Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Vowel Devoicing in Tokyo Japanese

This paper proposes a phonological analysis for vowel devoicing in Tokyo Japanese using the framework of Optimality Theory (Prince and Smolensky, 1993). Generally speaking, in Japanese the high vowels /i, u/ are devoiced when they occur between two voiceless consonants. However, there are some contexts where such a simple generalization does not hold, e.g., so called “word-final devoicing” and when devoiceable vowels are accented. This paper attempts to provide a unified analysis for such issues as well as for the canonical context.
Syncretizing Context Information into the Collaborative Filtering Recommendation

Social network allows users to organize collections of resources on the web in a collaborative fashion. Collaborative filtering as a classical method has been also used in helping people to deal with information overload in folksonomy system. The problem of devising methods to solve the contextual problems emerging in the process of recommendation application over the social network is increasing open. Here we propose a novel means to syncretize context information into the recommender system. This paper first recall traditional methods of collaborative filtering, then presents some definitions and algorithm framework, proposes a contextual rating estimation. Finally, experiment comparison demonstrates that the contextual approach can produces better rating estimations.
An enhanced double-TSV scheme for defect tolerance in 3D-IC

Die stacking based on Through-Silicon Via (TSV) is considered as an efficient way to reducing power consumption and form factor. In the current stage, the failure rate of TSV is still high, so some type of defect tolerance scheme is required. Meanwhile, the concept of double-via, which is normally used in traditional layer to layer interconnection, can be one of the feasible tolerance schemes. Double-via/TSV has a benefit compared to TSV repair: it can eliminate the fuse configuration procedure as well as the fuse layer. However, double-TSV has a problem of signal degradation and leakage caused by short defects. In this work, an enhanced scheme for double-TSV is proposed to solve the short-defect problem through signal path division and VDD isolation. Result shows that the enhanced double-TSV can tolerate both open and short defects, with reasonable area and timing overhead.
A layered framework for pattern-based ontology evolution

The challenge of ontology-driven modelling of information components is well known in both academia and industry. In this paper, we present a novel approach to deal with customisation and abstraction of ontology-based model evolution. As a result of an empirical study, we identify a layered change operator framework based on the granularity, domain-speciﬁcity and abstraction of changes. The implementation of the operator framework is supported through layered change logs. Layered change logs capture the objective of ontology changes at a higher level of granularity and support a comprehensive understanding of ontology evolution. The layered change logs are formalised using a graph-based approach. We identify the recurrent ontology change patterns from an ontology change log for their reuse. The identiﬁed patterns facilitate optimizing and improving the deﬁnition of domain-speciﬁc change patterns.
The effect of using pitch and duration for symbolic music retrieval

Quite reasonable retrieval effectiveness is achieved for retrieving polyphonic (multiple notes at once) music that is symbolically encoded via melody queries, using relatively simple pattern matching techniques based on pitch sequences. Earlier work showed that adding duration information was not particularly helpful for improving retrieval effectiveness. In this paper we demonstrate that defining the duration information as the time interval between consecutive notes does lead to more effective retrieval when combined with pitch-based pattern matching in our collection of over 14 000 MIDI files.
Impact of Microfinance on Poverty: A Case of Pakistan

Present study examined the role played by microfinance in poverty alleviation using concepts like education of children, housing, security of food, expenditure by households and assets owned by households. A sample of 384 customers of four microfinance institutions was selected using multi-stage cluster sampling. The results reveal a positive and significant effect of microfinance programs on children education and household expenditure, whereas, there was no significant impact of microfinance on housing conditions, consumption of food items and ownership of household assets.
Elitist GA Based Evolutionary Algorithm for Groundwater Contaminant Remediation using Pump and Treat Method

This paper presents the application of coupled simulation-optimization model using finite element method (FEM) and Elite genetic algorithm (EGA) for remediation of contaminated groundwater using the pump and treat method. The optimization of pump and treat remediation design using evolutionary algorithms requires that the flow and solute transport model is run repeatedly, in order to calculate the objective function associated with the possible design and to evaluate whether various hydraulic and concentration constraints are met. The model is applied to determine the minimum pumping rates needed to remediate an existing contaminant plume in a confined aquifer. In an elite genetic algorithm, the statistics of the population best solutions cannot degrade with generations. In the present study, the best 50 % of the population from the current population is directly copied to the next generation. The rest of the new population is created by usual genetic operations applied on the entire current population including the chosen % ε elite members. In this way, the best solutions of the current population are not only getting passed from one generation to another, but they also participate with other members of the population in creating other population members. A hypothetical problem of solute mass transport in a confined aquifer is considered for the remediation of contaminated groundwater. The coupled FEMEGA model has been applied for the decontamination of the hypothetical confined aquifer to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed technique. The study found that an optimal pumping policy for aquifer decontamination using pump and treat method can be established by applying the FEM-EGA model.
Identifying local trust value with neural network in P2P environment

Global trust value of P2P (peer-to-peer) has been studied in detail, but the base of it, local trust value, has not been explored in depth. The existent models only adopt simple methods to calculate it. These methods are based on count of success and failure times of transaction, so it cannot represent the distribution of success and failure in transaction history. It is the first time to introduce neural network to identify the local trust value in P2P environment. Transaction result sequence that can represent the transaction history is used as input of neural network to identify local trust value. The structure of neural network, method of input standardization and training sample constructing are presented. Analysis and experiment show that it is feasible and effective to identify local trust value with neural network in P2P environment
The influence of autostereoscopic 3D displays on subsequent task performance

Viewing 3D content on an autostereoscopic is an exciting experience. This is partly due to the fact that the 3D effect is seen without glasses. Nevertheless, it is an unnatural condition for the eyes as the depth effect is created by the disparity of the left and the right view on a flat screen instead of having a real object at the corresponding location. Thus, it may be more tiring to watch 3D than 2D. This question is investigated in this contribution by a subjective experiment. A search task experiment is conducted and the behavior of the participants is recorded with an eyetracker. Several indicators both for low level perception as well as for the task performance itself are evaluated. In addition two optometric tests are performed. A verification session with conventional 2D viewing is included. The results are discussed in detail and it can be concluded that the 3D viewing does not have a negative impact on the task performance used in the experiment.
Incorporating user individuality into writer-independent on-line signature verification

In this paper we present a novel writer-independent on-line signature verification system. The proposed system obtains a universal signature representation in dissimilarity space, but remains able to compensate for the personal variability of an individual's handwriting by subsequently employing a writer-specific dissimilarity normalisation strategy. Signature modelling is achieved by utilising either quadratic discriminant analysis or a support vector machine with a radial basis function kernel. We also present an experimental comparison between the aforementioned dissimilarity normalisation strategy and an existing dissimilarity individualisation technique, that is the so-called user-specific global-parameter fusion protocol. The feasibility of incorporating either of these techniques into an arbitrary signature modelling framework, as well as the resulting impact on system proficiency, is investigated. When evaluated on 4530 samples collected from 51 writers in the Philips signature database, the most proficient system proposed in this paper achieves equal error rates of 0.65%-1.19% when 5–15 reference signatures are available per writer. We show that the aforementioned system outperforms previous systems that were evaluated on the same data set. We also show that, when evaluated under identical experimental conditions, the dissimilarity normalisation strategy outperforms the fusion protocol in terms of system proficiency. Furthermore, we assert that, unlike the fusion protocol, the dissimilarity normalisation strategy is suitable for incorporation into any existing writer-independent on-line signature verification system, regardless of the feature extraction and/or classification technique(s) utilised.
Rehabilitation of executive functioning: An experimental–clinical validation of Goal Management Training

Two studies assessed the effects of a training procedure (Goal Management Training, GMT), derived from Duncan's theory of goal neglect, on disorganized behavior following TBI. In Study 1, patients with traumatic brain injury (TBI) were randomly assigned to brief trials of GMT or motor skills training. GMT, but not motor skills training, was associated with significant gains on everyday paper-and-pencil tasks designed to mimic tasks that are problematic for patients with goal neglect. In Study 2, GMT was applied in a postencephalitic patient seeking to improve her meal-preparation abilities. Both naturalistic observation and self-report measures revealed improved meal preparation performance following GMT. These studies provide both experimental and clinical support for the efficacy of GMT toward the treatment of executive functioning deficits that compromise independence in patients with brain damage. (JINS, 2000, 6, 299–312.)
SuperNet: Multimode interconnect architecture for manycore chips

Designers of the on-chip interconnect for manycore chips are faced with the dilemma of meeting performance, power and reliability requirements for different operational scenarios. In this paper, we propose a multimode on-chip interconnect called SuperNet. This interconnect can be configured to run in three different modes: energy efficient mode; performance mode; and, reliability mode. Our proposed interconnect is based on two parallel multi-vt optimized packet switched network-on-chip (NoC) meshes. We describe the circuit design techniques and architectural modifications required to realize such a multimode interconnect. Our evaluation with diverse set of applications show that the energy efficient mode can save on average 40% NoC power, whereas the performance mode can improve the core IPC by up to 13% on selected high MPKI applications. The reliability mode provides protection against soft errors in the router's data path through byte oriented SECDED codes that can correct up to 8 bit errors and detect up to 16 bit errors in a 64 bit flit, whereas the router's control path is protected through DMR lock step execution.
M-GeRaf analysis: Performance improvement of a Multisink ad hoc and sensor network geographical random routing protocol

In this paper we investigate the behaviour of M-GeRaf, Multisink GeRaf, a data dissemination protocol for multisink wireless sensor network environments based on a geographic random forwarding routing approach. The protocol exploits the intrinsic broadcast nature of the wireless channel in order to allow a reliable and efficient data delivery to a set of data sink nodes in networks with an aggressive power-off strategy without any knowledge of neighbour node positions. Previous works focus the analysis on the multi-hop performances in term of the average amount of hops to reach all the destinations. In this work we introduce a protocol modification in order to reduce the probability of not reach some destinations and in order to complete the data delivery as soon as possible. Therefore we modify the back-off metric in order to reduce the average data transmission amount required to reach all the sink nodes. Furthermore we investigate the effects of errors in the node position estimations.
Implementation of formally verified real time distributed systems: Simplified flight control system

The most common procedure to ensure the reliability of a design is simulation. Unfortunately simulation cannot fully inspect all the execution states of the system. The significant increase in the complexity and size of digital systems together with the nature of real time systems boosted up the need for a different approach for the validation of the behavior of a system in the early design stages. Formal verification is an approach to validate a system by formally reasoning the system behavior. In formal verification the system implementation is checked against the requirements or the properties to be satisfied. B method is one of the common paradigms used in formal verification. But in some cases some deviations from the verified model appears in the final implementation phase, so some of the verified properties are lost. This work aims to reach for a complete design flow for verification and implementation of a simplified flight control system, as an example of a system consisting of a number of distributed computing devices that are interconnected together through digital communication channels. The B method was used to formalize and verify, then the verified B model was transformed into VHDL implementation concerning exact mapping to maintain the properties of the verified model. The main objective is to avoid any discrepancies between the verified model and its implementation.
Modeling Of Rotor Bow During Hot Restart In Centrifugal Compressors

Manager & Principal Engineer for Compressors & Expanders with General Electric Oil & Gas Company, in Florence, Italy. He is responsible for all requisition, standardization, and CAD automation activities as well as detailed design of new products for centrifugal compressors, reciprocating compressors and turboexpanders both in Florence (Nuovo Pignone), Le Creusot (Thermodyn), and Oshkosh (AC). Dr. Baldassarre began his career with General Electric Nuovo Pignone in 1997. He has worked as Design Engineer, R&D Team Leader for centrifugal compressors, Product Leader for centrifugal and axial compressors, and Requisition Manager for centrifugal compressors both for Florence and Le Creusot teams. Dr. Baldassarre received a B.S. degree (Mechanical Engineering, 1993) and Ph.D. degree (Mechanical Engineering/Turbomachinery Fluid Dynamics, 1998) from the University of Florence. He has authored or coauthored 20+ technical papers, mostly in the area of fluid dynamic design of 3D transonic impellers, rotating stall, and rotordynamics. He presently holds four patents.
Job change in later life: A process of marginalization?

ABSTRACT Adopting a longitudinal approach, this article examines downward occupational mobility (DOM) later in working life and its effects on job satisfaction and perceptions of working conditions of older workers in Europe. The main aim was to test whether the risk that workers will be negatively impacted and marginalized in the labor market due to demotion into lower quality jobs is offset by benefits. Based on an ordinal logistic regression of merged Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe and English Longitudinal Study of Ageing datasets, the study found a positive significant impact of DOM on overall job satisfaction. Moreover, DOM was associated with a statistically significant reduction in workload pressure, although it did increase physical work demand. This article adds to the literature on marginalization of workers with indications that the lower income and status associated with DOM at older ages may have offsetting benefits.
Inter-Carrier Interference Analysis of OFDM Systems Communicating Over Rapidly-Fading Nakagami-m Channels

In this contribution, the bit error rate (BER) performance of OFDM systems using coherent demodulation over time-variant flat Nakagami-m fading channels is analyzed. In a rapidly fading environment the orthogonality of the OFDM sub-carrier signals may be destroyed and this phenomenon potentially results in intercarrier interference (ICI). The novel contribution of the paper is that the desired signal is shown to be accurately modelled as a function of the sum of two correlated Nakagami-m variables, provided that the Doppler shift is moderate. It is also shown that the ICI can be modelled as a function of the difference of two correlated Nakagami-m variables. Finally, it is demonstrated that the assumption of having a near-Gaussian ICI distribution is inaccurate, hence leading to an inaccurate BER estimate, which is associated with a pessimistically high BER-floor
Comparametric equations with practical applications in quantigraphic image processing

It is argued that, hidden within the flow of signals from typical cameras, through image processing, to display media, is a homomorphic filter. While homomorphic filtering is often desirable, there are some occasions where it is not. Thus, cancellation of this implicit homomorphic filter is proposed, through the introduction of an antihomomorphic filter. This concept gives rise to the principle of quantigraphic image processing, wherein it is argued that most cameras can be modeled as an array of idealized light meters each linearly responsive to a semi-monotonic function of the quantity of light received, integrated over a fixed spectral response profile. This quantity depends only on the spectral response of the sensor elements in the camera. A particular class of functional equations, called comparametric equations, is introduced as a basis for quantigraphic image processing. These are fundamental to the analysis and processing of multiple images differing only in exposure. The "gamma correction" of an image is presented as a simple example of a comparametric equation, for which it is shown that the underlying quantigraphic function does not pass through the origin. Thus, it is argued that exposure adjustment by gamma correction is inherently flawed, and alternatives are provided. These alternatives, when applied to a plurality of images that differ only in exposure, give rise to a new kind of processing in the "amplitude domain". The theoretical framework presented in this paper is applicable to the processing of images from nearly all types of modern cameras. This paper is a much revised draft of a 1992 peer-reviewed but unpublished report by the author, entitled "Lightspace and the Wyckoff principle. "
A progressive refinement approach to spatial data mining

The goal of this thesis is to analyze methods for mining of spatial data, and to determine environments in which efficient spatial data mining methods can be implemented. In the spatial data mining process, we use (1) non-spatial properties of the spatial objects and (2) attributes, predicates and functions describing spatial relations between described objects and other features located in the spatial proximity of the described objects. The descriptions are generalized, transformed into predicates, and the discovered knowledge is presented using multiple levels of concepts. We introduce the concept of spatial association rules and present efficient algorithms for mining spatial associations and for the classification of objects stored in geographic information databases. A spatial association rule describes the implication of one or a set of features (or predicates) by another set of features in spatial databases. A spatial classification process is a process that assigns a set of spatial objects into a number of given classes based on a set of spatial and non-spatial features (predicates). The developed algorithms are based on the progressive refinement approach. This approach allows for efficient discovery of knowledge in large spatial databases. A complete set of spatial association rules can be discovered, and accurate decision trees can be constructed, using the progressive refinement approach. Theoretical analysis and experimental results demonstrate the efficiency of the algorithms. The completeness of the set of discovered spatial association rules is shown through the theoretical analysis and the experiments show that the proposed spatial classification algorithm allows for better accuracy of classification than the algorithm proposed in the previous work [37]. The results of the research have been incorporated into the spatial data mining system prototype, GeoMiner. GeoMiner includes five spatial data mining modules: characterizer, comparator, associator, cluster analyzer, and classifier. The SAND (Spatial And Nonspatial Data) architecture has been applied in the modeling of spatial databases. The GeoMiner system includes the spatial data cube construction module, the spatial on-line analytical processing (OLAP) module, and spatial data mining modules. A spatial data mining language, GMQL (Geo-Mining Query Language), is designed and implemented as an extension to Spatial SQL, for spatial data mining. Moreover, an interactive, user-friendly data mining interface has been constructed and tools have been implemented for visualization of discovered spatial knowledge. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
A Video Reconstruction Approach Supporting Frame Skipping in H . 264

Mobile real-time video streaming for web-casting and video conferencing conforming to the ITU-T H.264 data compression recommendations format is emergent. However, the quality of the video services for typical applications is hard to foreseen and sustain. Qualities of Services (QoS) approaches, such as video frame skipping techniques, are thus attractive to address the problem. Many conventional video frame-skipping techniques focus on the system-centric quality attributes to adjust the quality of video delivery. They normally ignore the user-centric quality attributes. A usercentric approach, amongst others, is to take human perception in consideration and adapt the video quality expressed in patterns of Group of Pictures (GoP). In a post-processing step of an encoding stage, it filters and re-titles the qualitymatching patterns from the rest. It then reconstructs the filtered GoP according to the H.264 format. Most existing H.264 playback engines unfortunately cease to work properly for video steaming with skipped frames. This paper reports our experience on alleviating the playback problem through a case study on our effort to develop a prototype of such a playback engine. It studies how to reconstruct a video steaming in the H.264 format on the fly in the presence of predictable skipped frames, satisfying certain selected user-centric QoS quality levels. We also analyze the applicability of the approach.