Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Chapter 4 : Acoustic Features for Environmental Sound Analysis

The time domain representation of a sound signal, or waveform, is not easy to interpret directly. Most of the time it is nearly impossible, from a waveform, to identify or even localise sound events (unless they occurs at different dynamic range, e.g., a loud noise in a quiet environment) and to discriminate between sound scenes. Therefore, frequency-domain representations and time-frequency domain representations (including multiscale representations) have been used for years providing representations of the sound signals that are more inline with the human perception. However, these representations are usually too generic and often fail to describe specific content that is present in a sound recording. A lot of work has been devoted to design features that could allow extraction of such specific information, leading to a wide variety of hand-crafted features. One problem with these types of features is that, by design, they are specific to a task and that they usually do not generalise well. They often need to be combined with other features, leading to large feature vectors. During the past years, owing to the increasing availability of medium scale and large scale sound datasets, an alternative approach to feature extraction has
The Rise of Middle Kingdoms: Emerging Economies in Global Trade

In this paper, I examine changes in international trade associated with the integration of low- and middle-income countries into the global economy. Led by China and India, the share of developing economies in global exports more than doubled between 1994 and 2008. One feature of new trade patterns is greater South-South trade. China and India have booming demand for imported raw materials, which they use to build cities and factories. Industrialization throughout the South has deepened global production networks, contributing to greater trade in intermediate inputs. A second feature of new trade patterns is the return of comparative advantage as a driver of global commerce. Growth in low- and middle-income nations makes specialization according to comparative advantage more important for the global composition of trade, as North-South and South-South commerce overtakes North-North flows. China's export specialization evolves rapidly over time, revealing a capacity to speed up product ladders. Most developing countries hyper-specialize in handful of export products. The emergence of low- and middle-income countries in trade reveals significant gaps in knowledge about the deep empirical determinants of export specialization, the dynamics of specialization patterns, and why South-South and North-North trade differ.
Seasonal variation of the phytoplankton community structure in the São

The limnological characteristics and the phytoplankton community of the pelagic region of the São João River, tributary of the Iguaçu River, Iguaçu National Park were analyzed from August 2008 to July 2009. 221 taxa were identified and the Bacillariophyceae class was the most representative. Bacillariophyceae and Chrysophyceae were the dominant classes in density and Bacillariophyceae in biovolume. According to the DCA carried out for phytoplankton density and biovolume, significant differences were identified between the periods, and between the sites and study periods, respectively. The highest richness of species reached 40 taxa in September 2008 at station 1. The Shannon-Wiener diversity indexes and evenness, calculated from the density of phytoplankton, were temporally heterogeneous and spatially similar. In general, the significant temporal variations in the composition of the phytoplankton community were due to variations in limnological conditions, mainly temperature, transparency and nutrients. Spatially the structure was more similar due to the proximity among the stations. Moreover, the similarity of the distribution of communities in lotic environments were due to the unidirectional flow.
Effect of Field Strengths on Magnetic Resonance Angiography: Comparison of an Ultrasmall Superparamagnetic Iron Oxide Blood-Pool Contrast Agent and Gadopentetate Dimeglumine in Rabbits at 1.5 and 3.0 Tesla

Objectives:We sought to compare the intravascular enhancement of an ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (USPIO) blood-pool contrast agent to gadopentetate dimeglumine for contrast-enhanced magnetic resonance angiography (CE-MRA) at field strengths of 1.5 and 3.0 T in rabbits. Materials and Methods:CE-MRA at 1.5 and 3.0 T was performed at several time points (50 seconds and 5, 10, 20, and 30 minutes) after the manual intravenous injection of 40 &mgr;mol Fe/kg body weight of an USPIO (SH U 555 C; Schering AG, Berlin, Germany) and 100 &mgr;mol/kg body weight gadopentetate dimeglumine (Magnevist; Schering AG, Berlin, Germany). MRA was performed with comparable acquisition parameters at both field strengths (Turbo-gradient sequence; 1.5 T: TR/TE/α: 5.5/1.7 milliseconds/40°; 3.0 T: TR/TE/α: 5.1/1.8 milliseconds/40°) on clinical imaging systems (both: Gyroscan Intera, Philips Medical Systems, Best, The Netherlands). At either field strength, 6 rabbits were studied with both contrast agents (n = 24 in total). Signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) were calculated from signal intensity measurements in the abdominal aorta. Results:Compared with 1.5 T, the SNR and CNR of gadopentetate dimeglumine significantly increased at 3.0 T by a factor of 2.2 and 2.3, respectively (P ≤ 0.01), measured 50 seconds after intravenous injection. SNR and CNR of SH U 555 C, measured 50 seconds after intravenous injection, did not change significantly with increasing field strength (P ≥ 0.05). At both field strength and either time point, CNR and SNR of SH U 555 C were significantly higher compared with gadopentetate dimeglumine at 3.0 T (P ≤ 0.01). Conclusions:SNR and CNR of gadopentetate dimeglumine significantly increased with increasing field strength. No SNR or CNR gain was observed for SH U 555 C. However, blood-pool MRA with SH U 555 C is feasible at 3.0 T. Compared with gadopentetate dimeglumine, SNR and CNR of SH U 555 C were significantly higher from 5 to 30 minutes at both field strengths (P ≤ 0.01).
Online State-of-Health Estimation of VRLA Batteries Using State of Charge

This paper presents an online method for the estimation of the state of health (SOH) of valve-regulated lead acid (VRLA) batteries. The proposed method is based on the state of charge (SOC) of the battery. The SOC is estimated using the extended Kalman filter and a neural-network model of the battery. Then, the SOH is estimated online based on the relationship between the SOC and the battery open-circuit voltage using fuzzy logic and the recursive least squares method. To obtain the open-circuit voltage while the battery is operating, the reflective charging process is employed. Experimental results show good estimation of the SOH of VRLA batteries.
Alimentary tract andpancreas Prognosis inCrohn's disease -based onresults froma regional patient group fromthecounty ofCopenhagen

SUMMARY All patients in the county of Copenhagen (approximately 500 000 inhabitants) with Crohn's disease, n= 185 were followed regularly between 1960 and 1978. The survival, the course of disease, the frequency of surgery, and the working capacity were estimated for the first 10 years of disease on the basis of the follow up results. The observation time ranged from 1-18 years with a median of 5 5 years for clinical observations, 5 8 years for survival, and 9-5 years for the occurrence of gastrointestinal cancer. The follow up was 100% concerning survival and cancer. The survival did not differ from that of the age-and sex-matched background population. Cancer was seen in only one of 185 patients corresponding to an annual risk of 0 06% and a cumulated risk after 10 years of 0 56, 95% confidence limits: 0 1-3 1%. The cancer was localised in the ileum. For all years, about 45% of the patients were without clinical symptoms of their disease, in 30% the clinical disease activity was low, and in 25% moderate to high. Among the patients with active disease, the course within the individual year was continuous in about one third and intermittent in about two thirds. After 10 years, 99% of the patients had experienced at least one relapse. The operation rate was 33% in the year of diagnosis, 13% in the following year, and then about 3% per year independent of whether or not the patient had been treated surgically in the past. After 10 years, 45% of the patients had not been treated surgically, 42% had had only one operation, and 13% had had two or more operations for their Crohn's disease. The working capacity was normal in about 75% of the patients for all years except the year of diagnosis. About 15-20% of the patients who had had the disease for more than five years were disabled as compared with about 4X4% of the background
MicroRNA clusters: dysregulation in lung adenocarcinoma and COPD

Lung adenocarcinoma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are pulmonary diseases that share common aetiological factors (tobacco smoking) and probable dysregulated pathways. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play an essential role in regulating numerous physiological and pathological processes. The purpose of this study was to assess global miRNA expression patterns in patients with COPD and/or adenocarcinoma to elucidate distinct regulatory networks involved in the pathogenesis of these two smoking-related diseases. Expression of 381 miRNAs was quantified by TaqMan Human MicroRNA A Array v2.0 in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid samples from 87 patients classified into four groups: COPD, adenocarcinoma, adenocarcinoma with COPD, and control (neither COPD nor adenocarcinoma). 11 differentially expressed miRNAs were randomly selected for validation in an independent cohort of 40 patients. Distinct miRNA expression profiles were identified and validated for each pathological group, involving 66 differentially expressed miRNAs. Four miRNA clusters (the mir-17-92 cluster and its paralogues, mir-106a-363 and mir-106b-25; and the miR-192-194 cluster) were upregulated in patients with adenocarcinoma and one miRNA cluster (miR-132-212) was upregulated in patients with COPD. These results contribute to unravelling miRNA-controlled networks involved in the pathogenesis of adenocarcinoma and COPD, and provide new tools of potential use as biomarkers for diagnosis and/or therapeutic purposes. MicroRNA expression profiles in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid enable discrimination of adenocarcinoma from COPD http://ow.ly/tPaVC
Towards prediction of Sense of Presence in immersive audiovisual communications

Tremendous progress has been made in audiovisual technologies in the last decades. Consequently, new technologies quality measures evolve and trend to be more user-centric. This is the reason why the Quality of Experience (QoE) assessment is presently meaningful and challenging, especially for users typical experiences during multimedia content consumption. Such an evaluation is the aim of this paper. More specifically, the Sense of Presence (SoP) was explored in place of QoE as it is a factor influencing the QoE. This paper presents the conducted subjective test investigating typical and practical user experiences. This latter consists of presenting one-minute video stimuli to twenty subjects, on three different devices (iPhone, iPad and UHD screen). Annotated subjective scores were collected and physiological signals (EEG, ECG, and Respiration) were recorded during the conducted subjective test. The resulting multimodal dataset, aiming an alternative evaluation of human experience while consuming multimedia, is publicly available.
High-Temperature Hardware: Development of a 10-kW High-Temperature, High-Power-Density Three-Phase ac-dc-ac SiC Converter

This article presents the development and experimental performance of a 10-W, all-silicon carbide (SiC), 250 °C junction temperature, high-powerdensity, three-phase ac-dc-ac converter. The electromagnetic interference filter, thermal system, high-temperature package, and gate drive design are discussed in detail. Tests confirming the feasibility and validating the theoretical basis of the prototype converter system are described. Over the last 20 years, advances in industrial and research efforts in electronic power conversion have steadily been moving toward higher power densities, which has resulted in improvements in converter system performance; reductions in physical size; and reductions in mass, weight, and cost. However, this pushes the limits of the existing control, packaging, and thermal management technology for power converter systems.
Analyzing the relationship between anthropometric and motor indices with basketball specific pre-planned and non-planned agility performances.

BACKGROUND Although agility is an important quality in basketball, factors associated with basketball specific pre-planned-agility (change-of-direction-speed, CODS) and non-planned-agility (reactive agility, RA) are rarely investigated. The aim of this study was to evaluate relationship between anthropometric and motor indices with basketball-specific CODS and RA in male basketball players of high performance level. METHODS We tested 88 high-level male basketball players (height: 194.62±8.09 cm; body mass: 89.13±10.81 kg; age: 21.12±3.47 years). The sample was randomly divided into validation (N.=44) and cross-validation (N.=44) subsamples. The study variables included: broad-jump, countermovement-jump, reactive-strength-index, visual-reaction-time, body height, body mass, and body fat percentage (predictors); as well as basketball-specific CODS and RA (criteria). Univariate associations were assessed by Pearson's correlation coefficients. Multivariate relationships between the predictors and the criteria were assessed with multiple regression analysis for the validation subsample, which was then cross-validated. RESULTS The established multiple regression models were successfully cross-validated for CODS (R2=0.40 and 0.36; P=0.01) and RA (R2=0.38 and 0.41; P=0.01, for validation and cross-validation subsample, respectively). The broad-jump (i.e., horizontal displacement) is important predictor of CODS (Beta=-0.41; P=0.01); anthropometrics and body build are specifically associated with RA (Beta=0.51, -0.61 and 0.41 for body height, body mass and body fat percentage, respectively; all P<0.05), while reactive-strength-index is directly related both to CODS (Beta=-0.41, P=0.02), and RA (Beta=-0.40, P=0.03). CONCLUSIONS While basketball players are differentially oriented toward specific game duties, specific capacities should be developed in order to meet specific sport requirements.
Patients' experiences of shoulder problems prior to and following intervention

Health can be viewed from several perspectives. It has been shown that impingement of the shoulder leads to functional inability and decreased life quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the complexity of the effect of shoulder problems and discern and describe what it entails to be a patient suffering from shoulder problems. The study delineated patients' situations prior to and following medical intervention. This study is qualitative, and the data were collected through focus group interviews. Interviews with 26 respondents aged 43–63 (mean age 53) were made in 2005–2007. The sample group consisted of patients with supraspinatus tendinitis receiving either conservative treatment or surgery. Thematic analysis was used. Meaning units or themes were identified and interpreted in context and related to the ICF model and Antonovsky's theory for the factors capable of affecting health. Prior to intervention, pain was the attribute most strongly associated with shoulder problems. Four clear focus categories, all of which contain a dimension of pain, were identified. Postintervention interviews permitted data analysis from two main perspectives: 1) process and 2) result. Patients should feel part of the care process and their experience should include comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness. A supportive environment helps ensure such, allowing for a successful rehabilitation process.
Suppression of the chemically transformed phenotype of BHK cells by a human cDNA

Transformation of the baby hamster kidney cell line BHK SN-10 by chemical carcinogens such as nitrosylmethylurea (NMU) is mediated by the loss of a gene product critical for the suppression of malignant transformation. Somatic cell hybrids between chemically transformed BHK SN-10 cells and either normal hamster kidney or human fibroblast cells are nontransformed; therefore, a recessive mechanism underlies the malignant transformation of BHK SN-10 cells after chemical carcinogenesis (A. Stoler and N. P. Bouck, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 82:570-574, 1985). A human fibroblast cDNA library was constructed and introduced into NMU-transformed BHK SN-10 cells (NMU 34m) in order to identify a human cDNA capable of suppressing cellular transformation. NMU-transformed BHK cells were analyzed for reversion to an anchorage-dependent normal cellular phenotype after transfection with human cDNA. The human cDNA capable of inducing stable reversion of NMU 34m cells encodes the intermediate filament protein vimentin, which is apparently required for maintenance of the normal phenotype in BHK SN-10 cells.
Quantitative Estimation of Four Sartans in Presence of Hydrochlorothiazide in Pharmaceutical Preparations by High Performance Liquid Chromatography

A simple, reliable, reproducible, economical and rapid isocratic RP-HPLC method was developed for the simultaneously separated and quantification of four angiotensin II-receptor antagonists namely Telmisartan (TELM), Losartan (LOSA), Olmesartan (OLME) and Valsartan (VALS) along with thiazide diuretic mostly Hydrochlorothiazide (HCTZ). All the above said drugs were separated by using Welchrom C18 column having internal diameter of 4.6 X 250 mm with 5 μm particle size as stationary phase with mobile phase consisting a mixture of acetonitrile and phosphate buffer (pH3.3, 50:50 v/v). The mobile phase was pumped at a flow rate of 1 ml/min. The wave length of the UV detection was done at 238 nm. All the sartans were separated within 6 minutes. The calibration curves were linear (r 2 = 0.9998) in all cases. The relative standard deviation was less than 2% and average recovery was above 99.95%. All four sartans were routinely assayed without interference. Original Research Article Ravisankar et al.; BJPR, 11(4): 1-15, 2016; Article no.BJPR. 25354 2 This method was statistically validated in different parameters like linearity, precision, specificity, accuracy, robustness and ruggedness. The optimized method proved to be accurate, specific and robust for the quality control of four angiotensin-II receptor blockers alone or in combination with HCTZ in bulk drug and tablet dosage forms.
Large-eddy simulation of 3-D corner separation in a linear compressor cascade

The increase of the thrust/weight ratio of aircraft engines is extremely restricted by different 3-D flow loss mechanisms. One of them is the corner separation that can form at the junction between a blade suction side and a hub or shroud. In this paper, in order to further investigate the turbulent characteristics of corner separation, large-eddy simulation (LES) is conducted on a compressor cascade configuration using NACA65 blade profiles (chord based Reynolds number: 3.82 × 105), in comparison with the previous obtained experimental data. Using the shear-improved Smagorinsky model as subgrid-scale model, the LES gives a good description of the mean aerodynamics of the corner separation, especially for the blade surface static pressure coefficient and the total pressure losses. The turbulent dynamics is then analyzed in detail, in consideration of the turbulent structures, the one-point velocity spectra, and the turbulence anisotropy. Within the recirculation region, the energy appears to concentrate around the largest turbulent eddies, with fairly isotropic characteristics. Concerning the dynamics, an aperiodic shedding of hairpin vortices seems to induce an unsteadiness of the separation envelope.
Selectivity of Fungal Sesquiterpene Synthases: Role of the Active Site's H-1α Loop in Catalysis

ABSTRACT Sesquiterpene synthases are responsible for the cyclization of farnesyl pyrophosphate into a myriad of structurally diverse compounds with various biological activities. We examine here the role of the conserved active site H-α1 loop in catalysis in three previously characterized fungal sesquiterpene synthases. The H-α1 loops of Cop3, Cop4, and Cop6 from Coprinus cinereus were altered by site-directed mutagenesis and the resultant product profiles were analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and compared to the wild-type enzymes. In addition, we examine the effect of swapping the H-α1 loop from the promiscuous enzyme Cop4 with the more selective Cop6 and the effect of acidic or basic conditions on loop mutations in Cop4. Directed mutations of the H-α1 loop had a marked effect on the product profile of Cop3 and Cop4, while little to no change was shown in Cop6. Swapping of the Cop4 and Cop6 loops with one another was again shown to influence the product profile of Cop4, while the product profile of Cop6 remained identical to the wild-type enzyme. The loop mutations in Cop4 also implicate specific residues responsible for the pH sensitivity of the enzyme. These results affirm the role of the H-α1 loop in catalysis and provide a potential target to increase the product diversity of terpene synthases.
Combining Model-Based and Heuristic Techniques for Fast Tracking the Maximum-Power Point of Photovoltaic Systems

This paper proposes a technique for accelerating the convergence to the maximum power point of photovoltaic (PV) systems based on the model obtained from manufacturer's generator data. The influence of the temperature over the PV array performance is considered, and no measurement of solar radiation is required. Knowledge of the load model and expensive sensor circuitry are not necessary. The tracking speed is much faster than nonmodel-based techniques at the expense of an increase in the computational complexity. Simulation and experimental results are presented and demonstrate the feasibility of the proposed solution.
A permanent magnet assisted switched reluctance machine for more electric aircraft

Actuators for more electric aircraft are predominantly based on permanent magnet machines for the best power to weight ratio. However, permanent magnet machines can give rise to drag torque under short circuit conditions. This paper explains the concept of permanent magnet assistance in switched reluctance machines and sets out a topology which maximizes the benefits of permanent magnet assistance without compromising fault tolerance. The problem of demagnetization in this topology is explored and a revised design proposed. The increased torque from permanent magnet assistance is demonstrated, and laboratory tests on a prototype machine evidence the fault tolerant nature of the proposed machine by comparison with a baseline permanent magnet machine design. It is suggested that the permanent magnet assisted segmental rotor switched reluctance machine could achieve similar torque to a permanent magnet machine in this application with much improved fault tolerance and with much reduced magnet mass.