Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Fundamental groups of manifolds with positive isotropic curvature

A central theme in Riemannian geometry is understanding the relationships between the curvature and the topology of a Riemannian manifold. Positive isotropic curvature (PIC) is a natural and much studied curvature condition which includes manifolds with pointwise quarter-pinched sectional curvatures and manifolds with positive curvature operator. By the results of Micallef and Moore there is only one topological type of compact simply connected manifold with PIC; namely any such manifold must be homeomorphic to the sphere. On the other hand, there is a large class of nonsimply connected manifolds with PIC. An important open problem has been to understand the fundamental groups of manifolds with PIC. In this paper we prove a new result in this direction. We show that the fundamental group of a compact manifold M n with PIC, n ≥ 5, does not contain a subgroup isomorphic to ⊕ . The techniques used involve minimal surfaces.
On the convergence of iterative non-cooperative centralized power controllers for multiple adjacent asynchronous cellular networks

Transmit power control is used in cellular radio systems for reducing co-channel interference and increasing the capacity of system. To achieve the desired signal to interference ratio for all users in a cellular radio system, centralized power control (CPC) adjusts the transmit powers such that each user achieves the required quality of service. However, co-channel interfering signals are not only produced by users within the same network but also the users in adjacent cellular networks produce co-channel interfering signals. In this paper, the effect of interferer signals from other networks is taken into account. Each cellular radio network is assumed to have an independent central power controller that are not necessarily synchronized with each other. The convergence of the CPC algorithm to the optimum solution is proven using both analytical studies and computer simulations. Our results reveal that for static systems where the environment changes very slowly with time, non-cooperative and cooperative schemes perform similarly in the steady state and the complexity and communication overhead required for the cooperation makes the cooperative scheme unattractive. In contrast, for fast changing dynamical systems such as cognitive radios the cooperative schemeis more appreciated as the non-cooperative scheme is away from optimal during transitions.
The LIMSI continuous speech dictation system: evaluation on the ARPA Wall Street Journal task

We report progress made at LIMSI in speaker-independent large vocabulary speech dictation using the ARPA Wall Street Journal-based CSR corpus. The recognizer makes use of continuous density HMM with Gaussian mixture for acoustic modeling and n-gram statistics estimated on the newspaper texts for language modeling. The recognizer uses a time-synchronous graph-search strategy which is shown to still be viable with vocabularies of up to 20 K words when used with bigram back-off language models. A second forward pass, which makes use of a word graph generated with the bigram, incorporates a trigram language model. Acoustic modeling uses cepstrum-based features, context-dependent phone models (intra and interword), phone duration models, and sex-dependent models. The recognizer has been evaluated in the Nov92 and Nov93 ARPA tests for vocabularies of up to 20,000 words. <<ETX>>
Living with the deceased: absence, presence and absence-presence

In this paper I build on my previous case-study focused research on memorialization to develop a thesis for absence-presence evidenced in vernacular memorial artefacts, spaces and performances at a variety of scales and locations across the British Isles. I make three key arguments: i) for bringing the universally significant experience of absence through bereavement to the fore in cultural geographies of absence; ii) for moving beyond representational and phenomenological analysis of memorial artefacts and spaces to focus critical attention on the contextualized interface between the representational and more-than-representational, embodied and affective practices that surround them, for a more nuanced understanding of the relationship between the living and the absent deceased; and iii) that this interface of form and practice at a variety of vernacular memorials and locations evidences dynamic negotiations of absence-presence. I explore the ways in which the emotions, memory and materiality of absence through death is expressed and negotiated in different memorial forms and landscape settings in the British Isles. Analysis is based on a range of empirical examples drawn from contemporary practices of memorialization and remembrance, and explores how living with absence as a result of bereavement is mediated through different material forms and practices including expressions of ‘continuing bonds’. The discussion is contextualized in relation to wider dialogue on absent presence, but argues that expressions of continuing bonds with the deceased evidence a relational and dynamic absence-presence. Practices associated with absence-presence intersect with growing trends to mark private grief and remembrance of individuals in public space, through the creation of a range of informal memorials that frame a ‘Third Emotional Space’ for the bereaved. The material memorialscape is indicative of the interwoven narrative journeys in and through particular place-temporalities for the living, for whom bereavement is a confluence of emotional-spiritual-practical way-finding.
Ethical Considerations in the Use of Technology for Marriage and Family Counselors

Given increases in the use of technology in all levels of counseling, family counselors have to become aware of the ethical considerations for infusing technology in their training and practice methods. Standards for Internet counseling practice, supervision practice, and the training of family counselors have not kept pace with the advances in technology. An overview of several ethical standards involving technology is given. Failure to identify problematic issues related to technology use may result in an increase in ethical complaints.
Selective listening in L2 learners of French

This paper considers the issue raised in 2008 by Gillian Brown in her article ‘Selective listening’ regarding whether nouns are ‘privileged’ in memory over verbs during listening tasks, and whether attention to nouns, at least in the early stages of L2 learning, is a desirable strategy to be taught to learners, as Brown suggests it might be. The question of verb/noun recognition was explored in the present study using data from 30 lower-intermediate learners of French in England. Learners completed a listening task on two occasions, six months apart, producing recall protocols for short oral passages in French. We also explored learners’ attentional strategy use by asking them to report on this in writing immediately after the recall task. An analysis of verbs and nouns recognised indicated that verb recognition was lower than that of nouns, and that progress in verb recognition over six months was negligible. A qualitative analysis of learners’ strategy use indicated that learners with a more balanced verb/noun recognition profile took a broader focus, tending to focus their attention consciously at phrase/sentence level rather than at word level. These findings are discussed in terms of the development of listening skills over time, and the implications of this for L2 listening pedagogy.
Engineering Visual Arrestin-1 with Special Functional Characteristics*

Background: Arrestin-1 with enhanced binding to unphosphorylated active rhodopsin (Rh*) has therapeutic potential. Results: Manipulation of the rhodopsin binding surface of arrestin-1 greatly increases its binding to Rh*. Conclusion: Stable arrestin-1 with high binding to Rh* can be engineered with and without the ability to self-associate. Significance: The affinity of arrestin-1 for Rh* and its propensity to oligomerize can be independently changed by targeted mutagenesis. Arrestin-1 preferentially binds active phosphorylated rhodopsin. Previously, a mutant with enhanced binding to unphosphorylated active rhodopsin (Rh*) was shown to partially compensate for lack of rhodopsin phosphorylation in vivo. Here we showed that reengineering of the receptor binding surface of arrestin-1 further improves the binding to Rh* while preserving protein stability. In mammals, arrestin-1 readily self-associates at physiological concentrations. The biological role of this phenomenon can only be elucidated by replacing wild type arrestin-1 in living animals with a non-oligomerizing mutant retaining all other functions. We demonstrate that constitutively monomeric forms of arrestin-1 are sufficiently stable for in vivo expression. We also tested the idea that individual functions of arrestin-1 can be independently manipulated to generate mutants with the desired combinations of functional characteristics. Here we showed that this approach is feasible; stable forms of arrestin-1 with high Rh* binding can be generated with or without the ability to self-associate. These novel molecular tools open the possibility of testing of the biological role of arrestin-1 self-association and pave the way to elucidation of full potential of compensational approach to gene therapy of gain-of-function receptor mutations.
IDENTITY CONSTRUCTION IN POWERFUL INSTITUTIONS: A COMMENTARY

This very interesting set of articles focuses on the collaborative and negotiated construction of identities in interaction. Most of the articles are concerned with the constitution of identities through time in powerful educational and legal institutional contexts. Here the emphasis is on the emergence of new identities being learned by some participants and/or imposed on them by others. In the discussion that follows, I will first consider in what senses the constitution of identities is collaborative in these works, giving particular attention to the representations of the processual nature of collaboration, or how identities develop through time. This is followed by discussion of how the articles in this collection conceptualize negotiated and power laden aspects of identity construction in interaction, including how such negotiation differs in educational versus legal institutional settings. Collaborative models of identity construction derive primarily from conversation analysis in which there is emphasis on how meaning is located in interaction and emerges through the process of taking turns in talk. Such models can be contrasted with actor-audience models in which the focus is more squarely on a performer and his or her agency in performing an identity before an audience (e.g., Goffman, 1959), although the two approaches are sometimes intertwined. One of the key ways that these models
Two Essays: “Does Corporate Governance Affect the Adjustment Speed towards Target Capital Structure?” and “Do Option Traders on REITs and Non-REITs React Differently to New Information?”

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Stochastic filter approaches for a phoneme-based segmentation of speech signals

Computer-assisted systems for the automatic classification of disorders in the three major linguistic levels of lexicon, grammar, and pronunciation are currently under active development in a joint research project bringing together the fields of signal processing and speech therapy. In a related publication, the authors have already demonstrated how deterministic observer techniques as well as stochastic filtering approaches can be applied to trace the individual formant frequencies that are included in a spoken language. These formants are characteristic for phonemes that can be classified into either voiced or unvoiced sounds. With respect to a reliable transcription of freely spoken text, it is however not only necessary to determine these formant frequencies accurately but also to classify the related phonemes. Especially when therapeutic aspects are investigated, a computer-assisted system needs to be able to automatically find the boundaries between subsequent phonemes in an audio stream. Such kind of boundary detection needs to be reliable against a wrong pronunciation. This especially holds when related disorders are dealt with in a therapeutic context. For this reason, a novel algorithm for the segmentation of speech signals is presented in this work. It is a natural extension of an online frequency analysis of speech signals, where the formant estimation makes use of a stochastic (Extended) Kalman Filter approach.
Measuring self-serving cognitive distortions: A meta-analysis of the psychometric properties of the How I Think Questionnaire (HIT)

The How I Think Questionnaire (HIT; Barriga et al., 2001) is a self-report measure of self-serving cognitive distortions. This study used meta-analytic methods to analyse: (i) the reliability of the HIT scores across samples; (ii) the variability in reliability estimates; and (iii) the convergent and criterion-group validity of the HIT scores. Results showed an excellent reliability of the total HIT scores: mean alpha = . 93, 95% CI [. 92, . 94]; k = 29, N = 8,186. Heterogeneity of total HIT was mainly explained by type of population. The reliabilities of the four subscale scores were also adequate. Moreover, the HIT has strong convergent validity and is able to discriminate between offenders and control participants. Limitations of the current literature are discussed.
Is virtual reality effective to motivate and raise interest in phobic children toward therapy? A clinical trial study of in vivo with in virtuo versus in vivo only treatment exposure.

OBJECTIVE The first objective of this study was to assess if a combined treatment with mostly virtual reality-based (in virtuo) exposure increases phobic children's motivation toward therapy compared to children who only receive in vivo exposure. Another objective was the assessment of motivation as a predictor of treatment outcome. METHOD Thirty-one DSM-IV-diagnosed arachnophobic participants aged from 8 to 15 years were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 treatment conditions: in vivo exposure alone or in virtuo plus in vivo exposure. Measures of motivation were taken at pretest and at the end of each part of the treatment; some other measures were taken at each session. The "Why Are You in Therapy? " questionnaire for children was the target measure of motivation and the main variable in the study. Outcome measures were taken at pretest, at the end of each part of the treatment, and at the 6-month follow-up. This study was conducted between September 2006 and March 2007. RESULTS The results showed that children who received in virtuo exposure did not show a higher level of motivation toward their treatment than those who received in vivo exposure, but statistically significant interactions were found for both parts of the treatment. Multiple regression analysis confirmed that motivation was a significant predictor of outcome (P < .01), especially extrinsic integrated motivation. Participants in the combined treatment were significantly more phobic before beginning treatment, but both treatments appeared successful (P < .001). CONCLUSIONS In this study, the use of virtual reality did not increase motivation toward psychotherapy. At the end of the second part of therapy, all participants were comparably efficient in facing a live tarantula. These results bear important clinical implications concerning how to use virtual reality with children and concerning motivation of children toward therapy in general. They are discussed in the light of how to present in virtuo therapy to children.
The Teachers’ Role in the Assessment of Selective Mutism and Anxiety Disorders

Selective mutism (SM) is a childhood disorder characterized by failure to speak in social situations, despite there being an expectation to speak and the capacity to do so. There has been a focus on elucidating the differences between SM and anxiety disorder (ANX) in the recent literature. Although children with SM exhibit more symptoms at school than at home, the assessment of SM typically does not involve teacher reports. There is also a lack of research to help us better understand how to best support students with SM in the classroom, and linking assessment to intervention. The Teacher Telephone Interview: Selective Mutism and Anxiety in the School Setting (TTI-SM) was developed by a group of researchers across three large children’s hospitals in Canada, within specialized ANXs Clinics, with the goal of addressing several of these diagnostic and treatment issues. Child participants (ages 6-11) were referred for SM (n = 19) or ANX (n = 10). Findings revealed that the SM subscale of the TTI-SM has acceptable psychometric properties. Scores on the SM subscale between the two groups of children were statistically significant t(29) = −3.67, p < . 001, η2 = . 33, suggesting that the SM subscale was able to distinguish between children with SM and ANX. Given the promising findings, and possible uses of this tool for assessment and intervention, the TTI-SM warrants further research. The role of the teacher in the assessment of children with SM and anxiety disorders, and future directions are discussed.
Non‐invasive assessment of axonal fiber connectivity in the human brain via diffusion tensor MRI

A technique for assessing in vivo fiber connectivity in the human brain is presented. The method utilizes a novel connectivity algorithm that operates in three spatial dimensions and uses estimates of fiber tract orientation and tissue anisotropy, obtained from diffusion tensor magnetic resonance imaging, to establish the pathways of fiber tracts. Sample in vivo connectivity images from healthy human brain are presented that demonstrate connections in the white matter tracts. White matter connectivity information is potentially of interest in the study of a range of neurological, psychiatric, and developmental disorders and shows promise for following the natural history of disease. Magn Reson Med 42:37–41, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.
Linear Regression with Limited Observation

We consider the most common variants of linear regression, including Ridge, Lasso and Support-vector regression, in a setting where the learner is allowed to observe only a fixed number of attributes of each example at training time. We present simple and efficient algorithms for these problems: for Lasso and Ridge regression they need the same total number of attributes (up to constants) as do full-information algorithms, for reaching a certain accuracy. For Support-vector regression, we require exponentially less attributes compared to the state of the art. By that, we resolve an open problem recently posed by Cesa-Bianchi et al. (2010). Experiments show the theoretical bounds to be justified by superior performance compared to the state of the art.
A Protein-Counting Mechanism for Telomere Length Regulation in Yeast

In the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, telomere elongation is negatively regulated by the telomere repeat-binding protein Rap1p, such that a narrow length distribution of telomere repeat tracts is observed. This length regulation was shown to function independently of the orientation of the telomere repeats. The number of repeats at an individual telomere was reduced when hybrid proteins containing the Rap1p carboxyl terminus were targeted there by a heterologous DNA-binding domain. The extent of this telomere tract shortening was proportional to the number of targeted molecules, consistent with a feedback mechanism of telomere length regulation that can discriminate the precise number of Rap1p molecules bound to the chromosome end.
Software agents using simulation for decision-making

Though autonomy is one of the major concepts of agent technology, the question how to implement this autonomy is mainly up to the agent developer. To show autonomous behaviour the agent has to make decisions regarding which actions to take next in order to meet its design objectives. This article suggests the use of simulation by an agent in its decision-making process. While simulation-based planning has already been proposed, we take it one step further and also use it for the control of the system the agent is reasoning about and for enabling the agent to take measures proactively. To explore this idea's potential we have implemented an agent test-bed to experimentally compare simulation-based decision-making with a rule-based implementation in a manufacturing control scenario. Both the implementation and the simulation study are presented in this article. Based on how the corresponding agents performed in reducing the production cycle time and in reasoning about the probability of meeting the delivery due date, we conclude that the use of simulation for such planning and control purposes is a promising, intuitive and competitive approach that is well suited to supplement other approaches that are already in use.
Universal lossless compression of piecewise stationary slowly varying sources

Universal lossless compression of parametric piecewise stationary sources with slow changes in the statistics between stationary segments that take place in unknown time intervals is investigated. The minimum description length (MDL) principle is derived for two different settings of this problem under the assumption that the parameter changes are linear over the change interval. In the first setting, it is assumed that all changes are of equal known in advance duration d, and in the second setting all statistics changes are of unknown durations. While in both cases the redundancy for most sources for each unknown statistical parameter in each segment remains lower bounded, as in the case of abruptly changing statistics, by 0.5 log m extra code bits, where m is the mean segment length, the minimum extra code-length required for each unknown transition interval decreases to log m-0.5 log d in the first setting, but surprisingly remains log m, as in the case of abruptly changing statistics, in the second. Schemes that achieve the lower bounds in both settings are demonstrated.
Note onset detection based on harmonic cepstrum regularity

This paper presents a novel onset detection algorithm based on cepstral analysis. Instead of considering unnecessary mel-scale or any interests of non-harmonic components, we selectively focus on the changes in particular cepstral coefficients that represent the harmonic structure of an input signal. In comparison with a conventional time-frequency analysis, the advantage of using cepstral coefficients is that it shows the harmonic structure more clearly, and gives a robust detection function even when the envelope of waveform fluctuates or slowly increases. As a detection function, harmonic cepstrum regularity (HCR) is derived by the summation of several harmonic cepstral coefficients, but their frequency indices are defined from the previous frame so as to reflect the temporal changes in the harmonic structure. Experiments show that the proposed algorithm achieves significant improvement in performance over other algorithms, particularly for pitched instruments with soft onsets, such as violin and singing voice.