Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A novel approach to 3-D gaze tracking using stereo cameras

A novel approach to three-dimensional (3-D) gaze tracking using 3-D computer vision techniques is proposed in this paper. This method employs multiple cameras and multiple point light sources to estimate the optical axis of user's eye without using any user-dependent parameters. Thus, it renders the inconvenient system calibration process which may produce possible calibration errors unnecessary. A real-time 3-D gaze tracking system has been developed which can provide 30 gaze measurements per second. Moreover, a simple and accurate calibration method is proposed to calibrate the gaze tracking system. Before using the system, each user only has to stare at a target point for a few (2-3) seconds so that the constant angle between the 3-D line of sight and the optical axis can be estimated. The test results of six subjects showed that the gaze tracking system is very promising achieving an average estimation error of under 1 degrees.
High-accuracy 3D modeling of cultural heritage: the digitizing of Donatello's "Maddalena"

Three-dimensional digital modeling of heritage works of art through optical scanners, has been demonstrated in recent years with results of exceptional interest. However, the routine application of three-dimensional (3D) modeling to heritage conservation still requires a systematic investigation of a number of technical problems. The paper describes the process of acquiring a 3D digital model of the Maddalena by Donatello, a wooden statue representing one of the major masterpieces of the Italian Renaissance which was swept away by the Florence flood of 1966, and subsequently restored. The paper reports all the steps of the acquisition procedure, from the project planning to the solution of the various problems due to range camera calibration and to optically noncooperative material. Since the scientific focus is centered on the 3D model's overall dimensional accuracy, a methodology for its quality control is described. Such control has demonstrated how, in some situations, the ICP-based alignment can lead to incorrect results. To circumvent this difficulty, we propose an alignment technique based on the fusion of ICP (iterative closest point) with close-range digital photogrammetry and a noninvasive procedure in order to generate a final accurate model. Detailed results are presented, demonstrating the improvement of the final model, and how the proposed sensor fusion ensures a prespecified level of accuracy.
PI3Kδ inhibition by idelalisib in patients with relapsed indolent lymphoma.

BACKGROUND Phosphatidylinositol-3-kinase delta (PI3Kδ) mediates B-cell receptor signaling and microenvironmental support signals that promote the growth and survival of malignant B lymphocytes. In a phase 1 study, idelalisib, an orally active selective PI3Kδ inhibitor, showed antitumor activity in patients with previously treated indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. METHODS In this single-group, open-label, phase 2 study, 125 patients with indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphomas who had not had a response to rituximab and an alkylating agent or had had a relapse within 6 months after receipt of those therapies were administered idelalisib, 150 mg twice daily, until the disease progressed or the patient withdrew from the study. The primary end point was the overall rate of response; secondary end points included the duration of response, progression-free survival, and safety. RESULTS The median age of the patients was 64 years (range, 33 to 87); patients had received a median of four prior therapies (range, 2 to 12). Subtypes of indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma included follicular lymphoma (72 patients), small lymphocytic lymphoma (28), marginal-zone lymphoma (15), and lymphoplasmacytic lymphoma with or without Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (10). The response rate was 57% (71 of 125 patients), with 6% meeting the criteria for a complete response. The median time to a response was 1.9 months, the median duration of response was 12.5 months, and the median progression-free survival was 11 months. Similar response rates were observed across all subtypes of indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, though the numbers were small for some categories. The most common adverse events of grade 3 or higher were neutropenia (in 27% of the patients), elevations in aminotransferase levels (in 13%), diarrhea (in 13%), and pneumonia (in 7%). CONCLUSIONS In this single-group study, idelalisib showed antitumor activity with an acceptable safety profile in patients with indolent non-Hodgkin's lymphoma who had received extensive prior treatment. (Funded by Gilead Sciences and others; ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01282424.).
Methods for Competitive Co-Evolution: Finding Opponents Worth Beating

Co-evolution refers to the simultaneous evolution of two or more genetically distinct populations with coupled tness landscapes. In this paper we consider \competitive co-evolution," in which the tness of an individual in a \host" population is based on direct competition with individual(s) from a \parasite" population. Competitive co-evolution is applied to three game-learning problems: Tic-Tac-Toe (TTT), Nim and a small version of Go. Two new techniques in competitive co-evolution are explored. \Competitive tness sharing" changes the way tness is measured, and \shared sampling" alters the way parasites are chosen for testing hosts. Experiments using TTT and Nim show a substantial improvement in performance when these methods are used. Preliminary results using co-evolution for the discovery of cellular automata rules for playing Go are presented .
Research Proposal: Instance-Based Weighting Scheme in Ensemble Methods

Recent research in classification problems has mostly concentrated on ensemble methods that construct a set of base classifiers instead of a single classifier. An unlabeled instance is then classified by taking a vote of the base classifiers’ predictions of its class label. Ensemble methods like Bagging and AdaBoost have been shown to outperform the individual base classifiers when the base inducer that produces the base classifiers is unstable. An inducer is said to be unstable if a slight change in the training examples results in a very different classifier being constructed. Further, the idea of ensemble methods also gives rise to the use of error correcting output code technique in enhancing accuracy in multi-class classification problems. In ensemble methods, the vote of each base classifier either receives the same weight (e.g. Bagging and Arcing) or is weighted according to the estimated error rate (e.g. AdaBoost). Based on the recent work of the PI, we propose an instance-based approach of assigning weights to the base classifiers that may enhance the performance of ensemble methods. Instead of assigning a weight to a base classifier that is fixed for all instances, we attempt to assign a weight that is based upon how well we think the base classifier is going to predict on the label of the test instance. Intuitively, given an unlabeled instance x, if there is some indication that the best classifier’s prediction is correct then we should increase its weight. Otherwise, we should reduce its weight. In our preliminary investigation (see Section C.3), on nine UC Irvine datasets where AdaBoost did not perform well, with accuracy between 70% to 80%, we manage to improve the prediction accuracy on all datasets with an average improvement of more than 1%. This suggests that such instance-based weighting scheme does enhance the accuracy of ensemble methods. The implementation is currently still quite crude. We believe it can be further fine-tuned to achieve an even higher accuracy. Section C.3 proposes some ideas that will be explored in this project.
Privatization and Elite Mobility : Rural China , 1979 – 1996

2 The Asia/Pacific Research Center (A/PARC) is an important Stanford venue where faculty and students, visiting scholars, and distinguished business and government leaders meet and exchange views on contemporary Asia and U.S. involvement in the region. A/PARC research results in seminars and conferences, published studies, occasional and discussion papers, special reports, and books. A/PARC maintains an active industrial affiliates and training program, involving more than twenty-five U.S. and Asian companies and public agencies. Members of A/PARC's faculty have held high-level posts in government and business. Their interdisciplinary expertise generates research of lasting significance on economic, political, technological, strategic, and social issues. Andrew Walder is director of the Asia/Pacific Research Center. He is professor of sociology and a senior fellow in Stanford's Institute for International Studies. An expert on the sources of conflict, stability, and change in communist regimes, his current research interests are the impact of China's market reforms on income inequality and career opportunity. He is also engaged in historical research on the Cultural Revolution of 1966–69, presently with an emphasis on the Beijing Red Guard movement during 1966 and 1967.
Researching and Working for Transgender Youth: Contexts, Problems and Solutions

In May 2016, two events epitomized the complexities of working for global transgender youth rights. First, United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) hosted a ministerial event in which education ministers from around the world released a call to action for protection of students on the basis of their gender identity and expression in schools. Second, the United Nations (UN) hosted an event celebrating the family, attended by conservative ministers and activists who mobilized family protectionist discourse against transgender students. This article contemplates, in light of transgender activist Raewyn Connell’s Southern Theory contributions, the complexity of global research and work for transgender youth. It considers key informant interviews with 50 stakeholders in the global push for transgender student rights in education, including members of government and non-government organisations, and academics from Northern and Southern countries. Problems in aiding transgender youth at the global level included safety concerns, the impacts of conservative advocates and media backlash (within family and national protectionist discourses), cultural complexities hampering engagement and translation, dissemination hindrances pertaining to established publishing biases, and financial and collaboration barriers. Solutions including virtual work; multi-level leadership; alliance-building; representation; visibility of transgender youth citizenship and family membership; and legal, financial and capacity-building aid are considered.
Modeling Infectious Diseases in Humans and Animals

By Matthew James Keelingand Pejman RohaniPrinceton, NJ: Princeton University Press,2008.408 pp., Illustrated. $65.00 (hardcover). Mathematical modeling of infectious dis-eases has progressed dramatically over thepast 3 decades and continues to ﬂourishat the nexus of mathematics, epidemiol-ogy, and infectious diseases research. Nowrecognized as a valuable tool, mathemat-ical models are being integrated into thepublic health decision-making processmore than ever before. However, despiterapid advancements in this area, a formaltraining program for mathematical mod-eling is lacking, and there are very fewbooks suitable for a broad readership. Tosupport this bridging science, a commonlanguage that is understood in all con-tributing disciplines is required.
A Survey of Computational Offloading in Mobile Cloud Computing

With the rapid development of mobile cloud computing (MCC), the computational offloading in MCC arises. This paper focuses on the computational offloading topic in MCC. It analyzes the existing research, discusses computational offloading decisions, gives a simple comparison of computational offloading framework, and reviews the data offloading in the big data environment. Finally, the issues and challenges on the computational offloading in MCC are examined.
A corpus-based study of semantic differences in translation: The case of inchoativity in Dutch

This paper presents a corpus-driven, statistical method for the visualization of semantic structure, thereby tackling the under-researched issue of semantics in corpus-based Translation Studies. We aim to investigate the influence of translation on the structure of semantic fields and in particular the extent to which the structure of the semantic field of inchoativity differs between original, non-translated Dutch and translated Dutch. The visualizations of the semantic field of inchoativity show that translated Dutch indeed differs from non-translated Dutch on the semantic level. Based on the exploration of the semantic fields, we furthermore formulate some hypotheses concerning the presence of the so-called universal tendencies of translation on the semantic level.
Changes in Infrastructure and Tariff Barriers: Local vs. Global Impacts

We develop a multi-country Dixit-Stiglitz model to investigate the impacts of: (i) changes in the international distribution of consumers' expenditure; (ii) decreasing tariffs; and (iii) improvements in transportation infrastructure. We show that, in general, decreasing tariff barriers do not allow for any clear predictions regarding changes in industry location and welfare, whereas this is possible with respect to improvements in transportation infrastructure. In particular, infrastructural improvements have spatially limited impacts when the transportation network is locally described by a tree. Any decrease in transport costs is Pareto welfare enhancing in this case.
IL4I1 augments CNS remyelination and axonal protection by modulating T cell driven inflammation

See Pluchino and Peruzzotti-Jametti (doi:10.1093/aww266) for a scientific commentary on this article. Macrophages have a critical role in remyelination. Psachoulia et al. show that IL4I1, a macrophage-secreted enzyme, promotes CNS remyelination by modulating T cell driven inflammation after focal demyelination in mice. Injection of recombinant IL4I1 protein reverses disease progression in a mouse model of multiple sclerosis, resulting in recovery from hindlimb paralysis.
Segmentation-based illumination normalization for face detection

Face detection is an important research topic in the field of computer vision. Illumination problem is one of the most important aspects impeding the effectiveness of face detection. The well known Haar-like face detector developed by Viola and Jones is also largely weakened under adverse lighting conditions such as backlighting or uneven lighting. In this paper, a novel segmentation-based illumination normalization method is presented for the purpose of compensating non-uniform illuminations and increasing the robustness of Haar-like face detector. First Otsu method is employed to segment the input image. Then the proposed illumination normalization method called Half Histogram Truncation and Stretching (HHTS) is applied to locally attenuate the illumination and enhance the visibility of local patterns (facial structures). Finally Haar-like face detector is executed to locate faces. Experimental results show that it can remove non-uniform illuminations efficiently and significantly increase the performance of the original Haar-like face detector.
Predictors of upper extremity symptoms and functional impairment among workers employed for 6 months in a new job.

BACKGROUND We sought to identify personal and work-related predictors of upper extremity symptoms and related functional impairment among 1,108 workers employed for 6 months in a new job. METHODS We collected data at baseline and 6-month follow-up using self-administered questionnaires. Multivariate logistic regression models were created for each outcome variable. Predictors included personal risk factors, physical work exposures and psychosocial factors. RESULTS Independent predictors for upper extremity symptoms at 6-month follow-up were age, Caucasian race, female gender, baseline history of UE symptoms, and job tasks involving wrist bending or forceful gripping. Independent predictors for functional impairment were baseline history and severity of UE symptoms, wrist bending, and social support. CONCLUSIONS Both personal and work-related factors were independent predictors of upper extremity symptoms and functional impairment in this working population. We found different risk factors for symptoms than for functional impairment related to symptoms.
Akt regulates glutamate receptor trafficking and postsynaptic membrane elaboration at the Drosophila neuromuscular junction

The Akt family of serine‐threonine kinases integrates a myriad of signals governing cell proliferation, apoptosis, glucose metabolism, and cytoskeletal organization. Akt affects neuronal morphology and function, influencing dendrite growth and the expression of ion channels. Akt is also an integral element of PI3Kinase‐target of rapamycin (TOR)‐Rheb signaling, a pathway that affects synapse assembly in both vertebrates and Drosophila. Our recent findings demonstrated that disruption of this pathway in Drosophila is responsible for a number of neurodevelopmental deficits that may also affect phenotypes associated with tuberous sclerosis complex, a disorder resulting from mutations compromising the TSC1/TSC2 complex, an inhibitor of TOR (Dimitroff et al., 2012). Therefore, we examined the role of Akt in the assembly and physiological function of the Drosophila neuromuscular junction (NMJ), a glutamatergic synapse that displays developmental and activity‐dependent plasticity. The single Drosophila Akt family member, Akt1 selectively altered the postsynaptic targeting of one glutamate receptor subunit, GluRIIA, and was required for the expansion of a specialized postsynaptic membrane compartment, the subsynaptic reticulum (SSR). Several lines of evidence indicated that Akt1 influences SSR assembly by regulation of Gtaxin, a Drosophila t‐SNARE protein (Gorczyca et al., 2007) in a manner independent of the mislocalization of GluRIIA. Our findings show that Akt1 governs two critical elements of synapse development, neurotransmitter receptor localization, and postsynaptic membrane elaboration. © 2013 The Authors. Developmental Neurobiology Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Develop Neurobiol 73: 723–743, 2013
Journal Guidelines for Qualitative Research? A Balancing Act That Might Be Worth It

I agree with and expand on Pratt and Bonaccio's (2016) view that in order to facilitate the use of qualitative research in our field, we need more guidance for industrial–organizational (I-O) researchers in terms of training, best practice articles, and criteria for evaluating research quality. Fortunately, the interest in and openness to qualitative research is slowly but steadily growing in our field, something that is reflected in small but increasing numbers of publications and best practice articles (Bluhm, Harman, Lee, & Mitchell, 2011; Smith, Madden, & Ashmos Plowman, 2015). To give an example, the Journal of Applied Psychology (JAP), a journal not well known for publishing qualitative research, has recently published a qualitative article written by my colleagues and me (Wilhelmy, Kleinmann, König, Melchers, & Truxillo, 2016).
Cognitive Behavioral Psychodrama Group Therapy

ABSTRACT Cognitive Behavioral Psychodrama Group Therapy (CBPGT) is an effective model for working with the clinical example by Shay (this issue). The approach incorporates cognitive behavioral and psychodrama interventions, allowing group members to identify and modify negative thinking, behavior, and interpersonal patterns while increasing engagement in positive and success-based experiences (Treadwell, Dartnell, Travaglini, Staats & Devinney, 2016). The CBPGT environment creates a safe and supportive climate where clients can practice new thinking and behaviors and share their concerns freely with group members (Treadwell, Kumar, & Wright, 2004; Treadwell, Travaglini, Reisch, & Kumar, 2011). Students and clinical populations respond well to this approach and, as a result, are able to develop an awareness of their dysfunctional thought patterns and beliefs that play an important role in mood regulation. One of the most important elements of CBPGT is that it is data driven. CBPGT adds a new dimension to the fields of both cognitive behavior and group therapy and is built on a proven efficacious model. The integration of these methods may be beneficial for clients who have not responded to more traditional approaches.
Building a Better Dynasore: The Dyngo Compounds Potently Inhibit Dynamin and Endocytosis

Dynamin GTPase activity increases when it oligomerizes either into helices in the presence of lipid templates or into rings in the presence of SH3 domain proteins. Dynasore is a dynamin inhibitor of moderate potency (IC50 ˜ 15 μM in vitro). We show that dynasore binds stoichiometrically to detergents used for in vitro drug screening, drastically reducing its potency (IC50 = 479 μM) and research tool utility. We synthesized a focused set of dihydroxyl and trihydroxyl dynasore analogs called the Dyngo™ compounds, five of which had improved potency, reduced detergent binding and reduced cytotoxicity, conferred by changes in the position and/or number of hydroxyl substituents. The Dyngo compound 4a was the most potent compound, exhibiting a 37‐fold improvement in potency over dynasore for liposome‐stimulated helical dynamin activity. In contrast, while dynasore about equally inhibited dynamin assembled in its helical or ring states, 4a and 6a exhibited >36‐fold reduced activity against rings, suggesting that they can discriminate between helical or ring oligomerization states. 4a and 6a inhibited dynamin‐dependent endocytosis of transferrin in multiple cell types (IC50 of 5.7 and 5.8 μM, respectively), at least sixfold more potently than dynasore, but had no effect on dynamin‐independent endocytosis of cholera toxin. 4a also reduced synaptic vesicle endocytosis and activity‐dependent bulk endocytosis in cultured neurons and synaptosomes. Overall, 4a and 6a are improved and versatile helical dynamin and endocytosis inhibitors in terms of potency, non‐specific binding and cytotoxicity. The data further suggest that the ring oligomerization state of dynamin is not required for clathrin‐mediated endocytosis.
Calculation of the Underground Muon Intensity Crouch Curve from a Parameterization of the Flux at Surface

Utilizing only the vertical muon intensity of the Gaisser parameterization of the muon flux at the surface and propagating this energy spectrum underground according to the statistical ionization and radiative energy losses, it is possible to calculate the underground muon intensity Crouch curve. In addition, the primary spectral index of the Gaisser parameterization can be adjusted from E{sup -2.7} to E{sup -2.643} simply by minimizing the deviation from the Crouch curve. For chemical compositions other than standard rock, the propagation of the spectrum underground can be repeated with a differen muon energy loss in the material. The resulting underground muon intensity curve represents a consistent conversion of the Crouch curve to the local rock, fully accounting for the energy dependence of the muon dE/dx.