Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Viewpoint invariants from three-dimensional data: The role of reflection in human activity understanding

Human activity understanding from three-dimensional data, such as from depth cameras, requires viewpoint-invariant matching. In this paper, we propose a new method of constructing invariants that allows distinction between isometries based on rotation, which preserve handedness, and those that involve reflection, which reverse right and left hands. The state-of-the-art in viewpoint invariants uses either global descriptors such as moments or spherical harmonic magnitudes, or relies on local methods such as feature matching. None of those methods are able to easily distinguish rotations from reflections, which is essential to understand left vs right handed gestures. We show that the distinction between rotation and reflection is contained in the imaginary part of certain weighted inner-products of moment vectors. We show how reflection-sensing viewpoint invariants may be applied to depth-map data for understanding activity data.
Human segmentation based on disparity map and GrabCut

Human segmentation plays an important role in vision analysis due to its importance for applications such as 3D pose estimation, human behavior analysis, body parameter estimation and image compositing. In this paper, we present a new human segmentation method that can segment human from the complex background environment without using background subtraction like algorithms and motion estimation algorithms. Initially, semi-global stereo matching algorithm was used to get the coarse disparity map. Then GrabCut was used on the disparity space image to get the human's coarse silhouette. After some erosion morphology operations, the silhouette obtained from the disparity space image was used as the input marks for the GrabCut, which was used on the color image to get accurate human segmentation. Results show that the proposed method can have a good performance.
Paternal age at birth and high-functioning autistic-spectrum disorder in offspring

Background Previous studies have reported the association between advanced paternal age at birth and the risk of autistic-spectrum disorder in offspring, including offspring with intellectual disability. Aims To test whether an association between advanced paternal age at birth is found in offspring with high-functioning autistic-spectrum disorder (i.e. offspring without intellectual disability). Method A case–control study was conducted in Japan. The participants consisted of individuals with full-scale IQ ⩾ 70, with a DSM–IV autistic disorder or related diagnosis. Unrelated healthy volunteers were recruited as controls. Parental ages were divided into tertiles (i.e. three age classes). Odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals were estimated using logistic regression analyses, with an adjustment for age, gender and birth order. Results Eighty-four individuals with autistic-spectrum disorder but without intellectual disability and 208 healthy controls were enrolled. Increased paternal, but not maternal, age was associated with an elevated risk of high-functioning autistic-spectrum disorder. A one-level advance in paternal age class corresponded to a 1.8-fold increase in risk, after adjustment for covariates. Conclusions Advanced paternal age is associated with an increased risk for high-functioning autistic-spectrum disorder.
Robust Regeneration of Adult Sensory Axons in Degenerating White Matter of the Adult Rat Spinal Cord

We have recently reported that minimally disturbed adult CNS white matter can support regeneration of adult axons by using a novel microtransplantation technique to inject minute volumes of dissociated adult rat dorsal root ganglion neurons directly into adult rat CNS pathways (Davies et al., 1997). This atraumatic injection procedure minimized scarring and allowed considerable numbers of regenerating adult axons immediate access to the adult CNS glial terrain where they rapidly extended for long distances. A critical question remained as to whether degenerating white matter at acute and chronic stages (up to 3 months) after injury could still support regeneration. To investigate this, we have microtransplanted adult sensory neurons into degenerating white matter of the adult rat spinal cord several millimeters rostral to a severe lesion of the dorsal columns. Regeneration of donor sensory axons in both directions away from the site of transplantation was robust even within white matter undergoing fulminant Wallerian degeneration despite intimate contact with myelin. Along their route, the regrowing axons extended large numbers of collaterals into the adjacent dorsal horn. However, after entering the lesion, the rapidly extending growth cones stopped and became dystrophic within high concentrations of reactive glial matrix. Our results offer compelling evidence that the major environmental impediment to regeneration in the adult CNS is the molecular barrier that forms directly at the lesion site, and that degenerating white matter beyond the glial scar has a far greater intrinsic ability to support axon regeneration than previously thought possible.
The Epidemiological, Morphological, and Clinical Aspects of the Cervical Ribs in Humans

A familiarity with the anatomy of some types of bone anomalies is necessary for clinicians involved in many medical areas. The aim of this paper is to review the newest literature concerning the morphology, embryology, clinical image, and therapeutic methods of the cervical ribs in the humans. The incidence of cervical ribs has been found to vary from 0.58% in Malaysian population to 6.2% in Turkish population. Cervical ribs have clinical implications that are generally divided into neurological or vascular. This study is of particular importance for clinicians, as early identification of cervical ribs may prevent life-threatening complications.
A Statistical Model for the Average Number of Hops in Optical Networks

— With the aim of approaching the optical networks dimensioning problem in a semi-analytical way, we present a statistical model for the average number of hops in the context of optical networks. The input parameters for the model are the number of nodes and links. From the number of nodes and links the probability function for the average number of hops is obtained. The model uses extensive computational resources to obtain the probability function. Therefore it is also performed an assessment of the problem in terms of computational cost.
Selection of Relevant Feature for Intrusion Attack Classification by Analyzing KDD Cup 99

Security is one of most important issue in network management and detection of Intrusion based security attacks play vital role in it. To have a holistic picture of the network intrusion detection, selection of appropriate feature is very important; it reduces analysis effort and time too. Identification of most astute feature for attack classification plays significant role in intrusion detection. Data mining can be very fruitful for feature selection and intrusion detection. In this paper, KDD ’99 intrusion detection dataset is evaluated to find out most important and relevant features.
Chapter 1 Assessing Believability

We discuss what it means for a non-player character (NPC) to be believable or human-like, and how we can accurately assess believability. We argue that participatory observation, where the human assessing believability takes part in the game, is prone to distortion effects. For many games, a fairer (or at least complementary) assessment might be made by an external observer that does not participate in the game, through comparing and ranking the performance of human and non-human agents playing a game. This assessment philosophy was embodied in the Turing Test Track of the recent Mario AI Championship, where non-expert bystanders evaluated the humanlikeness of several agents and humans playing a version of Super Mario Bros. We analyze the results of this competition. Finally, we discuss the possibilities for forming models of believability and of maximizing believability through adjusting game content rather than NPC control logic.
Adapting IBQAS to work with Text Transciptions in QAst Task: IBQAst

This paper shows the results of adapting a modular domain English QA system (called IBQAS, whose initials correspond to Interchangeable Blocks Question Answering System) to work with both manual and automatic text transcriptions. This system provides a generic and modular framework using an approach based on the recognition of named entities as a method of extracting answers. The system architecture follows the general methodology of QA systems incorporating the modules detailed below: analysis of the question, information retrieval and extraction of the answer. In the analysis phase of the system, we extracted the type of question or type of answer expected, keywords and focus. Next, we used JIRS, a traditional Passage Retrieval system which is able to find structures in questions using n-gram models, for the information retrieval process. Finally, we selected the potential answers and those with higher scores were given as result.
Classification of Unattended and Stolen Objects in Video-Surveillance System

This paper describes a video surveillance system aimed at the automatic identification of events of interest, especially of abandoned and stolen objects in a guarded indoor environment. In particular the implemented system combines three phases of data processing: object extraction, object recognition and tracking, and decision about actions. Extracted objects are classified as "human" or "non-human" and static or dynamic, an event of interest following from a split between a "human" and a static "non-human" object, finally static "nonhuman" is analyzed to discriminate between abandoned or stolen object.
Estimation of Severity of Speech Disability through Speech Envelope

In this paper, envelope detection of speech is discussed to distinguish the pathological cases of speech disabled children. The speech signal samples of children of age between five to eight years are considered for the present study. These speech signals are digitized and are used to determine the speech envelope. The envelope is subjected to ratio mean analysis to estimate the disability. This analysis is conducted on ten speech signal samples which are related to both place of articulation and manner of articulation. Overall speech disability of a pathological subject is estimated based on the results of above analysis.
Reactance-domain MUSIC DOA estimation using calibrated equivalent weight matrix of ESPAR antenna

This paper present a calibration method of the equivalent weight matrix for the reactance-domain MUSIC algorithm of the ESPAR antenna. This is a way of calibrating an ESPAR antenna by employing a signal eigenvector corresponding to a signal eigenvalue. We adopt seven directional patterns including an omni pattern to obtain a correlation matrix In experiments, we can find that the proposed calibration method provides a higher spectrum peak of about 20 dB and an accurate estimation angle. We conclude that accurate DOA estimation depends on sets of varactors forming several directional patterns.
Activity reversal of Tet repressor caused by single amino acid exchanges

We explore by extensive mutagenesis regions in the sequence allowing reversal of the allosteric response of Tet repressor. The wild type requires anhydrotetracycline for induction. About 100 mutants are presented, which, in contrast, require the drug for repression. Their mutations are clustered at the interface of the DNA‐ and inducer‐binding domains. This interface consists of a central hydrophobic region surrounded by several hydrogen bonds. While most of the mutants described here contain two to five mutations, we found five positions in this region of TetR, at which single amino acid exchanges lead to activity reversal. They may disrupt the hydrogen‐bonding network bordering the domain interface. We assume that the mutations cause a repositioning of the DNA reading head with respect to the effector binding core so that the same conformational change can result in opposite activities.
More or less—On the influence of labelling strategies to infer cell population dynamics

The adoptive transfer of labelled cell populations has been an essential tool to determine and quantify cellular dynamics. The experimental methods to label and track cells over time range from fluorescent dyes over congenic markers towards single-cell labelling techniques, such as genetic barcodes. While these methods have been widely used to quantify cell differentiation and division dynamics, the extent to which the applied labelling strategy actually affects the quantification of the dynamics has not been determined so far. This is especially important in situations where measurements can only be obtained at a single time point, as e.g. due to organ harvest. To this end, we studied the appropriateness of various labelling strategies as characterised by the number of different labels and the initial number of cells per label to quantify cellular dynamics. We simulated adoptive transfer experiments in systems of various complexity that assumed either homoeostatic cellular turnover or cell expansion dynamics involving various steps of cell differentiation and proliferation. Re-sampling cells at a single time point, we determined the ability of different labelling strategies to recover the underlying kinetics. Our results indicate that cell transition and expansion rates are differently affected by experimental shortcomings, such as loss of cells during transfer or sampling, dependent on the labelling strategy used. Furthermore, uniformly distributed labels in the transferred population generally lead to more robust and less biased results than non-equal label sizes. In addition, our analysis indicates that certain labelling approaches incorporate a systematic bias for the identification of complex cell expansion dynamics.
Numerical Analysis of a Steepest-Descent PDE Model for Surface Relaxation below the Roughening Temperature

We study the numerical solution of a PDE describing the relaxation of a crystal surface to a flat facet. The PDE is a singular, nonlinear, fourth order evolution equation, which can be viewed as the gradient flow of a convex but nonsmooth energy with respect to the $H_{per}^{-1}$ inner product. Our numerical scheme uses implicit discretization in time and a mixed finite element approximation in space. The singular character of the energy is handled using regularization, combined with a primal-dual method. We study the convergence of this scheme, both theoretically and numerically.
The role of divalent cations in the N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate responses of mouse central neurones in culture.

1. Single‐channel currents activated by N‐methyl‐D‐aspartate (NMDA) agonists were analysed in the presence of various extracellular concentrations of divalent cations in outside‐out patches from mouse neurones in primary culture. 2. In nominally Mg2+‐free solutions the opening and closing of the channels leads to rectangular current pulses, the mean duration of which varies little with membrane potential. After addition of Mg2+, the single‐channel currents recorded at negative potentials appear in bursts of short openings separated by brief closures. 3. The duration of the short openings decreases with increasing Mg2+ concentration, while the duration of the short closures is independent of the Mg2+ concentration. Depolarization increases the duration of the short openings and decreases the duration of the short closures. 4. The dependence of the burst structure on the Mg2+ concentration and on membrane potential is compatible to a first approximation with a model in which Mg2+ ions enter the open channel and block it by binding at a deep site. A better approximation requires, however, additional assumptions such as Mg2+ permeation and/or interactions between Ca2+ and Mg2+. 5. Increasing the extracellular Ca2+ concentration from 1 to 100 mM produces three effects on the currents flowing through NMDA channels. It shifts the reversal potential towards a positive value (+30 mV); it reduces the outward current flowing through the NMDA channels at very positive potentials; it reduces the inward current flowing at negative potentials. 6. The interpretation of the effects of Ca2+ appears to require three hypotheses: that Ca2+ permeates the NMDA channel, that there exists a significant surface potential at the entrance of the NMDA channel in physiological solutions and that both Ca2+ and monovalent cations bind to the channel, binding being stronger in the case of Ca2+ ions. 7. While Co2+ and, to a lesser extent, Mn2+ mimic the effects of Mg2+ on the NMDA channel, Ca2+, Ba2+ and Cd2+ do not. The distinction between Mg2+‐like and Ca2+‐like divalent cations corresponds to a difference in the speed of exchange of the water molecules surrounding the cations in solutions. Thus, it is possible that permeation occurs for all the divalent cations, but is slower for those which are slowly dehydrated.
The search for a conceptual framework: quest for a Holy Grail or Hunting a Snark?

Purpose – The paper is an exercise in “metaphoric defamiliarisation”. The metaphor of the search for a conceptual framework as “quest” is unpacked and an alternative, based on Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark, is proposed in its place.Design/methodology/approach – Many points of correspondence between Carroll's unlikely expedition and the work of standard setting bodies are noted and developed. The possibility that a conceptual framework might turn out to be a “Boojum” is examined.Findings – Noting that timing precludes the possibility that The Hunting of the Snark is an allegory of accounting standard setting, a possible social explanation drawing on Cornford's Microcosmographia Academica is proposed.Originality/value – Examines the use of the quest metaphor and what it tells us about standard setters' approaches. An alternative metaphor is proposed as being more appropriate and, by contrasting the two, the content of the first is thrown into sharper relief.
Therapeutic antimicrobial peptides may compromise natural immunity

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) have been proposed as a promising new class of antimicrobials despite warnings that therapeutic use could drive the evolution of pathogens resistant to our own immunity peptides. Using experimental evolution, we demonstrate that Staphylococcus aureus rapidly evolved resistance to pexiganan, a drug-candidate for diabetic leg ulcer infections. Evolved resistance was costly in terms of impaired growth rate, but costs-of-resistance were completely ameliorated by compensatory adaptation. Crucially, we show that, in some populations, experimentally evolved resistance to pexiganan provided S. aureus with cross-resistance to human-neutrophil-defensin-1, a key component of the innate immune response to infection. This unintended consequence of therapeutic use could drastically undermine our innate immune system's ability to control and clear microbial infections. Our results therefore highlight grave potential risks of AMP therapies, with implications for their development.
Efficient analysis of microstrip antenna mounted on helicopter using CBFM

The analysis of a microstrip antenna mounted on a lager platform is a challenging problem for computational electromagnetics methods. In this paper, the characteristic basis function method (CBFM) is applied to calculate the problems, the original SWG and RWG basis functions are replaced by constructed characteristic basis functions (CBFs), so that the computation resources can be reduced, and at the same time, the convergence characteristics can be improved. At last, a microstrip antenna mounted on helicopter is analyzed in the paper, the efficiency of the algorithm is also demonstrated.
The Same Speed Timer in Population Protocols

A novel concept of the same speed timer is presented, and is applied in the population protocol (PP) model to improve the convergence time of existing loosely-stabilizing leader election protocols. Loosely-stabilizing leader election guarantees that, starting from any configuration, the system reaches a safe configuration within a short time (convergence), and after that, the system keeps the unique leader for a long time (closure). Two loosely-stabilizing leader election protocols for arbitrary graphs exist in the literature; one uses identifiers of nodes and the other uses random numbers to elect a unique leader. Both protocols guarantee that the expected convergence time is polynomial and the expected holding time (the time the leader is kept) is exponential. In this paper, convergence time of these protocols is dramatically improved by the same speed timer without impairing the exponential holding time. Specifically, a fast deterministic loosely-stabilizing leader election protocol that uses identifiers of nodes and a fast randomized looselystabilizing leader election protocol are given. The expected convergence time and expected holding time of the former protocol are O(mN log N) and Ω(Ne2N), respectively, where m is the number of edges in the graph and N is a given upper bound on the number of nodes n. The expected convergence time and expected holding time of the latter protocol are O(mN2 log n) and Ω(Ne2N), respectively. A self-stabilizing two-hop coloring protocol that uses only O(log n) memory space of each agent is given as a tool of the latter protocol. A lower bound is also given: any loosely-stabilizing leader election protocol with expected exponential holding time requires Ω(mN) expected convergence time.
Mind and Nature: Essays on Time and Subjectivity

I. Metapsychology. Foundations of cognitive metaphysics. The concept of momentariness. Fundamentals of process neuropsychology. II. Consciousness. Psychoanalysis and process theory. The unconscious (Freud) and process theory. Consciousness and the categories of nature. III. Agency and Value. Neuropsychology of the self--concept . Subjectivity and scientific thought. On aesthetic perception.
Activity Modelling in Crowded Environments: A Soft-Decision Approach

Probabilistic topic models have recently been used for activity analysis in video processing, due to their strong capacity to model both local activities and interactions in crowded scenes. In those applications, a video sequence is divided into a collection of uniform non-overlaping video clips, and the high dimensional continuous inputs are quantized into a bag of discrete visual words. The hard division of video clips, and hard assignment of visual words leads to problems when an activity is split over multiple clips, or the most appropriate visual word for quantization is unclear. In this paper, we propose a novel algorithm, which makes use of a soft histogram technique to compensate for the loss of information in the quantization process, and a soft cut technique in the temporal domain to overcome problems caused by separating an activity into two video clips. In the detection process, we also apply a soft decision strategy to detect unusual events. We show that the proposed soft-decision approach outperforms its hard decision counterpart in both local and global activity modelling.