Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Recognition of human body poses and gesture sequences with gesture description language

This paper presents our new proposition of human bo dy poses and gesture description methodology for Na tural User Interfaces. Our approach is based on forward c haining inferring schema performed on the set of ru les that are defined with formal LALR grammar. The set of rules is called Gesture Description Language (GDL) script while automated reasoning module with heap-like memory is a GDL interpreter. We have also implemented and te sted our initial GDL specification and we have obtained very p omising early experiments results.
Distributed Query Scheduling Service: An Architecture and Its Implementation

We present the systematic design and development of a distributed query scheduling service (DQS) in the context of DIOM, a distributed and interoperable query mediation system.26 DQS consists of an extensible architecture for distributed query processing, a three-phase optimization algorithm for generating efficient query execution schedules, and a prototype implementation. Functionally, two important execution models of distributed queries, namely moving query to data or moving data to query, are supported and combined into a unified framework, allowing the data sources with limited search and filtering capabilities to be incorporated through wrappers into the distributed query scheduling process. Algorithmically, conventional optimization factors (such as join order) are considered separately from and refined by distributed system factors (such as data distribution, execution location, heterogeneous host capabilities), allowing for stepwise refinement through three optimization phases: Compilation, parallelization, site selection and execution. A subset of DQS algorithms has been implemented in Java to demonstrate the practicality of the architecture and the usefulness of the distributed query scheduling algorithm in optimizing execution schedules for inter-site queries.
Effect of handedness on the occurrence of semantic N400 priming effect in 18- and 24-month-old children

It is frequently stated that right-handedness reflects hemispheric dominance for language. Indeed, most right-handers process phonological aspects of language with the left hemisphere (and other aspects with the right hemisphere). However, given the overwhelming majority of right-handers and of individuals showing left-hemisphere language dominance, there is a high probability to be right-handed and at the same time process phonology within the left hemisphere even if there was no causal link between both. One way to understand the link between handedness and language lateralization is to observe how they co-develop. In this study, we investigated to what extent handedness is related to the occurrence of a right-hemisphere lateralized N400 event related potential in a semantic priming task in children. The N400 component in a semantic priming task is more negative for unrelated than for related word pairs. We have shown earlier that N400 effect occurred in 24-month-olds over the right parietal-occipital recording sites, whereas no significant effect was obtained over the left hemisphere sites. In 18-month-olds, this effect was observed only in those children with higher word production ability. Since handedness has also been associated with the vocabulary size at these ages, we investigated the relationship between the N400 and handedness in 18- and 24-months as a function of their vocabulary. The results showed that right-handers had significantly higher vocabulary size and more pronounced N400 effect over the right hemisphere than non-lateralized children, but only in the 18-month-old group. We propose that the emergences of right-handedness and right-distributed N400 effect are not causally related, but that both developmental processes reflect a general tendency to recruit the hemispheres in a lateralized manner. The lack of this relationship at 24 months further suggests that there is no direct causal relation between handedness and language lateralization.
Association between physiological falls risk and physical performance tests among community-dwelling older adults

Background Physical performance and balance declines with aging and may lead to increased risk of falls. Physical performance tests may be useful for initial fall-risk screening test among community-dwelling older adults. Physiological profile assessment (PPA), a composite falls risk assessment tool is reported to have 75% accuracy to screen for physiological falls risk. PPA correlates with Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. However, the association between many other commonly used physical performance tests and PPA is not known. The aim of the present study was to examine the association between physiological falls risk measured using PPA and a battery of physical performance tests. Methods One hundred and forty older adults from a senior citizens club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (94 females, 46 males), aged 60 years and above (65.77±4.61), participated in this cross-sectional study. Participants were screened for falls risk using PPA. A battery of physical performance tests that include ten-step test (TST), short physical performance battery (SPPB), functional reach test (FRT), static balance test (SBT), TUG, dominant hand-grip strength (DHGS), and gait speed test (GST) were also performed. Spearman’s rank correlation and binomial logistic regression were performed to examine the significantly associated independent variables (physical performance tests) with falls risk (dependent variable). Results Approximately 13% older adults were at high risk of falls categorized using PPA. Significant differences (P<0.05) were demonstrated for age, TST, SPPB, FRT, SBT, TUG between high and low falls risk group. A significant (P<0.01) weak correlation was found between PPA and TST (r=0.25), TUG (r=0.27), SBT (r=0.23), SPPB (r=−0.33), and FRT (r=−0.23). Binary logistic regression results demonstrated that SBT measuring postural sways objectively using a balance board was the only significant predictor of physiological falls risk (P<0.05, odds ratio of 2.12). Conclusion The reference values of physical performance tests in our study may be used as a guide for initial falls screening to categorize high and low physiological falls risk among community-dwelling older adults. A more comprehensive assessment of falls risk can be performed thereafter for more specific intervention of underlying impairments.
Clinical profile and post-transplant anaemia in renal transplant recipients restarting dialysis after a failed graft: changing trends between 2001 and 2009

Background The aim of this study was to compare the clinical profile, outcome and the prevalence and management of anaemia between two cohorts of renal transplant patients with graft failure restarting dialysis in 2001 and 2009. Methods Cross-sectional, observational, retrospective and multicentre study of 397 patients in the 2001 cohort and 222 in the 2009 cohort. Data were recorded at 0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 months before the onset of dialysis resumption and during the first 90 days after restarting dialysis (mortality and hospital admission). Results Patients in the 2009 cohort were older at the time of inclusion in the study and transplantation, and restarted dialysis therapy with a significantly better glomerular filtration rate. In both cohorts, there was a rapid deterioration of renal function with statistically significant differences in serum creatinine and glomerular filtration rate between the monthly intervals −12 and 0. The mean haemoglobin value at −12 months was 11.6 g/dL [7.2 mmol/L] in the 2001 cohort when compared with 12.3 g/dL [7.6 mmol/L] in the 2009 cohort, and at the time of restarting dialysis 9.6 g/dL [6.0 mmol/L] versus 10.6 g/dL [6.6 mmol/L]. The percentage of patients treated with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, at any time during the 12 months before readmission to dialysis, increased significantly from 61.5% in the 2001 cohort to 96% in the 2009 cohort. There were no significant differences between the 2001 and 2009 cohorts in mortality rate (8.8 versus 9.0%) or hospital admission (31.5 versus 31.1%) during the study time. Conclusions At restarting dialysis, the proportion of patients with anaemia (and its severity) due to progressive graft nephropathy decreased over the past 8 years, increasing significantly the percentage of patients treated with erythropoietin. Differences in morbimortality after dialysis resumption were not observed, this is probably due to an increase in the age of donors and recipients.
Adaptive Mapping for the Control of Standing with Functional Neuromuscular Stimulation

The objective this work is to develop an adaptive system for controlling posture during stance. In our standing system, command signals from the user specify a desired postural orientation (e.g. location of the pelvis with respect to the feet) which is mapped to determine the stimulation pattern for a set of muscles. The purpose of the adaptive mapping component is to achieve a linear input/output (command signal/posture) that utilizes the entire command range and maintains these input/output properties as system properties may change. Results from computer simulation studies indicate that the adaptive mapping scheme can automatically adjust the stimulation parameters to account for nonlinear muscle recruitment properties and to account for muscle fatigue. In future work, this component of the control system will be implemented in conjunction with feedback control algorithms and will be evaluated in experiments on human subjects.
Openness, Government Size and the Terms of Trade

This paper investigates the relationship between trade openness and the size of governments, both theoretically and empirically. We argue that openness can increase the size of governments through two channels: (1) a terms of trade externality, whereby trade lowers the domestic cost of taxation, and (2) the demand for insurance, whereby trade raises risk and public transfers. We provide a unified framework for studying and testing these two mechanisms. Our main theoretical prediction is that the relative strength of the two explanations depends on a key parameter, namely, the elasticity of substitution between domestic and foreign goods. Moreover, while the first mechanism is inefficient from the standpoint of world welfare, the second is instead optimal. In the empirical part of the paper, we provide new evidence on the positive association between openness and government size and we explore its determinants. Consistently with the terms of trade externality channel, we show that the correlation is contingent on a low elasticity of substitution between domestic and foreign goods. Our findings raise warnings that globalization may have led to inefficiently large governments.
Design and simulation of a CMOS-MEMS gyroscope with a low-noise sensing circuit

A design and simulation of z-axis dual-mass CMOS-MEMS gyroscope with a low-noise capacitance sensing circuit has been presented in this paper. A gyroscope chip which implemented by the TSMC 2P4M 0.35 μm CMOS-MEMS process was proposed in this design. The associated post process was designed. For the z-axis dual-mass CMOS-MEMS gyroscope, the fully differential low-noise capacitive sensing circuit has been designed and discussed. This capacitance sensing circuit can reach the performance of low-noise by modulating the noise signal to high frequency band and then the noise would be filtered. Finally, we obtained the output noise of 9 nV/√Hz and the residual noise of 0.1 mV by using HSPICE simulation. However, the sensitivity of 0.476 mV/°/s and system noise of 0.063 mV/√Hz of the gyroscope system was obtained.
Capital limits: social class, motivations for term-time job searching and the consequences of joblessness among UK university students

ABSTRACT Youth unemployment figures include large numbers of full-time students, yet student joblessness receives very little academic attention, especially at a qualitative level. Despite being relatively less deleterious than youth unemployment more broadly, we show that student unemployment remains an important site for the practice and reinforcement of social inequality. Using a Bourdieusian framework to analyse interviews with 27 undergraduate students who have been unsuccessful in term-time job searching, we expose some of the limits to the extent that social and cultural capital can be converted into positive employment outcomes. Importantly, the data reveal that it is (lack of) access to material and economic resources that is most significant in ensuring that both the experience of unemployment and, concomitantly, the experience of university, in yet another way, remain highly structured by social class. These divisions shape the imperative and timing of the need to work, and also underpin nuances in respect of desires and needs in how students talk about their motivations for part-time work. These should be important considerations if policy-makers want to create a genuinely meritocratic system or deliver equitable psychological and material well-being.
Calidad del servicio de taxis del municipio Maracaibo / The Quality of Taxi Service in the Maracaibo Municipality

El presente trabajo tiene como objetivo describir la calidad del servicio de los taxis en el municipio Maracaibo, ya que los mismos forman parte del sistema de transporte urbano de la ciudad, y es un servicio publico fundamental para la convivencia de la sociedad; para lograr este objetivo se realizo una adaptacion del modelo SERVPERF, disenando un instrumento tipo cuestionario, con 32 items en 6 dimensiones, adecuado a las caracteristicas propias del servicio de taxi, con la finalidad de confirmar que los items de los instrumentos se correspondian con las dimensiones adaptadas se aplico la tecnica de analisis factorial resultando un nuevo instrumento con 24 items en 3 dimensiones. Se utilizo la escala de Likert con tres (3) alternativas de respuesta. La investigacion es de tipo descriptiva y aplicada, bajo diseno no experimental de tipo transeccional descriptiva y de campo. La poblacion quedo conformada por los usuarios de las lineas de taxis del municipio Maracaibo. Se aplico muestreo aleatorio por conglomerado. La confiabilidad del instrumento se midio a traves del coeficiente alfa de Cronbach resultando de 0,82 lo cual se considera aceptable. Los resultados revelan que la calidad del servicio de taxis del municipio Maracaibo es mediana por lo tanto este servicio es susceptible a mejoras, las cuales son necesarias para elevar la calidad de vida de los marabinos. Este resultado se obtuvo con el instrumento originalmente adaptado de 32 items y con el cuestionario resultante del analisis factorial, de 24 items; esto confirma lo apropiado de esta tecnica, ya que se redujo el numero de items y de las dimensiones originalmente adaptadas y no se encontraron diferencias significativas en los resultados con ambos instrumentos; de esta manera se puede medir la calidad del servicio de taxis en el municipio Maracaibo a traves de las dimensiones: confiabilidad del servicio, socializacion y responsabilidad.
State Prognostics Based Health Management for Complex Systems

The research on Prognostics and Health Management (PHM) for complex systems is a hot topic in the current reliability field, its main idea is to change the system logistics from state monitoring to state management, which makes people pay an attention actively on the system failures and risk of performance, and do the health management for complex systems. Thus, the research is significant in both theory and practice. The contents of the research include three areas in PHM. Optimal allocation and reliability evaluation for sensor systems, which is a base for obtaining the system operation information, Modeling and method for prognostics under uncertainty conditions, which is a basic work and content for PHM, Health management and optimal decisions is the heart of PHM. The research will build an essential base on applications of PHM for complex systems in the future.
ViTa: Visual task specification interface for manipulation with uncalibrated visual servoing

We present a human robot interface (HRI) for semi-autonomous human-in-the-loop control, that aims to tackle some of the challenges for robotics in unstructured environments. Our HRI lets the user specify desired object alignments in an image editor as geometric overlays on images. The HRI is based on the technique of visual task specification [1], which provides a well studied theoretical framework. Tasks are completed using uncalibrated image-based visual servoing (UVS). Our interface is shown to be effective for a versatile set of tasks that span both coarse and fine manipulation. We complete tasks such as inserting a marker in its cap, inserting a small cube in a shape sorter, grasping a circular lid, following a line, grasping a screw, cutting along a line, picking and placing a box and grasping a cylinder using a Barrett WAM arm and hand.
Mining of student academic evaluation records in higher education

The various data mining techniques like classification, clustering and relationship mining can be applied on educational data to predict the performance of a student in the examination and bring out betterment in his academic performance. Rule based classification techniques can be used to predict the result of the students in the final semester based on the marks obtained by them in the previous semesters. Decision table and One R rule algorithms are used here to predict the result of the fifth semester student based on the marks obtained by the students in the previous four semesters. The accuracy of the algorithms is analyzed by comparing the prediction given by miner, the algorithm and the result obtained by the students in the fifth semester examination. The performances of the algorithms are analyzed using the true positive, false positive values and the ROC curves.
Automated test equipment synthetic instrumentation

When the USAF's F-15 became operational in the mid-1970s, intermediate avionics test support was provided by specific test stations designed to support technology workload groups, ranging from controls and displays to communications/navigation equipment, with many of the test packages requiring complex interface test adapters (ITAs). These testers are quickly becoming obsolete and more difficult and costly to maintain because replacement parts are no longer available. Alternative technical solutions are required to ensure fielded avionics test equipment technology maintains pace with fielded systems and operational requirements, ensuring the availability of mission critical avionics assets. In order to demonstrate a solution to these growing issues, Boeing is tailoring an emerging F-15 support system by inserting agile rapid global combat support (ARGCS) technologies including synthetic instrumentation (SI), to reduce the use of traditional COTS (commercial-off-the-shelf) instruments. This type of arrangement highlights the potential benefits of SI, which include the use of non-active (wire only) ITAs to the USAF. During the past decade the USAF has expressed a desire for this passive ITA hardware design, since it facilitates reduced development time, increases equipment reliability/availability and decreases long-term sustainment cost compared to the existing specialized complex active hardware design approach. During this 12-month program, SI is being integrated into the selected ATE platform to provide analog, serial bus test and video capability by replacing existing VXI-based instruments. Several F-15 line replaceable unit (LRU) test program sets (TPS) are being integrated and/or adapted to use the Sl-equipped support system, demonstrating the ability to rapidly prototype TPSs. By utilizing parallel testing capabilities of the latest technology synthetic instruments, a significant reduction in test times is also expected. This paper discusses the engineering effort required to integrate SI into the selected ATE platform including the hardware and software design approaches employed, as well as the methodology used to re-engineer TPS designs to leverage SI and the benefits realized during the project as well as potential applications to DoD customers
A ug 2 00 4 Random Numbers from Astronomical Imaging

This article describes a method to turn astronomical imaging into a random number generator by using the positions of incident cosmic rays and hot pixels to generate bit streams. We subject the resultant bit streams to a battery of standard benchmark statistical tests for randomness and show that these bit streams are statistically the same as a perfect random bit stream. Strategies for improving and building upon this method are outlined.
Identifying Mechanisms of Teaching Practices: A Study in Swedish Comprehensive Schooling

ABSTRACT The aim of this article is to identify the mechanisms behind the occurrence of teaching practices of seatwork and recitation across lessons. The study is based on an analysis of 74 video recorded lessons from 4 school classes in Swedish comprehensive schools during 2013. Firstly, the results suggest that teaching practices such as seatwork dominated across lessons when compared to, for example, reciting. Secondly, the study gives a detailed analysis of teaching practices by analyzing video transcripts. Thirdly, using Cox regression the study lends a weak support for the school subject’s impact on seatwork and recitation. A weak support was found for recitation and no support was found for seatwork. However, no statistical generalization was possible and further research is needed.
Evolutionary Plant Breeding in Cereals—Into a New Era

In evolutionary plant breeding, crop populations with a high level of genetic diversity are subjected to the forces of natural selection. In a cycle of sowing and re-sowing seed from the plant population year after year, those plants favored under prevailing growing conditions are expected to contribute more seed to the next generation than plants with lower fitness. Thus, evolving crop populations have the capability of adapting to the conditions under which they are grown. Here we review the current state of research in evolutionary plant breeding and concentrate on the ability of evolving plant populations to deal with stressful, variable, and unpredictable environments. This resilience of evolving plant populations is seen as a major advantage under the predicted threats faced by agriculture such as global climate change. We have conducted an analysis of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of this breeding approach and suggest how its concept can be broadened and expanded. Given the current legal restrictions for realizing the potential of evolutionary plant breeding, we call for a change in legislation to allow evolving crop populations to enter agricultural practice on a larger scale.
Shadow Mapping Based on Dual Depth Layers

Shadow maps are a widely used means for the generation of shadows although they exhibit aliasing artifacts and problems of numerical precision. In this paper we extend the concept of a single shadow map by introducing dual shadow maps, which are based on the two depth layers that are closest to the light source. Our shadow algorithm takes into account these two depth values and computes an adaptive depth bias to achieve a robust determination of shadowed regions. Dual depth mapping only modies the construction of the shadow map and can therefore be combined with other extensions such as ltering , perspective shadow maps, or adaptive shadow maps. Our approach can be mapped to graphics hardware for interactive applications and can also be used in high-quality software renderers.