Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Development and testing of new combined visual speech parameterization

Audio-visual speech recognition is used to make speech recognition more robust in case when the acoustic speech signal is affected by increased environmental noise. Since visual speech expression is not affected by the acoustic noise, it is used as supplemental information for the recognition. Usually, the shape of lips of a speaker is described by either pixel-based or shape-based features. Many works were published on these two basic approaches. After experiments with various parameterizations we decided to use expert knowledge about human lip-reading for development of a new parameterization. We used information provided by human lip-reading experts and speech therapists. Based on this information we designed a combined parameterization for description of visual speech part. Experiments with this parameterization were performed on two different databases: English audio-visual database XM2VTS and Czech audio-visual database UWB-05HSCAVC. The designed parameterization combines both basic approaches and uses shape-based description for outer lip contour and pixel-based description for description of inner part of a mouth. Results obtained in experiments with this parameterization showed that it outperforms the traditionally used parameterizations.
A Novel Source-Location Anonymity Protocol in Surveillance Systems

Source-location privacy (SLP) is a critical security property in event-surveillance systems. However, due to the characteristics of surveillance systems, e.g., resource constraints, diverse privacy requirements and large-scale network, the existing anonymity mechanisms cannot effectively deal with the problem of source location privacy protection. This paper proposes the dynamic optimal mix-ring-based source-location anonymity protocol, DORing. In this scheme, we set the optimal mix-ring to collect and mix the network traffic which can satisfy the diverse QoS requirements. The location of mix-ring is adjusted to balance network energy consumption, prolong the lifetime of the network, and resist global attack. The simulation results demonstrate that DORing can significantly prolong survival period of the network and ensure security as well as latency to satisfy the packets' requirements.
The Effects of Arousal Presented by a Pedagogical Agent on English Language Learners' Situational Interest, Cognitive Load and Reading Comprehension in Online Reading Tasks

vi CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION . 1 Problem Statement . 5 Purpose of the Study . 5 Research Design . 5 Summary . 8 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW . 9 Pedagogical Agents . 10 Cognitive Load Theory . 11 Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning . 12 Cognitive Affective Theory of Learning with Media . 14 Situational Interest . 16 ARCS Model of Motivational Design . 20 Interest and Attention . 21 Tactics to Trigger Attention . 25 Instructional Design . 26 Multimedia Design Principles . 26 Additional Design Principles . 29 Summary . 30 CHAPTER THREE: METHOD . 35 Introduction . 35 Participants . 37 Procedures . 39 Agent Implementation . 40 Perceptual Arousal Design Guidelines . 41 Inquiry Arousal Design Guidelines . 42 Mixed Condition Design Guidelines . 44 Study Materials . 44 Dependent Variables . 45 Situational Interest . 46 Cognitive Load . 47 Reading Comprehension . 49 Data Analysis . 49
Adverbs in Semantic Lexica for NLP - The extension of the Danish SIMPLE lexicon with Time Adverbs

In this paper we will discuss the treatment of adverbs in semantic lexica for NLP. On the basis of a semantic classification of Danish lexical time adverbs as well as a test carried out wrt. their ability to combine with different tenses and types of Aktionsart, an ontology on time adverbs is established. We will discuss which semantic characteristics exposed by the test that should be included in a computational lexicon, and propose how the ideas can be incorporated in the SIMPLE lexicon model, partly by reusing already implemented features from the model, partly by an extension of the set of features. Furthermore we will show how some adverbs will inherit information from several nodes in a SIMPLE ontology for adverbs, and how semantic relations, e.g. synonymi and antonomy, is relevant also in the case of adverbs. Finally we will give som examples on lexical entries of adverbs. The result can easily be applied on other adverbials with a time sense, and will therefore in fact also cover a large group of lexicalised multiword entities.
Evolution and Refinement with Endogenous Mistake Probabilities

Bergin and Lipman (1996) show that the refinement effect from the random mutations in the adaptive population dynamics in Kandori, Mailath and Rob (1993) and Young (1993) is due to restrictions on how these mutation rates vary across population states. We here model mutation rates as endogenously determined mistake probabilities, by assuming that players with some effort can control the probability of implementing the intended strategy. This is shown to corroborate the results in Kandori-Mailath-Rob (1993) and, under certain regularity conditions, those in Young (1993). The approach also yields a new refinement of the Nash equilibrium concept that is logically independent of Selten's (1975) perfection concept and Myerson's (1978) properness concept.
An Empirical Study on the Reuse of Third-Party Libraries in Open-Source Software Development

Software development based on third-party libraries is becoming increasingly popular in recent years. Nowadays, the plethora of open-source libraries that are freely available to developers, offer great reuse opportunities, with relatively low cost. However, the reuse process is in many cases rather ad-hoc. In this paper, we investigate reuse processes in five successful open-source projects, with respect to: (a) the extent to which software functionality is built from scratch or reused, (b) the frequency with which reuse decisions are modified, and (c) the effect of reuse on software product quality. The results of the study suggest that: (a) OSS projects heavily reuse third-party libraries, (b) reuse decisions are not frequently revisited, and (c) there is no clear evidence that reuse decisions are quality-driven.
Complex models for classification of high-dimensional data – exploration with GhostMiner

Different classification tasks require different learning schemes to be satisfactorily solved. Quite often, models created by application of single learning algorithms are usually too primitive. Most real-world datasets can be modelled only by complex structures resulting from deep data exploration with a number of different classification and data transformation methods. The search through the space of complex structures must be augmented with reliable validation strategies. All these techniques must be applied together before any claims about the data may be made.
Pragmatic paradigm: The use of mixed methods in evaluating visualization

The aim of this study is to investigate visualization concepts by eliciting users' experience when using university campus maps. A pragmatic paradigm was applied to elicit subjective view of users' perception and aggregate their personal constructs in a more general, objective context. The methodological approach taken in this study was a mixed-method approach, in the form of repertory grid technique to elicit a list of factors when using a campus map. Thirteen usefulness factors of visualization were derived using thematic analysis. A triangulation between these factors and Principal Component Analysis results was conducted to provide more holistic classifications. This study offers important insights by adopting an uncommon paradigm in generating valuable data concerning the perceived characteristics of visualization based on users' perception.
Taste bud cell dynamics during normal and sodium‐restricted development

Taste bud volume increases over the postnatal period to match the number of neurons providing innervation. To clarify age‐related changes in fungiform taste bud volume, the current study investigated developmental changes in taste bud cell number, proliferation rate, and life span. Taste bud growth can largely be accounted for by addition of cytokeratin‐19‐positive taste bud cells. Examination of taste bud cell kinetics with 3H‐thymidine autoradiography revealed that cell life span and turnover periods were not altered during normal development but that cells were produced more rapidly in young rats, a prominent modification that could lead to increased taste bud size. By comparison, dietary sodium restriction instituted during pre‐ and postnatal development results in small taste buds at adulthood as a result of fewer cytokeratin‐19‐positive cells. The dietary manipulation also had profound influences on taste bud growth kinetics, including an increased latency for cells to enter the taste bud and longer life span and turnover periods. These studies provide fundamental, new information about taste bud development under normal conditions and after environmental manipulations that impact nerve/target matching. J. Comp. Neurol. 472:173–182, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Transportation mode inference using environmental constraints

Analysis of transportation mode used by tourists in touristic destination areas provides basic information of tourism policy making for local governments or marketing strategy making for the tourism industry. With the technical advances of tracking devices, GPS supported smartphones sense the movement of tourists, and generate a large volumes of data which show tourists' trajectory data. Because GPS trajectory data has only latitudes, longitude and time, transportation modes should be inferred by any methods. Some researchers infer transportation modes from velocity of tourists by using machine learning like Support Vector Machine (SVM) and Conditional Random Field (CRF). However, because trains and buses temporarily stop at stations or bus stops, respectively, when movement is slow, the transportation mode can not be inferred correctly only from velocity. The locations where trains and buses temporarily stop are generally known in advance. Therefore, the transportation mode can be correctly inferred by using such location data as environmental constraints.In this research, we propose a new transportation mode inference method using environmental constraints. We assume that tourists move by foot or public transportation in the large-size touristic destinations which include many touristic spots.
Aspect-Oriented Approaches to Model Driven Engineering

In aspect-oriented model driven engineering (AOMDE), a software design model consists of a primary model that describes the business logic of the application and a set of aspect models each of which describes a crosscutting software feature. The complete design is realized by composing the primary model with the aspect models. A variety of AOMDE approaches are possible depending on how the principal tasks of the AOMDE process are interleaved. This paper presents and compares two distinct AOMDE approaches.
The Effects of Low Level Laser Therapy on the Expression of Collagen Type I Gene and Proliferation of Human Gingival Fibroblasts (Hgf3-Pi 53): in vitro Study

Objective(s): Recent investigations show that both proliferation and secretion of macromolecules by cells can be regulated by low level laser therapy (LLLT). The aim of this study was to determine whether LLLT could induce a bio-stimulatory effects on human gingival fibroblasts (HGF3-PI 53). Therefore, the effect of laser irradiation on human gingival cell proliferation and collagen type I gene expression was studied. Materials and Methods: HGF3-PI 53 were cultured in 96-well plate and then irradiated with LLLT gallium-aluminum-arsenide (Ga–Al–As), 810 nm, 50 mW diode laser (energy: 4 J/cm2) for three consecutive days. The cell proliferation was measured on days 1, 2 and 3 after irradiation with LLLT using MTT assay. Real time PCR analysis was utilized on day 3 to evaluate the expression of collagen type I gene. Results : Evaluation of cellular proliferation, one day after laser treatment showed no difference compared to control group. But on days 2 and 3, significant increase in proliferation was observed in the irradiated cell populations in comparison to the control group. Treatment of HGF3-PI 53 by laser resulted in a significant increase in collagen I gene expression on 3 day. Conclusion: The results demonstrated that LLLT stimulated human gingival fibroblast proliferation as well as collagen type I gene expression in vitro.
Solar neutrino measurements in Super-Kamiokande-II

The results of the second phase of the Super-Kamiokande solar neutrino measurement are presented and compared to the first phase. The solar neutrino flux spectrum and time variation as well as oscillation results are statistically consistent with the first phase and do not show spectral distortion. The time-dependent flux measurement of the combined first and second phases coincides with the full period of solar cycle 23 and shows no correlation with solar activity. The measured {sup 8}B total flux is (2.38{+-}0.05(stat.){sub -0.15}{sup +0.16}(sys.))x10{sup 6} cm{sup -2} s{sup -1} and the day-night difference is found to be (-6.3{+-}4.2(stat.){+-}3.7(sys.))%. There is no evidence of systematic tendencies between the first and second phases.
SANTIAGO: Spine Association for Neuron Topology Improvement and Graph Optimization

Developing automated and semi-automated solutions for reconstructing wiring diagrams of the brain from electron micrographs is important for advancing the field of connectomics. While the ultimate goal is to generate a graph of neuron connectivity, most prior automated methods have focused on volume segmentation rather than explicit graph estimation. In these approaches, one of the key, commonly occurring error modes is dendritic shaft-spine fragmentation. We posit that directly addressing this problem of connection identification may provide critical insight into estimating more accurate brain graphs. To this end, we develop a network-centric approach motivated by biological priors image grammars. We build a computer vision pipeline to reconnect fragmented spines to their parent dendrites using both fully-automated and semi-automated approaches. Our experiments show we can learn valid connections despite uncertain segmentation paths. We curate the first known reference dataset for analyzing the performance of various spine-shaft algorithms and demonstrate promising results that recover many previously lost connections. Our automated approach improves the local subgraph score by more than four times and the full graph score by 60 percent. These data, results, and evaluation tools are all available to the broader scientific community. This reframing of the connectomics problem illustrates a semantic, biologically inspired solution to remedy a major problem with neuron tracking.
Fault-Tolerance Ring Network on Chip without Buffer

The paper brings forward a hierarchical ring NoC (network on chip) topology whose links are divided into two groups of rings for fault-tolerance. Each group of ring contains one control-ring and one data ring. Control-ring propagates the information of routing, link error and error control of all nodes using packet switching. Data-ring exchanges data using circuit switching. Three pipeline stages architecture without buffer is presented that minimizes the delay of communications among nodes. Ring network adopts time division multiplexing and priority mechanism to implement space division multiplexing of bandwidth and fair routing. Simulation results show that the architecture can efficiently avoid traffic congestion, deadlock and starvation and ensure full use of bandwidth.
Introduction to formal processor verification at logic level: a case study

This paper presents the case study proposed to 3rd year students in our department of computer science. It is a practical activity in the first "Computer Architecture" Unit of the curriculum. This practical activity has several amis: 1) understanding a subtle mechanism in processor architecture, 2) experimenting the relations between logic level and RTL level descriptions and 3) practicing formal methods of verification. The main original point is the use of extraction (and minimization) of the full description of an automaton from the logic schema based on flip-flops and gates. In a certain way, the reverse of classic "automaton synthesis".
MAPS - A piano database for multipitch estimation and automatic transcription of music

MAPS -- standing for MIDI Aligned Piano Sounds -- is a database of MIDI-annotated piano recordings. MAPS has been designed in order to be released in the music information retrieval research community, especially for the development and the evaluation of algorithms for single-pitch or multipitch estimation and automatic transcription of music. It is composed by isolated notes, random-pitch chords, usual musical chords and pieces of music. The database provides a large amount of sounds obtained in various recording conditions.
Optimal tuning of power system stabilizers by biogeography based optimization method

Power system stabilizers (PSS) are used to damp out the low frequency power system oscillations caused by sudden change in the load, loosing of one generator or losing a transmission line. In this paper, an evolutionary algorithm known as biogeography-based optimization (BBO) is used to find the optimal settings of the power system stabilizer (PSS) parameters for a single machine infinite bus system operating at different loading conditions and the results are compared with a conventionally designed power system stabilizer to show the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Práticas corporais e artísticas, aprendizagem inventiva e cuidado de si

In the last years we have worked with corporal and artistic practices with students and communities, in institutions of health and spaces of artistic production, understanding that these practices promote the production of care, the encounter and the increase of the potency of life, according to an ethics which resists prescriptive, normative and exclusive models, focusing on the processes of subjectivation. Here we present experimentations with the body - involving dance, music, arts and writing - and discuss the relationships between Inventive Learning, aesthetic experience and the care of the self, taken as conceptual references to think bodies in a state of presence, producing connections, inventiveness and a turning to oneself with collective, political, clinical and aesthetic implications that move thought, bodies and life.
Manipulating synthetic voice parameters for navigation in hierarchical structures

Auditory interfaces commonly use synthetic speech for conveying information. In many instances the information being conveyed is hierarchically structured, such as menus. In this paper, we describe the results of one experiment that was designed to investigate the use of multiple synthetic voices for representing hierarchical information. A hierarchy of 27 nodes was created (in which 2 of the nodes were not shown to the participants during the training session). A between subjects design (N-16) was conducted to evaluate the effect of multiple synthetic voices on recall rates. Two different forms of training were provided. Participant’s tasks involved identifying the position of nodes in the hierarchy by listening to the synthetic voice. The results suggest that 84.38% of the participants recalled the position of the nodes accurately. The results also indicate that multiple synthetic voices can be used to facilitate navigation hierarchies. Overall, this study suggests that it is possible to use synthetic voices to represent hierarchies.
The production of emancipatory feminist spaces in a post-socialist context: organization of Ladyfest in Romania

Abstract Ladyfest – a Riot Grrrl feminist do-it-yourself festival – has been organized independently in cities around the world since the year 2000. The emancipatory spaces that activists at Ladyfest seek to cultivate through workshops, music, and art provide seeds of inspiration for transformative social change. The main strength of the festival is the capacity to strengthen networks. This article discusses how the idea for this festival arose in Olympia, Washington, expanded to other locations, and was later organized by young feminists in Romania. In 2005, young women in Timisoara organized the first such festival in their city with a community of women from both inside and outside of Romania, and held another festival in Bucharest in 2007. Retrospective interviews are used to unpack the meaning of such organizing in a post-socialist context with reflections on how feminism has changed in Romania over the past decade. Specifically, the analysis of this event offers insight on how the production of space can be used to catalyze interconnections between emancipatory feminist spaces, the mode of production, and flows of feminist knowledge and concepts.
In Search of the Use-Mention Distinction and its Impact on Language Processing Tasks

The use-mention distinction is a crucial aspect of natural language which allows us to communicate information about language itself. However, the distinction remains underexamined in computational linguistics, with deleterious effects on common tasks. One reason for this deficiency is a lack of appropriate resources to study the distinction. This paper presents the creation of a corpus of instances of mentioned language gathered from Wikipedia, using a set of “mention words” and cues in text formatting. The corpus demonstrates that recurring patterns do exist among instances of mentioned language, which suggests the potential for automatic identification of the phenomenon in the future.
Learning to Walk Structured Text Networks

We propose representing a text corpus as a labeled directed graph, where nodes represent words and weighted edges represent the syntactic relations between them, as derived by dependency parsing. Given this graph, we adopt a graph-based similarity measure based on random walks to derive a similarity measure between words, and also use supervised learning to improve the derived similarity measure for a particular task. Empirical evaluation of the approach on the task of coordinate term extraction shows that the suggested framework improves on a state-of-theart distributional similarity measure.
F-MEEP: Fuzzy Logic Based Multihop Energy Efficient Routing Protocol for HWSN

Energy preservation is one of the most important research challenges in Wireless Senor Networks (WSNs). In recent research, topologies and architectures have investigated that allow energy efficiency in WSNs. Clustering is one of the most famous energy efficient techniques. In clustering, the selection of cluster head (CH) and short distance multi-hop energy efficient communication between CH and base station (BS) plays a vital role in order to achieve the desired energy efficiency in the sensor network. In this energy saving solution, we purpose and combine the idea of fuzzy logic based CH selection and multihop short distance communication between CH and base station in order to prolong the stable period and life span of network. Our proposed routing protocol, Fuzzy Logic based Multihop Energy Efficient Routing Protocol (FMEEP) for Heterogeneous WSN, which uses fuzzy logic inference system (FIS) in order to select a qualified CH in the cluster formation process and minimizes the overall energy dissipation in the sensor network. The simulation results have shown that purposed routing scheme outperforms in terms of stability period and network lifetime as compared to previous routing protocols.