diff --git a/projects/disclaimer.tex b/projects/disclaimer.tex
index e328d05..4d63ac7 100644
--- a/projects/disclaimer.tex
+++ b/projects/disclaimer.tex
@@ -8,28 +8,27 @@
       \vspace{1ex}
 
       The {\bf code} and the {\bf presentation} should be uploaded to
-      ILIAS at latest on Thursday, February XXXXth, 13:00h.  The
-      presentations start on XXXXXXX. Please hand in your
-      presentation as a pdf file. Bundle everything (the pdf and the
-      code) into a {\em single} zip-file.
+      ILIAS at latest on Wednesday, February 8th, 23:59h. We will
+      store all presentations on one computer to allow fast
+      transitions between talks. The presentations start on
+      Thursday 9:00h. Please hand in your presentation as a pdf file. Bundle
+      everything (the pdf, the code, and the data) into a {\em
+      single} zip-file.
 
       \vspace{1ex}
 
       The {\bf code} should be exectuable without any further
-      adjustments from our side. This means that you need to include all
-      additional functions you wrote and the data into the
-      zip-file. A single {\em main} script should produce the same
-      {\em figures} that you use in your slides. The figures should
-      follow the guidelines for proper plotting as discussed in the
-      course. The code should be properly commented
-      and comprehensible by a third persons (use proper and consistent
-      variable and function names).
-
-      \vspace{1ex} \textbf{Please write your name and matriculation
-      number as a comment at the top of a script called
-      \texttt{main.m}.}  The \texttt{main.m} script then should
-      coordinate the execution of your analysis by e.g. calling
-      sub-scripts and functions with appropriate parameters.
+      adjustments from our side.  A single {\em main} script should
+      coordinate the analysis by calling functions and sub-scripts and
+      should produce the {\em same} figures that you use in your
+      slides. The code should be properly commented and comprehensible
+      by a third persons (use proper and consistent variable and
+      function names).
+
+      \vspace{1ex} 
+
+      \textbf{Please write your name and matriculation number as a
+      comment at the top of the \texttt{main.m} script.}
 
       \vspace{1ex}
       
@@ -37,7 +36,9 @@
       held in English. In the presentation you should (i) briefly
       describe the problem, (ii) explain how you solved it
       algorithmically (don't show your entire code), and (iii) present
-      figures showing your results. We will store all presentations on
-      one computer to allow fast transitions between talks.
+      figures showing your results. All data-related figures you show
+      in the presentation should be produced by your program. It is
+      always a good idea to illustrate the problem with basic plots of
+      the raw-data.
 
     }}
diff --git a/projects/project_lif/Makefile b/projects/project_lif/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6422eb4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_lif/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+latex:
+	pdflatex *.tex > /dev/null
+	pdflatex *.tex > /dev/null
+
+clean:
+	rm -rf *.log *.aux *.zip *.out auto
+	rm -f `basename *.tex .tex`.pdf
+
+zip: latex
+	zip `basename *.tex .tex`.zip *.pdf *.dat *.mat *.m
diff --git a/projects/project_lif/lif.tex b/projects/project_lif/lif.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e42d352
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_lif/lif.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,160 @@
+\documentclass[addpoints,11pt]{exam}
+\usepackage{url}
+\usepackage{color}
+\usepackage{hyperref}
+
+\pagestyle{headandfoot}
+\runningheadrule
+\firstpageheadrule
+\firstpageheader{Scientific Computing}{Project Assignment}{11/05/2014
+  -- 11/06/2014}
+%\runningheader{Homework 01}{Page \thepage\ of \numpages}{23. October 2014}
+\firstpagefooter{}{}{}
+\runningfooter{}{}{}
+\pointsinmargin
+\bracketedpoints
+
+%%%%% listings %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
+\usepackage{listings}
+\lstset{
+ basicstyle=\ttfamily,
+ numbers=left,
+ showstringspaces=false,
+ language=Matlab,
+ breaklines=true,
+ breakautoindent=true,
+ columns=flexible,
+ frame=single,
+% captionpos=t,
+ xleftmargin=2em,
+ xrightmargin=1em,
+% aboveskip=11pt,
+ %title=\lstname,
+% title={\protect\filename@parse{\lstname}\protect\filename@base.\protect\filename@ext}
+ }
+
+
+%\printanswers
+%\shadedsolutions
+
+
+\begin{document}
+%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Submission instructions %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
+\sffamily
+% \begin{flushright}
+% \gradetable[h][questions]
+% \end{flushright}
+
+\begin{center}
+  \input{../disclaimer.tex}
+\end{center}
+
+%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Questions %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
+
+\begin{questions}
+  \question The temporal evolution of the membrane voltage $V(t)$ of a
+  passive neuron is described by the membrane equation
+  \begin{equation}
+    \label{passivemembrane}
+    \tau \frac{dV}{dt} = -V + E
+  \end{equation}
+  where $\tau=10$\,ms is the membrane time constant and $E(t)$ is the
+  reversal potential that also depends on time $t$.
+
+  Such a differential equation can be numerically solved with the Euler method.
+  For this the time is discretized by a time step $\Delta t=0.1$\,ms.
+  The $i$-th time point is then at time $t_i = i \cdot \Delta t$.
+  In matlab we get the time points $t_i$ simply by
+  \begin{lstlisting}
+dt = 0.1;
+tmax = 100.0;
+time = [0.0:dt:tmax]; % t_i
+  \end{lstlisting}
+  When the membrane potential at time $t_0 = 0$ is $V_0$, the so
+  called ``initial condition'', then we can iteratively compute the 
+  membrane potentials $V_i$ for successive time points $t_i$ according to
+  \begin{equation}
+    \label{euler}
+    V_{i+1} = V_i + (-V_i + E_i) \frac{\Delta t}{\tau}
+  \end{equation}
+
+  \begin{parts}
+    \part Write a function that computes the time course of the
+    membrane potential of the passive membrane. The function gets as
+    input arguments the initial condition $V_0$, the vector with the
+    time course of $E(t)$, the value of the membrane time-constant
+    $\tau$, and the time step $\Delta t$.
+
+    \part In order to test your function set $V_0=1$\,mV and $E(t)=0$
+    and compute $V(t)$ for $t_{max}=50$\,ms. Plot $V(t)$ and compare it to 
+    the expected result of $V(t) = \exp(-t/\tau)$.
+
+    Why is $V=0$ the resting potential of this neuron?
+
+    \part Response of the passive membrane to a step input. 
+
+    Set $V_0=0$. Construct a vector for the input $E(t)$ such that
+    $E(t)=0$ for $t<20$\,ms and $t>70$\,ms and $E(t)=10$\,mV for
+    $20$\,ms $<t<70$\,ms. Plot $E(t)$ and the resulting $V(t)$ for
+    $t_{max}=120$\,ms.
+
+    \part Response to sine waves.
+
+    As an input we now use $E(t)=\sin(2\pi f t)$. Compute the time
+    course of the membrane potential in response to this input
+    ($t_{max}=1$\,s). Vary the frequency $f$ between 1 and 100\,Hz.  Be
+    careful with the units within the sine function --- $ft$ must be
+    unitless.
+
+    What do you observe?
+
+    \part Transfer function of the passive neuron.
+
+    Measure the amplitude of the voltage responses evoked by the
+    sinusoidal inputs as the maximum of the last 900\,ms of the
+    responses.  Plot the amplitude of the response as a function of
+    input frequency. This is the transfer function of the passive neuron.
+
+    How does the transfer function depend on the membrane time
+    constant?
+
+    \part Leaky integrate-and-fire neuron.
+
+    The passive neuron can be turned into a spiking neuron by
+    introducing a fixed voltage threshold. Whenever the computed
+    membrane potential of the passive neuron crosses the voltage
+    threshold a spike is generated and the membrane voltage is set to
+    the reset potential $V_R$ that we here set to zero. ``Generating a
+    spike'' only means that we note down the time of the threshold
+    crossing as a time where an action potential occurred. The
+    waveform of the action potential is not modeled. Here we use a
+    voltage threshold of one.
+
+    Write a function that implements this leaky integrate-and-fire
+    neuron by expanding the function for the passive neuron
+    appropriate. The function returns a vector of spike times.
+
+    Illustrate how this model works by appropriate plot(s) and
+    input(s) $E(t)$, e.g. constant inputs lower and higher than the
+    voltage threshold.
+
+    \part Show the response of the leaky integrate-and-fire neuron to
+    a sine wave $E(t)=A\sin(2\pi ft)$ with $A=2$\,mV and frequency
+    $f=10$, 20, and 30\,Hz.
+
+    \part Compute the firing rate as a function of the frequency of
+    the stimulating sine wave ($A=2$\,mV and frequencies between 5 and
+    30\,Hz). For a spike train with $n$ spikes at times $t_k$ ($k=1,
+    2, \ldots n$) the firing rate is
+    \begin{equation}
+      \label{firingrate}
+      r = \frac{n-1}{t_n - t_1}
+    \end{equation}
+
+    What do you observe? Does the firing rate encode the frequency of
+    the stimulus?
+  \end{parts}
+
+\end{questions}
+
+\end{document}
diff --git a/projects/project_lif/solution/lif.m b/projects/project_lif/solution/lif.m
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..f287491
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_lif/solution/lif.m
@@ -0,0 +1,116 @@
+%% general settings:
+tau = 10.0;
+dt = 0.1;
+
+%% test passive membrane:
+tmax = 50.0;
+time = [0:dt:tmax];
+E = zeros(length(time), 1);
+V = passivemembrane(1.0, E, tau, dt);
+expfun = exp(-time/tau);
+figure()
+plot(time, V, 'b', 'linewidth', 2);
+hold on;
+plot(time, expfun, 'r');
+hold off;
+
+%% step input:
+tmax = 120.0;
+time = [0:dt:tmax];
+E = zeros(length(time), 1);
+E(20/dt:70/dt) = 10;
+V = passivemembrane(0.0, E, tau, dt);
+figure()
+plot(time, E, 'r');
+hold on;
+plot(time, V, 'b', 'linewidth', 2);
+hold off;
+
+%% sine waves:
+tmax = 1000.0;
+time = [0:dt:tmax];
+freqs = [1.0 10.0 30.0 100.0];
+figure();
+for k = 1:length(freqs)
+    f = freqs(k);
+    E = sin(2*pi*0.001*f*time);
+    V = passivemembrane(0.0, E, tau, dt);
+    subplot(4, 1, k);
+    plot(time, E, 'r');
+    hold on;
+    plot(time, V, 'b', 'linewidth', 2);
+    hold off;
+end
+
+
+%% transfer function:
+tmax = 1000.0;
+time = [0:dt:tmax];
+taus = [3.0 10.0 30.0];
+figure();
+for tau = taus
+    freqs = [1.0:1.0:100.0];
+    rates = zeros(length(freqs), 1);
+    for k = 1:length(freqs)
+        f = freqs(k);
+        E = sin(2*pi*0.001*f*time);
+        V = passivemembrane(0.0, E, tau, dt);
+        rates(k) = max(V(100/dt:end));
+    end
+    plot(freqs, rates);
+    hold on;
+end
+hold off;
+
+
+%% leaky IaF:
+tau = 10.0;
+tmax = 50.0;
+time = [0:dt:tmax];
+E = zeros(length(time), 1) + 1.5;
+[spikes, V] = lifspikes(0.0, E, tau, dt);
+figure()
+plot(time, V, 'b', 'linewidth', 2);
+hold on;
+plot(spikes, ones(length(spikes), 1), 'or');
+hold off;
+
+
+%% leaky IaF and sine input:
+tau = 10.0;
+tmax = 500.0;
+time = [0:dt:tmax];
+f = 10.0;
+E = 2.0*sin(2*pi*0.001*f*time);
+[spikes, V] = lifspikes(0.0, E, tau, dt);
+figure()
+subplot(2, 1, 1);
+plot(time, V, 'b', 'linewidth', 2);
+hold on;
+plot(spikes, ones(length(spikes), 1), 'or');
+hold off;
+
+
+%% transfer function of LIF spikes:
+tmax = 1000.0;
+time = [0:dt:tmax];
+taus = [3.0 10.0];
+figure();
+for tau = taus
+    freqs = [5.0:0.1:30.0];
+    rates = zeros(length(freqs), 1);
+    for k = 1:length(freqs)
+        f = freqs(k);
+        E = 2.0*sin(2*pi*0.001*f*time);
+        [spikes, V] = lifspikes(0.0, E, tau, dt);
+        spikes = spikes(spikes>100.0);
+        if length(spikes) > 2
+            rates(k) = 1000.0*(length(spikes)-1)/(spikes(end)-spikes(1));
+        else
+            rates(k) = 0.0;
+        end
+    end
+    plot(freqs, rates);
+    hold on;
+end
+hold off;
\ No newline at end of file
diff --git a/projects/project_lif/solution/lifspikes.m b/projects/project_lif/solution/lifspikes.m
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..328b927
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_lif/solution/lifspikes.m
@@ -0,0 +1,14 @@
+function [spikes, voltage] = lifspikes(V0, E, tau, dt)
+voltage = zeros(length(E), 1);
+V = V0;
+thresh = 1.0;
+spikes = [];
+for k = 1:length(E)
+    voltage(k) = V;
+    if V > thresh
+        spikes = [spikes; k*dt];
+        V = 0.0;
+    end
+    V = V + (-V+E(k))*dt/tau;
+end
+end
diff --git a/projects/project_lif/solution/passivemembrane.m b/projects/project_lif/solution/passivemembrane.m
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b6c2a2d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_lif/solution/passivemembrane.m
@@ -0,0 +1,8 @@
+function voltage = passivemembrane(V0, E, tau, dt)
+voltage = zeros(length(E), 1);
+V = V0;
+for k = 1:length(E)
+    voltage(k) = V;
+    V = V + (-V+E(k))*dt/tau;
+end
+end
diff --git a/projects/project_random_walk/random_walk.tex b/projects/project_random_walk/random_walk.tex
index e0f906a..797623f 100644
--- a/projects/project_random_walk/random_walk.tex
+++ b/projects/project_random_walk/random_walk.tex
@@ -41,7 +41,7 @@ in food gain the animal switches back to a random walk.
 
 \begin{questions}
   \question{} The accompanying dataset (random\_world.mat) contains a
-  single variable stored. This is the world (10000\,m$^2$ area with
+  single variable. This is the world (10000\,m$^2$ area with
   10\,cm spatial resolution) in which there are randomly distributed
   food sources (Gaussian blotches of food).
   
@@ -58,10 +58,12 @@ in food gain the animal switches back to a random walk.
     with MATLAB)\\[0.5ex]
     \part{} Same as above, but create a model animal that has some memory,
     i.e. the direction is kept constant as long as there is a positive
-    gradient in the food gain. Otherwise a random walk is performed\\[0.5ex]
+    gradient in the food gain. Otherwise, a random walk is performed.\\[0.5ex]
     \part{} Plot a typical example walk also for this agent.\\[0.5ex]
-    \part{} Compare the performance of the two agents. Create appropriate
-    plots and apply statistical methods.
+    \part{} Compare the performance of the two agents. Create
+    appropriate plots and apply statistical methods. You will need to
+    run the simulations several times to get a good estimate of the
+    neumbers.
   \end{parts}
 \end{questions}
 
diff --git a/projects/project_serialcorrelation/Makefile b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/Makefile
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..6422eb4
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/Makefile
@@ -0,0 +1,10 @@
+latex:
+	pdflatex *.tex > /dev/null
+	pdflatex *.tex > /dev/null
+
+clean:
+	rm -rf *.log *.aux *.zip *.out auto
+	rm -f `basename *.tex .tex`.pdf
+
+zip: latex
+	zip `basename *.tex .tex`.zip *.pdf *.dat *.mat *.m
diff --git a/projects/project_serialcorrelation/baselinespikes.mat b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/baselinespikes.mat
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..d54000f
Binary files /dev/null and b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/baselinespikes.mat differ
diff --git a/projects/project_serialcorrelation/code/DataLoader.py b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/code/DataLoader.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..a8c0a0a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/code/DataLoader.py
@@ -0,0 +1,365 @@
+from os import path
+try:
+    from itertools import izip
+except:
+    izip = zip
+import types
+from numpy import array, arange, NaN, fromfile, float32, asarray, unique, squeeze, Inf, isnan, fromstring
+from numpy.core.records import fromarrays
+#import nixio as nix
+import re
+import warnings
+
+identifiers = {
+    'stimspikes1.dat': lambda info: ('RePro' in info[-1] and info[-1]['RePro'] == 'FileStimulus'),
+    'samallspikes1.dat': lambda info: ('RePro' in info[-1] and info[-1]['RePro'] == 'SAM'),
+}
+
+
+def isfloat(value):
+    try:
+        float(value)
+        return True
+    except ValueError:
+        return False
+
+
+def info_filter(iter, filterfunc):
+    for info, key, dat in iter:
+        if filterfunc(info):
+            yield info, key, dat
+
+def iload_io_pairs(basedir, spikefile, traces, filterfunc=None):
+    """
+    Iterator that returns blocks of spike traces and spike times from the base directory basedir (e.g. 2014-06-06-aa)
+    and the spiketime file (e.g. stimspikes1.dat). A filter function can filter out unwanted blocks. It gets the info
+    (see iload and iload trace_trials) from all traces and spike times and has to return True is the block is wanted
+     and False otherwise.
+
+     :param basedir: basis directory of the recordings (e.g. 2014-06-06-aa)
+     :param spikefile: spikefile (e.g. stimspikes1.dat)
+     :param traces: trace numbers as a list (e.g. [1,2])
+     :param filterfunc: function that gets the infos from all traces and spike times and indicates whether the block is wanted or not
+    """
+
+    if filterfunc is None: filterfunc = lambda inp: True
+
+    if type(traces) is not types.ListType:
+        traces = [traces]
+
+    assert spikefile in identifiers, """iload_io_pairs does not know how to identify trials in stimuli.dat which
+                                        correspond to trials in {0}. Please update pyRELACS.DataLoader.identifiers
+                                        accordingly""".format(spikefile)
+    iterators = [info_filter(iload_trace_trials(basedir, tn), identifiers[spikefile]) for tn in traces] \
+                + [iload_spike_blocks(basedir + '/' + spikefile)]
+
+    for stuff in izip(*iterators):
+        info, key, dat = zip(*stuff)
+        if filterfunc(*info):
+            yield info, key, dat
+
+def iload_spike_blocks(filename):
+    """
+    Loades spike times from filename and merges trials with incremental trial numbers into one block.
+    Spike times are assumed to be in seconds and are converted into ms.
+    """
+    current_trial = -1
+    ret_dat = []
+    old_info = old_key = None
+    for info, key, dat in iload(filename):
+        if 'trial' in info[-1]:
+            if int(info[-1]['trial']) != current_trial + 1:
+                yield old_info[:-1], key, ret_dat
+                ret_dat = []
+
+            current_trial = int(info[-1]['trial'])
+            if not any(isnan(dat)):
+                ret_dat.append(squeeze(dat)/1000.)
+            else:
+                ret_dat.append(array([]))
+            old_info, old_key = info, key
+
+        else:
+            if len(ret_dat) > 0:
+                yield old_info[:-1], old_key, ret_dat
+                ret_dat = []
+            yield info, key, dat
+    else:
+        if len(ret_dat) > 0:
+            yield old_info[:-1], old_key, ret_dat
+
+
+
+
+
+def iload_trace_trials(basedir, trace_no=1, before=0.0, after=0.0 ):
+    """
+    returns:
+    info : metadata from stimuli.dat
+    key : key from stimuli.dat
+    data : the data of the specified trace of all trials
+    """
+    x = fromfile('%s/trace-%i.raw' % (basedir, trace_no), float32)
+    p = re.compile('([-+]?\d*\.\d+|\d+)\s*(\w+)')
+
+    for info, key, dat in iload('%s/stimuli.dat' % (basedir,)):
+        X = []
+        val, unit = p.match(info[-1]['duration']).groups()
+        val = float( val )
+        if unit == 'ms' :
+            val *= 0.001
+        duration_index = key[2].index('duration')
+
+        # if 'RePro' in info[1] and info[1]['RePro'] == 'FileStimulus':
+        #     embed()
+        #     exit()
+        sval, sunit = p.match(info[0]['sample interval%i' % trace_no]).groups()
+        sval = float( sval )
+        if sunit == 'ms' :
+            sval *= 0.001
+
+        l = int(before / sval)
+        r = int((val+after) / sval)
+
+        if dat.shape == (1,1) and dat[0,0] == 0:
+            warnings.warn("iload_trace_trials: Encountered incomplete '-0' trial.")
+            yield info, key, array([])
+            continue
+
+
+        for col, duration in zip(asarray([e[trace_no - 1] for e in dat], dtype=int), asarray([e[duration_index] for e in dat], dtype=float32)):  #dat[:,trace_no-1].astype(int):
+            tmp = x[col-l:col + r]
+
+            if duration < 0.001: # if the duration is less than 1ms
+                warnings.warn("iload_trace_trials: Skipping one trial because its duration is <1ms and therefore it is probably rubbish")
+                continue
+
+            if len(X) > 0 and len(tmp) != len(X[0]):
+                warnings.warn("iload_trace_trials: Setting one trial to NaN because it appears to be incomplete!")
+                X.append(NaN*X[0])
+            else:
+                X.append(tmp)
+
+        yield info, key, asarray(X)
+
+
+def iload_traces(basedir, repro='', before=0.0, after=0.0 ):
+    """
+    returns:
+    info : metadata from stimuli.dat
+    key : key from stimuli.dat
+    time : an array for the time axis
+    data : the data of all traces of a single trial 
+    """
+    p = re.compile('([-+]?\d*\.\d+|\d+)\s*(\w+)')
+
+    # open traces files:
+    sf = []
+    for trace in xrange( 1, 1000000 ) :
+        if path.isfile( '%s/trace-%i.raw' % (basedir, trace) ) :
+            sf.append( open( '%s/trace-%i.raw' % (basedir, trace), 'rb' ) )
+        else :
+            break
+
+    for info, key, dat in iload('%s/stimuli.dat' % (basedir,)):
+
+        if len( repro ) > 0 and repro != info[1]['RePro'] :
+            continue
+        
+        val, unit = p.match(info[-1]['duration']).groups()
+        val = float( val )
+        if unit == 'ms' :
+            val *= 0.001
+        duration_index = key[2].index('duration')
+
+        sval, sunit = p.match(info[0]['sample interval%i' % 1]).groups()
+        sval = float( sval )
+        if sunit == 'ms' :
+            sval *= 0.001
+
+        l = int(before / sval)
+        r = int((val+after) / sval)
+
+        if dat.shape == (1,1) and dat[0,0] == 0:
+            warnings.warn("iload_traces: Encountered incomplete '-0' trial.")
+            yield info, key, array([])
+            continue
+        
+        deltat, unit = p.match(info[0]['sample interval1']).groups()
+        deltat = float( deltat )
+        if unit == 'ms' :
+            deltat *= 0.001
+        time = arange( 0.0, l+r )*deltat - before
+
+        for d in dat :
+            duration = d[duration_index]
+            if duration < 0.001: # if the duration is less than 1ms
+                warnings.warn("iload_traces: Skipping one trial because its duration is <1ms and therefore it is probably rubbish")
+                continue
+
+            x = []
+            for trace in xrange( len( sf ) ) :
+                col = int(d[trace])
+                sf[trace].seek( (col-l)*4 )
+                buffer = sf[trace].read( (l+r)*4 )
+                tmp = fromstring(buffer, float32)
+                if len(x) > 0 and len(tmp) != len(x[0]):
+                    warnings.warn("iload_traces: Setting one trial to NaN because it appears to be incomplete!")
+                    x.append(NaN*x[0])
+                else:
+                    x.append(tmp)
+
+            yield info, key, time, asarray( x )
+
+
+def iload(filename):
+    meta_data = []
+    new_meta_data = []
+    key = []
+
+    within_key = within_meta_block = within_data_block = False
+    currkey = None
+    data = []
+
+    with open(filename, 'r') as fid:
+        for line in fid:
+
+            line = line.rstrip().lstrip()
+
+            if within_data_block and (line.startswith('#') or not line):
+                within_data_block = False
+
+                yield list(meta_data), tuple(key), array(data)
+                data = []
+
+            # Key parsing
+            if line.startswith('#Key'):
+                key = []
+                within_key = True
+                continue
+            if within_key:
+                if not line.startswith('#'):
+                    within_key = False
+                else:
+
+                    key.append(tuple([e.strip() for e in line[1:].split("  ") if len(e.strip()) > 0]))
+                    continue
+
+            # fast forward to first data point or meta data
+            if not line:
+                within_key = within_meta_block = False
+                currkey = None
+                continue
+            # meta data blocks
+            elif line.startswith('#'): # cannot be a key anymore
+                if not within_meta_block:
+                    within_meta_block = True
+                    new_meta_data.append({})
+
+                if ':' in line:
+                    tmp = [e.rstrip().lstrip() for e in line[1:].split(':')]
+                elif '=' in line:
+                    tmp = [e.rstrip().lstrip() for e in line[1:].split('=')]
+                else:
+                    currkey = line[1:].rstrip().lstrip()
+                    new_meta_data[-1][currkey] = {}
+                    continue
+
+                if currkey is None:
+                    new_meta_data[-1][tmp[0]] = tmp[1]
+                else:
+                    new_meta_data[-1][currkey][tmp[0]] = tmp[1]
+
+            else:
+
+                if not within_data_block:
+                    within_data_block = True
+                    n = len(new_meta_data)
+                    meta_data[-n:] = new_meta_data
+                    new_meta_data = []
+                    currkey = None
+                    within_key = within_meta_block = False
+                data.append([float(e) if (e != '-0' and isfloat(e)) else NaN for e in line.split()])
+        else:  # if for loop is finished, return the data we have so far
+            if within_data_block and len(data) > 0:
+                yield list(meta_data), tuple(key), array(data)
+
+
+def recload(filename):
+    for meta, key, dat in iload(filename):
+        yield meta, fromarrays(dat.T, names=key[0])
+
+
+def load(filename):
+    """
+    
+    Loads a data file saved by relacs. Returns a tuple of dictionaries
+    containing the data and the header information
+    
+    :param filename: Filename of the data file.
+    :type filename: string
+    :returns:  a tuple of dictionaries containing the head information and the data.
+    :rtype: tuple
+
+    """
+    with open(filename, 'r') as fid:
+        L = [l.lstrip().rstrip() for l in fid.readlines()]
+
+    ret = []
+    dat = {}
+    X = []
+    keyon = False
+    currkey = None
+    for l in L:
+        # if empty line and we have data recorded
+        if (not l or l.startswith('#')) and len(X) > 0:
+            keyon = False
+            currkey = None
+            dat['data'] = array(X)
+            ret.append(dat)
+            X = []
+            dat = {}
+
+        if '---' in l:
+            continue
+        if l.startswith('#'):
+            if ":" in l:
+                tmp = [e.rstrip().lstrip() for e in l[1:].split(':')]
+                if currkey is None:
+                    dat[tmp[0]] = tmp[1]
+                else:
+                    dat[currkey][tmp[0]] = tmp[1]
+            elif "=" in l:
+                tmp = [e.rstrip().lstrip() for e in l[1:].split('=')]
+                if currkey is None:
+                    dat[tmp[0]] = tmp[1]
+                else:
+                    dat[currkey][tmp[0]] = tmp[1]
+            elif l[1:].lower().startswith('key'):
+                dat['key'] = []
+
+                keyon = True
+            elif keyon:
+
+                dat['key'].append(tuple([e.lstrip().rstrip() for e in l[1:].split()]))
+            else:
+                currkey = l[1:].rstrip().lstrip()
+                dat[currkey] = {}
+
+        elif l:  # if l != ''
+            keyon = False
+            currkey = None
+            X.append([float(e) for e in l.split()])
+
+    if len(X) > 0:
+        dat['data'] = array(X)
+    else:
+        dat['data'] = []
+    ret.append(dat)
+
+    return tuple(ret)
+            
+            
+
+
+
diff --git a/projects/project_serialcorrelation/code/DataLoader.pyc b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/code/DataLoader.pyc
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..164e9f4
Binary files /dev/null and b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/code/DataLoader.pyc differ
diff --git a/projects/project_serialcorrelation/code/goodbaselinefiles.dat b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/code/goodbaselinefiles.dat
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..b81f917
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/code/goodbaselinefiles.dat
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+03-03-28-ab
+03-03-28-ac
+03-03-28-af
+03-03-31-ad
+03-03-31-af
+03-03-31-ai
+03-03-31-ak
+03-03-31-al
+03-04-07-ab
+03-04-07-ac
+03-04-07-ad
+03-04-07-ae
+03-04-07-af
+03-04-07-ag
+03-04-07-aj
+03-04-10-aa
+03-04-10-ac
+03-04-10-ad
+03-04-10-ae
+03-04-10-af
+03-04-10-ag
+03-04-10-ah
+03-04-10-ai
+03-04-10-aj
+03-04-14-ab
+03-04-14-ad
+03-04-14-ae
+03-04-14-af
+03-04-14-ah
+03-04-16-ab
diff --git a/projects/project_serialcorrelation/code/transformdata.py b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/code/transformdata.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..9f32b56
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/code/transformdata.py
@@ -0,0 +1,45 @@
+import numpy as np
+from scipy.io import savemat
+import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
+import DataLoader as dl
+
+cells = []
+spikes = []
+with open('goodbaselinefiles.dat') as sf:
+    for line in sf:
+        cell = line.strip()
+        datapath = '/data/jan/data/efish/smallchirps/single/data/' + cell
+        for info, key, data in dl.iload(datapath + '/basespikes.dat'):
+            cells.append(cell)
+            spikes.append(data[:, 0])
+            break
+    
+spikesobj = np.zeros((len(spikes), ), dtype=np.object)
+cellsobj = np.zeros((len(cells), ), dtype=np.object)
+for k in range(len(spikes)):
+    spikesobj[k] = 0.001*spikes[k]
+    cellsobj[k] = cells[k]
+savemat('baselinespikes.mat', mdict={'cells': cellsobj, 'spikes': spikesobj})
+        
+exit()
+
+trial = 0
+intensities = []
+spikes = []
+for info, key, data in dl.iload('03-04-07-ab-fispikes.dat'):
+    if info[0]['Index'] == '1':
+        trial = int(info[1]['Trial'])
+        intensity = float(info[1]['Intensity'].replace('mV/cm', ''))
+        if trial == 0:
+            intensities.append(intensity)
+            spikes.append([])
+            prevtrial = trial
+        spikes[-1].append(data[:, 0])
+    
+spikesobj = np.zeros((len(spikes), len(spikes[0])), dtype=np.object)
+for k in range(len(spikes)):
+    for j in range(len(spikes[k])):
+        spikesobj[k, j] = 0.001*spikes[k][j]
+
+savemat('ficurvespikes.mat', mdict={'intensities': intensities, 'spikes': spikesobj})
+
diff --git a/projects/project_serialcorrelation/serialcorrelation.tex b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/serialcorrelation.tex
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..74162df
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/serialcorrelation.tex
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+\documentclass[addpoints,11pt]{exam}
+\usepackage{url}
+\usepackage{color}
+\usepackage{hyperref}
+
+\pagestyle{headandfoot}
+\runningheadrule
+\firstpageheadrule
+\firstpageheader{Scientific Computing}{Project Assignment}{11/05/2014
+  -- 11/06/2014}
+%\runningheader{Homework 01}{Page \thepage\ of \numpages}{23. October 2014}
+\firstpagefooter{}{}{}
+\runningfooter{}{}{}
+\pointsinmargin
+\bracketedpoints
+
+%\printanswers
+%\shadedsolutions
+
+
+\begin{document}
+%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Submission instructions %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
+\sffamily
+% \begin{flushright}
+% \gradetable[h][questions]
+% \end{flushright}
+
+\begin{center}
+  \input{../disclaimer.tex}
+\end{center}
+
+%%%%%%%%%%%%%% Questions %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
+
+\begin{questions}
+  \question P-unit electroreceptor afferents of the gymnotiform weakly
+  electric fish \textit{Apteronotus leptorhynchus} are spontaneously
+  active when the fish is not electrically stimulated. 
+  \begin{itemize}
+  \item How does the firing rates and the serial correlations of the
+    interspike intervals vary between different cells?
+  \end{itemize}
+
+  In the file \texttt{baselinespikes.mat} you find two variables:
+  \texttt{cells} is a cell-array with the names of the recorded cells
+  and \texttt{spikes} is a cell array containing the spike times in
+  seconds of recorded spontaneous activity for each of these cells.
+  \begin{parts}
+    \part Load the data! How many cells are contained in the file?
+
+    \part Plot the spike rasters of a few cells.
+
+    For the presentation, choose a few cells based on the results of
+    this project.
+
+    By just looking on the spike rasters, what are the differences
+    betwen the cells?
+
+    \part Compute the firing rate of each cell, i.e. number of spikes per time.
+
+    Illustrate the results by means of a histogram and/or box whisker plot.
+
+    \part Compute and plot the serial correlations between interspike intervals up to lag 10.
+
+    What do you observe? In what way are the interspike-interval
+    correlations similar betwen the cells? How do they differ?
+
+    \part Implement a permutation test for computing the significance
+    at a 1\,\% level of the serial correlations. Illustrate for a few
+    cells the computed serial correlations and the 1\,\% and 99\,\%
+    percentile from the permutation test. At which lag are the serial
+    correlations clearly significant?
+
+    \part Are the serial correlations somehow dependent on the firing rate?
+
+    Plot the significant correlations against the firing rate. Do you
+    observe any dependence?
+  \end{parts}
+
+\end{questions}
+
+\end{document}
diff --git a/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/firingrate.m b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/firingrate.m
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..95a8073
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/firingrate.m
@@ -0,0 +1,9 @@
+function rate = firingrate(spikes, tmin, tmax)
+% mean firing rate between tmin and tmax.
+rates = zeros(length(spikes), 1);
+for i = 1:length(spikes)
+	times= spikes{i};
+	rates(i) = length(times((times>=tmin)&(times<=tmax)))/(tmax-tmin);
+end
+rate = mean(rates);
+end
diff --git a/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/isiserialcorr.m b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/isiserialcorr.m
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..c5791fb
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/isiserialcorr.m
@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+function isicorr = isiserialcorr(spikes, maxlag)
+% serial correlation of interspike intervals
+%
+% isicorr = isiserialcorr(spikes, maxlag)
+%
+% Arguments:
+%   spikes: spike times in seconds
+%   maxlag: the maximum lag
+%
+% Returns:
+%   isicorr: vector with the serial correlations for lag 0 to maxlag
+
+isivec = [];
+for k = 1:length(spikes)
+	times = spikes{k};
+	isivec = [isivec; diff(times(:))];
+end
+
+lags = 0:maxlag;
+isicorr = zeros(size(lags));
+for k = 1:length(lags)
+	lag = lags(k);
+	if length(isivec) > lag+10        % ensure "enough" data
+		isicorr(k) = corr(isivec(1:end-lag), isivec(lag+1:end));
+	end
+end
diff --git a/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/isiserialcorrbootstrap.m b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/isiserialcorrbootstrap.m
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..579281c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/isiserialcorrbootstrap.m
@@ -0,0 +1,46 @@
+function [isicorr, lowerbound, upperbound] = isiserialcorrbootstrap(spikes, maxlag)
+% serial correlation of interspike intervals
+%
+% isicorr = isiserialcorrbootstrap(spikes, maxlag)
+%
+% Arguments:
+%   spikes: spike times in seconds
+%   maxlag: the maximum lag
+%
+% Returns:
+%   isicorr: vector with the serial correlations for lag 0 to maxlag
+
+isivec = [];
+for k = 1:length(spikes)
+	times = spikes{k};
+	isivec = [isivec; diff(times(:))];
+end
+
+lags = 0:maxlag;
+
+isicorr = zeros(size(lags));
+for k = 1:length(lags)
+	lag = lags(k);
+	if length(isivec) > lag+10        % ensure "enough" data
+		isicorr(k) = corr(isivec(1:end-lag), isivec(lag+1:end));
+	end
+end
+
+repeats = 1000;
+isicorrshuffled = zeros(repeats, length(lags));
+for i = 1:repeats
+	isishuffled = isivec(randperm(length(isivec)));
+	for k = 1:length(lags)
+		lag = lags(k);
+		if length(isivec) > lag+10        % ensure "enough" data
+			isicorrshuffled(i, k) = corr(isishuffled(1:end-lag), isishuffled(lag+1:end));
+		end
+	end
+end
+bounds = prctile(isicorrshuffled, [1.0 99], 1);
+lowerbound = bounds(1, :);
+upperbound = bounds(2, :);
+end
+
+
+
diff --git a/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/serialcorrelation.m b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/serialcorrelation.m
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..49941a8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/serialcorrelation.m
@@ -0,0 +1,64 @@
+%% load data:
+data = load('baselinespikes.mat');
+spikes = data.spikes;
+cells = data.cells;
+
+%% print raster:
+maxn = length(spikes);
+if maxn > 5
+	maxn = 5;
+end
+figure()
+for k = 1:maxn
+	subplot(maxn, 1, k);
+	spikeraster(spikes(k), 0.0, 1.0)
+	title(cells{k})
+end
+
+%% firing rates:
+rates = zeros(length(spikes), 1);
+for k = 1:length(spikes)
+	rates(k) = firingrate(spikes(k), 0.0, 9.0);
+end
+figure();
+subplot(1, 2, 1);
+boxplot(rates);
+subplot(1, 2, 2);
+hist(rates, 20)
+
+
+%% serial correlations:
+maxlag = 10;
+lags = 0:maxlag;
+corrs = zeros(length(spikes), 1);
+figure();
+for k = 1:length(spikes)
+	isicorrs = isiserialcorr(spikes(k), maxlag);
+	corrs(k) = isicorrs(2);
+	plot(lags, isicorrs);
+	hold on;
+end
+hold off;
+figure();
+plot(rates, corrs, 'o');
+ylim([-0.7 0])
+
+
+%% bootstrap serial correlations:
+maxlag = 10;
+lags = 0:maxlag;
+figure();
+for k = 1:maxn
+	[isicorr, lowerbound, upperbound] = isiserialcorrbootstrap(spikes(k), maxlag);
+	subplot(maxn, 1, k);
+	plot(lags, isicorr, 'b', 'linewidth', 2)
+	hold on;
+	plot(lags, lowerbound, 'r', 'linewidth', 1)
+	plot(lags, upperbound, 'r', 'linewidth', 1)
+	hold off;
+end
+
+
+
+
+
diff --git a/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/spikeraster.m b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/spikeraster.m
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..4eb1b8b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/projects/project_serialcorrelation/solution/spikeraster.m
@@ -0,0 +1,30 @@
+function spikeraster(spikes, tmin, tmax)
+% Display a spike raster of the spike times given in spikes.
+%
+% spikeraster(spikes, tmax)
+%   spikes: a cell array of vectors of spike times in seconds
+%   tmin: plot spike raster starting at tmin seconds
+%   tmax: plot spike raster upto tmax seconds
+
+ntrials = length(spikes);
+for k = 1:ntrials
+    times = spikes{k};
+    times = times((times>=tmin) & (times<=tmax));
+    if tmax < 1.5
+        times = 1000.0*times; % conversion to ms
+    end
+    for i = 1:length( times )
+      line([times(i) times(i)],[k-0.4 k+0.4], 'Color', 'k'); 
+    end
+end
+if (tmax-tmin) < 1.5
+    xlabel('Time [ms]');
+    xlim([1000.0*tmin 1000.0*tmax]);
+else
+    xlabel('Time [s]');
+    xlim([tmin tmax]);
+end
+ylabel('Trials');
+ylim([0.3 ntrials+0.7 ]);
+end
+
diff --git a/projects/project_vector_strength/data/project_vector_strength.zip b/projects/project_vector_strength/data/project_vector_strength.zip
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..59bd783
Binary files /dev/null and b/projects/project_vector_strength/data/project_vector_strength.zip differ