Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An algorithm of face alignment and recognition by sparse and low rank decomposition

Due to Sparse Representation Classification basing face recognition algorithm is easily disturbed by occlusion, noise and misaligned, it is difficult to obtain a perfect performance, for this, a new method of face alignment and recognition based on sparse and low rank matrix decomposition is proposed in this paper. First the training matrix is decomposed into a low rank matrix which is the clean face image and a sparse error matrix representing the noise, occlusion and other errors. Then a transformation matrix factor is utilized in the optimization model, which can be computed while decomposing the training matrix, realizing the auto face alignment in X-Y plane. Last, the low rank matrix is used as the face training data to be classified by sparse representation method. Experimental results show that the recognition rate of our method can perform equivalently with the newest LR-SRC method on face database which is contaminated by occlusion and noise but the posture is aligned, and increase by 1.92% to 97.28% when the training database is corrupted by noise, light condition, occlusion and misaligned.
Incremental data flow analysis via dominator and attribute update

We present an algorithm for updating data flow information derived from a program, in response to program edits. Our algorithm, applicable to intraprocedural or interprocedural data flow problems, is more general than previous methods because it can update any monotone data flow problem defined on a reducible flow graph and can handle arbitrary program edits. Rather than design yet another special-purpose data flow update algorithm, we show how to reduce the class of data flow problems to another class of problems which already has a fast update algorithm. More specifically, we reduce a monotone data flow problem formulated for solution using Graham-Wegman elimination [12] to the problem of constructing and decorating an attributed tree structurally isomorphic to the dominator tree of the program flow graph. To update this dominator tree in response to program changes, we first show how to express domination in terms of two local properties of nodes and edges in the flow graph — niceness and deepness. Domination is then updated in response to an edge addition or deletion by repeatedly performing two local operations on the dominator tree, each operation restoring the local properties violated by the edge change. Second, we extend Reps' attributed tree update techniques [19,21,20] and his complexity analysis, to update attribute values in response to changes in this structure.
Continuous Rapid Action Value Estimates

In the last decade, Monte-Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) has revolutionized the domain of large-scale Markov Decision Process problems. MCTS most often uses the Upper Condence Tree algorithm to handle the exploration versus exploitation trade-o, while a few heuristics are used to guide the exploration in large search spaces. Among these heuristics is Rapid Action Value Estimate (RAVE). This paper is concerned with extending the RAVE heuristics to continuous action and state spaces. The approach is experimentally validated on two articial benchmark problems: the treasure hunt game, and a real-world energy management problem.
Security Enhanced Ad hoc Routing

In present era the Security has become one of the major issues for data communication over wired and wireless networks. Apart from the earlier work on the designs of cryptography algorithms and system infrastructures, we will propose an ad hoc routing algorithm that could randomize delivery paths for data transmission. The algorithm is easy to implement and compatible with popular routing protocols, such as the Routing Information Protocol in wired networks and Destination-Sequenced Distance Vector protocol in wireless networks, without introducing extra control messages. In the past decades, various security-enhanced measures have been proposed to improve the security of data transmission over public networks. Existing work on securityenhanced data transmission includes the designs of cryptography algorithms and system infrastructures and security-enhanced routing methods. The main objective of the project is to propose a ad hoc routing algorithm to improve the security of data transmission. Keywords— Security-enhanced data transmission, Ad hoc routing, RIP, DSDV, Public Key Cryptography.
Neuronal Encoding of Subjective Value in Dorsal and Ventral Anterior Cingulate Cortex

We examined the activity of individual cells in the primate anterior cingulate cortex during an economic choice task. In the experiments, monkeys chose between different juices offered in variables amounts and subjective values were inferred from the animals' choices. We analyzed neuronal firing rates in relation to a large number of behaviorally relevant variables. We report three main results. First, there were robust differences between the dorsal bank (ACCd) and the ventral bank (ACCv) of the cingulate sulcus. Specifically, neurons in ACCd but not in ACCv were modulated by the movement direction. Furthermore, neurons in ACCd were most active before movement initiation, whereas neurons in ACCv were most active after juice delivery. Second, neurons in both areas encoded the identity and the subjective value of the juice chosen by the animal. In contrast, neither region encoded the value of individual offers. Third, the population of value-encoding neurons in both ACCd and ACCv underwent range adaptation. With respect to economic choice, it is interesting to compare these areas with the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), previously examined. While neurons in OFC encoded both pre-decision and post-decision variables, neurons in ACCd and ACCv only encoded post-decision variables. Moreover, the encoding of the choice outcome (chosen value and chosen juice) in ACCd and ACCv trailed that found in OFC. These observations indicate that economic decisions (i.e., value comparisons) take place upstream of ACCd and ACCv. The coexistence of choice outcome and movement signals in ACCd suggests that this area constitutes a gateway through which the choice system informs motor systems.
Abundance ratios in hierarchical galaxy formation

In models of hierarchical galaxy formation ellipticals form through the merging of smaller disk systems (e.g., Kauffmann, White and Guiderdoni,1993). Such models predict that galaxies in low-density environments form later than their counterparts in clusters, and more massive galaxies form later (Kauffmann, 1996). Here we present simulations based on semi-analytic models that include the chemical enrichment of the elements magnesium andiron. The chemical evolution code is described in Thomas, Greggio and Bender(1998, 1999). The results are: 1) The Mg/Fe predicted for elliptical galaxies does not agree with the values derived from observations. 2) The most luminous (and massive) ellipticals have the lowest Mg/Fe, in conflict with the observational evidence. 3) Galaxies in looser environments exhibit lower Mg/Fe ratios. 4) Bulges are most α-enhanced independent of the environment. For more details I refer the reader to Thomas (1999) and Thomas and Kauffmann (1999).
Experimental analysis of EVM and BER for indoor radio-over-fibre networks using polymer optical fibre

This paper presents a theoretical investigation and experimental implementation of indoor radio-over-fibre (RoF) using polymer optical fibre. We characterise the system based on the error vector magnitude (EVM), bit error rate (BER), and the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We consider three modulation formats of quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK), 16-quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) and 64-QAM. The results show the effect of modulation order on the higher acceptable EVM limit that can be linked with the BER estimation process. Furthermore, the analysis of input signal power penalty for the three modulations indicates the advantage of higher order formats. We conclude that even with linear increment of the power penalty, higher orders modulation can offer a higher bandwidth without a significant difference compared to lower orders.
Decreased Chronic-Stage Cortical 11C-Flumazenil Binding After Focal Ischemia-Reperfusion in Baboons: A Marker of Selective Neuronal Loss?

Background and Purpose— Although the penumbra can be saved by early reperfusion, in the rat it is consistently affected by selective neuronal loss. Mapping selective neuronal loss in the living primate would be desirable. Methods— Five young adult baboons underwent 15O positron emission tomography for cerebral blood flow, cerebral oxygen consumption, and oxygen extraction fraction mapping at baseline and serially during and after 20-hour temporary middle cerebral artery occlusion. At approximately day 30, 11C-flumazenil (FMZ), a potential positron emission tomography marker of selective neuronal loss, and structural magnetic resonance-based infarct mapping were obtained, and the brain was perfused-fixed. Reduced FMZ binding in noninfarcted cortical middle cerebral artery areas was searched voxel-wise, and specific binding was assessed using compartmental modeling of FMZ time-activity curves. Results— Visual inspection revealed reduced late FMZ uptake in the affected cortical territory, extending well beyond the infarct. Accordingly, the incidence of selected voxels was greater than chance, documenting mildly but significantly reduced FMZ uptake and specific binding. Serial 15O positron emission tomography revealed moderately severe acute ischemia followed by reperfusion. Histopathology documented only mild neuronal changes in or near the affected areas. Conclusions— We document moderate but definite late FMZ binding decrements in noninfarcted cortical areas in the baboon, consistent with previous rat and human studies. These were acutely characterized by moderate ischemia followed by reperfusion, consistent with neuronal damage from ischemic or reperfusion injury in the salvaged at-risk tissue. Only mild histopathological changes subtended these FMZ alterations suggesting subtle processes such as isolated dendrite or synapse loss. Whether these changes impact on clinical outcome deserves studying because they may be targeted by specific neuroprotection.
The functional working memory architecture of visual change detection tasks : are these tasks visual domain specific?

This thesis aimed to investigate the functional working memory architecture of two visual change detection tasks; a quantitative colour change detection task (Luck & Vogel, 1997) and a qualitative Size Just Noticeable Differences task (Phillips & Hamilton, 2001). Domain specific approaches to the working memory architecture proposed the use of visual only representations (Baddeley, 2012), however, multicomponent approaches, have suggested the use of both visual and verbal representations (Logie, 2011; Brown & Wesley, 2013). The current thesis examined this issue using six experimental investigations. The first two studies piloted the two tasks. Two consecutive studies used dual task interference protocols to investigate the working memory architecture of each change detection task before study five provided electrophysiological data. The final study of the thesis then aimed to discover if both change detection tasks could predict verbal and non-verbal intelligence in children aged 7-13 years. The pilot investigations indicated the appropriate array size and shape size stimuli to use for the remainder of the thesis. Both dual task studies then indicated the use of visual and verbal representations within each change detection task, however qualitative smaller changes were not susceptible to verbal interference. Further evidence was provided from the electrophysiological data presenting activation of the semantic N400 and visual specific N200 in both change detection procedures, but this was significantly reduced in the small change, qualitative stimuli. Results of the final developmental investigation also indicated a more visual specific approach to the qualitative task; leading the current thesis to propose a context-dependent multicomponent approach to change detection protocols. Results are discussed in relation to the multicomponent and attentional models of working memory.
My Scrawl Hides It All: Protecting Text Messages Against Shoulder Surfing With Handwritten Fonts

We present a novel concept for protecting text messages (e.g. notifications) on mobile devices from shoulder surfing. We propose to display the text in the user's handwriting, assuming that people can read their own handwriting easier and faster than strangers. Our approach was evaluated in a proof-of-concept user study that revealed significant differences in reading time: Participants were indeed slower when reading the unfamiliar handwriting of the other participants compared to their own, and they tended to make more errors. Even though this effect was not present for all participants, we argue that our results may provide the basis for protection mechanisms applicable in real-world scenarios.
Fundamental Unpredictability in Multispecies Competition

One of the central goals of ecology is to predict the distribution and abundance of organisms. Here, we show that, in ecosystems of high biodiversity, the outcome of multispecies competition can be fundamentally unpredictable. We consider a competition model widely applied in phytoplankton ecology and plant ecology in which multiple species compete for three resources. We show that this competition model may have several alternative outcomes, that the dynamics leading to these alternative outcomes may exhibit transient chaos, and that the basins of attraction of these alternative outcomes may have an intermingled fractal geometry. As a consequence of this fractal geometry, it is impossible to predict the winners of multispecies competition in advance.
The Emerging Standard Neurobiological Model of Decision Making

The standard neurobiological model of decision making has evolved, since the turn of the twenty-first century, from a confluence of economic, psychological, and neuroscientific studies of how humans make choices. Two fundamental insights have guided the development of this model during this period, one drawn from economics and the other from neuroscience. The first derives from neoclassical economic theory, which unambiguously demonstrated that logically consistent choosers behave “as if” they had some internal, continuous, and monotonic representation of the values of any choice objects under consideration. The second insight derives from neurobiological studies suggesting that the brain can both represent, in patterns of local neural activity, and compare, by a process of interneuronal competition, internal representations of value associated with different choices.
Separability and Substitutability of Charitable Contributions in Individual Utility Functions Preliminary Draft , February 2005

This paper addresses two questions related to individual preferences for charitable giving and volunteering. The first question is whether individual preferences are consistent with a utility specification that is separable in monetary donations. If utility is weakly separable in monetary donations, collective models of household utility could be readily applied in future work related to household contributions. The second question is whether monetary donations and volunteer labor supply are complements or substitutes. Complementarity enhances the efficiency of the tax code’s charitable deduction; substitutability undermines it. I estimate the parameters of a quadratic utility function. Quadratic utility functions are additively separable under very straightforward parameter restrictions. The moment conditions that define my estimator follow from a theoretical model in which the marginal utility of giving time and/or money depends on labor supply and other observable and unobservable factors. Only preliminary estimates based on a restricted version of the model are available at this time. The preliminary estimates do not permit definitive tests of separability and substitutability, but they do permit illustrative elasticity calculations and policy simulations.
OBJECT RECOGNITION / TRACKING

In this project, we are given a movie in which there is a person holding the book. The main goal of this project it to identify the book in every frame of the movie and track the book over subsequent frames. There is both camera motion and object motion in the movie. The desired output is a video in which the book is marked in every frame of the video. It is to be noted that the book is not occluded in any frame of the video sequence. However, there are frames in which the book is not present or is only partially visible. So, the aim of the project is to come up with a robust algorithm to detect and track the book given these constraints. Additionally, there is substantial radial distortion in the camera and so simple methods like exhaustive search are less likely to work even though the object we are searching is approximately planar. In this project, we develop a robust and hybrid object detector/tracker. The details of the tracker/detector is presented in the subsequent sections.
Transaction Time Support Inside a Database Engine

Transaction time databases retain and provide access to prior states of a database. An update "inserts" a new record while preserving the old version. Immortal DB builds transaction time database support into a database engine, not in middleware. It supports as of queries returning records current at the specified time. It also supports snapshot isolation concurrency control. Versions are stamped with the "clock times" of their updating transactions. The timestamp order agrees with transaction serialization order. Lazy timestamping propagates timestamps to transaction updates after commit. Versions are kept in an integrated storage structure, with historical versions initially stored with current data. Time-splits of pages permit large histories to be maintained, and enable time based indexing, which is essential for high performance historical queries. Experiments show that Immortal DB introduces little overhead for accessing recent database states while providing access to past states.
Enhanced Automatic Collision Notification (ACN) System - Improved Rescue Care Due to Injury Prediction - First Field Experience

This paper summarizes the initial findings from a database of crashes that involved BMW cars equipped with Automatic Crash Notification (ACN) Systems in the US and Germany. In addition, first field experiences with BMW's enhanced ACN systems are reported where vehicles not only provide an initial crash notification but also transmit data describing the nature and severity of the collision event. The benefits of such a system, including the rapid recognition of potentially injured occupants based on key characteristics of each crash, are explored. Since 2006, nearly 14,000 BMW crashes have occurred in the US involving vehicles equipped with ACN or enhanced ACN technology. Of these, 70% of occupants indicate no injury to the TSP (Telematics Service Provider) operators, 20% indicate they are injured in some way and require help while 10% provide no verbal response to the TSP call-taker. An investigation of a subsample of crashes occurring in Florida suggests that no hospital transport was necessary for 81% of the calls where no voice response occurred. Although the majority of these cases require no further care, 19% of the no voice population was subsequently transported to a hospital or trauma center for additional care. This population of occupants could benefit from an automatic call for help to a Public Services Answering Point (PSAP, commonly known as 911) that includes an estimate of the likelihood of serious injuries. To assist in identifying crashes with incapacitating injuries, the William Lehman Injury Research Center (WLIRC) in Miami, Florida and BMW have pioneered the development of an algorithm called URGENCY. This algorithm is based on US national crash statistics and BMW internal data. The injury prediction by URGENCY permits the transmission of the earliest and best information to the PSAP. Early observations of injury severity and location are reported for enhanced ACN equipped vehicle crashes occurring in the USA and Germany. The full text of this paper may be found at:uhttp://www-nrd.nhtsa. dot.gov/pdf/esv/esv21/09-0049.pdf For the covering abstract see ITRD E145407.
Bringing ABA into Early Childhood Routines to Meet the Needs of Young Children with ASD.

It is well documented that applied behavior analysis (ABA) approaches to intervention for young children with ASD have a strong evidence-base. Although federal special education law mandates that early intervention services and supports be implemented within the natural environment to the maximum extent appropriate, many young children with ASD still receive ABA interventions in clinical and therapeutic settings and contexts. This article discusses the value of using ABA interventions with the contexts of everyday home, school, and community routines with young children with ASD through the use of routines-based interventions (RBI) and provides guidelines for doing so. Bringing ABA into Early Childhood Routines to Meet the Needs of Young Children with ASD It is well documented that young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) require early intensive behavioral intervention to address their core deficits and to enhance their development. Applied behavior analysis (ABA) teaching approaches with young children with ASD have a great deal of empirical support. The two approaches with the greatest evidence base include discrete trial training (DTT) and pivotal response treatment (PRT). See Table 1 for an overview of these ABA approaches. Table 1 Overview of DTT and PRT ABA Approach Brief Description Evidence-Base http://autismpdc.fpg. unc.edu/c ontent/briefs Seminal Studies with Young Children with Autism
Experimental study of multiple-intermittent cryogen spurts and laser pulses for the treatment of port wine stain birthmarks

Cryogen spray cooling (CSC) is used to minimize the risk of epidermal damage during pulsed laser treatment of port wine stain (PWS) birthmarks. Unfortunately, the current approach to CSC does not provide the necessary epidermal protection for all patients, particularly those with darker skin types. Therefore, alternative approaches need to be sought to improve PWS laser therapy. On a previous numerical study we showed that using multiple-intermittent CSC spurts and laser pulses could permit, under certain conditions, the use of higher laser doses while providing sufficient epidermal protection. In this study we show some results of ongoing experimental to study the feasibility of implementing clinically such an approach.