Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Mining Spatial and Spatio-Temporal ROIs for Action Recognition

Author(s): Lian, Xiaochen | Advisor(s): Yuille, Alan Loddon | Abstract: In this paper, we propose an approach to classify action sequences. We observe that in action sequences the critical features for discriminating between actions occur only within sub-regions of the image. Hence deep network approaches will address the entire image are at a disadvantage. This motivates our strategy which uses static and spatio-temporal visual cues to isolate static and spatio-temporal regions of interest (ROIs). We then use weakly supervised learning to train deep network classifiers using the ROIs as input. More specifically, we combine multiple instance learning (MIL) with convolutional neural networks (CNNs) to select discriminative action cues. This yields classifiers for static images, using the static ROIs, as well as classifiers for short image sequences (16 frames), using spatio-temporal ROIs. Extensive experiments performed on the UCF101 and HMDB51 benchmarks show that both these types of classifiers perform well individually and achieve state of the art performance when combined together. We also show qualitatively that our ROIs (selected by the algorithms) capture the most relevant parts of the image sequences.
Nitric Oxide/Nucleophile Complexes: A Unique Class of Nitric Oxide‐Based Vasodilators

Complexes of nitric oxide (NO) with nucleophiles, also known as nitric oxide/nucleophile adducts or NONOates, appear to offer many advantages as research tools in cardiovascular pharmacology and may have future clinical potential as well. A wide variety of NONOates can be synthesized simply by exposing various nucleophilic compounds to NO. The products are generally stable as solids and highly soluble in aqueous media. The potent vasodilator activity displayed by select members of this series is endothelium independent and is mediated by the free NO that is released on dissolution, which activates smooth-muscle guanylate cyclase with subsequent intracellular cyclic guanosine monophosphate production. NO release from the NONOate complexes is not catalyzed by exogenous thiol or albumin. The NONOates differ from other currently available nitrovasodilators in that their potency as vasorelaxants correlates closely with data on their first-order rates of spontaneous reversion to NO in simple aqueous buffers. The compounds' properties can be conveniently altered by changing the identity of the nucleophilic residue. Continued work with NONOate complexes may provide useful clinical agents as well as improved tools for probing the bioregulatory roles of NO.
Influential Factors on Level of Injury in Pedestrian Crashes: Applications of Ordered Probit Model with Robust Standard Errors

Pedestrian-involved crashes that occurred in the city of San Francisco over a six-year period, 2002–2007, were analyzed to examine various influential factors on the injury severity of pedestrian crashes. The crash data extracted from the Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System (SWITRS) include five categorical levels of injury severity in traffic crashes also in addition to detailed information about the features of each crash. This study applied an ordered probit model for injury severity analysis to specify the ordinal nature of injury categories. To draw unbiased implications from the estimated parameters, statistical tests were performed on the parameters based on robust standard errors. Then, the marginal effects of each variable on the likelihood of each injury level were computed. The variables that significantly increased the probability of severe injury and fatality were: i) age (under age 15 and over age 65), alcohol consumption and cell phone use among pedestrian characteristics; ii) nighttime, weekends and rainy weather among environmental characteristics; and iii) influence of alcohol, larger vehicles (pickups, buses and trucks) and vehicle proceeding straight when striking a pedestrian among crash characteristics. Crash characteristics were found to influence significantly on the level of pedestrian injury. Based on the findings of this analysis, policy implications and countermeasures are also discussed.
Creating the Discipline of Knowledge Management

Knowledge management is a newly emerging, interdisciplinary business model dealing with all aspects of knowledge within the context of the firm, including knowledge creation, codification, sharing, and how these activities promote learning and innovation. In practice, knowledge management encompasses both technological tools and organizational routines in overlapping parts. This paper presents discipline knowledge management from historical viewpoint, driving factors and importance of knowledge management. Final part of the paper presents basic facts about knowledge management systems and their role in the enterprise
Protein Kinase C Overactivity Impairs Prefrontal Cortical Regulation of Working Memory

The prefrontal cortex is a higher brain region that regulates thought, behavior, and emotion using representational knowledge, operations often referred to as working memory. We tested the influence of protein kinase C (PKC) intracellular signaling on prefrontal cortical cognitive function and showed that high levels of PKC activity in prefrontal cortex, as seen for example during stress exposure, markedly impair behavioral and electrophysiological measures of working memory. These data suggest that excessive PKC activation can disrupt prefrontal cortical regulation of behavior and thought, possibly contributing to signs of prefrontal cortical dysfunction such as distractibility, impaired judgment, impulsivity, and thought disorder.
Site-directed mutagenesis of conserved cysteine residues in Escherichia coli fumarate reductase: modification of the spectroscopic and electrochemical properties of the [2Fe-2S] cluster.

Site-directed mutants of Escherichia coli fumarate reductase in which each of the four N-terminal cysteine residues in the FrdB subunit, residues 57, 62, 65, and 77, was mutated individually to serine have been constructed, overexpressed, and investigated in terms of enzymatic activity as well as the EPR and redox properties of the iron-sulfur centers. In each case, the mutant contains a functional fumarate reductase in which all three of the constituent iron-sulfur clusters (i.e., center 1, [2Fe-2S]; center 2, [4Fe-4S]; center 3, [3Fe-4S]) have been assembled. The mutations affect the properties of center 1 only and demonstrate that the anomalously high redox potential of this [2Fe-2S] center is essential for optimal enzymatic activity. The results are consistent with cysteines 57, 62, 65, and 77 providing the ligands to center 1 but leave open the possibility of noncysteinyl coordination for the localized valence Fe(III) site of the reduced cluster. The implications of the results for the role of center 1 in the electron-transfer pathway and the valence localization of reduced center 1 are discussed.
The Wealth Effects of Voluntary Foreign Divestitures: The UK Evidence

The primary purpose of this study is to examine the impact of UK voluntary foreign divestitures on the shareholder wealth of selling firms. In addition to employ the conventional OLS market model as the returns-estimation tool, the GARCH market model is also used to test the validity of the underlying statistical assumptions of the conventional market model in event studies. This paper further analyses several factors that are hypothesised to have an impact on the magnitude of abnormal returns from UK foreign divestitures. Empirical evidence shows that UK foreign divestitures provide significant positive abnormal returns to the selling firms, irrespective of the returns-estimation approaches employed. The findings also indicate that the shareholders of UK divesting firms are better served when financially healthy firms sell off relatively large foreign assets to the buyers from non-English speaking host countries.
Prevalence of superficial siderosis in patients with cerebral amyloid angiopathy

Background: Cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) typically presents with lobar intracerebral macrohemorrhages (ICH) or microbleeds (MBs). Several case reports also found superficial siderosis (SS) in patients with CAA. We aimed to assess the value of SS for the in vivo diagnosis of CAA, and tested whether the inclusion of SS as a criterion alters the sensitivity and specificity of the Boston criteria for CAA-related hemorrhage. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the T2*-weighted MRIs of 38 patients with histopathologically proven CAA and of 22 control patients with histopathologically proven non-CAA ICHs regarding the presence of ICHs, MBs, and SS. We compared the sensitivity and specificity of the classic Boston criteria to that of modified criteria, which included SS as a criterion. Results: ICHs were present in 71% of the patients with CAA, and in all control patients. MBs were found in 47.4% of patients with CAA and in 22.7% of controls. SS was detected in 60.5% of patients with CAA, but in none of the controls. The classic criteria had a sensitivity of 89.5% for CAA-related hemorrhage, while inclusion of SS increased their sensitivity to 94.7% (not significant). On the contrary, the specificity of the Boston criteria was 81.2% both for the classic and for the modified criteria. Conclusions: Superficial siderosis (SS) occurs with high prevalence in cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA) and is rare in non-CAA forms of intracerebral hemorrhages. Thus, we propose that inclusion of SS in the Boston criteria might enhance their sensitivity for CAA-related hemorrhage without loss of specificity.
Ups 1 p , a conserved intermembrane space protein , regulates mitochondrial shape and alternative topogenesis of Mgm 1 p

Mitochondrial morphology is essential for the functions of the organelle. Mitochondria fuse and divide in highly regulated manners, and these two activities play a central role in morphogenesis of mitochondria (Jensen et al., 2000; Karbowski and Youle, 2003). Many components involved in mitochondrial fusion and division are highly conserved in a variety of organisms ranging from yeast to humans (Chen and Chan, 2004; Okamoto and Shaw, 2005). Among them, Mgm1p is a conserved dynaminrelated GTPase essential for fusion, morphology, inheritance, and the genome maintenance of mitochondria in yeast (Jones and Fangman, 1992; Shepard and Yaffe, 1999; Sesaki et al., 2003b; Wong et al., 2003). Mutations in the human homologue of Mgm1p, OPA1, are linked to autosomal dominant optic atrophy (Alexander et al., 2000; Delettre et al., 2000). There are two species of Mgm1p, an 84-kD form (s-Mgm1p) and a 97-kD form (l-Mgm1p) (Shepard and Yaffe, 1999). These two isoforms exert partially overlapping but distinct functions. Both forms are required for mitochondrial morphology and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) maintenance, whereas only l-Mgm1p is required for mitochondrial fusion (Herlan et al., 2003; McQuibban et al., 2003; Sesaki et al., 2003a). In addition, these two isoforms have distinct localization and topologies (Wong et al., 2000; Sesaki et al., 2003b). l-Mgm1p is inserted in the inner membrane with a single transmembrane domain. In contrast, s-Mgm1p lacks the TM domain and is peripherally associated with both the outer and inner membranes (OMs/IMs) in the intermembrane space (IMS). Generation of the two forms of Mgm1p is mediated by a unique sorting process called alternative topogenesis (Herlan et al., 2004). Mgm1p is synthesized in the cytosol with a presequence followed by two adjacent hydrophobic segments (TM). Mgm1p is imported into mitochondria via the translocase of the OM, and its fi rst TM segment (TM1) is then inserted into the IM-localized TIM23 translocon. After cleavage of the presequence by the matrix-localized processing protease, one of two choices is made. In one case (Fig. 1 A, blue arrow), Mgm1p diffuses out of the TIM23 channel into the IM, forming l-Mgm1p. Alternatively (Fig. 1 A, yellow arrows), Mgm1p is further translocated into TIM23 by the action of the matrix mtHsp70 motor and the PAM complex (Herlan et al., 2004). When the second TM (TM2) reaches the IM, Mgm1p is cleaved by the rhomboid Ups1p, a conserved intermembrane space protein, regulates mitochondrial shape and alternative topogenesis of Mgm1p
An Optimal Control and Options Theory Approach to Forecasting and Managing Sustainable Systems

Sustainable management of the natural systems is essential in the presence of anthropogenic and natural disasters. Fisher information based measure and hypothesis have been proposed to quantify the sustainability of natural systems, which are used in this work to formulate management objectives. Since uncertainty is omnipresent in natural systems, its consideration is important. Real options theory deals extensively with the representation and forecasting of uncertainty. The options theory, with the Ito mean reverting process, is used to represent uncertainty, and optimal control theory is used to derive time dependent decisions. The idea is implemented on a three species predator-prey model. The results highlight the effect of uncertainty on system dynamics and decisions. When the decisions are viewed as options available to be exercised, the importance of options theory and control theory in sustainability is evident.
Voice gender perception by cochlear implanteesa )

Gender identification of human voices was studied in a juvenile population of cochlear implant CI users exposed to naturalistic speech stimuli from 20 male and 20 female speakers using two different voice gender perception tasks. Stimulus output patterns were recorded from each individual CI for each stimulus, and features related to voice fundamental frequency and spectral envelope were extracted from these electrical output signals to evaluate the relationship between implant output and behavioral performance. In spite of the fact that temporal and place cues of similar quality were produced by all CI devices, only about half of the subjects were able to label male and female voices correctly. Participants showed evidence of using available temporal cues, but showed no evidence of using place cues. The implants produced a consistent and novel cue to voice gender that participants did not appear to utilize. A subgroup of participants could discriminate male and female voices when two contrasting voices were presented in succession, but were unable to identify gender when voices were singly presented. It is suggested that the nature of long-term auditory categorical memories needs to be studied in more detail in these individuals. © 2009 Acoustical Society of America. DOI: 10.1121/1.3158855
Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacodynamics of Scopolamine after Subcutaneous Administration

The effects of subcutaneously administered scopolamine on quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) and cognitive performance were evaluated and correlated with pharmacokinetic parameters in a randomized, double‐blind placebo‐controlled crossover study of 10 healthy male volunteers. Changes in qEEG and cognition were determined for 8 hours after drug administration. Scopolamine produced dose‐ and time‐dependent impairments of attention and memory and a time‐dependent increase in delta power (1.25‐4.50 Hz) and a decrease in fast alpha power (9.75‐12.50 Hz) on qEEG compared with placebo. Maximum serum concentrations of scopolamine occurred 10 to 30 minutes after drug administration. Mean peak serum concentrations (free base) were 3.27, 8.99, and 18.81 ng/mL after administration of 0.4, 0.6 mg, and 0.8 mg scopolamine, respectively. Elimination half‐life was approximately 220 minutes. The findings indicate temporary changes in qEEG and psychometric tests, and support the possible use of such a testing model for impaired cognitive functions such as age‐related memory disturbances.
The role of responsible sourcing in creating a sustainable construction supply chain

Responsible sourcing (RS) provides a means to manage and ensure the attainment of sustainability objectives by procuring materials with a certified provenance. It is demonstrated typically through an organisation? s procurement policy, via its purchasing decisions and practices, and addresses a range of environmental, economic and social considerations. In the UK, the government requires that 25% of construction products shall be from RS schemes by 2012 and major contractors are considering raising this target even further for major commodities like aggregates, metals, steel, concrete, bricks and glass.Results from an industry survey and company case studies show that major materials industries are instrumental to provision of RS goods; architects, clients and major contractors will drive change in the supply-chain; scope for enhanced reputation and market differentiation are encouraging many companies to seek certification. RS has the potential to transform the construction supply-chain into a transparent and sustainable enterprise; market forces and the notion of doing the right thing? may determine its more widespread adoption
An analysis of community structure detection for educational coopetition

The goal of the paper is to study how the strictly optimal solutions of community detection, based on similarity matrices, depend on the parameter of the distance threshold setting method, applied beforehand. In order to detect communities, we apply the oft-used modularity metric and arrive at strict optimality by linear programming, solving an np-hard problem. The distance threshold method is used, making the matrix more and more sparse, and thus the best value of the threshold is determined, by analyzing the number of subsequent clusters detected. Our method is applied on educational coopetition data in the business school of TUT, with four specializations, out of which we sample 36 students, each time selecting from a pair of specializations. Since the optimal number of clusters tends to be four, for any two-fold sampling, we detect a natural division within each specialization as well, the reason for which is a matter for further study. As a result, coopetition - the simultaneous competition and cooperation - is measured between the departments of the business school. The average grade of the students is a proxy for the competitive score of the department. The traditional conductance is used as a proxy for the cooperative score of the department. For our data, the optimal value for the threshold in community detection is 0.07, this way enough noise has been removed from the data, but not too many values, so that vital information is retained. Thus, we most often obtain our goal of detecting four clusters, in the two-fold sampling, effectively displaying the usefulness of fine-tuning the distance threshold while evaluating it by the strictly optimal community detection.
Quantitative relations between parietal activation and performance in mental rotation

The quantitative relationships between functional activation of the superior parietal lobule (SPL) and performance in the Shepard-Metzler mental rotation task were investigated in 16 human subjects using magnetic resonance (MR) imaging at high field (4 Tesla). Subjects were shown pairs of perspective drawings of three-dimensional objects and asked to judge whether they were the same or mirror images. Increased SPL activation was associated with a higher proportion of errors in performance. The increase in errors, and the concomitant increase in SPL activation, could be due to an increased difficulty in, and therefore increased demands for, information processing at several stages involved in making a decision, including encoding of the visual images shown, mentally rotating them, and judging whether they are the same or mirror images.
An Investigation into Cyberbullying perpetration: a routine Activity Perspective

Cyberbullying, a new form of aggressive behavior occurring on the Internet, has captured much attention of the popular press and academia. Despite extensive media reports, the investigation of cyberbullying perpetration is still in its infancy. Current research on cyberbullying is hindered by a lack of strong theoretical guidance, and has often centered the focus on victimization. In addition, much of the research effort has been devoted to understanding cyberbullying among adolescents, with a paucity of research initiated at the collegiate level. To address this research gap, we draw on routine activity theory to investigate cyberbullying perpetration. Specifically, we construct a research model that examines how aggressive dispositions, attitude toward the victim, and online disinhibition are associated with cyberbullying perpetration. We plan to test our research model with a sample of university students. We believe that our study will advance the understanding of cyberbullying and provide a solid foundation for future theoretical investigation.
A QoS-Based Topology Control Algorithm for Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks

The topology control techniques of underwater wireless sensor networks and terrestrial wireless sensor networks are significantly different because of the particularity of underwater environments and acoustic communication. In this paper, an underwater wireless sensor network model was constructed, and six universal topology control objectives were concluded. The QoS topology control problem was mapped into an ordinal potential game model, and a distributed strategy adjustment algorithm for nodes was designed accordingly. The strategy vector resulting from the algorithm converges to the Nash equilibrium; minor complexity and preferable approximate ratios can be represented by the algorithm as well. The performance of the algorithm was analyzed through simulation experiments which indicate a well-constructed topology. Every objective was upgraded when model parameters were set suitable.
Prototyping Control and Data Acquisition for the ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility

The ITER Neutral Beam Test Facility will be the project's R&D facility for heating neutral beam injectors (HNB) for fusion research operating with H/D negative ions. Its mission is to develop technology to build the HNB prototype injector meeting the stringent HNB requirements (16.5 MW injection power, -1 MeV acceleration energy, 40 A ion current and one hour continuous operation). Two test-beds will be built in sequence in the facility: first SPIDER, the ion source test-bed, to optimize the negative ion source performance, second MITICA, the actual prototype injector, to optimize ion beam acceleration and neutralization. The SPIDER control and data acquisition system is under design. To validate the main architectural choices, a system prototype has been assembled and performance tests have been executed to assess the prototype's capability to meet the control and data acquisition system requirements. The prototype is based on open-source software frameworks running under Linux. EPICS is the slow control engine, MDSplus is the data handler and MARTe is the fast control manager. The prototype addresses low and high-frequency data acquisition, 10 kS/s and 10 MS/s respectively, camera image acquisition, data archiving, data streaming, data retrieval and visualization, real time fast control with 100 μs control cycle and supervisory control.
Estimates of Insider Trading in India

We present estimates of insider trading in the Indian equity markets. We report distinct patterns in the movement of stock prices ahead of specific classes of transactions. Specifically, we find statistically significant insider trading activity ahead of 'Sell' transactions by 'insiders', but not ahead of 'Buy' transactions. In the full sample of 15,970 transactions, reported between April 2002 and March 2007, the ratio of stocks showing abnormal returns in excess of 1% ranges between 66.14% and 71.57%.