Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
3D shape acquisition using a combined SSD and least squares correlation approach

We want to present a new approach to 3D shape acquisition. This implementation enables the user to manually move the scan unit over the object without the scan unit being tracked. Registration from scan to scan is done on-the-fly to allow user interaction with the system. Since the user can watch the scene assembling gradually during the scan process he can immediately respond to occuring shadings due to shadows and undercuts. The chosen structured light scan approach uses an initially unknown white noise pattern that can easily be projected with any fixed pattern projection system. Object points are acquired on the basis of finding correspondences in the pattern in the camera image of the current scene. This is achieved by using a combination of a SSD and a least squares correlation algorithm. In the current test setup we are using a standard video beamer and a standard digital camera. Our approach reduces hardware complexity to a minimum using only one camera and a fixed pattern projector which both can be miniaturized. In this paper we want to present the whole system also including the calibration procedure. The focus will be on the correlation method.
Text Line Segmentation for Handwritten Documents Using Constrained Seam Carving

This paper proposes a language-independent method for segmenting text lines from handwritten document images. Our method is based on the seam carving, which has been already used for text line segmentation, but in order to tolerate multi-skewed text lines even in the same document image, we propose a constrained seam carving method, which can constrain energy to be passed along the connected components in the same text line as much as possible. Moreover, our proposed method tries to extract all the text lines by computing the energy map only once. In the experiments, our method is tested on the Greek, English and Indian document images, and get 98.41% FM score.
Empathic Correlates of Witnessing the Inhumane Killing of an Animal: An Investigation of Single and Multiple Exposures

Seventy-five adults who reported witnessing at least 1 animal being killed inhumanely participated in a study of 5 measures of empathy from the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) (Davis, 1980) and the Animal Attitude Scale (AAS) (Herzog, Betchart, & Pittman, 1991): Perspective Taking (PT), Fantasy (FS), Emotional Concern (EC), Personal Distress (PD), and Animal Attitudes (AA). Females showed greater sensitivity (4 of 5 scales) on a 2-way MANOVA with Sex (male, female) and Witnessing Killing (never, once, multiple) as independent variables. Individuals who witnessed multiple killings were higher on PT and lower on PD scales. Lower PD for those who witnessed multiple killings suggests hardening or habituation related to exposure. Alternatively, they may lack resistance to involvement in situations leading to animal violence. Higher PT scores related to multiple killings may indicate a natural leaning toward the cognitive—rather than affective—or dissociation between cognitive and affective. A shift to the cognitive, as a defense mechanism, suggests a dissociation hypothesis. Implications extend to the need for refined research in the developmental sequence of animal abuse and empathy, and humane education.
Genoogle: an indexed and parallelized search engine for similar DNA sequences

The search for similar genetic sequences is one of the main bioinformatics tasks. The genetic sequences data banks are growing exponentially and the searching techniques that use linear time are not capable to do the search in the required time anymore. Another problem is that the clock speed of the modern processors are not growing as it did before, instead, the processing capacity is growing with the addiction of more processing cores and the techniques which does not use parallel computing does not have benefits from these extra cores. This work aims to use data indexing techniques to reduce the searching process computation cost united with the parallelization of the searching techniques to use the computational capacity of the multi core processors. To verify the viability of using these two techniques simultaneously, a software which uses parallelization techniques with inverted indexes was developed. Experiments were executed to analyze the performance gain when parallelism is utilized, the search time gain, and also the quality of the results when it compared with others searching tools. The results of these experiments were promising, the parallelism gain overcame the expected speedup, the searching time was 20 times faster than the parallelized NCBI BLAST, and the searching results showed a good quality when compared with this tool. The software source code is available at this https URL .
A New Perspective on Later Migration(s)

■ Productive as the recent collaboration between genetics and anthropology has been, additional insights are within reach. Molecular DNA evidence has been beneficial to the study of the peopling of the Americas, but the interpretation of this very complex dataset has been constrained by longstanding assumptions. The use of DNA evidence to test lesser-known historical hypotheses may reveal a more complicated picture of demography in American antiquity. Scholars debate the details of the initial colonization of America, but few have investigated claims of later historical migrations from Asia to America. This is an effort to address the paradoxical sustained similarity between Native American and East Central Asian cultures and gene pools, in the face of turbulent East—West admixture throughout Eurasian history. Though inconclusive, these data may nonetheless be consistent with the possibility of modest Asian—American ties within historical timeframes.
Krüppel-Like Factor 1 (KLF1), KLF2, and Myc Control a Regulatory Network Essential for Embryonic Erythropoiesis

ABSTRACT The Krüppel-like factor 1 (KLF1) and KLF2 positively regulate embryonic β-globin expression and have additional overlapping roles in embryonic (primitive) erythropoiesis. KLF1−/− KLF2−/− double knockout mice are anemic at embryonic day 10.5 (E10.5) and die by E11.5, in contrast to single knockouts. To investigate the combined roles of KLF1 and KLF2 in primitive erythropoiesis, expression profiling of E9.5 erythroid cells was performed. A limited number of genes had a significantly decreasing trend of expression in wild-type, KLF1−/−, and KLF1−/− KLF2−/− mice. Among these, the gene for Myc (c-Myc) emerged as a central node in the most significant gene network. The expression of the Myc gene is synergistically regulated by KLF1 and KLF2, and both factors bind the Myc promoters. To characterize the role of Myc in primitive erythropoiesis, ablation was performed specifically in mouse embryonic proerythroblast cells. After E9.5, these embryos exhibit an arrest in the normal expansion of circulating red cells and develop anemia, analogous to KLF1−/− KLF2−/− embryos. In the absence of Myc, circulating erythroid cells do not show the normal increase in α- and β-like globin gene expression but, interestingly, have accelerated erythroid cell maturation between E9.5 and E11.5. This study reveals a novel regulatory network by which KLF1 and KLF2 regulate Myc to control the primitive erythropoietic program.
AUV SLAM and Experiments Using a Mechanical Scanning Forward-Looking Sonar

Navigation technology is one of the most important challenges in the applications of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) which navigate in the complex undersea environment. The ability of localizing a robot and accurately mapping its surroundings simultaneously, namely the simultaneous localization and mapping (SLAM) problem, is a key prerequisite of truly autonomous robots. In this paper, a modified-FastSLAM algorithm is proposed and used in the navigation for our C-Ranger research platform, an open-frame AUV. A mechanical scanning imaging sonar is chosen as the active sensor for the AUV. The modified-FastSLAM implements the update relying on the on-board sensors of C-Ranger. On the other hand, the algorithm employs the data association which combines the single particle maximum likelihood method with modified negative evidence method, and uses the rank-based resampling to overcome the particle depletion problem. In order to verify the feasibility of the proposed methods, both simulation experiments and sea trials for C-Ranger are conducted. The experimental results show the modified-FastSLAM employed for the navigation of the C-Ranger AUV is much more effective and accurate compared with the traditional methods.
Optimal formation of unmanned aerial vehicles for minimizing localization error — A two-dimensional case

Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is attractive for localization where global positioning system (GPS) satellites are uncapturable and wireless anchor nodes are unavailable. The advantage of localization using UAVs is their movability, that is, even when only few UAVs are available, if each of them ranges a target node many times from different locations, the localization accuracy can be improved, because it virtually increases the number of UAVs, namely, anchor nodes. Unlike conventional localization systems, UAVs are movable, so they can be made a formation, such as a linear formation or a circular formation, to achieve higher localization accuracy for an individual target node to be localized. However, unfortunately, how to make the optimal formation of UAVs has been neither discussed nor solved. In this paper, we consider the formation problem of UAVs for localization. Assuming a two-dimensional time of arrival (TOA)-based localization, we theoretically derive the optimal formation of UAVs which can minimize the localization error.
Amelioration of Experimental Autoimmune Encephalomyelitis Using the Myelin Oligodendrocyte Glycoprotein35-85 Peptide

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic debilitating disease affecting the central nervous system (CNS) in humans. Experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE) remains the primary animal model of MS. MS/EAE are considered to be autoimmune diseases mediated by CD4 T helper (TH) cells. The role of B cells and antibody is under debate. Previous studies established B cell dependent (induced with recombinant myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein, [rMOG]) and B cell independent (induced with the MOG35-55 peptide) animal models of EAE. The identification of a unique B cell epitope (MOG amino acids [aa] 46-85) preceding the identified protective epitope (MOG61-85) led to the hypothesis that these antibodies against MOGaa46-85 were important in epitope selection in the rMOG model of EAE. Co-immunization of WT and B cell deficient (B cell) mice with MOG35-55 and MOG61-85 resulted in abrogation (B cell -/mice) or
Microwave components for 30 GHz high-power gyroklystron

A 30 GHz high-power gyroklystron is under construction now in IAP (Russia). In the first experiments, carried out at a single pulse regime, RF power 6.5 MW, power gain 30 dB, pulse duration 0.5 mcs, and efficiency 25% were achieved. Next experiments with a new cryogenic magnet and a new electron gun are planned at the second half of 2007 and must demonstrate a repetition rate regime. The gyroklystron has classical three-cavity (TE52/TE52/TE53) scheme and requires a lot of external quasi-optical components: input and output mode converters, a window, and others. It is planned to feed the gyroklystron, using 10 kW magnetron, by means of TE10 (rectangular) - TE52 (circular) mode converter connected with the first cavity. The output mode converter is a straight TE53- TE04-TE01 mode transformer with built-in beam collector based on expansion of oversized waveguide. Results of calculations and low power tests of all gyroklystron's components are reported.
Assessing the Effectiveness of Moving Target Defenses Using Security Models

Cyber crime is a developing concern, where criminals are targeting valuable assets and critical infrastructures within networked systems, causing a severe socio-economic impact on enterprises and individuals. Adopting moving target defense (MTD) helps thwart cyber attacks by continuously changing the attack surface. There are numerous MTD techniques proposed in various domains (e.g., virtualized network, wireless sensor network), but there is still a lack of methods to assess and compare the effectiveness of them. Security models, such as an attack graph (AG), provide a formal method of analyzing the security, but incorporating MTD techniques in those security models has not been studied. In this paper, we incorporate MTD techniques into a security model, namely a hierarchical attack representation model (HARM), to assess the effectiveness of them. In addition, we use importance measures (IMs) for deploying MTD techniques to enhance the scalability. Finally, we compare the scalability of AG and HARM when deploying MTD techniques, as well as changes in performance and security in our experiments.
The Affective Weight of Lexicon

This paper presents resources and functionalities for the recognition and selection of affective evaluative terms. An affective hierarchy as an extension of the WordNet-Affect lexical database was developed in the first place. The second phase was the development of a semantic similarity function, acquired automatically in an unsupervised way from a large corpus of texts, which allows us to put into relation concepts and emotional categories. The integration of the two components is a key element for several applications.
Fitting the Phenomenological MSSM

We perform a global Bayesian fit of the phenomenological minimal supersymmetric standard model (pMSSM) to current indirect collider and dark matter data. The pMSSM contains the most relevant 25 weak-scale MSSM parameters, which are simultaneously fit using 'nested sampling' Monte Carlo techniques in more than 15 years of CPU time. We calculate the Bayesian evidence for the pMSSM and constrain its parameters and observables in the context of two widely different, but reasonable, priors to determine which inferences are robust. We make inferences about sparticle masses, the sign of the {mu} parameter, the amount of fine-tuning, dark matter properties, and the prospects for direct dark matter detection without assuming a restrictive high-scale supersymmetry breaking model. We find the inferred lightest CP-even Higgs boson mass as an example of an approximately prior-independent observable. This analysis constitutes the first statistically convergent pMSSM global fit to all current data.
Specifications for the Network Voice Protocol (NVP)

Abstract : The Network Voice Protocol (NVP) described in this report was developed by the Network Secure Communications group at ISI at the host-to-host protocol level, since the 'regular' host-to-host protocol was found unsuitable for real-time network voice communication. The report describes in detail the control and data components of the protocol. Appendix 1 defines associated tables, and Appendix 2 presents some implementation recommendations.
Trade, neoclassical growth and heterogeneous rms

Existing trade models with heterogeneous rms successfully explain two empirical facts: exposure to trade leads, rst, to a rm selection and, second, to an increase in industry{ wide productivity. However, none of these models explains the following three additional empirical facts: rst, exporting rms are more capital intensive than non{exporting rms. Second, the exit rate immediately with exposure to trade is higher for exporting rms than for non{exporting rms; nevertheless, exporting rms increase their aggregate production in the long{run. Third, the growth eect of exposure to trade is rather dieren t between countries. This paper extends the model by Melitz (2003) by two factors of production and a Ramsey growth model and denes rm heterogeneity with respect to the factor input shares in production. This extension explains all v e empirical facts.
Is the Homo Ludens Cheerful and Serious at the Same Time? An Empirical Study of Hugo Rahner's Notion of Ernstheiterkeit

The theologian Hugo Rahner argued that the homo ludens is a man of ‘Ernstheiterkeit’ (serious-cheerfulness), a person who can smile under tears but also recognizes the gravity in all earthly cheerfulness. The primary aim of this study was to test the validity of this notion: Do homines ludentes exist? Two hundred sixty-three adult subjects were measured for (1) seriousness and cheerfulness and (2) playfulness. Results provided unequivocal support for Rahner's thesis. Numerous subjects scored high in both seriousness and cheerfulness thus confirming the existence of homines ludentes. It was further found that these subjects were among those scoring highest in playfulness. Subjects scoring high in cheerfulness but low in seriousness were, however, even more closely associated with playfulness. The scores for homines ludentes did not differ from the rest of the subjects in the creative and dynamic facets of playfulness. The importance of developing empirical research to investigate hypotheses derived from non-scientific concepts is discussed.
Specific treatment of Prader–Willi syndrome through cyclical rehabilitation programmes

Purpose. To evaluate retrospectively the efficiency of our rehabilitation programme for patients with Prader–Willi Syndrome. In total, 49 patients were examined, 21 female and 28 male, the youngest in their late teens. Prader–Willi syndrome is generally characterised by cognitive impairment, behavioural abnormalities, and hyperphagia. Patients are usually considerably adverse to any form of physical exercise, and despite hormonal therapy, weight control in adult patients can be difficult. Methods. Four times a year, disease-specific residential programmes were organised, each lasting 4 weeks. The patients were restricted to a 1500 Kcal diet. In addition, they were required to do 6.5 h of physical exercise daily, stamina being built up by using music therapy, psychomotor therapy, education and entertainment activities. Results. BMI decreased by 2.1 average points in every residential session. For three patients who attended our treatments regularly, a reduction of 8.9 points over 6 years was recorded. An attendance of at least three sessions per year seemed to be necessary to substantially reduce weight. Conclusions. A multidisciplinary approach and a daily calorie-counted diet can lead to significant weight loss in teenage and adult PWS patients. This approach would also be suitable in treating patients with other obesity syndromes with mental retardation.
Direct measurement of skin conductance: a proposal for standardization.

A provisional standard method of measuring tonic skin conductance (SCL) and GSR (SCR) is advocated, using a constant-voltage method for which circuits are provided useable with Beckman, Grass, and other common polygraphs. A standard electrode methodology is also presented. The problem of units of measurement is considered in detail with an analysis of the so-called Law of Initial Values. Methods are given for correcting both tonic SC and SCRs for individual differences in their respective ranges of variation and the purpose and relative advantages of these range-correction methods are discussed.
Mapping Urban Land Use by Using Landsat Images and Open Social Data

High-resolution urban land use maps have important applications in urban planning and management, but the availability of these maps is low in countries such as China. To address this issue, we have developed a protocol to identify urban land use functions over large areas using satellite images and open social data. We first derived parcels from road networks contained in Open Street Map (OSM) and used the parcels as the basic mapping unit. We then used 10 features derived from Points of Interest (POI) data and two indices obtained from Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI) images to classify parcels into eight Level I classes and sixteen Level II classes of land use. Similarity measures and threshold methods were used to identify land use types in the classification process. This protocol was tested in Beijing, China. The results showed that the generated land use map had an overall accuracy of 81.04% and 69.89% for Level I and Level II classes, respectively. The map revealed significantly more details of the spatial pattern of land uses in Beijing than the land use map released by the government.
Understanding Sample Surveys: Selective Learning about Social Science Research Methods

Abstract We investigate differences in what students learn about survey methodology in a class on public opinion presented in two critically different ways: with the inclusion or exclusion of an original research project using a random-digit-dial telephone survey. Using a quasi-experimental design and data obtained from pretests and posttests in two public opinion courses, we test the hypothesis that students who participate in an original survey research project will have a stronger understanding of survey research methods than students who do not. To better assess the effect of the active learning element of the course, we estimate average treatment effects on the students who participated in the original survey project using nearest neighbor matching (Abadie et al. 2004) with student scores on a pretest. We find evidence of modest improvement in learning of survey methods in the course featuring the original survey research project; however, the major finding here is that a course featuring this kind of opportunity appeals to a different kind of student than a course that allows participants to stay closer to the classroom and library instead of the social science research laboratory. This discovery may have important implications for our understanding of the effects of active learning opportunities in other types of elective courses.
Immunization of Mice Against West Nile Virus with Recombinant Envelope Protein1

West Nile (WN) virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that emerged in the United States in 1999 and can cause fatal encephalitis. Envelope (E) protein cDNA from a WN virus isolate recovered from Culex pipiens in Connecticut was expressed in Escherichia coli. The recombinant E protein was purified and used as Ag in immunoblot assays and immunization experiments. Patients with WN virus infection had Abs that recognized the recombinant E protein. C3H/HeN mice immunized with E protein developed E protein Abs and were protected from infection with WN virus. Passive administration of E protein antisera was also sufficient to afford immunity. E protein is a candidate vaccine to prevent WN virus infection.
Other Terrorisms, Psychology, and Media

During the Marcos dictatorship in the Philippines, relatives of political prisoners wore T-shirts emblazoned with the words "Who is the real terrorist? " After September 11, 2001, as talk about terrorism takes center stage on global discourse, we pose a similar question: What is terrorism? Carrying the query further, we ask the following: Does Post's (this issue) discussion of terrorism render full meaning to the term and include an exhaustive list of terrorist typologies? We think not. We note that the cognitive processes of naming, meaning, and categorization are context-dependent, and-intentionally or unintentionally-laden with social values, motives, and interests carried by the society from which they emerge (Duncan, 1968; Forgas, 1981; Moscovici, 1981; Tajfel & Forgas, 1981). We contend that Post's implied meaning and categorization of terrorism remain incomplete, reflecting only social cognitions emanating from a U.S. view of geopolitics. We write this piece to expand the meaning and categories of t.