Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Visiblity Streaming for Network-based Walkthroughs

In network-based walkthroughs the server transmits online only the primitives which are potentially visible from the client’s current viewpoint (visibility streaming). To reduce the bandwidth requirements it is necessary to minimize the set of view-dependent potentially visible primitives using occlusion culling techniques. However, even a slight change in the viewpoint might require the computation and transmission of many new primitives and thus latency is inevitable. In this paper we present an algorithm for determining a conservative superset of an -neighborhood of a given viewpoint. Having such an -superset, the client is free to render the model independently of the server as long as he moves within that -neighborhood.
Major disasters in modern economies: an input-output based approach at modelling imbalances and disproportions

It seems that large-scale disasters are becoming an inevitable part of modern societies. Major calamities such as earthquakes, typhoons, and tsunamis are endangering the lives of many people and their possessions all over the world. Some of the most obvious questions to address are: How vulnerable are modern economies to extreme events? And: In which way should modern societies prepare themselves to deal with adversities on a grand scale? A disaster is a multi-faceted phenomenon. In this study, we concentrate on the economic aspects of a large-scale disaster. We address distinctions between direct and indirect costs, problems of double counting between stocks and flows, issues related to temporal and spatial dimensions and, more general, issues of preparedness (mitigation and adaptation) and response (resilience). We discuss modelling issues, and develop a special type of Input-Output model for addressing the major questions. We propose a three-step procedure in disaster policy. The first step consists of thinking about the remaining productive capacity after a major shock in a novel way; the second step involves strategic thinking about a return to equilibrium after a catastrophe; and the third one includes weighing ex-ante preparedness against expected costs. We position our approach against the background of recent developments in Dutch water management and policy, where we signal a change in thinking about flood threats. The country faces new dilemmas, and has to strike a balance between expected losses and future growth.
Comparison of practical methods for urinary glycosaminoglycans and serum hyaluronan with clinical activity scores in patients with Graves’ ophthalmopathy

objective Immunosuppressive treatment of Graves’ opthalmopathy (GO) should be restricted to patients with active eye disease, but assessing disease activity is difficult. Several methods to evaluate GO activity have been introduced, but none of them is satisfactory. Glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) are complex polysaccharides that participate on the pathogenesis of GO and attempts to correlate its local increase to urinary GAGs (uGAGs) or serum hyaluronan (sHA) have been made, but the available techniques are labourious, time‐consuming and difficult for routine use. The aim of the present study is to develop practical and simple methods for uGAGs and sHA and compare them to the activity and severity of thyroid‐associated ophthalmopathy.
LY293558, an AMPA glutamate receptor antagonist, prevents and reverses levodopa‐induced motor alterations in Parkinsonian rats

To evaluate the possible involvement of glutamate AMPA receptor‐mediated mechanisms in levodopa‐induced motor fluctuations, we investigated the effects of LY293558, a competitive AMPA receptor antagonist, on levodopa‐induced motor alterations in rats with unilateral 6‐OHDA lesion. Acute and chronic administration of LY293558 was studied to evaluate the possible reversion or prevention of these levodopa effects. In the first set of experiments, rats were treated with levodopa (25 mg/kg with benserazide, twice daily, i.p.) for 22 days and on day 23 LY293558 (5 mg/kg, i.p.) was administered immediately before levodopa. In the second set of experiments, rats were treated daily for 22 days with levodopa and LY293558 (5 mg/kg, twice daily, i.p.). In the third set of experiments, the effect of LY293558 (5 mg/kg, i.p.) administration on selective dopamine D‐1 (SKF38393, 1.5 mg/kg, s.c.) and D‐2 agonist (quinpirole, 0.1 mg/kg, i.p.)‐induced rotational behavior after daily levodopa treatment was studied. The duration of the rotational behavior induced by chronic levodopa decreased by 30% after 22 days. Acute administration of LY293558 on day 23 reversed this effect. The group of animals that were chronically treated with levodopa and LY293558 did not show the decrease in this motor response duration. Chronic levodopa treatment attenuated the rotational response to the D‐1 agonist SKF38393 and increased the response to the D‐2 agonist quinpirole. LY293558 did not reverse the effect of levodopa on rotational behavior induced by the D‐1 agonist but significantly reduced the rotational response to the D‐2 agonist in levodopa‐treated animals by 40%. Our results demonstrate that an AMPA receptor antagonist reverses and prevents levodopa‐induced motor alterations in parkinsonian rats and that this effect on motor fluctuations induced by chronic levodopa is probably due to a modulation of the indirect output pathway of the basal ganglia. Synapse 42:40–47, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Effective resistance on random electrical networks February 4 , 2008

Take a big graph and make a random electrical network of it by assigning independent resistances on its edges. Now, ask for the behaviour of the effective resistance between two vertices (two “poles”) far apart. We assume in general that resistances are bounded away from 0 and ∞. In this paper, we study three cases of effective resistance in such random electrical networks: from one side to another in a box of Z, between two points in Z, and between two points on a cylinder graph G×Z. For all these cases, we obtain the right order of the fluctuations when the poles move apart from each other, and give corresponding subgaussian concentration inequalities. For the cylinder graphs, we prove two additional results: a central limit theorem and a result of uniform stability with respect to noise.
Embedding Current Monitoring in H-Tree RAM Architecture for Multiple SEU Tolerance and Reliability Improvement

In this paper, we present a new technique to improve the reliability of H-tree SRAM memories. This technique deals with the SRAM power-bus monitoring by using built-in current sensor (BICS) circuits that detect abnormal current dissipation in the memory power-bus. This abnormal current is the result of a single-event upset (SEU) in the memory and it is generated during the inversion of the state of the memory cell being upset. The current checking is performed on an H-tree SRAM in different ways. We demonstrate the assertions of the proposed technique by performing a reliability analysis while combining current monitoring with a single-parity bit or Hamming codes per RAM word to perform single or multiple error correction.
Clinical and radiographical results of labral reconstruction

Treatment of femoroacetabular impingement (FAI) includes correction of underlying bony deformities. Labrum preservation is recommended whenever possible. In hips, where the labrum is missing or damaged beyond preservation, labral reconstruction is an option to restore labral seal. Between 2008 and 2011, 84 hips underwent treatment for FAI by means of a surgical hip dislocation. In 13 of these hips (11 patients), the severely damaged or missing labrum was reconstructed with ligamentum capitis femoris. Pre- and postoperative radiographic and clinical data were analysed with a mean follow-up of 38 months (range: 19–65 months). Clinical outcome was determined with Oxford hip score (OHS) and overall satisfaction, rest and load pain with a visual analogue scale (VAS; 0–100). Clinical outcome was compared with a control group where labral refixation was performed. Mean OHS improved significantly (P ≤ 0.001) from 29 (SD 8) to 44 (SD 4). Overall satisfaction with the hip increased significantly (P = 0.002) from 44 (SD 35) to 87 (SD 15). Mean VAS for rest pain decreased significantly (P = 0.0004) from 45 (SD 35) to 5 (SD 7) as well as for load pain (P = 0.0007) from 59 (SD 26) to 16 (SD 19). There were no significant differences between the two groups. Reconstruction of the acetabular labrum with ligamentum capitis femoris yields good clinical results. Technical superiority of open labral reconstruction may explain the unexpected, excellent outcome.
A STUDY OF ABO BLOOD GROUP AND SECRETOR STATUS IN ISCHAEMIC HEART DISEASE PATIENTS IN AND AROUND DAVANGERE

Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) has emerged as the number one killer disease over the world including India. The association between ABO blood group, secretor status and IHD in India is recognized as an important void to be filled. In our study, compared to controls, there was an overall excess of blood group ‘A’ with ischemic heart disease but the difference was not statistically significant we have not found any significant difference in the secretor status between the IHD and control group. However the IHD patients showed a preponderance of secretors.
Market Values in American Higher Education: The Pitfalls and Promises

education. Thomas Cech, in "Science at Liberal Arts Colleges: A Better Education? " documents the success of these institutions in preparing students for graduate study and attempts to explain the role of liberal arts colleges in the production of scientists. In chapter 11, Priscilla Laws, describes how curricula in the four major sciences, adopted at institutions throughout the country, were developed at liberal arts colleges. Christina Elliot Sorum's "Vortex, Clouds, and Tongue: New Problems in the Humanities" explains how the strong presence of humanities in general-education programs at liberal arts colleges increase student interest in the discipline. In chapter 13, Susan Bourque attributes the success of liberal arts college graduates in attaining PhDs in the social sciences to student opportunities for involvement in original research projects. Peter Stanley describes the affinity between international study and liberal learning. In the final chapter, "Stability and Transformation: Information Technology in Liberal Arts Colleges," Diane Balestri discusses the challenges of managing information technologies, together with the opportunities for shaping these technologies to serve the mission of liberal arts colleges. The primary weakness of this monograph is the unevenness in the quality of essays. While several authors present cogent and well researched works, others are less focused and overlook the existence of some important literature. A few authors state that their essays are not based on research nor extensive study, but rather on personal experience. Though not without merit, such approaches lose credibility when juxtaposed with more scholarly works. Nevertheless, the strength of the best essays leads me to recommend the volume to administrators, faculty, and scholars interested primarily in liberal arts colleges as well as those interested more generally in undergraduate education and liberal learning.
Cartesian space motion planning for robots. An industrial implementation

This work presents an industrial implementation of a minimum time path-following algorithm. The proposed algorithm handles Cartesian-space based trajectories that exhibit a trapezoidal velocity profile; point-to-point linear and circular motions as well as fly movements are considered. The proposed solution works off-line, is based on the knowledge of the dynamic-model and is not iterative; moreover, the computational burden is kept limited by suitable simplifications. The development and testing has been achieved considering a Comau SMART H4 robot, a closed-chain six-degree-of-freedom industrial manipulator.
The hidden cost of consensus: How coordinated market economies insulate politics

Previous research has argued that while elections motivate parties to respond to public sentiment, global economic ties reduce this responsiveness by redirecting elites from their electorates and toward market actors. In this study, we extend this work to examine the influence of globalization on party responsiveness across different forms of production-welfare regimes. Coordinated market economies (CMEs) accommodate economic interdependence by striking corporatist bargains between political elites, trade union representatives, and organized business. Although these consensual relations facilitate economic stability, they also insulate policymakers from voters. Analyses that pair public opinion and party positions across 18 advanced capitalist democracies from 1977 to 2009 show that while CMEs permit political elites a wide room to maneuver under economic globalization, political parties competing in these organized market economies do not respond to public opinion. This is the case regardless of level of exposure to world markets. In CMEs, party position-taking is uninfluenced by external factors (economic globalization) and domestic factors (public opinion) alike. By examining the consequences for party behavior, our results raise questions about the virtues of coordinated market capitalism for the health of representative democracy.
Functional Subsets of the VirB Type IV Transport Complex Proteins Involved in the Capacity of Agrobacterium tumefaciens To Serve as a Recipient in virB-Mediated Conjugal Transfer of Plasmid RSF1010

ABSTRACT The virB-encoded type IV transport complex of Agrobacterium tumefaciens mediates the transfer of DNA and proteins into plant cells, as well as the conjugal transfer of IncQ plasmids, such as RSF1010, between Agrobacterium strains. While several studies have indicated that there are physical interactions among the 11 VirB proteins, the functional significance of the interactions has been difficult to establish since all of the proteins are required for substrate transfer. Our previous studies, however, indicated that although all of the VirB proteins are required for the capacity of a strain to serve as an RSF1010 donor, only a subset of these proteins in the recipient is necessary to increase the conjugal frequency by 3 to 4 logs. The roles of particular groups of VirB proteins in this increased recipient activity were examined in the study reported here. Examination of the expression of subgroups of virB genes revealed that translation of virB6 is necessary for expression of downstream open reading frames. Expression of limited subsets of the VirB proteins in a recipient strain lacking the Ti plasmid revealed that the VirB7 to VirB10 proteins yield a subcomplex that is functional in the recipient assay but that the VirB1 to VirB4 proteins, as a group, dramatically increase this activity in strains expressing VirB7 to VirB10. Finally, the membrane distribution and cross-linking patterns of VirB10, but not of VirB8 or VirB9, in a strain expressing only VirB7 to VirB10 are significantly altered compared to the patterns of the wild type. These characteristics are, however, restored to the wild-type status by coexpression of VirB1 to VirB3. Taken together, these results define subsets of type IV transport complex proteins that are critical in allowing a strain to participate as a recipient in virB-mediated conjugal RSF1010 transfer.
Thin film diffusion barrier formation in PDMS microcavities

We describe a method to form glass like thin film barrier in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) microcavities. The reactive fragments for the surface reaction were created from O2 and hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDS) in RF plasma environment. The reaction is based on migration of the reactive fragments into the microcavities by diffusion, to form a glass like thin film barrier to conceal the naked surface of PDMS. The barrier successfully blocked penetration of a fluorescent dye rhodamine B (RhB) into PDMS. The thickness of the barrier could be controlled by the time of reaction and the pressure inside the reaction chamber. There is a wide range of applications of such a technique in various fields, e.g. for coating the covered surfaces of microfluidic channels, tubes, capillaries, medical devices, catheters, as well as chip-integrated capillary electrophoresis and advanced electronic and opto-fluidic packaging.
Redesign of the Columbia University Infobutton Manager

BACKGROUND The Infobutton Manager (IM) is an application that provides clinical users with context-specific links to health information resources. Usage of the first version (IM-1) suggested that the user interface was suboptimal. METHODS We conducted a laboratory-based observational study of IM-1, use, applied standard user interface design techniques to address observed problems, developed a new version (IM-2), conducted a second observational study and analyzed log files of the actual use of IM-1 and IM-2. RESULTS Modifications to the IM resulted in a reduction of "perusal time" (time between evocation of the IM and selecting a topic) from 11.13 to 5.92 seconds. However, evaluation of 14 months of usage logs did not show an appreciable effect on the perusal time or the rate at which users selected a topic once the IM was evoked. CONCLUSIONS Laboratory analysis of the IM was evoked. CONCLUSIONS Laboratory analysis of the IM guided redesign that led to improved performance in the laboratory, but did not address factors that are influencing use.
Generating Easy References: the Case of Document Deixis

This paper argues that algorithms for the generation of referring expressions should aim to make it easy for hearers and readers to find the referent of the expressions that are generated. To illustrate this claim, an algorithm is described for the generation of expressions that refer across a hierarchically ordered domain, and which takes search effort into account by adding logically redundant information. To support the ideas underlying the algorithm, a psycholinguistic experiment is presented that confirms readers’ preference for the generated, logically redundant expressions over non-redundant alternatives.
SWS promoting MHb-IPN-MRN circuit opposes the theta promoting circuit, active wake and REM sleep

The multisynaptic axonal tracts between hippocampus and medial habenula (MHb) observed in my DTI study using probabilistic tractography made me explore their connectivity. Found tract linked hippocampus to septum, and amygdala to bed nucleus of stria terminalis (BNST). Axons from septum and BNST passed by anteromedial thalamic nucleus (AM) to MHb, and from MHb to pineal gland, linked to control of circadian cycles and sleep. Combination of known findings about septum and MHb connectivity and function led to idea that posterior septum activates MHb, leading to activation of IPN, MRN and serotonin release. This MHb-IPN-MRN circuit promotes slow wave sleep (SWS), high serotonin and low acetylcholine state. This SWS promoting circuit reciprocally suppresses the theta oscillations promoting circuit, linked to high acetylcholine in brain, and formed by supramamillary area (SUM) projections to the medial septum (MS) that activates hippocampus or other theta-coupled regions. The MHb pathway inhibits, possibly reciprocally also some stimulating input to thetagenerating SUM and MS, from wake-on nucleus incertus (NI), posterior hypothalamus (PH) and laterodorsal tegmentum (LDT) neurons, and REM-on reticular nucleus pontis oralis (PnO). So the SWSpromoting circuit attenuates theta and both active wake state and REM sleep promoting regions. As the theta in wake state is linked to recording and binding information with their spatiotemporal and relational context by hippocampus, while the SWS supports replay of hippocampally stored information/memory trace and its cortical reactivation, e. g. in retrosplenial cortex linked to autobiographic memory or in prefrontal cortex that can combine any information.
Learning object intrinsic structure for robust visual tracking

In this paper, a novel method to learn the intrinsic object structure for robust visual tracking is proposed. The basic assumption is that the parameterized object state lies on a low dimensional manifold and can be learned from training data. Based on this assumption, firstly we derived the dimensionality reduction and density estimation algorithm for unsupervised learning of object intrinsic representation, the obtained non-rigid part of object state reduces even to 2 dimensions. Secondly the dynamical model is derived and trained based on this intrinsic representation. Thirdly the learned intrinsic object structure is integrated into a particle-filter style tracker. We will show that this intrinsic object representation has some interesting properties and based on which the newly derived dynamical model makes particle-filter style tracker more robust and reliable. Experiments show that the learned tracker performs much better than existing trackers on the tracking of complex non-rigid motions such as fish twisting with self-occlusion and large inter-frame lip motion. The proposed method also has the potential to solve other type of tracking problems.
Personality judgment: A realistic approach to person perception.

Preface. Acknowledgments. Approaching Accuracy. The Very Existence of Personality. Error and Accuracy in the Study of Personality Judgment. Methodological and Philosophical Considerations. The Process of Accurate Personality Judgment. Moderators of Accuracy. Self-Knowledge. Prospects for Improving Accuracy. References. Index.
Automated Feedback for "Fill in the Gap" Programming Exercises

Timely feedback is a vital component in the learning process. It is especially important for beginner students in Information Technology since many have not yet formed an effective internal model of a computer that they can use to construct viable knowledge. Research has shown that learning efficiency is increased if immediate feedback is provided for students. Automatic analysis of student programs has the potential to provide immediate feedback for students and to assist teaching staff in the marking process. This paper describes a "fill in the gap" programming analysis framework which tests students' solutions and gives feedback on their correctness, detects logic errors and provides hints on how to fix these errors. Currently, the framework is being used with the Environment for Learning to Programming (ELP) system at Queensland University of Technology (QUT); however, the framework can be integrated into any existing online learning environment or programming Integrated Development Environment (IDE).