Construction of Latent Descriptor Space and Inference Model of Hand-Object Interactions

Appearance-based generic object recognition is a challenging problem because all possible appearances of objects cannot be registered, especially as new objects are produced every day. Function of objects, however, has a comparatively small number of prototypes. Therefore, function-based classification of new objects could be a valuable tool for generic object recognition. Object functions are closely related to hand-object interactions during handling of a functional object; i.e., how the hand approaches the object, which parts of the object and contact the hand, and the shape of the hand during interaction. Hand-object interactions are helpful for modeling object functions. However, it is difficult to assign discrete labels to interactions because an object shape and grasping hand-postures intrinsically have continuous variations. To describe these interactions, we propose the interaction descriptor space which is acquired from unlabeled appearances of human hand-object interactions. By using interaction descriptors, we can numerically describe the relation between an object's appearance and its possible interaction with the hand. The model infers the quantitative state of the interaction from the object image alone. It also identifies the parts of objects designed for hand interactions such as grips and handles. We demonstrate that the proposed method can unsupervisedly generate interaction descriptors that make clusters corresponding to interaction types. And also we demonstrate that the model can infer possible hand-object interactions

Binding Energy between a Vacancy and an Atom of Third Element and their Effects on the Initial Aging of Aluminium Binary Alloys

Al-Zn, Al-Ag and Al-Cu base ternary alloys were studied by measurement of electrical resistivity. An approximate methods to estimate the binding energy between an atom of a third element and a vacancy was derived. The binding energy between a vacancy and an atom of Cu, Ag, Au, Be, Ca, Cd, In, Si, Ti, Ge, Zr, Sn, Pb or Mn was estimated to be 0.35, 0.28, 0.27, 0.32, 0.39, 0.28, 0.30, 0.33, 0.33, 0.43, >0.38 or <0.23 (±0.05) eV, respectively. The results may be summarized as follows: (I) The ratio of the time required to reach the maximum electrical resistivity in isothermal aging curves of the Al-Zn-X or Al-Ag-X ternary alloy to that in the Al-Zn or Al-Ag binary alloy may be inversely proportional to the ratio of the concentration of vacancies bound to Zn or Ag atoms immediately after quenching in the ternary alloy to that in the binary alloy. And also the ratio of initial rate of clustering for AI-Cu-X ternary alloy to that in the binary alloy may be inversely proportional to the ratio of the concentration of vacancies bound to Cu atoms immediately after quenching in the ternary alloy to that in the binary alloy. It is possible to deduce the binding energy between an atom of X element and a vacancy using this relations. (2) The effect of the valence of the solute element on the binding energy between an atom of a third element and a vacancy was remarkable. (3) The effect of the radius of an atom of the solute element on the binding energy is also observed, but this effect is smaller than that of the valence

Exact Tachyon Condensation on Noncommutative Torus

We construct the exact noncommutative solutions on tori. This gives an exact description of tachyon condensation on bosonic D-branes, non-BPS D-branes and brane-antibrane systems. We obtain various bound states of D-branes after the tachyon condensation. Our results show that these solutions can be generated by applying the gauge Morita equivalence between the constant curvature projective modules. We argue that there is a general framework of the noncommutative geometry based on the notion of Morita equivalence which underlies this specific example.Comment: Latex 31 pages, v2: presentation much improved, various points clarifie

A Study on the Analysis of Land Slide in the Kashio District

A land slide occurred at Kashio Town near Nigawa Railway Station on the Imazu line of the Hankyu Electric Railway Co. on July 13th, 1951. During this landslide the foundation rose. The inclined surface which had kept balance during the last ten and over years slid, though little change was noted in the external condition. The authors investigated the cause of the land slide from the physico-chemical standpoint

Knowledge, Behavior and Attitudes Concerning STI Prevention among Out-of-School Youth in the Philippines

The purpose of this study is to determine the current knowledge, behavior and attitude toward STI prevention among out-of-school youth in the Philippines. Anonymous self-administered questionnaires were distributed separately to 28 out-of-school youth (15 male, 12 female, one unspecified). The mean age of the subjects was 18.0 ± 3.0 years, with an overall age range of 15 to 24 years. The female respondents were younger than the male respondents on average. The out-of-school youth obtained information on STIs mainly from the media, and had fewer information sources than in-school students. Although the out-of-school youth had insufficient knowledge of STIs compared to the students, they were fairly knowledgeable about cervical cancer. They were also more sexually active than the students. The out-of-school youth consulted their parents on STI prevention, but received insufficient knowledge on STI prevention from just this source. It was concluded that out-of-school youth could constitute a high risk demographic for STIs, and health education may be essential to help them protect themselves from STIs

The Current Situation and Issues of Sexual Health Education by School Nurses in Muntinlupa City, Philippines

Cases of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and teenage pregnancy have been increasing among adolescents in the Philippines. School nurses (SNs) are expected to deliver quality healthcare services and provide relevant sexual health education for students. This study explores the current situation of providing sexual health education by SNs in Muntinlupa City toward health promotion and gains understanding of school health issues in the Philippines. This study employed a cross sectional research design using anonymous self-administered questionnaires, which were distributed to 23 SNs. Then, a semi-structured interview was conducted with them in Muntinlupa City. Among the 23 SNs, 30.4% of them were affiliated to high schools. The most frequent health issues experienced by primary school students were malnutrition, gastrointestinal pain due to hunger, upper respiratory tract infection, and poor hygiene. In high schools, the most frequent health issues were poor mental health, malnutrition and early pregnancy. SNs lacked knowledge on STI, mental health, sex education, safe sex, teenage pregnancy and nutritional care for children. In conclusion, SNs lack knowledge about sex education (early pregnancy and STIs) and mental health. Therefore, seminars should be provided for all SNs to gain adequate knowledge and skills to teach students of all types of school

カフェイン酸フェネチルエステル（CAPE）がラット象牙芽細胞様細胞のVEGF発現と産生に与える影響

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), the main component of propolis, has various biological activities including anti-inflammatory effect and wound healing promotion. Odontoblasts located in the outermost layer of dental pulp play crucial roles such as production of growth factors and formation of hard tissue termed reparative dentin in host defense against dental caries. In this study, we investigated the effects of CAPE on the upregulation of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and calcification activities of odontoblasts, leading to development of novel therapy for dental pulp inflammation caused by dental caries. CAPE significantly induced mRNA expression and production of VEGF in rat clonal odontoblast-like KN-3 cells cultured in normal medium or osteogenic induction medium. CAPE treatment enhanced nuclear factor-kappa B (NF-κB) transcription factor activation, and furthermore, the specific inhibitor of NF-κB significantly reduced VEGF production. The expression of VEGF receptor- (VEGFR-) 2, not VEGFR-1, was up regulated in KN-3 cells treated with CAPE. In addition, VEGF significantly increased mineralization activity in KN-3 cells. These findings suggest that CAPE might be useful as a novel biological material for the dental pulp conservative therapy