University of Westminster

About: University of Westminster is a education organization based out in London, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Politics. The organization has 2944 authors who have published 8426 publications receiving 200236 citations. The organization is also known as: Westminster University & Royal Polytechnic Institution.

Negotiation in multi-agent systems

Abstract: In systems composed of multiple autonomous agents, negotiation is a key form of interaction that enables groups of agents to arrive at a mutual agreement regarding some belief, goal or plan, for example. Particularly because the agents are autonomous and cannot be assumed to be benevolent, agents must influence others to convince them to act in certain ways, and negotiation is thus critical for managing such inter-agent dependencies. The process of negotiation may be of many different forms, such as auctions, protocols in the style of the contract net, and argumentation, but it is unclear just how sophisticated the agents or the protocols for interaction must be for successful negotiation in different contexts. All these issues were raised in the panel session on negotiation.

Danish consensus conferences as a model of participatory technology assessment: An impact study of consensus conferences on Danish Parliament and Danish public debate

Abstract: The function of participation in institutionalised technology assessment is discussed using the example of the Danish consensus conferences. The results of a postal survey of, and in-depth interviews with, Members of the Danish Parliament are reported. Additionally, results are given of a representative public opinion poll regarding the public's awareness of the consensus conferences. The paper concludes that participation should be understood as a facilitating mechanism of rather than a substitute for, technology assessment by the representative decision-making institutions; and that it is more likely to be effective if it relates to a strong and articulate civil society.

Segmentation of blood images using morphological operators

Abstract: This work describes a part of a malarial image processing system for detecting and classifying malaria parasites in images of Giemsa stained blood slides in order to evaluate the parasitaemia of the blood. A major requirement of the system is an efficient method to segment cell images. This paper introduces morphological approach to cell image segmentation more accurate than the classical watershed-based algorithm. We applied grey scale granulometries based on opening with disk-shaped elements, flat and non-flat. We used a non-flat disk-shaped structuring element to enhance the roundness and compactness of the red cells improving the accuracy of the classical watershed algorithm, while we have used a flat disk-shaped structuring element to separate overlapping cells. These methods make use of knowledge of the red blood cell structure that is not used in existing watershed-based algorithms.

Periostin modulates myofibroblast differentiation during full-thickness cutaneous wound repair

Abstract: The matricellular protein periostin is expressed in the skin. Although periostin has been hypothesized to contribute to dermal homeostasis and repair, this has not been directly tested. To assess the contribution of periostin to dermal healing, 6 mm full-thickness excisional wounds were created in the skin of periostin-knockout and wild-type, sex-matched control mice. In wild-type mice, periostin was potently induced 5–7 days after wounding. In the absence of periostin, day 7 wounds showed a significant reduction in myofibroblasts, as visualized by expression of α-smooth muscle actin (α-SMA) within the granulation tissue. Delivery of recombinant human periostin by electrospun collagen scaffolds restored α-SMA expression. Isolated wild-type and knockout dermal fibroblasts did not differ in in vitro assays of adhesion or migration; however, in 3D culture, periostin-knockout fibroblasts showed a significantly reduced ability to contract a collagen matrix, and adopted a dendritic phenotype. Recombinant periostin restored the defects in cell morphology and matrix contraction displayed by periostin-deficient fibroblasts in a manner that was sensitive to a neutralizing anti-β1-integrin and to the FAK and Src inhibitor PP2. We propose that periostin promotes wound contraction by facilitating myofibroblast differentiation and contraction.