Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Ar Dating of the Kapthurin Formation, Baringo, Kenya Introduction

The Ar/Ar radiometric dating technique has been applied to tuffs and lavas of the Kapthurin Formation in the Tugen Hills, Kenya Rift Valley. Two variants of the Ar/Ar technique, single-crystal total fusion (SCTF) and laser incremental heating (LIH) have been employed to date five marker horizons within the formation: near the base, the Kasurein Basalt at 0·61 0·04 Ma; the Pumice Tuff at 0·543 0·004 Ma; the Upper Kasurein Basalt at 0·552 0·015 Ma; the Grey Tuff at 0·509 0·009 Ma; and within the upper part of the formation, the Bedded Tuff at 0·284 0·012 Ma. The new, precise radiometric age determination for the Pumice Tuff also provides an age for the widespread Lake Baringo Trachyte, since the Pumice Tuff is the early pyroclastic phase of this voluminous trachyte eruption. These results establish the age of fossil hominids KNM-BK 63-67 and KNM-BK 8518 at approximately 0·510–0·512 Ma, a significant finding given that few Middle Pleistocene hominids are radiometrically dated. The Kapthurin hominids are thus the near contemporaries of those from Bodo, Ethiopia and Tanzania. A flake and core industry from lacustrine sediments in the lower part of the formation is constrained by new dates of 0·55–0·52 Ma, a period during which the Acheulian industry, characterized by handaxes, is known throughout East Africa. Points, typical of the Middle Stone Age (MSA), are found in Kapthurin Formation sediments now shown to date to between 0·509 0·009 Ma and 0·284 0·012 Ma. This date exceeds previous estimates for the age of the MSA elsewhere in East Africa by 49 ka, and establishes the age of Acheulian to MSA transition for the region. Evidence of the use of the Levallois technique for the manufacture of both small flakes and biface preforms, the systematic production of blades, and the use and processing of red ochre also occurs in this interval. The presence of blades and red ochre at this depth is important as blades signify a high degree of technical competence and red ochre suggests symbolic behavior.
Static-noise margin analysis of MOS SRAM cells

The stability of both resistor-load (R-load) and full-CMOS SRAM cells is investigated analytically as well as by simulation. Explicit analytic expressions for the static-noise margin (SNM) as a function of device parameters and supply voltage are derived. The expressions are useful in predicting the effect of parameter changes on the stability as well as in optimizing the design of SRAM cells. An easy-to-use SNM simulation method is presented, the results of which are in good agreement with the results predicted by the analytic SNM expressions. It is further concluded that full-CMOS cells are much more stable than R-local cells at a low supply voltage.
Toward Large Scale Model Construction for Vision-based Global Localisation

Monocular SLAM reconstruction algorithm advancements enable their integration in various applications: trajectometry, 3D model reconstruction, etc. However proposed methods still have drift limitations when applied to large-scale sequences. In this paper, we propose a post-processing algorithm which exploits a CAD model to correct SLAM reconstructions. The presented method is based on a specific deformable transformations model and then on an adapted non-rigid ICP between the reconstructed 3D point cloud and the known CAD model. Experimental results on both synthetic and real sequences point out that the 3D scene geometry regains its consistency and that the camera trajectory is improved: mean distance between the reconstructed cameras and the ground truth is less than 1 meter on several hundreds of meters.
On the Feasibility of Network RF Energy Operated Field Sensors

This paper estimates the feasibility of operating field sensors using otherwise unwanted radio frequency (RF) energy in a wireless ad hoc sensor network. In the traditional concept, an exposed node is kept from any communication activities during a neighbor's transmission. To save energy, the node may go to sleep mode during its inactivity period. In contrast, it is proposed that whenever a node is not communicating it should attempt to collect energy from the ongoing transmissions in its vicinity. A two-tier network is considered with the field sensor nodes having rudimentary communication (transmission) functionality at the first tier and the routing-capable nodes at the second tier. Via geometric probabilistic analysis, aided by network simulations, the conditions on rectification efficiency and transmission duty cycle of network RF energy operated field nodes are derived for their uninterrupted processing and transmission activities.
Convex Model Predictive Control for Vehicular Systems

In this work, the author presents a method called Convex Model Predictive Control (CMPC) to control systems whose states are elements of the rotation matrices SO(n) for n = 2, 3. This is done without charts or any local linearization, and instead is performed by operating over the orbitope of rotation matrices. This results in a novel model predictive control (MPC) scheme without the drawbacks associated with conventional linearization techniques such as slow computation time and local minima. Of particular emphasis is the application to aeronautical and vehicular systems, wherein the method removes many of the trigonometric terms associated with these systems’ state space equations. Furthermore, the method is shown to be compatible with many existing variants of MPC, including obstacle avoidance via Mixed Integer Linear Programming (MILP).
The Identification of Spelling Variants in English and German Historical Texts: Manual or Automatic?

In this article, we describe the respective approaches we have taken when addressing issues of spelling variation in German and English historical texts. More specifically, we describe an experiment to evaluate automatic techniques for the development of letter replacement heuristics against manually created gold standards of known letter replacements rules. As will become clear, the motivation for the research differs according to the team of researchers: the German researchers are seeking to develop a search engine for historical texts; the English researchers want to improve the results obtained when applying corpus linguistic techniques (developed for modern language) to historical data. However, the respective teams do share a longer term goal of assessing whether it is possible to develop a generic spelling detection tool for Indo-European languages.
Gender and Personality as Predictors of Bullying in Primary Schools: Evidence from Some Schools in Sekota Town, Amhara National Regional State

Bullying is a recent subject of study in Ethiopia. The present study investigated if gender and the big five personality traits independently, jointly, and their interaction predict bullying among primary school students. The study followed a correlational design and involved 204 students drawn from three randomly selected primary schools in Sekota town, Amhara National Regional State, Ethiopia. These 204 students were identified as perpetrators of bullying with different roles (bullies, assistants, and reinforcers) based on nominations from peers. Data on respondents’ personality and level of bullying were collected using close ended questionnaires. Multiple linear regression was used to analyze data. Results revealed that gender and personality and their interaction taken together explained 34.4% of the variance in bullying. Except for agreeableness all the big five personality traits predicted bullying. However, there were gender differences in the role of conscientiousness in predicting bullying. Thus, based on the findings it can be concluded that gender and personality are important precursors of bullying. Following the conclusion several recommendations were forwarded among which is initiating conversations with students about the nature of bullying, its consequences, and how to tackle bullying behavior.
Non-Pinhole Impostors

Impostors are approximations of scene geometry with multiple applications in computer graphics. In previous work impostors are constructed with orthographic or perspective projections which limit the approximation quality to what is visible along a single view direction or from a single viewpoint. In this paper we show that impostors constructed with nonpinhole cameras improve the approximation quality at little additional cost if the non-pinhole camera provides fast projection. For such a camera, the fundamental operation of ray-impostor intersection proceeds efficiently by searching along the one-dimensional projection of the ray on the impostor image. In the context of two-camera configurations, our work extends epipolar geometry constraints, well known for pinholes, to non-pinholes. We demonstrate the advantages of non-pinhole impostors in the context of interactive reflection and refraction rendering.
Segmentation of Biological Volume Datasets Using a Level-Set Framework

This paper presents a framework for extracting surface models from a broad variety of volume datasets. These datasets are produced from standard 3D imaging devices, and are all noisy samplings of complex biological structures with boundaries that have low and often varying contrasts. The level set segmentation method, which is well documented in the literature, creates a new volume from the input data by solving an initial-value partial differential equation (PDE) with user-defined feature-extracting terms. However, level set deformations alone are not sufficient, they must be combined with powerful initialization techniques in order to produce successful segmentations. Our level set segmentation approach consists of defining a set of suitable pre-processing techniques for initialization and selecting/tuning different feature-extracting terms in the level set algorithm. This collection of techniques forms a toolkit that can be applied, under the guidance of a user, to segment a variety of volumetric data.
Optimal Segmentation of Brain Tumors using DRLSE Levelset

segmentation plays a vital role in medical image processing and computer vision. In case of medical scan images geometric level set functions perform accurate segmentation in good no of cases but develops irregularities during concave region evolution. These irregularities cause numerical errors and eventually destroy the stability of the evolution. In this paper, a new variational formulation known as distance regularization has a unique forwardandbackward (FAB) diffusion e ffect is used for the analysis of medical brain image scans which perform accurate segmentation in case of concavities. This method also eliminates the need of the costly rein itialization procedure. This method shows reliable and good convergence to the object boundaries with speed in case of concavities.
Model based algorithm for singular point detection from fingerprint images

The detection of singular points (SP) is an important step for automatic fingerprint identification system (APIS). In this paper, a model-based algorithm for singular points detection is proposed. Based on a model, which can describe the orientation fields around the singular point, a Hough transform is taken to compute the coefficients of the model, i.e., the exact position of the singular point. Since more information about singular point is used, the proposed algorithm is supposed to have a better performance than traditional Poincare index based algorithm. At the same time, the voting value of the Hough transform indicates the likelihood of the detected singular point, which can be used to eliminate spurious singular points. The experiments are taken to illustrate the algorithm's effectiveness.
The Function of the Conserved Regulatory Element within the Second Intron of the Mammalian Csf1r Locus

The gene encoding the receptor for macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF-1R) is expressed exclusively in cells of the myeloid lineages as well as trophoblasts. A conserved element in the second intron, Fms-Intronic Regulatory Element (FIRE), is essential for macrophage-specific transcription of the gene. However, the molecular details of how FIRE activity is regulated and how it impacts the Csf1r promoter have not been characterised. Here we show that agents that down-modulate Csf1r mRNA transcription regulated promoter activity altered the occupancy of key FIRE cis-acting elements including RUNX1, AP1, and Sp1 binding sites. We demonstrate that FIRE acts as an anti-sense promoter in macrophages and reversal of FIRE orientation within its native context greatly reduced enhancer activity in macrophages. Mutation of transcription initiation sites within FIRE also reduced transcription. These results demonstrate that FIRE is an orientation-specific transcribed enhancer element.
Balanced Parallel Scheduling for Video Encoding with Adaptive GOP Structure

Due to the nature of a dynamic group of picture (GOP) structure, parallel scheduling for video encoding becomes challenging. To address this, the balanced frame-level parallel scheduling algorithms are developed. The proposed approaches first determine the frame priority and then the thread priority assignment for scheduling. The concept of the algorithms lies in the analysis of coding complexity, temporal influence, and the required temporal burden to finish coding. To complete the scheduling with the dynamic GOP structure, a block-based abrupt and gradual scene change detection algorithm is also proposed to determine the GOP structure adaptively. The experiments show that the scheduling performance is close to the optimal. In addition, the concept of batch processing is incorporated so that the required buffer can be reduced.
Interaction analysis of FACTS controllers based on relative gain array principle

With aggravation of power system complexity and wide application of flexible AC transmission system (FACTS) equipments in power system, interactions and coordination between FACTS controllers need to be investigated and solved. Different from Phillips-Heffron model, the linear model of 2-area, 4-machine power system with Static Var Compensators (SVC) and Static Synchronous Compensators (STATCOM) installed was established, which is used in the process of relative gain array (RGA) analysis. The relationship of interactions and electric distance between SVC and SVC or between SVC and STATCOM were investigated based on RGA principle. The results of a time-domain simulation was consistent with RGA analysis, which verified the feasibility and effectiveness of RGA principle used to analyze interactions between FACTS equipments in power system.
Multiple Face Tracking with Appearance Modes and Reasoning

Multiple face tracking plays a key role in applications related to security-surveillance, human-comp uter interactions, video indexing etc. Existing literature in f ace tracking has mainly focused on facial features from a detection/recognition viewpoint. On the other hand, we believe that reasoning with detected/tracked face regions has a strong role in multiple face tracking. We propose a reasonin g scheme that binds face localization (motion and mean-shift ) and detection (Ada-Boost with Haar features) for tracking multiple faces in image sequences. The reasoning procedure identifies the cases of face isolation (unoccluded), grouping/occlusions, detection/tracking failure, entry/exit and reappearance of faces. Instantiation of these cases are used a s cues in selective update of the facial features. Additional ly, we maintain a Normalized Face Cluster Set (NFCS) to capture the appearance modes for varying facial poses. These cluster sets are further used in discriminating new faces from the existing ones while restoring the tracks of th e later. Experimental validation on four video sequences has shown significant tracking performance under occlusions.
VaR Model Based on SMEs Credit Guarantee Risk Pricing

Chinese government is seeking to encourage small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) growth which requires expansion capital. Comparing with larger firms, SMEs are less access to the debt capital they need for start-up, growth, and survival. Consequently, some commercial agencies have often intervened in credit markets by taking on the role of guarantors of loans that financial institutions advance to SMEs, such as CHORIENWISE, a famous Chinese commercial guarantor, provides guarantees of loans made by financial institutions to qualifying small firms. With the development of credit guarantee industry, as a high-risk industry, it is extremely important to set a scientific price in the guarantee contract in order to cover the loss of guarantee failure. At present, the approaches of credit guarantee pricing are mainly empirical pricing method and option pricing method. Combining with the international VaR model, this thesis analyzes the limitation of the practical use of these two methods and gives out a guarantee pricing method which is based on the credit guarantee risk. By using this approach, in a certain confidence level, at least, the guarantee agency can get the risk-free profit.
A Genomic Distance for Assembly Comparison Based on Compressed Maximal Exact Matches

Genome assemblies are typically compared with respect to their contiguity, coverage, and accuracy. We propose a genome-wide, alignment-free genomic distance based on compressed maximal exact matches and suggest adding it to the benchmark of commonly used assembly quality metrics. Maximal exact matches are perfect repeats, without gaps or misspellings, which cannot be further extended to either their left- or right-end side without loss of similarity. The genomic distance here proposed is based on the normalized compression distance, an information-theoretic measure of the relative compressibility of two sequences estimated using multiple finite-context models. This measure exposes similarities between the sequences, as well as, the nesting structure underlying the assembly of larger maximal exact matches from smaller ones. We use four human genome assemblies for illustration and discuss the impact of genome sequencing and assembly in the final content of maximal exact matches and the genomic distance here proposed.
Re‐evaluation casts doubt on the pathogenicity of homozygous USH2A p.C759F

Mutations in USH2A are a common cause of Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). Among the most frequently reported USH2A variants, c.2276G>T (p.C759F) has been found in both affected and healthy individuals. The pathogenicity of this variant remains controversial since it was detected in homozygosity in two healthy siblings of a Spanish family (S23), eleven years ago. The fact that these individuals remain asymptomatic today, prompted us to study the presence of other pathogenic variants in this family using targeted resequencing of 26 retinal genes in one of the affected individuals. This approach allowed us to identify one novel pathogenic homozygous mutation in exon 13 of PDE6B (c.1678C>T; p.R560C). This variant cosegregated with the disease and was absent in 200 control individuals. Remarkably, the identified variant in PDE6B corresponds to the mutation responsible of the retinal degeneration in the naturally occurring rd10 mutant mice. To our knowledge, this is the first report of the identification of the rd10 mice mutation in a RP family. These findings, together with a review of the literature, support the hypothesis that homozygous p.C759F mutations are not pathogenic and led us to exclude the implication of p.C759F in the RP of family S23. Our results indicate the need of re‐evaluating all families genetically diagnosed with this mutation. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Microarray Analysis of the Effect of Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus M-Like Protein in Infecting Porcine Pulmonary Alveolar Macrophage

Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus (S. zooepidemicus), which belongs to Lancefield group C streptococci, is an important pathogen of domesticated species, causing septicemia, meningitis and mammitis. M-like protein (SzP) is an important virulence factor of S. zooepidemicus and contributes to bacterial infection and antiphagocytosis. To increase our knowledge of the mechanism of SzP in infection, we profiled the response of porcine pulmonary alveolar macrophage (PAM) to infection with S. zooepidemicus ATCC35246 wild strain (WD) and SzP-knockout strain (KO) using the Roche NimbleGen Porcine Genome Expression Array. We found SzP contributed to differential expression of 446 genes, with upregulation of 134 genes and downregulation of 312 genes. Gene Ontology category and KEGG pathway were analyzed for relationships among differentially expressed genes. These genes were represented in a variety of functional categories, including genes involved in immune response, regulation of chemokine production, signal transduction and regulation of apoptosis. The reliability of the data obtained from the microarray was verified by performing quantitative real-time PCR on 12 representative genes. The data will contribute to understanding of SzP mediated mechanisms of S. zooepidemicus pathogenesis.
"What is Readiness?" Examining Views of School Readiness and Prosocial Outcomes in Children

v Chapter One: Literature Review . 1 School Readiness Defined. 4 Teachers Perceptions of Readiness . 5 Parents and School Readiness . 7 Preschool Prosocial Behaviours . 10 Chapter Two: The Present Study . 12 Method . 14 Participants . 14 Measures . 15 Perceptions of School Readiness Questionnaire . 15 Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) . 16 Procedure. 17 Results . 18 Participant Demographics . 18 Descriptive Statistics . 18 Parent Views of Readiness and Preschooler’s Prosocial Behaviour . 20 Differences in Perceptions Between Teachers and Parents . 22
Active Learning with Real Annotation Costs

The goal of active learning is to minimize the cost of training an accurate model by allowing the learner to choose which instances are labeled for training. However, most research in active learning to date has assumed that the cost of acquiring labels is the same for all instances. In domains where labeling costs may vary, a reduction in the number of labeled instances does not guarantee a reduction in cost. To better understand the nature of actual labeling costs in such domains, we present a detailed empirical study of active learning with annotation costs in four real-world domains involving human annotators.
Code Generation for Accurate Array Redistribution on Automatic Distributed-Memory Parallelization

Code generation belongs to the backend of parallelizing compiler, and is for generating efficient computation and communication code for the target parallel computing system. Traditional research resolve array redistribution mainly by generating communication code that each processor sends all data defined in its local memory to all processors, but this will bring large amount of communication redundancy, which increase with the growth of number of processors. Focusing on this problem, this paper presents an accurate code generation algorithm of array redistribution for distributed-memory architecture. The algorithm determines source processor and goals processor of each array element's migration in array redistribution by the transformation of data decompositions, then generate accurate communication code. The experimental results show that algorithm proposed by this paper can effectively reduce communication redundancy with the processor scale growth, and improve the parallel performance of applications.