Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Camera Relocalization with Ellipsoidal Abstraction of Objects

We are interested in AR applications which take place in man-made GPS-denied environments, as industrial or indoor scenes. In such environments, relocalization may fail due to repeated patterns and large changes in appearance which occur even for small changes in viewpoint. We investigate in this paper a new method for relocalization which operates at the level of objects and takes advantage of the impressive progress realized in object detection. Recent works have opened the way towards object oriented reconstruction from elliptic approximation of objects detected in images. We go one step further and propose a new method for pose computation based on ellipse/ellipsoid correspondences. We consider in this paper the practical common case where an initial guess of the rotation matrix of the pose is known, for instance with an inertial sensor or from the estimation of orthogonal vanishing points. Our contributions are twofold: we prove that a closed form estimate of the translation can be computed from one ellipse-ellipsoid correspondence. The accuracy of the method is assessed on the LINEMOD database using only one correspondence. Second, we prove the effectiveness of the method on real scenes from a set of object detections generated by YOLO. A robust framework that is able to choose the best set of hypotheses is proposed and is based on an appropriate estimation of the reprojection error of ellipsoids. Globally, considering pose at the level of object allows us to avoid common failures due to repeated structures. In addition, due to the small combinatory induced by object correspondences, our method is well suited to fast rough localization even in large environments.
BRIEF COMMUNICATION: Genome wide DNA methylation patterns and transcription analysis in sheep muscle

The Carwell phenotype is a desirable inherited muscular hypertrophy of the Longissimus dorsi muscle in Poll Dorset sheep that does not have any detrimental effect on eating quality, fat deposition or detectable meat tenderness. The Carwell haplotype has been localized to a 350kb region on the distal end of OAR18 near the Callipyge locus (Nicoll et al. 1998) containing three known genes. However, in spite of considerable effort in sequencing and resequencing, the causative mutation has not been identified. Although unsuccessful in identifying the causative mutation, these studies have revealed that the Carwell phenotype displays an imprinted inheritance pattern, with increased muscling associated with inheritance from the sire but not the dam. The wealth of data generated describing the Carwell region, without the identification of a causal mutation together with the genomic imprinting known to be present at this genomic location, suggests that the Carwell phenotype may not be genetic in origin. The Carwell locus therefore offers a unique opportunity for use as a model system in which to develop data pipelines for analysing whole genome bisulfite sequencing data in order to find epigenetic differences that correlate with economically important productive phenotypes in farmed animals, across the whole genome. DNA methylation is the most widely studied epigenetic mechanism and is known to play a central role in regulating many aspects of growth and development (Smith & Meissner 2013). The development of high-throughput sequencing has proven to be a vital tool in the analysis of DNA methylation, and reduced representation bisulfite sequencing (RRBS) has been used effectively in understanding DNA methylation landscapes in humans and rats (Meissner et al. 2008; Smith et al. 2009; Hartung et al. 2012). However, to date, almost nothing is known about epigenetics, including DNA methylation in farmed animals. Here we report the use of RRBS to examine the methylation patterns across the genome in sheep muscle. The aim was to determine if epigenetic patterns identified in other organisms are also observed in sheep and to compare DNA methylation levels at a single nucleotide resolution in the Carwell region between sheep homozygous for the Carwell haplotype and genetically similar nonCarwell sheep from the same flock. The latter group are referred to a Control.
Efficacy and effectiveness trials have different goals, use different tools, and generate different messages

The discussion about the optimal design of clinical trials reflects the perspectives of theory-based scientists and practice-based clinicians. Scientists compare the theory with published results. They observe a continuum from explanatory to pragmatic trials. Clinicians compare the problem they want to solve by completing a clinical trial with the results they can read in the literature. They observe a mixture of what they want and what they get. None of them can solve the problem without the support of the other. Here, we summarize the results of discussions with scientists and clinicians. All participants were interested to understand and analyze the arguments of the other side. As a result of this process, we conclude that scientists tell what they see, a continuum from clear explanatory to clear pragmatic trials. Clinicians tell what they want to see, a clear explanatory trial to describe the expected effects under ideal study conditions and a clear pragmatic trial to describe the observed effects under real-world conditions. Following this discussion, the solution was not too difficult. When we accept what we see, we will not get what we want. If we discuss a necessary change of management, we will end up with the conclusion that two types of studies are necessary to demonstrate efficacy and effectiveness. Efficacy can be demonstrated in an explanatory, ie, a randomized controlled trial (RCT) completed under ideal study conditions. Effectiveness can be demonstrated in an observational, ie, a pragmatic controlled trial (PCT) completed under real-world conditions. It is impossible to design a trial which can detect efficacy and effectiveness simultaneously. The RCTs describe what we may expect in health care, while the PCTs describe what we really observe.
Liangbin Zhang, Jian Kang, Hanbin Luo et al: Applied Acoustics [DOI: 10.1016/j.apacoust.2018.01.023]

Being a driver in the control cabin of a shield tunneling machine is a high-pressure career. The physiological responses and mood swings of a driver are vital to his occupational health and construction safety; however, a driver’s emotional intensity and physiological reactions in a noisy environment have not been considered. This study aims to investigate how a driver’s emotional intensity and physiological responses in a noisy environment can be altered. On-site measurements were conducted in an urban metro system, and an emotional survey was performed. A wearable device was used as a physiological measurement tool to obtain heart rate data from a driver. Results indicate that the driver pays considerable attention to the noisy environment. The sound pressure level in the control cabin was in the range of 96.8 to 98.7 dBA. The driver’s emotion is influenced when the sound pressure level increases to 94.5 dBA. The relationship was significant between the emotional intensity and the sound pressure level. The fear was highly evident with the sound pressure level increase given that the drivers were concerned about operational errors. The heart rate of the driver was significantly influenced in the noisy environment for a long time. The increased heart rate at 92 to 96 dBA was faster than at other ranges of sound pressure level. The emotional intensity had impacts on the heart rate of the driver. The disliking influenced the heart rate more obviously than the other two emotional types. The driver’s emotion has a relationship with social background.
Proton scattering radiography using an emulsion detector: a feasibility study

A least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) method was used for feature selection. Model performance was evaluated using Harrell’s concordance-index (c-index). Fitted model included sum entropy (GLCM), high intensity large area emphasis (GLSZM), volume with a minimum relative intensity of 60% of the maximum SUV – AVRI60% (IVH), grey level non-uniformity and long run emphasis (RLGL) and volume (shape) – Table 1. Internal performance of the model was 0.64 (p<0.01), while externally it achieved a performance of 0.61 (p = 0.05) and 0.58 (0.20), with no further calibration done. Maximum and mean SUV had a univariable performance in the training data of 0.51 and 0.55, respectively. The reduced accuracy of the model validation can be associated with dissimilarities among data, particularly the different timing and delivered dose of the second scan. Nevertheless, we do see benefit on a timely assessment of response to radiotherapy using the described imaging analysis, particularly when compared with the limited capacity of humans to infer accurate predictions and risk groups identification (5). From the Radiomics analysis one can optimally benefit from early response metrics based on changes in metabolism measured with FDG-PET, even before anatomic changes become noticeable, while treatment can still be adapted. We developed and validated a predictive model on the percentage variation of Radiomics features, the so-called “Delta Radiomics” concept, from repeated FDG-PET scans of NSCLC patients.
Human Activity Recognition using Single Accelerometer on Smartphone Put on User’s Head with Head-Mounted Display

Abstract— Human activity recognition has been applied to many areas of healthcare to the entertainment sector. The accelerometer sensor on a smartphone is used as the primary sensor to recognize the movement of the user. The smartphone put onto user’s head using the head-mounted display as a new experience on entertainment access like virtual reality or game application. The proposed method for human activity recognition with MLP on classification, achieved 85,1% accuracy in identifying six different movement type.
Biodiversity in fragmented landscapes: reviewing evidence on the effects of landscape features on species movement

Maintaining species’ movement around landscapes is considered important if we are to conserve populations of many species and help them adapt to climate change. Particular features in the landscape have the potential to hinder or facilitate species movement. As each species interacts with the landscape differently, it can be hard to extract general patterns to include in planning and management guidance. This Research Note draws information together to look for such patterns. Firstly, we conducted a systematic review of the scientific literature. This relatively new technique in environmental sciences allowed a quantitative meta-analysis of specific types of evidence, as well as a traditional qualitative synthesis of the wider information available on UK species. Our review confirmed that, for those species for which there is evidence, most prefer to move through landscape features similar in structure to their breeding habitat. For example, woodland species tend to prefer to move through habitats which have some elements of vertical structure. However, we also established that species are idiosyncratic and their responses have various behavioural causes. For example, some landscape features that have a contrasting structure with a species’ breeding habitat may provide better shelter from predators, while others may act as good visual cues for navigation. Secondly, we summarise species-based landscape ecological studies carried out by Forest Research over the past few years.
HYDROGEL MICRO-PATTERN ON NANOPOROUS MEMBRANE FOR MANIPULATION OF CELL-CELL INTERACTION

Combination of nanoporous membrane and hydrogel micro-patterning technique is suitable for biomimetic microenvironment in tissue engineering. To make hydrogel micropattern on nanoporous membrane with immobilization of cells and growth factors, the nanoporous membrane was fabricated by electrospinning method and micro-patterning was generated from concave micromold, respectively. Encapsulated cells were observed for cell-cells interaction on hydrogel patterned nanoporous membrane. Hydrogel micropattenred nanoporous membrane could be applied to 3D biomimetic co-culture system for cell-cell interaction study.
Electrical master planning for the fourth industrial revolution

A modern methodology for developing a full master plan, from LV to HV level, is presented in this paper. The master plan is developed in a modern software package which combines and consolidates several datasets into one geospatial master model viewer. Load analysis, demand patterns, the network model and GIS are combined into one tool to develop a comprehensive master plan using data aggregation and analytics. Load forecasting and analysis is done through analysis of the utility’s billing system and MDs and ADMDs are thus based on the utility’s own data. Each stand in the utility is geospatially linked to a supply point in the network model. The master plan is then finally presented through an auto-generated master plan report with projects and costing of said projects. All of this can be viewed on an online web view platform which enables users to interact with the master plan, instead of it just being a simplistic pdf document.
Discussion Malawi Case Study: Social Protection Measures and Labour Markets Innovative Financing for Development: A New Model for Development Finance?

and Food Security (MoAFS). The findings are informed by the important national surveys undertaken by the National Statistical Office (NSO), in particular the 2008 national population census (NSO, 2008a), the 2008 Welfare Monitoring Survey (WMS) (NSO, 2008b), the Finscope report (2009) and the earlier Integrated Household Survey 2 (IHS2) (NSO, 2005). The research uses the comprehensive Malawi Poverty and Vulnerability Analysis (MPVA) (GoM, 2006), which describes in detail the causes and characteristics of poverty. The paper also refers extensively to the findings of an International Labour Organization (ILO) funded study (Durevall and Mussa, 2010) that examined the country’s labour market dynamics and recent economic performance. response to market incentives (and took advantage of the favourable growing seasons). Data from FOASTATS shows that, over this time, Zambian maize production rose by 8 percent, Mozambican by 14 percent, Malawian by 58 percent and South African by 64 percent. Because the increases in Malawi correlate with a period of sustained input subsidization, this achievement correlates with a period of input subsidization, as did the similarly enhanced output achieved in the period 1998/1999 to 1999/2000. In both periods, the common denominator was the transfer of cheap fertilizer and higher-yielding seed to small farmers, though rainfall had an important role as well.
Poroelastic Effects on the Time- and Rate-Dependent Fracture of Polymer Gels

Fracture of polymer gels is often timeand rate-dependent. Subject to a constant load, a gel specimen may fracture immediately or after a delay (time-dependent, delayed fracture). When a crack grows in a gel, the fracture energy may depend on the crack speed (ratedependent). The underlying mechanisms for the timeand rate-dependent fracture of gels could include local molecular processes, polymer viscoelasticity, and solvent diffusion coupled with deformation (poroelasticity). This paper focuses on the effects of poroelasticity. A path-independent, modified J-integral approach is adopted to define the crack-tip energy release rate as the energetic driving force for crack growth in gels, taking into account the energy dissipation by solvent diffusion. For a stationary crack, the energy release rate is time-dependent, with which delayed fracture can be predicted based on a Griffith-like fracture criterion. For steady-state crack growth in a long-strip specimen, the energy release rate is a function of the crack speed, with rate-dependent poroelastic toughening. With a poroelastic cohesive zone model, solvent diffusion within the cohesive zone leads to significantly enhanced poroelastic toughening as the crack speed increases, rendering a rate-dependent traction-separation relation. While most of the results are based on a linear poroelastic formulation, future studies may extend to nonlinear theories with large deformation. In addition to the poroelastic effects, other mechanisms such as viscoelasticity and local fracture processes should be studied to further understand the time and rate-dependent fracture of polymer gels. [DOI: 10.1115/1.4045004]
Directembedding: Concealing the Deep Embedding of DSLs

Authors of embedded domain-specific languages (EDSLs) commonly struggle to find the right balance between the capability and usability of their DSL. On one hand, deeply embedded DSLs give great power to the DSL author but have a steep learning curve for end users. On the other hand, shallowly embedded DSLs are more limiting for the DSL author but offer a more familiar interface to the end users that enables them to quickly become productive with the DSL. This report presents work on Directembedding, a Scala library to implement a thin user-friendly layer on top of an existing deeply embedded DSL1. The library accomplishes this using annotations and macros, and requires little to no knowledge of the Scala reflection API. We used Directembedding to implement slick-direct, a front-end for the functional relational mapping library Slick. Leveraging Directembedding features, slick-direct is able to support a large feature set of Slick in under 300 lines of code.
Correlation between mechanical and microstructural properties of molybdenum nitride thin films deposited on silicon by reactive R.F. magnetron discharge

Molybdenum nitride thin films were deposited on (100) silicon substrates by R.F. magnetron sputtering of a Mo target in a (Ar-N2) gas mixtures. The films were studied by Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), Energy Dispersive Spectroscopy (EDS) and X-ray diffraction. The nanomechanical properties have been determined by nanoindentation and Peak-Force Quantitative Nanomechanical Mapping (PF-QNM). The total internal stresses were determined by curvature measurements and the Stoney formula. As thin film composition influences the morphology, the stress state and the mechanical properties, modifications are expected in this study where the nitrogen content is tuned. The film exhibits a polycrystalline structure with preferred orientation along (111) plane. The increase of the nitrogen content in the coating (N/ Mo = 1.1) induces a broadening of the full width at half maximum (FWHM) of the (111) diffraction peak, which is attributed to the presence of smaller crystallites. The residual stress and mechanical properties variation were correlated to the structural transition from γ-Mo2N to hexagonal and cubic MoN. The results show a good agreement between the nanomechanical properties obtained by nanoindentation and PF-QNM.
Effect of performance demands and constraints within virtual environments

In recent years, clinical studies have begun to demonstrate the effectiveness of virtual reality (VR) as an intervention tool in rehabilitation. There are, however, a number of important issues that must be addressed in order to determine how widely VR-based intervention should be applied, and the ways in which specific patient populations can benefit from its unique attributes. One of the unresolved issues relates to how the characteristics of a given virtual environment affect a user's performance and therapeutic goals. The objective of this study was to compare the sense of presence, performance, and perceived exertion experienced by users when they engaged in two games performed within video-projected virtual environments that differed in their level of structure and spontaneity. VividGroup’s Gesture Xtreme (GX) VR and the rehabilitation-oriented application of GX marketed as IREX (Interactive Rehabilitation and Exercise) were used to deliver the virtual environments. Thirty healthy male and female participants, aged 21 to 35 years, experienced the same two virtual games on both platforms. A mixed design, within and between subjects ANOVA was used to examine the effect of movement constraint and gender as well as the interaction between these variables on the sense of presence, performance, and perceived exertion. No main effect or interaction effect was found for the sense of presence, assessed using the Presence Questionnaire (PQ), although significant differences were found for several of the PQ sub-scales. A main effect was found for perceived exertion for both games, but in the opposite direction. We conclude that it is possible to provide users with a satisfactory level of presence and enjoyment using both structured and nonstructured paradigms. However, user characteristics such as gender, as well as the therapeutic objectives, should be taken into account when selecting a suitable application.
Direct and Inverse Acoustic Scattering by a Collection of Extended and Point-Like Scatterers | Multiscale Modeling & Simulation | Vol. 12, No. 3 | Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics

This paper concerns the acoustic scattering by an extended obstacle surrounded by point-like obstacles. The extended obstacle is supposed to be rigid, while the point-like obstacles are modeled by point perturbations of the exterior Laplacian. In the first part, we consider the forward problem. Following two equivalent approaches (the Foldy formal method and the Krein resolvent method), we show that the scattered field is a sum of two contributions: one is due to the diffusion by the extended obstacle, and the other arises from the linear combination of the interactions between the point-like obstacles and the interaction between the point-like obstacles with the extended one. In the second part, we deal with the inverse problem. It consists in reconstructing both the extended and point-like scatterers from the corresponding far-field pattern. To solve this problem, we describe and justify the factorization method of Kirsch. Using this method, we provide several numerical results and discuss the multiple scattering effect concerning both the interactions between the pointlike obstacles and between these obstacles and the extended one.
AIR QUALITY PHOTOCHEMICAL STUDY OVER AMAZONIA AREA

Urban-scale air quality modeling over Brazil has been advancing in recent years with several modelin g studies of air quality in the metropolitan areas of Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo especially. Extending these photochemical modeling applications to the continental scale in order to study regional transport of pollutants throughout South America is the focus of this prese ntation. This work presents the initial results of a photochemical modeling system composed f MM5-SMOKE-CMAQ that focuses on the Amazonia reg ion of Brazil. These results focus on biogenic and biomass burning emiss ion in Amazonia and the impact of these emissions on regional and local air quality. A combination of global and local anthropogenic emiss ions data, satellite-derived biomass burning invent ories, and biogenic emissions calculated with the MEGAN model were used to estima te emissions over the mother domain at grid resolut ion of 37-km. The mother domain covers most of South America. We modeled August 200 5 because it was the driest period in the region ov er the last 50 years. Due to a lack of surface-based air quality monitoring data in Ama zonia, we are exploring model evaluation techniques sing satellite-based air quality products. This paper focuses on the development of the input data to the CMAQ air quality model, inclu ding initial and boundary conditions, meteorology, and emissions. Preliminary CMAQ result s are also presented along with qualitative compari sons against satellite networks for some air pollutants. Results are consistent with th eory of O3 formation and were compared with MODIS TERRA satel lite data available.