Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A Hierarchical Bayesian Approach to Modeling Heterogeneity in Speech Quality Assessment

The development of objective speech quality measures generally involves fitting a model to subjective rating data. A typical data set comprises ratings generated by listening tests performed in different languages and across different laboratories. These factors as well as others, such as the sex and age of the talker, influence the subjective ratings and result in data heterogeneity. We use a linear hierarchical Bayes (HB) structure to account for heterogeneity. To make the structure effective, we develop a variational Bayesian inference for the linear HB structure that approximates not only the posterior over the model parameters, but also the model evidence. Using the approximate model evidence we are able to study and exploit the heterogeneity inducing factors in the Bayesian framework. The new approach yields a simple linear predictor with state-of-the-art predictive performance. Our experiments show that the new method compares favorably with systems based on more complex predictor structures such as ITU-T recommendation P.563, Bayesian MARS, and Gaussian processes.
TERRESTRIAL LASER SCANNING FOR DEFORMATION MONITORING-LOAD TESTS ON THE FELSENAU VIADUCT ( CH )

In conjunction with future renovation work on the 33-year-old Felsenau viaduct (CH), which is part of the Swiss highway A1 and one of the most remarkable concrete bridge structures in Switzerland, load tests were performed for evaluating the fatigue resistance and refining the analytical models. The bridge girder was therefore loaded with more than 100 tons. The Institute of Geodesy and Photogrammetry at ETH Zurich was responsible for deformation monitoring during the load tests. In addition to traditional surveying methods such as precise levelling and tacheometry, terrestrial laser scanning was performed for the detection of deformations. This paper presents unique load tests on the Felsenau viaduct as well as results of deformation monitoring with focus on measurements by terrestrial laser scanning. Furthermore, a comparison of terrestrial laser scanning and precise levelling is described.
The highly spotted photosphere of the young rapid rotator Speedy Mic

We present high-resolution images of the young rapidly rotating K3 dwarf Speedy Mic (BO Mic, HD 197890). The photospheric spot maps reveal a heavily and uniformly spotted surface from equatorial to high-latitude regions. Contrary to many images of similar objects, Speedy Mic does not possess a uniform filling at high latitudes, but exhibits structure in the polar regions showing greatest concentration in a particular longitude range. The asymmetric rotation profile of Speedy Mic indicates the presence of a companion or nearby star which shows radial velocity shifts over a time-scale of several years. Using a simple dynamical argument, we show that Speedy Mic is unlikely to be a binary system, and conclude that the feature must be the result of a chance alignment with a background binary. Complete phase coverage on two consecutive nights in addition to 60 per cent phase coverage after a three-night gap has enabled us to track the evolution of spots with time. By incorporating a solar-like differential rotation model into the image reconstruction process, we find that the equator laps the polar regions once every 191 ± 17 d. This finding is in close agreement with measurements for other late-type rapid rotators. Ke yw ords: line: profiles ‐ methods: data analysis ‐ stars: activity ‐ stars: atmospheres ‐ stars: individual: Speedy Mic (HD 197890) ‐ stars: late-type.
Towards sustainable consumption: an examination of environmental knowledge among Malaysians

Environmental problems are mainly attributable to the impact of humans on natural systems. In the case of Malaysia, rapid urbanization and Malaysian consumer’ pursuit of consumption-oriented lifestyles have intensified the solid-waste management problem faced by the government. Increasing public environmental awareness is a potential way of addressing this. The objectives of the study described here were to assess the level of environmental knowledge among households in Selangor in Malaysia, examine the sources of their environmental knowledge, determine factors that lead to different levels of knowledge and analyse the relationship between knowledge and environmental attitude, behaviour and participation. The results of the study indicate that, in general, respondents’ basic or general environmental knowledge was high. However, when questioned on various scientific environmental terms, the majority of the respondents were not familiar with most of them. Respondents indicated that their main sources of environmental knowledge and information were newspapers, television and radio. Lower levels of education were reflected in the level of environmental knowledge. Participation in environmental activities had a positive influence on knowledge. The study also found that knowledge correlated positively with environmental attitudes, behaviours and participation.
A new method to determine the mixing state of light absorbing carbonaceous using the measured aerosol optical properties and number size distributions

Abstract. In this paper, the mixing state of light absorbing carbonaceous (LAC) was investigated with a two-parameter aerosol optical model and in situ aerosol measurements at a regional site in the North China Plain (NCP). A closure study between the hemispheric backscattering fraction (HBF) measured by an integrating nephelometer and that calculated with a modified Mie model was conducted. A new method was proposed to retrieve the ratio of the externally mixed LAC mass to the total mass of LAC ( r ext-LAC ) based on the assumption that the ambient aerosol particles were externally mixed and consisted of a pure LAC material and a core-shell morphology in which the core is LAC and the shell is a less absorbing material. A Monte Carlo simulation was applied to estimate the overall influences of input parameters of the algorithm to the retrieved r ext-LAC . The diurnal variation of r ext-LAC was analyzed and the PartMC-MOSAIC model was used to simulate the variation of the aerosol mixing state. Results show that, for internally mixed particles, the assumption of core-shell mixture is more appropriate than that of homogenous mixture which has been widely used in aerosol optical calculations. A significant diurnal pattern of the retrieved r ext-LAC was found, with high values during the daytime and low values at night. The consistency between the retrieved r ext-LAC and the model results indicates that the diurnal variation of LAC mixing state is mainly caused by the diurnal evolution of the mixing layer.
Robust periocular recognition by fusing local to holistic sparse representations

Sparse representations have been advocated as a relevant advance in biometrics research. In this paper we propose a new algorithm for fusion at the data level of sparse representations, each one obtained from image patches. The main novelties are two-fold: 1) a dictionary fusion scheme is formalised, using the l1--- minimization with the gradient projection method; 2) the proposed representation and classification method does not require the non-overlapping condition of image patches from where individual dictionaries are obtained. In the experiments, we focused in the recognition of periocular images and obtained independent dictionaries for the eye, eyebrow and skin regions, that were subsequently fused. Results obtained in the publicly available UBIRIS.v2 data set show consistent improvements in the recognition effectiveness when compared to state-of-the-art related representation and classification techniques.
Nonsulfhydryl-reactive phenoxyacetic acids increase aqueous humor outflow facility.

PURPOSE The phenoxyacetic acid, ethacrynic acid (ECA), has potential use in glaucoma therapy because it acts to increase aqueous outflow in vivo and in vitro. In human trabecular meshwork (HTM) cell culture, ECA acts to change cell shape and attachment, effects that have been correlated with microtubule (MT) alterations and chemical sulfhydryl (SH) reactivity. To further explore these actions, we evaluated two non-SH reactive phenoxyacetic acids, inadcrinone and ticrynafen, and the MT-disrupting drug vinblastine. METHODS Excised bovine and porcine eyes were perfused and outflow facility measured. Calf pulmonary artery endothelial and HTM cells were grown in culture and cytoskeletal effects evaluated after drug treatment. RESULTS Indacrinone, ticrynafen, and vinblastine all caused an increase in outflow facility. In contrast with ECA, the outflow effects of indacrinone and ticrynafen were not blocked by excess cysteine. Although indacrinone and ticrynafen produced changes in cell shape in vitro, the beta-tubulin staining pattern of treated cells was not altered. Vinblastine caused cell shape change and the expected MT disruption. CONCLUSIONS Phenoxyacetic acids can increase aqueous outflow facility and alter HTM cell shape and attachment in vitro by a non-SH, non-MT mechanism (which is probably shared also by ECA). These findings suggest the possibility of a broader class of glaucoma drugs that may be directed at the HTM. An understanding of the cellular target for these drugs has implications both for potential glaucoma therapy and for the cytoskeletal mechanisms involved in normal outflow function.
Characterization of eigenfunctions of the Laplacian by boundedness conditions

If {f k (x)} k ∈ Z is a doubly infinite sequence of functions on R n which are uniformly bounded and such that Δf k = f k+1 , then Δf 0 = − f 0 . This generalizes a therem of Roe (n = 1). The analogous statement is true on the Heisenberg group, but false in hyperbolic space
ABUSIVE SUPERVISION AND ORGANIZATIONAL CYNICISM AS PREDICTORS OF CYBER-LOAFING AMONG FEDERAL CIVIL SERVICE EMPLOYEES IN ANAMBRA STATE, NIGERIA

This study examined abusive supervision and organizational cynicism as predictors of cyber-loafing among federal civil service employees in Anambra State, Nigeria. Three hundred and twenty-nine (329) public sector employees served as participants in the study. The participants were 147 males and 182 females. The age of the participants ranged from 27 to 53 years, with a mean age of 39yrs and standard deviation of 1.42yrs. The participants were selected through cluster and simple random sampling technique. Being a cross-sectional survey studies, correlation design and multiple regression analysis were used as the appropriate design and statistical tool to analyze the data obtained from the field study respectively. The result confirmed that abusive supervision significantly predicted cyber-loafing among federal civil servants in Nigeria at α = . 51, p < . 05 (n=229). Also organizational cynicism significantly predicted cyber-loafing among federal civil servants at α = . 63, p < . 05 (n=229). It is recommended that organizational leader-member exchange be improved to checkmate abusive supervision while increasing fairness and equity in the organization. Article visualizations:
Effect of Aura-Chakra, Yoga and Spirituality on an Individual’s Performance in the Workplace

Abstract Purpose of this research is to find the relationship between Aura-Chakra, spirituality and yoga, and work performance based on 427 respondents using a reliable questionnaire. Results revealed that except the respondents from the textile sector, all other respondents from the academic, hospital, auto component unit, spiritual center and IT fields showed Blue-Throat Chakrathat exhibited high spirituality and regularity in practicing yoga. Independent sample t-test expressed a good significance for Blue-Throat Chakrawith spirituality and loyalty. The Pearson correlation indicated a significant correlation between Green-Heart Chakraand goal orientation, also workaholism, Blue-Throat Chakraand loyalty, and Red-Base Chakraand workaholism. Spirituality had a significant correlation with Blue-Throat Chakra, loyalty and goal orientation. The research concluded that Blue- Throat Chakraindividuals are loyal and goal oriented in achieving the employer’s goal, as they are highly spiritual and regularly practice yoga.
βArrestin-1 and Mcl-1 Modulate Self-Renewal Growth of Cancer Stem-Like Side-Population Cells in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Side population (SP) cells have been reported to have properties of cancer stem-like cells (CSCs) in non-small cell lung carcinoma (NSCLC), yet their molecular features have not been fully elucidated. Here we show that, NSCLC-SP cells were enriched in G0/G1 phase of cell cycle, had higher aldehyde dehydrogenase activity as well as higher clonogenic and self-renewing ability compared to main population (MP) cells. Interestingly, SP cells were also able to trans-differentiate into angiogenic tubules in vitro and were highly tumorigenic as compared to MP cells. SP-derived tumors demonstrated the intratumoral heterogeneity comprising of both SP and MP cells, suggesting the self-renewal and differentiation ability of SP cells are manifested in vivo as well. βArrestin-1 (βArr1) is involved in the progression of various cancers including NSCLCs and we find that depletion of βArr1 significantly blocked the SP phenotype; whereas depletion of βArr2 had relatively minor effects. Ectopic expression of βArr1 resulted in increased SP frequency and ABCG2 expression while abrogation of βArr1 expression suppressed the self-renewal growth and expansion of A549 cells. Anti-apoptotic protein Mcl-1 is known to be one of the key regulators of self-renewal of tissue stem cells and is thought to contribute to survival of NSCLC cells. Our experiments show that higher levels of Mcl-1 were expressed in SP cells compared to MP cells at both transcriptional and translational levels. In addition, Obatoclax, a pharmacological inhibitor of Mcl-1, could effectively prevent the self-renewal of both EGFR-inhibitor sensitive and resistant NSCLC cells. In conclusion, our findings suggest that βArr1 and Mcl-1 are involved in the self-renewal and expansion of NSCLC-CSCs and are potential targets for anti-cancer therapy.
Achieving Illumination Invariance Using Image Filters

In this chapter we described a novel framework for automatic face recognition in the presence of varying illumination, primarily applicable to matching face sets or sequences. The framework is based on simple image processing filters that compete with unprocessed greyscale input to yield a single matching score between individuals. By performing all numerically consuming computation offline, our method both (i) retains the matching efficiency of simple image filters, but (ii) with a greatly increased robustness, as all online processing is performed in closed-form. Evaluated on a large, real-world data corpus, the proposed framework was shown to be successful in video-based recognition across a wide range of illumination, pose and face motion pattern changes
Independent introductions and admixtures have contributed to adaptation of European maize and its American counterparts

Through the local selection of landraces, humans have guided the adaptation of crops to a vast range of climatic and ecological conditions. This is particularly true of maize, which was domesticated in a restricted area of Mexico but now displays one of the broadest cultivated ranges worldwide. Here, we sequenced 67 genomes with an average sequencing depth of 18x to document routes of introduction, admixture and selective history of European maize and its American counterparts. To avoid the confounding effects of recent breeding, we targeted germplasm (lines) directly derived from landraces. Among our lines, we discovered 22,294,769 SNPs and between 0.9% to 4.1% residual heterozygosity. Using a segmentation method, we identified 6,978 segments of unexpectedly high rate of heterozygosity. These segments point to genes potentially involved in inbreeding depression, and to a lesser extent to the presence of structural variants. Genetic structuring and inferences of historical splits revealed 5 genetic groups and two independent European introductions, with modest bottleneck signatures. Our results further revealed admixtures between distinct sources that have contributed to the establishment of 3 groups at intermediate latitudes in North America and Europe. We combined differentiation- and diversity-based statistics to identify both genes and gene networks displaying strong signals of selection. These include genes/gene networks involved in flowering time, drought and cold tolerance, plant defense and starch properties. Overall, our results provide novel insights into the evolutionary history of European maize and highlight a major role of admixture in environmental adaptation, paralleling recent findings in humans.
Power, Hierarchy and Social Preferences

I ran an experiment in order to evaluate the relationship, if any, between power, or the search for power, and the degree of altruism. In particular I experimentally tested whether an organization structured in a strictly hierarchical way was able to reduce the degree of altruism of a group of experimental subjects. The subjects were divided into groups and played a series of dictator and ultimatum games with the members of other groups; for each experimental euro that they earned, the experimenter assigned half of it to the group. Two different settings were analyzed according to how this group surplus was distributed among group members. In the control setting (treatment A) the group surplus was distributed equally among group members, while in the power setting (treatment B) there was a ranking of the earnings in the group, and the subject who earned the higher sum was given the power to decide the distribution scheme of the group different from her own. It was found that the introduction of a hierarchical structure generated a significant decrease in the rate of altruism, measured in terms of the allocation given to the receiver in the dictator game. In this case the tournament among group members for leadership and the competition for power was a very strong means to induce behaviour more in line with the classical assumption of economics. A remarkable gender effect emerges, suggesting that women seem less attracted and trapped by competition for power.
Navigating ‘ngunda’/‘adoro’ and negotiating economic uncertainty amongst mobile Cameroonian migrants in Cape Town (South Africa)

Using the concept of ontological (in)security, this paper examines how Cameroonian Anglophone migrants in Cape Town negotiate and mitigate the loss of ontological security through asylum-seeking and engaging in economic activities, as well as connecting ancestrally in the metaphysical world. Based on qualitative research, the paper explores and analyses the creative ways in which these groups of migrants are able to circumnavigate the challenges of border crossing and regularization of their immigrant status through particularly astute asylum (‘ngunda’/‘adoro’) practices. While obtaining asylum is a spring board to achieving economic freedom and enabling them to engage in the economic sector, it also shields migrants from the complexities of insecurities. Such adaptability and flexibility are simultaneously edifying and challenging to the conventional ideas of personhood and ontology as they have been raised by Cameroonians and Africans. The paper contributes to understanding how personhood, conviviality and strategies help migrants counter insecurities by providing them with new forms of circumventing various control mechanisms to attaining refugee status and those that govern sales of particular goods and financial transactions within and between states.
Disambiguating implicit temporal queries for temporal information retrieval applications

Time is an important dimension of the information retrieval area that can be very useful in helping to meet the users information needs whenever they include temporal intents. However retrieving the information that meets the query demands is not an easy process. The ambiguity of the query is traditionally one of the causes impeding the retrieval of relevant information. This is particularly evident in the case of temporal queries where users tend to be subjective when expressing their intents (e.g., avatar movie instead of avatar movie 2009). Determining the possible times of the query is therefore of the utmost importance when attempting to achieve better disambiguated results and in order to enable new forms of exploring them. In this thesis, we present our contributions to disambiguate implicit temporal queries in realworld environment, i.e. the Web. To understand better this type of queries, three directions may be followed: information extracted from (1) metadata, (2) query logs or (3) document contents. Within the context of this thesis, we will focus on the latter. However, unlike existing approaches we do not resort to a classification methodology. Instead, in our approach, we seek to detect relevant temporal expressions based on corpus statistics and a general similarity measure that makes use of co-occurrences of words and years extracted from the contents of the documents. Moreover, our methodology tends to be mostly language-independent as we do not use any linguistic-based techniques. Instead, we use a rule-based model solution supported by regular expressions. Based on this, we start by performing a comprehensive study of the temporal value of web documents, particularly web snippets, showing that this type of collection is a valuable data source in the process of dating implicit temporal queries. We then develop two methods. A temporal similarity measure to evaluate the correlation between the query and the candidate dates identified, called Generic Temporal Evaluation (GTE) and a threshold-based classifier that selects the most relevant dates while filtering out the non-relevant or incorrect ones, known as GTEClass. Subsequently, we propose two different applications named GTE-Cluster and GTE-Rank. The first one, uses the determined time of the queries to improve search results exploration. For this purpose, we propose a flat temporal clustering model solution where documents are grouped at the year level. GTE-Rank, in turn, uses the same information to temporally re-rank the web search results. We employ a combination approach that considers words and temporal scores, where documents are ranked to reflect the relevance of the snippet for the query, both in the