Deconstruction of compound objects from image sets

We propose a method to recover the structure of a compound object from multiple silhouettes. Structure is expressed as a collection of 3D primitives chosen from a pre-defined library, each with an associated pose. This has several advantages over a volume or mesh representation both for estimation and the utility of the recovered model. The main challenge in recovering such a model is the combinatorial number of possible arrangements of parts. We address this issue by exploiting the sparse nature of the problem, and show that our method scales to objects constructed from large libraries of parts

Deconstructing compassionate conservation

Compassionate conservation focuses on 4 tenets: first, do no harm; individuals matter; inclusivity of individual animals; and peaceful coexistence between humans and animals. Recently, compassionate conservation has been promoted as an alternative to conventional conservation philosophy. We believe examples presented by compassionate conservationists are deliberately or arbitrarily chosen to focus on mammals; inherently not compassionate; and offer ineffective conservation solutions. Compassionate conservation arbitrarily focuses on charismatic species, notably large predators and megaherbivores. The philosophy is not compassionate when it leaves invasive predators in the environment to cause harm to vastly more individuals of native species or uses the fear of harm by apex predators to terrorize mesopredators. Hindering the control of exotic species (megafauna, predators) in situ will not improve the conservation condition of the majority of biodiversity. The positions taken by so-called compassionate conservationists on particular species and on conservation actions could be extended to hinder other forms of conservation, including translocations, conservation fencing, and fertility control. Animal welfare is incredibly important to conservation, but ironically compassionate conservation does not offer the best welfare outcomes to animals and is often ineffective in achieving conservation goals. Consequently, compassionate conservation may threaten public and governmental support for conservation because of the limited understanding of conservation problems by the general public

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Poste Religions et Genre à l'IRD

Sciences humaines et sociales (CSS4) Concours n° 21 : 1 poste : « Anthropologue, spécialiste de la religion et des questions de genre ». Pour faire acte de candidature: Les profils des postes, les dossiers de candidature, ainsi qu’un guide d’information, sont à votre disposition sur le site Internet de l’IRD, à l’adresse suivante : http://www.ird.fr/nous-rejoindre/l-ird-recrute/concours/concours-chercheurs-2012. La date limite de retrait ou de téléchargement des dossiers de candidature est fi..

Pour une anthropologie des milieux sonores II For an anthropology of Sound Milieux II

Le collectif MILSON propose de dresser un état des lieux des problématiques et méthodes utilisées dans différents champs disciplinaires (architecture, sciences humaines et sociales, arts, acoustique, entre autres) pour étudier ou expérimenter les environnements sonores dans leur contexte de production et de perception. / MILSON is a research team dedicated to the discussion of the problematics and methods used in different disciplines (architecture, social sciences, arts, acoustic etc.) to study or experiment sound environments

Jag vill bara vara som alla andra : En kvalitativ studie om könsskillnader mellan barn i förskolan i behov av stöd med adhd

Denna studie syftar till att undersöka om det finns en skillnad mellan könen i bedömning av barn som påvisar hyperaktivitet, sociala svårigheter och aggressivt beteende på förskolan. Det som intresserade författaren till att göra studien var författarens egen erfarenhet inom ämnet samt ett intresse för att veta mer om ämnet. Studien är gjord med kvalitativa intervjuer hos rektorer och förskollärare, sedan har materialet bearbetats och analyserats med en genusteoretisk utgångspunkt. I studiens resultat framgår rektorernas roll kring barn i behov av stöd med adhd symptom, samt hur det påverkar förskollärarnas ansvar i verksamheten. Även hur detta påverkar verksamhetens möjlighet till extra stöd, vilket framkommer i studien och har en påverkan på utbildningen. Studiens resultat visar även att det görs en skillnad mellan pojkar och flickor gällande adhd. Avslutningsvis, visar studien även hur vårdnadshavare väljer att inte se att deras barn möjligen har behov av stöd

In situ measurements of cloud microphysics and aerosol over coastal Antarctica during the MAC campaign

International audienceDuring austral summer 2015, the Microphysics of Antarctic Clouds (MAC) field campaign collected unique and detailed airborne and ground-based in situ measurements of cloud and aerosol properties over coastal Antarctica and the Weddell Sea. This paper presents the first results from the experiment and discusses the key processes important in this region, which is critical to predicting future climate change. The sampling was predominantly of stratus clouds, at temperatures between −20 and 0°C. These clouds were dominated by supercooled liquid water droplets, which had a median concentration of 113 cm −3 and an interquartile range of 86 cm −3. Both cloud liquid water content and effective radius increased closer to cloud top. The cloud droplet effective radius increased from 4 ± 2 µm near cloud base to 8 ± 3 µm near cloud top. Cloud ice particle concentrations were highly variable with the ice tending to occur in small, isolated patches. Below approximately 1000 m, glaciated cloud regions were more common at higher temperatures; however, the clouds were still predominantly liquid throughout. When ice was present at temperatures higher than −10°C, secondary ice production most likely through the Hallett–Mossop mechanism led to ice concentrations 1 to 3 orders of magnitude higher than the number predicted by commonly used primary ice nucleation parameterisations. The drivers of the ice crystal variability are investigated. No clear dependence on the droplet size distribution was found. The source of first ice in the clouds remains uncertain but may include contributions from biogenic particles, blowing snow or other surface ice production mechanisms. The concentration of large aerosols (diameters 0.5 to 1.6 µm) decreased with altitude and were depleted in air masses that originated over the Antarctic continent compared to those more heavily influenced by the Southern Ocean and sea ice regions. The dominant aerosol in the region was hygroscopic in nature, with the hygroscopicity parameter κ having a median value for the campaign of 0.66 (interquar-tile range of 0.38). This is consistent with other remote marine locations that are dominated by sea salt/sulfate

Envisioning the future with \u27compassionate conservation\u27: An ominous projection for native wildlife and biodiversity

The ‘Compassionate Conservation’ movement is gaining momentum through its promotion of ‘ethical’ conservation practices based on self-proclaimed principles of ‘first-do-no-harm’ and ‘individuals matter’. We argue that the tenets of ‘Compassionate Conservation’ are ideological - that is, they are not scientifically proven to improve conservation outcomes, yet are critical of the current methods that do. In this paper we envision a future with ‘Compassionate Conservation’ and predict how this might affect global biodiversity conservation. Taken literally, ‘Compassionate Conservation’ will deny current conservation practices such as captive breeding, introduced species control, biocontrol, conservation fencing, translocation, contraception, disease control and genetic introgression. Five mainstream conservation practices are used to illustrate the far-reaching and dire consequences for global biodiversity if governed by ‘Compassionate Conservation’. We acknowledge the important role of animal welfare science in conservation practices but argue that ‘Compassionate Conservation’ aligns more closely with animal liberation principles protecting individuals over populations. Ultimately we fear that a world of ‘Compassionate Conservation’ could stymie the global conservation efforts required to meet international biodiversity targets derived from evidenced based practice, such as the Aichi targets developed by the Convention on Biological Diversity and adopted by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the United Nations