Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Measuring Syntactic Priming in Dialog Corpora

We devise a simple, distribution-based measure of priming between linguistic categories. Priming is found in tree banks of dialog corpora, both for contextfree production rules and for Combinatory Categorial Grammar categories. It is stronger for task-oriented dialogs, and stronger in lexical categories than in syntactic categories.
Transmit Diversity with Channel Feedback

Transmit diversity in the presence of channel feedback at the transmitter is analyzed in this paper. We first consider perfect channel feedback and summarize the beamforming solution which minimizes the codeword error probability. We note that the error probability minimizing scheme is different from the mutual information maximizing scheme. We then present a scheme with partial channel feedback in the form of relative phases of channel vectors. This scheme achieves performance comparable to the beamforming with much less information about the channel, which in turn requires less resources for feedback. The new scheme presented in this paper is a generalization of a well known scheme for two transmit and one receive antenna, using the phase difference of the channel coefficients.
Using Personality Item Characteristics to Predict Single–Item Internal Reliability, Retest Reliability, and Self–Other Agreement

The use of reliability estimates is increasingly scrutinized as scholars become more aware that test–retest stability and self–other agreement provide a better approximation of the theoretical and practical usefulness of an instrument than its internal reliability. In this study, we investigate item characteristics that potentially impact single–item internal reliability, retest reliability, and self–other agreement. Across two large samples (N = 6690 and N = 4396), two countries (Estonia and The Netherlands), and two personality inventories (the NEO PI–3 and the HEXACO–PI–R), results show that (i) item variance is a strong predictor of self–other agreement and retest reliability but not of single–item internal reliability; (ii) item variance mediates the relations between evaluativeness and self–other agreement; and (iii) self–other agreement is predicted by observability and item domain. On the whole, weak relations between item length, negations, and item position (indicating effects of questionnaire length) on the one hand, and single–item internal reliability, retest reliability, and self–other agreement on the other, were observed. In order to increase the predictive validity of personality scales, our findings suggest that during the construction of questionnaire items, researchers are advised to pay close attention especially to item variance, but also to evaluativeness and observability. Copyright © 2016 European Association of Personality Psychology
Beyond Snapping: Persistent, Tweakable Alignment and Distribution with StickyLines

Aligning and distributing graphical objects is a common, but cumbersome task. In a preliminary study (six graphic designers, six non-designers), we identified three key problems with current tools: lack of persistence, unpredictability of results, and inability to 'tweak' the layout. We created StickyLines, a tool that treats guidelines as first-class objects: Users can create precise, predictable and persistent interactive alignment and distribution relationships, and 'tweaked' positions can be maintained for subsequent interactions. We ran a [2x2] within-participant experiment to compare StickyLines with standard commands, with two levels of layout difficulty. StickyLines performed 40% faster and required 49% fewer actions than traditional alignment and distribution commands for complex layouts. In study three, six professional designers quickly adopted StickyLines and identified novel uses, including creating complex compound guidelines and using them for both spatial and semantic grouping.
Expansion of a CNN-based image classifier's scope using transfer learning and k-NN. Technical report

The purpose of this work is to evaluate possible minimisation of the time needed for expansion of the scope of a CNN (convolutional neural network) classifier without the need to fully re-train it. We investigate the effects of applying k-NN (k-Nearest Neighbours) based classification and transfer learning (via fine-tuning) for the purpose of adding new classes to an existing deep convolutional neural network without the need to re-train it with the whole set of the existing plus the newly added classes. Our main contribution is the thorough comparison of the overall and per-class classification accuracy in the different scenarios. We use our own selection of ImageNet images for the CIFAR-10 classes plus four more purposefully selected classes. The motivation behind this investigation is the challenge for significant time reduction that would be possible in case the hypothesis that adding new classes to an existing classifier, using transfer learning and k-NN classification does not significantly underperform training with the whole expanded set of classes is true. Though this hypothesis is proved wrong it still sets the foundation for us and/or other researchers to go further into looking for strategies on how to do partial re-training.
The Minimum Flow Cost Hamiltonian Tour Problem

In this thesis we introduce the minimum flow cost Hamiltonian tour problem(FCHT). Given a graph and positive flow between pairs of vertices, the FCHT consists of �finding a Hamiltonian cycle that minimizes the total cost for sending flows between pairs of vertices thorough the shortest path on the cycle. We prove that the FCHT belongs to the class of NP-hard problems and study the polyhedral structure of its set of feasible solutions. In particular, we present �five di�different MIP formulations which are theoretically and computationally compared. We also develop some approximate and exact solution procedures to solve the FCHT. We present a combinatorial bound and two heuristic procedures: a greedy deterministic method and a greedy randomized adaptive search procedure. Finally, a branch-and-cut algorithm is also proposed to solve the problem exactly.
The pre-main sequence spectroscopic binary UZ Tau East: Improved orbital parameters and accretion phase dependence

We present radial-velocity measurements obtained using high- and intermediate-resolution spectroscopic observations of the classical T Tauri star UZ Tau East from 1994 to 1996. We also provide measurements of H α equivalent widths and optical veiling. Combining our radial-velocity data with those recently reported by Prato et al. (2002), we improve the orbital elements for this spectroscopic binary. The orbital period is $18.979\pm0.007$ days and the eccentricity is $e=0.14$. We find variability in the H α emission and veiling, signposts of accretion, but at periastron passage the accretion is not as clearly enhanced as in the case of the binary DQ Tau. The difference in the behaviour of these two binaries is consistent with the hydrodynamical models of accretion from circumbinary disks because UZ Tau East has lower eccentricity than DQ Tau. It seems that enhanced periastron accretion may occur only in systems with very high eccentricity ($e>0.5$).
Aspect Ratio Model for Radiation-Tolerant Dummy Gate-Assisted n-MOSFET Layout

In order to acquire radiation-tolerant characteristics in integrated circuits, a dummy gate-assisted n-type metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (DGA n-MOSFET) layout was adopted. The DGA n-MOSFET has a different channel shape compared with the standard n-MOSFET. The standard n-MOSFET has a rectangular channel shape, whereas the DGA n-MOSFET has an extended rectangular shape at the edge of the source and drain, which affects its aspect ratio. In order to increase its practical use, a new aspect ratio model is proposed for the DGA n-MOSFET and this model is evaluated through three-dimensional simulations and measurements of the fabricated devices. The proposed aspect ratio model for the DGA n-MOSFET exhibits good agreement with the simulation and measurement results.
Wie beeinflusst der Besuch einer Kindertageseinrichtung nicht-kognitive Fähigkeiten?

Kindertageseinrichtungen sollen als Ort der fruhkindlichen Bildung die Entwicklung und Fahigkeiten von Kindern fordern. Die fruhe Bildung ist besonders wichtig, da sich viele Fahigkeiten fruh im Lebensverlauf herausbilden. Auserdem erleichtern fruh erworbene Fahigkeiten den weiteren Erwerb von Fahigkeiten und beeinflussen somit die gesamte Bildungsbiografie. Die okonomische Forschung unterscheidet zwischen kognitiven und nicht-kognitiven Fahigkeiten. Kindertageseinrichtungen konnen beide Aspekte der kindlichen Entwicklung fordern. Dieser Roundup fasst die okonomische Evidenz zu den Effekten fruhkindlicher Bildung und Betreuung in Kindertageseinrichtungen auf nicht-kognitive Fahigkeiten zusammen.
Subgraphs of Dense Random Graphs with Specified Degrees

Let d = (d1, d2, . . ., dn) be a vector of non-negative integers with even sum. We prove some basic facts about the structure of a random graph with degree sequence d, including the probability of a given subgraph or induced subgraph. Although there are many results of this kind, they are restricted to the sparse case with only a few exceptions. Our focus is instead on the case where the average degree is approximately a constant fraction of n. Our approach is the multidimensional saddle-point method. This extends the enumerative work of McKay and Wormald (1990) and is analogous to the theory developed for bipartite graphs by Greenhill and McKay (2009).
Issues in design and implementation of multimedia software systems

This paper describes a user-centered approach to multimedia software system aimed at satisfying requirements of end-user computing. MSS design and development explicitly accounts for their capabilities of capturing and producing textual, pictorial, sound and haptic events and for the requirements of empowering users in the execution of their tasks and preventing them from getting lost in the multimedia virtual space and from the consequences of their incorrect operations.
Remote inflation: hybrid-like inflation without hybrid-type potential

A new scenario of hybrid-like inflation is considered without using hybrid-type potential. Radiation raised continuously by a dissipating inflaton field keeps symmetry restoration in a remote sector, and the false-vacuum energy of the remote sector dominates the energy density during inflation. Remote inflation is terminated when the temperature reaches the critical temperature, or when the slow-roll condition is violated. Without introducing a complex form of couplings, inflaton field may either roll-in (like a standard hybrid inflation) or roll-out (like an inverted-hybrid model or quintessential inflation) on arbitrary inflaton potential. Significant signatures of remote inflation can be observed in the spectrum caused by the inhomogeneous phase transition in the remote sector, or a successive phase transition in the remote sector. Remote inflation can predict strong amplification or suppression of small-scale perturbations without introducing multiple inflation. Since the inflaton may have a run-away potential, it is also possible to identify the inflaton with quintessence, without introducing additional mechanisms. Even if the false-vacuum energy is not dominated by the remote sector, the phase transition in the remote sector is possible during warm inflation, which may cause significant amplification/suppression of the curvature perturbations.
The Effect of the Flipped Classroom on Urban High School Students' Motivation and Academic Achievement in a High School Science Course

This study investigated the effect of the flipped classroom on urban high school students’ motivation and academic achievement in a high school science course. In this quantitative study, the sample population was comprised of North Star High School 12 th grade students enrolled in human anatomy and physiology. A quasi-experimental, pretest-posttest non-equivalent group design was conducted. After receipt of Liberty University Institutional Review Board approval and the school district’s Department of Research and Evaluation for School Improvement, students completed a pretest comprised of the Science Motivation Questionnaire II (SMQ-II) and the Human Anatomy and Physiology Unit Test. Participants in the experimental group engaged in the treatment, the flipped classroom, using instructional materials on the educational website, EdmodoTM, and applied content material taught using hands-on activities inclusive of assigned laboratory experiments. Participants in the control group received instruction using traditional face-to-face lecture-homework format while also engaging in assigned laboratory experiments. After the completion of the treatment all participants completed a posttest. Data from both the pretest and posttest was statistically analyzed individually using two separate one-way ANOVA/ANCOVA analyses; and researcher reported the results of the statistical analyses. After completion of the analyses, and interpretation of the results, recommendations for future research were given.
BASELINES FOR NATURAL LANGUAGE PROCESSING TASKS BASED ON SOFT CARDINALITY SPECTRA

Soft-cardinality spectra (SC spectra) is a new method of approximation for text strings in linear time, which divides text strings into character q-grams of dierent sizes. The method allows simultaneous use of weighting at term and q-gram levels. SC spectra in combina- tion with resemblance coecients allows the construction of a family of text similarity functions that only use the surface information of the texts and weights obtained in the same text collec- tion. These similarity measures can be used in various tasks of natural language processing as baseline for other methods that exploit the hidden syntactic and/or semantic structure using resources based on knowledge, inference of large corpora. The proposed method was evaluated on 22 data sets to address the tasks of information retrieval, entity matching, paraphrase and textual entailment recognition. The results raised the bar near to the best published results in the used data sets. We claim that any method that uses any resource or information external to a particular data set should outperform our method. We found that our method is an eective and challenging baseline for the evaluated tasks.
Enhanced physical layer security through transmit antenna selection

We analyze the physical layer security of a communication scheme with a multiple antenna legitimate transmitter, employing transmit antenna selection (TAS), and a single antenna legitimate receiver in the presence of a single antenna eavesdropper. We developed closed-form expressions for the analysis of the secrecy outage probability supposing independent and quasi-static Rayleigh fading channels. Our results show that the secrecy outage probability is considerably increased when multiple antennas are available at the legitimate transmitter. Moreover, due to the use of the TAS technique, the eavesdropper is not able to exploit the additional spatial diversity offered by the legitimate transmitter.
Geographic variation in the calls of wild chimpanzees: A reassessment

Male chimpanzees produce a species‐typical call, the pant hoot, to communicate to conspecifics over long‐distances. Calls given by males from the well‐known Gombe and Mahale populations typically consist of four different phases: an introduction, build‐up, climax, and let‐down. Recent observations suggest that chimpanzees living in the Kibale National Park, Uganda, consistently give calls that lack a build‐up and are thus qualitatively distinguishable acoustically from those made by other East African conspecifics. We analyzed additional recordings from Mahale and Kibale to re‐examine geographic variation in chimpanzee calls. Results indicate that males from both sites produce pant hoots containing all four parts of the call. Calls made by chimpanzees from the two populations, however, differ in quantitative acoustic measures. Specifically, males at Kibale initiate their calls with significantly longer elements and build‐up over briefer periods at slower rates than individuals from Mahale. Kibale males also deliver acoustically less variable calls than chimpanzees at Mahale. Although climax elements do not differ between populations in any single acoustic feature, discriminant function analysis reveals that acoustic variables can be used in combination to assign calls to the correct population at rates higher than that expected by chance. Ecological factors related to differences in habitat acoustics, the sound environment of the local biota, and body size are likely to account for these observed macrogeographic variations in chimpanzee calls. Am. J. Primatol. 47:133–151, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Music-driven motion editing: local motion transformations guided by music analysis

This paper presents a general framework for synchronising motion curves to music in computer animation. Motions are locally modified using perceptual cues extracted from the music. The key to this approach is the use of standard music analysis techniques on complementary MIDI and audio representations of the same soundtrack. These musical features then guide the motion editing process. It allows users to easily combine different aspects of the music with different aspects of the motion.
Individual variations in nitric oxide synthase‐dependent sweating in young and older males during exercise in the heat: role of aerobic power

We evaluated the association between aerobic power (defined by peak oxygen consumption; VO2peak) and the contribution of nitric oxide synthase (NOS) to the sweating response in young and older individuals during exercise in the heat. Data from 44 young (24 ± 1 years) and 48 older (61 ± 2 years) males with mean VO2peak of 47.8 ± 2.4 (range, 28.0–62.3) and 39.1 ± 2.3 (range, 26.4–55.7) mLO2 kg−1 min−1, respectively, were compiled from our prior studies. Participants performed two 15‐ to 30‐min bouts of exercise at a fixed rate of metabolic heat production of 400 or 500 W, each separated by 15–20 min recovery in the heat (35°C, relative humidity of 20%). Forearm sweat rate (ventilated capsule technique) was measured at two skin sites that were continuously and simultaneously administered with lactated Ringers solution (Control) or 10 mmol/L NG‐nitro‐L‐arginine methyl ester (L‐NAME, nonselective NOS inhibitor) via intradermal microdialysis. Sweat rate during the final 5 min of each exercise bout was lower with L‐NAME compared to the Control in both groups (all P < 0.05). The magnitude of the attenuation in sweat rate induced by L‐NAME compared to the Control was not correlated with VO2peak (all P ≥ 0.46) while this attenuation was negatively correlated with the sweat rate at the Control in both groups and in both exercise bouts (all P < 0.01, R ≤ −0.43). These results suggest that NOS‐dependent sweating is not associated with aerobic power per se, while it becomes evident in individuals who produce larger sweat rates during exercise irrespective of age.
Motor Skill Acquisition Promotes Human Brain Myelin Plasticity

Experience-dependent structural changes are widely evident in gray matter. Using diffusion weighted imaging (DWI), the neuroplastic effect of motor training on white matter in the brain has been demonstrated. However, in humans it is not known whether specific features of white matter relate to motor skill acquisition or if these structural changes are associated to functional network connectivity. Myelin can be objectively quantified in vivo and used to index specific experience-dependent change. In the current study, seventeen healthy young adults completed ten sessions of visuomotor skill training (10,000 total movements) using the right arm. Multicomponent relaxation imaging was performed before and after training. Significant increases in myelin water fraction, a quantitative measure of myelin, were observed in task dependent brain regions (left intraparietal sulcus [IPS] and left parieto-occipital sulcus). In addition, the rate of motor skill acquisition and overall change in myelin water fraction in the left IPS were negatively related, suggesting that a slower rate of learning resulted in greater neuroplastic change. This study provides the first evidence for experience-dependent changes in myelin that are associated with changes in skilled movements in healthy young adults.
Context-Aware User Profiling and Multimedia Content Classification for Smart Devices

Current solutions for delivering adapted multimedia content in mobile environments take into account only a limited set of contextual information, and can be regarded as passive solutions. We propose a new solution that anticipates user's needs based on the contexts of use and preferences to deliver media content to mobile users. This paper describes the profiling approach of the proposed solution, and a context-aware content-based recommendation for smart devices. Recommendations are issued based on user history, driven by real-time contextual conditions.
LSQ: An approach for Learning Software Development with Quality

Due the quick change of business processes in organizations, software need to adapt quickly to meet new requirements by implementing new business rules. For this, many technologies have been created in the field of software development, to accelerate the production and maintenance of software products. However, learning the software development still carries challenges, especially when there is the concern of developing software products with high quality. In this paper, we propose an approach to learning software development with quality, the LSQ. This approach was motivated by the study of factors that influence learning software development, considering how hypotheses interdisciplinarity, Problem Based Learning, methodologies and technologies of software development. The LSQ was applied in the case study of a graduate course related to Web applications. The results were observed from the feedback of students and they allow us to say that the development of interdisciplinary projects with PBL impact positively in learning software development.
A New East-West Synthesis? APEC and Competing Narratives of Regional Integration in the Post-Cold War Asia-Pacific

The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC), inaugurated in 1989, is emerging as part of wider efforts to manage the transition from the Cold War to the post-Cold War era in the Asia-Pacific and beyond. The rise of APEC and a growing emphasis on Asian-Pacific integration are linked to dominant Anglo-US narratives that represent the rapid economic growth of East Asia as the dawning of a prosperous Pacific Century one that will see the center of gravity of the world economy shift to the Asia-Pacific.1 For example, C. Fred Bergsten, director of the Institute for International Economics and former chair of the APEC Eminent Persons Group, has argued that APEC is an important vehicle for regional integration and economic prosperity, at the same time that it represents a possible new force for global liberalization.2 By contrast, some observers based in East Asia such as Helen Nesadurai, senior analyst at the Institute of Strategic and International Studies in Kuala Lumpur, raise the possibility that APEC could serve as an important vehicle for maintaining and extending US influence in the region. However, she concludes that this is unlikely, in part because North American politicoeconomic and sociocultural "norms are unattractive to many East Asian elites," who look to "the East Asian model which has apparently proved to be far superior to the U.S. model. "3 This latter interpretation highlights the way in which Anglo-American liberalism has been increasingly challenged by influential East Asian narratives embedded in politiceconomic and social forces in Northeast and Southeast Asia. These emphasize that Asian institutions