Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speech Overlap Detection using Spectral Features and its Application in Speech Indexing

Simultaneous occurrence of speech from one or more than one speaker is considered as speech overlap. Speech overlap is due to distortion in transmission channels or vicinity of voice sources. Speech overlap has destructive effects in performance of speech recognition systems. Speech overlap detection is one of the main areas in speech and speaker indexing. In speaker indexing, speech signal is partitioned into segments where each segment is uttered by only one speaker. So, parts of speech that include two or more speakers simultaneously should be determined before any following processes. Speaker overlap detection is also useful in some other speech processing applications including speech and speaker recognition. In this paper we propose a simple and efficient method for speaker overlap detection. This method uses spectral periodicity of voiced frames to decide whether a speech segment includes speech overlap or not. In this method, voiced frames which do not have a periodic Fourier spectrum are labeled as speech overlaps. Experimental results show that the performance of the proposed method is relatively good. The main advantage of this method is its speed in labeling segments containing speech overlaps
Employing Assessment Systems in Social Work: A Practitioner-Researcher Approach

This case study employs the practitioner-researcher approach to study the social work assessment process through the most prominent diagnostic and assessment systems. The author employs the Person-in-Environment system to assess an elderly woman and compares the assessment results with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, the Psychodynamic Diagnostic Manual, and the International Classification of Functioning Disability and Health. The strengths and limits of each classification system are delineated according to the case parameters. The adoption of the Person-in-Environment system in combination with specific parameters of the other classification systems proved suitable for the biopsychosocial assessment of the case.
Mobile Financial Information Services: Capabilities of Suitable Push Services

According to the theory of efficient markets, prices of individual securities reflect all information available to the capital market. Therefore, new information such as ad hoc disclosures should be priced into stock quotations very quickly. If such significant price effects and enough effect delays can be observed, investors should be informed about relevant market events very quickly. Therefore, this paper analyzes prompt short-run stock market reactions caused by company announcements. Our study shows that the observed intraday price effects and effect delays ask for appropriate mobile notification services. After identifying relevant characteristics of suitable notification services we evaluate different mobile push service technologies. We can show how private investors can be informed about critical market events in time, using most adequate mobile push services.
Artifacts for time-aware agents

Time-aware agents are agents capable of reasoning about their tasks duration and deadlines, and, more generally, to manage the temporal aspects of the execution of their tasks. We first focus on the case of agents in charge of long duration computations, sustaining that it is not acceptable for an autonomous agent to remain unaware of its environment for too long. We then consider deadline meetings when several time-aware agents share the same CPU. To achieve these goals, we recognize the importance of the artifact concept [16]. We introduce computational artifacts for long duration tasks and a coordination artifact for managing the CPU agenda and acting as an intermediary when agents negotiate CPU power. Control of computational artifacts is done thanks to a set of operating instructions dynamically computed by the coordination artifact.
Texture Cache Approximation on GPUs

We present texture cache approximation as a method for using existing hardware on GPUs to eliminate costly global memory accesses. We develop a technique for using a GPU’s texture fetch units to generate approximate values, and argue that this technique is applicable to a wide variety of GPU kernels. Applying texture cache approximation to an image blur kernel on an NVIDIA 780GTX, we obtain a 12% reduction in kernel execution time while only introducing 0.4% output error in the final image.
Endocarditis Caused by Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans

Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans, a small, gram-negative bacillus with fastidious growth requirements, is a rare cause of endocarditis. The clinical course of this disease is characterized by long duration of symptoms before diagnosis (average of three months), prolonged incubation before growth (average of six days), and a high embolic rate. The optimal antimicrobial regimen cannot be determined from available data, but the combination of ampicillin and an aminoglycoside may offer the best chance for cure. Two cases are presented, one successfully treated. Previously reported cases are reviewed.
MOBILE INTERNET SERVICES CONTINUANCE: A RATIONAL DECISION MAKING AND AUTOMATIC BEHAVIORAL PERSPECTIVE

No researchers in the IS literature tried to provide and explain an integrated human behavioral processes framework. This paper attempts to fill in this gap by proposing a rational decision making and automatic behavior framework and suggesting rational behaviors to consist of cognitive, affective and judgmental components while automatic behaviors to consist of affective and habitual components. This study also provides implications to practitioners who have been finding it difficult to maintain or increase the continuing usage of mobile Internet services. The findings validate our integrated rational decision making and automatic behavior framework and suggest practitioners to increase the perceived value of the mobile Internet services.
A Review of Some Dynamic Loss Properties of Ni-Zn Accelerator RF System Ferrite

The Fermilab booster and main accelerator rf cavities are tuned through their operating ranges (30 to 53 i\Ilz) by varying the reactance of Ni-Zn ferrite rings using low frequency biassing fields up to 45,000 AT/m, All rings are 8 inch O.D, 5 inch I.D, and 1 inch thick (volume 502 cm3, weight =Zkg), The rf power loss properties of three types of ferrite, labeled A, B, and C, have been studied. These ferrites have remanent field incremental permeabilities of about 10, 20, and 40 respectively, During the initial fixed frequency ferrite testing an anomalous rf loss mechanism “high loss effect” was observedl,* j3. In subsequent tests with swept dc bias fields another loss mechanism, “dynamic loss effect” was identified in this laboratory and elsewhere4, 5 ,6 ,
Myosin Vs organize actin cables in fission yeast

In fission yeast, myosin Vs contribute to actin cable extension through the cell and promote retrograde flow. Chimeric motor proteins are used to show that Myo52 organizes actin cables by both delivering cargoes to cell tips and exerting physical force pulling on the cables. This suggests that cable tracks are shaped by cargo transport.
Impact of Somatosensory Evoked Potential Monitoring on Cervical Surgery

Summary Controversy still exists about the necessity of somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP) monitoring during cervical surgery. The purpose of this prospective study is to determine the impact of SSEP monitoring on anterior cervical surgery. Intraoperative SSEP monitoring was performed in 100 patients treated by an anterior cervical approach. The patients were divided into three groups according to their preoperative clinical condition. Somatosensory evoked potential monitoring was performed during five stages of the procedure: M1, after the induction of anesthesia; M2, during positioning; M3, during distraction of the intervertebral space; M4, throughout decompression; and M5, during graft placement. Normal SSEPs were obtained during M1 from all the patients in group 2. Pathologic SSEPs were recorded at M1 in 45 patients from group 1. No SSEPs were recorded at M1 in six patients in group 3. A deterioration of the SSEPs was observed in 35 patients during M2. Deteriorated SSEPs were observed during M3 in 14 patients. No deterioration of the SSEPs was recorded during M4. Intraoperative SSEP monitoring is easy to perform and helps to increase safety during anterior cervical surgery. Critical phases of the surgical procedure were identified and the surgical strategy was modified as a result of this study.
An efficient edge detection technique by two dimensional rectangular cellular automata

This paper proposes a new pattern of two dimensional cellular automata linear rules that are used for efficient edge detection of an image. Since cellular automata is inherently parallel in nature, it has produced desired output within a unit time interval. We have observed four linear rules among 29 total linear rules of a rectangular cellular automata in adiabatic or reflexive boundary condition that produces an optimal result. These four rules are directly applied once to the images and produced edge detected output. We compare our results with the existing edge detection algorithms and found that our results shows better edge detection with an enhancement of edges.
Profiling and optimization of variable step size algorithm used for adaptive noise cancellation

This paper proposes profiling and optimization of Variable Step Size (VSS) algorithm for adaptive noise cancellation by implementing the algorithm in DSP Processor TMS320C6713. The implementation of VSS algorithm in DSK (DSP Starter Kit) includes optimization of algorithms using various optimization techniques via profiling. Code Compose Studio (CCS an Integrated Development Environment for TMS320C6713) has been used for profiling and optimization. This paper presents different ways to reduce the computation complexity using different optimization algorithms. The code has been implemented using C language. The types of optimization used are code optimization and compiler optimization. By using the various optimization techniques for C code 25-30% reduction in Millions Instruction per Seconds (MIPS) has been obtained successfully. The optimized algorithm founds its application in speech and audio signal processing to remove noises from signal.
The Racial Context of Convenience Voting Cutbacks

Classic models of democratic political behavior imply that eliminating opportunities to vote early in person (EIP) negatively affects the political participation of voters who prefer to use that option. Nevertheless, several U.S. state legislatures recently passed or proposed laws to scale back their EIP voting operations. Such efforts have met with opposition, as both academic researchers and federal courts have found that minority voters, especially African Americans, now utilize EIP voting at significantly higher rates than White voters. Prior to the 2012 presidential election, this argument was central to a federal court’s decision to temporarily block legislation in Ohio that sought to cut several days from the state’s EIP voting period. A post-election legal battle is reconsidering this matter, and the outcome will shape Ohio’s voting rules going forward. This article contributes empirical results to the discourse by estimating EIP voting take-up rates, by race, during the 2008 and 2012 U.S. presidential elections in Ohio’s three largest counties. Ecological inference models reveal that African Americans in all three study areas voted EIP at substantially higher rates than White voters during both elections. These results are supported by decile tables that report early voting behavior for relatively racially homogeneous geographies, and by geovisualizations that depict direct relationships between the spatial distributions of minority persons and EIP voting usage. Collectively, the findings suggest that the potential effects of Ohio’s proposed policy changes would not be equally distributed between racial groups.
Formation of extrachromosomal circular amplicons with direct or inverted duplications in drug-resistant Leishmania tarentolae

Selection for methotrexate resistance in Leishmania spp. is often associated with amplification of the H locus short-chain dehydrogenase-reductase gene ptr1 as part of extrachromosomal elements. Extensive sequences are always coamplified and often contain inverted duplications, most likely formed by the annealing of inverted repeats present at the H locus. By gene targeting mediated by homologous recombination, several repeated sequences were introduced in the vicinity of ptr1. Selection for methotrexate resistance in these transfectants led to ptr1 amplification as part of small circles with direct or inverted duplications whether the integrated sequences consisted of direct or inverted repeats. Hence, for a region to he amplified in L. tarentolae during drug selection, a drug resistance gene is required and must be flanked by (any) homologous repeated sequences. The distance between these repeats and their orientation will determine the length of the amplicon and whether it contains direct or inverted duplications.
Globalisation, global English: ‘futures trading’ in early childhood education

This paper explores my thinking about the issues which surround globalisation and Global English and their connections with the literacy practices, literacy events and futures for young children in home and out‐of‐home communities or institutions such as kindergartens, childcare or the early years of school. Exemplars from Australia and Singapore are provided to highlight these issues and the possible risks or benefits for children and families that seem to flow from globalisation processes. Central to the purpose of the paper are provocations for the field of early childhood education in order to further the discussions on how we respond to the challenges of connecting between the local and the global in our role as policy‐makers, parents, teacher educators or early childhood teachers.
Oscillatory Activity and Phase–Amplitude Coupling in the Human Medial Frontal Cortex during Decision Making

Electroencephalogram oscillations recorded both within and over the medial frontal cortex have been linked to a range of cognitive functions, including positive and negative feedback processing. Medial frontal oscillatory characteristics during decision making remain largely unknown. Here, we examined oscillatory activity of the human medial frontal cortex recorded while subjects played a competitive decision-making game. Distinct patterns of power and cross-trial phase coherence in multiple frequency bands were observed during different decision-related processes (e.g., feedback anticipation vs. feedback processing). Decision and feedback processing were accompanied by a broadband increase in cross-trial phase coherence at around 220 msec, and dynamic fluctuations in power. Feedback anticipation was accompanied by a shift in the power spectrum from relatively lower (delta and theta) to higher (alpha and beta) power. Power and cross-trial phase coherence were greater following losses compared to wins in theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands, but were greater following wins compared to losses in the delta band. Finally, we found that oscillation power in alpha and beta frequency bands were synchronized with the phase of delta and theta oscillations (“phase–amplitude coupling”). This synchronization differed between losses and wins, suggesting that phase–amplitude coupling might reflect a mechanism of feedback valence coding in the medial frontal cortex. Our findings link medial frontal oscillations to decision making, with relations among activity in different frequency bands suggesting a phase-utilizing coding of feedback valence information.
The Enactment of Methodology: The Case of Developing a Multimedia Information System

The aim of this paper is to contribute to the discussion about the utilization and enactment of information systems development (ISD) methodologies in development projects. To contribute to the scientific documentation of methodology enactment, we provide an empirically grounded study of the practical use of development methodologies in a project, in which, on the basis of a defined systems development methodology, a process unfolded that resulted in the development of a multimedia information system (MMIS). On the basis of understanding the enactment of methodology as organizational innovation, we present an integrative framework, which allows us to investigate the relation between individual actors, structural elements, and the interactive process of systems development in practice. This results in a richer understanding, shows how the methodology emerged in practice, and provides a basis for reflecting on that emergence in order to draw lessons about systems development practice and theory.
Substrates for Expansion of Corneal Endothelial Cells towards Bioengineering of Human Corneal Endothelium

Corneal endothelium is a single layer of specialized cells that lines the posterior surface of cornea and maintains corneal hydration and corneal transparency essential for vision. Currently, transplantation is the only therapeutic option for diseases affecting the corneal endothelium. Transplantation of corneal endothelium, called endothelial keratoplasty, is widely used for corneal endothelial diseases. However, corneal transplantation is limited by global donor shortage. Therefore, there is a need to overcome the deficiency of sufficient donor corneal tissue. New approaches are being explored to engineer corneal tissues such that sufficient amount of corneal endothelium becomes available to offset the present shortage of functional cornea. Although human corneal endothelial cells have limited proliferative capacity in vivo, several laboratories have been successful in in vitro expansion of human corneal endothelial cells. Here we provide a comprehensive analysis of different substrates employed for in vitro cultivation of human corneal endothelial cells. Advances and emerging challenges with ex vivo cultured corneal endothelial layer for the ultimate goal of therapeutic replacement of dysfunctional corneal endothelium in humans with functional corneal endothelium are also presented.
Developing a Study Orientation Questionnaire in Mathematics for Primary School Students

The Study Orientation Questionnaire in Mathematics (Primary) is being developed as a diagnostic measure for South African teachers and counsellors to help primary school students improve their orientation towards the study of mathematics. In this study, participants were primary school students in the North-West Province of South Africa. During the standardisation in 2007, 1,013 students (538 boys: M age = 12.61; SD =1.53; 555 girls: M age= 11.98; SD =1.35; 10 missing values) were assessed. Factor analysis yielded three factors. Analysis also showed satisfactory reliability coefficients and item-factor correlations. Step-wise linear regression indicated that three factors (Mathematics anxiety, Study attitude in mathematics, and Study habits in mathematics) contributed significantly (R2 = .194) to predicting achievement in mathematics as measured by the Basic Mathematics Questionnaire (Primary).
AML1-ETO Inhibits Maturation of Multiple Lymphohematopoietic Lineages and Induces Myeloblast Transformation in Synergy with ICSBP Deficiency

The translocation (8;21), generating the AML1-ETO fusion protein, is one of the most frequent chromosomal abnormalities associated with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). To elucidate its role in oncogenesis, bone marrow (BM) cells were infected with a retroviral vector carrying AML1-ETO and transplanted into mice. In contrast to previous transgenic mouse models, we show that AML1-ETO directly stimulates granulopoiesis, suppresses erythropoiesis, and impairs the maturation of myeloid, B, and T lymphoid cells in vivo. To determine the significance of earlier findings that expression of the tumor suppressor ICSBP is often downregulated in AML myeloblasts, AML1-ETO was introduced into BM cells derived from mice lacking the interferon regulatory factor ICSBP. Our findings demonstrate that AML1-ETO synergizes with an ICSBP deficiency to induce myeloblastic transformation in the BM, reminiscent of AML.
Development of Executive Functions in 5- to 12- Years old Iranian Children with and without ADHD

The aim of this research was to investigate the development of executive functions in children with and without ADHD of preschools and primary schools. The population included the male and female children with and without ADHD that were 5 to 12 years old in Iran. Therefore among each age group, 60 subjects (15 girls without ADHD, 15 boys without ADHD, 15 girls with ADHD and 15 boys with ADHD) were selected. Children without ADHD were selected by multistage cluster random sampling and ADHD children were selected by clinicians and Conner’s parental questionnaire. The instruments that have been used are Conner’s parental questionnaire and NEPSY tower test. The results showed a significant differences in executive functions scores between children with and without ADHD at different age groups, But gender differences was not significant. The results reveal that the development of executive functions in children with and without ADHD is rising, but this development has a significant difference in children with and without ADHD which is the noticeable lower performance of ADHD children. Nevertheless, there is no significant difference between male and female groups with and without ADHD.
Concepts and Methods for Assessing Postural Instability

Current research suggests that there are complex interactions between intrinsic factors related to the individual and extrinsic environmental factors, all of which contribute to falls in the older adult. A new approach to balance assessment, the task-oriented conceptual framework for clinical intervention, takes into account many of these intrinsic and extrinsic variables in assessing balance function. It contains three levels of assessment of balance and gait function: performance-based functional assessment, strategy assessment, and impairment assessment. This approach quantifies performance on functional tests of balance, determines the strategies used by the individual to carry out functional tasks, and evaluates the relative contribution of specific neural and musculoskeletal variables to normal postural control. Results of recent experiments suggest that older adults who are given a sensory training program that is designed to improve the organization of sensory inputs contributing to balance contro.
From Modernized Masculinity to Degendered Lifestyle Projects

This article explores men's motivations for change in the interface of a feminist demand for gender equality and the appeal of new consumerist lifestyles. Drawing on a longitudinal study of egalitarian dual career couples within a Nordic welfare state, the article analyzes the case story of four men interviewed in 1990 and 2005. During this period, the men and their partners challenge a gendered division of work in their families by turning the administrative and emotional cohesion in the family's daily life into a joint lifestyle project. The described trajectories suggest that this transgression is an outcome of a specific interweaving of a feminist discourse on equal responsibility and an aesthetic consumption discourse. The consumerist appeal seems to have offered a vehicle to turn a moral demand into a motivational force in these men's own life projects; consequently, it has facilitated the creation of a degendered commitment toward domestic participation.