Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
On the use of agglomerative and spectral clustering in speaker diarization of meetings

In this paper, we present a clustering algorithm for speaker diarization based on spectral clustering. State-of-the-art diarization systems are based on agglomerative hierarchical clustering using Bayesian Information Criterion and other statistical metrics among clusters which results in a high computational cost and in a time demanding approach. Our proposal avoids the use of such metrics applying Euclidean distances on the eigenvectors computed from the normalized graph Laplacian. A hybrid system is proposed in which HMM/GMM modelling and Viterbi alignment are still applied, but the BIC for merging and stopping criterion are substituted by a spectral clustering algorithm. Once an initial segmentation is obtained and the clustering alignment is computed using the Viterbi algorithm, the remaining clusters are modeled by stacking the means of the Gaussians in a super vector. In such a space single value decomposition of the associated normalized graph Laplacian is computed. Most similar clusters are merged based on the Euclidean distances in resulting eigenspace. Cluster number estimation is based on analyzing eigenstructure of the similarity matrix by selecting a threshold on the eigenvalues gap. In experiments, this approach has obtained a comparable performance to the traditional AHC+BIC approach on the Rich Transcription conference evaluation data. Although it still relies on Gaussian modelling of clusters and Viterbi alignment, the proposed approach leads to a system which runs several times faster than traditional one.
Single and Multiple Packet Reception in a Random Access OFDMA System

This paper models a multi-channel stabilized S-Aloha system with capture. A capture model for single packet reception in a multi-carrier stabilized S-Aloha network is first proposed. This model can be effectively used for a single and a multiple antenna base station (BS). An analytical model for multi-packet reception is also proposed for multi-antenna BS. In this framework the BS can use a linear minimum mean square error (LMMSE) receiver. Two frame structures have been used to allow multiuser detection. It is shown that for a lightly loaded system there might not be enough advantage to use a multiple antenna system. It is also shown that in a finite user case the maximum attainable stabilized throughput reduces slightly with increasing number of users and very quickly reaches the infinite user case. Keywords— OFDMA, stabilized S-Aloha, multichannel, capture effect, random access.
Human African trypanosomiasis control: Achievements and challenges

Sleeping sickness, also known as human African trypanosomiasis (HAT), is a neglected disease that impacts 70 million people living in 1.55 million km2 in sub-Saharan Africa. Since the beginning of the 20th century, there have been multiple HAT epidemics in sub-Saharan Africa, with the most recent epidemic in the 1990s resulting in about half a million HAT cases reported between 1990 and 2015. Here we review the status of HAT disease at the current time and the toolbox available for its control. We also highlight future opportunities under development towards novel or improved interventions.
COMMIT: a sender-centric truthful and energy-efficient routing protocol for ad hoc networks with selfish nodes

We consider the problem of establishing a route and sending packets between a source/destination pair in ad hoc networks composed of rational selfish nodes, whose purpose is to maximize their own utility. In order to motivate nodes to follow the protocol specification, we use side payments that are made to the forwarding nodes. Our goal is to design a fully distributed algorithm such that: (i) a node is always better off participating in the protocol execution (individual rationality), (ii) a node is always better off behaving according to the protocol specification (truthfulness), (iii) messages are routed along the most energy-efficient path, and (iv) the message complexity is reasonably low. We introduce the COMMIT protocol for individually rational, truthful, and energy-efficient routing in ad-hoc networks. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first ad hoc routing protocol with these features. COMMIT is based on the VCG payment scheme, in conjunction with a novel game-theoretic technique to achieve truthfulness for the sender node. By means of simulation, we show that the inevitable economic inefficiency is small. As an aside, our work demonstrates the advantage of using a cross-layer approach to solving problems: leveraging the existence of an underlying topology control protocol, we are able to simplify the design and analysis of our routing protocol, and to reduce its message complexity. On the other hand, our investigation of the routing problem in presence of selfish nodes disclosed a new metric under which topology control protocols can be evaluated: the cost of cooperation.
An acoustic analysis of pharyngeal and emphatic consonants in Iraqi Arabic

Emphatic consonants in Arabic are coronal obstruents with a secondary articulation. The exact place of the secondary constriction is debated, though these consonants are often said to be pharyngealized. The emphatic consonants contrast with plain coronal obstruents and pharyngeal fricatives. Emphatic consonants also affect adjacent and non-adjacent vowels through a process of emphasis spread, usually by F1 raising and F2 lowering. A production experiment in Iraqi Arabic examined the acoustic patterns of plain, emphatic, and pharyngeal consonants and adjacent vowels. Acoustic measurements of the first and second formants of the low vowel /a/ and the high front vowel /i/ before and after the consonant were analyzed, as well as center of gravity of the fricatives. This experiment found that F1 was higher adjacent to pharyngeal and emphatic consonants than adjacent to plain consonants. F2 was lower adjacent to emphatic consonants than adjacent to plain and pharyngeal consonants. These results suggest some similarities in the articulation of pharyngeal and emphatic consonants, but that emphatic consonants have a slightly different constriction for the secondary articulation than the constriction
Using metaphorical techniques in focus groups to uncover mothers' feelings about family meals

Traditional nutrition education has not been shown to consistently produce behavior change. While it has been suggested that using emotion-based messages may be a better way to influence nutrition behavior change, this has not been well tested. Producing emotion-based messages is a multi-step process that begins with exploring subconscious barriers to behavior change rather than the more obvious and typically reported barriers. The purpose of this research was to uncover the emotional reasons, sometimes referred to as emotional pulse points, for mothers' choosing or not choosing to have more family meals. This would then serve as the first step to developing emotion-based messages promoting the benefits of family meals. Five focus group interviews were conducted with 51 low-income Black (n=28) and white (n=23) mothers. Metaphorical techniques were used to determine underlying feelings toward family and family meals. Discussions were video-taped, transcribed, and manually analyzed using a content-driven, immersion/crystallization approach to qualitative data analysis. Four themes emerged around the definition of family: acceptance, sharing, chaos, and protective/loyal. Some mothers felt mealtime was merely obligatory, and described it as stressful. Some reported a preference for attending to their own needs instead of sitting down with their children, while others felt that mealtime should be used to interact with and educate children and felt guilty when they were not able to provide family meals. Three themes emerged around feelings towards having or not having family meals: unimportant, important, and guilty. When explored further, mothers indicated that using the feeling of guilt to encourage family meals might be effective. Data obtained are being used to develop innovative, emotion-based messages that will be tested for effectiveness in promoting family meals.
Routability-driven placement for hierarchical mixed-size circuit designs

A wirelength-driven placer without considering routability could introduce irresolvable routing-congested placements. Therefore, it is desirable to develop an effective routability-driven placer for modern mixed-size designs employing hierarchical methodologies for faster turnaround time. This paper presents a novel two-stage technique to effectively identify design hierarchies and guide placement for better wirelength and routability. To optimize wirelength and routability simultaneously during placement, a new analytical net-congestion-optimization technique is also proposed. Compared with the participating teams for the 2012 ICCAD Design Hierarchy Aware Routability-driven Placement Contest, our placer can achieve the best quality (both the average overflow and wirelength) and the best overall score (by additionally considering running time).
Bayesian inference in a class of partially identified models

This paper develops a Bayesian approach to inference in a class of partially identified econometric models. Models in this class are characterized by a known mapping between a point identified reduced‐form parameter μ and the identified set for a partially identified parameter θ. The approach maps posterior inference about μ to various posterior inference statements concerning the identified set for θ, without the specification of a prior for θ. Many posterior inference statements are considered, including the posterior probability that a particular parameter value (or a set of parameter values) is in the identified set. The approach applies also to functions of θ. The paper develops general results on large sample approximations, which illustrate how the posterior probabilities over the identified set are revised by the data, and establishes conditions under which the Bayesian credible sets also are valid frequentist confidence sets. The approach is computationally attractive even in high‐dimensional models, in that the approach avoids an exhaustive search over the parameter space. The performance of the approach is illustrated via Monte Carlo experiments and an empirical application to a binary entry game involving airlines.
Inducing Discourse Connectives from Parallel Texts

Discourse connectives (e.g. however, because) are terms that explicitly express discourse relations in a coherent text. While a list of discourse connectives is useful for both theoretical and empirical research on discourse relations, few languages currently possess such a resource. In this article, we propose a new method that exploits parallel corpora and collocation extraction techniques to automatically induce discourse connectives. Our approach is based on identifying candidates and ranking them using Log-Likelihood Ratio. Then, it relies on several filters to filter the list of candidates, namely: Word-Alignment, POS patterns, and Syntax. Our experiment to induce French discourse connectives from an English-French parallel text shows that Syntactic filter achieves a much higher MAP value (0.39) than the other filters, when compared with LEXCONN resource.
A Short-Term Enteral Nutrition Protocol for Management of Adult Crohn’s Disease—A Pilot Trial

Crohn’s disease (CD) is often treated with either exclusive or supplemental enteral nutrition (EN) in pediatrics, but adult practice guidelines primarily focus on medications. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of a 4-week semi-elemental-formula-based oral nutrition delivery program for managing adult CD (n = 4). Patients consumed ~66% of calories from the formula, a finding that might provide an improved calorie target for future trials. We identified Flavinofractor as the only differentially abundant genus, distinguishing post-intervention samples from pre-intervention samples. Findings from this pilot trial demonstrate the feasibility of a partial enteral nutrition protocol in adult CD management and contribute to the growing body of literature on the potential role of EN therapy in adults with CD.
A New Rule for LTL Tableaux

Propositional linear time temporal logic (LTL) is the standard temporal logic for computing applications and many reasoning techniques and tools have been developed for it. Tableaux for deciding satisfiability have existed since the 1980s. However, the tableaux for this logic do not look like traditional tree-shaped tableau systems and their processing is often quite complicated. In this paper, we introduce a novel style of tableau rule which supports a new simple traditional-style tree-shaped tableau for LTL. We prove that it is sound and complete. As well as being simple to understand, to introduce to students and to use, it is also simple to implement and is competitive against state of the art systems. It is particularly suitable for parallel implementations.
Using Function Generalization with Java to Design a Cosequential Framework

Most approaches to building frameworks involve incremental evolution of designs. One such incremental methodology involves the systematic transformation of an object-oriented design to produce the needed generic structure. An alternative approach is function generalization where an application is expressed as a set of functions in a functional programming language and is then transformed in a series of steps to produce a generalized application. The resulting set of generalized functions can be converted to Java code using design patterns to guide the framework construction. In this paper, the function generalization approach is applied directly using Java, where the set of functions are the methods in a class. Several transformation steps produce additional classes and methods that collectively form a framework. The example family used in this paper is the cosequential processing framework.
Permeability of Wild-Type and Mutant Cystic Fibrosis Transmembrane Conductance Regulator Chloride Channels to Polyatomic Anions

Permeability of the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) chloride channel to polyatomic anions of known dimensions was studied in stably transfected Chinese hamster ovary cells by using the patch clamp technique. Biionic reversal potentials measured with external polyatomic anions gave the permeability ratio (PX/PCl) sequence NO3 − > Cl− > HCO3 − > formate > acetate. The same selectivity sequence but somewhat higher permeability ratios were obtained when anions were tested from the cytoplasmic side. Pyruvate, propanoate, methane sulfonate, ethane sulfonate, and gluconate were not measurably permeant (PX/PCl < 0.06) from either side of the membrane. The relationship between permeability ratios from the outside and ionic diameters suggests a minimum functional pore diameter of ∼5.3 Å. Permeability ratios also followed a lyotropic sequence, suggesting that permeability is dependent on ionic hydration energies. Site-directed mutagenesis of two adjacent threonines in TM6 to smaller, less polar alanines led to a significant (24%) increase in single channel conductance and elevated permeability to several large anions, suggesting that these residues do not strongly bind permeating anions, but may contribute to the narrowest part of the pore.
Controlling a flexible manufacturing system using a centralized supervisor based on parallel composition of Petri networks

The design and analysis of some algorithms for the implementation of supervisors corresponding to centralized systems using Petri networks is approached in this article. Starting from the basis of supervised control, namely, monitoring and controlling of discrete event systems via a central controller (supervisor), the paper proposes a method for supervised control using Petri net type models based on parallel composition of subsystems. To illustrate and validate the proposed method, a flexible manufacturing system based on a transport system with seven nodes is used.
‘Bee Hotels’ as Tools for Native Pollinator Conservation: A Premature Verdict?

Society is increasingly concerned with declining wild bee populations. Although most bees nest in the ground, considerable effort has centered on installing ‘bee hotels’—also known as nest boxes or trap nests—which artificially aggregate nest sites of above ground nesting bees. Campaigns to ‘save the bees’ often promote these devices despite the absence of data indicating they have a positive effect. From a survey of almost 600 bee hotels set up over a period of three years in Toronto, Canada, introduced bees nested at 32.9% of sites and represented 24.6% of more than 27,000 total bees and wasps recorded (47.1% of all bees recorded). Native bees were parasitized more than introduced bees and females of introduced bee species provisioned nests with significantly more female larva each year. Native wasps were significantly more abundant than both native and introduced bees and occupied almost 3/4 of all bee hotels each year; further, introduced wasps were the only group to significantly increase in relative abundance year over year. More research is needed to elucidate the potential pitfalls and benefits of using bee hotels in the conservation and population dynamics of wild native bees.
THE IMPACT OF SOCIAL COMPARISON ON NEGATIVE PSYCHOLOGY AND IMPULSIVE BUYING BEHAVIOR OF CUSTOMERS IN VIETNAM

Purpose: This study consolidates core theories pertaining to social comparison, particularly upward comparison, impulsive buying behavior and notions associated with social characteristics such as envy, self-esteem, negative mood, depression and self-efficacy. At the same time, provide hypotheses and study models connected to the impact of social comparison on negative psychology and impulsive purchase behavior of customers in Vietnam. Method: Furthermore, this subject employed qualitative research methods such as group discussions and in-depth interviews with experts to reach a consensus on the definition of components, as well as to refine and enhance the measuring scales used to assess these factors. Subsequently, establish a foundation for carrying out initial quantitative investigation in order to finalize the official questionnaire, and subsequently proceed with the official quantitative study. A representative survey was conducted with a sample size of 647 customers who utilize social networks and engage in online shopping on e-commerce platforms. The study was conducted in major cities in Vietnam, including Ho Chi Minh, Hanoi, Da Nang, Hue, Can Tho and Bien Hoa. Result: Experimental research results have indicated that upward social comparison has a negative influence on self-esteem but a favorable impact on envy and negative mood. Simultaneously, increased self-esteem decreases depression and impulsive buying tendencies, whereas feelings of envy and negative mood have a beneficial effect. Conclusion: Additionally, the research findings demonstrate the influence of self-efficacy as a moderator and dedepression as a mediator. These findings provide a foundation for the researcher to suggest managerial recommendations for organizations to enhance client purchasing behavior.
Reflecting on self-adaptive software systems

Self-adaptability has been proposed as an effective approach to automate the complexity associated with the management of modern-day software systems. While over the past decade we have witnessed significant progress in the manner in which such systems are designed, constructed, and deployed, there is still a lack of consensus among the engineers on some of the fundamental underlying concepts. In this paper, we attempt to alleviate this issue by exploring the crucial role of computational reflection in the context of self-adaptive software systems. We show that computational reflection forms the foundation of a self-adaptive system, and an understanding of its properties is a prerequisite to intelligent and predictable construction of such systems. Examining several systems in light of computational reflection has helped us to identify a number of key challenges, which we report on and propose as avenues of future research.
A Study on the Degree of Perceived Stress among Staff in Public University

The feelings and beliefs encompassing an individual's assessment of their current or past stress levels are referred to as perceived stress. This phenomenon is common due to the high demands of contemporary responsibilities. This study delves into perceived stress experienced by staff in public universities, a segment prone to similar pressures. Reports in the media frequently highlight such stress among Malaysian public sector employees. The complex challenges faced by public sector staff require thorough resolution for effective job performance. Focusing on this, the article investigates perceived stress within the context of Malaysian public university staff. Through an online survey involving 72 university staff, we employed the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) to gauge the extent of perceived stress. The findings reveal that all staff members encountered moderate levels of perceived stress. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of perceived stress dynamics among Malaysian public university staff, inviting further exploration into effective stress management strategies.
Modeling Innate Immune Response to Early Mycobacterium Infection

In the study of complex patterns in biology, mathematical and computational models are emerging as important tools. In addition to experimental approaches, these modeling tools have recently been applied to address open questions regarding host-pathogen interaction dynamics, including the immune response to mycobacterial infection and tuberculous granuloma formation. We present an approach in which a computational model represents the interaction of the Mycobacterium infection with the innate immune system in zebrafish at a high level of abstraction. We use the Petri Net formalism to model the interaction between the key host elements involved in granuloma formation and infection dissemination. We define a qualitative model for the understanding and description of causal relations in this dynamic process. Complex processes involving cell-cell or cell-bacteria communication can be modeled at smaller scales and incorporated hierarchically into this main model; these are to be included in later elaborations. With the infection mechanism being defined on a higher level, lower-level processes influencing the host-pathogen interaction can be identified, modeled, and tested both quantitatively and qualitatively. This systems biology framework incorporates modeling to generate and test hypotheses, to perform virtual experiments, and to make experimentally verifiable predictions. Thereby it supports the unraveling of the mechanisms of tuberculosis infection.
Nuclear morphology and the ultrastructural localization of deoxyribonucleic acid synthesis during interphase.

The ultrastructural localization of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) synthesis was studied by electron-microscope autoradiography in human transforming lymphocytes, embryonic lung fibroblasts, epithelial cells and normoblasts. Euchromatin was found to be active in DNA synthesis in all cell types studied, whereas heterochromatin was inactive. However, DNA synthesis was also prominent in the regions where heterochromatin was thought to be decondensing to form euchromatin. Analysis of sequential changes in nuclear morphology of the transforming lymphocyte suggested that there is decondensation of heterochromatin during the S -phase until none is left. In nuclei with no heterochromatin a prominent localization of DNA synthesis was at the nuclear membrane. This sequence of complete decondensation of heterochromatin also seemed likely for fibroblasts and epithelial cells. Normoblasts however showed no stage where the nucleus was wholly euchromatic and it is suggested that in this cell decondensation of heterochromatin for replication is localized and transient.