Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An approach to detect video transitions based on mathematical morphology

The video segmentation problem can be regarded as a problem of detecting the fundamental video units (shots). Due to different ways of linking two consecutive shots this task turns out to be difficult. In this work, we propose a method to detect both cuts and gradual transitions by image segmentation tools instead of using dissimilarity measures or mathematical models. Firstly, the video is transformed into a 2D image, called visual rhythm by sub-sampling. Afterwards, we apply image processing tools to detect all vertical aligned transitions in this image. The main operator applied here is the morphological multiscale gradient. We also present some experimental results.
Empirical Analysis of Attribute-Aware Recommender System Algorithms Using Synthetic Data

As the amount of online shoppers grows rapidly, the need of recommender systems for e-commerce sites are demanding, especially when the number of users and products being offered online continues to increase dramatically. There have been many ongoing researches on recommender systems and in investigating recommendation algorithms that could optimize the recommendation quality. However, adequate and public datasets of users and products have always been demanding to better evaluate recommender system algorithms. Yet, the amount of public data, especially data containing adequate content information (attributes) is limited. When evaluating recommendation algorithms, it is important to observe the behavior of the algorithm as the characteristic of data varies. Synthetic data would allow the application of systematic changes on the data which cannot be done with real-life data. Although studies on synthetic data for the use of recommender systems have been investigated, artificial data with attributes information are rarely looked into. In this paper, we review public and synthetic data that are applied in the field of recommender systems. A synthetic data generation methodology that considers attributes will also be discussed. Furthermore, we present empirical evaluations on existing attributea-ware recommendation algorithms and other state-of-the-art algorithms using real-life dataset as well as variable synthetic data to observe their behavior as the characteristic of data varies. In particular, the informativeness of attributes is being further investigated with both real-life datasets with augmented attributes sets as well as synthetic datasets with attributes. We have shown that a reasonably good overview of the behavior of attribute-aware algorithms can be obtained by using synthetic data compared to results done with real-life datasets.
Empowerment and Participation in Organized Outdoor Activities

Empowerment is a central focus for much work in community psychology. Yet what constitutes empowerment is commonly problematic, especially in relation to programs for young people. We report outcomes from a case study of a UK program designed to empower young people through participation in organized outdoor activities. Grounded theory analysis of data from program leaders (n=10) identified four themes as relevant to success, namely 1) acquiring skills, 2) increasing selfefficacy, 3) prior community links, and 4) challenges in in social participation. Attempts to elicit young people’s (n=30) understandings were unsuccessful as they withdrew prior to completing the program. Such outcomes might be taken to indicate lack of engagement and lack of empowerment. On an alternative interpretation, however, lack of engagement might demonstrate participants’ power to make meaningful decisions. This interpretation points to the difficulties of attempting to define empowerment in practice and of seeking to assess the success of such programs.
Evaluation of the BIOGRAM antimicrobial susceptibility test system

BIOGRAM is an antimicrobial susceptibility test system for the determination of MICs from the standard disk diffusion test zone diameters. The system was challenged with 511 recent clinical isolates of members of the family Enterobacteriaceae, nonfermentative gram-negative bacteria, staphylococci, and enterococci. Results were compared with those obtained with the broth microdilution method. Appropriate control organisms were included with each test series. A total of 10,085 organism-drug combinations were evaluated. BIOGRAM demonstrated an overall correlation of 95.9% with the reference broth microdilution method.
GATA5 mutation homozygosity linked to a double outlet right ventricle phenotype in a Lebanese patient

GATA transcription factors are evolutionary conserved zinc finger proteins with multiple roles in cell differentiation/proliferation and organogenesis. GATA5 is only transiently expressed in the embryonic heart, and the inactivation of both Gata5 alleles results in a partially penetrant bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) phenotype in mice. We hypothesized that only biallelic mutations in GATA5 could be disease causing.
Approximating k-median via pseudo-approximation

We present a novel approximation algorithm for k-median that achieves an approximation guarantee of 1+√3+ε, improving upon the decade-old ratio of 3+ε. Our approach is based on two components, each of which, we believe, is of independent interest. First, we show that in order to give an α-approximation algorithm for k-median, it is sufficient to give a pseudo-approximation algorithm that finds an α-approximate solution by opening k+O(1) facilities. This is a rather surprising result as there exist instances for which opening k+1 facilities may lead to a significant smaller cost than if only k facilities were opened. Second, we give such a pseudo-approximation algorithm with α= 1+√3+ε. Prior to our work, it was not even known whether opening k + o(k) facilities would help improve the approximation ratio.
Parental Differences in Family Processes in Chinese Families Experiencing Economic Disadvantage

Parental differences in family processes (indexed by parental responsiveness, demandingness, control, and sacrifice for children’s education) were examined in 275 Chinese intact families experiencing economic disadvantage in Hong Kong. Consistent with the previous literature, results indicated that there were parent gender differences in family processes, including parental responsiveness, demandingness, control and sacrifice for children’s education based on the responses of parents and adolescents. Relative to mothers, fathers were less involved in parenting and having less sacrifice for their children’s education. Furthermore, adolescents perceived greater paternal-maternal differences in family processes than did parents. This is the first scientific research that studies parent gender differences in family processes in Chinese families experiencing economic disadvantage. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Active Robot Learning for Sequential Object-directed Tasks

We explore active learning for high-level task learning. The active learning paradigm enables a robot to both resolve unintended ambiguities during the learning process and explore new parts of the state space, in order to create a more generalized task representation. This research builds upon a recent framework of embodied queries.We apply the embodied query framework to a new learning problem: sequential objectdirected tasks. Our preliminary results show that given a new set of objects, capable of achieving the task goal, the learner is able to iteratively select the most informative query, refine its model, based upon the teacher’s response, and autonomously stop making queries as it reaches ground truth.
Mining Contiguous Sequential Generators in Biological Sequences

The discovery of conserved sequential patterns in biological sequences is essential to unveiling common shared functions. Mining sequential generators as well as mining closed sequential patterns can contribute to a more concise result set than mining all sequential patterns, especially in the analysis of big data in bioinformatics. Previous studies have also presented convincing arguments that the generator is preferable to the closed pattern in inductive inference and classification. However, classic sequential generator mining algorithms, due to the lack of consideration on the contiguous constraint along with the lower-closed one, still pose a great challenge at spawning a large number of inefficient and redundant patterns, which is too huge for effective usage. Driven by some extensive applications of patterns with contiguous feature, we propose ConSgen, an efficient algorithm for discovering contiguous sequential generators. It adopts the n-gram model, called shingles, to generate potential frequent subsequences and leverages several pruning techniques to prune the unpromising parts of search space. And then, the contiguous sequential generators are identified by using the equivalence class-based lower-closure checking scheme. Our experiments on both DNA and protein data sets demonstrate the compactness, efficiency, and scalability of ConSgen.
A Randomized Trial Comparing Acupuncture and Simulated Acupuncture for Subacute and Chronic Whiplash

Study Design. A randomized controlled trial with 3 and 6 months follow-up. Objective. To compare the effectiveness of acupuncture with simulated acupuncture in patients with subacute and chronic whiplash-associated disorders. Summary of Background Data. Acupuncture is widely used for the treatment of neck and other musculoskeletal pain, and there is some evidence supporting its effectiveness for short-term pain relief. The effectiveness of acupuncture in the treatment of whiplash-associated disorders is not clear. Methods. A total of 124 patients between 18 and 65 years with chronic (85%) or subacute whiplash-associated disorders (Grade I or II) were randomly allocated to real or simulated electroacupuncture treatment for 12 sessions during a 6-week period. Both treatments involved skin penetration with acupuncture needles and were provided by a single university-trained acupuncturist in a University Clinic in Sydney, Australia. Primary outcome measures were pain intensity (10-cm visual analog scale), disability (Neck Disability Index), and health-related quality of life (SF-36). Secondary outcomes were patient-specific activity scales, and the McGill Pain Rating Index. Results. Mean initial pain intensity for all participants was 5.6 cm. Participants receiving the real electroacupuncture treatment had significantly greater reduction in pain intensity at 3 and 6 months, 0.9 cm (P = 0.05) and 1.3 cm (P = 0.007), respectively, in comparison to the sham electro-acupuncture group. After adjustment for baseline status, there was no significant reduction in disability, or improvement in health-related quality of life. There was an improvement in the activity scales of a similar size to the reduction in pain, but no difference in the McGill Index. Conclusion. Real electroacupuncture was associated with a significant reduction in pain intensity over at least 6 months. This reduction was probably not clinically significant. There was no improvement in disability or quality of life.
A deflation algorithm for the blind deconvolution of MIMO-FIR channels driven by fourth-order colored signals

In this paper, we propose a new iterative algorithm to solve the blind deconvolution problem of MIMO-FIR channels driven by source signals which are temporally second-order uncorrelated but fourth-order correlated and spatially second- and fourth-order uncorrelated. In our new approach, to solve the blind deconvolution problem, we consider two stages: First, filtered source signals are extracted from the mixtures of source signals. Second, the source signals are recovered from the filtered source signals.
Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Research Department Staff Report 274 Risky Collateral and Deposit Insurance

This paper provides a new rationalization for deposit insurance and systemic disintermediations. I consider an environment in which borrowers face no penalty for failing to repay obligations except the loss of their collateral. I assume that this collateral has aggregate risk. For a subset of the exogenous parameters, I demonstrate that an optimal arrangement features deposit insurance. For a strictly smaller set of parameters, it is optimal in some states of the world to have systemic disintermediation and concomitant falls in real output. I thank the participants in these seminars for their comments. I also thank Harold Cole, Jeff Lacker, Chris Sleet and especially Barbara McCutcheon for their comments. Further comments are welcome; contact the author at nkocher@econ.umn. edu. The views expressed herein are those of the author and not necessarily those of the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis or the Federal Reserve System.
A spiral approach to Software Engineering Project Management Education

This paper describes the experiences of an instructor, experienced in management, teaching a software engineering project management course at a school that specializes in software education. A "spiral approach" was used to provide for the parallel acquisition of management knowledge and experience, while building on recently acquired skills in software technology and developing confidence through the successful development of a software product. This paper describes the reason for selecting the approach, the course content, the observation of the students and the instructor, the advantages and disadvantages of the approach as applied, and conclusions. Course objectives were met and course evaluations by students indicated a much higher level of acceptance than previous traditional approaches. The observations indicated that the approach may extend beyond the classroom to the industrial setting where on the job training, career path planning, and management development are of concern.
A Distributed Intelligent Information System for Ad Hoc Knowledge Discovery in Databases

A distributed information system is described which features a graphic user interface incorporating natural language input and which provides ad hoc knowledge discovery in relational databases. The system is comprised of multiple processes which communicate with each other over a network. The knowledge discovery process involves extracting generalizations from data using background knowledge in the form of concept hierarchies and a learning procedure based upon an attribute-oriented induction technique. The natural language understanding process is a parser based on Head-Driven Phrase Structure Grammar (HPSG), a modern lexicon-based grammar formalism better equipped than older rule-based approaches for handling the often idiosyncratic behaviour of words. To generate semantic interpretations, the parser makes use of a process which orders logical access paths in unnormalized databases based on the strength of their dependency structures and on their efficiency of execution. Copyright  Simon Fraser University (all rights reserved) 1School of Computing Science 2Department of Linguistics
The Computation of Word Associations: Comparing Syntagmatic and Paradigmatic Approaches

It is shown that basic language processes such as the production of free word associations and the generation of synonyms can be simulated using statistical models that analyze the distribution of words in large text corpora. According to the law of association by contiguity, the acquisition of word associations can be explained by Hebbian learning. The free word associations as produced by subjects on presentation of single stimulus words can thus be predicted by applying first-order statistics to the frequencies of word co-occurrences as observed in texts. The generation of synonyms can also be conducted on co-occurrence data but requires second-order statistics. The reason is that synonyms rarely occur together but appear in similar lexical neighborhoods. Both approaches are systematically compared and are validated on empirical data. It turns out that for both tasks the performance of the statistical system is comparable to the performance of human subjects.
Structure and Spacing of Jets in Barotropic Turbulence

Abstract Turbulent flows are often observed to be organized into large-spatial-scale jets such as the familiar zonal jets in the upper levels of the Jovian atmosphere. These relatively steady large-scale jets are not forced coherently but are maintained by the much smaller spatial- and temporal-scale turbulence with which they coexist. The turbulence maintaining the jets may arise from exogenous sources such as small-scale convection or from endogenous sources such as eddy generation associated with baroclinic development processes within the jet itself. Recently a comprehensive theory for the interaction of jets with turbulence has been developed called stochastic structural stability theory (SSST). In this work SSST is used to study the formation of multiple jets in barotropic turbulence in order to understand the physical mechanism producing and maintaining these jets and, specifically, to predict the jet amplitude, structure, and spacing. These jets are shown to be maintained by the continuous spectru.
Influence of Toxoplasma Gondii Infection on Symptoms and Signs of Premenstrual Syndrome: A Cross-sectional Study

Infection with Toxoplasma gondii in brain may cause some symptoms that resemble those in women with premenstrual syndrome. To determine the association of T. gondii infection with symptoms and signs of premenstrual syndrome, we examined 489 women aged 30–40 years old. Sera of participants were analyzed for the presence of anti-Toxoplasma IgG and IgM antibodies using enzyme-linked immunoassays (EIA) and T. gondii DNA by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Anti-T. gondii IgG antibodies were found in 38 (7.8%) of the women studied. Anti-T. gondii IgM antibodies were found in 13 (34.2%) of the 38 IgG seropositive women. Logistic regression showed two variables associated with seropositivity to T. gondii: presence of diarrhea (odds ratio [OR] = 6.10; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.37–27.85; P = 0.01) and weight gain (OR = 2.89; 95% CI: 1.37–6.07; P = 0.005), and two variables associated with high (>150 IU/ml) levels of IgG against T. gondii: presence of diarrhea (OR = 7.40; 95% CI: 1.79–30.46; P = 0.006) and abdominal inflammation (OR = 3.38; 95% CI: 1.13–10.10; P = 0.02). Positivity to EIA IgG and PCR was positively associated with obesity and negatively associated with joint pain by bivariate analysis. Our study for the first time reveals a potential association of T. gondii infection with clinical manifestations of premenstrual syndrome.
A Second-Site Noncomplementation Screen for Modifiers of Rho1 Signaling during Imaginal Disc Morphogenesis in Drosophila

Background Rho1 is a small GTPase of the Ras superfamily that serves as the central component in a highly conserved signaling pathway that regulates tissue morphogenesis during development in all animals. Since there is tremendous diversity in the upstream signals that can activate Rho1 as well as the effector molecules that carry out its functions, it is important to define relevant Rho1-interacting genes for each morphogenetic event regulated by this signaling pathway. Previous work from our lab and others has shown that Rho signaling is necessary for the morphogenesis of leg imaginal discs during metamorphosis in Drosophila, although a comprehensive identification of Rho1-interacting genes has not been attempted for this process. Methodology/Principal Findings We characterized an amorphic allele of Rho1 that displays a poorly penetrant dominant malformed leg phenotype and is capable of being strongly enhanced by Rho1-interacting heterozygous mutations. We then used this allele in a second-site noncomplementation screen with the Exelixis collection of molecularly defined deficiencies to identify Rho1-interacting genes necessary for leg morphogenesis. In a primary screen of 461 deficiencies collectively uncovering ∼50% of the Drosophila genome, we identified twelve intervals harboring Rho1-interacting genes. Through secondary screening we identified six Rho1-interacting genes including three that were previously identified (RhoGEF2, broad, and stubbloid), thereby validating the screen. In addition, we identified Cdc42, Rheb and Sc2 as novel Rho1-interacting genes involved in adult leg development. Conclusions/Significance This screen identified well-known and novel Rho1-interacting genes necessary for leg morphogenesis, thereby increasing our knowledge of this important signaling pathway. We additionally found that Rheb may have a unique function in leg morphogenesis that is independent of its regulation of Tor.
Proteomic Analysis of Human Nop56p-associated Pre-ribosomal Ribonucleoprotein Complexes

Nop56p is a component of the box C/D small nucleolar ribonucleoprotein complexes that direct 2′-O-methylation of pre-rRNA during its maturation. Genetic analyses in yeast have shown that Nop56p plays important roles in the early steps of pre-rRNA processing. However, its precise function remains elusive, especially in higher eukaryotes. Here we describe the proteomic characterization of human Nop56p (hNop56p)-associated pre-ribosomal ribonucleoprotein complexes. Mass spectrometric analysis of purified pre-ribosomal ribonucleoprotein complexes identified 61 ribosomal proteins, 16 trans-acting factors probably involved in ribosome biogenesis, and 29 proteins whose function in ribosome biogenesis is unknown. Identification of pre-rRNA species within hNop56p-associated pre-ribosomal ribonucleoprotein complexes, coupled with the known functions of yeast orthologs of the probable trans-acting factors identified in human, demonstrated that hNop56p functions in the early to middle stages of 60 S subunit synthesis in human cells. Interestingly, the nucleolar phosphoprotein treacle, which is responsible for the craniofacial disorder associated with Treacher Collins syndrome, was found to be a constituent of hNop56p-associated pre-rRNP complexes. The association of hNop56p and treacle within the complexes was independent of rRNA integrity, indicating a direct interaction. In addition, the protein compositions of the treacle-associated and hNop56p-associated pre-ribosomal ribonucleoprotein complexes were very similar, suggesting functional similarities between these two complexes with respect to ribosome biogenesis in human cells.
A hole-filling strategy for reconstruction of smooth surfaces in range images

Creating models of real scenes is a complex task for which the use of traditional modelling techniques is inappropriate. For this task, laser rangefinders are frequently used to sample the scene from several viewpoints, with the resulting range images integrated into a final model. In practice, due to surface reflectance properties, occlusions and accessibility limitations, certain areas of the scenes are usually not sampled, leading to holes and introducing undesirable artifacts in the resulting models. We present an algorithm for filling holes on surfaces reconstructed from point clouds. The algorithm is based on moving least squares and can recover both geometry and shading information, providing a good alternative when the properties to be reconstructed are locally smooth. The reconstruction process is mostly automatic and the sampling rate in the reconstructed areas follows the given samples. We demonstrate the use of the algorithm on both real and synthetic data sets to obtain complete geometry and reasonable shading.