Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
The Networked Environment for Music Analysis (NEMA)

Conducting valid comparative evaluations of techniques in the field of Music Information Retrieval (MIR)presents particular challenges to MIR researchers due to issues of copyright and data sharing. Further, the interdisciplinary nature of MIR research and multi-faceted nature of human music perception make the sharing and reuse of techniques and implementations for particular facets of music perception and music information retrieval tasks highly desirable. In addition the field makes use of a diverse range of file formats, software environments and toolkits for extracting, encoding and accessing MIR data and services, making reuse extremely challenging. The NEMA project aims to provide the MIR field with a high quality, secure and extensible workflow environment to facilitate: computation over remote audio and resource collections; optimal code reuse, interoperability between data formats and types, sharing and dissemination; standardised, high-quality evaluation procedures; and the encoding of metadata, data and results in a format suitable for distributed systems.
Visual information processing during conscious and non-conscious face perception

Visual perception can be influenced by top-down processes related to the observer’s goals and expectations, as well as by bottom-up processes related to low-level stimulus attributes, such as luminance, contrast, and spatial frequency. When using different physical stimuli across psychological conditions, one faces the problem of disentangling the contributions of lowand high-level factors. Here, we make available the SHINE (Spectrum, Histogram, and Intensity Normalization and Equalization) toolbox for MATLAB, which we have found useful for controlling a number of image properties separately or simultaneously. The toolbox features functions for specifying the (rotational average of the) Fourier amplitude spectra, for normalizing and scaling mean luminance and contrast, and for exact histogram specification optimized for perceptual visual quality. SHINE can thus be employed for parametrically modifying a number of image properties or for equating them across stimuli to minimize potential low-level confounds in studies on higher-level processes.
MIMO radar joint estimation of target location and velocity with multiple subcarrier signals

This paper analyzes the effect of waveform parameters on the joint target location and velocity estimation by non-coherent multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) radar transmitting multiple subcarriers signals without energy constraint. How the number of subcarriers influence the estimation accuracy is illustrated by considering the joint Cramer-Rao bound (CRB) and the mean square error (MSE) of the maximum likelihood (ML) estimate. The non-coherent MIMO radar ambiguity function (AF) with multiple subcarriers is developed and investigated by changing the number of subcarriers, the pulse width and the frequency spacing between adjacent subcarriers. The numerical results show that more subcarriers means more accurate estimate and higher localization resolution, larger pulse width results in worse performance of target location estimation, while the frequency spacing affects target location estimation little.
Reliability/redundancy trade-off evaluation for multiplexed architectures used to implement quantum dot based computing

With the advent of nanocomputing, researchers have proposed Quantum Dot Cellular Automata (QCA) as one of the implementation technologies. The majority gate is one of the fundamental gates implementable with QCAs. Moreover, majority gates play an important role in defect-tolerant circuit implementations for nanotechnologies due to their use in redundancy mechanisms such as TMR, CTMR etc. Therefore, providing reliable implementation of majority logic using some redundancy mechanism is extremely important. This problem was addressed by von Neumann in 1956, in the form of 'majority multiplexing' and since then several analytical probabilistic models have been proposed to analyze majority multiplexing circuits. However, such analytical approaches are extremely challenging combinatorially and error prone. Also the previous analyses did not distinguish between permanent faults at the gates and transient faults due to noisy interconnects or noise effects on gates. In this paper, we provide explicit fault models for transient and permanent errors at the gates and noise effects at the interconnects. We model majority multiplexing in a probabilistic system description language, and use probabilistic model checking to analyze the effects of our fault models on the different reliability/redundancy trade-offs for majority multiplexing configurations. We also draw parallels with another fundamental logic gate multiplexing more » technique, namely NAND multiplexing. Tools and methodologies for analyzing redundant architectures that use majority gates will help logic designers to quickly evaluate the amount of redundancy needed to achieve a given level of reliability. VLSI designs at the nanoscale will utilize implementation fabrics prone to faults of permanent and transient nature, and the interconnects will be extensively affected by noise, hence the need for tools that can capture probabilistically quantified fault models and provide quick evaluation of the trade-offs. A comparative study of NAND multiplexing vs. majority multiplexing is also needed in case the designers are confronted with the choice to implement redundancy in either way. This paper provides models, methodologies and tools for these much needed analyses. « less
The Hidden Curriculum of Cultural Content in Internationally Published ELT Textbooks: A Closer Look at New American Inside Out

This study aims to examine the cultural content and its hidden curriculum of one popular internationally published ELT textbook: New American Inside Out (elementary level/2008). The method of content analysis, based on the two coding schemes: The Five Dimensions of Culture and the Categories of Culture , was adopted to codify the content. The results show that this textbook has promoted different dimensions of culture with a focus on the introduction of western products, persons and perspectives. Quite a lot of content related to linguistic practices is found not specific to any culture or country; however, the bias in favor of Target Culture (English-speaking countries) is obvious throughout the textbook in terms of the reading texts and listening scripts. Less interest has been put on the presentation of local and Asian cultures. As for the arrangement of intercultural issues, most of them are put in speaking activities but center on personal sharing of experiences instead of carrying out intercultural reflection and awareness. Drawn upon the findings , the hidden curriculum delivered through the textbook is discussed, and then relevant suggestions are provided with the expectation of developing suitable ELT textbooks to meet the real needs of EFL/EIL learners in the global village.
Temperature thresholds of physically dormant seeds and plant functional response to fire: variation among species and relative impact of climate change

Variation in dormancy thresholds among species is rarely studied but may provide a basis to better understand the mechanisms controlling population persistence. Incorporating dormancy-breaking temperature thresholds into existing trait frameworks could improve predictions regarding seed bank persistence, and subsequently species resilience in response to fire, climate change and anthropogenic management. A key ecological strategy for many species from fire-prone ecosystems is the possession of a long-lived seed bank, ensuring recovery after fire. Physical dormancy is dominant in these ecosystems and maintaining this dormancy is directly linked to seed bank persistence. We identified a suite of seed-related factors relevant to maintaining populations in fire-prone regions for 14 co-occurring physically dormant species. We measured variation in initial levels of dormancy and then applied experimental heating treatments, based on current seasonal temperatures and those occurring during fires, to seeds of all study species. Additionally, higher seasonal temperature treatments were applied to assess response of seeds to temperatures projected under future climate scenarios. Levels of germination response and mortality were determined to assess how tightly germination response was bound to either fire or seasonal cues. Six species were found to have dormancy cues bound to temperatures that only occur during fires (80°C and above) and were grouped as having obligate pyrogenic dormancy release. The remaining species, classified as having facultative pyrogenic dormancy, had lower temperature dormancy thresholds and committed at least 30% of seeds to germinate after summer-temperature treatments. Evidence from this study supports including dormancy-breaking temperature thresholds as an attribute for identifying functional types. High temperature thresholds for breaking dormancy, found in our obligate pyrogenic group, appear to be a fire-adapted trait, while we predict that species in the facultative group are most at risk to increased seed bank decay resulting from elevated soil temperatures under projected climate change.
Application of Reactive Multiagent System to Linear Vehicle Platoon

Vehicular platoon are a promising approach to new transportation systems, with innovative capabilities, such as vehicle sharing and adaptability to demand. This paper presents a multiagent solution to the platoon control problem with a linear configuration. In our case, a platoon is a vehicle train composed of a head vehicle and a variable number of followers. The head vehicle is human-driven or autonomous, whereas each follower vehicle controls its movement by interacting only with the preceding one. To this end, the platoon control system was designed as a reactive multiagent system where each follower vehicle is an agent. Each agent's behavior is specified by a physics inspired model, which allows to compute vehicle's speed and direction from a single perception: the distance to the preeding vehicle. Platoon stability emerges as a global result of individual interactions. Furthermore, adaptability to different kinds of vehicles is obtained by adjusting the model's physical parameters. Another important aspect is related to platoon's evolution, mainly by vehicle merging and splitting. To assert the transition from abstract to concrete, both simulations and experimentations have been implemented.
Discussion on application of the Weibull distribution to electrical breakdown of insulating materials

The Weibull distribution is commonly used for statistical processing of breakdown data of electrical insulation. The statistical theory of breakdown that has been proposed since the 1970s has introduced a two-variables Weibull distribution in order to take into account both the stress applied and the failure times. In this paper this distribution is thoroughly discussed and then rejected. Indeed, the random variable is only one; the other is an independent variable that becomes random only through the first, with the same shape parameter. The case of breakdown after electrical or multiple-stress aging (electric strength test on aged specimens) is also examined and the probability distribution function is written even in the general case, where the probability is a function of several variables. Only one of the latter, i.e. the electric strength ES, is the random variable while the others, such as the applied stresses and the time at which the ES measurement is performed, are independent
A Fast Method for Approximating Invariant Manifolds

The task of constructing higher-dimensional invariant manifolds for dynamical systems can be computationally expensive. We demonstrate that this problem can be locally reduced to solving a system of quasi-linear PDEs, which can be efficiently solved in an Eulerian framework. We construct a fast numerical method for solving the resulting system of discretized nonlinear equations. The efficiency stems from decoupling the system and ordering the computations to take advantage of the direction of information flow. We illustrate our approach by constructing two-dimensional invariant manifolds of hyperbolic equilibria in $\R^3$ and $\R^4$.
Selective Self-Categorization: Meaningful Categorization and the In-Group Persuasion Effect

ABSTRACT Research stemming from self-categorization theory (Turner et al., 1987) has demonstrated that individuals are typically more persuaded by messages from their in‐group than by messages from the out-group. The present research investigated the role of issue relevance in moderating these effects. In particular, it was predicted that in-groups would only be more persuasive when the dimension on which group membership was defined was meaningful or relevant to the attitude issue. In two studies, participants were presented with persuasive arguments from either an in-group source or an out-group source, where the basis of the in-group/out-group distinction was either relevant or irrelevant to the attitude issue. Participants' attitudes toward the issue were then measured. The results supported the predictions: Participants were more persuaded by in-group sources than out-group sources when the basis for defining the group was relevant to the attitude issue. However, when the defining characteristic of the group was irrelevant to the attitude issue, participants were equally persuaded by in-group and out-group sources. These results support the hypothesis that the fit between group membership and domain is an important moderator of self-categorization effects.
Identification of the btuCED polypeptides and evidence for their role in vitamin B12 transport in Escherichia coli

Passage of vitamin B12 across the outer and cytoplasmic membranes of Escherichia coli occurs in two steps, each involving independent transport systems. Since the vitamin accumulated in btuC or btuD mutants is readily released from the cell by chase or osmotic shock and does not undergo the usual metabolic conversions, the products of these genes might participate in transport across the cytoplasmic membrane. Mutations in btuC and btuD are complemented by recombinant plasmids carrying a 3,410-base-pair HindIII-HincII DNA fragment. Transposon Tn1000 mutagenesis and subcloning defined the location of these two genes and showed that they are separated by approximately 800 base pairs. The polypeptides elicited by this fragment and its derivatives were identified by using a maxicell system. The apparent molecular weight of the btuC product was approximately 26,000, that of the btuD product was 29,000. Both polypeptides were associated with the cell membrane. Transposon insertions in the region between btuC and btuD, as well as those in the two genes, conferred a deficiency in vitamin B12 utilization and transport when they were crossed onto the chromosome. This region, termed btuE, encoded a 22,000-Mr polypeptide and lesser amounts of a 20,000-Mr species. A portion of the BtuE protein was released from maxicells by osmotic shock or spheroplast formation. The relative production of BtuE and BtuD in response to plasmids carrying transposon insertions suggested that the three genes are arranged in an operon in the order btuC-btuE-btuD and that internal promoters exist since polarity was incomplete. Substantial elevation of transport activity was engendered by plasmids carrying the intact btu region, but not when any of the btu genes was disrupted. The btuCED region thus may encode a transport system for passage of vitamin B12 across the cytoplasmic membrane. This system bears similarities to periplasmic binding protein-dependent transport systems, although the putative periplasmic component is not required for its function.
Oral squamous cell carcinoma in patients with and without predisposing habits in glossal and extra-glossal site: An institutional experience in South India.

INTRODUCTION We report our cohort of oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) patients with or without predisposing habits in glossal and extraglossal sites. MATERIALS AND METHODS A retrospective analysis of OSCC cases over a period of 13.75 years from the archives of Ragas Dental College and Hospital, Chennai, India. Demographic details, site, details of habits, and grade of OSCC were retrieved. Social Package for Social Service version 17.0 was used to analyze the data. Descriptive statistics, Chi-square test, and comparison of mean were employed appropriately. RESULTS There were 151 OSCC cases, of which 60.9% (92/151) were males, 21.2% (32/151) were aged ≤ 40 years and 27.82% (42/151) occurred in the tongue. The glossal to extraglossal site ratio was 1:2.6. Predisposing habits were present in 52.4% of glossal OSCC and 82.6% with extra-glossal sites (P = 0.000). Besides tobacco, exclusive areca nut chewing was observed in 15.23% (23/151) patients. Thirty-nine (25.8%) belonged to non-tobacco, non-areca nut, non-alcohol (NTND) group with male to female ratio was 1:3. DISCUSSION In our cohort, 112 of 151 OSCC (74.8%) had at least one predisposing habit. Chewing of areca nut alone was a predisposing habit by itself. In addition, there was a small, subset of cases that were not associated with history of any habits. This study brings to focus the subsets of OSCC predisposed by areca nut and NTND, that needs to be studied further.
Koala: a platform for OS-level power management

Managing the power consumption of computing platforms is a complicated problem thanks to a multitude of hardware configuration options and characteristics. Much of the academic research is based on unrealistic assumptions, and has, therefore, seen little practical uptake. We provide an overview of the difficulties facing power management schemes when used in real systems. We present Koala, a platform which uses a pre-characterised model at run-time to predict the performance and energy consumption of a piece of software. An arbitrary policy can then be applied in order to dynamically trade performance and energy consumption. We have implemented this system in a recent Linux kernel, and evaluated it by running a variety of benchmarks on a number of different platforms. Under some conditions, we observe energy savings of 26% for a 1% performance loss.
Lessons Learned from Ballroom Dancing with Older Adults

During the spring of 2015, wewere twoMSWstudents who collaborated on a pilot program for the benefit of older adults. We began with the usual literature review for the purpose of defining the target population, their specific needs, and evidence-based research that identified effective interventions for the elderly population. We learned that the aging of the baby boomer generation, advances in medicine, and increasing racial and ethnic diversity are factors that demand that more emphasis be placed on the development of creative, preventive approaches to improve physical, mental, and emotional health conditions for a diverse population of aging Americans. After researching a broad range of issues and interventions for older adults, we chose to utilize ballroom dance as a psychosocial intervention for older adults.
The ninth catalogue of spectroscopic binary orbits

The Ninth Catalogue of Spectroscopic Binary Orbits (http://sb9.astro.ulb.ac.be) continues the series of compilations of spectroscopic orbits carried out over the past 35 years by Batten and collaborators. As of 2004 May 1st, the new Catalogue holds orbits for 2386 systems. Some essential differences between this catalogue and its predecessors are outlined and three straightforward applications are presented: (1) completeness assessment: period distribution of SB1s and SB2s; (2) shortest periods across the H-R diagram; (3) period-eccentricity relation.
Effects of Role Familiarity on Measures Derived from a Behavioral Decision Theory Method

Using a method of measurement derived from behavioral decision theory, 73 undergraduate students projected themselves alternatively into roles of “hypothetical subordinates” and “hypothetical bosses. ” Role familiarity correlated significantly with only one of the focal within-subject measures and the sign of this correlation was opposite to the hypothesis. The results support the robustness of measures generated by this method.
KIAS-P 10040 3 D gauged supergravity from wrapped M 5-branes with AdS / CMT applications

By identifying a bosonic consistent truncation from the 14 -BPS wrapped M5brane geometry of Maldacena, Strominger and Witten in D = 11 supergravity and finding a supersymmetric extension, we recover an N = 2 D = 3 supergravity theory. Reductions of a large class of supersymmetric solutions corresponding to wrapped M2 and M5-branes lead to black strings and warpedAdS3 solutions preserving supersymmetry. With a view to AdS/CMT applications, we also construct a numerical hairy BTZ black hole and, as a preliminary step in this direction, determine the conductivity of the dual CFT. en sl -0 05 45 86 4, v er si on 1 13 D ec 2 01 0
Large contact surface interactions between proteins detected by time series analysis methods: Case study on C‐phycocyanins

A purely sequence‐dependent approach to the modeling of protein–protein interaction was applied to the study of C‐phycocyanin αβ dimers. The interacting pairs (α and β subunits) share an almost complete structural homology, together with a general lack of sequence superposition; thus, they constitute a particularly relevant example for protein–protein interaction prediction. The present analysis is based on a description posited at an intermediate level between sequence and structure, that is, the hydrophobicity patterning along the chains. Based on the description of the sequence hydrophobicity patterns through a battery of nonlinear tools (recurrence quantification analysis and other sequence complexity descriptors), we were able to generate an explicit equation modeling α and β monomers interaction; the model consisted of canonical correlation between the hydrophobicity autocorrelation structures of the interacting pairs. The general implications of this holistic approach to the modeling of protein–protein interactions, which considers the protein primary structures as a whole, are discussed. Proteins 2003;51:299–310. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.