Book Reviews

Natural Antioxidants in Human Health and Disease Edited by Balz Frei Academic Press, San Diego

In Vitro Toxicology Edited by: Shayne Cox Gad Raven Press Ltd.: New York, 290pp ISBN: 0-88167-974-7

Active Oxygen, Lipid Peroxidation and Antioxidants Edited by Kunio Yagi Japan Scientific Society Press: Tokyo ISBN 4-7622-6738-4, 1993 CRC Press: Boca Raton ISBN 0-8493-7769-2, 1993 x +372 pages Y 13, 000

Free Radicals, Cardiovascular Dysfunction and Protection Strategies R C Kukreja and M L Hess R G Landes Company: Austin, Texas, USA, 1994

Oxygen and Environmental Stress in Plants (Special issue of the Proceedings of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, volume 102 1994) eds R M M Crawford, G A F Hendry and B A Goodman

Mitochondria: DNA, Proteins and Disease Eds. V. Darley Usmar and A.H.V. Schapira Portland Press Research Monograph V, London, 1994

Human Medicinal Agents From Plants Edited by A. Douglas Kinghorn and Manuel F. Balandrin ACS Symposium Series 534 American Chemical Society: Washington DC, 1993, pp. xii + 356. ISBN 08412 2705 5. $89.95.     

Improved RSA accuracy with DLT and balanced calibration marker distributions with an assessment of initial-calibration

Roentgen stereophotogrammetric analysis (RSA) has been used for over 25 years for accurate micromotion measurement in a wide variety of orthopaedic applications. This study investigated two possible improvements to the method. First, direct linear transformation (DLT) was compared to the traditional RSA reconstruction algorithm. The two methods were considered with respect to standard extrapolation and interpolation calibration cages. Matlab simulations showed that reconstruction accuracy was greatly improved (>60%) by combining DLT with an even distribution of enclosing calibration markers. Second, a benchtop study using phantoms translated at 0.0254-mm intervals showed initial-calibration, followed by removal of the interpolation cage for subsequent exposures, was potentially twice as accurate as self-calibration with an extrapolation cage. These results showed optimizations for the application of RSA when unobstructed space is required.     

BOOK REVIEWS

Book reivew in this article:
The Pathogenesis of Colorectal Cancer. By B. C. Morson. W. B. Saunders
Stem Cells and Tissue Homeosasis Proceedings of the 2nd British Society for Cell Biology Symposium. Ed. B. I. Lord, C. S. Potten and R. J. Cole     

BOOK REVIEW

Stored Products Pest Control. BCPC Monograph No.37. Proceedings of a Symposium organised by the British Crop Protection Council, the British Pest Control Association and the Society of Food Hygiene Technology held at the University of Reading 25th-27th March, 1987. T. J. Lawson (Ed).     

Reviews of publications

Evolution and Extinction. Proceedings of a Joint Symposium of the Royal Society and the Linnean Society held on 9 and 10 November 1989 , organized and edited by W. G. Chaloner and A. Hallam.
On Stress, Disease and Evolution. A Unifying Theory , by Graham W. Boyd.
The Use of Plant Genetic Resources , edited by A. H. D. Brown, O. H. Frankel, D. R. Marshall and J. T. Williams.     

21st century zoo design

A review of Conservation Centres for the New Millennium. Proceedings of the 5^th International Symposium on Zoo Design, edited by Amy B. Plowman and Peter M.C. Stevens. Paignton, Devon, U.K.: Whitely Wildlife Conservation Trust, 1999, 181 pp., paperback.     

Comparison of different camera calibration approaches for underwater applications

The purpose of this study was to compare three camera calibration approaches applied to underwater applications: (1) static control points with nonlinear DLT; (2) moving wand with nonlinear camera model and bundle adjustment; (3) moving plate with nonlinear camera model. The DVideo kinematic analysis system was used for underwater data acquisition. The system consisted of two gen-locked Basler cameras working at 100 Hz, with wide angle lenses that were enclosed in housings. The accuracy of the methods was compared in a dynamic rigid bar test (acquisition volume-4.5×1×1.5 m(3)). The mean absolute errors were 6.19 mm for the nonlinear DLT, 1.16 mm for the wand calibration, 1.20 mm for the 2D plate calibration using 8 control points and 0.73 mm for the 2D plane calibration using 16 control points. The results of the wand and 2D plate camera calibration methods were less associated to the rigid body position in the working volume and provided better accuracy than the nonlinear DLT. Wand and 2D plate camera calibration methods presented similar and highly accurate results, being alternatives for underwater 3D motion analysis.     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Mitochondria and other Cytoplasmic Inclusions . Tenth Symposium of the Society for Experimental Biology.
A Textbook of Plant Virus Diseases by K enneth M. S mith .
Population Genetics: The Nature and causes of genetic variability in populations. Cold Spring Harbour Symposia on Quantitative Biology .
The Growth of Leaves . Proceedings of the Third Easter School in Agricultural Science, University of Nottingham, 1956. Ed. F. L. M ilthorpe .     

High-precision three-dimensional photogrammetric calibration and object space reconstruction using a modified DLT-approach

Two modified DLT algorithms are presented that improve the accuracy of three-dimensional object space reconstruction by almost an order of magnitude when compared with conventional methods. The improvement in the linear modified DLT (MDLT) algorithm is achieved by satisfying certain orthogonality conditions in the form of a non-linear constraint, thereby effectively eliminating a redundant DLT parameter. In the non-linear MDLT algorithm, the improvement and computational stability results from the appropriate elimination of implicit variables from one side of the approximating relations and the corresponding reformulation of the objective function to be minimized. The highest reconstruction accuracy of 0.733 mm rms mean error was obtained with the non-linear MDLT algorithm. This corresponds to a spatial resolution of about one part in 2860 or 0.035% overall accuracy. The accuracy obtainable with the linear MDLT was found to be slightly less and about 0.041% (0.833 mm rms mean error).     

Maximum-penalized-likelihood estimation for independent and Markov-dependent mixture models.

This paper concerns the use and implementation of maximum-penalized-likelihood procedures for choosing the number of mixing components and estimating the parameters in independent and Markov-dependent mixture models. Computation of the estimates is achieved via algorithms for the automatic generation of starting values for the EM algorithm. Computation of the information matrix is also discussed. Poisson mixture models are applied to a sequence of counts of movements by a fetal lamb in utero obtained by ultrasound. The resulting estimates are seen to provide plausible mechanisms for the physiological process.     

Plants for Food and Medicine: Proceedings of the Joint Conference of the Society for Economic Botany and the International Society for Ethnopharmacology

Plants for Food and Medicine: Proceedings of the Joint Conference of the Society for Economic Botany and the International Society for Ethnopharmacology. H. D. V. Prendergast. N. L. Etkin. D. R. Harris. and P. J. Houghton. eds. Kew, Richmond, UK: Scientific Publications Dept., Royal Botanic Gardens, 1998. 438 pp.     

Book notices

DIVERSITY OF INSECT FAUNAS. Ninth Symposium of the Royal Entomological Society. Edited by L. A. Mound and Nadia Waloff.
ECOLOGICAL METHODS WITH PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE STUDY OF INSECT POPULATIONS, 2nd edn. By T. R. E. Southwood.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE SECOND INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON TRICHOP-TERA, READING, ENGLAND, 25–29 JULY 1977. Edited by M. Ian Crichton. Dr W. Junk, The Hague, 1978.
ADAPTATION AND SPECIATION IN THE FALL WEBWORM. Edited by T. Hidaka.
INSECT AND HOST PLANT. The Proceedings of the 4th International Symposium held at Slough, England, June 1978. Edited by R. F. Chapman and E. A. Bernays.     

A general-purpose framework to simulate musculoskeletal system of human body: using a motion tracking approach*

Computation of muscle force patterns that produce specified movements of muscle-actuated dynamic models is an important and challenging problem. This problem is an undetermined one, and then a proper optimization is required to calculate muscle forces. The purpose of this paper is to develop a general model for calculating all muscle activation and force patterns in an arbitrary human body movement. For this aim, the equations of a multibody system forward dynamics, which is considered for skeletal system of the human body model, is derived using Lagrange–Euler formulation. Next, muscle contraction dynamics is added to this model and forward dynamics of an arbitrary musculoskeletal system is obtained. For optimization purpose, the obtained model is used in computed muscle control algorithm, and a closed-loop system for tracking desired motions is derived. Finally, a popular sport exercise, biceps curl, is simulated by using this algorithm and the validity of the obtained results is evaluated via EMG signals.     

Demystifying optimal dynamic treatment regimes

A dynamic regime is a function that takes treatment and covariate history and baseline covariates as inputs and returns a decision to be made. Murphy (2003, Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series B 65, 331-366) and Robins (2004, Proceedings of the Second Seattle Symposium on Biostatistics, 189-326) have proposed models and developed semiparametric methods for making inference about the optimal regime in a multi-interval trial that provide clear advantages over traditional parametric approaches. We show that Murphy's model is a special case of Robins's and that the methods are closely related but not equivalent. Interesting features of the methods are highlighted using the Multicenter AIDS Cohort Study and through simulation.     

Some relations between thyroid disease and genetics

Man and His Future: G. Wolstenholme, Editor. Little, Brown and Co., Boston, 1963. 410 pp.

Revolution in Biology: John Maddox. Macmillan, New York, 1964. 179 pp., $5.00.

Proceedings of the First European Symposium, Sommerville College, Oxford: Bone and Tooth: H. J. J. Blackwood, Editor. Pergamon Press, New York, 1964. 425 pp., $15.00.

The Population Crisis and the Use of World Resources. Stuart Mudd, Editor; Hugh Boyko, Robert C. Cook, Larry Ng, W. Taylor Thom, Jr., Associate Editors. World Academy of Art and Science. Dr. W. Junk Publishers, The Hague, 1964. xix + 562 pp.     

Comparative assessment of two algorithms for calibrating stereophotogrammetric systems

In this paper, a comparison is carried out between two photogrammetric algorithms aimed at camera calibration and three-dimensional target point reconstruction by ‘absolute’ distributions of control points; the first is Marzan and Karara's DLT, the second is CESNO, by the author, an algorithm quite close to Hatze's modified DLT (MDLT). The comparative assessment is especially aimed at testing the capability of the two methods to produce good results when calibration data are to be extrapolated beyond the space spanned by the control distribution. The assessment was carried out not by a real stereophotogrammetric system, but by the computer simulation of a two-camera set-up. Various combinations of internal camera parameters, such as the scaled principal distances, were tried out. As for the magnitude of the simulated non-linear lens distortion, three configurations were used which produced ‘low’, ‘medium’ and ‘strong’ distortion. The influence of decreasing the number of control (calibration) points on the accuracy performance of the two algorithms was also investigated. The results show the superiority of CESNO, especially with medium or strong lens distortion, or when the two camera principal distances sensibly differ.     

Beziehungen Zwischen der Renalen Allantoin-Ausscheidung und der Infusion Verschiedener Substanzen in den Labmagen von Hammeln

Proceedings of the Society of Nutrition Physiology, J. Pallauf (Ed.), DLG‐Verlag, Frankfurt (Main), Vol. 8, 1999. 172 pp, softcover, price: 46,‐ DM plus postage, ISBN 3–7690–4092–0. Available from the DLG‐Verlag, Eschborner Landstraße 122, D 60489 Frankfurt am Main, Germany.     

Book notices

STRATEGY AND TACTICS OF CONTROL OF MIGRANT PESTS. A Royal Society Discussion, organized by D. L. Gunn and R. C. Rainey.
FIELD AND LABORATORY EXERCISES IN ECOLOGY. By Stephen D. Wratten and Gary L. A. Fry.
CARABID BEETLES: THEIR EVOLUTION, NATURAL HISTORY, AND CLASSIFICATION. Proceedings of the First International Symposium of Carabidology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., 1976. Edited by T. L. Erwin, E. Ball and R. Whitehead.
BREEDING PLANTS RESISTANT TO INSECTS. Edited by Fowden G. Maxwell and Peter R. Jennings.
SOCIAL WASPS. THEIR BIOLOGY AND CONTROL. By Robin Edwards.     

Bilingualism and Bilingual Education in the United States

Bilingual Education for Hispanic Students in the United States . Joshua A. Fishman and Gary D. Keller , eds. New York: Teachers College Press, 1982. x + 502 pp. $18.95 (paper).
Bilingualism and Language Contact: Spanish, English, and Native American Languages . Florence Barkin, Elizabeth A. Brandt , and Jacob Ornstein-Galicia , eds. New York: Teachers College Press, 1982. xiii + 320 pp. $24.95 (cloth).
Spanish in the United States: Sociolinguistic Aspects . Jon Amastae and Lucia Elias-Olivares , eds. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1982. x + 434 pp. $14.00 (paper).
The New Bilingualism: An American Dilemma . Martin Ridge , ed. Proceedings of a Conference Sponsored by Center for Study of the American Experience. The Annenberg School of Communications, University of Southern California, May 1980. Los Angeles: University of Southern California Press, 1981. 272 pp. $20.00 (cloth).     

Book Reviews

Book reviewed in this article:
Orchid Photography. Charles Marden Fitch. 96 pp., over 150 colour photographs. American Orchid Society, 6000 South Olive Avenue, West Palm Beach, Florida 33405.
Collins Photo Guide to Orchids of Britain and Europe. Pierre Delforge. 480 pp., 812 colour photographs.
Flowers of Sri Lanka. S.R. Kottegoda. 247 pp., 411 colour photographs. Royal Asiatic Society of Sri Lanka, Colombo 07. 1994.