Distinguishing Posed and Spontaneous Smiles by Facial Dynamics

Smile is one of the key elements in identifying emotions and present state of mind of an individual. In this work, we propose a cluster of approaches to classify posed and spontaneous smiles using deep convolutional neural network (CNN) face features, local phase quantization (LPQ), dense optical flow and histogram of gradient (HOG). Eulerian Video Magnification (EVM) is used for micro-expression smile amplification along with three normalization procedures for distinguishing posed and spontaneous smiles. Although the deep CNN face model is trained with large number of face images, HOG features outperforms this model for overall face smile classification task. Using EVM to amplify micro-expressions did not have a significant impact on classification accuracy, while the normalizing facial features improved classification accuracy. Unlike many manual or semi-automatic methodologies, our approach aims to automatically classify all smiles into either `spontaneous' or `posed' categories, by using support vector machines (SVM). Experimental results on large UvA-NEMO smile database show promising results as compared to other relevant methods.Comment: 16 pages, 8 figures, ACCV 2016, Second Workshop on Spontaneous Facial Behavior Analysi

Noncommutative generalizations of theorems of Cohen and Kaplansky

This paper investigates situations where a property of a ring can be tested on a set of "prime right ideals." Generalizing theorems of Cohen and Kaplansky, we show that every right ideal of a ring is finitely generated (resp. principal) iff every "prime right ideal" is finitely generated (resp. principal), where the phrase "prime right ideal" can be interpreted in one of many different ways. We also use our methods to show that other properties can be tested on special sets of right ideals, such as the right artinian property and various homological properties. Applying these methods, we prove the following noncommutative generalization of a result of Kaplansky: a (left and right) noetherian ring is a principal right ideal ring iff all of its maximal right ideals are principal. A counterexample shows that the left noetherian hypothesis cannot be dropped. Finally, we compare our results to earlier generalizations of Cohen's and Kaplansky's theorems in the literature.Comment: 41 pages. To appear in Algebras and Representation Theory. Minor changes were made to the numbering system, in order to remain consistent with the published versio

Risk-shifting Through Issuer Liability and Corporate Monitoring

This article explores how issuer liability re-allocates fraud risk and how risk allocation may reduce the incidence of fraud. In the US, the apparent absence of individual liability of officeholders and insufficient monitoring by insurers under-mine the potential deterrent effect of securities litigation. The underlying reasons why both mechanisms remain ineffective are collective action problems under the prevailing dispersed ownership structure, which eliminates the incentives to moni-tor set by issuer liability. This article suggests that issuer liability could potentially have a stronger deterrent effect when it shifts risk to individuals or entities holding a larger financial stake. Thus, it would enlist large shareholders in monitoring in much of Europe. The same risk-shifting effect also has implications for the debate about the relationship between securities litigation and creditor interests. Credi-tors’ claims should not be given precedence over claims of defrauded investors (e.g., because of the capital maintenance principle), since bearing some of the fraud risk will more strongly incentivise large creditors, such as banks, to monitor the firm in jurisdictions where corporate debt is relatively concentrated

Decision-making in childhood cancer: parents’ and adolescents’ views and perceptions

Purpose: Few studies have addressed the way in which families of children with cancer make treatment decisions, and how we can meet parents’ and young peoples’ decisional involvement needs. We aimed to explore parents’ and adolescents’ views and perceptions of making medical decisions in pediatric oncology. Methods: We conducted semi-structured interviews with 25 parents of children diagnosed with cancer in the past 12 months, and 5 adolescents diagnosed in the past 12 months. Our interview schedule was underpinned by Elwyn and Miron-Shatz’s decision-making model. The model acknowledges the deliberation (process of coming to a decision) and determination (making a choice) phases of decision-making. We conducted a thematic analysis. Results: Our findings indicate that information provision is not enough to facilitate parents’ decision-making involvement. Many parents sought additional information to meet their individual needs and preferences. While many parents and young people desired decisional involvement, they trusted the doctors to make treatment decisions. Feelings of distress, inadequacy, and lack of choice impacted decision-making participation. Regardless, many parents in our study were satisfied with treatment decisions, but this was largely dependent on positive treatment outcomes. Conclusion: Our study contributes to understanding how families of a child with cancer make treatment decisions. Families tend to rely on doctors to make treatment decisions, but often seek additional information to help them feel involved in the decision process. Findings highlight that decision-making in pediatric oncology should focus on involving families in the deliberation phase, rather than just determination of choice

Contrasting impacts of heat stress on violent and nonviolent robbery in Beijing, China

Previous studies investigating the relation between heat stress and crime incidents often focus on violent crimes. In this study, the impacts of heat stress on two types of robbery (violent and nonviolent) in China are compared using crime statistics collected in Beijing and heat stress indices that consider the combined effects of temperature and humidity. The results indicate that the abrupt change in the trend of robbery rates is affected by the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. The nonviolent robbery rates have a more pronounced seasonality and are better correlated with heat stress at daily scales, especially during the period from 2009 to 2014 when no trend exists. The results also demonstrate that both violent and nonviolent robbery rates significantly increase with heat stress in spring. The nonviolent robbery rates also significantly increase with heat stress in summer. The influence of heat stress on violent robbery rate is more complicated and nonlinear

Menu labelling and food choice in obese adults: a feasibility study.

BACKGROUND: To date research examining the benefits of menu labelling in the UK is sparse. The aim of the present study was to examine the impact of menu labelling in a UK obese population. METHODS: Using a repeated measures design, 61 patients at a tier 3 weight management service completed four questionnaires to assess their food choice (control) and behaviour change when presented with 3 menu labelling formats (calorie content; nutrient content; and energy expenditure). RESULTS: All three forms of labelling increased participants weight control concerns compared to the control condition. There was a significant difference in content of food ordered in the three menu labelling formats compared to the control condition. The calorie condition had the largest percentage decrease in calories selected followed by energy expenditure and nutrient content. However, no difference was observed between the three conditions in the desire for menu labelling in restaurants to be introduced in the UK. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that menu labelling should be enforced in the UK as it is both beneficial to promoting healthy eating and in demand. This study is the first to examine menu labelling in a UK obese population using energy expenditure equivalents to provide nutritional information

Piloting a parent and patient decision aid to support clinical trial decision making in childhood cancer

Objective: Families of a child with cancer can find the decision to enrol in a clinical trial challenging and often misunderstand key concepts that underpin trials. We pilot tested “Delta,” an online and booklet decision aid for parents with a child with cancer, and adolescents with cancer, deciding whether or not to enrol in a clinical trial. Methods: We developed Delta in accordance with the International Patient Decision Aid Standards. We conducted a pre-post pilot with parents with a child, and adolescents, who had enrolled in a paediatric phase III clinical trial for newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukaemia. Parents (n = 37) and adolescents (n = 3) completed a questionnaire before and after using Delta (either the website or booklet, based on their preference). Results: Twenty-three parents (62.2%) and three adolescents (100%) reviewed the Delta website. Parents rated Delta as highly acceptable in regard to being clearly presented, informative, easy to read, useful, visually appealing, and easy to use. All participants reported that they would recommend Delta to others and that it would have been useful when making their decision. Parents' subjective (Mdiff=10.8, SDdiff = 15.69, P <.001) and objective (OR = 2.25, 95% CI, 1.66-3.04; P <.001) clinical trial knowledge increased significantly after reviewing Delta. Conclusions: To our knowledge, Delta is the first reported decision aid, available online and as a booklet, for parents and adolescents deciding whether or not to enrol in a paediatric oncology clinical trial. Our study suggests that Delta is acceptable, feasible, and potentially useful

Intra-week spatial-temporal patterns of crime

Since its original publication, routine activity theory has proven most instructive for understanding temporal patterns in crime. The most prominent of the temporal crime patterns investigated is seasonality: crime (most often assault) increases during the summer months and decreases once routine activities are less often outside. Despite the rather widespread literature on the seasonality of crime, there is very little research investigating temporal patterns of crime at shorter time intervals such as within the week or even within the day. This paper contributes to this literature through a spatial-temporal analysis of crime patterns for different days of the week. It is found that temporal patterns are present for different days of the week (more crime on weekends, as would be expected) and there is a spatial component to that temporal change. Specifically, aside from robbery and sexual assault at the micro-spatial unit of analysis (street segments) the spatial patterns of crime changed. With regard to the spatial pattern changes, we found that assaults and theft from vehicle had their spatial patterns change in predictable ways on Saturdays: assaults increased in the bar district and theft from vehicles increased in the downtown and recreational car park areas

Relative judgement is relatively difficult: evidence against the role of relative judgement in absolute identification

A variety of processes have been put forward to explain absolute identification performance. One difference between current models of absolute identification is the extent to which the task involves accessing stored representations in long-term memory (e.g. exemplars in memory, Kent & Lamberts, Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning Memory and Cognition, 31, 289–305, 2005) or relative judgement (comparison of the current stimulus to the stimulus on the previous trial, Stewart, Brown & Chater, Psychological Review, 112, 881–911, 2005). In two experiments we explored this by tapping into these processes. In Experiment 1 participants completed an absolute identification task using eight line lengths whereby a single stimulus was presented on each trial for identification. They also completed a matching task aimed at mirroring exemplar comparison in which eight line lengths were presented in a circular array and the task was to report which of these matched a target presented centrally. Experiment 2 was a relative judgement task and was similar to Experiment 1 except that the task was to report the difference (jump-size) between the current stimulus and that on the previous trial. The absolute identification and matching data showed clear similarities (faster and more accurate responding for stimuli near the edges of the range and similar stimulus-response confusions). In contrast, relative judgment performance was poor suggesting relative judgement is not straightforward. Moreover, performance as a function of jump-size differed considerably between the relative judgement and absolute identification tasks. Similarly, in the relative judgement task, predicting correct stimulus identification based on successful relative judgement yielded the reverse pattern of performance observed in the absolute identification task. Overall, the data suggest that relative judgement does not underlie absolute identification and that the task is more likely reliant on an exemplar comparison process

Ergocalciferol and Microcirculatory Function in Chronic Kidney Disease and Concomitant Vitamin D Deficiency: An Exploratory, Double Blind, Randomised Controlled Trial

Vitamin D deficiency and endothelial dysfunction are non-traditional risk factors for cardiovascular events in chronic kidney disease. Previous studies in chronic kidney disease have failed to demonstrate a beneficial effect of vitamin D on arterial stiffness, left ventricular mass and inflammation but none have assessed the effect of vitamin D on microcirculatory endothelial function.We conducted a randomised controlled trial of 38 patients with non diabetic chronic kidney disease stage 3-4 and concomitant vitamin D deficiency (<16 ng/dl) who received oral ergocalciferol (50,000 IU weekly for one month followed by 50,000 IU monthly) or placebo over 6 months. The primary outcome was change in microcirculatory function measured by laser Doppler flowmetry after iontophoresis of acetylcholine. Secondary endpoints were tissue advanced glycation end products, sublingual functional capillary density and flow index as well as macrovascular parameters. Parallel in vitro experiments were conducted to determine the effect of ergocalciferol on cultured human endothelial cells.Twenty patients received ergocalciferol and 18 patients received placebo. After 6 months, there was a significant improvement in the ergocalciferol group in both endothelium dependent microcirculatory vasodilatation after iontophoresis of acetylcholine (p = 0.03) and a reduction in tissue advanced glycation end products (p = 0.03). There were no changes in sublingual microcirculatory parameters. Pulse pressure (p = 0.01) but not aortic pulse wave velocity was reduced. There were no significant changes in bone mineral parameters, blood pressure or left ventricular mass index suggesting that ergocalciferol improved endothelial function independently of these parameters. In parallel experiments, expression of endothelial nitric oxide synthase and activity were increased in human endothelial cells in a dose dependent manner.Ergocalciferol improved microcirculatory endothelial function in patients with chronic kidney disease and concomitant vitamin D deficiency. This process may be mediated through enhanced expression and activity of endothelial nitric oxide synthase.Clinical trials.gov NCT00882401