Technion – Israel Institute of Technology

About: Technion – Israel Institute of Technology is a education organization based out in Haifa, Israel. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Nonlinear system. The organization has 31714 authors who have published 79377 publications receiving 2603976 citations. The organization is also known as: Technion Israel Institute of Technology & Ṭekhniyon, Makhon ṭekhnologi le-Yiśraʼel.

Fast geodesic active contours

Abstract: We use an unconditionally stable numerical scheme to implement a fast version of the geodesic active contour model. The proposed scheme is useful for object segmentation in images, like tracking moving objects in a sequence of images. The method is based on the Weickert-Romeney-Viergever (additive operator splitting) AOS scheme. It is applied at small regions, motivated by the Adalsteinsson-Sethian level set narrow band approach, and uses Sethian's (1996) fast marching method for re-initialization. Experimental results demonstrate the power of the new method for tracking in color movies.

Optimal Power Flow in Microgrids With Energy Storage

Abstract: Energy storage may improve power management in microgrids that include renewable energy sources. The storage devices match energy generation to consumption, facilitating a smooth and robust energy balance within the microgrid. This paper addresses the optimal control of the microgrid's energy storage devices. Stored energy is controlled to balance power generation of renewable sources to optimize overall power consumption at the microgrid point of common coupling. Recent works emphasize constraints imposed by the storage device itself, such as limited capacity and internal losses. However, these works assume flat, highly simplified network models, which overlook the physical connectivity. This work proposes an optimal power flow solution that considers the entire system: the storage device limits, voltages limits, currents limits, and power limits. The power network may be arbitrarily complex, and the proposed solver obtains a globally optimal solution.

The Role of pH and Temperature in the Development of Leishmania Parasites

Abstract: Protozoans of the genus Leishmania are obligate intracellular parasites that cycle between the midgut of sandflies and the phagolysosomes of mammalian macrophages and therefore are exposed to extreme environmental changes. Recent evidence obtained from in vitro experiments indicate that such environmental changes trigger a developmental program in the parasites. Thus, following heat shock, promastigotes from certain Leishmania species differentiate to amastigotes. Promastigotes also respond to acidification of their environment by changing the expression of a number of genes. However, the combination of both low pH and high temperature induces the transformation of the promastigote to the amastigote in all Leishmania species examined to date. This review discusses the role of pH and heat shock in gene regulation and its contribution to the differentiation processes in Leishmania spp. Cycling between cold-blooded insect vectors and the warm-blooded mammalian host is not unique to Leishmania spp., but typical to most parasitic protozoa. It is therefore likely that the mechanism of stress-induced differentiation is shared by other mammalian parasites.