Confidence driven TGV fusion

We introduce a novel model for spatially varying variational data fusion, driven by point-wise confidence values. The proposed model allows for the joint estimation of the data and the confidence values based on the spatial coherence of the data. We discuss the main properties of the introduced model as well as suitable algorithms for estimating the solution of the corresponding biconvex minimization problem and their convergence. The performance of the proposed model is evaluated considering the problem of depth image fusion by using both synthetic and real data from publicly available datasets

A Hybrid Approach for Trajectory Control Design

This work presents a methodology to design trajectory tracking feedback control laws, which embed non-parametric statistical models, such as Gaussian Processes (GPs). The aim is to minimize unmodeled dynamics such as undesired slippages. The proposed approach has the benefit of avoiding complex terramechanics analysis to directly estimate from data the robot dynamics on a wide class of trajectories. Experiments in both real and simulated environments prove that the proposed methodology is promising.Comment: 9 pages, 11 figure

Discovery and recognition of motion primitives in human activities

We present a novel framework for the automatic discovery and recognition of motion primitives in videos of human activities. Given the 3D pose of a human in a video, human motion primitives are discovered by optimizing the `motion flux', a quantity which captures the motion variation of a group of skeletal joints. A normalization of the primitives is proposed in order to make them invariant with respect to a subject anatomical variations and data sampling rate. The discovered primitives are unknown and unlabeled and are unsupervisedly collected into classes via a hierarchical non-parametric Bayes mixture model. Once classes are determined and labeled they are further analyzed for establishing models for recognizing discovered primitives. Each primitive model is defined by a set of learned parameters. Given new video data and given the estimated pose of the subject appearing on the video, the motion is segmented into primitives, which are recognized with a probability given according to the parameters of the learned models. Using our framework we build a publicly available dataset of human motion primitives, using sequences taken from well-known motion capture datasets. We expect that our framework, by providing an objective way for discovering and categorizing human motion, will be a useful tool in numerous research fields including video analysis, human inspired motion generation, learning by demonstration, intuitive human-robot interaction, and human behavior analysis

Community Improvement Plans: An analysis of content and outcomes of Community Improvement Plans in Ontario

Community Improvement Plans are an often used, but seldom studied economic development and planning tool used to spur economic growth within an economically depressed area. But are they effective? This paper answers two questions concerning Community Improvement Plans. First, “How are Community Improvement Plans used in the Province of Ontario?”; and second, “Is the execution of these plans resulting in greater economic prosperity for the communities that have enacted them?”. This work is undertaken by reviewing the content of 202 Community Improvement Plans across the Province of Ontario. Regression tests on municipal assessments from 2001-2018 to determine what effect the adoption of Community Improvement Plans has on assessment values. This paper highlights differences in Community Improvement Plan usage according to the regions they were written in, the size of municipality that has enacted them, and nature of their authorship. It also seeks to use changes in municipal assessment over time as a measure for the effectiveness of Community Improvement Plans. Although many of the outcomes are statistically significant, it is determined that changes in assessment are tied too closely to the size of a municipal population to be an effective tool to measure the effect of Community Improvement Plan

Regulation of social behaviour via oxytocin receptor signaling in the caudodorsal lateral septum in Long-Evans male and female rats

The oxytocin receptor (OTR), a class A G-protein coupled receptor, is highly expressed in the lateral septum (LS), a brain region that regulates social behaviors in rodents. This thesis investigates whether OTRs within the LS modulate social approach-avoidance behavior, acquisition of long-term social recognition memory, and anxiety-like behavior in adult male and female rats. In the first experiment, L-368, 899, a selective OTR antagonist, was infused locally into the caudodorsal lateral septum (LSc.d), resulting in the attenuation of social approach, enhancement of social vigilance, and reduction in social novelty preference in male and female rats, with no effect on locomotion. In the second experiment, carbetocin, a biased OTR/Gq agonist, was locally delivered into the LSc.d, leading to reduced social approach and social novelty preference (a measure of social memory), with no effect on social vigilance or locomotion. Intriguingly, carbetocin increased latency to consumption of a highly palatable food only in male rats in the novelty-induced hypophagia test, indicating the sex-specific anxiogenic effects of the OTR/Gq signaling pathway in the region. In the third experiment, a selective full agonist of the OTR, (Thr4,Gly7)-Oxytocin, was infused into the LSc.d of male rats, resulting in a slight, but non-significant increase in social approach. Unlike the antagonist and the biased agonist, (Thr4,Gly7)-Oxytocin-treated rats showed social novelty preference 24 h after familiarization. Moreover, (Thr4,Gly7)-Oxytocin decreased latency to consumption of a highly palatable food compared to vehicle-treated rats, suggesting anxiolytic effects of the OTR full agonism. In conclusion, the findings suggest that OTR signaling in the LSc.d regulates social approach-avoidance, acquisition of social recognition memory and anxiety-like behavior depending on the activation of a specific upstream signaling arm of the receptor. I demonstrated that the OTR/Gq signaling pathway within the LSc.d promotes social avoidance in both sexes and triggers anxiogenic effects only in males, contrasting with the effects induced by the full agonism of the receptor

Co-induced nano-structures on Si(111) surface

The interaction of cobalt atoms with silicon (111) surface has been investigated by means of scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and low-energy electron diffraction (LEED). Besides the Co silicide islands, we have successfully distinguished two inequivalent Co-induced $\sqrt{13}\times\sqrt{13}$ reconstructions on Si (111) surface. Our high-resolution STM images provide some structural properties of the two different $\sqrt{13}\times\sqrt{13}$ derived phases. Both of the two phases seem to form islands with single domain. The new findings will help us to understand the early stage of Co silicide formations.Comment: 4pages 4figure

Learning the dynamics of articulated tracked vehicles

In this work, we present a Bayesian non-parametric approach to model the motion control of ATVs. The motion control model is based on a Dirichlet Process-Gaussian Process (DP-GP) mixture model. The DP-GP mixture model provides a flexible representation of patterns of control manoeuvres along trajectories of different lengths and discretizations. The model also estimates the number of patterns, sufficient for modeling the dynamics of the ATV

Ready, set, go! Parents of children with autism spectrum disorder: decisions of readiness to visit a museum

Little is known about the factors involved in parents’ with a child with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) decisions to visit a community outing with their family. The purpose of this research is to describe the factors that families consider when making a decision to visit a museum of science with their child with ASD. Data were analyzed based on data from a previous study in which observations and interviews were completed in order to describe the experiences of nine children and their families visiting a science museum. The findings indicated that families considered their child and his/her age and abilities, the community environment, and the features of the activities in the community space as a family when deciding whether their child was ready to visit the museum. Additionally, parents appeared to consider their available strategies for use while in the community when making readiness decisions. The information learned in this study may aid families who are trying to appraise whether their child is ready for a family community outing. Additionally, findings from this research may benefit museums interested in creating inclusive experiences for families with a child with ASD. Recommendations are provided for future research in the area of readiness for community outings for families with a child with ASD

The Role of Ion Channels in Coordinating Neural Circuit Activity in Caenorhabditis elegans: A Dissertation

Despite the current understanding that sensorimotor circuits function through the action of transmitters and modulators, we have a limited understanding of how the nervous system directs the flow of information necessary to orchestrate complex behaviors. In this dissertation, I aimed to uncover how the nervous system coordinates these behaviors using the escape response of the soil nematode, Caenorhabditis elegans, as a paradigm. C. elegans exhibits a robust escape behavior in response to touch. The worm typically moves forward in a sinusoidal pattern, which is accompanied by exploratory head movements. During escape, the worm quickly retreats by moving backward from the point of stimulus while suppressing its head movements. It was previously shown that the biogenic amine tyramine played an important role in modulating the suppression of these head movmemetns in response to touch. We identified a novel tyramine-gated chloride channel, LGC-55, whose activation by tyramine coordinates motor programs essential for escape. Furthermore, we found that changing the electrical nature of a synapse within the neural circuit for escape behavior can reverse its behavioral output, indicating that the C. elegans connectome is established independent of the nature of synaptic activity or behavioral output. Finally, we characterized a unique mutant, zf35 , which is hyperactive in reversal behavior. This mutant was identified as a gain of function allele of the C. elegans P/Q/N-type voltage-gated calcium channel, UNC-2. Taken together, this work defines tyramine as a genuine neurotransmitter and completes the neural circuit that controls the initial phases of the C. elegans escape response. Additionally, this research further advances the understanding of how the interactions between transmitters and ion channels can precisely regulate neural circuit activity in the execution of a complex behavior

A Roadmap for Measuring the Local Impact of Culture from a Legislative Perspective—Normative, Regulatory, and Technical Mechanisms

The use of indicators to measure, evaluate, and assess cultural activities and policies represents a best practice (often unpractised) for local and national legislators and administrators, and nowadays this is more necessary than ever. The use of a tailored indicators framework is advisable for several different reasons, among which the provision of evidence regarding the role of cultural heritage, making it more visible and tangible; the development of the advocacy role of cultural heritage able to create an evidence-based narrative; its being an incentive for policymakers to reach measurable and targeted objectives. This contribution seeks to investigate, from a legal perspective, how to measure local cultural impact or, more correctly, how the measurement of this impact can take place and can be taken into account in the enactment of rules determining the creation and management of cultural projects and activities