Groupwise non-rigid image alignment is a difficult non-linear optimization problem involving many parameters and often large datasets. Previous methods have explored various metrics and optimization strategies. Good results have been previously achieved with simple metrics, requiring complex optimization, often with many unintuitive parameters that require careful tuning for each dataset. In this chapter, the problem is restructured to use a simpler, iterative optimization algorithm, with very few free parameters. The warps are refined using an iterative Levenberg-Marquardt minimization to the mean, based on updating the locations of a small number of points and incorporating a stiffness constraint. This optimization approach is efficient, has very few free parameters to tune, and the authors show how to tune the few remaining parameters. Results show that the method reliably aligns various datasets including two facial datasets and two medical datasets of prostate and brain MRI images and demonstrates efficiency in terms of performance and a reduction of the computational cost.
In the field of construction project management, time and cost are the most important factors to be considered in planning every project, and their relationship is complex. The total cost for each project is the sum of the direct and indirect cost. Direct cost commonly represents labor, materials, equipment, etc.
Indirect cost generally represents overhead cost such as supervision, administration, consultants, and interests. Direct cost grows at an increasing rate as the project time is reduced from its original planned time. However, indirect cost continues for the life of the project and any reduction in project time means a reduction in indirect cost. Therefore, there is a trade-off between the time and cost for completing construc
This study aims to test ceramic waste's capacity to remove nickel from aqueous solutions through adsorption. Ceramic wastes were collected from the Refractories Manufacturing Plant in Ramadi. Through a series of lab tests, the reaction time (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45, and 50 minutes, and Ni concentrations (20, 40, 60, and 80) were tested using ceramic wastes with a solid to liquid ratio of 2g/30ml. At a temperature of 30ºC, the pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), and electrical conductivity (EC) were all measured. The equilibrium time was set at 30 min. Thereafter, the sorption (%) somewhat increased positively with the Ni concentration. Freundlich's equation showed that the adsorption intensity is 1.1827 and the Freundlich c
... Show MoreHard water does not pose a threat to human health but may cause precipitation of soap or results stone in the boilers. These reactions are caused by the high concentrations of Ca and Mg. In the industry they are undesirable because of higher fuel consumption for industrial use .Electromagnetic polarization water treatment is a method which can be used for increasing the precipitation of Ca 2+ and CO3 2- ions in hard water to form CaCO3 which leads to decrease the water hardness is research has been conducted by changing the number of coil turns and voltage of the system. The spectroscopy electron microscope was used for imaging the produced crystals. Results of the investigation indicated that
... Show MoreA high sensitivity, low power and low cost sensor has been developed for photoplethysmography (PPG) measurement. The PPG principle was applied to follow the dilatation and contraction of skin blood vessels during the cardiac cycle. A standard light emitting diodes (LEDs) has been used as a light emitter and detector, and in order to reduce the space, cost and power, the classical analogue-to-digital converters (ADCs) replaced by the pulse-based signal conversion techniques. A general purpose microcontroller has been used for the implementation of measurement protocol. The proposed approach leads to better spectral sensitivity, increased resolution, reduction in cost, dimensions and power consumption. The basic sensing configuration prese
... Show MoreForward osmosis (FO) process was applied to concentrate the orange juice. FO relies on the driving force generating from osmotic pressure difference that result from concentration difference between the draw solution (DS) and orange juice as feed solution (FS). This driving force makes the water to transport from orange juice across a semi-permeable membrane to the DS without any energy applied. Thermal and pressure-driven dewatering methods are widely used, but they are prohibitively energy intensive and hence, expensive. Effects of various operating conditions on flux have been investigated. Four types of salts were used in the DS, (NaCl, CaCl2, KCl, and MgSO4) as osmotic agent and the experiments were performed at the concentration of
... Show MoreThe goal of this research is to develop a numerical model that can be used to simulate the sedimentation process under two scenarios: first, the flocculation unit is on duty, and second, the flocculation unit is out of commission. The general equation of flow and sediment transport were solved using the finite difference method, then coded using Matlab software. The result of this study was: the difference in removal efficiency between the coded model and operational model for each particle size dataset was very close, with a difference value of +3.01%, indicating that the model can be used to predict the removal efficiency of a rectangular sedimentation basin. The study also revealed
In order to reduce hydrostatic pressure in oil wells and produce oil from dead oil wells, laboratory rig was constructed, by injecting LPG through pipe containing mixture of two to one part of East Baghdad crude oil and water. The used pressure of injection was 2.0 bar, which results the hydrostatic pressure reduction around 246 to 222 mbar and flow rate of 34.5 liter/hr fluid (oil-water), at 220 cm injection depth. Effects of other operating parameters were also studied on the behavior of two phase flow and on the production of oil from dead oil wells.
Study of group action of stone columns using FEM