Background suppressing Gabor energy filtering

In the field of facial emotion recognition, early research advanced with the use of Gabor filters. However, these filters lack generalization and result in undesirably large feature vector size. In recent work, more attention has been given to other local appearance features. Two desired characteristics in a facial appearance feature are generalization capability, and the compactness of representation. In this paper, we propose a novel texture feature inspired by Gabor energy filters, called background suppressing Gabor energy filtering. The feature has a generalization component that removes background texture. It has a reduced feature vector size due to maximal representation and soft orientation histograms, and it is awhite box representation. We demonstrate improved performance on the non-trivial Audio/Visual Emotion Challenge 2012 grand-challenge dataset by a factor of 7.17 over the Gabor filter on the development set. We also demonstrate applicability of our approach beyond facial emotion recognition which yields improved classification rate over the Gabor filter for four bioimaging datasets by an average of 8.22%

Electron Transfer Reaction Through an Adsorbed Layer

We consider electron transfer from a redox to an electrode through and adsorbed intermediate. The formalism is developed to cover all regimes of coverage factor, from lone adsorbate to monolayer regime. The randomness in the distribution of adsorbates is handled using coherent potential approximation. We give current-overpotential profile for all coverage regimes. We explictly analyse the low and high coverage regimes by supplementing with DOS profile for adsorbate in both weakly coupled and strongly coupled sector. The prominence of bonding and anti-bonding states in the strongly coupled adsorbates at low coverage gives rise to saddle point behaviour in current-overpotential profile. We were able to recover the marcus inverted region at low coverage and the traditional direct electron transfer behaviour at high coverage

The Defense of Marriage Act and Uncategorical Federalism

This Essay addresses federalism objections to section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). Ordinarily, the federal government accepts states’ determinations of what couples are validly married. Section 3 of DOMA, however, fashions a broad exception for same-sex couples, who are definitionally deemed not to be in “marriages.” In addition to equal protection and full faith and credit challenges to DOMA, litigants have made constitutional federalism arguments. In Massachusetts v. UnitedStates Department of Health and Human Services, the federal trial court accepted one such argument, though in a form that might be read to categorically deny the federal government authority over marriage. This Essay critiques such categorical federalism arguments, as well as the district court’s specific doctrinal argument, and offers a more nuanced, uncategorical federalism argument against DOMA section 3 based on existing constitutional precedents, an argument that relies on a confluence of factors to conclude that this provision of federal law is unconstitutional

Conservation genetics of Iberian raptors

Genética de la conservación de rapaces ibéricas En este artículo se da una visión global de lo que es la genética de la conservación y cuáles son las acciones de manejo en la naturaleza que pueden beneficiarse de los estudios genéticos. Se presentan en primer lugar los factores genéticos de riesgo para la supervivencia de las especies y cuáles son las consecuencias de la pérdida de diversidad genética y de la depresión tanto por endogamia como por exogamia. Se explica el uso de las herramientas genéticas en la delimitación de las unidades de conservación. Tras ello se explica cuáles son las aplicaciones más comunes de la genética de la conservación en el manejo de poblaciones silvestres. En una segunda parte del artículo se hace una revisión de los estudios en genética de la conservación llevados a cabo en rapaces ibéricas. Se explican varios estudios llevados a cabo sobre el águila imperial ibérica, el quebrantahuesos, el buitre negro y el milano real usando marcadores en microsatélites autosomales y secuencias de ADN mitocondrial (mtDNA). Se describen estudios sobre el cernícalo primilla y el alimoche que han utilizado adicionalmente marcadores en el complejo de histocompatibilidad mayor (MHC) con el propósito de incorporar el estudio de variación no neutral. Para cada una de las especies se explica cómo estos estudios se pueden aplicar y/o se aplican en las estrategias de conservación de dichas especies en la naturaleza. Palabras clave: Genética de la conservación, Genómica de la conservación, Marcadores moleculares, Rapaces ibéricas, Manejo de poblaciones amenazadas.In this paper I provide an overview of conservation genetics and describe the management actions in the wild that can benefit from conservation genetic studies. I describe the genetic factors of risk for the survival of wild species, the consequences of loss of genetic diversity, inbreeding and outbreeding depression, and the use of genetic tools to delimitate units of conservation. Then I introduce the most common applications of conservation genetics in the management of wild populations. In a second part of the paper I review the conservation genetic studies carried on the Iberian raptors. I introduce several studies on the Spanish imperial eagle, the bearded vulture, the black vulture and the red kite that were carried out using autosomal microsatellite markers and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequencing. I describe studies on the lesser kestrel and Egyptian vulture that additionally applied major histocompatibility complex (MHC) markers, with the purpose of incorporating the study of non–neutral variation. For every species I explain how these studies can be and/or are applied in the strategy of conservation in the wild. Key words: Conservation genetics, Conservation genomics, Molecular markers, Iberian raptors, Management of threatened populations.Genética de la conservación de rapaces ibéricas En este artículo se da una visión global de lo que es la genética de la conservación y cuáles son las acciones de manejo en la naturaleza que pueden beneficiarse de los estudios genéticos. Se presentan en primer lugar los factores genéticos de riesgo para la supervivencia de las especies y cuáles son las consecuencias de la pérdida de diversidad genética y de la depresión tanto por endogamia como por exogamia. Se explica el uso de las herramientas genéticas en la delimitación de las unidades de conservación. Tras ello se explica cuáles son las aplicaciones más comunes de la genética de la conservación en el manejo de poblaciones silvestres. En una segunda parte del artículo se hace una revisión de los estudios en genética de la conservación llevados a cabo en rapaces ibéricas. Se explican varios estudios llevados a cabo sobre el águila imperial ibérica, el quebrantahuesos, el buitre negro y el milano real usando marcadores en microsatélites autosomales y secuencias de ADN mitocondrial (mtDNA). Se describen estudios sobre el cernícalo primilla y el alimoche que han utilizado adicionalmente marcadores en el complejo de histocompatibilidad mayor (MHC) con el propósito de incorporar el estudio de variación no neutral. Para cada una de las especies se explica cómo estos estudios se pueden aplicar y/o se aplican en las estrategias de conservación de dichas especies en la naturaleza. Palabras clave: Genética de la conservación, Genómica de la conservación, Marcadores moleculares, Rapaces ibéricas, Manejo de poblaciones amenazadas

Warehouse Storing and Collecting of Parts

This report deals with reducing the high costs resulting from the wear and tear of the fork-lifts used to store or collect items in a warehouse. Two problems were identified and addressed separately. One concerns the way items should be stored or collected at storage locations on the shelves of one corridor. The other problem seeks for an efficient way to define which fork-lift should operate on each corridor, and the order by which the fork-lifts should visit the corridors. We give to both problems formulations that fit in the framework of combinatorial optimization

Sulfur loss from subducted altered oceanic crust and implications for mantle oxidation

© The Author(s), [year]. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Walters, J. B., Cruz-Uribe, A. M., & Marschall, H. R. Sulfur loss from subducted altered oceanic crust and implications for mantle oxidation. Geochemical Perspectives Letters, 13, (2020): 36-41, doi:10.7185/geochemlet.2011.Oxygen fugacity (fO2) is a controlling factor of the physics of Earth’s mantle; however, the mechanisms driving spatial and secular changes in fO2 associated with convergent margins are highly debated. We present new thermodynamic models and petrographic observations to predict that oxidised sulfur species are produced during the subduction of altered oceanic crust. Sulfur loss from the subducting slab is a function of the protolith Fe3+/ΣFe ratio and subduction zone thermal structure, with elevated sulfur fluxes predicted for oxidised slabs in cold subduction zones. We also predict bi-modal release of sulfur-bearing fluids, with a low volume shallow flux of reduced sulfur followed by an enhanced deep flux of sulfate and sulfite species, consistent with oxidised arc magmas and associated copper porphyry deposits. The variable SOx release predicted by our models both across and among active margins may introduce fO2 heterogeneity to the upper mantle.We thank James Connolly for modelling support and Peter van Keken for providing updated P–T paths for the Syracuse et al. (2010) models. The manuscript benefited from the editorial handling by Helen Williams and from constructive reviews of Maryjo Brounce, Katy Evans, and an anonymous reviewer. JBW acknowledges Fulbright and Chase Distinguished Research fellowships. This work was supported by NSF grant EAR1725301 awarded to AMC