Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Bundling as an Entry Barrier

In this paper we look at the case for bundHng in an oHgopohstic environment. We show that bundhng is a particularly effective entry-deterrent strategy. A company that has market power in two goods, A and B, can, by bundling them together, make it harder for a rival with only one of these goods to enter the market. Bundling allows an incumbent to credibly defend both products without having to price low in each. The traditional explanation for bundling that economists have given is that it serves as an effective tool of price discrimination by a monopolist. Although price discrimination provides a reason to bundle, the gains are small compared with the gains from the entry-deterrent effect.
Operator precedence languages : an old family which joins two modern technologies

Regular languages (RL) are the simplest family in Chomsky’s hierarchy. Thanks to their simplicity they enjoy various nice algebraic and logic properties that have been successfully exploited in many application fields. Practically all of their related problems are decidable, so that they support automatic verification algorithms. Context-free languages (CFL) are another major family well-suited to formalize programming, natural, and many other classes of languages; their increased generative power w.r. t. RL, however, has a price in terms of enjoyed properties and problem decidability, so that various subclasses thereof have been defined with different goals, spanning from efficient, deterministic parsing to closure properties, logic characterization and automatic verification techniques. Among CFL subclasses, so-called structured ones, i.e., those where the typical tree-structure is visible in the sentences, exhibit many of the algebraic and logic properties of RL, whereas deterministic CFL have been thoroughly exploited in compiler construction and other application fields. After surveying and comparing the main properties of those various language families, we go back to operator precedence languages (OPL), an old family through which R. Floyd pioneered deterministic parsing, and we show that they offer unexpected properties in two fields so far investigated in totally independent ways: they enable parsing parallelization in a much more effective way than traditional sequential parsers and exhibit the same algebraic and logic properties so far obtained only for much less powerful language families.
Public speech-oriented guidance system with adult and child discrimination capability

The Takemaru-kun system is a real world speech-oriented guidance system located at the Ikoma-City North Community Center. The system has been operated daily from November, 2002, to provide visitors a speech interface for information retrieval. This system also aims at the field test of a speech interface and collecting actual utterance data. By analyzing and evaluating the collected utterances, the flexible processing requirements are discovered according to the user's age group. It becomes impossible to disregard the increase of child users when the system is installed in a public place. The paper proposes an automatic approach discriminating speakers between adult and child users, which is based on statistical learning. This proposal realizes a flexible spoken dialogue to both adult and child users. As for parameter vectors in machine learning, acoustic and linguistic properties extracted from speech recognition logarithm likelihood scores are adopted to discriminate a user's age group. Although GMM-based recognition uses only acoustic properties, this method can also consider linguistic properties. In experiments with SVM-based screening, we obtained a 92.4% discrimination rate to the actual users' utterances. The advantage of using linguistic properties is also shown. The paper also describes an overview of the Takemaru-kun system and the data collection status from the field test. Child speech recognition performance is evaluated using the collected utterances.
(54) Distinguishing Non -resonant Four-wave-mixing Noise in Coherent Stokes and Anti-stokes Raman Scattering

4,522,811 A 6/1985 Eppstein et al 5,095,487 A * 3/1992 Meyerhofer et al. . 372/23 5,247,343 A * 9/1993 Burch . 356/451 5,303,710 A * 4/1994 Bashkansky et al. . 600/476 5,362,478 A 11/1994 Desai et al. 5,439,686 A 8/1995 Desai et al. 5,451,785 A 9/1995 Faris 5,459,570 A 10/1995 Swanson et al. 5,498,421 A 3/1996 Grinstaff et al. 5,505,932 A 4/1996 Grinstaff et al. 5,508,021 A 4/1996 Grinstaff et al. (10) Patent No.: US 7,586,618 B2 (45) Date of Patent: Sep. 8, 2009
Point Coding : Sparse Image Representation with Adaptive Shiftable-Kernel Dictionaries

This paper addresses the problem of adaptively deriving optimally sparse image representations, using an dictionary composed of shiftable kernels. Algorithmic advantages of our solution make possible the computation of an approximately shift-invariant adaptive image representation. Learned kernels can have different sizes and adapt to different scales. Coefficient extraction uses a fast implementation of Matching Pursuit with essentially logarithmic cost per iteration. Dictionary update is performed by solving a structured least-squares problem either by algebraic characterization of pseudoinverses of structured matrices, or by superfast interpolation methods. Kernels learned from natural images display expected 2D Gabor aspect (localization in orientation and frequency), as well as other structures commonly occurring in images (e.g., curved edges, or cross patterns), while when applied to newspaper text images, kernels tend to reproduce printed symbols or groups thereof.
Bayesian Optimization of Interval Timing and Biases in Temporal Memory as a Function of Temporal Context, Feedback, and Dopamine Levels in Young, Aged and Parkinson’s Disease Patients

Interval timing behavior and its sensitivity to both temporal context and changes in dopamine (DA) levels has recently received considerable attention. Nevertheless, the exact manner in which those interactions occur is far from clear. We examined temporal reproduction with feedback in the supra-seconds range as a function of DA levels using two well-studied timing procedures. Healthy young and aged participants were studied as well as Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients tested ON and OFF their dopaminergic medication. The findings confirm the hypothesis that the ‘migration effect’ (e.g., ‘short’ durations are over-produced and ‘long’ durations are under-produced) in PD patients and the closely related Vierordt’s effect are largely influenced by the effective level of DA and in the case of the ‘migration effect’ by the probability of feedback as well. Using a Bayesian model seeking optimal timing under conditions of uncertainty, we were able to accurately simulate the distorted patterns of temporal reproduction in all groups of participants. As DA levels decrease across groups, optimal timing behavior shifts towards a greater reliance on a statistical representation of all of the durations reproduced within a specific temporal context rather than on the representation of a single duration being timed on any one trial. This analysis demonstrates the utility of Bayesian models of interval timing and highlights the importance of DA levels on clock speed and the associated uncertainty that contributes to temporal distortions.
Gay Black Men at Midlife: Learning Self Acceptance

This paper presents the findings of an analysis of three autoethnographies of Black gay men at midlife. The findings indicate that Black gay men experience themselves as silenced from an early age. Further, Black gay men actively work to conceal their sexual orientation in response to social expectations. Black gay men “evolve” to a point of self acceptance at midlife rather than abruptly “coming out” and Black gay men reach out to their communities at midlife in an apparent need to give back.
The role of code-switching and language context in bilingual phonetic transfer

The present study examines the effect of two potential catalysts for interlanguage phonetic interaction, code-switching and language mode, on the production of voice onset time (VOT) to better understand the role of (near) simultaneous dual language activation on phonetic production, as well as the nature of phonetic transfer. An oral production paradigm was carried out in which Spanish–English bilinguals produced words with initial voiceless stops as non-switched tokens, code-switched tokens in an otherwise monolingual context, and code-switched tokens in a bilingual context. Results demonstrated a degree of phonetic transfer associated with code-switching, either unidirectional or bi-directional. Specifically, English, with long lag VOT, was more susceptible to phonetic transfer than Spanish (short lag). Contrary to expectations, while the code-switching effect was present in both monolingual and bilingual mode, there was no additional transfer, or additive effect, of bilingual language mode. Differences in the effects of code-switching on English and Spanish are discussed with respect to the inherently different acceptable VOT ranges in the two languages. Furthermore, the lack of difference in VOT between the code-switched tokens in the monolingual and bilingual contexts is taken to suggest limits on phonetic transfer.
Integrating Ontological and Linguistic Knowledge for E-Learning

In computer-aided and Web-based learning a critical role is played by the methods and frameworks for Information Access. First of all, intelligent methods for retrieval and synthesis of information are crucial for making available timely and correct information during the training process. Moreover, the level of interaction between the target user and the retrieval subsystem constitutes an important quality factor for the learning process. The abstraction supported by the linguistic generalization adopted in the interaction is anion supported by the linguistic generalization adopted in the interaction is an inherent component of the student development: the higher is the linguistic level, the faster and more effective is the training. In order to ensure the proper abstraction level, the retrieval component should make use of capabilities for generalization throughout a number of phases: indexing, retrieval, organisation and presentation. All these tasks require thus an underlying concept-oriented approach usually relying on ontological resources. In particular tasks like indexing and presentation are also faced (in both directions of input/recognition and output/production) with linguistic data: source texts and dialogue/interaction sessions, respectively. In both cases, i.e. text understading and natural language generation, a non trivial process of semantic recognition is involved. All the above implies that strong assumptions about the conceptualisation of the underlying knowledge domain are usually made in e-learnig. However, building domain conceptualisations from scratch is a very complex and timeconsuming task. Traditionally, the reuse of available domain resources, although not constituting always the best, has been applied as an accurate and cost effective solution. This paper presents a method to exploit sources of domain knowledge (e.g. a subject reference system as a controlled language for document indexing and classification) used to build a linguistically motivated domain concept hierarchy. Because in the specific perspective of supporting linguistic inference in Information Extraction and Retrieval (IE/IR) for e-learning, the use of domain taxonomies as ontological resources is not straightforward. We discuss here how a method for integrating the taxonomical domain knowledge and a general-purpose lexical knowledge base (like WordNet) can be used for improving the accuracy and flexibility of IE.
Post-Translational Modification and Secretion of Azelaic Acid Induced 1 (AZI1), a Hybrid Proline-Rich Protein from Arabidopsis

Arabidopsis EARLI-type hybrid proline-rich proteins (HyPRPs) consist of a putative N-terminal secretion signal, a proline-rich domain (PRD), and a characteristic eight-cysteine-motif (8-CM). They have been implicated in biotic and abiotic stress responses. AZI1 is required for systemic acquired resistance and it has recently been identified as a target of the stress-induced mitogen-activated protein kinase MPK3. AZI1 gel migration properties strongly indicate AZI1 to undergo major post-translational modifications. These occur in a stress-independent manner and are unrelated to phosphorylation by MAPKs. As revealed by transient expression of AZI1 in Nicotiana benthamiana and Tropaeolum majus, the Arabidopsis protein is similarly modified in heterologous plant species. Proline-rich regions, resembling arabinogalactan proteins point to a possible proline hydroxylation and subsequent O-glycosylation of AZI1. Consistently, inhibition of prolyl hydroxylase reduces its apparent protein size. AZI1 secretion was examined using Arabidopsis protoplasts and seedling exudates. Employing Agrobacterium-mediated leaf infiltration of N. benthamiana, we attempted to assess long-distance movement of AZI1. In summary, the data point to AZI1 being a partially secreted protein and a likely new member of the group of hydroxyproline-rich glycoproteins. Its dual location suggests AZI1 to exert both intra- and extracellular functions.
Analysis of Textual data for integrating an automated coding environment system and building a system to monitor the quality of its results

Actually Italian National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) is evaluating the c hance of using a software for automatic coding of textual responses to questions about occupation, education level etc. The system chosen is ACTR (Automated Coding by Text Recognition) developed by Statistics Canada. A first test of the system was carried out with data from the quality survey on Population Census of year 1991. The good results obtained led to p erform a further analysis with textual data from Labour Forces Survey. The purpose was to d efine a standardised p rocedure which to refer when ACTR is used d uring a survey instead o f a manual coding. In particular, the analysis carried out in this paper aims at developing a procedure to integrate the basic automated coding environment and to build up a system to monitor the quality of the results of automated coding.
Protein multiple sequence alignment based on secondary structure similarity

Protein multiple sequence alignment is a fundamental task in bioinformatics. Its importance is due to its application in the estimation of the phylogeny tree, prediction of the secondary and tertiary protein structure, function prediction and finding motifs among protein sequences. Obtaining the best solution in multiple sequence alignment (MSA) is an NP-hard problem and whose speed and accuracy researchers have spent three decades trying to improve. In this paper, a novel secondary structure-based approach is presented. At first, sequences are divided into groups according to their secondary structure similarities and then sequences in each group are aligned with each other. At last, alignment results of all the groups are aligned together. Using this method enhances the alignment quality to some extent. A multi-threaded design program was developed to increase the speed. Experimental results are analyzed in terms of qualities and execution times. The results are compared to some commonly used MSA tools.
Correlation Rotation Linear Precoding for MIMO Broadcast Communications

A simple linear precoding technique is proposed for multiple input multiple output (MIMO) broadcast systems using phase shift keying (PSK) modulation. The proposed technique is based on the fact that, on an instantaneous basis, the interference between spatial links in a MIMO system can be constructive and can contribute to the power of the useful signal to improve the performance of signal detection. In MIMO downlinks this co-channel interference (CCI) can be predicted and characterised prior to transmission. Contrary to common practice where knowledge of the interference is used to eliminate it, the main idea proposed here is to use this knowledge to influence the interference and benefit from it, thus gaining advantage from energy already existing in the communication system that is left unexploited otherwise. The proposed precoding aims at adaptively rotating, rather than zeroing, the correlation between the MIMO substreams depending on the transmitted data, so that the signal of interfering transmissions is aligned to the signal of interest at each receive antenna. By doing so, the CCI is always kept constructive and the received signal to interference-plus-noise ratio (SINR) delivered to the mobile units (MUs) is enhanced without the need to invest additional signal power per transmitted symbol at the MIMO base station (BS). It is shown by means of theoretical analysis and simulations that the proposed MIMO precoding technique offers significant performance and throughput gains compared to its conventional counterparts.
Trapping and metabolism of radioiodinated PHIPA 3-10 in the rat myocardium.

UNLABELLED PHIPA 3-10 [13-(4'-iodophenyl)-3-(p-phenylene)tridecanoic acid] is a p-phenylene-bridged, radioiodinated omega-phenyl fatty acid that has recently been developed to study coronary artery disease or cardiomyopathies. Here, we demonstrate that PHIPA 3-10 exhibits the characteristics of a long-chain fatty acid, including its ability to be efficiently taken up by myocytes and to function as a substrate for beta-oxidation before it is trapped. METHODS Myocardial metabolism of carrier-added and carrier-free 131I-PHIPA 3-10 preparations were investigated in rats in vivo and in isolated Langendorff rat hearts. Heart extracts were analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography, negative-ion electrospray mass spectrometry and investigation of intracellular distribution using density-gradient centrifugation. RESULTS A single, rapidly formed metabolite was found in the heart extract and also, surprisingly, in the hydrolyzed lipids. The total amount of metabolite increased from 43% to 51% between 15 and 60 min postinjection. By high-performance liquid chromatography comparison with synthetic potential catabolites, the metabolite was assigned the name PHIPA 1-10 [11-(4'-iodophenyl)-1-(p-phenylene)undecanoic acid] and was the product of one beta-oxidation cycle. Additional proof was obtained from the mass spectrometric analysis of the metabolite formed in vivo. The formation of this metabolite could be suppressed by Etomoxir, a carnitine palmitoyl transferase I inhibitor, indicating beta-oxidation of 131I-PHIPA 3-10 in mitochondria. Final evidence for the involvement of mitochondria in the degradation of 131I-PHIPA 3-10 was obtained by density-gradient centrifugation of homogenized rat heart tissue. The position of the labeled free PHIPA 3-10 and free metabolite peaked within the fraction containing mainly mitochondria. CONCLUSION In spite of its bulky structure, 131I-PHIPA 3-10 is extracted by the myocardium in a manner similar to the extraction of the unmodified fatty acid analog, IPPA. The retention of PHIPA 3-10 in heart muscle results from the presence of the p-phenylene group, which prevents more than one beta-oxidation cycle. Intracellular free PHIPA 3-10 and free PHIPA 1-10 are present in the mitochondria, whereas most of the esterified metabolite was found in the cytosolic lipid pool. Hence, the rapid appearance of PHIPA 1-10 in the lipid pool must be accounted for by mitochondrial leakage or by an unknown in-out transport system.
A Road Detection Technology Based on Reverse Perspective Transformation

In order to extract the edge of the road centerline accurately under different environmental conditions, the proposed road detection algorithm based on inverse perspective transformation, the use of inverse perspective transformation on the road to reconstruction of three-dimensional inverse perspective to give the edge to the center line of the road and at the same fuzzy Surroundings. Tests showed that changes based on inverse perspective road detection technology to different environments, different road structure has good adaptability, to a certain extent, it can detect different edge to the center of the road, of different roads in a certain extent.
A generic virtual content insertion system based on visual attention analysis

This paper presents a generic Virtual Content Insertion (VCI) system based on visual attention analysis. VCI is an emerging application of video analysis and has been used in video augmentation and advertisement insertion. There are three critical issues for a VCI system: when (time), where (place) and how (method) to insert the Virtual Content (VC) into the video. Our system selects the insertion time and place by performing temporal and spatial attention analysis, which predicts the attention change along time and the attended region over space. In order to enable the inserted VC to be noticed by audience while not to interrupt the audience's viewing experience to the original content, the VC should be inserted at the time when the video content attracts much audience attention and at the place where attracts less. Dynamic insertion is performed by using Global Motion Estimation (GME) and affine transformation. Our VCI system is able to obtain an optimal balance between the notice of the VC by audience and disruption of viewing experience to the original content. Extensive subjective evaluations based on user study on the VCI result have verified the effectiveness of the system.
A comparison of Gibbs , Bethe , and Kikuchi free energies using Monte Carlo simulations

— The sum-product algorithm is an important tool for performing probabilistic inference. It has been shown that when applied to cyclic factor graphs (loopy belief propagation), the stationary points of the algorithm correspond to minima of the network's Bethe free energy, a concept from statistical physics. The Kikuchi free energy, a later generalization of the Bethe free energy, is believed to better approximate the Gibbs free energy (a common cost function) than the Bethe free energy. This paper calculates and compares all three quantities for trivial-sized Ising spin-glass factor graphs sampled Monte Carlo-style from the probability space, and finds that the Kikuchi approximation is better roughly 60-80% of the time.
Privacy Revelations for Web and Mobile Apps

Users of Web and mobile apps must often decide whether to give the apps access to personal information without knowing what they will do with it. We argue that users could better manage their privacy and privacy standards would rise if the operating system simply revealed to users how their apps spread personal information. However, for this strategy to be effective, the research community must go well beyond today's low-level monitoring techniques to develop predictive, user-facing descriptions of information exposure that are grounded in measurement and analysis.