четверг, 7 июня 2012 г.

Games

Games

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 7719-7737: Managing RFID Sensors Networks with a General Purpose RFID Middleware

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

RFID middleware is anticipated to one of the main research areas in the field of RFID applications in the near future. The Data EPC Acquisition System (DEPCAS) is an original proposal designed by our group to transfer and apply fundamental ideas from System and Data Acquisition (SCADA) systems into the areas of RFID acquisition, processing and distribution systems. In this paper we focus on how to organize and manage generic RFID sensors (edge readers, readers, PLCs, etc…) inside the DEPCAS middleware. We denote by RFID Sensors Networks Management (RSNM) this part of DEPCAS, which is built on top of two new concepts introduced and developed in this work: MARC (Minimum Access Reader Command) and RRTL (RFID Reader Topology Language). MARC is an abstraction layer used to hide heterogeneous devices inside a homogeneous acquisition network. RRTL is a language to define RFID Reader networks and to describe the relationship between them (concentrator, peer to peer, master/submaster).

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 7701-7718: Definition of Linear Color Models in the RGB Vector Color Space to Detect Red Peaches in Orchard Images Taken under Natural Illumination

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

This work proposes the detection of red peaches in orchard images based on the definition of different linear color models in the RGB vector color space. The classification and segmentation of the pixels of the image is then performed by comparing the color distance from each pixel to the different previously defined linear color models. The methodology proposed has been tested with images obtained in a real orchard under natural light. The peach variety in the orchard was the paraguayo (Prunus persica var. platycarpa) peach with red skin. The segmentation results showed that the area of the red peaches in the images was detected with an average error of 11.6%; 19.7% in the case of bright illumination; 8.2% in the case of low illumination; 8.6% for occlusion up to 33%; 12.2% in the case of occlusion between 34 and 66%; and 23% for occlusion above 66%. Finally, a methodology was proposed to estimate the diameter of the fruits based on an ellipsoidal fitting. A first diameter was obtained by using all the contour pixels and a second diameter was obtained by rejecting some pixels of the contour. This approach enables a rough estimate of the fruit occlusion percentage range by comparing the two diameter estimates.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 7682-7700: An Accurately Controlled Antagonistic Shape Memory Alloy Actuator with Self-Sensing

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

With the progress of miniaturization, shape memory alloy (SMA) actuators exhibit high energy density, self-sensing ability and ease of fabrication, which make them well suited for practical applications. This paper presents a self-sensing controlled actuator drive that was designed using antagonistic pairs of SMA wires. Under a certain pre-strain and duty cycle, the stress between two wires becomes constant. Meanwhile, the strain to resistance curve can minimize the hysteresis gap between the heating and the cooling paths. The curves of both wires are then modeled by fitting polynomials such that the measured resistance can be used directly to determine the difference between the testing values and the target strain. The hysteresis model of strains to duty cycle difference has been used as compensation. Accurate control is demonstrated through step response and sinusoidal tracking. The experimental results show that, under a combination control program, the root-mean-square error can be reduced to 1.093%. The limited bandwidth of the frequency is estimated to be 0.15 Hz. Two sets of instruments with three degrees of freedom are illustrated to show how this type actuator could be potentially implemented.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 7669-7681: Multichannel Boron Doped Nanocrystalline Diamond Ultramicroelectrode Arrays: Design, Fabrication and Characterization

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

We report on the fabrication and characterization of an 8 × 8 multichannel Boron Doped Diamond (BDD) ultramicro-electrode array (UMEA). The device combines both the assets of microelectrodes, resulting from conditions in mass transport from the bulk solution toward the electrode, and of BDD's remarkable intrinsic electrochemical properties. The UMEAs were fabricated using an original approach relying on the selective growth of diamond over pre-processed 4 inches silicon substrates. The prepared UMEAs were characterized by cyclic voltammetry (CV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). The results demonstrated that the electrodes have exhibited a very fast electrode transfer rate (k0) up to 0.05 cm∙s−1 (in a fast redox couple) and on average, a steady state limiting current (in a 0.5 M potassium chloride aqueous solution containing 1 mM Fe(CN)64− ion at 100 mV∙s−1) of 1.8 nA. The UMEAs are targeted for electrophysiological as well as analytical applications.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 7648-7668: A Communication Model to Integrate the Request-Response and the Publish-Subscribe Paradigms into Ubiquitous Systems

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

The Request-Response (RR) paradigm is widely used in ubiquitous systems to exchange information in a secure, reliable and timely manner. Nonetheless, there is also an emerging need for adopting the Publish-Subscribe (PubSub) paradigm in this kind of systems, due to the advantages that this paradigm offers in supporting mobility by means of asynchronous, non-blocking and one-to-many message distribution semantics for event notification. This paper analyzes the strengths and weaknesses of both the RR and PubSub paradigms to support communications in ubiquitous systems and proposes an abstract communication model in order to enable their seamless integration. Thus, developers will be focused on communication semantics and the required quality properties, rather than be concerned about specific communication mechanisms. The aim is to provide developers with abstractions intended to decrease the complexity of integrating different communication paradigms commonly needed in ubiquitous systems. The proposal has been applied to implement a middleware and a real home automation system to show its applicability and benefits.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 7634-7647: A New Inertial Aid Method for High Dynamic Compass Signal Tracking Based on a Nonlinear Tracking Differentiator

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

In Compass/INS integrated navigation systems, feedback inertial navigation solutions to baseband tracking loops may eliminate receiver dynamic effects, and effectively improve the tracking accuracy and sensitivity. In the conventional inertially-aided tracking loop, the satellite-receiver line-of-sight velocity is used directly to adjust local carrier frequency. However, if the inertial solution drifts, the phase tracking error will be enlarged. By using Kalman filter based carrier phase tracking loop, this paper introduces a new inertial aid method, in which the line-of-sight jerk obtained from inertial acceleration by a nonlinear tracking differentiator is used to adjust relevant parameters of the Kalman filter's process noise matrix. Validation is achieved through high dynamic Compass B3 signal with line-of-sight jerk of 10 g/s collected by a GNSS simulator. Experimental results indicate that the new inertial aid method proposed in this paper is free of the impact of the receiver dynamic and inertial errors. Therefore, when the integrated navigation system is starting or re-tracking after losing lock, the inertial error is absent from the navigation solution correction that induces large drift, and the new aid method proposed in this paper can track highly dynamic signals.

iGmail 1.0 - Run Gmail as an application without a browser. . (Free)

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:01 AM PDT



iGmail is a Mac OS X web service that allows you to run Gmail as an application without opening a browser. It supports all Gmail features and has some extra features as well.

  • Mac OS X 10.7 or later
  • A Gmail Account


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Scribblenauts Unlimited - Screenshots

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:59 AM PDT

Fact sheet pending.

Dust 514 - Preview

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 03:19 AM PDT

All we are is dust in the EVE Online universe.
It was the first day of E3: I had just gotten through eating a free alligator po'boy, gone over my 30th streetpass tag on my 3DS before the doors even opened, and grumbled over the media lounge Wi-Fi being deader than the Wii. Par for the E3 course on every count, more or less. And here I was, blinking away fatigue at the crack of noon, ready for an appointment to see... something, but I had no idea what it was before going in.



That something turned out to be Dust 514, a kinda-sorta sequel/spinoff/something-or-other to EVE Online, set in the same staggeringly huge universe. While Dust 514 differs from EVE in that the core gameplay is an FPS, the latter's mark is clear in the deep level of customization, optimization, and social interaction to be found in Dust. You know, when you're not busy blowing some poor sap up with a grenade launcher and taking all his moneys.

I've never played EVE, but I've seen and heard enough to recognize the key traits that are there in Dust. The amount of tinkering that goes into customizing your loadouts for the dropsuits (the equivalent of a ship in EVE) is ridiculous, and the developers assured me that they've lost hours themselves just fiddling around looking for that perfect suit. The same level of risk vs. reward is present as well, because just like when you lose a ship in EVE, getting killed might lose you those precious parts that you previously invested in (and result in a bigger bounty for the lucky mother that fragged you).


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Thousands Descend on Maryland Live

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:45 AM PDT

Just before 10 p.m. the doors opened, and the fun began. Thousands of gamblers walked cheerfully into Maryland Live! near Arundel Mills Wednesday night, marking the official opening of the state's largest casino.

This posting includes an audio/video/photo media file: Download Now

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 7614-7633: An Intelligent Sensor Array Distributed System for Vibration Analysis and Acoustic Noise Characterization of a Linear Switched Reluctance Actuator

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

This paper proposes a distributed system for analysis and monitoring (DSAM) of vibrations and acoustic noise, which consists of an array of intelligent modules, sensor modules, communication bus and a host PC acting as data center. The main advantages of the DSAM are its modularity, scalability, and flexibility for use of different type of sensors/transducers, with analog or digital outputs, and for signals of different nature. Its final cost is also significantly lower than other available commercial solutions. The system is reconfigurable, can operate either with synchronous or asynchronous modes, with programmable sampling frequencies, 8-bit or 12-bit resolution and a memory buffer of 15 kbyte. It allows real-time data-acquisition for signals of different nature, in applications that require a large number of sensors, thus it is suited for monitoring of vibrations in Linear Switched Reluctance Actuators (LSRAs). The acquired data allows the full characterization of the LSRA in terms of its response to vibrations of structural origins, and the vibrations and acoustic noise emitted under normal operation. The DSAM can also be used for electrical machine condition monitoring, machine fault diagnosis, structural characterization and monitoring, among other applications.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 7598-7613: Analysis of the Air Flow Generated by an Air-Assisted Sprayer Equipped with Two Axial Fans Using a 3D Sonic Anemometer

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

The flow of air generated by a new design of air assisted sprayer equipped with two axial fans of reversed rotation was analyzed. For this goal, a 3D sonic anemometer has been used (accuracy: 1.5%; measurement range: 0 to 45 m/s). The study was divided into a static test and a dynamic test. During the static test, the air velocity in the working vicinity of the sprayer was measured considering the following machine configurations: (1) one activated fan regulated at three air flows (machine working as a traditional sprayer); (2) two activated fans regulated at three air flows for each fan. In the static test 72 measurement points were considered. The location of the measurement points was as follow: left and right sides of the sprayer; three sections of measurement (A, B and C); three measurement distances from the shaft of the machine (1.5 m, 2.5 m and 3.5 m); and four measurement heights (1 m, 2 m, 3 m and 4 m). The static test results have shown significant differences in the module and the vertical angle of the air velocity vector in function of the regulations of the sprayer. In the dynamic test, the air velocity was measured at 2.5 m from the axis of the sprayer considering four measurement heights (1 m, 2 m, 3 m and 4 m). In this test, the sprayer regulations were: one or two activated fans; one air flow for each fan; forward speed of 2.8 km/h. The use of one fan (back) or two fans (back and front) produced significant differences on the duration of the presence of wind in the measurement point and on the direction of the air velocity vector. The module of the air velocity vector was not affected by the number of activated fans.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 7587-7597: Automatic Detection of Animals in Mowing Operations Using Thermal Cameras

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

During the last decades, high-efficiency farming equipment has been developed in the agricultural sector. This has also included efficiency improvement of moving techniques, which include increased working speeds and widths. Therefore, the risk of wild animals being accidentally injured or killed during routine farming operations has increased dramatically over the years. In particular, the nests of ground nesting bird species like grey partridge (Perdix perdix) or pheasant (Phasianus colchicus) are vulnerable to farming operations in their breeding habitat, whereas in mammals, the natural instinct of e.g., leverets of brown hare (Lepus europaeus) and fawns of roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) to lay low and still in the vegetation to avoid predators increase their risk of being killed or injured in farming operations. Various methods and approaches have been used to reduce wildlife mortality resulting from farming operations. However, since wildlife-friendly farming often results in lower efficiency, attempts have been made to develop automatic systems capable of detecting wild animals in the crop. Here we assessed the suitability of thermal imaging in combination with digital image processing to automatically detect a chicken (Gallus domesticus) and a rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) in a grassland habitat. Throughout the different test scenarios, our study animals were detected with a high precision, although the most dense grass cover reduced the detection rate. We conclude that thermal imaging and digital imaging processing may be an important tool for the improvement of wildlife-friendly farming practices in the future.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 7576-7586: Detection of miRNA in Cell Cultures by Using Microchip Electrophoresis with a Fluorescence-Labeled Riboprobe

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

The analysis of a microRNA (miRNA), miR-222 isolated from the PC12 cell line, was performed by use of the ribonuclease (RNase) protection assay, cyanine 5 (Cy5)-labeled miR-222 riboprobe, and a Hitachi SV1210 microchip electrophoresis system, which can be used to evaluate the integrity of total RNA. The fluorescence intensity corresponding to the protected RNA fragment increased in a dose-dependent manner with respect to the complementary-strand RNA. More highly sensitive detection of miRNA by microchip electrophoresis than by conventional method using fluorescence-labeled riboprobe could be obtained in 180 s. An obvious increase in miR-222 expression induced by nerve growth factor in PC12 cells could be observed. These results clearly indicate the potential of microchip electrophoresis for the analysis of miRNA using RNase protection assay with a fluorescence-labeled riboprobe.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 7548-7575: A Neural Networks-Based Hybrid Routing Protocol for Wireless Mesh Networks

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

The networking infrastructure of wireless mesh networks (WMNs) is decentralized and relatively simple, but they can display reliable functioning performance while having good redundancy. WMNs provide Internet access for fixed and mobile wireless devices. Both in urban and rural areas they provide users with high-bandwidth networks over a specific coverage area. The main problems affecting these networks are changes in network topology and link quality. In order to provide regular functioning, the routing protocol has the main influence in WMN implementations. In this paper we suggest a new routing protocol for WMN, based on good results of a proactive and reactive routing protocol, and for that reason it can be classified as a hybrid routing protocol. The proposed solution should avoid flooding and creating the new routing metric. We suggest the use of artificial logic—i.e., neural networks (NNs). This protocol is based on mobile agent technologies controlled by a Hopfield neural network. In addition to this, our new routing metric is based on multicriteria optimization in order to minimize delay and blocking probability (rejected packets or their retransmission). The routing protocol observes real network parameters and real network environments. As a result of artificial logic intelligence, the proposed routing protocol should maximize usage of network resources and optimize network performance.

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 7015-7037: Toward the Prediction of FBPase Inhibitory Activity Using Chemoinformatic Methods

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Currently, Chemoinformatic methods are used to perform the prediction for FBPase inhibitory activity. A genetic algorithm-random forest coupled method (GA-RF) was proposed to predict fructose 1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase) inhibitors to treat type 2 diabetes mellitus using the Mold2 molecular descriptors. A data set of 126 oxazole and thiazole analogs was used to derive the GA-RF model, yielding the significant non-cross-validated correlation coefficient r2ncv and cross-validated r2cv values of 0.96 and 0.67 for the training set, respectively. The statistically significant model was validated by a test set of 64 compounds, producing the prediction correlation coefficient r2pred of 0.90. More importantly, the building GA-RF model also passed through various criteria suggested by Tropsha and Roy with r2o and r2m values of 0.90 and 0.83, respectively. In order to compare with the GA-RF model, a pure RF model developed based on the full descriptors was performed as well for the same data set. The resulting GA-RF model with significantly internal and external prediction capacities is beneficial to the prediction of potential oxazole and thiazole series of FBPase inhibitors prior to chemical synthesis in drug discovery programs.

IJMS, Vol. 13, Pages 6995-7014: Neuroglobin, a Novel Target for Endogenous Neuroprotection against Stroke and Neurodegenerative Disorders

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 12:00 AM PDT

Brain neurons and tissues respond to sublethal injury by activating endogenous protective pathways. Recently, following the failure of a large number of clinical trials for protective strategies against stroke that aim to inhibit a specific ischemia response pathway, endogenous neuroprotection has emerged as a more promising and hopeful strategy for development of therapeutics against stroke and neurodegenerative disorders. Neuroglobin (Ngb) is an oxygen-binding globin protein that is highly and specifically expressed in brain neurons. Accumulating evidence have clearly demonstrated that Ngb is an endogenous neuroprotective molecule against hypoxic/ischemic and oxidative stress-related insults in cultured neurons and animals, as well as neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, thus any pharmacological strategy that can up-regulate endogenous Ngb expression may lead to novel therapeutics against these brain disorders. In this review, we summarize recent studies about the biological function, regulation of gene expression, and neuroprotective mechanisms of Ngb. Furthermore, strategies for identification of chemical compounds that can up-regulate endogenous Ngb expression for neuroprotection against stroke and neurodegenerative disorders are discussed.

miDVD Pro 1.0.0 - Preview, preserve and share home movies on DVD. . (Demo)

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 02:09 AM PDT



miDVD Pro brings themes, multiple movies and much more to the best DVD creator out there.

miDVD Pro provides fast, top quality DVDs at a fantastic price:

  • Simple to use. Just drag and drop multiple movies and click burn. miDVD Pro looks after the rest.
  • Multiple movies: Drop in as many as 16 movies to burn to one DVD.
  • Smart themes: Choose from the fantastic Smart Themes for your DVD masterpiece.
  • Soundtracks: Choose your favourite song as a menu soundtrack.
  • Projects: Save you miDVD projects for later on.
  • ISO file creation: Create an ISO file if you don't want to burn directly to DVD.
  • Supports 100's of video formats. Drag in your movie or video clip and miDVD Pro will figure it out.
  • Its so Easy! miDVD Pro keeps it simple, but gives you control through advanced preferences if you need to get under the hood.


Mac OS X 10.6 or later

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miDVD 1.0.0 - Preview, preserve and share home movies on DVD.. (Free)

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 01:55 AM PDT



miDVD is a fast, simple and convenient way to make the most of your precious video memories. Just drag, drop and burn - miDVD looks after the rest

miDVD provides a simple, high quality DVD creator for everyone:

  • Simple to use: Just drag, drop and burn. miDVD looks after everything.
  • Supports 100's of video formats: drag in your video and miDVD will figure it out.
  • Preview feature: preview exactly what your DVD will look like when played on your TV.
  • Preview even looks like a TV, with a remote!
  • Media browser: miDVD's handy media browser enables you to quickly find that precious video clip for your project.
  • It's so easy, you don't need to know anything about DVD burning. miDVD works out what to do and gets on with the job.


Mac OS X 10.6 or later

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Zumba Fitness Core - Preview

Posted: 07 Jun 2012 02:41 AM PDT

I haven't sweated like that since walking last year's E3.
It doesn't take me much anymore to get up in front of a crowd, as long as that's in a controlled environment. In a place like E3, when I don't have full control over my stage, I have to resort to public humiliation to get my audience attracted. Luckily, all I really had to do was try and dance with a smoking' hot Zumba celebrity instructor with abs like a late-night ad (fitting, since they do infomercials at four in the morning) and another gorgeous woman with oddly-short long pants, and voila! Instant audience!



Zumba Fitness Core stands out not only as a super-popular fitness title—I was told it was second in sales in the history of the fitness genre, behind only the Wii Fit with Balance Board—but also that it's on the only mass-market game in history to have a specific focus on its fitness goals. That goal? To give the world abs. There really is a focus on the mid-section, which I experienced firsthand with my lack of dance skills, which only made me push harded when testing the workout myself.

One note of interest is the lack of a score or anything similar; it doesn't matter how close you are to the move being performed, so long as you have some kind of energy and are constantly in a state of movement, you get full credit for the move. The goal isn't to necessarily get everything right, but instead, actually work out in some kind of fun way. Who cares if you got that dance move perfectly straight? You're having fun and working up a sweat, right?  That's what counts!



And that sweat is built around 40+ dance routines taken from over 30 different forms of dance, including some things ...
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