Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Can native Japanese listeners learn to differentiate /r–l/ on the basis of F3 onset frequency?*

Many attempts have been made to teach native Japanese listeners to perceptually differentiate English /r–l/ (e.g. rock–lock). Though improvement is evident, in no case is final performance native English-like. We focused our training on the third formant onset frequency, shown to be the most reliable indicator of /r–l/ category membership. We first presented listeners with instances of synthetic /r–l/ stimuli varying only in F3 onset frequency, in a forced-choice identification training task with feedback. Evidence of learning was limited. The second experiment utilized an adaptive paradigm beginning with non-speech stimuli consisting only of /r/ and /l/ F3 frequency trajectories progressing to synthetic speech instances of /ra–la/; half of the trainees received feedback. Improvement was shown by some listeners, suggesting some enhancement of /r–l/ identification is possible following training with only F3 onset frequency. However, only a subset of these listeners showed signs of generalization of the training effect beyond the trained synthetic context.
Resource Management in IEEE 802.11 Multiple Access Networks with Price-based Service Provisioning

In this paper we analyze the provisioning of multimedia services over a wireless LAN hot-spot, based on the IEEE 802.11 protocol. We address the issue of defining proper pricing strategies, from the perspective of both evaluating the technical performance and quantifying the economic revenues. We take into account a model for users' behavior that describes all users' choices in a decentralized manner, so that the transmission rate of each node is driven both by multimedia service requirements and by the customer's willingness to pay. The multiple users' medium access mechanism is studied through a simulation analysis based on ns-2. Within this model, the network performance is evaluated and discussed, presenting numerical results which can provide practical insight for pricing setup in a wireless LAN hot-spot. We observe that the impact of the pricing policy on the provider's income and on the satisfaction of the users is critical and especially depends on the shape of the pricing function (flat, linear or hybrid). Additionally, we investigate the provider's task of having a suitable price policy which properly tunes the tradeoff between the two contrasting factors of achieving high revenue and obtaining high satisfaction of the users.
Effects of Psychiatric Symptoms on Attention in North Korean Refugees

Objective We investigated the performance of North Korean refugees on attention tasks, and the relationship between that performance and psychiatric symptoms. Methods Sustained and divided attention was assessed using the computerized Comprehensive Attention Test in North Korean refugees and in South Koreans. All participants also completed the Beck Depression Inventory, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, the Impact of Event Scale-Revised and the Dissociative Experiences Scale-II (DES-II). Results The North Korean refugees showed slower reaction times (RTs) on the visual sustained attention task compared to the South Koreans after controlling for age and sex. North Korean refugees had a greater number of omission errors (OEs) on the divided attention task and a higher standard deviation (SD) of RT. Total DES-II scores of the North Korean refugees were associated with the number of OEs and the SD of RT on the sustained attention task, and with the number of OEs on the divided attention task. Conclusion North Korean refugees showed poorer performance on computerized attention tasks. In addition, attention deficit among North Korean refugees was associated with their dissociative experiences. Our results suggest that refugees may have attention deficits, which may be related to their psychiatric symptoms, particularly dissociation.
In Vivo Selection of Protease Cleavage Sites by Using Chimeric Sindbis Virus Libraries

ABSTRACT Identifying protease cleavage sites contributes to our understanding of their specificity and biochemical properties and can help in designing specific inhibitors. One route to this end is the generation and screening of random libraries of cleavage sites. Both synthetic and phage-displayed libraries have been extensively used in vitro. We describe a novel system based on recombinant Sindbis virus which can be used to identify cleavage sites in vivo, thus eliminating the need for a purified enzyme and overcoming the problem of choosing the correct in vitro conditions. As a model we used the serine protease of the hepatitis C virus (HCV). We engineered the gene coding for this enzyme and two specific cleavage sites in the Sindbis virus structural gene and constructed libraries of viral genomes with a random sequence at either of the cleavage sites. The system was designed so that only viral genomes coding for sequences cleaved by the protease would produce viable viruses. With this system we selected viruses containing sequences mirroring those of the natural HCV protease substrates which were cleaved with comparable efficiencies.
Human–Dolphin Interactions: Relationships, Connections, and the Reinforcement of an Ongoing Nature Relationship

ABSTRACT Although interactions between humans and wild animals have been explored in the literature, the mechanism for how such experiences influence wellbeing is an area needing further examination. This research used Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis to explore the narratives of wellbeing from eight semi-structured interviews with people who had experienced intense close encounters with dolphins. Despite idiographic differences between narratives, a common theme of Relationships and Connectedness between participants and nonhuman animals emerged. The expression of this indicates that human–dolphin experiences fulfill aspects of the human need for connection and relationships and that the experiences promote wellbeing and environmental behaviors. This is contextualized within an ongoing nature relationship and the importance of a lifelong connection with wildlife, to ensure that humans see themselves as part of the natural world. Such a dynamic is discussed within the frame of the biophilia hypothesis and the importance of human contact with nature to ensure wellbeing. The narratives reported here describe strong emotional connections, transmitted through both tangible and perceived contact with dolphins, which translate into positive senses of emotion and wellbeing. The connections described are powerful: perceptions of communion and mutual exchange become articulated through rhetoric of friendship and kinship. Importantly, it appears that dolphin encounters are signifiers of wider relationships, both with nature and people. In this case, participants are reinforcing established habits of nature connectedness, habits reflecting a lifelong involvement with nonhuman animals. How connection with wild animals as a part of nature can promote wellbeing and in turn encourage environmental behavior is discussed in the context of the contemporary need for human responsibility to ensure the protection of nature and the survival of nonhuman animal species and habitats.
Some thermodynamic aspects of self-assembly of arrays of quantum dots

We have studied the relative adhesion (the wetting) of dislocation-free three-dimensional islands belonging to an array of islands to the wetting layer in Stranski-Krastanov growth mode. The array has been simulated as a chain of islands in 1+1 dimensions placed on top of a wetting layer. In addition to the critical size of the two-dimensional islands for the 2D-3D transformation to occur, we find that the wetting depends strongly on the density of the array, the size distribution and the shape of the islands.
Digital Morphing Wing: Active Wing Shaping Concept Using Composite Lattice-Based Cellular Structures

Abstract We describe an approach for the discrete and reversible assembly of tunable and actively deformable structures using modular building block parts for robotic applications. The primary technical challenge addressed by this work is the use of this method to design and fabricate low density, highly compliant robotic structures with spatially tuned stiffness. This approach offers a number of potential advantages over more conventional methods for constructing compliant robots. The discrete assembly reduces manufacturing complexity, as relatively simple parts can be batch-produced and joined to make complex structures. Global mechanical properties can be tuned based on sub-part ordering and geometry, because local stiffness and density can be independently set to a wide range of values and varied spatially. The structure's intrinsic modularity can significantly simplify analysis and simulation. Simple analytical models for the behavior of each building block type can be calibrated with empirical testing and synthesized into a highly accurate and computationally efficient model of the full compliant system. As a case study, we describe a modular and reversibly assembled wing that performs continuous span-wise twist deformation. It exhibits high performance aerodynamic characteristics, is lightweight and simple to fabricate and repair. The wing is constructed from discrete lattice elements, wherein the geometric and mechanical attributes of the building blocks determine the global mechanical properties of the wing. We describe the mechanical design and structural performance of the digital morphing wing, including their relationship to wind tunnel tests that suggest the ability to increase roll efficiency compared to a conventional rigid aileron system. We focus here on describing the approach to design, modeling, and construction as a generalizable approach for robotics that require very lightweight, tunable, and actively deformable structures.
Inverted Indexing for Composition-Oriented Service Discovery

Service discovery becomes a key to hastening the evolution of web services as the number of services is expected to increase dramatically. In this paper, we propose to index all the ontology-annotated outputs in registered services. For each ontology-annotated output, there is a service list which records all the services in the registry that deliver the output. Based on the indexing, we propose a composition-oriented service discovery algorithm, which greatly accelerates the filtering of irrelevant atomic services by making use of the inverted indexing, and increases the likelihood of finding a possible candidate by exploring service composition. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm provides a better performance on response time than the sequential matchmaking, and a better recall rate than the algorithms without the exploration of composition.
The Antimicrobial Activity of Extracts of the Lichen Hypogymnia tubulosa and Its 3-Hydroxyphysodic Acid Constituent

The antimicrobial activity and the MIC values of the diethyl ether, acetone, chloroform, petroleum ether, and ethanol extracts of the lichen Hypogymnia tubulosa and its 3-hydroxyphysodic acid constituent have been investigated against some microorganisms. At least one of the extracts or 3-hydroxyphysodic acid showed antimicrobial activity against Aeromonas hydrophila, Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Listeria monocytogenes, Proteus vulgaris, Salmonella typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis, and Candida albicans. No antifungal activity of the extracts has been observed against ten filamentous fungi.
The TIMELY adaptive resource management architecture

Mobile computing environments that seek to support communication-intensive applications need to provide sustained end-to-end networking resources to static and mobile flows in the presence of scarce and variable wireless bandwidth, bursty wireless channel error, and user mobility. In order to achieve this goal, we present the TIMELY adaptive resource management architecture and algorithms for resource reservation, advance reservation, and resource adaptation in mobile computing environments. A key feature of our approach is the coordination of adaptation between the different layers of the network in order to solve the problems introduced by scarce and dynamic network resources.
Formula-free finite abstractions for linear temporal verification of stochastic hybrid systems

Results on approximate model-checking of Stochastic Hybrid Systems (SHS) against general temporal specifications lead to abstractions that structurally depend on the given specification or with a state cardinality that crucially depends on the size of the specification. In order to cope with the associated issues of generality and scalability, we propose a specification-free abstraction approach that is general, namely it allows constructing a single abstraction to be then used for a whole cohort of problems. It furthermore computationally outperforms specification-dependent abstractions over linear temporal properties, such as bounded LTL (BLTL). The proposed approach unifies techniques for the approximate abstraction of SHS over different classes of properties by explicitly relating the error introduced by the approximation to the distance between transition kernels of abstract and concrete models, and by propagating the error in time over the horizon of the specification. The new technique is compared over a case study to related results in the literature.
Summing up instantons in three-dimensional Yang–Mills theories

We show that the four derivative terms in the effective action of three-dimensional N=8 Yang-Mills theory are determined by supersymmetry. These terms receive both perturbative and non-perturbative corrections. Using our technique for constraining the effective action, we are able to determine the exact form of the eight fermion terms in the supersymmetric completion of the F 4 term, including all instanton corrections. As a consequence, we argue that the integral of the Euler density over k monopole moduli space in SU(2) Yang-Mills is determined by our non-renormalization theorem for all values of k.
Elixir: a system for synthesizing concurrent graph programs

Algorithms in new application areas like machine learning and network analysis use "irregular" data structures such as graphs, trees and sets. Writing efficient parallel code in these problem domains is very challenging because it requires the programmer to make many choices: a given problem can usually be solved by several algorithms, each algorithm may have many implementations, and the best choice of algorithm and implementation can depend not only on the characteristics of the parallel platform but also on properties of the input data such as the structure of the graph. One solution is to permit the application programmer to experiment with different algorithms and implementations without writing every variant from scratch. Auto-tuning to find the best variant is a more ambitious solution. These solutions require a system for automatically producing efficient parallel implementations from high-level specifications. Elixir, the system described in this paper, is the first step towards this ambitious goal. Application programmers write specifications that consist of an operator, which describes the computations to be performed, and a schedule for performing these computations. Elixir uses sophisticated inference techniques to produce efficient parallel code from such specifications. We used Elixir to automatically generate many parallel implementations for three irregular problems: breadth-first search, single source shortest path, and betweenness-centrality computation. Our experiments show that the best generated variants can be competitive with handwritten code for these problems from other research groups; for some inputs, they even outperform the handwritten versions.
The effect of gas standardisation on exhaled breath condensate pH

To the Editors: We have read with interest the American Thoracic Society/European Respiratory Society Task Force document on exhaled breath condensate (EBC) 1. EBC pH is emerging as a potential biomarker in respiratory disease. Gas standardisation (or de-aeration) of EBC with argon is commonly performed to remove carbon dioxide prior to pH measurement 2–4. It has been argued that CO2 is unwelcome “noise” in the sample and, although the completeness of CO2 removal has not been confirmed, gas-standardised EBC pH is stable and provides reproducible measurements 3, 4. However, some authors regard CO2 as a relevant component of EBC and have measured pH without gas standardisation 5, 6. These variations in methodology make comparison between studies difficult. We recently reported a mean change in pH after gas standardisation of 0.94 4, and this pH was stable at room temperature. Despite …
Relating the Age of Arctic Sea Ice to its Thickness, as Measured during NASA's ICESat and IceBridge Campaigns

Recent satellite observations yield estimates of the distribution of sea ice thickness across the entire Arctic Ocean. While these sensors were only placed in operation within the last few years, information from other sensors may assist us with estimating the distribution of sea ice thickness in the Arctic beginning in the 1980s. A previous study found that the age of sea ice is correlated to sea ice thickness from 2003 to 2006, but an extension of the temporal analysis is needed to better quantify this relationship and its variability from year to year. Estimates of the ice age/thickness relationship may allow the thickness record to be extended back to 1985, the beginning of our ice age dataset. Comparisons of ice age and thickness estimates derived from both ICESat (2004–2008) and IceBridge (2009–2015) reveal that the relationship between age and thickness differs between these two campaigns, due in part to the difference in area of coverage. Nonetheless, sea ice thickness and age exhibit a direct relationship when compared on pan-Arctic or regional spatial scales.
Weyl symmetric representation of hadronic flux tubes in the dual Ginzburg-Landau theory

Hadronic flux-tube solutions describing the mesonic and the baryonic states within the dual Ginzburg-Landau theory are investigated by using the dual lattice formulation in the Weyl-symmetric approach. The shape of the flux tubes is determined by placement of the color-electric Dirac-string singularity treated as a connected stack of quantized plaquettes in the dual lattice formulation. The Weyl symmetric profiles of the hadronic flux tubes are obtained by using the manifestly Weyl invariant representation of the dual gauge field.
Seven myths of formal methods

Seven widely held conceptions about formal methods are challenged. These beliefs are variants of the following: formal methods can guarantee that software is perfect; they work by proving that the programs are correct; only highly critical systems benefit from their use; they involve complex mathematics; they increase the cost of development; they are incomprehensible to clients; and nobody uses them for real projects. The arguments are based on the author's experiences. They address the bounds of formal methods, identify the central role of specifications in the development process, and cover education and training. <<ETX>>
Cosmological distances and fractal statistics of galaxy distribution

This paper studies the effect of the distance choice in radial (non-average) statistical tools used for fractal charac- terization of galaxy distribution. After reviewing the basics of measuring distances of cosmological sources, various distance definitions are used to calculate the differential density γ and the integral differential density γ ∗ of the dust distribution in the Einstein-de Sitter cosmology. The main results are as follows: (1) the choice of distance plays a crucial role in determining the scale where relativistic corrections must be taken into account, as both γ and γ ∗ are strongly affected by such a choice; (2) inap- propriate distance choices may lead to failure to find evidence of a galaxy fractal structure when one calculates those quantities, even if such a structure does occur in the galaxy distribution; (3) the comoving distance and the distance given by Mattig's for- mula are unsuitable to probe for a possible fractal pattern as they render γ and γ ∗ constant for all redshifts; (4) a possible galaxy fractal system at scales larger than 100 Mpc (z ≈ 0.03) may only be found if those statistics are calculated with the luminosity or redshift distances, as they are the ones where γ and γ ∗ decrease at higher redshifts; (5) Celerier & Thieberger's (2001) critique of Ribeiro's (1995) earlier study are rendered impaired as their objections were based on misconceptions regarding relativistic distance definitions.
Refugee Youth’s Identity Expressions and Multimodal Literacy Practices in a Third Space

ABSTRACT Recognizing the inherent value of refugee youth’s diverse and powerful linguistic and cultural capital, this case study adds to the growing body of research regarding refugee youth’s intersecting identities and multiliteracies by exploring (1) how youth who have settled in the American Midwest as refugees express their emerging notions of identity and culture and (2) in what ways refugee youth perceive a level of access and exhibit desire or reluctance for an American identity. This study focuses on the journal and poetry writing—created in a self-selected and self-segregated third space of a pull-out English-as-a-second language (ESL) classroom—of two 4th-grade Chin refugee girls from Burma. The girls’ writings speak to their ideas and ideals of race, language, culture, and the construction of a bicultural Chin American identity, thereby illustrating youth’s nuanced and varied identity expressions and experiences in an American Midwest elementary school.
Robust a Posteriori Error Control and Adaptivity for Multiscale, Multinumerics, and Mortar Coupling

We consider discretizations of a model elliptic problem by means of different numerical methods applied separately in different subdomains, termed multinumerics, coupled using the mortar technique. The grids need not match along the interfaces. We are also interested in the multiscale setting, where the subdomains are partitioned by a mesh of size $h$, whereas the interfaces are partitioned by a mesh of much coarser size $H$, and where lower-order polynomials are used in the subdomains and higher-order polynomials are used on the mortar interface mesh. We derive several fully computable a posteriori error estimates which deliver a guaranteed upper bound on the error measured in the energy norm. Our estimates are also locally efficient and one of them is robust with respect to the ratio $H/h$ under an assumption of sufficient regularity of the weak solution. The present approach allows bounding separately and comparing mutually the subdomain and interface errors. A subdomain/interface adaptive refinement s.
Influence function of the error rate of classification based on clustering

Cluster analysis may be performed when one wishes to group similar objects into a given number of clusters. Several algorithms are available in order to construct these clusters. In this talk, focus will be on the generalized k-means algorithm which has the classical k-means procedure as well as the k-medoids algorithm as particular cases. Among the outputs of these clustering techniques, a classification rule is provided in order to classify the objects into one of the clusters. More precisely, let C1(F ), . , Ck(F ) denote the clusters constructed under model F by the generalized k-means procedure when the chosen penalty function is Ω. The clustering rule can then be defined as