87value/wos11967 huggingface dataset:
Intelligent cameras, or smart cameras as they are often referred to, appear ubiquitously in our everyday lives, both at home and at work. In our pockets, bags, cars and homes we are now experiencing and interacting with a new generation of smart cameras that far surpass the ability to merely capture images - they can provide high-level descriptions of the environment and analyse what they see. Recently, researchers at De Montfort University have developed a low-cost, low-power intelligent camera system that incorporates a 2.8 touchscreen and a fisheye lens, is capable of capturing visual environment data, performing algorithms to extract metrics and wirelessly transmit them to the cloud for further analysis. Having the advantage of a short focal length and wide field of view, our fisheye camera system can provide information for a multidisciplinary audience including image processing, camera technology and embedded systems, and support a wide variety of applications such as surveillance, home monitoring, motion analysis, facial identification and intelligent transportation systems. This paper describes a first generation prototype camera system that gathers luminance data by capturing High Dynamic Range (HDR) imagery that is comparable to the data acquired with costly and cumbersome research equipment. The paper also explores the requirements for, benefits of, and challenges faced when developing an even smarter intelligent camera system.
This paper describes ImAtHome, an iOS application for smart home configuration and management. This application has been built over the framework HomeKit, made available in iOS, for communicating with and controlling home automation accessories. Attention has been put on the design of the interaction with such an application, in order to make the interaction style as much coherent as possible with iOS apps and supporting users without programming skills to unwittingly create event-condition action rules that, in other similar systems, are usually defined through if-then constructs. The results of a user test demonstrate that ImAtHome is easy to use and well accepted by end users of different age and background.
Although there has been considerable research investigating the ability to identify sexual orientation from static images, or gaydar, few studies have considered the role of female sexual orientation or sexual interest (for example, sociosexual orientation) in judgment accuracy. In two studies, we investigated the sexuality detection ability, and masculinity and femininity as cues used in judgment. In Study 1, we recruited heterosexual (N = 55) and homosexual (N = 71) women to rate the sexual orientation of homosexual and heterosexual male and female targets (N = 80: 20 heterosexual men, 20 homosexual men, 20 heterosexual women, and 20 homosexual women). We found that detection accuracy was better than chance levels for both male and female targets and that male targets were more likely to be falsely labeled as homosexual than female targets were. Overall, female faces were more accurately identified as heterosexual or homosexual than male faces and homosexual female raters were biased towards labeling targets as homosexual. Sociosexuality did not influence the accuracy with which targets were identified as heterosexual or homosexual. In Study 2, 100 heterosexual and 20 homosexual women rated the stimulus for masculinity and femininity. Heterosexual women were rated as more feminine and less masculine than homosexual women and homosexual men were rated as more feminine and less masculine than heterosexual men. Sexual orientation of the judges did not affect the ratings. The results were discussed with a reference to evolutionary and cultural influences affecting sexual orientation judgment accuracy.
Dinoflagellates are algae of tremendous importance to ecosystems and to public health. The cell biology and genome organization of dinoflagellate species is highly unusual. For example, the plastid genomes of peridinin-containing dinoflagellates encode only a minimal number of genes arranged on small elements termed minicircles. Previous studies of peridinin plastid genes have found evidence for divergent sequence evolution, including extensive substitutions, novel insertions and deletions, and use of alternative translation initiation codons. Understanding the extent of this divergent evolution has been hampered by the lack of characterized peridinin plastid sequences. We have identified over 300 previously unannotated peridinin plastid mRNAs from published transcriptome projects, vastly increasing the number of sequences available. Using these data, we have produced a well-resolved phylogeny of peridinin plastid lineages, which uncovers several novel relationships within the dinoflagellates. This enables us to define changes to plastid sequences that occurred early in dinoflagellate evolution, and that have contributed to the subsequent diversification of individual dinoflagellate clades. We find that the origin of the peridinin dinoflagellates was specifically accompanied by elevations both in the overall number of substitutions that occurred on plastid sequences, and in the Ka/Ks ratio associated with plastid sequences, consistent with changes in selective pressure. These substitutions, alongside other changes, have accumulated progressively in individual peridinin plastid lineages. Throughout our entire dataset, we identify a persistent bias toward non-synonymous substitutions occurring on sequences encoding photosystem I subunits and stromal regions of peridinin plastid proteins, which may have underpinned the evolution of this unusual organelle.
Science and engineering intermingle in the area of construction. Engineering works, often of great dimensions and design life cycle of many decades, have to be designed on a scientific basis since the safety of hundreds of users depends on their design. The task of scientific institutions is to define the construction performance within categories that correspond to the contemporary level of knowledge and technology. A construction appraiser who speaks out in a way that ensures unquestionable competence about the performance of elements and buildings (existing and under construction), should be convinced of the scientific basis of his opinions. A comparison of construction sections vs. basic requirements presents an archetype of the science of construction. A matrix of the science of construction reveals its multi-faceted nature; if related to time-the issue of durability has to be considered, and if related to the scale-the complexity. Defining the construction performance in terms of technical features is a constant search for a relationship between the material model and the usability model of a building. The construction industry uses a lot of rules of thumb, more than any other sector of technology. In the era of computer-aided design, CAD, and building information modelling (BIM), those rules of thumb remain invaluable verification tools.
Efficient control of irrigation systems depends on attaining representative water status data for an irrigated field. The spatial variability of soil hydraulic properties and root growth patterns, hamper the use of single-value representations. This work proposes a two-pronged approach designed for determining optimal sensor location for irrigation water management. It combines experimental results, which offer a method of pre-determining root growth patterns, with modeling analysis in which the effect of tensiometer location on coefficient of variation (CV) of matric head measurements and irrigation system operation was investigated. In the experimental part, the effect of a geotextile material, wrapped around the drippers along the drip line to create a Geotextile Drip Interface (GDI), on root growth patterns in the field was evaluated. The results showed higher root density around the GDI vs. regular buried drippers, with well-defined peak root density in the former vs. no one location with peak root density in the latter. Genetic root architecture had smaller effect on root distribution under the GDI treatment. The modeling part consisted of HYDRUS 2D/3D simulations of high-frequency subsurface drip irrigation in heterogeneous soils with GDI root distribution as observed in the experiment. The simulations explored different locations for tensiometer placement which will result in low variability of system operation. HYDRUS 2D/3D simulations showed that the optimal location for tensiometer placement is near the subsurface dripper, resulting in low CV of matric head measurements and applied irrigation water, high sensitivity to irrigation, and lower drainage below the root zone. Overall, the results show that measuring soil water status with tensiometers located close to drippers in GDI volume, improve control of high frequency irrigation systems and allow greater water application efficiency in drip irrigated fields. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
This paper introduces a new multiconnponent geocomposite, the geosynthetic concrete composite mat (GCCM). Unlike traditional geosynthetic clay layer (GCL) materials that possess a bentonite clay layer as the interlayer, this GCCM has a formulated dry concrete mix impregnated in a three-dimensional geotextile fiber matrix, which hardens upon hydration to a concrete shell. This dual distinction multicomponent material is unique. This paper also provides a summary of some of the basic properties of the uncured material (before hydration), followed by an introduction to some important characteristics of the cured material. Mechanical properties are presented for both uncured and cured phases to illustrate the property transformation from the uncured to the cured state and demonstrate the contribution of both the fibrous geotextile phase and the cured concrete phase to the product properties. ASTM Committee D35 GCL test methods were applied as appropriate for this GCCM material, followed by concrete testing of the cured material. Finally, because a number of the applications for this material involve durable protection of soil from erosion under high-flow regimes, hydraulic property test results and some endurance test results are presented. The hydraulic results are from a channel testing arrangement subjecting the installed and cured material to high-velocity water flow.
The impact of intercultural workplace relationships on local employees has been scarcely investigated in hospitality. This paper adopts the contact hypothesis perspective in order to explore the ways in which intercultural encounters between foreign and local hospitality employees influence the latter, in sociocultural and organizational terms. A conceptual model is developed, tested within the Cypriot hospitality industry, and analyzed using structural equation modeling. Findings support the contact hypothesis, in that prior attitudes towards the ethnically different other influence the development of intercultural workplace relationships, which in turn influence local employees' wider attitudes towards foreigners. Furthermore, the importance of fair treatment and respect at work are stressed, as they mediate the relationship between intercultural workplace relationships and affective commitment. Implications for hospitality organizations are derived and suggestions are provided.(C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Fatal anaphylaxis in humans is rare and unpredictable. We note a trend to provide allergic individuals with care plans that recommend immediate use of epinephrine autoinjectors if allergen ingestion is suspected, even in the absence of any allergic symptoms, without any supporting evidence base. Instructions to use an autoinjector device, irrespective of reaction severity and especially when symptoms are actually absent, are likely to add to parental and patient anxiety. Of greater concern is the possibility of epinephrine being administered too early to treat initial, mild symptoms that then progress to severe anaphylaxis. It is not hard to visualize a scenario where one or both epinephrine autoinjectors have been deployed for mild symptoms, yet the reaction progresses to a severe reaction and no further epinephrine is available for administration. Epinephrine needs to be available as a rescue treatment for anaphylaxis, potentially buying valuable minutes while emergency medical services are activated to attend. Food-allergic individuals and their carers need to be provided with more constructive strategies and support than merely being told to use your pen. (C) 2016 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. This is an open access article under the CC BY license.
Cognitive biases may play a significant role in disorders of decision making such as pathological gambling and addiction. Understanding the neurobiology of these biases could lead to more effective pharmacological and therapeutic treatments for disorders in which aberrant decision making is prominent. The rodent Betting Task (rBT) was designed to measure one commonly observed decision-making heuristic in rodents, namely escalation of commitment in which subjects become more risk averse as the stakes increase, even if the odds of success remain constant. In the rodent task, the animal is presented with a choice between two options of equivalent expected value, such that reward on one option is guaranteed while the other has a 50% chance of double the prize or nothing. Past work has shown that a subset of animals (termed wager sensitive) adopt an irrationally risk averse choice preference in which they shift their choice away from the uncertain option as the bet size grows larger. In the current study, the orbitofrontal (OFC), prelimbic (PrL), and infralimbic cortex (IL) were inactivated to evaluate the contributions made by these regions to choice behavior on the rBT. Inactivation of the OFC (but not the IL or the PrL) selectively ameliorated the risk averse choice pattern characteristic of wager-sensitive animals. This finding suggests that the OFC may have a relatively unique role in promoting this type of non normative decision-making under uncertainty, an effect that is potentially related to its role in representing the subjective value of reinforcing outcomes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled: Cognitive Flexibility. (C) 2016 Published by Elsevier Ltd. on behalf of IBRO.
Differential susceptibility theory proposes that a subset of individuals exist who display enhanced susceptibility to both negative (risk-promoting) and positive (development-enhancing) environments. This experiment represents the first attempt to directly test this assumption by exposing children in the experimental group to both negative and positive feedback using puppet role-plays. It thereby serves as an empirical test as well as a methodological primer for testing differential susceptibility. Dutch children (N = 190, 45.3% girls) between the ages of 4 and 6 years participated. We examined whether negative and positive feedback would differentially affect changes in positive and negative affect, in prosocial and antisocial intentions and behavior, depending on children's negative emotionality. Results show that on hearing negative feedback, children in the experimental group increased in negative affect and decreased in positive affect more strongly than children in the control group. On hearing positive feedback, children in the experimental group tended to increase in positive affect and decrease in prosocial behavior. However, changes in response to negative or positive feedback did not depend on children's negative emotionality. Moreover, using reliable change scores, we found support for a subset of vulnerable children but not for a subset of susceptible children. The findings offer suggestions to guide future differential susceptibility experiments. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
In this report, we aim to add to the existing body of evidence regarding a link between anti- tumor necrosis factor alpha (anti-TNF-alpha) treatment and demyelination leading to neurological disorders, specifically Guillain Barr, syndrome (GBS), and treatment with an interleukin-17A (IL17A) antagonist as a safe alternative for ankylosing spondylitis (AS). A literature review was carried out of current research concerning anti-TNF-alpha and induced GBS. Only papers published in English were reviewed and only peer-reviewed journals searched. Papers published up to September 2016 were included. Animal studies were excluded. Data bases searched for publications online included: Pub Med, Google Scholar, The Cochrane Library, and Web of Science. Searched terms include anti-TNF and Guillain Barr,, IL17 Ankylosing Spondylitis, Secukinumab and TNF-alpha, adalimumab, infliximab, and etanercept. All combinations and outcomes were used, and from these searches, a provisional reference list was constructed. The short-listed articles were read and their reference lists were reviewed. The electromyogram done for the patient showed demyelination, the MRI of the brain showed no pathologies, and the MRI of the spine was consistent with ankylosing spondylitis without myelopathy. The lumbar puncture results showed albuminocytological dissociation that was consistent with GBS. TNF has a proinflammatory action, and various immunoregulatory actions that, together, seem to promote the development of peripheral neuropathies syndromes in the organism. However, there is no clear mechanism of why or how anti-TNF-alpha treatment can induce a demyelinating event in a patient. In the case presented, it was found that the patient developed GBS due to treatment with etanercept, an anti-TNF agent. The treatment was stopped immediately. Two years later, he was switched to secukinumab and has been well controlled for the last 8 months with no neurological findings.
It has long been debated whether attitudinal ambivalence elicits negative affect and evidence for such a link is inconclusive. Using facial EMG, we tested the idea that affective responses to ambivalence are dependent on the inconsistency of evaluations in the current situation. In a person perception task, participants were presented with positive (e.g., friendly, intelligent), negative (e.g., jealous, dominant), or positive and negative information (e.g., intelligent, dominant) about different target persons. When participants were only exposed to the information without having to respond, ambivalent information elicited the same affective response as positive stimuli, participants showed more zygomaticus (positive affect) and less corrugator activation (negative affect) than to negative stimuli (task 1). When participants had to make a choice, ambivalent information elicited the same affective response as negative information (task 2). This was qualified by the possibility to resolve the inconsistency between evaluations. Specifically, ambivalence only led to a relative decrease in positive affect when evaluative context did not help resolve the inconsistency between ambivalent evaluations and created a choice conflict (e.g., Bob is intelligent and dominant. Do you think Bob is a good collaborator?). When the same ambivalent information (e.g. Bob is intelligent and dominant) was presented in a context in which the opposing evaluations were not inconsistent (e.g., Do you think Bob can write a good research paper?), participants reported to experience lower levels of conflict and displayed more positive affect (i.e., more zygomaticus activation). The current data contribute to the reconciliation of previously inconclusive results on affective responses to attitudinal ambivalence. The results suggest that ambivalence only leads to relatively more negative affect (i.e., a decrease in positive affect) when ambivalent information is inconsistent in a current situation and thus creates conflict Implications of these findings are discussed. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc All rights reserved.
Background: Th9 cells are a newly discovered CD4(+) T helper cell subtype, characterized by high interleukin (IL)-9 secretion. Growing evidences suggest that Th9 cells are involved in the pathogenic mechanism of multiple sclerosis (MS). Mast cells are multifunctional innate immune cells, which are perhaps best known for their role as dominant effector cells in allergies and asthma. Several lines of evidence point to an important role for mast cells in MS and its animal models. Simultaneously, there is dynamic cross-talk between Th9 and mast cells. The aim of the present study was to examine the IL-9-mast cell axis in experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) and determine its interaction after neutralizing anti-IL-9 antibody treatment. Methods: Female C57BL/6 mice were randomly divided into three groups (n = 5 in each group): mice with myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG)-induced EAE (EAE group), EAE mice treated with anti-IL-9 antibody (anti-IL-9 Abs group), and EAE mice treated with IgG isotype control (IgG group). EAE clinical score was evaluated. Mast cells from central nervous system (CNS) were detected by flow cytometry. The production of chemokine recruiting mast cells in the CNS was explored by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). In mice with MOG-induced EAE, the expression of IL-9 receptor (IL-9R) complexes in CNS and spleen mast cells was also explored by RT-PCR, and then was repeating validated by immunocytochemistry. In vitro, spleen cells from EAE mice were cultured with anti-IL-9 antibody, and quantity of mast cells was counted by flow cytometry after co-culture. Results: Compared with IgG group, IL-9 blockade delayed clinical disease onset and ameliorated EAE severity (t = -2.217, P = 0.031), accompany with mast cells infiltration decreases (day 5: t = -8.005, P < 0.001; day 15: t = -11.857, P < 0.001; day 20: t = -5.243, P = 0.001) in anti-IL-9 Abs group. The messenger RNA expressions of C-C motif chemokine ligand 5 (t = -5.932, P = 0.003) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (t = -4.029, P = 0.004) were significantly decreased after IL-9 neutralization in anti-IL-9 Abs group, compared with IgG group. In MOG-induced EAE, the IL-9R complexes were expressed in CNS and spleen mast cells. In vitro, splenocytes cultured with anti-IL-9 antibody showed significantly lower levels of mast cells in a dose-dependent manner, compared with splenocytes cultured with anti-mouse IgG (5 mu g/ml: t = -0.894, P = 0.397; 10 mu g/ml: t = -3.348, P = 0.019; 20 mu g/ml: t = -7.639, P < 0.001). Conclusions: This study revealed that IL-9 neutralization reduced mast cell infiltration in CNS and ameliorated EAE, which might be relate to the interaction between IL-9 and mast cells.