Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An Orientation-Based Pruning Tool to Speed Up Contact Determination between Translating Polyhedral Models

Contact determination in terms of edge-face intersection tests permits handling nonconvex polyhedra directly, without decomposing them into convex entities, which saves the decomposition time and avoids having to deal with fictitious features but requires checking all possible pairings. However, by considering only translations and departing from a noninterfering situation, the number of pairings to be checked decreases drastically. The set of critical pairings can be determined efficiently using the spherical face orientation graph (SFOG), a representation developed by the authors. An algorithm to exploit the SFOG in convex settings provides controlled evidence of the pruning potential of this approach: the number of critical pairings grows linearly with the complexity of the polyhedra, instead of quadratically as the total number of pairings does. Experiments with a similar algorithm on nonconvex settings confirm the expected potential of the approach: for workpieces with many concavities moving in close proximity, the contact determination procedure presented in this paper performs one order of magnitude faster than RAPID, at the expense of a much higher preprocessing time.
Pedestrian detection with depth-guided structure labeling

We propose a principled statistical approach for using 3D information and scene context to reduce the number of false positives in stereo based pedestrian detection. Current pedestrian detection algorithms have focused on improving the discriminability of 2D features that capture the pedestrian appearance, and on using various classifier architectures. However, there has been less focus on exploiting the geometry and spatial context in the scene to improve pedestrian detection performance. We make several contributions: (i) we define a new 3D feature, called a Vertical Support Histogram, from dense stereo range maps to locally characterize 3D structure; (ii) we estimate the likelihoods of these 3D features using kernel density estimation, and use them within a Markov Random Field (MRF) to enforce spatial constraints between the features, and to obtain the Maximum A-Posteriori (MAP) scene labeling; (iii) we employ the MAP scene labelings to reduce the number of candidate windows that are tested by a standard, state-of-the-art pedestrian appearance classifier. We evaluate our algorithm on a very challenging, publicly available stereo dataset and compare the performance with state-of-the-art methods.
Effect of Functional Movement Training on Cognition and Emotion in the Elderly People

Existing literature documents that the physical exercise has positive effects on cognition and emotion function in elderly. However, whether the functional movement training will improve the cognition and emotion is remains obscure. We enrolled 58 subjects (65–75 years old) in this research and randomly divided as control group without training (CG) and the training group (TG). The training was performed twice a week and 90 min for every time during the 10 weeks. To estimate the change of cognition and emotion of elderly people, reaction time and spatial memory were tested, emotional scales were used. The results showed that there was no significant difference between the two groups before 10 weeks of training. After 10 weeks of training, the cognition and emotion of the training group was significant improvement when compared with control group and the cognition and emotion of training group was significant improvement than that before training. The functional movement training over 10 weeks can improve the cognition and emotion function in elderly people.
Stability Considerations for Variable Impedance Control

Impedance control is a commonly used control architecture for robotic manipulation. For increased flexibility, the impedance can be programmed to vary during the task. This has important implications on the stability properties of the control system, which are often overlooked in practice. In fact, the standard stability analysis is not valid in the case that the impedance parameters vary over time. Simulations show that, depending on how the impedance parameters are varied, stable or unstable behavior can arise even in regulation without contact. In this paper, we elucidate this issue and propose a state-independent stability constraint that relates the stiffness, and also the time derivative of the stiffness to the damping. Our approach is illustrated and evaluated in comparison with an online stabilization method [8] which uses a tank-based stability criterion.
Haematological and Biochemical Parameters during the Laying Period in Common Pheasant Hens Housed in Enhanced Cages

The development of selected haematological and biochemical parameters during the laying period was monitored in common pheasant hens housed in an enhanced cage system. The cages were enhanced by the addition of two perches and a shelter formed by strips of cloth hanging in the corner of the cage. The results showed significant changes in the haematological and biochemical parameters monitored during egg laying. At the time when laying capacity approached a maximum, a decrease was observed (P < 0.05) in haematocrit, erythrocytes, and haemoglobin values, whereas monocytes, eosinophils, the heterophil/lymphocyte ratio, phosphorus, and calcium exhibited an increase (P < 0.05). At the end of the laying period, an increase (P < 0.05) was recorded in the count of leukocytes, heterophils, lymphocytes and basophils, the heterophil to lymphocyte ratio, and the concentrations of aspartate aminotransferase, cholesterol, phosphorus, and calcium, whereas lower values (P < 0.05) were recorded for haematocrit and plasma total protein in comparison with the values of the indicators at the beginning of the laying period. The results provide new information about dynamic changes in selected haematological and biochemical parameters in clinically healthy common pheasant hens during the laying period.
Predicting Prepositions for SMT

Representation and Prediction Features Initial experiments showed that replacing prepositions by simple place-holders decreases the translation quality. As an extension to the basic approach with plain place-holders, we thus experiment with enriching the place-holders such that they contain more relevant information and represent the content of a preposition while still being in an abstract form. For example, the representation can be enriched by annotating the place-holder with the grammatical case of the preposition it represents: for overt prepositions, case is often an indicator of the content (e.g. direction/location), whereas for NPs, case indicates
The effect of variance in members' attractiveness on perceived group attractiveness

Like selective visual attention, the representation of multiple objects as an ensemble is a major strategy used by the visual system to overcome a bottleneck that the system cannot handle multiple objects simultaneously. Although simple image properties including mean size, orientation, and brightness as well as higher-level properties such as the average emotion and gender of faces, can be extracted from a group of items/images (see Alvarez, 2011 for review), it is not clear whether subjective values (e.g., attractiveness) are processed in a similar manner.
Health and safety in small businesses : the interaction of context and organisational / work cultures

Existing evidence indicates that standards of workplace health and safety are poorer in small and medium sized enterprises. Against this background, this paper aims to contribute to the understanding of how health and safety issues and risks are perceived and addressed in small firms. The paper begins by briefly summarising what is known about health and safety awareness and management in small firms, including with respect to the influence of various characteristics of small firms and the people who work in them. In depth interviews conducted with owner-managers, employees and key informants (mainly regulatory officials and business intermediaries), are subsequently utilised to examine the following main issues: owner-manager/employee perceptions of and attitudes towards health and safety issues and risks; approaches to health and safety management; and influences on attitudes and behaviour. The findings are used to shed further light on the dynamics underlying the health and safety behaviour of small firms and to explore how far these dynamics relate to those identified more generally in respect of both the nature of employment relations in small firms and the ways in which such businesses respond to employment regulation.
BIANCHI TYPE V UNIVERSES WITH BULK VISCOSITY IN GENERAL RELATIVITY

Bianchi type V bulk viscous fluid cosmological models are investigated. Using a generation technique (Camci {\it et al.}, 2001), it is shown that the Einstein's field equations are solvable for any arbitrary cosmic scale function. The viscosity coefficient of bulk viscous fluid is assumed to be a power function of mass density. Solutions for particular forms of cosmic scale functions are also obtained. Some physical and geometric aspects of the models are also discussed. The study of Bianchi type V cosmological models create more interest as these models contain isotropic special cases and permit arbitrary small anisotropy levels at some instant of cosmic time. This property makes them suitable as model of our universe. The homogeneous and isotropic Friedman-Robertson-Walker (FRW) cosmological models, which are used to describe standard cosmological models, are particular case of Bianchi type I, V and IX universes, according to whether the constant curvature of the physical three-space, t = constant, is zero, negative or positive. These models will be interesting to construct cosmological models of the types which are of class one. Present cosmology is based on the FRW model which is completely homogeneous and isotropic. This is in agreement with observational data about the large scale structure of the universe. However, although homogeneous but anisotropic models are more restricted than the inhomogeneous models, they explain a number of observed phenomena quite satisfactorily. This stimulates the research for obtaining exact anisotropic solution for Einstein's field equations (EFEs) as a cosmologically accepted physical models
Study of monitoring maize leaf nutrition based on image processing and spectral analysis

The nutrition monitoring of maize leaf is studied with computer vision technology in this research. Planting schemes are implemented on the experimental farm. Images of the fresh leaves are grabbed and the nutrition content of leaf is acquired in the laboratory. And then, the relationship between the color features and the nutrition content is studied to find a quick and reliable method by which the maize nutrition can be estimated in a non-destructive way. The color components are extracted from the preprocessed images, include R, G, B components of the RGB model and H, I components of the HSI model. Based on the studying of the spectral characteristics of maize leaf, the absorption and reflection characteristics of chlorophyll at green and red band are analyzed. Furthermore, some indexes of color features, such as G/R, G/B, G-R, 2G-R, 2G-R-B are analyzed and compared. And regression analysis is made between chlorophyll content and the above color components and features. The G component, I component and 2G-R color features showed good correlation with leaf chlorophyll content of maize. Multi-regress analysis is made between color features and chlorophyll content on the basis of the correlation between leaf color features and components, and a related multi-linearregress model is established. It indicates that the image processing technology can be used to analyze and predict the nutrition of maize leaf.
Toward an Integration of the Social and the Scientific: Observing, Modeling, and Promoting the Explanatory Coherence of Reasoning

It may seem odd for two cognitive scientists, each with little specific expertise in social psychology, to present a chapter that focuses on social cognition. Indeed, our past work may seem much more in the realm of scientific reasoning than in that of social reasoning. But one question that we have been asking, both of ourselves and of our colleagues, is, "What is the difference between 'scientific reasoning' and plain old 'reasoning'? " Generally, people hem and haw when confronted with this question, then speak of the latter as if it were social reasoning—and quite often, they mention socially based ruminations that involve suboptimal decisions, faulty heuristics, and inappropriately biased values, goals, and the like (see Gigerenzer, 1991; Tversky & Kahneman, 1974, and many others). Useful follow-up questions to such respondents include, "Well, is the difference between these two sorts of reasoning qualitative or quantitative? " Put another way (as many—including Einstein, 1950,—seem to have occasionally wondered), "Is scientific reasoning just (a) more likely to employ formal tools (like deduction or mathematics) and/or (b) more likely to involve the vigilant search for disconfirmation—something that just plain folks (Lave, 1988, p. 4) do, but less frequently? 2 Put rather bluntly, we have not been able to reject the hypothesis that the word "scientific" in "scientific reasoning" is superfluous. In an era of specialization, we realize that it is a bit out of fashion to undifferentiate reasoning (although one can argue that interdisciplinary cognitive science itself similarly bucks the trend); still, we are more struck by how much of the everyday is found in scientific reasoning (and vice versa) than by how unique scientific reasoning is. Thus, we believe that the principles of reasoning that have been seen primarily as characterizing scientific reasoning can equally well be viewed as central to social reasoning. 1 Bifurcating the set of reasoning processes into the social and the scientific is a bit like bifurcating a deity and still considering the encompassing religion to be monotheistic. In essence, adding either the modifier "social" or "scientific" seems unnecessary, unless one speaks about the domain being reasoned about (discussed later). Consider the following experience. While at a social gathering, a friend's father remarked that sugar-laden foods dramatically boost children's activity. It was obvious, he claimed, because he had watched a birthday party full of kids "go crazy" after eating the cake. Another guest (perhaps a "better reasoner" on this topic) …
Recovering Variable-Argument Functions from Binary Executables

Variable-argument functions, such as printf(), are broadly used in C programs because of its flexible usage of pointers. However, the recovery of such a function from a binary executable is not an easy task in the field of reverse compilation. The first problem is how to distinguish a variable-argument function from other functions in binary code. The second is how to implement a variable-argument function in a target program. The aim of this paper is to deal with these problems for IA-64 binary executables. We analyzed a large number of disassembled C programs to see how to implement variable-argument functions in machine code. According to calling conventions on IA-64/Linux platform, we abstracted some instruction patterns to recognize variable-argument functions from binary executables. Besides that, we put forward a normalization method to recover variable-argument lists. We use an example compiled by GCC with -O0 option for demonstration, but our methods are not limited to any particular compiler and compiling option.
Hypermaintenance and hypofunction of aged spermatogonia: insight from age-related increase of Plzf expression

Like stem cells in other tissues, spermatogonia, including spermatogonial stem cells (SSCs) at the foundation of differentiation hierarchy, undergo age-related decline in function. The promyelocytic leukemia zinc finger (Plzf) protein plays an essential role in spermatogonia maintenance by preventing their differentiation. To evaluate whether there is an age-related change in Plzf expression, we found that aged mouse testes exhibited a robust “Plzf overexpression” phenotype, in that they showed not only a higher frequency of Plzf-expressing cells but also an increased level of Plzf expression in these cells. Moreover, some Plzf-expressing cells in aged testes even aberrantly appeared in the differentiating spermatogonia compartment, which is usually low or negative for Plzf expression. Importantly, ectopic Plzf expression in F9 cells suppressed retinoic acid (RA)-induced Stra8 activation, a gene required for meiosis initiation. These data, together with our observation of a lack of meiosis-initiating spermatocytes associated with high Plzf-expressing spermatogonia in the aged testes, particularly in the degenerative seminiferous tubules, suggest that age-related increase in Plzf expression represents a novel molecular signature of spermatogonia aging by functionally arresting their differentiation.
RainMan: A Workflow System for the Internet

As individuals and enterprises get interconnected via global networks, workflows that scale beyond traditional organizational boundaries and execute seamlessly across these networks will become relevant. We address the problem of designing a scalable workflow infrastructure for the Internet that supports both flexibility in workflow participation and interoperability between heterogeneous workflow system components. RainMan is a distributed workflow system developed in Java that lives naturally on the Internet. RainMan is a loosely-coupled collection of independent services that cooperate with each other rather than a monolithic system. Some of the useful features of RainMan are browser-based workflow specification, participation, and management, and dynamic workflow modification. The RainMan system is based on RainMaker, our generic workflow framework that defines a core set of well-defined interfaces for workflow components.
An Empirical Evaluation of Using Constructive Classroom Activities to Teach Introductory Programming

Computer science teaching is often based upon the traditional lecture format. However, this methodology may not be the best way to help many students actively understand underlying concepts. This paper explores an alternative pedagogical approach that emphasizes constructive and collaborative learning in CS1 classrooms. After briefly discussing constructivism and providing examples of constructivist techniques in CS1, empirical research results are provided. These results arise from a study that compares different CS1 sections that utilized the techniques at varying frequencies. A positive correlation was found between frequency and mean final exam scores. However, no pair-wise differences between sections were statistically significant. These outcomes and others are discussed in addition to future research design implications.
Posterior cruciate ligament recruitment affects antero-posterior translation during flexion gap distraction in total knee replacement

Background and purpose Because of the oblique orientation of the posterior cruciate ligament (PCL), flexion gap distraction could lead to anterior movement of the tibia, which would influence the tibiofemoral contact point. This would affect the kinematics of the TKR. We assessed the flexion gap parameters when the knee is distracted during implantation of a PCL-retaining TKR. Furthermore, the effects of PCL elevation (steep or flat) and collateral ligament releases on the flexion gap parameters were determined. Methods During a ligament-guided TKR procedure in 50 knees, the flexion gap was distracted with a double-spring tensor with 200N after the tibia had been cut. The flexion gap height, anterior tibial translation, and femoral rotation were measured intraoperatively using a CT-free navigation system. Results During flexion gap distraction, the greatest displacement was seen in anterior-posterior direction. Mean ratio between increase in gap height and tibial translation was 1 to 1.9, and was highest for knees with a steep PCL (1 to 2.3). Knees with a flat PCL and knees with a ligament release had a larger increase in PCL elevation when the gap was distracted. Interpretation When the PCL is tensioned, every extra mm that the flexion gap is distracted can be expected to move the tibia anteriorly by at least 1.7 mm (flat PCL), or more if there is a steep PCL. This changes the tibiofemoral contact point, which may have consequences for polyethylene wear.
Dealing with Quality Tradeoffs during Service Selection

In a service-oriented system (SoS) service requests define tasks to execute and quality of service (QoS) criteria to optimize. A service request is submitted to an automated service selector in the SoS, which allocates tasks to those service that, together, can "best" satisfy the given QoS criteria. When the selector cannot optimize simultaneously the given QoS criteria, users need to specify priorities over the said criteria. Accounting for users' QoS priorities is therefore necessary during service selection. Once specified by the requester, quality properties will be used by the selector to lead autonomic optimization of the service selection process. We outline and test a selection approach that accommodates priorities and that is based on available multi criteria decision making techniques.
Semiclassical strings, dipole deformations of Script N = 1 SYM and decoupling of KK modes

In this paper we investigate the recently found °-deformed Maldacena-Nunez background by studying the behavior of different semiclassical string configurations. This background is conjectured to be dual to dipole deformations of N = 1 SYM. We compare our results to those in the pure Maldacena-Nunez background and show that the energies of our string configurations are higher than in the undeformed background. Thinking in the lines of (1) we argue that this is an evidence for better decoupling of the Kaluza-Klein modes from the pure SYM theory excitations. Moreover we are able to find a limit of the background in which the string energy is independent of °, these strings are interpreted as corresponding to pure gauge theory effects.
Comparative Microbial Modules Resource: Generation and Visualization of Multi-species Biclusters

The increasing abundance of large-scale, high-throughput datasets for many closely related organisms provides opportunities for comparative analysis via the simultaneous biclustering of datasets from multiple species. These analyses require a reformulation of how to organize multi-species datasets and visualize comparative genomics data analyses results. Recently, we developed a method, multi-species cMonkey, which integrates heterogeneous high-throughput datatypes from multiple species to identify conserved regulatory modules. Here we present an integrated data visualization system, built upon the Gaggle, enabling exploration of our method's results (available at http://meatwad.bio.nyu.edu/cmmr.html). The system can also be used to explore other comparative genomics datasets and outputs from other data analysis procedures – results from other multiple-species clustering programs or from independent clustering of different single-species datasets. We provide an example use of our system for two bacteria, Escherichia coli and Salmonella Typhimurium. We illustrate the use of our system by exploring conserved biclusters involved in nitrogen metabolism, uncovering a putative function for yjjI, a currently uncharacterized gene that we predict to be involved in nitrogen assimilation.
3D object modeling and recognition via online hierarchical Pitman-yor process mixture learning

We present a statistical framework for 3D objects modeling and recognition. Our framework is based on describing 3D objects using local descriptors from which a visual vocabulary if built and on a hierarchical Pitman-Yor process mixture of Beta-Liouville distributions. An online approach based on variational Bayes is developed for the learning of the proposed framework. The merits of our model are shown via extensive experiments.