A Generalist FaceX via Learning Unified Facial Representation

This work presents FaceX framework, a novel facial generalist model capable of handling diverse facial tasks simultaneously. To achieve this goal, we initially formulate a unified facial representation for a broad spectrum of facial editing tasks, which macroscopically decomposes a face into fundamental identity, intra-personal variation, and environmental factors. Based on this, we introduce Facial Omni-Representation Decomposing (FORD) for seamless manipulation of various facial components, microscopically decomposing the core aspects of most facial editing tasks. Furthermore, by leveraging the prior of a pretrained StableDiffusion (SD) to enhance generation quality and accelerate training, we design Facial Omni-Representation Steering (FORS) to first assemble unified facial representations and then effectively steer the SD-aware generation process by the efficient Facial Representation Controller (FRC). %Without any additional features, Our versatile FaceX achieves competitive performance compared to elaborate task-specific models on popular facial editing tasks. Full codes and models will be available at https://github.com/diffusion-facex/FaceX.Comment: Project page: https://diffusion-facex.github.io

An assembler and disassembler framework for Java™ programmers

AbstractThe Java™ programming language is primarily used for platform-independent programming. Yet it also offers many productivity, maintainability and performance benefits for platform-specific functions, such as the generation of machine code.We have created reliable assemblers for SPARC™ , AMD64, IA32 and PowerPC which support all user mode and privileged instructions and with 64 bit mode support for all but the latter. These assemblers are generated as Java source code by our extensible assembler framework, which itself is written in the Java language. The assembler generator also produces javadoc comments that precisely specify the legal values for each operand.Our design is based on the Klein Assembler System written in Self. Assemblers are generated from a specification, as are table-driven disassemblers and unit tests. The specifications that drive the generators are expressed as Java language objects. Thus no extra parsers are needed and developers do not need to learn any new syntax to extend the framework for additional ISAs.Every generated assembler is tested against a preexisting assembler by comparing the output of both. Each instruction’s test cases are derived from the cross product of its potential operand values. The majority of tests are positive (i.e., result in a legal instruction encoding). The framework also generates negative tests, which are expected to cause an error detection by an assembler. As with the Klein Assembler System, we have found bugs in the external assemblers as well as in ISA reference manuals.Our framework generates tens of millions of tests. For symbolic operands, our tests include all applicable predefined constants. For integral operands, the important boundary values, such as the respective minimum, maximum, 0, 1 and −1, are tested. Full testing can take hours to run but gives us a high degree of confidence regarding correctness

Towards an aspect weaving BPEL engine

This position paper proposes the use of dynamic aspects and the visitor design pattern to obtain a highly configurable and extensible BPEL engine. Using these two techniques, the core of this infrastructural software can be customised to meet new requirements and add features such as debugging, execution monitoring, or changing to another Web Service selection policy. Additionally, it can easily be extended to cope with customer-specific BPEL extensions. We propose the use of dynamic aspects not only on the engine itself but also on the workflow in order to tackle the problems of Web Service hot deployment and hot fixes to long running processes. In this way, composing aWeb Service "on-the-fly" means weaving its choreography interface into the workflow

On the Use of Cognitive Principles and the Personalized System of Instruction in Computer Science Education

None provided

From Pieces To Paths: Combining Disparate Information in Computational Analysis of RNA-Seq.

As high-throughput sequencing technology has advanced in recent decades, large-scale genomic data with high-resolution have been generated for solving various problems in many felds. One of the state-of-the-art sequencing techniques is RNA sequencing, which has been widely used to study the transcriptomes of biological systems through millions of reads. The ultimate goal of RNA sequencing bioinformatics algorithms is to maximally utilize the information stored in a large amount of pieced-together reads to unveil the whole landscape of biological function at the transcriptome level. Many bioinformatics methods and pipelines have been developed for better achieving this goal. However, one central question of RNA sequencing is the prediction uncertainty due to the short read length and the low sampling rate of underexpressed transcripts. Both conditions raise ambiguities in read mapping, transcript assembly, transcript quantifcation, and even the downstream analysis. This dissertation focuses on approaches to reducing the above uncertainty by incorporating additional information, of disparate kinds, into bioinformatics models and modeling assessments. I addressed three critical issues in RNA sequencing data analysis. (1) we evaluated the performance of current de novo assembly methods and their evaluation methods using the transcript information from a third generation sequencing platform, which provides a longer sequence length but with a higher error rate than next-generation sequencing; (2) we built a Bayesian graphical model for improving transcript quantifcation and di˙erentially expressed isoform identifcation by utilizing the shared information from biological replicates; (3) we built a joint pathway and gene selection model by incorporating pathway structures from an expert database. We conclude that the incorporation of appropriate information from extra resources enables a more reliable assessment and a higher prediction performance in RNA sequencing data analysis

Beyond ‘Natural’ and ‘Cultural’ Heritage: Towards an Ontological Politics of Heritage in the Age of Anthropocene

The critique of the separation of natural and cultural heritage is now well established. Rather than repeat arguments against what many would now acknowledge as an artificial separation, this paper considers the implications of working within the expanded field that is created for heritage when the dissolution of the boundaries between natural and cultural heritage is taken as given. I argue that embracing this dissolution allows us to reorient and reconceptualize heritage. Heritage is understood here as a series of diplomatic properties that emerge in the dialogue of heterogeneous human and non-human actors who are engaged in practices of caring for and attending to the past in the present. As such, heritage functions towards assembling futures, and thus might be more productively connected with other pressing social, economic, political, and ecological issues of our time. Indeed, we need not look far to comprehend alternative forms of heritage-making that already model such connectivity ontologies. Fundamental to understanding the value of these alternative heritage ontologies is the recognition of ontological plurality: that different forms of heritage practices enact different realities and hence work to assemble different futures. Following on from this point, I sketch out an ontological politics of and for heritage—a sense of how heritage could be oriented towards composing “common worlds” or “common futures”, whilst maintaining a sensitivity to the ways in which each domain of heritage relates to a particular mode of existence. At stake here is the acknowledgement that each such mode of existence produces its own particular worlds and its own specific futures. I do this within the context of a consideration of the implications of the recognition of a certain set of entanglements of culture with nature, the folding together of what we used to term the human and the non-human, which characterizes our contemporary moment. To illustrate these points, I introduce the framework for a new collaborative research program, “Assembling alternative futures for heritage,” which considers the implications of working across an expanded field of heritage practices and attempts to reconfigure the relationship between heritage and other modalities of caring for the future

Small scale software engineering

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.In computing, the Software Crisis has arisen because software projects cannot meet their planned timescales, functional capabilities, reliability levels and budgets. This thesis reduces the general problem down to the Small Scale Software Engineering goal of improving the quality and tractability of the designs of individual programs. It is demonstrated that the application of eight abstractions (set, sequence, hierarchy, h-reduction, integration, induction, enumeration, generation) can lead to a reduction in the size and complexity of and an increase in the quality of software designs when expressed via Dimensional Design, a new representational technique which uses the three spatial dimensions to represent set, sequence and hierarchy, whilst special symbols and axioms encode the other abstractions. Dimensional Designs are trees of symbols whose edges perceptually encode the relationships between the nodal symbols. They are easy to draw and manipulate both manually and mechanically. Details are given of real software projects already undertaken using Dimensional Design. Its tool kit, DD/ROOTS, produces high quality, machine drawn, detailed design documentation plus novel quality control information. A run time monitor records and animates execution, measures CPU time and takes snapshots etc; all these results are represented according to Dimensional Design principles to maintain conceptual integrity with the design. These techniques are illustrated by the development of a non-trivial example program. Dimensional Design is axiomatised, compared to existing techniques and evaluated against the stated problem. It has advantages over existing techniques, mainly its clarity of expression and ease of manipulation of individual abstractions due to its graphical basis

Digitally fabricated low cost housing: material, joint and prototype

Motivated by the global housing deficit and limited natural resources, this study aims to utilize digital fabrication technologies coupled with local sustainable materials in the quest for alternative, adequate low-cost housing solutions for the less fortunate population, mainly in developing countries. The thesis is structured into two main parts: a theoretical and an empirical study. The theoretical part identifies the research problem and lays the foundation of knowledge, as well as defines the motivating questions, aim, objectives, scope, methodology and tools used throughout the thesis. An overview of fundamental concepts of mechanisation, standardisation, prefabrication, mass housing, and mass customisation is provided. Different types of prefabricated housing are presented followed by a discussion of select architect-led and industry-led early precedents in prefabrication. The theoretical part also includes an analysis of state-of-the-art built projects or prototypes of digitally fabricated houses. Through this analysis, how these prototypes respond to housing problems is addressed and an observation is made of how these built projects can be categorised into main streams or different trends. After defining the potentials and limitations of these precedents, a number of design criteria or design guidelines are proposed forming the basis for the proposition of a housing system that addresses these drawbacks under the name “Housing System 01”. The second part of the thesis is a Design-Build-Evaluate empirical study in which the proposed housing system combining concepts of complete off-site prefabrication with modular parametric localised digital fabrication is outlined. Given the necessity of cost reductions, an integral joining system (snap-fit) using an agricultural residue panel material is tested as the principal method for the construction of wall assemblies. The study proves that by using integral joints, it is possible to involve the end-user of the housing unit in the construction activities promoting the concept of “Self-Build”, as the simplicity of the system allows for the participation of end-users with no previous construction expertise thereby decreasing cost. A set of mechanical tests are performed to characterise wheat straw panels and then snap-fit joints are dimensioned within the elastic limits of this specific material. Three partial wall assembly prototypes are built. One axial compression test is performed on one of the prototypes. The tests show that the material and the joint system promise to provide a viable construction system as an alternative low-cost housing solution. Further optimisation and more physical structural testing are needed to address more complex forces and loading scenarios

Study to develop techniques for a self-organizing computer

The main emphasis has been on the programming language for a self organizing computer. An example of programming with the language of finite state machines is presented in a real time processing for weather radars

Science, technology and sculpture : an investigation into the technification of sculpture

(...) Esta dissertação busca compreender a relação dinâmica entre as descobertas científicas, o rápido desenvolvimento tecnológico e a expressão artística. Ao dissecar a relação desse tripartite, um discurso multifacetado envolvendo ideologia, poder, educação e ruptura do sistema é descoberto. Acadêmicos e especialistas do mais alto nível estão expressando sérias preocupações sobre a condição de nossa civilização porque - em paralelo à melhoria dos padrões de vida e acesso à informação por meio de aparelhos eletrônicos avançados - enfrentamos uma miríade de ameaças existenciais, todas remontando ao exatamente os mesmos desenvolvimentos que nos permitiram graduar na civilização moderna. Limites, estruturas e fundações existentes há milênios estão sendo desafiados nesta metamorfose de um século da condição humana. Espero, por meio da arte, como um espelho da psique humana coletiva, compreender melhor essa relação em constante evolução entre nós, humanos, e a tecnologia que inventamos. Compartilho a opinião dos pensadores a serem discutidos nesta dissertação, de que a inovação científica e tecnológica deve fazer parte de uma conversa pública e que os artistas em sua natureza expressiva, investigativa e comunicativa têm um papel a desempenhar nessa discussão. Os efeitos do desenvolvimento científico e tecnológico nas artes foram amplamente discutidos ao longo do século XX. Apresentarei 4 desses livros abordando este tópico de ângulos muito diferentes. Isso iluminará os pensamentos do início do modernismo, descreverá uma frustração de meados do século e nos deixará com uma visão quase atual sobre o assunto. A análise apresentará primeiro alguns pontos de vista ideológicos sobre a questão da segregação da sociedade em grupos especializados e as consequências disso. A importância de um sistema de educação poli-matemática e do conhecimento intersetorial geral é discutida com diferentes objetivos e razões. A segunda parte da análise descreve a transformação da escultura ao longo do século XX com foco na separação da tradição e no abraço da ciência. São oferecidos alguns pensamentos sugestivos sobre o significado dessa metamorfose. Em conclusão, uma seção de teoria discutindo o ambiente atual, incluindo uma descrição de estruturas úteis na prática de combinar arte com ciência. Focar a parte analítica de minha dissertação nesses fatores macro ambientais serve ao propósito de colocar meu trabalho na linha do tempo. Após a análise, há uma seção sobre o estado da arte. Abordo isso cobrindo algumas das ferramentas e técnicas mais recentes no campo da escultura; as práticas intimamente ligadas de modelagem 3D e manufatura aditiva. Esses dois campos, extremamente úteis no processo de fazer esculturas, sofreram um rápido desenvolvimento e melhorias nos últimos 20 anos e foram centrais para o desenvolvimento de meu próprio corpo de trabalho. O estado da arte também inclui uma seção sobre educação. A discussão de minha análise tem a ver com a introdução de novas tecnologias e seu impacto nas artes. Portanto, considero relevante olhar para o panorama atual da educação artística para ver se, e como, essas discussões se manifestaram na academia de hoje. A última parte da dissertação é dedicada ao meu próprio trabalho - o que chamo de Projeto Sistema. O Projeto Sistema é um termo abrangente que cobre meu trabalho produzido no período entre 2020 e 2021, focando na natureza em constante mudança dos sistemas vivos. Vou descompactar a base sobre a qual a obra está assentada e apresentá-la em relação a artistas que buscam caminhos semelhantes de investigação. Em seguida, ampliarei o processo de modelagem da escultura e explicarei as decisões subjetivas que tomei nessa área. Concluindo o corpo da obra, incluo um conjunto de imagens como documentação para a exposição do corpo da obra prática submetida ao curso de Mestrado em Escultura da FBAUL, realizado no espaço expositivo da Cisterna da faculdade (...