Influence of segmentation on deep iris recognition performance

Despite the rise of deep learning in numerous areas of computer vision and image processing, iris recognition has not benefited considerably from these trends so far. Most of the existing research on deep iris recognition is focused on new models for generating discriminative and robust iris representations and relies on methodologies akin to traditional iris recognition pipelines. Hence, the proposed models do not approach iris recognition in an end-to-end manner, but rather use standard heuristic iris segmentation (and unwrapping) techniques to produce normalized inputs for the deep learning models. However, because deep learning is able to model very complex data distributions and nonlinear data changes, an obvious question arises. How important is the use of traditional segmentation methods in a deep learning setting? To answer this question, we present in this paper an empirical analysis of the impact of iris segmentation on the performance of deep learning models using a simple two stage pipeline consisting of a segmentation and a recognition step. We evaluate how the accuracy of segmentation influences recognition performance but also examine if segmentation is needed at all. We use the CASIA Thousand and SBVPI datasets for the experiments and report several interesting findings.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, 3 tables, submitted to IWBF 201

Three questions about “informal regulation”

In the grand debates of international law, the jus ad bellum is often proclaimed dead, and just as often praised as the “cornerstone” of the contemporary legal order. Both perspectives tend to ignore that the jus ad bellum is not static, but a body of law that states adjust over time. In an important contribution, Monica Hakimi proposes to look at one particular aspect of such adjustment, a concept she frames as “informal regulation” through Security Council action. This essay engages with Hakimi's approach. It inquires whether this approach is as “informal” as Hakimi suggests, and asks whether “informal regulation”—rather than constituting a new category of state activities to study—is not already part of conventional approaches to the jus ad bellum. Proceeding from Hakimi's analysis, the comment assesses whether there is room for “informal regulation” beyond the Security Council

Intelligent Association Exploration and Exploitation of Fuzzy Agents in Ambient Intelligent Environments

This paper presents a novel fuzzy-based intelligent architecture that aims to find relevant and important associations between embedded-agent based services that form Ambient Intelligent Environments (AIEs). The embedded agents are used in two ways; first they monitor the inhabitants of the AIE, learning their behaviours in an online, non-intrusive and life-long fashion with the aim of pre-emptively setting the environment to the users preferred state. Secondly, they evaluate the relevance and significance of the associations to various services with the aim of eliminating redundant associations in order to minimize the agent computational latency within the AIE. The embedded agents employ fuzzy-logic due to its robustness to the uncertainties, noise and imprecision encountered in AIEs. We describe unique real world experiments that were conducted in the Essex intelligent Dormitory (iDorm) to evaluate and validate the significance of the proposed architecture and methods

Drone Warfare and Just War Theory

This book chapter addresses two questions. First, can targeted killing by drones in non-battlefield zones be justified on basis of just war theory? Second, will the proliferation and expansion of combat drones in warfare, including the introduction of autonomous drones, be an obstacle to initiating or executing wars in a just manner in the future? The first question is answered by applying traditional jus ad bellum (justice in the resort to war) and jus in bello (justice in the execution of war) principles to the American targeted killing campaign in Pakistan; the second question is answered on basis of principles of “just military preparedness” or jus ante bellum (justice before war), a new category of just war thinking. It is concluded that an international ban on weaponized drones is morally imperative and, certainly, that an international treaty against autonomous lethal weapons should be adopted

The Evolution of Citizenship: Economic and Institutional Determinants

We investigate the origin and evolution of the legal institution of citizenship. We compile a new data set on citizenship laws across countries of the world which documents how these institutions have evolved from the legal tradition of common and civil law established in the course of the 19th century. We show that in the postwar period citizenship laws have responded endogenously and systematically to economic and institutional determinants. Original citizenship laws tend to affect the current legislation persistently, with a particularly strong tendency for jus sanguinis to be preserved despite discontinuities in the transplanting process for former colonies. The presence of a large stock of migrants tends to limit the application of jus soli elements, although there is also evidence of a contrasting tendency for those jus sanguinis countries exposed to large immigration. The results hold after controlling for additional factors such as the degree of democracy, border stability, the welfare burden, demographics, and cultural characteristics.citizenship laws, international migration, legal origins, democracy, borders

HUBUNGAN HIGIENE SANITASI MINUMAN DENGAN KEBERADAAN BAKTERI ESCHERICHIA COLI PADA MINUMAN JUS BUAH DI DAERAH TEMBALANG

Jus buah merupakan salah satu minuman yang mudah didapatkan dan menjadi minuman favorit di kalangan mahasiswa. Pembuatan dan penyajian minuman dengan adanya kontaminasi bakteri ke dalam minuman kemungkinan dipengaruhi oleh faktor kebersihan pedagang yang kurang memenuhi syarat. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis hubungan higiene sanitasi minuman dengan keberadaan bakteri Escherichia coli pada minuman jus buah di Daerah Tembalang. Jenis penelitian yang digunakan adalah penelitian observasional dengan desain cross sectional. Jumlah sampel yang diambil sebanyak 25 pedagang jus, teknik pengumpulan data dengan pemeriksaan laboratorium dan survei. Analisis data menggunakan uji Fisher exact. Hasil penelitian dari 25 sampel menunjukkan 13 (52%) sampel jus buah, 11 (44%) sampel air matang dan 14 (56%) sampel air cucian mengandung bakteri Escherichia coli. Terdapat hubungan antara kualitas air matang dengan keberadaan bakteri E. coli pada jus buah (p=0,001), ada hubungan antara kualitas air cucian dengan keberadaan bakteri E. coli pada jus buah (p=0,005), tidak ada hubungan higiene penjamah dengan keberadaan bakteri E. coli pada jus buah (p=0,848), tidak ada hubungan sanitasi air dengan keberadaan bakteri E. coli pada jus buah (p=1,000), tidak ada hubungan sanitasi peralatan dengan keberadaan bakteri E. coli pada jus buah (p=0,561), tidak ada hubungan kondisi tempat sampah dengan keberadaan bakteri E. coli pada jus buah (p=0,543). Dari penelitian ini dapat disimpulkan bahwa kualitas air matang dan kualitas air cucian merupakan faktor risiko kotaminasi bakteri Escherichia coli pada minuman jus buah di Daerah Tembalang. Kata Kunci: higiene dan sanitasi, jus buah, Escherichia col

Recursos governatius. Doctrina de la Direcció General de Dret i d'Entitats Jurídiques (juliol-octubre 2017)

[spa] Comentaris a les Resolucions de la Direcció General de Dret i d'Entitats Jurídiques de 12 de juliol de 2017 (JUS/1719/2017), préstec hipotecari: informació prèvia; 22 de setembre de 2017 (JUS/2348/2017), declaració d'obra nova antiga; 11 d'octubre de 2017 (JUS/2443/2017), hipoteca d'habitatge habitual: manifestacions requerides, i divuit resolucions de 7 i 13 d'octubre de 2017 (JUS/2463/2017; JUS/2464/201; JUS/2465/2017; JUS/2476/2017; JUS/2477/2017; JUS/2507/2017; JUS/2508/2017; JUS/2633/2017; JUS/2651/2017; JUS/2652/2017; JUS/2653/2017; JUS/2654/2017; JUS/2655/2017; JUS/2656/2017; JUS/2657/2017; JUS/2658/2017; JUS/2685/201, i JUS/2686/2017), subrogació en un préstec hipotecari i normes de protecció de consumidors; manifestació sobre el caràcter habitual o no de l'habitatge.[eng] Comments on the Decisions of the Catalan Directorate General of Law and Legal Entities dated 12 July 2017 (JUS/1719/2017), mortgage loan: pre-contractual information; 22 September 2017 (JUS/2348/2017), registration of existing old buildings; 11 October 2017 (JUS/2443/2017), habitual residence: statements and consents required to mortgage, and eighteen resolutions dated 7 and 13 October 2017 (JUS/2463/2017; JUS/2464/201; JUS/2465/2017; JUS/2476/2017; JUS/2477/2017; JUS/2507/2017; JUS/2508/2017; JUS/2633/2017; JUS/2651/2017; JUS/2652/2017; JUS/2653/2017; JUS/2654/2017; JUS/2655/2017; JUS/2656/2017; JUS/2657/2017; JUS/2658/2017; JUS/2685/201, i JUS/2686/2017), change of debtor in a mortgage loan and consumer protection; statement regarding whether the mortgaged property is the mortgagor’s habitual residence or not

Announcing is bad, delaying is worse: Another pitfall in well-intended climate policy

It is frequently observed that the implementation of green policies is delayed compared to the initial announcement. Considering a setting with a representative monopolist extracting a non-renewable resource, we demonstrate that announcing a green policy, but then delaying its implementation, is associated with a larger cumulative extraction at any point in time than announcing a late implementation of this policy at the outset

Influence du mode d'extraction sur l'amertume du jus de pomélo

La naringine, glucoside de composition bien connue est responsable de l'amertume du jus de pomelo. Ce principe se localise dans les membranes intercarpellaires, et les parois cellulaires qui constituent la pulpe. Le procédé d'extraction influe sur sa diffusion dans le jus. Les points suivants ont été étudiés: 1¼) la solubilité de la naringine et le processus de sa diffusion de la pulpe vers le jus, 2¼) l'influence du procédé d'extraction sur l'amélioration du jus, 3¼) l'influence de la rapidité de l'affinage. Il est apparu que: La naringine diffuse très rapidement dans le jus dès l'extraction. Il est possible de diminuer de façon sensible la teneur de jus en naringine par un réglage judicieux de la force de pression de l'extracteur sur le fruit, sans pour autant diminuer le rendement en jus. L'affinage peut être aussi efficace à condition que cette opération ait lieu en même temps que l'extractio