Gray Face Research Articles

Gray Rainbows.

"You fooled me. I never dreamt," George said to the pasty gray face in the mirror. As a child, he had worked out complicated schemes of how the world must be constructed. This led to that, and that led to this. When this and that no longer fit together, he began to squint, and limit his view to the essential. At any moment, the sky might break open and rain body parts and end times. He never imagined that it would be colors that would give way.

La Bocce Vita

La Bocce Vita

Feature recognition method for similar key points of human face based on adaptive median filter

In order to overcome the low efficiency and poor accuracy of current face feature recognition methods, this paper proposes a feature recognition method for similar key points of human face based on adaptive median filter. The preprocessing of face image including rotation, scaling and clipping was carried out to remove the influence of image background on feature recognition of similar key points of face. The grey level of the input image is mapped to the output image pixel by function mapping to achieve histogram homogenisation of the grey face image. Based on adaptive median filtering, a face image denoising model is constructed and trained. The experimental results show that the recognition time of the proposed method is less than 0.7 s, the SNR is higher than 24 dB, the recognition accuracy is more than 90%, and the recognition effect is better.

Texture features extraction based on GLCM for face retrieval system

Texture features play an important role in most image retrieval techniques to obtain results of high accuracy. In this work, the face image retrieval method considering texture analysis and statistical features has been proposed. Textile features can also be extracted using the GLCM tool. In this research, the GLCM calculation method involves two phases, first: some of the previous image processing techniques work together to get the best results to determine the big object of the face image (center of face image) then, the gray level co-occurrence matrix GLCM is computed for gray face image and then some statistical texture features with second-order are extracted. In the second phase, the facial texture features are retrieved by finding the minimum distance between texture features of an unknown face image with the texture features of face images that are stored in the database system. The experimental results show that the proposed method is capable to achieve high accuracy degree in face image retrieval.

Experimental Results of Siloxanes Rubber Reinforced with Magnetic Fillers Used to Protect the Uman Factor to Electromagnetic Radiation

The character of the original paper is to provide electromagnetic radiation absorbing material that attenuation characteristics of the electromagnetic field very good, as compared to the absorbent materials studied to date. This paper presents results of research on processing, characterization and behavior of composite materials based on silicone rubber used for electromagnetic shielding. In this work silicone rubbers is reinforced with magnetic fillers (iron silicon). The obtaining of composite materials was with the aid of a doctor blade technique. Doctor blade technique is a coating technique widely used for producing thin films on large area surfaces. The samples were processed in the laboratory using a plated nettling (PN), that was impregnated with a silicone rubber based composite containing powder of iron silicon (SI). Were achieved measurements of the both parts of the materials obtaining. These have shown an electromagnetic shielding effectiveness the order of 3.35-41.62 dB (white face) and 3.53-41.42 dB (gray face), in 1-18 GHz frequency range according to SR EN 50 147-1:1999. The paper tries to identify an absorbent material with the ability to protect human beings of electromagnetic radiation that surround us every day and every moment. With the exponential increase in development of commercial, aerospace, military and scientific electronic devices in modern society, electromagnetic radiation is becoming the fourth public pollution after the air, water and noise ones.

ORACLE

4 2 Y O R A C L E W A R R E N S L E S I N G E R The water worried me when the gray face that floated over it in lines and patches to the shore lapped and slavered at the edges, and sucked at the sack of its tongue. The water worried me for a scud of white saliva was its spit, and the gray face that floated over it in line and patches to the shore tugged at the ruptured fundament, its teeth pebbles overgrown with moss. The water worried me when it muttered a riddle of bubbles and du√ as the gray face that floated over it in lines and patches to the shore crumpled at the corners of its mouth and eyes. The water worried me for it ground its teeth on the truth that drew me to it. ...

Fourier optics of constant-thickness three-dimensional objects on the basis of diffraction models

Results of investigations of diffraction phenomena on constant-thickness three-dimensional objects with flat inner surfaces (thick plates) are summarized on the basis of our constructive theory of their calculation as applied to dimensional inspection. It is based on diffraction models of 3D objects with the use of equivalent diaphragms (distributions), which allow the Kirchhoff–Fresnel approximation to be effectively used. In contrast to available rigorous and approximate methods, the present approach does not require cumbersome calculations; it is a clearly arranged method, which ensures sufficient accuracy for engineering applications. It is found that the fundamental diffraction parameter for 3D objects of constant thickness d is the critical diffraction angle $${\theta _{cr}} = \sqrt {\lambda /d} $$ at which the effect of three-dimensionality on the spectrum of the 3D object becomes appreciable. Calculated Fraunhofer diffraction patterns (spectra) and images of constant-thickness 3D objects with absolutely absorbing, absolutely reflecting, and gray internal faces are presented. It is demonstrated that selection of 3D object fragments can be performed by choosing an appropriate configuration of the wave illuminating the object (plane normal or inclined waves, spherical waves).

Exploring Combinations of Different Color and Facial Expression Stimuli for Gaze-Independent BCIs.

Background: Some studies have proven that a conventional visual brain computer interface (BCI) based on overt attention cannot be used effectively when eye movement control is not possible. To solve this problem, a novel visual-based BCI system based on covert attention and feature attention has been proposed and was called the gaze-independent BCI. Color and shape difference between stimuli and backgrounds have generally been used in examples of gaze-independent BCIs. Recently, a new paradigm based on facial expression changes has been presented, and obtained high performance. However, some facial expressions were so similar that users couldn't tell them apart, especially when they were presented at the same position in a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) paradigm. Consequently, the performance of the BCI is reduced.New Method: In this paper, we combined facial expressions and colors to optimize the stimuli presentation in the gaze-independent BCI. This optimized paradigm was called the colored dummy face pattern. It is suggested that different colors and facial expressions could help users to locate the target and evoke larger event-related potentials (ERPs). In order to evaluate the performance of this new paradigm, two other paradigms were presented, called the gray dummy face pattern and the colored ball pattern.Comparison with Existing Method(s): The key point that determined the value of the colored dummy faces stimuli in BCI systems was whether the dummy face stimuli could obtain higher performance than gray faces or colored balls stimuli. Ten healthy participants (seven male, aged 21–26 years, mean 24.5 ± 1.25) participated in our experiment. Online and offline results of four different paradigms were obtained and comparatively analyzed.Results: The results showed that the colored dummy face pattern could evoke higher P300 and N400 ERP amplitudes, compared with the gray dummy face pattern and the colored ball pattern. Online results showed that the colored dummy face pattern had a significant advantage in terms of classification accuracy (p < 0.05) and information transfer rate (p < 0.05) compared to the other two patterns.Conclusions: The stimuli used in the colored dummy face paradigm combined color and facial expressions. This had a significant advantage in terms of the evoked P300 and N400 amplitudes and resulted in high classification accuracies and information transfer rates. It was compared with colored ball and gray dummy face stimuli.

From Dread to Humor: Encounters with Death in Romanian Folklore

From Dread to Humor:Encounters with Death in Romanian Folklore Gabriela Vlahovici-Jones (bio) A gray face with deep eye sockets but no eyes, no gaze, and no glimmer of light—just a deep abyss of terrifying mystery; a mouth but no tongue—just an unhinged jaw with skeletal teeth; broken shards of glass reflecting the last screams of lives shattered in terror: This is how the movie poster for The Final Destination terrified audiences with its depiction of Death (“The Final Destination”). Dark, unsettling, and frightful, this image and its many avatars are familiar tropes of Western lore and the driving force of the horror genre. Romanian folklore, on the other hand, places personified Death in humorous—not scary—contexts. This does not mean that in this culture death is not frightening, sad, or difficult. Nevertheless, stories featuring personified Death do not belong to the horror genre but to a type of low-key humor that dramatizes the human being’s complex relationship with the horizons of existence. A famous material expression of the humor that accompanies discourse on death is the Merry Cemetery of Săpân¸a in Maramure¸, where the artfully carved crosses include humorous funerary plaques. One reads, for example, “Sub această cruce grea / Zace biata soacră mea / Trei zile de mai traia / Zăceam eu ¸i citea ea” ‘Under this heavy Cross lies my poor mother-in-law; had she lived three more days, I would have been lying here and she would have been reading this’ (“Fotografii”). In spite of the satirical nature of the funerary inscriptions in the Merry Cemetery, this humor does not make light of death or poke fun at the dead. Instead, it generates a type of play that creates space for a reality both simple and ineffable. Traditional folk tales about death are infused with the same type of humor as the plaques in the Merry Cemetery: playful yet serious, resourceful yet reflective. What exactly can be funny, however, about a human being’s encounter with Death or Moartea (personified as an old woman in Romanian folklore)? We might know from personal experience that nothing can ruin a joke like an attempt to explain it. We might even agree with E. B. White, who quipped, “Analyzing humor is like dissecting a frog. Few people are interested and the frog dies of it” (qtd. in Mankoff 1). Yet, have we not experienced the joy of “getting” humor—that “Aha!” moment, when the pieces of the narrative puzzle realign, revealing a surprising new picture? Have we not often paused to contemplate this picture even after [End Page 293] we stopped laughing? Romanian folk tales on death are worth dissecting, even at the risk of killing their humor, because their “innards” are not offputting to all but the inquisitive academic; quite on the contrary, they offer a warm place of meditation to anyone inclined to gaze at the mysterious horizons of existence. Four traditional theories on humor, anthologized by John Morreall in the Philosophy of Laughter and Humor, can serve as dissection tools: the superiority theory, articulated primarily by Hobbes and Descartes, views laughter as an expression of superiority over its subject; the relief theory, developed by Herbert Spencer and consolidated by Freud, compares laughter to a pressure valve for psychological tension; the incongruity theory, advocated by Kant, Schopenhauer, and Kierkegaard, holds that humor violates our mental patterns; and the play theory, formulated by St. Thomas Aquinas, represents laughter as joyful rest for the soul if practiced in moderation. Applied to encounters with Death in Romanian folklore, these theories capture the various facets of humor generated by humans who invite or trick Death. Humans Who Invite Death Documented by nineteenth-century folklorist Tudor Pamfilie, the story of an old woman with two adult sons captures the dilemmas of humans who invite Death. This woman, ninety-nine years of age, her body bent from many cares, constantly prays to God that Death might come and deliver her from suffering. One day, while the old woman is sitting by the fire, her sons Luca and Ispas decide to test her resolve to die. They hide an ugly owl in a basket and then...

Study on the Camouflaged Target Detection Method Based on 3D Convexity

To effectively detect the camouflaged target in the complex background, the target detection method based on 3D convexity is proposed in this article. This method uses a new operator which can fully utilize the representative image gray level represented by the convexity structure of the target, set up appropriate threshold to eliminate the influence of the background noise by the median filtering through the gray face of the target image, and realize the effective detection and identification of the convexity target. The experiment result shows that this method could successively detect the camouflaged targets in the complex background, better than classic edge detection method. As a new camouflaged target detection and evaluation technology, this method can provide necessary factors for the design and implementation of the camouflage technology, and promote the development of the camouflage technology.

Auriculotherapy and Acupuncture in Space Sickness

I would like to tell readers about my recent experience of auriculotherapy. After taking off from Merignac, the plane flew in parabolic arcs (figure 1), executing 31 of these in the space of 3 h at an altitude of 10 km. A parabolic flight includes three phases: Figure 1 The different phases of a parabolic flight (downloaded from http://www.eurospacecenter.be). Finally, the plane follows a normal trajectory for 2 min, a period of time that is necessary for piloting reasons and to allow the passengers to recover. After this, the plane begins the next parabolic arc (figure 1). Three fighter pilots take turns piloting, as it is physically too difficult for a single pilot to carry out the entire parabolic flight on his own. Space sickness is extremely violent, and I had never experienced anything like it before. It is in no way comparable to sea or motion sickness. One enters a ‘state of shock’ with a drop in arterial pressure, motionlessness, a pale grey face and sudden uncontrollable vomiting. Those not affected ‘fly’ to the rescue of …

Contrast compensation by fuzzy classification and image illumination analysis for back-lit and front-lit color face images

Conventional contrast enhancement methods have two shortcomings. First, most of them do not produce satisfactory enhancement results for face images with back-lit or front-lit. Second, most of them need transformation functions and parameters which are specified manually. Thus, this paper proposes an automatic and parameter-free contrast compensation algorithm for skin detection in color face images. This method includes following steps: First, RGB color space is transformed to YIQ color space. Second, fuzzy logic is used to classify the color images into three categories: back-lit, normal-lit, and front-lit. Third, image illumination analysis is used to analyze the image distribution. Fourth, the input image is compensated by piecewise linear based enhancement method. Finally, the compensation image is transformed back to RGB color space. Our experiments included various color and gray face images. Experiment results show that the performance of the proposed compensation method is better than other available methods in skin detection and visual perception measurements.

Jazz and Twelve O'Clock Tales

Reviewed by: Jazz and Twelve O'Clock Tales Landon Moore (bio) Coleman, Wanda. Jazz and Twelve O'Clock Tales. Boston: David R. Godine, 2008. Wanda Coleman's "Jazz at Twelve" begins in a Malibu club as a woman anxiously awaits a jazz performance. She admires the musician's signature sound and his growing popularity on the radio station. "In these days of pop-disco-rock it's tough for jazznicks to draw," she remarks. "They don't teach music appreciation in grade school anymore. A whole generation has grown up without proper ears" (12). If what she says is true, readers may learn a great deal from Jazz and Twelve O'Clock Tales, Coleman's latest collection of short stories. As one might expect from a poet's prose, Coleman's writing is lyrical, inspired by the blues and jazz rhythm that has contributed to her reputation as the "L.A. Blueswoman." Suitably named for a line in Billy Strayhorn's song "Lush Life," this is Coleman's first collection of new short stories in almost fifteen years. She explores poverty, racism, sexism, and, ultimately, the power of human resilience in thirteen intricate portraits of "sad and sullen gray faces with distant gay traces" (Strayhorn). The collection opens with "Joy Ride" as Coleman tunes the car radio to a local jazz station and we are introduced to two young married couples. On their way home from a picnic, the impending responsibilities of daily life at home and at work dim the couples' moods as they travel "through palm-laced residential zones and along wide-laned boulevards, southeast, toward that poorer, darker section of the City of Angels to which they are intangibly restricted" (1). As the sedan bounces down the potholed road, conversation ebbs, and inversely, the music emanating from the radio surges to "become bluesy and discordant, occasionally shrill and punctuated by staccato runs. The harpist, the pianist and the string section defer to brass and woodwinds. The percussionists begin their ascension" (2). The rising drums, like the escalating soundtrack of a suspense film, create a palpable tension that vibrates with expectation. When the song changes to a "jassy jazz" so too does the mood in the car, for in the road is a moving gunny sack, and while the slide trombone sounds, "the newlyweds syncopate as they speculate" about what the bag could hold (3). The music builds to a crescendo when the sound of the impact is almost smothered by the trumpet's shriek. Only when the couples exit the steaming vehicle does the music stop as "a deacon of the old school leans into the car's interior and cuts the sound" (3). By this time, [End Page 894] a crowd has gathered around the accident to see "a tiny chocolate arm perfectly formed" fall loosely from the folds of the sack, and "the faces of the watchers are all shades of a shared darkness" (3). Coleman's poetic economy of language infiltrates her prose so that this "shared darkness" becomes multivalent, significant not only for its suggestion of race but also as a descriptor of the crowd's collective mood after witnessing this scene unfold in their neighborhood, that "darker section of the City of Angels" from which, because of their skin color and grim financial status, there is no escape. Coleman's writing dances to the rhythm that is repetition in the aforementioned "Jazz at Twelve," narrated by Babe, who first defines herself as Kevin's wife, and then, much later in the story, as a moonlight songwriter "living for the day when women's music will receive as much attention as men's" (18). The story begins and ends in one location, a Malibu jazz club, but Coleman's recurring sections of ironic prose travel beyond the traditional limitations of setting and chronological storytelling. While Babe is acutely aware of her immediate physical surroundings, she doesn't know that she's pregnant, or that her husband is addicted to heroin, or that in a couple of months her coin collection and a sealed envelope filled with cash will disappear, and after a while, so will her husband. Here, the negative space outside the...

Sparse representation of global features of visual images in human primary visual cortex: Evidence from fMRI

In fMRI experiments on object representation in visual cortex, we designed two types of stimuli: one is the gray face image and its line drawing, and the other is the illusion and its corresponding completed illusion. Both of them have the same global features with different minute details so that the results of fMRI experiments can be compared with each other. The first kind of visual stimuli was used in a block design fMRI experiment, and the second was used in an event-related fMRI experiment. Comparing and analyzing interesting visual cortex activity patterns and blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD)-fMRI signal, we obtained results to show some invariance of global features of visual images. A plausible explanation about the invariant mechanism is related with the cooperation of synchronized response to the global features of the visual image with a feedback of shape perception from higher cortex to cortex V1, namely the integration of global features and embodiment of sparse representation and distributed population code.

A new species of giant sengi or elephant‐shrew (genus Rhynchocyon) highlights the exceptional biodiversity of the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania

AbstractA new species of sengi, or elephant‐shrew, is described. It was discovered in the northern Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania in 2005. Sengis (Order Macroscelidea, super‐cohort Afrotheria) include four genera and 15 species of mammals that are endemic to Africa. This discovery is a significant contribution to the systematics of this small order. Based on 49 camera trap images, 40 sightings and five voucher specimens, the new sengi is diurnal and distinguished from the other three species of Rhynchocyon by a grizzled grey face, pale yellow to cream chest and chin, orange‐rufous sides, maroon back and jet‐black lower rump and thighs. The body weight of the new species is about 700 g, which is 25–50% greater than any other giant sengi. The new Rhynchocyon is only known from two populations that cover about 300 km2 of montane forest. It has an estimated density of 50–80 individuals km−2. This discovery has important implications for the conservation of the high biodiversity that is found in the forests of the Eastern Arc Mountains.

MULTI-VIEW GENDER CLASSIFICATION USING MULTI-RESOLUTION LOCAL BINARY PATTERNS AND SUPPORT VECTOR MACHINES

In this paper, we present a novel method for multi-view gender classification considering both shape and texture information to represent facial images. The face area is divided into small regions from which local binary pattern (LBP) histograms are extracted and concatenated into a single vector efficiently representing a facial image. Following the idea of local binary pattern, we propose a new feature extraction approach called multi-resolution LBP, which can retain both fine and coarse local micro-patterns and spatial information of facial images. The classification tasks in this work are performed by support vector machines (SVMs). The experiments clearly show the superiority of the proposed method over both support gray faces and support Gabor faces on the CAS-PEAL face database. A higher correct classification rate of 96.56% and a higher cross validation average accuracy of 95.78% have been obtained. In addition, the simplicity of the proposed method leads to very fast feature extraction, and the regional histograms and fine-to-coarse description of facial images allow for multi-view gender classification.

Gastrointestinal parasitism reduces the plasma availability of doramectin in lambs

A study was undertaken to investigate the effect of parasitism on plasma availability and pharmacokinetic behaviour of doramectin (DRM) in lambs. Fourteen parasitised grey face Suffolk lambs (26.9 ± 1.5 kg bodyweight) were selected for the study. Seven pairs of lambs were allocated to two groups to obtain an approximately even weight distribution. Group I (non-parasitised) was pre-treated with three repeated administrations of 5 mg/kg fenbendazole to maintain a parasite free condition. In group II (parasitised), the lambs did not receive any anthelmintic treatment. After the 85-day pre-treatment period, both groups of animals were treated with DRM by subcutaneous (SC) injection in the shoulder area at 200 μg/kg. Throughout the experimental period, both groups were maintained together under similar feeding and management conditions. Blood samples were collected by jugular venepuncture at different set times between 0.5 h and 60 days post-treatment. After plasma extraction and derivatisation, samples were analysed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with fluorescence detection. A computerised kinetic analysis was performed and the data were compared using the Student’s paired t test. The parent molecule was detected in plasma between 30 min and either day 20 (parasitised) or day 35 (non-parasitised) post-DRM treatment. The AUC values of the parasitised group (143.0 ± 18 ng d/mL) were significantly lower ( P < 0.05) than those observed in the parasitically naïve animals (229.6 ± 21.7 ng d/mL). The mean residence time (MRT) in the parasitised group (3.4 ± 0.3 days) was significantly shorter ( P < 0.05) than in the healthy group (6.6 ± 0.6 days). Study results have shown that parasitic disease, through alteration in the body condition, can produce significant changes in the plasma disposition of DRM when administered SC to parasitised lambs.

A natural grey kangaroo hybrid?

The eastern grey kangaroo, Macropus giganteus, and the western grey kangaroo, M. fuliginosus, occur over an extensive zone of sympatry, but there has been no record of hybridisation between these sibling species in the field. The two species can be reliably distinguished by their characteristic pelage, which is grey-brown in eastern grey kangaroos and chocolate brown in western grey kangaroos. The pattern of colour on the face is particularly distinctive: the pale grey face of the eastern grey kangaroo contrasts with dark shading around the eyes, whereas the western grey kangaroo has a monochrome dark brown face. We report a sighting of a probable hybrid grey kangaroo in June 2000 at Willandra National Park (33° 13’ S, 145° 07’ E), western New South Wales. This individual was an adult female, which was intermediate in phenotype and was accompanied by a possible back-crossed sub-adult. In view of this and other reports of putative hybrids, we urge greater scrutiny of grey kangaroos in the sympatric zone.

The effect of genotype on lamb carcass characteristics

The most important consideration in quality lamb production is the breed genotype used. Much work has examined a selection of terminal sire breeds, but less emphasis has been placed on assessing the influence of the female genotype on carcass quality. The benefits of the Texel breed in terms of higher carcass lean content has been highlighted (More O’Ferrall and Timon, 1977; Kempster et al 1987), but it has been suggested that Texel lambs are penalised under current MLC grading guidelines. Leymaster and Jenkins (1993) reinforced this suggestion by indicating that Texel sired lambs deposited proportionally more subcutaneous and less intermuscular fat than Suffolk sired lambs.This study was carried out to compare the Dutch Texel (DT) and Suffolk (S) breeds as terminal sires and crossed with Greyface (GF) and Suffolk Cheviot (SC) dams. The effect of the proportion of DT blood in lambs on carcass quality was also examined. For this purpose GF, DT x GF and pure DT lambs were compared.

The effect of genotype on lamb carcass characteristics

The most important consideration in quality lamb production is the breed genotype used. Much work has examined a selection of terminal sire breeds, but less emphasis has been placed on assessing the influence of the female genotype on carcass quality. The benefits of the Texel breed in terms of higher carcass lean content has been highlighted (More O’Ferrall and Timon, 1977; Kempster et al 1987), but it has been suggested that Texel lambs are penalised under current MLC grading guidelines. Leymaster and Jenkins (1993) reinforced this suggestion by indicating that Texel sired lambs deposited proportionally more subcutaneous and less intermuscular fat than Suffolk sired lambs.This study was carried out to compare the Dutch Texel (DT) and Suffolk (S) breeds as terminal sires and crossed with Greyface (GF) and Suffolk Cheviot (SC) dams. The effect of the proportion of DT blood in lambs on carcass quality was also examined. For this purpose GF, DT x GF and pure DT lambs were compared.