Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Generating Realistic Facial Expressions with Wrinkles for Model-Based Coding

Due to the limitations of current computer graphics technology mimicing realistic facial textures, such as wrinkles, is very difficult. Facial texture updating and compression are crucial to achieving realistic facial animation for low bit rate model-based coding. In this paper, we present a partial texture updating method for realistic facial expression synthesis with facial wrinkles. First, fiducial points on a face are estimated using a color-based deformable template matching method. Second, an extended dynamic mesh matching algorithm is developed for face tracking. Next, textures of interest (TOI) in the potential expressive wrinkles and mouth? eye texture areas are captured by the detected fiducial points. Among the TOI, the so-called active textures or expressive textures are extracted by exploring temporal correlation information. Finally, the entire facial texture is synthesized using the active texture. Compared to the entire texture updating scheme, partially updating and compressing facial textures significantly reduce the computational complexity and bit rates while still producing an acceptable visual quality. Experiments on the video sequences demonstrate the advantage of the proposed algorithm.
A Recreation Demand Model for South Atlantic Marine Recreational Private and For-Hire Boat Fishing with an Application to Snapper Grouper Management

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council is pursuing a “visioning” process for the snapper grouper fishery. Science is one of the strategic goals with emphasis on quality data and economic impacts of management. In this context, we present a recreation demand model specifically designed for the South Atlantic region which is an improvement over existing models that support management decisions. The values that result can be applied to the quotas and site closures. For example, an estimate of the value of the reduced catch of red grouper from 2008 to 2012 is $1.1 million in 2012. An estimate of the value of avoiding a closure of the snapper grouper fishery in Florida is $1.57 million. Similar regional and species-specific models should routinely be estimated and employed by regional fishery councils as determined by management needs.
Children′s Snack Food Consumption Patterns in Germany and England

Primary schoolchildren′s snack food consumption patterns and food preferences were investigated by interview technique in schools in Germany and England and analysed on the basis of culture, sex and social class. There were significant differences in the proportions of children who took chocolate to school in the various social classes in both England and Germany and there were also highly significant differences in the total number of chocolate bars consumed each week by the different social classes in both countries. Food choices from a table display containing a range of snack foods popular in both countries showed highly significant differences between German and English children with German children preferring a much higher proportion of “healthy food options”, e.g. fruit, yogurt, milchschnitte (sponge cake snack), etc. compared with English children who chose four chocolate products out of their five most preferred items. Reasons for such differences could be related to advertising pressures, nutrit.
Identification, Current State and Development of Clusters in the Czech Republic

The aim of the paper is to idenfity clusters currently existing in the Czech Republic and to analyze their regional dispersion, structure and activities. The analysis includes all currently active clusters to which it is possible to obtain relevant and compareable data. The data used in the study comes from specific cluster intitiatives, the database of the National Cluster Association of the Czech Republic a from the materials of the Ministry of Industry and Trade and from the agency specialized on the promotion of trade and investment, the CzechInvest. DOI: 10.5901/mjss.2013. v4n11p144
Accreditation and competency-based education

Background Competency-based education or CBE is, an approach to teaching and learning that awards credit on the basis of mastery of clearly defined competencies or skills (EDUCAUSE, 2014). The current increased emphasis on CBE is resulting in institutions and programs taking fresh approaches to their academic activity. The Council for Higher Education Accreditation (CHEA) sought to learn more about how the increased emphasis was affecting institutional and programmatic accreditation. Method During September 2015, CHEA conducted an email survey of the 85 institutional and programmatic accreditors that are scrutinized for quality (“recognized”) by either CHEA or the U.S. Department of Education. The accreditors were asked four questions about the role that their organizations play in CBE and their view about the future of CBE. Results Of the 85 recognized accrediting organizations, 26 (30.5%) responded to the survey. This included five of the seven regional accreditors, three of the four faith-related accreditors, three of the seven career-related accreditors, and 15 of the 67 programmatic accreditors. Conclusions Accreditation involvement in CBE is at present very modest and responsive in nature. The institutions and programs that decide to pursue a competency-based approach turn to their accreditors for needed review and approval. If the accreditor is reviewing CBE that involves access to federal aid for students, the accreditor has a number of federal obligations to meet. Accrediting organizations neither require a CBE approach nor are they framing common expectations at the institutional or programmatic level for such an approach.
On the China's Local Government Debt Risk

This paper, the formation, scale and constitution of China's local government debt are discussed. The status of various assets available for repayment is thoroughly analysed, including fiscal revenue, government fund revenue, state-owned enterprise profit, state-owned enterprise net assets, state-owned non-operating assets and resource assets. The conclusion is that local governments have a low risk of insolvency; however, due to the mismatching of assets and liabilities, which comes from the low efficiency of investing, there is a certain risk concerning liquidity and payment indeed. The root cause as well as solutions and management of local government debt are also studied, such as, improving the transparency of local debt, implementing of quantitative debt indicators, and establishing the relevant laws to control debt quota. Local government debt risk can be countered by assets securitization, "sell and rent", public-private partnerships (PPP), etc.
An Empirical Investigation of Motorcycle Ownership and Usage

Motorcycles are a widespread mode of travel in several parts of the world as, for example, in Southern Europe and Asia. However, motorcycle ownership and usage have been scarcely examined, despite being critical for developing transportation and traffic safety plans and policies in urban areas with high motorcycle presence. This paper describes models that were developed for this purpose based on questionnaires collected in Athens, Greece. A binary Probit model is used for analyzing motorcycle ownership and a hazard-based duration model for explaining factors affecting motorcycle usage. Results indicated that income, gender, and age are factors affecting motorcycle ownership and use; in addition, appropriate spatial trip characteristics have an effect on motorcycle ownership and usage.
Acylation of Rat Brain Myelin Proteolipid Protein with Different Fatty Acids

Abstract: The acylation of rat brain proteolipid protein (PLP) with tritiated palmitic, oleic, and myristic acids was studied in vivo and in vitro and compared with the acylation of lipids. Twenty‐four hours after intracranial injection of [3H]myristic acid, only 16% of the PLP‐bound label appeared as myristic acid, with 66% as palmitic, 9% as stearic, and 6% as oleic acid, whereas >63% of the label in total or myelin phospholipid was in the form of myristic acid. In contrast, after labelling with [3H]palmitic or oleic acids, 75% and 86%, respectively, of the radioactivity in PLP remained in the original form. When brain tissue slices were incubated for short periods of time, the incorporation of palmitic and oleic acids into PLP exceeded that of myristic acid by a factor of 8. In both systems and with all precursors studied, the label associated with PLP was shown to be in ester linkage. The results suggest a preferential acylation of PLP with palmitic and oleic acids as compared with myristic acid. This is consistent with the fatty acid composition of the isolated PLP.
Asset Returns with Earnings Management

The paper investigates stock return dynamics in an environment where executives have an incentive to maximize their compensation by artificially inflating earnings. A principal-agent model with financial reporting and managerial effort is embedded in a Lucas asset-pricing model with periodic revelations of the firm's underlying profitability. The return process generated from the model is consistent with a range of financial anomalies observed in the return data: volatility clustering, asymmetric volatility, and increased idiosyncratic volatility. The calibration results further indicate that earnings management by individual firms does not only deliver the observed features in their own stocks, but can also be strong enough to generate market-wide patterns.
Diabetes and Bone Loss at the Hip in Older Black and White Adults

Type 2 diabetes may be associated with elevated fracture risk, but the impact on bone loss is unknown. Analysis of 4‐year change in hip BMD data from a cohort of white and black well‐functioning men and women 70‐79 years of age found that white women with diabetes had more rapid bone loss at the femoral neck than those with normal glucose metabolism.
The Transmission of Knowledge by Means of Strategic Alliances: An Application in the Hotel Industry

ABSTRACT In this article, we study to what extent strategic alliances, such as joint ventures, are used as a means of transmitting knowledge among service companies, focusing on the hotel industry. And especially, we aim to analyse the advantages and disadvantages that joint ventures imply and measure their degree of utilization in this industry. We feel this to be a relevant topic, as the tourist sector is currently enjoying a boom and the leisure and entertainment fields are undergoing expansion. It is a sector that is learning new concepts and management techniques, and is now interacting with other sectors to extend its range of services and thus satisfy the expectations of increasingly demanding clients in an evermore-globalised world. In this study we have looked at current cases of joint ventures between hotel chains operating in Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Developing auto recipe management system for LCD panel auto defect detecting inspection machine

Recently, there is an intensive price competition among mass LCD panel makers. to decrease labor costs, many manufacturing processes such as auto defect detecting are getting automated. However, to maintain its optimal performance, user must keep attention to hardware settings and many recipe parameters. These efforts are supposed to be managed constantly as developing new model. In this paper, we introduce automated defect finding algorithm generally used in periodic pattern image, and suggest auto recipe management algorithms and system that help user to devote less effort for maintenance. Three algorithms are developed - auto pitch calculation, auto threshold control, auto light source intensity control. To verify the performance of auto recipe management algorithm, simulation and machine tests are executed with several color filter and TFT pattern image. Through the tests, we verified the performance of developed algorithm and got successful result.
Effects of a single pre‐operative dexmedetomidine dose on isoflurane requirements and peri‐operative haemodynamic stability

In a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled study we investigated the effect of a single pre‐induction intravenous dose of dexmedetomidine 2 μg. kg−1 on anaesthetic requirements and peri‐operative haemodynamic stability in 50 patients undergoing minor orthopaedic and general surgery. Patients were anaesthetised with nitrous oxide/oxygen/fentanyl, supplemented if necessary with isoflurane. The mean (SD) intra‐operative isoflurane concentration was lower in the dexmedetomidine‐treated patients than controls (0.01 (0.03)% compared to 0.1 (0.1)%; p = 0.001) although six of the 25 treated patients required isoflurane at some stage. The haemodynamic response to tracheal intubation and extubation was reduced in the dexmedetomidine group as was intra‐operative heart rate variability; postoperative analgesic and anti‐emetic requirements and peri‐operative serum catecholamine concentrations were lower in the dexmedetomidine group. Hypotension and bradycardia occurred more frequently after dexmedetomidine.
The Five Phases in the Transfer of HR Policies and Practices within MNCs

The tension that multinational companies (MNCs) suffer in the transfer of their HR policies and practices leads us to take an in-depth look at the factors that affect this transfer. We divide the transfer process into five phases, ranging from the configuration of HR policies and practices in the parent company to their internalization by the subsidiaries' employees, and we analyze this process from six theoretical approaches, presenting the corresponding work hypotheses which will bring about the model of analysis.
A Study on the Influence Factor Relationship of the Railway Tourism Policy for Job Satisfaction

This research used a survey of 350 staff members working at Korail with the purpose of analyzing influence factors for the railway tourism policy for job satisfaction; results were presented for the proposed factor. First, we selected the influence factor through precedent research related to the railway tourism policy. Second, the selected influence factor and the extent of satisfaction were used to determine whether or not any kind of difference existed according to individual attributes of the railway employees. Finally, we analyzed what the influence factor was between the category factor and the sub-category factor. In conclusion, it was found that government subsidy had a meaningful correlation with infrastructure expansion and the improvement of the railway business as it is connected to tourism efficiency. Human resources have a meaningful correlation with the needs of educational institutions and the retaining of talent. Railway tourism production has a meaningful correlation with railway tour production as it is conducted to satisfy tourists and the consortium. The shift of viewpoint has a meaningful correlation with the escape from the peace-at-any price principle and demand forecasting.
Masking fields: a massively parallel neural architecture for learning, recognizing, and predicting multiple groupings of patterned data.

A massively parallel neural network architecture, called a masking field, is characterized through systematic computer simulations. A masking field is a multiple-scale self-similar automatically gain-controlled cooperative- competitive feedback network F(2). Network F(2) receives input patterns from an adaptive filter F(1) ? F(2) that is activated by a prior processing level F(1). Such a network F(2) behaves like a content-addressable memory. It activates compressed recognition codes that are predictive with respect to the activation patterns flickering across the feature detectors of F(1) and competitively inhibits, or masks, codes which are unpredictive with respect to the F(1) patterns. In particular, a masking field can simultaneously detect multiple groupings within its input patterns and assign activation weights to the codes for these groupings which are predictive with respect to the contextual information embedded within the patterns and the prior learning of the system. A masking field automatically rescales its sensitivity as the overall size of an input pattern changes, yet also remains sensitive to the microstructure within each input pattern. In this way, a masking field can more strongly activate a code for the whole F(1) pattern than for its salient parts, yet amplifies the code for a pattern part when it becomes a pattern whole in a new input context. A masking field can also be primed by inputs from F(1): it can activate codes which represent predictions of how the F(1) pattern may evolve in the subsequent time interval. Network F(2) can also exhibit an adaptive sharpening property: repetition of a familiar F(1) pattern can tune the adaptive filter to elicit a more focal spatial activation of its F(2) recognition code than does an unfamiliar input pattern. The F(2) recognition code also becomes less distributed when an input pattern contains more contextual information on which to base an unambiguous prediction of which the F(1) pattern is being processed. Thus a masking field suggests a solution of the credit assignment problem by embodying a real-time code for the predictive evidence contained within its input patterns. Such capabilities are useful in speech recognition, visual object recognition, and cognitive information processing. An absolutely stable design for a masking field is disclosed through an analysis of the computer simulations. This design suggests how associative mechanisms, cooperative-competitive interactions, and modulatory gating signals can be joined together to regulate the learning of compressed recognition codes. Data about the neural substrates of learning and memory are compared to these mechanisms.
Widening the scope of incident analysis in complex work environments

Incident analysis is commonly used as a tooi to provide information on how to improve health and safety in complex work environments. The effectiveness of this tooi, however, depends on how the analysis is actually carried out. The traditional view on incident analysis highlights the role of human and technical failure in incident causation. More recently, the importance of the organisational factors underlying these human and technical failures has been acknowledged. Furthermore, incident analysis has traditionally focused on the failure side of incident causation, ignoring the potentialof human recovery in minimising the negative outcomes of the incident process. The recent emphasis on organisational failure has not vet resulted in any practical tools for detecting, describing and classifying organisational factors. The study outlined in this chapter presents the development of a taxonomy for classifying the organisational factors underlying incidents. The taxonomy was originally developed in the Dutch steel industry and has subsequently been applied in various settings in the medical domain. The application of the taxonomy in an Anaesthesia department and an Intensive Care Unit are discussed in detail. The analysis of recent incidents within these departments demonstrates both the contribution of organisational failures in incident causation and the contribution of human recovery in preventing minor incidents from developing into major accidents. The chapter concludes with suggestions on how to widen the scope of incident analysis in complex work environments, in order to raise its effectiveness as a tool for improving health and safety.
Developing a collaborative supply chain reference model for a regional manufacturing industry in China

Under today's competitive environments and globalisation trend, supply chain management has emerged as one of the best practices for corporations to gain competitive advantages. The supply chain (SC) operations reference (SCOR) model, developed by the SC Council, provides a common framework and standard terminology for evaluating, positioning and implementing SC practice. However, the model does not get to the specifics of how to manage collaboration in SC and what makes it work. It also lacks the best practice example for specific industries. In this paper, we extend the SCOR model by integrating collaborative product commerce and project management to propose a comprehensive collaborative supply chain operations reference model (CSCOR). The CSCOR consists of four hierarchical levels: business, cooperative, process and operational models. We apply the CSCOR model to a regional electricity industry in China and assess its relative effectiveness.
DATA DISCRIMINATION PREVENTION IN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGMENT

Data mining is a very important technology to derive important data occult in pompous heap of data. However, there is negative social awareness about data mining. It consists of unfairly treating people on the basis of their membership to a specific group. Automated data aggregation and data mining methods is useful in making automated decision such as customer identification and customer development. If partiality in training data sets is such a that regards sensitive attributes like gender, religion, color etc. Then discriminatory issues can arise. To remove this, antidiscrimination methods like discrimination discovery and prevention have been included in data mining. Direct and indirect are the two types of discrimination. When decisions are made based on discriminatory entities then, that discrimination is direct discrimination. When decisions are made based on non-discriminatory entities then that discrimination is indirect discrimination. Indirect discrimination corresponds to biased sensitive issues. Here we proposed discrimination prevention in data mining for customer relationship management. We proposed an enabling system supporting a business strategy for long term, profitable relationships with customers. Our paper is related to one-to-one marketing and loyalty programs. Our paper is related to the discrimination in online shopping system. Location based discrimination and dynamic pricing are the main objectives of our papers.
Quelques enseignements tirés de la recherche en finance d'entreprises

(VF)Cet article expose les principaux resultats tires des travaux empiriques portant sur les causes et les consequences des decisions financieres prises par les dirigeants d’entreprises francaises. Les trois types de decisions etudiees sont les decisions d’investissement, les decisions de financement et les decisions de versement de liquidites. (VA)In this paper, we present the main results of empirical research on the determinants and the effects of financial decisions taken by French managers. Three different types of decisions are analyzed:investment decisions, financing decisions and payout (dividends and share repurchases) decisions.
Incorporating Demand Response With Spinning Reserve to Realize an Adaptive Frequency Restoration Plan for System Contingencies

Demand response (DR) is considered to be one of the most incentive smart grid functions to enhance power system reliability and control. For the purpose of system security, DR has been utilized to deal with contingent events. In this way, load shedding conducted by the DR program is no longer sorely considered as the last defense line to save system frequency, it should be considered as part of the available fast response resources to cooperate with spinning reserve for balancing generation and demand under some specific conditions. This paper proposes an overall frequency restoration plan considering the DR and spinning reserve. The frequency restoration is designed using the DR as the first option to intercept frequency decline for a large disturbance, followed by the scheduled spinning reserve to raise frequency back to the pre-disturbance level. The proposed scheme is especially developed to intelligently deploy DR for coordinating with different spinning reserve constraints and contingency scenarios. Tests of the proposed frequency restoration scheme are evaluated by simulation where the system data was retrieved from frequency events in a utility. Test results show that the proposed spinning reserve and DR deployment could effectively restore frequency under various contingency scenarios.