Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
VOISE: Learning to Segregate Voices in Explicit and Implicit Polyphony

Finding multiple occurrences of themes and patterns in music can be hampered due to polyphonic textures. This is caused by the complexity of music that weaves multiple independent lines of music together. We present and demonstrate a system, VoiSe, that is capable of isolating individual voices in both explicit and implicit polyphonic music. VoiSe is designed to work on a symbolic representation of a music score, and consists of two components: a same-voice predicate implemented as a learned decision tree, and a hard-coded voice numbering algorithm.
Molecular Cloning, Expression, and Characterization of a Ca2+-Dependent, Membrane-Associated Nuclease of Mycoplasma genitalium

ABSTRACT In this study, we identified and characterized the enzymatic properties of MG_186, a calcium-dependent Mycoplasma genitalium nuclease. MG_186 displays the hallmarks of nucleases, as indicated by its amino acid sequence similarity to other nucleases. We cloned, UGA corrected, expressed, purified, and demonstrated that recombinant MG_186 (rMG_186) exhibits nuclease activity similar to that of typical sugar-nonspecific endonucleases and exonucleases. Biochemical characterization indicated that Ca2+ alone enhances its activity, which was inhibited by divalent cations, such as Zn2+ and Mn2+. Chelating agents EGTA and EDTA also inhibited nuclease activity. Mycoplasma membrane fractionation and Triton X-114 phase separation showed that MG_186 was a membrane-associated lipoprotein, and electron microscopy revealed its surface membrane location. Incubation of purified human endometrial cell nuclei with rMG_186 resulted in DNA degradation and morphological changes typical of apoptosis. Further, immunofluorescence analysis of rMG_186-treated nuclei indicated that morphological changes were linked to the disintegration of lamin and the internalization of rMG_186. Since M. genitalium has the capacity to invade eukaryotic cells and localize to the perinuclear and nuclear region of parasitized target cells, MG_186 has the potential to provide M. genitalium, which possesses the smallest genome of any self-replicating cell, with the ability to degrade host nucleic acids both as a source of nucleotide precursors for growth and for pathogenic purposes.
A market based distributed cooperation mechanism in a multi-robot transportation problem

An artificial capital market is employed to solve a multi-robot transportation problem. In this artificial market, each robot is considered as an investor agent where contributing in carrying the object is considered as asset. It should be decided which agents are going to do investment. A negotiation protocol is proposed to support the society to make decision by a distributed approach. The agents are self-interested trying to increase their own profit but acting in the framework of the negotiation protocol yields a decision that is the best for whole society. The best decision for the society corresponds to minimum fuel consumption. Simulation results showed that the convergence of the algorithm is very fast, the results are not dependent on starting point and the solution is close to optimal solution.
Pylon Model for Semantic Segmentation

Graph cut optimization is one of the standard workhorses of image segmentation since for binary random field representations of the image, it gives globally optimal results and there are efficient polynomial time implementations. Often, the random field is applied over a flat partitioning of the image into non-intersecting elements, such as pixels or super-pixels. In the paper we show that if, instead of a flat partitioning, the image is represented by a hierarchical segmentation tree, then the resulting energy combining unary and boundary terms can still be optimized using graph cut (with all the corresponding benefits of global optimality and efficiency). As a result of such inference, the image gets partitioned into a set of segments that may come from different layers of the tree. We apply this formulation, which we call the pylon model, to the task of semantic segmentation where the goal is to separate an image into areas belonging to different semantic classes. The experiments highlight the advantage of inference on a segmentation tree (over a flat partitioning) and demonstrate that the optimization in the pylon model is able to flexibly choose the level of segmentation across the image. Overall, the proposed system has superior segmentation accuracy on several datasets (Graz-02, Stanford background) compared to previously suggested approaches.
Weaving data, slicing views: a design approach to creating visual access for digital archival collections

Digital archives metadata suggest a rich and complex system of relationships between the different properties of archived items, which is often not properly represented. Lomen is a research project aimed at exploiting the richness of digital archives, stitching up the relationships between entities and providing visual access to the system. This paper presents the design process used to create such visual access for architect Baldessari's historical archives. The research results in a digital platform that allows users to explore contents in a non-linear way, identifying patterns and fostering insight. The platform also aims at weaving together several levels of information through direct linking to archive entities such as projects, artifacts or individuals involved. Curators are also given the ability to elaborate theme-based paths, providing varied and unique entry points to the underlying data to users.
Audio-haptic physically-based simulation of walking on different grounds

We describe a system which simulates in realtime the auditory and haptic sensations of walking on different surfaces. The system is based on a pair of sandals enhanced with pressure sensors and actuators. The pressure sensors detect the interaction force during walking, and control several physically based synthesis algorithms, which drive both the auditory and haptic feedback. The different hardware and software components of the system are described, together with possible uses and possibilities for improvements in future design iterations.
Sugar Preferences and Xylose Metabolism of a Mammal Pollinator, the Namaqua Rock Mouse (Aethomys namaquensis)

The sugar preferences of 10 Namaqua rock mice, Aethomys namaquensis, were assessed using pairwise combinations of 30% (w/w) solutions of sucrose, glucose, fructose, xylose, and a mixture of equal parts of glucose and fructose. The tests were designed to control for side biases that were apparent in preliminary experiments. The mice preferred sucrose to fructose and glucose. Xylose, although the least preferred sugar, was willingly consumed by the rodents (up to 5.8 mL in 24 h). This contrasts with the strong rejection of xylose by nectarivorous birds on which similar preference tests were performed. The efficiency of xylose absorption and metabolism by A. namaquensis was investigated by measuring dietary intake, blood xylose levels, and urinary and fecal xylose output. Again in contrast to the birds, the apparent absorption efficiency of xylose was found to be very high at 97%, but exactly how the xylose is metabolized requires further study. Xylose is thought to be only slowly metabolized by mammals, and it is possible that intestinal bacteria may serve this purpose, like the ruminal bacteria that break down xylans in plant tissue.
NoiSense: Detecting Data Integrity Attacks on Sensor Measurements using Hardware based Fingerprints

In recent years fingerprinting of various physical and logical devices has been proposed with the goal of uniquely identifying users or devices of mainstream IT systems such as PCs, Laptops and smart phones. On the other hand, the application of such techniques in Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) is less explored due to various reasons, such as difficulty of direct access to critical systems and the cost involved in faithfully reproducing realistic scenarios. In this work we evaluate the feasibility of using fingerprinting techniques in the context of realistic Industrial Control Systems related to water treatment and distribution. Based on experiments conducted with 44 sensors of six different types, it is shown that noise patterns due to microscopic imperfections in hardware manufacturing can be used to uniquely identify sensors in a CPS with up to 97% accuracy. The proposed technique can be used in to detect physical attacks, such as the replacement of legitimate sensors by faulty or manipulated sensors. We also show that, unexpectedly, sensor fingerprinting can effectively detect advanced physical attacks such as analog sensor spoofing due to variations in received energy at the transducer of an active sensor. Also, it can be leveraged to construct a novel challenge-response protocol that exposes cyber-attacks.
Hippodrome: Running Circles Around Storage Administration

Storage system configuration, even at the enterprise scale, is traditionally undertaken by human experts using a time-consuming process of trial and error, guided by simple rules of thumb. Due to the complexity of the design process and lack of workload information, the resulting systems often cost significantly more than necessary, or fail to perform adequately. Our solution to this problem is to automate the design and configuration process using a tool we call Hippodrome. It can explore the design space more thoroughly than humans, and implement the design automatically, thereby eliminating many tedious, error-prone operations. Hippodrome is structured as an iterative loop: it analyzes a workload to determine its requirements, creates a new storage system design to better meet these requirements, migrates the existing system to the new design. It repeats the loop until it finds a storage system design that satisfies the workload's I/O requirements. This paper describes the Hippodrome loop and demonstrates that our prototype implementation converges rapidly to appropriate system designs.
On the General Applicability of Instruction-Set Randomization

We describe Instruction-Set Randomization (ISR), a general approach for safeguarding systems against any type of code-injection attack. We apply Kerckhoffs' principle to create OS process-specific randomized instruction sets (e.g., machine instructions) of the system executing potentially vulnerable software. An attacker who does not know the key to the randomization algorithm will inject code that is invalid for that (randomized) environment, causing a runtime exception. Our approach is applicable to machine-language programs and scripting and interpreted languages. We discuss three approaches (protection for Intel x86 executables, Perl scripts, and SQL queries), one from each of the above categories. Our goal is to demonstrate the generality and applicability of ISR as a protection mechanism. Our emulator-based prototype demonstrates the feasibility ISR for x86 executables and should be directly usable on a suitably modified processor. We demonstrate how to mitigate the significant performance impact of emulation-based ISR by using several heuristics to limit the scope of randomized (and interpreted) execution to sections of code that may be more susceptible to exploitation. The SQL prototype consists of an SQL query-randomizing proxy that protects against SQL injection attacks with no changes to database servers, minor changes to CGI scripts, and with negligible performance overhead. Similarly, the performance penalty of a randomized Perl interpreter is minimal. Where the performance impact of our proposed approach is acceptable (i.e., in an already-emulated environment, in the presence of programmable or specialized hardware, or in interpreted languages), it can serve as a broad protection mechanism and complement other security mechanisms.
Revised Morning Loops of the Arabidopsis Circadian Clock Based on Analyses of Direct Regulatory Interactions

The network structure of the plant circadian clock is complex and direct regulatory interactions between individual components have proven particularly difficult to predict from genetic analyses. Here, we systematically investigate in vivo binding interactions between the morning-specific transcription factor, LATE ELONGATED HYPOCOTYL (LHY) and the promoters of other components of the network. We then demonstrate the functionality of these interactions by testing the responsiveness of the target gene to an ethanol-induced change in expression level of the LHY protein. We uncover novel, negative autoregulatory feedback loops from LHY and the closely related CIRCADIAN CLOCK ASSOCIATED-1 (CCA1) onto their own and each other’s expression. Furthermore we show that LHY acts as a repressor of all other clock components, including PSEUDO-RESPONSE REGULATORs (PRRs) 9 and 7, which were previously thought to be positive regulatory targets. These experimental results lead to a substantial revision of the morning loops of the clock.
A greener MAC layer protocol for smart home wireless sensor networks

The wireless sensor network (WSN) is an important element on many advanced, energy efficient data acquisition (DAQ), and control systems. Sleep/wake-up scheduling and network overhead are some of the major burdens to achieve energy efficient WSNs. In this paper, an energy efficient communication algorithm is proposed for smart home sensor networks. The proposed approach targets the wasted energy during the idle listening, collision, and overhearing processes. A three-tier Medium Access Control (MAC) protocol has been developed to minimize the total energy consumption of the network. The new protocol reduces the total energy requirement by each node, facilitates confirmed communication for steady traffic, and gives adaptive control during varying traffic load. Overall, the proposed MAC protocol shows better performance than conventional WSN protocols.
New Randomized Data Structure Lower Bounds for Dynamic Graph Connectivity

The problem of dynamic connectivity in graphs has been extensively studied in the cell probe model. The task is to design a data structure that supports addition of edges and checks connectivity between arbitrary pair of vertices. Let w, tq, tu denote the cell width, expected query time and worst case update time of a data structure for connectivity on graphs of size n. We prove the following, • For every δ > 0 and any data structure for connectivity with error at most 1 4nδ , if tu = o ( logn log logn ) , then tq ≥ Ω ( δn1−3δ ) . Patrascu and Thorrup in [PT11] show the same for data structures with zero errors. In addition, we simplify the proof of dynamic connectivity lower bound established in the landmark paper of Fredman and Saks[FS89]. The result states that for any data structure for connectivity with constant error bounds, tq ≥ Ω ( logn log(w+logn)tu ) . ∗Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, sivanr@cs.washington. edu. Supported by the National Science Foundation under agreement CCF-1420268 and CCF-1016509 †Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, anuprao@cs.washington. edu. Supported by the National Science Foundation under agreement CCF-1420268.
Baseline Serum 25-Hydroxy Vitamin D Is Predictive of Future Glycemic Status and Insulin Resistance

OBJECTIVE—Accumulating epidemiological evidence suggests that hypovitaminosis D may be associated with type 2 diabetes and related metabolic risks. However, prospective data using the biomarker serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] are limited and therefore examined in the present study. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS—A total of 524 randomly selected nondiabetic men and women, aged 40–69 years at baseline, with measurements for serum 25(OH)D and IGF-1 in the population-based Ely Study, had glycemic status (oral glucose tolerance), lipids, insulin, anthropometry, and blood pressure measured and metabolic syndrome risk (metabolic syndrome z score) derived at baseline and at 10 years of follow-up. RESULTS—Age-adjusted baseline mean serum 25(OH)D was greater in men (64.5 nmol/l [95% CI 61.2–67.9]) than women (57.2 nmol/l [54.4,60.0]) and varied with season (highest late summer). Baseline 25(OH)D was associated inversely with 10-year risk of hyperglycemia (fasting glucose: β = −0.0023, P = 0.019; 2-h glucose: β = −0.0097, P = 0.006), insulin resistance (fasting insulin β = −0.1467, P = 0.010; homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance [HOMA-IR]: β = −0.0059, P = 0.005), and metabolic syndrome z score (β = −0.0016, P = 0.048) after adjustment for age, sex, smoking, BMI, season, and baseline value of each metabolic outcome variable. Associations with 2-h glucose, insulin, and HOMA-IR remained significant after further adjustment for IGF-1, parathyroid hormone, calcium, physical activity, and social class. CONCLUSIONS—This prospective study reports inverse associations between baseline serum 25(OH)D and future glycemia and insulin resistance. These associations are potentially important in understanding the etiology of abnormal glucose metabolism and warrant investigation in larger, specifically designed prospective studies and randomized controlled trials of supplementation.
The vocal control pathways in budgerigars differ from those in songbirds

Previous studies concluded that parrots and oscine songbirds, two taxa that have independently evolved the ability to learn vocalizations, possess similar neural circuits for vocal control. These investigations suggested, however, that the vocal control systems of parrots and songbirds may also differ in several respects. Most importantly, auditory inputs to the vocal control system derive from Field L in songbirds, but this area does not appear to project to the vocal control system in parrots. The principal aims in the present study were, therefore, to determine (1) exactly how similar the vocal control system in budgerigars is to that in songbirds and (2) whether the vocal control system in budgerigars receives auditory inputes from areas other than Field L.
Health and safety management in developing countries: a study of construction SMEs in Ghana

The construction industry plays a significant role in the economy of developing countries. The sector is, however, also one of the most hazardous with frequent accidents and health‐related problems. The health and safety practices of construction small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) in Ghana are examined with a view to improving the health and safety performance of the sector. A survey questionnaire was administered to owner/managers of SMEs, with a response rate of 32% of the sampling frame. Few of the SMEs adopted proactive health and safety practices. However, health and safety practices identified as being particularly associated with firm characteristics were: accident investigation procedures; accident reporting procedures; use of health and safety posters; documentation of method statements; and health and safety inductions. The diversity of health and safety practices associated with different size categories of SMEs and constraints to improving health and safety are highlighted. A positive change is needed in the attitudes of owner/managers which takes into account size‐related constraints in order to improve the health and safety performance of Ghanaian SMEs.
Right Ventricular Failure in Idiopathic Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension Is Associated With Inefficient Myocardial Oxygen Utilization

Background— In idiopathic pulmonary arterial hypertension (IPAH), increased right ventricular (RV) power is required to maintain cardiac output. For this, RV O2 consumption (MVO2) must increase by augmentation of O2 supply and/or improvement of mechanical efficiency–ratio of power output to MVO2. In IPAH with overt RV failure, however, there is evidence that O2 supply (perfusion) reserve is reduced, leaving only increase in either O2 extraction or mechanical efficiency as compensatory mechanisms. We related RV mechanical efficiency to clinical and hemodynamic parameters of RV function in patients with IPAH and associated it with glucose metabolism. Methods and Results— The patients included were in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class II (n=8) and class III (n=8). They underwent right heart catheterization, MRI, and H2 15O-, 15O2-, C15O-, and 18FDG-PET. RV power and O2 supply were similar in both groups (NYHA class II versus class III: 0.54±0.14 versus 0.47±0.12 J/s and 0.109±0.022 versus 0.128±0.026 mL O2/min per gram, respectively). RV O2 extraction was near-significantly lower in NYHA class II compared with NYHA class III (63±17% versus 75±16%, respectively, P=0.10). As a result, MVO2 was significantly lower (0.066±0.012 versus 0.092±0.010 mL O2/min per gram, respectively, P=0.006). RV efficiency was reduced in NYHA class III (13.9±3.8%) compared with NYHA class II (27.8±7.6%, P=0.001). Septal bowing, measured by MRI, correlated with RV efficiency (r=−0.59, P=0.020). No relation was found between RV efficiency and glucose uptake rate. RV mechanical efficiency and ejection fraction were closely related (r=0.81, P<0.001). Conclusions— RV failure in IPAH was associated with reduced mechanical efficiency that was partially explained by RV mechanical dysfunction but not by a metabolic shift.
Nano-spin Wave Laser: The Next Generation

Copyright: © 2015 Yupapin PP, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Spin-based electric devices such as giant magneto-resistive (GMR) spin valve and magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) are also the possible candidate device for highly sensitive magnetic field detection [1-5]. These devices provide significant progress with the developments of spintronics and much better performance compared to other fieldsensing devices such as semiconductor Hall sensor and flux-gate sensor. In addition, magnetic storage, magnetic memory and other functional devices such as semiconductor spin transistor devices and spin quantum bits can be realized by spin-based electric devices. Moreover, recently, the microwave devices based on the dynamical spin motion in sub nano second range have also been demonstrated with highly flexible tenability. Since a few GHz operations are the physical upper limit of the devices based on the surface acoustic wave which is commonly utilized as the present microwave device, a microwave device based on the spin precession with higher operation frequency is a timely demonstration. Thus, a wide range of applications with various attractive features are expected by utilizing electron spin in the electrical and microwave devices. On the other hand, in each area, the conventional and commercial devices are still improving their device performances. Therefore, the significant developments of the spin devices such as material innovation and novel architecture proposal are essential for overcoming the competition and the wide distribution in the world. In this view point, we believe that the development of the spin device with original functions which are unable to realize in the conventional devices is a key for the breakthrough of the spin devices. To realize this, we are focusing on the spin wave in a panda-shaped nano-ring structure.