Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speech Enhancement using Kernel and Normalized Kernel Affine Projection Algorithm

The goal of this paper is to investigate the speech signal enhancement using Kernel Affine Projection Algorithm (KAPA) and Normalized KAPA. The removal of background noise is very important in many applications like speech recognition, telephone conversations, hearing aids, forensic, etc. Kernel adaptive filters shown good performance for removal of noise. If the evaluation of background noise is more slowly than the speech, i.e., noise signal is more stationary than the speech, we can easily estimate the noise during the pauses in speech. Otherwise it is more difficult to estimate the noise which results in degradation of speech. In order to improve the quality and intelligibility of speech, unlike time and frequency domains, we can process the signal in new domain like Reproducing Kernel Hilbert Space (RKHS) for high dimensional to yield more powerful nonlinear extensions. For experiments, we have used the database of noisy speech corpus (NOIZEUS). From the results, we observed the removal noise in RKHS has great performance in signal to noise ratio values in comparison with conventional adaptive filters.
Highly selective condensation of biomass-derived methyl ketones as a source of aviation fuel.

Aviation fuel (i.e., jet fuel) requires a mixture of C9 -C16 hydrocarbons having both a high energy density and a low freezing point. While jet fuel is currently produced from petroleum, increasing concern with the release of CO2 into the atmosphere from the combustion of petroleum-based fuels has led to policy changes mandating the inclusion of biomass-based fuels into the fuel pool. Here we report a novel way to produce a mixture of branched cyclohexane derivatives in very high yield (>94 %) that match or exceed many required properties of jet fuel. As starting materials, we use a mixture of n-alkyl methyl ketones and their derivatives obtained from biomass. These synthons are condensed into trimers via base-catalyzed aldol condensation and Michael addition. Hydrodeoxygenation of these products yields mixtures of C12 -C21 branched, cyclic alkanes. Using models for predicting the carbon number distribution obtained from a mixture of n-alkyl methyl ketones and for predicting the boiling point distribution of the final mixture of cyclic alkanes, we show that it is possible to define the mixture of synthons that will closely reproduce the distillation curve of traditional jet fuel.
Comment: The 2005 Neyman Lecture: Dynamic Indeterminism in Science

Professor Brillinger is to be congratulated on this paper which is both a contribution to the history of statistics and an introduction to statistical modeling using stochastic processes, a topic that continues to be of great relevance in theory and applications. It is interesting to see how many ideas have been formulated already at an early stage. In particular, I like the idea of “synthetic data” to judge the adequacy of a fitted model. With time series or spatial data, one typically needs only a few replicates to assess visually the differences between real and synthetic data, and so this is really a powerful tool.
Silver Surfers Adoption, Use and Diffusion of Smartphones: An SME Perspective

In a global and knowledge-rich economy, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have become critical for organisations. Smartphones have impacted society and organisations alike with varying adoption and use across age groups. Due to recent legislation in many countries, older adults are now working to a higher age, but appear to lag behind younger users in terms of adoption and use of novel technologies. Smartphones are also important for older adults with extended working lives they will need to keep abreast with the times. In this research-in-progress paper, we aim to examine, identify and explain how silver surfers owned micro enterprises diffuse, adopt and use smartphones in United Kingdom (UK). For this, a conceptual model based upon the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behaviour (DTPB) and Roger Everett’s Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) theory will be used. A combined qualitative and quantitative approach involving surveys and interviews will be employed. A unique contribution of this research is to examine the research aim within the context of SMEs owned by silver surfers, thereby providing a conceptual framework exclusive to older business owners. For industry, it will also provide an identification of factors specific to older users.
Household Food Insecurity and Parent-to-Child Aggression

Nearly 13 million children in the United States live in households struggling with food insecurity. Although biosocial theories suggest a strong link between the lack of food and child maltreatment, and a handful of studies have established a correlation between nutritional deficits and family violence, it is unclear if household food insecurity itself is associated with physical and psychological child abuse apart from other issues related to poverty. The current study examines this possibility by analyzing data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study (n = 2,330). Sixteen percent of households were food insecure, and food insecurity at Wave 3 was associated with an increased use of parent-to-child psychological and physical aggression at the follow-up interview. This relationship held even after controlling for important covariates, such as maternal depression and impulsivity. We conclude by discussing what additional research is required, as well as how our findings might intersect with social policy on this topic.
Assistive obstacle-free path planning in the image space for teleoperation tasks using monocular camera

To assist operators in precise teleoperation tasks within complex environments, assistance autonomous modules are required. A semi-autonomous path planning module that provides a reliable direction for the operators, is of paramount of importance in this field. This paper proposes a novel assisted method using a fixed camera for guiding the operator to control the manipulator remotely. The method fuses image-based path planning and collision avoidance techniques to achieve an obstacle-free guidance path in the image space. Moreover, this method enables the visualization and projection of the 3D generated path and orientation profile in the 2D image space. It gives the teleoperator a powerful depth cue, as well as the correct pose of the end-effector, to increase the system performance and reduce the operator task error. The experimental results verify the visual framework's capabilities to assist the operator in a teleoperation task.
DTW/ISODATA Algorithm and Multilayer Architecture in Sign Language Recognition with Large Vocabulary

Up to now, the major problem for large vocabulary sign language recognition lies in the huge search space due to a variety of recognition classes. Analytical methods such as dynamic time wrapping (DTW) or Euclidian distance have been used for isolated word recognition, but the performance is not satisfactory enough because it is easily interfered by noise. Statistical methods, especially hidden Markov Models are commonly used for both continuous sign language and isolated words while the processing time becomes increasingly unacceptable with the expansion of vocabulary. A multilayer architecture of sign language recognition is proposed in this paper for the purpose of speeding up the search process. The gesture sequence to be recognized is first located at a set of words that are easy to be confused (confusion set) through a global cursory search with little computation cost and then the gesture is recognized through a local search. The generation of confusion set is realized by DTW/ISODATA algorithm. Experiment results indicate that it is an effective algorithm for sign language recognition with large vocabulary.
Study on the content of trace beneficial elements in drinking water by new needle stone ceramic materials under different heating conditions

In this paper, the rich in calcium and magnesium zinc chrome strontium selenium and other 40 kinds of trace elements beneficial to human body and mineral material analysis, developed a new kind of new needle stone ceramic materials that can change the drinking water quality. Existing ceramic materials, although some contain trace elements. Some existing ceramic materials in the human body needs trace elements, but its chemical properties of stability, very difficult to apply to water. Which are rich in stone needle component of ceramic material, it not only can improve water quality in the drinking water is rich in many kinds of trace elements, and on the form has the very good plasticity, can be processed to produce forms of household appliances and other functional products, also can make particles added to the water purification device in long time used in this paper, first of all, the main factors of affecting the content of trace elements in drinking water done in-depth research, and then according to the material, the factors which influence study materials can be widely used in drinking water purification and treatment.
A New Achievable Rate and the Capacity of a Class of Semi-Deterministic Relay Networks

In this paper, we propose an information-theoretic constructive scheme based on generalized block Markov encoding strategy for obtaining an achievable rate for multirelay networks. The coding scheme is based on partial decoding scheme where the relay decodes only part of the transmitted message. The proposed achievable rate is then used to establish the capacity of a class of semi-deterministic relay networks composed of semi- deterministic relay channels. It is shown that the proposed rate will include those of previously proposed rates based on decode- and-forward strategy in some special cases.
The Weyl tensor two-point function in de Sitter spacetime

We present an expression for the Weyl–Weyl two-point function in de Sitter spacetime, based on a recently calculated covariant graviton two-point function with one-gauge parameter. We find that the Weyl–Weyl two-point function falls off with distance like r−4, where r is space-like coordinate separation between the two points. We also find that it falls off exponentially if the two points are time-like separated.
Clonal variation in high- and low-level phenotypic and genotypic mupirocin resistance of MRSA isolates in south-east London.

OBJECTIVES Both low-level mupirocin resistance (LMR) and high-level mupirocin resistance (HMR) have been identified. The aim of this study was to determine the epidemiology of LMR and HMR in MRSA isolates at five hospitals that have used mupirocin for targeted decolonization as part of successful institutional control programmes. METHODS All MRSA identified in three microbiology laboratories serving five central and south-east London hospitals and surrounding communities between November 2011 and February 2012 were included. HMR and LMR were determined by disc diffusion testing. WGS was used to derive multilocus sequence types (MLSTs) and the presence of HMR and LMR resistance determinants. RESULTS Prevalence of either HMR or LMR amongst first healthcare episode isolates from 795 identified patients was 9.69% (95% CI 7.72-11.96); LMR was 6.29% (95% CI 4.70-8.21) and HMR was 3.40% (95% CI 2.25-4.90). Mupirocin resistance was not significantly different in isolates identified from inpatients at each microbiology laboratory, but was more common in genotypically defined 'hospital' rather than 'community' isolates (OR 3.17, 95% CI 1.36-9.30, P = 0.002). LMR was associated with inpatient stay, previous history of MRSA and age ≥65 years; HMR was associated with age ≥65 years and residential postcode outside London. LMR and HMR varied by clone, with both being low in the dominant UK MRSA clone ST22 compared with ST8, ST36 and ST239/241 for LMR and with ST8 and ST36 for HMR. V588F mutation and mupA carriage had high specificity (>97%) and area under the curve (>83%) to discriminate phenotypic mupirocin resistance, but uncertainty around the sensitivity point estimate was large (95% CI 52.50%-94.44%). Mutations in or near the mupA gene were found in eight isolates that carried mupA but were not HMR. CONCLUSIONS Mupirocin resistance was identified in <10% of patients and varied significantly by clone, implying that changes in clonal epidemiology may have an important role in determining the prevalence of resistance in conjunction with selection due to mupirocin use.
Effects of Different Vegetation Zones on CH4 and N2O Emissions in Coastal Wetlands: A Model Case Study

The coastal wetland ecosystems are important in the global carbon and nitrogen cycle and global climate change. For higher fragility of coastal wetlands induced by human activities, the roles of coastal wetland ecosystems in CH4 and N2O emissions are becoming more important. This study used a DNDC model to simulate current and future CH4 and N2O emissions of coastal wetlands in four sites along the latitude in China. The simulation results showed that different vegetation zones, including bare beach, Spartina beach, and Phragmites beach, produced different emissions of CH4 and N2O in the same latitude region. Correlation analysis indicated that vegetation types, water level, temperature, and soil organic carbon content are the main factors affecting emissions of CH4 and N2O in coastal wetlands.
Movement Institutions: The Bureaucratic Sources of Feminist Protest

Abstract Over the past several decades, scholarship on women's movements, feminism, and the state has brought renewed attention to the study of protest politics by questioning its frontier with dominant institutions. This article takes this critique a step further by considering the institutional dimension of the state-movement intersection. Drawing on the French case, we argue that institutions that are formally devoted to women's rights inside the state (women's policy agencies) can operate as movement institutions—that is, as bureaucratic instances routinely engrained with a protest dimension—rather than being only a shelter for a network of insider activists. As such, they can provide a specific, institutional feminist socialization to their members; they can purvey, rather than only relay, feminist protest, and they can deploy institutional repertoires of protest, combining bureaucratic and movement dimensions. We conclude that the definition and boundaries of the women's movement need to be broadened to include bureaucratic sources of feminist protest.
Cognitive Spam Recognition Using Hadoop and Multicast-Update

In today's world of exponentially growing technology, spam is a very common issue faced by users on the internet. Spam not only hinders the performance of a network, but it also wastes space and time, and causes general irritation and presents a multitude of dangers - of viruses, malware, spyware and consequent system failure, identity theft, and other cyber criminal activity. In this context, cognition provides us with a method to help improve the performance of the distributed system. It enables the system to learn what it is supposed to do for different input types as different classifications are made over time and this learning helps it increase its accuracy as time passes. Each system on its own can only do so much learning, because of the limited sample set of inputs that it gets to process. However, in a network, we can make sure that every system knows the different kinds of inputs available and learns what it is supposed to do with a better success rate. Thus, distribution and combination of this cognition across different components of the network leads to an overall improvement in the performance of the system. In this paper, we describe a method to make machines cognitively label spam using Machine Learning and the Naive Bayesian approach. We also present two possible methods of implementation - using a MapReduce Framework (hadoop), and also using messages coupled with a multicast-send based network - with their own subtypes, and the pros and cons of each. We finally present a comparative analysis of the two main methods and provide a basic idea about the usefulness of the two in various different scenarios.
An estimation-based approach to the design of adaptive IIR filters

We present an estimation-based approach to the design of adaptive IIR filters. We also use this approach to design adaptive filters when a feedback signal from the output of the adaptive filter contaminates the reference signal. We use an H/sub /spl infin// criterion to cast the problem as a nonlinear H/sub /spl infin// filtering problem, and present an approximate linear H/sub /spl infin// filtering solution. This linear filtering solution is then used to adapt the adaptive IIR Filter. The presentation of the proposed adaptive algorithm is done in the context of an adaptive active noise cancellation problem. Simulations are used to examine the performance of the proposed estimation-based adaptive algorithm.
Simplify Test Requirement Suite Automatically by Adjacency List

Simplifying test requirement suite is helpful for optimizing test case suite, as is proposed in this paper, it bases on adjacency list. Primarily, confirmed the test requirements and generated the initial test case suite according to program flow diagram, then drew the directed graph of relationships of test requirements and its corresponding adjacency list, analyzed its relationships between head-node and linked-list-node, finally simplified the requirements. It is indicated by the example that this algorithm could eliminate the relationships of equivalence and inclusion in test requirements automatically and reserve the mutually exclusive relationships and so on. Correctness and validity are demonstrated by the result of calculation corresponding to the one of manual analysis.
Experiences of International Language Teachers at a Turkish University

ABSTRACT Using a multiple case study approach, this short research article describes the experiences of three teachers (of German, French, and Korean) in a Turkish university where English is also mandatorily taught. Three themes common to the participants’ experiences emerged: use of the Turkish language, integrative adaptability, and international self-awareness. We suggest that understanding these themes may help teachers, students, and administrators better understand the rich and potentially unique fonts of knowledge that international teachers could bring into Turkish language classrooms in a university context.
Directed and emergent play

We describe a case study of the audience experience of an interactive artwork titled Just a Bit of Spin. This study was part of practice-based research project that aimed to develop strategies for designing for a play experience. In this paper, we focus on results relating to the two play characteristics of difficulty and competition. These results lead us to reflect on the importance of creating a balance between directing the play experience and providing opportunities for play to emerge through the creative activities of the player.
Scale change and TTC filter for longitudinal vehicle control based on monocular video

This paper presents a filter algorithm that derives robust input values for longitudinal control of driver assistance systems, based on noisy scale change measurements from a monocular video system. In particular, we calculate filtered scale change and reliable Time-To-Collision (TTC), two values that can be applied for video based Active-Cruise-Control and Forward-Collision-Warning systems. We exploit the fact that TTC is directly related to scale change and the calculation can be performed without accurate distance measurements. To meet the requirements of an automotive environment, where high dynamic driving maneuvers may occur, TTC calculation has to consider relative velocity and relative acceleration between the ego vehicle and the target. We do this by applying an Interacting-Multiple-Model filter, which directly processes the noisy scale change measurements and estimates normalized motion parameters. For better smoothing during accelerated driving situations, we propose an extended IMM configuration. Results presented are based on the evaluation of NCAP test sequences.
Will XML-based Electronic Invoice Standards Succeed? - An Explorative Study

The digitalization of business processes is a crucial method for cutting down administrative costs, improve productivity in business processes, and achieving process transparency. Since invoices are some of the most important documents exchanged between business partners, it makes sense that invoices be sent and received electronically. There are no formal rules that determine the format of electronic invoices. However, companies benefit most when invoices contain structured data that can be processed automatically. The acceptance and adoption of structured electronic invoicing is generally rather low in the European Union, but it differs significantly among European countries. The electronic data interchange with the invoice standard EDIFACT is most favored by larger companies. An XML-based invoice could fill the gap between EDIFACT invoices and unstructured invoices like PDF and paper invoices. Some European countries have already established a national XML-based invoice standard. This paper addresses critical success factors to the adoption of XML-based standards. In an explorative study with experts, various aspects of acceptance were derived, and the results adapted to the Technology-Organization-Environment framework.
Author ' s personal copy A thermodynamic perspective of immune capabilities

We consider the mutual interactions, via cytokine exchanges, among helper lymphocytes, B lymphocytes and killer lymphocytes, and we model them as a unique system by means of a tripartite network. Each part includes all the different clones of the same lymphatic subpopulation, whose couplings to the others are either excitatory or inhibitory (mirroring elicitation and suppression by cytokine). First of all, we show that this system can be mapped into an associative neural network, where helper cells directly interact with each other and are able to secrete cytokines according to ‘‘strategies’’ learn by the system and profitable to cope with possible antigenic stimulation; the ability of such a retrieval corresponds to a healthy reaction of the immune system. We then investigate the possible conditions for the failure of a correct retrieval and distinguish between the following outcomes: massive lymphocyte expansion/ suppression (e.g. lymphoproliferative syndromes), subpopulation unbalance (e.g. HIV, EBV infections) and ageing (thought of as noise growth); the correlation of such states to autoimmune diseases is also highlighted. Lastly, we discuss how self-regulatory effects within each effector branch (i.e. B and killer lymphocytes) can be modeled in terms of a stochastic process, ultimately providing a consistent bridge between the tripartite-network approach introduced here and the immune networks developed in the last decades. & 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.