Attention control with reinforcement learning for face recognition under partial occlusion

In this paper a new method for handling occlusion in face recognition is presented. In this method the faces are partitioned into blocks and a sequential recognition structure is developed. Then, a spatial attention control strategy over the blocks is learned using reinforcement learning. The outcome of this learning is a sorted list of blocks according to their average importance in the face recognition task. In the recall mode, the sorted blocks are employed sequentially until a confident decision is made. Obtained results of various experiments on the AR face database demonstrate the superior performance of proposed method as compared with that of the holistic approach in the recognition of occluded faces.     

Optimal Local Basis: A Reinforcement Learning Approach for Face Recognition

This paper presents a novel learning approach for Face Recognition by introducing Optimal Local Basis. Optimal local bases are a set of basis derived by reinforcement learning to represent the face space locally. The reinforcement signal is designed to be correlated to the recognition accuracy. The optimal local bases are derived then by finding the most discriminant features for different parts of the face space, which represents either different individuals or different expressions, orientations, poses, illuminations, and other variants of the same individual. Therefore, unlike most of the existing approaches that solve the recognition problem by using a single basis for all individuals, our proposed method benefits from local information by incorporating different bases for its decision. We also introduce a novel classification scheme that uses reinforcement signal to build a similarity measure in a non-metric space. Experiments on AR, PIE, ORL and YALE databases indicate that the proposed method facilitates robust face recognition under pose, illumination and expression variations. The performance of our method is compared with that of Eigenface, Fisherface, Subclass Discriminant Analysis, and Random Subspace LDA methods as well.     

Creating corroborated crisis reports from social media data through formal concept analysis

During a crisis citizens reach for their smart phones to report, comment and explore information surrounding the crisis. These actions often involve social media and this data forms a large repository of real-time, crisis related information. Law enforcement agencies and other first responders see this information as having untapped potential. That is, it has the capacity extend their situational awareness beyond the scope of a usual command and control centre. Despite this potential, the sheer volume, the speed at which it arrives, and unstructured nature of social media means that making sense of this data is not a trivial task and one that is not yet satisfactorily solved; both in crisis management and beyond. Therefore we propose a multi-stage process to extract meaning from this data that will provide relevant and near real-time information to command and control to assist in decision support. This process begins with the capture of real-time social media data, the development of specific LEA and crisis focused taxonomies for categorisation and entity extraction, the application of formal concept analysis for aggregation and corroboration and the presentation of this data via map-based and other visualisations. We demonstrate that this novel use of formal concept analysis in combination with context-based entity extraction has the potential to inform law enforcement and/or humanitarian responders about on-going crisis events using social media data in the context of the 2015 Nepal earthquake.     

Disturbance and recovery of trunk mechanical and neuromuscular behaviours following prolonged trunk flexion: influences of duration and external load on creep-induced effects

Trunk flexion results in adverse mechanical effects on the spine and is associated with a higher incidence of low back pain. To examine the effects of creep deformation on trunk behaviours, participants were exposed to full trunk flexion in several combinations of exposure duration and external load. Trunk mechanical and neuromuscular behaviours were obtained pre- and post-exposure and during recovery using sudden perturbations. Intrinsic trunk stiffness decreased with increasing flexion duration and in the presence of the external load. Recovery of intrinsic stiffness required more time than the exposure duration and was influenced by exposure duration. Reflexive trunk responses increased immediately following exposure but recovered quickly (～2.5 min). Alterations in reflexive trunk behaviour following creep deformation exposures may not provide adequate compensation to allow for complete recovery of concurrent reductions in intrinsic stiffness, which may increase the risk of injury due to spinal instability. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: An increased risk of low back injury may result from flexion-induced disturbances to trunk behaviours. Such effects, however, appear to depend on the type of flexion exposure, and have implications for the design of work involving trunk flexion.     

Estimating process capability indices of multivariate nonnormal processes

The capability analysis of production processes where there are more than one correlated quality variables is a complicated task. The problem becomes even more difficult when these variables exhibit nonnormal characteristics. In this paper, a new methodology is proposed to estimate process capability indices (PCIs) of multivariate nonnormal processes. In the proposed methodology, the skewness of the marginal probability distributions of the variables is first diminished by a root transformation technique. Then, a Monte Carlo simulation method is employed to estimate the process proportion of nonconformities (PNC). Next, the relationship between PNC and PCI is found, and finally, PCI is estimated using PNC. Several multivariate nonnormal distributions such as Beta, Weibull, and Gamma are taken into account in simulation experiments. A real-world problem is also given to demonstrate the application of the proposed procedure. The results obtained from both the simulation studies and the real-world problem show that the proposed method performs well and is able to estimate PCI properly.     

Drawing in Time: Processes of Design and Fabrication

Drawing embeds time within itself, notating changes in space and duration. For Babak Bryan and Henry Grosman , founding partners of BanG studio in Long Island City, New York: ‘The drawing is a result of process, but it also describes process.’ It is only through this temporal practice that an essential connection is developed between drawing and building. With the widespread adoption of building information modelling (BIM), linear graphic representation finds itself in crisis, challenged by the static inertia of the model. As Bryan and Grosman describe, the well-crafted drawing remains essential to their studio's approach informing the method of ‘making and remaking’.     

A White Plaque,Associated with Genomic Deletion,Derived from M13KE-Based Peptide Library Is Enriched in a Target-Unrelated Manner during Phage Display Biopanning Due to Propagation Advantage

The nonspecific enrichment of target-unrelated peptides during biopanning remains a major drawback for phage display technology. The commercial Ph.D.^TM-7 phage display library is used extensively for peptide discovery. This library is based on the M13KE vector, which carries the lacZα sequence, leading to the formation of blue plaques on IPTG-X-gal agar plates. In the current study, we report the isolation of a fast-propagating white clone (displaying WSLGYTG peptide) identified through screening against a recombinant protein. Sanger sequencing demonstrated that white plaques are not contamination from environmental M13-like phages, but derive from the library itself. Whole genome sequencing revealed that the white color of the plaques results from a large 827-nucleotide genomic deletion. The phenotypic characterization of propagation capacity through plaque count- and NGS-based competitive propagation assay supported the higher propagation rate of Ph-WSLGYTG clone compared with the library. According to our data, white plaques are likely to arise endogenously in Ph.D. libraries due to mutations in the M13KE genome and should not always be viewed as exogenous contamination. Our findings also led to the conclusion that the deletion observed here might be an ancestral mutation already present in the naïve library, which causes target-unrelated nonspecific enrichment of white clone during biopanning due to propagation advantage.     

Sweet lemon mechanical damage detection using image processing technique and UV radiation

Non-destructive measurement of qualitative parameters of agricultural produce is quite beneficial in the postharvest operations. The consequential effect of mechanical damage in citrus fruits is rarely visible in their appearance compared to other commodities. The purpose of this study was to propose a fast, non-destructive method for sweet lemon mechanical damage detection using image processing technique and UV radiation. For this purpose, 135 sweet lemons were tested based on a completely randomized factorial design. In order to examine mechanical damage, the independent variables included drop height, fruit diameter and tempering period (holding time at room temperature after treatment). Fruits were dropped from heights of 2, 2.5 and 3 m onto the ground. Then images were captured under UV light having a wavelength of 365 nm, 1, 3 and 6 days after treatment. The images were sent to a PC and analyzed using MATLAB software. “Green Spot Index” or GSI was defined to show the extent of mechanical damage. Results of the analysis of variance showed that the percentage of green spots on fruit skin is significant at the 1% level considering the main and double interaction effects of drop height and fruit diameter. Green spot index significantly increases with the level of mechanical damage. Accuracy of the developed method in differentiating the bruised and undamaged fruits was found to be 100%.     

3D and simplified pseudo-2D modeling of single cell of a high temperature solid oxide fuel cell to be used for online control strategies

In the current study, a single cell of a planar SOFC is firstly modeled in 3D using commercial SOFC module of ANSYS Fluent and the results are validated against the experimental investigations in the literature. Many researchers have used ANSYS Fluent for simulating solid oxide fuel cells. However, there is a huge gap in the literature on explaining the detailed procedure that should be followed in order to use this software effectively. A thorough step-by-step approach is presented to provide a deep insight into the software. Thereafter, a simplified quasi-2D method with infinitely shorter computational time is developed and the results are compared with the 3D model. It is found that the reduced model is capable of being utilized as an alternate method for both online diagnosis and designing active control strategies.