Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Viewpoint Estimation in Three-Dimensional Images Taken with Perspective Range Sensors

We present a method for estimating the viewpoint from which a 3D image has been taken using a central-projection range sensor. We assume we have the 3D coordinates of the points, organized with a known topology, but considerable noise is present in the data. At points in the scene where there are surface discontinuities, we estimate step rays through a linear interpolation. The viewpoint is found as the point of minimum distance to the set of step rays. To cope with noise, we define an unbiased distance measure. The minimization of the sum of distances provides the viewpoint. We present results of several experiments carried out with 3D images of an old church.
The successful implementation of customer relationship management (CRM) system projects

We draw on information systems (IS) implementation, business process reengineering, and relationship management research to identify specific interventions that contribute to successful implementation of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system projects. These interventions are examined across multiple cases, which depict varying levels of performance outcomes. The analysis not only confirms the important role of top management found in early studies on IS implementation and information integration, but provides a more granular assessment of these executive level interventions. The study also shines light on the role of CRM system characteristics and cooperative cross-functional and inter-organizational relationships in facilitating successful implementation of CRM systems. Researchers and managers need to consider these interventions in the context of information systems that not only impact multiple functional units but also external business partners. The results of the study provide managers with insights into areas where they can successfully intervene to manage the behavioral aspects of CRM system projects, make effective resource allocation decisions, and better plan for system functionality and structural issues. The propositions derived from the data will provide scholars with impetus for further research in clarifying the formula for successful CRM system implementation.
Maximum lilkelihood estimation in the $\beta$-model

We study maximum likelihood estimation for the statistical model for undirected random graphs, known as the $\beta$-model, in which the degree sequences are minimal sufficient statistics. We derive necessary and sufficient conditions, based on the polytope of degree sequences, for the existence of the maximum likelihood estimator (MLE) of the model parameters. We characterize in a combinatorial fashion sample points leading to a nonexistent MLE, and nonestimability of the probability parameters under a nonexistent MLE. We formulate conditions that guarantee that the MLE exists with probability tending to one as the number of nodes increases.
On the Grone-Merris conjecture

Grone and Merris [GM94] conjectured that the Laplacian spectrum of a graph is majorized by its conjugate vertex degree sequence. We prove that this conjecture holds for a class of graphs including trees. We also show that this conjecture and its generalization to graphs with Dirichlet boundary conditions are equivalent.
Marble track music sequencers for children

We discuss the development of electronically enhanced construction kits for marble tracks that act as music sequencers for music education of young children. Marbles rolling along the tracks trigger sound events to produce the playback of musical notes and songs. Re-arrangeable tangible elements correspond to timing, durations and pitches of notes and thus allow electronic music sequencing by means of haptic programming. This approach to early music education separates the different tasks of melody making and instrument manipulation, aiming at faster success and fewer frustrating learning experiences. We present two marble track designs: an earlier one, which is based on a central synthesizer and a system-wide communication bus and a second one based on multiple decentralized synthesizer units. We discuss previous work in the field of machine-readable models and haptic programming and report on experiences with both sequencer designs including user tests of the second design.
Optimizing Charm + + over MPI

Charm++ may employ any of a myriad network-specific APIs for handling communication, which are usually promoted as being faster than its catch-all MPI module. Such a performance difference not only causes development effort to be spent on tuning vendor-specific APIs but also discourages hybrid Charm++/MPI applications. We investigate this disparity across several machines and applications, ranging from small InfiniBand clusters to Blue Gene/Q supercomputers and from synthetic benchmarks to large-scale biochemistry codes. We demonstrate the use of one feature from the recent MPI-3 standard to bridge this gap where applicable, and we discuss what can be done today.
Combined fat- and water-suppressed MR imaging of orbital tumors.

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE The use of a high-resolution T2-weighted MR sequence, which suppresses signal from both fat and water, has been shown to be highly effective for depicting areas of inflammatory damage within the optic nerve. The ability of this sequence to show neoplastic and inflammatory orbital lesions, which may mimic neuritis, is unknown. This study was designed to examine the characteristics of such a sequence for the investigation of orbital mass lesions. METHODS Twenty-eight patients with known or suspected mass lesions of the orbit and six healthy volunteers were recruited for study. Imaging was performed with a 1.5-T MR unit. Participants were examined by selective partial inversion recovery (SPIR) sequences with T2-weighted fast spin-echo acquisition, selective partial inversion recovery/fluid attenuated inversion recovery (SPIR/FLAIR) sequences with fast spin-echo acquisition, short tau inversion recovery (STIR) sequences with fast spin-echo acquisition, and SPIR sequences with contrast-enhanced T1-weighted fast spin-echo acquisition. Two neuroradiologists, using a randomised, blinded method, scored images for lesion presence and extent. Lesion extent was defined as the number of images with visible abnormality, and was compared with the standard of reference established at a later date by consensus review of all imaging sequences. The ability of the sequences to show the presence and extent of pathologic lesions was compared. RESULTS The SPIR/FLAIR sequence showed both the presence and extent of orbital masses significantly better than did either STIR or T2-weighted SPIR sequences (P<.01 and P<.001, respectively). Contrast-enhanced T1-weighted SPIR images ranked better than SPIR/FLAIR images, although the difference failed to reach statistical significance. In the orbital apex, the SPIR/FLAIR technique was superior to all other techniques used. This reflected its ability to distinguish enhancing, pathologic lesions from enhancing, normal anatomy. CONCLUSION SPIR/FLAIR is an appropriate screening technique for orbital masses and offers significant advantages over currently used fat-suppressed sequences for the investigation of orbital disease.
Doppler images of the eclipsing binary ER Vulpeculae

We present Doppler images of both components of the eclipsing binary system ER Vul, based on the spectra obtained in 2004 November, 2006 September and 2008 November. The least-squares deconvolution technique is used for enhancing the signal-to-noise ratios of the observed profiles. The new surface images reveal that both stars of ER Vul show strong starspot activities and the starspots appear at various latitudes. The surface maps of 2006 and 2008 both show the presence of large high-latitude starspots on each component of ER Vul. We find no obvious phase shift of the active regions during our observations. The longitude distributions of starspots are non-uniform on both stars. At low-to-mid latitudes, the active regions are almost exclusively found in the hemisphere facing the other star. However, we find no pronounced concentration of spots at the sub-stellar points.
Supply shocks and the distribution of price changes

Since the early 1970s, economists have gained an increased appreciation for the importance of supply shocks as sources of fluctuations in aggregate economic activity. Yet the question of how best to measure such shocks remains open. Traditionally, economists have assessed the importance of such shocks by looking at such things as the relative prices of oil or agricultural commodities. Recently, however, it has been suggested that changes in the distribution of price changes for individual commodities may, in fact, be a superior indicator of changes in aggregate supply conditions. In this article, Nathan Balke and Mark Wynne assess this argument in the context of a very simple but well-known model of the aggregate economy. They show that fluctuations in the rate of technological progress across sectors are indeed reflected in the cross-section distribution of prices, lending support to the idea that this may be a superior measure of supply shocks. However, Balke and Wynne raise questions about the interpretation of the relationship between changes in the distribution of price changes for individual commodities and aggregate inflation as evidence of price stickiness.
Tracking Error Models for Multiple Benchmarks

We propose a new multiple-benchmark tracking-error model for portfolio selection problem. The tracking error of a portfolio from a set of benchmark portfolios is defined as the difference between its return and the highest return from the set of benchmarks. We derive closedform solution of our portfolio strategy, whose main component is the sum of the benchmark portfolios weighted by their respective probabilities of attaining the highest return among the portfolios in the benchmark. These probabilities, also known as the persistency values, are less sensitive to estimation errors in the means and covariances. These features help to stabilize the computational performance of our portfolio strategy against estimation errors. We use the proposed model to address several pertinent issues in active portfolio management: (1) What are the benefits in tracking performance of multiple benchmarks? We demonstrate that under suitable conditions, multiple benchmarks tracking error model can actually produce portfolio strategy that has less variability in portfolio returns, compared to the portfolio strategy constructed using single benchmark model, given a fixed target rate of returns. This addresses the agency issue in this problem, as portfolio managers are more concerned with variability of the excess returns above the benchmark, whereas the investors are more concerned with the variability of the total returns. (2) How and when to rebalance the portfolio allocation when prices and asset returns change over time, taking into account transaction cost? We show that our model can control for transaction cost by adding the buy-and-hold strategy into the set of benchmark portfolios. This approach reduces drastically the transaction volume of several popular static portfolio rules executed dynamically over time. Last but not least, we perform comprehensive numerical experiments with various empirical data sets to demonstrate tha our approach can consistently provide higher net Sharpe ratio (after accounting for transaction cost), higher net aggregate return, and lower turnover rate, compared to ten different benchmark portfolios proposed in the literature, including the equally weighted portfolio (the 1/N strategy). ∗Department of Decision Sciences, NUS Business School, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Email: bizxuy@nus.edu. sg. Part of this work was done when the author was at the Department of Mathematics, Faculty of Science, National University of Singapore, Singapore. †Department of Decision Sciences, NUS Business School, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Email: zhichao@nus.edu. sg ‡Department of Engineering Systems and Design, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore. Email: natarajan karthik@sutd.edu. sg §Department of Decision Sciences, NUS Business School, National University of Singapore, Singapore. Email: bizteocp@nus.edu. sg
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Stress-induced Perinatal and Transgenerational Epigenetic Programming of Brain Development and Mental Health

Keywords: Maternal stress Prenatal stress Perinatal programming Glucocorticoids Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance Small non-coding RNA microRNA DNA methylation Epigenetics Gestation Pregnancy Maternal health Newborn health Brain development Aging Stress resilience Stress vulnerability Mental health Psychiatric disease Neurological disease Anxiety Depression a b s t r a c t Research efforts during the past decades have provided intriguing evidence suggesting that stressful experiences during pregnancy exert long-term consequences on the future mental wellbeing of both the mother and her baby. Recent human epidemiological and animal studies indicate that stressful experiences in utero or during early life may increase the risk of neurological and psychiatric disorders, arguably via altered epigenetic regulation. Epigenetic mechanisms, such as miRNA expression, DNA methylation, and histone modifications are prone to changes in response to stressful experiences and hostile environmental factors. Altered epigenetic regulation may potentially influence fetal endocrine programming and brain development across several generations. Only recently, however, more attention has been paid to possible transgenerational effects of stress. In this review we discuss the evidence of transgenera-tional epigenetic inheritance of stress exposure in human studies and animal models. We highlight the complex interplay between prenatal stress exposure, associated changes in miRNA expression and DNA methylation in placenta and brain and possible links to greater risks of schizophrenia, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, autism, anxiety-or depression-related disorders later in life. Based on existing evidence, we propose that prenatal stress, through the generation of epigenetic alterations, becomes one of the most powerful influences on mental health in later life. The consideration of ancestral and prena-tal stress effects on lifetime health trajectories is critical for improving strategies that support healthy development and successful aging.
A campaign-type cascade attaining stable popularity

Large-scale information cascades on online social networks (OSNs) have attracted a great deal of attention in various fields. Although the life times of most information cascades are quite short, some advertising campaigns occasionally generate long-lived cascades by adopting various dissemination strategies (e.g., rewards are given for promoting the dissemination). This paper focuses on one of such campaigns, the YOGUR STAND campaign on the Twitter network in Japan. Our data analysis indicates that the popularity of the campaign web page has two notable features. (1) It has elasticity. The impact of the large-scale Kumamoto earthquakes on the popularity was quite large as well as temporary. (2) It has stationarity. The YOGUR STAND account gained roughly the same (around 2,000) new followers every day.
Structuralizing Freeform Notes by Implicit Sketch Understanding

People are accustomed to capture important events and ideas by sketching notes on papers. Pen and paper offer people great freedom and naturalness to perform these activities. During note sketching, people generally don’t pay much attention to the organization of notes, instead they use implicit spatial relationships and concise informal organizing symbols to structuralize notes. We conducted a study to discover how people sketch and organize their notes. The structuralized notes are easy to be maintained, manipulated and reused. Based on our observations, we designed algorithms to structuralize freeform notes into a consistent hierarchical structure. Both implicit spatial parsing and gesture-based structuralizing are enabled. With the supports of these algorithms, we built a system SketchPoint notebook as a tool that allows a user to sketch various notes in a freeform manner. It conducts lazy note structuralizing implicitly. The structuralized notes of SketchPoint enable structure-semantics based ink manipulations that bring much efficiency to users.
The Role of the Craniocervical Junction in Craniospinal Hydrodynamics and Neurodegenerative Conditions

The craniocervical junction (CCJ) is a potential choke point for craniospinal hydrodynamics and may play a causative or contributory role in the pathogenesis and progression of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, MS, and ALS, as well as many other neurological conditions including hydrocephalus, idiopathic intracranial hypertension, migraines, seizures, silent-strokes, affective disorders, schizophrenia, and psychosis. The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the critical role of the CCJ in craniospinal hydrodynamics and to stimulate further research that may lead to new approaches for the prevention and treatment of the above neurodegenerative and neurological conditions.
Distance-Based and Low Energy Adaptive Clustering Protocol for Wireless Sensor Networks

A wireless sensor network (WSN) comprises small sensor nodes with limited energy capabilities. The power constraints of WSNs necessitate efficient energy utilization to extend the overall network lifetime of these networks. We propose a distance-based and low-energy adaptive clustering (DISCPLN) protocol to streamline the green issue of efficient energy utilization in WSNs. We also enhance our proposed protocol into the multi-hop-DISCPLN protocol to increase the lifetime of the network in terms of high throughput with minimum delay time and packet loss. We also propose the mobile-DISCPLN protocol to maintain the stability of the network. The modelling and comparison of these protocols with their corresponding benchmarks exhibit promising results.
On the sources of European regional convergence: Does social capital have an economic payoff?

Recent literature has shown how relevant social capital may be as an important determinant of economic growth. However, the empirical evidence in contexts such as Europe, particularly at the regional level, is still scant, and its likely implications for income convergence are entirely unexplored. We analyze how social capital has influenced per capita income convergence for 216 European Union (EU) regions, a relevant context not only in light of the cohesion policies but also due to the remarkable disparate social capital endowments at the regional level. By using the distribution dynamics approach to convergence analysis, results generally support the relevant conditioning role of social capital for per capita income convergence, although the impact varies depending on the dimension considered—social trust, participation in associations, or the quality of social norms.
Adaptive control of stochastic manufacturing systems with hidden Markovian demands and small noise

The adaptive production planning of failure-prone manufacturing systems is considered. In real manufacturing systems, the product demand is usually not known a priori. One of the major tasks in production scheduling is to estimate and predict the demand. We consider the demand to be either the sum of an unknown rate and a small white noise or the sum of a hidden Markov chain and a small white noise. An algorithm is given to define a family of estimates for the unknown demand processes. Based on this family of estimates, adaptive controls are constructed, which are shown to be asymptotically optimal.
c-Met and miRs in Cancer

c-Met, a member of the receptor tyrosine kinase family, is involved in a wide range of cellular processes, including tumor survival, cell growth, angiogenesis and metastasis, and resulting in overexpression in many human cancers, leading to a constitutive activation of the downstream pathways. Recently identified MicroRNAs are a family of small noncoding RNA molecules, extensively studied in cancer, that exert their action by inhibiting gene expression at the posttranscriptional level in several biological processes. Aberrant regulation of microRNAs expression has been implicated in the pathogenesis of different human neoplasia. Several publications point out the connections between c-Met and its ligand hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) and microRNAs. This review summarizes the current knowledge about the interplay between c-Met/HGF and microRNAs and provides evidence that microRNAs are a novel and additional system to regulate c-Met expression in tumors. In the future, microRNAs connected to c-Met may provide an additional option to inhibiting this oncogene from orchestrating an invasive growth program.
Social Partnership, Competitiveness and Exit from Fiscal Crisis

The contribution of social partnership to Ireland’s economic boom remains the subject of controversy. This paper analyses at a theoretical level how a multi-period deal on wages and taxation of the type struck in the late 1980s could enhance competitiveness and facilitate an economy in escaping from fiscal crisis. Such a deal would not be possible in a spot labour market. The high unemployment rates of the late 1980s suggest that the Irish labour market of the time cannot be characterised as a spot labour market, however, and such a deal could be struck under these circumstances. Short-term tax reductions would have worsened the short-term budgetary position and hence would have been politically unacceptable. An agreement entailing a commitment by government to future tax reductions in exchange for current wage moderation on the part of organised labour imparts a supply-side stimulus to the economy and improves the immediate fiscal position. The concluding comments provide a gloomy assessment of whether partnership could play an equivalent role in the current recessionary environment.
A Simulated Annealing Algorithm for Progressive Mesh Optimization

This paper presents a novel progressive mesh model based on collapse tree, which can accomplish the disordered expansions and collapses of the simplified mesh and is able to restore the mesh just in a specific area. With arbitrary collapse and expansion, we design an edge collapse algorithm for mesh optimization. Its summary process can be described as follows: generating a series of new simplified meshes through the two operations from the original mesh, meanwhile, controlling the process by simulated annealing algorithm to optimize the mesh constantly, looking forward to a better simplified mesh on global scale
Paternal Care May Influence Perceptions of Paternal Resemblance

Father-child resemblance is increasingly attracting attention from researchers interested in studying paternal investment. The current study sought to determine whether a quasi-experimental infant massage intervention would increase father's perceptions of resemblance. The study included a dozen fathers in each of two groups: the first received an intensive series of lessons on infant-father massage along with their infants, while the second group served as a neutral control. We failed to find significant correlations between paternal investment and resemblance, but we found that fathers who participated in the infant massage intervention reported significantly larger post-study ratings of resemblance and lower ratings of paternal stress. This suggests that the relationship between father-child resemblance and paternal investment may be bidirectional.