Understanding critical factors in gender recognition

Gender classification is a task of paramount importance in face recognition research, and it is potentially useful in a large set of applications. In this paper we investigate the gender classification problem by an extended empirical analysis on the Face Recognition Grand Challenge version 2.0 dataset (FRGC2.0). We propose challenging experimental protocols over the dimensions of FRGC2.0 – i.e., subject, face expression, race, controlled or uncontrolled environment. We evaluate our protocols with respect to several classification algorithms, and processing different types of features, like Gabor and LBP. Our results show that gender classification is independent from factors like the race of the subject, face expressions, and variations of controlled illumination conditions. We also report that Gabor features seem to be more robust than LBPs in the case of uncontrolled environment

Fourier Transform Rheology: A New Tool to Characterize Material Properties

Liquid multiphase systems such as polymer blends or emulsions are ubiquitous in many applications, including plastic production, food processing, pharmaceutical and cosmetic production. When the constituents of the multiphase system are incompatible the phases are immiscible, and, depending on their relative amount, the microstructure can consist of droplets in a matrix, elongated fibrils or a co-continuous structure (Utracki, 2003) as schematically shown in Figure 1. The morphology of the liquid multiphase system is important in the applications as it strongly affects processing properties, and the properties of the final products. With the term “morphology” we here indicate not only the overall form or shape of the physical structure of the system, but also the distribution and orientation of the phases, the interfacial area, and the volume of the interphase. Hence, a profound knowledge of the relation between processing parameters, material properties and morphology is essential to optimize the performances of the liquid multiphase systems.Substantial efforts were done in the last decades to set up experimental protocols aimed at evaluating the morphological properties of polymer blends and emulsions via rheological measurements. So far, the most reliable strategy for morphological characterization through rheological measurements is based on the dynamic small amplitude oscillatory shear (SAOS) experiment: the samples are subjected to small amplitude shearing oscillations, and the measured shear stress response is used to gain information on the blend properties (e.g. Palierne, 1990). Here, we present an alternative technique we have recently proposed to characterize the liquid two-phase system morphology. This methodology is based on Large Amplitude Oscillatory Shear (LAOS) flows. This kind of analysis is often referred in the literature as Fourier Transform Rheology (FTR) (Wilhelm et al., 1998), since the stress response is usually analyzed in the Fourier domain. It will be shown that Fourier Transform Rheology possesses a high sensitivity in the characterization of the morphology, thus allowing evaluation of properties that might otherwise be hardly appreciated with traditional linear methodologies

Automatic Passenger Counting on the Edge via Unsupervised Clustering

We present a device- and network-based solution for automatic passnger counting that operates on the edge in real time. The proposed solution consists of a low-cost WiFi scanner device equipped with custom algorithms for dealing with MAC address randomization. Our low-cost scanner is able to capture and analyze 802.11 probe requests emitted by passengers' devices such as laptops, smartphones, and tablets. The device is configured with a Python data-processing pipeline that combines data coming from different types of sensors and processes them on the fly. For the analysis task, we have devised a lightweight version of the DBSCAN algorithm. Our software artifact is designed in a modular way in order to accommodate possible extensions of the pipeline, e.g., either additional filters or data sources. Furthermore, we exploit multi-threading and multi-processing for speeding up the entire computation. The proposed solution has been tested with different types of mobile devices, obtaining promising experimental results. In this paper, we present the key ingredients of our edge computing solution

Rheology of Conductive High Reactivity Carbonaceous Material (HRCM)-Based Ink Suspensions: Dependence on Concentration and Temperature

The present case study reports a shear rheological characterization in the temperature domain of inks and pastes loaded with conductive High Reactivity Carbonaceous Material (HRCM) consisting mainly of few-layers graphene sheets. The combined effect of filler concentration and applied shear rate is investigated in terms of the shear viscosity response as a function of testing temperature. The non-Newtonian features of shear flow ramps at constant temperature are reported to depend on both the HRCM load and the testing temperature. Moreover, temperature ramps at a constant shear rate reveal a different viscosity-temperature dependence from what is observed in shear flow ramps while maintaining the same filler concentration. An apparent departure from the well-known Vogel-Fulcher-Tamman relationship as a function of the applied shear rate is also reported

Relazione sulla sostenibilità ambientale del progetto esecutivo dell'edificio scolastico Scuola Media "L. Orsini" di Imola (BO)

Rapporto scientifico della consulenza ambientale alla progettazione esecutiva dell'edificio scolastico Scuola Media "L. Orsini" per la Città di Imola, Servizio LL.PP., comprendente: dati di contesto e caratterizzazione del clima locale; strategie e tecnologie di climatizzazione e produzione energetica (riscaldamento solare, ventilazione naturale controllata, raffrescamento passivo e solare, controllo solare e dell'illuminazione naturale, elemento a soffitto a prestazioni integrate); bilancio energetico, emissioni di gas serra e fattore d'efficienza energetico-ambientale; uso razionale delle risorse idriche e tecnologie per il contenimento del consumo d'acqua potabile; uso razionale delle risorse deriventi da scarti e rifiuti; benessere, igiene e salute dell'utente; gestione e controllo dinamico dell'edificio e degli impianti; monitoraggio. ALLEGATI: a) dati climatici; b) analisi del comportamento termico dell'edificio; c) analisi comparata dei sistemi di climatizzazione; d) analisi termo-fluidodinamica; e) scambiatore geotermico ad aria a condotti orizzontali

Population status, distribution and trophic implications of Pinna nobilis along the South-eastern Italian coast

The dramatic Mass Mortality Event, MME, of Pinna nobilis populations initially detected in the western Mediterranean basin, has also spread rapidly to the central and eastern basin. Unfortunately, there is still a significant lack of information on the status and health of P. nobilis, since only a fragmentary picture of the mortality rate affecting these populations is available. Regarding the Italian coast, several surveys have given only localized or point-like views on the distribution of species and the effect of the MME. Therefore, for the first time, this study investigated P. nobilis density of individuals, distribution and mortality throughout 161 surveys along 800 km of coastline in the Apulia region (South-east of Italy). The geographical scale of this investigation made it the largest ever conducted in Italy, and this was achieved through a rapid and standardized protocol. During this monitoring campaign, 90 km of linear underwater transects were surveyed, along which no live individuals were observed. This result allowed to estimate that the P. nobilis populations had totally collapsed, with a mortality rate of 100% in Apulia. The distributional pattern of the species showed a strong overlap with seagrass meadows on meso- and macro-geographical scale, however this was not the case on a micro-scale. This result evidenced that relationships between P. nobilis and seagrass meadows are not limited to the habitat patch, but cross the boundaries of seagrass leading us to suggest that the distribution of P. nobilis hold a trophic link through the cross-boundary subsidy occurring from seagrass meadows to the nearby habitat, by means of the refractory detrital pathway

Echinoderm larvae as bioindicators for the assessment of marine pollution: Sea urchin and sea cucumber responsiveness and future perspectives

Echinoderms play a crucial role in the functioning of marine ecosystems and due to their extensive distribution, rapid response, and the high sensitivity of their planktonic larvae to a large range of stressors, some species are widely used as biological indicators. In addition to sea urchins, sea cucumbers have recently been implemented in embryotoxicity bioassays showing high potential in ecotoxicological studies. However, the use of this species is still hindered by a lack of knowledge regarding their comparative responsiveness. The present study aimed to investigate the responsiveness of different echinoderm species to environmental pollution in order to develop their integration in batteries of ecotoxicological bioassays. To this end, the embryos of two sea urchins (Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula) and two sea cucumbers (Holothuria polii and Holothuria tubulosa) were incubated with inorganic and organic toxicants (cadmium, copper, mercury, lead, sodium dodecyl sulphate and 4-n-Nonhyphenol) and elutriates from contaminated marine sediments, chosen as a case study model. The results obtained, expressed through the percentage of abnormal embryos and Integrative Toxicity Indices (ITI), indicated species-specific sensitivities to pollutants, with comparable and correlated responsiveness between sea urchins and sea cucumbers. More specifically, sea cucumber larvae exposed to elutriates appear to be more sensitive than sea urchins, especially when incubated with samples containing trace metals, PCB and TBT. These results indicate that toxic responses in embryos exposed to environmental matrices are probably modulated by interactions between different variables, including additive, synergistic and antagonistic effects. These findings suggest that performing a larval test using different echinoderm classes can integrate the interactive effects of bioavailable fraction of contaminants on various levels, providing sensitive, representative and all year-round batteries of bioassays to apply in ecotoxicological studies