Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Finding and certifying a large hidden clique in a semirandom graph

Alon, Krivelevich, and Sudakov [Random Struct Algorithms 13(3–4) (1998), 457–466. ] designed an algorithm based on spectral techniques that almost surely finds a clique of size hidden in an otherwise random graph. We show that a different algorithm, based on the Lovasz theta function, almost surely both finds the hidden clique and certifies its optimality. Our algorithm has an additional advantage of being more robust: it also works in a semirandom hidden clique model, in which an adversary can remove edges from the random portion of the graph. ©2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Random Struct. Alg. , 16, 195–208, 2000
FUZZY LOGIC CONTROLLER DESIGN FOR STAGED HEATING AND VENTILATING SYSTEMS

Conventional stage controllers (CSC) for interior environment control of agricultural facilities are prevalent and well suited for slowly varying loads, smaller facilities with few stages of control, and in cases where "discrete proportional control" is deemed adequate. Ad hoc implementation schemes for using the same CSC over a range in size of building heating and ventilating systems, from one heating and cooling stage to many, are practiced in the industry. A fuzzy logic controller (FLC) was developed to satisfy a broad spectrum of installation sizes without any modification. Principles for designing an environment controller that can mimic CSC behavior over a broad range of system size were applied. By adjusting a single additional input this controller provides users with a trade-off between energy use and control precision. Simulations were conducted using the same FLC in a greenhouse and a broiler house; these two examples were selected for their considerable difference in magnitude of energy transfer and loads. Disturbances investigated included: variations in outside temperature, internal heat load (or solar load), and step changes in set point temperature. FLC system responses are compared with a representative CSC for stability, overshoot and mean square error from set point temperature. The FLC was able to keep the root-mean-square errors to 1.0 to 4.0°C, depending on different energy use settings. The FLC provided useful improvements in performance over a CSC, and is readily implemented in modern electronic controllers with floating point arithmetic capability. Keywords. Broiler, Energy conservation, Environment control, Greenhouse, HVAC, Knowledge based systems engineering, Simulation.
Analysis of Horse Myostatin Gene and Identification of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Breeds of Different Morphological Types

Myostatin (MSTN) is a negative modulator of muscle mass. We characterized the horse (Equus caballus) MSTN gene and identified and analysed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in breeds of different morphological types. Sequencing of coding, untranslated, intronic, and regulatory regions of MSTN gene in 12 horses from 10 breeds revealed seven SNPs: two in the promoter, four in intron 1, and one in intron 2. The SNPs of the promoter (GQ183900:g.26T>C and GQ183900:g.156T>C, the latter located within a conserved TATA-box like motif) were screened in 396 horses from 16 breeds. The g.26C and the g.156C alleles presented higher frequency in heavy (brachymorphic type) than in light breeds (dolichomorphic type such as Italian Trotter breed). The significant difference of allele frequencies for the SNPs at the promoter and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) on haplotypes indicates that these polymorphisms could be associated with variability of morphology traits in horse breeds.
An approach to using a generalized breast model to segment digital mammograms

Proposes a model-based segmentation system that consists of a modeling suite and an image processing suite. The modeling suite incorporates knowledge about breast tissue characteristics, compression effects and the mammogram acquisition process. Given a specific segmentation task, this information is utilized by the system to invoke proper operators from the image processing suite. This paper discuses the segmentation system in the context of a specific segmentation task involving the identification of fibro-glandular tissue.
Exploratory Access to Geographic Data Based on the Map-overlay Metaphor

Abstract Many geographic information systems (GISs) attempt to imitate the manual process of laying transparent map layers over one another on a light table and analyzing the resulting configurations. While this map-overlay metaphor, familiar to many geoscientists, has been used as a design principle for the underlying architecture of GISs, it has not yet been visually manifested at the user interface. To overcome this shortage, a new direct manipulation user interface for overlay-based GISs has been designed and prototyped. It is characterized by the separation of map layers into data cubes and map templates such that different thematic data can be combined and the same kind of data can be displayed in different formats. This paper introduces the conceptual objects that the user manipulates at the screen surface and discusses ways to visualize effectively the objects and operations upon them.
Down but Not Out: The National Education Association in Federal Politics

This research provides new evidence on the political activity and policy-setting agenda of the largest national teachers’ union during a time of political change. Using a longitudinal dataset comprised of election outcomes and campaign contributions for all candidates for federal office and the National Education Association’s (NEA) official federal policy positions, I find that NEA Democrat allies have decreased precipitously over time with the election of a Republican majority in Congress. Nonetheless, the NEA still experiences considerable success in congressional roll call votes partly because of the election of a growing contingent of Republican allies in the House and Senate.
Behavioral Variables Associated with Obesity in Police Officers

Past research has documented that non-behavioral variables (such as long work hours, exposure to police stressors) are associated with obesity risk in police officers, but limited research has examined behavioral variables that might be targeted by Employee Assistance Programs for police weight management. The present study compared non-obese and obese officers for behavioral variables found associated with obesity in other adult samples: physical activity (cardiovascular, strength-training, stretching), sleep duration, and consumption of alcohol, fruit and vegetables, and snack foods. Participants included 172 male police officers who completed questionnaires to report height and weight, used to calculate body mass index (BMI = kg/m2) and to divide them into “non-obese” and “obese” groups. They also reported the above behaviors and six non-behavioral variables found associated with obesity risk: age, health problems, family support, police work hours, police stressors, police support. ANCOVAs compared each behavioral variable across obesity status (non-obese, obese), with the six non-behavioral variables used as covariates. Results revealed that cardiovascular and strength-training physical activity were the only behavioral variables that differed significantly between non-obese and obese police officers. The use of self-reported height and weight values may provide Employee Assistance Program with improved cost, time, and officer participation.
Weight Loss Predicts Progression of Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer’s Disease

Background Weight loss is common in people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and it could be a marker of impending AD in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) and improve prognostic accuracy, if accelerated progression to AD would be shown. Aims To assess weight loss as a predictor of dementia and AD in MCI. Methods One hundred twenty-five subjects with MCI (age 73.8 ± 7.1 years) were followed for an average of 4 years. Two weight measurements were carried out at a minimum time interval of one year. Dementia was defined according to DSM-IV criteria and AD according to NINCDS-ADRDA criteria. Weight loss was defined as a ≥4% decrease in baseline weight. Results Fifty-three (42.4%) MCI progressed to dementia, which was of the AD-type in half of the cases. Weight loss was associated with a 3.4-fold increased risk of dementia (95% CI = 1.5–6.9) and a 3.2-fold increased risk of AD (95% CI = 1.4–8.3). In terms of years lived without disease, weight loss was associated to a 2.3 and 2.5 years earlier onset of dementia and AD. Conclusions Accelerated progression towards dementia and AD is expected when weight loss is observed in MCI patients. Weight should be closely monitored in elderly with mild cognitive impairment.
Surprise and Curiosity for Big Data Robotics

This paper introduces a new perspective on curiosity and intrinsic motivation, viewed as the problem of generating behavior data for parallel off-policy learning. We provide 1) the ﬁrst measure of surprise based on off-policy general value function learning progress, 2) the ﬁrst investigation of reactive behavior control with parallel gradient temporal difference learning and function approximation, and 3) the ﬁrst demonstration of using curiosity driven control to react to a non-stationary learning task—all on a mobile robot. Our approach improves scalability over previous off-policy, robot learning systems, essential for making progress on the ultimate big-data decision making problem—life-long robot learning.
Intrinsic Shapes of Molecular Cloud Cores

We conduct an analysis of the shapes of molecular cloud cores using recently compiled catalogs of observed axis ratios of individual cores mapped in ammonia or through optical selection. We apply both analytical and statistical techniques to deproject the observed axis ratios in order to determine the true distribution of cloud core shapes. We find that neither pure oblate nor pure prolate cores can account for the observed distribution of core shapes. Intrinsically triaxial cores produce distributions that agree with observations. The best-fit triaxial distribution contains cores that are more nearly oblate than prolate.
The Cyclical Volatility of Labor Markets under Frictional Financial Markets

We provide a dynamic extension of an economy with search on credit and labor markets (Wasmer and Weil 2004). Financial frictions create volatility. They add an additional, almost acyclical, entry cost to procyclical job creation costs, thus increasing the elasticity of labor market tightness to productivity shocks by a factor of five to eight, compared to a matching economy with perfect financial markets. We characterize a dynamic financial multiplier that is increasing in total financial costs and minimized under a credit market Hosios- Pissarides rule. Financial frictions are an element of the solution to the volatility puzzle. (JEL C78, E24, E32, E44, G21, J63)
SELF-REGULATION AND INTERACTIVITY TYPES AS THE PREDICTORS OF LEARNER SATISFACTION WITH FLIPPED COURSES: EVIDENCE FROM A VOCATIONAL COLLEGE

Learner satisfaction, which implies learners’ positive perceptions of their learning experiences in a particular learning environment, is assumed to be a critical indicator of academic achievement as well as the effectiveness of a method. Flipped courses, receiving a growing interest among contemporary instructional designs, appear to be a promising pedagogical model that entails high learner satisfaction through a variety of features. One is related to learners’ self-management of their own learning processes throughout the courses. The other feature is about the way learners interact with their instructors, peers and the content. A lack of appropriate educational technology would lead to limited interactivity and self-regulation, which might in turn decrease learners’ satisfaction with the courses. In this study, we assessed the values of self-regulation and interactivity features (the interactivity among learners, between learners and the instructor, and between learners and the course content) as the factors impacting learners’ satisfaction with the flipped courses. The participants ( n =243) were from a two-year vocational college and took the courses Computer Use, Operating Systems, and Computer Programming in a flipped way in the 2015–2016 academic year. The data were collected via an online questionnaire and analyzed through linear regression analyses. The general results of the study revealed that self-regulation, interactivity between learners and the course content and among learners were found to be the significant predictors of learner satisfaction with the flipped courses. On the other hand, the interactivity between learners and the instructor did not appear to effect learners’ satisfaction with the flipped courses, which could imply the changing role of instructors in contemporary learning environments. Accordingly, the flipped courses seem to eliminate the traditional role of instructors (being at the center of all interactions) and bring the self-regulation along with the interactivity among learners and with the course content to the front.
The Test Anxiety Measure for College Students: Examination of Its Psychometric Properties Using an Online Survey With a Canadian Sample

The psychometric properties of a new multidimensional measure of test anxiety, the Test Anxiety Measure for College Students (TAM-C), based on theory and current research were examined in a sample of 312 Canadian college students online. The TAM-C consists of a Facilitating Anxiety scale and five test anxiety (Cognitive Interference, Physiological Hyperarousal, Social Concerns, Task Irrelevant Behaviors, and Worry) scales. Results of confirmatory factor analyses validated the TAM-C six-factor structure. In addition, composite reliabilities were reported to be adequate. Furthermore, convergent and discriminant evidence of validity was found for the TAM-C scores. These findings are the first to be reported on the psychometric properties of the TAM-C scores outside the United States. Although additional research is needed with the TAM-C, it has the potential to become a useful measure to Canadian mental health professionals in their work with test-anxious college students.
Regulatory Flexibility

People respond to stressful events in different ways, depending on the event and on the regulatory strategies they choose. Coping and emotion regulation theorists have proposed dynamic models in which these two factors, the person and the situation, interact over time to inform adaptation. In practice, however, researchers have tended to assume that particular regulatory strategies are consistently beneficial or maladaptive. We label this assumption the fallacy of uniform efficacy and contrast it with findings from a number of related literatures that have suggested the emergence of a broader but as yet poorly defined construct that we refer to as regulatory flexibility. In this review, we articulate this broader construct and define both its features and limitations. Specifically, we propose a heuristic individual differences framework and review research on three sequential components of flexibility for which propensities and abilities vary: sensitivity to context, availability of a diverse repertoire of regulatory strategies, and responsiveness to feedback. We consider the methodological limitations of research on each component, review questions that future research on flexibility might address, and consider how the components might relate to each other and to broader conceptualizations about stability and change across persons and situations.
Predicting the continuance usage of information systems: A comparison of three alternative models

This study examines the explanatory power of three prospective models in predicting usersi¦ continuous adoption of information system. The three models include: Expectation-Confirmation Theory Model (ECTM, Model 1), the integration of ECTM with Technology Acceptance Model (ECT-TAM, Model 2), and a hybrid model integrating ECT, TAM and emotions (Model 3). Three hundred and fifty web portal site users were obtained from a survey. Data analysis using LISREL shows that all three models meet the various goodness-of-fit criteria. In terms of variance explained for intention to continue IS usage, all three models perform equally well. As for the explanatory power of satisfaction, Model 3 has the highest R2 (71%), followed by Model 2 (69%), and Model 1 (68%). This result confirms the erstwhile discussion of continuance intention behavior in which adding emotion factors to the cognitive process model will enhance the predictive power of the satisfaction.
Análisis de la relación entre las dimensiones del WISC-IV y el test de la mirada en población infantil y adolescentes con TEA de alto funcionamiento.

El autismo es un sindrome conductual que engloba un grupo de trastornos neuropsiquiatricos con unas caracteristicas clinicas comunes, pero de dificil categorizacion etiologica y diagnostica. El objetivo general de la presente Tesis Doctoral es el estudio de la relacion entre el cociente cognitivo total y los diferentes subtests del test de inteligencia WISC-IV y los resultados obtenidos en el Reading the Mind in the Eye Test (RMET) en ninos y adolescentes con diagnostico de sindrome de Asperger. En un primer estudio empirico se realiza una exhaustiva revision bibliografica sobre la relacion entre el cociente de inteligencia total, verbal y manipulativa y el rendimiento en el RMET. Los resultados obtenidos en este estudio demuestran que existe una diferencia importante entre los individuos diagnosticados dentro del trastorno generalizado del desarrollo y los diagnosticados de sindrome de Asperger, sugiriendo la necesidad de hacer una separacion en los diagnosticos clinicos dentro de los individuos con clinica compatible con el espectro autista. Por ello para completar el estudio, en un segundo estudio empirico se ha evaluado y caracterizado mediante un estudio descriptivo y comparativo transversal, una cohorte de 84 ninos y adolescentes diagnosticados de sindrome de Asperger. Se ha realizado una evaluacion de su cociente intelectual total y de los diferentes subtests del test de inteligencia WISC-IV para ninos y adolescentes y la realizacion del RMET version para ninos. En este estudio se ha demostrado una debil correlacion positiva entre el RMET y la inteligencia cognitiva total, el razonamiento perceptivo, la memoria de trabajo y la comprension verbal pero no con la velocidad de procesamiento. Estos resultados son consistentes con los encontrados en el primer estudio de esta Tesis Doctoral, en el que se encontro una debil correlacion positiva entre la inteligencia cognitiva total y el RMET en individuos diagnosticados con sindrome de Asperger. Estos resultados sugieren que, al existir una correlacion debil entre el rendimiento en el RMET y la inteligencia cognitiva total, funcionarian de manera independiente en estos individuos. Por tanto, teniendo en cuenta el objetivo general de la presente Tesis Doctoral y tras haber focalizado el estudio en ninos y adolescentes con diagnostico de sindrome de Asperger, se ha observado que los resultados difieren mucho al analizar por separado esta nosologia del resto de los trastornos del espectro autista. A su vez, podemos concluir que el RMET y el cociente de inteligencia total funcionan de forma independiente en estos individuos, por lo que se deberia tener en cuenta en futuros estudios de investigacion que incluyan participantes con sindrome de Asperger.
Storm Clouds on the Horizon? New Entry Threats and R&D Investments in the U.S. IT Industry

We examine how firms in the IT industry adjust their innovation strategy as a response to the potential entry threats they face in their product markets. While turbulence in the product markets caused by startups affects an incumbent firm’s investment decisions, prior research has provided contrasting theoretical predictions on the relationship between new entry threats and innovation strategy. In addition, the absence of acceptable industry classifications for startups, as well as the inability to accurately gauge when they represent a credible threat has limited empirical research into this question. In this paper, we first contribute a new measure of identifying these threats through text analyses based on product descriptions provided by incumbent firm 10-K filings and business descriptions provided by start-ups. This new measure differs significantly from approaches that use static industry classifications, which are backward-looking and do not fully account for industry evolution over time. We show the text-based measure captures entry threats from the startup space through a series of validation tests. Second, using a sample of U.S. IT firms over the period 1997-2013, we show that incumbent firms react to new entry threats by systematically reducing innovation investments. We show these effects to be robust to a series of regression specifications addressing the endogeneity of new entry threats. Interestingly, we also find that in the face of intensive new entry threats, firms with diversified product portfolios are less aggressive in terms of reducing their innovation spending, compared to specialized firms. We discuss the research and practice implications of the new text-based measure for new entry threats as well as the responses to these threats by incumbents in the paper.
Online Active Calibration for a Multi-LRF System

Multi-LRF(Laser Range Finder) systems have been broadly utilized in sensor fusion for automobile. In order to convert multiple LRF data into a unified coordinate system, we have to obtain the rigid transformation among multi-LRF. In this paper, we propose a new algorithm for online extrinsic calibration of multi-LRFs by observing a planar checkerboard pattern and solving for transformation between the views of a planar checkerboard from a camera and multi-LRF. Existing LRF calibration is achieved by freely moving a checkerboard pattern and conducting much offline optimization. Compared with traditional algorithm, the advantages of our approach are twofold. Firstly, adopting the noise of images and LRF depth readings, we can exactly calculate the exact position and pose of the checkerboard that can largely reduce the transformation error. Secondly, the complete calibration process is online, which means the exact position and pose of the checkerboard can be obtained in real-time and manipulated by robotic arm. In the end, our calibration approach is validated through real experiments that show the superiority with respect to the state-of-art methods.
Motives for Intercultural Friendships in Higher Education: A Case Study of First-year ESL Students and Native Speakers of English

Abstract This paper investigated the formation of intercultural friendship between native speakers of English and first-year ESL students at a large urban university in the Free State Province. Qualitative approach was used with open-ended questionnaires and in-depth interviews to collect data to understand factors that lead to the formation of intercultural friendship. The research population of this study included fifty first-year students (twenty-five females and twenty-five males). The study found that personal liking, similar values and beliefs facilitated social contact among students from different cultures. The results suggest that intercultural friendship provides students with the opportunity to learn each other’s cultural beliefs, values and languages which underpin the Interdependence Theory. This study recommends that higher education institutions should encourage academics to infuse intercultural friendship as an adjustment and teaching and learning tool to celebrate multiculturalism within and outside the classroom.