Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Turbo equalization: adaptive equalization and channel decoding jointly optimized

This paper deals with a receiver scheme where adaptive equalization and channel decoding are jointly optimized in an iterative process. This receiver scheme is well suited for transmissions over a frequency-selective channel with large delay spread and for high spectral efficiency modulations. A low-complexity soft-input soft-output M-ary channel decoder is proposed. Turbo equalization allows intersymbol interference to be reduced drastically. For most time-invariant discrete channels, the turbo-equalizer performance is close to the coded Gaussian channel performance, even for low signal-to-noise ratios. Finally, results over a time-varying frequency-selective channel proves the excellent behavior of the turbo equalizer.
Learning Hierarchical Lexical Hyponymy

Chinese information processing is a critical step toward cognitive linguistic applications like machine translation. Lexical hyponymy relation, which exists in some Eastern languages like Chinese, is a kind of hyponymy that can be directly inferred from the lexical compositions of concepts, and of great importance in ontology learning. However, a key problem is that the lexical hyponymy is so commonsense that it cannot be discovered by any existing acquisition methods. In this paper, we systematically define lexical hyponymy relationship, its linguistic features and propose a computational approach to semi-automatically learn hierarchical lexical hyponymy relations from a large-scale concept set, instead of analyzing lexical structures of concepts. Our novel approach discovered lexical hyponymy relation by examining statistic features in a Common Suffix Tree. The experimental results show that our approach can correctly discover most lexical hyponymy relations in a given large-scale concept set.
Building Musically-relevant Audio Features through Multiple Timescale Representations

Low-level aspects of music audio such as timbre, loudness and pitch, can be relatively well modelled by features extracted from short-time windows. Higher-level aspects such as melody, harmony, phrasing and rhythm, on the other hand, are salient only at larger timescales and require a better representation of time dynamics. For various music information retrieval tasks, one would benefit from modelling both low and high level aspects in a unified feature extraction framework. By combining adaptive features computed at different timescales, short-timescale events are put in context by detecting longer timescale features. In this paper, we describe a method to obtain such multi-scale features and evaluate its effectiveness for automatic tag annotation.
Information processing in the face of reward versus punishment

We examined the statistical evidence for the effects of reward, punishment, and difficulty on accuracy and response time by conducting a pair of Bayesian mixed effects models using the brms package (Bürkner, 2017) in R. We modeled the effects of reward and punishment by including two dummy-coded variables. The variable representing the effect of reward had a value of 1 for the reward condition, and 0 for the punishment and neutral conditions. The variable representing the effect of punishment had a value of 1 for the punishment condition, and 0 for the reward and neutral conditions. The difficulty variable was coded such that it had a value of 1 in the easy condition, 2 in the moderate difficulty condition, and 3 in the hard condition. Each model also included the random effect of participant. The first model examined the effects of these variables on accuracy (1 = correct, 0 = incorrect) using a logit link function. The second model examined the effects of the above variables on response time (in ms). 1 The brms package estimates parameters using the MCMC routine implemented by Stan (? ). We set weakly informative priors for this analysis. For all priors in the model of accuracy, we used a Student’s t-distribution where df = 3, location = 0, scale = 10. For the model of response time, we used a t-distribution where df = 3, location = 0, and scale = 10 for the fixed effects; we used a t-distribution where df = 3, location = 0, and scale = 500 for the intercept and standard deviation parameters. Random effects had a lower bound of 0, whereas fixed effects were not truncated. For each model, we ran four chains for 2000 samples each. The first 1000 samples in each chain were discarded as burn-in. Each analysis was therefore based on 4000 samples. Visual inspection of the chains showed excellent mixing. We calculated a Bayes factor (BF) for each effect using the Savage-Dickey density ratio method (Wagenmakers, Lodewyckx, Kuriyal, & Grasman, 2010), comparing the current model with an alternative in which the relevant effect was assumed to be 0. The full results for the analysis of accuracy are presented in Table 1. The full results for the analysis of response time are presented in Table 2.
Evolutionary Functional Testing of an Automated Parking System

Evolutionary Testing is a promising approach for automating the testing of software-based systems. A number of papers have been published in the last years which have successfully applied evolutionary algorithms for test data generation. However, none of these papers address functional testing the testing of the system's logical behavior on the basis of the system specification which is, in practice, the most important and most common class of the methods. In this work we present the application of evolutionary testing to the functional testing of an automatic parking system which could automate the parking procedure in future cars. A test environment is described which automatically generates interesting driving maneuvers, performs a simulation of the system with the generated maneuvers and continuously improves the test quality.
Automatic Error Recovery for Pronunciation Dictionaries

In this paper, we present our latest investigations on pronunciation modeling and its impact on ASR. We propose completely automatic methods to detect, remove, and substitute inconsistent or flawed entries in pronunciation dictionaries. The experiments were conducted on different tasks, namely (1) word-pronunciation pairs from the Czech, English, French, German, Polish, and Spanish Wiktionary [1], a multilingual wiki-based open content dictionary, (2) our GlobalPhone Hausa pronunciation dictionary [2], and (3) pronunciations to complement our Mandarin-English SEAME code-switch dictionary [3]. In the final results, we fairly observed on average an improvement of 2.0% relative in terms of word error rate and even 27.3% for the case of English Wiktionary word-pronunciation pairs.
Exponential Stability of Uncertain Takagi-Sugeno Fuzzy Hopfield Neural Networks with Time Delays

—In this paper, based on linear matrix inequality (LMI), by using Lyapunov functional theory, the exponential stability criterion is obtained for a class of uncertain Takagi-Sugeno fuzzy Hopﬁeld neural networks (TSFHNNs) with time delays. Here we choose a generalized Lyapunov functional and introduce a parameterized model transformation with free weighting matrices to it, these techniques lead to generalized and less conservative stability condition that guarantee the wide stability region. Finally, an example is given to illustrate our results by using MATLAB LMI toolbox.
Early Deficits in Spatial Memory and Theta Rhythm in Experimental Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), the most common form of epilepsy in adults, often display cognitive deficits. The time course and underlying mechanisms of cognitive decline remain unknown during epileptogenesis (the process leading to epilepsy). Using the rat pilocarpine model of TLE, we performed a longitudinal study to assess spatial and nonspatial cognitive performance during epileptogenesis. In parallel, we monitored interictal-like activity (ILA) in the hippocampal CA1 region, as well as theta oscillations, a brain rhythm central to numerous cognitive processes. Here, we report that spatial memory was altered soon after pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus, i.e., already during the seizure-free, latent period. Spatial deficits correlated with a decrease in the power of theta oscillations but not with the frequency of ILA. Spatial deficits persisted when animals had spontaneous seizures (chronic stage) without further modification. In contrast, nonspatial memory performances remained unaffected throughout. We conclude that the reorganization of hippocampal circuitry that immediately follows the initial insult can affect theta oscillation mechanisms, in turn, resulting in deficits in hippocampus-dependent memory tasks. These deficits may be dissociated from the process that leads to epilepsy itself but could instead constitute, as ILA, early markers in at-risk patients and/or provide beneficial therapeutic targets.
Machine-cell and part-family formation in cellular manufacturing using a two-phase clustering algorithm

Abstract This paper presents a two-phase clustering algorithm for machine-cell and part-family formation in the design of cellular manufacturing systems. The proposed algorithm begins with the determination of initial cluster centers via a linear assignment method using the least similar group representatives in its first phase. A fuzzy C-means clustering method is followed in its second phase for part-family and machine-cell formation using the obtained initial cluster centers. The two-phase algorithm can remedy the problem of clustering inconsistency resulting from the fuzzy C-means method with random initializations. Experimental results on many benchmark data sets based on multiple performance criteria substantiate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Author Profiling using SVMs and Word Embedding Averages

In this paper, we describe one of the approaches of the participation of Universidade de Évora. Our approach is similar to usual methods where text is preprocessed, features are extracted, and then used in SVMs with cross validation. The main difference is that features used come from averages of word embeddings, specifically word2vec vectors. Using PAN 2016 dataset, we were able to achieve 44.8% and 68.2% for English age and gender classification respectively. We were also able to achieve 51.3% and 67.1% accuracy for Spanish age and gender classification. Finally, we report 71.9% accuracy for Dutch age classification.
A novel communication mode selection technique for DTN over MANET architecture

In this paper, we focus on the terminal-to-terminal communication technology, which enables communication without requiring any fixed infrastructure. The typical networks that fit this paradigm are Mobile Ad-hoc Network (MANET) and Delay and Disruption Tolerant Network (DTN). In these networks, the users can transmit messages by relaying the messages through other mobile terminals such as smartphone, laptop, or tablet PC. Since transmission methods of MANET and DTN are different, their performances depend on communication environment such as their mobility and overall terminal density. MANET is suitable for the environment where the terminals are static and are in dense area, but DTN is more suitable for the environment where user terminals have high mobility and are mostly isolated. Therefore, we propose a method, which switches the terminal's communication mode between MANET and DTN, to take advantage of different network characteristic and avoid wasting of network resource. Additionally, we implemented this algorithm in actual smartphones. Through the experiment using these smartphones, we have confirmed that the algorithm functions correctly.
Believing is seeing : cognitive-behavioral consequences of belief and recollection

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The Effect of Nonthermal Protons on the High-Energy Spectra of Black Hole Binaries

In the inner regions of an accretion disk around a black hole, the presence of nonthermal protons via p-p collisions would produce electrons, positrons, and γ-rays. For such a scenario, the steady state electron-positron distribution is computed taking into account Compton cooling, e-e+ pair production (due to γ-γ interactions), and pair annihilation. The resultant spectra have a broad feature around 1-10 MeV, which may be tested with observations by the International Gamma-Ray Astrophysical Laboratory and the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope. Using the available OSSE data for the black hole system GRS 1915+115, we illustrate that an upper limit on the nonthermal proton fraction can be obtained, which may put constraints on the acceleration process active in this system.
Enhanced 3-D-reconstruction algorithm for C-arm systems suitable for interventional procedures

Increasingly, three dimensional (3-D) imaging technologies are used in medical diagnosis, for therapy planning, and during interventional procedures. The authors describe the possibilities of fast 3-D-reconstruction of high-contrast objects with high spatial resolution from only a small series of two-dimensional (2-D) planar radiographs. The special problems arising from the intended use of an open, mechanically unstable C-arm system are discussed. For the description of the irregular sampling geometry, homogeneous coordinates are used thoroughly. The well-known Feldkamp algorithm is modified to incorporate corresponding projection matrices without any decomposition into intrinsic and extrinsic parameters. Some approximations to speed up the whole reconstruction procedure and the tradeoff between image quality and computation time are also considered. Using standard hardware the reconstruction of a 256/sup 3/ cube is now possible within a few minutes, a time that is acceptable during interventions. Examples for cranial vessel imaging from some clinical test installations will be shown as well as promising results for bone imaging with a laboratory C-arm system.
Attributing Systemic Risk to Individual Institutions 1 Methodology and Policy Applications

We propose to measure the systemic importance of individual financial institutions by attributing systemic risk to them on the basis of a construct from cooperative games: Shapley values. The Shapley value methodology provides a general framework for the analysis of different drivers of systemic importance: e.g. the institution’s size, individual riskiness and exposure to common risk factors. We prove that, keeping the risk drivers constant across institutions, systemic importance increases faster than size. We also show how the Shapley value methodology can be used for the calibration of policy tools, paying particular attention to the relevance of specific applications of the methodology for alternative policy objectives.
Conforming Morse-Smale Complexes

Morse-Smale (MS) complexes have been gaining popularity as a tool for feature-driven data analysis and visualization. However, the quality of their geometric embedding and the sole dependence on the input scalar field data can limit their applicability when expressing application-dependent features. In this paper we introduce a new combinatorial technique to compute an MS complex that conforms to both an input scalar field and an additional, prior segmentation of the domain. The segmentation constrains the MS complex computation guaranteeing that boundaries in the segmentation are captured as separatrices of the MS complex. We demonstrate the utility and versatility of our approach with two applications. First, we use streamline integration to determine numerically computed basins/mountains and use the resulting segmentation as an input to our algorithm. This strategy enables the incorporation of prior flow path knowledge, effectively resulting in an MS complex that is as geometrically accurate as the employed numerical integration. Our second use case is motivated by the observation that often the data itself does not explicitly contain features known to be present by a domain expert. We introduce edit operations for MS complexes so that a user can directly modify their features while maintaining all the advantages of a robust topology-based representation.
Characterization of the O-polysaccharide structure of lipopolysaccharide from Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans serotype b

We previously reported that the serotype b antigen of Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans is a constituent of the polysaccharide region of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and contains significant amount of the neutral sugars rhamnose and fucose (M. Wilson and R. Schifferle, Infect. Immun. 59:1544-1551, 1991). In the present study, we determined the structure of the O antigen of A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4 (serotype b) LPS. Aqueous phase LPS was obtained from a phenol-water extract of A. actinomycetemcomitans Y4. This material was found to react with rabbit polyclonal antiserum to serotype b but not with antisera specific for other A. actinomycetemcomitans serotypes. Analyses revealed that the O polysaccharide of Y4 LPS consists of a polymer of trisaccharide repeating units composed of D-Fuc, AL-Rha, and D-GalNAc residues. An identical structure was obtained for the O polysaccharide of LPS from A. actinomycetemcomitans JP2, another serotype b strain. These results indicate that the serotype b antigen of A. actinomycetemcomitans is defined by a trisaccharide repeating unit present in the O polysaccharide of LPS.
The role of the energy equation in the fragmentation of protostellar discs during stellar encounters

In this paper, we use high-resolution smoothed particle hydrodynamics (SPH) simulations to investigate the response of a marginally stable self-gravitating protostellar disc to a close parabolic encounter with a companion discless star. Our main aim is to test whether close brown dwarfs or massive planets can form out of the fragmentation of such discs. We follow the thermal evolution of the disc by including the effects of heating due to compression and shocks and a simple prescription for cooling and find results that contrast with previous isothermal simulations. In the present case we find that fragmentation is inhibited by the interaction, due to the strong effect of tidal heating, which results in a strong stabilization of the disc. A similar behaviour was also previously observed in other simulations involving discs in binary systems. As in the case of isolated discs, it appears that the condition for fragmentation ultimately depends on the cooling rate.
Software engineering methods for neural networks

Neural networks have been used to solve a wide range of problems. Unfortunately, many of the applications of neural networks reported in the literature have been built in an ad-hoc manner, without being informed by the techniques and tools of software engineering. The problem with developing neural networks in an ad-hoc manner, using a "trial and error" or "build and fix" approach, is that successes are difficult to repeat. Building neural networks to solve specific problems using ad-hoc processes is repeatable only if there is a sufficient culture of disciplined practice and experienced people in the organisation to facilitate the process. We propose a set of methods for developing neural networks that can be used to systematically and repeatably "engineer" neural networks to solve specific problems. We explore the "design problem "for neural networks, and the problem of validating and verifying the operation and learning algorithms for neural network software. A feature of our approach is to separate the generic components of a neural network from the application specific components.
Event-Based GUI Testing and Reliability Assessment Techniques -- An Experimental Insight and Preliminary Results

It is widely accepted that graphical user interfaces (GUIs) highly affect -- positive or negative -- the quality and reliability of human-machine systems. In spite of this fact, quantitative assessment of the reliability of GUIs is a relatively young research field. Existing software reliability assessment techniques attempt to statistically describe the software testing process and to determine and thus predict the reliability of the system under consideration (SUC). These techniques model the reliability of the SUC based on particular assumptions and preconditions on probability distribution of cumulative number of failures, failure data observed, and form of the failure intensity function, etc. We expect that the methods used for modeling a GUI and related frameworks used for testing it also affect the factors mentioned above, especially failure data to be observed and prerequisites to be met. Thus, the quality of the reliability assessment process, and ultimately also the reliability of the GUI, depends on the methods used for modeling and testing the SUC. This paper attempts to gain some experimental insight into this problem. GUI testing frameworks based on event sequence graphs and event flow graphs were chosen as examples. A case study drawn from a large commercial web-based system is used to carry out the experiments and discuss the results.
Quality enhancement of coded and corrupted speeches in GSM mobile systems using residual redundancy

There is often residual redundancy remaining in coded speech data, even if a powerful speech codec (e.g. the full rate coder used in GSM mobile communications) is employed. By using such redundancy together with the information provided by the channel decoder, such as soft output (L-value), the number of channel bits inverted by the decoder, or a cyclic redundancy check, the bit error rate can be further reduced and a more graceful degradation of speech quality can be achieved, especially under bad channel conditions. In this paper, we report on the study with regard to this aspect for GSM full rate speech transmission and error concealment. The algorithms developed can be easily implemented with a currently available DSP designed for GSM mobile phones.
Recovery of Semantic Word Processing in Transcortical Sensory Aphasia: a Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

In a previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study with normal subjects, we demonstrated regions related to conceptual-semantic word processing around the first frontal sulcus (BA 9) and the posterior parietal lobe (BA 7/40) in agreement with several previous reports. We had the possibility, using the same fMRI paradigm, to study two consecutive cases with left middle cerebral artery (MCA) infarction (RC and HP) and lesions affecting either solely the pre-frontal (HP) or both the pre-frontal and posterior parietal part of the network activated in normal subjects (RC). Both patients showed transcortical sensory aphasia (TSA) on acute assessment. This contradicts classical disconnection accounts of the syndrome stating intact conceptual representations in TSA. Their recovery of language comprehension was associated with activation of a left hemispheric network. Mainly activations of left perilesional pre-frontal regions (RC), left Wernicke’s area (RC and HP) or the left posterior middle and inferior temporal cortex (HP) were demonstrated in the TSA patients. The latter findings suggest that in our cases of TSA functional take-over has occurred in regions with related functions (‘redundancy recovery’) rather than in previously unrelated areas (‘vicarious functioning’). Our data support distributed models of conceptual-semantic word processing and multiple left hemispheric representations of closely related functions.