Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Advances in active appearance models

This paper presents advances in the construction and use of Active Appearance Models (AAMs) for image interpretation. AAMs are photo-realistic generative models of object appearance that can be used to rapidly locate deformable objects in images. We extend the AAM method to include coloured texture and present an enhanced search algorithm with the ability to locate partially occluded objects. Previously, AAMs have been limited by the need for good manual initialisation. In this paper, we describe a hierarchical search algorithm that overcomes this drawback. The extended AAM method provides a complete, unified scheme for model based image interpretation. We demonstrate the application of the scheme to the task of locating faces in images.
Semantic Web service framework based on Agent and its logical description

Via studying combination of Agent and semantic Web service technique, researching the role of Agent to the architecture of semantic Web service and gives a overall specific realization process, thus paper proposes a framework of semantic Web service based on Agent, and then describes the framework of the Agent's work process and the content of semantic Web services using C&L intend theory.
Ethylene Modulates the Role of NONEXPRESSOR OF PATHOGENESIS-RELATED GENES1 in Cross Talk between Salicylate and Jasmonate Signaling1[W][OA]

The plant hormones salicylic acid (SA), jasmonic acid (JA), and ethylene (ET) play crucial roles in the signaling network that regulates induced defense responses against biotic stresses. Antagonism between SA and JA operates as a mechanism to fine-tune defenses that are activated in response to multiple attackers. In Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana), NONEXPRESSOR OF PATHOGENESIS-RELATED GENES1 (NPR1) was demonstrated to be required for SA-mediated suppression of JA-dependent defenses. Because ET is known to enhance SA/NPR1-dependent defense responses, we investigated the role of ET in the SA-JA signal interaction. Pharmacological experiments with gaseous ET and the ET precursor 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid showed that ET potentiated SA/NPR1-dependent PATHOGENESIS-RELATED1 transcription, while it rendered the antagonistic effect of SA on methyl jasmonate-induced PDF1.2 and VSP2 expression NPR1 independent. This overriding effect of ET on NPR1 function in SA-JA cross talk was absent in the npr1-1/ein2-1 double mutant, demonstrating that it is mediated via ET signaling. Abiotic and biotic induction of the ET response similarly abolished the NPR1 dependency of the SA-JA signal interaction. Furthermore, JA-dependent resistance against biotic attackers was antagonized by SA in an NPR1-dependent fashion only when the plant-attacker combination did not result in the production of high levels of endogenous ET. Hence, the interaction between ET and NPR1 plays an important modulating role in the fine tuning of the defense signaling network that is activated upon pathogen and insect attack. Our results suggest a model in which ET modulates the NPR1 dependency of SA-JA antagonism, possibly to compensate for enhanced allocation of NPR1 to function in SA-dependent activation of PR genes.
WA-Continuum: Visualising Word Alignments across Multiple Parallel Sentences Simultaneously

Word alignment (WA) between a pair of sentences in the same or different languages is a key component of many natural language processing tasks. It is commonly used for identifying the translation relationships between words and phrases in parallel sentences from two different languages. WA-Continuum is a tool designed for the visualisation of WAs. It was initially built to aid research studying WAs and ways to improve them. The tool relies on the automated mark-up of WAs, as typically produced by WA tools. Different from most previous work, it presents the alignment information graphically in a WA matrix that can be easily understood by users, as opposed to text connected by lines. The key features of the tool are the ability to visualise WA matrices for multiple parallel aligned sentences simultaneously in a single place, coupled with powerful search and selection components to find and inspect particular sentences as required.
Scalable ontology matching

Ontology matching is a solution for managing heterogeneous information. Various methods have been proposed for matching problem. But matching large ontologies is a challenge yet. In this paper scalable ontology matching based on partitioning is proposed. The proposed method is consisted of three stages. At first, input ontologies are partitioned separately. In second stage anchors are identified in each partition pairs of two ontologies and then by using anchor distribution, similar partition pairs are identified. At third stage, concepts of each similar partition pairs are classified based on type of concept. Then scores of importance of concept are computed and arranged in descending order. Finally, matching is performed on concepts of similar partitions pair with same concept types. Name similarity metric and WordNet dictionary are used for matching operation. Experimental results show that the proposed method achieves relatively high precision and it competes with previously proposed partition-based strategies.
Evaluating Adaptive Prediction Filters for Efficient Data Gathering in Wireless Sensor Networks

Data gathering in wireless sensor networks is one of the essential tasks that has to be performed efficiently due to the sensors' limited processing, storage, and communication capabilities. When sensor nodes continuously sense and wirelessly transmit raw sensor readings, predicting such readings might be a promising approach to save energy. This paper examines two adaptive prediction algorithms called as Least Mean Square and Recursive Least Square, integrated in a data gathering framework. A comprehensive simulation study of these algorithms assuming Gaussian processes shows that significant communication savings while guaranteeing a user-defined maximum error can be achieved. Especially, low processing costs and memory usage favor these algorithms for practical sensor node implementations. Finally, we prove the wide applicability of our data gathering framework investigating different kinds of real world sensor traces.
Embedding a curriculum-based information literacy programme at the University of Bedfordshire

This article describes the development of an information literacy programme that was embedded into the Psychology curriculum during 2007-2008. The programme was a collaboration between a faculty librarian and the Department of Psychology and utilized a blended learning approach along with a variety of teaching and assessment methods. This paper also reports on the initial findings from an ongoing evaluation assessing the impact of the programme on students’ learning and information skills development. There had been an acknowledgement within the Department of Psychology and at broader University level of the importance of supporting students’ and graduates’ employability. Indeed, when the University undertook a curriculum redesign in 2008 (known as CRe8) the University recognized that ‘there are four core skills areas at the core of ‘graduateness’ and employability that the University expects all courses to emphasise: communication; Information literacy; Research and evaluation; and creativity and critical thinking’ (University of Bedfordshire, 2009). The development and implementation of an information literacy programme was therefore aligned closely with the University’s goals at that time
A Unified View of Propositional Knowledge Base Updates

The semantics of revising knowledge bases represented by sets of proposi t ional sentences is analyzed f r om a model-theoretic point of view. A character izat ion of a l l revision schemes that satisfy the Gardenfors ra t iona l i ty postulates is given in terms of an order ing among interpretat ions. Propert ies of the contract ion operator tha t can be defined in terms of revision are also studied. T w o new update operators, elimination and recovery, are introduced. E l im inat ion discards a l l previous preconceptions on a set of proposi t ional letters; recovery undoes the effect of the last update. I t is shown tha t el iminat ion cannot be expressed as a contract ion, and tha t recovery is in general impossible. The existence of an invar iant par t of the knowledge base compris ing a set of in tegr i ty constraints is considered and the def in i t ion of revision and contract ion are modif ied to take integr i ty constraints in to account.
NEW CAPABILITIES IN MERCURY: A MODERN, MONTE CARLO PARTICLE TRANSPORT CODE

The new physics, algorithmic and computer science capabilities of the Mercury general-purpose Monte Carlo particle transport code are discussed. The new physics and algorithmic features include in-line energy deposition and isotopic depletion, significant enhancements to the tally and source capabilities, diagnostic ray-traced particles, support for multi-region hybrid (mesh and combinatorial geometry) systems, and a probability of initiation method. Computer science enhancements include a second method of dynamically load-balancing parallel calculations, improved methods for visualizing 3-D combinatorial geometries and initial implementation of an in-line visualization capabilities.
A New Digital Georeferenced Database of Soil Degradation in Russia

Information on human-induced soil degradation in Russia has now been compiled in a new georeferenced database. It comprises the latast data on the status of soil degradation in Russia, including soil deterioration in non-agricultural regions. The information has been linked to a digital soil database, which has recently been prepared for the FAO by the Dukachaev Soil Institute. Soil degradation attributes were derived from unpublished maps compiled for the State Committee for Land Resources and Land-Use Planning of Russia. The Analysis shows that more than 14.5% (243 million ha) of the Russian territory is affected by soil degradation caused by a variety of reasons, including socio-economic changes, and improper management and technology. The assessment reveals that the rate of soil degradation and loss of soil productivity in Russia has been fairly rapid.
Microcystin-LR (MCLR) Induces a Compensation of PP2A Activity Mediated by α4 Protein in HEK293 Cells

Protein phosphatase 2A (PP2A) is a major protein phosphatase with important cell functions. Known and utilized as a potent inhibitor of PP2A, microcystin-LR (MCLR) targets PP2A as a core element that affects numerous cellular mechanisms. But apart from direct inhibition, the exact effect of MCLR on PP2A in cell is largely unknown, specifically with regard to cellular response and autoregulation. Here, we show that a low concentration of MCLR stimulates, rather than inhibits, PP2A activity in HEK293 cells. Immunoprecipitation and immunofluorescence assays reveal that the catalytic subunit and a regulatory subunit of PP2A, termed α4, dissociate from inactive complex upon MCLR exposure, suggesting that the released catalytic subunit regains activity and thereby compensates the activity loss. At high concentrations of MCLR, PP2A activity decreases along with dissociation of the core enzyme and altered post-translational modification of its catalytic subunit. In addition, the dissociation of α4 and PP2A may contribute to destabilization of HEK293 cells cytoskeleton architecture, detachment to extracellular matrix and further anoikis. Our data provide a novel PP2A upregulation mechanism and challenge the recognition of MCLR only as a PP2A inhibitor in cells.
Ray Casting of Trimmed NURBS Surfaces on the GPU

We propose a conceptual extension of the standard triangle-based graphics pipeline by an additional intersection stage. The corresponding intersection program performs ray-object intersection tests for each fragment of an object's bounding volume. The resulting hit fragments are transferred to the fragment shading stage for computing the illumination and performing further fragment operations. Our approach combines the efficiency of the standard hardware graphics pipeline with the advantages of ray casting such as pixel accurate rendering and exact normal as well as early ray termination. This concept serves as a framework for the implementation of an interactive ray casting system for trimmed NURBS surfaces. We show how to realize an iterative ray-object intersection method for NURBS primitives as an intersection program. Convex hulls are used as tight bounding volumes for the NURBS patches to minimize the number of fragments to be processed. In addition, we developed a trimming algorithm for the GPU that works with an exact representation of the trimming curves. First experiments with our implementation show that real-time rendering of medium complex scenes is possible on current graphics hardware
The Impact of Mixed Land Use on Residential Property Values

This discussion paper led to a publication in the Journal of Regional Science (2012). Vol. 52(5), pages 733-761. Contemporary European urban planning policies aim to mix land uses in compact neighbourhoods. It is presumed that mixing land uses yields socio-economic benefits and therefore has a positive effect on housing values. In this paper, we investigate the impact of mixed land use on housing values using semiparametric estimation techniques. We demonstrate that a diverse neighbourhood is positively valued by households. There are various land use types which positively affect house prices, e.g. business services and leisure. Land uses that are incompatible with residential land use are, among others, manufacturing and wholesale. It appears that households are willing to pay up to 6 percent more for a house in a mixed neighbourhood than for an otherwise comparable house in a monofunctional area. We also show that there is substantial heterogeneity in willingness to pay for mixed land use. For example, apartment occupiers are willing to pay almost 25 percent more for diversity than households living in detached housing.
Stock Option Returns: A Puzzle

Under very weak assumptions, the expected returns of European call options must be positive and increasing in the strike price. This paper investigates the returns to call options on individual stocks that do not have an ex-dividend day prior to expiration. The main findings are that over the 1996 to 2005 period (1) out-of-the-money calls have negative average returns, and (2) the average returns of high strike calls are lower than those of low strike calls. The puzzling returns are robust to a number of variations in methodology, and are not due to a 'peso' problem. Finally, preliminary evidence is presented that is consistent with investor skewness-seeking contributing to the puzzling call returns.
The Art of Political Murder: Who Killed the Bishop?

Bishop Juan Gerardi, Guatemala s leading human rights activist, was bludgeoned to death in his garage on a Sunday night in 1998, two days after the presentation of a groundbreaking church-sponsored report implicating the military in the murders and disappearances of some two hundred thousand civilians. Realizing that it could not rely on police investigators or the legal system to solve the murder, the church formed its own investigative team, a group of secular young men in their twenties who called themselves Los Intocables (the Untouchables). Known in Guatemala as The Crime of the Century, the Bishop Gerardi murder case, with its unexpectedly outlandish scenarios and sensational developments, confounded observers and generated extraordinary controversy. In his first nonfiction book, acclaimed novelist Francisco Goldman has spoken to witnesses no other reporter has reached, and observed firsthand some of the most crucial developments in the case. Now he has produced "The Art of Political Murder," a tense and astonishing true detective story that opens a window on the new Latin American reality of mara youth gangs and organized crime, and tells the story of a remarkable group of engaging, courageous young people, and of their remarkable fight for justice. "
The density process of the minimal entropy martingale measure in a stochastic volatility market. A PDE Approach

In a stochastic volatility market the Radon-Nikodym density of the minimal entropy martingale measure can be expressed in terms of the solution of a semilinear partial differential equation (PDE). This fact has been explored and illustrated for the time-homogeneous case in a recent paper by Benth and Karlsen [3]. However, there are some cases which time-dependent parameters are required such as when it comes to calibration. This paper generalizes their model to the time-inhomogeneous case.
Inhibition of Bothrops jararacussu venom activities by Plathymenia reticulata Benth extracts

Hexane (HEX), dichloromethane (DM), ethyl acetate (EA) and methanol (M) extracts (0.1, 0.2 and 0.4mg/ml) were obtained via Soxhlet from Plathymenia reticulata barks (Pr). These extracts were evaluated against the myotoxicity (58%) and the irreversible in vitro neuromuscular blockade of Bothrops jararacussu (Bjssu) venom (40μg/ml) in a mouse phrenic-nerve diaphragm preparation, by using light-microscopy and conventional myographic techniques. Thin layer chromatography (TLC) was used to access the basic composition of extracts. The efficacy of the extracts was analyzed by Student's t-test or repeated measures ANOVA. The significance level was set at 5%. The Pr extracts showed a higher polyphenols content (3.75%), from which tannins take part, around 20 times more than flavonoids content (0.16%). Qualitatively, via TLC, DM and EA extracts showed higher tannins concentration than the HEX and M extracts. Pharmacologically, at 0.4mg/ml, DM was more effective (92 ± 6.2%) than EA (81.3 ±10%) = HEX, 77.2 ±4.7%) > M (54 ±10%) against the toxic effects of the venom. Morphologically, DM extract preserved intact 52.8% of the muscle fibers in the presence of the venom. We concluded that P. reticulata extracts are able to inhibit toxic effects of B. jararacussu venom, whose protective mechanism could be mediated by tannins.
Separation of politics from the South African public service : rhetoric or reality?

This paper addresses the question of whether senior public servants should be political or non-political when performing their duties. This debate has long been a central concern in the literature of United States of America from the beginning of public administration, and remains so to this day. It is also the case in South Africa, especially after the ANC assumed power in 1994. The ANC has deployed some of its members to key public service positions with a view of promoting loyalty and service delivery. This paper addresses this issue in the context of the politics-administration dichotomy. Models, which describe and analyse the relationship between politics and administration are identified. These models are dichotomy model / depoliticized bureaucracy, politicized bureaucracy model, model of complementarity, the British permanent model and the American hybrid model. This paper recognizes a need for "political appointments" (politicized bureaucracy) within the public service due to a threat, real or perceived, of political sabotage by disloyal incumbents of the previous dispensation. After a threat of political sabotage diminishes the government should then introduce the complementarity model, with more emphasis on the principle of merit, which is emphasized in the British permanent model and to a certain extent, the American hybrid model. State institutions supporting constitutional democracy should act independently against corrupt public functionaries who abuse "political appointments" for their own personal purposes.
Organizational ecology and population dynamics in politics : an agent-based model

Author(s): Jung, Danielle Fitzpatrick | Abstract: Markets, networks and hierarchies are the three core forms of social organization. They recur at all levels of social interaction as solutions to problems of cooperation. Disparate actors---from states, to "dark'' actors like rebel groups, to voters---use these organizations to solve their cooperative problems. This dissertation uses a general agent-based model (ABM) to examine how organizations affect cooperation and welfare across several issues. Humans form organizations to enhance cooperation and wellbeing. Markets, networks, and hierarchies are the recurrent forms of social organization, but are typically studied in isolation. I use an ABM to look at when different types of actors choose to join (and thereby create) different organizations. The conditions that drive these choices include individual, population, and organizational attributes. Organizations allow for social actors to guard against exploitation, increase the likelihood of cooperation, and by extension increase social welfare. I apply insights from the ABM to three topics: rebel organizations, alliance formation, and voter turnout in emerging democracies. I show rebel organizations form as networks when insurgents think the risks of defection are low, but shift into hierarchic organizations to protect themselves from defection as these risks increase. This finding has implications for counter insurgency policy. I also find that those most vulnerable to exploitation in rebel populations, such as child soldiers with no network to leverage, are more likely to join hierarchies at lower levels of risk than less vulnerable insurgents. Likewise, I apply the model to alliance formation, finding that "nice'' states will join constraining organizations in higher numbers than their "nasty'' counterparts. Finally, I study how voters in emerging democracies will use multiple organizations to promote high levels of turnout---bootstrapping the population into high levels of cooperation through social networks as well as institutional mechanisms. Embracing this multi-organizational approach in consolidating democracies can increase long-term political participation in many areas, both formal and informal
A Simplified Agent Based Model of a Sinks and Faucets Resource Economy, Using a blind commitment market

This masters thesis seeks to model a simple financial system by using an agent based model. It seeks to do this by constructing an as simple as possible market and agent dynamic. To do this the blind commitment market is introduced and the general model constructed around this. For this model a number of questions are then posed concerning the model's stability and effectiveness at modelling the core market dynamics. Further- more an analytical analog is created in order to analyse the equilibrium dynamics. From the analytical representation parallels are drawn to the agent based model. The agent based model is constructed in such a way that agents are encouraged to interact in order to meet all demands. The arising dependancy network of agents is then analysed using a graphical representation, which shows how much the different agents depend on each other. The general dynamics are also examined as the three main parameters of the model are varied. It is shown that the bind commitment market upholds supply and demand char- acteristics, and that the agent based model functions as an economy with cooperating agents, however these agents are not making any profit. Furtheromre it is shown that the analytical model is stable for all possible parameters of the allowed parameter space in the sense that feedback processes steer the supply and demand dynamics to a stable fix point, an equilibrium price. The agent based model also gravitates towards an equi- librium price, however minority game dynamics prevent the system from reaching, or staying, at the equilibrium price for long. The minority game dynamics ing the system away from the stable point, causing the system to restart its trajectory towards the equilibrium price, aided by the feedback processes. Lastly the three main parameters of the model are examined with respect to how much they influence the stability of prices inside the model.