Dominant Points Research Articles

Tennis Player Momentum Analysis and Match Flow Prediction Model Based on PCA

Momentum is a fluctuating phenomenon that occurs during the course of a game when the seemingly dominant side scores consecutive points or influences the course of the entire game. And as tennis is a popular sport all over the world, exploring the effects and mechanisms of athletes' momentum on match changes and outcomes in tennis matches can provide reasonable match advice to athletes. To this end, this paper systematically establishes a prediction model based on tennis players' momentum analysis and match direction. In this paper, this text first cleaned the data for the 2023 Wimbledon tennis tournament obtained from the American Collegiate Mathematical Modeling Contest website and supplemented the missing values using cubic Hermite interpolation. The processed data is then analyzed using principal component analysis, where a linear combination of each principal component is defined as a momentum value, thus quantifying the momentum and creating a mathematical model between the indicator and the momentum. Finally, a momentum plot of the player is created to visualize the relationship between the player's momentum and the outcome of the race.

Manifestation of Anxiety in People with an Addictive (Alcoholic) Form of Behavior

The focus of this article is on the problem of addictive behavior, namely, the psychological characteristics of a person with alcohol dependence. The aim is to analyze and generalize the factors that contribute to the formation of addictive behavior and to highlight the socio-psychological nature of this dependence in relation to anxiety. A number of important psychological and pedagogical issues regarding the factors contributing to the formation of this form of behavior are considered. The features that help to understand and uncover the mechanisms of their action are also considered. It is pointed out that in the study of the personality of people with alcohol dependence, one of the dominant points of view is the phenomenon of anxiety. The researchers' interest is focused on understanding the nature of anxiety as a trigger. The psychology of anxiety is considered as an individually psychological feature of a person who is in one or another difficult situation for him. Recognizing the complexity of studying the personality of people with alcohol dependence, it emphasizes such characteristic features for the majority as short temper, lack of compromise, intolerance to the opinions of others, resentment, a tendency to revenge, a high level of conflict. It is impossible not to pay attention to the fact that there is a contradictory character in the conclusions about the ratio of primary and secondary anxiety and alcohol consumption as two mutually determining factors. An attempt is made to explain this discrepancy based on research. The different types of work significantly enrich our understanding of this phenomenon. Studies have shown that this category of people has a higher level of situational and personal anxiety. The revealed nature of the relationship indicates the peculiarities of conflict in this category. The data obtained show an example of traits that are interrelated with it.

To Problem of Defining the Influence of Comics on Media Culture and Media Studies

The relevance of the article derives from increasing popularity of comics, which forms a certain need for qualitative research of this phenomenon. The purpose of the article is to identify the dominant research points of view on the concept of “comics” in media studies, as well as to spot out problematic aspects in the issue of evaluating the influence of comics on modern media culture and society. The research methodology can be considered as traditional for works which are devoted to the study of comics and is based on a structural-semiotic approach. The need to use this methodology is determined by the narrative specifi cs of comics, based on its semiotics, which combines verbal and non-verbal narrative elements within a single system. The study focuses on revealing the specifi c aspects of the two dominant positions regarding the defi nition of comics and spotting out problematic aspects which are common for the most studies based on these points of view. The fi rst position defi nes comics as a genre, while the second identifi es it as a narrative format. The results of the study showed that due to the key differences in the defi nition of nature of comics, existing points of view assess the impact of the comics on culture and society differently. The position which defi nes comics as a genre mainly concentrates on the social aspects of comics as a cultural phenomenon, without taking into account aspects related to the narrative specifi cs and the form of this phenomenon. Meanwhile the point of view which considers comics as a narrative format, on the contrary, shifts the focus of attention towards the linguistic aspects of comic books without taking into consideration its social and cultural characteristics. Despite the fact that each of the defi ned positions is applicable to a specifi c fi eld of knowledge, these gaps in modern studies do not allow to formulate comprehensive defi nition for comics and properly assess its impact on society and culture. Keywords: comics, popular culture, transmedia storytelling, narrative form, creolized text

Hellenistic Period Watchtowers and Hillside Settlements Identified in “Vezirköprü” Surveys

Vezirköprü, one of the largest districts of Samsun (Amisos), an important port city of the Black Sea, has been the scene of continuous settlement from the Eneolithic Period to the present day thanks to its fertile soils, rivers and its location on an important road. The district, which first appears as a village settlement under the name Phazemon in Strabo, became a city in the Roman Period and was named Neoklaudiopolis. The city called Andrapa in the Byzantine Period took the name Vezirköprü in the Turkish Period and has survived to the present day. The city has witnessed many struggles in this process, including the struggle of the Pontic Kingdom and the Roman Empire. The greatest witnesses of these events were undoubtedly castles and watchtowers. The most famous of these is the Sagylion Castle, localized to Büyükkale in Vezirköprü, which is also mentioned in Strabo. Located on the foothills of Tavşan Mountain, the castle appears to be a typical Mithradates castle due to its location and structures. Although these fortresses built in the region were one of the greatest weapons used by Mithradates Eupator VI against the expansionist policies of the Romans, it is understood that these fortresses were not used on their own but supported by watchtowers selected at the dominant points of the land. Although many fortresses in the Pontos Region have been researched, and some have been excavated, watchtowers have not been sufficiently investigated. This study aimed to shed light on the Hellenistic Period of Vezirköprü by introducing the watchtowers identified during the surveys and the hillside settlements built around them.

SARS-CoV2 infection in whole lung primarily targets macrophages that display subset-specific responses

Deciphering the initial steps of SARS-CoV-2 infection, that influence COVID-19 outcomes, is challenging because animal models do not always reproduce human biological processes and in vitro systems do not recapitulate the histoarchitecture and cellular composition of respiratory tissues. To address this, we developed an innovative ex vivo model of whole human lung infection with SARS-CoV-2, leveraging a lung transplantation technique. Through single-cell RNA-seq, we identified that alveolar and monocyte-derived macrophages (AMs and MoMacs) were initial targets of the virus. Exposure of isolated lung AMs, MoMacs, classical monocytes and non-classical monocytes (ncMos) to SARS-CoV-2 variants revealed that while all subsets responded, MoMacs produced higher levels of inflammatory cytokines than AMs, and ncMos contributed the least. A Wuhan lineage appeared to be more potent than a D614G virus, in a dose-dependent manner. Amidst the ambiguity in the literature regarding the initial SARS-CoV-2 cell target, our study reveals that AMs and MoMacs are dominant primary entry points for the virus, and suggests that their responses may conduct subsequent injury, depending on their abundance, the viral strain and dose. Interfering on virus interaction with lung macrophages should be considered in prophylactic strategies.

An Appraisal Of Large-Scale Particle Tracking With Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles

Camera technology is rapidly enhancing within the last years, which led to the availability of sophisticated technical features within consumer cameras, that could only be found in scientific set-ups earlier. The present work explores the possibilities of utilizing the potentials of commercially-available camera drones as moving cameras for large-scale particle tracking velocimetry. We made use of the glare-point particle tracking approach introduced by Kaiser & Rival (2023), where only a single camera and natural illumination, e.g. the sun, could be used. The set-up demonstrated full suitability for large volumes in the order of 10-100 m³. The frame-to-frame camera movement, caused by the slight movement of the drone could be quantified and corrected by an imaged-based approach. The calibration strategy could be simplified due to the fixed set-up in the camera drone. The limits introduced through the tracer size and uncertainty caused by the glare-point approach are discussed accordingly. For the presented magnification and camera set-up given by the DJI Mini 3 pro, the limit in height can be determined when the two most dominant glare points collapse to one, which happened well above 10 m for the present set-up. The equipment together with the glare-point particle tracking approach is best suited for flow information extraction at large-scale facilities or difficult accessible terrain, where the current set-up could depict its strengths.

Using Ant Colony Optimization Method to Detect Dominant Points

This paper uses the ant colony optimization method to detect dominant points. It develops a dominant point detection system for closed target images with simple backgrounds. The process is to perform image preprocessing on the captured object images, then perform object contour tracking and breakpoint detection, and finally use the ant colony optimization method to detect the object's dominant points. In such problems, ant colony calculus is applied to such problems by first defining a fitness value. In addition, three different hybrid strategies, including the minimum error method, the maximum distance method, and the random selection method, were also experimentally compared. Experimental results show that the used hybrid strategy can improve the computational efficiency of all three types of problems.

Manne, Moral Gaslighting, and the Politics of Methodology

Kate Manne claims that her account of gaslighting rectifies regrettable deficiencies in existing theories. However, Manne hasn’t done enough to demonstrate the novelty of her view given that she fails to seriously engage with a significant portion of the gaslighting literature. This is an issue in the politics of methodology. Many theorists working on gaslighting exist within the margins, attempting to centre their perspectives over dominant points of view. We must listen to marginalised folk when aiming to understand a phenomenon that disproportionately affects them. If Manne had listened, she would have come to see difficulties with some of her suggestions, such as the possibility of unintentional gaslighting.

Tangent spaces on the trianguline variety at companion points

Many results about the geometry of the trianguline variety have been obtained by Breuil–Hellmann–Schraen. Among them, using geometric methods, they have computed a formula for the dimension of the tangent space of the trianguline variety at dominant crystalline generic points, which has a conjectural generalisation to companion (i.e. non-dominant) points. In an earlier work, they proved a weaker form of this formula under the assumption of modularity using arithmetic methods. We prove a generalisation of a result of Bellaïche–Chenevier in p-adic Hodge theory and use it to extend the arithmetic methods of Breuil–Hellmann–Schraen to a wide class of companion points.

Ideas about the Geopolitical Future of Russia as a Factor of Russian Society Consolidation

Introduction. The problems of preserving the sovereignty, national identity, territorial and cultural integrity of Russia have become now particularly relevant in the framework of the global confrontation with the West, and have become important factors in the consolidation of Russian society. The purpose of the article is to assess the role of civil society and the expert community’s views on the geopolitical future of Russia in the context of preserving the territorial and cultural integrity of the country as a factor of consolidation of Russian society. Materials and Methods. The empirical basis of the article is the results of the sociological monitoring “How do you live, Russia” (1992–2022) and the data of in-depth interviews of experts obtained as part of the study “Forecasts and alternatives for the development of Russia by the eyes of Russians” (2021), which were conducted with the participation of the authors of the article. The sociological monitoring survey allowed to study the dynamics of citizens’ perceptions of the geopolitical future of the Russian Federation and to trace the connection of the main trends with the indicators of consolidation of society included in the toolkit. In-depth interviews were aimed at identifying the dominant points of the expert community’s view that determine the direction of public discourse. Results. The preservation of the integrity of the Russian Federation and its sovereignty in the long term does not cause doubts among experts or the population, even in the conditions of a crisis and uncertain future associated with the formation of a multipolar world. Optimistic scenarios are considered, emphasizing the strengthening of Russia’s role in the new world order, and pessimistic ones, reflecting isolation models of development. Discussion and Conclusion. Although the multinational composition of Russia and the federal structure can be interpreted as a potential threat to the internal destabilization of the country, a favorable trend in the field of interethnic and interfaith relations in Russia has been observed since 2016. Both the population and the majority of experts are optimistic about the prospects of interethnic and interregional relations against the background of the emerging civil identity. They predict Russia’s powerful progressive development in the future, using as arguments ideologems about Russia’s special path, as well as the achievements of the state in solving social problems and their own hopes.

THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT, OR FOR THE IMPOSSIBLE ESCAPE (THE COLLECTION EAST, WEST AND THE NOVEL FURY BY SALMAN RUSHDIE)

The notion of a new comparativism in literary studies shared by critics like Theo D’haen, Pascale Casanova, Michel Lobry, Walter Mignolo, Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o, and many others is associated with questioning the dominant Eurocentrism, suggesting that regarding the ideas, messages, and projections taking over literature today, the Euro-American system is changing and in future could even become peripheral to the new one (D’haen, 2012). Even if this does not happen, one should not ignore that the world of literature looks different when viewed from less dominant points of view. We share the idea that the cultures that stay isolated wither away; on the other hand, the cultures that remain confined within themselves deform, and only those cultures that maintain the balance of borrowing and lending tend to be healthy and thriving, hence the insistence on the interaction between the different cultures based on equality and mutual respect, because the imitation of the Western model is dangerous when it is internationalized in the intellectual concept of the world in the culture and literature of the nations that are not part of the Euro center. The inherent vitality of the crossroads literature sounds strange against the background of late-twentieth-century literature.

Directionally supervised cellular automaton for the initial peopling of Sahul

Reconstructing the patterns of Homo sapiens expansion out of Africa and across the globe has been advanced using demographic and travel-cost models. However, modelled routes are ipso facto influenced by migration rates, and vice versa. We combined movement ‘superhighways’ with a demographic cellular automaton to predict one of the world's earliest peopling events — Sahul between 75000 and 50000 years ago. Novel outcomes from the superhighways-weighted model include (i) an approximate doubling of the predicted time to continental saturation (∼10,000 years) compared to that based on the directionally unsupervised model (∼5000 years), suggesting that rates of migration need to account for topographical constraints in addition to rate of saturation; (ii) a previously undetected movement corridor south through the centre of Sahul early in the expansion wave based on the scenarios assuming two dominant entry points into Sahul; and (iii) a better fit to the spatially de-biased, Signor-Lipps-corrected layer of initial arrival inferred from dated archaeological material. Our combined model infrastructure provides a data-driven means to examine how people initially moved through, settled, and abandoned different regions of the globe.

A path smoothing scheme for micro-line tools using cubic B-spline fitting with dominant points

To obtain higher order continuous tool path, a cubic B-spline curve fitting method is presented in this paper to process the linear tool path. First, a local cubic polynomial fitting with bidirectional scanning scheme is proposed to determine some initial dominant points. Based on these dominant points, the initial knot vector is generated by average method, and the initial B-spline is constructed. To constrain the fitting error, a Newton’s method based fitting error estimation scheme and a fitting error based dominant point insertion scheme are proposed to modify the B-spline. Simulation results prove that our method can compress data and smooth tool path. Compared with another existing curve fitting method, the number of control point has decreased by 9.43%, and the machining time has decreased by 94.45% compared with traditional point-to-point (P2P) motion.

20. Yüzyıl Anıtlarının Devrilmesiyle Yıkılmaya Çalışılan Görsel Tarih

Her dönemin ve rejimin heykellerle ilişkisi, iktidarın toplumla, toplumun da bireyle ilişkisini açıkça ortaya koymaktadır. Modern insan, en yoğun biçimde 20. yüzyılda lider tasvirleri ve kahramanlık hikâyelerinden oluşan şehir heykellerini görmeye ve algılamaya başlamıştır. Bu araştırmanın inceleme alanı, özellikle yirminci yüzyıl sonrası döneme denk gelen aynı zamanda çoğunlukla tek partili yönetimlerin tek adam rejiminden hareketle yaptırıldıkları anlaşılan büyük boyutlu heykellere, değişen konjonktür ve iktidarı ele geçiren yeni rejimler sonrasında yapılan saldırıları ve tahribatları kapsamaktadır. Çalışma kapsamında ele alınan, yıkılan ve tahrip edilen anıtsal heykel örneklerinde tarihsel gerçekliğin, geçmişin izlerinin ve görsel tarihin yok edilmesi kaygısı açıkça gözlenmektedir. Araştırma nitel araştırma yöntemlerinden birisi olan doküman analizine uygun bir biçimde yapılmıştır. İlgili dijital arşiv kayıtlarından ve dokümanlardan ulaşılan eserler metaforik anlamlarıyla birlikte ideolojik özellikleri açısından ele alınıp değerlendirilmiş, araştırma sonucunda elde edilen veriler betimsel olarak yorumlanmıştır. Çalışmada, yıkılan anıtların mevcut gücü nasıl yansıttığı ve ideolojik bir araç olarak nasıl kullanıldığı göstergelere dayalı olarak incelenmiş ve mevcut durum değerlendirmesi yapılmıştır.

A New Deep Wavefront Based Model for Text Localization in 3D Video

With the evolution of electronic devices, such as 3D cameras, addressing the challenges of text localization in 3D video (e.g., for indexing) is increasingly drawing the attention of the multimedia and video processing community. Existing methods focus on 2D video and their performance in the presence of the challenges in 3D video, such as shadow areas associated with text and irregularly sized and shaped text, degrades. This paper proposes the first approach that successfully addresses the challenges of 3D video in addition to those of 2D. It employs a number of innovations, among which, the first is the Generalized Gradient Vector Flow (GGVF) for dominant points detection. The second is the Wavefront concept for text candidate point detection from those dominant points. In addition, an Adaptive B-Spline Polygon Curve Network (ABS-Net) is proposed for accurate text localization in 3D videos by constructing tight fitting bounding polygons using text candidate points. Extensive experiments on custom (3D video) and standard datasets (2D video and scene text) show that the proposed method is practical and useful, and overall outperforms existing state-of-the-art methods.

Polygonal approximation for digital image boundary using firefly algorithm

Polygonal approximation (PA) is a challenging problem and has its wide applications in computer vision, electronic imaging, image classification, image visualization, pattern recognition and image analysis. This paper proposes a stochastic technique-based firefly algorithm (FA) for PA. FA customizes a kind of randomization by searching a set of solutions where PA requires more combinations of approximation to find an optimal solution. The significant feature of the FA is real random sample generation and attractive features. The attractiveness and brightness of the firefly have been used efficiently to solve the approximation problem by detecting the dominant points (DPs) with fewer iterations to produce better results. Thus, this technique achieves the main goal of PA that is a minimum error value with a lesser number of DPs. While compared with other similar algorithms, FA is independent of velocities which are considered as an advantage for this algorithm. Subsequently, the multiswarm nature of FA allows finding multiple optimal solutions concurrently. The experimental results show that the proposed algorithm generates better solutions compared with other algorithms.

Backpropagating Hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm for fast Lefschetz thimble calculations

The Picard-Lefschetz theory has been attracting much attention as a tool to evaluate a multi-variable integral with a complex weight, which appears in various important problems in theoretical physics. The idea is to deform the integration contour based on Cauchy’s theorem using the so-called gradient flow equation. In this paper, we propose a fast Hybrid Monte Carlo algorithm for evaluating the integral, where we “backpropagate” the force of the fictitious Hamilton dynamics on the deformed contour to that on the original contour, thereby reducing the required computational cost by a factor of the system size. Our algorithm can be readily extended to the case in which one integrates over the flow time in order to solve not only the sign problem but also the ergodicity problem that occurs when there are more than one thimbles contributing to the integral. This enables, in particular, efficient identification of all the dominant saddle points and the associated thimbles. We test our algorithm by calculating the real-time evolution of the wave function using the path integral formalism.

Colorectal cancer pain upon diagnosis and after treatment: a cross-sectional comparison with healthy matched controls

BackgroundThe current study sought to explore whether cancer pain (CP) already exists in patients at colorectal cancer (CRC) diagnosis before treatment compared with patients with colorectal cancer (CRC) after treatment and a healthy matched control group. The study also sought to examine whether factors related to physical health status could enhance pain processes.MethodsAn observational cross-sectional study was conducted following the STROBE checklist. Twenty-nine newly diagnosed and forty post-treatment patients with CRC and 40 healthy age/sex-matched controls were included for comparison. Pain, local muscle function, and body composition outcomes were assessed by a physiotherapist with > 3 years of experience. ANCOVA and Kruskal–Wallis tests were performed, with Bonferroni and Dunn-Bonferroni post hoc analyses and Cohen’s d and Hedge’s effect size, as appropriate.ResultsThe analysis detected lower values of pressure pain threshold (PPT) points, the PPT index, and abdominal strength and higher values of self-reported abdominal pain in newly diagnosed patients, with even more marked results observed in the post-treatment patients, where lower lean mass and skeletal muscle index values were also found than those in the healthy matched controls (p < 0.05). In the post-treatment and healthy matched control groups, positive associations were observed between the PPT lumbar dominant side points and abdominal isometric strength and lean mass, and negative associations were observed between the lumbar dominant side points and body fat (p < 0.05).ConclusionUpon diagnosis, patients with CRC already show signs of hyperalgesia and central sensitization and deteriorated physical conditions and body composition, and this state could be aggravated by subsequent treatments.

High-rate very-long-period seismicity at Yasur volcano, Vanuatu: source mechanism and decoupling from surficial explosions and infrasound

SUMMARYYasur volcano, Vanuatu is a continuously active open-vent basaltic-andesite stratocone with persistent and long-lived eruptive activity. We present results from a seismo-acoustic field experiment at Yasur, providing locally dense broad-band seismic and infrasonic network coverage from 2016 July 27 to August 3. We corroborate our seismo-acoustic observations with coincident video data from cameras deployed at the crater and on an unoccupied aircraft system (UAS). The waveforms contain a profusion of signals reflecting Yasur’s rapidly occurring and persistent explosive activity. The typical infrasonic signature of Yasur explosions is a classic short-duration and often asymmetric explosion waveform characterized by a sharp compressive onset and wideband frequency content. The dominant seismic signals are numerous repetitive very-long-period (VLP) signals with periods of ∼2–10 s. The VLP seismic events are ‘high-rate’, reoccurring near-continuously throughout the data set with short interevent times (∼20–60 s). We observe variability in the synchronization of seismic VLP and acoustic sources. Explosion events clearly delineated by infrasonic waveforms are underlain by seismic VLPs. However, strong seismic VLPs also occur with only a weak infrasonic expression. Multiplet analysis of the seismic VLPs reveals a systematic progression in the seismo-acoustic source decoupling. The same dominant seismic VLP multiplet occurs with and without surficial explosions and infrasound, and these transitions occur over a timescale of a few days during our field campaign. We subsequently employ template matching, stacking, and full-waveform inversion to image the source mechanism of the dominant VLP multiplet. Inversion of the dominant VLP multiplet stack points to a composite source consisting of either a dual-crack (plus forces) or pipe-crack (plus forces) mechanism. The derived mechanisms correspond to a point-source directly beneath the summit vents with centroid depths in the range ∼900–1000 m below topography. All mechanisms suggest a northeast trending crack dipping relatively shallowly to the northwest and indicate a VLP source centroid and mechanism controlled by a stable structural geologic feature beneath Yasur. We interpret the results in the framework of gas slug ascent through the conduit responsible for Yasur explosions. The VLP mechanism and timing with infrasound (when present) are explained by a shallow-buffered top-down model in which slug ascent is relatively aseismic until reaching the base of a shallow section. Slug disruption in this shallow zone triggers a pressure disturbance that propagates downward and couples at the conduit base (VLP centroid). If the shallow section is open, an explosion propagates to the surface, producing infrasound. In the case of (the same multiplet) VLPs occurring without surficial explosions and weak or no infrasound, the decoupling of the dominant VLPs at ∼900–1000 m depth from surficial explosions and infrasound strongly indicates buffering of the terminal slug ascent. This buffering could be achieved by a variety of conditions at or directly beneath the vents, such as a high-viscosity layer of crystal-rich magma, a debris cap from backfill, a foam layer, or a combination of these. The dominant VLP at Yasur captured by our experiment has a source depth and mechanism separated from surface processes and is stable over time.

Oil palm tree counting in drone images

When the images are captured by drones, the effect of oblique angles, distance variations and open environment are the main challenges for successful palm tree detection. This paper presents a method towards palm tree counting in Drone images using a novel idea of detecting dominant points by exploring Generalized Gradient Vector Flow, which defines symmetry based on gradient direction of the pixels. For each dominant point, we use angle information for classifying diagonal dominant points. It is intuition that the direction of the branches of tree converges at center of tree irrespective of the type of tree and plants. This observation motivated us to expand the direction of diagonal dominant points until it finds intersection point with another diagonal dominant point and this results in candidate points. For each candidate point, the proposed method constructs the ring by considering the distance between the intersection point and nearest neighbor candidate point as radius. This outputs region of interest and it includes center of each tree in the image. To ease the effect of complex background, we explore YOLOv5 architecture to remove false region of interests. This step results in counting oil palm trees in the mages irrespective of tree type of palm family. Experimental results on our dataset of the images captured by drones and standard dataset of coconut images captured by unmanned aerial vehicle of different trees show that the proposed method is effective and performs better than SOTA methods.