Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Self-Calibration of Catadioptric Camera with Two Planar Mirrors from Silhouettes

If an object is interreflected between two planar mirrors, we may take an image containing both the object and its multiple reflections, i.e., simultaneously imaging multiple views of an object by a single pinhole camera. This paper emphasizes the problem of recovering both the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the camera using multiple silhouettes from one single image. View pairs among views in a single image can be divided into two kinds by the relationship between the two views in the pair: reflected by some mirror (real or virtual) and in a circular motion. Epipoles in the first kind of pairs can be easily determined from intersections of common tangent lines of silhouettes. Based on the projective properties of these epipoles, efficient methods are proposed to recover both the imaged circular points and the included angle between two mirrors. Epipoles in the second kind of pairs can be recovered simultaneously with the projection of intersection line between two mirrors by solving a simple 1D optimization problem using the consistency constraint of epipolar tangent lines. Fundamental matrices among views in a single image are all recovered. Using the estimated intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the camera, a euclidean reconstruction can be obtained. Experiments validate the proposed approach.
Front-End Compensation Methods for LVCSR Under Lombard Effect

This study analyzes the impact of noisy background variations and Lombard effect (LE) on large vocabulary continuous speech recognition (LVCSR). Robustness of several front-end feature extraction strategies combined with state-of-the-art feature distribution normalizations is tested on neutral and Lombard speech from the UT-Scope database presented in two types of background noise at various levels of SNR. An extension of a bottleneck (BN) front-end utilizing normalization of both critical band energies (CRBE) and BN outputs is proposed and shown to provide a competitive performance compared to the best MFCC-based system. A novel MFCC-based BN front-end is introduced and shown to outperform all other systems in all conditions considered (average 4.1% absolute WER reduction over the second best system). Additionally, two phenomena are observed: (i) combination of cepstral mean subtraction and recently established RASTALP filtering significantly reduces transient effects of RASTA band-pass filtering and increases ASR robustness to noise and LE; (ii) histogram equalization may benefit from utilizing reference distributions derived from pre-normalized rather than raw training features, and also from adopting distributions from different front-ends.
Analyzing the interaction between facilitator and participants in two variants of the think-aloud method

This paper focuses on the interaction between test participants and test facilitator in two variants of the think-aloud method. In a first, explorative study, we analyzed think-aloud transcripts from two usability tests: a concurrent think-aloud test and a constructive interaction test. The results of our analysis show that while the participants in both studies never explicitly addressed the facilitator, the think-aloud participants showed more signs of awareness of the facilitator than the participants in the constructive interaction test. This finding may have practical implications for the validity of the two methods.
The Intervalgram: An Audio Feature for Large-scale Melody Recognition

We present a system for representing the melodic content of short pieces of audio using a novel chroma-based representation known as the 'intervalgram', which is a summary of the local pattern of musical intervals in a segment of music. The intervalgram is based on a chroma representation derived from the temporal profile of the stabilized audi- tory image (10) and is made locally pitch invariant by means of a 'soft' pitch transposition to a local reference. Intervalgrams are generated for a piece of music using multiple overlapping windows. These sets of interval- grams are used as the basis of a system for detection of identical melodies across a database of music. Using a dynamic-programming approach for comparisons between a reference and the song database, performance is evaluated on the 'covers80' dataset (4). A first test of an intervalgram- based system on this dataset yields a precision at top-1 of 53.8%, with an ROC curve that shows very high precision up to moderate recall, sug- gesting that the intervalgram is adept at identifying the easier-to-match cover songs in the dataset with high robustness. The intervalgram is de- signed to support locality-sensitive hashing, such that an index lookup from each single intervalgram feature has a moderate probability of re- trieving a match, with few false matches. With this indexing approach, a large reference database can be quickly pruned before more detailed matching, as in previous content-identification systems.
Benefitting from a different perspective: The effect of a complementary matching of psychological distance and habitual perspective on emotion regulation

Psychological distance in terms of its purpose as a psychological adjustment is currently not well understood. Some researchers claim that psychological distance serves as an emotion regulator, while others argue that psychological distance has the reverse effect, leading to cognitive avoidance and rumination. To elucidate upon this discrepancy, we propose that a complementary matching of psychological distance to one's habitual psychological distance perspective may lead to better emotion regulation when compared to the original perspective (i.e. fixing on either psychological immersion or distance). This study hypothesizes that a complementary matching of psychological distance to one's habitual perspective generally leads to better emotion regulation; specifically, individuals with high avoidant attachment, who habitually distance themselves from their experiences, may benefit from psychological immersion, while individuals with high anxious attachment, who habitually immerse themselves in their experiences, may benefit from psychological distancing. A total of 83 participants completed measures of adult attachment orientations; read a conflict scenario, triggering their attachment systems; and then rewrote that scenario using designated pronouns, thereby employing psychological immersion or psychological distance. Participants in the self-immersed condition were asked to write from the first-person perspective, whereas those in the self-distancing condition were asked to write from the third-person perspective. The results support our hypothesis of a complementary matching of psychological distance and habitual perspective.
Strategic Orientations in Management Literature: Three Approaches to Understanding the Interaction between Market, Technology, Entrepreneurial and Learning Orientations

Market, technology, entrepreneurial and learning orientations have attracted major scholarly interest within their specific streams of literature for some decades. These strategic orientations are seen as principles that direct and influence the activities of a firm and generate the behaviours intended to ensure its viability and performance. Prior studies have argued that firms should develop and use multiple orientations, yet the relationship between different orientations has received only fragmented attention. This paper presents a systematic review of this literature, covering 67 scholarly articles published between 1987 and 2010 which investigate multiple orientations. The paper contributes first by summarizing the current state of knowledge on the interplay between these orientations. Many of these relationships have not been studied to any great degree, and there are research gaps in the information available on the relationships between entrepreneurial, technology and learning orientation in particular. Secondly, the paper contributes to further theoretical and empirical enquiry by synthesizing the empirical findings into a three-approach framework. The sequential, alternatives and complementary approaches to perceiving the relationship between orientations all suggest areas for further research. The sequential approach could further contribute by developing better constructs for explaining the orientation of the firm; while the alternatives approach could increase its relevance to management through the exploration of contingency settings and comparative studies. The complementary approach encourages discussion between researchers from the different streams of literature through the investigation of the relationships. It suggests focus on the investigation of both universal- and contingency-dependent-orientation configurations.
A camera-computer system to support safe walking of a blind person

It is necessary for a blind person to know the locations of the pedestrians or moving objects around him/her on a walk road for his/her safe walking. This paper proposes a system for detecting pedestrians or moving objects in front of a person on a walk road by a camera mounted on his/her body. The system judges if a moving object in front of the person is going to hit him/her in the near future by analyzing the motion vectors acquired on the camera images. In case there is a fear of hit, the system tells it to the person by sound. In this way, the proposed system helps safe walking of a blind person. Some experimental results are shown with discussion.
Predictors of Better Health Outcomes of Mothers of Children with Autistic Spectrum Disorder

Caring for children with autism place mothers at high risk for poor health outcomes and compromises the health of all family members (e.g., Bristol, 1987; Hastings et al., 2005a). Although poor outcomes prevail, some mothers do well despite their caregiving challenges. While ample research exists on mothers’ supports and stress, virtually nothing is known about their strengths. Emerging research suggests that parental self-efficacy and empowerment may contribute to better outcomes in mothers of children with autism. The purpose of the present study was to identify predictors of better outcomes in mothers of children with autism. Relationships among child disruptive behaviour, supports, self-efficacy, empowerment, maternal distress and positive perceptions of parenting were examined using a postal survey design. Mothers (N = 114) of school-age children with autism provided demographic information and completed various scales (i.e., the Developmental Behaviour Checklist, Family Support, Difficult Behaviour Self-Efficacy, Family Empowerment, Hospital Anxiety and Depression, Positive Contribution). Overall, 35% of the variance was explained in maternal distress (i.e., anxiety and depression). After accounting for mothers’ age and child disruptive behaviour, support and empowerment were subsumed by parental self-efficacy in predicting lower levels of maternal distress. Collectively, 17% of the variance was explained in mothers’ positive perceptions of parenting. Self-efficacy partially mediated the moderate effect of disruptive behaviour on mothers’ distress and fully mediated the small effect of disruptive behaviour on mothers’ positive perceptions of parenting. Thus, parental self-efficacy for managing children’s difficult behaviour is very promising for preserving mothers’ health. While discussion focuses on outstanding issues to be addressed, the findings suggest that tailoring formal services to enhance parental efficacy, rather than providing support and consultation services alone, would be more in line with mothers’ needs and possibly improve both children’s and families’ outcomes.
Detection of deadlock potentials in multithreaded programs

Concurrent programs are well known for containing errors that are difficult to detect, reproduce, and diagnose. Deadlock is a common concurrency error, which occurs when a set of threads are blocked, due to each attempting to acquire a lock held by another. This paper presents a collection of highly scalable static and dynamic techniques for exposing potential deadlocks. The basis is a known algorithm, which, when locks are acquired in a nested fashion, captures the nesting order in a lock graph. A cycle in the graph indicates a deadlock potential. We propose three extensions to this basic algorithm to eliminate, or label as low severity, false warnings of possible deadlocks (false positives). These false positives may be due to cycles within one thread, cycles guarded by a gate lock (an enclosing lock that prevents deadlocks), and cycles involving several code fragments that cannot possibly execute in parallel. We also present a technique that combines information from multiple runs of the program into a single lock graph, to find deadlock potentials that would not be revealed by analyzing one run at a time. Finally, this paper describes the use of static analysis to automatically reduce the overhead of dynamic checking for deadlock potentials.
Familiar Hypopigmentation Syndrome in Sheep Associated with Homozygous Deletion of the Entire Endothelin Type-B Receptor Gene

In humans, rodents and horses, pigmentary anomalies in combination with other disorders, notably intestinal aganglionosis, are associated with variants of the endothelin type-B receptor gene (EDNRB). In an inbred Cameroon sheep flock, five white lambs with light blue eyes were sired from the same ram and died within a few hours up to a few days after birth, some of them with signs of intestinal obstruction. The aim of this study was to investigate if the observed hypopigmentation and a possible lethal condition were associated with a molecular change at the ovine EDNRB locus, and to check if such a genetic alteration also occurs in other Cameroon sheep flocks. Sequence analysis revealed a deletion of about 110 kb on sheep chromosome 10, comprising the entire EDNRB gene, on both chromosomes in the two available hypopigmented lambs and on a single chromosome in the two dams and three other unaffected relatives. This micro-chromosomal deletion was also confirmed by quantitative real-time PCR and by fluorescence in situ hybridization. Genotyping of a total of 127 Cameroon sheep in 7 other flocks by duplex PCR did not identify additional carriers of the deletion. Although both hypopigmented lambs available for post-mortem examination had a considerably dilated cecum and remaining meconium, histopathological examination of intestinal samples showed morphologically normal ganglion cells in appropriate number and distribution. This is to our knowledge the first description of an ENDRB gene deletion and associated clinical signs in a mammalian species different from humans and rodents. In humans and rats it is postulated that the variable presence and severity of intestinal aganglionosis and other features in individuals with EDNRB deletion is due to a variable genetic background and multiple gene interactions. Therefore the here analyzed sheep are a valuable animal model to test these hypotheses in another species.
Exploration of Self-Care Through the Intentional Witness Process and the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC)

This qualitative arts-based heuristic research explores the concept of self-care through the frameworks of the Intentional Witness Process and the Expressive Therapies Continuum (ETC). The research examines the potential implications of both frameworks by assisting art therapists in finding balance and well-being. The literature review investigates the existing concepts of self-care from a philosophical, clinical, and arts-based perspective, considering the connections between self-care, self-awareness and self-knowledge. Through the lenses of arts-based methodology and Moustakas’ (1990) six-step heuristic inquiry, the researcher examines her personal experience exploring various art materials and engaging in a five-week process combining both frameworks. The author investigates her personal process and resistance and further explores through her findings, the themes of emotional pain, presence and authenticity, creating a frame, self-esteem and strength. The researcher discusses her own personal transformation touching upon the notions of identity and Winnicott’s (1965) concept of true-self, the importance of reflective distance found in both frameworks as a tool guiding towards self-awareness and self-knowledge; and further addresses self-care as an on-going process of self-discovery. The data is analyzed and supported through pre-existing literature in art therapy and related fields and underscores the possibilities for other professionals wishing to use both frameworks as tools for self-care, which is first and foremost an act of self-knowledge.
Localization of mobile robots using incremental local maps

This paper presents an algorithm for the global localization of mobile robots. The general idea is to build a local map incrementally which is matched to a global map in each localization step. The matching algorithm is a very time and memory efficient enhancement of the common Random Sample Consensus (RANSAC). It is executed a fixed number of iterations computing a set of hypotheses of the current robot pose. This paper describes how to handle the resulting hypotheses, i.e. a method is introduced deciding when the robot is localized reliably enough. The algorithm has been implemented and its characteristics are evaluated and discussed in an experimental section.
Review of Devil’s Lair artefact classification and radiocarbon chronology

The radiometric chronology of the Devil's Lair cave deposit in southwestern Australia, excavated during the 1970s by a Western Australian Museum team, is currently being assessed through luminescence and AMSÂ 14 C dating. Also underway is a long overdue inventory of this site's stone and bone artefact assemblages. Our purpose here is to revise some previously published archaeological classifications of Devil's Lair artefacts, and to confirm human occupation of the cave as early as ca. 3 1,000 yr BP, as implied by conventional radiocarbon dates obtained twenty years ago.
Novel bioactive Co-based alloy/FA nanocomposite for dental applications

Background: Dental cobalt base alloys are biocompatible dental materials and have been widely used in dentistry. However, metals are bioinert and may not present bioactivity in human body. Bioactivity is the especial ability to interact with human body and make a bonding to soft and hard tissues. The aim of the present research was fabrication and bioactivity evaluation of novel cobalt alloy/Fluorapatite nanocomposite (CoA/FaNC) with different amounts of Fluorapatite (FA) nanopowder. Materials and Methods: Co-Cr-Mo alloy (ASTM F75) powder was prepared and mixed in a planetary ball mill with different amounts of FA nanopowders (10, 15, 20% wt). Prepared composite powders were cold pressed and sintered at 1100°C for 4 h. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy and transition electron microscopy techniques were used for phase analysis, crystallite size determination of FA and also for phase analysis and evaluation of particle distribution of composites. Bioactivity behavior of prepared nanocomposites was evaluated in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 1 up to 28 days. Materials and Methods: Co-Cr-Mo alloy (ASTM F75) powder was prepared and mixed in a planetary ball mill with different amounts of FA nanopowders (10, 15, 20% wt). Prepared composite powders were cold pressed and sintered at 1100°C for 4 h. X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy and transition electron microscopy techniques were used for phase analysis, crystallite size determination of FA and also for phase analysis and evaluation of particle distribution of composites. Bioactivity behavior of prepared nanocomposites was evaluated in simulated body fluid (SBF) for 1 up to 28 days. Results: Results showed that nucleus of apatite were formed on the surface of the prepared CoA/FaNC during 1 up to 28 days immersion in the SBF solution. On the other hand, CoA/FaNC unlike Co-base alloy possessed bone-like apatite-formation ability. Conclusion: It was concluded that bioinert Co-Cr-Mo alloy could be successfully converted into bioactive nanocomposite by adding 10, 15, 20 wt% of FA nano particles.
An Allosteric Regulator of R7-RGS Proteins Influences Light-Evoked Activity and Glutamatergic Waves in the Inner Retina

In the outer retina, G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) signaling mediates phototransduction and synaptic transmission between photoreceptors and ON bipolar cells. In contrast, the functions of modulatory GPCR signaling networks in the inner retina are less well understood. We addressed this question by determining the consequences of augmenting modulatory Gi/o signaling driven by endogenous transmitters. This was done by analyzing the effects of genetically ablating the R7 RGS-binding protein (R7BP), a membrane-targeting protein and positive allosteric modulator of R7-RGS (regulator of the G protein signaling 7) family that deactivates Gi/oα subunits. We found that R7BP is expressed highly in starburst amacrine cells and retinal ganglion cells (RGCs). As indicated by electroretinography and multielectrode array recordings of adult retina, ablation of R7BP preserved outer retina function, but altered the firing rate and latency of ON RGCs driven by rods and cones but not rods alone. In developing retina, R7BP ablation increased the burst duration of glutamatergic waves whereas cholinergic waves were unaffected. This effect on glutamatergic waves did not result in impaired segregation of RGC projections to eye-specific domains of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus. R7BP knockout mice exhibited normal spatial contrast sensitivity and visual acuity as assessed by optomotor reflexes. Taken together these findings indicate that R7BP-dependent regulation of R7-RGS proteins shapes specific aspects of light-evoked and spontaneous activity of RGCs in mature and developing retina.
Learning By Teaching: A Cultural Historical Perspective On A Teacher’s Development

How can teacher development be characterised? In this paper we offer a conceptualisation of teacher development as the enhancement of knowledge and capabilities to function in the activity of a teacher and illustrate with a case study. Our analytic focus is on the development of a science teacher, David, as he engaged in an innovative, collaborative project on learning photonics at a metropolitan secondary school in Australia. Three dimensions of development emerged: technical confidence and competence, pedagogical development and personal agency. We explore the transformative effects of intrapersonal tensions within the teacher’s constitution of his role in the emerging community of enquiry — positioning him in turn as learner, instructor and facilitator. We view the context for David’s actions as a complex and dynamic system and interpret David’s development as arising from his responses to the differences in his emerging roles in the project.