HMM-based ball hitting event exploration system for broadcast baseball video

With the dramatic growth of fandom population, a considerable amount of research efforts have been devoted to baseball video processing. However, little work focuses on the detailed follow-ups of ball hitting events. This paper proposes a HMM-based ball hitting event exploration system for broadcast baseball video. Utilizing the strictly-defined layout of the baseball field, the proposed system first detects the game-specific spatial patterns in the field, such as the field lines, the bases, the pitch mound, etc. Then, the play region—the currently camera-focused region of the baseball field is identified for frame type classification. Since the temporal patterns of presenting the game progress follow a prototypical order, we consider the classified frame types as observation symbols and recognize ball hitting events using HMM. Experiments conducted on broadcast baseball video show encouraging results in frame type classification and ball hitting event recognition. Three practical applications, including highlight clip extraction by user-designated query, storyboard construction, and similar event retrieval, are introduced to address the applicability of our system.     

Predictors of help seeking for emotional distress among Chinese Americans: Family matters.

Using data from the Chinese American Psychiatric Epidemiological Study, the authors examined longitudinal predictors of help seeking for emotional distress in a community sample of 1,503 Chinese Americans. Specifically, they assessed the relative contribution of family relational variables (e.g., levels of family support and family conflict) in predicting help seeking for medical, mental health, and informal services. After traditional need, predisposing, and enabling factors were controlled for in hierarchical logistic regression analyses, family conflict predicted both mental health and medical service use, whereas family support was not predictive of help seeking. In addition to family conflict, mental health service use was predicted by negative life events, emotional distress, and insurance coverage. Implications of the findings for assessing and treating Asian American clients are explored. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adapting cognitive-behavioral therapy for Mexican American students with anxiety disorders: Recommendations for school psychologists.

Mexican American students are the fastest growing group in U.S. public schools. There is a growing body of research indicating that Mexican American families underutilize mental health services and are more likely to drop out of care prematurely when they do seek help. These findings may indicate that our health care system is not providing ethnic minorities with culturally competent care. Although cognitive?behavioral interventions are considered to be evidence-based treatments for child anxiety disorders, previous protocols have not taken cultural factors into account. This article discusses how to adapt cognitive?behavioral therapy (CBT) for Mexican American students with anxiety disorders. Working within the Psychotherapy Adaptation and Modification Framework (PAMF), this article offers adaptation principles that may guide school psychologists in implementing CBT strategies when working with Mexican American youth and their families. A case study is provided illustrating how cultural modifications of CBT can lead to positive outcomes for Mexican American students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The formative method for adapting psychotherapy (FMAP): A community-based developmental approach to culturally adapting therapy.

How is psychotherapy culturally adapted for ethnic minorities? Although there has been growing interest in doing so, few therapy adaptation frameworks have been developed. The majority of these frameworks take a top-down theoretical approach to adapting psychotherapy. This article introduces a community-based developmental approach to modifying psychotherapy for ethnic minorities. The formative method for adapting psychotherapy (FMAP) is a bottom-up approach that involves collaborating with consumers to generate and support ideas for therapy adaptation. It involves 5 phases that target developing, testing, and reformulating therapy modifications. These phases include (a) generating knowledge and collaborating with stakeholders, (b) integrating generated information with theory and empirical and clinical knowledge, (c) reviewing the initial culturally adapted clinical intervention with stakeholders and revising the culturally adapted intervention, (d) testing the culturally adapted intervention, and (e) finalizing the culturally adapted intervention. Application of the FMAP is illustrated using examples from a study adapting psychotherapy for Chinese Americans, but it can also be readily applied to modifying therapy for other ethnic groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Taguchi method for optimizing process parameters in the production of activated carbon from rubber seed shell

The International Journal of Advanced Manufacturing Technology - Activated carbon is widely used in many applications. This study aims to optimize the most influential processing parameters of the...     

Thermally stimulated current study on flexible siloxane-modified epoxy sheets

Copolymers prepared from the epoxy resin of ALBIFLEX and PMPS oligomer were evaluated with IR, ¹H-and ¹³C NMRs for structural determinations. The flexible epoxy resin as a model compound was examined by TSC with variations on the operational parameters t_p and V_p. Transitions denoted as T_g,δ, T_g,γ, T_g,β, T_g,α and T_g,ρ in increasing order of temperature were observed for these copolymers. As an example, ESAF-7430 copolymer showed these transitions at −138, −84, 26, 87, and 110 °C, respectively. Each transition except the T_g,ρ at 110 °C, has been correlated to a segment in the copolymeric structure. The result indicates that TSC provides clear molecular transitions at the temperature of the transition. The molecular transition of the grafted PMPS-siloxane segment in an epoxy matrix appeared at the −45 °C region as a broad, nearly flat peak as it filled the concave part of the TSC curve of the unmodified resin. The flexibility that the modified copolymers retained may be attributed to these sub-T_g transitions as observed in the TSC spectrum.     

A pseudo-random number assignment strategy for the estimation of quadratic metamodels

Whereas an optimal Pseudo-Random Number (PRN) assignment strategy for simulation experiments involving the estimation of linear metamodels currently exists, no such optimal assignment strategy for quadratic metamodels has been proposed. This situation is now rectified by the introduction of a PRN assignment strategy for a quadratic metamodel for 3^k factorial designs. In addition to extending the theory from linear to quadratic metamodels, the proposed PRN strategy is shown to be superior to a number of existing and competing strategies in terms of various variance measures.     

An Integrated Wideband Power Amplifier for Cognitive Radio

This paper presents the development of the wideband power amplifier (PA) for application to intelligent cognitive radios. The load-tracking based on the frequency-varied load-pull technique is proposed for the PA design. The load impedance tracking is realized by filter network synthesis. A 3-7.5-GHz broadband PA is demonstrated in 0.15-mum InGaAs pseudomorphic HEMT technology. Operated at 3.5 V, the P_{1 dB} and power-added efficiency of the PA are better than 21.4 dBm and 20%, respectively.     

Depth-sensing nano-indentation on a myelinated axon at various stages

A nano-mechanical characterization of a multi-layered myelin sheath structure, which enfolds an axon and plays a critical role in the transmission of nerve impulses, is conducted. Schwann cells co-cultured in vitro with PC12 cells for various co-culture times are differentiated to form a myelinated axon, which is then observed using a transmission electron microscope. Three major myelination stages, with distinct structural characteristics and thicknesses around the axon, can be produced by varying the co-culture time. A dynamic contact module and continuous depth-sensing nano-indentation are used on the myelinated structure to obtain the load-on-sample versus measured displacement curve of a multi-layered myelin sheath, which is used to determine the work required for the nano-indentation tip to penetrate the myelin sheath. By analyzing the harmonic contact stiffness versus the measured displacement profile, the results can be used to estimate the three stages of the multi-layered structure on a myelinated axon. The method can also be used to evaluate the development stages of myelination or demyelination during nerve regeneration.     

Berberine Suppresses Leukocyte Adherence by Downregulating CX3CL1 Expression and Shedding and ADAM10 in Lipopolysaccharide-Stimulated Vascular Endothelial Cells

Berberine exerts therapeutic effects in inflammation-associated diseases. In a lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced endotoxemic acute lung injury (ALI) rat model, berberine alleviated lung injury through different anti-inflammatory mechanisms; however, treatment effects on CX3CL1 expression and shedding remain to be examined. As these processes play important roles in promoting the binding of leukocytes to the endothelium, the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 axis and its related pathways may serve as potential targets for the clinical treatment of ALI. The anti-inflammatory effects of berberine were investigated in LPS-stimulated rats, human umbilical cord vein endothelial cells (HUVECs), and THP-1 monocytic cells. Cx3cl1 expression in rat pulmonary tissues was examined using immunohistochemistry. CX3CL1, CX3CR1, RELA, STAT3, and ADAM10 levels were examined using Western blotting. CX3CL1 and ADAM10 mRNA levels were examined using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction. Soluble fractalkine levels in LPS-stimulated rats and HUVECs were examined using the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Berberine significantly mitigated the LPS-induced upregulation of fractalkine and soluble fractalkine in rats and cultured HUVECs. Berberine mitigated the LPS-induced activation of the NF-κB and STAT3 signaling pathways. In THP-1 cells, berberine mitigated the LPS-induced upregulation of CX3CR1. Furthermore, the membrane expression of ADAM10 in LPS-stimulated HUVECs was suppressed by the berberine treatment. Berberine dose-dependently inhibited the LPS-induced activation of the CX3CL1/CX3CR1 axis and fractalkine shedding through ADAM10. These findings reveal a novel molecular mechanism underlying the inhibitory effect of berberine on monocyte adherence to the endothelium during inflammation.