Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lecture 20: Object Recognition 20.1 Introduction 20.2.1 Neocognitron

In its simplest form, the problem of recognition is posed as a binary classification task, namely distinguishing between a single object class and background class. Such a classification task can be turned into a detector by sliding it across the image (or image pyramid), and classifying each local window. Classifier based methods have defined their own family of object models. Driven by advances in machine learning, a common practice became to through a bunch of features into the last published algorithm. However, soon became clear that such an approach, in which the research gave up into trying to have a well defined physical model of the object, hold a lot of promise. In many cases, the use of a specific classifier has driven the choice of the object representation and not the contrary. In classifier-based models, the preferred representations are driven by efficiency constraints and by the characteristics of the classifier Although neural networks can be trained in other settings than a purely discriminative framework, some of the first classifier based approaches used neural networks to build the classification function. Many current approaches, despite of having a different inspiration, still follow an architecture motivated by neural networks. The Neocognitron, developed by Fukushima in the 80 [8], consisted on a multilayered network with feed-forward connections. Each stage was composed of cells that received excitatory and inhibitory inputs from the previous stage. The output of each cell was passed through a rectifying non-linearity. The Neocognitron network already had many of the features that make current approaches on neural networks successful. The network was trained to recognize handwritten numerals from 0 to 9. Training multilayered neural networks is a very challenging task and is the focus of a lot of research. In the Neocognitron, training was performed greedily, from the lower stages to the higher stages. Training of one stage was only initiated after finishing the training of the previous stage. The training of each layer was performed with different stimuli. For instance, the first layer was trained to extract line segments. Each layer was seeded with digit patches of increasing complexity. The final result was a system that 1
Fast approximations for boundary element based brittle fracture simulation

We present a boundary element based method for fast simulation of brittle fracture. By introducing simplifying assumptions that allow us to quickly estimate stress intensities and opening displacements during crack propagation, we build a fracture algorithm where the cost of each time step scales linearly with the length of the crack-front. The transition from a full boundary element method to our faster variant is possible at the beginning of any time step. This allows us to build a hybrid method, which uses the expensive but more accurate BEM while the number of degrees of freedom is low, and uses the fast method once that number exceeds a given threshold as the crack geometry becomes more complicated. Furthermore, we integrate this fracture simulation with a standard rigid-body solver. Our rigid-body coupling solves a Neumann boundary value problem by carefully separating translational, rotational and deformational components of the collision forces and then applying a Tikhonov regularizer to the resulting linear system. We show that our method produces physically reasonable results in standard test cases and is capable of dealing with complex scenes faster than previous finite- or boundary element approaches.
Running head : SPEECH COMPREHENSION AND INTERFERENCE Shush , the teacher is speaking ! A bilingual advantage in comprehending speech in noisy environments

*Acknowledgments: This study was funded by a private investor based in London, who asked to remain anonymous, but there are no financial implications of the research. We respect his decision, but would like to express our profound gratitude. We also thank Mrs. Birch, Head Teacher of the Histon & Impington Junior School, her staff, the children and the parents who enthusiastically helped us to carry out this research. Abstract Is it possible to learn more efficiently in noisy environments like a primary school? This study investigates children's speech comprehension in the presence of verbal noise. Previous research has demonstrated a performance advantage for bilingual adults over monolinguals in comprehending difficult sentences (e.g., non-canonical Object-Verb-Subject constructions) under such conditions. Here, 40 children, half speaking two languages with different cultural roots, and half English monolinguals, were compared in a sentence comprehension task. The results indicate a developmentally consistent advantage of bilinguals at screening out linguistic interference when comprehending difficult sentences.
Caregivers’ Preschool Selection Factors and Their Degree of Agency in Selecting High Quality Preschools

ii Dedication . iv Acknowledgments . v List of Tables . xii Chapter 1 – Introduction . 1 Importance of Caregivers’ Preschool Selection Factors . 3 Key Variables and Purpose of Study . 4 Definitions. 5 Background . 11 Statement of Problem . 16 Significance of Study . 18 Research Questions . 20 Chapter 2 – Review of Literature . 21 Theoretical Framework . 22 Conceptualizing Preschool Quality. 31 Child Outcomes of High Quality Preschool . 38 The Components of High Quality Preschools . 44 Caregivers and The Form and Function of Preschool . 53 Caregivers’ Perceptions of Preschool Quality . 56 Caregivers and The Resources Used to Learn About Preschools . 78 x The Importance of Accounting for Caregivers’ Perspectives . 80 Research Questions . 81 Hypotheses . 82 Chapter 3 – Research Design and Method . 86 Purpose of The Study . 86 The Larger Study – STAR-2 . 87 Sample. 88 General Procedures . 93 Coding . 98 Analyses . 102 Chapter 4 – Results . 109 Caregivers’ Preschool Selection Factors . 109 Caregivers’ Priorities Among Structural, Process, and Familial Quality . 119 Resources Used by Caregivers to Select a Preschool . 122 The Influence of Caregiver Characteristics on Preschool Selection Factors . 126 The Influence of Classroom Quality on Caregivers’ Preschool Selection Factors . 131 Chapter 5 – Discussion . 137 Relevance of The Study . 137 Major Findings . 140 Limitations and Directions for Future Research . 151 Implications. 153 xi Conclusion . 156 References . 158 Appendix A: Preschool Selection Questionnaire . 176 Appendix B: Resources Used by Caregivers to Learn About and Select a Preschool – Written-In Responses . 179
Adaptive robust spread-spectrum receivers

We consider the problem of robust detection of a spread-spectrum (SS) signal in the presence of unknown correlated SS interference and additive non-Gaussian noise. The proposed general SS receiver structure is comprised by a vector of adaptive chip-based nonlinearities followed by an adaptive linear tap-weight filter and combines the relative merits of both nonlinear and linear signal processing. The novel characteristics of our approach are as follows. First, the nonlinear receiver front-end adapts itself to the unknown prevailing noise environment providing robust performance for a wide range of underlying noise distributions. Second, the adaptive linear tap-weight filter that follows the nonlinearly processed chip samples results in a receiver that is proven to be effective in combating SS interference as well. To determine the receiver parameters, we propose, develop, and study three adaptive schemes under a joint mean-square error (MSE), or a joint bit-error-rate (BER), or a joint MSE-BER optimization criterion. As a side result, we derive the optimum decision fusion filter for receivers that utilize hard-limiting (sign) chip nonlinearities. Numerical and simulation results demonstrate the performance of the proposed schemes and offer comparisons with the conventional matched-filter (MF), the decorrelator, the conventional minimum-variance-distortionless-response (MVDR) filter, and the sign-majority vote receiver.
SIGNATURES OF DEMOGRAPHIC HISTORY AND NATURAL SELECTION IN THE HUMAN MHC LOCI

Many lines of evidence show that several HLA loci have experienced balancing selection. However, distinguishing among demographic and selective explanations for patterns of variation observed with HLA genes remains a challenge. In the present study we address this issue using data from a diverse set of human populations at six classical HLA loci and, employing a comparative genomics approach, contrast results for HLA loci to those for non-HLA markers. Using a variety of analytic methods, we confirm and extend evidence for selection acting on several HLA loci. We find that allele frequency distributions for four of the six HLA loci deviate from neutral expectations, and show that this is unlikely to be explained solely by demographic factors. Other features of HLA variation are explained in part by demographic history, including decreased heterozygosity and increased LD for populations at greater distances from Africa, and a similar apportionment of genetic variation for HLA loci compared to putatively neutral non-HLA loci. Based on contrasts among different HLA loci and between HLA and non-HLA loci, we conclude that HLA loci bear detectable signatures of both natural selection and demographic history.
IMPLEMENTASI MULTIMODEL GROUP INVESTIGATION DAN MURDER (MGIM) PADA PEMBELAJARAN MATERI LARUTAN PENYANGGA

t has been conducting research about Implementation of learning multiple model Group Investigation and MURDER in learning chemistry especially Buffer Solution. This study aims at finding out the effetiveness of the learning multiple model Group Investigation and MURDER (MGIM) could significantly improve students. This quasi-experimental study involved students of class XI SMAN 3 Banjarmasin of South Kalimantan as a subject. Test instruments were used for measuring students learning outcome. Questionnaire were used for measuring students affective aspect. Students activity measured by observer. By using one way Anava and LSD analysis, this study shows that the implementation of MGIM in Buffer Solution gives better activity learning outcome than just GI and conventional learning. Implementation of MGIM in Buffer Solution gives better learning activity and affective learning outcome too. Key words: multiple model, GI, MURDER, and Buffer Solution
Tracing the Mass-Dependent Star Formation History of Late-Type Galaxies Using X-Ray Emission: Results from the Chandra Deep Fields

We report on the X-ray evolution over the last ≈9 Gyr of cosmic history (i.e., since z = 1.4) of late-type galaxy populations in the Chandra Deep Field-North and Extended Chandra Deep Field-South (CDF-N and E-CDF-S, respectively; jointly CDFs) survey fields. Our late-type galaxy sample consists of 2568 galaxies, which were identified using rest-frame optical colors and HST morphologies. We utilized X-ray stacking analyses to investigate the X-ray emission from these galaxies, emphasizing the contributions from normal galaxies that are not dominated by active galactic nuclei (AGNs). Over this redshift range, we find significant increases (factors of ≈5-10) in the X-ray-to-optical mean luminosity ratio (LX/LB) and the X-ray-to-stellar mass mean ratio (LX/M⋆) for galaxy populations selected by LB and M⋆, respectively. When analyzing galaxy samples selected via SFR, we find that the mean X-ray-to-SFR ratio (LX/SFR) is consistent with being constant over the entire redshift range for galaxies with SFR = 1-100 M☉ yr−1, thus demonstrating that X-ray emission can be used as a robust indicator of star formation activity out to z ≈ 1.4. We find that the star formation activity (as traced by X-ray luminosity) per unit stellar mass in a given redshift bin increases with decreasing stellar mass over the redshift range z = 0.2-1, which is consistent with previous studies of how star formation activity depends on stellar mass. Finally, we extend our X-ray analyses to Lyman break galaxies at z ∼ 3 and estimate that LX/LB at z ∼ 3 is similar to its value at z = 1.4.
Evolution of the Cluster Mass and Correlation Functions in a ΛCDM Cosmology

The evolution of the cluster mass function and the cluster correlation function from z = 0 to 3 is determined using ~106 clusters obtained from high-resolution simulations of the current best-fit ΛCDM cosmology (Ωm = 0.27, σ8 = 0.84, h = 0.7). The results provide predictions for comparisons with future observations of high-redshift clusters. A comparison of the predicted mass function of low-redshift clusters with observations from early Sloan Digital Sky Survey data and the predicted abundance of massive distant clusters with observational results favor a slightly larger amplitude of mass fluctuations (σ8 ~ 0.9) and lower density parameter (Ωm ~ 0.2); these values are consistent within 1 σ with the current observational and model uncertainties. The cluster correlation function strength increases with redshift for a given mass limit; the clusters were more strongly correlated in the past because of their increasing bias with redshift—the bias reaches b ~ 100 at z = 2 for M > 5 × 1013 h-1 M☉ clusters. The richness-dependent cluster correlation function, represented by the correlation scale versus cluster mean separation relation, R0-d, is generally consistent with observations. This relation can be approximated as R0 = 1.7d0. 6 h-1 Mpc for d ~ 20-60 h-1 Mpc. The R0-d relation exhibits surprisingly little evolution with redshift for z < 2; this finding can provide a new test of the current ΛCDM model when compared with future observations of high-redshift clusters.
Reduced sun exposure does not explain the inverse association of 25-hydroxyvitamin D with percent body fat in older adults.

CONTEXT Greater adiposity is associated with lower blood levels of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D]. The extent to which this results from reduced sun exposure among heavier individuals is unknown. OBJECTIVES This analysis was conducted to determine whether sun exposure habits differ according to percent body fat (%FAT) in older adults and to what extent they explain the inverse association of adiposity with 25(OH)D in that population. DESIGN We performed a cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from a randomized trial of calcium and vitamin D supplementation to prevent bone loss. SETTING The study was performed at the Metabolic Research Unit at the Jean Mayer United States Department of Agriculture Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University. PARTICIPANTS A total of 381 generally healthy male and female volunteers age 65 and older participated in the study. Exclusion criteria included vitamin D and calcium supplement use, and medical conditions and medications known to affect bone metabolism. INTERVENTION There were no interventions. Measurements for this analysis were made before participants received trial supplements. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Plasma 25(OH)D, an indicator of vitamin D status, was measured. RESULTS Sunscreen use, hours spent outside per week, and percent of skin exposed did not differ across quartiles of %FAT (P > 0.43). 25(OH)D decreased across %FAT quartiles (P < 0.05) and was about 20% lower in the highest compared with the lowest quartile of %FAT after adjustments for age, sex, season, and vitamin D intake. Further adjustment for sun exposure habits had little effect on estimates of 25(OH)D. CONCLUSIONS In older adults, sun exposure habits do not vary according to adiposity and do not appear to explain lower 25(OH)D concentrations with increasing adiposity.
Joint Effects of Colorectal Cancer Susceptibility Loci, Circulating 25-Hydroxyvitamin D and Risk of Colorectal Cancer

Background Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several SNPs associated with colorectal cancer (CRC) susceptibility. Vitamin D is also inversely associated with CRC risk. Methods We examined main and joint effects of previously GWAS identified genetic markers of CRC and plasma 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D) on CRC risk in three prospective cohorts: the Nurses' Health Study (NHS), the Health Professionals Follow-up Study (HPFS), and the Physicians' Health Study (PHS). We included 1895 CRC cases and 2806 controls with genomic DNA. We calculated odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for CRC associated with additive genetic risk scores (GRSs) comprised of all CRC SNPs and subsets of these SNPs based on proximity to regions of increased vitamin D receptor binding to vitamin D response elements (VDREs), based on published ChiP-seq data. Among a subset of subjects with additional prediagnostic 25(OH)D we tested multiplicative interactions between plasma 25(OH)D and GRS's. We used fixed effects models to meta-analyze the three cohorts. Results The per allele multivariate OR was 1.12 (95% CI, 1.06–1.19) for GRS-proximalVDRE; and 1.10 (95% CI, 1.06–1.14) for GRS-nonproxVDRE. The lowest quartile of plasma 25(OH)D compared with the highest, had a multivariate OR of 0.63 (95% CI, 0.48–0.82) for CRC. We did not observe any significant interactions between any GRSs and plasma 25(OH)D. Conclusions We did not observe evidence for the modification of genetic susceptibility for CRC according to vitamin D status, or evidence that the effect of common CRC risk alleles differed according to their proximity to putative VDR binding sites.
Simulation of trace gases and aerosols over the Indian domain: evaluation of the WRF-Chem model

Abstract. The "online" meteorological and chemical transport Weather Research and Forecasting/Chemistry (WRF-Chem) model has been implemented over the Indian subcontinent for three consecutive summers in 2008, 2009 and 2010 to study the aerosol properties over the domain. The model simulated the meteorological parameters, trace gases and particulate matter. Predicted mixing ratios of trace gases (Ozone, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide) are compared with ground based observations over Kanpur. Simulated aerosol optical depth are compared with those observed at nine Aerosol Robotic Network stations (AERONET). The simulations show that the aerosol optical depth of the less polluted regions is better simulated compared to that of the locations where the aerosol loading is very high. The vertical profiles of extinction coefficient observed at the Kanpur Micropulse Lidar Network (MPLNET) station is underpredicted by the model by 10 to 50% for altitudes greater than 1.5 km and qualitatively simulate the elevated layers of aerosols. The simulated mass concentration of black carbon shows a correlation coefficient of 0.4 with observations. Vertical profiles of black carbon at various locations have also been compared with observations from an aircraft campaign held during pre-monsoon period of 2008 and 2009. This study shows that WRF-Chem model captures many important features of the observed atmospheric composition during the pre-monsoon season in India.
Dimension Reduction: A Powerful Principle for Automatically Finding Concepts in Unstructured Data

Dimension reduction techniques have been a successful avenue for automatically extracting the “concepts” underlying unstructured data, a task that naturally arises in fields as diverse as information retrieval, image processing, social science, etc. It is surprising how much can be achieved for this task using only the raw data itself, without resorting to any additional knowledge or intelligence. We will survey the most important schemes contributed from the various communities to date, by commenting on the following aspects: optimization techniques, the role of normalizations, setting the parameters, computing time, quality of results, and the integration of external knowledge.
Analysis of Consumer Repurchase Intention towards Online Shopping in Indonesia's Online Retail Business Market

Factors affecting repurchase intention have been investigated by many prior studies. However, the study towards online shopping repurchase intention and specifically in the Indonesia region has not been studied. An empirical study was conducted to investigate and identify the key factors that make customers willing to repurchase through online shopping. We evaluated some theories that have been used to investigate repurchase intentions and proposed a modified framework and develop our hypotheses. Our results pointed that Performance Expectancy and Facilitating Conditions to be the two most important factors that will influence the repurchase intention of customers. The implications of the findings were also discussed.
Actin filament content and organization in unstimulated platelets

The extent of actin polymerization in unstimulated, discoid platelets was measured by DNase I inhibition assay in Triton X-100 lysates of platelets washed at 37 degrees C by gel filtration, or in Triton X-100 lysates of platelets washed at ambient temperatures by centrifugation in the presence of prostacyclin. About 40% of the actin in the discoid platelets obtained by either method existed as filaments. These filaments could be visualized by electron microscopy of thin sections. Similar results were obtained when the actin filament content of discoid platelets was measured by sedimentation of filaments from Triton X-100 lysates at high g forces (145,000 g for 45 min). However, few of these filaments sedimented at the lower g forces often used to isolate networks of actin filaments from cell extracts. These results indicate that actin filaments in discoid cells are not highly crosslinked. Platelets isolated by centrifugation in the absence of prostacyclin were not discoid, but were instead irregular with one or more pseudopodia. These platelets also contained approximately 40-50% of their actin in a filamentous form; many of these filaments sedimented at low g forces, however, indicating that they were organized into networks. The discoid shape of these centrifuged platelets could be restored by incubating them for 1-3 h at 37 degrees C, which resulted in the reversal of filament organization. High g forces were then required for the sedimentation of the actin. Approximately 80-90% of the actin in platelets washed at 4 degrees C was filamentous; this high actin filament content could be attributed to actin polymerization during the preparation of the platelets at low temperatures. These studies show that platelet activation involves mechanisms for the structural reorganization of existing filaments, in addition to those previously described for mediating actin polymerization.