Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
xyzNet: Towards Machine Learning Camera Relocalization by Using a Scene Coordinate Prediction Network

Camera relocalization is a common problem in several applications such as augmented reality or robot navigation. Especially, augmented reality requires fast, accurate and robust camera localization. However, it is still challenging to have a both real-time and accurate method. In this paper, we present our hybrid method combing machine learning approach and geometric approach for real-time camera relocalization from a single RGB image. We propose a light Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) called xyzNet to efficiently and robustly regress 3D world coordinates of key-points in an image. Then, the geometric information about 2D-3D correspondences allows the removal of ambiguous predictions and the calculation of more accurate camera pose. Moreover, we show favorable results compared to previous machine learning based approaches about the accuracy and the performance of our method on different datasets as well as the capacity to address challenges concerning dynamic scene.
First Cultivation and Characterization of Mycobacterium ulcerans from the Environment

Background Mycobacterium ulcerans disease, or Buruli ulcer (BU), is an indolent, necrotizing infection of skin, subcutaneous tissue and, occasionally, bones. It is the third most common human mycobacteriosis worldwide, after tuberculosis and leprosy. There is evidence that M. ulcerans is an environmental pathogen transmitted to humans from aquatic niches; however, well-characterized pure cultures of M. ulcerans from the environment have never been reported. Here we present details of the isolation and characterization of an M. ulcerans strain (00-1441) obtained from an aquatic Hemiptera (common name Water Strider, Gerris sp.) from Benin. Methodology/Principal Findings One culture from a homogenate of a Gerris sp. in BACTEC became positive for IS2404, an insertion sequence with more than 200 copies in M. ulcerans. A pure culture of M. ulcerans 00-1441 was obtained on Löwenstein-Jensen medium after inoculation of BACTEC culture in mouse footpads followed by two other mouse footpad passages. The phenotypic characteristics of 00-1441 were identical to those of African M. ulcerans, including production of mycolactone A/B. The nucleotide sequence of the 5′ end of 16S rRNA gene of 00-1441 was 100% identical to M. ulcerans and M. marinum, and the sequence of the 3′ end was identical to that of the African type except for a single nucleotide substitution at position 1317. This mutation in M. ulcerans was recently discovered in BU patients living in the same geographic area. Various genotyping methods confirmed that strain 00-1441 has a profile identical to that of the predominant African type. Strain 00-1441 produced severe progressive infection and disease in mouse footpads with involvement of bone. Conclusion Strain 00-1441 represents the first genetically and phenotypically identified strain of M. ulcerans isolated in pure culture from the environment. This isolation supports the concept that the agent of BU is a human pathogen with an environmental niche.
Mobile robot control on uneven and slippery ground: An adaptive approach based on a multi-model observer

This paper proposes an algorithm dedicated to off-road mobile robot path tracking at high speed. In order to ensure a high accuracy, a predictive and adaptive approach is developed to face the various perturbations due to this context (mainly the bad grip conditions and the terrain geometry). The control law is based on previous work, and requires the knowledge of sideslip angles, which cannot be directly measured. As a result, an observer based on two levels of modeling (kinematic and dynamic) is proposed to ensure a relevant and fast estimation. If the kinematic part is independent from the terrain geometry, the dynamic model used in this paper requires to take explicitly into account the influence of the terrain geometry on mobile robot dynamic. It is achieved by the introduction of the lateral robot inclination, which is on-line estimated via a Kalman filter and integrated into the dynamical model. The advantages of the proposed contribution to path tracking control are investigated through full-scale experiments achieved at high speed (up to 6m/s) on an uneven and grass field.
Macroeconomic Fundamentals and the DM / $ Exchange Rate : Imperfect Knowledge and the Monetary Model 1

Despite the volumes written on the failure of empirical exchange rate models, there is a key feature of the record that is much overlooked, namely there are some subperiods of floating rates during which macroeconomic models provide reasonable explanations of monthly or quarterly exchange rate movements and other subperiods during which the explanatory power of these models completely disappears. Frankel [1979], for example, found an overshooting model of the DM/$ exchange rate fitted remarkably well in-sample during the mid-1970s. But when Frankel’s sample was updated to include the late 1970s and 1980s, researchers found a lack of cointegrating relationships (e.g., Meese and Rogoff [1988] and Boothe and Glassman [1987]) and parameter estimates that were either insignificant or significant and of the wrong sign (e.g., Frankel [1983,1984] and Backus [1984]). By the 1990s, more powerful dynamic approaches to estimating and testing for cointegrating relationships had been developed (e.g., Johansen [1988]) and Phillips [1992]), but again some studies found evidence of cointegrating relationships (e.g., MacDonald and Taylor [1994], MacDonald and Marsh [1997] and Cushman, Lee and Thorgeirson [1996]), while others using different sample periods did not (Baillie and Pecchenino [1991] and Papell [1987]). This temporal inconsistency is also prevalent in out-of-sample forecasting exercises. The seminal study of Meese and Rogoff [1983] showed an inability of exchange rate models to outperform the random walk model in out-of-sample forecasting over a sample that included the early 1980s. When this study was updated to include the 1990s and the use of dynamic models, some researchers found the structural models outperformed the random walk model at shorter forecasting horizons (e.g., MacDonald and Taylor [1994] and MacDonald and Marsh [1997], while others using similar methodologies but different sample periods found the random walk still dominated (e.g., Chinn and Meese [1995]. 1
Citation indices and dimensional homogeneity

The importance of dimensional analysis and dimensional homogeneity in bibliometric studies is always overlooked. In this paper, we look at this issue systematically and show that most h-type indices have the dimensions of [P], where [P] is the basic dimensional unit in bibliometrics which is the unit publication or paper. The newly introduced Euclidean index, based on the Euclidean length of the citation vector has the dimensions [P3/2]. An empirical example is used to illustrate the concepts.
Staff's perception of abuse in healthcare: a Swedish qualitative study

Objective The study aim was to apprehend staff's perception of abuse in healthcare (AHC) after an intervention based on ‘Forum Play’, and make comparisons to preintervention interviews and interviews with male and female patients. AHC can be described as a failing encounter from the patient's perspective. Design Qualitative interview follow-up study. Setting A Swedish Women's Clinic. Participants In a preintervention study 21 staff members were interviewed. Eligible for the follow-up study were 14 informants who had participated in the intervention. Four declined participation leaving ten informants for this study. Intervention During January 2008–January 2009, all staff members (N=136) were invited to participate in Forum Play workshops. Seventy-four participants took part in at least 1 of the 17 half-day workshops. Primary outcome measures Staffs perception of AHC. Results The core category, ‘a summoning stone in the shoe’, was constructed of five categories: ‘Dehumanising the patient’, ‘Unacceptable: you are bound to act! ’, ‘Ubiquitous’, ‘Unintentional’ and ‘Relative’. Forum Play had demonstrated possibilities to act even in seemingly ‘impossible’ situations, and that the taboo status of AHC was altered at the clinic. When our results were compared to those in the preintervention study, we found an increased awareness about AHC, more concrete examples of AHC, a stronger empathy for patients, and fewer explanations, justifications and trivialisations of AHC. Conclusion In this follow-up study staff's perception of AHC was closer to the patient's perspective. Compared to the preintervention interviews staff showed a greater willingness not only to acknowledge AHC, but also to take on a responsibility to act in order to stop or prevent AHC. Explanations for this stance could be that Forum Play had showed staff that there were possibilities to act, and that the taboo status of AHC had been broken at the clinic.
Attitudes of Students and Teachers towards the Use of Interactive Whiteboards in Elementary and Secondary School Classrooms.

Recently much have been invested in the interactive whiteboard educational technology in Turkey. The government is still wishful to spread it to schools of all levels. This study tries to understand teachers’ and students’ attitudes toward interactive whiteboard technology along with differences in attitudes resulting from some demographic factors. Two parallel surveys consisting of 25 items were applied to 255 students and 23 teachers from three private schools. Students from sixth to twelfth grades and teachers from 15 different branches participated in this research study. The results indicate that interactive whiteboards are highly rated by both teachers and students. Students mostly prefer the usage of interactive whiteboards in math courses, and their attitudes differ across their genders and school levels. As students get elder, their positive attitudes toward interactive whiteboard technology decrease, and it has been found out that there is no difference between teachers’ and students’ attitudes. This study includes some implications for policy makers, educator and researchers.
Comparison of software reliability assessment methods based on deterministic chaos theory for an open source software

Open source software serve as key components of critical infrastructures in the social life. We focus on the quality problems of open source software developed under open source project. In case of considering the effect of the debugging process on an entire system in the development of a method of reliability assessment for open source project, it is necessary to grasp the deeply-intertwined factors, such as programming path, size of each component, skill of fault reporters, and so on.
Non-asymptotic Analysis of Compressive Fisher Discriminants in terms of the Effective Dimension

We provide a non-asymptotic analysis of the generalisation error of compressive Fisher linear discriminant (FLD) classication that is dimension free under mild assumptions. Our analysis includes the eects that random projection has on classication performance under covariance model misspecication, as well as various good and bad eects of random projections that contribute to the overall performance of compressive FLD. We also give an asymptotic bound as a corollary of our nite sample result. An important ingredient of our analysis is to develop new dimension-free bounds on the largest and smallest eigenvalue of the compressive covariance, which may be of independent interest.
DNA barcoding insect–host plant associations

Short-sequence fragments (‘DNA barcodes’) used widely for plant identification and inventorying remain to be applied to complex biological problems. Host–herbivore interactions are fundamental to coevolutionary relationships of a large proportion of species on the Earth, but their study is frequently hampered by limited or unreliable host records. Here we demonstrate that DNA barcodes can greatly improve this situation as they (i) provide a secure identification of host plant species and (ii) establish the authenticity of the trophic association. Host plants of leaf beetles (subfamily Chrysomelinae) from Australia were identified using the chloroplast trnL(UAA) intron as barcode amplified from beetle DNA extracts. Sequence similarity and phylogenetic analyses provided precise identifications of each host species at tribal, generic and specific levels, depending on the available database coverage in various plant lineages. The 76 species of Chrysomelinae included—more than 10 per cent of the known Australian fauna—feed on 13 plant families, with preference for Australian radiations of Myrtaceae (eucalypts) and Fabaceae (acacias). Phylogenetic analysis of beetles shows general conservation of host association but with rare host shifts between distant plant lineages, including a few cases where barcodes supported two phylogenetically distant host plants. The study demonstrates that plant barcoding is already feasible with the current publicly available data. By sequencing plant barcodes directly from DNA extractions made from herbivorous beetles, strong physical evidence for the host association is provided. Thus, molecular identification using short DNA fragments brings together the detection of species and the analysis of their interactions.
Network Modeling of Adult Neurogenesis: Shifting Rates of Neuronal Turnover Optimally Gears Network Learning according to Novelty Gradient

Apoptotic and neurogenic events in the adult hippocampus are hypothesized to play a role in cognitive responses to new contexts. Corticosteroid-mediated stress responses and other neural processes invoked by substantially novel contextual changes may regulate these processes. Using elementary three-layer neural networks that learn by incremental synaptic plasticity, we explored whether the cognitive effects of differential regimens of neuronal turnover depend on the environmental context in terms of the degree of novelty in the new information to be learned. In adult networks that had achieved mature synaptic connectivity upon prior learning of the Roman alphabet, imposition of apoptosis/neurogenesis before learning increasingly novel information (alternate Roman < Russian < Hebrew) reveals optimality of informatic cost benefits when rates of turnover are geared in proportion to the degree of novelty. These findings predict that flexible control of rates of apoptosis-neurogenesis within plastic, mature neural systems optimizes learning attributes under varying degrees of contextual change, and that failures in this regulation may define a role for adult hippocampal neurogenesis in novelty- and stress-responsive psychiatric disorders.
Trace Amines and the Trace Amine-Associated Receptor 1: Pharmacology, Neurochemistry, and Clinical Implications

Biogenic amines are a collection of endogenous molecules that play pivotal roles as neurotransmitters and hormones. In addition to the “classical” biogenic amines resulting from decarboxylation of aromatic acids, including dopamine (DA), norepinephrine, epinephrine, serotonin (5-HT), and histamine, other biogenic amines, present at much lower concentrations in the central nervous system (CNS), and hence referred to as “trace” amines (TAs), are now recognized to play significant neurophysiological and behavioral functions. At the turn of the century, the discovery of the trace amine-associated receptor 1 (TAAR1), a phylogenetically conserved G protein-coupled receptor that is responsive to both TAs, such as β-phenylethylamine, octopamine, and tyramine, and structurally-related amphetamines, unveiled mechanisms of action for TAs other than interference with aminergic pathways, laying the foundations for deciphering the functional significance of TAs and its mammalian CNS receptor, TAAR1. Although, its molecular interactions and downstream targets have not been fully elucidated, TAAR1 activation triggers accumulation of intracellular cAMP, modulates PKA and PKC signaling and interferes with the β-arrestin2-dependent pathway via G protein-independent mechanisms. TAAR1 is uniquely positioned to exert direct control over DA and 5-HT neuronal firing and release, which has profound implications for understanding the pathophysiology of, and therefore designing more efficacious therapeutic interventions for, a range of neuropsychiatric disorders that involve aminergic dysregulation, including Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia, mood disorders, and addiction. Indeed, the recent development of novel pharmacological tools targeting TAAR1 has uncovered the remarkable potential of TAAR1-based medications as new generation pharmacotherapies in neuropsychiatry. This review summarizes recent developments in the study of TAs and TAAR1, their intricate neurochemistry and pharmacology, and their relevance for neurodegenerative and neuropsychiatric disease.
Factors Influencing Customers to Visit Coffee Chains

The main objective of this study is to examine whether product, price, place and promotion will influence customers, especially the younger generation to visit the coffee chain in Malaysia. The four Ps strategies are adjusted or mixed in an attempt to develop a marketing mix that is optimised to meet the demands of the target market, especially young generation. Furthermore, this research provides an idea to marketers to have a better understanding on consumers’ perception in terms of factors influencing them to visit coffee chain in Malaysia. Overall, 240 valid samples have been used in this study. Results of this study found that all of these factors have influenced the customers to visit the coffee chain. Based on factor analysis test, 19 variables have been selected in this research. Finally, at the 0.01 significant level, the analysis of this study realised that all factors, product, price, place and promotion were also can be considered as significant correlation.
Indirect Augmented Reality Browser for GIS Data

In Augmented Reality applications, user experience is highly dependent on the accuracy of registration between digital content and the real world. Errors in tracking and registration can arise due to inaccuracy of sensors or challenging conditions such as urban canyon effects or magnetic distortions. Indirect augmented reality is an approach that avoid these issues by using precaptured and preregistered images instead of a live video feed. However, indirect augmented reality highly depends on the availability of those preregistered images. In particular, when being used for browsing geographic information, it is important to access data in an omnipresent way. In this work, we propose an Indirect Augmented Reality browser that aims to address these availability problems by combining indirect Augmented Reality with crowd sourced precaptured street level imagery with geospatial data. We demonstrate how our indirect augmented reality browser annotates buildings and landmarks in the users' environment and investigate the feasibility by analysing the performance of such an approach. In addition, we investigate issues of visibility and legibility when labelling the environment.
Influence of electric field direction of terahertz radiation on composite materials

Terahertz waves (T-ray) for the non-destructive evaluation were investigated on composite materials. The modalities of the T-ray radiation used were time domain spectroscopy and continuous wave for composites. The composite materials are composed of non-conducting polymeric composites and carbon fiber composites. T-ray signals in the time domain spectroscopy mode resembles that of ultrasound; however, unlike ultrasound, T-ray pulse can detect a crack hidden behind a larger crack (shadow effect). Thick glass fiber reinforced polymer laminates containing double-saw slots was demonstrated. Also, in carbon composites the penetration of T-ray waves was investigated in order to detect flaws is strongly affected by the angle between the electric field vector of the terahertz waves and the intervening fiber directions. Other composites tested in this study include both solid laminates and honeycomb sandwiches. The defects and anomalies investigated by T-ray were foreign material inclusions, simulated disbond and delamination, mechanical impact damage, heat damage, and water or hydraulic fluid ingression. The intensive characterization of T-ray for the non-destructive evaluation of composites are being discussed.
Scene Classification Using Bag-of-Regions Representations

This paper describes our work on classification of outdoor scenes. First, images are partitioned into regions using one-class classification and patch-based clustering algorithms where one-class classifiers model the regions with relatively uniform color and texture properties, and clustering of patches aims to detect structures in the remaining regions. Next, the resulting regions are clustered to obtain a codebook of region types, and two models are constructed for scene representation: a "bag of individual regions" representation where each region is regarded separately, and a "bag of region pairs" representation where regions with particular spatial relationships are considered together. Given these representations, scene classification is done using Bayesian classifiers. We also propose a novel region selection algorithm that identifies region types that are frequently found in a particular class of scenes but rarely exist in other classes, and also consistently occur together in the same class of scenes. Experiments on the LabelMe data set showed that the proposed models significantly outperform a baseline global feature-based approach.
A Universal Role for Inositol 1,4,5-Trisphosphate-Mediated Signaling in Plant Gravitropism1[W]

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (InsP3) has been implicated in the early signaling events of plants linking gravity sensing to the initiation of the gravitropic response. However, at present, the contribution of the phosphoinositide signaling pathway in plant gravitropism is not well understood. To delineate the role of InsP3 in plant gravitropism, we generated Arabidopsis (Arabidopsis thaliana) plants constitutively expressing the human type I inositol polyphosphate 5-phosphatase (InsP 5-ptase), an enzyme that specifically hydrolyzes InsP3. The transgenic plants show no significant differences in growth and life cycle compared to wild-type plants, although basal InsP3 levels are reduced by greater than 90% compared to wild-type plants. With gravistimulation, InsP3 levels in inflorescence stems of transgenic plants show no detectable change, whereas in wild-type plant inflorescences, InsP3 levels increase approximately 3-fold within the first 5 to 15 min of gravistimulation, preceding visible bending. Furthermore, gravitropic bending of the roots, hypocotyls, and inflorescence stems of the InsP 5-ptase transgenic plants is reduced by approximately 30% compared with the wild type. Additionally, the cold memory response of the transgenic plants is attenuated, indicating that InsP3 contributes to gravisignaling in the cold. The transgenic roots were shown to have altered calcium sensitivity in controlling gravitropic response, a reduction in basipetal indole-3-acetic acid transport, and a delay in the asymmetric auxin-induced β-glucuronidase expression with gravistimulation as compared to the controls. The compromised gravitropic response in all the major axes of growth in the transgenic Arabidopsis plants reveals a universal role for InsP3 in the gravity signal transduction cascade of plants.