Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A two-channel approach to the removal of impulsive noise from archived recordings

We discuss the extraction of two signals from a monophonic gramophone record, and observe that the impulsive noise is significantly different in the two. This, coupled with the redundancy of the desired parts of the signals, has great advantages in the processes of impulsive noise detection and removal. It is simple to obtain two suitable signals by using a stereo replay cartridge, and we develop detection and interpolation algorithms that use such a pair of signals. We present the results of computer simulations and informal listening tests on archive material. In both cases the two-channel method is found to be an improvement over a similar single-channel algorithm, with little change in computational cost. <<ETX>>
Calculation of wave fields in a layered half-space with absorption based on the Thomson-Haskell method

This article is devoted to the development of calculation method of seismic waves on the free surface of a horizontally-layered half-space, which are perturbed by local sources. Previous obtained relations for scalar potentials of direct waves P, SV and SH from the simple force in a homogeneous environment are used for this purpose. It let us derive formulas for a complete wave field in the horizontally-layered isotropic elastic half-space, which is perturbed by the point source in the form of the simple time-depend force by using modified Thomson-Haskell’s matrix method. Exact expressions for three-dimensional displacement vector on the free surface are developed. Obtained results are generalized on the case of absorbing environments. The algorithm is built and the computer program for calculation of three-component synthetic seismograms in the horizontally-layered isotropic environment with absorption is written on the base of developed method of direct problem solving. In order to verify the efficiency and stability of the algorithm, full synthetic seismograms were calculated on the test examples.
Macrophage learning-tracking algorithm in time-lapse MR images

It is difficult to observe the movement of immune cells in vivo deep. However, our recent study, by using 11.7 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), shows that it has become possible to observe the macrophages in living brain of mouse. Macrophages are a type of immune cell. In this paper, we propose a three dimensional tracking method of macrophages in the 11.7 T time lapse MR images and consider the application of machine learning for the detection of macrophages. This method was applied to a stroke model mouse. The result showed that we are able to track the macrophages in three dimensions. We applied Support Vector Machine (SVM) for the detection of macrophages. The proposed method and the two-dimensional tracking method were applied to the artificial data. The results showed that SVM have a good success to detect macrophages.
A logic of reasoning, communication and cooperation with syntactic knowledge

We present a general logic of explicit knowledge represented as finite sets of logical formulae which can evolve by non-deterministic reasoning and communication. It is partly based on Alternating-time Temporal Logic, which allows the expression of properties of cooperation. Properties of an agent's reasoning mechanism such as "the agent knows modus ponens" can be expressed. Instead of a common closure condition such as "if the agent knows both p and p → q, he must also know q", the following holds: "if the agent knows p, p → q and modus ponens, he has a strategy to get to know q in the future".
Host surface tissues and basidiospore-derived infection strategies of some rust fungi

Abstract Some Authors belief that the basidiospore germ tubes of rust fungi penetrate angiosperms directly and gymnosperms indirectly, hypothesizing that the different strategies of basidiospore-derived penetrations could be ascribed to the heavily cutinized and thick walled epidermal cells of the leaves of gymnosperms. In this paper the surface tissues of the organs of some angiosperms and gymnosperm—which are directly and/or indirectly penetrated by basidiospore germlings of Melampsora spp. , Cronartium flaccidum and Crysomyxa abietis—were examined, in order to: (i) evaluate the role of the cuticular and epidermal cell-wall thickness, still considered a barrier to a direct penetration, and (ii) search for other possible cyto-histological aspects of surface tissues which could explain the different penetration strategies of rust basidiospore germlings. The results show that the thickness of cuticle and epidermal cell walls of the organs onto which the monokaryotic phase of each rust species has fitted itself during evolution to penetrate is not important in determining the penetration strategy, whereas it seems that it is the presence of lignin in the surface tissues of these organs which probably limits the direct penetration of rust basidiospore germlings.
Measurement of two-bond JCOH alpha coupling constants in proteins uniformly enriched with 13C.

A simple E.COSY type technique is described for measurement of two-bond JCOH alpha coupling constants in proteins that are uniformly enriched with 13C. The method has been used to measure 2JCOH alpha for 132 residues in the proteins calmodulin and staphylococcal nuclease having non-overlapping H alpha-C alpha correlations. Measured 2JCOH alpha coupling constants fall in the 0 to -9.5 Hz range. A separate experiment, measuring the accuracy of these values, indicates a root-mean-square error of 1 Hz. Comparison of the J couplings with the dihedral backbone angles from crystallographic studies confirms a weak but statistically significant correlation between the dihedral angle psi and the magnitude of 2JCOH alpha, but also indicates that parameters other than psi have a significant effect on the value of the coupling.
System Testing of Timing Requirements Based on Use Cases and Timed Automata

In the context of use-case centric development and requirements-driven testing, this paper addresses the problem of automatically deriving system test cases to verify timing requirements. Inspired by engineering practice in an automotive software development context, we rely on an analyzable form of use case specifications and augment such functional descriptions with timed automata, capturing timing requirements, following a methodology aiming at minimizing modeling overhead. We automate the generation of executable test cases using a test strategy based on maximizing test suite diversity and building over the UPPAAL model checker. Initial empirical results based on an industrial case study provide evidence of the effectiveness of the approach.
Thermo-optic detection of quantum cascade laser radiation in the range ∼2.2–2.9THz using a ZnTe crystal

We have investigated the thermo-optical (TO) response of a ZnTe crystal to THz QCL radiation in the frequency range ~2.2-2.9 THz. The TO response was investigated for variations in driving current, QCL polarisation direction and pulse modulation frequency. We show that the anisotropy of the TO coefficients should be taken into account to correctly describe the experimental response.
Call for information, call for quality in mental health care

The quality of routine mental health care is not optimal, it can vary greatly from region to region and among providers; in many occasions, it does not correspond to the standards of evidence-based mental health. To bridge this gap, the promotion of a systematic use of the information available for quality assurance would be most helpful, but measuring the quality of mental health care is particularly challenging. Quality measurement can play a key role in transforming health care systems, and the routine measurement of quality, using clinical indicators derived from evidence-based practice guidelines, is an important step to this end. In Italy, the use of clinical indicators is still sporadic: over the last 5 years only three projects have been aimed at analysing, in a structured way, the quality of care in severe mental illness, and two of these were led by the Italian Society of Psychiatric Epidemiology. Not only in Italy but also at global level there is an urgent need for the implementation of mental health information systems that could lead to a substantial improvement in information technology. Once this has been achieved, a common set of clinical indicators, agreed upon at the regional and national level and useful for benchmarking and for comparing mental health services, could be defined. Finally, using the implementation strategies, a system of quality improvement at both regional and local levels will be built.
Understanding the Practices and Experiences of Supervising Nursing Doctoral Students: A Qualitative Survey of Two South African Universities

Doctoral supervision involves an intensive, interpersonal one-to-one relationship between the supervisor and the student. Supervisors have a responsibility to guide students when choosing their research topics and throughout the research process until completion of their research projects. The purpose of this study is to explore the practices and experiences of faculty members supervising doctoral nursing students in two selected universities in South Africa. This qualitative and explorative study involves all faculty members supervising doctorate nursing students at four South African Universities in Limpopo Province. A purposive sampling was used to select 15 participants who met the inclusion criteria. Data collection was through a telephonic in-depth unstructured interview. Probing was used to elicit more information from participants. Data were analysed through Tesch’s open coding method. Findings reveal three themes as practices and experiences of supervision, namely: research supervisory role, knowledge of models of supervision, and guiding principles towards doctorate supervision. There is a need for orientation of research supervisors and doctoral students before they commence with their supervisory role. Policies and procedures for doctorate supervision need to be communicated to all supervisors. There should be continuous support for both supervisors and students during the process of supervision.
Organization of DNA replication origins in the fission yeast genome

Eukaryotic DNA replication initiates at multiple points along the chromosomes known as replication origins (ORIs). We have developed a strategy to identify ORIs directly from replication intermediates in the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe. Mapping of a selection of the novel ORIs onto the genome reveals their preferential localization at intergenic regions upstream from genes. These results are supported by the observation that a large proportion of regions overlapping gene promoters contain active ORIs. Mapping of the genomic ars1 replication origin at nucleotide resolution shows that replication initiates at a defined position immediately upstream from the hus5+ promoter. Deletion analysis indicates that the regulatory elements required to initiate transcription and replication lie in close proximity, suggesting a possible relationship between both processes in vivo.
Thematic Exploration of Youtube Data: A Methodology for Discovering Latent Topics

An automated research method that uses the topic modeling algorithm called Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) to discover latent topics and explore potential themes in YouTube transcript data. In a study published in 2015 by Ganesan, Brantley, Pan, and Chen (Ganesan, Brantley, Pan, & Chen, 2015) researchers recognized that there is a problem with the search process when trying to visualize the correlation between a large collections of documents and a given set of topics. Chaney and Blei emphasize in a 2012 study the importance of science, industry, and culture to have the ability to explore the hidden structures found within large collections of unorganized documents (Chaney & Blei, 2012). Wang and Blei published an article in 2011 citing the difficulty of finding and recommending relevant scientific research papers to communities of researchers (Wang & Blei, 2011). Finally, an article written by Roberts, Stewart, and Airoldi in 2016 discusses the popularity of statistical models and how they are used for exploring large collections of documents to measure latent linguistic, political, and psychological variables in the social sciences (Roberts, Stewart, & Airoldi, 2016). All of these studies can be aggregated together to describe the problem that continues to challenge researchers and information management practitioners whom are attempting to explore a latent set of topics which form a common theme within a large collection of documents. Documents are being collected from a growing number of sources that continue to offer the problem of complexity and lack of intuitive correlation. Novel research methods that include a mixture of technologies working together as a framework are needed to address these challenges found within a large collection of documents. This research method is proposing proposes a framework that can be used by researchers and practitioners to discover latent topics found within a target set of YouTube video transcript documents.
A Survey on Steganography Techniques

: User generally need to communicate data in the form of text, image, audio or video. Because of the increase used of internet, information is mostly communicated through the network. But in a network data is not secure, it can get eavesdrop. To protect data from the third person steganography technique can be used. Steganography means hiding secret information inside another data (cover data). Cover data can be text, image, video, audio or network protocol. Different method used for text, image, video and audio steganography are analyze in this paper.
Multiple Kernel Sparse Representation for Airborne LiDAR Data Classification

To effectively learn heterogeneous features extracted from raw LiDAR point cloud data for landcover classification, a multiple kernel sparse representation classification (MKSRC) framework is proposed in this paper. In the MKSRC, multiple kernel learning (MKL) is embedded into sparse representation classification (SRC). The heterogeneous features are first extracted from the raw LiDAR point cloud data before classification. These features contain useful information from different dimensions, including single point features and neighbor features. Based on feature extraction, on the one hand, MKL is reasonably integrated into the SRC, namely, different base kernels that are constructed with each heterogeneous feature separately are utilized in the process of sparse representation. Furthermore, joint sparsity model is also introduced into the MKSRC framework and multiple kernel joint SRC (MKJSRC) is then proposed. On the other hand, improved kernel alignment (IKA) methods are proposed to more effectively determine the weights of base kernels in both of MKSRC and MKJSRC. Experiments are conducted on three real airborne LiDAR data sets. The experimental results demonstrate that MKSRC and MKJSRC frameworks can effectively learn the heterogeneous features for LiDAR point cloud classification and outperforms the other state-of-the-art sparse representation-based classifiers and the recent MKL algorithm. Moreover, the proposed IKA is helpful to better determine the “optimal” weights of the base kernels in both MKSRC and MKJSRC than in the existing kernel alignment method.
A tutorial on evaluation of network survivability under sophisticated attacker

One of the goals of information security education is to develop students' skills to solve unseen security vulnerability with contemporary methodologies. This paper presents the teaching of a new algorithm on resource allocation of network attack and defense with mathematical programming for evaluating the network survivability. Adopting a scaffolding technique, students take up a role of a defender so as to minimize the cost of networking operation. Here, by transforming with the mathematical technique and applying the algorithm, gradient method and a proposed heuristic, to optimally solve it.
Predictors of outcome of rehabilitation of elderly stroke patients in a geriatric ward

Purpose: To identify predictors of outcome after 12 months in elderly stroke patients rehabilitated in a geriatric ward. Design: Prospective with evaluation in the subacute phase and after 12 months. Setting: Geriatric ward and outpatient clinic. Subjects: All stroke patients admitted from the acute unit to a geriatric ward for rehabilitation during a 16-month period (n = 171). Main outcome measures: Place of living, mortality and social functioning (Frenchay Activities Index) 12 months following stroke. Results: Age, urinary incontinence and cognitive function were significantly associated with place of living (home versus nursing home) 12 months post stroke in bivariate analyses. However, using multivariate logistic regression analyses, only age (p = 0.005) and urinary incontinence at baseline (p = 0.028) remained independent predictors of place of living. Mortality during the first year was significantly predicted by urinary incontinence and gender (men doing worse), whereas the Barthel Activities of Daily Living (ADL) Index sumscore was the only significant independent predictor of social activities. Conclusion: Urinary incontinence at baseline seems to be a most important predictor of outcome 12 months post stroke in geriatric patients. However, with regard to social activities (Frenchay Activities Index), functional impairment in the initial phase as reflected by the Barthel ADL Index supersedes other predictors.
Adolescent Autonomy and Family Functioning Are Associated With Headache-related Disability

ObjectivesThe aims of this study were to examine the relationships between a range of family factors, including autonomy and general family functioning, on headache outcomes (ie, pain and functional impairment) in adolescents with recurrent headaches. MethodsForty nine adolescents, ages 11 to 16 years, (mean age=13.5 y, 63% female) receiving treatment through pediatric neurology for recurrent headaches were enrolled. Adolescents and their parents completed measures of pubertal status, pain, functional impairment, parental solicitousness, behavioral autonomy, depressive symptoms, and family functioning. ResultsLower levels of adolescent autonomy (r=0.53, P<0.01) and less healthy family functioning (r=0.32, P<0.01) were significantly related to higher levels of functional impairment. In multivariate regression analyses controlling for pain intensity, pubertal status, and depressive symptoms, parent and family variables added significant variance in the prediction of functional impairment (r2 change=0.21, P<0.05). Both adolescent autonomy (β=0.38, P<0.05) and general family functioning (β=0.34, P<0.05) were significant individual predictors of adolescent functional impairment. DiscussionThis study extends research on family factors and adolescent headache-related pain and disability. Future research is needed to discover whether family based interventions helping adolescents to acquire appropriate and supportive levels of autonomy may be useful in reducing headache-related disability.
The Selectivity of Austocystin D Arises from Cell-Line-Specific Drug Activation by Cytochrome P450 Enzymes

The natural product austocystin D was identified as a potent cytotoxic agent with in vivo antitumor activity and selectivity for cells expressing the multidrug resistance transporter MDR1. We sought to elucidate the mechanism of austocystin D’s selective cytotoxic activity. Here we show that the selective cytotoxic action of austocystin D arises from its selective activation by cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes in specific cancer cell lines, leading to induction of DNA damage in cells and in vitro. The potency and selectivity of austocystin D is lost upon inhibition of CYP activation and does not require MDR1 expression or activity. Furthermore, the pattern of cytotoxicity of austocystin D was distinct from doxorubicin and etoposide and unlike aflatoxin B1, a compound that resembles austocystin D and is also activated by CYP enzymes to induce DNA damage. Theses results suggest that austocystin D may be of clinical benefit for targeting or overcoming chemoresistance.
Mixed-Signal Clock-Skew Calibration Technique for Time-Interleaved ADCs

Clock-skew errors in time-interleaved (TI) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) importantly degrade the linearity of such converters. These nearly constant but unknown errors, which must not be confused with random jitter, prevent TI ADCs from performing uniform sampling. This paper proposes a mixed-signal clock-skew calibration technique and explores its limitations to perform a background calibration. Compared to the existing all-digital calibration techniques, ours distinguishes itself by the simplicity of its hardware elements. On the other hand, compared to the all-analog ones, ours keeps the inherent robustness of a digital clock-skew detection. A demonstrator shows the feasibility of our technique. This demonstrator consists of two 10-bit commercial ADCs, a field-programmable gate array to implement a digital clock-skew detector, and an application-specific integrated circuit in a CMOS 0.35-mum technology to implement a digitally trimmable multiphase sampling clock generator. In this highly hostile environment of interconnected discrete components, our demonstrator can correct an initial clock skew of thousands of picoseconds with a granularity of 1.8 ps.
Approche statistique pour le filtrage terminologique des occurrences de candidats termes en texte intégral

Following (L'Homme, 2004), this paper focuses on terms variations in full text in French and more precisely it highlights the semantic ambiguity of terms occurrences with regards to a very high leveled distinction between terminological and general uses. This issue is very present especially in Humanities. For instance, we are interested in distinguishing between the terminological meaning of the term "sujet (subject)" in the phrase "le sujet de la phrase (the subject of the sentence)" (Linguistics) or "les reponses du sujet (subject's answers)" (Psychology), and the general meaning of the noun "sujet (topic)" that we may find in a phrase like "le sujet de cet article (the topic of this article)". In order to solve this problem, we assume that textual contexts around term occurrences give us relevant information on the kind of use we face, terminological or general. Our research is based on a statistical approach of the textual contexts. The proposed metrics are based on the hypergeometric distribution and the lexical specificity calculus as described in (Lafon, 1980). By using a manually annotated corpus as the training set, we build lexical profiles for each high leveled meaning of the term candidates. We use two methods which were compared to a baseline metric based on term frequency. The results we obtained are analyzed from both a quantitative and a qualitative point of view.