Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Sequence to Sequence Autoencoders for Unsupervised Representation Learning from Audio

This paper describes our contribution to the Acoustic Scene Classification task of the IEEE AASP Challenge on Detection and Classification of Acoustic Scenes and Events (DCASE 2017). We propose a system for this task using a recurrent sequence to sequence autoencoder for unsupervised representation learning from raw audio files. First, we extract mel-spectrograms from the raw audio files. Second, we train a recurrent sequence to sequence autoencoder on these spectrograms, that are considered as time-dependent frequency vectors. Then, we extract, from a fully connected layer between the decoder and encoder units, the learnt representations of spectrograms as the feature vectors for the corresponding audio instances. Finally, we train a multilayer perceptron neural network on these feature vectors to predict the class labels. In comparison to the baseline, the accuracy is increased from 74.8% to 88.0% on the development set, and from 61.0% to 67.5% on the test set.
Review of the biomechanics of TMJ

Temporomandibular joint (TMJ) is a two-sided articulation via which the jaw moves with respect to the skull. As a key component, the articular disc residing in the TMJ plays a critical role in absorbing the shocks to the joint and lubricating the mandibular movement, whose incorporation in FEM study is considered to bring more complicated interpretation than other elastic components in terms of inside stress distribution. Instead of studying its construction and properties under static experiments, this paper explores several models representing the mechanical behavior of articular disc, which can be simulated in the FEM analysis. As recognized that the disorder around TMJ is associated with excessive load on the joint, which may result in the permanent dislocation and perforation of the disc, software simulation has been always used as a non-invasive means to acquire the data. Apart from traditionally used static simulation of FEM in the analysis of the internal stress and strain inside TMJ, methods in the field of dynamics are also reviewed in combination with FEM to provide much more realistic loading scenarios emulating a quasi-static or continuous process. Finally, the paper summarizes the experimental results about the concerned items that were acquired under diverse loading condition and gives a brief discussion.
Ligand-Mediated TCR Down-Regulation Motif Is Required for Efficient Leucine-Based Receptor-Sorting g The CD3

TCR down-regulation plays an important role in modulating T cell responses both during T cell development and in mature T cells. At least two distinct pathways exist for down-regulation of the TCR. One pathway is activated following TCR ligation and is dependent on tyrosine phosphorylation. The other pathway is dependent on protein kinase C (PKC)-mediated activation of the CD3 (cid:1) di-leucine-based receptor-sorting motif. Previous studies have failed to demonstrate a connection between ligand- and PKC-induced TCR down-regulation. Thus, although an apparent paradox, the dogma has been that ligand- and PKC-induced TCR down-regulations are not interrelated. By analyses of a newly developed CD3 (cid:1) -negative T cell variant, freshly isolated and PHA-activated PBMC, and a mouse T cell line, we challenged this dogma and demonstrate in this work that PKC activation and the CD3 (cid:1) di-leucine-based motif are indeed required for efﬁcient ligand-induced TCR down-regulation. The Journal of Immunology, 2002, 168: 4519–4523. t least two distinct pathways exist for down-regulation of the TCR (1). One pathway is activated following TCR ligation and is dependent on tyrosine phosphorylation 3). The other pathway is on protein kinase C (PKC) 3 -mediated activation of the CD3 (cid:1) di-leucine-based ( L based) receptor-sorting motif (4, 5). The dogma these pathways are not interrelated. several studies have that ligand-mediated TCR down-regulation is functional in cell lines with a disrupted CD3 (cid:1)
Analysis of the ruv locus of Escherichia coli K-12 and identification of the gene product

The ruv gene of Escherichia coli, which is associated with inducible mechanisms of DNA repair and recombination, has been cloned into the low-copy plasmid vector pHSG415. The recombinant plasmid pPVA101 fully complements the DNA repair-deficient phenotype of ruv mutants. Restriction endonuclease analysis of this plasmid revealed a 10.6-kilobase (kb) HindIII DNA insert which contained a 7.7-kb PstI fragment identified as being from the chromosomal ruv region. Deletion analysis and Tn1000 insertional inactivation of ruv function located the ruv coding region to a 2.2-kb section of the cloned DNA fragment. A comparison of the proteins encoded by ruv wild-type and mutant plasmids identified the gene product as a protein of molecular weight 41,000.
Consumers' response to other consumers' participation in new product development

In this paper, we investigate how consumers react to information that the brand has involved other consumers in the development of its new product. More specifically, we investigate how the participation of other consumers in either the ideation, where consumers come up with product ideas, or selection, where consumers select which out of many products the brand should produce and market, impacts on consumers' evaluations of the product and perceptions of the brand. Drawing from the literatures on brand schema and congruity, we hypothesize that by way of its effects on perceived brand uniqueness and brand attribution, consumer participation in new product ideation (selection) impacts more favorably on product and brand ratings when the product is incongruent (congruent) with the brand. An experimental study with 386 consumers supports the hypotheses.
An Agent Based Approach to Interbank Networks and Monetary Policy

As the recent financial crisis has shown, the structure and dynamics of interbank markets have to be taken into account when assessing the resilience of the financial system. Networkand multi-agent models of banking systems are particularly useful for this task. This paper proposes a dynamic multi-agent model of a banking system where banks optimize a portfolio of risky investments and riskless excess reserves according to their risk and liquidity preferences. They are endogenously linked via interbank loans and face a stochastic supply of household deposits. The goal of this paper is to use this model to answer three key questions about the impact of the network structure on financial stability. First, how efficient is the central bank in stabilizing interbank markets with different network structures during a crisis? Second, which network structures are most resilient to financial distress and thus most desirable from a financial stability point of view? And third, given a specific network structure, what form of systemic risk poses a greater threat to financial stability: interbank contagion or common shocks?
Using conjoint analysis to elicit preferences for health care

Traditionally the extent of patients' involvement in medical decision making has been minimal. This has been true at both the micro level of the patient consultation with a doctor and the macro level of planning and developing healthcare services. Since 1989, however, greater involvement of patients and the community in these processes has been advocated.1–5 In principle, the elicitation of patients' and the community's values represents a big step forward in terms of enhancing the benefits from the provision of health care. For the exercise to be worth while, however, the information obtained must be useful and scientifically defensible.6 During the 1990s, conjoint analysis was developed to elicit patients' and the community's views on health care. #### Summary points Conjoint analysis is a rigorous method of eliciting preferences It allows estimation of the relative importance of different aspects of care, the trade-offs between these aspects, and the total satisfaction or utility that respondents derive from healthcare services The technique can help with decision making for some of the issues facing the NHS Though further applications of conjoint analysis are encouraged, methodological issues need further consideration This paper explains conjoint analysis, provides examples of applications in health care which were obtained from a systematic review of databases between 1989 and 1999 (Medline, Embase, HealthSTAR, PsychLIT, EconLIT), and uses a study in orthodontic care to show the uses and pitfalls of the technique. The survey method of data collection and analysis known as conjoint analysis was developed in mathematical psychology and has a strong theoretical basis.7–9 It has been successfully used in market research,10 transport economics,11 and environmental economics 12 13 and was recommended to the UK Treasury for valuing quality in the provision of public services.14 Within these areas it has been well received …
Rural Development and Poverty Alleviation through Promotion of Rural Non-farm Activities in the Asia-Pacific Region: Review of Evidence, Patterns and Issues

Based on an extensive review of the current literature, this paper presents an analytical overview of the state of an of the rural non-Jann sector (tenned interchangeably as RNAs and/or RNFE) in the countries of the Asia-Pacific region. The RNAs constitute an imponant segment of the rural economy, providing between 30 to 60 per cent of jobs and rural household incomes in rural Asia. They are greatly diverse, dispersed over wide areas covering both villages and rural towns, and characterised by dualistic features manifesting both dynamic and residual activity categories. While RNAs are growing passing through varying growth trajectory (i.e. growth-+ decline-+ and-+ recovery), the major drivers of such growth are agricultural development, urbanisation, rural-urban linkages and growth of the rural economy. Available evidence on the impacts of RNA growth on rural poverty and inequality is mixed, but the current literature takes a positive view on the economic contributions of these activities as vehicles of accelerated rural development, poverty alleviation, reduction of rural-urban income gaps and migration and overall national economic growth. However, data limitations and infonnation gaps affecting the current RNFE research and the evidence provided by them on their full potential wonh suggest urgency for carrying funher insightful research into various dimensions of the sector's growth and dynamism. Despite being an imponant component of the rural economy in most Asian countries with notable prospects for future growth, the RNAs suffer from many operational constraints which need to be removed to unleash their full growth and expansion possibilitif'S. While conscious and deliberate policy interventions are needed to promote development of the RNFE, the policy interventions have to be designed and fine tuned to meet the specific needs of the greatly heterogeneous sub-sets located in different locations across countries and across regions with the countries. Pro-active agricultural development, improved physical and social infrastructures, sound legal and regulatory environment, and an effective well-coordinated institutional network for efficient delivery of support services constitute the imponant elements of the proposed pro-active policy interventions package.
Effective Brand Community Management: Lessons from Customer Enthusiasts

THE LEADING QUESTION:• How can companies manage their brand communities effectively? FINDINGS:• Setting up and managing a brand community of customers is a potentially powerful marketing program for companies in the current harsh economic climate. • Many company-run brand communities fail because they target participants too narrowly, emphasize product-related discussions, and exert too much control. As a result, customers participate for selfish, functional reasons, without forming bonds or relationships. The community remains anemic, and has high participant turn-over. • Customer-enthusiast-run brand communities are more effective by: (1) welcoming a diverse consumer base, (2) allowing participants to express themselves freely, and (3) encouraging a broad range of activities beyond product discussions, such as networking and socializing. This leads to consumer participation for intrinsic, emotional, and social reasons, and the evolution of strong communities marked by consciousness of kind, a sense of obligation, and rituals and traditions - in other words, “real” communities.
A 8-1 Correlation Discovery between Student Web Queries and their GPA

In recent years, the K-12 learning space has been utilizing mobile devices to supplement student learning. The question is now begged, if these devices are actually enhancing a child’s capacity to learn? Going deeper, the area that needs inspecting is whether or not the students are using school issued mobile devices to search for school-related information. This study examines high school student web queries performed on school issued iPads using anonymized data from web filter logs. These web queries are first binary classified as either school-related or non-school related using Student Web Query Classifier (SWQC) algorithm created by the authors. Upon completing the classification, this study examines whether a correlation exists between these web queries and student GPA. Based on the regression analysis performed in this study, the null hypothesis, student web queries performed on school issued iPads has no impact on student GPA, is rejected.
Iteration of planar amplitudes in maximally supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory at three loops and beyond

We compute the leading-color (planar) three-loop four-point amplitude of N = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory in 4 - 2{epsilon} dimensions, as a Laurent expansion about {epsilon} = 0 including the finite terms. The amplitude was constructed previously via the unitarity method, in terms of two Feynman loop integrals, one of which has been evaluated already. Here we use the Mellin-Barnes integration technique to evaluate the Laurent expansion of the second integral. Strikingly, the amplitude is expressible, through the finite terms, in terms of the corresponding one- and two-loop amplitudes, which provides strong evidence for a previous conjecture that higher-loop planar N = 4 amplitudes have an iterative structure. The infrared singularities of the amplitude agree with the predictions of Sterman and Tejeda-Yeomans based on resummation. Based on the four-point result and the exponentiation of infrared singularities, we give an exponentiated ansatz for the maximally helicity-violating n-point amplitudes to all loop orders. The 1/{epsilon}{sup 2} pole in the four-point amplitude determines the soft, or cusp, anomalous dimension at three loops in N = 4 supersymmetric Yang-Mills theory. The result confirms a prediction by Kotikov, Lipatov, Onishchenko and Velizhanin, which utilizes the leading-twist anomalous dimensions in QCD computed by Moch, Vermaseren and Vogt. Following similar logic, we are able to predict a term in the three-loop quark and gluon form factors in QCD.
Multiframe Radar Detection of Fluctuating Targets Using Phase Information

This paper considers the detection of fluctuating targets via dynamic-programming-based track-before-detect (DP-TBD) in radar systems. Swerling targets of types 0, 1, and 3 are considered. DP-TBD usually integrates either squared amplitude or the logarithm of the envelope likelihood ratio (LELR) scoring functions. Thus, only amplitude information is taken into account regardless of the fact that the measurements are often complex valued. In this paper, the phase information is used in the integration process of DP-TBD to enhance radar detection performance. More precisely, the logarithm of the complex-measurement-based likelihood ratio (LCLR) is used, taking the place of squared amplitude or the LELR. First, we derive the expressions for the LELR and the LCLR for the three Swerling types. Then, to reduce the complexity of computing LELR and LCLR, we also propose efficient but accurate approximations for the LELR and the LCLR. Simulations are used to assess the performance of different DP-TBD strategies.
FACULTY OF SPORT SCIENCES STUDENTS' SPORTS PRODUCTS BRAND PREFERENCES: ANADOLU UNIVERSITY CASE

The aim of the study is to examine the factors affecting sports products brand preferences of the students attending the Faculty of Sport Science in Turkey and whether these factors display differences according to certain variables. The population of the current study is the students attending Anadolu University Faculty of Sport Sciences. The sampling includes a total of 369 students. In order to determine brand preferences of the students for sports products, “Brand Preference Scale” developed by Ciftci (2006) which was administered. Significant differences were found in these sub-scales among the groups for various variables (p<0.05). The results of the current study show that students take the following factors into consideration while preferring the sports products they will use; the prestige due to the use of the product, brand familiarity and an easy-to-remember name, etc. The following factors are also important while students buy a sports product: not frequent changes in prices, having the same price in every shop, option of payment by credit card and the availability of other easy payment methods. Students state that the following factors are also influential in their sports brand preferences: high quality that meets the expectations; model and product variety, interesting and attractive design, high quality fabric, and the satisfaction with the other products of the brand.
The effect of enzymes on structural and biological properties of Semliki forest virus.

Summary Treatment of purified Semliki Forest virus with neuraminidase released sialic acid, raised the isoelectric point of the virus by 0.35 pH units but had no effect on the infectivity, haemagglutinating (HA) activity or surface antigenic properties and did not alter the electrophoretic mobility of the envelope glycoproteins on polyacrylamide gels. Treatment of virus with a mixture of sugar hydrolases lowered infectivity and HA activity and slightly increased the electrophoretic mobility of the envelope glycoproteins, but had no measurable effect on surface antigenic properties. Treatment with bromelain digested the envelope glycoproteins, destroyed infectivity, HA activity and surface antigenicity and yielded a sub-viral particle containing lipid. Treatment of this particle with phospholipase C produced a core particle indistinguishable by sedimentation analysis from the nucleocapsids found in infected cells.
Two Questions of SHRM in Literature: Moderators of HRM — Firm Performance Link

This paper aims to discuss differences between human resource management (HRM) and strategic human resource management (SHRM), and aims to discuss convergence or divergence between American and European HRM. Therefore, research question is what the similarities and differences are between European and American HRM. Research methodology is based on critical review of HRM literature. Therefore, this study aims to increase conceptual ability of human resource (HR) professionals. Major result is that HRM is related with employee performance, and SHRM is related with firm performance. Secondly, European HRM is becoming similar to American HRM. The difference between European and American HRM is social context and social partners. European HRM considers social partners in management of HR.
Idiosyncratic Risk and the Cross-Section of European Real Estate Stock Returns

This study examines the role of idiosyncratic risk in the pricing of European real estate equities. The capital asset pricing model predicts that in equilibrium investors should hold the market portfolio. As a result, investors should only be rewarded for carrying undiversifiable systematic risk and not for diversifiable idiosyncratic risk. This study is adding to the growing body of countering studies by examining the relationship in both an unconditional and a conditional framework. While size and book-to-market equity are unconditionally related to real estate equity returns, realised and expected idiosyncratic volatility are not priced. However, analysing the relationship between idiosyncratic risk and real estate equity returns in the conditional setting discloses the positive pricing in up-markets and negative pricing in down-markets of both idiosyncratic risk measures. The results are robust to i. ) different time periods, ii. ) return currency, iii. ) return weighting, iv. ) country effects, and v. ) the measure of expected idiosyncratic volatility.
From Quantity to Quality: Challenges for Investment Promotion Agencies

Most investment promotion agencies worldwide are now placing a higher emphasis on attracting high "quality" FDI, including R&D centers and headquarter functions as well as knowledgeintensive industries such as information and communication technologies, biotechnology or nanotechnology. We argue that this requires a different approach than policies focused on the "quantity" of FDI inflows, leading to changes in the policy mix and in the approach to performance measurement. Targeting quality entails a shift from a mindset that prioritizes attraction of greenfield investments towards one where the focus is on subsidiary development. Another implication is that the interplay between FDI policies and innovation policies becomes more relevant and needs to be further nurtured. We focus on the management challenges that investment promotion agencies face in this transition from quantity to quality, drawing attention to the consequences for their human capital, structural capital and relational capital strategies.
Design of large-scale agricultural wireless sensor networks: email from the vineyard

We describe the design and implementation of a large-scale Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) for agriculture monitoring. As a part of validation we have deployed a prototype of 64 sensors to monitor a commercial vineyard. The system provides software modules ranging from filtering raw data to a centralised and a distributed data storage applications. The used protocols ensure reliable and robust communication and load-balancing energy consumption. A backend server provides a user-friendly graphical interface offering two main functionalities: logging communication messages of the protocols and providing end-user support for on-demand and periodic data requests. We have made a performance evaluation of a scaled-down WSN. We highlight the efficiency of the system on a large-scale deployment in comparison to the traditional solution based on individual weather station by deploying both systems in parallel and comparing results. We demonstrate that WSNs provide better geographical coverage and an increased spatial resolution compared to traditional solutions.
Antecedents and Effectiveness of CKM: An Empirical Study

The purpose of this study is to know that how maximum benefits can get by involving customer in innovation and product development process. Firms are applying knowledge management to reduce production costs, radical innovation of new products, attract new customers as well as suppliers. In this study, empirical investigation has done to unearth how firms can enhance customer knowledge management (CKM) and benefits attained by those organizations that are employing CKM practices. Data was collected from 237 employees of five telecom firms who have direct interaction with customers. The SEM (Structural Equation Modeling) was employed to probe the proposition that whether there is any impact of CKM on customer orientation and competitive advantage or otherwise? The results portray that customer knowledge management enhances the customer orientation and competitive advantage as well as customer orientation enhances competitive advantage. Moreover, this study provides insight about the core benefits of CKM.