Implicit induction in conditional theories

We propose a new procedure for proof by induction in conditional theories where case analysis is simulated by term rewriting. This technique reduces considerably the number of variables of a conjecture to be considered for applying induction schemes. Our procedure is presented as a set of inference rules whose correctness has been formally proved. Moreover, when the axioms are ground convergent and the functions are completely defined, it is possible to apply the system for refuting conjectures. The procedure is even refutationally complete for conditional equations with Boolean preconditions over free constructors. The method is entirely implemented in the proverSPIKE. This system has solved interesting problems in a completely automatic way, that is, without interaction with the user and without ad hoc heuristics. It has also proved the challenging Gilbreath card trick, with only two easy lemmas.Preliminary versions of the results have been presented at the 13th International Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence, Chambéry (France), 1993 (Bouhoula and Rusinowith, 1993).     

Human attributes from 3D pose tracking

It is well known that biological motion conveys a wealth of socially meaningful information. From even a brief exposure, biological motion cues enable the recognition of familiar people, and the inference of attributes such as gender, age, mental state, actions and intentions. In this paper we show that from the output of a video-based 3D human tracking algorithm we can infer physical attributes (e.g., gender and weight) and aspects of mental state (e.g., happiness or sadness). In particular, with 3D articulated tracking we avoid the need for view-based models, specific camera viewpoints, and constrained domains. The task is useful for man–machine communication, and it provides a natural benchmark for evaluating the performance of 3D pose tracking methods (vs. conventional Euclidean joint error metrics). We show results on a large corpus of motion capture data and on the output of a simple 3D pose tracker applied to videos of people walking.     

Polymorphisms in EGFR Gene Predict Clinical Outcome in Unresectable Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Treated with Radiotherapy and Platinum-Based Chemoradiotherapy

For non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC), radiotherapy (RT) and platinum-based chemotherapy (CHT) are among the main treatment options. On the other hand, radioresistance and cytotoxic drug resistance are common causes of failure. The epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) plays an important role in radioresponse and therapy resistance. We hypothesized that single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the EGFR gene might affect individual sensitivity to these treatments, and thus, therapy outcome and prognosis. The association between functional EGFR SNPs and overall (OS), locoregional recurrence-free (LFRS), and metastasis-free (MFS) survival was examined in 436 patients with unresectable NSCLC receiving RT and platinum-based CHTRT. In a multivariate analysis, the rs712830 CC homozygotes showed reduced OS in the whole group (p = 0.039) and in the curative treatment subset (p = 0.047). The rs712829 TT genotype was strongly associated with decreased LRFS (p = 0.006), and the T-C haplotype was a risk factor for locoregional recurrence in our patients (p = 0.003). The rs2227983 GG alone and in combination with rs712829 T was an indicator of unfavorable LRFS (p = 0.028 and 0.002, respectively). Moreover, significant independent effects of these SNPs on OS, LRFS, and MFS were observed. Our results demonstrate that inherited EGFR gene variants may predict clinical outcomes in NSCLC treated with DNA damage-inducing therapy.     

Luminescent Amphiphilic Aminoglycoside Probes to Study Transfection

We report the characterization of amphiphilic aminoglycoside conjugates containing luminophores with aggregation-induced emission properties as transfection reagents. These inherently luminescent transfection vectors are capable of binding plasmid DNA through electrostatic interactions; this binding results in an emission “on” signal due to restriction of intramolecular motion of the luminophore core. The luminescent cationic amphiphiles effectively transferred plasmid DNA into mammalian cells (HeLa, HEK 293T), as proven by expression of a red fluorescent protein marker. The morphologies of the aggregates were investigated by microscopy as well as ζ-potential and dynamic light-scattering measurements. The transfection efficiencies using luminescent cationic amphiphiles were similar to that of the gold-standard transfection reagent Lipofectamine® 2000.     

Comments on “Necessary and sufficient stability condition of fractional-order interval linear systems” [Automatica 44 (2008), 2985–2988]

This paper shows that the main thesis of the article “Necessary and sufficient stability condition of fractional-order interval linear systems” by Ahn and Chen (Automatica, vol. 44, pp. 2985–2988) is only a sufficient (and not a necessary) condition for the robust stability of fractional-order linear systems.     

实践咨询为客户创造价值，探索行业可持续发展

众所周知,2008年以来,由美国的次贷危机引发的全球性金融风暴,也很快波及到远在万里之外的中国。我国的金融、制造、建筑及服务等各行各业都受到了很大的影响,工程咨询行业也不例外。所谓国难兴邦,困境兴企,越是在危机的时候越要用更长远的眼光来审视全行业的发展。中咨协会2009年年会的主题是“应对金融危机挑战,提供可持续解决方案”,可以看出整个行业已经在进行深层次的思考——我们不仅要在“危机”中求发展,而且还要“可持续”的发展,要为咨询行业开辟一个健康的未来。     

基于流形学习的人体动作识别

目的 提出了一个基于流形学习的动作识别框架,用来识别深度图像序列中的人体行为。方法 从Kinect设备获得的深度信息中评估出人体的关节点信息,并用相对关节点位置差作为人体特征表达。在训练阶段,利用LE（Lalpacian eigenmaps）流形学习对高维空间下的训练集进行降维,得到低维隐空间下的运动模型。在识别阶段,用最近邻差值方法将测试序列映射到低维流形空间中去,然后进行匹配计算。在匹配过程中,通过使用改进的Hausdorff距离对低维空间下测试序列和训练运动集的吻合度和相似度进行度量。结果 用Kinect设备捕获的数据进行了实验,取得了良好的效果;同时也在MSR Action3D数据库上进行了测试,结果表明在训练样本较多情况下,本文方法识别效果优于以往方法。结论 实验结果表明本文方法适用于基于深度图像序列的人体动作识别。     

Regular Languages of Thin Trees

An infinite tree is called thin if it contains only countably many infinite branches. Thin trees can be seen as intermediate structures between infinite words and infinite trees. In this work we investigate properties of regular languages of thin trees. Our main tool is an algebra suitable for thin trees. Using this framework we characterize various classes of regular languages: commutative, open in the standard topology, and definable in weak MSO logic among all trees. We also show that in various meanings thin trees are not as rich as all infinite trees. In particular we observe a collapse of the parity index to the level (1, 3) and a collapse of the topological complexity to co-analytic sets. Moreover, a gap property is shown: a regular language of thin trees is either weak MSO-definable among all trees or co-analytic-complete.