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Temporal action detection is an important and fundamental video understanding task that aims to locate the temporal regions where human actions or events may occur and to identify the classes of actions in untrimmed videos. The main challenge of temporal action detection is that videos are usually of different durations and untrimmed. Although existing methods have achieved better results in recent years, there are still some challenges, such as a lack of full utilisation of video context features, insufficient accuracy of generated action boundaries and failure to consider the relationship between proposals. To address the above issues, this paper proposes a Multi-branch Boundary Generation Network (MBGNet) with temporal context aggregation. It improves the performance of temporal action proposal generation by exploiting rich temporal context features and complementary boundary generators.First, we propose a multi-path temporal context feature aggregation (MTCA) module to exploit "local and global" contextual temporal features for the generation of temporal action proposals. Second, in order to generate accurate action boundaries, we design a multi-branch temporal boundary detector (MBG) to optimise the prediction results by exploiting the complementary relationship between the two boundary detectors.In addition, to accurately predict the confidence of densely distributed proposals, we design a proposal relation-aware module (PRAM) that exploits global correlation for proposal relationship modelling. Experiments on the popular datasets ActivityNet1.3, THUMOS14, and HACS demonstrate the effectiveness of the method proposed in this paper on the task of temporal action proposal generation, which can generate action proposals with high precision and recall. Moreover, combining with existing action classifiers can also achieve better performance in temporal action detection.These results demonstrate the effectiveness of the method in this paper in improving the accuracy of temporal action proposal generation and detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a hands-free control system for a human-guided smart stroller. The proposed method uses real-time peer-to-peer localization technology of the human and stroller to realize an intuitive hands-free control system based on the relative position between the human and the stroller. The control method is also based on functional and mechanical safety to ensure the safety of the stroller's occupant (child) and the pilot (parent) during locomotion. In this paper, first, we present a preliminary investigation of the humans' preference for the relative position in the context of hands-free guided strollers. Then, we present the control method and a prototype implemented with an electric wheelchair and UWB sensors for localization. We present an experimental evaluation of the proposed method with 14 persons walking with the developed prototype to investigate the usability and soundness of the proposed method compared to a remote joystick and manual operation. The evaluation experiments were conducted in an indoor environment and revealed that the proposed method matches the performance of joystick control but does not perform as well as manual operation. Notably, for female participants, the proposed method significantly surpasses joystick performance and achieves parity with manual operation, which shows its efficacy and potential for a smart stroller. Also, the results revealed that the proposed method significantly decreased the user's physical load compared to the manual operation. We present discussions on the controllability, usability, task load, and safety features of the proposed method, and conclude this work with a summary assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through a case study of the Danish and German translations of the American revolutionary Joel Barlow's 'Advice to the Privileged Orders of Europe' (1792), this article explores the role of translations and the example of the American Revolution in forming ideas of republicanism in the Age of Revolutions. While it is today a little-known text, the article shows that Barlow's Advice had a significant impact on the formation of revolutionary ideology in the Northern Germany and Denmark. The article furthermore argues that contrary to what historians have hitherto believed, republicanism did make its way into Denmark in the period. Here, the article shows, it influenced the political ideas of key intellectuals such as Christen Henriksen Pram, August Hennings, and C.U.D. von Eggers. Because censorship made it difficult to express republican ideas, studying translations may give us a fuller and more precise picture of political ideas in the Age of Revolutions including in places like Denmark. The article thus argues that Barlow and his text was part of a broader ‘republic of translations,’ which was transformed in the wake of the American and French Revolutions and through which spread republicanism across the world, including Northern Europe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Timely and accurate extraction of pavement crack information is crucial to maintain service conditions and structural safety for infrastructures and reduce further road maintenance costs. Currently, deep learning techniques for automated pavement crack detection are far superior to traditional manual approaches in both speed and accuracy. However, existing deep learning models may easily lose crack details when processing images containing complex background textures or other noises. Although many studies have alleviated this challenge by introducing attention mechanisms, especially the non‐local (NL) block, which has the ability to efficiently capture long‐range dependencies to facilitate crack pixel capture, the huge computational cost of NL makes the inference time of the model too long, which is not conducive to practical implementation. In this study, a new module, namely, the pyramid region attention module (PRAM), was developed by combining the pyramid pooling module in the pyramid scene parsing network and optimized NL, which can achieve global multi‐scale context integration and long‐range dependencies capture at a relatively lower computational cost. By applying PRAM to deep skip connections in the modified U‐Net, an effective crack segmentation model called CrackResU‐Net was developed. The test results on the existing CrackForest dataset showed that CrackResU‐Net not only achieved an F1 score of 0.9580 but also took only 25.89 ms to process an image with a resolution of 480 × 320, which had advantages in accuracy and speed, compared with several other state‐of‐the‐art crack segmentation approaches. It was fully demonstrated that this approach could realize automatic fast and high‐precision recognition of pavement cracks for engineering purposes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To compare the response between different doses of nebulized magnesium sulphate along with Salbutamol in children between two to 12 years of age with status asthmaticus. Methods: This single blinded, randomized clinical trial was carried out at the Department of Pediatrics, Dr. Ziauddin University Hospital, Karachi, Pakistan during October 2021 to September 2022. A total of 104 children aged between 2-12 years, with the diagnosis of asthma having "Pediatric Rapid Assessment Measure (PRAM)" score>4 and with reactive airways were included. Children either received three back-to-back nebulization with salbutamol solution only (n=50) or salbutamol and MgSO4 with three different doses (250mg, 500mg or 750mg) after every 20 minutes for 60 minutes. The PRAM score was used as an assessment tool to clinically score asthma. Results: In a total of 104 children, 53 (51.0%) were girls. The mean age was 5.25±2.86 years. No statistically significant difference was found in PRAM scores at baseline (p=0.448) and at 20-minutes (p=0.072) but significant differences were observed at 40-minutes (p=0.009), 60-minutes (p=0.011), 120-minutes (p=0.010), 6-hours (=0.034), 12-hours (p=0.018), 18-hours (p=0.033) and at 24-hours (p=0.029). The reduction in PRAM scores from baseline to 24-hours following treatment among Salbutamol, Salbutamol+ MgSo4 250mg, Salbutamol+ MgSo4 500mg and Salbutamol+ MgSo4 750mg group were 6.53±1.09, 7.22±1.09, 6.85±1.43 and 7.57±1.06 respectively (p=0.007). Conclusion: While children with status asthmaticus managed using salbutamol, with or without nebulized MgSO4, showed improved clinical outcomes, combining salbutamol with higher dosages of nebulized MgSO4 resulted in even greater clinical improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: A significant source of information regarding product quality for a company is the complaints lodged by customers. The analysis of complaints can provide the company with valuable insights. Therefore, the objective of this study is to analyze complaints from a one-month period within a company manufacturing baby strollers. The analysis of complaints was conducted to identify areas within the studied company where discrepancies occur, enabling appropriate corrective actions to be implemented. Design/methodology/approach: The Pareto chart was utilized to conduct the analysis of complaints, illustrating the group of most significant issues. To delve into the root cause of the problem, a task force team employed the 5 Whys method. In the article, based on conducted literature reviews, a theoretical description of quality management tools and methods such as the Pareto chart, the 5 Whys method, Kaizen philosophy, teamwork, and additionally, information regarding product quality and safety can be found. Findings: During the course of our work, the source of failures within the company was identified. The major issue turned out to be haste, affecting both the production staff and an external company collaborating with the enterprise. As part of the corrective actions, a motivational system was implemented for employees, and piecework norms were established within the company. Additionally, an innovative solution was applied in the examined enterprise through the design and creation of pattern books for inter-process control within the company and final inspection at the crossbar flat supplier. The proposed problem-solving methods within the enterprise can be applicable for future endeavors. Research limitations/implications: The study was conducted over a short period of time due to the urgent need to address existing issues within the company. It can be inferred that if a longer time frame were taken into account, it would be possible to identify additional causes of discrepancies. Originality/value: The obtained results can serve as a valuable source of information for other companies manufacturing baby strollers, which are seeking solutions to their own issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the problem of approximating the distances in an undirected weighted graph G by the distances in trees based on the notion of stretch. Focusing on decentralized models of computation such as the CONGEST, PRAM, and semi-streaming models, our main results are as follows: (1) We develop a simple randomized algorithm that constructs a spanning tree such that the expected stretch of every edge is O(log³ n), where n is the number of nodes in G. If G is unweighted, then this algorithm can be implemented to run in O(hop(G)) rounds in the CONGEST model, where hop(G) is the hop-diameter of G; thus our algorithm is asymptotically optimal in this case. In the weighted case, the run-time of the algorithm matches the currently best known bound for exact single source shortest path (SSSP) computations, which despite recent progress is still separated from the lower bound of Ω(√n + hop(G)) by polynomial factors. A naive attempt to replace exact SSSP computations with approximate ones in order to improve the complexity in the weighted case encounters a fundamental challenge, as the underlying decomposition technique fails to work under distance approximation. (2) We overcome this obstacle by developing a technique termed blurry ball growing. This technique, in combination with a clever algorithmic idea of Miller, Peng, and Xu (SPAA 2013), allows us to obtain low diameter graph decompositions with small edge cutting probabilities based solely on approximate SSSP computations. (3) Using these decompositions, we in turn obtain metric tree embedding algorithms in the vein of the celebrated work of Bartal (FOCS 1996), whose computational complexity is optimal up to polylogarithmic factors not only in the CONGEST model but also in the PRAM and semi-streaming models. Our embeddings have the additional useful property that the tree can be mapped back to the original graph such that each edge is "used" only logarithmically many times. This property is of interest for capacitated problems and for simulating CONGEST algorithms on the tree into which the graph is embedded. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we analyze two types of refutations for Unit Two Variable Per Inequality (UTVPI) constraints. A UTVPI constraint is a linear inequality of the form: $a_{i}\cdot x_{i}+a_{j} \cdot x_{j} \le b_{k}$ , where $a_{i},a_{j}\in \{0,1,-1\}$ and $b_{k} \in \mathbb{Z}$. A conjunction of such constraints is called a UTVPI constraint system (UCS) and can be represented in matrix form as: ${\bf A \cdot x \le b}$. UTVPI constraints are used in many domains including operations research and program verification. We focus on two variants of read-once refutation (ROR). An ROR is a refutation in which each constraint is used at most once. A literal-once refutation (LOR), a more restrictive form of ROR, is a refutation in which each literal ( $x_i$ or $-x_i$) is used at most once. First, we examine the constraint-required read-once refutation (CROR) problem and the constraint-required literal-once refutation (CLOR) problem. In both of these problems, we are given a set of constraints that must be used in the refutation. RORs and LORs are incomplete since not every system of linear constraints is guaranteed to have such a refutation. This is still true even when we restrict ourselves to UCSs. In this paper, we provide NC reductions between the CROR and CLOR problems in UCSs and the minimum weight perfect matching problem. The reductions used in this paper assume a CREW PRAM model of parallel computation. As a result, the reductions establish that, from the perspective of parallel algorithms, the CROR and CLOR problems in UCSs are equivalent to matching. In particular, if an NC algorithm exists for either of these problems, then there is an NC algorithm for matching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the turn of the Millennium immersive theatres have converged across the cultural milieu, from the operatic to the escape room. Some immersive performances lend themselves to a sense of excess, of grand staging and extreme scenic detail, with the audience finding themselves in a state of total immersion. Nonetheless what about the moments that settle on something as mundane as a cup of tea and a slice of toast? This paper addresses an often-overlooked aspect of immersive theatres – where mundaneness intercedes into the performative world of staged intimacy, whether on purpose or by accident. It looks at how ordinariness and the commonplace can offer insight, feeling and a familiar texture within the immersive encounter. In this way, a positive framing of the mundane emerges as a crucial part of the sought-after 'experience', sometimes through juxtaposition with the spectacle or spectacular, by their very mundanity. Considering a cross-spectrum of performance work, from the small to large scale, one-to-one to collective audience experience, analysis of everyday objects and moments occurring in the immersive performance world are examined. Referring to the work of all things considered, Darkfield, Punchdrunk and Secret Cinema, the paper frames the relative opportunities for the presence of mundane activity and spaces within immersive performance focusing on specific performance examples from each company – Pram Talks (2016), Double (2020), The Burnt City (2022) and Dirty Dancing (2022) respectively. It is through analysis of the performances that the paper contextualizes the importance of the audience experience, value and labour when mundanity is placed within an immersive theatrical frame. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The crèche is the most extreme outgrowth of civilizational misdevelopments. Contrary to all knowledge about child care, the child is forced into exactly the Procrustean bed that our working world makes available to them. Just as children in the first year of life need physical contact with their mother instead of a pram and in the second year as little restriction of their movement instinct as possible, they also need unrestricted growing up in their family during the first three years of life. Because we, as adults, are unable to uphold the value of the family, we take away from our children exactly the living space that actually belongs and should belong to them. The problem can be solved in the short term if the father does at least as much childcare and household chores as the mother. In the long term we have to get away from the construct of the nuclear family (father – mother – child), it is nothing more than a stunted family. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Given a text and a pattern over an alphabet, the classic exact matching problem searches for all occurrences of the pattern in the text. Unlike exact matching, order-preserving pattern matching (OPPM) considers the relative order of elements, rather than their exact values. In this paper, we propose efficient algorithms for the OPPM problem using the “duel-and-sweep” paradigm. For a pattern of length m and a text of length n, our serial algorithm runs in O(n+mlogm)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$O(n + m\log m)$$\end{document} time, and our parallel algorithm runs in O(log2m)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$O(\log ^2 m)$$\end{document} time and O(nlog2m)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$O(n \log ^2 m)$$\end{document} work with O(logm)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$O(\log m)$$\end{document} time and O(mlogm)\documentclass[12pt]{minimal}\usepackage{amsmath}\usepackage{wasysym}\usepackage{amsfonts}\usepackage{amssymb}\usepackage{amsbsy}\usepackage{mathrsfs}\usepackage{upgreek}\setlength{\oddsidemargin}{-69pt}\begin{document}$$O(m \log m)$$\end{document} work pattern preprocessing on the Priority Concurrent Read Concurrent Write Parallel Random-Access Machines (P-CRCW PRAM). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we describe a biosensing instrument based on our previously developed photonic resonator absorption microscope (PRAM) that incorporates autofocus, digital representation of the gold nanoparticle (AuNP) accumulation, and the ability to gather time-series image sequences of AuNP attachment and detachment from the photonic crystal (PC) surface. The combined capabilities are used to fully automate PRAM image collection during biomolecular assays to enable tiling of PRAM images to provide millimeter-scale field of view. The instrument can also gather PRAM "movies" that enables digital showcasing and dynamic counting AuNPs as they arrive and depart from the PC surface. We utilize the capabilities in the context of two biomolecular assays for detection of protein biomarkers in a conventional AuNP-tagged sandwich format. Utilizing dynamic counting of AuNP attachment and detachment events during the assay we present a detection for microRNA-375 (miRNA-375) down to 1 aM with a 10-min, room temperature, enzyme-free approach, while revealing characteristics of the binding-rate and unbinding-rate of the biomolecular interactions. Our instrument can potentially find broad applications in multiplexed point-of-care diagnostic testing, and as a general-purpose tool for quantitative characterization of biomolecular binding kinetics with single-molecule resolution. • Autofocus and millimeter-scale tiled field of view for imaging-based biosensing. • Visualize the accumulation of gold nanoparticles with precise counting algorithm. • Showcases the dynamic and low limit of detection of HIV/HCV antibody and microRNA. • Visualize the thermodynamic process of sandwich and TRAP assay. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positional plagiocephaly (PP) is a general term describing cranial distortion from pre- or postnatal forces on the infant head. Abnormal intrauterine forces, multiple births, primiparous mothers, obstetric interventions, prematurity, male sex, excessive time lying in the supine position, and mobility restrictions of the cervical spine have been considered as the main predisposing factors. The objective was to investigate the association between the severity of PP and the active cervical rotation and to analyze the influence of predisposing factors in babies with PP. An analytical cross-sectional study was performed on 74 babies with moderate PP. Clinical and demographic data, cranial vault asymmetry, and active cervical rotation range of motion (ROM) were measured. Associations were analyzed with generalized linear models. The mean age was 16.8 ± 5.0 weeks, and 56.8% were male. A restriction in the ROM of active cervical rotation, especially to the left side, was observed. Our models showed that cranial asymmetry was related with left active cervical rotation ROM (p = 0.034) and with being transported in a pushchair (p < 0.001). Conclusions: An increased severity of PP was related with being transported in a baby pushchair and with a reduced active cervical rotation ROM toward the most restricted side. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the donation of a baby buggy to the Brethren in Christ Historical Library + Archives. The buggy was originally purchased by David and Agnes Eyster in 1892 for their third child, Edna. The Eyster family moved to Oklahoma in 1895, and the buggy was used by multiple Eyster children before ultimately remaining in Edna's possession. Edna's daughter, Allyne Isaac, used it as a toy when she was a child. The buggy has now been donated to the Historical Library and Archives at Messiah University for preservation and education. [Extracted from the article]

The article focuses on the compassionate response of Polish women who left lines of baby strollers filled with essentials like clothes and blankets on train platforms for Ukrainian refugee mothers arriving in Poland. Topics include the mass migration of Ukrainian refugees, the solidarity shown by Polish women, and the viral impact of a photograph capturing the quiet act of kindness amidst the turmoil of war.

Highlights • Objects-in-Injury-Process Matrix (OIPM) is proposed for transforming narrative text data. • OIPM identifies roles of objects in accident sequences (underlying, intermediate, direct factor). • Device-specific accident patterns can guide parents to correct their unsafe habits. Abstract A new injury process analysis framework, Objects in Injury Process Matrix (OIPM), is proposed. This framework links objects and actors to a sequence of events in three stages, underlying, intermediate, and the point of injury, to examine the origins and evolution of injury events. In order to demonstrate the usefulness and workability of this framework, injuries to preschool children associated with typical child-carrying devices (baby slings, strollers, bicycle-mounted child seats, and car seats) were analysed. Data were taken from the Childhood Injury Surveillance Database compiled from medical treatment records at the National Center for Child Health and Development Japan. The Database contains coded data such as age and gender of child, time of injury, and treatment. In addition, the narrative part of the record contains rich information to help understand the roles of objects and actors at different stages of the injury process. In order to utilize this information in a systematic manner, the OIPM framework was employed and narrative texts were transformed into coded data. The results of the analysis show that analysing injury data based on the OIPM framework gives better understanding of the injury mechanism, which helps both designers of objects and actors involved in injury events. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores how consumers construe a product service system (PSS) for the supply of pushchairs. A PSS is a system of products, services, networks of actors and supporting infrastructure designed to be more sustainable than traditional business models. PSSs face an implementation challenge in consumer markets, and this case based research explores some reasons for this. The study applies personal construct psychology (in particular, the repertory grid technique), which has not previously been used in relation to researching PSSs. Results suggest that a PSS might be difficult to implement in relation to pushchairs. Renting pre-used equipment may meet resistance because of a perceived risk that acquisition by this means might endanger infants. Participants in the study construed buying new products from specialist infant product shops as being the best way of acquiring them. Accordingly, PSS providers may, for instance, have to implement certified quality assurance processes in order to reassure consumers. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]