Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
AIT Foundations of Structured Experience

In this paper, we present a unifying framework to study consciousness based on algorithmic information theory (AIT). We take as a premise that “there is experience” and focus on the requirements for structured experience ([Formula: see text]) — the spatial, temporal, and conceptual organization of our first-person experience of the world and of ourselves as agents in it. Our starting point is the insight that access to good models — succinct and accurate generative programs of world data — is crucial for homeostasis and survival. We hypothesize that the successful comparison of such models with data provides the structure to experience. Building on the concept of Kolmogorov complexity, we can associate the qualitative aspects of [Formula: see text] with the algorithmic features of the model, including its length, which reflects the structure discovered in the data. Moreover, a modeling system tracking structured data will display dimensionality reduction and criticality features that can be used empirically to quantify the structure of the program run by the agent. KT provides a consistent framework to define the concepts of life and agent and allows for the comparison between artificial agents and [Formula: see text]-reporting humans to provide an educated guess about agent experience. A first challenge is to show that a human agent has [Formula: see text] to the extent they run encompassing and compressive models tracking world data. For this, we propose to study the relation between the structure of neurophenomenological, physiological, and behavioral data. The second is to endow artificial agents with the means to discover good models and study their internal states and behavior. We relate the algorithmic framework to other theories of consciousness and discuss some of its epistemological, philosophical, and ethical aspects.
Gait Feature Extraction and Recognition Based on Video Compression

The current video-based gait recognition research needs to process the decoded video into the original image. Moreover, the performance of gait recognition is frequently deteriorated by factors such as clothing, carrying conditions, and viewing angle variations. In this paper, we present a novel perspective that utilizes motion information in the compressed video as gait features. Proposed method provides gait silhouettes without semantic segmentation of video and contains more temporal motion information. In order to obtain more discriminative and effective features, we use srm filters to extract local noise features from gait residual silhouette images, then a convolutional neural network is constructed to learn the distribution characteristics of silhouette noises. Finally, evaluation is performed on publicly available CASIA-B and CASIA-C gait dataset. Experiments show that compared with the existing methods, proposed method saves at least 65% in the time to obtain gait silhouette features, reduces the storage consumption by an order of magnitude, and obtains an average recognition accuracy rate of 96.6%.
Towards a Redefinition of the Mathematics Culture in the Classroom.

The questions addressed in this paper are: how do students interpret the non-solution problems as a mathematical practice in the classroom? What kinds of arguments do the students offer? To deal with these questions the utterances of students working in the classroom with problems in which they had to look for general relations in order to argue such things as “there is no least positive fraction” or “it’s impossible to tessellate a rectangle with some kind of pieces” are examined and discussed.
Deformable meshes for shape recovery: models and applications

DEFORMABLE MESHES FOR SHAPE RECOVERY: MODELS AND APPLICATIONS by CHANG LIU December 2011 Advisor: Dr. Jing Hua Major: Computer Science Degree: Doctor of Philosophy With the advance of scanning and imaging technology, more and more 3D objects become available. Among them, deformable objects have gained increasing interests. They include medical instances such as organs, a sequence of objects in motion, and objects of similar shapes where a meaningful correspondence can be established between each other. Thus, it requires tools to store, compare, and retrieve them. Many of these operations depend on successful shape recovery. Shape recovery is the task to retrieve an object from the environment where its geometry is hidden or implicitly known. As a simple and versatile tool, mesh is widely used in computer graphics for modelling and visualization. In particular, deformable meshes are meshes which can take the deformation of deformable objects. They extend the modelling ability of meshes. This dissertation focuses on using deformable meshes to approach the 3D shape recovery problem. Several models are presented to solve the challenges for shape recovery under different circumstances. When the object is hidden in an image, a PDE deformable model is designed to extract its surface shape. The algorithm uses a mesh representation so that it can model any non-smooth surface with an arbitrary precision compared to a parametric model. It is more computational efficient than a level-set approach. When the explicit geometry of the object
Impact of One-Year Dietary Education on Change in Selected Anthropometric and Biochemical Parameters in Children with Excess Body Weight

Obesity is regarded as a civilization disease that increases mortality and the risk of cardiovascular complications. In Poland, the prevalence of excess body weight in the paediatric population has been steadily increasing. The consequences of excess body weight in the developmental age population affect children’s health and destabilize their development. Appropriate dietary interventions are the main non-invasive methods of preventing and treating obesity. They should be aimed at the whole family, optimally with the use of simple tools such as the Healthy Eating Pyramid. Due to the increasing prevalence of excess body weight in the developmental age population and the problems with the treatment of this condition, studies were undertaken in order to determine the impact of a dietary intervention on anthropometric and biochemical parameters in children with excess body weight. A total of 68 (72.3%) children completed the study. Based on BMI SDS, 59 (86.8%) were diagnosed with obesity and 9 (13.2%) with overweight. After the completion of the one-year dietary educational program, a significant improvement in weight loss, waist and hip circumference, as well as the value of the WHtR index was demonstrated. There was also a significant increase in the percentage of muscle tissue and a decrease in the content of adipose tissue in the bodies of examined children. A significant improvement in the parameters of carbohydrate metabolism, and almost all parameters of lipid metabolism, except for total cholesterol. A significant (by 28.0%) reduction in the incidence of fatty liver was also noted. No influence of dietary education on arterial blood pressure was observed.
Reading multiple documents on a health-related issue: the roles of a text-highlighting tool and re-reading behaviour in integrated understanding

ABSTRACT This study aimed to investigate the roles of a text-highlighting tool and readers’ re-reading behaviour in their integrated understanding of multiple documents. University students (N = 95) read five partly conflicting documents on a health-related issue on a touch display with or without a text-highlighting tool. Integrated understanding of documents was assessed by the number of intertextual connections in essays written after reading and by a source-content mapping task. The provision of the text-highlighting tool resulted in longer initial reading times even when subtracting the time taken for highlighting, but shorter re-reading times, particularly for participants with a high number of re-readings. Further, only for participants with a high number of re-readings, the provision of the text-highlighting tool resulted in more intertextual connections than when no text-highlighting tool was provided. Participants’ source-content integration was positively related to the number of re-readings, regardless of whether the text-highlighting tool was provided. Finally, additional exploratory eye-tracking analyses revealed that for two out of the five documents, participants in the with-highlighting condition focused on significantly smaller parts of the documents during re-reading than controls.
Effective Operators for Dark Matter Interactions

The aim of this thesis is to determine possible interactions between the Standard Model with right-chiral neutrinos and a sector of dark matter composed of a real scalar, left- and right-chiral fermion and a vector particle, which are singlets of the Standard Model gauge group. In the introductory chapters we review the evidence for dark matter and methods of its detection. In the main part, we present the complete list of gauge singlet operators of dimension not greater than 4, that consist of the standard sector fields. We obtain also an analogous list for the dark matter particles. Using both of them, we find the possible interactions between the two sectors, firstly for the renormalizable theories, then within the effective theory framework with operators up to dimension 6, imposing the stability symmetry condition on each dark matter field. We consider the problem of generation for the effective operators in underlying, renormalizable gauge theory that includes the Standard Model. It is shown, which of the operators can be generated in tree-level approximation and which require a loop.
Nuclear waste disposal—pyrochlore (A2B2O7): Nuclear waste form for the immobilization of plutonium and “minor” actinides

During the past half-century, the nuclear fuel cycle has generated approximately 1400 metric tons of plutonium and substantial quantities of the “minor” actinides, such as Np, Am, and Cm. The successful disposition of these actinides has an important impact on the strategy for developing advanced nuclear fuel cycles, weapons proliferation, and the geologic disposal of high-level radioactive waste. During the last decade, there has been substantial interest in the use of the isometric pyrochlore structure-type, A2B2O7, for the immobilization of actinides. Most of the interest has focused on titanate-pyrochlore because of its chemical durability; however, these compositions experience a radiation-induced transition from the crystalline-to-aperiodic state due to radiation damage from the alpha-decay of actinides. Depending on the actinide concentration, the titanate pyrochlore will become amorphous in less than 1000 years of storage. Recently, systematic ion beam irradiations of a variety of pyrochlore compo.
Max-Weight Achieves the Exact $[O(1/V), O(V)]$ Utility-Delay Tradeoff Under Markov Dynamics

In this paper, we show that the Quadratic Lyapunov function based Algorithm (QLA, also known as MaxWeight or Backpressure) achieves an exact $[O(1/V), O(V)]$ utility-delay tradeoff in stochastic network optimization problems with Markovian network dynamics. Note that though the QLA algorithm has been extensively studied, most of the performance results are obtained under i.i. d. network radnomness, and it has not been formally proven that QLA achieves the exact $[O(1/V), O(V)]$ utility-delay tradeoff under Markov dynamics. Our analysis uses a combination of duality theory and a variable multi-slot Lyapunov drift argument. The variable multi-slot Lapunov drift argument here is different from previous multi-slot drift analysis, in that the slot number is a random variable corresponding to the renewal time of the network randomness. This variable multi-slot drift argument not only allows us to obtain an exact $[O(1/V), O(V)]$ tradeoff, but also allows us to state the performance of QLA in terms of explicit parameters of the network dynamic process.
Surface Curvature and Vortex Stability

We examine the stability of a pinned superfluid helium vortex line by measuring its persistence at elevated temperatures. Each vortex terminates at the surface of the container, at either a rounded bump or a conical indentation. We find that pinning with the bump termination is much easier to overcome thermally. This behavior would not be expected from considerations of vortex line tension alone. We take the observations as evidence of an additional contribution to the pinning energetics arising from the interaction of the superfluid order parameter singularity with the curvature of the container's surface. By favoring pinning at points of negative Gaussian curvature, the surface interaction makes the bump a less advantageous pin site.
A CHARACTERIZATION OF THE HOMOGENEOUS REAL HYPERSURFACE OF TYPE (B) WITH TWO DISTINCT CONSTANT PRINCIPAL CURVATURES IN A COMPLEX HYPERBOLIC SPACE

A tube of radius r (0 < r < ∞) around totally real totally geodesic Hn(c/4) is called a homogeneous real hypersurface of type (B) in Hn (c). It is known that every type (B) hypersurface with radius r = (1/ |c| ) loge(2 + √ 3 ) has three distinct constant principal curvatures and in the case of r = (1/ |c| ) loge(2+ √ 3 ) the real hypersurface M2n−1 of type (B) has two distinct constant principal curvatures. The main purpose of this paper is to characterize this real hypersurface M .
Beyond bone mineral density: new developments in dual X-ray absorptiometry assessment of bone quality

Bone mineral density, bone texture, bone geometry and bone strength are all elements necessary for a proper osteoporotic fragility fracture prediction assessment. Data regarding bone quantity (density) and, in part, bone quality (structure and geometry) are obtained by the gold standard method of dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA), while data about bone strength are obtained by means of a new DXA index called the bone strain index (BSI). The BSI evaluates bone resistance by means of average strain calculation, and it is based on finite element analysis applied to DXA spine and femoral scans. The BSI includes local information on bone density distribution, bone geometry and, unlike variables of bone mineral density and bone quality such as the trabecular bone score, it represents the status of the bone in a particular loading condition. This review illustrates the methodology for calculating the BSI and discusses findings on its reproducibility and data about its capability to predict fragility fractures and monitor pharmacological treatment for osteoporosis.
Multisensory integration effect of humanoid robot appearance and voice on users’ affective preference and visual attention

ABSTRACT Appearance and voice are essential factors impacting users’ affective preferences for humanoid robots. However, little is known about how the appearance and voice of humanoid robots jointly influence users’ affective preferences and visual attention. We conducted a mixed-design eye-tracking experiment to examine the multisensory integration effect of humanoid robot appearances and voices on users’ affective preferences and visual attention. The results showed that the combinations of affectively preferred voices and appearances attracted more affective preferences and shorter average fixation durations. The combinations of non-preferred voices and preferred appearances captured less affective preferences and longer fixation durations. The results suggest that congruent combinations of affectively preferred voices and appearances might motivate a facilitation effect on users’ affective preference and the depth of visual attention through audiovisual complements. Incongruent combinations of non-preferred voices and preferred appearances might stimulate an attenuation effect and result in less affective preferences and a deeper retrieval of visual information. Besides, the head attracted the most amount of visual attention regardless of voice conditions. This paper contributes to deepening the understanding of the multisensory integration effect on users’ affective preferences and visual attention and providing practical implications for designing humanoid robots satisfying users’ affective preferences.
Effects of CO2 Concentration and the Uptake on Carbonation of Cement-Based Materials

Carbonation seriously deteriorates the durability of existing reinforced concrete structures. In this study, a thermodynamic model is used to investigate the carbonation reactions in cement-based materials. The effects of the concentration and amounts of CO2 on the carbonation behaviors of mortar are discussed. The simulation results show that the mechanisms of the carbonation reaction of cement-based materials at different CO2 concentrations may be different. Nearly all of the hydrate phases have a corresponding CO2 concentration threshold, above which the corresponding carbonation reaction can be triggered. The thresholds of the C-S-H phases with different Ca/Si ratios are different. The calculation results also show that the phase assemblages in cement paste after being completely air-carbonated, primarily consist of a low-Ca/Si ratio C-S-H, strätlingite, CaCO3 and CaSO4. The pH of the pore solution exhibits a significant decrease when a higher Ca/Si ratio C-S-H phase is completely decalcified into a lower Ca/Si ratio C-S-H phase, by increasing the CO2 uptake. Additionally, the experimental results and the previously published investigations are used to validate the simulation results.
Comparative Transcriptome Analysis and Genetic Methods Revealed the Biocontrol Mechanism of Paenibacillus polymyxa NSY50 against Tomato Fusarium Wilt

Fusarium wilt caused by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lycopersici (Fol) is a common disease that affects tomatoes, which can cause the whole plant to wilt and seriously reduce the production of tomatoes in greenhouses. In this study, the morphological indexes, photosynthetic performance and incidence rate of NSY50 under Fol infection were evaluated. It was found that NSY50 could improve the growth of tomato seedlings and significantly reduce the incidence rate of Fusarium wilt. However, the molecular mechanism of NSY50 that induces resistance to Fusarium wilt is still unclear. We used transcriptomic methods to analyze NSY50-induced resistance to Fol in tomatoes. The results showed that plant defense related genes, such as PR and PAL, were highly expressed in tomato seedlings pretreated with NSY50. At the same time, photosynthetic efficiency, sucrose metabolism, alkaloid biosynthesis and terpene biosynthesis were significantly improved, which played a positive role in reducing the damage caused by Fol infection and enhancing the disease tolerance of seedlings. Through transgenic validation, we identified an important tomato NAC transcription factor, SlNAP1, which was preliminarily confirmed to be effective in relieving the detrimental symptoms induced by Fol. Our findings reveal that P. polymyxa NSY50 is an effective plant-growth-promoting rhizosphere bacterium and also a biocontrol agent of soil-borne diseases, which can significantly improve the resistance of tomato to Fusarium wilt.
Summertime precipitation extremes and the influence of atmospheric flows on the western slopes of the southern Andes of Perú

Although climatologically dry, the western slopes of the southern Andes of Peru (WSA) can experience precipitation extremes (PEs) during the summer (December–February) resulting in great economic and human losses. Generally, WSA has a positive upslope gradient in precipitation, meaning more rain falls at higher elevations, but observations have shown this gradient can become negative with higher rainfall near the coastal cities. In this study we analyse 2000–2019 regional atmospheric patterns associated with different upslope precipitation gradients and PEs in WSA using principal component analysis methods and surface station observations. Results show important changes in the atmospheric circulation patterns during the occurrence of PE events. A prevailing pattern of negative southerly wind anomalies and regional warming of the southeastern Pacific Ocean leads to significant increases in moisture along the coast of WSA. Eastern moisture flows associated with the presence of the Bolivian High are observed at upper levels of the atmosphere and transport water vapour from the Amazon to the western side of the Andes. Additionally, there is a blocking effect aloft in response to an intense gradient of geopotential height that attenuates the easterly circulations. These large‐scale mechanisms act to concentrate high precipitable water amounts and high levels of convective available potential energy in the troposphere which favours the vertical velocities essential to trigger PEs. These results increase our knowledge of the large‐scale characteristics of PEs to help with forecasting these impactful events and protecting the more than 1.8 million people living in WSA.
The Interrelationship between Latitudinal Differences and Metabolic Differences in the Natural Distribution Area of Tilia amurensis Rupr.

Tilia amurensis Rupr. is a crucial species widely used in our life, because its wood is easy to process due to its low specific gravity and good elasticity. To understand the effect of the latitudinal gradients on T. amurensis metabolites profiles, we collected data from six different latitudes about physiological indicators such as temperature, light, and precipitation, then analyzed the differences in T. amurensis metabolite profiles from these different latitudes. The metabolomes of the six latitudes (SFS 49°28′53.26″ N, WY 48°06′51.314″ N, LS 47°11′1.71″ N, BL 45°7′55″ N, BH 43°50′16.8″ N, and TS 40′30.89″ N) were compared using GC–MS/LC–MS, and significant differences in primary and secondary metabolites were found. A total of 29 primary metabolites were screened by orthogonal partial least squares discriminant analysis (OPLS-DA), and 34 flavonoids were determined using the targeted metabolomics methods. A total of 11 flavonoids in secondary metabolites were significantly different in the LS region compared with other areas. The main physiological indicator that differs between the LS region and other regions was the annual sunshine percentage. This indicates that the metabolic differences in T. amurensis at different latitudes may be affected by environmental factors such as annual sunshine percentage. As a vital species, T. amurensis metabolites change with different environmental factors, indicating that this species has different adaptability to the environment of different latitudes.