Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Texture Perception

As we parse the retinal image into different objects, a number of visual properties are used to distinguish figure from ground and one object from neighboring objects. These properties include luminance, color, relative motion, and stereo disparity. Within a single surface there can be variation in surface reflectance, color, or three-dimensional orientation (surface roughness). These variations result in a textured retinal image. These textural variations can be regular (textiles, brick walls, honeycomb), random (forest floor), or in between (wood grain). The occurrence of texture in a scene is useful in a number of ways. (1) The characteristics of a single texture may be used to identify the surface material as in knowing the type of wood from the grain (texture appearance). (2) When two objects (or parts of a single object) meet, an edge is formed. Identifying and localizing edges is a basic step in the figure-ground problem, and edges can involve a change in texture (alone or in conjunction with a change of other surface properties). Thus, texture segregation can be an important component in identifying objects. (3) When a textured object is viewed, the geometry of perspective results in a distortion of the texture in the retinal image. Characteristics of the texture in the image may be used to infer properties of the three-dimensional layout of objects and object shape (shape from texture). All of these capabilities have been studied both psychophysically and computationally, and there have been recent advances in understanding the neurophysiological basis for texture perception. The area that has seen the greatest amount of effort has been in understanding the mechanisms of texture segregation. A considerable amount of research involves the use of synthetic textures involving texture elements (e.g. dots, line segments, small figures such as Ls, Ts, and Xs) that are placed on a uniform background in either a regular or a random fashion. Other work has used continuous-tone textures such as sums of sinusoids or filtered noise. The use of randomly placed texture elements was developed by (Julesz 1981; Caelli and Julesz, 1978). An example of a result of this work is illustrated in Figure 1. Here, a region of randomly placed Xs is easily distinguished from a background of Ls. However, a foreground region of Ts can only be distinguished with scrutiny. There is no visible texture edge or perceived textured object on a background even though the individual texture elements are …
Using high-pressure teflon bomb digestion in phosphorus determination of aquatic animals

High pressure and temperature were combined with the convenient mixture of acids to perform an effective digestion of samples from aquatic animals for phosphorus (P) analysis. Our results indicate that digestion in high-pressure bombs combined with concentrated acidic media can be a convenient way to yield all P stored in samples, and to produce accurate recoveries. Phosphorus recovery of a certified standard material (94% ± 15) and digestions of aquatic animal tissues confirmed the relevance of bomb decomposition, as well as its reliability compared to ashing and microwave oven digestion methods. Moreover, the applied digestion technique is easily manageable even in samples consisting of a few individuals. This method is relatively rapid, saves money and time, and is able to recover P from the most persistent components (e.g. bones, scales, fat) of aquatic animal tissues.
Terrorist group location decision: an empirical investigation

This article explores the determinants of terrorist groups’ location choice. A conditional logit estimator is applied to data consisting of 525 terrorist groups and 113 potential base countries of operation. The analysis shows that the number of existing groups in a country increases the probability of a terrorist group choosing the country as a base of operations. More important, terrorist groups are more likely to locate in a country where existing groups share similar ideology with the entrant, particularly for left-wing terrorist groups. A country’s political instability and/or state failure raise the chances that a terrorist group will locate there. Terrorist groups are more likely to base their operations closer to the venues of their planned terrorist attacks. Terrorist groups locate their base country of operation nearer to their planned venue countries.
RADAR: A Personal Assistant that Learns to Reduce Email Overload

Email client software is widely used for personal task management, a purpose for which it was not designed and is poorly suited. Past attempts to remedy the problem have focused on adding task management features to the client UI. RADAR uses an alternative approach modeled on a trusted human assistant who reads mail, identifies task-relevant message content, and helps manage and execute tasks. This paper describes the integration of diverse AI technologies and presents results from human evaluation studies comparing RADAR user performance to unaided COTS tool users and users partnered with a human assistant. As machine learning plays a central role in many system components, we also compare versions of RADAR with and without learning. Our tests show a clear advantage for learning-enabled RADAR over all other test conditions.
Object and File Management in the EXODUS Extensible Database System

This paper describes the design of the object-oriented storage component of EXODUS, an extensible database management system currently under development at the University of Wisconsin. The basic abstraction in the EXODUS storage system is the storage object, an uninterpreted variable-length record of arbitrary size; higher level abstractions such as records and indices are supported via the storage object abstraction. One of the key design features described here is a scheme for managing large dynamic objects, as storage objects can occupy many disk pages and can grow or shrink at arbitrary points. The data structure and algorithms used to support such objects are described, and performance results from a preliminary prototype of the EXODUS large-object management scheme are presented. A scheme for maintaining versions of large objects is also described. The file structure used in the EXODUS storage system, which provides a mechanism for grouping and sequencing through a set of related storage objects and the EXODUS approach to buffer management, concurrency control, and recovery, both for small and large objects are discussed. 30 refs., 13 figs.
Brain activation during visual working memory correlates with behavioral mobility performance in older adults

Functional mobility and cognitive function often decline with age. We previously found that functional mobility as measured by the Timed Up and Go Test (TUG) was associated with cognitive performance for visually-encoded (i.e., for location and face) working memory (WM) in older adults. This suggests a common neural basis between TUG and visual WM. To elucidate this relationship further, the present study aimed to examine the neural basis for the WM-mobility association. In accordance with the well-known neural compensation model in aging, we hypothesized that “attentional” brain activation for easy WM would increase in participants with lower mobility. The data from 32 healthy older adults were analyzed, including brain activation during easy WM tasks via functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and mobility performance via both TUG and a simple walking test. WM performance was significantly correlated with TUG but not with simple walking. Some prefrontal brain activations during WM were negatively correlated with TUG performance, while positive correlations were found in subcortical structures including the thalamus, putamen and cerebellum. Moreover, activation of the subcortical regions was significantly correlated with WM performance, with less activation for lower WM performers. These results indicate that older adults with lower mobility used more cortical (frontal) and fewer subcortical resources for easy WM tasks. To date, the frontal compensation has been proposed separately in the motor and cognitive domains, which have been assumed to compensate for dysfunction of the other brain areas; however, such dysfunction was less clear in previous studies. The present study observed such dysfunction as degraded activation associated with lower performance, which was found in the subcortical regions. We conclude that a common dysfunction—compensation activation pattern is likely the neural basis for the association between visual WM and functional mobility.
Frequency-Tuned Cerebellar Channels and Burst-Induced LTD Lead to the Cancellation of Redundant Sensory Inputs

For optimal sensory processing, neural circuits must extract novel, unpredictable signals from the redundant sensory input in which they are embedded, but the detailed cellular and network mechanisms that implement such selective cancellation are presently unknown. Using a combination of modeling and experiment, we characterize in detail a cerebellar circuit in weakly electric fish, showing how it can carry out this computation. We use a model incorporating the wide range of experimentally estimated parallel fiber feedback delays and a burst-induced LTD rule derived from in vitro experiments to explain the precise cancellation of redundant signals observed in vivo. Our model demonstrates how the backpropagation-dependent burst dynamics adjusts the temporal pairing width of the plasticity mechanism to precisely match the frequency of the redundant signal. The model also makes the prediction that this cerebellar feedback pathway must be composed of frequency-tuned channels; this prediction is subsequently verified in vivo, highlighting a novel and general capability of cerebellar circuitry.
Tree-Structured Multiple Description Coding

Multiple description coding aims at transmitting two mutually refinable descriptions of a signal on two different communication channels. It is successfully applied to transmission of sound and images on diversity systems or packet-switched networks. We present novel algorithms for the design of multiply descriptive tree-structured vector quantizers with linear encoding complexity that improve on our previously published methods. These algorithms allow for both the rates and distortions constraints in a natural way and are shown to yield quantizers that are competitive with full-search codes in terms of rate-distortion performance. We also present a generalization of the scheme to more than two channels.
The Discovery of Fluorine in Cool Extreme Helium Stars

Neutral fluorine (F I) lines are identified in the optical spectra of cool extreme helium (EHe) stars. These are the first F I lines identified in a star's spectrum, and they provide the first measurement of fluorine abundances in EHe stars. The results show that fluorine is overabundant in EHe stars. The overabundance of fluorine provides us with evidence for the synthesis of fluorine in these stars, which is discussed in light of asymptotic giant branch evolution and the expectation from accretion of an He white dwarf by a C-O white dwarf.
Linearity performance of GaN HEMTs with field plates

Recently, electric field modification with GaN-based high-electron-mobility-transistors (HEMTs) using field plates (FP) has resulted in dramatically enhanced power performance. Power densities up to 32 W/mm at 4 GHz have been demonstrated with power-added-efficiency (PAE) of 55%. When scaled to a large periphery, a total output power of 149 W was obtained at 2 GHz. Modern communication applications also require high linearity for power devices. Here we present the linearity performance of GaN-channel HEMTs with various FP lengths at biases up to 108V.
Apes' and children's understanding of cooperative and competitive motives in a communicative situation.

Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) and bonobos (Pan paniscus) (Study 1) and 18- and 24-month-old human children (Study 2) participated in a novel communicative task. A human experimenter (E) hid food or a toy in one of two opaque containers before gesturing towards the reward's location in one of two ways. In the Informing condition, she attempted to help the subject find the hidden object by simply pointing to the correct container. In the Prohibiting condition, E held out her arm toward the correct container (palm out) and told the subject firmly 'Don't take this one. ' As in previous studies, the apes were at chance in the Informing condition. However, they were above chance in the new Prohibiting condition. Human 18-month-olds showed this same pattern of results, whereas 24-month-olds showed the opposite pattern: they were better in the Informing condition than in the Prohibiting condition. In our interpretation, success in the Prohibiting condition requires subjects to understand E's goal toward them and their behavior, and then to make an inference (she would only prohibit if there were something good in there). Success in the Informing condition requires subjects to understand a cooperative communicative motive - which apparently apes and young infants find difficult.
Joint Backhaul-Access Analysis of Full Duplex Self-Backhauling Heterogeneous Networks

With the successful demonstration of in-band full-duplex (IBFD) transceivers, a new research dimension has been added to wireless networks. This paper proposes a use case of this capability for IBFD self-backhauling heterogeneous networks (HetNets). IBFD self-backhauling in a HetNet refers to IBFD-enabled small cells backhauling themselves with macro cells over the wireless channel. Owing to their IBFD capability, the small cells simultaneously communicate over the access and backhaul links, using the same frequency band. The idea is doubly advantageous, as it obviates the need for fiber backhauling small cells every hundred meters and allows the access spectrum to be reused for backhauling at no extra cost. This paper considers the case of a two-tier cellular network with IBFD-enabled small cells, wirelessly backhauling themselves with conventional macro cells. For clear exposition, the case considered is that of the Frequency Division Duplexing (FDD) network, where within access and backhaul links, the downlink (DL) and uplink are frequency duplexed (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f1$ </tex-math></inline-formula>, <inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f2$ </tex-math></inline-formula> respectively), while the total frequency spectrum used at access and backhaul (<inline-formula> <tex-math notation="LaTeX">$f1+f2$ </tex-math></inline-formula>) is the same. Analytical expressions for coverage and average DL rate in such a network are derived using tools from the field of <italic>stochastic geometry</italic>. It is shown that DL rate in such networks could be close to double that of a conventional TDD/FDD self-backhauling network, at the expense of reduced coverage due to higher interference in IBFD networks. For the proposed IBFD network, the conflicting aspects of increased interference on one side and high spectral efficiency on the other are captured into a mathematical model. The mathematical model introduces an end-to-end joint analysis of backhaul (or fronthaul) and access links, in contrast to the largely available access-centric studies.
Mean-Square Deviation Analysis of Affine Projection Algorithm

This paper presents an improved mean-square deviation (MSD) analysis of the standard affine projection algorithm (APA) based on two distinctive features. First, the propagation model of the error covariance includes the cross-correlation between the current weight error vector and the prior measurement noises associated with the reused inputs; such a cross-correlation has merely been considered previously. Second, the analysis based on n most recent accumulated iterations, rather than a typical analysis based on a current single iteration, is suggested to reveal a previously unseen phenomenon, where n denotes the tap-length of the filter. Simulation results are in better agreement with the proposed theoretical results, than the previous theoretical ones, over a wide range of parameters such as tap-length, projection order, and step-size.
Concealed data in two way text messaging: A framework for interactive mobile learning environment

A major limitation in two-way texting is sending back a part of received data with the reply message. This limitation results in users of a mobile learning environment being unable to reply back to the correct destination as the mobile communication gateway handles sending out information of several users through a single phone number. In this paper, we propose an open-source and secure messaging system that can be easily integrated to a learning management system (LMS) to provide an interactive learning experience to the user community. Initially, a database is integrated into the LMS that holds message information such as recipient's phone number, message body, user data header (UDH), etc. A specific port associated with short messaging service (SMS) is used to send data relevant to a particular course unit concealed in the SMS body itself. Subsequently, software installed in the user's mobile device captures this SMS and sends back the reply message to the appropriate course unit allowing both teachers and students to view messages sent and replied pertaining to a particular course unit. Results indicate the relevance and interoperability of the proposed technique.
Gas Alert: The NO2 Pitfall during NO Fumigation of Plants

Physiological functions of nitric oxide (NO) in plants are often investigated by using chemical NO donors (Feelisch, 1998; Floryszak-Wieczorek et al., 2006) or fumigation of plants with NO gas (Huang et al., 2004; Palmieri et al., 2008; Vitor et al., 2013; Frungillo et al., 2014; Kasten et al., 2016; Krasuska et al., 2016; León et al., 2016; Melo et al., 2016). Treatment with gaseous NO has the advantage of being non-invasive and timeas well as cost effective. However, NO can react with airoxygen resulting in the rise of toxic nitrogen dioxide (NO2; Groß et al., 2013; Heinrich et al., 2013). In human medicine NO2 formation is a well-established risk factor during NO inhalation as a cure against pulmonary diseases (Schedin et al., 1999; Sokol et al., 1999). The damaging effect of NO2 on plants has been frequently demonstrated (Wellburn, 1990; Xu et al., 2010; Liu et al., 2015; Kasten et al., 2016). In this current opinion article fumigation approaches were critically re-evaluated with a special focus on contaminations of NO-enriched air with NO2. Potential artifacts and data misinterpretation due to unintended co-treatment of plants with both gases are highlighted.
Stable Patterns of Gene Expression Regulating Carbohydrate Metabolism Determined by Geographic Ancestry

Background Individuals of African descent in the United States suffer disproportionately from diseases with a metabolic etiology (obesity, metabolic syndrome, and diabetes), and from the pathological consequences of these disorders (hypertension and cardiovascular disease). Methodology/Principal Findings Using a combination of genetic/genomic and bioinformatics approaches, we identified a large number of genes that were both differentially expressed between American subjects self-identified to be of either African or European ancestry and that also contained single nucleotide polymorphisms that distinguish distantly related ancestral populations. Several of these genes control the metabolism of simple carbohydrates and are direct targets for the SREBP1, a metabolic transcription factor also differentially expressed between our study populations. Conclusions/Significance These data support the concept of stable patterns of gene transcription unique to a geographic ancestral lineage. Differences in expression of several carbohydrate metabolism genes suggest both genetic and transcriptional mechanisms contribute to these patterns and may play a role in exacerbating the disproportionate levels of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease observed in Americans with African ancestry.
An Agent-Based Spatial Decision Support System for Snow Removal Asset Management: A Web-Based Approach

Various governmental agencies use spatial decision support systems (SDSS) for not only long range planning activities but also running day-to-day operations. For example, many cities and counties use computer applications for managing snow removal assets in order to keep the roads cleared and the transportation network functioning. Prior research has reported a number of systems that provide limited support for mapping and route generation for snow removal operations. However, these systems are primarily stand alone, single user systems, constructed with a non-technical user in mind. This paper focuses on designing and implementing a web-based winter maintenance decision support system that improves the ability to evaluate different procedures for optimally managing snow removal assets. We discuss the architecture of such a system that integrates intelligent agents, web technologies and geo-spatial analytical techniques.
A Divergence-Oriented Approach to Adaptive Random Testing of Java Programs

Adaptive Random Testing (ART) is a testing technique which is based on an observation that a test input usually has the same potential as its neighbors in detection of a specific program defect. ART helps to improve the efficiency of random testing in that test inputs are selected evenly across the input spaces. However, the application of ART to object-oriented programs (e.g., C++ and Java) still faces a strong challenge in that the input spaces of object-oriented programs are usually high dimensional, and therefore an even distribution of test inputs in a space as such is difficult to achieve. In this paper, we propose a divergence-oriented approach to adaptive random testing of Java programs to address this challenge. The essential idea of this approach is to prepare for the tested program a pool of test inputs each of which is of significant difference from the others, and then to use the ART technique to select test inputs from the pool for the tested program. We also develop a tool called ARTGen to support this testing approach, and conduct experiment to test several popular opensource Java packages to assess the effectiveness of the approach. The experimental result shows that our approach can generate test cases with high quality.
Application of Machine Learning Techniques in Human Activity Recognition

Human activity detection has seen a tremendous growth in the last decade playing a major role in the field of pervasive computing. This emerging popularity can be attributed to its myriad of real-life applications primarily dealing with human-centric problems like healthcare and elder care. Many research attempts with data mining and machine learning techniques have been undergoing to accurately detect human activities for e-health systems. This paper reviews some of the predictive data mining algorithms and compares the accuracy and performances of these models. A discussion on the future research directions is subsequently offered.