We introduce Scene Structural Matrix (SSM), a novel image content descriptor and its application to invariant image retrieval. The SSM captures the overall structural characteristics of the scene by indexing the geometric features of the image. We employ a binary image tree (bintree) to partition the image and from which we derive multiscale geometric structural descriptors of the image. We hav...

Malaria sexual stage and mosquito transmission-blocking vaccines (SSM-TBV) have recently gained prominence as a necessary tool for malaria eradication. SSM-TBVs are unique in that, with the exception of parasite gametocyte antigens, they primarily target parasite or mosquito midgut surface antigens expressed only inside the mosquito. As such, the primary perceived limitation of SSM-TBVs is that...

This paper discuses sensor steering mechanism (SSM) for a laterally guided vehicle with a rear wheel steering mechanism. The authors have demonstrated the geometry of SSMs for front wheel steering type and reverse phase four-wheel steering type vehicles. SSMs allow stable lateral guiding performance for automated vehicles following a path with straight and curved portions created by a guideway....

The Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) was used to identify requirements for the development of one or more information systems for a local company. The outcome of using this methodology was the development of three multimedia information systems. This paper discusses the use of the SSM when developing for multimedia environments. Namely, this paper covers the problems with traditional methods of r...

Soft systems methodology (SSM) has been used in the practice of operations research and management science (OR/MS) since the early 1970s. In the 1990s, it emerged as a viable academic discipline. Unfortunately, its proponents consider SSM and traditional systems thinking to be mutually exclusive. Despite the differences claimed by SSM proponents between the two, they have been complementary. An...

Aim: While skin-sparing mastectomy (SSM) can be performed in patients with stage II-III breast cancer, the impact of neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) on SSM rates and reconstructive modalities in these patients is not known. Methods: Between January 2007 and December 2009, 409 immediate breast reconstructions (IBRs) were performed in patients with Stage II-III breast cancer. Data were collected o...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the surgical data, clinical outcomes, and complications between three-column osteotomy (3-COS) and standard surgical management (SSM) for the treatment of adult spine deformity (ASD). METHODS A total of 112 patients who underwent consecutive 3-COS (n = 48) and SSM (n = 64) procedures for ASD correction at a single institution from 20...

The connection between the scales of SU(2) × U(1) gauge symmetry breaking and supersymmetry breaking is didactically displayed in the framework of a T.O.Y. (Theory Overestimating Yukawas) model, a version of the (M + 1)SSM (supersymmetric extension of the standard model with a gauge singlet) in which the relevant parameters are determined in the fixed point regime. Some conspicuous features of ...

Soft Systems Methodology (SSM) was devised by Checkland (1981) and elaborated by Checkland & Scholes (1990) to provide a tool for investigating an unstructured problem situation. SSM is not a system design tool, but a tool for system requirements investigation. Unlike systems analysis tools, such as entity-relationship modelling or data-flow diagrams, which allow the designer to model how the s...

Based on a novel bare surface soil moisture (SSM) retrieval model developed from the synergistic use of the diurnal cycles of land surface temperature (LST) and net surface shortwave radiation (NSSR) (Leng et al. 2014. “Bare Surface Soil Moisture Retrieval from the Synergistic Use of Optical and Thermal Infrared Data”. International Journal of Remote Sensing 35: 988–1003.), this paper mainly in...