To use 3D models on the Internet or in other bandwidth-limited applications, it is often necessary to compress their triangle mesh representations. We consider the problem of balancing two forms of lossy mesh compression: reduction of the number of vertices by simplification, and reduction of the number of bits per vertex coordinate. LetA(V,B) be a triangle mesh approximation for an original mo...

Gaze is an important component of social interaction. The function, evolution and neurobiology of gaze processing are therefore of interest to a number of researchers. This review discusses the evolutionary role of social gaze in vertebrates (focusing on primates), and a hypothesis that this role has changed substantially for primates compared to other animals. This change may have been driven ...

This work presents an approach for the application of artificial intelligence planning techniques to the automatic generation of control sequences for manufacturing systems. These systems have some special features that must be considered in the planning process, but there are difficulties when the usual models of action are used to deal with these features. In this work, a specialized interval...

Accurate characterization and modeling of subsurface flow in multi-fluid soil systems require development of a rapid, reproducible experimental method that yields the information necessary to determine the parameters of the capillary pressure–saturation and permeability functions. Previous work has demonstrated that parameter optimization using inverse modeling is a powerful approach to indirec...

The thresholds for mathematical epidemiology models specify the critical conditions for an epidemic to grow or die out. The reproductive number can provide signi®cant insight into the transmission dynamics of a disease and can guide strategies to control its spread. We de®ne the mean number of contacts, the mean duration of infection, and the mean transmission probability appropriately for cert...

Existing systems which enable accessibility to graphical user interfaces (GUIs) by blind people follow an ‘adaptation strategy’; each system adopts its own hard-coded policy for reproducing visual dialogues in a non-visual form, without knowledge about the application domain or the particular dialogue characteristics. It is argued that non-visual user interfaces should be more than automaticall...

Excessive leverage is one of the most important problems facing Italian agricultural cooperatives as the competition in the EU intensifies. An empirical study of 500 agricultural cooperatives supports the hypothesis that cooperatives characterized as having “powerful managers” have a capital structure that is significantly different from the “nonpowerful manager” cooperatives. Powerful manager ...

A newly introduced sulphydryl compound, dithiothreitol (DTT), is evaluated for its optimal conditions of inactivation of IgM antibodies. The maximal effects of DTT reagent are observed when its final concentrations are between 00025 M and 0005 M, pH between 7 0 and 8O0, and incubation at 370C. Concentrations over 0 01 M, pH values greater than 8-0, and an incubation temperature over 40'C result...

Kelch-like ECH-associated protein 1 (Keap1), nuclear factor erythroid 2-like factor 2-related factor 2 (Nrf2), and the antioxidant response element (ARE) are interacting components of a master regulatory signaling pathway that coordinates redox homeostasis, cytoprotective responses, and shifts in stem cell state. This study reexamined detailed dose-response (DR) data reported for in vitro Nrf2-...

Microbunching of a relativistic electron beam into a helix is examined analytically and in simulation. Helical microbunching is shown to occur naturally when an e beam interacts resonantly at the harmonics of the combined field of a helical magnetic undulator and an axisymmetric input laser beam. This type of interaction is proposed as a method to generate a strongly prebunched e beam for coher...