Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Acquisition of 3-D surface shape of human body from monocular images without pose estimation

In this paper we present a novel method to acquire the 3D surface shape of a human body from video/images captured by a single camera. Unlike existing methods where view or motion restriction is imposed or posture estimation or fitting is required, the proposed method estimates the human surface shape by computing the shape parameters directly from features of body parts in the images, assuming body proportion and camera focal length are available (which also can be estimated from monocular images). In this method, each body part is considered as a rigid 3D object derived from a cylinder and is dealt with independently to avoid the deformation complexity of a soft object and the pose uncertainties of an articulated object. Existing algorithms for recovering the shape of a cylinder from monocular image(s) are not directly applicable for such applications as they require the cross-section contours of a cylinder. A method is proposed in this paper that can recover the shape of a cylinder base on just 2D bounding boxes. This method is further extended for recovery of the human body shape. The proposed system is applied to both synthetic and real video/images and has produced promising results where the acquired body shape resembles the input human figure.
Sketch of a generic security framework based on the paradigms of systemic-holistic approach and the immune system

Everything that we see can be changed. Internet is vulnerable because it was not designed as a whole system. This can be changed by changing the way we think and approach the development of Internet. Initial development of the Internet and other systems focused only on computer technology and communication’s protocols. Many systems are not secure today because most research has concentrated on securing parts of the systems. Hence, we can change this by viewing security of Internet and other systems holistically, by focusing not just on technology and protocols but by considering system’s environments, people using the systems, future of systems and other factors. In this paper we view and approach security of systems holistically. We discuss and suggest a methodology of securing systems based on the paradigms of the Immune system and the Systemic-Holistic approach. The Immune system is used to protect human bodies from for instance different types of viruses. The Systemic-holistic approach views and studies a system as a whole or in details at the theoretical, design, or the implementation level. It takes into considerations technical and non-technical aspects and the system’s environment. The generic security framework has been created for using functions inspired by the immune system and the systemic-holistic approach paradigms to secure systems. The framework contains the deterrence, protection, detection, response and recovery sub-systems. These sub-systems will be generically protecting both at the border and internally in the system. This methodology will improve the way we design security systems by generically considering different factors and people using the system.
Speech under stress conditions: overview of the effect on speech production and on system performance

The NATO research study group on "Speech and Language Technology" recently completed a three year project on the effect of "stress" on speech production and system performance. For this purpose various speech databases were collected. A definition of various states of stress and the corresponding type of stressor is proposed. Results are reported from analysis and assessment studies performed with the databases collected for this project.
An Entropy Theory of Psychology and its Implication to Behavioral Finance

Most of the theories in behavioral finance rely on some kind of psychological biases. However, the potentially boundless set of psychological biases that theorists can use to build behavioral models and explain observed phenomena creates the potential for "theory dredging. " We develop a unified theory of human psychology based on entropy law, the most universal natural law. This unified theory of human psychology will help us determine whether patterns discussed in the finance literature are genuine or the result of data mining. It will also greatly reduce the possibility of "theory dredging" in the future works on behavioral finance.
Some Observational and Modeling Studies of the Atmospheric Boundary Layer at Mississippi Gulf Coast for Air Pollution Dispersion Assessment

Coastal atmospheric conditions widely vary from those over inland due to the land-sea interface, temperature contrast and the consequent development of local circulations. In this study a field meteorological experiment was conducted to measure vertical structure of boundary layer during the period 25–29 June, 2007 at three locations Seabee base, Harrison and Wiggins sites in the Mississippi coast. A GPS Sonde along with slow ascent helium balloon and automated weather stations equipped with slow and fast response sensors were used in the experiment. GPS sonde were launched at three specific times (0700 LT, 1300 LT and 1800 LT) during the experiment days. The observations indicate shallow boundary layer near the coast which gradually develops inland. The weather research and forecasting (WRF) meso-scale atmospheric model and a Lagrangian particle dispersion model (HYSPLIT) are used to simulate the lower atmospheric flow and dispersion in a range of 100 km from the coast for 28–30 June, 2007. The simulated meteorological parameters were compared with the experimental observations. The meso-scale model results show significant temporal and spatial variations in the meteorological fields as a result of development of sea breeze flow, its coupling with the large scale flow field and the ensuing alteration in the mixing depth across the coast. Simulated ground-level concentrations of SO2 from four elevated point sources located along the coast indicate diurnal variation and impact of the local sea-land breeze on the direction of the plume. Model concentration levels were highest during the stable morning condition and during the sea-breeze time in the afternoon. The highest concentrations were found up to 40 km inland during sea breeze time. The study illustrates the application of field meteorological observations for the validation of WRF which is coupled to HYSPLIT for dispersion assessment in the coastal region.
Ultra-bright source of polarization-entangled photons

Utilizing the process of spontaneous parametric down-conversion in a novel crystal geometry, a source of polarization-entangled photon pairs has been provided that is more than ten times brighter, per unit of pump power, than previous sources, with another factor of 30 to 75 expected to be readily achievable. A high level of entanglement between photons emitted over a relatively large collection angle, and over a 10-nm bandwidth, is a characteristic of the invention. As a demonstration of the source capabilities, a 242-σ violation of Bell's inequalities was attained in fewer than three minutes, and near-perfect photon correlations were achieved when the collection efficiency was reduced. In addition, both the degree of entanglement, and the purity of the state are readily tunable. The polarization entangled photon source can be utilized as a light source for the practice of quantum cryptography.
Internet addiction among engineering students in Belagavi city: cross sectional study

Background: Internet addiction is not clinical diagnosis, but a potentially pathological behavioral pattern with symptoms: a loss of control over the behavior, preoccupation with the Internet, using the Internet to modify mood, and withdrawal symptoms. Easy access and low cost of Internet packs- are main cause of development of increased internet use in India. Internet addiction – factors like gender, environmental factors, socioeconomic status, etc. have effect on internet use.Methods: Cross-sectional study conducted during January 2016 to February 2016. Data was collected among 500 engineering students of four engineering colleges of Belagavi city using young's questionnaire. Analysis was performed using SPS 20. Chi-square applied as statistical test of significance for the association between age, sex, residence, SES and schooling. P<0.01 was considered to be statistically significant.Results: The present study revealed that 16.2 and 6.2% of participants had moderate and severe form of internet addiction respectively. With increase in age prevalence of addiction increased. Internet addiction was more among Males when compared to females. Addiction was seen more in students whose both parents were working.Conclusions: Internet addiction is an emerging form of addiction among students with males more than females mostly among engineering students who are dependent on internet for their work, carrier and completion of course Hence it's time to develop comprehensive intervention approach to promote healthy and safe internet use from family, college and peers.
Clathrin-independent internalization and recycling

• Introduction • Clathrin‐dependent internalization • Clathrin‐independent internalization • Macropinocytosis • Caveolae‐dependent internalization • Clathrin‐and‐caveolae‐independent internalization ‐ GPI‐enriched endosomal compartments (GEEC) pathway ‐ Circular dorsal ruffle (CDR)‐dependent pathway ‐ Flotillin‐1‐dependent pathway ‐ Dynamin/RhoA/cortactin‐dependent pathway ‐ Arf6‐dependent pathway • Pericentrion, a novel PKC‐dependent recycling endosomal structure • Clathrin‐independent pathways in neuronal cells • Summary
A Trump Effect? Women and the 2018 Midterm Elections

Abstract From the moment Donald Trump took the oath of office, women’s political engagement skyrocketed. This groundswell of activism almost immediately led to widespread reporting that Trump’s victory was inspiring a large new crop of female candidates across the country. We rely on a May 2017 national survey of “potential candidates” and the 2018 midterm election results to assess whether this “Trump Effect” materialized. Our analysis uncovers some evidence for it. Democrats – especially women – held very negative feelings toward Trump, and those feelings generated heightened political interest and activity during the 2018 election cycle. That activism, however, was not accompanied by a broad scale surge in women’s interest in running for office. In fact, the overall gender gap in political ambition today is quite similar to the gap we’ve uncovered throughout the last 20 years. Notably, though, about one quarter of the Democratic women who expressed interest in running for office first started thinking about it only after Trump was elected. That relatively small group of newly interested candidates was sufficient to result in a record number of Democratic women seeking and winning election to Congress. With no commensurate increase in Republican women’s political engagement or candidate emergence, however, prospects for gender parity in US political institutions remain bleak.
Self-Selected Strategies of L2 Learners: Effects on Immediate- and Delayed Word Retention in Intentional and Incidental Vocabulary Acquisition, With Eye-Tracking Implementation

This study establishes the preferences for vocabulary learning strategies (VLSs) in different contexts, by examining two groups of learners of Arabic (one with L1 English and the other with L1 Chinese) as an L2. The first and second experiments were designed to identify the selection and use of VLSs in intentional and incidental modes of vocabulary learning, and to examine the effects of VLSs on immediate and delayed word retention. The third experiment (eye-tracking) explored these strategies in depth, alongside the behaviours utilised for incidental vocabulary acquisition, also assessing the factors influencing be VLS use, using the eye tracking technique to aid stimulated verbal recall. A mixed methods design was used, based on triangulating the findings from quantitative (vocabulary tests and retrospective reporting of strategies) and qualitative (interviews and stimulated recall interviews using eye-tracking) data collection instruments. The study identified a list of VLSs that were used in both modes, and these were then systematically classified into four vocabulary learning categories. The quantitative data revealed a number of strategies were vulnerable to the significant effects from predictor variables; i.e., group, mode of learning, and test time. The quantitative data also showed a significant relationship between the VLSs used and the uptake of vocabulary type (noun/verb) and subtypes (concrete/abstract noun & action/state verb) in post and delayed post-test tasks. The qualitative data highlighted different ways of implementing VLS, especially with strategies identified in the incidental mode, such as guessing strategies, and repeated reading. The findings showed further interesting variations in the vocabulary gained, confirming that VLSs are conscious and essential in both modes of learning (intentional/incidental). The implications of these findings as they effect learning and teaching in the intentional and incidental context are presented and discussed.
Retaining Flexibility to Maximize Quality: When the Scheduler Has the Right to Decide Activity Durations

In many resource constrained scheduling applications, the ability to vary task durations provides another degree of freedom for resolving resource conflicts. Furthermore, when each task is associated with a duration-dependent quality profile, activity durations must be determined to maximize overall quality while respecting process deadlines and resource capacity constraints. In this paper, we formulate this type of scheduling problem, which we refer to generally as quality maximization. We develop and empirically evaluate a new precedence constraint posting (PCP) algorithm, along with a number of search control heuristics for solving this class of problems. Our PCP algorithm incorporates linear optimization to set activity durations at each step, and search control heuristics direct the search toward resource feasibility. A central concept in the heuristics we define is use of a measure that combines an activity's reducible duration with its quality profile as a basis for determining how to resolve resource conflicts. This concept is found to yield heuristics that exhibit superior performance. Surprisingly, we also find that use of a simple local estimation of quality degradation at each posting step leads to better performance than use of an exact computation at dramatically reduced computation expense. Overall, the experimental analysis indicates that a good heuristic must strike the right balance between minimizing quality loss at each step and retaining flexibility for future duration reduction.
Management of pain in advanced disease.

BACKGROUND Pain is common in advanced malignancy but also prevalent in other non-malignant life-limiting diseases such as advanced heart disease; end stage renal failure and multiple sclerosis. Patients with renal or liver impairment need specific consideration, as most analgesics rely on either or both for their metabolism and excretion. SOURCES OF DATA Recent evidence-based guidelines and the systematic reviews that have informed their recommendations. AREAS OF AGREEMENT The principles of the WHO (World Health Organisation) analgesic ladder are commonly endorsed as a structured approach to the management of pain. For neuropathic pain, the efficacy of different agents is similar and choice of drug more guided by side effects, drug interactions and cost. AREAS OF CONTROVERSY Evidence supporting the WHO analgesic ladder is disputed and alternatives suggested, but no overwhelming evidence for an alternative approach exists to date. GROWING POINTS Alternative approaches to the WHO analgesic ladder, new analgesic agents, e.g. rapid onset oral/intranasal fentanyl.
Optimized self-healing framework for software defined networks

Software defined network (SDN) enables network programmability and provides fine grained control for managing the complex network infrastructure. With the centralized nature of SDN it poses the requirement for failure management at the data plane, control plane and at the centralized controller side. The self-healing attribute of the autonomic network can be combined with SDN to develop a software defined self-healing resilient network. The aim of this paper is to propose a self-healing SDN framework which can optimize the recovery by applying autonomic principles. The proposed work includes a rapid recovery (RR) mechanism to perform an immediate link recovery at the switch level without overburdening the controller. Additionally, it reduces the memory requirement of the switch for storing the backup path flow rules by aggregating all the disrupted flows. We presented the analytical model for calculating the failure recovery time and the backup flow rules required for recovery. Based on the analytical model, RR scheme reduces the total number of backup flow rules for all the disrupted flows of the failed link to a single flow rule.
Novel Division Level Bacterial Diversity in a Yellowstone Hot Spring

ABSTRACT A culture-independent molecular phylogenetic survey was carried out for the bacterial community in Obsidian Pool (OP), a Yellowstone National Park hot spring previously shown to contain remarkable archaeal diversity (S. M. Barns, R. E. Fundyga, M. W. Jeffries, and N. R. Page, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:1609–1613, 1994). Small-subunit rRNA genes (rDNA) were amplified directly from OP sediment DNA by PCR with universally conserved orBacteria-specific rDNA primers and cloned. Unique rDNA types among >300 clones were identified by restriction fragment length polymorphism, and 122 representative rDNA sequences were determined. These were found to represent 54 distinct bacterial sequence types or clusters (≥98% identity) of sequences. A majority (70%) of the sequence types were affiliated with 14 previously recognized bacterial divisions (main phyla; kingdoms); 30% were unaffiliated with recognized bacterial divisions. The unaffiliated sequence types (represented by 38 sequences) nominally comprise 12 novel, division level lineages termed candidate divisions. Several OP sequences were nearly identical to those of cultivated chemolithotrophic thermophiles, including the hydrogen-oxidizing Calderobacterium and the sulfate reducers Thermodesulfovibrio andThermodesulfobacterium, or belonged to monophyletic assemblages recognized for a particular type of metabolism, such as the hydrogen-oxidizing Aquificales and the sulfate-reducing δ-Proteobacteria. The occurrence of such organisms is consistent with the chemical composition of OP (high in reduced iron and sulfur) and suggests a lithotrophic base for primary productivity in this hot spring, through hydrogen oxidation and sulfate reduction. Unexpectedly, no archaeal sequences were encountered in OP clone libraries made with universal primers. Hybridization analysis of amplified OP DNA with domain-specific probes confirmed that the analyzed community rDNA from OP sediment was predominantly bacterial. These results expand substantially our knowledge of the extent of bacterial diversity and call into question the commonly held notion that Archaea dominate hydrothermal environments. Finally, the currently known extent of division level bacterial phylogenetic diversity is collated and summarized.
Service Learning: Citizenship Education through Social Engagement and Cognitive Experience

The article presents a part of an action research project undertaken by students and a small village’s inhabitants, within a service learning approach. The project lasted for three academic years (from 2014/2015till 2016/2017). Its idea was education students’ (members of Scientific Circle of Educational Media at Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn) engagement into voluntary activity in favour of a small local community (of village near Olsztyn in Poland). During the project students not only carried out the work for and with the members of local society but also they made a research with them (participative observation, surveys). To fulfil the agenda of action research students were also investigated (interviewed) by the protector of the Circle (author of the article), in aim to explore the meanings they gave to their activity, learning and research process and the way they perceived and experienced the changes which were the results of the project.
A 76 GHz oscillator by high-Q differential transmission line loaded with split ring resonator in 65-nm CMOS

A power and area efficient CMOS oscillator by high-Q metamaterial resonator is introduced in this paper for phase noise improvement. The resonator is based on the differential transmission-line (T-line) loaded with split ring resonator (SRR), which can enhance the EM energy coupling and further improve the Q. The proposed oscillator is implemented in 65-nm CMOS process, which consumes 2.7 mA and occupies a compact core area of 480 μm × 320 μm. At the oscillation frequency (76 GHz), the measured phase noise is -108.8 dBc/Hz at 10 MHz offset and the figure-of-merit (FOM) is -182.1 dBc/Hz, which is 4 dB better than that of the standing-wave oscillator implemented on the same chip.
Anterior Gradient Protein-2 Is a Regulator of Cellular Adhesion in Prostate Cancer

Anterior Gradient Protein (AGR-2) is reported to be over-expressed in many epithelial cancers and promotes metastasis. A clear-cut mechanism for its observed function(s) has not been previously identified. We found significant upregulation of AGR-2 expression in a bone metastatic prostate cancer cell line, PC3, following culturing in bone marrow-conditioned medium. Substantial AGR-2 expression was also confirmed in prostate cancer tissue specimens in patients with bone lesions. By developing stable clones of PC3 cells with varying levels of AGR-2 expression, we identified that abrogation of AGR-2 significantly reduced cellular attachment to fibronectin, collagen I, collagen IV, laminin I and fibrinogen. Loss of cellular adhesion was associated with sharp decrease in the expression of α4, α5, αV, β3 and β4 integrins. Failure to undergo apoptosis following detachment is a hallmark of epithelial cancer metastasis. The AGR-2-silenced PC3 cells showed higher resistance to Tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis- inducing ligand (TRAIL) induced apoptosis in vitro. This observation was also supported by significantly reduced Caspase-3 expression in AGR-2-silenced PC3 cells, which is a key effector of both extrinsic and intrinsic death signaling pathways. These data suggest that AGR-2 influence prostate cancer metastasis by regulation of cellular adhesion and apoptosis.
Insertion, Evasion, and Denial of Service: Eluding Network Intrusion Detection

Abstract : All currently available network intrusion detection (ID) systems rely upon a mechanism of data collection passive protocol analysis-which is fundamentally flawed. In passive protocol analysis, the intrusion detection system (IDS) unobtrusively watches all traffic on the network, and scrutinizes it for patterns of suspicious activity. We outline in this paper two basic problems with the reliability of passive protocol analysis: (1) there isn't enough information on the wire on which to base conclusions about what is actually happening on networked machines, and (2) the fact that the system is passive makes it inherently "fail-open," meaning that a compromise in the availability of the IDS doesn't compromise the availability of the network. We define three classes of attacks which exploit these fundamentally problems---insertion, evasion and denial of service attacks--and describe how to apply these three types of attacks to IP and TCP protocol analysis. We present the results of tests of the efficacy of our attacks against four of the most popular network intrusion detection systems on the market. All of the ID systems tested were found to be vulnerable to each of our attacks. This indicates that network ID systems cannot be fully trusted until they are fundamentally redesigned.