Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Gait Recognition in the Presence of Occlusion: A New Dataset and Baseline Algorithms

Human gait is an important biometric feature for identification of people. In this paper we present a new dataset for gait recognition. The presented database overcomes a crucial limitation of other state-of-the-art gait recognition databases. More specifically this database addresses the problem of dynamic and static inter object occlusion. Furthermore this dataset offers three new kinds of gait variations, which allow for challenging evaluation of recognition algorithms. In addition to presenting the database we present two baseline algorithms (Color histograms, Gait Energy Image) to perform person identification using gait. These algorithms already show promising results on the presented database.
Moving from data modeling to process modeling in CIM

This paper proposes to enhance the modeling capabilities of DMTFs common information model (CIM). Currently CIM is used to represent a conceptual view of the IT environment, by modeling concepts related to elements to be managed. However, CIM object manager (CIMOM) implementations can utilize these models in no more capacity than as a passive database. We observe that a lot more management functionality could be incorporated into CIMOM middleware by enriching CIM so that it is able to represent process models in addition to data models. Using this representation CIMOM can be empowered to take on the role of an active decision-making entity, rather than just being a repository of management data. This enables embedding of powerful functionality in the middleware, which is currently custom-built by management applications instead. We demonstrate our approach by embedding an accounting process model into CIM, to realize an accounting system that can be customized for different scenarios.
Is Positive Feedback a Forgotten Classroom Practice? Findings and Implications for At-Risk Students

Although using higher rates of positive to negative feedback is one best practice often recommended to teachers, particularly when it comes to students experiencing behavioral problems in classroom settings, research on the use of positive feedback in classroom teaching practice has revealed inconsistent results. Research has documented fluctuations in trends of teachers’ use of positive feedback strategies, justifying further inquiry into the current state of classroom practice. This study aimed to examine the current state of classroom feedback practices among teachers of a district who were asked to rate their students' risk levels for developing emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). The researchers found that students identified as high risk and low risk for EBD received teacher feedback at a significantly different rate. Students identified as high risk for EBD received negative feedback at a higher rate than their same-setting peers. Implications for teachers on the use of feedback for students at-risk for EBD are presented.
Long Gamma-Ray Bursts without Visible Supernovae: A Case Study of Redshift Estimators and Alleged Novel Objects

It has been argued that the observational limits on a supernova (SN) associated with GRB 060614 convincingly exclude a SN akin to SN 1998bw as its originator and provide evidence for a new class of long-duration GRBs. We discuss this issue in the contexts of indirect “redshift estimators” and of the fireball and cannonball models of GRBs. The latter explains the unusual properties of GRB 060614: at its debated but favored low redshift (0.125), they are predicted, as opposed to exceptional, if the associated core-collapse SN is of a recently discovered, very faint type. We take the occasion to discuss the association between GRBs and SNe.
Development of an Accelerometer-Linked Online Intervention System to Promote Physical Activity in Adolescents

Most adolescents do not achieve the recommended levels of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), placing them at increased risk for a diverse array of chronic diseases in adulthood. There is a great need for scalable and effective interventions that can increase MVPA in adolescents. Here we report the results of a measurement validation study and a preliminary proof-of-concept experiment testing the impact of Zamzee, an accelerometer-linked online intervention system that combines proximal performance feedback and incentive motivation features to promote MVPA. In a calibration study that parametrically varied levels of physical activity in 31 12-14 year-old children, the Zamzee activity meter was shown to provide a valid measure of MVPA (sensitivity in detecting MVPA = 85.9%, specificity = 97.5%, and r = .94 correspondence with the benchmark RT3 accelerometer system; all p < .0001). In a subsequent randomized controlled multi-site experiment involving 182 middle school-aged children assessed for MVPA over 6 wks, intent-to-treat analyses found that those who received access to the Zamzee intervention had average MVPA levels 54% greater than those of a passive control group (p < 0.0001) and 68% greater than those of an active control group that received access to a commercially available active videogame (p < .0001). Zamzee’s effects on MVPA did not diminish significantly over the course of the 6-wk study period, and were statistically significant in both females and males, and in normal- vs. high-BMI subgroups. These results provide promising initial indications that combining the Zamzee activity meter with online proximal performance feedback and incentive motivation features can positively impact MVPA levels in adolescents.
Treatment of Acute Kidney Injury Complicating Septic Shock with EMiC2 High-cutoff Hemofilter: Case Series

Introduction: Extracorporeal blood purification therapies have been proposed to improve outcomes of patients with severe sepsis, with or without accompanying acute kidney injury (AKI), by removal of excessive inflammatory mediators. Materials and Methods: We report our experience with EMiC2 high-cutoff continuous venovenous hemofiltration/hemodialysis (HCO-CVVH/HD) in seven patients with AKI complicating septic shock. Results: The median treatment duration was 71 h, and the procedure was well tolerated. Trough serum albumin level of 20 g/L was observed after 2 h of treatment and none of the patients required albumin supplement. The hospital mortality rate was 29%, which appeared more favorable than the predicted mortality of 60%–78% based on disease severity scores. Circulating levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6), IL-10, and tumor necrosis factor-alpha improved over time. Conclusion: This case series shows that HCO-CVVH/CVVHD using EMiC2 hemofilter may provide good cytokine modulation, when used along with good quality standard sepsis therapy. A further large-scale prospective randomized controlled trial is recommended.
Chapter 10 Cognitive-Behavioral Case Formulation

The model of CB case formulation presented here has multiple historical origins. The most important is probably functional analysis (Haynes & O’Brien, 2000; Nezu, Nezu, Friedman, & Haynes, 1997), which itself has origins in operant conditioning theory and the tradition in psychology of the study of the single organism (Morgan & Morgan, 2001). We also rely heavily on the evidence-based formulations for particular disorders and symptoms that have been developed over the last 50 years by CB theorists. We also rely on the theories that underpin those disorder formulations, especially Beck’s cognitive theory, learning theories (e.g., theories of associative learning, operant conditioning, and modeling), and theories of emotion (Lang, 1979). We also borrow from methods for formulating the case developed by other CB therapists (Beck, 1995; Koerner, Chapter 11, this
Entity Search Evaluation over Structured Web Data

The search for entities is the most common search type on the web beside navigational searches. Whereas most common search techniques are based on the textual descriptions of web pages, semantic search approaches exploit the increasing amount of structured data on the Web in the form of annotations to web-pages and Linked Data. In many technologies, this structured data can consist of factual assertions about entities in which URIs are used to identify entities and their properties. The hypothesis is that this kind of structured data can improve entity search on the web. In order to test this hypothesis and to consistently progress in this eld, a standardized evaluation is necessary. In this work, we discuss an evaluation campaign that specically targets entity search over Linked Data by the means of keyword queries, including both queries that directly mention the entity as well as those that only describe the entities. We also discuss how crowd-sourcing was used to obtain relevance assessments from non-expert web users, the participating systems and the factors that contributed to positive results, and how the competition generalizes results from a previous crowd-sourced entity search evaluation.
School curriculum, globalisation and the constitution of policy problems and solutions

To varying degrees, education policy reforms around the world are driven by educational discourses relating to globalisation. At the same time, national and local histories, cultures and politics mediate the effects of globalisation discourses. This paper employs methods of analysis that draw on the concepts of ‘vernacular globalization’ and ‘policy archaeology’ in order to examine the ways in which the effects of globalisation on National Curriculum policy reform are mediated by conditions and priorities that are specific to national contexts. The enquiry focuses on three curriculum policy problems that are associated with the English school curriculum and have recently been identified as requiring reform: inappropriate curriculum knowledge, the skills deficit and the one-size-fits-all curriculum. The paper concludes by summarising the results of the analysis, identifying some curriculum issues arising from it and offering reflections on the methodological approach it has employed.
Nonparametric sparse estimators for identification of large scale linear systems

Identification of sparse high dimensional linear systems pose sever challenges to off-the-shelf techniques for system identification. This is particularly so when relatively small data sets, as compared to the number of inputs and outputs, have to be used. In this paper we introduce a new nonparametric technique which borrows ideas from a recently introduced Kernel estimator called “stable-spline” as well as from sparsity inducing priors which use ℓ1 penalty. We compare the new method with a group LAR-type of algorithm applied to estimation of sparse Vector Autoregressive models and to standard PEM methods.
Serotonin regulates osteoblast proliferation and function in vitro

The monoamine serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5-HT), a well-known neurotransmitter, also has important functions outside the central nervous system. The objective of this study was to investigate the role of 5-HT in the proliferation, differentiation, and function of osteoblasts in vitro. We treated rat primary calvarial osteoblasts with various concentrations of 5-HT (1 nM to 10 µM) and assessed the rate of osteoblast proliferation, expression levels of osteoblast-specific proteins and genes, and the ability to form mineralized nodules. Next, we detected which 5-HT receptor subtypes were expressed in rat osteoblasts at different stages of osteoblast differentiation. We found that 5-HT could inhibit osteoblast proliferation, differentiation, and mineralization at low concentrations, but this inhibitory effect was mitigated at relatively high concentrations. Six of the 5-HT receptor subtypes (5-HT1A, 5-HT1B, 5-HT1D, 5-HT2A, 5-HT2B, and 5-HT2C) were found to exist in rat osteoblasts. Of these, 5-HT2A and 5-HT1B receptors had the highest expression levels, at both early and late stages of differentiation. Our results indicated that 5-HT can regulate osteoblast proliferation and function in vitro.
Cross‐cultural differences in evaluating product characteristics: motion pictures

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to analyse culture and its influence on the way people evaluate different movie characteristics such as budget, stars, being a sequel, and genre. Design/methodology/approach - The paper examines the moderating effect that two of Hofstede's cultural dimensions have on five important movie characteristics related to the ultimate success of a movie. Based on the recommendations and analytical framework provided by Sharma Findings - The results indicate that the presence of stars and being a sequel are considered positive signals for the quality of a movie across cultures, associated with higher revenues only in countries with high uncertainty avoidance. Initial investments in a movie are important regardless of the culture of the audience. In terms of film genre, our results demonstrate in agreement with our expectations that drama as a genre is preferred in cultures with lower masculine scores. However, the action genre seems to be a universal genre regardless of the culture of the viewers, and is associated with positive increase in revenues in all countries. Research limitations/implications - The study has an issue with missing data. However, it provides some important insights on the moderating role of culture and on universal movie characteristics that require further investigation. Practical implications - Considering cultural variations across different markets is especially important for culturally embedded products such as motion pictures. The results of the current research suggest that studio executives may select appropriate markets to enter depending on the characteristics of the movie and cultural background of these markets. Originality/value - The paper adds to an underdeveloped area in motion picture research, investigating the relationship between culture and movie characteristics. Moreover, the findings can be extended to other experiential products with significant cultural content, such as books, theatrical performances, etc. Future research can identify other factors that are important for the success of movies in an international context. After identifying relevant factors countries may be clustered into homogeneous segments and different strategies may be developed and targeted to specific segments.
In Vitro Activity of Seven Systemically Active Antifungal Agents against a Large Global Collection of Rare Candida Species as Determined by CLSI Broth Microdilution Methods

ABSTRACT Five Candida species (C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. tropicalis, C. parapsilosis, and C. krusei) account for over 95% of invasive candidiasis cases. Some less common Candida species have emerged as causes of nosocomial candidiasis, but there is little information about their in vitro susceptibilities to antifungals. We determined the in vitro activities of fluconazole, voriconazole, posaconazole, amphotericin B, anidulafungin, caspofungin, and micafungin against invasive, unique patient isolates of Candida collected from 100 centers worldwide between January 2001 and December 2007. Antifungal susceptibility testing was performed by the CLSI M27-A3 method. CLSI breakpoints for susceptibility were used for fluconazole, voriconazole, anidulafungin, caspofungin, and micafungin, while a provisional susceptibility breakpoint of ≤1 μg/ml was used for amphotericin and posaconazole. Of 14,007 Candida isolates tested, 658 (4.7%) were among the less common species. Against all 658 isolates combined, the activity of each agent, expressed as the MIC50/MIC90 ratio (and the percentage of susceptible isolates) was as follows: fluconazole, 1/4 (94.8%); voriconazole, 0.03/0.12 (98.6%); posaconazole, 0.12/0.5 (95.9%); amphotericin, 0.5/2 (88.3%); anidulafungin, 0.5/2 (97.4%); caspofungin, 0.12/0.5 (98.0%); and micafungin, 0.25/1 (99.2%). Among the isolates not susceptible to one or more of the echinocandins, most (68%) were C. guilliermondii. All isolates of the less common species within the C. parapsilosis complex (C. orthopsilosis and C. metapsilosis) were susceptible to voriconazole, posaconazole, anidulafungin, caspofungin, and micafungin. Over 95% of clinical isolates of the rare Candida species were susceptible to the available antifungals. However, activity did vary by drug-species combination, with some species (e.g., C. rugosa and C. guilliermondii) demonstrating reduced susceptibilities to commonly used agents such as fluconazole and echinocandins.
MPLS Traffic Engineering in Satellite Networks

Broadband satellite constellation networks will be required to carry all types of IP traffic, real time interactive traffic as well as non-real time traffic, warranting the need for appropriate QoS for these different traffic flows. In this paper we investigate the need for MPLS traffic engineering in GEO/MEO/LEO satellite networks to address QoS issues. We compare the service received by TCP and UDP flows when they share a link and when they are routed on explicit MPLS traffic trunks. Since MPLS traffic trunks allow non-shortest path links also to be used, the total network throughput goes up with proper traffic engineering. If UDP and TCP flows are mixed in a trunk, TCP flows receive reduced service as the UDP flows increase their rates. Also, we found that with MPLS traffic engineering we can protect real time traffic and VoIP traffic from packet loss and excessive jitter by separating them from other congestion unresponsive flows
Application level phase adjustment for maximizing the fairness in VANET

Proposed safety applications for vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communication rely mostly on periodic broadcasting. In this work we analyze the performance and fairness aspects of such an one-hop periodic broadcast communication. We show that communication reliability is greatly dependent on the random relative phasing of the communicating vehicles and on the impact of hidden nodes. For a random initial phasing some vehicles suffer from consecutive packet losses thereby becoming invisible to neighboring vehicles for a long time, whereas some other vehicles have no packet loss at all. We propose a simple and effective approach to provide fair transmission opportunities and show the improvements through simulations.
The Drowned World

J. G. Ballard’s fictional depiction of a future London under water bears a striking similarity with the actual experience of New Orleans. In reality, however, the impact of racism and “disaster capitalism” on both relief efforts and urban reconstruction have added a disturbing new dimension to Ballard’s neo-Hobbesian evocation of the collapse of the late modern public realm.
Changes of Nasal Function After Temperature‐Controlled Radiofrequency Tissue Volume Reduction for the Turbinate

Objectives Temperature‐controlled and temper‐ature‐monitored radiofrequency tissue volume reduction (RFTVR) for the turbinate is a new treatment modality for nasal obstruction secondary to turbinate hypertrophy. We compared the nasal functions after the treatment of RFTVR and laser vaporizing turbinoplasty (LVT) using subjective symptom scores and objective tests.
Glitch-Free NAND-Based Digitally Controlled Delay-Lines

The recently proposed NAND-based digitally controlled delay-lines (DCDL) present a glitching problem which may limit their employ in many applications. This paper presents a glitch-free NAND-based DCDL which overcame this limitation by opening the employ of NAND-based DCDLs in a wide range of applications. The proposed NAND-based DCDL maintains the same resolution and minimum delay of previously proposed NAND-based DCDL. The theoretical demonstration of the glitch-free operation of proposed DCDL is also derived in the paper. Following this analysis, three driving circuits for the delay control-bits are also proposed. Proposed DCDLs have been designed in a 90-nm CMOS technology and compared, in this technology, to the state-of-the-art. Simulation results show that novel circuits result in the lowest resolution, with a little worsening of the minimum delay with respect to the previously proposed DCDL with the lowest delay. Simulations also confirm the correctness of developed glitching model and sizing strategy. As example application, proposed DCDL is used to realize an All-digital spread-spectrum clock generator (SSCG). The employ of proposed DCDL in this circuit allows to reduce the peak-to-peak absolute output jitter of more than the 40% with respect to a SSCG using three-state inverter based DCDLs.
Recommender systems with non-binary grades

We consider the interactive model of recommender systems, in which users are asked about just a few of their preferences, and in return the system outputs an approximation of all their preferences. The measure of performance is the probe complexity of the algorithm, defined to be the maximal number of answers any user should provide (probe complexity typically depends inversely on the number of users with similar preferences and on the quality of the desired approximation). Previous interactive recommendation algorithms assume that user preferences are binary, meaning that each object is either "liked" or "disliked" by each user. In this paper we consider the general case in which users may have a more refined scale of preference, namely more than two possible grades. We show how to reduce the non-binary case to the binary one, proving the following results. For discrete grades with s possible values, we give a simple deterministic reduction that preserves the approximation properties of the binary algorithm at the cost of increasing probe complexity by factor s. Our main result is for the general case, where we assume that user grades are arbitrary real numbers. For this case we present an algorithm that preserves the approximation properties of the binary algorithm while incurring only polylogarithmic overhead.
On the False Positive Rate of the Bloom Filter in Case of Using Multiple Hash Functions

A Bloom filter is a simple space-efficient randomized data structure used to represent set in order to support membership queries. So it is very useful to search the wanted data from the all entries. In this paper, we analyze the probability of the false positive rate of the Bloom filter used in various applications up to now and present the revised false positive rate of Bloom filter.
Chemical Composition and Inhibitory Activity of Essential Oil from Decaying Leaves of Eucalyptus citriodora

Abstract A study was undertaken to explore the content and composition of volatile oil from decaying leaves of lemon-scented eucalypt (Eucalyptus citriodora Hook.) not analyzed earlier. GC and GC-MS analysis of the oil (yield 0.6%) revealed the monoterpenoid nature with citronellal (52.2%), citronellol (12.3%) and isoisopulegol (11.9%) as the major constituents. Overall, 17 components were identified that accounted for over 94% of the decaying leaf oil. Surprisingly, the decaying leaf oil contained nearly 1.8% of trans-rose oxide, which is generally absent in eucalypt essential oil. Decaying leaf oil and its major 2 components (citronellal and citronellol) inhibited the germination and root elongation of two weeds D Cassia occidentalis (broad-leaved) and Echinochloa crus-galli (grassy weed). Based on the dose-response studies, I50 values were determined for decaying leaf oil and the effect was more on germination only of broad-leaved weed (C. occidentalis), whereas that of citronellal and citronellol were on germination as well as root length of E. crus-galli (grassy weed). Based on I50 values it was observed that citronellal was more phytotoxic and germination inhibiting in nature, whereas citronellol was a more potent root inhibitor, thereby indicating a possible different mode of action. The study concludes that decaying leaf oil hold a good commercial value for exploitation as weed management agent