Micro-expression Recognition using Spatiotemporal Texture Map and Motion Magnification

Micro-expressions are short-lived, rapid facial expressions that are exhibited by individuals when they are in high stakes situations. Studying these micro-expressions is important as these cannot be modified by an individual and hence offer us a peek into what the individual is actually feeling and thinking as opposed to what he/she is trying to portray. The spotting and recognition of micro-expressions has applications in the fields of criminal investigation, psychotherapy, education etc. However due to micro-expressions’ short-lived and rapid nature; spotting, recognizing and classifying them is a major challenge. In this paper, we design a hybrid approach for spotting and recognizing micro-expressions by utilizing motion magnification using Eulerian Video Magnification and Spatiotemporal Texture Map (STTM). The validation of this approach was done on the spontaneous micro-expression dataset, CASMEII in comparison with the baseline. This approach achieved an accuracy of 80% viz. an increase by 5% as compared to the existing baseline by utilizing 10-fold cross validation using Support Vector Machines (SVM) with a linear kernel

Petrography and geochemistry of carbonate rocks of the Paleoproterozoic Zaonega Formation, Russia : Documentation of C-13-depleted non-primary calcite

The Norwegian Research Council grant 191530/V30 to V.A. Melezhik fully funded the work of AEC, VAM and AL. ATB was supported by NERC grant NE/G00398X/1 to AEF and ARP. We are grateful for sample preparation and analyses to all the personnel at NGU lab. We appreciate the work on carbon and oxygen isotope analyses by Julie Dougans and Chris Taylor. Bojan Otoničar organized and helped with the CL work at the Karst Research Institute at Postojna. Arrangement of TOC, IC, and TC analyses at University of Münster is acknowledged to Harald Strauss.Peer reviewedPostprin

Towards musical interaction : 'Schismatics' for e-violin and computer.

This paper discusses the evolution of the Max/MSP patch used in schismatics (2007, rev. 2010) for electric violin (Violectra) and computer, by composer Sam Hayden in collaboration with violinist Mieko Kanno. schismatics involves a standard performance paradigm of a fixed notated part for the e-violin with sonically unfixed live computer processing. Hayden was unsatisfied with the early version of the piece: the use of attack detection on the live e-violin playing to trigger stochastic processes led to an essentially reactive behaviour in the computer, resulting in a somewhat predictable one-toone sonic relationship between them. It demonstrated little internal relationship between the two beyond an initial e-violin ‘action’ causing a computer ‘event’. The revisions in 2010, enabled by an AHRC Practice-Led research award, aimed to achieve 1) a more interactive performance situation and 2) a subtler and more ‘musical’ relationship between live and processed sounds. This was realised through the introduction of sound analysis objects, in particular machine listening and learning techniques developed by Nick Collins. One aspect of the programming was the mapping of analysis data to synthesis parameters, enabling the computer transformations of the e-violin to be directly related to Kanno’s interpretation of the piece in performance

Spacecraft instrumentation and observations for the spectral reflectance experiment of Martian frost Final report, 1 Oct. 1968 - 31 Mar. 1970

Instrumentation to determine spectral reflectance properties for simulated Martian frost

Thinking Inside the Box: A New Integrated Approach to Mixed Music Composition and Performance

The Thinking Inside the Box project (TItB) seeks to address pragmatic concerns inherent to mixed music performance, and proposes ways to better consider the sound of the acoustic reality of the concert space at studio composition time. This is achieved through empirical investigation into subversive use of recent developments in hardware and software technologies. The primary concerns are (1) optimising the integration of live instruments and electroacoustic sound in the concert hall environment for both the performers and the public, by carefully choosing loudspeaker types and placement at commission time, and by avoiding sound reinforcement; (2) minimizing for studio composers the insitu trauma of the first live rendition of the piece, by bringing the concert hall acoustic environment into the studio composition process, using convolution reverb to reproduce in the studio the given loudspeaker setup through its impulse responses. This paper presents the conclusions of the project's early experiments in the form of three case study sets, and describes how this approach will be of use for any composer of mixed music

Dynamical behavior of a complex fluid near an out-of-equilibrium transition: approaching simple rheological chaos

We report here an extensive study of sustained oscillations of the viscosity of a complex fluid near an out-of-equilibrium transition. Using well defined protocols, we perform rheological measurements of the onion texture near a layering transition in a Couette flow. This complex fluid exhibits sustained oscillations of the viscosity, on a large time scale (500s) at controlled stress. These oscillations are directly correlated to an oscillating microstrutural change of the texture of the fluid. We observe a great diversity of dynamical behavior and we show that there is a coupling with spatial effects in the gradient v direction. This is in agreement with a carefull analysis of the temporal series of the viscosity with the dynamical system theory. This analysis indicates that the observed dynamical responses do not strictly correspond to 3-dimensional chaotic states, probably because some spatio-temporal effects are present and are likely to play an important role.Comment: submitted to Phys. Rev.

Three-dimensional quantification and visualization of vascular networks in engineered tissues

Three-dimensional textural and volumetric image analysis holds great potential in understanding the image data produced by multi-photon microscopy. In this thesis, a tool that provides quantitative textural and morphometric analyzes of vasculature in engineered tissues, alongside with a fast three-dimensional volume rendering is proposed. The investigated 3D artificial tissues consist of Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVEC) embedded in collagen exposed to two regimes of ultrasound standing wave fields under different pressure conditions. Textural features were evaluated over the extracted connected region in our samples using the normalized Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM) combined with Gray-Level Run Length Matrix (GLRLM) analysis. To minimize the error resulting from any possible volumetric rotation and to provide a comprehensive textural analysis, an averaged version of nine GLCM and GLRLM orientations is used. To evaluate volumetric features, parameters such as volume run length and percentage volume were utilized. The z-projection versions of the samples were used to estimate the tortuosity of the vessels, as well as, to measure the length and the angle of the branches. We utilized a three-dimensional volume rendering technique named MATVTK (derived from MATLAB and VTK) and runs under MATLAB that shows a great improvement on the processing time to reconstruct our volumes compared to MATLAB built-in functions. Results show that our analysis is able to differentiate among the exposed samples, due to morphological changes induced by the ultrasound standing wave fields. Furthermore, we demonstrate that providing more textural parameters than what is currently being reported in the literature, enhances the quantitative understanding of the heterogeneity of artificial tissues

Plant protein blends in diets for Senegalese sole affect skeletal muscle growth, flesh texture and the expression of related genes

Author's accepted version (postprint).Available from 26/11/2017.Skeletal muscle growth and flesh quality of Senegalese sole fed diets containing increasing levels of plant protein blends to replace fishmeal were evaluated using muscle cellularity, texture profile and gene expression. A control fish meal-based diet (FM) was compared with three isonitrogenous (54%) and isolipidic (9%) diets with increasing levels of plant protein (PP) blends (50% PP50, 75% PP75 and 100% PP100). By the end of the experiment sole fed PP50 and PP75 had a final body length similar to the CTR (25 cm), but fish fed PP100 were significantly smaller (23 cm). Total FM replacement by PP sources resulted in significantly smaller muscle cross sectional area (CSA) mainly due to a decrease in the muscle fibre size as the total number of fibres did not vary significantly among treatments. The dietary incorporation of PP significantly reduced the expression of several key genes involved in myogenesis and muscle growth (mrf4, fgf6, myhc and mylc2). Fillet texture analysed instrumentally was affected by the total substitution of FM. Fish fed PP100 diet had a significantly higher modulus of elasticity, i.e. lower flesh stiffness, compared with the other groups. Muscle fibre size was moderately related (r = − 0.573) to the modulus of elasticity and positively correlated with the expression of lysyl oxidase (r = 0.495). The observed changes in muscle cellularity could not be associated with the expression of texture-related genes (capn2, ctsb, ctsd), since no significant differences were observed among diets. The present results point towards a modulation of the expression of several muscle growth related genes by increasing levels of PP sources that alter muscle cellularity and textural properties of Senegalese sole when total FM is replaced by PP

Protocol for soil functionality assessment in vineyards

Protocols used by Resolve partners during the project, to assess soil functionality on degraded aeras and evaluate soil restoration after applying recovering practices

Morphological, Genetic, and Environmental Characterization of an Unusual Population of \u3ci\u3eIsoetes\u3c/i\u3e (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta)

A large and unusual population of Isoetes (Isoetaceae, Lycopodiophyta) in the DeSoto National Forest, Wayne County, Mississippi, was studied to determine if the individuals there represent a new species or if they represent part of the variation of the one primary species of the longleaf pine belt of Mississippi, Isoetes louisianensis, which it most closely resembles. The unusual population and specimens of known Isoetes louisianensis were examined comparatively based on morphology, megaspore ornamentation, examination of habitat characteristics, and phylogenetic analysis of DNA sequence data from the nuclear internal transcribed spacer 1 and 2 (ITS) and the 5.8S ribosomal gene. No differences were discovered between the populations in DNA sequence data, small differences were discovered in megaspore ornamentation and habitat, and more significant differences were discovered in morphology, although all of the differences were based on small sample size. Thus, the results of this study are inconclusive as to the species status of the unusual Isoetes population. However, the detailed environmental data collected in the drainage do show that senescence (loss of leaves) closely follows water levels, not temperatures or seasons, as some have hypothesized. This study augments scientific understanding of Isoetes louisianensis, considering that much about this species is still unknown due to many new, recent discoveries of populations, similarities in appearance with other species of Isoetes, natural occurrences in Isoetes of cross-fertilization with the production of sterile hybrids, variations in ploidy level, and the need for scanning electron microscopy to carefully observe megaspore ornamentation. Plans have been made to continue assessing the v unusual Isoetes population and typical Isoetes louisianensis populations based on chromosome numbers, vegetative anatomy, and phylogenetic analysis of additional DNA regions