Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Perceptual Distortions in Pitch and Time Reveal Active Prediction and Support for an Auditory Pitch-Motion Hypothesis

A number of accounts of human auditory perception assume that listeners use prior stimulus context to generate predictions about future stimulation. Here, we tested an auditory pitch-motion hypothesis that was developed from this perspective. Listeners judged either the time change (i.e., duration) or pitch change of a comparison frequency glide relative to a standard (referent) glide. Under a constant-velocity assumption, listeners were hypothesized to use the pitch velocity (Δf/Δt) of the standard glide to generate predictions about the pitch velocity of the comparison glide, leading to perceptual distortions along the to-be-judged dimension when the velocities of the two glides differed. These predictions were borne out in the pattern of relative points of subjective equality by a significant three-way interaction between the velocities of the two glides and task. In general, listeners’ judgments along the task-relevant dimension (pitch or time) were affected by expectations generated by the constant-velocity standard, but in an opposite manner for the two stimulus dimensions. When the comparison glide velocity was faster than the standard, listeners overestimated time change, but underestimated pitch change, whereas when the comparison glide velocity was slower than the standard, listeners underestimated time change, but overestimated pitch change. Perceptual distortions were least evident when the velocities of the standard and comparison glides were matched. Fits of an imputed velocity model further revealed increasingly larger distortions at faster velocities. The present findings provide support for the auditory pitch-motion hypothesis and add to a larger body of work revealing a role for active prediction in human auditory perception.
A new flux/phase qubit with integrated readout

We propose a new scheme for a flux/phase qubit, based on a double-SQUID modified to achieve a direct readout of the flux state. The readout is performed by inserting a large Josephson junction in the SQUID loop; the junction is biased by an external current and switches from the zero-voltage to the running state depending on the flux state of the qubit. We report recent results concerning the theoretical behavior and the experimental characterization at 4.2 K of the device, which has been realized with Nb/AlOx/Nb trilayer technology.
Fatigue-crack initiation and growth in notched 2024-T3 specimens monitored by a video tape system

Fatigue-crack initiation and early stages of growth in notched 2024-T3 aluminum alloy sheet specimens were monitored during constant-amplitude fatigue tests conducted for a range of stress ratios. A video tape system was developed to detect fatigue cracks 0.1 mm in length on the sheet surface and to monitor their growth. Fatigue cracks initiated either at the notch corner or on the notch surface. Most of the first fatigue cracks started as notch-corner cracks, and the crack-initiation period was defined as the number of cycles for which the crack was 0.1 mm in length on the sheet surface. For each of the stress ratios used, the results showed that at the low stress levels, the crack-initiation period constituted at least 90 percent of the fatigue lives. However, for the negative stress ratios at the high stress levels, cracks started as early as at about 40 percent of the fatigue lives.
Influence of gender on post-tetanic potentiation in human dorsiflexors.

Twitch contractions of the ankle dorsiflexors were evoked before and after 7 s of tetanic stimulation at 100 Hz in young women and men. Torque decreased more in men (18%) than in women (12%) during the tetanus. There was no gender difference in twitch peak torque potentiation over the 5-min post-tetanus. Potentiation was 42% (women) and 45% (men) at 5 s post-tetanus, and still present at 5 min (women 24%, men 25%). The immediate (5 s) shortening of twitch rise time was similar in women (14%) and men (13%), but during the 5-min men's rise time came to exceed whereas women's only approached pretetanus values (e.g., +9% vs. -1% at 5 min). The immediate decrease in half-relaxation time was also similar in women (24%) and men (22%); however, women's but not men's values remained less than pretetanus values for most of the 5-min period. Twitch rate of torque development increased similarly (75%) in women and men at 5 s, with no gender difference over 5 min. In contrast, rate of torque relaxation increased significantly only in men. Rate of torque development normalized to peak torque was similar in women and men pretetanus and increased similarly 5 s post-tetanus, but women had greater values through most of the 5-min post-tetanus. Normalized rate of torque relaxation was similar in women and men and not affected by tetanus. In the dorsiflexor muscles, young women and men show a similar amount and pattern of twitch force potentiation, but there are gender differences in time-related twitch contractile properties in the first 5 min after tetanus.
A Discrete Wavelet Transform: A Steganographic Method for Transmitting Images

Steganography is the art of hiding private or sensitive information within a carrier that for all intents and purposes, appears safe. The main objectives of Steganography’s are undetectability, robustness i.e resistance to various image processing methods and compression and capacity of the hidden data. Based on this factors steganography separates from related techniques such as watermarking and cryptography. In this paper a new Steganographic method for transmitting images based on discrete wavelet transform is proposed using technique 3-level wavelet decomposition. In this technique taking the single plane of cover image for embedding and processing the image as 4x4 blocks with swapping. The proposed method increasing the secret image capacity and security level of the data with maximum value of PSNR and minimum value of RMSE.
Proof of concept of a novel cloud computing approach for object-based remote sensing data analysis and classification

Advances in the development of Earth observation data acquisition systems have led to the continuously growing production of remote sensing datasets, for which timely analysis has become a major challenge. In this context, distributed computing technology can provide support for efficiently handling large amounts of data. Moreover, the use of distributed computing techniques, once restricted by the availability of physical computer clusters, is currently widespread due to the increasing offer of cloud computing infrastructure services. In this work, we introduce a cloud computing approach for object-based image analysis and classification of arbitrarily large remote sensing datasets. The approach is an original combination of different distributed methods which enables exploiting machine learning methods in the creation of classification models, through the use of a web-based notebook system. A prototype of the proposed approach was implemented with the methods available in the InterCloud system integrated with the Apache Zeppelin notebook system, for collaborative data analysis and visualization. In this implementation, the Apache Zeppelin system provided the means for using the scikit-learn Python machine learning library in the design of a classification model. In this work we also evaluated the approach with an object-based image land-cover classification of a GeoEye-1 scene, using resources from a commercial cloud computing infrastructure service provided. The obtained results showed the effectiveness of the approach in efficiently handling a large data volume in a scalable way, in terms of the number of allocated computing resources.
Ancestors 1.0: a web server for ancestral sequence reconstruction

SUMMARY The computational inference of ancestral genomes consists of five difficult steps: identifying syntenic regions, inferring ancestral arrangement of syntenic regions, aligning multiple sequences, reconstructing the insertion and deletion history and finally inferring substitutions. Each of these steps have received lot of attention in the past years. However, there currently exists no framework that integrates all of the different steps in an easy workflow. Here, we introduce Ancestors 1.0, a web server allowing one to easily and quickly perform the last three steps of the ancestral genome reconstruction procedure. It implements several alignment algorithms, an indel maximum likelihood solver and a context-dependent maximum likelihood substitution inference algorithm. The results presented by the server include the posterior probabilities for the last two steps of the ancestral genome reconstruction and the expected error rate of each ancestral base prediction. AVAILABILITY The Ancestors 1.0 is available at http://ancestors.bioinfo. uqam.ca/ancestorWeb/.
A note on stability conditions for planar switched systems

This article is concerned with the stability problem for the planar linear switched system , where the real matrices A 1, A 2 ∈ ℝ2×2 are Hurwitz and u(·) : [0, ∞ [→ {0, 1} is a measurable function. We give coordinate-invariant necessary and sufficient conditions on A 1 and A 2 under which the system is asymptotically stable for arbitrary switching functions u(·). The new conditions unify those given in previous papers and are simpler to be verified since we reduced to study 4 cases instead of 20. Most of the cases are analysed in terms of the function .
Social Activity as the New TV Guide

The huge catalogues of video items currently available through live, on-demand and catchup TV based services coupled with the ever expanding range of online video services (Vimeo, YouTube, Netflix) provides users with unprecedented levels of choice. Not only is the choice of content expanding but so too are the range of formats, delivery mechanisms and the viewing devices (PC, TV/STB, mobile device). In order to navigate these repositories sensibly recommender systems provide a key role in helping a user filter items of interest. In this paper, we describe our initial work on integrating an IPTV service with social networks in order to support the personalisation process by exploiting the social graph.
Selective Modulation of Nuclear Factor of Activated T-Cell Function in Restenosis by a Potent Bipartite Peptide Inhibitor

Rationale: Nuclear factor of activated T-cells (NFAT) is importantly implicated in pathological cardiac remodeling and vascular lesion formation. NFAT functionality is mainly regulated by calcineurin, a Ca2+-dependent multi-effector phosphatase. Calcineurin inhibitors such as cyclosporine A (CsA) were shown to be effective in the treatment of restenosis and vascular inflammation but with adverse side effects. Objective: This prompted the design of more selective inhibitors such as VIVIT and inhibitors of NFAT-calcineurin association, which unfortunately have a poor potency precluding clinical use. Methods and Results: Here, we describe the rational design of a potent bipartite inhibitor of NFAT–calcineurin interaction, MCV1, which targets two separate calcineurin docking motifs. Modeling, site-directed mutagenesis, and functional studies demonstrated that MCV1 acts by allosteric modulation of calcineurin. Comparable to CsA, MCV1 prevents NFAT activation at nanomolar potency without impairing calcineurin phosphatase activity, nuclear factor-&kgr;B nuclear import, and general cell signaling. In contrast, CsA but not MCV1-activated basal level extracellular signal-regulated kinases activity and prevented nuclear import of calcineurin, independent of NFAT activation. In vivo MCV1 abrogated NFAT-mediated T-cell activation in a model of PMA-elicited peritonitis, whereas topical application of MCV1 markedly reduced neointima formation in a mouse model of restenosis. Conclusions: We designed a bipartite NFAT inhibitor that is more potent than VIVIT and more selective than CsA. MCV1 constitutes not only a powerful tool to unravel NFAT function but also a potential drug candidate for the treatment of diseases implicating NFAT activation.
Optimization Of Cross Domain Sentiment Analysis Using Sentiwordnet

The task of sentiment analysis of reviews is carried out using manually built / automatically generated lexicon resources of their own with which terms are matched with lexicon to compute the term count for positive and negative polarity. On the other hand the Sentiwordnet, which is quite different from other lexicon resources that gives scores (weights) of the positive and negative polarity for each word. The polarity of a word namely positive, negative and neutral have the score ranging between 0 to 1 indicates the strength/weight of the word with that sentiment orientation. In this paper, we show that using the Sentiwordnet, how we could enhance the performance of the classification at both sentence and document level.
Wilson-Polyakov surfaces and M-theory branes

A bstract: In thispaper,we study the M -brane description ofthe W ilson-Polyakov sur- facesin six-dim ensional(2;0)�eld theory atnitetem perature.W e investigate them em - brane solution dualto a straight W ilons-Polyakov surface and com pute the interaction potentialbetween two parallelstraight strings by using AdS/CFT correspondence. Fur- therm ore we discuss the M 5-brane solutions dualto various W ilson-Polyakov surfaces. Finally weobtain a universalresultaboutM 5-branesolutionsin genericbackgrounds.
Discovery of a New Pulsating X-Ray Source with a 1549.1 Second Period, AX J183220–0840

A new pulsating X-ray source, AX J183220-0840, with a 1549.1 s period was discovered at R.A. = 18h32m20s and decl. = -8°40′30′′ (J2000, with an uncertainty of 0.′6) during an ASCA observation on the Galactic plane. The source was observed two times, in 1997 and in 1999. A phase-averaged X-ray flux of 1.1 × 10-11 ergs cm-2 s-1 and a pulsation period of 1549.1 ± 0.4 s were consistently obtained from these two observations. The X-ray spectrum was represented by a flat, absorbed power law with a photon index of Γ ≃ 0.8 and an absorption column density of NH ≃ 1.3 × 1022 cm-2. Also, a signature of iron K-shell line emission with a centroid of 6.7 keV and an equivalent width of approximately 450 eV was detected. From the pulsation period and the iron-line feature, AX J183220-0840 is likely to be a magnetic white dwarf binary with a complexly absorbed thermal spectrum with a temperature of about 10 keV.
Calcium Current Subtypes in GnRH Neurons1

Abstract Calcium plays roles in excitability, rhythm generation, and neurosecretion. Identifying channel subtypes that regulate calcium influx is thus important to understanding rhythmic GnRH secretion, which is a prerequisite for reproduction. Whole-cell voltage-clamp recordings were made from short-term dissociated GnRH adult ovariectomized (OVX) mice (n = 21) to identify channel subtypes that carry calcium current using selective channel blockers and voltage characteristics. Low-voltage activated (LVA) currents were not observed in 42 GnRH neurons tested, although most non-GnRH neurons (4/6) displayed LVA current. The L-type component of the high-voltage activated (HVA) calcium current was 25% ± 2%. The remaining HVA calcium current passed through N-type (27% ± 3%), P-type (15% ± 1%), Q-type (18% ± 3%), and R-type (15% ± 1%) channels. Because these data differ substantially from reports on cultured GnRH neurons, which may represent reproductively immature models, we also examined GnRH neurons from gonadal-intact young (Postnatal Days 4–10, n = 8 mice) mice. LVA currents were still rare (2/28) in young mice. Although the same HVA components were observed, the proportions were shifted toward significantly more L-type and less N-type current, suggesting a possible developmental shift in calcium currents in GnRH neurons. These data suggest that calcium channel subtypes in GnRH neurons prepared in the short term from brain slices differ substantially from those in long-term cultured GnRH models. These findings provide a vital foundation to examine the role of calcium channels in the secretory and rhythmic machinery of GnRH neurons.
Labor Market Competition and Individual Preferences Over Immigration Policy

This paper uses three years of individual-level data to analyze the determinants of individual preferences over immigration policy in the United States. We have two main empirical results. First, less-skilled workers are significantly more likely to prefer limiting immigrant inflows into the United States. Our finding suggests that, over the time horizons that are relevant to individuals when evaluating immigration policy, individuals think that the U.S. economy absorbs immigrant inflows at least partly by changing wages. Second, we find no evidence that the relationship between skills and immigration opinions is stronger in high-immigration communities.
Modeling Surface and Subsurface Scattering from Saline Soils

lossy dielectric materials. The Small Perturbation Model is used to estimate the relative amplitude and phase of polarimetric radar backscatter returns from each layer, and interactions at the air-surface interface are addressed using the complex amplitude Fresnel transmission coefficients for a lossy dielectric. The model is shown to be in good agreement with NASA/JPL AIRSAR polarimetric SAR data obtained over Death Valley. Anomalous HH-VV phase differences and HH/VV amplitude ratios are consistent with surface scattering from a salt pan, consisting of salt mixed with a highly saline brine solution to form the surface dielectric material.
Brief communication: 4 Mm3 collapse of a cirque glacier 
in the Central Andes of Argentina

Abstract. Among glacier instabilities, collapses of large parts of low-angle glaciers are a striking, exceptional phenomenon. So far, merely the 2002 collapse of Kolka Glacier in the Caucasus Mountains and the 2016 twin detachments of the Aru glaciers in western Tibet have been well documented. Here we report on the previously unnoticed collapse of an unnamed cirque glacier in the Central Andes of Argentina in March 2007. Although of much smaller ice volume, the 4.5 ± 1 × 106 m3 collapse of Leñas glacier in the Andes is similar to the Caucasus and Tibet ones in that the resulting ice avalanche travelled a total distance of ∼ 2 km over a surprisingly low angle of reach (∼ 5°).
Fine structure of myelinated mechanical nociceptor endings in cat hairy skin

High‐threshold mechanoreceptors (mechanical nociceptors) with myelinated axons were electrophysiologically identified in hairy skin of the cat as described by Burgess and Perl ('67). Such elements possess receptive fields consisting of a number of punctate areas from which maximal firing can be elicited by intense (skin‐damaging) mechanical stimuli. The spots of the receptive field are separated from each other by unresponsive regions, i.e., by skin areas from which responses cannot be evoked by stimuli effective at the spots.
Low‐Temperature Thermochronology of the Chatkal‐Kurama Terrane (Uzbekistan‐Tajikistan): Insights Into the Meso‐Cenozoic Thermal History of the Western Tian Shan

The Chatkal‐Kurama terrane represents a key region in understanding the tectonic evolution of the western Tian Shan. In this contribution, we present new thermochronological data (zircon [U‐Th‐Sm]/He, apatite fission track, and apatite [U‐Th‐Sm]/He) and the associated thermal history models for 30 igneous samples from the Chatkal‐Kurama terrane within Uzbekistan and Tajikistan (west of the Talas‐Fergana Fault) and integrate our data with published data from the central Tian Shan (east of the Talas‐Fergana Fault). The Chatkal‐Kurama terrane experienced a phase of rapid cooling during the Triassic‐Jurassic at ca. 225–190 Ma, which we interpret as a far‐field response to the closure of the Palaeo‐Asian Ocean or the accretion of the Qiangtang terrane on to the Eurasian margin. In the Late Jurassic to the Early Cretaceous, the Chatkal‐Kurama terrane experienced a period of tectonic stability and denudation, before transitioning into a period of marine incursions of the Paratethys Sea. In contrast, fast cooling is recorded for the Kyrgyz central Tian Shan to the east of the Talas‐Fergana Fault. The differing thermal histories at either side of the Talas‐Fergana Fault suggest that the fault induced a topographic divide during the Late Jurassic‐Early Cretaceous, with high relief in the east (Kyrgyz Tian Shan) and low relief to the west (Uzbek‐Tajik Tian Shan). Finally, the Chatkal‐Kurama terrane experienced renewed tectonic activity since ca. 30 Ma, related with the distant India‐Eurasia collision and Pamir indentation. The Cenozoic reactivation induced crustal tilting of the Chatkal‐Kurama terrane, progressively exposing deeper rocks to the southwest.
Creating a free digital Japanese-Swedish lexicon

This paper describes the creation of a Japanese-Swedish dictionary. The well known technique of using English as an intermediate language was used. A few modifications of this method are presented, such as weighting words with an idf-like measure and allowing one Japanese word to be described by several Swedish words when there is no directly corresponding translation available. For about 60,000 entries good translations are found. The lexicon has been made freely available.
Evaluation of IVR data collection UIs for untrained rural users

Due to the rapid spread of mobile phones and coverage in the developing world, mobile phones are being increasingly used as a technology platform for developing-world applications including data collection. In order to reach the vast majority of mobile phone users without access to specialized software, applications must make use of interactive voice response (IVR) UIs. However, it is unclear whether rural users in the developing world can use such UIs without prior training or IVR experience; and if so, what UI design choices improve usability for these target populations. This paper presents the results of a real-world deployment of an IVR application for collecting feedback from teachers in rural Uganda. Automated IVR data collection calls were delivered to over 150 teachers over a period of several months. Modifications were made to the IVR interface throughout the study period in response to user interviews and recorded transcripts of survey calls. Significant differences in task success rate were observed for different interface designs (from 0% to over 75% success). Notably, most participants were not able to use a touchtone or touchtone-voice hybrid interface without prior training. A set of design recommendations is proposed based on the performance of several tested interface designs.
Stability Criteria for Asynchronous Sampled-data Systems – A Fragmentation Approach

The stability analysis of asynchronous sampled-data systems is studied. The approach is based on a recent result which allows to study, in an equivalent way, the quadratic stability of asynchronous sampled-data systems in a continuous-time framework via the use of peculiar functionals satisfying a necessary boundary condition. The method developed here is an extension of previous results using a fragmentation technique inspired from recent advances in time-delay systems theory. The approach leads to a tractable convex feasibility problem involving a small number of finite dimensional LMIs. The approach is then finally illustrated through several examples.