Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Statistics of the Self: Shaping the Self Through Quantified Self-Tracking

1 Acknowledgements I would like to sincerely thank professors Laura Perini and Marianne de Laet for the time they dedicated to working with me through the process of creating this thesis. Without them, it would not have been possible—or at the very least, far from comprehensible. Professor Perini pushed me structure my arguments coherently, and met with me regularly to talk though my ideas until I could cogently articulate them. Professor de Laet provided consistent encouragement, relevant resources, and even some class time to discuss my topic with my peers. To that end, I would like to acknowledge my fellow classmates in Professor de Laet's Rationalities course who provided me with salient discussion regarding their personal experiences with self-­‐tracking and data collection. The quotations that begin most of the following chapters are thanks to them. Finally, I would like to express gratitude to my friends who were commendably tolerant of my stress while accompanying me through many late nights and early mornings of writing.
Autograft Transfer from the Ipsilateral Femoral Condyle in Depressed Tibial Plateau Fractures

Introduction : The rationale for operative treatment of depressed tibial plateau fractures is anatomic reduction, stable fixation and grafting. Grafting options include autogenous bone graft or bone substitutes. Methods : The autograft group included 18 patients with depressed tibial plateau fractures treated with autogenous bone grafting from the ipsilateral femoral condyle following open reduction and internal fixation. According to Schatzker classification, there were 9 type II, 4 type III, 2 type IV and 3 type V lesions. The average time to union and the hospital charges were compared with the bone substitute group. The latter included 17 patients who had an excellent outcome following treatment of split and/or depressed lateral plateau fractures, using a similar surgical technique but grafting with bone substitutes (allografts). Results : Excellent clinical and radiological results were detected in the autograft group after an average follow-up of 28 months (range 12-37). The average time to union in the autograft group was 14 weeks (range 12-16), while in the bone substitute group it was 18 weeks (range 16-20). The mean total cost was 1276 Euros for the autograft group and 2978 Euros for the bone substitute group. Discussion : The use of autogenous graft from the ipsilateral femoral condyle following open reduction and internal fixation of depressed tibial plateau fractures provided enough bone to maintain the height of the tibial plateau and was not associated with any donor site morbidity. Using this method, the surgical time was not significantly elongated and the rehabilitation was not affected. It also exhibited faster fracture healing without postoperative loss of reduction and it was less expensive than the use of bone substitutes.
Conditionality and Ratchet Effects in Environmental Policy

One way to integrate environmental concerns into the European agricultural policy is to let the agricultural income support be contingent on the farmer's environmental performance. With asymmetric information concerning relevant parameters like the individual farmer's cost of supplying environmental quality and in a repeated relationship there will be adverse selection problems in maximizing the environmental return of the income support policy. Adverse selection takes the form of ratchet effects and these are detrimental to environmental quality.
Analysis of a Belgian Chocolate Stabilization Problem

We give a detailed numerical and theoretical analysis of a stabilization problem posed by V. Blondel in 1994. Our approach illustrates the effectiveness of a new “gradient sampling” algorithm for finding local optimizers of nonsmooth, nonconvex optimization problems arising in control, as well as the power of nonsmooth analysis for understanding variational problems involving polynomial roots and eigenvalues. I. I NTRODUCTION More than a decade ago, Blondel [Blo94, p.150] offered a prize of a kilogram of Belgian chocolate for the solution of the following stabilization problem. By a stable polynomial we mean a real polynomial with all its roots in the open left half-plane. Problem 1.1: Let a(s) = s 2 i 2‐s + 1 and b(s) = s 2 i 1. Find the range of real values for ‐ for which there exist stable polynomials x(s) and y(s) with deg(x) ‚ deg(y) such that ax+by
Particle Swarm Optimization with Discrete Recombination: An Online Optimizer for Evolvable Hardware

Self-reconfigurable adaptive systems have the possibility of adapting their own hardware configuration. This feature provides enhanced performance and flexibility, reflected in computational cost reductions. Self-reconfigurable adaptation requires powerful optimization algorithms in order to search in a space of possible hardware configurations. If such algorithms are to be implemented on chip, they must also be as simple as possible, so the best performance can be achieved with the less cost in terms of logic resources, convergence speed, and power consumption. This paper presents hybrid bio-inspired optimization technique that introduces the concept of discrete recombination in a particle swarm optimizer, obtaining a simple and powerful algorithm, well suited for embedded applications. The proposed algorithm is validated using standard benchmark functions and used for training a neural network-based adaptive equalizer for communications systems
Motive-Based Tourist Market Segmentation: An Application to Native American Cultural Heritage Sites in Arizona, USA

This paper utilises a motive-based segmentation to understand tourists to cultural heritage sites in Arizona, USA. The data for this study were collected through mail survey from a representative sample of 671 tourists to three Native American cultural heritage sites. Using cluster analysis based upon motives for cultural history learning, three distinct segments were found: (1) ‘culture-focused,’ (2) ‘culture-attentive’ and (3) ‘culture-appreciative’ tourists. These groups differed significantly in terms of behaviour, experience and interpretation. The culture-focused segments spent longer at the sites, stayed more nights away from home, considered visiting archeological sites as their primary activity, and placed more importance on interpretation. In addition, the culture-focused groups were more satisfied with their trip, appreciated the preservation of archeological resources and reported more learning experiences. Overall, the study supports the notion that heterogeneity exists within cultural heritage tourist markets. Implications of these findings in conceptualisation, management and marketing cultural heritage tourism are discussed.
Clutter-aware adaptive projection inside a dynamic environment

This paper presents a framework for a computationally adaptive projection metaphor using a handheld projector inside a dynamic cluttered environment. In addition to conventional self-correcting projection features, the framework uses multiple clutter tracking and adaptive target generation to define the clutter-aware target area for projection in a reliable manner. Using a paired projector-camera system, the framework first builds high spatial frequency feature maps using a Laplacian pyramid approach. The feature maps are then passed to a rejection step to eliminate spurious features caused by contents of the projected image. After the resulting features representing clutters are processed by the appropriated design tracker, the target area for projection is generated. Finally, the desired information for projection is rendered and sent back to the projector. The framework can be used effectively for a clutter-aware handheld projector-based system without the need for a complex hardware setup or with any prior need to clean up the environment.
The White Dwarf Distance to the Globular Cluster NGC 6752 (and Its Age) with the HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE

Deep Hubble Space Telescope (HST) observations with WFPC2 of the nearby globular cluster NGC 6752 have allowed us to obtain accurate photometry for the cluster white dwarfs (WDs). A sample of local WDs of known trigonometric parallax and mass close to that of the cluster WDs have also been observed with WFPC2. Matching the cluster and the local WD sequences provides a direct measure of the distance to the cluster: (m - M)0 = 13.05, with an uncertainty less than ±0.1 mag, which allows a substantial reduction in the uncertainty in the age of the cluster. Indeed, coupling this value of the cluster distance to the cluster metallicity, helium abundance, and α-element enhancement [α/Fe] = 0.5 yields an age of 15.5 and 14.5 Gyr using evolutionary models that do not include or do include helium diffusion, respectively. The uncertainty affecting these age determinations is ~10%. The majority of the cluster WDs appear to be of the DA variety, while the color-magnitude location of two WDs is consistent with the DB type. This suggests a cluster DB/DA ratio similar to that of WDs in the solar neighborhood.
Multi-Agent Coordination in Dynamic Task Environments 1

This paper considers a dynamic variant of a coordination problem that was studied in, e.g., [9, 7, 8]. The original problem is concerned with a static task environment where all composite tasks consisting of elementary tasks and their interdependencies are given in advance. We introduce a dynamic variant of this problem where multiple composite tasks arrive dynamically in the system. We present a framework for dynamic task environments and explain the coordination problem that arises if multiple autonomous agents have to work together on parts of a composite task. From this explanation of the coordination problem we derive a formal definition. As an approach to solve the coordination problem, we suggest the idea of task partitioning. We conclude the paper with a simple solution method: the partitioning algorithm. This algorithm was originally designed to work in static environments, but turned out to be applicable in a dynamic context as well.
Fast particle loss channels in Wendelstein 7-X

One of the main goals of Wendelstein 7-X (W7-X) is to demonstrate the fast particle confinement properties of the quasi-isodynamic stellarator concept. Fast particle populations will be produced either by Neutral Beam Injection (NBI) or by minority Ion Cyclotron Resonant Heating (ICRH). A fraction of these particles are expected to be lost (even without collisions), despite the optimisation procedure used for the W7-X design. Confinement properties of NBI particles in W7-X were presented in the paper of Drevlak et al (2014 Nucl. Fusion 54 073002). A detailed study is presented here where the loss patterns of an NBI population are described. In particular, focussing on a high-mirror equilibrium, the confinement of fast ions with varying energy injection is studied under collisional conditions. It is found that collisions are not only responsible for classical transport losses but also enhance drift induced losses caused by trapped particles. Moreover, an asymmetry is found in the toroidal position of particle losses which can be explained by local variation in the equilibrium field. The effects of a neoclassically resolved radial electric field are also investigated. Fast particle confinement is significantly improved by the associated E×B drift. In particular, an increasing radial electric field helps to reduce and even stop the losses due to the 3D equilibrium structure for times comparable to slowing down time.
Critically subsampled filterbanks implementing Reed-Solomon codes

The last decade has shown a growing interest in soft decoding techniques. These techniques are almost never applied to existing nearly perfect codes, but instead other families of concatenated codes arise with Turbo codes as the main example. The problem is that for the application of soft decoding, the perfect codes need to be broken into several smaller component codes. In this paper, the family of Reed-Solomon codes is considered, and, using filterbanks, they are broken into several component codes (one in each subband). This paper focuses on the construction of such filterbanks, and gradually evolves towards a critically subsampled filterbank. The critical subsampling is crucial if the filterbank is going to be used in a soft decoding setup.
Glutathione Deficit Affects the Integrity and Function of the Fimbria/Fornix and Anterior Commissure in Mice: Relevance for Schizophrenia

Background: Structural anomalies of white matter are found in various brain regions of patients with schizophrenia and bipolar and other psychiatric disorders, but the causes at the cellular and molecular levels remain unclear. Oxidative stress and redox dysregulation have been proposed to play a role in the pathophysiology of several psychiatric conditions, but their anatomical and functional consequences are poorly understood. The aim of this study was to investigate white matter throughout the brain in a preclinical model of redox dysregulation. Methods: In a mouse model with impaired glutathione synthesis (Gclm KO), a state-of-the-art multimodal magnetic resonance protocol at high field (14.1 T) was used to assess longitudinally the white matter structure, prefrontal neurochemical profile, and ventricular volume. Electrophysiological recordings in the abnormal white matter tracts identified by diffusion tensor imaging were performed to characterize the functional consequences of fractional anisotropy alterations. Results: Structural alterations observed at peri-pubertal age and adulthood in Gclm KO mice were restricted to the anterior commissure and fornix-fimbria. Reduced fractional anisotropy in the anterior commissure (-7.5%±1.9, P<.01) and fornix-fimbria (-4.5%±1.3, P<.05) were accompanied by reduced conduction velocity in fast-conducting fibers of the posterior limb of the anterior commissure (-14.3%±5.1, P<.05) and slow-conducting fibers of the fornix-fimbria (-8.6%±2.6, P<.05). Ventricular enlargement was found at peri-puberty (+25%±8 P<.05) but not in adult Gclm KO mice. Conclusions: Glutathione deficit in Gclm KO mice affects ventricular size and the integrity of the fornix-fimbria and anterior commissure. This suggests that redox dysregulation could contribute during neurodevelopment to the impaired white matter and ventricle enlargement observed in schizophrenia and other psychiatric disorders.
The Future of the Industrial System

Initially, industrialization -characterized by enormous increases in the use of fossil fuels, technological change, agricultural productivity, urbanization, population, mobility, trade and consumption of material goods -may have made people wealthier, but the quality of life suffered in other respects. Crowding, unsanitary conditions and pollution made life in many urban areas nastier, more brutish and shorter than in rural areas. Armed with new knowledge and technology, wealth and persistence, the richer countries have shown that these problems can be addressed successfully. And today the state of humanity has never been better. The average person lives longer, is better fed, healthier and wealthier. But unsafe water, unsanitary conditions and indoor air pollution still contribute to millions of premature deaths in the developing countries. Pollution and, more importantly, human demands for food, clothing and shelter (which have diverted large quantities of land and water away from the rest of nature) threaten Earth’s ecosystems and biological diversity. These demands, and the demand for materials and energy, will almost certainly grow in the next century with the global population. Nevertheless, the future could see a world in which the population has stabilized, is richer, cleaner, and has room for both humanity and the rest of nature. Alternatively, it could be more populated, poor and polluted, and with the rest of nature pinched for space and water, particularly if climate change exacerbates existing pressures. The odds of the former outcome could be increased by strengthening the co-evolving, mutually-reinforcing forces of economic growth, technology and trade, which requires bolstering the institutions that are their mainstays (which are also the foundations for a robust civil society). However, building and strengthening these institutions may be insufficient if society is hostile to change and if richer societies -in their quest for zero risk -reject “second best” solutions. Industrial ecology can play a significant role in moving such solutions closer to perfection, and in hastening the transitions of technological change and economic growth from problems to solutions in the quest for a sustainable industrial society. * The author is Manager, Science and Engineering, Office of Policy Analysis, US Department of the Interior, 1849 C St. NW, Washington, DC 20240, USA. The views expressed herein are the author’s and not necessarily of any branch of the US government. The author can be contacted at igoklany@ios.doi. gov. The Future of the Industrial System
Constrained Subword Units for Speaker Recognition

Phonetic features have been proposed to overcome performance degradation in spectral speaker recognition in difficult acoustic conditions. The harmful effect of those conditions, however, is not restricted to spectral systems but also affects the performance of the open-loop phone recognisers on which phonetic systems are based. In automatic speech recognition, larger subword units and the use of additional constraints from language models have been employed to improve robustness against adverse acoustic conditions. This paper evaluates the performance of more constrained phone recognition and different subword units for speaker recognition on heterogeneous broadcast data from German parliamentary speeches. Using phone clusters and a strong language model instead of phones obtained from unconstrained recognition improves the equal error rate from 14.3% to 8.6% on the given data.
Modified grabcut for unsupervised object segmentation

We propose a fully automated variation of the GrabCut technique for segmenting comparatively simple images with little variation in background colour and relatively high contrast between foreground and background. The interactive trimap generation central to the original formulation of GrabCut is replaced by a tentative approximation of the background using active contours. Instead of waiting until convergence of the iterated graph cut, we terminate as soon as the Gaussian models of foreground and background are (locally) maximally separated. We demonstrate that this results in equivalent segmentation quality at significantly lower cost. A comparison with three alternative segmentation techniques, including normalised cut, indicates that the method is eminently suitable for the chosen image domain.
REAL TIME SKELETAL ANIMATION WITH DUAL QUATERNION

Though Combination of Quaternions and matrix has been a popular tool in skeletal animation for more th an 20 years, classical quaternions are restricted to t he representation of rotations. In skeletal animati on and many other applications of 3D computer graphics, we actually deal with rigid transformation including both rotation and translation. Dual quaternions represen t rigid transformations nearly in the same way as quaternions represent rotations. In fact, Algorithm s based on dual quaternions show better properties than those based on quaternions, including increased computational efficiency, reduced overhead and coordin ate invariance. In this paper we show how to generalize established techniques for quaternions to dual quaternions to include all rigid transformations, a nd implement real-time character animation with dual quaternions under the platform of OpenGL in order t o demonstrate the superiority and effectiveness of dual quaternions.
The constitutional implications of the European responses to the financial and public debt crisis

The wide-ranging debate on the responses to the crisis increasingly calls into question the future of the EU as a polity. This article contributes to such discussion in legal scholarship by arguing that the European responses to the crisis since autumn 2008 have already set in motion a number of processes which are reshaping the EU polity. Three important but often misrepresented processes are identified. The first is the emergence of a new EU method of action, which breaks with the historically rooted balance of voices within the EU, while directing it towards a distinct form of reinforced intergovernmentalism. The second process corresponds to the trend to have recourse to arrangements both partly internal and partly external to the EU framework. Such a process opens the way to the autonomization of the EMU, and of the eurozone within the EMU, which endangers the legal and institutional unity of the EU. The third is the transformation of the EMU from a "community of benefits" to a "community of benefits and risk-sharing", which reshapes the traditional construction of the EMU and might prefigure a federal transformation of the EU, but it also raises functional and legitimacy issues. These developments have the potential to undermine prerequisites of the EU as a project oriented towards democratic constitutionalism: they may ultimately lead to a de-institutionalization of the EU; they exhaust the main democratic legitimacy sources of the EU polity; and they undermine the already fragile social embeddedness of EU institutions.
Constrained Functionality: Application of the ACT-R Cognitive Architecture to the AMBR Modeling Comparison

Symbolic Level ACT-R is a production system theory that models the steps of cognition by a sequence of production rules that fire to coordinate retrieval of information from the environment and from memory. It is a cognitive architecture that can be used to model a wide range of human cognition. It has been used to model tasks from memory retrieval (Anderson, Bothell, Lebiere & Matessa, 1998) to visual search (Anderson, Matessa & Lebiere, 1997). The range of models developed, from those purely concerned with internal cognition to those focused on perception and action, makes ACT-R a plausible candidate to model a task like the air traffic control simulation described previously because the task includes all of these various components. In all domains, ACT-R is distinguished by the detail and fidelity with which it models human cognition. It makes claims about what
Mutations in the Drosophila Condensin Subunit dCAP-G

Chromosomes are dynamic structures that are reorganized during the cell cycle to optimize them for distinct functions. SMC and non-SMC condensin proteins associate into complexes that have been implicated in the process of chromosome condensation. The roles of the individual non-SMC subunits of the complex are poorly understood, and mutations in the CAP-G subunit have not been described in metazoans. Here we elucidate a role for dCAP-G in chromosome condensation and cohesion in Drosophila. We illustrate the requirement of dCAP-G for condensation during prophase and prometaphase; however, we find that alternate mechanisms ensure that replicated chromosomes are condensed prior to metaphase. In contrast, dCAP-G is essential for chromosome condensation in metaphase of single, unreplicated sister chromatids, suggesting that there is an interplay between replicated chromatids and the condensin complex. In the dcap-g mutants, defects in sister-chromatid separation are also observed. Chromatid arms fail to resolve in prophase and are unable to separate at anaphase, whereas sister centromeres show aberrant separation in metaphase and successfully move to spindle poles at anaphase. We also identified a role for dCAP-G during interphase in regulating heterochromatic gene expression.