Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visual Style in Two Network Era Sitcoms

Extensive scholarship in media studies has established how formal elements of moving images—such as camera angles, sound, and framing—reflect, establish, and challenge cultural norms. Prior computational analyses attempting to analyze these elements have primarily relied on summarizing relatively low-level-features. Beginning with the early work of Barry Salt, one particularly prominent metric is the distribution of median shot lengths. Works on shot length include Yuri Tsivian’s Cinemetrics project, Arclight, and Jeremy Butler’s ShotLogger. Other computational analyses examine the aggregation of language and average shot color, image compositions, and analysis of film scripts. These projects have demonstrated the feasibility of distributing extracted metadata from copyrighted materials and the power of computational techniques in accessing useful information over a large collection of moving images. However, there is much to be learned from other extractable metadata beyond shot detection and much to be studied in audiovisual media that can only be discovered through computer vision.
In Contemporary Society How Do Political Paradigms Influence Health and Social Care Reform

Significant trends within contemporary society has led to increasing numbers of the UK population becoming socially excluded (MacInnes et al., 2014). In a politically charged neoliberalistic society, this has led to an ever-diminishing commitment to the welfare state and the undermining of the social justice principles on which it was founded; ultimately leading to a reduction in public services to such a degree that it is no longer possible to meet the ever-increasing needs of the vulnerable (Rouf, 2015). However, it could be argued that the welfare state has, over time, created the ‘welfare dependency trap’ (HMG, 2010) through which individuals and local communities have become disempowered; this continues to be emphasised by the shortage of housing, gaps in educational attainment and worklessness.The sense of injustice that these continuing trends create means that the research previously undertaken, including Acheson (1998), Marmot (2010) and the inquiries discharged (Whitehead, 2014), has begun to paint a bleak picture for those of a low socioeconomic background, particularly in the North of England, whether in work or not.
The Modern Theory of Regulation as an Inheritance of De Viti de Marco’s Cooperative State

The aim of this article is to analyse the relationship between the thinking of a major public finance scholar in the Italian tradition, Antonio De Viti de Marco, and the foundations of the ‘new’ economic policy which, at the end of last century in most industrialised countries, generated a profound reorganization of markets, particularly those of Public Utilities (PU). Thus, we link the Monopolistic State (MS) and the Cooperative State (CS) configurations defined by De Viti with the views of state suggested by modern Political Economy theory. We argue that a pro-competitive PU regulation can be interpreted as a process of moving away from the main features of the MS to those of the CS. Finally, by following some of De Viti de Marco’s precise intuitions, we analyse the topic of enterprise ownership. In this exercise of economic analysis in retrospect we will not be looking at De Viti as a precursor, but we wish rather to emphasize the actuality of his main methodological approach to public finance.
Foreign body gastrotomy in an adult captive cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus

A five year-old, 45kg female captive cheetah presented with inappetence, dehydration and a guarded abdominal stance after suspected ingestion of a rubber sandal 24 hours previously. On examination, the animal had normal temperature, pulse and pressure. Abdominal palpation revealed a flatulent stomach with a compacted mass movable within. Upon admission, plain radiographs confirmed the presence of gaseous distention of the stomach around a radio-dense central mass. Exploratory laparotomy was performed to reveal normal intestines but a distended stomach. Gastrotomy was performed parallel to the greater curvature to expose pieces of a rubber sandal that were in a compacted mass within the stomach. Another rubber piece was removed from the pylorus where it was firmly lodged and impeding flow of gastric contents. Gastric and abdominal closure was successfully performed and two weeks later the animal had recovered and was in good health. Individuals owning/handling captive wild felids or other wild animals need to make sure their habitat is free of foreign objects that can possibly be ingested out of boredom or sheer curiosity. Adequate nutrition for these is also advocated to prevent pica which may also result in animals ingesting otherwise inedible or non-digestible materials.
Simulation of acoustic and vibroacoustic problems in LS-DYNA® using boundary element method

The present work concerns the new capability of LS-DYNA® in solving acoustic and vibroacoustic problems. In vibroacoustic problems, which are assumed to be weak acoustic-structure interactions, the transient structural response is computed first. By applying the FFT, it is transformed into a frequency response. The obtained result is taken as boundary condition for the acoustic part of the vibroacoustic problem. Consequently, the radiated noise at any point into space can be calculated. The new developed LS-DYNA keyword is based on boundary element method (BEM) in which only the surface of the acoustic domain needs to be discretized. Besides BEM that solves the Helmholtz equation as a linear system, the new card allows, also, to use two other approximative Rayleigh and Kirchhoff methods. Both methods do not require a system of equations to be assembled and solved. Consequently, they are faster than BEM. Rayleigh method assumes that the radiating structure is a plane surface clamped into an infinite rigid plane. In Kirchhoff method, BEM is coupled to FEM used for acoustics in LS-DYNA by prescribing non reflecting boundary condition. In this case, at least one fluid layer needs to be merged to the vibrating structure.
222 Rn-calibrated mercury fluxes from terrestrial surface of southern Africa

Abstract. Gaseous elemental mercury (GEM) and 222 Rn, a radioactive gas of primarily terrestrial origin with a half-life of 3.8 days, have been measured simultaneously at Cape Point, South Africa, since March 2007. Between March 2007 and December 2011, altogether 191 events with high 222 Rn concentrations were identified. GEM correlated with 222 Rn in 94 of the events and was constant during almost all the remaining events without significant correlation. The average GEM / 222 Rn flux ratio of all events including the non-significant ones was −0.0001 with a standard error of ±0.0030 pg mBq −1 . Weighted with the event duration, the average GEM / 222 Rn flux ratio was −0.0048 ± 0.0011 pg mBq −1 . With an emission rate of 1.1 222 Rn atoms cm −2 s −1 and a correction for the transport time, this flux ratio corresponds to a radon-calibrated flux of about −0.54 ng GEM m −2 h −1 with a standard error of ±0.13 ng GEM m −2 h −1 ( n = 191). With wet deposition, which is not included in this estimate, the terrestrial surface of southern Africa seems to be a net mercury sink of about −1.55 ng m −2 h −1 . The additional contribution of an unknown but presumably significant deposition of reactive gaseous mercury would further increase this sink.
Exploring Characteristics of Fine-Grained Behaviors of Learning Mathematics in Tablet-Based E-Learning Activities

Attributes of teaching and learning contexts provide rich information about how students participate in learning activities. By tracking and analyzing snapshots of these attributes captured continuously throughout the duration of the learning activities, teachers can identify individual students who need special attention and apply different pedagogical actions to them. This paper describes the results of the work-in-progress study in exploring characteristics of fine-grained behaviors of learning mathematics in tablet-based e-learning activities. An experimental platform called SkyApp is built. Through SkyApp, teachers can create e-learning activities and track learning records of students after the delivery of the activities. SkyApp supports capturing, storing and analyzing of fine-grained behaviors of students. Pilot tests have been done in two primary schools for eight months. The review of the tests demonstrates the potential in performing learning analytics. By applying clustering algorithms on multiple learning metrics of marks, time and number of attempts for students in solving mathematics questions, classification of students by learning characteristics of performance and engagement can be formulated.
Proposing a Popular Method for Meteorological Drought Monitoring in the Kabul River Basin, Afghanistan

— This paper investigates meteorological drought in one of Afghanistan’s most important socio -economic river basins called Kabul River Basin (KRB) using a 38 years monthly precipitation data. Several drought indices such as Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI), Percent of Normal Precipitation Index (PNPI), Deciles Index (DI), and China-Z Index (CZI) were applied for the first time on the basin in order to observe the correlation among the indices in the basin for drought, and to see which method is suitable for drought monitoring in KRB. Due to the concerns that climate is changing and especially the rapid snowmelt that accounts for 80% of the precipitation in Afghanistan, it was essential to carry such a study in order to warn the responsible bodies in the country for a better drought management. Moreover, the rapid population increase and usage of more water for both drinking and agricultural purposes in the basin with a possible decrease in the annual precipitation make it necessary to undertake such a study. The results of the investigation show that KRB area experienced drought conditions continuously from 2000 to 2004 with a peak extreme drought in 2001 which confirm to the reported worst drought in the region. It is noted that log-SPI, gamma-SPI, and Deciles captured the historical extreme and severe drought periods successfully, therefore, these methods are recommended to be applied to this region as drought assessment tools.
Hope – A Driving Force of Optimal Human Development

The chapter brings the overview of several indigenous research studies aimed at exploration of the correlates and predictors of dispositional and perceived hope. The results suggest that dispositional hope in terms of hopeful thinking plays an important role in mental health and well-being of children, students, adults, old people, and also homeless shelter workers and clients. Additionaly, the Czech part of the international project Hope Barometer explored the role of hope in subjective well-being on a large sample of 1,400 Czech respondents aged between 15 and 80 years. We found that more hopeful people were more satisfied with life, maintained high-quality interpersonal relationships, and were also healthier. Perceived hope and meaningfulness turned out to be the two main independent (negative) predictors of depression. The results also show that people who participate in volunteering and charity activities can be significantly happier than other people. They tend to have more optimistic expectations for the future and experience greater meaningfulness and spirituality in their lives. Our findings suggest that the paths to happier life include hopeful and others-oriented mindset, genuine concern for the welfare of others, and altruism. Hope seems to be a driving force of optimal human development and a valuable key to the flourishing of both the individual and the whole society.
Bound Putrescine, a Distinctive Player under Salt Stress in the Natrophilic Sugar Beet in Contrast to Glycophyte Tobacco

The influence of salinity on the different polyamine fractions (free, conjugated, and bound) was compared in a natrophilic halophyte (Beta vulgaris L. cv. IC) and a salt sensitive glycophyte (Nicotiana rustica L. cv. Basmas). Low-level salinity (25 mM NaCl) and high salinity (150 and 50 mM NaCl for sugar beet and tobacco, respectively) were supplied in hydroponics. Under low salinity shoot dry weight increased in sugar beet, but decreased in tobacco. Under high salinity growth reduction in sugar beet and tobacco were similar. However, sugar beet accumulated higher Na and Cl in roots and shoots than tobacco. Low salinity caused an increase (22%) in the rate of net CO2 assimilation in sugar beet. This parameter was depressed in both species under high salinity. Sugar beet had constitutively higher free spermine levels in roots and shoots than tobacco. Spermidine levels were constitutively higher in shoots of sugar beet and in roots of tobacco. Under salt stress tobacco plants tended to increase free polyamine levels. The most important salt–induced rise in polyamine titer, however, was found in roots and shoots of sugar beet. In sugar beet roots the bound putrescine fraction increased 9.3-fold under growth- stimulating salt supply (25mM) and 20fold under salt stress (150 mM). In tobacco roots this fraction only increased 2.3 and 3.8-fold under mild (25 mM) and high salt stress (50 mM), respectively. Our results provide support to the view that bound putrescine contributes to the protection against salt stress in the natrophilic sugar beet.
Learning to Fly by MySelf: A Self-Supervised CNN-Based Approach for Autonomous Navigation

Nowadays, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)are becoming increasingly popular facilitated by their extensive availability. Autonomous navigation methods can act as an enabler for the safe deployment of drones on a wide range of real-world civilian applications. In this work, we introduce a self-supervised CNN-based approach for indoor robot navigation. Our method addresses the problem of real-time obstacle avoidance, by employing a regression CNN that predicts the agent's distance-to-collision in view of the raw visual input of its on-board monocular camera. The proposed CNN is trained on our custom indoor-flight dataset which is collected and annotated with real-distance labels, in a self-supervised manner using external sensors mounted on an UAV. By simultaneously processing the current and previous input frame, the proposed CNN extracts spatio-temporal features that encapsulate both static appearance and motion information to estimate the robot's distance to its closest obstacle towards multiple directions. These predictions are used to modulate the yaw and linear velocity of the UAV, in order to navigate autonomously and avoid collisions. Experimental evaluation demonstrates that the proposed approach learns a navigation policy that achieves high accuracy on real-world indoor flights, outperforming previously proposed methods from the literature.
The Success of Economic Policies in Russia: Dependence on Crude Oil vs. Export Diversification

In the light of numerous debates around Russia’s dependence on crude oil and the necessity to diversify the Russian economy, the present paper investigates how closely federal budget revenues, structure of export basket and GDP growth in Russia are tied up with crude oil prices (POIL) on the one hand and the real effective exchange rate of ruble (REER) on the other. The study covers the period from 2000:Q1 till 2014:Q4 and employs index analysis along with vector error correction model (VECM) based on Johansen co‑integration technique. The calculated REER revealed its significant appreciation, that together with a high share of mineral products in total Russian exports points to Dutch disease presence. The constructed econometric models revealed the existence of long‑run relationships among the analyzed indicators. Post‑estimation tests proved the validity of the VECMs. According to the obtained results, in order to stimulate “non‑oil” exports monetary authorities should depreciate national currency, whilst fiscal burden should be mild towards “non oil” producers. However, the observed dynamics of macroeconomic indicators points to the fact that the Russian economy is still substantially influenced by POIL and this influence is much more stronger than it is exerted by fiscal and monetary regulators. It allows us to conclude that crude oil will continue to play, at least in foreseeable future, a dominant role in further development of the Russian economy.
Latest in Research on Miniscrew Implants: An Interview with Ankit H. Shah

Dr. Shah graduated from the world-renowned orthodontic residency program of Saint Louis University with a Master of Science (Research) degree and a Certificate in Orthodontics. Miniscrew implants are his primary area of research interest and he has published many scientific articles on this topic. He serves as a peer-reviewer for several high-impact orthodontic journals like the American Journal of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics, the Angle Orthodontist and European Journal of Orthodontics.
Parsing Italian Texts Together is Better Than Parsing Them Alone!

English. In this paper we present a work aimed at testing the most advanced, stateof-the-art syntactic parsers based on deep neural networks (DNN) on Italian. We made a set of experiments by using the Universal Dependencies benchmarks and propose a new solution based on ensemble systems obtaining very good performances. Italiano. In questo contributo presentiamo alcuni esperimenti volti a verificare le prestazioni dei più avanzati parser sintattici sull’italiano utilizzando i treebank disponibili nell’ambito delle Universal Dependencies. Proponiamo inoltre un nuovo sistema basato sull’ensemble parsing che ha mostrato ottime prestazioni.
Experimental Study and Theoretical Model Described Transition Regime Parameters and Hydrodynamic Parameters in a Gas-Liquid Dispersion Column

Experimental study of total gas hold-up, bubble diameters and rise velocity of the swarm of bubbles, and regime transition point in dispersion column. The experimental runs were carried out in two perspex columns of 7.5 cm and 15 cm inside diameter. The present work investigated the effect of two system of two-liquid phase (air-water, and air-aqueous-n-propanol solution) in the range (0.05-0.7Wt%), superficial air velocity in the range (0.025-0.3 cm/s) and two air distributor plates of 1.5 mm diameter holes (i.d.= 7.5 cm, holes=36 and free area=1.4%, and i.d.= 15 cm holes=121 and free area=1.2%). In this paper, a Krishna et al., 1999 model has been improved, and the combination of this improved model with derived drift flux model have been described the hydrodynamics of dispersion column operating in homogeneous and heterogeneous flow regimes (i.e. transition regime parameters etrans and Utrans ). Photographic technique was used by taking three pictures in different view (different angle) of the dispersion column, to measure the hydrodynamic parameters. From the experimental data, it was found that the addition of a small amount of npentanol to distilled water and varying dispersion column diameter, is the main factor that affects, the transition flow regime. Also the experimental results show that the values of total gas hold-up for air-aqueous n-pentanol solution system are greater than the values for air-water system, but the values of total gas hold-up decrease with dispersion column diameter for two systems. The experimental data show that the values of total gas hold-up and superficial air velocity at transition regime varied with the weight percent of n-pentanol by fitting of second order polynomial regressions for the two dispersion column diameters:
Adsorption of hydrogen on the polar O–ZnO surface: a molecular beam study

The interaction of atomic and molecular hydrogen with the polar oxygen-terminated ZnO(000-1) surface has been studied by He atom scattering, LEED, and He atom reflectivity measurements. Whereas the sticking coefficient S0 for molecular hydrogen is so low that only an upper limit can be given (S0 < 3 × 10−7), adsorption of atomic hydrogen leads to the formation of a H(1 × 1) adlayer. Prolonged exposure to H atoms induces a disordering of the surface. The desorption temperature of the adsorbed H atoms was determined by monitoring the reflectivity of the surface for the He atoms. Assuming that the activation energy for desorption is equal to the H atom binding energy and using a pre exponential factor of 1021 cm2/(mol s) we yield a value of 163 kJ/mol for the H atom binding energy.
Experimental Framework Design for Sign Language Automatic Recognition

Automatic sign language recognition (ASLR) is quite a complex task, not only for the intrinsic difficulty of automatic video information retrieval, but also because almost every sign language (SL) can be considered as an under-resourced language when it comes to language technology. Spanish sign language (SSL) is one of those under-resourced languages. Developing technology for SSL implies a number of technical challenges that must be tackled down in a structured and sequential manner. In this paper, the problem of how to design an experimental framework for machine-learning-based ASLR is addressed. In our review of existing datasets, our main conclusion is that there is a need for high-quality data. We therefore propose some guidelines on how to conduct the acquisition and annotation of an SSL dataset. These guidelines were developed after conducting some preliminary ASLR experiments with small and limited subsets of existing datasets.
Managing organizational change - Part 4 - Adapting to change

This article is the fourth in a series dealing with the issue of managing change in organizations. Each article deals with a specific problem and proposes measures or approaches for dealing with it. In this article, we examine in general how adaptation to change is experienced by the members of an organization and focus in particular on the awakening stage.
Multiplicative Weights Updates with Constant Step-Size in Graphical Constant-Sum Games

Since Multiplicative Weights (MW) updates are the discrete analogue of the continuous Replicator Dynamics (RD), some researchers had expected their qualitative behaviours would be similar. We show that this is false in the context of graphical constant-sum games, which include two-person zero-sum games as special cases. In such games which have a fully-mixed Nash Equilibrium (NE), it was known that RD satisfy the permanence and Poincare recurrence properties, but we show that MW updates with any constant step-size eps > 0 converge to the boundary of the state space, and thus do not satisfy the two properties. Using this result, we show that MW updates have a regret lower bound of Omega( 1 / (eps T) ), while it was known that the regret of RD is upper bounded by O( 1 / T ). Interestingly, the regret perspective can be useful for better understanding of the behaviours of MW updates. In a two-person zero-sum game, if it has a unique NE which is fully mixed, then we show, via regret, that for any sufficiently small eps, there exist at least two probability densities and a constant Z > 0, such that for any arbitrarily small z > 0, each of the two densities fluctuates above Z and below z infinitely often.