Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Clinically Relevant Sound-Based Features in COVID-19 Identification: Robustness Assessment With a Data-Centric Machine Learning Pipeline

As long as the COVID-19 pandemic is still active in most countries worldwide, rapid diagnostic continues to be crucial to mitigate the impact of seasonal infection waves. Commercialized rapid antigen self-tests proved they cannot handle the most demanding periods, lacking availability and leading to cost rises. Thus, developing a non-invasive, costless, and more decentralized technology capable of giving people feedback about the COVID-19 infection probability would fill these gaps. This paper explores a sound-based analysis of vocal and respiratory audio data to achieve that objective. This work presents a modular data-centric Machine Learning pipeline for COVID-19 identification from voice and respiratory audio samples. Signals are processed to extract and classify relevant segments that contain informative events, such as coughing or breathing. Temporal, amplitude, spectral, cepstral, and phonetic features are extracted from audio along with available metadata for COVID-19 identification. Audio augmentation and data balancing techniques are used to mitigate class disproportionality. The open-access Coswara and COVID-19 Sounds datasets were used to test the performance of the proposed architecture. Obtained sensitivity scores ranged from 60.00% to 80.00% in Coswara and from 51.43% to 77.14% in COVID-19 Sounds. Although previous works report higher accuracy on COVID-19 detection, this research focused on a data-centric approach by validating the quality of the samples, segmenting the speech events, and exploring interpretable features with physiological meaning. As the pandemic evolves, its lessons must endure, and pipelines such as the proposed one will help prepare new stages where quick and easy disease identification is essential.
AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction AIS Transactions on Human-Computer Interaction

: E-commerce firms strive to enhance engagement by providing augmented experiences to online users. This research focuses on one such shopping experience enhancement technique—Web personalization. In this study, we examine how personalization affects online users’ perceptions and how different personalization levels differentially impact those perceptions. Drawing on mental accounting theory, we argue that personalization, by providing convenience in online buying, increases transaction utility and, thus, influence online users’ product perceptions. We conducted a laboratory experiment in a public university in Southern India where users took buying decisions at four different personalization levels: zero, low, medium, and high. The findings from this study suggest that product prices affect users’ perceived product quality, which, in turn, affects their perceived product values and, subsequently, their final purchase decision. Web personalization plays a moderating role in all cause-effect relations above. This study contributes to the existing literature on the Web personalization strategy and online user behavior. We find empirical evidence to show that personalization plays a moderating role in the relationship between user perception and intention to purchase.
Footprint characteristics revised for field‐scale soil moisture monitoring with cosmic‐ray neutrons

Cosmic‐ray neutron probes are widely used to monitor environmental water content near the surface. The method averages over tens of hectares and is unrivaled in serving representative data for agriculture and hydrological models at the hectometer scale. Recent experiments, however, indicate that the sensor response to environmental heterogeneity is not fully understood. Knowledge of the support volume is a prerequisite for the proper interpretation and validation of hydrogeophysical data. In a previous study, several physical simplifications have been introduced into a neutron transport model in order to derive the characteristics of the cosmic‐ray probe's footprint. We utilize a refined source and energy spectrum for cosmic‐ray neutrons and simulate their response to a variety of environmental conditions. Results indicate that the method is particularly sensitive to soil moisture in the first tens of meters around the probe, whereas the radial weights are changing dynamically with ambient water. The footprint radius ranges from 130 to 240 m depending on air humidity, soil moisture, and vegetation. The moisture‐dependent penetration depth of 15 to 83 cm decreases exponentially with distance to the sensor. However, the footprint circle remains almost isotropic in complex terrain with nearby rivers, roads or hill slopes. Our findings suggest that a dynamically weighted average of point measurements is essential for accurate calibration and validation. The new insights will have important impact on signal interpretation, sensor installation, data interpolation from mobile surveys, and the choice of appropriate resolutions for data assimilation into hydrological models.
Role of controllability in optimizing quantum dynamics

This paper reveals an important role that controllability plays in the complexity of optimizing quantum control dynamics. We show that the loss of controllability generally leads to multiple locally suboptimal controls when gate fidelity in a quantum control system is maximized, which does not happen if the system is controllable. Such local suboptimal controls may attract an optimization algorithm into a local trap when a global optimal solution is sought, even if the target gate can be perfectly realized. This conclusion results from an analysis of the critical topology of the corresponding quantum control landscape, which refers to the gate fidelity objective as a functional of the control fields. For uncontrollable systems, due to SU(2) and SU(3) dynamical symmetries, the control landscape corresponding to an implementable target gate is proven to possess multiple locally optimal critical points, and its ruggedness can be further increased if the target gate is not realizable. These results imply that the optimization of quantum dynamics can be seriously impeded when operating with local search algorithms under these conditions, and thus full controllability is demanded.
The role of B2B marketing strategy, ICT B2B marketing support, and service quality in market orientation – Performance relationship: evidence from three European countries

Abstract The purpose of this study is to evaluate the role of marketing strategy, information communication technology (ICT) marketing support, and service quality in the market orientation–performance relationship. Even though there are many studies considering the market orientation–performance relationship they rarely take into consideration ICT marketing support and marketing strategy, especially concerning the companies operating in B2B markets. Additionally, this study compares the impacts of the constructs between two emerging economies (Slovenia and Serbia) and one developed economy (Austria) on a random sample of 636 companies. Results were obtained based on the set hypotheses using the covariance-based structural equation modeling (SEM) and invariance testing procedure to make comparisons between the three countries. Market orientation strongly influenced the successful development and implementation of marketing strategies, ICT support, and service quality. The impact of service quality on company performance was statistically insignificant and only the indirect impact of market orientation on company performance through service quality was determined. ICT marketing support and successful development and implementation of B2B marketing strategy were also positively related to company performance. This study can help managers in B2B companies in emerging and developed markets to learn how to use specific marketing resources in order to achieve higher company performance.
Enhancing the W State Quantum Network Fusion Process with A Single Fredkin Gate

Department of Computer Engineering, Okan University, Istanbul, TurkeyIntegrating a single Fredkin (controlled swap) gate to the previously introduced W state fusionmechanism (Ozdemir et al, N. J. Phys. 13, 103003, 2011) and using an ancillary photon, weincrease the size of the fused W states and essentially, we improve the success probability of thefusion process in a promising way for a possible deterministic W state fusion mechanism. Besidesfusing arbitrary size W states, our setup can also fuse Bell states to create W states with a successprobability 3=4 which is much higher than the previous works. Therefore using only this setup, itis now possible to start with Bell pairs to create and expand arbitrary size W states. Since higherprobability of success implies a lower cost of resource in terms of the number of the states spent toachieve a target size, our setup gives rise to more cost-ecient scenarios.
Eosinophilic pulmonary granulomatosis resembling a pulmonary carcinoma in a dog in Hong Kong

Background: Canine Eosinophilic Pulmonary Granulomatosis (EPG) is a severe form of eosinophilic pulmonary disease that carries a guarded prognosis, responds poorly to therapy and recurs frequently. Most studies have reported a caudal lobar pulmonary distribution and a poorer prognosis in idiopathic cases. Case Description: A 7-year-old dog was presented for persistent cough, hyporexia, and weight loss. Eosinophilia and basophilia were transiently present, and an antigen test for heartworm disease was negative. Radiographic studies, followed by a computed tomography (CT) scan revealed nodular lesions and a large mass in the left cranial lobar region suggestive of neoplasia. Cytological and histopathological evaluation was consistent with EPG. The dog responded positively to corticosteroids and has since remained free of disease. Conclusion: EPG in dogs can resemble primary pulmonary neoplasia with secondary intra-pulmonary metastasis. Contrary to previous reports, idiopathic EPG can present with a cranial pulmonary distribution and respond positively to therapy.
A Fokker-Planck Study of Dense Rotating Stellar Clusters

The dynamical evolution of dense stellar systems is simulated using a two-dimensional Fokker-Planck method, with the goal of providing a model for the formation of supermassive stars which could serve as seed objects for the supermassive black holes of quasars. This work follows and expands on earlier 1-D studies of spherical clusters of main-sequence stars. The 2-D approach allows for the study of rotating systems, as would be expected due to cosmological tidal torquing; other physical effects included are collisional mergers of stars and a bulk stellar bar perturbation in the gravitational potential. The 3 Myr main-sequence lifetime for large stars provides an upper limit on simulation times. Two general classes of initial systems are studied: Plummer spheres, which represent stellar clusters, and \gamma=0 spheres, which model galactic spheroids. At the initial densities of the modeled systems, mass segregation and runaway stellar collisions alone are insufficient to induce core collapse within the lifetime limit if no bar perturbation is included. However, core collapse is not a requirement for the formation of a massive object: the choice of stellar initial mass function is found to play a crucial role. When using an IMF similar to that observed for dense stellar clusters the simulations show that the stellar system forms massive (250M_\odot) objects by collisional mergers; in almost all such cases the presence of a stellar bar allows for sufficient additional outward transport of angular momentum that a core-collapse state is reached with corresponding further increase in the rate of formation of massive objects. In contrast, simulations using an IMF similar to that observed for field stars in general (which is weighted more towards lower masses) produce no massive objects, and reach core collapse only for initial models which represent the highest-density galactic spheriods.
Numerical simulation of complex viscoelastic flows using discontinuous galerkin spectral/hp element methods

Viscoelastic flows are characterised by fast spatial and temporal variations in the solution featuring thin stress boundary near walls and stress concentrations in the vicinity of geometrical singularities. Resolving these fast variations of the fields in space and time is important for two reasons: (i) they affect the quantity of interest of the computation (e.g. drag force); and (ii) they are commonly believed to be associated with the numerical breakdown of the computation. Traditional discretisation methods such as finite differences or low-order finite elements require a large number of degrees of freedom to resolve these variations. Spectral methods enable this issue to be resolved by defining spatial expansions that are able to represent such variations with a smaller number of degrees of freedom. However, such methods are limited in terms of geometric flexibility. Recently, the spectral/hp element method (Karniadakis and Sherwin, 2005) has been developed in order to guarantee both spectral convergence, and geometric flexibility by allowing the use of quadrilateral and triangular elements. Our work is the first attempt to apply this method to viscoelastic free surface flows in arbitrary complex geometries. The conservation equations are solved in combination with the Oldroyd-B or Giesekus constitutive equation using the DEVSS-G/DG formulation. The combination of this formulation with a spectral element method is novel. A continuous approximation is employed for the velocity and discontinuous approximations for pressure, velocity gradient and polymeric stress. The conservation equations are discretised using the Galerkin method and the constitutive equation using a discontinuous Galerkin method to increase the stability of the approximation. The viscoelastic free surface is traced using an arbitrary Lagrangian Eulerian method. The performance of our scheme is demonstrated on the time-dependent Poiseuille flow in a channel, the flow around a cylinder and the die-swell problem.
WATER VAPOR IN THE SPECTRUM OF THE EXTRASOLAR PLANET HD 189733b. I. THE TRANSIT

We report near-infrared spectroscopy of the gas giant planet HD 189733b in transit. We used the Hubble Space Telescope Wide Field Camera 3 (HST WFC3) with its G141 grism covering 1.1 μm to 1.7 μm and spatially scanned the image across the detector at 2″ s−1. When smoothed to 75 nm bins, the local maxima of the transit depths in the 1.15 μm and 1.4 μm water vapor features are, respectively, 83 ± 53 ppm and 200 ± 47 ppm greater than the local minimum at 1.3 μm. We compare the WFC3 spectrum with the composite transit spectrum of HD 189733b assembled by Pont et al., extending from 0.3 μm to 24 μm. Although the water vapor features in the WFC3 spectrum are compatible with the model of non-absorbing, Rayleigh-scattering dust in the planetary atmosphere, we also re-interpret the available data with a clear planetary atmosphere. In the latter interpretation, the slope of increasing transit depth with shorter wavelengths from the near infrared, through the visible, and into the ultraviolet is caused by unocculted star spots, with a smaller contribution of Rayleigh scattering by molecular hydrogen in the planet's atmosphere. At relevant pressures along the terminator, our model planetary atmosphere's temperature is ∼700 K, which is below the condensation temperatures of sodium- and potassium-bearing molecules, causing the broad wings of the spectral lines of Na i and K i at 0.589 μm and 0.769 μm to be weak.
Quantum capacitance of the monolayer graphene

Recently, a great deal of interest has been focused on the electric field effect and transport in a two-dimensional electron gas system formed in graphene flake [1]. In the present paper, we are are mostly concerned with the quantum capacitance of the monolayer graphene placed in magnetic field. The typical experimental setup is shown in Fig.1, a. The metal backgate and the graphene flake are connected via the source of voltage, U , serving to change the carrier density. According to Refs.[2],[3], the energy spectrum obeys the linear dependence
Validation of a High-Order Large-Eddy Simulation Solver Using a Vertical-Axis Wind Turbine

A high-order implicit large-eddy simulation method in two dimensions and three dimensions is used to simulate the aerodynamics of a NACA0012 airfoil over large angles of attack at low chord Reynolds numbers (Re=5000–50,000). The two-dimensional code is found to have adequate agreement with lift and drag experimental data for prestall angles of attack, whereas the three-dimensional code is validated over all angles of attack. The three-dimensional method is able to accurately predict the magnitude and frequency content of the lift and drag forces on the airfoil throughout the range of Reynolds numbers considered in this study. Further comparisons to experimental data are made, including particle image velocimetry vorticity data as well as dye-injection data. As an extension of this application, a section of a constant spinning straight-bladed vertical-axis wind turbine with two blades at a similar Reynolds number is subject to various inflow velocities in two dimensions and three dimensions. The pitch angl.
On von Mises functionals with emphasis on trace class kernels

Consider a measurable space (X, A) and a function K : X2 -+ R and p, v two finite signed measures on (X, A). Define an integral operator TK with kernel K by: TK(I, i) = JK(x, y)du(x)dv(y). We are interested in the particular case in which p and v are differences of probability measures. We obtain results on the behavior of TK, using metric entropy conditions, in the case in which K is a trace class kernel. We also introduce some results on trace class operators. If we let T(P) := T(P, P), for a probability measure P, defined on I = [0, 1], and we consider P,, the empirical measure of a sample of size n, we give asymptotic distributions of T(P,) under relatively mild conditions.
A TWO-DIMENSIONAL INFRARED MAP OF THE EXTRASOLAR PLANET HD 189733b

We derive the first secondary eclipse map of an exoplanet, HD 189733b, based on Spitzer IRAC 8 μm data. We develop two complementary techniques for deriving the two-dimensional planet intensity: regularized slice mapping and spherical harmonic mapping. Both techniques give similar derived intensity maps for the infrared dayside flux of the planet, while the spherical harmonic method can be extended to include phase variation data which better constrain the map. The longitudinal offset of the dayside hot spot is consistent with that found in prior studies, strengthening the claim of super-rotating winds, and eliminating the possibility of phase variations being caused by stellar variability. The latitude of the hot spot is within 12. °5 (68% confidence) of the planet's equator, confirming the predictions of general circulation models for hot Jupiters and indicative of a small planet obliquity.
LAUNCHING AND QUENCHING OF BLACK HOLE RELATIVISTIC JETS AT LOW ACCRETION RATE

Relativistic jets are launched from black hole (BH) X-ray binaries and active galactic nuclei when the disk accretion rate is below a certain limit (i.e., when the ratio of the accretion rate to the Eddingtion accretion rate, , is below about 0.01) but quenched when above. We propose a new paradigm to explain this observed coupling between the jet and the accretion disk by investigating the extraction of the rotational energy of a BH when it is surrounded by different types of accretion disk. At low accretion rates (e.g., when ), the accretion near the event horizon is quasi-spherical. The accreting plasmas fall onto the event horizon in a wide range of latitudes, breaking down the force-free approximation near the horizon. To incorporate the plasma inertia effect, we consider the magnetohydrodynamical (MHD) extraction of the rotational energy from BHs by the accreting MHD fluid, as described by the MHD Penrose process. It is found that the energy extraction operates, and hence a relativistic jet is launched, preferentially when the accretion disk consists of an outer Shakura–Sunyaev disk (SSD) and an inner advection-dominated accretion flow. When the entire accretion disk type changes into an SSD, the jet is quenched because the plasmas bring more rest-mass energy than what is extracted from the hole electromagnetically to stop the extraction. Several other issues related to observed BH disk–jet couplings, such as why the radio luminosity increases with increasing X-ray luminosity until the radio emission drops, are also explained.
Shockley model description of surface states in topological insulators

Surface states in topological insulators can be understood based on the well-known Shockley model, a one-dimensional tight-binding model with two atoms per elementary cell, connected via alternating tunneling amplitudes. We generalize the one-dimensional model to the three-dimensional case representing a sequence of layers connected via tunneling amplitudes $t$, which depend on the in-plane momentum $\mathbit{p}=({p}_{x},{p}_{y})$. The Hamiltonian of the model is a $2\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}2$ matrix with the off-diagonal element $t(k,\mathbit{p})$ depending also on the out-of-plane momentum $k$. We show that the existence of the surface states depends on the complex function $t(k,\mathbit{p})$. The surface states exist for those in-plane momenta $\mathbit{p}$ where the winding number of the function $t(k,\mathbit{p})$ is nonzero when $k$ is changed from 0 to $2\ensuremath{\pi}$. The sign of the winding number determines the sublattice on which the surface states are localized. The equation $t(k,\mathbit{p})=0$ defines a vortex line in the three-dimensional momentum space. Projection of the vortex line onto the space of the two-dimensional momentum $\mathbit{p}$ encircles the domain where the surface states exist. We illustrate how this approach works for a well-known model of a topological insulator on the diamond lattice. We find that different configurations of the vortex lines are responsible for the ``weak'' and ``strong'' topological insulator phases. A topological transition occurs when the vortex lines reconnect from spiral to circular form. We apply the Shockley model to Bi${}_{2}$Se${}_{3}$ and discuss applicability of a continuous approximation for the description of the surface states. We conclude that the tight-binding model gives a better description of the surface states.