Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Distributed network size estimation and average degree estimation and control in networks isomorphic to directed graphs

Many properties of interest in graph structures are based on the nodes' average degree (i.e., the average number of edges incident to/from each node). In this work, we present asynchronous distributed algorithms, based on ratio consensus, that can be used to accurately estimate the number of nodes in a multi-component system whose communication topology is described by a directed graph. In addition, we describe an asynchronous distributed algorithm that allows each node to introduce or terminate links in order to reach a target average degree in the network. Such an approach can be useful in many realistic scenarios; for example, for the introduction and removal of renewable energy resources in a power network, while maintaining an average degree that fulfils some structural and dynamical properties and/or optimises some performance indicators of the network. The effectiveness of the proposed algorithms is demonstrated via illustrative examples.
Nearest Neighbor Classification in 3D Protein Databases

In molecular databases, structural classification is a basic task that can be successfully approached by nearest neighbor methods. The underlying similarity models consider spatial properties such as shape and extension as well as thematic attributes. We introduce 3D shape histograms as an intuitive and powerful approach to model similarity for solid objects such as molecules. Errors of measurement, sampling, and numerical rounding may result in small displacements of atomic coordinates. These effects may be handled by using quadratic form distance functions. An efficient processing of similarity queries based on quadratic forms is supported by a filter-refinement architecture. Experiments on our 3D protein database demonstrate the high classification accuracy of more than 90% and the good performance of the technique.
Preparing Our Teachers for Distance Education

Abstract. Much of the focus in the distance education (DE) literature centers around the learner and learning, almost to the exclusion of the teacher and teaching. Consequently, instructors of DE courses have been left suspended in virtual space. This article focuses on the teachers' position in the DE course content, especially with respect to the type of training they receive. An example of an alternate mode of teacher preparation is presented and suggestions for improvement in DE teacher training are discussed.
Effectance Motivation, Perceived Scholastic Competence, and Higher-Order Thinking in Two Cooperative Computer Environments

The purpose of the study was twofold. First, we examined social-contextual experiences hypothesized to contribute to the development of effectance motivation and perceived competence. We took observational measures at the initiation and termination of two educational computer interventions—Logo and curriculum-based instruction in writing (CBI-W) — as forty-eight third-grade students worked in pairs. Second, we examined the extent to which posttreatment group differences in teacher ratings of effectance motivation and self-ratings of perceived competence explained previously-documented posttreatment differences in cognitive performance [1]. Results suggested that evaluation of success was internally determined in the Logo environment, though students still sought external approval. Although students exhibited a higher frequency of difficult and failure experiences, Logo enhanced effectance motivation and higher-order thinking. Furthermore, Logo may foster cognitive growth in part by engendering effectance motivation.
Impact of Specific Training in Detecting Osteoporotic Vertebral Fractures on Routine Chest Radiographs

Abstract Purpose: Vertebral fractures are the most common complication of osteoporosis. Routine chest radiographs are a potential screening method, but a significant under-reporting has been described previously. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of a specific training on the detection rate of vertebral fractures of a radiology resident. Materials and Methods: 936 routine lateral chest radiographs of postmenopausal women were evaluated by a radiology resident (R1) during clinical routine. After the evaluation of 470 radiographs (pre-training group), R1 underwent a specific training based on the teaching initiative of the IOF/ESSR. Afterwards the remaining 466 radiographs were evaluated (post-training group). As a standard of reference, all radiographs were reviewed by two radiologists in consensus (R2 + 3). A semi-quantitative method (spinal fracture index, SFI) was used to assess vertebral fractures. Results: Kappa-values as statistical measure of agreement between R1 and R2 + 3 for the detection of vertebral fractures (Genant Severity > 0) increased from κ = 0.311 (95 % CI: 0.217 – 0.405; “fair agreement”) in the pre-training group to κ = 0,882 (95 % CI: 0,835 – 0,929; “almost perfect agreement”) in the post-training group. Similar results were observed for severe fractures (Genant Severity > 1). Especially fractures with Genant Severity 1 were not detected by R1 before training. Conclusion: A brief training is essential to increase the awareness of radiologists to correctly report osteoporotic vertebral fractures and may help to initiate appropriate therapy in patients with vertebral fractures. Key Points: The awareness of radiologists regarding the correct reporting of vertebral fractures is in need of improvement. The detection of vertebral fractures improves with targeted training. The teaching initiative of the IOF/ESSR is suitable for this. Citation Format: Gruber M. , Dinges J., Müller D. et al. Impact of Specific Training in Detecting Osteoporotic Vertebral Fractures on Routine Chest Radiographs. Fortschr Röntgenstr 2013; 185: 1074 – 1080
A task-based crowdsourcing typology

When trying to develop a typology about how the crowd works on the Internet, different points of view can be applied. A typology can be developed based on the kind of crowd that participates, the specific area in which the crowd is going to work on, the kind of reward the crowd obtains in exchange, etc. It's also important to have into account the process in which the crowd gets involved. The crowd can participate, for example, in open-innovation or co-creation initiatives. Each one will have its own particularities that will determine the resulting possible typologies. In this paper, a task-based approach to crowdsourcing is exposed and reviewed.
Justin Smith Morrill: Father of the Land-Grant Colleges

Almost every land-grant college or university in the US has a building named for Justin Smith Morrill, yet few understand his contribution. Cross, a professional historian employed by the US Air Force, reveals a complex and influential political figure who, as chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, influenced
External Search Effort: An Investigation across Several Product Categories

Utilizing an involvement perspective and Punj and Stewart's (1983) interaction framework of decision making, the relationship between external search effort and a number of motivating antecedent variables is investigated and evaluated across five related consumer electronic products. The findings confirm four of five hypothesized relationships between total search effort and the following variables: purchase involvement (+), attitudes toward shopping (+), time availability (+), and product class knowledge (−). The relationship between ego involvement and total search effort was not significant. The influence of these variables upon a number of subindices of external search, including retailer search, media search, interpersonal search, and neutral sources search, is also investigated and reported.
The Price Impact of Institutional Herding

In this paper we develop a simple theoretical model to analyze the impact of institutional herding on asset prices. A growing empirical literature has come to the intriguing conclusion that institutional herding positively predicts short-term returns but negatively predicts long-term returns. We offer a theoretical resolution to this dichotomy. In our model, career-concerned money managers interact with profit-motivated proprietary traders and security dealers endowed with market power. We show that the reputational concerns of fund managers imply an endogenous tendency to imitate past trades, which impacts the prices of the assets they trade. In our main result, we show that institutional herding positively predicts short-term returns but negatively predicts long-term returns. Our theory thus provides a simple and unified framework within which to interpret the empirical literature on the price impact of institutional herding. In addition, our paper generates several new testable predictions linking institutional herding behavior, trading volume, and the time-series properties of stock returns.
Motor skills in Australian children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

The motor skills of 38 children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) were assessed. The majority of children had gross and fine motor skills within the normal range, with age appropriate coordination. Gross motor skills were a relative strength compared with fine motor skills. Parents' ratings of children's motor skills were generally lower than performance as indicated by standardised assessment. It is proposed that attention and concentration deficits account for the perception that children with ADHD have impaired motor skills as indicated by the lower ratings of parents in this domain, and for the fact that gross motor skills were stronger than fine motor skills, i.e. that fine motor skills require greater application to task and therefore may be more susceptible to concentration difficulties. Intervention should be aimed at assisting children to develop strategies to promote attention within the various environments where they are required to participate.
Systemic factors and epileptic brain damage. Prolonged seizures in paralyzed, artificially ventilated baboons.

Prolonged electroencephalographic seizures were induced by the intravenous injection of bicuculline (0.5 to 1.4 mg/kg) in adolescent Papio papio , while they were paralyzed and artificially ventilated on air or oxygen. Physiological monitoring revealed an initial increase in cerebral blood flow. Arterial oxygen tension remained steady or decreased slightly. Rectal temperature rose, but did not exceed 40.0 C. After perfusion-fixation of the brain, light microscopy revealed neurons with ischemic cell change in seven animals who had had seizures lasting three hours 25 minutes to seven hours 30 minutes. These changes predominated in the neocortex (small pyramidal neurons), thalamus (anterior, dorsomedial, and ventral nuclei), and hippocampus (Sommer sector and endfolium). Comparison with our previous studies in nonparalyzed baboons indicates that paralysis provides partial protection against neuronal damage in the neocortex and hippocampus. Cerebellar damage (related to hyperpyrexia and arterial hypotension) is almost totally prevented by paralysis.
A Note on the Influence of Outliers on Parametric and Nonparametric Tests

Abstract Extremely deviant scores, or outliers, reduce the probability of Type I errors of the Student t test and, at the same time, substantially increase the probability of Type II errors, so that power declines. The magnitude of the change depends jointly on the probability of occurrence of an outlier and its extremity, or its distance from the mean. Although outliers do not modify the probability of Type I errors of the Mann-Whitney-Wilcoxon test, they nevertheless increase the probability of Type II errors and reduce power. The effect on this nonparametric test depends largely on the probability of occurrence and not the extremity. Because deviant scores influence the t test to a relatively greater extent, the nonparametric method acquires an advantage for outlier-prone densities despite its loss of power.
Mercury exposure and reproduction in fish‐eating birds breeding in the Pinchi Lake region, British Columbia, Canada

To determine whether Hg from geologic/mining‐related sources at Pinchi Lake (BC, Canada) was causing elevated Hg exposure and/or adversely affecting reproduction in fish‐eating birds, breeding bald eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) on Pinchi Lake and four nearby reference lakes were sampled for blood and feather Hg concentrations and monitored for reproductive success during the summers of 2000, 2001, and 2002. Eggs of red‐necked grebes (Podiceps grisgena) also were collected and analyzed. Mercury levels in species at various trophic levels from Pinchi Lake averaged approximately twice those in the same species from nearby lakes combined, even in the absence of substantial new inputs of Hg to Pinchi Lake over several decades. In Pinchi Lake, Hg concentrations in blood and feathers of eagles and eggs of grebes were significantly higher than those in corresponding samples from reference lakes. However, the mean Hg concentration (0.25 μg/g wet wt) in grebe eggs from Pinchi Lake was substantially lower than accepted threshold levels for reproductive toxicity in most avian species (0.5–1.0 μg/g wet wt). Mercury concentrations in the blood of adult eagles and their chicks were highly correlated (r = 0.91, p = 0.004). Despite elevated Hg exposure in adult eagles nesting on Pinchi Lake (blood Hg concentration, 4.3–9.4 μg/ml), birds appeared to be in good body condition, did not differ significantly in terms of weight from eagles nesting on reference lakes, and exhibited no evidence of obvious abnormal behavior or lack of coordination. Eagle reproductive success and productivity on Pinchi Lake were not significantly different from those on all reference lakes combined (p = 0.483).
VITREORETINAL COMPLICATIONS IN EYES WITH BOSTON KERATOPROSTHESIS TYPE I

Purpose: To describe the spectrum of vitreoretinal complications in eyes with Boston keratoprosthesis type I and evaluate the treatment outcomes. Methods: This was a retrospective interventional case series of 23 of 45 eyes that underwent Boston keratoprosthesis from April 2003 to December 2013 and developed vitreoretinal complications. Types of vitreoretinal complications, surgical techniques, and anatomical and visual outcomes were analyzed. Results: Vitreoretinal complications in eyes with Boston keratoprosthesis included retroprosthetic membranes (n = 11), retinal detachment (n = 6), endophthalmitis (n = 4), epiretinal membrane (n = 4), vitreous hemorrhage (n = 2), and choroidal detachment (n = 1). Twenty of 23 eyes (87%) underwent surgical intervention. Retinal reattachment was achieved in 5 eyes (83%) with significant visual improvement in 3 (50%). Mean preoperative visual acuity improved from 1.84 ± 0.89 logMAR to 1.5 ± 0.87 logMAR (P = 0.01) at the last follow-up. Mean 1.4 surgical procedures were performed per eye. Mean follow-up was 28 months (median: 28 months, range: 5–57 months). Conclusion: Retroprosthetic membrane and retinal detachment are most common vitreoretinal complications in eyes with Boston keratoprosthesis. Vitreoretinal complications can be managed by appropriate intervention in such eyes with encouraging anatomical and functional results.
Characterization of VPS34, a gene required for vacuolar protein sorting and vacuole segregation in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

VPS34 gene function is required for the efficient localization of a variety of vacuolar proteins. We have cloned and sequenced the wild-type VPS34 gene in order to gain a better understanding of the role of its protein product in this intracellular sorting pathway. Interestingly, disruption of the VPS34 locus resulted in a temperature-sensitive growth defect, indicating that the VPS34 gene is essential for vegetative growth only at elevated growth temperatures. As with the original vps34 alleles, vps34 null mutants exhibited severe vacuolar protein sorting defects and possessed a morphologically normal vacuolar structure. The VPS34 gene DNA sequence identifies an open reading frame that could encode a hydrophilic protein of 875 amino acids. The predicted protein sequence lacks any apparent signal sequence or membrane-spanning domains, suggesting that Vps34p does not enter the secretory pathway. Results from immunoprecipitation experiments with antiserum prepared against a TrpE-Vps34 fusion protein were consistent with this prediction: a rare, unglycosylated protein of approximately 95,000 Da was detected in extracts of wild-type Saccharomyces cerevisiae cells. Cell fractionation studies indicated that a significant portion of the Vps34p is found associated with a particulate fraction of yeast cells. This particulate Vps34p was readily solubilized by treatment with 2 M urea but not with Triton X-100, suggesting that the presence of Vps34p in this pelletable structure is mediated by protein-protein interactions. vp34 mutant cells also exhibited a defect in the normal partitioning of the vacuolar compartment between mother and daughter cells during cell division. In more than 80% of the delta vps34 dividing cells examined, no vacuolar structures were observed in the newly emerging bud, whereas in wild-type dividing cells, more than 95% of the buds had a detectable vacuolar compartment. Our results suggest that the Vps34p may act as a component of a relatively large intracellular structure that functions to facilitate specific steps of the vacuolar protein delivery and inheritance pathways.
Underwater 3D Reconstruction Based on Physical Models for Refraction and Underwater Light Propagation

In recent years, underwater imaging has gained a lot of popularity partly due to the availability of off-the-shelf consumer cameras, but also due to a growing interest in the ocean floor by science and industry. Apart from capturing single images or sequences, the application of methods from the area of computer vision has gained interest as well. However, water affects image formation in two major ways. First, while traveling through the water, light is attenuated and scattered, depending on the light's wavelength causing the typical strong green or blue hue in underwater images. Second, cameras used in underwater scenarios need to be confined in an underwater housing, viewing the scene through a flat or dome-shaped glass port. The inside of the housing is filled with air. Consequently, the light entering the housing needs to pass a water-glass interface, then a glass-air interface, thus is refracted twice, affecting underwater image formation geometrically. In classic Structure-from-Motion (SfM) approaches, the perspective camera model is usually assumed, however, it can be shown that it becomes invalid due to refraction in underwater scenarios. Therefore, this thesis proposes an adaptation of the SfM algorithm to underwater image formation with flat port underwater housings, i.e. introduces a method where refraction at the underwater housing is modeled explicitly. This includes a calibration approach, algorithms for relative and absolute pose estimation, an efficient, non-linear error function that is utilized in bundle adjustment, and a refractive plane sweep algorithm. Finally, if calibration data for an underwater light propagation model exists, the dense depth maps can be used to correct texture colors. Experiments with a perspective and the proposed refractive approach to 3D reconstruction revealed that the perspective approach does indeed suffer from a systematic model error depending on the distance between camera and glass and a possible tilt of the glass with respect to the image sensor. The proposed method shows no such systematic error and thus provides more accurate results for underwater image sequences.
Bio-inspired trajectory generation for UAV perching

This paper represents a bio-inspired trajectory generation (path planning) method for UAV perching. The method is based on the tau theory which was established from studying the natural motion behaviors when animals (including humans) approaching and catching a fixed or moving object. In our research, the tau theory is applied to the trajectory generation problem of a UAV perching on a target object. Two perching scenarios have been studied, one from a flight state (with non-zero initial velocity) and one from a hovering state (with zero initial velocity). Three strategies, namely, perching with a straight-line trajectory, perching with pitch angle coupling, and perching with pitch/yaw angular coupling, are demonstrated with each of the two scenarios. The simulation results show that the resulting flight trajectories meet all the desired requirements for a rotary UAV to perch on an object.
A hardware-assisted hybrid rendering technique for interactive volume visualization

The scientific simulation and three-dimensional imaging systems in use today are producing large quantities of data that range from gigabytes to petabytes in size. Direct volume rendering, using hardware-based three-dimensional textures, is a common technique for interactively exploring these data sets. The most serious drawback of this approach is the finite amount of available texture memory. In this paper we introduce a hybrid volume rendering technique based on the use of hardware texture mapping and point-based rendering. This approach allows us to leverage the performance of hardware-based volume rendering and the flexibility of a point-based rendering to generate a more efficient representation that makes possible interactive exploration of large-scale data using a single PC.
Visual traffic surveillance framework: classification to event detection

Abstract. Visual traffic surveillance using computer vision techniques can be noninvasive, automated, and cost effective. Traffic surveillance systems with the ability to detect, count, and classify vehicles can be employed in gathering traffic statistics and achieving better traffic control in intelligent transportation systems. However, vehicle classification poses a difficult problem as vehicles have high intraclass variation and relatively low interclass variation. Five different object recognition techniques are investigated: principal component analysis (PCA)+difference from vehicle space, PCA+difference in vehicle space, PCA+support vector machine, linear discriminant analysis, and constellation-based modeling applied to the problem of vehicle classification. Three of the techniques that performed well were incorporated into a unified traffic surveillance system for online classification of vehicles, which uses tracking results to improve the classification accuracy. To evaluate the accuracy of the system, 31 min of traffic video containing multilane traffic intersection was processed. It was possible to achieve classification accuracy as high as 90.49% while classifying correctly tracked vehicles into four classes: cars, SUVs/vans, pickup trucks, and buses/semis. While processing a video, our system also recorded important traffic parameters such as the appearance, speed, trajectory of a vehicle, etc. This information was later used in a search assistant tool to find interesting traffic events.