nils-herrmann/clean_scirepeval huggingface dataset:
A Skeleton Bridged Deep Learning Approach for Generating Meshes of Complex Topologies From Single RGB Images
Venue: 2019 IEEE/CVF Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition (CVPR)
Year: 2019

This paper focuses on the challenging task of learning 3D object surface reconstructions from single RGB images. Existing methods achieve varying degrees of success by using different geometric representations. However, they all have their own drawbacks, and cannot well reconstruct those surfaces of complex topologies. To this end, we propose in this paper a skeleton bridged, stage wise learning approach to address the challenge. Our use of skeleton is due to its nice property of topology preservation, while being of lower complexity to learn. To learn skeleton from an input image, we design a deep architecture whose decoder is based on a novel design of parallel streams respectively for synthesis of curve and surface like skeleton points. We use different shape representations of point cloud, volume, and mesh in our stage wise learning, in order to take their respective advantages. We also propose multi stage use of the input image to correct prediction errors that are possibly accumulated in each stage. We conduct intensive experiments to investigate the efficacy of our proposed approach. Qualitative and quantitative results on representative object categories of both simple and complex topologies demonstrate the superiority of our approach over existing ones. We will make our ShapeNet Skeleton dataset publicly available.
A Comparison between Domestic and International Graduate Students on their Work Readiness at a Research University
Venue: Journal of Higher Education Theory and Practice
Year: 2019

One critical issue in educational programs involves the extent to which graduates are ready to begin employment at program completion. Additionally, most research universities make deliberate efforts to enroll students from other countries. An important question regarding the effectiveness of the programs in these universities is whether the international students have comparable preparation and "Work Readiness" as the domestic students. This study revealed that on several of the measures associated with "Work Readiness" international students had lower levels of "Readiness" than domestic students. Also, other differences were found in the groups on issues such as internship experiences and involvement in scholarly activities
Biodiversity and Climate Change: Consequences for Norway Spruce Mountain Forests in Slovakia
Year: 2016

Study of the effects of climate change on Norway Spruce (Picea abies) forests has mainly focused on the diversity of tree species diversity of tree species as a result of the ability of species to tolerate temperature and moisture changes as well as some effects of disturbance regime changes. The tree species' diversity changes in spruce forests due to climate change have been analyzed via gap model. Forest gap model is a dynamic model for calculation basic characteristics of individual forest trees. Input ecological data for model calculations have been taken from the permanent research plots located in primeval forests in mountainous regions in Slovakia. The results of regional scenarios of the climatic change for the territory of Slovakia have been used, from which the values are according to the CGCM3.1 (global) model, KNMI and MPI (regional) models. Model results for conditions of the climate change scenarios suggest a shift of the upper forest limit to the region of the present subalpine zone, in supramontane zone. N. spruce representation will decrease at the expense of beech and precious broadleaved species (Acer sp. Sorbus sp. Fraxinus sp. The most significant tree species diversity changes have been identified for the upper tree line and current belt of dwarf pine (Pinus mugo) occurrence. The results have been also discussed in relation to most important disturbances (wind storms, snow and ice storms) and phenological changes which consequences are little known. Special discussion is focused on biomass production changes in relation to carbon storage diversity in different carbon pools.  Biodiversity, climate change, Norway spruce forests, gap model.
DQELR: An Adaptive Deep Q Network Based Energy and Latency Aware Routing Protocol Design for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks
Venue: IEEE Access
Year: 2019

Underwater acoustic sensor networks (UASNs) have become a popular research topic, with research challenges focused on underwater communication techniques. By incorporating long end to end latency, high energy consumption and dynamic network topology in UASNs, many intelligent routing protocols have been proposed to solve the problem. However, shortcomings still exist, and comprehensive routing protocols are urgently needed. In this paper, we propose an adaptive Deep Q Network based energy and latency aware routing protocol (DQELR) to prolong network lifetimes in UASNs. In the DQELR, a Deep Q Network algorithm with both off policy and on policy methods is adopted to make globally optimal routing decisions. Based on both the energy and depth states of nodes at different communication stages, nodes with the maximum Q value can be selected as forwarders adaptively considering both energy and latency. A hybrid of the broadcast and unicast communication mechanisms is also designed to reduce network overhead. In addition, network topology changes can be addressed through an on policy method that makes a new routing decision when the current route becomes corrupted. With less energy consumption and strict latency limitations, the DQELR can prolong network lifetimes in UASNs. Simulation results show that the DQELR can achieve a superior network lifetime with better latency and energy efficiency performances relative to other general schemes applied in UASNs.
$G$ fixed Hilbert schemes on $K3$ surfaces, modular forms, and eta products
Year: 2019

Let $X$ be a complex $K3$ surface with an effective action of a group $G$ which preserves the holomorphic symplectic form. Let Z_{X,G}(q) \sum_{n=0}\infty} e(\operatorname{Hilb}{n}(X){G} q^{n 1} be the generating function for the Euler characteristics of Hilbert scheme of $G$ invariant length $n$ subschemes. We show that its reciprocal, $Z_{X,G}(q) 1} is the Fourier expansion of a modular cusp form of weight \frac{1}{2} e(X/G) for the congruence subgroup \Gamma_{0}|G| We give an explicit formula for $Z_{X,G} in terms of the Dedekind eta function for all 82 possible (X,G) The key intermediate result we prove is of independent interest: it establishes an eta product identity for a certain shifted theta function of the root lattice of a simply laced root system.
Caring for Bereaved Family Members During the COVID 19 Pandemic: Before and After the Death of a Patient
Venue: Journal of Pain and Symptom Management
Year: 2020

Bereavement care is considered an integral component of quality end of life care endorsed by the palliative care movement. However, few hospitals and health care institutions offer universal bereavement care to all families of patients who die. The current COVID 19 pandemic has highlighted this gap and created a sense of urgency, from a public health perspective, for institutions to provide support to bereaved family members. In this article, drawing upon the palliative care and bereavement literature, we offer suggestions about how to incorporate palliative care tools and psychological strategies into bereavement care for families during this pandemic.
Non convex methods for spectrally sparse signal reconstruction via low rank Hankel matrix completion
Year: 2018

Spectrally sparse signals arise in many applications of signal processing. A spectrally sparse signal is a mixture of a few undamped or damped complex sinusoids. An important problem from practice is to reconstruct such a signal from partial time domain samples. Previous convex methods have the drawback that the computation and storage costs do not scale well with respect to the signal length. This common drawback restricts their applicabilities to large and high dimensional signals. The reconstruction of a spectrally sparse signal from partial samples can be formulated as a low rank Hankel matrix completion problem. We develop two fast and provable non convex solvers, FIHT and PGD. FIHT is based on Riemannian optimization while PGD is based on Burer Monteiro factorization with projected gradient descent. Suppose the underlying spectrally sparse signal is of model order r and length n. We prove that O(r log(n) and O(r log(n) random samples are sufficient for FIHT and PGD respectively to achieve exact recovery with overwhelming probability. Every iteration, the computation and storage costs of both methods are linear with respect to signal length n. Therefore they are suitable for handling spectrally sparse signals of large size, which may be prohibited for previous convex methods. Extensive numerical experiments verify their recovery abilities as well as computation efficiency, and also show that the algorithms are robust to noise and mis specification of the model order. Comparing the two solvers, FIHT is faster for easier problems while PGD has a better recovery ability.
No scientific consensus on GMO safety
Venue: Environmental Sciences Europe
Year: 2015

A broad community of independent scientific researchers and scholars challenges recent claims of a consensus over the safety of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) In the following joint statement, the claimed consensus is shown to be an artificial construct that has been falsely perpetuated through diverse fora. Irrespective of contradictory evidence in the refereed literature, as documented below, the claim that there is now a consensus on the safety of GMOs continues to be widely and often uncritically aired. For decades, the safety of GMOs has been a hotly controversial topic that has been much debated around the world. Published results are contradictory, in part due to the range of different research methods employed, an inadequacy of available procedures, and differences in the analysis and interpretation of data. Such a lack of consensus on safety is also evidenced by the agreement of policymakers from over 160 countries in the UN's Cartagena Biosafety Protocol and the Guidelines of the Codex Alimentarius to authorize careful case by case assessment of each GMO by national authorities to determine whether the particular construct satisfies the national criteria for 'safe' Rigorous assessment of GMO safety has been hampered by the lack of funding independent of proprietary interests. Research for the public good has been further constrained by property rights issues, and by denial of access to research material for researchers unwilling to sign contractual agreements with the developers, which confer unacceptable control over publication to the proprietary interests.The joint statement developed and signed by over 300 independent researchers, and reproduced and published below, does not assert that GMOs are unsafe or safe. Rather, the statement concludes that the scarcity and contradictory nature of the scientific evidence published to date prevents conclusive claims of safety, or of lack of safety, of GMOs. Claims of consensus on the safety of GMOs are not supported by an objective analysis of the refereed literature.
Perspectives on Developing Healthcare Managers in Africa: The Strathmore Business School's Healthcare Management Programme
Venue: Front. Public Health
Year: 2019

A substantial shortage of qualified healthcare professionals in Africa continues, but it is now apparent that professionally trained healthcare managers are an equally important need. Health facilities in Africa typically promote physicians into the role of general manager, but physicians and their lay counterparts routinely admit to being ill prepared for roles as leaders of health systems, healthcare facilities and other services. Few, if any, degree programmes for healthcare management be they master's in hospital administration or specialized MBA programmes are available in these regions. And while many master's in public health programmes exist, inclusion of healthcare management content is often an afterthought. This article presents a prototype programme that was designed to address this gap. This comprehensive healthcare management MBA programme that was established at the Business School of Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya in 2013 was built around the "Leadership Competencies for Health Care Managers" as promulgated by the International Hospital Federation. The article further presents the development, structure and innovations of the programme, thus providing a blueprint for the development of similar programmes throughout the continent, aimed at addressing the substantial shortage of professionally trained healthcare managers.
Indigenous Australians with autism: A scoping review
Venue: Autism the international journal of research and practice
Year: 2020

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with autism spectrum disorder, used interchangeably with the term autism, are among the most marginalised people in Australian society. This review maps out existing and emerging themes in the research involving Indigenous Australians with autism based on a search of the peer reviewed and grey literature. Our search identified 1457 potentially relevant publications. Of these, 19 publications met our inclusion criteria and focused on autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and prevalence, as well as carer and service provider perspectives on autism, and autism support services for Indigenous Australians. We were able to access 17 publications: 12 journal articles, 3 conference presentations, 1 resource booklet and 1 dissertation. Findings suggest similar prevalence rates for autism among Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians, although some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with autism may not receive a diagnosis or may be misdiagnosed. Research on the perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carers and Indigenous and non Indigenous service providers is discussed in relation to Indigenous perspectives on autism, as well as barriers and strategies to improve access to diagnosis and support services. Although not the focus of our review, we briefly mention studies of Indigenous people with autism in countries other than Australia.  We reviewed research involving Indigenous Australians with autism based on a search of the peer reviewed and grey literature. Our search identified 1457 potentially relevant publications. Of these, 19 publications were in line with our main areas of inquiry: autism spectrum disorder diagnosis and prevalence, carer and service provider perspectives on autism, and autism support services. These included 12 journal publications, 3 conference presentations, 1 resource booklet and 1 thesis dissertation. Findings suggest similar prevalence rates for autism among Indigenous and non Indigenous Australians, although some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people with autism may not receive a diagnosis or may be misdiagnosed. We also discuss research on the perspectives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander carers and Indigenous and non Indigenous service providers, as well as barriers and strategies for improving access to diagnosis and support services.
Demographically adjusted norms for the processing speed subtests of the WAIS III in a Spanish speaking adult population: Results from the Neuropsychological Norms for the U.S. Mexico Border Region in Spanish (NP NUMBRS) project
Venue: The Clinical neuropsychologist
Year: 2020

The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) processing speed subtests are among the most ubiquitous indices of processing speed in the field. The aim of this study was to develop and examine demographically adjusted normative data for Spanish language versions of the WAIS III Digit Symbol Coding (DSC) and Symbol Search (SS) subtests for US dwelling Spanish speakers living in the US/Mexico border region.  The sample included 203 healthy participants who were part of the larger Neuropsychological Norms for the US Mexico Border Region in Spanish (NP NUMBRS) project (DSC: n 201; SS: n 200) Results Older age and higher education were both related to lower scores on the DSC and SS subtests (all ps .0001) There were no significant effects for gender (all ps .05) Raw to scaled score conversions were calculated for both subtests, and fractional polynomial equations were derived to compute demographically adjusted T scores accounting for age, education, and gender for each subtest and the Processing Speed Index. Published norms for English speaking non Hispanic white adults slightly overestimated impairment rates (T scores <40) on both the DSC and SS subtests, while the norms for English speaking non Hispanic Black/African Americans and the new NP NUMBRS norms Spanish speakers both yielded impairment rates that fell within expected limits for healthy controls (i.e. 13% 14%  This study suggests that population specific normative data can improve the diagnostic validity of these measures for U.S. dwelling Spanish speakers living in the US/Mexico border region. Future research is needed to investigate the utility of these norms for other U.S. dwelling Spanish speaking subpopulations (e.g. Caribbean, Central American, South American)
The psychology of volition
Venue: Experimental Brain Research
Year: 2013

Volition can be studied from two perspectives. From the third person view, volitional behaviour is internally generated, rather than being determined by the immediate environmental context, and is therefore, to some extent, unpredictable. Such behaviour is not unique to humans, since it is seen in many other species including invertebrates. From the first person view, our experience of volitional behaviour includes a vivid sense of agency. We feel that, through our intentions, we can cause things to happen and we can choose between different actions. Our experience of agency is not direct. It depends on sub personal inferences derived from prior expectations and sensations associated with movement. As a result, our experiences and intuitions about volition can be unreliable and uncertain. Nevertheless, our experience of agency is not a mere epiphenomenon. Anticipation of the regret we might feel after making the wrong choice can alter behaviour. Furthermore, the strong sense of responsibility, associated with agency, has a critical role in creating social cohesion and group benefits. We can only study the experience of agency in humans who can describe their experiences. The discussion of the experience of volition, that introspection and communication make possible, can change our experience of volitional actions. As a result, agency, regret and responsibility are cultural phenomena that are unique to humans.
Comparison of two short DNA barcoding loci (COI and COII) and two longer ribosomal DNA genes (SSU LSU rRNA) for specimen identification among quarantine root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp. and their close relatives
Venue: European Journal of Plant Pathology
Year: 2014

Root knot nematodes (Meloidogyne spp. are important pests of numerous crops worldwide. Some members of this genus have a quarantine status, and accurate species identification is required to prevent further spreading. DNA barcoding is a method for organism identification in non complex DNA backgrounds based on informative motifs in short DNA stretches (600 bp) As part of the EU 7th Framework project QBOL, 15 Meloidogyne species were chosen to compare the resolutions offered by two typical DNA barcoding loci, COI and COII, with the distinguishing signals produced by two ribosomal DNA genes (small and large subunit rDNA; SSU 1,700 and LSU 3,400 bp) None of the four markers distinguished between the tropical species Meloidogyne incognita, M. javanica and M. arenaria. Taking P ID (Liberal) values =0.93 as a measure for species delimitation, the four mtDNA and rDNA markers performed well for the tropical Meloidogyne species complex, M. enterolobii, M. hapla, and M. maritima. Within cluster III A (Holterman et al. Phytopathology, 99, 227 235, 2009) SSU rDNA did not offer resolution at species level. Both mtDNA loci COI and COII did, whereas for LSU rDNA a longer fragment =700 bp) is required. The high level of mitochondrial heteroplasmy recently reported for M. chitwoodi (Humphreys Pereira and Elling Nematology, 15, 315 327, 2013) was not found in the populations under investigation, suggesting this could be a regional phenomenon. For identification of RKNs, we suggest the combined use of SSU rDNA with one of three other markers presented here.
Effects of an individual 12 week community located "start to run" program on physical capacity, walking, fatigue, cognitive function, brain volumes, and structures in persons with multiple sclerosis
Venue: Multiple sclerosis
Year: 2019

Exercise therapy studies in persons with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) primarily focused on motor outcomes in mid disease stage, while cognitive function and neural correlates were only limitedly addressed.  This pragmatic randomized controlled study investigated the effects of a remotely supervised community located "start to run" program on physical and cognitive function, fatigue, quality of life, brain volume, and connectivity.  In all, 42 pwMS were randomized to either experimental (EXP) or waiting list control (WLC) group. The EXP group received individualized training instructions during 12 weeks (3x/week) to be performed in their community aiming to participate in a running event. Measures were physical (VO2max, sit to stand test, Six Minute Walk Test (6MWT) Multiple Sclerosis Walking Scale 12 (MSWS 12) and cognitive function (Rao's Brief Repeatable Battery (BRB) Paced Auditory Serial Attention Test (PASAT) fatigue (Fatigue Scale for Motor and Cognitive Function (FSMC) quality of life (Multiple Sclerosis Impact Scale 29 (MSIS 29) and imaging. Brain volumes and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) were quantified using FSL SIENA/FIRST and FSL TBSS.  In all, 35 pwMS completed the trial. Interaction effects in favor of the EXP group were found for VO2max, sit to stand test, MSWS 12, Spatial Recall Test, FSMC, MSIS 29, and pallidum volume. VO2max improved by 1.5 mL/kg/min, MSWS 12 by 4, FSMC by 11, and MSIS 29 by 14 points. The Spatial Recall Test improved by more than 10%  Community located run training improved aerobic capacity, functional mobility, visuospatial memory, fatigue, and quality of life and pallidum volume in pwMS.
Large Scale Multi Domain Belief Tracking with Knowledge Sharing
Venue: ArXiv
Year: 2018

Robust dialogue belief tracking is a key component in maintaining good quality dialogue systems. The tasks that dialogue systems are trying to solve are becoming increasingly complex, requiring scalability to multi domain, semantically rich dialogues. However, most current approaches have difficulty scaling up with domains because of the dependency of the model parameters on the dialogue ontology. In this paper, a novel approach is introduced that fully utilizes semantic similarity between dialogue utterances and the ontology terms, allowing the information to be shared across domains. The evaluation is performed on a recently collected multi domain dialogues dataset, one order of magnitude larger than currently available corpora. Our model demonstrates great capability in handling multi domain dialogues, simultaneously outperforming existing state of the art models in single domain dialogue tracking tasks.