. The present paper introduces a method that correlates circulation data for the population of a typical office building (size, density and possibility for elevator use) with structural and architectural data of each one of its floors (net usable space, circulation space, structural intrusions, etc.). The method provides an optimum position for the elevator system hoistway(s) so that all walking distances on all floors between the elevator system and usable spaces are as small as possible. Every single floor of the building is partitioned into cells that form a grid covering its surface. An index of the intensity of elevator utilization (EUII) is introduced, defined as a function of the data mentioned above. Then, Euclidean norms, based on (EUII) values, provide weighted mean distances for locating the point on the vertical projection of the building that corresponds to the minimal mean distance from every cell of its usable spaces. A case study of a typical office building served by a single elevator system exemplifies the proposed approach, initially for a single floor and then for all the floors of the building.

PCA 복원과 HOG 특징 기술자 기반의 효율적인 보행자 인식 방법

In recent years, the interests and needs of the Pedestrian Protection System (PPS), which is mounted on the vehicle for the purpose of traffic safety improvement is increasing. In this paper, we propose a pedestrian candidate window extraction and unit cell histogram based HOG descriptor calculation methods. At pedestrian detection candidate windows extraction stage, the bright ratio of pedestrian and its circumference region, vertical edge projection, edge factor, and PCA reconstruction image are used. Dalal`s HOG requires pixel based histogram calculation by Gaussian weights and trilinear interpolation on overlapping blocks, But our method performs Gaussian down-weight and computes histogram on a per-cell basis, and then the histogram is combined with the adjacent cell, so our method can be calculated faster than Dalal`s method. Our PCA reconstruction error based pedestrian detection candidate window extraction method efficiently classifies background based on the difference between pedestrian`s head and shoulder area. The proposed method improves detection speed compared to the conventional HOG just using image without any prior information from camera calibration or depth map obtained from stereo cameras.

Regeneration in canopy gaps of tierra-firme forest in the Peruvian Amazon: Comparing reduced impact logging and natural, unmanaged forests

Reduced impact logging (RIL) has been promoted as a cornerstone in sustainable forest management in the tropics, although the ecological implications of RIL guidelines are poorly understood. This study aims to identify the impact of RIL on the regeneration of commercial timber species by comparing the regeneration dynamics of logging gaps with naturally occuring canopy gaps. In the concession of Consorcio Forestal Amazonico in the region of Ucayali in the Peruvian Amazon, a total of 210 circular sample plots were established in 35 gaps in unmanaged natural forest and 35 canopy gaps in forest managed according to RIL guidelines. The size of each canopy gap was estimated by establishing a polygon that followed the vertical projection of the edge of the gap. Three circular plots of 100 m2 were established within each canopy gap. The center points of the plots were placed at the stump, mid-trunk and crown of the fallen tree. It appeared that the total abundance of seedlings did not differ significantly between logging gaps and natural canopy gaps. Instead the response to logging varied between species groups. The Clarisia sp. species group had a significant negative response to logging, while Ormosia sp., Aniba sp., Ocotea sp., Qualea sp. and Terminalia sp. were significantly more abundant in gaps of logged-over forest. A direct effect of seed tree retention on seedling abundance could not be detected statistically. Possible reasons for observed differences between untouched and logged forest and consequences of observed patterns for long-term forest development and management were discussed. It was concluded that issuing and enforcing strict guidelines on sustainable forest management is no guarantee for preserving species composition in tropical forests.

Shading Analysis on Front Facade of Modern Terraced House Type in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

Abstract This study discusses shading analysis on front facade of modern terraced house type built in 1980s. Three house facades are selected for the case studies located in SS1 and SS2 in Petaling Jaya about 12 km from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The facade design typifies an idea of simple geometric style and had influenced from modern architectural style. It is an expression of purity in basic geometric design considered the design as international style which abandoned the tradition and cultural factor. The design had popularised application of new modern materials at that time like glass windows, bricks, reinforced concrete, rubbers and aluminium, the materials which were mass-produced in the factory. The survey uses simulation technique using the SunTool software with reference to dimensions of the house facades calculated at hourly interval from 7.00am to 6.00pm. The study finds that the design had emphasised on horizontal sunshade projection with integration of car porch, roof overhang and balcony as shading devices but it had lack of emphasis on vertical sunshade projection.

Study of License Plate Recognition Technology

License plate recognition technology has been widely used with the development of intelligent traffic system, which studies vehicle identification based on digital image processing technology. This paper presents system design and realization of recognition system for license plate. License plate image is preprocessed by gradation and binaryzation at first, then the image noise caused by dirt is filtered by a mean value method. We adopt horizontal and vertical projection method to locate license plate. Character segmentation and recognition are carried out at last. Test result shows that the method presented has good accuracy, quick speed and strong robustness for realtime application.

Plate Character Segmentation Algorithm Based on Projection Feature and Prior Knowledge

nfluenced by factors like mud, frame, rivet, space mark and plate slant, plate character segmentation tends to be inaccurate and even results in mistakes. In order to tackle these problems, this paper puts forward a plate character segmentation algorithm based on projection feature and prior knowledge. That is, firstly of all, to carry out horizontal coarse segmentation by horizontal projection, then use both vertical projection and prior knowledge to conduct vertical segmentation. At last, to carry out horizontal fine segmentation by local projection. The experiment demonstrates that such algorithm can solve the above mentioned problems accurately and practically with high-efficiency.

Maintenance of the Upright Posture in Humans upon Disturbance of Stability of the Visually Perceived Environment: Effect of an Instruction for Controlling Body Sway

We examined the maintenance of the upright posture under conditions of immersion of the tested subject in a 3D virtual visual environment, VVE. The latter consisted of two plans, the foreground looked like a window of the room, while the background was a fragment of the urban landscape. The software used allowed us to correlate body sway within the sagittal plane with shifts of the VVE foreground doing the latter mobile. The linkage in the course of testing could be either antiphase (APh) or synphase (SPh); the background always remained immobile. Each experiment was conventionally divided into two parts. In the first part, the subjects were not informed that body sways in some trials can be linked with shifts of the visual environment and were proposed to look at some object within the stable background. In the second part, the subjects were preliminarily informed of the existence of such a linkage and proposed to minimize body sways within the sagittal plane by tracking shifts of the foreground with respect to some, selected preliminarily, object within the background. Trials with a linkage between body sways and VVE shifts were altered by trials with standing of the subject facing an absolutely immobile visual pattern (IVP) and trials with the eyes closed (EC). The impact of visual control on the postural maintenance was estimated according to changes in the amplitude and frequency characteristics of two variables; i) shifts of the vertical projection of the center of gravity (CG) of the body and ii) difference between the position of the center of feet pressure (CFP) and CG projection. Changes in the latter were considered the main controlled variable in the postural maintenance, while the CFP-CG was interpreted as a variable containing information on changes in the resulting muscle/joint stiffness in the ankle joints related to activation of the shin muscles. The analysis of CG and CFP-CG oscillations demonstrated clear dependence of their spectra on the direction of linkage between body sways and oscillations of the foreground and on the instruction obtained by the subjects. In the first group of tests, RMSs of the spectra of oscillations of both variables at the SPh linkage were found to be within the same range as in standing with the EC, while at the APh linkage these oscillations were closer to the range typical of IVP conditions. In the second group of tests, the RMS of the spectra calculated for both variables were qualitatively different. In the case of APh relations between body sways and foreground shifts, these values were smaller than values in standing at IVP, while under SPh conditions they were smaller than those typical of standing with the EC. Introduction of the instruction of the second test group was also reflected in changes of the parameters of the CFP-CG variable. At the APh relation, the RMSs of the spectra for this variable decreased somewhat, and their median frequency increased significantly. The data obtained allow us to hypothesize that the improvement of stability standing after introduction of the instruction specifying visual control and concentrating the latter on one direction of body sway results from more active using of visual feedback under conditions of perception of the VVE unstable foreground. This should be considered additional proof in favor of effective involvement of vision in postural control upon disturbances in stability of the external environment.