Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
An improved target detection method based on multiscale features fusion

A pedestrian‐target detection method based on multiscale convolution features is proposed to solve the problem of the existing target detection algorithms based on convolutional neural networks that cannot effectively adapt to the target scale change, its deformation, and the complex environment. This article analyzes the characteristics of small target, establishes the a three‐layer pyramid network structure based on horizontal connection fusion, and makes full use of shallow convolution features with lower semantics to improve the accuracy of small target detection; From the angle of the cross ratio, quantitative analysis is made on the effect of eliminating redundant bounding box by nonmaximum suppression based on center point when the window with the cross ratio is less than 0.7, solves the problem of missing detection of overlap and small target, and improves the target detection accuracy and the generalization ability of the target detection model. Through the experimental results on VOC2007 and VOC2012 public data sets, the proposed method of this article has higher detection accuracy and stability for small and incomplete targets, multiscale target detection, and target classification under the complex environment.
Liveness is Not Enough: Enhancing Fingerprint Authentication with Behavioral Biometrics to Defeat Puppet Attacks

Fingerprint authentication has gained increasing popularity on mobile devices in recent years. However, it is vulnerable to presentation attacks, which include that an attacker spoofs with an artiﬁcial replica. Many liveness detection solutions have been proposed to defeat such presentation attacks; however, they all fail to defend against a particular type of presentation attack, namely puppet attack , in which an attacker places an unwilling victim’s ﬁnger on the ﬁngerprint sensor. In this paper, we propose F IN A UTH , an effective and efﬁcient software-only solution, to complement ﬁngerprint authentication by defeating both synthetic spoofs and puppet attacks using ﬁngertip-touch characteristics. F IN A UTH characterizes intrinsic ﬁngertip-touch behaviors including the acceleration and the rotation angle of mobile devices when a legitimate user authenticates. F IN A UTH only utilizes common sensors equipped on mobile devices and does not introduce extra usability burdens on users. To evaluate the effectiveness of F IN A UTH , we carried out experiments on datasets collected from 90 subjects after the IRB approval. The results show that F IN A UTH can achieve the average balanced accuracy of 96.04% with 5 training data points and 99.28% with 100 training data points. Security experiments also demonstrate that F IN A UTH is resilient against possible attacks. In addition, we report the usability analysis results of F IN A UTH , including user authentication delay and overhead.
Energy-Efficient Power Allocation and Q-Learning-Based Relay Selection for Relay-Aided D2D Communication

Device-to-device (D2D) communication is a promising paradigm to meet the requirement of ultra-dense, low-latency and high-rate in the fifth-generation networks. However, energy consumption is a critical issue for the D2D communication, especially for D2D relay networks. To make the best use of D2D communication, the problem of optimizing energy efficiency (EE) must be addressed. In this paper, we propose a joint power allocation and relay selection (JPARS) scheme for the improvement of energy efficiency in relay-aided D2D communications underlaying cellular network. A mixed integer nonlinear fractional programming (MINLP) problem of the total EE for D2D pairs is formulated. While ensuring the quality of service (QoS) of cellular users and D2D links, we solve the power allocation problem by Dinkelbach method and Lagrange dual decomposition. After that, Q-learning, one of the reinforcement learning algorithms, is employed to solve the relay selection problem. Finally, we provide in-depth theoretical analysis of the proposed scheme in terms of complexity and signaling overhead. Simulation results verify that the proposed scheme not only overcomes the bottleneck effect, but also nearly reaches the theoretical maximum in terms of the total EE of D2D pairs.
Robust low rank and sparse decomposition from blurred video frames

Recently, the low-rank and sparse decompositionproblem has attracted attention in several applications, especially surveillance videos. Due to the physical limitations in acquisition systems, measured frames are blurred by a low-pass filter.In this article, we aim to decompose blurred videos’ framesinto low-rank and sparse components, in order to extract thebackground. Unlike conventional methods, we simultaneously take into account the blurring effect, as well as the missing data. Our simulation results confirmed the advantage of this approach in extracting low-rank components in surveillance videos.
Bacillus alcalophilus subsp. halodurans subsp. nov.: An Alkaline-Amylase-Producing, Alkalophilic Organism

An alkaline-amylase-producing, alkalophilic bacillus, NRRL B-3881, was characterized and compared with Bacillus sp. ATCC 21591 and Bacillus alcalophilus Vedder strain NCTC 4553 (=ATCC 27647), which is here designated as the type strain of B. alcalophilus. All three strains contained motile, gram-positive rods with rounded ends and swollen, clavate sporangia with oval, terminal to subterminal endospores. All three strains grew in soybean broth; were facultatively anaerobic; hydrolyzed starch, gelatin, and casein; reduced methylene blue; and fermented the following carbohydrates without gas production: Sucrose, D-glucose, lactose, maltose, D-mannitol, D-xylose, L-arabinose, glycerol, sorbitol, and salicin. None produced acetylmethylcarbinol, indole, unrease, or crystalline dextrins. Bacillus sp. ATCC 21591 and Bacillus sp. NRRL B-3881, but not NCTC 4553, reduced nitrate to nitrite, utilized citrate, and grew well in 12% NaCl and slowly in 15% NaCl. B. alcalophilus NCTC 4553 did not grow in 5% NaCl. In our opinion, these differences are sufficient to justify the establishment of a separate subspecies for ATCC 21591, NRRL B-3881, and similar strains. We propose the name B. alcalophilus subsp. halodurans as the name for this new subspecies. The name of the type subspecies, which contains the type strain, NCTC 4553, is B. alcalophilus subsp. alcalophilus Vedder. NRRL B-3881 is designated as the type strain of B. alcalophilus subsp. halodurans and is available from the Northern Regional Research Laboratory. It has also been deposited in the American Type Culture Collection under the number 27557.
Distribution of epiphytic macroalgae on the thalli of their hosts in Cuba

We investigated the distribution of epiphytic macroalgae on the thalli of their hosts at eight localities along the southeastern coast of Cuba between June 2010 and March 2011. We divided he epiphytes in two groups according to their distribution on the host: those at the base of the thallus and those on its surface. We determining the dissimilarity between the zones and the species involved. We identified 102 taxa of epiphytic macroalgae. There were significant differences between the two zones. In 31 hosts, the number of epiphytes was higher on the surface of the thallus, whereas the number of epiphytes was higher at the thallus base in 25 hosts, and the epiphytes were equally distributed between the two zones in five hosts (R=−0.001, p=0.398). The mean dissimilarity between the two zones, in terms of the species composition of the epiphytic macroalgae, was 96.64%. Hydrolithon farinosum and Polysiphonia atlantica accounted for 43.76% of the dissimilarity. Among macroalgae, the structure of the thallus seems to be a determinant of their viability as hosts for epiphytes.
Summer Diet of the Bearded Seal ( Erignathus barbatus ) in the Canadian High Arctic

Stomach contents of 34 bearded seals taken in three High Arctic localities (Grise Fiord, Pond Inlet and Clyde) during the summers from 1978-1980 were examined. At least 12 species of fish were present but sculpins (Cottidae) and arctic cod ( Boreogadus saida ) comprised the bulk of the diet. Eelpouts ( Lycodes spp.) and polar cod ( Arctogadus glacialis ) were also ingested in considerable amounts. In 15 of 19 stomachs containing > 1 kg food, fish contributed > 90% of the wet weight. The whelk Buccinem and the shrimp Sclerocrangon boreas accounted for most of the invertebrate component of the diet. Clams, cephalopods, anemones, sea cucumbers, polychaete worms and other invertebrates occurred in small amounts. The largest measured weight of stomach contents was 7.6 kg from a seal that had fed heavily on arctic cod. There were no significant differences amongst the three localities in the amount of food ingested; however, the proportions of arctic cod and sculpins varied considerably among localities. Bearded seals fed on the available size range of arctic cod but were limited to the smaller sculpins (<200 g), eelpouts (<200 g) and polar cod (<350 g). Key words: bearded seals, Canadian High Arctic, diet
Patrones de diversidad alfa en tres fragmentos de bosques montanos en la región norte de los Andes, Colombia

En el presente trabajo se analizaron los patrones de diversidad alfa en tres areas protegidas de bosque con base en informacion floristica proveniente de seis parcelas permanentes de 1ha -dos en cada area protegida-. Las regiones de estudio estan localizadas a lo largo de un gradiente altitudinal, en la parte norte de la cordillera central de los Andes, Colombia. Para los analisis, se generaron dos categorias de acuerdo al tamano de los arboles: dosel (diametro a la altura del pecho mayor o igual a 10cm) y sotobosque (diametro a la altura del pecho mayor o igual a un cm y menor a 10cm). Las curvas especies-area mostraron diferencias en riqueza para las dos categorias de tamano en las tres regiones. Las curvas especies-individuos, en cambio, fueron independientes con respecto al tamano de los individuos, excepto en la region de Belmira. La diversidad, medida con el indice alfa de Fisher, mostro una fuerte tendencia a la estabilizacion en muestras mayores a 1 000 individuos. Ni las curvas de especies-area ni las de especies-individuos fueron asintoticas; sin embargo, la tasa de acumulacion de especies (z) en Belmira alcanzo valores muy bajos (0.05) en comparacion con Anori y Angelopolis (0.25 en cada caso). El indice alfa de Fisher permitio ademas entender la magnitud de las diferencias relativas en diversidad entre regiones o tipos de bosque en gradientes altitudinales, aun cuando el tamano de la muestra fue relativamente pequeno. Los resultados de este estudio soportan la limitacion en dispersion como el principal mecanismo en estructurar las comunidades de especies a escalas muy finas, y un incremento continuo de procesos denso-dependientes en determinar la estructura de la comunidad en escalas espaciales mas grandes. Igualmente, los resultados de este estudio proponen que la denso-dependencia tiende a aumentar positivamente con la altitud.
Biotic influences on species duration: interactions between traits in marine molluscs

Abstract We analyze relationships among a range of ecological and biological traits—geographic range size, body size, life mode, larval type, and feeding type—in order to identify those traits that are associated significantly with species duration in New Zealand Cenozoic marine molluscs, during a time of background extinction. Using log-linear modeling, we find that bivalves have only a small number of simple, two-way associations between the studied traits and duration. In contrast, gastropods display more complex interactions involving three-way associations between traits, a pattern that suggests greater macroecological complexity of gastropods. This is not an artifact caused by the larger number of gastropods than bivalves in our data set. We used stratified randomized resampling of families to test for associations between traits that might result from shared inheritance rather than ecological trait interactions; we found no evidence of phylogenetic effects in any associations examined. The relationships revealed by our study should serve to constrain the range of possible biological mechanisms that underlie these relationships. As previously observed, two-way associations are present between large geographic range and increased duration, and between large geographic range and large body size, in both bivalves and gastropods. In gastropods, planktotrophic larval type is associated with large range size through a three-way interaction that also involves duration; there is no direct association of larval type and geographic range. Gastropods also display two-way associations between duration and life mode, and duration and feeding type. We note that in gastropods, an infaunal life mode is associated with large range size, whereas in bivalves infaunality is associated with reduced range size.
Bacterial heavy metal‐tolerance — extreme resistance to nickel in Arthrobacter spp. strains

The heavy metal‐resistant bacterial community of strongly polluted industrial areas was investigated. The bacterial tolerance levels to nickel, chromium and copper depended greatly on the pollution degree of sampling sites. Thirty‐six selected strains were tested on their multiple heavy metal resistance, most strains were resistant to high concentrations of nickel as well as of chromate. Remarkably, 4 plasmid‐containing strains with an extreme resistance to nickel (up to 20 mM) were Gram‐positive and identified as Arthrobacter spp. Nickel resistance is an induced mechanism in 3 strains and is constitutively expressed in one of the 4 strains; nickel resistance is influenced by temperature. This is the first description of extreme nickel resistance in Grampositive bacteria.
Carbohydrates in fish nutrition: effects on growth, glucose metabolism and hepatic enzymes

The utilisation of dietary carbohydrates and their effects on fish metabolism are reviewed. Details on how dietary carbohydrates affect growth, feed utilisation and deposition of nutrients are discussed. Variations in plasma glucose concentrations emphasizing results from glucose tolerance tests, and the impact of adaptation diets are interpreted in the context of secondary carbohydrate metabolism. Our focus then shifts to selected aspects of hormonal regulation of carbohydrate metabolism and dietary carbohydrates and their variable effects on glycogen and glucose turnover. We analyse the interaction of carbohydrates with other nutrients, especially protein and protein sparing, and de novo synthesis of lipids, and finish by discussing the correlation of dietary carbohydrates with fish health.
A comparison of algorithms for global characterization of confidence regions for nonlinear models

Environmental models are often highly nonlinear, and parameters have to be estimated from noisy data. The standard approach of locally linearizing the model, which leads to ellipsoid confidence regions, is inappropriate in this situation. A straightforward technique to characterize arbitrary-shaped confidence regions is to calculate model output on a grid of parameter values. Each parameter value P results in a goodness of fit G(P), which allows delineation of the set of parameters corresponding to G(P) < Gc, with Gc some threshold level (e.g., 5% probability). This approach is impractical and time-consuming for complex models, however. This article aims at finding an efficient alternative. It is first shown that the most general approach is to generate parameter values uniformly covering the set G(P) < Gc rather than finding the boundary G(P) = Gc. It is argued that the most efficient method of generating a uniform cover is by a (theoretical) algorithm known as pure adaptive search (PAS); the presently proposed method (uniform covering by probabilistic rejection; UCPR) is shown to be a good approximation to PAS. The UCPR is compared with alternative methods for a number of test problems. It is illustrated that for complex models (where model run time dominates total computer time) UCPR is considerably faster and its cover of Gc more uniform than existing alternatives. An intrinsic problem common to all methods is that the amount of work increases at least quadratically with the number of parameters considered, making them of limited use for high-dimensional problems.
Reproduction of the dusky fruit bat Penthetor lucasi (Pteropodidae) in Brunei, Borneo

Abstract The dusky fruit bat Penthetor lucasi is a small and poorly known species (Megachiroptera, Pteropodidae) inhabiting Southeast Asia. I studied its reproduction in Brunei, northern Borneo, where individuals were usually captured in rainforest. The climate of the study area is characterized by uniformly high temperatures and rainfall, but with two seasons of greater rainfall (April to July and October to December) and two of lesser rainfall. Based upon my data, I estimate the following regarding reproduction of P. lucasi. In general, reproduction of P. lucasi is characterized by a synchronized birth season around the month of October. Birth is followed by a postpartum estrus and mating; 2–4 months of lactation; a prolonged period of delayed embryonic development; and then relatively rapid embryonic development from July to September, with the subsequent birth likewise around October. In sum, the reproductive cycle is consistent with a pattern of seasonal monestry. The synchronized birth season of P. lucasi does not correspond to the season of abundant flowering/fruiting (April to June) at the study site; rather, the species was relatively absent during this time. Thus, reproduction of P. lucasi appears linked to the flowering/fruiting and availability of specific plant species. This conforms to the concept of a sequential food specialist in which a species uses only a small and select fraction of the plants that are flowering/fruiting at any period of time. Females become sexually mature when weighing approximately 33.0–34.0 g in body mass with forearms approximately 5.7–6.2 cm in length. Males attain sexual maturity at approximately 27.0–30.0 g body mass with forearms approximately 5.4–5.8 cm in length. Seasonal testis recrudescence was not observed.
A Reverse Auction-Based Incentive Mechanism for Mobile Crowdsensing

Incentive mechanism has been an important research direction in mobile crowdsensing. An effective incentive mechanism is critical to ensure the adequate number of participants/workers by providing them proper rewards. However, existing incentive mechanisms lack consideration on potential contributions of individual workers when recruiting new workers and retaining existing workers in the system. In this article, we propose a reverse auction-based incentive mechanism (RAIN), which considers participants’ potential contributions when recruiting new workers, performing reverse auctions, and retaining existing workers. The design objective is to optimize the worker composition in the system while reducing the system cost. In RAIN, the potential contribution of a user to the system is measured as the degree at which the user’s joining or staying in the system can remedy the inadequacy of workers for task auction/execution at the frequently visited locations of the user. We present design details of RAIN which includes selective worker recruitment, reverse auction based on biased bids, and selective retaining of auction losers, all based on individual users’ potential contributions to the system. Extensive simulation results show that RAIN can effectively optimize the worker composition in a system and also effectively reduce the system cost.
High rates of extracellular superoxide production in bryophytes and lichens, and an oxidative burst in response to rehydration following desiccation

Summary • The mechanism of extracellular superoxide radical (O2·−) formation and the role of the oxidative burst in response to desiccation stress is reported here in bryophytes and lichens from habitats of contrasting water availability. • Rates of extracellular production of O2·− radicals were measured, before and after desiccation stress, by the oxidation of epinephrine to adrenochrome, determined spectrophotometrically. • Several desiccation-sensitive lichens and bryophytes that grow in very wet microhabitats produced O2·− extracellularly at high rates, even when they were not stressed. In addition, some species showed a powerful burst of O2·− production during rehydration following desiccation. Production of high levels of O2·− and the existence of an inducible oxidative burst was best developed in cyanobacterial lichens, a hornwort and the two thalloid liverworts tested. Extracellular production of O2·− was almost absent from all mosses tested, a leafy liverwort, a filmy fern and from desiccation-tolerant lichens. • Patterns of O2·− production are discussed in terms of their possible role as a defence against pathogenic fungi and bacteria.
Habitat Fragmentation and Extinction Thresholds in Spatially Explicit Models

The incidence of habitat destruction on the survivorship of a single metapopulation is studied by means of a spatially explicit model. As the proportion of destroyed sites increases, the structural properties of the resulting landscape change in a non-linear way, showing the existence of critical thresholds and phase transitions. Such critical thresholds are identified by means of an order parameter, which discriminates a quantitative process, i.e. habitat loss, from a qualitative one, i.e. habitat fragmentation. This difference is only well understood using a spatially explicit framework. We introduce on such a fragmented landscape the dynamics of a metapopulation balanced by local colonization and extinction by means of the cellular automaton formalism. The existence of extinction thresholds when a given fraction of habitat is destroyed is reported. These thresholds are determined both by the critical behaviour of the landscape structural properties, and by the demographic properties of the metapopulation. Some differences between these results and those derived from the study of spatially implicit models are described and explained. In particular, the percentage of patch occupancy is lower for a given value of habitat destruction in the spatially explicit formulation. Extinction threshold also take place for a lower destruction value. Some implications for the management of natural landscapes are discussed.
Comparison of male and female olfactory cell response to pheromone compounds and plant volatiles in the turnip moth, Agrotis segetum

ABSTRACT. Pheromone and plant volatile perception was studied with electroantennogram and single sensillum techniques in male and female turnip moths, Agrotis segetum Schiff. Lepidoptera, Noctuidae. The female is insensitive to the pheromone components and her receptors are specialized for plant volatile reception. The specific pheromone receptors on the male antenna are also sensitive to plant volatiles. The male was in addition found to have specialized plant volatile receptors. The biological significance of the different response profiles in males and females, and a possible hypothesis for the evolutionary specialization of olfactory receptors are discussed.
Dynamic degree balanced with CPU based VM allocation policy for load balancing

Abstract In cloud computing environment, Load balancing is key challenge. To address above challenge, we have proposed Dynamic Degree Balance with CPU based VM allocation policy. The proposed algorithm includes both VM allocation and task allocation. This algorithm is compared with the two static algorithms viz. Shortest Job First (SJF) and First Come First Serve (FCFS). CloudSim simulator is used to perform experiment. Degree of imbalance and waiting time is considered as evaluation parameter to check the results of experiment. The experimental result shows that proposed algorithm reduces degree of imbalance and waiting time of task.