Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Pedestrian detection in video using shape features and mixture of SVMs

This paper proposes a real-time pedestrian detection system, which uses the point signature to make feature extraction of the object profile for the connected parts on the foreground image, it classifies the feature of the real-time pedestrians through the introduced mixture of SVMs classifier. It will divide the large scale training samples into many smaller sub-sets and it trains a SVM for each set. It uses a neural network to put out the weight sum of these SVMs results. Through the experimental verification, it can effectively improve the accuracy of pedestrian detection system. For large scale of training sample sets, the calculation time of the proposed method is shorter than that of using the single SVM, and the test accuracy also gets the better results than that of the single SVM.
Continuous online gesture recognition based on hidden Markov models

This paper presents the extension of an existing vision-based gesture recognition system using Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). Several improvements have been carried out in order to increase the capabilities and the functionality of the system. These improvements include position-independent recognition, rejection of unknown gestures, and continuous online recognition of spontaneous gestures. We show that especially the latter requirement is highly complicated and demanding, if we allow the user to move in front of the camera without any restrictions and to perform the gestures spontaneously at any arbitrary moment, because gesture detection and additional distinction between movements and gestures becomes extremely difficult in this case. We present novel solutions to this problem by modifying the HMM-based decoding process and by introducing online feature extraction and evaluation methods. The result is a user friendly, high performance gesture recognition system that identifies spontaneous dynamic gestures in isolated or connected mode and has real-time capabilities. keywords: online gesture recognition, Hidden Markov Models
Understanding young children’s attitudes towards reading in relation to their digital literacy activities at home

The effect of digital literacy practices upon young children’s learning is a contentious and growing area for research and debate. Nowadays, children encounter many different types of texts through their everyday engagement with digital technologies. The study reported here investigated the relationships between 6 and 7-year-old children’s home digital literacy practices, parental views about the use of technology and children’s attitudes towards reading as perceived by the children and their parents. A total of 105 children and their parents, from two primary schools in Istanbul participated in this study. Parents completed a questionnaire about their views on the use of technology, their children’s digital literacy experiences and their perceptions of their children’s reading attitudes, while the children engaged in individual interviews. The results from this study indicate that children’s attitudes towards reading are significantly related to both the frequency of their engagement in digital literacy activities in their homes and their parents’ perception of their child’s attitudes to reading. The findings suggest that parents can support children’s enjoyment in reading by engaging in both digital and non-digital print experiences with their children.
Best-answer selection criteria in a social Q&A site from the user-oriented relevance perspective

As an attempt to better understand how people seek, share, and evaluate information in a social Q&A environment, this study identifies the selection criteria people employ when they select best answers in Yahoo! Answers in the context of relevance research. Using content analysis, we analyzed the comments people left upon the selection of best answers to their own questions. From 1,200 samples of comments, only 465 mentioned the specific reasons for their selection, thus becoming eligible for analysis. Through an iterative process of evaluating the types of comments, the best-answer selection criteria were inductively derived and grouped into seven value categories: Content value, Cognitive value, Socio-emotional value, Information source value, Extrinsic value, Utility, and General statement. While many of the identified criteria overlap with those found in previous relevance studies, the Socio-emotional value was particularly prominent in this study, especially when people ask for opinions and suggestions. These findings reflect the characteristics of a social Q&A site and extend our understanding of the relevance of an electronic environment where people bring their every day problem-solving and decision-making tasks.
High Payload Reversible Data Embedding Scheme Suitable for VQ Compressed Smooth Images Using Index Lookup

Reversible data embedding is a technique widely used to embed secret data into a specific media, such as military or medical images. In the past, many researchers have applied this scheme to the vector quantization (VQ) compression technique; however, the hiding capacity remains low. This paper proposes a novel data embedding scheme with reversibility for VQ compressed images. From our experimental results, we can confirm that the proposed scheme increases the hiding capacity and maintains high bit rates. Also, the VQ compressed images can be completely restored after extracting the embedded secret data. Keywords-vector quantization; image compression; reversible data embedding
A Competitive Markov Approach to the Optimal Combat Strategies of On-Line Action Role-Playing Game Using Evolutionary Algorithms

In the case of on-line action role-playing game, the combat strategies can be divided into three distinct classes, Strategy of Motion(SM), Strategy of Attacking Occasion (SAO) and Strategy of Using Skill (SUS). In this paper, we analyze such strategies of a basic game model in which the combat is modeled by the discrete competitive Markov decision process. By introducing the chase model and the combat assistant technology, we identify the optimal SM and the optimal SAO, successfully. Also, we propose an evolutionary framework, including integration with competitive coevolution and cooperative coevolution, to search the optimal SUS pair which is regarded as the Nash equilibrium point of the strategy space. Moreover, some experiments are made to demonstrate that the proposed framework has the ability to find the optimal SUS pair. Furthermore, from the results, it is shown that using cooperative coevolutionary algorithm is much more efficient than using simple evolutionary algorithm.
Uncertainty Detection in Hungarian Texts

Uncertainty detection is essential for many NLP applications. For instance, in information retrieval, it is of primary importance to distinguish among factual, negated and uncertain information. Current research on uncertainty detection has mostly focused on the English language, in contrast, here we present the first machine learning algorithm that aims at identifying linguistic markers of uncertainty in Hungarian texts from two domains: Wikipedia and news media. The system is based on sequence labeling and makes use of a rich feature set including orthographic, lexical, morphological, syntactic and semantic features as well. Having access to annotated data from two domains, we also focus on the domain specificities of uncertainty detection by comparing results obtained in indomain and cross-domain settings. Our results show that the domain of the text has significant influence on uncertainty detection.
Depletant induced attractions in red blood cells

Red blood cells suspended in plasma are able to aggregate into linearly stacked rouleau. The aggregations can form complex clusters and branching networks which cause complications in various pathological cases. The self assembly and biophysics behind the aggregation of red blood cells into rouleau remains underexplored. This thesis employs coarse-grained molecular simulations to model erythrocytes in a disperse limit subject to short range implicit depletion forces. This work demonstrates that the depletant interaction is sufficient to account for sudden transitions into aggregate states. Furthermore, this work demonstrates that the specific volume fraction of depletants is directly linked to themorphologies of the aggregate states observed.
Frameless Stereotaxy in Sheep - Neurosurgical and Imaging Techniques for Translational Stroke Research

Antje Dreyer1,2, Albrecht Stroh3, Claudia Posel1, Matthias Findeisen4, Teresa von Geymuller1,2, Donald Lobsien5, Bjorn Nitzsche1 and Johannes Boltze1,2 1Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology, Department of Cell Therapy, Leipzig, 2Translational Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, 3Institute of Neuroscience, Technical University Munich, Munich, 4Institute of Analytical Chemistry, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, 5Department of Neuroradiology, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
Transcriptomic Analysis Reveals Mechanisms of Sterile and Fertile Flower Differentiation and Development in Viburnum macrocephalum f. keteleeri

Sterile and fertile flowers are an important evolutionary developmental (evo-devo) phenotype in angiosperm flowers, playing important roles in pollinator attraction and sexual reproductive success. However, the gene regulatory mechanisms underlying fertile and sterile flower differentiation and development remain largely unknown. Viburnum macrocephalum f. keteleeri, which possesses fertile and sterile flowers in a single inflorescence, is a useful candidate species for investigating the regulatory networks in differentiation and development. We developed a de novo-assembled flower reference transcriptome. Using RNA sequencing (RNA-seq), we compared the expression patterns of fertile and sterile flowers isolated from the same inflorescence over its rapid developmental stages. The flower reference transcriptome consisted of 105,683 non-redundant transcripts, of which 5,675 transcripts showed significant differential expression between fertile and sterile flowers. Combined with morphological and cytological changes between fertile and sterile flowers, we identified expression changes of many genes potentially involved in reproductive processes, phytohormone signaling, and cell proliferation and expansion using RNA-seq and qRT-PCR. In particular, many transcription factors (TFs), including MADS-box family members and ABCDE-class genes, were identified, and expression changes in TFs involved in multiple functions were analyzed and highlighted to determine their roles in regulating fertile and sterile flower differentiation and development. Our large-scale transcriptional analysis of fertile and sterile flowers revealed the dynamics of transcriptional networks and potentially key components in regulating differentiation and development of fertile and sterile flowers in Viburnum macrocephalum f. keteleeri. Our data provide a useful resource for Viburnum transcriptional research and offer insights into gene regulation of differentiation of diverse evo-devo processes in flowers.
MAGIC observations and multiwavelength properties of the quasar 3C 279 in 2007 and 2009

Context. 3C 279, the first quasar discovered to emit VHE gamma-rays by the MAGIC telescope in 2006, was reobserved by MAGIC in January 2007 during a major optical flare and from December 2008 to April 2009 following an alert from the Fermi space telescope on an exceptionally high gamma-ray state. Aims. The January 2007 observations resulted in a detection on January 16 with significance 5.4 sigma, corresponding to a F (>150 GeV) (3.8 +/- 0.8) x 10(-11) ph cm(-2) s(-1) while the overall data sample does not show significant signal. The December 2008-April 2009 observations did not detect the source. We study the multiwavelength behaviour of the source at the epochs of MAGIC observations, collecting quasi-simultaneous data at optical and X-ray frequencies and for 2009 also gamma-ray data from Fermi. Methods. We study the light curves and spectral energy distribution of the source. The spectral energy distributions of three observing epochs (including the February 2006, which has been previously published) are modelled with one-zone inverse Compton models and the emission on January 16, 2007 also with two zone model and with a lepto-hadronic model. Results. We find that the VHE gamma-ray emission detected in 2006 and 2007 challenges standard one-zone model, based on relativistic electrons in a jet scattering broad line region photons, while the other studied models fit the observed spectral energy distribution more satisfactorily.
Million-scale near-duplicate video retrieval system

In this paper, we present a novel near-duplicate video retrieval system serving one million web videos. To achieve both the effectiveness and efficiency, a visual word based approach is proposed, which quantizes each video frame into a word and represents the whole video as a bag of words. The system can respond to a query in 41ms with 78.4% MAP on average.
VIDEO ANALYSIS THROUGH WAVELET COEFICIENTS AND CORRELATION : AN APPLICATION IN THE FINANCIAL SECTOR

— Any kind of video system generates a lot of multimedia information that is not often exploited because to the long recording periods, and to the large size of the videos to process trying to find those few moments where unusual events occur. The implementation of the process presented in this paper detects those useful changes from the video, fragmenting the input film in frames, using a selected reference image from the resulting segmentation and a marked area on it, and making a correlation analysis in the quest of the atypical events possibly contained in the remaining frames. During this analysis, the wavelet theory plays a major role since it allows the discovery of radical differences when comparing pictures. This differences are related to the existence or absence of objects and movements, taking away the noise produced by not so radical changes induced by the environment surrounding a camera (brightness, light, rain, wind, etc).
Modeling the Behavior of Lurkers in Online Communities Using Intentional Agents

Lurkers are members of an online community who read but seldom or never post messages. It has been reported that most members of online communities are lurkers. Understanding the reasons of lurking and the strategies of delurking can help the healthy development of online communities, which can potentially promote Internet commerce. This paper applies goal-oriented modeling on the behaviors of lurkers using the i* intentional modeling framework.
English Proficiency and Academic Performance of Bilingual Filipino Students in the Tertiary Level

The concept of second language acquisition (SLA) is a major concern in the field of second language teaching, especially in bilingual or multilingual classrooms. This study determined the relationship between English proficiency and academic performance of the students in the College of Business and Accountancy (CBA), College of Education (CED), and College of Engineering and Architecture (CEA) at a state university in Dumaguete City. The data from 862 tertiary students were retrieved from the database of the university registrar’s office. The results support the claim that English proficiency is significantly related to academic performance. However, such consistency is absent on the data derived from the CEA students. This finding implies that English proficiency may be less important in improving academic performance among CEA students than CED and CBA students. This finding suggests a possible mismatch between pre-admission English proficiency and the English proficiency required for learning highly technical academic requirements of an engineering course. The CEA curriculum may be reviewed for possible revision that could enhance the academic English proficiency as well as academic performance among the engineering students.
Towards an assessment of the disciplinary skills of the degree courses L-19. The process of test construction

The article presents the first step of the research process undertaken to construct a test – composed of batteries of closed ended questions – for the assessment of the disciplinary skills of students of degree courses in Education and Training Sciences (L-19) of Italian universities that joined the Teco-D project developed by Anvur. It describes the qualitative phase conducted to define the set of items to be submitted to the statistical validation procedure, and which, after the adjustments and calibrations deemed necessary on the basis of the results of the analysis to be carried out, will constitute the test for the assessment of the disciplinary skills provided as part of the Teco-D project. Verso una valutazione delle competenze disciplinari dei Corsi di Laurea L-19. La costruzione di un test Il contributo presenta il primo step del processo di ricerca intrapreso per costruire un test – composto di batterie di domande a risposta chiusa – di valutazione delle competenze disciplinari di studenti e studentesse di corsi di laurea in scienze dell’educazione e della formazione (L-19) di universita italiane che hanno aderito al progetto Teco-D sviluppato da Anvur. E descritta la fase qualitativa condotta per definire l’insieme di item da sottoporre a procedura di validazione statistica e che, dopo gli aggiustamenti e le calibrazioni ritenuti necessari sulla base dei risultati delle analisi che saranno effettuate, costituira il test di valutazione delle competenze disciplinari previsto nell’ambito del progetto Teco-D.
ICE: a statistical approach to identifying endmembers in hyperspectral images

Several of the more important endmember-finding algorithms for hyperspectral data are discussed and some of their shortcomings highlighted. A new algorithm - iterated constrained endmembers (ICE) - which attempts to address these shortcomings is introduced. An example of its use is given. There is also a discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of normalizing spectra before the application of ICE or other endmember-finding algorithms.
Modified median polish kriging and its application to the Wolfcamp–Aquifer data

In geostatistics, spatial data will be analyzed that often come from irregularly distributed sampling locations. Interest is in modelling the data, i.e. estimating distributional parameters, and then to predict the phenomenon under study at unobserved sites within the corresponding sampling domain. The method of universal kriging for spatial prediction was introduced to cover the problem of spatial trend effects. This is done by incorporating linear trend models, e.g. polynomial functions of the spatial co‐ordinates. However, universal kriging is sensitive to additive outliers. An outlier resistant method for spatial prediction is median polish kriging. Both methods have certain advantages but also some drawbacks. Here, universal kriging and median polish kriging will be combined to the robust spatial prediction method called modified median polish kriging. An example illustrates the method of modified median polish kriging along with piezometric‐head data from the Wolfcamp–Aquifer. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Exhausted, Stressed, and Disengaged: Does Employment Create Burnout for Social Work Students?

ABSTRACT Although burnout is a known risk for practitioners, some social work students may experience burnout in the classroom as a result of role conflict from balancing academics with employment. Higher rates of burnout occur in other disciplines in employed students, even higher than in professionals, because of the stress of shifting priorities between workplace and collegiate responsibilities. Employment can decrease collegiate engagement and academic competence and deter persistence to degree, all of which lead to the reduced competency associated with burnout. Additionally, physical and mental health factors are associated with role conflict, leading to a higher risk of burnout for employed students and resulting in burnout for social work students in the classroom even prior to becoming a practitioner.
From popularity to vulnerability: An application to dynamic representation in coalition governments

Electoral vulnerability matters for policymakers’ responsiveness to the public. While coalition governments are the norm in Europe, research on government responsiveness to public opinion has studied the effects of electoral pressures mostly for single-party governments and employed measures of government popularity. This article draws on and extends this research by developing two alternative measures of electoral vulnerability—government potential vulnerability and formateur potential vulnerability—that account for popularity limitations. An illustration of the measures is given by Germany (1987–2005) as a case of agenda responsiveness in coalition governments. Data from the Comparative Agendas Project on executive speeches in Germany are combined with data on vote intentions and the most important problem. Empirical analyses find support for the expectation that electoral vulnerability conditions agenda responsiveness to public issue priorities and that the proposed measures reflect more accurately the sources of vulnerability than government popularity.
Genome-Wide Transcriptional Excavation of Dipsacus asperoides Unmasked both Cryptic Asperosaponin Biosynthetic Genes and SSR Markers

Background: Dipsacus asperoides is a traditional Chinese medicinal crop. The root is generally used as a medicine and is frequently prescribed by Chinese doctors for the treatment of back pain, limb paralysis, flutter trauma, tendon injuries, and fractures. With the rapid development of bioinformatics, research has been focused on this species at the gene or molecular level. For purpose of fleshing out genome information about D. asperoides, in this paper we conducted transcriptome analysis of this species. Principal Findings: To date, many genes encoding enzymes involved in the biosynthesis of triterpenoid saponins in D.asperoides have not been elucidated. Illumina paired-end sequencing was employed to probe D. asperoides's various enzymes associated with the relevant mesostate. A total of 30, 832,805 clean reads and de novo spliced 43,243 unigenes were obtained. Of all unigenes, only 8.27% (3578) were successfully annotated in total of seven public databases: Nr, Nt, Swiss-Prot, GO, KOG, KEGG, and Pfam, which might be attributed to the poor studies on D. asperoides. The candidate genes encoding enzymes involved in triterpenoid saponin biosynthesis were identified and experimentally verified by reverse transcription qPCR, encompassing nine cytochrome P450s and 17 UDP-glucosyltransferases. Specifically, unearthly putative genes involved in the glycosylation of hederagenin were acquired. Simultaneously, 4490 SSRs from 43,243 examined sequences were determined via bioinformatics analysis. Conclusion: This study represents the first report on the use of the Illumina sequence platform on this crop at the transcriptome level. Our findings of candidate genes encoding enzymes involved in Dipsacus saponin VI biosynthes is provide novel information in efforts to further understand the triterpenoid metabolic pathway on this species. The initial genetics resources in this study will contribute significantly to the genetic breeding program of D. asperoides, and are beneficial for clinical diagnosis and treatment.