Facial make-up changes the appearance of a person and significantly degrades the performance of automated face verification (FV) systems. Here, the authors propose the design of an end-to-end siamese ...convolutional neural network (SCNN) that simultaneously replicates the facial make-up of a subject using its target image (under facial make-up) on a query face image and verifies the identity of the query face sample either with or without make-up. The SCNN model is designed using loss functions to deal with the variations due to make-up. The proposed architecture can reciprocate the make-up at appropriate locations of the face without any human interventions. Rigorous experimentations on four benchmark facial make-up datasets reveal the efficiency of their proposed model. Ablation studies show improvement of 4% for genuine acceptance rate at 0.1% false acceptance rate and reduction of equal error rate by 42% for FV in case of YouTube Make-up dataset, and ‘10%’ in case of Virtual Make-up dataset, when compared to the nearest state-of-the-art method. For the transfer of make-up, the similarity measures also show the effectiveness of their method, where the peak signal-to-noise ratio and structural similarity values show an improvement by ∼20–24 and ∼29–32%, respectively, when compared to a recent state-of-the-art technique.
Freire, P., Jackson, N.L. and Nordstrom, K.F., 2013. Defining beaches and their evolutionary states in estuaries Projected rates of global sea level rise and human pressures have increased attention ...to the potential for landform change in estuaries. This paper assesses the status of the fetch-limited beaches in the Tagus estuary, one of the largest estuaries in Europe, with a focus on distinguishing active beaches from inactive vegetated banks and identifying conditions under which they change state. A total of 26 beaches were identified in the inner estuary and 49 in the tributary basins on 2007 aerial photographs and compared with conditions on older photographs (1944–1958). Lengths, widths and maximum fetch distances for beaches were measured and site visits were made to determine their origins and present conditions. Beaches occur at eroding uplands or marshes or on spits extending from eroding uplands. Human-created beaches occur on spoil areas, within niches formed by structures and where vegetation is eliminated or prevented from colonizing (e.g. boat launches and recreational surfaces). Basin infilling, with increase in the elevation of low tide terraces and the formation of bars, is reducing wave energies, and some beaches are reverting to vegetated banks. Beaches that become vegetated banks because of human actions occur where use for boating or recreation is abandoned and where spits that form off spoil deposits reduce fetch distances upwind.
The dynamics and factors responsible for morphological changes of spits viz., Uliyargoli-Padukere, Oddu Bengre and Kodi Bengre, southern Karnataka, India, are investigated using multi-dated satellite ...images and topographic maps during the last 95-years (1910-2005). Variations and overall rate of changes in length, area and coefficient of determination (R²) of each spit are calculated separately for two periods (1910 and 1967 as base years) to find out whether there is any significant trend in the case of change in length and area in all the three spits that are under study. Linear trend lines are fitted using a least squares method and the statistical significance is considered at 80 % level of confidence. The results recorded significant changes in spit morphology, especially in length and area if 1910 and 1967 are considered separately as base years, are may be due to non-availability of data set between 1910 and 1967 period. The study reveals that coastal processes, such as SW-monsoon influenced strong currents and longshore drifts are the main process for formation and growth of spits, whereas rivers influence/drift also plays significant role. The statistical uncertainty estimation in spits morphology is prevalent wherever the coast is affected by human interventions. The study demonstrates that combined use of satellite imagery and statistical techniques can be effectively used to understand the evolution of spits morphology.
The membership trends and attitudes of a Greek hunting community, the Megara Hunting Club, were determined through the analysis of 408 questionnaires. The number of hunting licences increased from ...2003 to 2008, decreasing thereafter, mostly because a proportion of hunters holding a national licence quit hunting. This was in agreement with the onset of the national debt crisis and the concurrent decrease of the gross domestic product. Factor analysis revealed that hunters rather agreed that a ‘systemic’ (mean score 3.48) and rather disagreed that a ‘legal’ (2.59) factor negatively affected the practice of hunting, while they agreed that a ‘game status’ factor (4.06) was important. In particular, they contended that improved hunting administration and stakeholder collaboration are needed (systemic dimension), and game populations have declined due to anthropogenic activities such as illegal hunting, pollution, habitat loss and climate change (game status dimension). Findings suggest that, in the light of the ongoing economic crisis, immediate action should be taken toward the retention of hunters and protection and enhancement of game, through the application of appropriate policy and management measures.
This paper provides a reappraisal of contemporary perspectives on climate change in southern Africa's Okavango Delta sub-region by drawing on time-line evidence from historical/archival records, ...field-compiled information and multi-date remotely sensed imagery. By using temporal variations in stream discharge and surface and groundwater distribution as proxies of declining rainfall from the beginning of the 19th century, trends emerging from this reconstruction suggest that progressive contraction of the Delta's permanent floodplains, the desiccation of Lake Ngami in its distal reaches, fossilization of receiver channels, sustained dewatering of aquifers, and changes in vegetation from grassland to drought-tolerant woody species are non-transient precursors of increasing aridity and deteriorating climatic conditions. With evidence pointing to persistent drying sequences and system failures to revert to moister climate conditions of the recent historical past, hypotheses that characterize deteriorating rainfall and recurring flood failures in this environment as isolated singularities in a punctuated equilibrium need to be reconsidered in order to provide empirically grounded planetary change perspectives that are consistent with evidence over long-term temporal horizons.
Spatial and temporal changes in forest cover in Turkey's Artvin forest in 1972-2002 were analyzed. The amount, rate and intensity of land use/forest cover change were very high in many countries, ...especially developing countries like Turkey. During the last centuries, land use and forest cover were altered drastically with increasing population pressure and urbanization, agricultural activities and industrial wood material extraction activities. There was a net decrease of 450 ha in total forested areas, especially because of expansion of settlement and agricultural areas from 478 ha in 1972 to 887 ha in 2002 as an overall change. The results indicated that while mixed and broadleaf forest area increased during the study period, conifer forest area decreased by 144 ha because of insect outbreaks.
Fully-addressable two-dimensional (2D) array ultrasound transducers have issues such as a large number of elements, difficult to interconnect with an imaging system, high acoustic impedance of each ...array element which leads to a low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and high cost for medical ultrasound imaging systems, especially, for a 2D array of a size close to 300 mm by 300 mm with more than one million elements for imaging of a large area such as the abdomen of big patients and pregnant women. Despite the issues above, an array of a large size is necessary to reconstruct a large 3D volumetric image for artificial intelligent (AI) assisted medical diagnoses with minimal human interventions, which is especially desirable in countries or areas where there are few highly trained medical professionals to operate ultrasound imaging systems. To address the issues associated with large fully-addressable 2D array transducers, row-column (RC) arrays have been proposed to reduce the number of elements of the 2D arrays and reduce the acoustic impedance of each array element to increase SNR.Although a RC array can address some issues of the fully-addressable 2D arrays and simplify the imaging system greatly, the array must be rigid to avoid introducing phase aberrations due to deformation of the array. To solve the problem, in this paper, 36 sub-arrays of 25.6 mm by 25.6 mm each are proposed to form a large conformable RC array of a size of about 281.6 mm by 281.6 mm. To simplify the imaging system by further reducing the number of elements, a 25.6-mm gap filled with flexible materials between the sub-arrays is introduced. To cover the space between the sub-arrays in imaging, a 2D acoustic lens of 30 o divergence is applied to each sub-array. To determine the position of each sub-array in the space for image reconstruction, 3 markers are placed on each sub-array to allow a position-reading camera to determine the position of the sub-array. Computer simulation with limited-diffraction array beam method was performed to calculate the ultrasound fields produced by a sub-array and the results show that the beam width of each sub-array of 2.5-MHz center frequency is about 2.6 mm at a depth of 70 mm and 0° steering angle. Thus, the pulse-echo beam dimension is about 2.6 mm by 2.6 mm in the plane that is perpendicular to the ultrasound wave propagation. This demonstrates that the proposed RC array is capable of 3D imaging of a large volume for AI-assisted medical diagnoses with minimal human intervention. Although, as compared to the fully-addressable 2D arrays, the RC arrays can only focus in one dimension in both transmission and reception, leading to lower image resolution and higher sidelobe (reduced image contrast), the proposed RC array is a good compromise and make it feasible for intelligent imaging of a large area such as the abdomen of big patients or pregnant women.
Researches on climatic variations in the 16th century have stressed the exceptionality of extreme events, such as large and frequent floods, which are used as indicators of increased rainfall. The ...case of the lower Po basin, where lack of instrumental data renders the concept
of exceptionality complex and relative, shows that this is not necessarily valid. There, various human factors determined a high environmental vulnerability. Since the lower Po Plain was a 'man-made' environment, past extreme events must be evaluated in strict relation with the territory's
character. Thus the increase in floods constitutes a 'weak' indicator for an increase in rainfall.
Carotenoid (CARs: beta-carotene BC and/or canthaxanthin CX) supplementation have been shown to be chemopreventive in animals, since 1980, against direct or indirect chemical ...carcinogenesis/photo-carcinogenesis of the skin, breast, stomach, salivary glands, colon-rectum, urinary bladder, and against transplanted tumors. This action could be either independent of or dependent on pro-vitamin A activity of BC. In vitro, both BC and CX proved to be antimutagenic and to have anti-malignant transformation properties in cell cultures. Preliminary interventions in humans with BC ± CX prevented the onset of second primary tumors in lung, colon, urinary bladder, and head and neck. The powerful antioxidant properties of CARs, possibly associated with their retinoid potential, played a role in all the above observations, producing free-radical quenching and immunostimulation. The current development of the above investigations on CARs in the Pavia University Tumor Center has so far achieved the following data: 1) the anticlastogenic action of CARs in humans was demonstrated by the reduction of the micronuclei induced by bleomycin in cultured lymphocytes from subjects supplemented with CARs; 2) the immunoresponse modulated by BC augmented in mice, thus lengthening survivals after transplantation of ascites tumors along with a dramatic increase in liver mastocytes; 3) a synergism between BC and retinol, previously shown in pre-menstrual mastalgia (with BBD or otherwise), was confirmed as a relevant tool to obtain marked relief and/or complete recovery from breast pain only in cyclical mastalgia with no side effects at all in 20-42 aged women; 4) finally, a tentative trial with BC 80 mg/day in nonsurgically treatable human lung cancer cases performing high K. I. on admission, achieved a S. D. status as monitored by X-ray and high K.I. for one year, leading to an increase (1.5-3 times more) in overall survival with respect to expected median survival. The latter was consistent with a therapeutic rather than a preventive effect by BC.
Les ajustements morphologiques de la moyenne Garonne toulousaine durant les 200 dernières années sont analysés à partir de données topographiques et cartographiques anciennes. L’objectif principal ...est de quantifier ces changements, d’estimer leur amplitude, d’identifier les périodes d’évolution et les facteurs de contrôle associés. Malgré la faible résolution chronologique des données disponibles, les résultats mettent en évidence l’existence de trois grandes phases d’ajustements : (i) entre 1830 et les années 1860, le chenal s’exhausse et la bande active s’élargit ; (ii) entre 1860 et 1920, l’aggradation du chenal se poursuit alors que la bande active entame une phase de contraction ; (iii) enfin depuis 1920 jusqu’à ce jour, le chenal s’incise et la contraction de la bande active se poursuit. La mise en relation des ajustements latéraux et verticaux avec les facteurs de contrôle anthropiques et naturels suggère un rôle dominant des activités humaines dans le lit mineur de la Garonne notamment au cours du XXe siècle. En effet, les extractions massives de granulats conjuguées aux travaux de fixation du cours d’eau entre les années 1960 et 1980, semblent clairement impliquées dans l’accélération des phénomènes de contraction et d’incision du chenal qui ont lieu en grande partie durant cette période. Néanmoins, la contraction et l’enfoncement du chenal initiés dès la fin du XIXe - début XXe siècles pourraient avoir pour origine principale une réduction de l’activité hydro-sédimentaire de la Garonne en lien avec la sortie du Petit Age Glaciaire (PAG), les activités humaines ne venant que renforcer une dynamique déjà amorcée.
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