Games

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• Remote Sensing, Vol. 3, Pages 2222-2242: Hyperspectral Data for Mangrove Species Mapping: A Comparison of Pixel-Based and Object-Based Approach
• Remote Sensing, Vol. 3, Pages 2207-2221: Analysis of Incidence Angle and Distance Effects on Terrestrial Laser Scanner Intensity: Search for Correction Methods
• Future Internet, Vol. 3, Pages 204-227: Tool or Toy? Virtual Globes in Landscape Planning
• Need for Speed: The Run Top Five Features
• The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Opening Gameplay
• The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Dungeon Gameplay
• The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Snowy Gameplay
• The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Thief Chase Gameplay
• Warco: first-person shooting without a gun
• GameSpot's New Battlefield 3 Reality Show
• Sound Byte: Meet The Composer - Keiki Kobayashi
• IJMS, Vol. 12, Pages 7038-7047: Candida colonization index in patients admitted to an ICU
• Molecules, Vol. 16, Pages 8815-8832: Studies on the Synthesis of DMAP Derivatives by Diastereoselective Ugi Reactions
• Molecules, Vol. 16, Pages 8803-8814: Microwave-Assisted Improved Synthesis of Oxazolidin-2-ones, Oxazolidine-2-thiones and Thiazolidine-2-thione Chiral Auxiliaries
• IJMS, Vol. 12, Pages 7022-7037: Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA) and Comparative Molecular Similarity Indices Analysis (CoMSIA) Studies on α1A-Adrenergic Receptor Antagonists Based on Pharmacophore Molecular Alignment
• IJERPH, Vol. 8, Pages 4013-4024: The Lag Structure and the General Effect of Ozone Exposure on Pediatric Respiratory Morbidity
• Sensors, Vol. 11, Pages 9904-9927: Coverage Assessment and Target Tracking in 3D Domains
• IJMS, Vol. 12, Pages 7004-7021: Structural Determinants of CX-4945 Derivatives as Protein Kinase CK2 Inhibitors: A Computational Study
• Sensors, Vol. 11, Pages 9887-9903: Cooperative MIMO Communication at Wireless Sensor Network: An Error Correcting Code Approach
• Sensors, Vol. 11, Pages 9878-9886: Development and Evaluation of a Miniaturized Taste Sensor Chip

Remote Sensing, Vol. 3, Pages 2222-2242: Hyperspectral Data for Mangrove Species Mapping: A Comparison of Pixel-Based and Object-Based Approach Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT Visual image interpretation and digital image classification have been used to map and monitor mangrove extent and composition for decades. The presence of a high-spatial resolution hyperspectral sensor can potentially improve our ability to differentiate mangrove species. However, little research has explored the use of pixel-based and object-based approaches on high-spatial hyperspectral datasets for this purpose. This study assessed the ability of CASI-2 data for mangrove species mapping using pixel-based and object-based approaches at the mouth of the Brisbane River area, southeast Queensland, Australia. Three mapping techniques used in this study: spectral angle mapper (SAM) and linear spectral unmixing (LSU) for the pixel-based approaches, and multi-scale segmentation for the object-based image analysis (OBIA). The endmembers for the pixel-based approach were collected based on existing vegetation community map. Nine targeted classes were mapped in the study area from each approach, including three mangrove species: Avicennia marina, Rhizophora stylosa, and Ceriops australis. The mapping results showed that SAM produced accurate class polygons with only few unclassified pixels (overall accuracy 69%, Kappa 0.57), the LSU resulted in a patchy polygon pattern with many unclassified pixels (overall accuracy 56%, Kappa 0.41), and the object-based mapping produced the most accurate results (overall accuracy 76%, Kappa 0.67). Our results demonstrated that the object-based approach, which combined a rule-based and nearest-neighbor classification method, was the best classifier to map mangrove species and its adjacent environments.

Remote Sensing, Vol. 3, Pages 2207-2221: Analysis of Incidence Angle and Distance Effects on Terrestrial Laser Scanner Intensity: Search for Correction Methods Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT The intensity information from terrestrial laser scanners (TLS) has become an important object of study in recent years, and there are an increasing number of applications that would benefit from the addition of calibrated intensity data to the topographic information. In this paper, we study the range and incidence angle effects on the intensity measurements and search for practical correction methods for different TLS instruments and targets. We find that the range (distance) effect is strongly dominated by instrumental factors, whereas the incidence angle effect is mainly caused by the target surface properties. Correction for both effects is possible, but more studies are needed for physical interpretation and more efficient use of intensity data for target characterization.

Future Internet, Vol. 3, Pages 204-227: Tool or Toy? Virtual Globes in Landscape Planning Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT Virtual globes, i.e., geobrowsers that integrate multi-scale and temporal data from various sources and are based on a globe metaphor, have developed into serious tools that practitioners and various stakeholders in landscape and community planning have started using. Although these tools originate from Geographic Information Systems (GIS), they have become a different, potentially interactive and public tool set, with their own specific limitations and new opportunities. Expectations regarding their utility as planning and community engagement tools are high, but are tempered by both technical limitations and ethical issues [1,2]. Two grassroots campaigns and a collaborative visioning process, the Kimberley Climate Adaptation Project case study (British Columbia), illustrate and broaden our understanding of the potential benefits and limitations associated with the use of virtual globes in participatory planning initiatives. Based on observations, questionnaires and in-depth interviews with stakeholders and community members using an interactive 3D model of regional climate change vulnerabilities, potential impacts, and possible adaptation and mitigation scenarios in Kimberley, the benefits and limitations of virtual globes as a tool for participatory landscape planning are discussed. The findings suggest that virtual globes can facilitate access to geospatial information, raise awareness, and provide a more representative virtual landscape than static visualizations. However, landscape is not equally representative at all scales, and not all types of users seem to benefit equally from the tool. The risks of misinterpretation can be managed by integrating the application and interpretation of virtual globes into face-to-face planning processes.

Need for Speed: The Run Top Five Features Posted: 20 Oct 2011 01:58 AM PDT We got an exclusive look at Need for Speed: The Run. Why not check out our top five features special?   Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "Need for Speed: The Run Top Five Features" was posted by cameron on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 01:58:41 -0700

The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Opening Gameplay Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT Tintin buys himself a model ship, but it looks like there might be more to it than meets the eye.   Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Opening Gameplay" was posted by sarahl on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Dungeon Gameplay Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT Tintin's hunt for his stolen model ship takes him down into a dungeon in this gameplay movie.   Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Dungeon Gameplay" was posted by sarahl on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Snowy Gameplay Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT Tintin tracks down the stolen unicorn to a country house and uses Snowy's puppy powers to maximum effect.   Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Snowy Gameplay" was posted by sarahl on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Thief Chase Gameplay Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT Poor Tintin gets mugged in an alleyway. See him chase down the dastardly thieves in this gameplay.   Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "The Adventures of Tintin: The Game Thief Chase Gameplay" was posted by sarahl on Thu, 20 Oct 2011 00:00:00 -0700

Warco: first-person shooting without a gun Posted: 19 Oct 2011 10:52 PM PDT In Warco, players wield a video camera instead of a weapon. Original ideas are hard to come by in an industry built on familiarity. Game publishers often rely on recycled concepts to ensure profitability, while developers find that they have to step outside traditional business models in order to create something unique. But that's not to say that it can't be done. Australian studio Defiant Development is currently developing a first-person shooter that relies on plenty of recycled concepts: a first-person view, a standard cover mechanic, and a realistic military setting. Yet, what this first-person shooter is missing is the genre's main attraction: shooting. Warco is a game about war correspondence. Players take on the role of reporter Jesse DeMarco, who must make her way through a third-world civil war, recording images for her nightly news reports. Instead of a gun, players will be staring down the barrel of DeMarco's camera, capturing and recording footage of different objectives throughout the campaign. The gameplay itself is nothing new--Pokemon Snap did much the same thing on the Nintendo 64 back in 1999--but the idea of building a military shooter explicitly to highlight the impact of social, political, and technological change in third-world countries is something of a rarity. In Warco, players must capture and edit footage for daily video news reports. The idea for the game was originally conceived by former ABC and SBS television war correspondent Tony Maniaty, who wanted to create a training game for potential war correspondents that would allow players to develop skills of shooting video in hostile environments while learning to avoid injury. Maniaty then brought the project to film director Robert Connelly (The Boys, Romulus My Father, Balibo), who saw the potential to create something that stretched far beyond a simple training prototype. He asked Defiant for help. "The military first-person shooter genre is completely filled with games cut from the same cloth," founder of Defiant Development, Morgan Jaffit, says. "If you want to play those games, then there are plenty of studios making them for you. If, on the other hand, you want an adult narrative, complex decision making, a new perspective on war, and a tale that puts black and white morality aside in favour of a realistic viewpoint, then you are our audience." Defiant has spent the last two years honing the game's concept, fleshing out the interactive elements, and building a playable prototype with the aim of arriving at a full-length, single-player title for consoles and PC. The development team--made up largely of former Pandemic Studios employees--soon realised that the game would need to do a lot more than simply allow players to be idle spectators in a civil war. While there's strictly no shooting (you can't pick up a gun no matter how hard you might try), the game does allow for other types of interaction within the game world, from interviewing civilians to searching military commanders' desks to sneaking into the camps of local warlords. "The game covers a broad range of action, from being embedded with local forces to covertly attempting to cover arms deals," Jaffet says. "Over the course of the game, players will witness a city under siege, and move across both sides of the battle. There's also a chance for quieter moments, visiting civilians at their homes to ask about the war, and engaging with other journalists at the hotel." Jaffet says that the game is aimed at the subset of first-person shooter players who appreciate a different take on the genre. Traditional methods of defence are completely done away with--the emphasis is on vulnerability and uneasiness. The best example of this is the way the game handles moral choice. On paper, a war correspondent's only task is to objectively observe the conflict and report the truth. However, things are rarely that black and white. If a journalist stumbles upon a wounded civilian, does he or she have the right to interfere? Should the journalist risk his or her own life in order to save someone else's? "We're keen to provide players the opportunities to go places they've never been in games before, and experience things they've never experienced in games before. I believe that it's hugely important that games provide choice, and that those choices have consequences. The key factor for us is that it's not about getting the right choice, or winning. In fact, in these scenarios, there's rarely a clear right choice, and for the player it's a case of seeing where their actions lead through the unfolding gameplay." If you stumble upon a wounded civilian, do you have the right to interfere? Defiant doesn't shy away from the realities of war. That's why Warco is not about killing, but about surviving. The game is an unglorified depiction of what hundreds of war correspondents around the world face each day. It's also the reason why Warco's protagonist is female. "It's increasingly common to see reports from female war correspondents in the field, and, as we fleshed out the characteristics that were important to us in a protagonist, Jesse emerged as a natural choice." Convincing international game publishers to back a game whose aim is to teach rather than entertain is not an easy task. There's no track record of success, no previous projects, and no guarantee that anyone will even find the idea of a first-person shooter without guns appealing. But Jaffet remains unperturbed. "New is always harder than a simple rehash of an old idea, but that's one of the things that makes it worth doing. I hope we have built an experience that people enjoy, precisely because it offers them something new." Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "Warco: first-person shooting without a gun" was posted by Laura Parker on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:52:39 -0700

GameSpot's New Battlefield 3 Reality Show Posted: 19 Oct 2011 10:04 PM PDT The Controller is a competition reality show where the best pro-gamers from around the country battle in a high-stakes competition without ever touching the controller. Get the full article at GameSpot "GameSpot's New Battlefield 3 Reality Show" was posted by Staff on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 22:04:30 -0700

Sound Byte: Meet The Composer - Keiki Kobayashi Posted: 19 Oct 2011 09:31 PM PDT We have a chat with one of the main composers for the recently released flight action title Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.   Chances are good that you may have heard music composer Keiki Kobayashi's contributions if you are an avid fan of Namco Bandai titles. From his humble beginnings with Ace Combat 4: Shattered Skies to doing fight themes for SoulCalibur III and SoulCalibur IV, his forte is doing epic orchestral pieces and overtures. While flying a digital aeroplane is fun, it wouldn't be complete without an overblown musical motif to instil a sense of importance into what you're doing. GameSpot had a chat with the composer on his latest for the recently released Ace Combat: Assault Horizon (AC: AH). GameSpot Asia: Tell us about your background in music, as well as your musical inspirations. Keiki Kobayashi: Music was something that was close to me as long as I remember. When I was little, I used to sing along with my sister's accompaniment. When I was seven years old, I started studying music--from there, I ended up graduating a music university, and now I am still continuing to study it. I cannot shrink my musical background into one. From classical music to popular music, rock, jazz, I like every music that sounds like "playing music". GSA: What are the main instruments you favour for all of your compositions? KK: I have various favourites, but I always like to use the piano. Beyond that, I am always struck by the beauty of strings. [ Watch Video ] Rebirth From Sand Storm - Keiki Kobayashi GSA: What made you work with Namco Bandai in the first place? What drew you to the company? KK: The reason is because I was a huge fan of Ace Combat 2. I thought of how happy I will be if I could work in a company that creates this kind of music, and I went on analysing the music that the company was making, and created a demo to apply. And I sure was able to get in here. I am really thankful for the company to take me in. GSA: Your name is usually together with the Ace Combat franchise. Is it safe to say that the franchise has a deep connection with you? KK: Ace Combat to me is always a very special title. I originally had a strong longing of flying aircrafts through the sky, as well as watch them continuously. I was drawn to Ace Combat in that sense, as well. GSA: Would it also be safe to say that you drew inspiration from action movies like The Rock, Hans Zimmer's music, and even aircraft-focused fares like Top Gun and Iron Eagle when making music specifically for AC: AH? KK: I am greatly influenced from all the movies that I have seen and music that I've heard. Thinking back, Top Gun was the actual movie that I saw in the movie theatre for the first time. I just recalled it (laughs). GSA: Concerning the main overture of AC: AH ("Rebirth" from Sand Storm), how long did it take you do come up with it? KK: When the backbone of the story was first created, I had a thought in which theme I wanted to take. At the time when the storyboard of the opening scene came up, I decided to go with music that comes up from within the sandstorm, and from there I made it in two days. GSA: You work alongside Hiroshi Okubo and Rio Hamamoto for the game's soundtrack. With Okubo's DJ background and Hamamoto's style, was it hard to narrow down AC: AH's music style for fear of the music clashing with each other? KK: Okubo has many different drawers he can pull out off. He is a composer that has the talent and technique to spectacularly combine various images into his special world. I only tell him which scenes, what's important, and the details hereafter; everything else is up to his originality and imagination. As for Hamamoto, when the project started, I thought that it will definitely be fun if our styles of music were mixed. My experimentation proved successful when we created the BGM for the first trailer together for the world to hear. GSA: Which track in AC: AH was the toughest to compose? KK:There's no particular song that was difficult to craft. However, as composition work inched closer to the last mission, a bit of care and implementation was required, since the feelings and situations of the various characters in the game needed to be summed up into the music. GSA: You were one of the composers for the SoulCalibur series. One of your stand-out tracks are both of Tira's themes from SCIII and SCIV (Wings of Despair and Twilight Dwellers). What made the style of the tune a perfect fit for that particularly interesting character and the Osterheinsburg stage? KK:Thank you very much. Since the stage is a very old castle, I dared to create it with an antique taste. GSA: Will you be working on SoulCalibur V's music? If you are, what can you tell us about the general style and theme of SCV's music? KK: These recent years I have been putting all of myself in to AC: AH, so I wasn't able to do much else. Probably the only game I composed in between that period was for the recent Idolm@ster titles. I won't be doing Tira's theme this time around, but please look forward to the song. [ Watch Video ] Keep Alive - Rio Hamamoto GSA: You seem to love bringing in orchestra sounds for everything you do, from a fighting game like SoulCalibur to this year's Ace Combat reboot. Aren't you afraid that gamer's ears can be worn out from so much bombastic compositions with very few silent moments? KK: To address that, there are quiet songs in AC: AH. Truth be told, I actually like the quiet songs more. If I just do bombastic compositions only, it would be a world lacking colour. GSA: Let's bring up A Night In Fantasia 2009, where you got to work with the likes of Joe Hisaishi and Inon Zur (Dragon Age 2). How was the feeling like when you were with your peers and working alongside Studio Ghibli's famed composer? KK: I was very privileged. However, the audience is listening to us on the same stage, so I get this rush to keep on creating even better music. GSA: With video game music live concerts being a norm in Japan, would you and Namco Bandai plan to host a live concert featuring nothing but Ace Combat and SoulCalibur music? Is there demand for it from Japanese and Western audiences? KK: We do receive demand from many gamers to host a live concert. It is very fortunate, but we are a group that creates music in order for people to have fun with the game. The truth is that we cannot handle live concerts so easily. Gaming music is not something that you can just simply create and put on the game. Unlike movies, we cannot take the "multi-audio" recording approach and finish it off. A lot of the work we do is quiet dedication that takes a lot of time and toil with the game designers and storyboard guys. Do check out our daily song recommendations on our Twitter feed @gs_soundbyte. Read and Post Comments | Get the full article at GameSpot "Sound Byte: Meet The Composer - Keiki Kobayashi" was posted by Jonathan Leo Toyad on Wed, 19 Oct 2011 21:31:04 -0700

IJMS, Vol. 12, Pages 7038-7047: Candida colonization index in patients admitted to an ICU Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT Multiple-site colonization with Candida spp is commonly recognized as a risk factor for invasive fungal infection in critically ill patients. We carried out a study to determine the relationship between Candida colonization and invasive infection in neurological patients admitted to an ICU. At admission (T0) and every three days for two weeks, different samples (pharynx swab, tracheal secretions, stomach contents, etc.) were collected for mycological surveillance. Candida mannan antigen and Candida anti-mannan antibodies were assayed. The Colonization Index (CI) and Corrected Colonization Index were calculated for each time point. Of all patients 70% was already colonized by Candida spp at T0 and six of them had CI ≥0.5. Three patients developed candidemia; they had CI ≥0.5 before infection. Positive values of Candida mannan antigen and anti-mannan antibodies were found only in the patients with candidemia. The sensitivity and specificity of the Candida mannan test were 66.6% and 100%, respectively, while the sensitivity and specificity of the anti-mannan antibody test were 100%. In accordance with other authors, we find the surveillance cultures are useful to monitor the Candida colonization in ICU patients. In addition, the sequential observation of anti-mannan antibodies could contribute to early diagnosis of candidiasis more than Candida mannan antigen in immunocompetent patients.

Molecules, Vol. 16, Pages 8815-8832: Studies on the Synthesis of DMAP Derivatives by Diastereoselective Ugi Reactions Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT Diastereoselective Ugi reactions of DMAP-based aldehydes with α-amino acids and tert-butyl isocyanide were examined. The reactions of 4-(dimethylamino)-2-pyridine-carboxaldehyde with various α-amino acids afforded 2-substituted DMAP derivatives with low diastereoselectivity. On the contrary, reactions with 4-(dimethylamino)-3-pyridine-carboxaldehyde delivered 3-substituted DMAP derivatives with moderate to high diastereoselectivity. The combination of α-amino acid and DMAP-based aldehyde is thus important to achieve high diastereoselectivity. Kinetic resolution of a secondary alcohol using a chiral DMAP derivative obtained through these reactions was also examined.

Molecules, Vol. 16, Pages 8803-8814: Microwave-Assisted Improved Synthesis of Oxazolidin-2-ones, Oxazolidine-2-thiones and Thiazolidine-2-thione Chiral Auxiliaries Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT A microwave assisted method for the synthesis of some typical 4-substituted oxazolidinone chiral auxiliaries used in asymmetric synthesis is reported in this work. Under these conditions, treatment of (S)-phenylalaninol, (S)-phenylglycinol, (S)-valinol and (1S, 2R)-norephedrine with ethyl carbonate or carbon disulfide under the appropriate and specific microwave reaction conditions, led to an efficient synthesis of some oxazolidin-2-ones, oxazolidine-2-thiones and thiazolidine-2-thiones. The methodology reported in this paper provides these chiral auxiliaries with improved yields and a remarkable reduction on the reaction times, particularly in the case of thiazolidine-2-thiones, as compared with the conventional methods. All the auxiliaries prepared here show spectroscopic data in full agreement with those previously reported in the literature.

IJMS, Vol. 12, Pages 7022-7037: Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA) and Comparative Molecular Similarity Indices Analysis (CoMSIA) Studies on α1A-Adrenergic Receptor Antagonists Based on Pharmacophore Molecular Alignment Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT The α1A-adrenergic receptor (α1A-AR) antagonist is useful in treating benign prostatic hyperplasia, lower urinary tract symptoms, and cardiac arrhythmia. Three-dimensional quantitative structure-activity relationship (3D-QSAR) studies were performed on a set of α1A-AR antagonists of N-aryl and N-nitrogen class. Statistically significant models constructed from comparative molecular field analysis (CoMFA) and comparative molecular similarity indices analysis (CoMSIA) were established based on a training set of 32 ligands using pharmacophore-based molecular alignment. The leave-one-out cross-validation correlation coefficients were q2CoMFA = 0.840 and q2CoMSIA = 0.840. The high correlation between the cross-validated/predicted and experimental activities of a test set of 12 ligands revealed that the CoMFA and CoMSIA models were robust (r2pred/CoMFA = 0.694; r2pred/CoMSIA = 0.671). The generated models suggested that electrostatic, hydrophobic, and hydrogen bonding interactions play important roles between ligands and receptors in the active site. Our study serves as a guide for further experimental investigations on the synthesis of new compounds. Structural modifications based on the present 3D-QSAR results may lead to the discovery of other α1A-AR antagonists.

IJERPH, Vol. 8, Pages 4013-4024: The Lag Structure and the General Effect of Ozone Exposure on Pediatric Respiratory Morbidity Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT Up to now no study has investigated the lag structure of children's respiratory morbidity due to surface ozone. In the present study, we investigate the lag structure and the general effect of surface ozone exposure on children and adolescents' respiratory morbidity using data from a particularly well suited area in southern Europe to assess the health effects of surface ozone. The effects of surface ozone are estimated using the recently developed distributed lag non-linear models, allowing for a relatively long timescale, while controlling for weather effects, a range of other air pollutants, and long and short term patterns. The public health significance of the estimated effects is higher than has been previously reported in the literature, providing evidence contrary to the conjecture that the surface ozone-morbidity association is mainly due to short-term harvesting. In fact, our data analysis reveals that the effects of surface ozone at medium and long timescales (harvesting-resistant) are substantially larger than the effects at shorter timescales (harvesting-prone), a finding that is consistent with all children and adolescents being affected by high surface ozone concentrations, and not just the very frail.

Sensors, Vol. 11, Pages 9904-9927: Coverage Assessment and Target Tracking in 3D Domains Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT Recent advances in integrated electronic devices motivated the use of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) in many applications including domain surveillance and mobile target tracking, where a number of sensors are scattered within a sensitive region to detect the presence of intruders and forward related events to some analysis center(s). Obviously, sensor deployment should guarantee an optimal event detection rate and should reduce coverage holes. Most of the coverage control approaches proposed in the literature deal with two-dimensional zones and do not develop strategies to handle coverage in three-dimensional domains, which is becoming a requirement for many applications including water monitoring, indoor surveillance, and projectile tracking. This paper proposes efficient techniques to detect coverage holes in a 3D domain using a finite set of sensors, repair the holes, and track hostile targets. To this end, we use the concepts of Voronoi tessellation, Vietoris complex, and retract by deformation. We show in particular that, through a set of iterative transformations of the Vietoris complex corresponding to the deployed sensors, the number of coverage holes can be computed with a low complexity. Mobility strategies are also proposed to repair holes by moving appropriately sensors towards the uncovered zones. The tracking objective is to set a non-uniform WSN coverage within the monitored domain to allow detecting the target(s) by the set of sensors. We show, in particular, how the proposed algorithms adapt to cope with obstacles. Simulation experiments are carried out to analyze the efficiency of the proposed models. To our knowledge, repairing and tracking is addressed for the first time in 3D spaces with different sensor coverage schemes.

IJMS, Vol. 12, Pages 7004-7021: Structural Determinants of CX-4945 Derivatives as Protein Kinase CK2 Inhibitors: A Computational Study Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT Protein kinase CK2, also known as casein kinase-2, is involved in a broad range of physiological events including cell growth, proliferation and suppression of apoptosis which are related to human cancers. A series of compounds were identified as CK2 inhibitors and their inhibitory activities varied depending on their structures. In order to explore the structure-activity correlation of CX-4945 derivatives as inhibitors of CK2, in the present study, a set of ligand- and receptor-based 3D-QSAR models were developed employing Comparative Molecular Field Analysis (CoMFA) and Comparative Molecular Similarity Index Analysis (CoMSIA). The optimum CoMFA (Rcv2 = 0.618, Rpred2 = 0.892) and CoMSIA (Rcv2 = 0.681, Rpred2 = 0.843) models exhibited reasonable statistical characteristics for CX-4945 derivatives. The results indicated that electrostatic effects contributed the most to both CoMFA and CoMSIA models. The combination of docking analysis and molecular dynamics (MD) simulation showed that Leu45, Lys68, Glu81, Val116, Asp175 and Trp176 of CK2 which formed several direct or water-bridged H-bonds with CX-4945 are crucial for CX-4945 derivatives recognition to CK2. These results can offer useful theoretical references for designing more potent CK2 inhibitors.

Sensors, Vol. 11, Pages 9887-9903: Cooperative MIMO Communication at Wireless Sensor Network: An Error Correcting Code Approach Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT Cooperative communication in wireless sensor network (WSN) explores the energy efficient wireless communication schemes between multiple sensors and data gathering node (DGN) by exploiting multiple input multiple output (MIMO) and multiple input single output (MISO) configurations. In this paper, an energy efficient cooperative MIMO (C-MIMO) technique is proposed where low density parity check (LDPC) code is used as an error correcting code. The rate of LDPC code is varied by varying the length of message and parity bits. Simulation results show that the cooperative communication scheme outperforms SISO scheme in the presence of LDPC code. LDPC codes with different code rates are compared using bit error rate (BER) analysis. BER is also analyzed under different Nakagami fading scenario. Energy efficiencies are compared for different targeted probability of bit error pb. It is observed that C-MIMO performs more efficiently when the targeted pb is smaller. Also the lower encoding rate for LDPC code offers better error characteristics.

Sensors, Vol. 11, Pages 9878-9886: Development and Evaluation of a Miniaturized Taste Sensor Chip Posted: 20 Oct 2011 12:00 AM PDT A miniaturized taste sensor chip was designed for use in a portable-type taste sensing system. The fabricated sensor chip (40 mm × 26 mm × 2.2 mm) has multiple taste-sensing sites consisting of a poly(hydroxyethyl methacrylate) hydrogel with KCl as the electrolyte layer for stability of the membrane potential and artificial lipid membranes as the taste sensing elements. The sensor responses to the standard taste substances showed high accuracy and good reproducibility, which is comparable with the performance of the sensor probe of the commercialized taste sensing system. Thus, the fabricated taste sensor chip could be used as a key element for the realization of a portable-type taste sensing system.

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