Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Intelligent System for Chinese Calligraphy

Our work links Chinese calligraphy to computer science through an integrated intelligence approach. We first extract strokes of existent calligraphy using a semi-automatic, two-phase mechanism: the first phase tries to do the best possible extraction using a combination of algorithmic techniques; the second phase presents an intelligent user interface to allow the user to provide input to the extraction process for the difficult cases such as those in highly random, cursive, or distorted styles. Having derived a parametric representation of calligraphy, we employ a supervised learning based method to explore the space of visually pleasing calligraphy. A numeric grading method for judging the beauty of calligraphy is then applied to the space. We integrate such a grading unit into an existent constraint-based reasoning system for calligraphy generation, which results in a significant enhancement in terms of visual quality in the automatically generated calligraphic characters. Finally, we construct an intelligent calligraphy tutoring system making use of the above. This work represents our first step towards understanding the human process of appreciating beauty through modeling the process with an integration of available AI techniques. More results and supplementary materials are provided at http://www.cs. hku.hk/~songhua/calligraphy.
Attend, Infer, Repeat: Fast Scene Understanding with Generative Models

We present a framework for efficient inference in structured image models that explicitly reason about objects. We achieve this by performing probabilistic inference using a recurrent neural network that attends to scene elements and processes them one at a time. Crucially, the model itself learns to choose the appropriate number of inference steps. We use this scheme to learn to perform inference in partially specified 2D models (variable-sized variational auto-encoders) and fully specified 3D models (probabilistic renderers). We show that such models learn to identify multiple objects - counting, locating and classifying the elements of a scene - without any supervision, e.g., decomposing 3D images with various numbers of objects in a single forward pass of a neural network. We further show that the networks produce accurate inferences when compared to supervised counterparts, and that their structure leads to improved generalization.
The science of psychoanalysis PPP not anonymous

Can psychoanalysis take its place in the science that is psychology? I want, for now, to put aside the therapy, and ask about the theory, its evidence and generation. For at the heart of psychoanalysis as theory and therapy is a theory about the nature, development and functioning of the human mind, especially in relation to motives. There are a number of features of this theory, in particular the role and nature of unconscious mental states and processes, that makes it recognizably distinct and a competitor with other psychological theories deriving, for instance, from cognitive psychology or neuroscience. I take the question of whether this theory is scientific to be the question of how we can establish whether its claims are true or not. It is a question about the nature of the evidence and the methods that are used to gather that evidence. It is also a question of the way the evidence and methods are marshaled in support of theoretical claims – for if a discipline were consistently to extend its claims beyond what the evidence could support, we would wish to rein in, or at least contextualize, such speculation before recognizing the enterprise as a solid part of science. Furthermore, if psychoanalysis can rightly be thought of as scientific, given what this entails regarding the nature of its evidence base and methods, there should be good empirical reason – though of course, not proof – to think many of its central claims are true.
Pseudomonas fluorescens F113 Can Produce a Second Flagellar Apparatus, Which Is Important for Plant Root Colonization

The genomic sequence of Pseudomonas fluorescens F113 has shown the presence of a 41 kb cluster of genes that encode the production of a second flagellar apparatus. Among 2,535 pseudomonads strains with sequenced genomes, these genes are only present in the genomes of F113 and other six strains, all but one belonging to the P. fluorescens cluster of species, in the form of a genetic island. The genes are homologous to the flagellar genes of the soil bacterium Azotobacter vinelandii. Regulation of these genes is mediated by the flhDC master operon, instead of the typical regulation in pseudomonads, which is through fleQ. Under laboratory conditions, F113 does not produce this flagellum and the flhDC operon is not expressed. However, ectopic expression of the flhDC operon is enough for its production, resulting in a hypermotile strain. This flagellum is also produced under laboratory conditions by the kinB and algU mutants. Genetic analysis has shown that kinB strongly represses the expression of the flhDC operon. This operon is activated by the Vfr protein probably in a c-AMP dependent way. The strains producing this second flagellum are all hypermotile and present a tuft of polar flagella instead of the single polar flagellum produced by the wild-type strain. Phenotypic variants isolated from the rhizosphere produce this flagellum and mutation of the genes encoding it, results in a defect in competitive colonization, showing its importance for root colonization.
Emotional intelligence implications on the career advancement of women in a fortune 500 pharmaceutical company

Women account for more than 50% of college graduates, more than 50% of professional degrees such as M.D. and J.D. , and more than 50.0% of management, professional, and related occupations (Labor, 2011). However, women hold only 14.3% of executive officer positions of the Fortune 500 companies, and the number of female CEOs at these companies is 3.8% (Catalyst, 2012). Given these statistics, a natural shift to a more gender-balanced senior management should be a reasonable, expected outcome. In addition, research in the past decade lead by Daniel Goleman (1995, 2000, 2004) has identified an individual’s emotional intelligence as a key aspect and driver of leadership effectiveness. Emotional intelligence assessments have found women and men to be equally as intelligent emotionally, but they are strong in different areas or attributes that are considered gender-specific. This mixed method phenomenological study was grounded in research by Goleman (1998, 2000, 2004) and Bar-On (2005) which explored emotional intelligence as it relates to leadership and success in organizations. The purpose of this research study was to apply Goleman’s leadership theory and Bar-On’s gender-related emotional intelligence in a way that examines the possible relationship between gender-specific emotional intelligence attributes and women’s career advancement in a Fortune 500 pharmaceutical company. 12 participants at four levels of the company were selected – vice president, director, manager, and administrative assistant. Each participant completed the EQ-i 2.0 assessment followed by a 30-minute in-depth interview. The data was analyzed to assess specific EQ attributes, and to understand each participant’s lived experiences with leadership, emotional intelligence, and gender bias or barriers.
Keeping a Good Attitude: A Quaternion-Based Orientation Filter for IMUs and MARGs

Orientation estimation using low cost sensors is an important task for Micro Aerial Vehicles (MAVs) in order to obtain a good feedback for the attitude controller. The challenges come from the low accuracy and noisy data of the MicroElectroMechanical System (MEMS) technology, which is the basis of modern, miniaturized inertial sensors. In this article, we describe a novel approach to obtain an estimation of the orientation in quaternion form from the observations of gravity and magnetic field. Our approach provides a quaternion estimation as the algebraic solution of a system from inertial/magnetic observations. We separate the problems of finding the “tilt” quaternion and the heading quaternion in two sub-parts of our system. This procedure is the key for avoiding the impact of the magnetic disturbances on the roll and pitch components of the orientation when the sensor is surrounded by unwanted magnetic flux. We demonstrate the validity of our method first analytically and then empirically using simulated data. We propose a novel complementary filter for MAVs that fuses together gyroscope data with accelerometer and magnetic field readings. The correction part of the filter is based on the method described above and works for both IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) and MARG (Magnetic, Angular Rate, and Gravity) sensors. We evaluate the effectiveness of the filter and show that it significantly outperforms other common methods, using publicly available datasets with ground-truth data recorded during a real flight experiment of a micro quadrotor helicopter.
Mitochondrial whims: metabolic rate, longevity and the rate of molecular evolution

The evolutionary rate of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is highly variable across lineages in animals, and particularly in mammals. This variation has been interpreted as reflecting variations in metabolic rate: mitochondrial respiratory activity would tend to generate mutagenic agents, thus increasing the mutation rate. Here we review recent evidence suggesting that a direct, mechanical effect of species metabolic rate on mtDNA evolutionary rate is unlikely. We suggest that natural selection could act to reduce the (somatic) mtDNA mutation rate in long-lived species, in agreement with the mitochondrial theory of ageing.
Minimal Blow-Up Solutions to the Mass-Critical Inhomogeneous NLS Equation

We consider the mass-critical focusing nonlinear Schrödinger equation in the presence of an external potential, when the nonlinearity is inhomogeneous. We show that if the inhomogeneous factor in front of the nonlinearity is sufficiently flat at a critical point, then there exists a solution which blows up in finite time with the maximal (unstable) rate at this point. In the case where the critical point is a maximum, this solution has minimal mass among the blow-up solutions. As a corollary, we also obtain unstable blow-up solutions of the mass-critical Schrödinger equation on some surfaces. The proof is based on properties of the linearized operator around the ground state, and on a full use of the invariances of the equation with an homogeneous nonlinearity and no potential, via time-dependent modulations.
Differentiated duopoly with 'elimination by aspects'

"Elimination by aspects" (EBA) is a discrete model of probabilistic choice worked out by Tversky in 1972 which supposes that decision makers follow a particular heuristic during a process of sequential choice. Options are described by their attributes and, at each decision stage, the individuals eliminate all the options not having an expected given attribute, and so until only one option remains. In this paper, probabilities resulting from the EBA model are used to construct demands of a differentiated duopoly with imperfect rationality. These demands are consistent with partial heterogeneity of tastes and may be linked with a spatial framework in which consumers have convex perception of distance. In this model, a Nash price equilibrium in pure strategies exists if the cost of the highest attributes level firm is not too low. In this case, the "differentiation by attributes" form retained here is both horizontal and vertical, which is not very frequent in the literature. When the equilibrium does not exists, the interaction of best response functions of the firms induces an Edgeworth cycle instead of an exit of the lowest attributes level firm. This result underlines the role of cost difference in the existence of such a cycle.
New limit on Lorentz and CPT violating neutron spin interactions using a free precession 3 He- 129 Xe co-magnetometer

We report on the search for a CPT and Lorentz invariance violating coupling of the 3He and 129Xe nuclear spins (each largely determined by a valence neutron) to background tensor fields which permeate the universe. Our experimental approach is to measure the free precession of nuclear spin polarized 3He and 129Xe atoms in a homogeneous magnetic guiding field of about 400 nT using LTC SQUIDs as low-noise magnetic flux detectors. As the laboratory reference frame rotates with respect to distant stars, we look for a sidereal modulation of the Larmor frequencies of the co-located spin samples. As a result we obtain an upper limit on the equatorial component of the background field interacting with the spin of the bound neutron bn< 6.7*10^-34 GeV (68% C.L.). Our result improves our previous limit (data measured in 2009) by a factor of 30 and the world's best limit by a factor of 5.
A functional measurement inquiry on the contribution of different life domains to overall subjective well-being

Subjective well-being consists of a subjective evaluation and integration of happi- ness about specific life domains to the extent that one thinks well of and feels good about these domains. Three functional measurement experiments investigated how information on life domains is integrated into a global rating of well-being. There is good evidence that integration of life domains obeys an averaging law. This im- plies that when people judge one’s well-being, information about one domain can compensate information about some other domain.
Analysis and performance of some basic space-time architectures

In this paper, we discuss some of the most basic architectural superstructures for wireless links with multiple antennas: M at the transmit site and N at the receive site. Toward leveraging the gains of the last half century of coding theory, we emphasize those structures that can be composed using spatially one dimensional coders and decoders. These structures are investigated primarily under a probability of outage constraint. The random matrix channel is assumed to hold steady for such a large number of M-dimensional vector symbol transmission times, that an infinite time horizon Shannon analysis provides useful insights. The resulting extraordinary capacities are contrasted for architectures that differ in the way that they manage self-interference in the presence of additive receiver noise. A universally optimal architecture with a diagonal space-time layering is treated, as is an architecture with horizontal space-time layering and an architecture with a single outer code. Some capacity asymptotes for large numbers of antennas are also included. Some results for frequency selective channels are presented: It is only necessary to feedback M rates, one per transmit antenna, to attain capacity. Also, capacity of an (M,N) link is, in a certain sense, invariant with respect to signaling format.
The Power of Identity

From the Publisher: Manuel Castells describes the origins, purpose and effect of proactive movements, such as feminism and environmentalism, which aim to transform human relationships at their most fundamental level; and of reactive movements that build trenches of resistance on behalf of God, nation, ethnicity, family, or locality. The fundamental categories of existence, the author shows, are threatened by the combined, contradictory assault of techno-economic forces and transformative social movements, each using the new power of the media to promote their ambitions. Caught between these opposing trends, he argues, the nation-state is called into question, drawing into its crisis the very notion of political democracy. The author moves thematically between the United States, Western Europe, Russia, Mexico, Bolivia, the Islamic World, China, and Japan, seeking to understand a variety of social processes that are, he contends, closely inter-related in function and meaning. This is a book of profound importance for understanding how the world will be transformed by the beginning of the next century.
Building a Coherent Data Pipeline in Microarray Data Analyses: Optimization of Signal/Noise Ratios Using an Interactive Visualization Tool and a Novel Noise Filtering Method (2003)

Motivation: Sources of uncontrolled noise strongly influence data analysis in microarray studies, yet signal/noise ratios are rarely considered in microarray data analyses. We hypothesized that different research projects would have different sources and levels of confounding noise, and built an interactive visual analysis tool to test and define parameters in Affymetrix analyses that optimize the ratio of signal (desired biological variable) versus noise (confounding uncontrolled variables). Results: Five probe set algorithms were studied with and without statistical weighting of probe sets using Microarray Suite (MAS) 5.0 probe set detection p values. The signal/noise optimization method was tested in two large novel microarray datasets with different levels of confounding noise; a 105 sample U133A human muscle biopsy data set (11 groups) (extensive noise), and a 40 sample U74A inbred mouse lung data set (8 groups) (little noise). Success was measured using F-measure value of success of unsupervised clustering into appropriate biological groups (signal). We show that both probe set signal algorithm and probe set detection p-value weighting have a strong effect on signal/noise ratios, and that the different methods performed quite differently in the two data sets. Among the signal algorithms tested, dChip difference model with p-value weighting was the most consistent at maximizing the effect of the target biological variables on data interpretation of the two data sets. Availability: The Hierarchical Clustering Explorer 2.0 is available at http://www.cs. umd.edu/hcil/hce/ , and the improved version of the Hierarchical Clustering Explorer 2.0 with p-value weighting and Fmeasure is available upon request to the first author. Murine arrays (40 samples) are publicly available at the PEPR resource (http://microarray.cnmcresearch.org/pgadatatable.asp) (Chen et al., 2004). Contact: ehoffman@cnmcresearch.org
Using hierarchical item clustering to establish the dimensionality of the multifactor leadership questionnaire

This paper illustrates some benefits of using hierarchical item clustering (ICLUST) as an alternative analytical procedure for establishing the dimensionality and homogeneity of the multifactor leadership questionnaire, a scale widely used for measuring leadership behaviours. We used ICLUST analysis to analyse data from 177 local councils' employees. Our findings suggest that ICLUST analysis established first-order clusters of the leadership research construct that had equivalent comparisons to factors found through confirmatory factor analysis and reported in extant literature. Theoretical and practical implications for using ICLUST are discussed.
Detection and deterrence in the economics of corruption : a game theoretic analysis and some experimental evidence

This thesis contributes to our understanding of corruption deterrence for a specific class of game-theoretic corruption models, in which we assume that inspection of corrupt be- haviour happens through randomisation. Three models are explored theoretically and one experimentally. All models are three-player variations of the inspection game, and their typically unusual insights result from mixed-strategy equilibrium solutions. The first model examines an inspection game between an inspector and two potentially col- laborating offenders (a corrupt client and an official). Strikingly, its comparative statics suggest that higher penalties on corrupt clients increase the probability of corruption in the mixed equilibrium. The second model compares two states of the world, one where corrupt officials merely reject bribes (if they do not accept them), and one where corrupt officials report bribes (the latter leading to definite punishment of clients). The surprising result here is that, when officials prefer to report bribes (instead of merely rejecting them), the probability of corruption is again higher in equilibrium. The third model takes into account three different types of officials, a reporting type, a rejecting type, and a corruptible type. Its results show that e.g. an increase in the proportion of the reporting type increases the probability of corruption. To compare our theoretical results with data, we test a simple version of this game in the laboratory. Results of this pilot experiment were mixed, suggesting that three-player mixed-equilibrium behaviour is only in part and only qualitatively true on the aggregate, but not quantitatively or for individual play. An epilogue describes developments of a new, much improved experimental design and software, intended for future experiments.
Recent Approaches in Vaccine Development against Streptococcus pneumoniae

Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major cause of morbidity and mortality among children under 5 years of age worldwide. Vaccines have long been used for protection against pneumococcal infections. Capsular polysaccharides of pneumococci are main antigenic components of these vaccines. However, pneumococcal polysaccharide-based vaccines are not able to elicit appropriate immunological responses in young children and cannot induce the immune memory. Thus, pneumococcal conjugate vaccines were developed through chemical coupling of an immunogenic carrier protein to the capsule. The currently available pneumococcal conjugate vaccines elicited protection against the bacterium efficiently. However, these vaccines are expensive to manufacture and have limited serotype coverage. In this mini-review, therefore, we describe approaches attempted by researchers to circumvent the shortcomings of the conjugate vaccines including specifying appropriate cultivation conditions for the production of S. pneumoniae capsular antigens, development of suitable expression systems for the frequently used carrier protein in the conjugate vaccines (cross-reacting material 197), construction of protein-based vaccines, whole-cell vaccines, DNA vaccines, and using antigen delivery vehicles. Future trends in this field are also discussed.
Absence of Ca2+-Induced Mitochondrial Permeability Transition but Presence of Bongkrekate-Sensitive Nucleotide Exchange in C. crangon and P. serratus

Mitochondria from the embryos of brine shrimp (Artemia franciscana) do not undergo Ca2+-induced permeability transition in the presence of a profound Ca2+ uptake capacity. Furthermore, this crustacean is the only organism known to exhibit bongkrekate-insensitive mitochondrial adenine nucleotide exchange, prompting the conjecture that refractoriness to bongkrekate and absence of Ca2+-induced permeability transition are somehow related phenomena. Here we report that mitochondria isolated from two other crustaceans, brown shrimp (Crangon crangon) and common prawn (Palaemon serratus) exhibited bongkrekate-sensitive mitochondrial adenine nucleotide transport, but lacked a Ca2+-induced permeability transition. Ca2+ uptake capacity was robust in the absence of adenine nucleotides in both crustaceans, unaffected by either bongkrekate or cyclosporin A. Transmission electron microscopy images of Ca2+-loaded mitochondria showed needle-like formations of electron-dense material strikingly similar to those observed in mitochondria from the hepatopancreas of blue crab (Callinectes sapidus) and the embryos of Artemia franciscana. Alignment analysis of the partial coding sequences of the adenine nucleotide translocase (ANT) expressed in Crangon crangon and Palaemon serratus versus the complete sequence expressed in Artemia franciscana reappraised the possibility of the 208-214 amino acid region for conferring sensitivity to bongkrekate. However, our findings suggest that the ability to undergo Ca2+-induced mitochondrial permeability transition and the sensitivity of adenine nucleotide translocase to bongkrekate are not necessarily related phenomena.