среда, 12 декабря 2012 г.

Games

Games

Materials, Vol. 5, Pages 2788-2815: Holographic Gratings for Slow-Neutron Optics

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

Recent progress in the development of holographic gratings for neutron-optics applications is reviewed. We summarize the properties of gratings recorded in deuterated (poly)methylmethacrylate, holographic polymer-dispersed liquid crystals and nanoparticle-polymer composites revealed by diffraction experiments with slow neutrons. Existing and anticipated neutron-optical instrumentations based on holographic gratings are discussed.

Nutrients, Vol. 4, Pages 2008-2019: Targeting Cell Signaling and Apoptotic Pathways by Luteolin: Cardioprotective Role in Rat Cardiomyocytes Following Ischemia/Reperfusion

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

Myocardial ischemia often results in damaged heart structure and function, which can be restored through ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) in most cases. However, I/R can exacerbate myocardial ischemia reperfusion injury (IRI). Luteolin, a widely distributed flavonoid, a member of a group of naturally occurring polyphenolic compounds found in many fruits, vegetables and medicinal herbs, has been reported to exhibit anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic activities. In recent years, luteolin has been shown to play an important role in the cardioprotection of IRI. However, its role and mechanism in cardioprotection against IRI has not been clearly elucidated with respect to the apoptosis pathway. The purpose of this paper is to review luteolin’s anti-apoptotic role and mechanism following I/R in rats, and indicate luteolin as a potential candidate for preventing and treating cardiovascular diseases.

Systems, Vol. 1, Pages 3-26: CRISIS: A System for Risk Management

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

In a situation of an unexpected catastrophe, uncertainty and demand for information are constant. In such a disaster scenario, the CRISIS system arises as a tool to contribute to previous coordination, procedure validation, exercise execution, a good and frequent communication among organizations, and weakness and threat assessment for an appropriate risk management. It offers a wide variety of tools for online communication, consultation and collaboration that, up to this day, includes cartography, tasks, resources, news, forums, instant messaging and chat. As a complement, mathematical models for training and emergency management are being researched and developed. For Argentinean society, it is a necessity to switch from the current handcrafted, bureaucratic emergency management method to a decision-making management model. Previous coordination, exercise execution, a fluid communication among institutions, and threats and weaknesses assessment are required for a proper risk management. With that goal in mind, it is important to reduce confusion, avoid the duplication of efforts to fulfill the same tasks, and have access to a complete vision of the situation, generated from the data of all the organizations taking part. The CRISIS system is a secure web application, accessible to every node in a network formed by the organizations which have complementary responsibilities during prevention and response. It offers a wide variety of tools for online communication, consultation and collaboration that, up to this day, includes cartography, tasks, media (organization and resources), news, forums, instant messaging and chat. As a complement, mathematical models for training and emergency management are being researched and developed. Currently, there are toxicological and epidemiological emergency models available. The present paper analyses, from the perspectives related to risk management for emergencies and disasters, the strengths and weaknesses of the CRISIS system to be used for prevention, response and recoveries in the case of a catastrophe.

Viruses, Vol. 4, Pages 3665-3688: Biological Invasions of Geminiviruses: Case Study of TYLCV and Bemisia tabaci in Reunion Island

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

In the last 20 years, molecular ecology approaches have proven to be extremely useful to identify and assess factors associated with viral emerging diseases, particularly in economically and socially important tropical crops such as maize (maize streak disease) and cassava (cassava mosaic disease). Molecular ecology approaches were applied in Reunion Island to analyze the epidemic of tomato yellow leaf curl disease, which has been affecting the island since the end of the 1990s. Before the invasive biotype B (currently known as Middle East-Asia Minor 1 cryptic species) of Bemisia tabaci spread across the world, Reunion Island (South West Indian Ocean) only hosted an indigenous biotype of B. tabaci, Ms (currently known as Indian Ocean cryptic species). Wild hybrids between invasive and indigenous species were subsequently characterized over multiple generations. Endosymbiont analysis of the hybrid population indicated that matings were non-random. Similarly, while no indigenous begomoviruses have ever been reported on Reunion Island, the two main strains of one of the most damaging and emerging plant viruses in the world, the Mild and Israel strains of the Tomato yellow leaf curl virus (TYLCV-Mld and TYLCV-IL), were introduced in 1997 and 2004 respectively. While these introductions extensively modified the agricultural landscape of Reunion Island, they also provided an invaluable opportunity to study the ecological and genetic mechanisms involved in biological invasion and competition.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 17234-17246: Application of Hyperspectral Imaging and Chemometric Calibrations for Variety Discrimination of Maize Seeds

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

Hyperspectral imaging in the visible and near infrared (VIS-NIR) region was used to develop a novel method for discriminating different varieties of commodity maize seeds. Firstly, hyperspectral images of 330 samples of six varieties of maize seeds were acquired using a hyperspectral imaging system in the 380–1,030 nm wavelength range. Secondly, principal component analysis (PCA) and kernel principal component analysis (KPCA) were used to explore the internal structure of the spectral data. Thirdly, three optimal wavelengths (523, 579 and 863 nm) were selected by implementing PCA directly on each image. Then four textural variables including contrast, homogeneity, energy and correlation were extracted from gray level co-occurrence matrix (GLCM) of each monochromatic image based on the optimal wavelengths. Finally, several models for maize seeds identification were established by least squares-support vector machine (LS-SVM) and back propagation neural network (BPNN) using four different combinations of principal components (PCs), kernel principal components (KPCs) and textural features as input variables, respectively. The recognition accuracy achieved in the PCA-GLCM-LS-SVM model (98.89%) was the most satisfactory one. We conclude that hyperspectral imaging combined with texture analysis can be implemented for fast classification of different varieties of maize seeds.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 17208-17233: A Hybrid Smartphone Indoor Positioning Solution for Mobile LBS

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

Smartphone positioning is an enabling technology used to create new business in the navigation and mobile location-based services (LBS) industries. This paper presents a smartphone indoor positioning engine named HIPE that can be easily integrated with mobile LBS. HIPE is a hybrid solution that fuses measurements of smartphone sensors with wireless signals. The smartphone sensors are used to measure the user’s motion dynamics information (MDI), which represent the spatial correlation of various locations. Two algorithms based on hidden Markov model (HMM) problems, the grid-based filter and the Viterbi algorithm, are used in this paper as the central processor for data fusion to resolve the position estimates, and these algorithms are applicable for different applications, e.g., real-time navigation and location tracking, respectively. HIPE is more widely applicable for various motion scenarios than solutions proposed in previous studies because it uses no deterministic motion models, which have been commonly used in previous works. The experimental results showed that HIPE can provide adequate positioning accuracy and robustness for different scenarios of MDI combinations. HIPE is a cost-efficient solution, and it can work flexibly with different smartphone platforms, which may have different types of sensors available for the measurement of MDI data. The reliability of the positioning solution was found to increase with increasing precision of the MDI data.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 17186-17207: Intuitive Terrain Reconstruction Using Height Observation-Based Ground Segmentation and 3D Object Boundary Estimation

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

Mobile robot operators must make rapid decisions based on information about the robot’s surrounding environment. This means that terrain modeling and photorealistic visualization are required for the remote operation of mobile robots. We have produced a voxel map and textured mesh from the 2D and 3D datasets collected by a robot’s array of sensors, but some upper parts of objects are beyond the sensors’ measurements and these parts are missing in the terrain reconstruction result. This result is an incomplete terrain model. To solve this problem, we present a new ground segmentation method to detect non-ground data in the reconstructed voxel map. Our method uses height histograms to estimate the ground height range, and a Gibbs-Markov random field model to refine the segmentation results. To reconstruct a complete terrain model of the 3D environment, we develop a 3D boundary estimation method for non-ground objects. We apply a boundary detection technique to the 2D image, before estimating and refining the actual height values of the non-ground vertices in the reconstructed textured mesh. Our proposed methods were tested in an outdoor environment in which trees and buildings were not completely sensed. Our results show that the time required for ground segmentation is faster than that for data sensing, which is necessary for a real-time approach. In addition, those parts of objects that were not sensed are accurately recovered to retrieve their real-world appearances.

Tiny Legends: Heroes - Screenshots

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 02:42 AM PST

Features
- Real-time 3D battles
- Epic loot
- Heart-stopping boss fights
- Awesome graphics
- Devastating skills
- 6 different classes
- 70 floors of nonstop action
- Strategic team combat

King of games

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 02:36 AM PST

Ed Dundas plays a game against a beginner. He may not be ranked as a chess master but he has been playing since the 5th grade and he is now 66.

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

Motorblast - Screenshots

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 02:23 AM PST

Jump into the seat of a race car and take the battle to the track - Motorblast takes the racing experience one giant step further!

With the assistance of rockets, guns, mines, shields, rocket thrusters, an EMP device and lots of guts, you have everything it takes to dominate the field!

- Something for everyone:
Whether you like kart games, die-hard racing games or skill games - this is just for you!

- Gripping game modes:
The fun never stops as you collect coins, drive through minefields with maximum speed, race against the clock and much more! Be creative and use the items to your advantage! This game will never become boring!
After you have completed all the levels, the infinity mode awaits, in which you can climb the ladder to the online world domination!

- Next-generation graphics and physics: Tired of empty, lifeless worlds? We throw you into a mad jungle universe filled up to the brim with the most details you have ever seen on a mobile device. Although we have taken careful measures that this game looks best even on older devices, it is optimized for the retina displays and the fast new iPhone 5.

- Insane damage model: Literally wreck your car! Each car can be reduced to the bare chassis by crashing into your enemies or taking hits from their weapons. Watch in amazement as your rocket tears your enemy into tiny shrapnel and you run over it.

- Multiplayer (needs iOS6)
What would this game be without a good fight beween you and three friends? Challenge then over wireless or bluetooth! Multiplayer requires iOS6 to play!

- Enough! Give me the details:
Campaign with more than 60 missions, 10 game modes and 7 spectacular tracks. The player can collect different weapons (rocket, EMP, machine gun, mines) and powerups ...

Pirate Sushi - Screenshots

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 02:16 AM PST

Pirate Sushi features AAA Graphics that will amaze you with the power of your new devices. Bringing a full 3D experience from the menu to the high quality slicing animations. Pirate sushi shows a spicy butchery where you can Slice, Dice and Squish all the Buccaneers. While using incredible Combos, Multi-Slicing and PowerUps to bring taste into the sushi! But more than just playing a few modalities of Slicing and Blowing Sailors, Pirate Sushi introduces CHALLENGES! You are faced with lot of missions that will make you enjoy this game for hours and will truly show your Eye-Hand coordination and yours Sushi Skills! Play simple modalities or try the full challenges to give the Kraken the best meal!

Man in a Maze - Screenshots

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 02:30 AM PST

A-MAZE-ING
Guide the enthusiastic Chuck through more than 40 sections of this elaborate maze. Visit areas made up of hedge designs, medieval-themed, urban-inspired, and tech-build puzzles.

FIVE MINUTES OF FAME
Make sure Chuck doesn't get zapped, dissolved, or blown up by the robots patrolling the maze. When the time comes, fight back using awesome weapons such as explosive-charged balls and the Freeze-o-Matic.

TOP PRIZES
Fight your way through the maze to win all 60 prizes from steak knives and cuckoo clocks to a wheel of cheese! Gather coins on your way through the maze to upgrade your weapons and abilities.

Game Features
- Lead Chuck through the deadly maze, collecting gems and avoiding robots
- Use cool gadgets and weapons to fight back against the machines
- Collect coins to spend on upgrades for your weapons
- Use tokens to try and win more coins
- Unlock all 60 prizes from pogo sticks and a tasteful vase to your dream car
- UNIVERSAL: Works on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad

Nitro Chimp - Screenshots

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 02:36 AM PST

APE ESCAPE
Use touch-controlled tricks and a variety of power-up's to keep Nitro Chimp at max speed while dodging oil slicks, bananas, spikes and other obstacles in the road.

MONKEYS NUTS AND....BOLTS
Build up up your bike with upgrades, tricks and riding gear to win your next race and win a new bike to blast your way through the 270 mission objectives

CHIMP OR CHUMP?
Race up the leaderboards by travelling the farthest, pulling off the most tricks, and competing in weekly tournaments against your friends via Facebook.

Game Features
- A fast-paced endless racer with 270 missions
- Collect new bikes, outfits, power and more from the Nitro Store
- Rock out to 11 tracks in Nitro Chimp's jukebox
- Take pictures of Nitro Chimp's antics using the in-game camera
- UNIVERSAL: Looks amazing on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 17168-17185: PSO Algorithm Particle Filters for Improving the Performance of Lane Detection and Tracking Systems in Difficult Roads

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

In this paper we propose a robust lane detection and tracking method by combining particle filters with the particle swarm optimization method. This method mainly uses the particle filters to detect and track the local optimum of the lane model in the input image and then seeks the global optimal solution of the lane model by a particle swarm optimization method. The particle filter can effectively complete lane detection and tracking in complicated or variable lane environments. However, the result obtained is usually a local optimal system status rather than the global optimal system status. Thus, the particle swarm optimization method is used to further refine the global optimal system status in all system statuses. Since the particle swarm optimization method is a global optimization algorithm based on iterative computing, it can find the global optimal lane model by simulating the food finding way of fish school or insects under the mutual cooperation of all particles. In verification testing, the test environments included highways and ordinary roads as well as straight and curved lanes, uphill and downhill lanes, lane changes, etc. Our proposed method can complete the lane detection and tracking more accurately and effectively then existing options.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 17155-17167: Effects of Cry1Ab Transgenic Maize on Lifecycle and Biomarker Responses of the Earthworm, Eisenia Andrei

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

A 28-day study was conducted to determine the effects of the Bacillus thuringiensis Cry1Ab toxin on the earthworm Eisenia andrei. Previously, investigations have been limited to life-cycle level effects of this protein on earthworms, and mostly on E. fetida. In this study several endpoints were compared which included biomass changes, cocoon production, hatching success, a cellular metal-stress biomarker (Neutral Red Retention Time; NRRT) and potential genotoxic effects in terms of Randomly Amplified Polymorphic DNA sequences (RAPDs). NRRT results indicated no differences between treatments (p > 0.36), and NRRT remained the same for both treatments at different times during the experiment (p = 0.18). Likewise, no significant differences were found for cocoon production (p = 0.32) or hatching success (p = 0.29). Conversely, biomass data indicated a significant difference between the control treatment and the Bt treatment from the second week onwards (p < 0.001), with the Bt treatment losing significantly more weight than the isoline treatment. Possible confounding factors were identified that might have affected the differences in weight loss between groups. From the RAPD profiles no conclusive data were obtained that could link observed genetic variation to exposure of E. andrei to Cry1Ab proteins produced by Bt maize.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 17128-17154: Prioritized Degree Distribution in Wireless Sensor Networks with a Network Coded Data Collection Method

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

The reliability of wireless sensor networks (WSNs) can be greatly affected by failures of sensor nodes due to energy exhaustion or the influence of brutal external environment conditions. Such failures seriously affect the data persistence and collection efficiency. Strategies based on network coding technology for WSNs such as LTCDS can improve the data persistence without mass redundancy. However, due to the bad intermediate performance of LTCDS, a serious ‘cliff effect’ may appear during the decoding period, and source data are hard to recover from sink nodes before sufficient encoded packets are collected. In this paper, the influence of coding degree distribution strategy on the ‘cliff effect’ is observed and the prioritized data storage and dissemination algorithm PLTD-ALPHA is presented to achieve better data persistence and recovering performance. With PLTD-ALPHA, the data in sensor network nodes present a trend that their degree distribution increases along with the degree level predefined, and the persistent data packets can be submitted to the sink node according to its degree in order. Finally, the performance of PLTD-ALPHA is evaluated and experiment results show that PLTD-ALPHA can greatly improve the data collection performance and decoding efficiency, while data persistence is not notably affected.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 17112-17127: Prototypes of Newly Conceived Inorganic and Biological Sensors for Health and Environmental Applications

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

This paper describes the optimal implementation of three newly conceived sensors for both health and environmental applications, utilizing a wide range of detection methods and complex nanocomposites. The first one is inorganic and based on matrices of calcium oxide, the second is based on protein arrays and a third one is based on Langmuir-Blodgett laccase multi-layers. Special attention was paid to detecting substances significant to the environment (such as carbon dioxide) and medicine (drug administration, cancer diagnosis and prognosis) by means of amperometric, quartz crystal microbalance with frequency (QCM_F) and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation monitoring (QCM_D) technologies. The resulting three implemented nanosensors are described here along with proofs of principle and their corresponding applications.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 17094-17111: CMOS-MEMS Test-Key for Extracting Wafer-Level Mechanical Properties

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

This paper develops the technologies of mechanical characterization of CMOS-MEMS devices, and presents a robust algorithm for extracting mechanical properties, such as Young’s modulus, and mean stress, through the external electrical circuit behavior of the micro test-key. An approximate analytical solution for the pull-in voltage of bridge-type test-key subjected to electrostatic load and initial stress is derived based on Euler’s beam model and the minimum energy method. Then one can use the aforesaid closed form solution of the pull-in voltage to extract the Young’s modulus and mean stress of the test structures. The test cases include the test-key fabricated by a TSMC 0.18 μm standard CMOS process, and the experimental results refer to Osterberg’s work on the pull-in voltage of single crystal silicone microbridges. The extracted material properties calculated by the present algorithm are valid. Besides, this paper also analyzes the robustness of this algorithm regarding the dimension effects of test-keys. This mechanical properties extracting method is expected to be applicable to the wafer-level testing in micro-device manufacture and compatible with the wafer-level testing in IC industry since the test process is non-destructive.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 17074-17093: Geosensor Data Representation Using Layered Slope Grids

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

Environmental monitoring applications are designed for supplying derived and often integrated information by tracking and analyzing phenomena. To determine the condition of a target place, they employ a geosensor network to get the heterogeneous sensor data. To effectively handle a large volume of sensor data, applications need a data abstraction model, which supports the summarized data representation by encapsulating raw data. For faster data processing to answer a user’s queries with representative attributes of an abstracted model, we propose such a data abstraction model, the Layered Slopes in Grid for Sensor Data Abstraction (LSGSA), which is based on the SGSA. In a single grid-based layer for each sensor type, collected data is represented by slope directional vectors in two layered slopes, such as height and surface. To answer a user query in a central monitoring server, LSGSA is used to reduce the time needed to extract event features from raw sensor data as a preprocessing step for interpreting the observed data. The extracted features are used to understand the current data trends and the progress of a detected phenomenon without accessing raw sensor data.

Sensors, Vol. 12, Pages 17058-17073: Improved Membrane-Based Sensor Network for Reliable Gas Monitoring in the Subsurface

Posted: 12 Dec 2012 12:00 AM PST

A conceptually improved sensor network to monitor the partial pressure of CO2 in different soil horizons was designed. Consisting of five membrane-based linear sensors (line-sensors) each with 10 m length, the set-up enables us to integrate over the locally fluctuating CO2 concentrations (typically lower 5%vol) up to the meter-scale gaining valuable concentration means with a repetition time of about 1 min. Preparatory tests in the laboratory resulted in a unexpected highly increased accuracy of better than 0.03%vol with respect to the previously published 0.08%vol. Thereby, the statistical uncertainties (standard deviations) of the line-sensors and the reference sensor (nondispersive infrared CO2-sensor) were close to each other. Whereas the uncertainty of the reference increases with the measurement value, the line-sensors show an inverse uncertainty trend resulting in a comparatively enhanced accuracy for concentrations >1%vol. Furthermore, a method for in situ maintenance was developed, enabling a proof of sensor quality and its effective calibration without demounting the line-sensors from the soil which would disturb the established structures and ongoing processes.
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