Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Lane shape estimation using a Partitioned Particle filter for autonomous driving

This paper presents a probabilistic algorithm for lane shape estimation in an urban environment which is important for example for driver assistance systems and autonomous driving. For the first time, we bring together the so-called Partitioned Particle filter, an improvement of the traditional Particle filter, and the linear-parabolic lane model which alleviates many shortcomings of traditional lane models. The former improves the traditional Particle filter by subdividing the whole state space of particles into several subspaces and estimating those subspaces in a hierarchical structure, such that the number of particles for each subspace is flexible and the robustness of the whole system is increased. Furthermore, we introduce a new statistical observation model, an important part of the Particle filter, where we use multi-kernel density to model the probability distribution of lane parameters. Our observation model considers not only color and position information as image cues, but also the image gradient. Our experimental results illustrate the robustness and efficiency of our algorithm even when confronted with challenging scenes.
Contextual Cues in Selective Listening

Two messages were presented dichotically and subjects were asked to “shadow” whatever they heard on one ear. Somewhere in the middle the two passages were switched to the opposite ears. Subjects occasionally repeated one or two words, at the break, from the wrong ear, but never transferred to it for longer than this. The higher the transition probabilities in the passage the more likely they were to do this. One explanation might be that the “selective filter” (Broadbent, 1958) acts by selectively raising thresholds for signals from the rejected sources rather than acting as an all-or-none barrier.
Visualisations of Data from the Literacy Tablet Reading Project in Rural Ethiopia

In 2012, 41 touchscreen tablets were given to children in two villages in rural Ethiopia. These villages had no schools, and the children had no access to literacy. Nicknamed the 'literacy tablet', this technology was intended as an educational delivery mechanism to bootstrap reading. The tablet was designed to help remotely located rural children teach themselves to read. Throughout the year-long study, usage data was tracked as 41 children encountered technology and literacy for the first time. We present visualisations of this data, acquired by the tablets using open source tools. These digital ethnographic artefacts provide insight into what types of applications and experiences are interesting to users as they explore early literacy. Beyond usage data, the social relationships and personal stories of learning were revealed. The resulting narrative describes how children become passionate learners and teachers of their community. The idea of a tablet-based education has its roots in Stephenson's The Diamond Age, a piece of cyberpunk fiction. In that story, a book with artificial intelligence technology adapts and mentors a young girl's education into adulthood. Our project is an early proof of concept demonstrating the potential of realising this vision. The tablet data provides a novel way of documenting the learning process within a culture, serving as a virtual cultural artefact of how education spreads within a community. This project also raises issues about culturally sensitive ways to introduce educational technology to isolated peoples in developing countries.
Extending the Revolution: Teaching Land Use Planning in a GIS Environment

For planning educators the ultimate worth of the GIS revolution will be measured not by the number of new GIS courses offered, but by the integration of GIS technology into the traditional, substantive areas of planning. In the field of land use planning this integration remains in its infancy. The article suggests a general, modular approach for the incorporation of GIS technology into land use planning course work, using a combination of GIS, database, and spreadsheet software. Numerous specific examples are provided, including major applicauons in data collection, preliminary analysis, plan formulation, and plan evaluation.
Fully integrated care for frail elderly: two American models

Abstract Purpose Integrated care for the frail elderly and other populations with complex, chronic, disabling conditions has taken centre stage among policymakers, planners and providers in the United States and other countries. There is a growing belief that integrated care strategies offer the potential to improve service co-ordination, quality outcomes, and efficiency. Therefore, it is critical to have a conceptual understanding of the meaning of integrated care and its various organisational models, as well as practical examples of how such models work. This article examines so-called “fully integrated” models of care in detail, concentrating on two major, well-established American programs, the social health maintenance organisation and the program of all-inclusive care for the elderly. Theory A major challenge to understanding the performance and outcomes of fully integrated care and other organisational models is the lack of a meaningful, analytical paradigm. This article builds upon the work of Walter Leutz, to develop a framework by which new and existing programs can be analysed. This framework is then applied to the two American models that are the focus of this article. Methods Existing data about integrated care in general, and the two model programs in particular, were collected and analysed from reports published by governmental and non-governmental organisations, and journal articles retrieved from Medline, HealthStar and other sources. Results and conclusions This analysis strongly suggests that fully integrated models of care, such as the social health maintenance organisation and program of all-inclusive care for the elderly, are not only feasible, but offer significant potential to improve the delivery of health and social care for frail elderly patients. In addition, the authors identify the factors that are the most critical to the success of fully integrated care, and offer lessons for their development and implementation. Finally, issues are raised concerning the transferability of this complex model to other countries, as well as the vital importance of evidence-based evaluation research in furthering the evolution of integrated care.
Fluid DTMouse: better mouse support for touch-based interactions

Although computer mice have evolved physically (i.e., new form factors, multiple buttons, scroll-wheels), their basic metaphor remains the same: a single-point of interaction, with modifiers used to control the interaction. Many of today's novel input devices, however, do not directly (or easily) map to mouse interactions. For example, when using one's finger(s) or hand directly on a touchable display surface, a simple touch movement could be interpreted as either a mouse-over or a drag, depending on whether the left mouse button is intended to be depressed at the time. But how does one convey the state of the left mouse button with a single touch? And how does one fluidly switch between states? The problem is confounded by the lack of precision input when using a single finger as the mouse cursor, since a finger has a much larger "footprint" than a single pixel cursor hotspot. In this paper we introduce our solution, Fluid DTMouse, which has been used to improve the usability of touch tables with legacy (mouse-based) applications. Our technique is applicable to any direct-touch input device that can detect multiple points of contact. Our solution solves problems of smoothly specifying and switching between modes, addressing issues with the stability of the cursor, and facilitating precision input.
Evaluation of the Usefulness of the Versant for English Test: A Response

This article responds to a critique of Ordinate Corporation's Versant for English test (formerly PhonePass and SET-10). The critique (Chun, 2006) purports to apply the language task framework of Bachman and Palmer (1996) and the Test Fairness framework of Kunnan (2004) as guides for an analysis. However, the analysis fails to apply either framework appropriately, leading to a misguided conclusion. Here, we present readers with a more balanced analysis by clarifying the issues that the critic has confused, particularly with regard to the authenticity and construct of the test tasks. Finally, we suggest that a correct application of the usefulness framework of Bachman and Palmer (1996) shows Versant for English to be a useful test in many contexts.
TESTS OF NONNESTED HYPOTHESES IN NONSTATIONARY REGRESSIONS WITH AN APPLICATION TO MODELING INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION

In the context of I(1) time series, we provide some asymptotic results for the Davidson-MacKinnon J-type test. We examine both the case where our regressor sets x1t and x2t are not cointegrated, and the case where they are. In the former case, the OLS estimator of the weighting coefficient from the artificial compound model converges at rate T to a mixed normal distribution, and the associated t-statistic has an asymptotic standard normal distribution. In the latter case, we find that the J-test also has power against violation of weak exogeneity (with respect to the short-run coefficients of the null model), which is caused by correlation between the disturbance of the null model and that of the cointegrating equation linking x1t and x2t. Moreover, unlike the previous case, the OLS estimator of the weighting coefficient from the artificial compound model converges at \sqrt{T} to an asymptotic normal distribution when the null model is specified correctly. In an empirical illustration, we use the tests to examine an industrial production data set for six countries.
Effects of Dance on Gait and Balance in Parkinson’s Disease: A Comparison of Partnered and Nonpartnered Dance Movement

Partnered tango dance can improve balance and gait in individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Partnered dance may allow these individuals to challenge balance more than nonpartnered dance. Alternatively, partnered practice could reduce balance gains because the participant may rely on the partner as a balance aid when challenged. The authors compared the effects of partnered and nonpartnered dance on balance and mobility in 39 people (11 women) with mild-moderate PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages I-III). Participants were randomly assigned to partnered or nonpartnered tango and attended 1-hour classes twice per week, completing 20 lessons within 10 weeks. Balance and gait were evaluated in the weeks immediately before, immediately after, and 1 month after the intervention. Both groups significantly improved on the Berg Balance Scale, comfortable and fast-as-possible walking velocity, and cadence. Improvements were maintained at the 1-month follow-up. The nonpartnered class improved as much as the partnered class; however, partnered participants expressed more enjoyment and interest in continuing.
Image classification and processing using modified parallel-ACTIT

Image processing and recognition technologies are required to solve various problems. We have already proposed the system which automatically constructs image processing with Genetic Programming (GP), Automatic Construction of Tree-structural Image Transformation (ACTIT). However, it is necessary that training image sets are properly classified in advance if they have various characteristics. In this paper, we propose Modified Parallel-ACTIT which automatically classifies training image sets into several subpopulations. And it optimizes tree-structural image transformation for each training image sets in each subpopulations. We show experimentally that Modified Parallel-ACTIT is more effective in comparison with ordinary ACTIT.
The Relative Pricing of High-Yield Debt: The Case of RJR Nabisco Holdings Capital Corporation

The authors derive and investigate empirically arbitrage pricing restrictions among three bonds of RJR Nabisco Holdings Capital Corporation. The three RJR bonds are virtually identical in all respects except for the form in which interest is paid. The authors document large and persistent errors in the market pricing of the three bonds over a two-year period. The cash-paying bond was consistently more expensive than either the pay-in-kind or deferred-coupon bonds. The magnitude of the pricing errors is too large to be explained by market imperfections. Copyright 1993 by American Economic Association.
Organizational Crisis Management and Human Resource Development: A Review of the Literature and Implications to HRD Research and Practice

The problem and the solution. From the post-9/11 effect on financial and transportation industries to the corporate fraud scandals involving Enron and Tyco, organizational crises are a pervasive threat to organizational performance and sustainability.The authors' review of the literature suggests that although the impact of crises on organization effectiveness has been increasingly recognized, it has not attracted much attention from human resource development (HRD) scholars and practitioners. As a result, HRD has not considered how learning, change, and performance interventions might be used to support crisis management processes. The purpose of this article is to explore the role of HRD in organizational crisis management. Specifically, the authors review the theoretical underpinnings of organizational crisis management research, identify opportunities for HRD to be involved in crisis management processes, and explore how HRD research and practice may contribute to supporting organizations' crisis management efforts.
Learning to rank experts using combination of multiple features of expertise

In academic domain, technical conferences are conducted to share different research ideas and to propose new research methodologies. The number of conferences being conducted in different academic domains and the number of research participants in conference are increasing rapidly. The conference chairs face difficulty in assigning panel of reviewers for various research topics. A ranked list of experts in a specific topic would assist the conference chairs in finding panel of reviewers. Expert finding system provides solution to this problem. The task of expert finding system is to determine a list of people sorted by their level of expertise in a specific research topic. This paper combines multiple features of research expertise to rank the list of experts on a topic. The ranked list of experts can be used to update the topic relevance score of a researcher for a specific research area. In order to rank the experts, we have used novel time weighted Citation Graph based features, modified Latent Dirichlet Allocation based textual features and Profile based features to represent the expertise of a researcher. Rank aggregation is done based on multiple features. Lambda rank, a semi-supervised learning to rank algorithm is used to learn the ranking function. The ranked list of experts for a research topic is suggested using the learned ranking function. Experiments made over a dataset of academic publications in the area of Computer Science using combination of new features of expertise provide better ranked list of experts than using individual features.
Nitric Oxide Is Necessary for Multiple Memory Processes after Learning That a Food Is Inedible in Aplysia

Nitric oxide (NO) signaling was inhibited viaNω-nitro-l-arginine methyl ester(l-NAME) during and after training Aplysiathat a food is inedible. Treating animals with l-NAME 10 min before the start of training blocked the formation of three separable memory processes: (1) short-term, (2) intermediate-term, and (3) long-term memory. The treatment also attenuated, but did not block, a fourth memory process, very short-term memory. l-NAME had little or no effect on feeding behavior per se or on most aspects of the animals' behavior while they were being trained, indicating that the substance did not cause a pervasive modulation or poisoning of many aspects of feeding and other behaviors. Application ofl-NAME within 1 min after the training had no effect on short- or long-term memory, indicating that NO signaling was not needed during memory consolidation. Treating animals with the NO scavenger 2-phenyl-4,4,5,5-tetramethyl-imidazdine-1-oxy-3-oxide before training also blocked long-term memory. Memory was not blocked byd-NAME, or by the simultaneous treatment withl-NAME and the NO donorS-nitroso-N-acetyl-penicillamine, confirming that the effect of l-NAME is attributable to its effect as a competitive inhibitor of l-arginine for NO synthase in the production of NO rather than to possible effects at other sites. These data indicate that NO signaling during training plays a critical role in the formation of multiple memory processes.
Optical Touch Sensing on Nonparametric Rear-Projection Surfaces for Interactive Physical-Virtual Experiences

We demonstrate a generalizable method for unified multitouch detection and response on various nonparametric and parametric surfaces to support interactive physical-virtual experiences. The method employs multiple infrared (IR) cameras, one or more projectors, IR light sources, and a rear-projection surface. IR light reflected off human fingers is captured by cameras with matched IR pass filters, allowing for the detection and localization of multiple simultaneous finger-touch events. The processing of these events is tightly coupled with the rendering system to produce auditory and visual responses displayed on the surface using the projector(s) to achieve a responsive, interactive, physical–virtual experience. We demonstrate the method on two nonparametric face-shaped surfaces and a planar surface. We also illustrate the approach's applicability in an interactive medical training scenario using one of the head surfaces to support hands-on, touch-sensitive medical training with dynamic physical–virtual patient behavior.
Other-Speak: Classical Allegory and Contemporary Advertising

Abstract Literary concepts from genre studies of classical allegory are adapted to analysis of advertising formats. Two classical forms—reification and typology—are discussed, and their importance for advertising summarized. Four basic allegorical elements are described to distinguish the forms, and two advertisements are analyzed to reveal the function of each in relation to product class, message appeal, copy structure, and media selection. Advertising consequences are proposed in terms of brand strategy appropriate to message type (informational or transformational), executional appeal (nostalgia and bizarre), and desired response (attention or empathy). Future research issues are suggested.
Long-term prognostic significance of three-dimensional echocardiographic parameters of the left ventricle and left atrium.

AIMS We sought to investigate the long-term prognostic significance of two- and three-dimensional echocardiography. METHODS AND RESULTS One hundred and seventy-eight consecutive outpatients underwent two-dimensional echocardiography and three-dimensional echocardiography for the assessment of LV volumes, mass, ejection fraction, and LA maximum and minimum volumes. After 45 months of follow-up, 31 patients (17%) had major cardiovascular events (death, myocardial infarctions, or stroke). From the two-dimensional echocardiography data, a significant time relationship to cardiovascular events was achieved only by LV end-systolic volume [hazard ratio (HR): 1.047; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.994-1.083; P = 0.031] and mass (HR: 1.038; CI: 0.993-1.082; P = 0.019), whereas from three-dimensional echocardiography, all the examined variables: LV end-diastolic (HR: 1.014; CI: 1.003-1.025; P = 0.014) and end-systolic volume (HR:1.018; CI: 1.006-1.029; P = 0.003), ejection fraction (HR: 0.032; CI: 0.002-0.565; P = 0.019), mass (HR: 1.030; CI: 1.016-1.045; P < 0.001), LA maximum (HR: 1.055; CI: 1.031-1.080; P < 0.001) and minimum (HR: 1.049; CI: 1.028-1.070; P < 0.001) volumes, were found to bear a significant relationship to cardiovascular events. By multivariate analysis, three-dimensional echocardiography derived LA minimum volume was identified as the best independent predictor of adverse cardiovascular events (HR: 1.217; CI: 1.075-1.378; P = 0.002). CONCLUSION Owing to a superior accuracy, three-dimensional echocardiography derived parameters and most notably LA minimum volume provide more relevant information on outpatient prognosis.
Fate of GABAergic septohippocampal neurons after fimbria‐fornix transection as revealed by in situ hybridization for glutamate decarboxylase mRNA and parvalbumin immunocytochemistry

Many septohippocampal neurons are GABAergic and are affected by transection of the fimbria‐fornix, like the septohippocampal cholinergic cells. Here we have studied the changes that occur in GABAergic septohippocampal neurons following fimbria‐fornix transection. For labeling of septohippocampal projection neurons, adult Sprague‐Dawley rats received injections of the fluorescent tracer Fluoro‐Gold into the hippocampus 1 week prior to bilateral transection of the fimbria‐fornix. After axotomy, rats were allowed to survive for varying periods ranging from 3 weeks to 18 months. Following fixation of the animals, sections through the septal region were either stained by in situ hybridization for glutamate decarboxylase (GAD) mRNA or immunostained for parvalbumin (PARV) which is known to be present in GABAergic septohippocampal neurons.
Impact of Social Movements on European Party Systems

The evolution of new social movements in Western Europe creates several problems for established political parties. New social movements demand programmatic changes, green parties attract voters who previously supported established parties, and movement activists prefer decentralized party organizations. This article analyzes the success of established parties in coping with these programmatic, electoral, and organizational challenges. The article concludes that while established parties increasingly meet the programmatic and electoral challenge, they are less successful in meeting the organizational demands of new social movements.
Phase II multicenter, randomized, double‐blind study of recombinant mutated human tumor necrosis factor‐α in combination with chemotherapies in cancer patients

We previously prepared a tumor necrosis factor (TNF)‐α mutant (rmhTNF‐α) that showed higher antitumor activity and lower systemic toxicity compared with native TNF‐α. The safety profile and the pharmacokinetic characteristics of rmhTNF‐α were suited for clinical use according to biological Investigational New Drug application, a standard guideline for new drug investigation in China. Here, we evaluate the activity and safety of rmhTNF‐α combined with chemotherapies in head/neck, lung, colorectal, stomach, and renal cancer patients. Ninety‐five eligible patients received i.m. rmhTNF‐α treatment combined with standard chemotherapies. Another 95 patients were treated with standard chemotherapies. After two treatment cycles, one patient achieved a complete response and 24 patients had partial response, yielding an overall response rate (complete response + partial response) of 27.47% in the rmhTNF‐α plus chemotherapy cohort. The chemotherapy alone group acquired only a 11.39% response rate (P < 0.05). When compared between different cancers, a 48.89% response rate was detected in the 45 lung cancer patients of the combination cohort. The most common grade 1–2 adverse events of rmhTNF‐α were drug‐related fever, allergy, flu‐like symptoms, and myalgia. No significant difference was found in grade 3–4 toxicities between the two cohorts. Based on the results of this research, rmhTNF‐α can significantly enhance the effectiveness of chemotherapy. An extended phase III trial of rmhTNF‐α combined with standard chemotherapy is warranted for evaluating its antitumor activity and toxicity in a larger cohort of tumor patients. The studies in this paper were registered with the State Food and Drug Administration of China (No. 2003S00692). (Cancer Sci 2012; 103: 288–295)