Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Learning to See: Research in Training a Robot Vision System

Abstract : Engineered or hard-coded autonomous behaviors tend to be "brittle," working for a narrow range of conditions but failing outside that range. Trainable robots capable of learning and adapting to new environments and conditions have the potential for greater robustness and reusability. Trainable robots would not be restricted to learning from their own experience, but could potentially integrate models or lessons learned by other similar robots operating in different conditions, thus achieving a "learning force multiplier". In this research we began an investigation of issues and methods in robot learning, from definition of the learning objective, training methods, learning algorithms, and integration of models or lessons from multiple training sessions. Our objective in this initial research was not to develop new robot learning technologies, but to explore issues and approaches across all aspects of robot learning. In this stage of the project, we focused on learning to see, specifically learning to discriminate between "Go" a"? NoGo" terrain.
Relationships between Insolation and Rattlesnake Hibernacula

ABSTRACT. We examined the relationship between insolation, climate, and hibernacula of black-tailed (Crotalus molossus), Great Basin (Crotalus lutosus), and western diamondback (Crotalus atrox) rattlesnakes at 4 sites in Arizona, Nevada, and Utah, Hibernacula were located through a combination of visual searches and radio telemetry from 1995 to 2003. We used global information systems to calculate insolation and compared hibernaculum insolation values with random points representing available insolation of the surrounding habitat. Insolation reflects soil temperatures, and we predicted that hibernacula in cool climates, at high elevations, and at high latitudes would have higher insolation relative to their surroundings, while hibernacula in warmer climates would not differ from their surroundings in insolation. Coolest temperatures, highest elevations, and highest latitudes occurred on the C. lutosus and C. molossus sites, where hibernaculum insolation was higher than surrounding insolation. Temperatures were intermediate on the high-elevation C. atrox site, where hibernaculum insolation did not differ from random-point insolation, Temperatures were highest on the low-elevation C. atrox site, where hibernaculum insolation was unexpectedly lower than random-point insolation, Our observations suggest that rattlesnakes in cool climates utilize hibernacula with insolation values higher than those of their surroundings, Rattlesnakes in warm climates utilize hibernacula with insolation values lower than or similar to those of their surroundings.
Use of Perennial Grass in Grazing Systems of Southern Australia to Adapt to a Changing Climate

Grasslands and rangelands occupy over 70% of the earth’s land area (Holechek et al., 2004; World Resource Institute, 2000), and are a major source of meat, milk and fibre production in the world. The rising demand for meat and milk in the past 30 – 40 years and the adverse impact from climate varibility have placed great pressure on the productive and sustainable use of grazing lands (Delgado, 2005; Nie & Norton, 2009). By 2020, it is predicted that developing countries will consume 72 m tons more meat and 152 m tons more milk compared to 2002/03 whereas developed countries’ increases will be 9 and 18 m tons for meat and milk, respectively (Delgado, 2005). Australia is the world’s driest inhabited continent. Half of its total land area has an average annual rainfall (AAR) of less than 300 mm. Around 60% is used for agriculture, of which over 90% is used for grazing (Peeters, 2008). A particular feature of the continent is the high rainfall variability which makes selecting the right pasture species/cultivars, optimising pasture and grazing management and avoiding overgrazing very challenging. About 5% of Australia’s grazing lands have been sown to introduced plant species and these improved pastures support a large proportion of the domestic livestock. The improved pasture species are productive and generally have high nutritive characteristics; however, their persistence is often poor due to the limited capacity to sustain a suite of varying soil, climatic and management conditions. A pasture survey in south west Victoria revealed that the majority of pastures were dominated by low-producing, ‘unimproved’ grass species (Quigley et al., 1992), and similar results were found in southern New South Wales (NSW; Virgona & Hildebrand, 2007). The main perennial pasture grasses sown in southern Australia are perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne), phalaris (Phalaris aquatica), tall fescue (Festuca arundinaceum syn. Lolium arundinaceum), and cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) (Reed, 1996). These grasses differ in their requirements of rainfall, temperature and soil type and fertility for growth, therefore have a varying degree of adaptation in different regions. Plant breeders have developed new cultivars to improve one or more attributes for each of the grasses. Agronomists working with other specialists such as animal and soil scientists have developed management systems to accommodate the expression of the attributes from the new cultivars. At present there are large variations between cultivars within each species, not to mention between species.
Evaluation of Computer Vision for On-Road Truck Height Measurement in Proactive Prevention 1 of Collision with Overpasses and Tunnels 2

1 of Collision with Overpasses and Tunnels 2 Fei Dai a, Man-Woo Park b,*, Matthew Sandidge c, and Ioannis Brilakis d 3 a Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, West Virginia University, 635 Engineering 4 Sciences Building, 395 Evansdale Drive, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA, Email: fei.dai@mail.wvu. edu 5 b Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Myongji University, 116 Myongji-ro, Cheoin-gu, 6 Yongin, Gyeonggi-do, 449-728, South Korea, Email: mwpark@mju.ac. kr 7 c E.I. T. , AMEC US Nuclear Services, 1979 Lakeside Parkway, Suite 400, Tucker, GA 30084, USA, 8 Email: matthew.sandidge@amec.com 9 d Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge, BC2-07, Trumptington Street, Cambridge CB2 10 1PZ, UK, Email: ib340@cam.ac. uk 11 Abstract: Over-height trucks are continuously striking low clearance overpasses and tunnels. This has led 12 to significant damage, fatalities, and inconvenience to the public. Smart systems can automatically detect 13 and warn oversize trucks, and have been introduced to provide the trucks with the opportunity to avoid a 14 collision. However, high cost of implementing these systems remains a bottleneck for their wide adoption. 15 This paper evaluates the feasibility of using computer vision to detect over-height trucks. In the proposed 16 method, video streams are collected from a surveillance camera attached on the overpass/tunnel, and 17 processed to measure truck heights. The height is measured using line detection and blob tracking which 18 locate upper and lower points of a truck in pixel coordinates. The pixel coordinates are then translated 19 into 3D world coordinates. Proof-of-concept experiment results signify the high performance of the 20 proposed method and its potential in achieving cost-effective monitoring of over-height trucks in the 21 transportation system. The limitations and considerations of the method for field implementation are also 22 discussed. 23
Field Test of GonaCon" Immunocontraceptive Vaccine in Free- Ranging Female Fallow Deer

Resident populations of two exotic deer species, lallow deer and axis deer, are having adverse impacts on their habitat and on native plant and animal communities at Point Reyes National Seashore (PRNS) in California. These non-native cervids were released intentionally for recreational hunting on the property now known as 1RNS during the period 1942-1954. Approximately 860 fallow deer and 250 axis deer now inhabit PRNS. Under an approved non-native deer management plan, laHow and axis deer populations will be removed from PRNS by 2021 via culling of animals by sharpshooting and by treatment of some of the female fallow deer with GonaCon lmmunocontraceptive Vaccine. During July-Auust 2007. 69 follow does were captured, equipped with numbered ear tags and radiotelemetry collars, and injected with GonaCon 1 vaccine belbre being released. Control animals include 10 does that were captured, marked, and given sham" injections during July-August 2007, and 19 does that were captured and marked (but not injected) during 2005. Reproductive activity, as indicated by lactation and fecal concentrations of progesterone among the GonaCon u-treated and control does, will be monitored and compared for two years, and will be used to determine the efficacy of GonaCon' as a cervid contraceptive agent. Traditional methods of population control, such as regulated harvest by licensed hunters, often are impractical or illegal in settings such as national and state parks, and the use of firearms may he prohibited in some urban and suburban environments. The development of safe and elThctive wildlife contraceptives such as GonaCon is needed to control locally overabundant populations in situations where traditional management tools cannot be employed.
Radiative Impacts of Volcanic Aerosol in the Arctic

High latitude volcanic eruptions are high-frequency and intensity events capable of releasing large amounts of aerosols into the environment. Studies have shown that the Arctic is particularly sensitive to radiative perturbations due to aerosols, and a high sensitivity to volcanic aerosols would be expected. Despite the potential for volcanic aerosols to significantly perturb the Arctic radiation balance, the radiative impacts of volcanic aerosols in the Arctic are poorly understood and have received less attention than the effects of other aerosol types that are often present in the region, both natural and anthropogenic. A novel review of this topic is presented in detail in this chapter, focusing on the current state of the knowledge and the natural complexities involved with the problem, the important research tools, and the improvements that can be made over the status quo. The Arctic environment is both unique and complicated, and the perturbations caused by volcanic aerosol need to be examined in a regional context. An introduction to remote sensing and data collection in the Arctic is provided because there are often specific challenges, including high surface reflectivities, persistent meteorological clouds, the lack of winter daylight, and harsh conditions that hamper both in situ and remote data collection. Methods for tracking both aerosol and gas plumes in the Arctic that can help mitigate these issues are introduced. In addition to the physical constraints of data collection presented by the Arctic environment, volcanic aerosol is a complex mixture of varying aerosol compositions and sizes. Dealing with the nature of volcanic aerosol for optical calculations is further described, leading into a detailed discussion of the radiative impacts of volcanic plumes in the atmosphere. forcing other aerosol types comparable plume charac‐ teristics optical suggest aerosol layers significant of volcanic ash can the aerosol forcing the region. considered fully in transport modeling, and the consequences of this are discussed. Finally, we present a review of secondary volcanic impacts to oceans and ecosystems that have not been constrained in an Arctic context but are potentially important to the Arctic environment and the global CO 2 cycle.
ESAIM: Control, Optimisation and Calculus of Variations

Fast filtering algorithms arising from linear filtering and estimation are nonlinear dynamical systems whose initial values are the statistics of the observation process. In this paper, we give a fairly complete description of the phase portrait for such nonlinear dynamical systems, as well as a special type of naturally related matrix Riccati equation. Résumé. Les algorithmes rapides de filtrage provenant du filtrage linéaire sont des systèmes dynamiques non linéaires dont les valeurs initiales sont les statistiques du processus d’observation. Dans ce papier, on donne une description assez complète du portrait de phase de ces systèmes dynamiques nonlinéaires, ainsi que d’une équation particulière de Riccati matricielle associée. AMS Subject Classification. 93E11, 93B27, 58F40. Received March 18, 1999. Revised October 7, 1999.
Occurrence of potential mycotoxin producing fungi on maize kernel in Hungary.

Maize is one of the most important ingredients of animal feed formulations. Fusarium species are important pathogens of maize, causing various diseases, and contamination of maize kernel by mycotoxins including trichothecenes, zearalenone and fumonisins. Aspergillus and Penicillium species and their mycotoxins including aflatoxins, ochratoxins, fumonisins and patulin are also frequently encountered on cereal products. We investigated the occurrence of these species and their mycotoxins on maize in various maize growing areas in Hungary in 2010 and 2011 years after harvest. Surface-sterilized cereal seeds were placed on selective media, and the isolated fungal strains were identified using morphological methods. 81.94% and 14.33% of the samples were found to be contaminated with potentially toxigenic isolates in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Species identifications of selected isolates have been carried out using sequence-based methods. Regarding Fusarium species, in 2010, when the weather was rainy, F. graminearum and F. subglutinans dominated, while in 2011 with hot and dry summer F. verticillioides was the predominant species identified. F. culmorum could not be detected in any of the samples. Regarding Aspergilli, several Aspergillus flavus isolates were identified, which are potential aflatoxin producers. Besides, other mycotoxin producer species were also isolated, including black Aspergilli which potentially produce ochratoxins and fumonisins, and A. clavatus, which produces patulin. Other genera (Alternaria, Nigrospora, Epicoccum, Cladosporium) were found in smaller proportions. Besides, the protective maize endophyte Acremonium zeae was also identified in some of the samples. Further studies are in progress to examine the mycotoxin producing abilities of the isolates, mycotoxin content of the maize samples, and the applicability of Acremonium zeae isolates for lowering fungal burden and mycotoxin contamination of maize.
TLSnotary - a mechanism for independently audited https sessions

The remainder of this paper describes how TLSnotary allows the auditee to conduct an https session normally with a web server such that the auditor can verify some part of that session (e.g. a single HTML page), by temporarily withholding a small part of the secret data used to set up the https session. The auditee does not at any time reveal any of the session keys to the auditor or anyone else, nor does he render or decrypt any data without authentication. Thus the full security model of the TLS 1.0 session is maintained, modulo some reduction in the entropy of the secrets used to protect it.
UvA-DARE ( Digital Academic Repository ) Love magic in medieval Irish penitentials , law and literature : a dynamic perspective

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CD8 + cells from asymptomatic human immunodeficiency virus- infected individuals suppress superinfection of their peripheral blood mononuclear cells

Most human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected individuals show evidence of infection by only one strain of the virus despite possible frequent contact with multiple strains. The reason(s) for the emergence of a dominant strain of virus in HIV-infected people and the mechanism(s) which prevent other strains from establishing an infection is not known. In the present study, we demonstrate that peripheral blood rnononuclear cells (PBMC) of asymptomatic HIV-infected individuals can resist productive infection by HIV-1 and HIV-2 strains. Although the PBMC of these individuals are resistant to superinfection, their CD4 + cells are susceptible to infection. Moreover, two weeks after infection of their PBMC in culture, the superinfecting virus can be recovered from isolated CD4 + cells. When CD8 ÷ cells from asymptomatic individuals are added to the superinfected CD4 + cells, replication of the exogenously introduced virus is inhibited. In contrast, PBMC from individuals who have progressed to disease (Progressors) do not resist superinfection and their CD8 + cells do not showthe antiviral activity which controls productive HIV infection. These findings suggest that CD8 + cells suppressing HIV replication in infected individuals may be critical in preventing the establishment of infection by other strains of HIV by blocking virus replication.
Freezing colloidal suspensions: periodic ice lenses and compaction

Abstract Recent directional solidification experiments with aqueous suspensions of alumina particles (Anderson & Worster, Langmuir, vol. 28 (48), 2012, pp. 16512–16523) motivate a model for freezing colloidal suspensions that builds upon a theoretical framework developed by Rempel et al. (J. Fluid Mech., vol. 498, 2004, pp. 227–244) in the context of freezing soils. Ice segregates from the suspension at slow freezing rates into discrete horizontal layers of particle-free ice, known as ice lenses. A portion of the particles is trapped between ice lenses, while the remainder are pushed ahead, forming a layer of fully compacted particles separated from the bulk suspension by a sharp compaction front. By dynamically modelling the compaction front, the growth kinetics of the ice lenses are fully coupled to the viscous flow through the evolving compacted layer. We examine the periodic states that develop at fixed freezing rates in a constant, uniform temperature gradient, and compare the results against experimental observations. Congruent with the experiments, three periodic regimes are identified. At low freezing rates, a regular periodic sequence of ice lenses is obtained; predictions for the compacted layer thickness and ice-lens characteristics as a function of freezing rate are consistent with experiments. At intermediate freezing rates, multiple modes of periodic ice lenses occur with a significantly diminished compacted layer. When the cohesion between the compacted particles is sufficiently strong, a sequence of mode-doubling bifurcations lead to chaos, which may explain the disordered ice lenses observed experimentally. Finally, beyond a critical freezing rate, the regime for sustained ice-lens growth breaks down. This breakdown is consistent with the emergence of a distinct regime of ice segregation found experimentally, which exhibits a periodic, banded structure that is qualitatively distinct from ice lenses.
Pareto Partial Dominance MOEA in Many-Objective Optimization

In this work, we propose a novel multi-objective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) which improves search performance of MOEA especially in many-objective combinatorial optimization problems (MaOP). Pareto dominance based MOEAs such as NSGA-II and SPEA2 meet difficulty to rank solutions in the population, which noticeably deteriorates search performance as we increase the number of objectives. In the proposed method, we rank solutions by calculating Pareto partial dominance between solutions using r objective functions selected from m objective functions to induce appropriate selection pressure in the evolution process of MOEA. Also, we temporally switch r objective functions among mCr combinations in every interval generations Ig to optimize all of the objective functions throughout the entire evolution process. In this work, we use many-objective 0/1 knapsack problems to verify the search performance of the proposed method and analyze its evolution behavior. Simulation results show that there is an optimum value for the number of objective functions r to be considered in Pareto partial dominance and the interval (generation numbers) Ig to maximize the entire search performance. Also, the search performance of the proposed method is superior to recent state-of-the-art MOEAs, i.e., IBEA, CDAS and MSOPS. Furthermore, we analyze the behavior of the proposed algorithm from the viewpoint of front distribution over generations.
Fiscal policy and monetary integration in Europe: an update.

By distinguishing between discretionary and non-discretionary fiscal policy, this paper analyses the stability of fiscal rules for EMU countries before and after the Maastricht Treaty. Using both Instrumental Variables and GMM techniques, it turns out that discretionary fiscal policy has remained procyclical after 1992. This result contradicts the previous findings of Gali and Perotti. It also appears that fiscal rules differ between large and small countries; large countries follow a procyclical discretionary policy. Furthermore, the paper shows that discretionary fiscal policy exhibits different behaviour when facing supply or demand constraints. A procyclical discretionary policy is followed mainly during upswings, when supply constraints are prevalent. Finally, there is no support for the presence of a 'fatigue effect' in fiscal discipline. Copyright 2010 Oxford University Press 2009 All rights reserved, Oxford University Press.
A METHOD FOR ECG T-WAVE ALTERNANS DETECTION BASED ON SEGMENTED PHASE CURVE DISTANCE

This paper proposes a method of T-wave alternans (TWA) detection based on Holter ECG recordings. The T-wave loop composed of orthogonal signals underlying the original ECG record has been utilized for the alternams detection. In this study the loop is devided into four phases according to the T-wave time progression. Then for each phase, the beat to beat alternate changes are detected by the intensity of the periodgram of successive phase curve difference sequence. The method was applied to 30 subjects (10 normal, 20 patients with cardiac disease) to confirm its effectiveness for the TWA detection. The study revealed that the meethod may be useful to evaluate the risk of sudden cardiac death utilizing the standard Holter ECG recordoings.
Performance assessment in team sports.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a procedure to assess individual performance in team sports in contexts of preassessment and formative assessment. An authentic assessment procedure based on the observation of players’ actions during matches yielded two performance indices: the efficiency index and the volume of play. A general nomogram is suggested for use with various team sports in order to produce a single performance score combining both indices. Content validity, concurrent validity (.74), and ecological validity are discussed. The interobserver reliability (>.90) of the data and the stability of performance (.88) are also examined. Some conditions are discussed for integrating the assessment procedure to the teaching-learning process with an active participation of the students in the collection and interpretation of the data. The proposed procedure is strictly game oriented and yields information reflecting both motor and tactical skills.