Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Using a philosopher’s pedagogy to teach school subjects: The case of Ethnic Studies at Kailua High School

This article examines the impact of using a philosopher’s pedagogy to teach school subjects (Lewis & Sutcliffe 2017) through the case study of Ethnic Studies at Kailua High School. Conducted in a multicultural setting, the participants in the study are 89 high school students and data comes from their course assignments. A constructivist approach to grounded theory methods is used to analyse data. Findings reveal how two facets of the philosopher’s pedagogy helped engage students and positively impact their personal and academic development. They are: (1) the seven-part inquiry process and (2) the community of inquiry. In the article’s conclusion, using the philosopher’s pedagogy to teach Ethnic Studies is presented as an important means for developing student engagement and carrying out the aims of multicultural, culturally responsive, and social justice approaches to schooling.
A User Model for the Generation of Dilemma-based Interactive Narratives

This paper investigates a user model for a system which automatically generates interactive stories. These stories are focused on dilemmas in order to create dramatic tension. The system is provided with knowledge of generic story actions and dilemmas based on those clichés encountered in many of today’s soap operas. These dilemmas and story actions are instantiated for the given storyworld and a story planner creates sequences of actions that each lead to a dilemma for a character (who can be the user). The user interacts with the story by making decisions on relevant dilemmas and by freely choosing their own actions. In this paper we propose a method of generating a model to predict user decisions. This model is used to optimise the user’s experience by selecting the next dilemma to be presented according to what will be the most interesting and by looking ahead when planning.
The research of Hilbert R-Tree spatial index algorithm based on hybrid clustering

In this paper, the R-Tree spatial index structure was analyzed. There are overlap between brother nodes and multi-path in search, which can not effectively reduced by Hilbert R-Tree. Based on hybrid spatial clustering algorithm, a spatial index algorithm is proposed. Experiments show that the algorithm has the faster response speed and the higher query efficiency.
A large and ubiquitous source of atmospheric formic acid

Abstract. Formic acid (HCOOH) is one of the most abundant acids in the atmosphere, with an important influence on precipitation chemistry and acidity. Here we employ a chemical transport model (GEOS-Chem CTM) to interpret recent airborne and ground-based measurements over the US Southeast in terms of the constraints they provide on HCOOH sources and sinks. Summertime boundary layer concentrations average several parts-per-billion, 2–3× larger than can be explained based on known production and loss pathways. This indicates one or more large missing HCOOH sources, and suggests either a key gap in current understanding of hydrocarbon oxidation or a large, unidentified, direct flux of HCOOH. Model-measurement comparisons implicate biogenic sources (e.g., isoprene oxidation) as the predominant HCOOH source. Resolving the unexplained boundary layer concentrations based (i) solely on isoprene oxidation would require a 3× increase in the model HCOOH yield, or (ii) solely on direct HCOOH emissions would require approximately a 25× increase in its biogenic flux. However, neither of these can explain the high HCOOH amounts seen in anthropogenic air masses and in the free troposphere. The overall indication is of a large biogenic source combined with ubiquitous chemical production of HCOOH across a range of precursors. Laboratory work is needed to better quantify the rates and mechanisms of carboxylic acid production from isoprene and other prevalent organics. Stabilized Criegee intermediates (SCIs) provide a large model source of HCOOH, while acetaldehyde tautomerization accounts for ~ 15% of the simulated global burden. Because carboxylic acids also react with SCIs and catalyze the reverse tautomerization reaction, HCOOH buffers against its own production by both of these pathways. Based on recent laboratory results, reaction between CH3O2 and OH could provide a major source of atmospheric HCOOH; however, including this chemistry degrades the model simulation of CH3OOH and NOx : CH3OOH. Developing better constraints on SCI and RO2 + OH chemistry is a high priority for future work. The model neither captures the large diurnal amplitude in HCOOH seen in surface air, nor its inverted vertical gradient at night. This implies a substantial bias in our current representation of deposition as modulated by boundary layer dynamics, and may indicate an HCOOH sink underestimate and thus an even larger missing source. A more robust treatment of surface deposition is a key need for improving simulations of HCOOH and related trace gases, and our understanding of their budgets.
Molecular Evolution and Functional Characterization of Drosophila Insulin-Like Peptides

Multicellular animals match costly activities, such as growth and reproduction, to the environment through nutrient-sensing pathways. The insulin/IGF signaling (IIS) pathway plays key roles in growth, metabolism, stress resistance, reproduction, and longevity in diverse organisms including mammals. Invertebrate genomes often contain multiple genes encoding insulin-like ligands, including seven Drosophila insulin-like peptides (DILPs). We investigated the evolution, diversification, redundancy, and functions of the DILPs, combining evolutionary analysis, based on the completed genome sequences of 12 Drosophila species, and functional analysis, based on newly-generated knock-out mutations for all 7 dilp genes in D. melanogaster. Diversification of the 7 DILPs preceded diversification of Drosophila species, with stable gene diversification and family membership, suggesting stabilising selection for gene function. Gene knock-outs demonstrated both synergy and compensation of expression between different DILPs, notably with DILP3 required for normal expression of DILPs 2 and 5 in brain neurosecretory cells and expression of DILP6 in the fat body compensating for loss of brain DILPs. Loss of DILP2 increased lifespan and loss of DILP6 reduced growth, while loss of DILP7 did not affect fertility, contrary to its proposed role as a Drosophila relaxin. Importantly, loss of DILPs produced in the brain greatly extended lifespan but only in the presence of the endosymbiontic bacterium Wolbachia, demonstrating a specific interaction between IIS and Wolbachia in lifespan regulation. Furthermore, loss of brain DILPs blocked the responses of lifespan and fecundity to dietary restriction (DR) and the DR response of these mutants suggests that IIS extends lifespan through mechanisms that both overlap with those of DR and through additional mechanisms that are independent of those at work in DR. Evolutionary conservation has thus been accompanied by synergy, redundancy, and functional differentiation between DILPs, and these features may themselves be of evolutionary advantage.
A Survey of Multiprocessor Operating System Kernels (DRAFT)

Multiprocessors have been accepted as vehicles for improved computing speeds, cost/performance, and enhanced reliability or availability. However, the added performance requirements of user programs and functional capabilities of parallel hardware introduce new challenges to operating system design and implementation. This paper reviews research and commercial developments in multiprocessor operating system kernels from the late 1970’s to the early 1990’s. The paper first discusses some common operating system structuring techniques and examines the advantages and disadvantages of using each technique. It then identifies some of the major design goals and key issues in multiprocessor operating systems. Issues and solution approaches are illustrated by review of a variety of research or commercial multiprocessor operating system kernels. College of Computing Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta, Georgia 30332–0280
Designing Robust Routing Algorithms and Mapping Cores in Networks-on-Chip: A Multi-objective Evolutionary-based Approach

Mainstream electronic designs are realized by Systems-on-Chips (SoCs) that push the limits of integration. The advancement of manufacturing technologies in terms of integration leads us to SoCs with many (e.g., 10-1000) digital units (e.g., processor cores, controllers, storage, application-specific units) that need to be intercon- nected in an efficient and reliable way. The Network-on-Chip (NoC) design paradigm emerged recently as a promising alternative to classical bus-based communication ar- chitectures. Aside from better predictability and lower power consumption, the NoC approach offers greater scalability compared to previous solutions for on-chip commu- nication. The design flow of NoCs include several key issues. Among other parameters, the decision of where cores have to be topologically mapped and also the routing algo- rithm represent two highly correlated design problems that must be carefully solved for any given application in order to optimize different performance metrics. The strong correlation between the different parameters often makes that the optimization of a given performance metric has a negative effect on a different performance metric. In this paper we propose a new strategy that simultaneously refines the mapping and the routing function to determine the Pareto optimal configurations which optimize average communication delay and routing robustness. The proposed strategy has been applied on both synthetic and real traffic scenarios. The obtained results show how the solutions found by the proposed approach outperforms those provided by other approaches proposed in literature, in terms of both performance and fault tolerance.
User Acceptance of Desktop Based Computer Software Using UTAUT Model and addition of New Moderators

User acceptance of technology is an important field of study in predicting the use of the computer systems. Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) model is current model that has attracted the attention of researchers in predicting usage of computer systems. Individual performance and organizational performance can only increase by increasing user acceptance of computer systems. The research focuses on user acceptance of desktop based computer software used in organizations by adding some new moderators like gender, age, educational level, experience, individual impacts, organizational impacts and memorability to UTAUT models. The findings of study tells about the relation between the moderators and core determinants of UTAUT like Performance Expectancy, Effort Expectancy, Attitude towards using, Social influence, Facilitating conditions, Self efficacy and Anxiety. In this research, a total of 120 students of different colleges were included and four desktop based software MS-Word, Tally, Adobe Photoshop and MS-Access were analyzed. The results of study tells that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, attitude towards using and facilitating conditions are the important constructs which are useful to predict software use. The correlation analysis tells that gender, age, educational qualification, experience, individual impacts and organizational impacts has significant influence on different constructs of UTAUT model.
The effects of a timer and mystery motivators on the independent dressing habits of a four year old girl.

A beat the clock game consisting of gradual reductions in time limits and contingent mystery rewards were used to improve the independent dressing habits of a four year old girl. The study was done in the participant’s home with her mother as the researcher and primary data collector. Five days of initial baseline data indicated that it took on average 17 minutes for the child to dress in the morning and a mean of 10.4 prompts were required to get her to do so. After baseline data stabilized, a changing criterion design was used to gradually reduce the amount of time allocated for dressing. On days when the child met pre-established criteria, she was allowed to color a square to possibly reveal an invisible letter. If the letter appeared, then she won a mystery prize. Results indicated that daily dressing time was reduced from 17 minutes to about five minutes and the number of required prompts dropped from 10 to about one per day. Oneand two-week, followup data showed partial maintenance effects. Implications for future research and practice are provided.
Automatic Transcription of Pitch Content in Music and Selected Applications

Transcription of music refers to the analysis of a music signal in order to produce a parametric representation of the sounding notes in the signal. This is conventionally carried out by listening to a piece of music and writing down the symbols of common musical notation to represent the occurring notes in the piece. Automatic transcription of music refers to the extraction of such representations using signal-processing methods. This thesis concerns the automatic transcription of pitched notes in musical audio and its applications. Emphasis is laid on the transcription of realistic polyphonic music, where multiple pitched and percussive instruments are sounding simultaneously. The methods included in this thesis are based on a framework which combines both low-level acoustic modeling and high-level musicological modeling. The emphasis in the acoustic modeling has been set to note events so that the methods produce discrete-pitch notes with onset times and durations as output. Such transcriptions can be efficiently represented as MIDI files, for example, and the transcriptions can be converted to common musical notation via temporal quantization of the note onsets and durations. The musicological model utilizes musical context and trained models of typical note sequences in the transcription process. Based on the framework, this thesis presents methods for generic polyphonic transcription, melody transcription, and bass line transcription. A method for chord transcription is also presented. All the proposed methods have been extensively evaluated using realistic polyphonic music. In our evaluations with 91 half-a-minute music excerpts, the generic polyphonic transcription method correctly found 39% of all the pitched notes (recall) where 41% of the transcribed notes were correct (precision). Despite the seemingly low recognition rates in our simulations, this method was top-ranked in the polyphonic note tracking task in the international MIREX evaluation in 2007 and 2008. The methods for the melody, bass line, and chord transcription
Music complexity measures predicting the listening experience

This paper examines the assumption that we continuously while listening tend to focus on the most complex (least repetitive) voice, experiencing this as foreground. We present a computational model calculating the level of attraction a voice in a score is likely to require at a given time. The model is based on a music information complexity measure. Calculating the complexity in each voice over a short time window, the model predicts the most complex voice to be the most interesting to listen to. The capability of the model is evaluated in terms of melody prediction. With promising results the predicted notes are compared to melody annotated scores. We discuss how to measure music complexity of pitch and rhythm, and examine which factors are the most important in the perception of music.
Transformation of spectral envelope for voice conversion based on radial basis function networks

This paper presents a novel algorithm that modifies the speech uttered by a source speaker to sound as if produced by a target speaker. In particular, we address the issue of transformation of the vocal tract characteristics from one speaker to another. The approach is based on estimating spectral envelopes using radial basis function (RBF) networks, which is one of the well-known models of artificial neural networks. The simulation results show that the proposed method achieves nearly optimal spectral conversion performance. Moreover, average cepstrum distance to the target speech is reduced by 87%, and in the listening tests, around 84% of mean opinion score (MOS) is obtained.
Two control strategies comparison of a three phase shunt active power filter for power quality improvement with experimental validation

This paper presents the comparative evaluation of the performance of two control techniques to determine the reference current for a three phase shunt active power filter (APF) in order to improve the power quality and compensate reactive power required by nonlinear load. The first one is based on the use of classic PI controller and the second one is based on instantaneous power theory (p-q theory). Both control techniques are based on time domain, simulated with Matlab/Simulink and validated with an experimental test bench developed in the LAII laboratory, University of Poitiers. Various simulation and experimental results are presented under steady state and transient conditions with a comparison between the two control techniques.
Semantic segmentation via sparse coding over hierarchical regions

The purpose of this paper is segmenting objects in an image and assigning a predefined semantic label to each object. There are two contributions in this paper. On one hand, semantic segmentation is guided by hierarchical regions instead of by single-level regions or multi-scale regions generated by multiple segmentations. On the other hand, sparse coding is introduced as high level description of the regions, which contributes to reduction of quantization error compared to traditional bag-of-visual-words method. Experiments on the challenging Microsoft Research Cambridge dataset (MSRC 21) show that our algorithm achieves state-of-the-art performance.
Intraventricular administration of antibodies to nerve growth factor retards kindling and blocks mossy fiber sprouting in adult rats

Repeated subconvulsive electrical stimulation of certain areas of the forebrain leads to kindling, a progressive and permanent amplification of evoked epileptiform activity, which is a model for human temporal lobe epilepsy. Recent studies have shown that kindling induces synthesis of nerve growth factor (NGF) and brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) but not neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) in the hippocampus and cortex. Kindling also elicits mossy fiber sprouting and functional synaptogenesis in the supragranular layer, the hilus, and the CA3 region of the hippocampus. Intraventricular administration of antibodies to NGF has been shown to effectively block septohippocampal sprouting in the adult rat, and has been reported to retard amygdaloid kindling. In the present study, we have investigated the possible role of NGF in both kindling and kindling-associated sprouting. We have confirmed a kindling-induced sprouting of the mossy fibers into the stratum oriens of the CA3 region of the hippocampus, utilizing a new semiquantitative method of analysis based on Timm staining. Previous studies found no overt signs of hippocampal damage with this kindling paradigm, indicating that the increased Timm staining likely reflects a purely activity-induced sprouting. Intraventricular infusion of affinity-purified anti-NGF IgGs (which cross-react with NT-3 but not BDNF) resulted in both significant retardation of kindling and inhibition of the kindling-induced mossy fiber sprouting. The findings suggest a role for NGF in both these phenomena.
Author ' s personal copy Negative results No association of the LRRK 2 genetic variants with Alzheimer ’ s disease in Han Chinese individuals

The leucine-rich repeat kinasee2 (LRRK2) gene has been regarded as 1 of the most common genetic causes of Parkinson’s disease (PD). We hypothesized that LRRK2-susceptible allele(s) for PD might pose a risk for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). In this study, we screened 12 LRRK2 gene variants in 2 independent cohorts from southwestern China (341 AD patients and 435 normal individuals) and eastern China (297 AD patients and 384 normal individuals), to discern the potential association between this gene and AD. No variant was identified to be associated with AD in either case-control sample. As both of the cohorts were of Han Chinese origin, we combined the LRRK2 variant data for the 2 sample sets together (a total of 638 AD patients and 819 normal individuals) and still found no association between the LRRK2 gene and AD, suggesting that LRRK2 gene variants may not affect the development of AD in Han Chinese individuals. 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Robust timing & frequency synchronization techniques for OFDM-FDMA systems

In this paper, robust timing & frequency synchronization techniques for OFDMA (OFDM-FDMA) systems is presented. Under the multi-path channel environment of ITU-R M. 1225, detection probability, false alarm, missing probability, and mean acquisition time of the proposed timing synchronization scheme are compared with the existing method of T.M. Scmidl et al, (1997) to demonstrate the excellence of the proposed scheme. MSE (mean square error) and signal constellation to show the performance of carrier frequency offset estimation is also addressed in this paper.
9 At First Blush on Tenterhooks : About Selectional Restrictions Imposed by Nonheads 1

Selection is one of the major mechanisms in formal grammar, such as HPSG (Pollard and Sag, 1994), and is used for two purposes which are usually applied in the same contexts: First, syntactic and semantic arguments are specified and their relation to the selector is indicated. This is usually expressed in terms of thematic role assignment. Second, the properties of elements that may be combined are restricted. When a verb selects its complements, it imposes both kinds of restrictions at the same time. If on the other hand the selector is a nonhead, as in the case of modifiers, the question of thematic role assignment is less clear. When it comes to complementizers which select a clause, only the second function of selection appears to be relevant. In this paper we will present evidence that all nonheads, including complements, can impose this kind of selectional restrictions on the heads they combine with. As a starting point we will look at PPs that contain a unique nominal