Sentiment Recognition in Egocentric Photostreams

Lifelogging is a process of collecting rich source of information about daily life of people. In this paper, we introduce the problem of sentiment analysis in egocentric events focusing on the moments that compose the images recalling positive, neutral or negative feelings to the observer. We propose a method for the classification of the sentiments in egocentric pictures based on global and semantic image features extracted by Convolutional Neural Networks. We carried out experiments on an egocentric dataset, which we organized in 3 classes on the basis of the sentiment that is recalled to the user (positive, negative or neutral)

An automated pattern recognition system for classifying indirect immunofluorescence images for HEp-2 cells and specimens

AbstractImmunofluorescence antinuclear antibody tests are important for diagnosis and management of autoimmune conditions; a key step that would benefit from reliable automation is the recognition of subcellular patterns suggestive of different diseases. We present a system to recognize such patterns, at cellular and specimen levels, in images of HEp-2 cells. Ensembles of SVMs were trained to classify cells into six classes based on sparse encoding of texture features with cell pyramids, capturing spatial, multi-scale structure. A similar approach was used to classify specimens into seven classes. Software implementations were submitted to an international contest hosted by ICPR 2014 (Performance Evaluation of Indirect Immunofluorescence Image Analysis Systems). Mean class accuracies obtained on heldout test data sets were 87.1% and 88.5% for cell and specimen classification respectively. These were the highest achieved in the competition, suggesting that our methods are state-of-the-art. We provide detailed descriptions and extensive experiments with various features and encoding methods

INNOVATION PROCESS FOR HALAL PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT: AN EMPIRICAL ANALYSIS OF ITALIAN FIRMS

The Halal global market is promising a rapid and sustained growth (Berry 2008; Sungkar et al., 2008). In fact, only for Halal food industry, the amount of international trade has exceeded 2.1 trillion USD in 2006 (Berry 2008; Riaz and Chaudry 2004). The reasons of the prompt growing are multiple, but mainly due to (1) the rapid spread of the Islamic faithful worldwide, (2) the increasing spending power of the Islamic people. Despite the importance this market has on the global scene, few studies are available, discussing in-depth the phenomenon from the managerial and innovation management perspectives. Inspired by this opportunity, we attempt to explore in depth the innovation process leading companies from Haram to Halal products in the food industry. A multiple case study of four Italian companies has been developed in order to explore their innovation process and to understand how it has been reviewed to fit the Islamic requirements. The specific product and process solutions adopted by the companies have been analyzed as well as the related managerial and organizational implications and innovation changes implemented. In Italy, so far, only few isolated initiatives shed a first light on the Halal theme and the landscape appears very embryonic.Halal, Islam, New Product Development.

Subjective Well-Being and HIV Prevention: A Cross-Country Descriptive Study Using Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Data

Subjective well-being (SWB) is positively associated with improved health outcomes and, in particular, preventative behaviors. Yet, the relationship between SWB and HIV prevention is not well understood, especially in the context of developing countries. Furthermore, young females experience a high burden of HIV as well as sociodemographic factors which influence SWB. Therefore, this descriptive study sought to describe the global landscape of three constructs of SWB - happiness, life satisfaction, and life perception - and the following HIV prevention variables: comprehensive HIV knowledge, HIV testing, and condom use among young adult females aged 15-24 years. Descriptive statistics of Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) data for 22 geographical areas representing 19 countries were examined. While SWB constructs were relatively high, HIV prevention variables were reportedly low, with considerable variation among country reported percentages. Literacy/educational attainment may be an important factor interacting with SWB and HIV prevention. Future research should seek to model associations of these variables via regression analyses in order to gather additional insights and expand the knowledge base regarding the relationship between SWB, literacy, and HIV prevention

The scope of public organisations with productive functions: insights from the inefficiency of Italian local public transport

It is a well-known fact that reforms necessary to enhance competition and make the economy more attractive play a major role in the Government activity in Europe. Considering the Italian state of affairs, this paper focuses on the inefficiency of public producers in the light of certain market and legal impediments. This paper describes key barriers that undermine the healthy functioning of an important industrial and service sector of the Italian economy: specifically local public transport. This paper also sheds some light on this problem analysing the impact that a controversial regulation framework may have on an industry and suggests that the degree of liberalisation affects the return on investments

The sunk-panel book-binding of a Renaissance Venetian Commissione Dogale: the scientific examination of the decoration materials

Abstract The research aims to investigate the nature of the materials used in the decoration of the cover of a sunk-panel Commissione Dogale, a Venetian manuscript of 1582. The analysed volume Ms. It. VII, 1869 (= 8134) belongs to the collections of the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Venice. The Commissioni were intended as official documents written on parchment and issued by the Doge of Venice. Their bindings were very rich in decoration, especially those produced in the late 16th century. This manuscript is a sumptuous example of the Venetian Renaissance artisanship influenced by Middle Eastern style: its cover was made of gilded leather, painted with arabesque branches and buds and lastly lacquered. The scientific examination of the lavishly illuminated cover was performed before the book-binding conservation treatment, as the characterisation of the decoration materials allowed to plan an appropriate conservation project. The research first step has been the non-invasive observation of the cover surface by digital microscope through UV–VIS radiations. Then, the study of the composition of these materials has been carried out with ATR-FTIR spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, XRF spectroscopy and spot-test analyses on samples. Pigments like minium, green earth, a lead-based yellow and smalt have been detected in the painted layer, while a precise identification of the resins and varnishes layered on top of the decoration was not possible because of the heterogeneity of samples. Furthermore, the materials used for this cover can be usefully compared with those detected by other recent analyses carried out on a variety of 16th century Venetian book illuminations

Performance Measures in Female Collegiate Soccer Players According to ACL Injury Status

Please see the pdf version of the abstract

Bmi1 Is Expressed in Postnatal Myogenic Satellite Cells, Controls Their Maintenance and Plays an Essential Role in Repeated Muscle Regeneration

PMCID: PMC3212532This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited

Vibrational Study on the Structure, Bioactivity, and Silver Adsorption of Silk Fibroin Fibers Grafted with Methacrylonitrile

Natural fibers have received increasing attention as starting materials for innovative applications in many research fields, from biomedicine to engineering. Bombyx mori silk fibroin has become a material of choice in the development of many biomedical devices. Grafting represents a good strategy to improve the material properties according to the desired function. In the present study, Bombyx mori silk fibroin fibers were grafted with methacrylonitrile (MAN) with different weight gains. The potential interest in biomedical applications of MAN functionalization relies on the presence of the nitrile group, which is an acceptor of H bonds and can bind metals. IR and Raman spectroscopy were used to characterize the grafted samples and the possible structural changes induced by grafting. Afterward, the same techniques were used to study the bioactivity (i.e., the calcium phosphate nucleation ability) of MAN-grafted silk fibroins after ageing in simulated body fluid (SBF) for possible application in bone tissue engineering, and their interaction with Ag+ ions, for the development of biomaterials with enhanced anti-microbial properties. MAN was found to efficiently polymerize on silk fibroin through polar amino acids (i.e., serine and tryptophan), inducing an enrichment in silk fibroin-ordered domains. IR spectroscopy allowed us to detect the nucleation of a thin calcium phosphate layer and the uptake of Ag+ ions through the nitrile group, which may foster the application of these grafted materials in biomedical applications

Coordinated control of dispersed battery energy storage systems for services to network operators

International audienceDistributed Battery Energy Storage Systems, controlled either per resource or in coordination, can provide many services to the network operators. The present study emphasizes the contributions of dedicated scheduling applications in order to enhance the reliability, performance and life expectation of the storage assets, based on the Nice Grid case, a Smart Grid pilot project