nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
Beam search for learning a deep Convolutional Neural Network of 3D shapes
Venue: 2016 23rd International Conference on Pattern Recognition (ICPR)

This paper addresses 3D shape recognition. Recent work typically represents a 3D shape as a set of binary variables corresponding to 3D voxels of a uniform 3D grid centered on the shape, and resorts to deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs) for modeling these binary variables. Robust learning of such CNNs is currently limited by the small datasets of 3D shapes available an order of magnitude smaller than other common datasets in computer vision. Related work typically deals with the small training datasets using a number of ad hoc, hand tuning strategies. To address this issue, we formulate CNN learning as a beam search aimed at identifying an optimal CNN architecture namely, the number of layers, nodes, and their connectivity in the network as well as estimating parameters of such an optimal CNN. Each state of the beam search corresponds to a candidate CNN. Two types of actions are defined to add new convolutional filters or new convolutional layers to a parent CNN, and thus transition to children states. The utility function of each action is efficiently computed by transferring parameter values of the parent CNN to its children, thereby enabling an efficient beam search. Our experimental evaluation on the 3D ModelNet dataset demonstrates that our model pursuit using the beam search yields a CNN with superior performance on 3D shape classification than the state of the art.
INSTAFRENCH: INVESTIGATING THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND STUDENT SELECTED IMAGES TO SUPPORT L2 WRITING

Social media has quickly become an integral part of day to day interaction for many university students. By infusing usage of the popular social networking site Instagram into the curriculum of three French 1002 classes, this exploratory study aimed to investigate the role of image as a tool to support learning writing in the L2 in a lower division French class. Data showed that student perception on the effect of images on their comprehension of their classmate's writing as well as their classmate's understanding of their own writing were positive.  computer mediated communication, social media, French, L2 identity, willingness to communicate INSTAFRENCH: INVESTIGATING THE USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA TO INCREASE MOTIVATION AND WILLINGNESS TO COMMUNICATE IN THE FRENCH CLASSROOM
Setting research priorities to improve global newborn health and prevent stillbirths by 2025
Venue: Journal of global health

In 2013, an estimated 2.8 million newborns died and 2.7 million were stillborn. A much greater number suffer from long term impairment associated with preterm birth, intrauterine growth restriction, congenital anomalies, and perinatal or infectious causes. With the approaching deadline for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in 2015, there was a need to set the new research priorities on newborns and stillbirth with a focus not only on survival but also on health, growth and development. We therefore carried out a systematic exercise to set newborn health research priorities for 2013 2025.  We used adapted Child Health and Nutrition Research Initiative (CHNRI) methods for this prioritization exercise. We identified and approached the 200 most productive researchers and 400 program experts, and 132 of them submitted research questions online. These were collated into a set of 205 research questions, sent for scoring to the 600 identified experts, and were assessed and scored by 91 experts.  Nine out of top ten identified priorities were in the domain of research on improving delivery of known interventions, with simplified neonatal resuscitation program and clinical algorithms and improved skills of community health workers leading the list. The top 10 priorities in the domain of development were led by ideas on improved Kangaroo Mother Care at community level, how to improve the accuracy of diagnosis by community health workers, and perinatal audits. The 10 leading priorities for discovery research focused on stable surfactant with novel modes of administration for preterm babies, ability to diagnose fetal distress and novel tocolytic agents to delay or stop preterm labour.  These findings will assist both donors and researchers in supporting and conducting research to close the knowledge gaps for reducing neonatal mortality, morbidity and long term impairment. WHO, SNL and other partners will work to generate interest among key national stakeholders, governments, NGOs, and research institutes in these priorities, while encouraging research funders to support them. We will track research funding, relevant requests for proposals and trial registers to monitor if the priorities identified by this exercise are being addressed.
Alcohol consumption and corresponding factors: A novel perspective on the risk factors of esophageal cancer.
Venue: Oncology letters

Esophageal cancer is the eighth most common type of cancer in the world, and the sixth most common cause of mortality from cancer. Alcohol consumption is the major risk factor for esophageal cancer, due to the worldwide prevalence and high carcinogenicity of the ethanol metabolite. In epidemiological studies, the efficiency of alcohol intake to enhance the risk of esophageal cancer is altered by daily ethanol consumption, type of alcoholic beverages ingested, time since quitting drinking, age of drinking initiation, differences in population and subtypes of esophageal cancer. Corresponding factors, including gene polymorphisms, tobacco smoking, oral microorganisms and folate deficiency, reveal a synergistic effect in concurrent alcohol users that may lead to an increased risk of developing esophageal cancer. Consequently, esophageal cancer prevention involves multiple aspects, including quitting drinking and smoking, maintaining an adequate oral health and ingesting adequate quantities of folate, particularly in genetically high risk populations.
Overview of SHVC: Scalable Extensions of the High Efficiency Video Coding Standard
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology

This paper provides an overview of Scalable High efficiency Video Coding (SHVC) the scalable extensions of the High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard, published in the second version of HEVC. In addition to the temporal scalability already provided by the first version of HEVC, SHVC further provides spatial, signal to noise ratio, bit depth, and color gamut scalability functionalities, as well as combinations of any of these. The SHVC architecture design enables SHVC implementations to be built using multiple repurposed single layer HEVC codec cores, with the addition of interlayer reference picture processing modules. The general multilayer high level syntax design common to all multilayer HEVC extensions, including SHVC, MV HEVC, and 3D HEVC, is described. The interlayer reference picture processing modules, including texture and motion resampling and color mapping, are also described. Performance comparisons are provided for SHVC versus simulcast HEVC and versus the scalable video coding extension to H.264/advanced video coding.
Overview of the Multiview and 3D Extensions of High Efficiency Video Coding
Venue: IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology

The High Efficiency Video Coding (HEVC) standard has recently been extended to support efficient representation of multiview video and depth based 3D video formats. The multiview extension, MV HEVC, allows efficient coding of multiple camera views and associated auxiliary pictures, and can be implemented by reusing single layer decoders without changing the block level processing modules since block level syntax and decoding processes remain unchanged. Bit rate savings compared with HEVC simulcast are achieved by enabling the use of inter view references in motion compensated prediction. The more advanced 3D video extension, 3D HEVC, targets a coded representation consisting of multiple views and associated depth maps, as required for generating additional intermediate views in advanced 3D displays. Additional bit rate reduction compared with MV HEVC is achieved by specifying new block level video coding tools, which explicitly exploit statistical dependencies between video texture and depth and specifically adapt to the properties of depth maps. The technical concepts and features of both extensions are presented in this paper.
Parent child warmth as a potential mediator of childhood exposure to intimate partner violence and positive adulthood functioning
Venue: Anxiety, stress, and coping

Links between childhood exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) and adult functioning are clear, but less research has examined the potential underpinnings of this association, especially the long term effects of the parent child relationship on adult well being. We hypothesized that (i) childhood exposure to IPV would be negatively related to parent child warmth and positively related to symptoms of psychopathology during adulthood and (ii) the relationship between IPV exposure and positive outcomes in adulthood (i.e. high life satisfaction and low psychopathology) would be mediated by parent child warmth.  Participants included 703 Swedish adults (20 24)  Participants responded to a self report survey assessing violence exposure, parental warmth in childhood, and current mental health and well being. Using multivariate regression and path analysis, models of the relationships between IPV exposure, parent child warmth, symptoms of psychopathology during adulthood, and life satisfaction were examined. Mediation models were considered exploratory.  IPV exposure was related to lower levels of parent child warmth, higher levels of psychopathology symptoms, and lower life satisfaction. The relationship between IPV exposure and positive outcomes in adulthood was mediated by parent child warmth.  Warm parent child interactions may play a key role in long term positive functioning for those exposed to IPV during childhood.
Gender Differences in Parental Images and Intimate Relationships: A Northern Finland Sample

One of the most important components of the developmental environment is the emotional atmosphere. Childhood experiences and perceptions of parental roles and behavior result in memory models and images, which may affect the children's relationships in adulthood. In the present study, the cross sectional associations between childhood parental images and the quality of current intimate adult relationships were studied in a sub study of a mother child follow up in northern Finland. The data were collected with a questionnaire mailed to 28 29 year old adults, with a total of 337 replies. The present study included those respondents (N 253) who were married or cohabiting (153 women, 100 men) Since offspring can be affected by gender specific parenting patterns, the analyses were made separately for both genders. In women, supportiveness in both maternal and paternal images was associated with a balanced intimate relationship, the latter also being associated with a loving relationship and providing protection against quarrelsome and repressive submissive aspects of the relationship. In men, maternal supportiveness was linked with a balanced and loving intimate relationship and protected against a quarrelsome relationship. Paternal domination was associated with repressive submissive relationships regardless of gender. In conclusion, the qualities of recalled childhood parenting are important to adult well being in intimate relationships in a gender specific manner. The specific importance of the father to the children's later life was also observed. This would indicate that supporting the relationship of the child with both parents is equally important for professionals working with children and families.
Experimental observations on noble metal nanonuggets and Fe Ti oxides, and the transport of platinum group elements in silicate melts

Platinum group element (PGE) nanonuggets are a nuisance in experimental studies designed to measure solubility or partitioning of noble metals in silicate melts. Instead of treating nanonuggets as experimental artifacts, we studied their behaviour motivated by recent discoveries of PGE nanonuggets in a variety of natural settings. We used an experimental setup consisting of AgPd, Pt or AuPd capsules and Fe( Ti) oxide saturated hydrous peralkaline silicate melts to maximise nanonugget production. TABS (Te, As, Bi, Sb, Sn) commonly occur in PGM (platinum group minerals) prompting addition of Bi to our experiments to investigate its properties as well. Three dimensional optical examination by 100x objective and immersion oil reveals variable colour which correlates with nanonugget size and shape due to plasmon resonance effects. We observe two textural types: (1) intermediate sized nanonuggets dispersed in the glass and adhering to oxides, and (2) abundant fine nanonuggets dispersed in the glass with coarse euhedral crystals in contact with oxides. Slow cooling removes dispersed nanonuggets and greatly coarsens existing oxide associated metal crystals. Nanonugget free halos are commonly observed around oxide grains. All metal phases are composed of major (Ag, Pd) and trace (Pt, Ir, Au) capsule material. Our results show reduction processes, imposed by growing oxides, causing local metal saturation in the oxide rich zones with preferential nucleation on smaller oxide grains. The redox gradient then blocks additional metals from diffusing into oxide rich zones, forming halos. As the entire experimental charge is reduced throughout the run, nanonuggets form in the distal glass. Bismuth contents of metal phases do not depend on Bi2O3 amounts dissolved in the melt. Further PGM crystallisation consumes nanonuggets as feedstock. We conclude that the appearance of metallic PGE phases happens in two stages: first as nanonuggets and then as larger PGM. Once formed, nanonuggets cannot be removed by oxidation or dissolution, but only by PGM coarsening. Sulfur poor PGE ore deposits commonly contain more PGE than permitted by existing estimates of equilibrium solubility in silicate melts. This is commonly explained by initial scavenging of PGE by sulfide liquids followed by S loss, but evidence for S loss is not conclusive. We suggest that nanonuggets may be a means to transport PGE from source regions to form ore deposits, followed by direct PGM crystallisation from silicate melt without intermediate concentration by sulfide liquids.
Virtual desktop infrastructure for rendering education technology in multifaceted learning platforms A case study at Botho University
Venue: 2016 International Conference on Signal Processing, Communication, Power and Embedded System (SCOPES)

Educational Universities are gradually enhancing the traditional delivery mode towards blended learning, virtual classrooms and distance learning with the help of technology to reach the various demands of programs needed by people around the world. Learners are looking for specific programs of their interest, regardless of the location. Modern learning trends depend more on the technology and electronic gadgets like tablets, smart phones, laptops and small computers, which requires more technical support from the institutions. Most institutions are facing challenges in rendering education technology such as software and hardware, without creating a gap between the distance learners and the face to face learners. This paper provides an effective and efficient software infrastructure system for educational institutions in multifaceted learning platforms. The proposed system helps by providing the learners a Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) from anywhere to use without having any limitations in the device specifications.
Reciprocity breaking during nonlinear propagation of adapted beams through random media.
Venue: Optics express

Adaptive optics (AO) systems rely on the principle of reciprocity, or symmetry with respect to the interchange of point sources and receivers. These systems use the light received from a low power emitter on or near a target to compensate phase aberrations acquired by a laser beam during linear propagation through random media. If, however, the laser beam propagates nonlinearly, reciprocity is broken, potentially undermining AO correction. Here we examine the consequences of this breakdown, providing the first analysis of AO applied to high peak power laser beams. While discussed for general random and nonlinear media, we consider specific examples of Kerr nonlinear, turbulent atmosphere.
Leveling up the Classroom: A Theoretical Approach to Education Gamification

Gamification continues to grow in popularity, and has significant application to education and student motivation. Because gamification is a large, encompassing concept it may be best to assess its effects by breaking down its composite features and assessing the positive and negative effects of these features. This chapter takes features including immediate feedback, use of narrative, tailored challenges, and displays of progress, and discusses popular current theories in communication and psychology to discuss the potential benefits and drawbacks of each feature, placing a focus on student motivation, comparison, and self perception. This moves to discuss practical ways to best employ gamification features, and discusses the impact of digital technology on gamification in the classroom and should be useful for researchers interested in the topic and for teachers considering how to best gamify their classrooms.
Rapid and sustained symptom reduction following psilocybin treatment for anxiety and depression in patients with life threatening cancer: a randomized controlled trial
Venue: Journal of psychopharmacology

Clinically significant anxiety and depression are common in patients with cancer, and are associated with poor psychiatric and medical outcomes. Historical and recent research suggests a role for psilocybin to treat cancer related anxiety and depression.  In this double blind, placebo controlled, crossover trial, 29 patients with cancer related anxiety and depression were randomly assigned and received treatment with single dose psilocybin (0.3 mg/kg) or niacin, both in conjunction with psychotherapy. The primary outcomes were anxiety and depression assessed between groups prior to the crossover at 7 weeks.  Prior to the crossover, psilocybin produced immediate, substantial, and sustained improvements in anxiety and depression and led to decreases in cancer related demoralization and hopelessness, improved spiritual wellbeing, and increased quality of life. At the 6.5 month follow up, psilocybin was associated with enduring anxiolytic and anti depressant effects (approximately 60 80% of participants continued with clinically significant reductions in depression or anxiety) sustained benefits in existential distress and quality of life, as well as improved attitudes towards death. The psilocybin induced mystical experience mediated the therapeutic effect of psilocybin on anxiety and depression.  In conjunction with psychotherapy, single moderate dose psilocybin produced rapid, robust and enduring anxiolytic and anti depressant effects in patients with cancer related psychological distress.
Psilocybin produces substantial and sustained decreases in depression and anxiety in patients with life threatening cancer: A randomized double blind trial
Venue: Journal of psychopharmacology

Cancer patients often develop chronic, clinically significant symptoms of depression and anxiety. Previous studies suggest that psilocybin may decrease depression and anxiety in cancer patients. The effects of psilocybin were studied in 51 cancer patients with life threatening diagnoses and symptoms of depression and/or anxiety. This randomized, double blind, cross over trial investigated the effects of a very low (placebo like) dose (1 or 3 mg/70 kg) vs. a high dose (22 or 30 mg/70 kg) of psilocybin administered in counterbalanced sequence with 5 weeks between sessions and a 6 month follow up. Instructions to participants and staff minimized expectancy effects. Participants, staff, and community observers rated participant moods, attitudes, and behaviors throughout the study. High dose psilocybin produced large decreases in clinician and self rated measures of depressed mood and anxiety, along with increases in quality of life, life meaning, and optimism, and decreases in death anxiety. At 6 month follow up, these changes were sustained, with about 80% of participants continuing to show clinically significant decreases in depressed mood and anxiety. Participants attributed improvements in attitudes about life/self, mood, relationships, and spirituality to the high dose experience, with >80% endorsing moderately or greater increased well being/life satisfaction. Community observer ratings showed corresponding changes. Mystical type psilocybin experience on session day mediated the effect of psilocybin dose on therapeutic outcomes.
Psilocybin with psychological support for treatment resistant depression: an open label feasibility study.
Venue: The lancet. Psychiatry

Psilocybin is a serotonin receptor agonist that occurs naturally in some mushroom species. Recent studies have assessed the therapeutic potential of psilocybin for various conditions, including end of life anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder, and smoking and alcohol dependence, with promising preliminary results. Here, we aimed to investigate the feasibility, safety, and efficacy of psilocybin in patients with unipolar treatment resistant depression.  In this open label feasibility trial, 12 patients (six men, six women) with moderate to severe, unipolar, treatment resistant major depression received two oral doses of psilocybin (10 mg and 25 mg, 7 days apart) in a supportive setting. There was no control group. Psychological support was provided before, during, and after each session. The primary outcome measure for feasibility was patient reported intensity of psilocybin's effects. Patients were monitored for adverse reactions during the dosing sessions and subsequent clinic and remote follow up. Depressive symptoms were assessed with standard assessments from 1 week to 3 months after treatment, with the 16 item Quick Inventory of Depressive Symptoms (QIDS) serving as the primary efficacy outcome.  Psilocybin's acute psychedelic effects typically became detectable 30 60 min after dosing, peaked 2 3 h after dosing, and subsided to negligible levels at least 6 h after dosing. Mean self rated intensity (on a 0 1 scale) was 0*51 (SD 0*36) for the low dose session and 0*75 (SD 0*27) for the high dose session. Psilocybin was well tolerated by all of the patients, and no serious or unexpected adverse events occurred. The adverse reactions we noted were transient anxiety during drug onset (all patients) transient confusion or thought disorder (nine patients) mild and transient nausea (four patients) and transient headache (four patients) Relative to baseline, depressive symptoms were markedly reduced 1 week (mean QIDS difference 11*8, 95% CI 9*15 to 14*35, p=0*002, Hedges' g=3*1) and 3 months 9*2, 95% CI 5*69 to 12*71, p=0*003, Hedges' g=2) after high dose treatment. Marked and sustained improvements in anxiety and anhedonia were also noted.  This study provides preliminary support for the safety and efficacy of psilocybin for treatment resistant depression and motivates further trials, with more rigorous designs, to better examine the therapeutic potential of this approach.