Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Speaker verification based on SVDD

A new speaker verification method based on SVDD is proposed from another viewpoint to solve the problem such that the recognition rate of the speaker verification system based on GMM is not very high. The traditional hard decision method is also changed, instead a new soft decision means based on the sample acceptance rate is introduced, whose main advantage is normalized the 'probability' or 'confidence' to the value (0,1) and the threshold is comparative steady so as to be easy setting. Experiments are based on TIMIT database, selecting 50 people, with cross validation method, taking EER for the system performance evaluation criteria, comparing SVDD with GMM systems in unified threshold or independent threshold. Experiments result show that this method obviously improves the recognition accuracy and robustness; the running time of the system based on SVDD reduced 26.2% and EER decreased 22.5%; furthermore, when under the conditions of insufficient training samples, SVDD gain more obvious advantage over GMM in teams of training time, running time and recognition accuracy.
The Human Cost of Economic Crises

Policy makers rely on a mix of government spending and tax cuts to address imbalances in the economy during an economic crisis. However, little discussion appears to focus explicitly on the costs of economic crises in terms of human lives, especially the lives of the most vulnerable members of society, infants. This paper quantifies the effect periods of prolonged economic recession have on infant mortality. Moreover, we investigate whether different levels of public spending on health across advanced industrialized democracies can mitigate the impact of crises on infant mortality. We find that economic crises are extremely costly and lead to a more than proportional increase in infant mortality in the short-run. Substantial public spending on health is required in order to limit their impact.
Factors Influencing Obstacle Crossing Performance in Patients with Parkinson's Disease

Background Tripping over obstacles is the major cause of falls in community-dwelling patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). Understanding the factors associated with the obstacle crossing behavior may help to develop possible training programs for crossing performance. This study aimed to identify the relationships and important factors determining obstacle crossing performance in patients with PD. Methods Forty-two idiopathic patients with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages I to III) participated in this study. Obstacle crossing performance was recorded by the Liberty system, a three-dimensional motion capture device. Maximal isometric strength of the lower extremity was measured by a handheld dynamometer. Dynamic balance and sensory integration ability were assessed using the Balance Master system. Movement velocity (MV), maximal excursion (ME), and directional control (DC) were obtained during the limits of stability test to quantify dynamic balance. The sum of sensory organization test (SOT) scores was used to quantify sensory organization ability. Results Both crossing stride length and stride velocity correlated significantly with lower extremity muscle strength, dynamic balance control (forward and sideward), and sum of SOT scores. From the regression model, forward DC and ankle dorsiflexor strength were identified as two major determinants for crossing performance (R2 = .37 to.41 for the crossing stride length, R2 = .43 to.44 for the crossing stride velocity). Conclusions Lower extremity muscle strength, dynamic balance control and sensory integration ability significantly influence obstacle crossing performance. We suggest an emphasis on muscle strengthening exercises (especially ankle dorsiflexors), balance training (especially forward DC), and sensory integration training to improve obstacle crossing performance in patients with PD.
Labor Market Heterogeneity and the Aggregate Matching Function

The matching function -a key building block in models of labor market frictions- implies that the job finding rate depends only on labor market tightness. We estimate such a matching function and find that the relation, although remarkably stable over 1967-2007, broke down spectacularly after 2007. We argue that labor market heterogeneities are not fully captured by the standard matching function, but that a generalized matching function that explicitly takes into account worker heterogeneity and market segmentation is fully consistent with the behavior of the job finding rate. The standard matching function can break down when, as in the Great Recession, the average characteristics of the unemployed change too much, or when dispersion in labor market conditions -the extent to which some labor markets fare worse than others- increases too much.
Sparse representation of total variability smoothed GMM mean supervectors for speaker verification

The total variability i-vector based speaker verification system is one of the most successful systems in the recent NIST evaluations. It achieves significant improvement in performance over the conventional GMM-UBM based systems by using the projections of the GMM mean shifted supervectors to a low dimensional space for representation. This low dimensional projections are commonly referred to as the total variability i-vector features. In our recent works we have explored the use of sparse representation of the GMM mean shifted supervectors derived using a learned redundant dictionary as a feature for the speaker verification. This approach resulted in a performance comparable to that of the similar complexity i-vector based system. In this work, we explore a fusion of these two approaches in which the GMM mean supervectors are smoothed using the total variability space prior to creating dictionary for sparse representation. The proposed method is found to give a relative improvement of 19% in EER compared to that of the i-vector based system for the experiments done using the NIST 2003 SRE database.
A new management scheme of cluster based PKI for ad hoc networks using multi-signature

Public key infrastructure (PKI) has been recognized as the most efficient and effective tool providing key management in classical networks. However providing such infrastructure for ad hoc network is a challenging task, due to the dynamic topology and infrastructure-less nature of these networks. In this paper we propose a new scheme for the implementation of PKI infrastructure in ad hoc network based on clustering technique in order to simplify the key management. Our solution combines two techniques to distribute the PKI functionalities between the network nodes. The first one is used to affect the full certificate authority (CA) functionalities to specified nodes in the network named cluster-heads, and the second to manage certificate distribution over network nodes. We also propose to use a mechanism of multi-signature intended to give more trust to certificate signed by more than one cluster-head, used after for cluster-head election in order to elect the most trusted node as cluster-head.
Medium- and Long-Term Educational Consequences of Alternative Conditional Cash Transfer Designs: Experimental Evidence from Colombia

In 2005 the city of Bogota, Colombia, introduced three conditional cash transfer programs for secondary schooling, randomly assigning socioeconomically disadvantaged students to different payment structures. We show, through administrative data, that forcing families to save one-third of the transfer increases long-term human capital accumulation by means of additional tertiary education-which is not incentivized-, casting doubt on conditionalities as a driving mechanism. Directly incentivizing on-time tertiary enrollment does no better than forcing families to save a portion of the transfer Whereas forcing families to save increases enrollment in four-year universities, incentivizing tertiary enrollment only increases enrollment in low-quality colleges.
Discrimination and In-Group Favoritism in a Citywide Trust Experiment

This paper provides field experimental evidence on the prevalence and determinants of discrimination and in-group favoritism in trust decisions. We observe choices of about 1,000 inhabitants of the city of Zurich who take part in a sequential trust game, in which first movers can condition their investments on the residential districts of second movers. Our main results can be summarized as follows: First movers discriminate significantly in their investment choices, i.e., strangers receive different investments depending on the district they live in. The systematics of the discrimination pattern is underlined by data from an additional newspaper study, where participants correctly guessed the outcome of the study. In terms of district characteristics two factors seem to be key for a district's reputation: while expected trustworthiness of a district increases in the socio-economic status it decreases in the degree of ethnic heterogeneity. Observed discrimination is not just based on mistaken stereotypes but can at least partly be classified as statistical discrimination. This can be inferred from the fact that, on a district level, both expected return on investment and actual investments are positively correlated with actual back transfers. First movers correctly anticipate different levels of trustworthiness and discriminate accordingly. Furthermore, we provide evidence of in-group favoritism, i.e., people trust strangers from their own district significantly more than strangers from other districts. Finally, we discuss individual determinants of discrimination and in-group favoritism.
Not Always in the People's Interest: Power-Sharing Arrangements in African Peace Agreements

Peace agreements form a crucial element of strategies to bring security from outside: they involve third-party mediators during the negotiation stage and often peacekeeping troops to guarantee the agreement at an implementation stage. Peace roundtables usually involve top politicians and military leaders, who negotiate, sign, and/or benefit from the agreement. What is usually and conspicuously absent from peace negotiations is broad-based participation by those who should benefit in the first place: citizens. More specifically, the local level of security provision and insecurity production is rarely taken into account. This paper reviews parts of the academic debate on power sharing and war termination, touching on some key findings by the main researchers working on the topic. The ambivalent African experience with Arend Lijphart’s four main ingredients of consociational democracy (grand coalition, minority veto, proportional representation, group autonomy) is summarized. Recent major African peace agreements (1999-2007) are analyzed, and their power-sharing content detailed. Most agreements contain some—though varying— power-sharing devices. Most striking is the variation regarding the important question of who is sharing power with whom. Obviously, only those present at the negotiation table can really count on being included in major ways. Finally, three country cases are analyzed over a longer time period: Cote d’Ivoire (2002-2007), Liberia (1994-2003), and Central African Republic (1996-2007). The conclusion focuses on the factors of failure of peace agreements that place a heavy emphasis on power sharing.
Exploiting the Accumulated Evidence for Gene Selection in Microarray Gene Expression Data

Machine Learning methods have of late made significant efforts to solving multidisciplinary problems in the field of cancer classification using microarray gene expression data. Feature subset selection methods can play an important role in the modeling process, since these tasks are characterized by a large number of features and a few observations, making the modeling a non-trivial undertaking. In this particular scenario, it is extremely important to select genes by taking into account the possible interactions with other gene subsets. This paper shows that, by accumulating the evidence in favour (or against) each gene along the search process, the obtained gene subsets may constitute better solutions, either in terms of predictive accuracy or gene size, or in both. The proposed technique is extremely simple and applicable at a negligible overhead in cost.
3D Shape Retrieval Using Point Spatial Distributions on the Surface

Rapidly increasing 3D shape application has led to the development of content-based 3D shape retrieval research. In this paper, we proposed a new retrieval method. The method is constructed on a spatial distribution computation of sampling points on the surface of 3D shape. The contribution is that we use an inner cylinder to contain the points distributed nearer on the largest principal axis, and its radius is the average distance of points to the largest principal axis. And then we compute the point spatial distribution by partitions of the minimum bounding box and the inner cylinder. We have examined our method on a database of general objects and confirmed its efficiency. We also compared this method with other similar methods on the same shapes database, and it achieved better retrieving precision. This method can be used to classify 3D shapes and retrieve similar shapes in shapes database.
Global Imbalances and the Pretence of Knowing Fundamental Equilibrium Exchange Rates

Global imbalances remain a key challenge for the world economy. In this regard, it has often been argued that insufficient exchange rate adjustment prevents their dissolution. Obviously, such a line of reasoning crucially depends on the methodologies used for assessing the ‘fair value’ of a currency. This paper looks specifically at estimates of fundamental equilibrium exchange rates (FEER) and shows that these are highly sensitive to the chosen assumptions. The present study cautions against using such models too mechanistically and giving too much confidence to the precision of obtained magnitudes of misalignment.
3-O-Galloylated Procyanidins from Rumex acetosa L. Inhibit the Attachment of Influenza A Virus

Infections by influenza A viruses (IAV) are a major health burden to mankind. The current antiviral arsenal against IAV is limited and novel drugs are urgently required. Medicinal plants are known as an abundant source for bioactive compounds, including antiviral agents. The aim of the present study was to characterize the anti-IAV potential of a proanthocyanidin-enriched extract derived from the aerial parts of Rumex acetosa (RA), and to identify active compounds of RA, their mode of action, and structural features conferring anti-IAV activity. In a modified MTT (MTTIAV) assay, RA was shown to inhibit growth of the IAV strain PR8 (H1N1) and a clinical isolate of IAV(H1N1)pdm09 with a half-maximal inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 2.5 µg/mL and 2.2 µg/mL, and a selectivity index (SI) (half-maximal cytotoxic concentration (CC50)/IC50)) of 32 and 36, respectively. At RA concentrations>1 µg/mL plaque formation of IAV(H1N1)pdm09 was abrogated. RA was also active against an oseltamivir-resistant isolate of IAV(H1N1)pdm09. TNF-α and EGF-induced signal transduction in A549 cells was not affected by RA. The dimeric proanthocyanidin epicatechin-3-O-gallate-(4β→8)-epicatechin-3′-O-gallate (procyanidin B2-di-gallate) was identified as the main active principle of RA (IC50 approx. 15 µM, SI≥13). RA and procyanidin B2-di-gallate blocked attachment of IAV and interfered with viral penetration at higher concentrations. Galloylation of the procyanidin core structure was shown to be a prerequisite for anti-IAV activity; o-trihydroxylation in the B-ring increased the anti-IAV activity. In silico docking studies indicated that procyanidin B2-di-gallate is able to interact with the receptor binding site of IAV(H1N1)pdm09 hemagglutinin (HA). In conclusion, the proanthocyanidin-enriched extract RA and its main active constituent procyanidin B2-di-gallate protect cells from IAV infection by inhibiting viral entry into the host cell. RA and procyanidin B2-di-gallate appear to be a promising expansion of the currently available anti-influenza agents.
rm agreements : The case of airline codesharing

We compare aviation markets under conditions of competition, codesharing contracts and anti-trust immune alliances, assuming that demand for flights depends on both fares and the level of frequency offered. Using a hybrid competitive/cooperative game theoretic framework, we show that the stronger the inter-airline agreement, the higher the producer surplus. On the other hand, consumer surplus and overall social welfare are maximized under limited codesharing agreements. Partial mergers appear preferable to no agreement in ‘thin’ markets, in which both demand and profit margins are relatively low. Finally, a realistic case study demonstrates that under asymmetric and uncertain demand, codesharing on parallel links may be preferable to competitive outcomes for multiple consumer types.
Ultrastructure of Calcareous Dinophytes (Thoracosphaeraceae, Peridiniales) with a Focus on Vacuolar Crystal-Like Particles

Biomineralization in calcareous dinophytes (Thoracosphaeracaea, Peridiniales) takes place in coccoid cells and is presently poorly understood. Vacuolar crystal-like particles as well as collection sites within the prospective calcareous shell may play a crucial role during this process at the ultrastructural level. Using transmission electron microscopy, we investigated the ultrastructure of coccoid cells at an early developmental stage in fourteen calcareous dinophyte strains (corresponding to at least ten species of Calciodinellum, Calcigonellum, Leonella, Pernambugia, Scrippsiella, and Thoracosphaera). The shell of the coccoid cells consisted either of one (Leonella, Thoracosphaera) or two matrices (Scrippsiella and its relatives) of unknown element composition, whereas calcite is deposited in the only or the outer layer, respectively. We observed crystal-like particles in cytoplasmic vacuoles in cells of nine of the strains investigated and assume that they are widespread among calcareous dinophytes. However, similar structures are also found outside the Thoracosphaeraceae, and we postulate an evolutionarily old physiological pathway (possibly involved in detoxification) that later was specialized for calcification. We aim to contribute to a deeper knowledge of the biomineralization process in calcareous dinophytes.
Activation of mTOR Ameliorates Fragile X Premutation rCGG Repeat-Mediated Neurodegeneration

Fragile X associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) is a late onset neurodegenerative disorder caused by aberrant expansion of CGG repeats in 5′ UTR of FMR1 gene. The elevated mRNA confers a toxic gain-of-function thought to be the critical event of pathogenesis. Expressing rCGG90 repeats of the human FMR1 5′UTR in Drosophila is sufficient to induce neurodegeneration. Rapamycin has been demonstrated to attenuate neurotoxicity by inducing autophagy in various animal models of neurodegenerative diseases. Surprisingly, we observed rapamycin exacerbated rCGG90-induced neurodegenerative phenotypes through an autophagy-independent mechanism. CGG90 expression levels of FXTAS flies exposed to rapamycin presented no significant differences. We further demonstrated that activation of the mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) signaling could suppress neurodegeneration of FXTAS. These findings indicate that rapamycin will exacerbate neurodegeneration, and that enhancing autophagy is insufficient to alleviate neurotoxicity in FXTAS. Moreover, these results suggest mTOR and its downstream molecules as new therapeutic targets for FXTAS by showing significant protection against neurodegeneration.
How Do People Interact in Conversational Speech-Only Search Tasks: A Preliminary Analysis

We present preliminary findings from a study of mixed initiative conversational behaviour for informational search in an acoustic setting. The aim of the observational study is to reveal insights into how users would conduct searches over voice where a screen is absent but where users are able to converse interactively with the search system. We conducted alaboratory-based observational study of 13 pairs of participants each completing three search tasks with different cognitive complexity levels. The communication between the pairs was analyzed for interaction patterns used in the search process. This setup mimics the situation of a user interacting with a search system via a speech-only interface.
Monitoring Memory-Related Software Aging: An Exploratory Study

The accumulating effects of software aging have direct influence to the rate of aging-related failures. So far, the most investigated software aging effects are memory related, such as memory leak and memory fragmentation problems. In this work, we present a practical body of knowledge to support the solid understanding of the most important issues in monitoring memory-related software aging effects, focusing on memory leak problems. We discuss important drawbacks of using well known system-wide and application-specific aging indicators, as well as propose effective solutions for both cases.
Astronomy and Astrophysics the Effect of Distant Large Scale Structure on Weak Lensing Mass Estimates

Your thesaurus codes are: missing; you have not inserted themAbstract. We quantify the uncertainty in weak lensing mass estimates of clusters of galaxies, caused by distant (uncorrelated) large scale structure along the line of sight. We find that the effect is fairly small for deep observations (20 < R < 26) of massive clusters (σ = 1000 km/s) at intermediate redshifts, where the bulk of the sources are at high redshifts compared to the cluster redshift. If the lensing signal is measured out to 1.5 h −1 50 Mpc the typical 1σ relative uncertainty in the mass is about 6%. However , in other situations the induced uncertainty can be larger. For instance, in the case of nearby clusters, such as the Coma cluster, background structures introduce a considerable uncertainty in the mass, limiting the maximum achievable signal-to-noise ratio to ∼ 7, even for deep observations. The noise in the cluster mass estimate caused by the large scale structure increases with increasing aperture size, which will also complicate attempts to constrain cluster mass profiles at large distances from the cluster centre. However, the distant large scale structure studied here can be considered an additional (statistical) source of error, and by averaging the results of several clusters the noise is decreased.
AN ENERGY EFFICIENT FITNESS BASED ROUTING PROTOCOL IN WIRELESS SENSOR NETWORKS

A wireless sensor network is a self-organized multi hop network that consists of a large number of sensor nodes. The efficiency of the sensor networks depends upon the routing protocol used. There are different routing protocols exists to extend the network lifetime by efficiently consuming the energy of the nodes. The nodes have limited energy resources and are battery powered. Therefore, designing an effective routing protocol that conserve scarce energy resources is the major critical issue in WSN. In this paper, a Fitness based Routing Protocol (FRP) is proposed to optimize energy efficient data transmission. The energy consumption of nodes is reduced by selecting the nodes with minimum hop count and distance. Genetic algorithm is used as an optimization technique to find the fitted node based on its fitness value. The FRP could increase the network lifetime and throughput comparing to the other protocols. The protocol could also reduce the packet loss and end – end delay.