Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Makeup Lamps: Live Augmentation of Human Faces via Projection

We propose the first system for live dynamic augmentation of human faces. Using projector‐based illumination, we alter the appearance of human performers during novel performances. The key challenge of live augmentation is latency — an image is generated according to a specific pose, but is displayed on a different facial configuration by the time it is projected. Therefore, our system aims at reducing latency during every step of the process, from capture, through processing, to projection. Using infrared illumination, an optically and computationally aligned high‐speed camera detects facial orientation as well as expression. The estimated expression blendshapes are mapped onto a lower dimensional space, and the facial motion and non‐rigid deformation are estimated, smoothed and predicted through adaptive Kalman filtering. Finally, the desired appearance is generated interpolating precomputed offset textures according to time, global position, and expression. We have evaluated our system through an optimized CPU and GPU prototype, and demonstrated successful low latency augmentation for different performers and performances with varying facial play and motion speed. In contrast to existing methods, the presented system is the first method which fully supports dynamic facial projection mapping without the requirement of any physical tracking markers and incorporates facial expressions.
Aligning social welfare and agent preferences to alleviate traffic congestion

Multiagent coordination algorithms provide unique insights into the challenging problem of alleviating traffic congestion. What is particularly interesting in this class of problem is that no individual action (e.g., leave at a given time) is intrinsically "bad" but that combinations of actions among agents lead to undesirable outcomes. As a consequence, agents need to learn how to coordinate their actions with those of other agents, rather than learn a particular set of "good" actions. In general, the traffic problem can be approached from two distinct perspectives: (i) from a city manager's point of view, where the aim is to optimize a city wide objective function (e.g., minimize total city wide delays), and (ii) from the individual driver's point of view, where each driver is aiming to optimize a personal objective function (e.g., a "timeliness" function that minimizes the difference desired and actual arrival times at a destination). In many cases, these two objective functions are at odds with one another, where drivers aiming to optimize their own objectives yield to congestion and poor values of city objective functions. In this paper we present an objective shaping approach to both types of problems and study the system behavior that arises from the drivers' choices. We first show a topdown approach that provides incentives to drivers and leads to good values of the city manager's objective function. We then present a bottom-up approach that shows that drivers aiming to optimize their own personal timeliness objective lead to poor performance with respect to a city manager's objective function. Finally, we present the intriguing result that drivers that aim to optimize a modified version of their own timeliness function not only perform well in terms of the city manager's objective function, but also perform better with respect to their own original timeliness functions.
SmartSaver: Turning Flash Drive into a Disk Energy Saver for Mobile Computers

In a mobile computer the hard disk consumes a considerable amount of energy. Existing dynamic power management policies usually take conservative approaches to save disk energy, and disk energy consumption remains a serious issue. Meanwhile, the flash drive is becoming a must-have portable storage device for almost every laptop user on travel. In this paper, we propose to make another highly desired use of the flash drive - saving disk energy. This is achieved by using the flash drive as a standby buffer for caching and prefetching disk data. Our design significantly extends disk idle times with careful and deliberate consideration of the particular characteristics of the flash drive. Trace-driven simulations show that up to 41% of disk energy can be saved with a relatively small amount of data written to the flash drive
Impact of SDN on Mobility Management

The software integration with new network architectures via SDN (Software Defined Network) axis appears to be a major evolution of networks. While this paradigm was primarily developed for easy network setup, its ability to integrate services has also to be considered. Thus, the mobility service for which solutions have been proposed in conventional architectures by defining standardized protocols should be rethought in terms of SDN service. Mobile devices might use or move in SDN network. In this paper, we have shown that SDN can be implemented without IP mobility protocol for providing mobility like as Proxy Mobile IPv6 (PMIPv6) that is the solution adopted by 3GPP, with some performance gain.
The Affect of Lifestyle Factors on Eco-Visualization Design

As people become more concerned with the need to conserve their power consumption we need to find ways to inform them of how electricity is being consumed within the home. There are a number of devices that have been designed using different forms, sizes, and technologies. We are interested in large ambient displays that can be read at a glance and from a distance as informative art. However, from these objectives come a number of questions that need to be explored and answered. To what degree might lifestyle factors influence the design of eco-visualizations? To answer this we need to ask how people with varying lifestyle factors perceive the utility of such devices and their placement within a home. We explore these questions by creating four ambient display prototypes. We take our prototypes and subject them to a user study to gain insight as to the questions posed above. This paper discusses our prototypes in detail and the results and findings of our user study.
Formation and control of macrosegregation for round bloom continuous casting

Based on the developed coupled model of electromagnetism, heat and solute transportation, the macrosegregation formation and effect of secondary cooling water ratio on macrosegregation degree in strand during round bloom continuous casting process have been investigated. The solute segregation degree fluctuates from a positive to a negative value with distance from strand surface in the initial solidified shell region within thickness of 20 mm. A negative segregation region in concave shape and an irregular positive segregation zone are presented in the fixed and loosened side of strand respectively due to the gravity and thermosolutal convection. As the secondary cooling water ratio decreases from 0.25 to 0.15 L kg− 1, the solidification ratio at final electromagnetic stirring (F-EMS) centre increases from 73.14 to 77.83%. For the steel grade of 50Mn casted by round bloom casting within diameter of 0.35 m, the optimal solidification ratio at F-EMS centre is 75.05%, where the radial centre crack and shrinkage cavity at strand cross-section are removed.
Modeling and optimization of look‐locker spin labeling for measuring perfusion and transit time changes in activation studies taking into account arterial blood volume

This work describes a new compartmental model with step‐wise temporal analysis for a Look‐Locker (LL)‐flow‐sensitive alternating inversion‐recovery (FAIR) sequence, which combines the FAIR arterial spin labeling (ASL) scheme with a LL echo planar imaging (EPI) measurement, using a multireadout EPI sequence for simultaneous perfusion and T *2 measurements. The new model highlights the importance of accounting for the transit time of blood through the arteriolar compartment, δ, in the quantification of perfusion. The signal expected is calculated in a step‐wise manner to avoid discontinuities between different compartments. The optimal LL‐FAIR pulse sequence timings for the measurement of perfusion with high signal‐to‐noise ratio (SNR), and high temporal resolution at 1.5, 3, and 7T are presented. LL‐FAIR is shown to provide better SNR per unit time compared to standard FAIR. The sequence has been used experimentally for simultaneous monitoring of perfusion, transit time, and T *2 changes in response to a visual stimulus in four subjects. It was found that perfusion increased by 83 ± 4% on brain activation from a resting state value of 94 ± 13 ml/100 g/min, while T *2 increased by 3.5 ± 0.5%. Magn Reson Med 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Beyond Control Panels Direct Manipulation for Visual Analytics

To tackle the onset of big data, visual analytics (VA) seeks to marry the human intuition of visualization with mathematical models’ analytical horsepower. A critical question is, how will humans interact with and steer these complex mathematical models? Initially, users applied direct manipulation to such models in the same way they applied it to simpler visualizations in the premodel era—by using control panels to directly manipulate model parameters. However, opportunities are arising for direct manipulation of the model outputs, where the users’ thought processes take place, rather than the inputs. Here we present this new agenda for direct manipulation for VA.
Vibrio Infections and Surveillance in Maryland, 2002–2008

Objective. Vibrio is a naturally occurring waterborne pathogen with potential occupational, recreational, and commercial impacts. During the last 15 years in the U.S. and in Maryland, the incidence of vibriosis has increased. Due to the increase in cases in Maryland, warming water temperatures, and public concern about human health effects resulting from exposure to the Chesapeake Bay, we reviewed cases of vibriosis and evaluated the Vibrio surveillance system in Maryland for timeliness and data quality, attributes necessary for successful outbreak investigation and illness prevention. Methods. The evaluation included (1) informal qualitative surveys of state and local personnel who report and manage Vibrio cases and (2) a review of Vibrio surveillance data from 2002 through 2008 for data quality and timeliness of the system. Results. From 2002 to 2008, 188 laboratory-confirmed cases of vibriosis were reported in Maryland with an annual average of 27 cases The species of Vibrio that were most frequently responsible for infection, regardless of clinical presentation, were V. parahaemolyticus (43.6%), V. vulnificus (23.9%), V. alginolyticus (9.6%), and non-toxigenic V. cholerae (9.0%). The case fatality rate fluctuated during the study period, but the number of cases increased. Conclusions. The surveillance system in Maryland is flexible and captures cases of vibriosis where specimens were collected for testing; however, the system may not adequately capture mild, self-limiting infections. Better integration of data collection for clinical, laboratory, and environmental information and improved completion of variables for shellfish harvest or water exposure locations could improve the system. Quarterly meetings comprising surveillance, public health laboratory, and food-control personnel could direct and ensure the success of improvement efforts.
Prophylactic effects of chitin microparticles on highly pathogenic H5N1 influenza virus

Highly pathogenic avian influenza virus (H5N1) is an emerging pathogen with the potential to cause great harm to humans, and there is concern about the potential for a new influenza pandemic. This virus is resistant to the antiviral effects of interferons and tumor necrosis factor‐α. However, the mechanism of interferon‐independent protective innate immunity is not well understood. The prophylactic effects of chitin microparticles as a stimulator of innate mucosal immunity against a recently obtained strain of H5N1 influenza virus infection were examined in mice. Clinical parameters and the survival rate of mice treated by intranasal application of chitin microparticles were significantly improved compared to non‐treated mice after a lethal influenza virus challenge. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that the number of natural killer cells that expressed tumor necrosis factor‐related apoptosis‐inducing ligand (TRAIL) and that had migrated into the cervical lymph node was markedly increased (26‐fold) after intranasal treatment with chitin microparticles. In addition, the level of IL‐6 and interferon‐gamma‐inducible protein‐10 (IP‐10) in the nasal mucosa after H5N1 influenza virus challenge was decreased by prophylactic treatment with chitin microparticles. These results suggest that prophylactic intranasal administration of chitin microparticles enhanced the local accumulation of natural killer cells and suppressed hyper‐induction of cytokines, resulting in an innate immune response to prevent pathogenesis of H5N1 influenza virus. J. Med. Virol. 79: 811–819, 2007. © 2007 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Thermal cracking performance and design of mixtures using Superpave

The primary intent of this paper is to describe the Superpave(TM) system and its use as it relates to prediction of thermal cracking performance and design of asphalt mixtures. The Strategic Highway Research Program (SHRP) asphalt program resulted in the development of two performance-based tests to control thermal cracking performance of asphalt pavements: (1) the bending beam rheometer (BBR) test for asphalt binders, and (2) the indirect tensile creep and failure test at low temperatures for asphalt mixtures.
Phase III results of adjuvant radiotherapy (RT) versus wait-and-see (WS) in patients with pT3 prostate cancer following radical prostatectomy (RP)(ARO 96-02/AUO AP 09/95): Ten years follow-up.

4 Background: Adjuvant RT for pT3 R1 or R0 patients (pts.) after RP remains controversial. The EORTC-phase-III- study suggested a 20% better biochemical control (bNED) after 10 years for RT but no survival advantage. In contrast, the SWOG trial stated not only a gain in bNED but also an improved metastasis free and overall survival after 12 years follow-up. Now, 10-years results from the ARO 96-02 study are available, which are based on the most precisely defined cohort among the three trials. METHODS 385 men with prostate cancer were randomized to either 60 Gy RT (arm A; n=193) or WS (arm B; n=192) before achieving an undetectable PSA. Pts. were stratified for Gleason-score, margin status, neoadjuvant hormonal treatment and stage (pT3a+b vs. c). When the undetectable PSA-level after RP was not achieved, progressive disease was stated and the pts. left arm A/B. Data analysis was by intent-to-treat (ITT). PSA-progression for pts. with undetectable post-RP PSA was defined as two consecutive increasing PSA. The primary endpoint was bNED. The study was powered to demonstrate a 15% increase in bNED for RT. RESULTS 78 pts. (20%) did not achieve an undetectable PSA and were stated as progressive disease (arm A: 45 pts., arm B: 33 pts.). Additionally, 34 pts. (23%) from the RT-arm did not receive RT. Therefore, 114 pts. had RT (arm A) and 159 pts. WS (arm B). Median follow up was 111.3 months for arm A and 113.3 months for arm B . bNED at 10 years increased to 56% for arm A (RT) compared with 35% for arm B (WS) (hazard ratio= 0.51; p = 0.00002. Out of 307 ITT pts., 15 died from prostate cancer, 23 for other and 5 for unknown reasons. There was no significant profit from ART regarding the endpoints metastasis-free survival (p=0.56) or overall survival (p=0.59). Worst late side effects to the rectum were two grade 2 cases after ART. Grade ≥2 bladder toxicity occurred in 4 out of 148 ITT pts. No grade 4 events were reported. CONCLUSIONS With only one grade 3 case of late toxicity, ART was safe in pT3 prostate cancer. At 10 years median follow up, it reduced the risk of bNED by 49%. The study was not powered to detect differences in OS. CLINICAL TRIAL INFORMATION ARO 96-02/AUO AP 09/95.
In-vitro imaging of bone tissue and monitoring of tissue viability by optical coherence tomography

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has developed as a promising medical diagnostic imaging technology for non- invasive in situ cross-sectional imaging of biological tissues. We present this technique to image bone tissue and to monitor the redox state of mitochondria enzyme Cytochrome oxidase (CytOx) in bone for applications in tissue engineering. Superluminescent diode (SLD) with its peak emission wavelength (λ = 820nm) on the absorption band of oxidized form of CytOx was used in the experiments. The results demonstrate that the OCT system is capable of imaging the calvaria of newborn rats tomographically with a resolution at 9 microns, which could only be previously obtained by the conventional excisional biopsy. The thickness of periosteum of various calvarias from different ages of rats can be accurately determined by the system. The backscattered power-versus-depth profile form the liquid phantoms (naphthol green B with intralipid) and tissue specimens (periosteum of calvaria from newborn rats) are used to quantify the absorption changes of the sample. Absorption coefficients of naphthol green B could be quantified accurately by the linear relationship between attenuation coefficients from the slopes of the reflected signals and naphthol green B concentration. The results also show that the attenuation coefficient decreases in periosteums as CytOx being reduced by sodium dithionite, demonstrating the feasibility of this method to monitor the redox state of tissues studied.
Semi-supervised online learning for efficient classification of objects in 3D data streams

We present a novel learning algorithm especially designed for challenging, large-scale classification problems in mobile robotics. Our method addresses two important aims: first it reduces the required amount of interaction with a human supervisor, which increases the level of autonomy of the learning process. And second, it has the capability to update its internal representation online with every new observed data sample, which makes it adaptive to new environments. The proposed method is based on a combination of two established methods, namely Online Star Clustering and Label Propagation, but it extends and modifies these in such a way that significant shortcomings such as classification inaccuracy and run time inefficiency can be resolved. In experiments on large benchmark data sets, we show that our approach can quickly learn to classify 3D objects with a significantly reduced amount of required ground truth labels for training.
The binding of β-casein to hydroxyapatite: the effect of phosphate content and location

SUMMARY The elution behaviour of β-casein from columns of hydroxyapatite has been studied and the effect examined of the enzymic addition of an extra phosphate residue. When the additional phosphate is located near pre-existing phosphate residues stronger binding to hydroxyapatite is observed. When the additional phosphate is remote from the pre-existing phosphates no increase in strength of binding is observed. It is suggested that the clustering of phosphate residues which characterizes αs- and β-caseins can be rationalized on the basis that it facilitates cooperative interactions between these phosphates and the Ca phosphate of the casein micelle and/or basic residues within casein polypeptide chains.
MATERIAL TESTING BY THE METHOD OF DYNAMIC INDENTATION

This paper discusses the application of the dynamic indenter in materials testing where the brief shock loading gives rich information about material properties. The Hertz theory of elasticity has been used to provide analytical expressions for the calculation of a plasto-elastic strain produced by the shock interaction of a hemispheric indenter on a test piece. Using a measurement of the indentation as a function of the velocity change on impact with the material under test, the Meyer's hardness diagrams as a function of deformation on impact are plotted. Experimental results of the testing of steel samples with homogeneous and non homogeneous properties as a function of depth are presented.
Efficient FPGA Implementation of 2-D DWT for 9/7 Float Wavelet Filter

In this paper, an efficient VLSI architecture which performs the two-dimensional (2-D) 9/7 float discrete wavelet transform (DWT) for the Consultative Committee for Space Data Systems (CCSDS) image data compression is proposed. The 2-D DWT architecture is composed of two one-dimensional processors (row and column processors). The multipliers based on canonic signed-digit (CSD) are used to optimize the design of the 9/7 float wavelet finite impulse response digital filter. This architecture is a pipeline and memory efficient, improving the implementation of the 2D-DWT by adopting an efficient usage of hardware resources, low control complexity; and reducing the embedded memory requirements and external memory access. Based on the line-based architecture, the column processor can start column wise transform while only five rows have been processed. For an 2N×2N image, only 11×2N internal memory is required for the 9/7 float 2-D DWT. Finally, RTL simulation results are presented to show that the proposed architecture is fast and efficient for the 2-D DWT computation.
Evaluating computational creativity : a standardised procedure for evaluating creative systems and its application

This thesis proposes SPECS: a Standardised Procedure for Evaluating Creative Systems. No methodology has been accepted as standard for evaluating the creativity of a system in the field of computational creativity and the multi-faceted and subjective nature of creativity generates substantial definitional issues. Evaluative practice has developed a general lack of rigour and systematicity, hindering research progress. SPECS is a standardised and systematic methodology for evaluating computational creativity. It is flexible enough to be applied to a variety of different types of creative system and adaptable to specific demands in different types of creativity. In the three-stage process of evaluation, researchers are required to be specific about what creativity entails in the domain they work in and what standards they test a system’s creativity by. To assist researchers, definitional issues are investigated and a set of components representing aspects of creativity is presented, which was empirically derived using computational linguistics analysis. These components are recommended for use within SPECS, being offered as a general definition of creativity that can be customised to account for any specific priorities for creativity in a given domain. SPECS is applied in a case study for detailed comparisons of the creativity of three musical improvisation systems, identifying which systems are more creative than others and why. In a second case study, SPECS is used to capture initial impressions on the creativity of systems presented at a 2011 computational creativity research event. Five systems performing different creative tasks are compared and contrasted. These case studies exemplify the valuable information that can be obtained on a system’s strengths and weaknesses. SPECS gives researchers vital feedback for improving their systems’ creativity, informing further progress in computational creativity research.