Markerless Motion Capture in the Crowd

This work uses crowdsourcing to obtain motion capture data from video recordings. The data is obtained by information workers who click repeatedly to indicate body configurations in the frames of a video, resulting in a model of 2D structure over time. We discuss techniques to optimize the tracking task and strategies for maximizing accuracy and efficiency. We show visualizations of a variety of motions captured with our pipeline then apply reconstruction techniques to derive 3D structure.Comment: Presented at Collective Intelligence conference, 2012 (arXiv:1204.2991

Large-x Parton Distributions

Reliable knowledge of parton distributions at large x is crucial for many searches for new physics signals in the next generation of collider experiments. Although these are generally well determined in the small and medium x range, it has been shown that their uncertainty grows rapidly for x>0.1. We examine the status of the gluon and quark distributions in light of new questions that have been raised in the past two years about "large-x" parton distributions, as well as recent measurements which have improved the parton uncertainties. Finally, we provide a status report of the data used in the global analysis, and note some of the open issues where future experiments, including those planned for Jefferson Labs, might contribute.Comment: LaTeX, 9 pages, 7 figures. Invited talk presented at the ``Workshop on Nucleon Structure in the High x-Bjorken Region (HiX2000),'' Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, March 30-April 1, 200

New Hope for the Working Poor: Effects After Eight Years for Families and Children

Implemented in 1994 in Milwaukee, New Hope provided full-time, low-wage workers with several benefits for three years: an earnings supplement, low-cost health insurance, and subsidized child care. A random assignment study shows positive effects for both adults and children, some of which persisted five years after the program ended

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Food Habits in West-Central Arkansas

This study was conducted on Holla Bend National Wildlife Refuge in west-central Arkansas to investigate the food habits of the common barn owl (Tyto alba). Three hundred thirty-eight pellets were collected from four barn owl nest boxes yielding the remains of 1003 individual prey items. Hispid cotton rats (Sigmodon hispidus) were eaten most frequently, comprising 46.8% of the diet by frequency. Results of this study are compared with those from other Arkansas ecoregions to assess regional variation in the diet of this endangered species

Inclusion and Equity Committee Recommendations for Diverse Recruitment Report

The UNLV University Libraries Inclusion and Equity Committee (IEC) developed the Diverse Recruitment project in order to fulfill its charge in supporting the Libraries’ commitment to increasing representation and retention of historically underrepresented groups at all levels of staff. These recommendations draw upon a range of best practices, procedures, and programs. Largely informed by Duke University’s February 2018 Task Force for Diversity in Recruitment Report, three task forces each investigated a different aspect of understanding diverse recruitment as it related to the Libraries. These results were synthesized into a series of recommendations for the Libraries’ Leadership Team (LLT) and the Libraries to consider implementing

Koala cathelicidin PhciCath5 has antimicrobial activity, including against Chlamydia pecorum.

Devastating fires in Australia over 2019-20 decimated native fauna and flora, including koalas. The resulting population bottleneck, combined with significant loss of habitat, increases the vulnerability of remaining koala populations to threats which include disease. Chlamydia is one disease which causes significant morbidity and mortality in koalas. The predominant pathogenic species, Chlamydia pecorum, causes severe ocular, urogenital and reproductive tract disease. In marsupials, including the koala, gene expansions of an antimicrobial peptide family known as cathelicidins have enabled protection of immunologically naïve pouch young during early development. We propose that koala cathelicidins are active against Chlamydia and other bacteria and fungi. Here we describe ten koala cathelicidins, five of which contained full length coding sequences that were widely expressed in tissues throughout the body. Focusing on these five, we investigate their antimicrobial activity against two koala C. pecorum isolates from distinct serovars; MarsBar and IPTaLE, as well as other bacteria and fungi. One cathelicidin, PhciCath5, inactivated C. pecorum IPTaLE and MarsBar elementary bodies and significantly reduced the number of inclusions compared to the control (p<0.0001). Despite evidence of cathelicidin expression within tissues known to be infected by Chlamydia, natural PhciCath5 concentrations may be inadequate in vivo to prevent or control C. pecorum infections in koalas. PhciCath5 also displayed antimicrobial activity against fungi and Gram negative and positive bacteria, including methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Electrostatic interactions likely drive PhciCath5 adherence to the pathogen cell membrane, followed by membrane permeabilisation leading to cell death. Activity against E. coli was reduced in the presence of 10% serum and 20% whole blood. Future modification of the PhciCath5 peptide to enhance activity, including in the presence of serum/blood, may provide a novel solution to Chlamydia infection in koalas and other species

NACA Research Memorandums

Report presenting a comparison of the buffet loads measured on wind-tunnel models with loads measured in flight, which indicate that a simple strain-gage measurement can be used in wind tunnel testing that can be used to predict the wing buffet loads on the airplane. The technique appears to be usable for both unswept and swept configurations

Molecular systematics of the digenean community parasitising the cerithiid gastropod Clypeomorus batillariaeformis Habe & Kusage on the Great Barrier Reef

A rich fauna of digenetic trematodes has been documented from the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), yet little is known of the complex life-cycles of these parasites which occur in this diverse marine ecosystem. At Heron Island, a small coral cay at the southern end of the GBR, the intertidal marine gastropod Clypeomorus batillariaeformis Habe & Kusage (Cerithiidae) is especially abundant. This gastropod serves as an intermediate host for 12 trematode species utilising both fish and avian definitive hosts. However, 11 of these species have been characterised solely with morphological data. Between 2015 and 2018 we collected 4870C. batillariaeformis from Heron Island to recollect these species with the goal of using molecular data to resolve their phylogenetic placement. We found eight of the 12 previously known species and two new forms, bringing the total number of digenean species known to parasitise C. batillariaeformis to 14. The families of this trematode community now include the Atractotrematidae Yamaguti, 1939, Bivesiculidae Yamaguti, 1934, Cyathocotylidae Mühling, 1898, Hemiuridae Looss, 1899, Heterophyidae Leiper, 1909, Himasthlidae Odhner, 1910, Microphallidae Ward, 1901, and Renicolidae Dollfus, 1939. Molecular data (ITS and 28S rDNA) were generated for all trematode species, and the phylogenetic position of each species was determined. The digenean community parasitising C. batillariaeformis includes several common species, as well as multiple species which are uncommon to rare. Although most of those trematodes in the community which exploit fishes as definitive hosts have remained common, the composition of those which utilise birds appears to have shifted over time

Probing the nucleon at large momentum tramsfer

The central role of soft nucleon matrix elements in reactions of high energy electrons or real photons with nucleons is emphasized. These soft matrix elements are described in terms of skewed parton distributions. Their connections to ordinary parton distributions, form factors, Compton scattering and hard meson electroproduction is discussed.Comment: 11 pages, 12 Postscript figures, fleqn, espcrc1, epsfi