50716 research outputs found
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U-Net-Based Fingerprint Enhancement for 3D Fingerprint Recognition
No full textBiometrics-based authentication mechanisms can address the built-in weakness of conventional password or token-based authentication in identifying genuine users. However, 2D-based fingerprint biometrics authentication faces the problem of sensor spoofing attacks. In addition, most 2D fingerprint sensors are contact-based, which can boost the spread of deadly diseases such as the COVID-19 virus. Three-dimensional fingerprint-based recognition is the emerging technology that can effectively address the above issues. A 3D fingerprint is captured contactlessly and can be represented by a 3D point cloud, which is strong against sensor spoofing attacks. To apply conventional 2D fingerprint recognition methods to 3D fingerprints, the 3D point cloud needs to be converted into a 2D gray-scale image. However, the contrast of the generated image is often not of good quality for direct matching. In this work, we propose an image segmentation approach using the deep learning U-Net to enhance the fingerprint contrast. The enhanced fingerprint images are then used for conventional fingerprint recognition. By applying the proposed method, the fingerprint recognition Equal Error Rate (EER) in experiment A and B improved from 41.32% and 41.97% to 13.96 and 12.49%, respectively, over the public dataset.</p
The Addition of Glycerol and Sodium Chloride to a Hyperhydration Protocol Does Not Improve Half-Marathon Time-Trial Performance in Trained Runners in Warm Conditions
No full textPURPOSE: We examined the effect of glycerol- and sodium-induced hyperhydration on a field-based half-marathon in warm conditions.METHODS: Endurance runners (N = 13) completed a 180-minute hyperhydration (HYP) and control (CON) protocol before a maximal-effort half-marathon time trial (∼24 °C wet-bulb globe temperature) in a randomized crossover order. HYP involved ingesting 25 mL·kg body mass (BM)-1 fluid with glycerol (1.2 g·kg BM-1) and sodium chloride (7.5 g·L-1) in 4 equal boluses across 60 minutes, with CON matching fluid ingestion for volume and timing. Every 20 minutes, urine samples were analyzed for volume (UVol; in milliliters) and fluid retention (fluid ingested minus UVol; in milliliters), while gastrointestinal symptoms were recorded using a questionnaire. Changes in plasma volume were calculated from hematocrit and hemoglobin at baseline and every 60 minutes. Core temperature (gastrointestinal temperature) and heart rate were recorded during the half-marathon. Intervention effects were estimated using linear mixed models and are presented as mean differences with 95% CIs.RESULTS: HYP increased fluid retention compared with CON by 1189 mL, 95% CI 987-1391 (P < .001), and plasma volume by 9.0%, 95% CI 3.6-14.4 (P = .001). However, there were no statistically significant differences in exercise performance, gastrointestinal symptoms, gastrointestinal temperature, and heart rate (P > .05 for mean values and at all time points).CONCLUSIONS: Glycerol- and sodium-induced hyperhydration improved hydration status without changing gastrointestinal symptoms prior to endurance exercise in warm conditions but did not improve half-marathon performance. This strategy requires further investigation in environments with greater heat stress.</p
Regression Diagnostics
No full textRegression diagnostics are a set of mostly graphical methods which are used to check empirically the reasonableness of the basic assumptions made in the model. These informal methods are an important part of regression modelling: many formal conclusions and inferences (including confidence intervals, statistical tests, prediction etc.) derived from a fitted model only make sense if the assumptions of the model hold. If the regression assumptions are violated, any application of results obtained from the model can be very misleading
Enhancing Feedback Processes in Higher Education: A Study on Digital Tools and Communication Strategies.
No full textFocus: This study investigates the effectiveness of digital feedback tools in higher education, focusing on their potential to enhance student engagement and staff responsiveness. Through a mixed-methods analysis, it examines challenges within current student experience surveys and explores how the tool can address these issues and drive improvement. Background/context: Effective communication between students and staff is crucial for enhancing the learning experience, as it contributes to the continuous improvement of teaching and learning environments (Carless and Windstone, 2023). However, barriers such as low response rates and survey fatigue limit the potential of feedback tools (Van Mol, 2016).Description: Students were invited to provide feedback on their learning experiences through a digital tool throughout the semester. A follow-up survey assessed their perceptions of the tool's effectiveness, identified barriers to participation, and gathered suggestions for potential improvements.Method: Data were collected through an online survey, designed to gather both quantitative metrics and qualitative insights via open-text responses. Statistical analysis was performed to identify trends in the quantitative data, while thematic analysis of the open-text responses offered insights into students' perceptions and suggestions for improvement.Evidence: Findings indicate that low feedback response rates may stem from students' scepticism about the impact of digital tools impact and perceptions of defensive staff attitude. Improvements such as incentivisation, feature enhancements, and specific educator actions could foster better engagement.Contribution: This study highlights the importance of cultivating a constructive feedback culture using digital tools, as identified through student responses and supported by literature. Practical recommendations, based on survey responses and literature, are offered to enhance current feedback tools and improve the overall student’s experience.Engagement: To engage the audience, the presentation will prompt reflection with the question:” How do we ensure current feedback tools contribute to improvements in higher education?”, encouraging critical discussion on enhancing feedback mechanisms.<br/
The Effects of Refractive Imbalance on Binocular Vision Status, Reading Performance, and Vision-Related Reading Difficulty Symptoms in Expert Readers
No full textPURPOSE: To investigate how refractive imbalance affects binocular vision parameters, reading performance, and vision-related reading difficulty symptomatology after short periods of reading with different simulated ophthalmic lens power conditions in expert adult readers.METHODS: Eighteen adult participants (18-35 years of age) were recruited. They were expert readers, defined as currently studying, or previously studied to, at least a bachelor's degree tertiary education level. Refractive imbalance conditions were simulated by placing -2.00, -1.00, 0.00, +1.00, and +2.00 diopters (D) ophthalmic lenses in front of the dominant eye over their full refractive error correction. For each condition, participants were required to read sets of three paragraphs from the background section of an academic journal paper, after which reading comprehension, reading speed, symptomatology, visual acuity, and binocular vision status were assessed for each set through refractive imbalance conditions.RESULTS: A significant reduction of binocular visual acuity was observed for distance (+2.00 D condition) and near (±2.00 D conditions) viewing distances. The greater the refractive imbalance stimulus provided to the dominant eye monocularly, the more underfocused the binocular accommodative response. Simulated refractive imbalance did not affect reading speed and comprehension. Stereoacuity and subjective vision-related reading difficulty symptoms worsened with increased absolute refractive imbalance.CONCLUSIONS: Simulated refractive imbalance did not affect reading performance for the short reading task but resulted in statistically significant reductions in clarity, increased binocular difficulties, and visual discomfort. During reading, full correction of refractive imbalance is beneficial and recommended.</p
Crossformer3D:cross spatio-temporal transformer for 3D human pose estimation
No full text3D human pose estimation can be handled by encoding the geometric dependencies between the body parts and enforcing the kinematic constraints. Recently, transformers have been adopted to better encode the long-range dependencies between the joints across both the spatial and temporal domains. However, previous studies have highlighted the need of improving the locality of vision Transformers. To this end, we propose a novel pose estimation Transformer featuring rich representations of body joints that are critical for capturing subtle changes across frames (i.e., inter-feature representations). More specifically, through two novel interaction modules: Cross-Joint Interaction and Cross-Frame Interaction, the model explicitly encodes the local and global dependencies between the body joints. The proposed architecture achieves state-of-the-art performance on two popular 3D human pose estimation datasets, Human3.6 and MPI-INF-3DHP. In particular, our proposed CrossFormer3D method boosts performance by 0.9% and 3%, compared to its closest counterpart, PoseFormer, using the detected 2D poses and ground-truth settings respectively.</p
Economic and environmental impacts of commercial milk formula in Indonesia:Estimates and comparisons using the Cost of Not Breastfeeding, Green Feeding, and Mothers’ Milk Tools
No full textBackground: Sales of commercial milk formula products (CMF) are rising rapidly. This study analysed key economic and environmental impacts CMF feeding in Indonesia, which are often overlooked in policy discussions despite their relevance. Methods: We assessed the economic and environmental impacts of CMF in Indonesia in 2020 using the Mothers’ Milk Tool (MMT), the Green Feeding Tool (GFT) and the Cost of Not Breastfeeding Tool (CONBF). We compared the estimated values from these tools with calculations based on Euromonitor data on CMF retail sales in Indonesia. Results: In 2020, according to the MMT, women in Indonesia produced around 455 million litres of breastmilk for infants aged < 6 months, which had an estimated monetary value of US45.5 billion. The MMT and GFT shows substantial economic losses from displacement of breastfeeding in Indonesia; 62–96 million litres of breastmilk were lost in 2020 compared to the biologically feasible potential. The GFT tool calculates a carbon footprint of 215–274 million kg of CO2 eq. and a water footprint of 93,037 million litres. The CONBF estimates that the annual cost to families of purchasing CMF for infants aged < 24 months was US598.6 million. By comparison, Euromonitor retail sales data suggests that in 2020, the retail value of sales of CMF products targeting the age group 0–36 months was around US$2.25 billion. Euromonitor also reports 27,200 tonnes of CMF products targeting infants < 6 months were sold in Indonesia in 2020. We calculate a carbon footprint from these sales of 299–381 million kg CO2 eq. and a water footprint of 129,064 million litres, higher than the GFT estimate. Conclusions: Breastfeeding’s economic importance to Indonesia far exceeds the retail value of CMF sales. Displacing breastfeeding carries high but largely undocumented economic and environmental costs. Losses are greater when measured as a food resource than as health costs, lost lives, or cognitive decline. Environmental impacts based on sales data are higher than those from survey data. Our findings and the discrepancies between tools reveal a critical gap in national statistics and highlight the need to recognise breast milk as an economically valuable, healthy, and sustainable national resource in Indonesia.</p
Objects as Participants in the Democratic Assemblage:A Playful Exploration of the Affective Materiality of Junk
Get PDFObjects, their material affordances, and agentic potentials are neglected by research on democratic participation. This article draws on new materialist assemblage theory to make sense of objects in participatory settings and explores the claim that objects may act as participants. It conceptualises participatory processes, commonly framed as democratic innovations, as democratic assemblages, which draws attention to the affective role of nonhumans, including material objects. These assemblages function as a democratic microverse that prefigures democratic futures. To deepen and substantiate these theoretical claims, the article infuses new materialist thinking with ethnographic observations from junk playgrounds, in which human participants interact with discarded materials in response to a political question. We observe how objects resist, invite, and transform humans and make the case for more playful and joyful democratic engagements
Colonial harm in new packaging:Indigenous critiques of the tobacco industry's 'harm reduction' rhetoric
No full textOver the last 75 years, we have learned that commercial tobacco use causes widespread disease and death. However, the commercial Tobacco and Nicotine Industry continues to promote, market, and sell tobacco and nicotine products to protect and expand profit. This reflects their legal obligation to act in shareholders' best interests. While the Tobacco and Nicotine Industry heavily promotes alternative products such as electronic cigarettes and nicotine pouches, for now, these represent a relatively small share of profits compared with combustible cigarette sales. The continued reliance on and expansion of these markets generates addiction, dependence, and a range of harms. These actions represent a modern manifestation of colonization-reproducing control and exploitation that affects people at all levels, particularly Indigenous peoples, whose lands, knowledges, and well-being have long been commodified and targeted. The Tobacco and Nicotine Industry and their collaborators employ misleading strategies, including co-opting terms like 'harm reduction' and making vague promises about a 'smoke-free' or 'noncombustible' future. These tactics distract from the continued promotion and sale of harmful products under the guise of public health and harm reduction. This narrative reframes structural and commercial determinants of health as matters of individual choice and enables the continued production of Tobacco and Nicotine Industry-driven harms. Everyone has the right to health, and it is crucial to have effective tobacco control and resistance programs and policies. Governments have a duty to protect people's health by preventing the creation of new generations addicted to people-harming products. Given the ongoing and disproportionate impact of tobacco and nicotine-related disease and death-particularly for Indigenous peoples-there is an urgent need for structural change to eradicate these harms and dismantle colonial and commercial systems that sustain them.</p