A Split-and-Merge Dictionary Learning Algorithm for Sparse Representation: Application to Image Denoising

In big data image/video analytics, we encounter the problem of learning an over-complete dictionary for sparse representation from a large training dataset, which cannot be processed at once because of storage and computational constraints. To tackle the problem of dictionary learning in such scenarios, we propose an algorithm that exploits the inherent clustered structure of the training data and make use of a divide-and-conquer approach. The fundamental idea behind the algorithm is to partition the training dataset into smaller clusters, and learn local dictionaries for each cluster. Subsequently, the local dictionaries are merged to form a global dictionary. Merging is done by solving another dictionary learning problem on the atoms of the locally trained dictionaries. This algorithm is referred to as the split-and-merge algorithm. We show that the proposed algorithm is efficient in its usage of memory and computational complexity, and performs on par with the standard learning strategy, which operates on the entire data at a time. As an application, we consider the problem of image denoising. We present a comparative analysis of our algorithm with the standard learning techniques that use the entire database at a time, in terms of training and denoising performance. We observe that the split-and-merge algorithm results in a remarkable reduction of training time, without significantly affecting the denoising performance.

Activity Recognition in Egocentric Life-Logging Videos

With the increasing availability of wearable cameras, research on first-person view videos (egocentric videos) has received much attention recently. While some effort has been devoted to collecting various egocentric video datasets, there has not been a focused effort in assembling one that could capture the diversity and complexity of activities related to life-logging, which is expected to be an important application for egocentric videos. In this work, we first conduct a comprehensive survey of existing egocentric video datasets. We observe that existing datasets do not emphasize activities relevant to the life-logging scenario. We build an egocentric video dataset dubbed LENA (Life-logging EgoceNtric Activities) (http://people.sutd.edu.sg/similar to 1000892/dataset) which includes egocentric videos of 13 fine-grained activity categories, recorded under diverse situations and environments using the Google Glass. Activities in LENA can also be grouped into 5 top-level categories to meet various needs and multiple demands for activities analysis research. We evaluate state-of-the-art activity recognition using LENA in detail and also analyze the performance of popular descriptors in egocentric activity recognition.

A taxonomic mystery for more than 180 years: the identity and systematic position of Brachysaura minor (HARDWICKE & GRAY, 1827)

Brachysaura is a monotypic genus of agamid lizard found in the Indian subcontinent; the identity and systematic position of B. minor has been long debated, and it has at times been subsumed into Agama, Charasia and Laudakia, with some authors suggesting affinities to Calotes. We constructed nuclear and mitochondrial phylogenetic trees including Brachysaura and allied agamid genera to resolve its phylogenetic position. We also compared osteology and external morphology with the genera Agama, Calotes and Laudakia. Hemipenial morphology was compared with Calotes and some other agamids from South Asia. Both nuclear and mitochondrial phylogenies demonstrate that Brachysaura is nested within the widespread South and Southeast Asian genus Calotes, with which it also shares certain external morphological, osteological and hemipenial characters. Adaptations to ground dwelling in Brachysaura minor has resulted in unique modifications to its body plan, which is likely why generic allocation has been long confused. This study also highlights the need for an integrated systematic approach to resolve taxonomic ambiguity in Asian agamids.

Integración de información topográfica diversa para la confección de un mapa del Monasterio de San Prudencio (La Rioja)

[ES] Los datos de este registro provienen de la una actividad académica que también aparece descrita en el repositorio y desde donde se puede acceder a otros trabajos relacionados con el Monasterio:

Cloud services for education agreements

Providing you with peace of mind and due diligence on around 40 pages of contractual terms and conditions on an ongoing basis for Google Apps for Education. JL

La consulta de enfermería de alta resolución en la gestión de la demanda indemorable en atención primaria

Este trabajo trata de dar a conocer la problemática que surge en los centros de salud de atención primaria por un aumento de la demanda indemorable o urgente. Identifica cuales son algunos de los factores que influyen en el aumento de las demandas y explora en las diferentes experiencias que se han puesto en marcha para atajarlo. Incide principalmente en el triaje que realiza enfermería y los resultados que se han obtenido. Finalmente pretende poner en valor la labor que las enfermeras hacen en los centros que han implantado este tipo de consultas. El trabajo se marca como objetivo general describir y analizar la gestión de la consulta de demanda indemorable o urgente en los centros de atención primaria, por el personal de enfermería mediante la consulta de enfermería de alta resolución (CEAR) . Su objetivo específico es resaltar la oportunidad que surge para los profesionales de enfermería en desarrollar el triaje en atención primaria, demostrando la capacidad para resolver de una manera autónoma y finalista las demandas por patologías agudas leves. La metodología llevada a cabo para la realización del trabajo ha sido realizar una búsqueda bibliográfica empleando como herramientas Dialnet, Google Scholar y la Biblioteca Virtual en Salud utilizando como palabras clave triaje en enfermería, triaje en atención primaria, RAC o sistema TAP entre otros.

Reuse of software components orientated to iOS mobile devices

Within the next few pages, I will try to give a wide description of the project that I have been doing for IK4-Ikerlan. For the last six months, I have been working in developing a socket-based application for Apple devices. These devices work under the iOS operative system, which is programmed in Objective-C, a language similar to C. Although I did not have the chance to develop this application for Apple TV, I was able to create an application for iPhone and another one for iPad. The only difference between both applications was the screen resolution, but we decided to make them separately, as it would be really hard to combine both resolutions, and wallpapers, everything in the same workspace. Finally, it is necessary to add that the main goal was not to create a new application for iOS, but to translate an Android application into iOS. To achieve this, it is required to translate Java code into Objective- C, which is the language used to develop applications for all kinds of Apple devices. Fortunately, there is a tool created by Google, which helped us with this exercise. This tool is called j2ObjC, and it is still being developed.

Complicaciones postoperatorias de la cirugía extracorpórea

RESUMEN Introducción: La cirugía extracorpórea es el procedimiento quirúrgico torácico en la que se accede a las cavidades del corazón para realizar recambios valvulares, puentes cardiopulmonares y otras intervenciones. Se accede al mediastino mediante esternotomía. Una maquina asumirá la función del corazón, realizando la circulación extracorpórea mientras este es intervenido. El paciente será derivado a las unidades de cuidados intensivos, donde deberá ser controlado por el personal sanitario controlando los dispositivos y catéteres, disminuyendo las posibles complicaciones postoperatorias. Objetivo: Conocer las complicaciones postoperatorias de la cirugía extracorpórea, describir las complicaciones postoperatorias más habituales de la cirugía, analizar las variables con mayor influencia en esta cirugía y comparar los beneficios de la cirugía extracorpórea frente a la revascularización miocárdica sin cirugía extracorpórea, mediante el análisis de fuentes de datos. Material y métodos: Se ha realizado una búsqueda bibliográfica informatizada en las bases de datos Cuiden, Pubmed, Elservier, CSIC, Dialnet y Google Académico de fuentes de datos actuales sobre la cirugía extracorpórea, mediante unos criterios de inclusión y exclusión determinados. Está dividida en 3 partes: investigación, selección y extracción de datos. Resultados: Se han analizado 8 estudios. Se han dividido en diferentes grupos, la muestra de los estudios analizados va desde 11 pacientes hasta 18.252, midiendo variables de dolor, sangrado, reintervención y otras. Conclusiones: La complicación más frecuente en el postoperatorio es el dolor. Muchas de las complicaciones se dan habitualmente en las primeras 24 horas posteriores a la intervención. Tiene un índice de mortalidad bajo, pero es mayor que en la revascularización miocárdica sin cirugía extracorpórea.

¿Actores o consumidores de imágenes?

Revista con LCC: Reconocimiento – NoComercial – SinObraDerivada (by-nc-nd)

Markets and microstructure

This document contains three papers examining the microstructure of financial interaction in development and market settings. I first examine the industrial organization of financial exchanges, specifically limit order markets. In this section, I perform a case study of Google stock surrounding a surprising earnings announcement in the 3rd quarter of 2009, uncovering parameters that describe information flows and liquidity provision. I then explore the disbursement process for community-driven development projects. This section is game theoretic in nature, using a novel three-player ultimatum structure. I finally develop econometric tools to simulate equilibrium and identify equilibrium models in limit order markets.

In chapter two, I estimate an equilibrium model using limit order data, finding parameters that describe information and liquidity preferences for trading. As a case study, I estimate the model for Google stock surrounding an unexpected good-news earnings announcement in the 3rd quarter of 2009. I find a substantial decrease in asymmetric information prior to the earnings announcement. I also simulate counterfactual dealer markets and find empirical evidence that limit order markets perform more efficiently than do their dealer market counterparts.

In chapter three, I examine Community-Driven Development. Community-Driven Development is considered a tool empowering communities to develop their own aid projects. While evidence has been mixed as to the effectiveness of CDD in achieving disbursement to intended beneficiaries, the literature maintains that local elites generally take control of most programs. I present a three player ultimatum game which describes a potential decentralized aid procurement process. Players successively split a dollar in aid money, and the final player--the targeted community member--decides between whistle blowing or not. Despite the elite capture present in my model, I find conditions under which money reaches targeted recipients. My results describe a perverse possibility in the decentralized aid process which could make detection of elite capture more difficult than previously considered. These processes may reconcile recent empirical work claiming effectiveness of the decentralized aid process with case studies which claim otherwise.

In chapter four, I develop in more depth the empirical and computational means to estimate model parameters in the case study in chapter two. I describe the liquidity supplier problem and equilibrium among those suppliers. I then outline the analytical forms for computing certainty-equivalent utilities for the informed trader. Following this, I describe a recursive algorithm which facilitates computing equilibrium in supply curves. Finally, I outline implementation of the Method of Simulated Moments in this context, focusing on Indirect Inference and formulating the pseudo model.

A Model For Residential Adoption of Photovoltaic Systems

The rapid rise in the residential photo voltaic (PV) adoptions in the past half decade has created a need in the electricity industry for a widely-accessible model that estimates PV adoption based on a combination of different business and policy decisions. This work analyzes historical adoption patterns and finds fiscal savings to be the single most important factor in PV adoption, with significantly greater predictive power compared to all other socioeconomic factors including income and education. We can create an application available on Google App Engine (GAE) based on our findings that allows all stakeholders including policymakers, power system researchers and regulators to study the complex and coupled relationship between PV adoption, utility economics and grid sustainability. The application allows users to experiment with different customer demographics, tier structures and subsidies, hence allowing them to tailor the application to the geographic region they are studying. This study then demonstrates the different type of analyses possible with the application by studying the relative impact of different policies regarding tier structures, fixed charges and PV prices on PV adoption.

Management and Promotion of Digitization Projects: Geologic Atlas of the US

The Geologic Atlas of the United States was digitized and stored in the Texas A&M University institutional repository. Extensive metadata was created which emphasized the geographic and geologic aspects of the material. The map sheets were also convered into kml files for Google Earth and ESRI shape files for use in GIS. A Yahoo!Map interface allows for visualization of the locations of each folio and user friendly browsing across the collection. Details of the project will be discussed, including the selection, digitization methods and standards, preservation, metadata, web presence and staffing. Its storage in DSpace, assortment of publicity outlets, and its inclusion in targeted clearinghouses expand its potential use to national and international audiences.